#char study.

[argentisms]

❝ i felt utterly weak. like i needed someone to come and rescue me. i hate that feeling. i want to feel stronger than that. i want to feel powerful. ❞

[satsuha]

valerio for 60min challenge

[katsutacle]

Screw it (more bachi posts out the wazoo)

[tacticalgrandma]

I just think it’s so fascinating how the manifestation of Darkness the Witness gave us, that it viewed as this ultimate enticement, as “salvation,” was Stasis. Beyond Light associates it with control and obsession. And then in Lightfall we find Strand and it’s about letting go, accepting, moving. Osiris and Nimbus talk about how we were drained using Strand when we tried to grasp it tightly, how it only truly came to us when we let ourselves flow with the river. And the Witness did not know about Strand! It literally destroyed its defenses!

Just man. The Witness valuing control above all else, chasing and obsessing over the Traveler to finally control it. After an expansion where Nimbus and Osiris learn to grieve by not fighting the current, not trying to force themselves to be healed when they’re not. Where Caiatl watches her father’s obsession finally consume him and makes her peace.

Anyway just thinking about Savathun saying the Witness “gives [Darkness] a wicked shape” and appreciating how she read this eldritch horror for filth a whole year ago

[kirbychar]

👆 packing peanut

[flutteringfable]

i saw a double rainbow on the way home and fought through minor carsickness to do a quick doodle of cole and geo <3

[bunnakit]

something something tharn being unable to tell phaya he loves him out loud because it would put him in danger so he uses his body to say the words he doesn't dare

[chaosnojutsu]

i’m thinking about how devastating it must have been for shikadai to find out that boruto cheated in the exams.

put yourself in his shoes.

there’s already a lot of pressure— everyone is watching, this is broadcast on international television, family from out of town is here, everyone knows who your parents are, both your parents were promoted quickly so you’re projected to follow in their footsteps— and on top of that, literally anything is possible at the exams. underdogs rise, prodigies fall, nations attack, some competitors find new friends or rivals or enemies, and yet some find love. that’s the epic love story you grew up hearing about your parents. there’s no telling who you’ll fight today or how they’ll fit into your story. and maybe those thoughts briefly surface as your first competitor steps into the ring, a feisty blonde from suna, and it almost seems as if history might repeat itself. but maybe that last thought never occurs at all because you’re already weighted with the other pressures and you’re in the zone because you have to win.

and then in the next round you’re set to battle one of your best friends. coincidentally, the hokage’s son. there are already minor political implications if you beat him, but you’ve been advised to fight with everything you’ve got, and you’re determined to do so. whether that’s good enough to win or not, you can say it was your best effort. besides, what’s a fair fight between friends?

and then, ironically, history does repeat itself as you forfeit like your father. you pulled out all the stops and really put on an impressive display of skill, but at the end of the day boruto is still stronger. you’ve heard your father speak of his friendship and professional relationship with naruto, and though it’s never been explicitly said, you understand that being friends with boruto means your relationship will mirror that of your fathers. you have a responsibility as boruto’s friend to maintain an implicit level of trust and use that bond to keep his head screwed on. all that so he can do things his way, which would be so much more of a drag if boruto’s way weren’t so mesmerizing. every word teems with authentic conviction and heart, and he’s so damn inspiring that, yeah, if boruto continuing to make the world a better place means shouldering some extra responsibility, you’ll do that. because that’s what friends do for each other.

and then in his moment of triumph, when you could not be any more proud of your unconventional but unfathomably brilliant best friend, you find out he won by cheating.

and this glorious moment is forever stained as your stomach drops and the vision shatters and you realize that everything today could have been— a meeting with someone extraordinary for the first time, a chance to truly fight your weird cousin, a hard-won promotion to make mom and dad proud and stick it to the cranky clan elders, a level-up in missions for your team— was ruined by your best friend.

surely boruto wouldn’t do that to you. then again, he did it to sarada. are you and he closer than he and sarada? regardless, would he have the nerve to betray you?

and when you finally get the chance to tearfully face him and ask upfront if he cheated during your fight, he won’t even clearly answer you.

and in a cruel twist of fate history repeats itself again, and like your father you are the sole candidate promoted. a tainted honor granted in memory of a victory you didn’t secure. and now that stupid vest collects dust in your bedroom because the only way to reshape its connotation in your head is to debut it once the rest of your team has earned theirs, and your annoying old relatives ask every day why you don’t wear the damn vest, and there are so many more important things going on in the village but that is all anyone is worried about as far as you’re concerned. you could have gone into politics like the elders wanted and avoided this altogether. but you wanted to be a shinobi. you’ve made your bed and now you must lie in it.

and time heals your wounds, and that deep trust is slowly rebuilt, and of course you eventually dust off your vest and zip it on for the first time, but you can never really look at boruto the same way.

