#half witted talk

[fake-elizabeth-bennet]

Someone who loves you truly will always respect you. I was re-reading Pride and Prejudice and this is what occured to me.

Mr. Collins didn't love Lizzy and that's why didn't respect her decision of refusing his proposal. He kept on saying all kind of illogical things, trying to convince her to change her decision, wasn't at all discouraged by her and kept on pestering her to accept him.

He didn't give in to Lizzy's resolve to refuse him. He didn't consider her determined and wise enough to make the best decision for herself. He kept on mistaking her refusal for the affectation and coquetry of an elegant female because he didn't hold Lizzy and her opinions in a position to be respected.

While Mr. Darcy, being truly in love with Lizzy, insulted her connections and status(he surely was very arrogant) but respected her decision of blatantly refusing him. He retrospected the events he was accused of and offered her an explanation but without pressuring her to change her mind. He again mentioned that one word from her would silence him on this subject forever. He believed her reasons for rejecting him and respected her decision.

He considered Lizzy's social status beneath himself but never doubted her intelligence or capability to make right decision for herself. He knew she was smart, accomplished and trusted her judgement. DARCY RESPECTS LIZZY.

WHO LOVES YOU, WILL ALWAYS RESPECT YOU.

Thank you so so much for coming to my half-witTED TALK.

P.S. - True P&P fans can romanticize every single event of the novel. :)

[anonymouscheeses]

Art dump/chaggily stuff below cut <3 vvvv

Yes this is an excuse to show off my designs *sigh* 😔

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 209

Now Jason was planning on, well, a lot of things, when he came back to Gotham. He had a lot of plans, several of which had to do with the old man and even more that had to do with cleaning up Crime Alley, making it safer and all that. 

What he was not planning on was to find some sort of lab in the basement of where he was planning on setting up a safehouse. Nor was he planning on finding several literal children in cages inside said lab. Oh and Lazarus Waters- but children! With muzzles! Being experimented on!

Now he’d like to say he had a plan in what happened next, but if he’s honest everything had gone Green and he didn’t remember what happened next, only that he’s back home with said children and covered in blood. Oh and everything smells of smoke. 

… And apparently there’s more of these things dotted around Crime Alley with the rest of these kids, er, siblings? Family? Fright does mean family? Okay kids, he’s not turning into Bruce but you can stay here while he deals with this… however long that takes. 

He better not be turning into Bruce he swears-

[finelythreadedsky]

 On one level the book is about the life of a woman who is hardly more than a token in a great epic poem, on another it’s about how history and context shape how we are seen, and the brief moment there is to act between the inescapable past and the unknowable future. Perhaps to write Lavinia Le Guin had to live long enough to see her own early books read in a different context from the one where they were written, and to think about what that means.

-Jo Walton

[vellichorom]

( via @maryssecretblog )

cracks my knuckles so hard i break my hands; ohh beloved mary i've been sitting on a mountain of bitterness since i first picked up hollow knight in 2020, & i'm sure i've said a couple of these things on main before but i'm laying them out again Right Now

the hollow knight fandom is fucking HORRIBLE about godseeker & i will never not be upset about it;

for being the gateway manifest to the game's infamous boss rush DLC that feeds us a little extra lore, leads to the ending most favor & introduces THE SHADE LORD - everyone's FAVORITE manifestation of the void & evolution of the protagonist... she is so painfully overlooked,

& if she's not painfully overlooked, she is disgustingly sexualized; her glorification of abuse by the hands of a god bastardized & taken to paint her as a pervert ( WHICH IS ESPECIALLY ABHORRENT if you stand with the idea that the protagonist is likely Not an Adult & the shade lord is undoubtedly The Protagonist ), her role twisted & simplified to be the shade lord's / the knight's bitch or wife or someone it needs to avoid because she's some kind of predator;

& if she's not sexualized or used as ship fodder, then she is treated as a horrible BITCH who deserves her death & every bit OF abuse one can fling at her because she dared not be nice to The Protagonist - nevermind that plenty of other characters can do the same or straight up KILL THEM & they're seen as fandom favorites ( see; Tiso, The Pale King, Hornet, fucking Everyone in the game ) & nevermind the fact that The Protag also invaded her mind without permission & started fucking around ( not that i'm saying it deserves to be bashed for it but you know. it did walk into the ass kicking arena (( the godseeker / knight dynamic isn't a fault of anyone's, it's just a lot of ' you did this so now this happens ' )) )

