there’s a question to be asked i think about to what extent “getting out” can be conflated with “being saved” in this show, and what freedom actually means to any of these characters.

like you can argue that shiv saved ken by voting against him on gojo, but what if your intent behind saving someone is to inflict a worse punishment than if you’d just left them trapped? can a child weaned on poison survive on milk, or are you just sentencing them to a death by inches, starved of the only thing they know? and if you save someone specifically because you know that being saved is the worst thing that can happen to them, is that kindness or cruelty? at what point does a good thing become a malicious act?

and you can say that roman is finally free, but what exactly is he free from? the company? his father? does unlocking a cage mean saving a dog, or are you allowing him out on the street knowing there’s a kill shelter nearby? if the driving anxiety behind roman is that he’s an idiot and a failure—that he’ll never amount to anything, and trying will only lead to pain—and he’s finally cut loose once all of those anxieties have crystallized into cold hard fact in his mind, what has he actually escaped from? if the cage is in your mind, is it even possible for somebody else to unlock it?

the fundamental truth of a tragedy is that even being saved can be a death sentence, if the characters are incapable of escaping the thing doing them the most harm (themselves and their childhoods)

Preliminary Round: Poll Runner's Choice

Ok, so this poll is gonna be a bit different. I picked six of my favorite submissions that didn't get in to put in this poll. Vote for who you would like to be in the main bracket the most, and the top three duos will be added to the bracket. So, without further ado...

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Toothless(top left) vs Tsukioka Tsumugi and Takatou Tasuku(top right) vs Xingqiu and Chongyun(middle left) vs Rose Lalonde and Dave Strider(middle right) vs Mabel and Dipper Pines(bottom left) vs Lio Fotia and Galo Thymos(bottom right)

Propaganda for Hiccup and Toothless: "They literally read each others minds, they're so in sync, they trust each other so much"

Propaganda for Tsumugi and Tasuku: "they're childhood friends who started acting together in school! acting requires lots of trust in your fellow co-stars like for example if they mess up or forget a line you need to be able to cover for them and keep the show going. after years of acting they're very much in sync able to match each other's energy onstage during a performance. even the player character (default name: izumi) notes in her narration that these two have a special connection onstage that no one else in their theatre company has bc of their years of acting together <3"

Propaganda for Xingqiu and Chongyun: "They have several matching design elements that balance each other out, with Xingqiu being associated with dark blue and black while Chongyun is associated with light blue and white. Chongyun uses the ice element, while Xingqiu uses the water element, which makes them formidable (or at least troublesome, since they freeze the enemies constantly) in a team together in game. They're commonly seen or mentioned together, and while Chongyun occasionally complains about Xingqiu's pranks, they get along well enough that an entire section of Chongyun's character story (in his profile) is dedicated to his friendship with Xingqiu, and vice versa with Xingqiu's story. Chongyun is a very earnest and genuine person, while Xingqiu is a bit wily and a prankster - despite this, Chongyun trusts him over and over again, despite the trouble that Xingqiu's pranks often cause for him. sorry for submitting genshin and writing a whole wall of text lol"

Propaganda for Rose and Dave: "I'm bad explanations, but the short of it is that even though they're both very cagey people and try not to be themselves, they see through each other's façade."

Propaganda for Mabel and Dipper: "They're the bestest siblings ever. They're twins and have such a wonderful beautiful relationship. Their relationship so important for the show as a whole and Gravity Falls wouldn't be what it is if not for them. They're the reason why I strive to be a good sibling to my own brother. I've been obsessed with this show and them for so many years. They're my favourite and I love them so so much."

Propaganda for Lio and Galo: "First, the obvious- they literally co-pilot a mech during the movie, and them being in sync is required for it to function: the more they understand each other, the better they fight. Also, they're very effective foils: The ice-cold arsonist and the burning-hot firefighter, who are also (as close to canonically as Studio Trigger can get) in gay love."

All this talk of Shrek being powerful got me wanting to rank the Dreamworks protagonists by power levels so here's that, I guess, completely arbitrary with no real basis in reality at all.

Bonus: Dreamworks villains ranked on how easily I could take them in a fight

Elder and Big Tooth communicate just as they do in the movies; with body language!! Big Tooth is also able to understand Norse, but not speak it-- Big Tooth actually learned Norse because of Hiccup talking with his hands! The body language correlating with the words helped him to learn what the words meant! Meanwhile, Big Tooth is like the windwalker; mainly mute, and doesn't speak much Dragonese on a good day, if at all. It's alright though, since Elder can't speak it anyway. Despite the language barrier, though, Elder's nonverbal way of quietly and kindly demonstrating peace is what makes dragons so easy to open up to him.

