#take that into consideration

[lovesick-x-prince]

Also, go read the Webtoon 'School Bus Graveyard' right now if you haven't before. Even if you don't normally read Webtoons, I'm begging you, it's so good...

[archangelgabriellives]

Obligatory eclipse ask! I think maybe he needs to take Sam on a fabulous date to the best view possible

*april 9 2024*

there is no way that gabriel would let sam watch this eclipse in any other way than 1000% over the top. sitting on the hood of a car? wearing those little paper glasses?? no. that is how the rest of the populus can “enjoy” this eclipse. sam is dating an angel. a freakin ARCHANGEL! Gabriel is going all out. jusst a touch of his grace and sam is the only human on the planet who doesn't need flimsy cardboard glasses to see the moon move across the sun. a snap of his fingers and sam is being hand fed his favorite snacks. by gabriel of course. a flap of his wings and they can watch the eclipse from any place they want. and no sam. you're not going to the civic center in lebanon. i don't care how many of the old ladies in town invite you to bingo. you don't owe them your gorgeous face. let your boyfriend spoil you. theres a secluded cabin in the smokey mountains that has his name all over it. there isn't another human for miles. the view is unobstrucked and the clouds have mysteriously blown overto reveal the bluest spring sky of the year. 

there is a blink and you'd miss it moment where gabriel thinks sam has a bit of panic during totality. when the sun vnishes behind the moon it gets dark. unnaturally dark. the cold rolls up fast and its like you're in another world. gabriel can see sams face pinch at the edges, fear creeping in like the ice cold of the cage, and the faint cackle of archangels rattling around in his mind. it takes only a touch to pull him back, warm grace covering sam like a blanket. protecting sam from the things that haunt him. the hunter sighs, fingers intertwining with gabriels. it only takes another moment for the light to start to return. for sam to loosen his grip slightly and tug gabriel into his lap. he takes advantage of the mock twilight and their lips meet in a tender kiss. 

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

I had these weird recurring dreams I had in middle school that I mostly forgot but kept using as fuel for melodramatic daydreams where I was a secret agent slowly dying by poisoning or just me, a kid, dying slowly of brain cancer and it took me like most of a year to figure out that the reason all those angsty middle schooler daydream scenarios I was playing out in my head in the car or in bed at night had a strange edge of deja vu to them because they'd started out as barely remembered dreams. I think it clicked when I was sitting in an airport waiting to board a redeye flight to visit family. there's a certain feeling about sitting in an airport when it's dark out and you're tired. everything is a little bit off. it's a liminal space by definition but as a kid it has a strange melancholy to it that somehow I felt like I'd felt before, and it scared me. it wouldn't get out of my head. I didn't know it them but I was about to spend that entire trip, nearly two weeks, locked in that strange melancholy deja vu darkness. and the thing is that a part of me enjoyed it. was compelled by it. I was scared but it wasn't in a bad way. I called it bad dreams because I didn't have any other words to explain why it made me nervously excited to daydream my own death. it was a feeling of mystery, almost, and bittersweet. but the sweet in that word comes at the end. it was melancholy and I felt like I'd been there before and would die in that feeling. but I always wanted to know more about it. always wondered about the strange recurring dreams and imaginary worlds they sparked. there was always something fascinating about those to me. it always struck something in my emotions that nothing else really can.

and that's what listening to Circa Survive feels like to me

[slightlyartist]

Alex Hirsch did this to every character but McGucket was his personal punching bag for real

[thejhambs]

none of you understand the core theme of MDZS, because it tackles a fundamentally unpleasant subject. How debt is coercive, abusive, and corrodes a relationship, even if it might seem like it makes people tied to you. There's a reason that WWX's love confession contains a disclaimer about how his love for LWJ is not because he is indebted to him. There's a reason LWJ does not confess, or push WWX for a relationship. WWX is hypersensitive to the debts he owes, whether to the Jiangs, to the Wens, or even to Jin Ling. LWJ does not want a relationship where WWX feels the need to repay him. Thus, "no sorries, or thank yous between us".