& i'm so. sick. can we take off our jackass glasses for 5 seconds & look at her critically, i'm begging you. hollow knight fandom. i'm going to strangle someone

godseeker is a FASCINATING character, right up there with all the higher beings themselves; godseeker is a character that hails from a far off land, presumably forsaken by the gods of it to the point that it stands in perpetual ruin, having toiled & crawled her way to hallownest in search of the pale king's divine light only to be met with a KINGDOM of powerful gods. only to be MYSTERIOUSLY locked up before being able to attune until you, as the protagonist, free her. & that pretty much unleashes a domino effect that has a severe impact on what remains of the kingdom, that has a severe impact on EVERYONE'S fate including her own, depending on what you do.

you can choose to take on the remnants of the kingdom's gods, slay the one causing the plague that took them all out, & in your escape from her mind, punish & kill the one who perpetuated their legends, & EVEN end up in purgatory with her, where now YOU are the god of gods, at the cost of your freedom as well as her's - to live in glory forevermore.

but oh no, she's the whore bitch who was a little mean to you & wants daddy god to punish her.

get out of my sight you fucking worm you know nothing

[blackspies12]

I really enjoyed watching the Purgatory event. I watch Roier’s POV and it definitely reminded me of Minecraft Extremo and as someone who likes seeing Roier’s skills in minecraft it was awesome seeing Etoiles encourage Roier to just go ham.

I honestly think that this first day will probably be the one with the most kills in a single day (with the exception being event days like Monday) since I think everyone instinctively saw the almost hunger games premise and went instant PVP Try-hard mode. I think they forgot that they can RP the shit out of a scenario like this XD.

I think that’s why the teams are also unbalanced. I don’t think this event was intended to be fully PVP and later days will be a lot more calmer and Qommunication SMP will prevail. Each team has different strengths. I definitely think the red team can probably figure it out who the cursed team is and that their RP/building prowess will come in handy. (I’m personally leaning blue because of Dapper’s message).

[illuminatingsceadugenga]

I made a post a couple days ago about wanting a fic where Xie Lian realizes he was Wu Ming’s beloved after Book 4 but honestly after rereading the last bit of Book 4 ive realized that. Honestly i kind of wonder if a part of xie lian DID know that. Or the failure to realize it on his part was the result of his excellent Selective Thinking skills... a refusal to believe he could be loved... because uhhhhhhh............ its really something to write out a scene where xie lian puts together that wu ming was the ghost fire in the temple only to double-check the book and realize BWX outright tells Xie Lian Wu Ming became a wrath ghost specifically from witnessing his torture in the temple

[dangans-ur-ronpas]

Chapter 17

continuation of byakuya's no good very bad worst shit ass day of his life (so far)(!!!)

SEE HERE FOR GENERAL WARNINGS AND FIC SUMMARY

Some pre-chapter notes:

this chapter went a little different from how i originally planned bc I was going to make byakuya much more stupid. but. he needs to fly off the handle several times later so. we can't let loose all at once

to be very fair to makoto he did not want to do that. and yet. here we are

the king of kings!! @digitaldollsworld

Content warning tags: ableist language from various characters, Byakuya's panic spiral, mild self-harm reference

< previous - from start - next >

Time seems to grind to a halt. His breath is still caught in his throat, halfway through a relieved sigh as he had been waiting - expecting - for Makoto to help him. To pull up some vague, hidden piece of evidence to clear him of any suspicion, to cleverly point out some irrefutable proof that had previously lay unseen.

But instead - his heartbeats feel too heavy. His breathing feels too light, deprived of any real oxygen. His head pounds in the same way it did when he was struck earlier, with a dull, pulsing ring that washes out everything around him.

He prided himself, once, on being able to read a person’s intent. To judge just when and why they might choose to abandon him, to cross him, to try and use him for their own intents. For that reason, he supposes, is why this sickly, sticky feeling of dread is so new to him. He’s never known real betrayal before.

