#avoiding shame

[littlebellesmama]

Why “I Told You So” Isn’t Something I Want to Say to My Toddler

There are so many things we think about as parents—how to raise kind, confident, resilient kids, how to keep our cool on little sleep, how to be present even when the day feels stretched too thin. One small phrase I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is “I told you so.” It might seem harmless, even natural, but it’s one of those things I’ve decided I don’t want to say to my toddler. I talked to…

[eruhamster]

There have been multiple times where I've seen people are like "haha Hua Cheng made up a story about being kicked out so Xie Lian would take him in haha so silly" so I just wanted to point this out.

He was quoting himself from when he was a little boy.

He was scared to just outright say who he was, but he kept trying to jog Xie Lian's memory (though ofc being a ghost with a photographic memory, he may not have remembered that normal people don't remember things from 800 years ago). He was constantly quoting himself. He showed Xie Lian the palm of his hand with the intention that Xie Lian see his totally fucked up fate and realize who he is.

To be honest... Hua Cheng doesn't really lie to Xie Lian. He lies by omission sometimes, but he does not outright lie. And I feel like people are missing something by apparently not being aware that Hua Cheng was trying to tell Xie Lian who he was, without telling him.

That's why he started trembling and laughing when Xie Lian recalled the story of the suicidal boy that Xie Lian told 'live for me!' - The entire time, he thought Xie Lian forgot about him. Until then.

[theokusgallery]

Little pet project of a human AU

The comic above is from they were 14-15, they're 19-20 here

[human-rocket]

angsty sketch

[aardvaark]

objectively the funniest thing you could say before having a whole season (redemption s2) focus on something you did so terribly wrong that it still has serious repercussions decades later.

[raavenb2619]

Examples include Star Trek (2009) where Uhura kisses Spock after Vulcan is turned into a black hole, and multiple occasions in Heartstopper Season 3 (which inspired this poll).

[amygdalae]

Did anyone else constantly zone out throughout their entire childhood + most of their teen years as a means of dealing with constant overstimulation and anxiety and then only once they reached adulthood truly appreciated the importance of like. Paying closer attention to their surroundings and not just auto following the nearest loved one like an NPC

[daemon-in-my-head]

One thing about Gortash that keeps bugging me is his desire to share power.

Because obviously, that's a great deal right? That's something special right? A tyrannical fascist geniunely wanting to share power with an old companion? Of all people? An old companion who fell from grace, yet Gort's still devoted to them? Isn't this, moral depravity aside, a great testament to their kinship and all that?

I mean that's certainly one way to read it right? But there's something else about that proposition, somethings leaving a bit of a sour aftertaste here, namely the near impossible level of power imbalance going on.

Gortash knows Durge intimately well. He flaunts that fact immediately and does not care about the repercussions his old companion may face due to the dirty laundry being aired publicly (if he's not looking forward to them outright, that may be their own version of flirting though tbf). Anyway, he knows their name, skills, past, and presumed motivations; they were incredibly close before the incident, and yet he hardly talks about that, brushes it off by saying "I missed you—anyway heres the issues I'm facing rn". He teases that he knows them enough to draw intrigue, but he never follows up, holding that knowledge and the answers Durge wants above their head. He uses their oath as an excuse, that they promised each other not to get involved into each other's messes, that he couldn't do shit, and then immediately asks them to get involved in his mess and sort it out for him cuz all of a sudden the oath not to get involved apparently doesn't apply anymore.

Like, yes, it seems like a "good deal" and something positive at first glance, and yes, he's not lying through his teeth but he's still withholding a shit ton of information on purpose and twisting the narrative to suit him more than anyone else. Instead of truly welcoming back someone who's been missing for months and helping them out a bit, that mf dispatches them to do his dirty work for him and promises shared reign alongside something as mundane as the chance to gain knowledge about themselves as a reward, yk the thing Durge really would like rn. AND considering Durge's notes and depending on what choices you make, sharing power would be more so Durge being merciful than smth Gortash can actually decide or propose (the balls he has for still trying though—sees a murderous demigod that can't remember they liked him once and decides to be a cocky bitch anyway).

Eitherway, he wants to share power. He might even mean it, but he's not willing to actually divulge information concerning anything 'Durge' and instead dangles the fact that he knows them above their head. He wants to share power, but only if Durge is blindly loyal to him and does not question his approach. After all sending the amnesiac gore baby to find their sister in a city and temple they can't remember whatsoever all by themselves isn't particularly efficient or smart but a damn suicide mission. And then he doesn't even provide any aid. He's willing to share power only if he gets to keep his control over the situation and Durge, and one way to confirm that is by sending the Bhaalspawn after their own family with no help nor information (either they come back and he'll be sure they still do as demanded or they'll die down there and thats that, Gortash probably). And only then is he actually willing to share power. Handily also without revealing any further information whatsoever, he's just using platitudes and buttering up to the bloody Bhaalspawn, never actually sharing any information regarding their shared past or what Durge was up to.