Honestly, the reason a lot of people don't understand this theme is because they are stuck on the idea that WWX owes someone something, anything, they think his sensitivity to debt is something to be encouraged. But, it's not a good thing, and it eats away at him, bit by bit. That's the story of his first life. LWJ is his reward, essentially, and represents freedom from debt, a love that does not contain the subtle and corrosive coercion of debt

[girbirty]

house and wilson smoking weed together but wilson has a panic attack for no reason and house is The Same As Usual

[scriblesandbits]

They had a nice long conversation about everything once the game was over trust me

[sea-beam]

let me dream

[rhinestonesox]

Half-foots are highly discriminated against in the world of dungeon meshi.

They have a difficult time living in places outside of their own territories because places where larger races live aren’t built for their size and crowds can be dangerous.

they’re the least valued race by long lived races because their life spans are the shortest out of all the races. this means that they’re dehumanized and often considered disposable. their superior senses make other races use them as “lures” when hunting succubi/mermaids (usually dying in the process).

They’re often mistaken for/treated like children because of their appearances, and because of this they have a difficult time getting jobs because it’s assumed that they’re immature/can’t handle it.

Because of this, when living outside of Half-foot territories they’re forced to get money by any means necessary (often resorting to crime), so other races stereotype them as “cunning” “greedy” and “manipulative”.

On top of that, members of long lived races who tend to fetishize them.

Even the name “Half-foot” is discriminatory.

Ryoko Kui does a fantastic job at world building.

But even after all of that, im not gonna stop talking about how bad i wanna put Chi Chi in my pocket.

[athi816]

Thinking about how Yoo Joonghyuk learned to love the stars because of Kim Dokja.

After centuries, millennia, of vowing to break the sky (direct reference to his sword and transcendent skills btw) and destroy every constellation, Yoo Joonghyuk began looking up for comfort and security. So much so that he achieved the ‘Stargazing Lvl. 10’ skill.

Not only that, but Yoo Joonghyuk went into space for Kim Dokja, surrounded by nothing but stars for a century. Looking at Biyoo’s human form, he described her eyes as ‘starry’ and found them beautiful (also likening them to Kim Dokja’s).

Something, something, to be loved is to be changed…

[danadiadea]

I absolutely can't get over the fact Albus brought a fucking 21yo traumatised child to teach a dangerous obligatory subject and be a head of House. With some of his students being 18. He was a 21yo responsible for teaching and managing 18yo people. And Snape totally did it. He actually nailed it. Snape's house (that kinda just lost the war, in fact) started to win the house cup when Snape was 24 and kept the streak going for 7 (8 if we are fair and don't give Harry and Co points for breaking the rules) years.

I am so proud of him, you don't even understand.

[lauraneedstochill]

if I see one more post about Aegon “bullying Aemond his entire life”, I will go fucking ballistic, I swear to g—

scratch that, I will actually go ballistic right now. this is the “Aegon doesn’t deserve such a shitty treatment” club and I’m the self-proclaimed CEO. we are about to do some analyzing and reading so BUCKLE UP.

gonna make one thing clear first — Aemond was bullied when he was a child. no one denies that, no excuses can be made for that. I’d only like to note that there wasn’t only one bully. here’s a quick reminder:

now that we successfully counted to three, let’s look over Aegon’s other horrible crimes relationship with Aemond throughout the years.

📍 the night Aemond lost his eye (S1EP7), Rhaenyra suggests he should be “sharply questioned” (she means tortured) so they can learn who told him that her sons were bastards. Viserys, in his perpetual denial, angrily asks Aemond “who spoke these lies” to which he replies that it was Aegon. it is clear that Aemond does that to deflect suspicion from their mother but his words come as a surprise to Aegon.

he’s in a tough spot — Viserys demands the answers “as their king”, not their father (to signify his authority and pressure them into telling the truth). and Alicent screamed in Aegon’s face and slapped him just a minute ago, so he may be less eager to defend her. he can easily lie and say that he overheard some maids gossiping or that he can’t remember where the rumor came from. instead, it takes Aegon about 5 seconds to back Aemond up.

📍 we didn’t get many scenes with young Aegon and Aemond in general, but here’s a short bit people keep overlooking: when Harwin and Criston start fighting, Aemond and Aegon instantly gravitate toward each other. and moreover, Aegon puts a hand over Aemond’s back (which to me is either a protective or a comforting gesture). what a horrible brother, truly.

