#doesn't define you

[uovoc]

my sister and I both agree that one of the best parts about china was how there's food everywhere. And not just, like, bags of chips, but real hot, cooked, tasty food. You hike to the top of a mountain and there's a guy with a cart selling chicken skewers and freshly steamed corn on the cob. When you hike to the top of a mountain in america, what do you get? Nothing. An uninterrupted view of nature. Where did we go wrong as a country

[ineffable-romantics]

Thank GOD for those new promo pics.... I've always said this was the way I picture Aziraphale in modern day if he'd been the demon instead, and now I have the perfect angel!Crowley to match!

[spacedace]

Found this old snippet and don't really remember of the context for it outside of being a joking exploration of how weird the Fenton/Phantom family tree would seem to outsiders (not even getting into how relationships might be classified differently between the human side & the ghost side)

Anyway gonna drop it here as a prompt lol

Mind the quick reference to dismemberment, there's no gore or detailed description and no one is actually hurt, it's more there for comedic effect, but still wanted to give the heads up on it 👍

---

Nomad motioned to the towering, vaguely vampire-looking buff dude with literal flaming hair what the fuck, “Dan, this is everyone. Everyone this is Dan. He’s my…” Nomad trailed off and blinked, a look of confused befuddlement on her face as she let the sentence hang for too long.

“Huh…” She said considering, looking up at vampire-dude, Dan apparently, with a confused furrow on her brow. “You know this is the first time I’ve ever had to try and explain our relationship to each other and I’m drawing a blank and what exactly to call you. Uncle? Dad? Brother? Like, I think you could technically be considered all three.”

What the fuck did that mean??? Kon snapped his attention over to meet Tim’s masked gaze, the look of wild confusion Kon was sure was on his own face mirrored there. Around the meeting room confused and worried looks were being shared by the rest of the League. Which like, yeah, what in the Habsburgs was happening here for all of those terms to be applicable?

“Well, you’re Danny’s Mirror, so if you consider him your dad then it stands to reason I’m also your father.” Dan said, hand coming up to his - literally flaming, how did that work? - goatee thoughtfully.

“Yeah but like, I call Danny dad just to piss Vlad off.” Nomad countered, toying with her severed arm with her still attached hand. Kon didn’t think he’d ever get over how casual she was about being literally disarmed and just…not caring. “And I definitely don’t see you as a dad. Uncle?”

The giant of a ghost shook his head with a frown, “Implies that Danny and I are brothers, which could work but gives our relationship kind of a weird vibe. I feel more like his father than anything.”

“Gramps, then?”

“No.”

Nomad laughed, “Fair, wouldn’t want to take the title of Grampa away from CW. Besides we’re both half Vlad, so I think brother works best here.” She frowned, looking thoughtful, “Maybe half brother?”

Dan considered, “Half-brother could work. Though it gives Vlad more credit than he deserves.”

“Oh come on, can you imagine the look on his face if we went in together on suing him for child support?” Nomad asked, fanged grin wicked. Dan’s face lit up at the idea, and Kon felt like they were rapidly heading towards the two ghosts running off to go and go torment whoever this Vlad guy was rather then them help deal with the current demonic problem at hand.

“Can you please explain what any of that means?” Kon asked, more a squeak than anything else. He was starting to get a headache.

[driaswrld]

i think about higuruma proposing on a rainy day alot.

in all honesty, he really didn't think it would rain after he planned such a nice dinner, made the two of you dress up, spent a shit ton on fancy dishes that hardly interested him, traded his messy suit for a neat one, meticulously scented his pulse points with your favorite perfume and ordered champagne (he hates champagne, but it's the way your eyes follow the bubbles that persuaded him)

and next thing you know, after nearly two hours worth of conversation, a sudden downpour in the city, one hurried cab drive home, your heels in your hands and his arms holding his suitjacket over your head to shield you from the rain. . .