In conclusion, Gortash wants to share power the same way a king let's a dagger dangle from his belt while he sits on his throne. He doesn't actually want an equal right now. If he did he would not be doing everything to tip the scales in his favour and blatantly change the topic and refuse to disclose more information than necessary, information regarding the person he "missed so dearly". What he says sounds nice but what he's actually doing is trying to control Durge. This ain't rly about a shared reign or the likes, this is more so getting Durge to blindly tag along while concealing their past for reasons one can only speculate (did they fight, did someone betray the other, why is Gortash so unwilling to share any solid information?).

This escalated but you get my gist.

[fancy-rock-dove]

Since I’ve seen multiple people unclear on this in posts/comments today, thought I’d do my tiny, two-cent part to reiterate that

Original fiction is absolutely allowed on AO3

And the new TOS spotlight is in no way refuting or changing that.

If you’re posting it on AO3, odds are it’s drawing on fannish tropes, conventions, and/or paradigms, even if the plot and characters and whatever else are your own.

What they don’t want on AO3 are things that aren’t even works, like fic lists or prompts or reaction live-blogging.

[marcspectrr]

Obsessed with their body language in this entire scene

[innerchorus]

are there differences between shapul and esfan? theyre the same character to me.

It took me a while to figure out how I wanted to respond to this mainly because it sounds like something my partner would say to antagonise me but let me give it my best shot.

I do think there are some differences between them (and I will of course mention those in this post) but I think it's more interesting to answer this question by looking at why these two characters are so alike, and specifically why the fact that they are so alike doesn't mean they are merely cardboard cutouts of each other and is vital to understanding them as characters.

First, while Shapur created a strong impression and is an important character to myself and many others, it's worth noting that he appears in relatively few scenes in the manga. That's enough to glean some info about what he's like as a character, but we don't get to spend as much time with him as we do with the main cast. Maybe that's part of why you feel this way.

We do, however, get to see a bit more of his younger brother, Isfan.

When you say that Shapur and Isfan are so alike they seem the same to you, my first response is pretty much "well, what did you expect, given the circumstances?". It's clear from the outset that Isfan wishes to follow in his brother's footsteps.

Here he is in Chapter 59, freshly arrived in Peshawar.

Straight away we learn he wants to avenge his brother's death and offer his service to Prince Arslan in his brother's stead.

From Chapter 64, right before his fight with Gieve.

Here we learn that not only did Shapur save Isfan, he actually taught him. The novels even mention that 'while his brother served as a military general in the royal capital, Isfan became an agent of the royal capital and stayed in his hometown to guard it,' so even before we meet him in the manga, Isfan was stepping into a role that had previously been occupied by his brother, a role that Shapur had trained him for.

It's very clear that Isfan looks up to his brother, idealises him and aspires to be the kind of person he was, not just in a military sense but also sharing his morals, viewing loyalty to one's country and protecting the weak as far more important than riches (as stated in Book 12 of the novels, this is something Shapur said that Isfan adheres to as well). Is it such a surprise that after being so closely taught by Shapur and clearly modelling himself on him, Isfan seems so like his older brother?

That's really why I think saying they're 'the same character' feels reductive, because the reasons why they are so similar tell you so much about them.

And despite Shapur appearing in only a few scenes before his death, the same thing works in reverse. When we meet Isfan, we also learn more about Shapur. I don't think there's any need to list it all as that's not really what your question was aimed at, but I hope you understand my point.

The two brothers do seem to share character traits (they can be hotheaded/rash, as seen with Isfan's fight against Gieve, him rushing hastily to attack Chassum Fortress, and in Shapur throwing down his helmet at Atropatene after learning the king had fled, and particularly in his rescue of Isfan where he rushed alone into the snowy mountains to save him) but again, they're related, sharing the same father. So it's not really a surprise. This does, however, also highlight a difference between them, one that comes down to age and experience.

When we meet Shapur, he's in his mid 30s, and a Marzban, one of the highest military positions possible in Pars.

When we meet Isfan, he's around 20, and although he's clearly got some combat experience he's not at his brother's level just yet. And while they share some traits like I outlined above, while Shapur likely had the age and experience to moderate his reactions a little bit (see how he backtracks after his initial outburst at Atropatene, and defers his conflict with Kubard for another day which never comes), Isfan doesn't, and on certain occasions (like rushing ahead at Chassum) his inexperience shows.