📍 next we see them all grown up before dinner in S1EP8. I think it’s safe to assume that if Aegon has been bullying Aemond all these years, Aemond wouldn’t want to spend a second in his company. he’s seated between Helaena and Otto, both of whom are dear to him, so Aemond can stay at the table and chat with them. and YET, not only does Aemond voluntarily talks to Aegon, but their conversation seems friendly (you can barely hear it in the show so here’s the enhanced audio). Aemond makes a joke about Aegon’s drinking habits — Aegon quips back — and then, what a shocker! Aemond starts venting his frustrations to Aegon (“Even when the noose is so tight, they expect us to break bread”). nothing would’ve stopped him from venting to Otto but Aemond stays with Aegon. he wouldn’t have done that if there hadn’t been some level of trust between them. he wouldn’t have done that if he hated Aegon’s guts.

📍 at dinner, when Aegon pisses Jace off and the brunet springs to his feet, Aemond stands up too, which forces Jace to act as if nothing happened and come up with a toast. Aegon watches him with a shit-eating grin on his face. it’s the face that screams “I know you won’t dare to act up in front of my brother and my brother has my back”.

when Aemond makes a toast and calls Rhaenyra’s sons “strong”, Aegon raises a cup to that. he can sit this one out — Aemond has his personal vendetta against the boys, and it would be safer for Aegon not to meddle. but what does he do instead? when Luke gets up from the table (clearly intending to go to Aemond), Aegon instantly stands up, comes up to Luke and not just stops him but slams his face into the table right in front of Rhaenyra without thinking twice. and it doesn’t look like Aegon is just messing with him — no, it looks like he wanted to do that for a while. like Aegon finally got his chance to stand up for his brother too. AND he also stops Baela from joining the fight.

📍 S1EP9 is when we get a glimpse of Aemond’s ambitions: he deems himself better than Aegon, he thinks he deserves to be king. but once he finds Aegon and they get into a fight, it turns out that Aegon knows that Aemond is a better choice. he doesn’t want to fight him, he begs Aemond to let him go. and Aemond can do that — Criston has his back to them, so Aemond could’ve pretended that Aegon managed to break free. and even once they caught Aegon, I have no doubt that Aemond could’ve helped him escape. but it seems that, despite his displeasure, Aemond values his family the most. he can’t betray his mother’s trust, and he knows Aegon is the first in line to the throne. Aemond envies him, yes, he may even hate him because of that. but he values his family the most.

📍 as @florisbaratheons noted, during the coronation scene, when Aegon glances at his family, Aemond looks right at him and gives that tiny nod that says “I may hate this and think I am better for the job as king. But I’ve got your back.” I like that Aemond is the one who keeps eye contact in that scene. He could’ve turned away to signal his dissatisfaction with the situation, there wouldn’t have been any consequences for that. But he didn’t.

📍 what I find interesting about S1EP10 is the beginning of Aemond’s dialogue with Luke. that’s the boy Aemond wished to get back at for years and yet, he starts by saying “Did you think that you could just fly about the realm trying to steal my brother’s throne at no cost?”. Aemond could’ve skipped that part — imagine him saying smth along the lines of “Wait, Lord Strong! Don’t you think you and I have other matters to discuss?” (to which Luke answers that he doesn’t want to fight and the conversation goes on). instead, Aemond makes a point to remind Luke: my brother is the king, and I came here on his behalf. you can argue that Aemond doesn’t do it for Aegon specifically but for his family in general. but Aegon is a part of the family, and S1 Aemond has his priorities straight.

📍 as much as I hate comparing the show and the book (these are two different things and should be viewed as such), I’d like to remind you that Aegon was the only one who stood by Aemond’s side after Luke’s death. I wonder why we didn’t get that scene… I guess it’s because it would be kinda hard to call Aegon “the main bully” after he literally throws Aemond a feast. but we do get to see Aegon supporting his brother: in S2EP1 he welcomes Aemond at the small council meeting despite his mother’s protests (“Aemond is my closest blood and my best sword”). and he trusts Aemond wholeheartedly, that much is obvious.