His eyes dart around the room, but the others don’t seem to believe Makoto just yet. Even Owada seems taken aback, stock still and quiet. Only Kirigiri seems unsurprised - or maybe, he was only imagining it, the tranquil quality of her silence. As if she were merely observing it all, far out of their reach.

“Seriously??” Syo’s voice is a grating jeer. “You’re telling me this whole time he had no idea what I looked like? No wonder he didn’t fall for me at first sight!”

“I…don’t think that’s the reason why,” Hagakure says, though he seems utterly bewildered. “But, that can’t be right, right? I’ve seen him reading loads of times. And he practically lives in the library, y’know?”

“Yeah, and he can do things just fine for himself.” Asahina says in agreement. “I mean, he does his own laundry and stuff, and he knows this place way better than me at least. I didn’t even know where the A/V room was during the first motive, I just sorta followed him.”

“Yes, this is sort of…” For the first time, Celeste sounds genuinely surprised, her usually unphased demeanor wavering, her accent slipping for a moment. “Ahem. While I did note that he sometimes seemed a bit…eccentric, so to speak, nothing of his actions suggested that he was impaired.”

Their skepticism is a small relief. He nods jerkily, unable to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth to verbalize his agreement. But it’s a small, pathetic movement that goes unnoticed, hardly amounting to anything in this large courtroom.

And their disbelief only goes so far. Ogami speaks up now, for the first time since the trial began, her low voice immediately silencing the whispers.

“I performed a concussion test on him earlier,” She says, gruffly. “As Kyoko had asked me to. He was lucid when answering my questions, and he didn’t seem to exhibit any symptoms that couldn’t be attributed to other reasons.” There’s a slight creak of wood, as she shifts her weight on the stand. “However, I did notice that his pupils were…strange.”

“My- what?” He sputters now, too suddenly, too loudly. He reaches up to touch slightly-trembling fingers to a closed eye, feeling the smooth bump of the cornea twitching beneath the thin skin of his eyelid as if he might be able to identify the damage that way. Why hadn’t she mentioned this earlier? Why bring it up now? “What do you mean, ‘strange’?!”

There’s a slight, panicked edge to his voice that he hopes no one catches, but this was the first time he heard that there could be physical evidence to his affliction. “It was a bit hard to test without the proper tools, but I noticed that they do not react much to changes in light.” Ogami explains. “The shape is also slightly…off. If I had to describe it, I would say that there is…a warping around the edges.”

“And you didn’t think to mention it?!”

“I assumed it was either due to the head injury, or, it was genetic.” There’s an apologetic note to her words. “Given your usual behavior, I…didn’t think it was important.”

Not important. As if she could know what was important here.

“I. Am not. Blind.” He snarls stiffly. “Obviously, I have never taken a close enough look at my own pupils to notice that deformation, but it has never affected my daily life. I am not disabled, nor have I ever been.”

“I find it hard to believe that you have never been aware of it.” Kyoko remarks, tone clipped. “I can’t imagine someone of your status being ignorant of anything concerning your physical health.”

“Then you can rest easy knowing that I am perfectly healthy.” He snaps back, venom flying off his words.

Distantly, he knows that he is digging a pit for himself. That admitting to this would help clear him of any suspicion at all. But he doesn’t care; he would rather die than suffer such indignity. That was what he’s always known, taught by his butler, and then reinforced by all his surroundings afterwards, his siblings, his father - better to perish and let your enemies cry with relief and count themselves lucky, than let them mock you as you dig your own grave.

“You should just admit it already. You are drawing this out to be unnecessarily long, or would you rather doom us all?”

“I don’t see why I should cooperate with someone who has been making mindless accusations at me all this while.”

There’s a tense, snappish tension between him and Kirigiri. A livewire current. A piece of elastic stretched taut. He glares, and to him, her blurred form looks like that of a reared snake.

“Um…” Asahina speaks up, her hand tentatively raised. “If Byakuya’s really blind, can’t we just test it?”

“Excuse me?”

“I-I mean! Not saying that you are blind, or anything,” She says this quickly, carefully, like soothing a spooked horse. “But, we’re not going to get anywhere if you two just keep arguing back and forth, and it’ll be really quick! Like, Sakura, can you hold up a few fingers?” She complies silently, one arm remaining crossed across her chest, the other raised to her side. “How many is she holding up?”

