#as it is about actions and reactions

[nhaneh]

So the thing that bothers me about the terf wizard game isn’t so much the people who are just playing it, but the people who have this incessant need to defend playing it, proclaiming that it’s wrong to call people out for it.

Like sure, seeing people I have or have had some degree of trust or respect for playing the game does feel kinda disappointing, but there’s a degree of simple out of sight, out of mind - I can’t really have opinions about things I don’t know about, y’know?

But the people who insist that they should not only be allowed to play the game (which none of us had the ability to take away to begin with) but to play it without any feelings of guilt or awkward discomfort about it? Worse still, the people on twitch or whichever with the express purpose of making money from the latest big AAA release who argue that they shouldn’t have to grapple with the ethics of the situation?

No. At that point, you’re not just consuming a problematic piece of media - you’ve chosen to actively promote it, and actively reduce or even dismiss the ethical issues surrounding it. You’re not just squaring the round hole to fit the square block every block, you’re declaring the ethical matter a complete non-issue that isn’t worth considering.

And people are damn well in their rights to judge the fuck out of you for it.

[seiwas]

cw: pro-hero bakugo, reader has boobs, kind of explicit/nsfw? idk i describe boobs, reader is smaller and shorter than bakugo, unedited sawry

bakugo's muscle tee looks as ill-fitting as it'll ever be draped over you.

there are reasons for this, perfectly founded and logical reasons for why that is—the main one being that, it's, well, his; two, maybe even three sizes larger than what it should be to fit you properly.

but, he can't stop staring, and there are reasons for that too—the main one being that, it's his, and yet, the only way he can ever imagine it now is when it's being worn by you.

your hips sway to the song you've been humming for the past five minutes. it's the same one, the chorus on a perpetual loop. he's sure it's the only part you know; you do this often enough that it's the only part he knows now, too.

the hem of his tee hits right at the top of your thighs, concealing just enough to tease, but he’s confident that if you reach up even the slightest bit for the cupboard overhead, there'll be nothing to hide.

he feels a little bit like a creep like this, watching as he stands in the middle of your shared living room, but it's impossible too look away—you've got to be doing this on purpose, right?

heat flares inside of him when you turn your body ever so slightly, the armhole of his muscle tee large enough to give him the clearest view of skin—

he gulps.

it's smooth, sloping just right; the side view of your under boob curves into its perfect shape and he can imagine it, feel—

(is this considered perving if he's been with you for years?)

the pan in front of you sizzles as you plop in god knows what. you pour in something from the side and wait, one hand propped on the hip you pop out. then, you pick up the pan, attempting to flip what's inside (probably a pancake, now that he thinks about it).

it’s hard to focus on what you’re cooking though, especially when all he sees is plump flesh jiggling, bouncing as you further agitate the pan.

he just got the pants of this suit readjusted, and now they're fucking tight.

bakugo normally runs hot; it’s kind of part of his dna. but this warmth is different, flushing him from head to toe. it creeps up the side of his neck, painting the tips of his ears a blooming red.

you turn around then, plopping the pancake on the plate atop the counter behind you.

"oh! you're done," you greet him with a smile. so. fucking. casually.

as if your tits aren't fucking peaking against the gray fabric of his tee.

as if you think he buys the fake innocence poorly concealing that sly, conniving look in your pretty eyes.

as if you aren't standing in front of him in his muscle tee, wearing nothing underneath it like you didn’t do this on purpose. like you don’t know what it fucking does to him.

his eyes squint suspiciously, deep vermillion staring straight into yours.

you tilt your head, the tips of your lashes kissing the top of your cheekbones as you blink. you reach for a bottle of honey.

“everything okay?” you ask, voice syrupy, sickeningly sweet.

your movements play in front of him languidly, the corner of your lips curling up slightly as you smirk. honey catches on your finger as you pop open the bottle cap.

he’s supposed to be out the door in five minutes if he wants to make it in time for a meeting at the agency. technically, he should already be there if he wants to keep up his track record of consistently being fifteen minutes too early.

but you start to approach him, rounding the kitchen island. there’s a narrow space between him and the slab of marble, but you slide into it like it was made for you.

he’s certain it was, from the way the tip of your nose brushes against his as you tiptoe. your tits are right fucking there, brushing against the skintight material of his suit.

there’s too much fucking fabric if you ask him, between cotton and spandex.

your grin widens, and he feels hot, the heat from his cheeks radiating.

then you whisper, still saccharine, “breakfast is ready,” before kissing him on the lips lightly. a short peck, soft in the way that promises more before you slip away, giggling in your retreat.

he huffs, watching you leave. his feet shift as he thinks.

five minutes, huh?

like hell he’s going to eat these damn pancakes for breakfast today.