📍 let’s get to the most controversial part — the brothel scene in S2EP3: some people believe Aegon is being a bully at that moment. those people seem to forget one little detail:

it’s been only a few days after the death of Aegon’s son whose murder was a direct result of Aemond’s ruthless actions. does Aemond ever address it? does he express his condolences? does he mayhaps help to catch the killers, being the skilled fighter that he is? the answer is NO.

I do think Aegon’s joke was cruel (I wrote a whole post about it) but that’s all it ever was — a JOKE. the humiliation comes not from the things he says but from the fact that Aemond is found in a vulnerable position and surrounded by a group of strangers while his brother laughs at him. TGC explained it best:

I also love @notbloodraven’s take on that scene:

Aegon lashing out so cruelly at Aemond seems to be an effort in making Aemond feel as badly as he does and blaming him for Jaehaerys without actually saying the words.

would this be the right way to act? no. but there’s no right way to grieve and to cope with the loss — and HIS SON WAS BEHEADED so maybe take 1% of the sympathy you show your favorite character(s) and cut Aegon some slack.

+ other things worth talking about:

📍 @bietrofastimoff23 analyzed S2EP3 beautifully and I can’t help but mention the scene that happens before Aegon goes to the brothel. it’s the moment when Larys suggests that Alicent and Aemond are plotting against Aegon. he isn’t surprised by the idea that his mother can do that — but the second his brother is mentioned, Aegon’s face falls and he shakes his head no. because there is no way Aemond would ever do that to him. and instead of asking for any proof, he asks Larys “who spreads these lies?” and then commands him to “tend to them.” Aegon can ask him to spy on Aemond, to find any dirt on him, find any weaknesses he can use — he does not.

📍 it turns out to be true — Aemond was plotting behind his brother’s back. which is treason btw (I don’t think Criston intended to keep things from Aegon — he probably believed that Aemond would let Aegon in on their plan). and Aegon does have the power to remind Aemond of his place — he can throw him off the council with a snap of his fingers, he can take offense at Aemond’s attempt to publicly humiliate him (their conversation in High Valyrian — Ewan himself calls it a “public execution”). but that’s not what happens: as TGC phrased it, Aemond’s betrayal “breaks a bit of Aegon’s heart off”. an actual bully would’ve immediately pushed back, but Aegon silently sits down and doesn’t argue, he’s so defeated he can’t utter a word. he has the means to be a bully but he doesn’t contemplate it for a second.

📍 I don’t want to talk about S2EP6 because it makes me sick but I will reiterate one thing: never ONCE Aegon made fun of Aemond’s disability or tried to cause him any physical harm. just want to point that out.

there is no moral to this story, I guess. if you managed to read till the very end, thank you. if you still hate Aegon, that’s your opinion and you are allowed to have one — but please, for the love of god, just stop making shit up. no, Aemond was NOT bullied as an adult, absolutely nothing suggests that he was. Aegon was naive to blindly trust him and it backfired on him, that’s the actual story. and if you are so eager to hold Aegon accountable for his mistakes, maybe it’s time for Aemond to take responsibility for his actions too.

+ some of my favorite critical posts about Aegon and Aemond: x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x.

P.S. I will not argue with anyone so please don’t waste your time — I consider all my arguments solid and that’s enough for me. if you are thinking of sending me anon hate, pls go take a walk instead, it will do you more good. 🌿

[bakedbananners]

I really appreciate the way Momo immediately takes initiative in times of crisis. Usually you get that from a masculine character, especially in a shonen series, but when a girly gyaru says she’s gonna do a psychic heart massage on a dead person with her hands literally tied behind her back I’m like wow girls can do anything

[wolfertinger666]

btw i do NOT feel like a bad person for telling people to fuck off cuz they are actively transphobic to me and hide behind their transphobia with accusations that I "fetishsize" transmasc people

[dollopole]

“But we need to find you some kind of disguise, you’re too conspicuous in those clothes.”

“Whatever you say, I’m entirely in your hands.”

Okay.

This is their reaction after, btw.

[lesiasmadness]

This is still my favourite bit of PL dialogue ever