He tries not to squint, but he has no idea. Two? Three? It's nothing more that a blurred, brown shape. “You can’t be serious.” He almost laughs, but the sound he makes is derisive and bitter.

“Y-yes, this is-! Unfair!” Now it’s Yamada, speaking up again. “In case no one else has noticed, Mister Togami is lacking his spectacles! Asking such a thing of him…it’s akin to bullying!”

He’s oddly assertive about this, and Byakuya watches as he pushes his own glasses a little higher. For some reason, being considered something of an equal by Yamada irritates him further. “Shut up.” Who asked for his help.

“Yes, be still please,” Celeste sighs dismissively. “We are playing a game with our lives. This is hardly the time to be discussing moralistic issues.” There’s a slight metallic tap as she raps her silver finger guards against her rings. “But you do make a point. Byakuya does not have his glasses at the moment. It would be difficult to try and confirm anything without them.”

Thank goodness for those with common sense. He doesn’t look to his side, where she was standing, but he swears that he can see her eyes glancing at him, the unnatural red of her pupils bright on her pale face. “Yes,” he agrees, seizing upon it. “And they were broken earlier, thanks to Owada. Nearsightedness runs on my mother’s side, and the former Togami head was farsighted. I will admit that much, is that what you wanted? Kyoko?”

He’s rambling. He’s aware of it. But there are a few nods exchanged, and Asahina scratches at the back of her head awkwardly, as if embarrassed. Kirigiri, however, is still unmoved.

“No. When I say you are blind, I do not mean without your glasses. Or there wouldn’t have been a point in bringing it up in the first place.” Kirigiri shifts her weight slightly, the sway of her stance accompanied by the creak of wood. “Even without your glasses, you cannot do tasks such as reading. I imagine you’ve managed everything else by means of careful practice, but this is the one thing you can’t manage on your own.”

“Hey, Kyoko-” Makoto looks nervous, unsure whether to face him or her. “That-”

“And how do you plan to prove this?” Byakuya snarls. He feels a small flare of triumph, even despite everything, the looming threat of death. “As we found before, I don’t have my glasses. Did you happen to pick those up as well? Did you repair them for me while you were at it?”

Instead of offering a retort, or any sort of reply, she sighs. A soft, tired sound.

“Makoto.” She isn’t facing the other boy, but her tone is firm as she addresses him, and a little exasperated. She doesn’t say anything more, but Makoto seems to understand, and his hands drop to his sides.

“There is a way to prove it.” His voice is quiet. Quiet, and…sad, somehow. Defeated. “Byakuya…please show us your handbook.”

The realization sets in slowly. He’s already been betrayed by Makoto twice now, but still, he finds himself stunned, slack-jawed. This one was the worst by far - not only was he actively helping Kirigiri, he was betraying Chihiro as well, risking revealing everything to that accursed bear. And after all the lengths Byakuya had gone through to protect this secret.

“What are you saying,” He says, and his voice has a humiliating tremor that matches how his hands shake, clutching at the rail. Surely, he’s heard wrong. Surely, Makoto would correct himself, take it back-

“Your handbook. Chihiro, he…he put a program on it that lets you be able to do stuff like tell the time. It also reads stuff aloud. And he did it after the motives got revealed, that night when Celeste saw you guys leaving the bathhouse.” He sounds so somber, so sad and grieving. He won’t meet Byakuya’s eyes. “He did it in exchange for you teaching him how to be strong, and self-confident - which you did, by telling him to go around talking to everyone else today.”

Without really thinking about it, his hand goes to his inner jacket pocket, where his handbook sits. His fingers close around the little device, the hard edges of plastic and metal pressing into the creases of his palm. He feels a little like he’s been shot.

But he doesn’t bring it out. He glares instead, furiously, hatefully, at the boy standing just meters away. He - and Kirigiri too, most likely, Byakuya suspected that Makoto had already revealed everything that that woman - knew perfectly well the importance of Alter Ego, and why it could not, under any circumstances, be revealed. And they knew Byakuya was aware of this too, and they were holding this fact hostage, over his head.