I also want to cover character design, because I think it's a deliberate choice by Arakawa to have there be some resemblance between the two but not have them appear totally identical. One, it highlights that Isfan has a different mother (the manga appears to give him her lighter hair colour), and two, I think it indicates that Isfan isn't just Shapur v2, he's not meant to be just a carbon copy of his brother. Maybe that's also why we haven't seen Isfan wield a spear, Shapur's weapon of choice.

That those visual differences highlight the difference in their birth circumstances feels important. Shapur was born into high status as his family's heir. Isfan was born to a enslaved mother and if not for Shapur's actions his father would have allowed him to die simply to pacify his wife. While Isfan now occupies the same privileged position that his brother grew up in, it could easily have been different.

Those circumstances (Isfan and his mother's abandonment in the mountains) also lead to a distinct difference between the two, which is fighting style. Okay, we don't see much of Shapur in combat but he's clearly a classically trained Parsian warrior. This is likely the nature of the training he gave Isfan, too. But Isfan has an element that is unique to him, something that wasn't influenced by his brother but relates to wolves.

In his fight with Gieve, Tanaka describes Isfan's movements as 'wolf-like' and in both the novel scene and Arakawa's manga adaptation, Gieve is surprised by Isfan's movements (specifically the kick seen below) which depart from orthodox swordsmanship with the unpredictability of the wild.

I don't think we would've seen Shapur pull a move like that!

Yes, I know it makes no sense for Isfan to have these wolf-like traits when the actual contact he had with them was very limited, but I'll forgive Tanaka this conceit because it's fucking cool okay?

Anyway I hope this satisfactorily answers the question. I'm aware I am very (very) into these two characters and not everyone will be as interested in them as I am, but I hope some of the the points in this post were of interest. Hopefully I didn't forget anything, I didn't get a chance to proofread!

[corrodedcoughin]

Eddie making Steve laugh to the point of Steve revealing that he’s actually a snort laugher and Eddie lighting up like all his christmases have come at once

[moldy-flowers]

Idk I just hate when people get offended when someone says "Sasuke was mentally unstable" Like okay 1- he broke out into genuine LAUGHTER and I dont understand how you can't be a little weirded out by that and 2- Being mentally unstable isn't like??? A bad thing???

Like??? Being unstable or mentally unwell is in no circumstance a bad thing. You're sick. Would you refute it with the same vigor if I said he had the flu too? Like idk it might just be me but Sasuke finally breaking down makes so much sense for his journey. Like I get people who just explain it away or don't like that hc. But people who outwardly get offended and hurt by me saying he was unwell like? Its really not that serious and it says a LOT about you that you can't handle your favourite character being sick.

[cheesecake801]

Zooming in on long haired Volk because I am very normal about him

Anyway have some traditional doodles under cut, and some headcanons

This quick comic is about the fact that in pokemon masters, for some reason in trainer lodge of you choose to talk about music with Volkner he doesn't like it. Which by all account doesn't make much sense, like in the very same game he's got a whole event about being a fan of Peterson's music aksksks.

This event did come out when Volkner was already in lodge but instead of just assuming the game didn't bother fixing Volkner's interest after this event, I thought it's be fun to come up with a possible explanation for this and thought of 2 possible explanations.

1 : Volkner loves music but doesn't particularly like talking or sharing about it with people he's not close to. You'd have to reach Friendship Premium for him to open up more

2 : Funnier option : the protagonist just have garbage music taste. This is what I went for in this comic gyahaha

sigh I want an elekid

Random bomberman moment. Had a smol bomberman phase gyahaha, only played super bomberman R tho but it was good.

I imagine Volkner and Flint would try to be playing coop together but they would keep like...accidentaly bombing the other and then they'd have an argument lmaooo

Then they'd either have a beautiful moment of cooperation that allows them to finally win, OR they just stop cooperating and go fighting 1v1 akskskdkdk

[hussyknee]

I hate how not having any self worth keeps hurting everyone close to me, because I think they can't possibly love and care for me the way I do for them since I'm not worth it. I project all my self-hate onto them and always think they'll be fine and much better off without me. Never wrapping my head around the fact that having someone you love push you away and keep anticipating that you'll leave, no matter how much you try to show that you won't, fucking hurts and makes you feel like nothing you do will ever be enough. It's really difficult when someone treats your love and care like they're less real and true and deep than theirs.

Hurting yourself hurts the people that love you whether you want it to or not.

[dairine-bonnet]

It's fun that Heinrix says that he and RT will probably talk when they have enough time and then... just disappears on Footfall without saying goodbye (he must've thought he managed to get away with that). Poor guy doesn't know yet that he'll have to get back to the ship and won't be able to avoid their conversation this time. *me laughing sinisterly*