he's on one knee, drenched from head to toe on the front porch, proposing to you after you two had to literally run home in the rain, his suit jacket still draped over your shoulders, his dark hair damp and dress shirt sticking to his skin, your face cold from rainwater.

higuruma apologizes, because he always wants to give you the world, and damp clothes and a proposal on a gloomy day is hardly what you deserve in his eyes — now that he thinks about it, he wonders why you're even hearing him out, why you stayed in the first place, because this hardly does you justice.

but when he's just kneeling there, velvet box open, with that crooked smile and brows scrunched, waiting with bated breath for your answer, dark eyes peering up at you, you think nothing could be more hiromi, than a proposal like this.

and then you say yes, and the abrupt force of his kiss has you two stumbling backwards off the porch and back into the rain.

you two end up catching a cold the next day.

[farshootergotme]

Hot take, anyone who thinks Dick Grayson has a persistent case of anger issues just doesn't know what anger issues are.

Does he get angry? Yes (I sure would hope so since he's a human being). Would I call it anger issues? No, not really.

[alexandraisyes]

The cutest reminder ever that the way family works in TSAMS canon is that two parties have to be in mutual agreement that they are family. If one party doesn't agree then they aren't family. Parties can revoke familial ties whenever they want and that means they are no longer family.

"Code Relation" theory is stupid because you're then implying that Eclipse is Sun and Moon's child. Which he isn't. Or that Killcode is somehow Moon's child and his brother at the same time that he's Eclipse, Lunar and Bloodmoon's "father" at the same time that they're Sun and Moon's grand children. Like, we're seeing the issue here, right?

Don't make things more complicated than it has to be. Just accept the fact that family is literally determined by a verbal agreement between two animatronics and nothing else because none of them were born from wombs. That means respecting canon when characters in canon decide that they aren't comfortable being family (like Eclipse) or just straight-up disown everyone (like Bloodmoon). It's okay to have headcanons, but don't try to push them onto canon.

[gingermintpepper]

One of my biggest pet peeves is the assumption that something has to be sad for it to be tragic.

I've always been a big believer of the 'Apollo has an awful love life'/'Apollo is plain unlucky with love' line of thinking but it does bother me that the general reasoning for that statement is given to the concept of 'Apollo is somehow undesireable and thus rejected' (Cassandra/Daphne/Marpessa) or 'his lovers die young and thus their love is unfulfilled' (Cyparissus/Hyacinthus/Coronis). I personally think that's a very unfortunate way of looking at things - not only because it neglects the many perfectly cordial entanglements and affairs Apollo has had, both mortal and divine - but because it presents a very shallow interpretation of the concepts of love and loss and how loss affects people.

Apollo can still grieve lovers that have a long, healthy life. The inherent tragedy of an immortal who knows his lovers and children will die and cannot stop it does not stop being tragic simply because those lovers and children live long, fulfilled lives. The inherent tragedy of loss does not stop being tragic simply because someone knows better than to mourn something that was always going to end.

What is tragic is not that Apollo loves and loses but that loss itself follows him. Apollo does not love with the distance of an immortal, he does not have affairs and then leaves never to listen to their prayers again. He does not have offspring and then abandon them to their trials only to appear when it is time to lead them to their destinies. He raises his young, he protects the mothers of his children, he blesses the households that have his favour and multiplies their flocks that they may never go hungry. He educates his sons, he adorns his daughters and even in wrath he is quick to come to his senses and regret the punishments he doles out.

Apollo loves. And like mortals, there will always be some part of him that wishes to protect the objects of his affections. Apollo, however, is also an emissary of Fate. He knows that the fate of all mortal things is death. He knows that to love a mortal is to accept that eventually he will have to bury them. There is no illusion of forever, there is no fantasy where he fights against the nature of living things and shields his beloveds from death. Apollo loves and because of that love, he also accepts.

And that, while beautiful, is also tragic.

