#it doesn't need meaning beyond that

[rosecoloredtarot]

I think people have become so far removed from the natural world that "witnessing nature do it's thing" is often misinterpreted as having mystical significance.

This is not meant to be a judgement of anyone, no one here is the reason we live in a society away from the wilds. But I think that the little to no exposure people have with non-human spaces turns perfectly ordinary occurrences into something of a spectacle.

"I keep seeing large groups of crows around, who is trying to reach out?" Probably no one, crows are diurnal flock animals that actively seek out people because they are smart and know we have lots of stuff they can scavenge.

"This tree in my yard put out SO many flowers but seems to be dying now, did someone curse me?" Nope! Trees, particularly fruit trees, can stress bloom, where they put out tons of flowers in response to any number of stressors. Might wanna see if you can fix the stressors to save the tree.

"I was walking around during a storm and lightning hit a tree I was near, what does that mean?" It means you should thank your lucky stars you didn't get hit yourself. Lightning wants to touch the ground so badly and will zap the tallest thing around because that is the fastest way there.

"A cat gave birth under my house, do I have a familiar now?" Maybe. But under the house is dry, warm and relatively safe. She picked that spot because its a good place to keep her babies.

All of these things and more happen ALL THE TIME, we just aren't as aware of them as we used to be. Seeing nature in action is incredible and special in it's own right, just maybe not in the way you want it to be.

[losttranslator]

here's what i don't get about the message of the lilo and stitch remake... nani learning that she has to live for herself wouldn't be a bad thing, but in the original she already does that in the ending scenes? we see her going on dates with david by herself, and cobra, jumba and pleaksley are taking care of lilo and having movie nights.

[littlefankingdom]

Bruce tried to avenge Jason, not Dick

This is just a rant about a lil thing that keeps coming up in fics I read. Often, Dick is "forgiven" by Jason because he "avenged Jason" by killing the Joker and Bruce "ruined it". Or Dick is written to have tried to kill the Joker after Jason's death but not Bruce, and Bruce may have tried to stop him.

First of, Dick did not try to avenge Jason. Y'all really want him to be okay with killing and ready to kill to avenge his loved ones, but Dick is better than Bruce, and that also means he is less likely to cross the line. No, Dick did not want to kill Zucco (Apart from the Titans show, but this show's characterization is awful), and no, he did not want the Joker dead. When Dick killed the Joker, it was in a moment of rage because Tim was in danger. He did not plan it and he immediately regret it. Bruce, with the help of HELENA who is fine killing people, brought the Joker back to life for Dick, because it would have broken him. And Dick still hates himself afterward, for killing the Joker even tho he is alive. And, again, he did not do it for Jason.

And, sure, you can have your hc, but the moment they are in conflict with who the character is (Dick is disgusted by the idea of being a murderer, killing someone or letting someone be killed, even the murderer of his brother), then we are going to have a problem.

Now, about Bruce. Upon discovering Jason's body, Bruce was settled on avenging him. It's why he took away every evidence, so he would not have anyone interfere between him and the Joker. He spent the days following Jason's death, and then Jason's funerals, looking for the Joker to kill him. He refused to call Dick because he did not want him to interfere, he was only thinking about his revenge and did not think the emotional importance of telling Dick about Jason.

The man is not thinking straight. And when he thinks he found where the Joker may be, Superman shows up, telling him that a Gotham's criminal is now under diplomatic immunity and the US gov doesn't want Batman being a bitch about it. And Bruce punches Clark in the face. That's how fucking unstable he is at this point, punching Clark without kryptonite because he is standing between him and killing the Joker.

Clark learns the Joker killed Jason, and he tries to make Bruce accepts to only kill the Joker, the only justice Bruce is accepting at this point, once he isn't a diplomat. YES, SUPERMAN DID NOT STOP BRUCE. Batman nearly succeeds in killing the Joker, but the helicopter they are in is going down, so Superman saves him. Bruce, the fucking madman he is, obsessed over bringing justice to his boy, doesn't care about his safety, he wants the Joker's body! And when it isn't found, he isn't satisfied but accepts to go home.

The Joker will come back at least a year later, and with some ptsd from his last encounter with the Bat and escaping death. Bruce, doing better mentally now that he has a new child to take care of (which he sends with his whole class to Japan to protect), is afraid he will kill the Joker. He keeps bringing up to Alfred how much he wants to kill him for TAKING JASON FROM HIM. But Alfred reminds Bruce again and again that he is a good man and he will resist. He does. This was not the last time Bruce faced the Joker after Jason's death and thought about killing him for Jason.