[buwheal]

Your hair looks excellent! It's being stubbornly stylish.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I'm sorry I let down my guard.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[pmartyr]

Just saw Furiosa in theaters again because I wanted to check out the Mr. Harley subplot/fan theory (here’s a rundown with spoilers https://www.reddit.com/r/MadMax/comments/1dg5ou3/made_a_point_to_keep_a_close_eye_on_mr_harley/) and it’s wild how obvious it is if you’re looking, while at the same time being totally not obvious if you aren’t paying attention to it. This was my 6th time watching and my first time catching any of it!!

[mollysunder]

A while back I saw someone ask if Vander would have accepted Jayce's deal to give Jinx up for Zaun. The resounding response was "No", because Vander was already put in that position (sort of), and he chose to protect his children by giving himself up, and Vander would never be in that position to begin with. Those are correct statements, but they're not relevant to the question.

The question was, if Jinx decided to escalate tensions with acts of theft and violence that brought Piltover's attention, would Vander let Jinx be sent to Stillwater? I think the chance of him saying yes is at least more than 0.

We're not talking about all the kids getting caught up in a robbery gone wrong. We're talking about an older Jinx going solo into Piltover for targeted destruction havoc. In a universe where she everyone's still alive, Piltover still exists, and her hatred for that place would still burn and grow with time. The question really was, if Jinx put Vander in the same position Silco did in the past would he decide to give her up?

For Vander, what's on the line isn't Zaunite independence for Zaun, it's the safety of his family, his friends, and the population of the Undercity against Piltover's retaliation. He'd probably have even less moves to play than Silco did at the end. Vander can't give himself up, Jinx's name has already been leaked, and he is agonizingly aware of what Piltover's capable of.

Would he try to have her sent away? Vander wasn't willing to throw someone else under the bus for the kids in the past, so would he do it for a young adult Jinx who's more responsible for her actions? Would he think Stillwater is a better alternative for Jinx who may end up getting herself killed? Maybe he can try to plead for banishment (though that seems to be reserved for Piltovans)?

The question really stuck with me because Vander was willing to kill a man he considered his brother because he went too far, what does that mean for a daughter that won't back down from her own agenda?

[brother-emperors]

ALRIGHT okay I will attempt to explain this to the best of my ability, which is currently being held together by tape and coffee

so I have a long running post philippi story focusing on the octavian-antony divorce arc conflict and it's heavily dramatized and full of dead people. it's one part historical, one part my own invention, and one part fucking around with ideas (or the lack there of) in movies about antony and cleopatra. many of which are bad! however. there is a bad one that's actually good. like, I wouldn't recommend it except that I talk about it constantly.

it's the 1953 movie, Serpent of the Nile and I have not known peace since watching it. it's one of the more interesting takes on antony and cleopatra (TO ME), and more importantly: I'm obsessed with the plot point where antony helps lucilius escape egypt to warn octavian.

this scene is partially inspired by that! this scene is partially inspired by several things, but that's the one to mention bc I haven't published any of this story except for the periodic scene I've drawn for fun so listing the rest of it will not add to this experience and also I’m very sleepy right now

the egyptian wall backgrounds in the first page and the last page are of a tomb wall painting, the third page uses an illustration of the death of antony for shakespeare's antony and cleopatra, and on the second page is actually my own painting of antony and cleopatra after giambattista pittoni's painting of antony, cleopatra, and the famous pearl incident

additionally, that last page. the floor. that's a relief commemorating the battle of actium. I'd been reading about depictions of actium and it is. intriguing, especially since my first thought wrt to all of that is usually abt the bodies in the water and how they'll never be buried or antony's parthian fuck up setting the stage for all of this.

also this specifically. fascinating.