[antirepurp]

okay but it is a little funny to me that they're doing the nostalgia bating with shadow now when his entire character arc was about. oh you know. Moving On instead of welling in the past

[buccellato]

Having a normal one thinking about tristamp Knives considering himself a "proper" independent in comparison to Vash, but all of the traits he is shown valuing as a plant are the things that humans would value in a production plant, not a plant that exists separately from humanity. The early development of his powers, the fact that he doesn't need fuel (food or water) for replenishing his energy? Ideal for something that a human values for production! Plus he can't communicate with the higher dimension in the same way Vash does, he can only draw energy to produce things—and we know from the fight in the finale Vash is pretty evenly matched even while holding back (and by extension, we know that Vash is more baseline powerful than Knives in Trimax). But by all measures, Vash is less "useful" as a plant to No Man Land's current production capabilities compared to Knives (who could pretty much be a one-man factory).

Anyways I'm not going anywhere specific with this. I'm tired and running on fumes, just rotating things in my brain.

[sunnykeysmash]

Man of words

[repressedqueen]

To any multishipper out there, do you have a tip for not feeling constantly unwanted by everyone here? Or is it just my personal fear of rejection being triggered? should I leave Tumblr for good?

[selfshipseaside]

☆ Reminder to any self-shippers with a big bust/chest, your f/os love you!

No matter your gender or how you present, they love you and your chest the way it is, and they also support anything you want to do with it! They understand the plights of it. Whether it's having a hard time feeling like shirts fit nicely on you, or if it even makes you feel dysphoric, no matter what problems you might have with them, they'll be there to listen and help as much as they can. They don't think your bust is too big or that you look bad because of it!

If you ever wanted a reduction, they'd be your biggest supporter!

Top surgery? They'd cheer you on the entire way through and help you through recovery!

And if you wanted to bind your chest for any reason at all, they'd assist you no problem!

Just wanted to find some properly sized clothes and help with the intense back pain? They got your back, literally!

If anyone is ever making you feel objectified because of your bust, your f/o would make sure to help you sort through those feelings and to try to put a stop to the source. You deserve to exist with your body and not feel objectified by just being there!

So, no matter what you might think or want to do with your bust, your f/o loves you for it and supports you all the same!

[angelsdean]

I know it's a bitter pill to swallow in this fandom for many reasons but, the phrase "open to interpretation" IS inherently a positive phrase that good creators use to affirm to their audiences that stories and art belong to the fans, and that every fan is able to find their own meaning through their own interpretive lens. It's not up to creators or actors to tell people what something--especially ambiguous or subtextual moments--mean. Everyone will come to a different understanding, some views might be more supported by canon than others, but it's still within every viewer's right to see things how they see them.

All "open to interpretation" means is: you get to interpret it! And you! And you! This is a key tenant of any creative work. It can be interpreted. And that is what literary analysis is all about. You build a case for your interpretation. You go into the text and find supporting evidence for your view, your thesis. And some interpretations are argued better than others. But everyone's still allowed to have their interpretation. (Also, literary analysis is fun).

I say all this because I've seen posts about Jensen going from "open to interpretation" to "clear text" as if he's now against the fact that things can and will be interpreted by fans. In terms of Cas's declaration of love? Yes, that is "clear text." It's romantic in nature, that's not up for debate, and Dean processed and understood it as romantic on the dungeon floor. But for stuff that is still ambiguous, still subtextual in some ways, like Dean's own feelings? Those are still open to interpretation by all sides, whether we like it or not. Until we get to see more of Dean and Cas's story in the basically guaranteed reboot, Jensen is not going to speculate about Dean's feelings or Destiel's reunion. He's never going to word-of-god confirm anything about this on stage at a convention. We have to wait to see it play out on screen.