And, let me be clear, I do not expect Jason to know Bruce did that. The only people who know he did that are Clark, Alfred and Bruce himself (who will probably never tell Jason himself what he did). And maybe Dick, if you want to think (like me) that Bruce sat down with him (way later, after Tim is in the picture so Bruce is better mentally) and explained his mental state when Jason died, and how he didn't tell him not because he was trying to push Dick away, but because he was obsessed with killing the Joker he wasn't thinking rationally about his decisions; not to excuse his actions but to explain how it happened.

Dick is better than Bruce, which is why he grieved Jason surrounded by his friends, people that would support him and listen to him. He did not went on a vengeance mission because he had a support system. Was he mad? Yes, but he tried to open about it to others (the Titans, Koriand'r who was his gf,...) Bruce, on the other hand, is one unhealthy mf that immediately isolated himself once Jason died. He stayed in the cave and dedicated himself only to work, taking all his emotions out on beating people up because he was sharing it. And when people tried to talk to him, he would explode the moment they say anything that he could interpret badly (Clark telling him the Joker has immunity, Dick blaming Bruce for Jason's death...) This is why Bruce tried to avenge Jason and then went out every night being extremely violent and suicidal, and not Dick.

Dick did not avenge Jason and he did not try to, but that doesn't make him a bad brother. He cared deeply about Jason's death, but he is not Bruce, he is better, and that means he is also better at handling grief and not become a self-destructive bomb like Bruce was.

Avenging our loved ones is, in Batman & co's comics, demonstrated to not be the healthy way to deal with grief. Revenge isn't the healthy way to deal with lost, it will only lead to more destruction and pain. It will not bring the dead back, it will only add more bodies in the ground, and it will not heal the wounds.

[lightgamble]

DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN | 1.09

You asked me for a favor. I did it.

[sukibenders]

Me, watching some YJS fans justify what Shauna did to Mari by using clips of Mari and Jackie giggling in s1 (normal teenage girl things), or Mari speaking the truth and trying to take Jackie's jacket (even though it was the middle of winter and the group were already sharing clothes), with said fans saying that they've would've done worse to Mari in response, acting like that makes them any better:

[ulteri0rm0tives]

It's every iteration.

It's every iteration of V that will always find Johnny. Every iteration of V that Johnny grows to care about. It's every iteration of each other, in every universe, that will always find each other. They'll always become inseparable, tied together in unfathomable ways. Ways they could never truly unravel from each other in the end, no matter the end.

They'll always be destined for one another. No matter what face is worn. No matter what universe. No matter what, they're always meant to be. No matter what, the stars will always align for them, just to come crashing down from the sky.

[starry-bi-sky]

new Danyal al Ghul au just dropped! --or at least some art of it did. I call it the "Stillborn? No, no, still born" au (or stillborn just for short)

it's based off a batfam comment I saw that mentioned in the early comics Bruce knew about Talia's pregnancy and was ecstatic to be a father. So much so that Talia feared he'd give up being Batman for it, so when she gave birth she put the baby (Damian) on a doorstep and (seemingly) told Bruce that the baby was stillborn.

I saw it, thought "mm, tasty!" and thought what if that baby was Danny instead of Damian? By default I was thinking of making him a few years older, however, it works just as well with demon twins. I need to think it over. Meet Daniel Brown! 14 year old foster kid whose been with the Fentons for the last two years! He has SO many issues haha. hah. lmfao even.

Danny's theme song is literally just "Good Kid" from the Percy Jackson musical, to sum him up.

[tomwambsgans]

greg said actually i wanna take YOU out and I'M gonna pay for it

[aliusfrater]

i was originally gonna make a joke about how 'even crowley's quote unquote intervention is less violent that sam's (x2). he gets company at least <3' but the differences and similarities within these two dynamics is actually super interesting to watch back to back

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Chapter 110 is 13 pages long welcome to hell!!! so in a lot of ways this is just more fuel for a theory that I've had for a few weeks now, that's only gotten stronger with each recent season 5 episode, which is that the last episode of the season is gonna end on 110, and that Asagiri/Harukawa and Bones have been collaborating to make this happen, specifically because it's a major turning point that would be the only good place to end the season on.