Representations and Re-presentations of the Battle of Actium, Barbara Kellum

[yumaisbored]

caps lock STAYED on when mxtx was writing Qi Rong’s dialogue

[httpiastri]

Accidentally cutting him while he’s shaving and you’re near tears because you feel so bad but he’s so sweet about it

omfg 🫠🫠 im….

i imagine it's one of the first times you help him out and so you're still not really used to it. it's all going smooth and you think you're finally starting to get the hang of it, when suddenly you hear him suck in a breath. the reaction is enlarged by 1000 in your head because in reality he barely even reacts and there's barely even a little drop of blood, but to you it's like you gave him a full on stab wound in his chest… pepe just looks himself in the mirror and goes "oh" before wetting a towel and cleaning himself up. but you freeze, just blinking up at him and feeling your pulse increase instantly because… you just made him bleed…..

he doesn't even notice your reaction at first – because, again, it's not a big deal to him – but when he does, his eyes soften as they land on him and he instantly cups your cheeks in his hands. he's very "what's wrong? hey, it's alright – i'm not even bleeding anymore! don't cry, please, seeing you in tears hurts more than the cut…" and all kinds of words of comfort just to calm you down :( and then he has to promise you like 10 times that he indeed is alright and give you 100 little kisses to make you feel good again 🥺

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

and if i said that i’m on lip’s side in season 4?

[novantinuum]

me as a teenager watching doctor who (2005) episode one: yeah, sure, i would Absolutely drop everything to time travel with a complete stranger, who the hell wouldn't?

me as a grown ass adult watching doctor who (2005) episode one: oh my god, yeah, yeah- time travel and all that, whatever- but is anyone going to comfort this poor man?? look at him, rose PLEASE, he's quivering and traumatized please help him

[forgetme-eternally-blissfully]

The White Star learns that Cale Henituse transmigrated from a body that he stole. He learns that the person inside Cale Henituse lived with the same curse that the White Star has to.

“Cale Henituse,” the White Star sneers, “or should I address the person inside of Cale Henituse?” Cale stiffens. What is this crazy bastard saying now?

“Yes, the man inside of Cale Henituse. How did my curse feel?” He shouldn’t know this information, but he does, Cale realizes. He has an informant on a god’s level. Raon flinches at these words, and Choi Han levels a deadly stare at the White Star. Oddly, Cale thinks, the blood draining from his face, it feels like he’s glaring at him. Cale doesn’t know why but it feels like he made a mistake somewhere down the line.

“You know the one. I’m sure all of your friends do too at this point as well. Was it fun? You must’ve lost your parents, or even been abandoned? Abused? Did everyone you care about die in a horrible accident?” Cale struggles against the sparking Records, trying to keep his mind on the White Star. In a way, Cale has experienced it all.

The past is the past.

“Raon, he’s stalling.” Cale whispers as quietly as he can, and Raon silently sends out the message to everyone. They need to be prepared. The White Star wouldn’t reveal this knowledge for no reason.

“Cale Henituse, you lived terribly, didn’t you? Yes, you must’ve been pathetic. No wonder you’re like this… You cling onto everyone you know but keep them at arms length, never daring to let the little bug within you know what counts as love, and what counts as use.” The White Star drifts closer, threateningly, and everyone flinches into position. Their eyes are shaking.

“You whiny bitch.” The White Star flinches, pausing in the air. “Do you think that’s how I lived? Is that how you see my actions?” Cale scoffs in disgust.

He’s wrong.

I took everything I could until everyone was gone.

I was selfish.

“We are nothing alike. We are not the same. You may be a disgusting liar, but at least I’m honest trash.”

I barely care about anything because it was always taken away. I don’t care about things because I don’t remember how.

“White Star, do you know what the difference between us is?”

Two similar existences stare at each other.

“Cale Henituse, stop rambling,” the White Star frowns.

Cale rushes at the White Star suddenly, grabbing onto his arm. Before he can shake him off, Cale whispers.

“I’ll tell it to you as a secret.”

Confident as ever, the White Star humors him. Cale whispers even quieter.

“You knew how to care before you chose to lose everything…”

“… While I never had the chance.”

An explosion erupts from their location.

Cale coughs up blood, smiling at the dour expression of his enemy.

“You throw everything away, but I hold everything as close as I’m allowed. As close as I’ve ever able to hold anything.”

Cale drops his expression, glaring up at the disgusting person in front of him.

“Just out of arms reach.”