As an actor, it's also not his place to confirm or deny these things. He leaves it up to the fans to read into his performance whatever they want. And yes, that sentiment IS affirming to a Destiel interpretation. We can read reciprocation into his performance. We can read romantic love into his words about Dean wishing he'd said "I love you back." We can look back on the years of queercoding and subtext and Jacting Joices and read Dean as being in love with Cas for years. And, well, the other side can read what they want into it, and we don't need to care what they think, tbqh.

This, IMO, is also part of the reason Jensen tends to give "vague" answers or use language that can be perceived in different ways by either side. As an actor, at a fan convention where fans of all sides of the fandom have paid to be there to have a good time, it's not his job to personally validate specific headcanons and interpretations. Jensen may have his own personal beliefs about Dean's feelings, but he's not going to divulge them in full if they close off one side's interpretation. So he will weave his way through answers. He will use terms like "brother in arms" which one side will hear as simply "brother" and think "platonic" and Destiel shippers will hear as the full meaning, a strong bond between men, and see the queer history associated with these warrior bonds.

He does this, IMO, to keep all lanes open for every fan, because first and foremost he's an actor at a convention being paid to entertain. He's also not a writer, he's not someone who can definitively say what was intended. Personally, I feel that his metaphor about being in an art gallery that he gave back in 2020 is incredibly apt. People come to the gallery and look at the art and find their own meaning. And the artist isn't standing there beside them confirming or denying their interpretations. That's not the artist's job. Once it's out there, it's for others to find meaning in what the artist made.

And again, it's not his place to speculate or write fanfiction for anyone on stage and personally confirm or deny headcanons. He's pretty adamant about the reboot, so I think for some things we'll just have to wait and see.

[sholmeser]

so like it’s 1999 and solid snake is in zanzibar land and gray fox tells you that all he can do is fight. it’s all he has and it’s probably all you’re ever going to have, too, because deep down you know your father is right, you know he is right as you click the lighter and burn the flesh off his skin, you know he is right when he tells you, this will never go away. i am always going to be a part of you. it’s 2005 and solid snake is in shadow moses island, alaska and gray fox tells you that’s good, snake. hit me harder. do it more. that’s good. when you meet meryl you kill the guards, and then snake thinks he loves her, so you kill psycho mantis for her, ocelot tortures you and you withstand it for her, you beat liquid to a pulp for her and while his blood is on your fists he smiles and tells you that you two, you’ll always be the same. gray fox means violence means meryl means violence, so what’s love if not that? what is it if not the feeling of broken bones under your knuckles, if not the smell of your father’s burnt flesh? but she's too young, she doesn’t understand you and she couldn’t if she tried, because she’s eighteen years old and doesn’t know any better and doesn’t understand that after you sleep with her you’re going to get up and let the pillow grow cold, she thinks you’ll tell her everything and when you don’t, because you can’t, she’ll leave you. you kill him with your fists and for her you destroy shadow moses and you hear him say to you again that’s good, snake, that feels good, do it harder. but it isn’t a coincidence that in mgs1 you meet otacon at the same time you meet gray fox. otacon who is so scared of battle he pisses his pants and otacon who cries over a woman who could never love him back and otacon who thinks good people like dogs, kind people like dogs, otacon who passed you a meal, ready-to-eat and a bottle of ketchup across the bars of your cell and when you ask him why the fuck are you here if you cant help me he says to you, i thought you might be hungry. otacon who gives you her handkerchief that was once her mother's and will be hers once again when she dies, when you rest it atop her glazed-over irises, a cycle of love. she was a good person, snake, and so are you. she liked the wolves and you do too. otacon who cries over his baby sister’s little body, who blames himself for being seventeen years old under the touch of the woman who should have been his mother. otacon who when it's 2014 will make you the solid eye and the octocamo suit and the mk. ii to keep you safe and say to you, don't hurt anyone, snake. will say to you: i'll follow you wherever you go, like this. otacon who blubbers like a baby and cries too much and who, when it's 2009 in new york city, you have to say to, go rescue the hostages, because if you don’t he’s going to crumple in on himself, a dying star. this is how you love, you don’t say to him, and how i love, because you showed me how. wrap your arms around his shoulders and hope it’s enough.