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Citroën Concept Chariot, 2023. Created for the upcoming movie, Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom. The concept is based on the 2CV as part of Citroën’s partnership with the film. Pierre Leclercq, Citroën’s Global Design Director, said: “The encounter between these two legends of French culture was nothing short of extraordinary. There has been a bond of sincerity and mutual respect between the Citroën and the Asterix movie teams since the beginning. We were presented with this incredible opportunity to create and build a concept chariot from scratch, and we had the most amazing time working on this project. The result is an ode to the 2CV, the legendary car which represents Citroën in all its glory.”  

[wnterslder]

🥲 i love the idea of bucky going back to his roots , remembering his family , his culture , indulging himself into books and music and always ever the student

[georgierre]

non-filipino f1 fans will never get how filos can immediately understand bianca bustamante's character when u realize what schools she studied in (it's assumption and UST, this is public knowledge)

[argentisms]

well, me & my ghosts, wе had a hell of a time YES, I'M HAUNTED — but i'm feeling just fine.

ALLISON + lydia. @girlwaiiled.

[kerorowhump]

ive talked in the past about keroro's desire to keep things as they are, static, because it's the only way he can have both keron and earth, but while rewatching ep140b I realized it shows the opposite side of this struggle

that no matter his efforts, it's a futile attempt and nothing is improving because everything is staying exactly the same. he spent a week racking his brain for a solution but the episode ends by showing us that he doesn't find one. could it be because the whole time he was fighting alone?

(his voice breaks in the first screenshot...) this to me feels like the same motivation he would have for invading. wanting to leave a mark, making something of yourself, mattering.

chibikero is in shadow, like the gunpla's shadow. he's not real anymore but he represents all the expectations and lost potential on his shoulders. while the small gunpla is in light like keroro. that's the reality of it. but that's also how he feels. small. he hasn't achieved any of his goals. he hasn't lived up to anything he said he would, everything he based his identity on. he's a "pitiful invader". his desire to matter perfectly encapsulates his abandonment issues too.

this collection will outlive him. it will speak of his greatness when he's gone. it's as much his identity as the invasion. it's also his tomb in the exact same way.

he's so happy for a moment organizing his whole collection on the shelves that he thought were gonna solve everything, enjoying the moment as it was, but in the end nothing changed.

is it because he's expendable? easily replaceable, like by a clone? is it because he doesn't see his own worth, so he has to get some (the keron star, his collection, the invasion)? because if he's not useful, he'll be thrown out? or because he doesn't want to be forgotten and left behind?

and yet

he remains insignificant and his fight is fruitless.

[lovebugcody]

i wonder how many times my face has appeared throughout history. who i am the doppelgänger of. who came before me and what life they lived. did they love features i cannot stand? or did they hold the same insecurities as i do.

i wonder who loved my face before it was mine. who saw the face i now carry and loved it until death.

i wonder if those people, who loved my face before i took my claim over it, looked alike to each other. or if they held no similarities beside loving the previous owner of my features.

and if they looked alike, who now holds that face? does that make them my soulmate? someone predetermined by history to fall for the features that make me, as i am destined to fall for theirs?

[charcubed]

the problem with that man is that he's obsessed with two things: not explaining and not spoiling. so he just answers everything with the most surface level shit cause he has this "think for yourself" attitude. which i would love. if the internet wasn't filled with people averse to thinking and who love not connecting the dots on purpose. like yeah i know that ox are the first earthly pleasure which were followed by others. 95% of the internet doesn't. ON PURPOSE.

[ben-affleck-smoking.jpeg]

Honestly anon, I tip my hat to you because this helps me a little bit. Just a little bit, to fathom what the fuck he's on about and what his potential reasoning is for it. I mean, I'm still frustrated beyond belief by his whole shtick and think it's unnecessary/irresponsible, but I do appreciate you giving me a somewhat plausible explanation so I can have a posited reason for his behavior to wrap my head around.

The thing is, like... People are stupid.

And/or: people are, historically, so determined to project what they want onto a piece of media (while being hellbent on arguing their right to do so while arguing their "interpretations" should remain unencumbered and unexamined) that they're not interested in seeing what it's theoretically or probably actually doing.

So there are 2 ways this shit is gonna go at this point in my opinion (and it's only been a month since season 2 came out so this shit can probably get even more stark before season 3! Yippee!):

Aziraphale and Crowley DON'T fuck on screen. Neil Gaiman is in fact addicted to the praise of very online ace people and so he has internalized that he can't "ruin their rep." Oh, you say you saw subtext in HIS season 2? Surely not. There was/is no erotic or sexual subtext in Ba Sing Se. To be clear, this would be the cowardly homophobic option whether people think it is or not, in part because of the thematic relevance and subtext now attached to them as of season 2 that begs follow-through (which exists despite his pedantic carefully-worded tumblr posts right now), and in part because if we had to see Newt and Anathema fuck then there is no legitimate reason that Aziraphale and Crowley should not get to do the same in light of the subtext. Period. And media doesn't exist in a vacuum. Sorry not sorry.