The White Star launches an attack, and the fight begins again.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Broken Roofs and Fixed Perspectives

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[thatswhatsushesaid]

Honestly the empathy sequence makes NMJ kinda strike me as an entitled/abusive parental figure. Maybe I'm just drawing paralels that aren't there, but:

Feeling entitled to JGY's time and attention? He interrupts his conversations with LXC (twice, I think), one of said times because he was eavesdropping on them AND got angry about JGY expressing fear to LXC IN PRIVATE

Not letting JGY explain himself/ not listening when he tries. At the point of the staircase scene NMJ has been poisoned to hell and back by baxia, but I do believe it's not just that. He sees his moral code as absolute certainty and his inflexible nature makes it that he doesn't take well to deviance from that. Aka has to get his way or gets Angry

I think NMJ was an absolute idiot to let JGY ppay clarity for hin after the staircase thing! That draws more into the paralel because abusive people often hurt others and then act like nothing happened, as if their target doesn't have the right to be upset (see again: qi deviating over JGY expressing fear to LXC). NMJ does this to a degree that paints him as almost oblivious imo

I actually do quite like NMJ but he's. So many shades of fucked up, Christ alive

i am going to proceed cautiously here for several reasons, but primarily because:

i have been drawn into the "is nmj an evil abuser" discourse once before on discord (in defence of da-ge, believe it or not) and i Did Not Enjoy It At All, Actually, and

while i think the behaviour described above absolutely qualifies as abusive, nmj's intentions also matter, and i don't think what nmj is trying to do can be boiled down to simply exerting coercive control over jgy. initially on the hejian front when he eavesdrops on meng yao and lan xichen, he wants to help him; the second time he eavesdrops, it's because he straight up views jgy as a threat, and decides to kill him because of it.

imo their dynamic is dysfunctional and toxic and is a powder keg set to explode essentially from the moment nmj sees meng yao killing the jin commander on the langya front, but i think calling it abusive is an over-simplification of what is going on between them.

that said, i do think there is a character in the novel canon who nmj repeatedly tries to exert coercive control over, who is fully and unquestionably under his authority and influence, and who he treats with wildly vacillating levels of either patience or explosive anger depending on the canon point, and that character is nie huaisang.

[asha-mage]

Anaiya nodded. "We understand your reasons for disliking Elaida, even hating her. We do understand. But we must think of the Tower and the world. I confess I do not like Elaida myself. But then I have never liked Siuan either. It is not necessary to like the Amyrlin Seat. There is no need to glare so Siuan. You have had a file for a tongue since you where a novice and it has only roughened with the years. And as Amyrlin you pushed sisters where you wanted and only seldom explained why. The two do not make for a very likeable combination."

-The Fires of Heaven, Chapter 27: The Practice of Diffidence

Re-reading The Fires of Heaven has made me increasingly confident in the show's read of Siuan's character being book accurate (an opinion I originally articulated here). I always encourage re-reads of the books, but I would very much encourage re-reading The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven specifically if you are doubting the choices the team made in episode 7.

Cause the thing is, Siuan's central character flaw- the one Anaiya is trying to gently cite above, the one on heavy display all throughout both books via Siuans treatment of those around her, is her complete lack of trust paired with a willingness to force and browbeats others into doing what she thinks is best.

It is, ironically, a trait she shares with Rand- both are unafraid to use their power (physical, magical, political- what have you) to make others obey, and both also are unwilling to demonstrate trust and good faith out of a fear of showing weakness. It's something born inherently of their shared insecurities about their respective positions of power- Siuan's young rise to the Seat and the fact that she is carrying on her conspiracy with Moiraine and Rand's belief that he isn't strong enough/good enough/hard enough to be the Dragon Reborn alongside the tendency of the people he cares about to get hurt or have their lives ruined by simple proximity to him.

Throughout both The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven Siuan uses primarily tactics drawn form the same playbook that would later also lead Rand to disaster in the back half of the series: she comes to view those under charge more for their value to her agenda then as people she should be looking after, forcing Min to remain in the Tower against her will, refusing to make any effort to console or reassure those who care about Elayne (Gawyn, Galad, Morgase) that she is well, and engaging in many actions because their are expedient without regard for their moral implications (ordering Mazrim Taim's execution without trial, lying about Logain being set up by the Red Ajah, manipulation Logain so he has no choice but to follow along with her plan). And I don't think it's a mistake that many of those actions either lead to, or directly follow, Siuan's downfall in the Tower.