[jaxihammer]

You will never convince me that Isabel Lovelace is not disabled post-canon. Think about it.

Of everyone in the crew, she's spent by far the longest time in space. Sure, she's probably been exercising, but that isn't going to fully stop her muscles atrophying. Her bones are going to weaken. Not to mention the fact that she went into the cryo chamber, which we know isn't GREAT for you (I know Eiffel is kind of an outlier but still. Even once is gonna fuck you up at least a little).

Then add to THAT the fact that the body Lovelace has now was created by the dear listeners. Not only are they recreating a body that's already undergone almost a thousand days of the trauma of space; they're doing it with zero existing knowledge of how a human body functions in Earth's gravity. The clones are almost perfect, but there are notable differences in internal organs, and I wouldn't be surprised if Lovelace was put back together with some inconsistencies.

All this to say, I think Lovelace would become a mobility aid user when the crew lands back on Earth. Everyone on the crew would probably end up in physical therapy, but the damage done to her body would be by far the most extensive. Whereas I don't doubt Jacobi, Minkowski, and Eiffel could regain most if not all of their mobility, I think Lovelace would use a wheelchair, and eventually with PT could use crutches or a cane some days. Even if she were to regain muscle function, she would probably have some sort of chronic pain that would necessitate mobility aids!

In conclusion Let Her Be Disabled thank you for coming to my TED talk

[blueteller]

Finally figured out what's wrong with Harol's design

So – ever since Harol's design came out in the manhwa, it's been driving me crazy, and NOT in a good way.

The problem is this – I took one look at this guy and thought: "That's not Harol." And I couldn't get rid of the impression since then.

I couldn't pinpoint what was exactly wrong. There didn't seem to be anything particularly wrong... Only that there wasn't anything right about it. The design was definitely missing something.

When I pictured Harol before this moment, I kinda pictured him looking similar to Hilsman, except maybe younger? And a bit more rugged, with a some facial scars or something. A labcoat, maybe. Some bloodstainds. Definitely a more "soldier from the battlefield" look.

Remember: this character didn't show up to this meeting from a peaceful environment. The Whipper Kingdom's army canonically fought a very bloody battle immediately before this. There is no way he'd look this clean when showing up to meeting Cale, even if he DID try to clean up to meet foreign guests.

Finally, a discussion with someone on discord helped me realize what is exactly wrong here.

This Harol... looks every bit like the aristocratic world of mages that he hates.

Think about it. If this was Harol in the past – it would make sense. A scientist, working for the goverment. One of the intelligence class. A clean slate. But underneath, a rage at the abuse of power and human experiments would be boiling. A thirst for blood. And eventually... this clean-looking, civil man, would utterly SNAP, grab a freaking axe or something and start murdering magic users alongside many others, in an attempt to erase all of them from existence.

This Harol does not look like he went through that yet.

He doesn't look like a man who abandoned civility, who murdered aristocrats, who planned to do so to other mages in the future. This character does not look like he has blood on his hands, like he thought through brutal battles. He should have been stained, with a lot less polished hair, definitely stubble – don't tell me they bothered with such personal hygiene on a battlefield?? – and most importantly, a savage look under the thin vail of civility shown to Cale as a potential business partner.

If Harol looked like this later in the story – after he settled down, started rebuilding Whipper Kingdom, cooled down his bloodlust et cetera – he could have looked like this again. But at this point, it doesn't make sense at all. He has no excuse looking this clean. He's a human, not a Whale of a Dragon.

You see, Toonka wasn't supposed to be handsome in the book, but his design at least makes sense. It still feels right, because it's wild and aggressive. Not so with Harol.

So here's the problem. Harol's manhwa design doesn't reflect his current characterization. In fact, it goes directly against it. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who felt that way.