On the other hand, Younger and Little Tooth speak to each other in Dragonese alone! Little Tooth is very, very chatty, keeping Younger very well practiced in Dragonese, (but he downright refuses to learn Norse, and any words he knows he learned against his will). Unlike his big brother, Younger is not very good at body language and gestures, needing to communicate with direct speech instead, which is what drove him to learn so many extra languages! He is fluent in Norse, Latin, French, and Dragonese, and his knack for eloquent and charismatic wording is what makes him such a good spokesperson and eventual king. His speeches can soften even the hardest of old dragon hearts.

Caeser stabbed

Stirring speech

Mob forms

Dragons unleashed

I am forcibly removed from my English class

All I got from my nan's today is that you shouldn't let me in a book shop as someone whose town lost their only book shop.

Vierapril Day 2: Companion

Annabeth is busy brushing Percy down after their morning flight when she spots Alira playing… Is that fetch?... with her massive coeurl. “Is Lenny actually chasing that.. thing?”  Alira turns and waves at Annabeth before jogging over to her, causing Lenny to change direction to bring whatever was in his mouth back to Alira. “Yea! Nero made it for him. It’s bite and claw proof and has an internal thruster that I can program so that it can go farther than what I could ever throw!” Annabeth smiles at what Nero can do when an idea comes to him. “That’s really cool. But that still begs the question as to why Lenny wants to play fetch?” Lenny drops the device at Alira’s feet and goes to give Annabeth a very scratchy lick on the face. Annabeth gives him some scratches under his chin while Alira shrugs. “Honestly, I don’t know. He’s allowed to roam free and hunt, but I think sometimes he gets bored. He’s already an impressive hunter, so this gives him a bit of a challenge and it’s bonding time.” Percy pecks lightly at Annabeth’s shoulder, so she turns to look at him and he starts doing some tip taps and squawks excitedly. “What? Wait, do you wanna play fetch too?” He starts bouncing up and down and Annabeth just has a shocked look on her face. Alira bursts out laughing, “Shall we have a race then?” Lenny yowls in agreement and he and Percy line up. Annabeth has finally shaken herself out of shock, while Alira is busy programming in details to the thruster. “Okay, on your mark, get set, go!!” she yells.

Annabeth and Alira just smile as their two companions race each other. Annabeth raises a hand to the linkpearl in her ear, “Hey Nero, yea, uh-huh, I’m hanging out here with Alira and I’m going to need you to make another one of those indestructible fetch toys for Percy. Yep, and can you make it able to fly in the air? Uh-huh. He’d probably like some agility training too. Thanks! Yep, see you for dinner tomorrow.”

It was a close race, but Annabeth and Alira can tell that Lenny dropped back near the very end to let Percy capture the ball. He squawks and beats his wings in triumph, before running back to Annabeth with Lenny close behind. He drops the ball at her feet and she can tell he is thrumming with excitement. “Well, I’ve ordered you one of your own, but for now, if Lenny is willing, you’ll just have to play together.” The coeurl and griffin start playing around with each other and the girls can’t help but laugh. “He really is just a big cat with wings isn’t he?” “Yep! And you love him all the same.” “Oh of course!” 

Personally, I hc that if Toothless could talk, he would cuss a lot. Especially at the people* who annoy him.

(*read: Hiccup)

sMT hAs INflUeNCe

i can't even get meimei to stop loitering here WHAT INFLUENCE

everyone knows i like big cats like just as a literal they're little babies to me YEAH YEAH but i also love the like ... metaphorical way they appear in art as a subject and certain narratives especially when the lines are a bit blurred and there's something unsure about it. like a character who for all intents and purposes is a perfectly average incredibly human person who seems basically normal and then there is this fuck off big animal sitting directly behind them staring right at you and how the framing of this animal can change it from a monster stalking its prey to a caretaker protecting its charge to something being kept at bay for you the audiences protection to something being kept on an invisible leash I LOVE IT. i love it. this massive predator with superficial similarities to a house cat that could kill you but doesn't.

Intrusive thoughts are getting worse, I guess god didnt give me claws because he knew I'd cover my body in stripes

I generally don’t mind everyone in Inquisition being an Anders anti tho bc I love tragedy I love being the villain of the story I love history erasing nuance and they will never know who you really were but most of all I love Hawke being in Skyhold having to activate Defend My Wife mode every time he talks to an NPC

i hate tiktok

My lightfury behaviour gets more and more noticable.

personally proud of myself for keeping my "i won't watch s2" stance