In fact, Siuan begins to make the turn in her character after encountering Mistress Tharne, which largely sets in motion Siuan's character arc for the remainder of the series: realizing that she can not force the word to conform to her will, not least of all because she is no longer the most powerful woman on the planet, but more over because it's wrong. Mistress Tharne's rough treatment of Siuan, her complete lack of respect or deference, is a wake call to Siuan that gives her empathy and understanding of the way she treated others when she held power. Much of her arc there after is about emphasizing that point, first as a stilled woman serving Aes Seadi, then as a restored but drastically weakened Aes Sedai.

In this way Siuan gets a taste of what it's like to be on the other side- forced and expected to obey, constantly fighting against a system rigged against her from the start, meant to keep her out of circles of power and away from the ability to make decisions as a woman who can not channel, and then as a Aes Sedai who does not stand high enough in the hierarchy. More over it gives her perspective on why things like the Oaths and the Tower's traditions matter- on the ways the Oaths protect ordinary people and the way Tower traditions like 'staying out of the business of other Aes Sedai' and 'respect secrets of individual sisters and Ajahs' help keep Aes Sedai working together and functional. But it's really her friendships, which she is able make on now even terms, with Nynaeve and Egwene, that help her gain empathy and understanding, and in particular allows her (via her mentorship of Egwene) to try and positively influence the Tower's future via reforms to make it more equitable, less mired and fractious and cracked.

As Amylrin, we're told, Siuan ruled by playing one faction in the Tower against another, widening the cracks between Ajahs and within them so that no one was able to effectively oppose her and her agenda- that is until someone came along who could rally support, to take advantage of those simmering frustrations and angers in order tear her down. But that person, Elaida, shared many of her faults and few of her virtues- instead of playing one faction against and brow beating, Elaida (with the Shadow's help) turned the Tower into armed camps ready to lash out at each other. Siuan's tendency (often cited by even herself) to send sisters to do penance on farms for opposing or annoying her, became Elaida using the same tool to humiliate and punish her enemies and using edicts to demote them to Accepted for being weak, and Siuan's precedent for keeping secrets and working around the Hall became Elaida plotting to kidnap Rand and 'make him supple' via Galina's embassy.

And it's a neat closing of the circle, the kind Jordan really likes to play with, that Siuan's redemption for this is her training of the woman who will replace both her and Elaida. Someone who will actually fulfill both women's ambitions of leading the Tower in the last battle- Egwene. Siuan's justice against Elaida is to help prepare an Amyrlin that will be more then either she or Elaida ever could- someone who will be free of their faults, who will be able to unite the Tower as both women dreamed of doing but never could- who can guide Rand and bind the nations to him, who can serve as a general of the Light strong enough to balance the worst of the Shadow. Siuan teaches Egwene how not to do the things she did, to fall into the traps that brought her down- the arrogance, the pride, the domineering, the compromises with her own morals- and it's that teaching which, in part, gives Egwene the ability to persuade the Tower that still saw her as a Novice....to raise her to Amyrlin of it's own accord.

Siuan still should have been allowed to kill Elaida though instead of the Suffa stuff, I will die on that hill.

[everythingisconfetti]

Like yes, it's hilarious that Pike, a level 20 cleric of Sarenrae, describes herself as a baker. but also- the fact that she can do that. that life has become such that if all she wants to do is make cookies and decorate her house with knick knacks and paintings of her friends- she can. Because god, have they earned it. It's in Pike's baking. In Percy's clocktower. In Vex, teaching her children to hunt for the sport of it, not because they need it to survive. It's in Whitestone, flourishing, alive.

So really- can Percy be blamed, for demanding Delilah isn't given the chance to return, with his young daughter right there? And Vex, Pike- their willingness to help, to even give a maybe, in the face of all that maybe could mean? To hold the weight of the past and of everything they have built since and still say yes, we'll try?

There's guilt there, yes, and a feeling of responsibility, but it's also looking at these people who just love their friend so much. And it's knowing what it's like to lose someone you love like that, the lengths you'll go- the lengths they have gone- to fix that. So they look at Imogen, at all the Hells, and they look at Laudna, in all she represents, in all she might be, and they say okay. We'll try. What an incredibly selfless choice.