(I could, some sore, beaten part of him thinks with poisonous intent, try and claim responsibility for Chihiro’s murder. I could say that they’re wrong. That I lured Chihiro to the bathhouse with the intent of making him less wary, easier to isolate. That he was so weak and trusting and stupid that killing him was a simple manner. That I mimicked Syo’s modus operandi to throw suspicion off of me.)

The mere thought was shameful, but it was his pride, wounded and bitter, that was seriously considering it, if only for some semblance of control. The barest reassurance that he had any real weight at all in this trial. And all he would need to do is open his mouth and say the words.

But instead, he bites down on his inner cheek, hard enough for blood to trickle out the corner of his mouth, hard enough for the pain to rival the buzzing in his temples. And tightens his grip momentarily, just enough to feel the faint, humming warmth of the handbook against his sweating palm, and exhales slowly.

“...Fine. Fine.” He spits, angry, defeated, exhausted. He’s sick of this. He just wants it to be over. “Yes. I’m blind. I have been so since we first woke up in this school. Are you happy now?”

Makoto looks down, his face shadowed by his hair. Kirigiri tilts her head slightly, a motion that’s not quite a nod but more of a bow.

“Wait, so then-” Asahina’s voice, confused and a little hesitant, pipes up. “If you’ve been…y’know, this whole time, but only after we got to this school…does that mean the Mastermind did this to you, somehow?”

“That’s what I would like to know, myself.” He turns to look at Monokuma, and finds the bear lounging across its throne, a bucket of popcorn resting precariously on the armrest. The repugnant toy giggles, and swings itself upright, spilling a handful of white puffs all over.

“Gosh, I wonder?” The thing taps at its chin, voice taking on a wondering tone. “Of course, I want this game to be fair and give you all a level playing field. I believe in equality after all! …Though this has made for so many entertaining developments, so…I figured I’d leave it as is. Besides, you’ve adapted quite well, haven’t you Mister Togami?” It cackles, paws clutching at its belly. “GIven how well you did hiding it from everyone, I think it’s fine if we leave it like this, don’t you think?”

He wants to cross the courtroom and throttle the stupid thing this instant. All he can do is glare murderously, lips twisted into a snarl.

There’s a sharp clap that has most people jumping. The source of the sound is Kirigiri, whose hands are raised, and pressed together. “Let’s move on.” Her voice is firm, with no room for arguing. “All we’ve done so far is clear one person’s innocence. We still need to identify the real killer.”

And that was it. The most disgusting moment of his life, over just like that, ended by her words. He knows that there’s bound to be some kind of punishment in store for those who interrupt trials, but he briefly wonders if he can get his hands around her neck before Monokuma can react.

Owada jerks at Kirigiri’s words, startled out of his own stunned silence. “W-wait,” He sounds panicked now, and of course he would be. His scapegoat is gone. “Then, if it’s not Byakuya, then who…?”

“Let’s consider what we know. Given how it’s not clear where the murder took place, it would have to be someone who had access to cleaning supplies or water, and has no alibi that can be verified when the murder occurred. For the most part, everyone here has an alibi that can be supported by at least one other person, but there are some that do not.” Kirigiri lists these calmly, and Byakuya imagines her cold gaze, flitting between each person in the room. “Mondo. Do you care to explain what you were doing prior to the body’s discovery?”

The effect is immediate. The other boy rears up, instantly furious. “The fuck are you trying to say? That I’m a murderer?!” He thunders. “Like I said earlier, I was taking care of my bro. You know that. Everyone knows that!”

“As you said earlier, Taka is currently compromised. He can’t give a testimony.” She shoots back without hesitation. “Your alibi is flawed.”

“Yeah? Well - well so’s yours!” He sputters. “Like- Syo might’ve been the one to find you in the bathroom, but that was just before Chihiro was found. Toko can’t say that you weren’t there the whole time, a-and even if you were, maybe the bathroom was where Chihiro died anyways!”

Owada may be stupid, but credit where credit was due, he was surprisingly quick to retort and pick at Kirigiri’s excuse. “I could not have cleaned up a murder scene in the bathroom so spotlessly in the time between Chihiro’s last sighting and the body discovery. As Makoto described earlier, the sinks of the bathroom were all dry-”

“There was that sheet, you could’ve used that before smashing Chihiro’s head over it. And there’s water in the toilets, right? And the girl’s bathroom was right next door!”