Aziraphale and Crowley DO fuck on screen. All of the ace people who have read into Neil's several pedantic and carefully-worded posts and engagement for years then become loudly devastated and angry that "their rep" has been destroyed with "no warning." A new term of "acebaiting" probably enters the cultural lexicon. Extremely online carnage occurs, etc. And frankly? At this point I'd (already) be inclined to say Neil would not be entirely blameless for it because of the way he's now acting while needlessly engaging directly with some of the discourse. The majority of the onus would be on the people who assume that he is confirming or defending the unequivocal canonical validity of their ace readings, because he's technically done nothing of the sort. But while he looooves to post and engage in the manners of those technicalities, at this point he can't be oblivious to how legions of inane people end up being like "soooo true Mr. Gaiman, romance doesn't have to be sexual <3" and he just lets them think that constitutes a promise that these characters will never be openly sexual. So if they think that for years, and then the characters fuck (as they should)? Madness will descend, and part of it – not all of it by far, but part of it – will be on him. Because there's no point or purpose in him acting like this other than he gets a kick out of it. He is now openly playing stupid games post-season 2 and will win stupid prizes.

Secret third thing is that Aziraphale and Crowley ambiguously fuck – Schrödinger's fade-to-black potential sex that we just don't see, if you will – in an effort to satisfy all parties, but that is filed under a variation of version 1 in my opinion. It'll still be lowkey homophobic and purity-culture-coded at the end of the day if there's room for ambiguity and people can erase the fact that they fucked if they prefer to do so.

Anyway. The thing is that if he wants people to think for themselves and connect the dots on their own, then pretending as if the dots don't even exist by ignoring them through omission and acting deliberately obtuse with surface level responses does not inspire people to look for or continue to argue for those dots and their depth. But it sure as HELL inspires stupid people to make leaps of logic and say things like "ummm Neil Gaiman already said nothing is sexual about the ox scene soooo if you're arguing otherwise you're being aphobic." Which is exhausting and infuriating and, again, stupid lol.

And that's certainly not entirely Neil's fault! He's NOT responsible for people being stupid. But he is responsible for making things deliberately confusing because he feels clever and maybe wants to challenge everyone else to be clever without openly saying that in so many words – if that is indeed what he's doing.

And if he's not gonna explain anything sufficiently then he shouldn't be engaging with shit like this at all because people then take his deliberate selective lack of explanation as tacit evidence that there must be nothing to explain.

At the end of the day, I'm personally not interested in dissecting the tea leaves of his posts to guess at the fullness of what he truly thinks. I see the subtext and themes in his work, and either he placed them there and sees them too or he didn't/doesn't. If he sees them but doesn't want to talk about them on main for whatever reason then I have no qualms about saying that that's weird behavior. And I also have no qualms about saying that – based on season 2 – Aziraphale and Crowley should fuck in season 3. Ultimately, while his pedantic posts and the resulting discourse raise my blood pressure, I don't need his permission to know the truth of that.

[ihotchner]

there was nothing nikolai loves more than ravka.

since he was a child, hidden in vasily’s shadow and the weakly-hidden truth of his patronage, the only thing he had to escape to were the villages. the farming villages surrounding os alta were more home to him in his developing years than the hallways lining the grand palace could ever hope to be.

he’d had a knack for sneaking out of the castle through passages and hidden tunnels from generations of paranoid monarchs. quick to lose, and less likely to be missed, nikolai found solace in being unknown. the unknown prince, an unknown child, and best of all, unknowingly missing from court.

the villages that lined the outer parts of the gersky prospect were humble, and taught lessons to nikolai that he’d never learn in the stiff classrooms of teachers that cared not for his education. he learned to earn his keep, working hard to pay back minor debts from when he played card games with the other farmers. on the off chance he’d lose—which was hardly ever once he learned how to play the game—he always made good on his promises of working in the fields the next sunrise.

nikolai adores ravka, can feel it in his bones that this is where he is meant to live and rule.

just the same way he knows that you are the one he wants to do it with.

you’d met him as sturmhond, in his many years across the true sea, and your wit and clever thinking had drawn him to you immediately. you were always thinking on your feet, with a sharp tongue, and an even sharper blade. unfortunately, you’d threatened him with it more times than he could count on both hands. fortunately, he thought you looked absolutely breathtaking every time you did it.

you made him shy. in a way that was rare for him, he thought of every word he would say to you, careful in their meanings and thoughtful to how you could take them. he wanted you to know he cared for you, yet was afraid to completely show his hand. he’d been known to hold his cards too close to his heart, and he wanted to go all in for you.

there was nothing nikolai loved more than ravka. nothing, except you.

ʚ reblogs greatly appreciated! ɞ