When we started getting especially long chapters again (like from 25-35ish pages, with the exception of 107.5, the last two being some of the longest we've ever had), at first I just assumed that Asagiri/Harukawa got freed up from some other obligations they'd been having to cause the extremely short/half chapters, like promotional stuff for the anime/Beast movie, or working on light novels. But then 109 happened, with the "supposed" death of Dazai, and heavy emphasis at the end on how literally everyone is at their lowest point right now, and I got to thinking. 11 episodes is a strangely specific number for an anime season -- why not 12, or 13, or even 10, like you'd usually see? Why have we gotten suddenly gotten two 35 page chapters out of nowhere, that's almost unheard of at this point? They're both beautiful chapters, don't get me wrong (as always), and maybe A/H simply just didn't want to cut them in halves because they felt like the full emotional impact wouldn't hit/that there were no good cutoff points in them, but you can't deny that it's surprising, after all the shorter chapters we've been getting. Why has the anime been going at such insanely breakneck pacing for the most part ever since around the Sunday Tragedy chapters, even more so than it has in the past? So much so that it feels dangerously close to overtaking the manga?

Well, maybe, just maybe, it's because..... Asagiri decided a long time ago that whatever happens in 110 is the only point that feels "season finale"-worthy enough, in an arc that still isn't anywhere close to being completely wrapped up, and so both the manga and the anime have been specifically coordinated to reach that part within 2 and a half weeks of each other?

I've seen a lot of people now think season 5 will end with 109, and as much as my sadistic side would find that hilarious, I honestly don't think they'd do that and realistically don't want it to happen; it'd be so cruel to cliffhanger the anime for years like that, and just doesn't feel like a season cliffhanger BSD would do, a series that is ultimately hopeful and uplifting. Seasons 2 and 3 had a positive, conclusive ending; the only reasons seasons 1 and 4 didn't was because they're technically not really full seasons of their own, and are more like the first cour of another "season" that also came out that same year (seasons 1 and 2 both aired in 2016, so they're more like one big season, and seasons 4 and 5 have both aired this year, so they're also more like one big season, again taking into account how episodes 12 and 50 are not satisfying finales like episodes 24, 37, and hypothetically, 61, are). I really can't see season 5 ending with Dazai and Fukuzawa's supposed deaths, Sigma being unconscious and maybe close to death, Atsushi being vulnerable and limbless again, everyone we love still vampires, and the entire world being basically doomed; that's just too depressing and not like BSD at all. However, having said that, if it doesn't end there, there really isn't any good place to end the season before that, either, that feels in any way satisfying or like a finale at all. And so, to me, that only leaves after 109: chapter 110.

I think things are really gonna turn around next chapter. Like I said, everyone is at their lowest point right now, it cannot possibly get any worse, the framing of Dazai, Fukuzawa, and sskk at the end of 109 is telling us that; this is the time for the heroes to finally start winning again, with Aya being so close to pulling out the sword, and for all the thematic reasons other people have talked about to death that I don't need to go into here again. This upcoming chapter being so short again makes a part of me wary of 110 being "the one", so to speak, I won't lie, but at the same time, it's very possible that it needs to be that short because that's all the final episode of the season will be able to reasonably fit in, since it's already gonna be VERY close if they do make it all the way to 109. And at the end of the day, I don't doubt at all that Asagiri and Harukawa can make these the most monumental and game-changing mere 13 pages ever if they wanted to; a chapter does not at all need to be extremely long in order to be an important and impactful one, even if short ones we've gotten in the past haven't felt the most important.

An additional thought I've had, though this is much more crack territory than all this already is, is that since we know from Anime Expo that a Stormbringer movie at some point is highly likely (judging from Asagiri's reaction when someone brought it up), it's possible that chapter 110 and thus the final episode will involve the long-anticipated return of Verlaine and/or Adam, or at least some other major reference to Stormbringer, that would naturally and smoothly lead into a Stormbringer movie to explain things to people who haven't read the novel. It would make a lot of sense, especially since the s4 OP has the Old World sign behind Chuuya, which might be a hint that this has been in the works ever since seasons 4/5 were first in planning with Asagiri. We also know that Dazai and Chuuya's voice actors apparently struggled to record their lines together this season, which probably relates to 101 and possibly 109, but it could be 110 too.... I could be very wrong, as I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but I kinda doubt they would bring Chuuya's actor in for just the vampire growls, and Asagiri placing heavy emphasis on Chuuya's importance this season in that one interview gives me the impression that he's talking about much more than just 101/109. But that's the least solid evidence I have, that's just mostly based on vibes I get.