“...I’ll commend you for recognizing my perseverance. But I did not kill Chihiro.” She shakes her head. “If the only thing that will clear me is secondhand support to my alibi, then the only thing that needs to be done is to ask a witness. Toko?”

And she addresses Syo now, who just cocks her head for a moment, and shrugs. “I keep sayin’ to you guys, it’s lights out up there. There’s no telling when she’ll be back!”

Byakuya has had enough.

“Toko,” He says first, his voice low and hissing. Then, louder, building into a shout: “TOKO. Come out, NOW!”

“I don’t think it works like tha-” Syo’s words are cut off suddenly, and she collapses where she stands, like a puppet with her strings cut.

< previous - from start - next >

[mobiusmcqueen]

i fucking love muriel so much they're only human police officer I'll ever like

[llumimoon]

literally still thinking abt the liveshow. like that will be burned into my memory but also im SO SAD bc i think bc of technical difficulties this show isn't actually being uploaded to the paetron BUT IT WAS GENUINELY SO FUCKING GOOD. Like the dads as teens interacting with the s2 teens ??????? the dads as babies ???????? GENUINELY? I WISH I COULD BEAM MY MEMORY OF THIS SHOW INTO ALL UR BRAINS i need more ppl to know of its existence so i can scream about it. Also never fucking recovering from emo teenager henry actually

[eriexplosion]

The funniest part of that Biden & Kissinger post is people that are mad about it and think that he's writing deep praise. You don't write many work emails do you kids?

[fake-elizabeth-bennet]

One of the best things about Derry Girls is it's focus on friends and family rather than romance and sex. A bunch of teenagers who are aged 14-18, figuring out their lives, rely on their friends and parents rather than their lover and this is actually close to reality. Coming of age is not entirely about a nerdy girl banging a hot and popular guy or sexy and arrogant guy falling for a kind and sunshine girl. It's apologising to your friend when you hurt them keeping your ego aside, it's embracing the loss of someone together, it's realizing that you won't make big difference but your bit is necessary, accepting that things will not always work out but you've got the support of your family, blood and found.

Surely these teenagers are dumb and get infatuated with every single person who seems cool to them but at the end of the day, they choose friendship. This decision is not because they're mature and are aware of the pressure of choosing a right partner, it's simply because they choose to do what their heart says. They choose people they're used to and comfortable with, who have been their people for a long time, people who they cannot help but love.

A teenager's life is not as sexual as they portray in the media. It's silly. Very silly. Stupid dance competitions, shitty poetries, failed attempt at sports, just passing the class, breaking rules, attending concerts, begging for having a blasting birthday party is what teenage is about. This is accurate representation of teenagers. Romance, please take a backseat for now because we're having the time of our life with our silly friends!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you so much for your gracious presence in this half-witTED TALK..........

[zipmode]

Epilogue has got me thinking about how utterly Insufferable Conviction and Astarion would be post-endgame. Two guys with dubious morals experiencing true joy and love for the first time without being under extreme duress makes for the most violent and irresponsible honeymoon phase the forgotten realms has ever seen.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 251

Danny is tired and annoyed. On one hand, his parents took the whole ‘so I might be slightly dead’ pretty well! Which is good! On the other, they decided to send him and his sisters to their uncle while they take care of the Guys in White and refurbish the house to be, well, him safe. Which meant a ridiculously long flight all the way to New Jersey. 

A flight he was pretty sure happened to be illegal what with the fact that neither of them were asked for their IDs or anything despite having them with them. Hm. Y’know he’s not going to question it, he’s getting a nap the moment they get to Uncle Harvey’s. 

[hydrachea]

Dan Heng, dear...

You scare me.

[volfoss]

as a guy that loves getting into obscure media that like. maybe 5 people talk about now. it is interesting the difference between consuming media that is SUPER popular and everyone loves your fave (a curse i would never wish upon anyone. the posts will never be good) and a media that like. there is NO ONE actively posting about. it has barely any fan presence online. and honestly its kind of peaceful