So basically, I think a lot of factors -- the unusual episode count, how close the anime is to catching up to the manga with three whole episodes left, the seemingly arbitrary recent chapter lengths, and the climactic events of 109 -- can tell us that 110 might be a very, VERY big deal. Again, there's of course no way this arc is anywhere near close to being finished, with so much left to address and resolve, but since it is currently incomplete in the manga, unlike the previously adapted arcs, if the anime was going to adapt it at all, they'd have to find a place that feels satisfying enough to end this season, knowing there won't be more anime for a long time after this, and so I think they specifically planned for that, from both Bones' and A/H's sides. 10 episodes might not have been enough to reach that point, but 12 or 13 might have been too many it wouldn't have been if Bones actually decided to slow down and let the story breathe the way it needs to, but this post isn't meant to criticize the anime, so maybe 11 was just right. And maybe Asagiri and Harukawa specifically pushed to make recent chapters longer than usual, in order to make sure that the manga reached the story content in 110 the monthly release right before season 5 was to end.

Is this just copium? Absolutely. Am I going to look like an absolute clown in two days when this post ages like milk? Probably. But the evidence is There, so let me just enjoy my delusions until Sunday, okay 🥂🫡

[incesthemes]

"their relationship is romantic" "their relationship is familial" "their relationship is platonic" you're thinking too narrow. their relationship goes beyond labels. the family is inherently queer. their platonic love is romantic. the erotic is familial. each one is the other and the other is them

[deer-with-a-stick]

I love how all of the companions' stories revolve around autonomy and I love how some of the romances show the whole "I love you for who you are"

Don't love how so many people are misinterpreting them though

[berryblooo]

We’re about to get the 1.2 update and finally learn some more about the tumultuous past between Dan Heng, Blade, Jing Yuan, and Jingliu but god if I’m not more than a little happy for the first three that they’ve found a new community and family after their previous one was lost.

Dan Heng has the Express crew.

My hope for him in the story is that he has a moment where he realizes how much they’ve come to mean to him. He’s been so focused on running from his past that maybe he forgets to cherish the present.

Jing Yuan is the general for the Luofu. The whole ship looks to him for leadership.

He’s no longer that little boy looking to his master for guidance. He has Yanqing, Fu Xuan, Yukong, Tingyun—the whole Luofu.

Blade has the Stellaron Hunters.

It can be seen as purely transactional. Blade is a useful weapon and they’ll give him what he desires: death. But the little details the story sprinkles in—Kafka calling him Bladie, him accompanying Silver Wolf to arcades—shows that there’s fondness too.

I highlighted these three specifically because I don’t know if or think that Jingliu has found something else since the quintet.

Her appearance in Yanqing’s quest leads me to believe otherwise. She and Blade are very similar—struck with Mara and having certain ways to control it, yet all the more disconnected from reality and dangerous for it.

But the crucial difference is Blade has people he can rely on. It’s clear the Stellaron Hunters take care of each other in their own unorthodox way, even if it’s just following Elio’s script.

Jingliu doesn’t.

TL;DR found family matters. Those four were once family and their most important connections, then it fell apart.

Three of them have managed to find other people in their grief and it makes all the difference.

[elizabethrobertajones]

I could be your angle... or yuor devil..,

[g0nta-g0kuhara]

you can't be a good leader, let alone an ultimate-level one, if you can't work with people or connect with them on a personal level? DICE are referred to as 'friends bordering on family' for a reason. just because he doesn't do that in game doesn't mean it's like 'oil and water'/something he's fundamentally incapable of

I meant that he's like that *in the game specifically*. Of course he's close to DICE, or else they wouldn't've been in his motive video. Hell, outside of the killing game he probably would've worked just the same with the other v3s. Its just the situation that he's in that has him acting on edge and paranoid, pushing the others away do better do what he wants in what he thinks is for their own good. And so he eschews collaboration in favour of trying to pull the strings from outside to best "lead" the others through the killing game as much as possible.

[melien]

Been a bit quiet (aside from story posts that I occasionally draft) but I've been archiving a lot of old stuff including my OG Fletcher legacy to have easy access to it in the docs (and maybe get some inspiration/thoughts for the characters who are still relevant in my verse by seeing how their original development went) and damn one of my main takeaways was that I absolutely slept on Kyle and Lyra as a couple. Now that I have a special soft spot for couples that are best friends first I see their beauty and I love them both separately and together😭