#i'm on my front steps

[tomgregviv]

lonelier by phil hancock is hitting so hard right now

[benevolenterrancy]

May your hardened heart be woken By the soft and distant song Of all you left here unspoken All the shards we keep stepping on - Take this body home Take this body home Call the wind, and let her know Take this life outgrown Take this broken soul Call the stars, call them all And take it high, take it far, take it home

[lynnscove]

I don't think we talk about this enough.

[aurosoulart]

"The Invitation" (music credit)

some more art of Star Being, a character my therapist encouraged me to make as an inner guide......... I spent a lot of time here after I finished recording 🌤

[genericaces]

more rambling about a s5 au: lindsey comes back for a redemption arc to act as legal counsel for angel's team. this ostensibly gives gunn a reason to opt out of the lawyer operation, but he does it anyway because he doesn't trust lindsey not to fuck them over.

lindsey acts as a moral foil to gunn, who comes to believe his necessary contribution to the team (since he's no longer their only lawyer) is being the defender of the group's principles while working at w&h. they frequently butt heads while working on a case, but eventually develop a begrudging respect of each other's respective strengths.

this hostile-to-friendly-rivalry arc is tested when it comes out that w&h was responsible for some demon problem that's been plaguing gunn's home community. gunn has, unbeknownst to himself, been somehow contributing to it while working at w&h; lindsey knowingly contributed to it when he was last working there as a lawyer. lindsey is forced to confront who he was, while gunn is forced to confront who he’s becoming.

since he was involved in the project, lindsey uses his insider knowledge to help come up with a plan to fix the problem. they execute it, something goes wrong, and lindsey risks his life to ensure the plan goes off successfully. he expects congratulations and a pat on the back from gunn, but gunn isn't interested in absolving lindsey's sins (or his own), and their warming relationship freezes over.

at some point, gunn lets himself get taken by the senior partners in an effort to deal with his guilt over various lapses in judgment/perceived moral failures. during their rescue mission to the holding dimension, lindsey stays behind in gunn's place so he can escape, assuring gunn that he's the lawyer the team needs right now. their mutual arcs culminate in lindsey rejecting the idea that redemption is done for recognition, and gunn rejecting the idea that guilt/self-punishment is inherently redemptive.

eventually after being busted out by illyria, lindsey is there to empathize with gunn about losing parts of yourself (body, mind, and/or soul) to w&h, relationships to power when you've grown up without it, and what it means to live with the consequences of your actions. both of them reflect on the nature of redemption/forgiveness/intent as they grapple with how to own up to an appropriate share of the blame.

[thychesters]

but marineford is a tragedy, isn't it. ace was always doomed by the narrative but that doesn't stop one from having hope--doesn't stop from wishing, waiting, watching as ace is freed from his cuffs and thinking now surely they will flee. but no one was ever going to leave marineford unscathed. they were never going to go up against every powerhouse in the marines and win because this wasn't an average run of the mill fleet. this world can be cruel and this isn't a game, and they were never going to leave unchanged by it.

this is a tragedy and the story of suffering, of wishful thinking and wondering if anything could have been done differently, wondering what could have changed, and knowing none of it would ever have. would any other action or inaction have mattered? it was always going to end the same. luffy was always going to go after his big brother to save him, whitebeard and his crew were always going to be there, and ace was always going to leap in front of his little brother to protect him. it's "you promised me you'd never die no matter what" and "thank you for loving me."

at their cores they were never going to change. they were nearly out of the underworld and ace was always going to turn around at the last moment because he could not leave an insult to his father unchecked. akainu was always going to kill one of them and if not ace, luffy, and if not luffy, ace, and if not one of them then the both of them. he was always going to take one and it did not matter which. and it is a tragedy that ripples, not just to luffy, not just to the whitebeard pirates, but beyond. this world was always going to have consequences and ace was always going to die and luffy was always going to go after him. it's knowing how the story ends but continuing regardless because maybe this time it will be different. maybe this time it will be different. it's would haves and could haves and should haves and none of them would have mattered. but what if it could have?

before he's freed ace looks at the crowd who's come to save him and sobs, because after spending his entire life wondering if he deserved to be born, if he's worthy of any of this, ready to die, says that he wants to live. his little brother holds him in his arms and there is blood on his hands and he says "you did great, i'm sorry i couldn't make it to the end with you. i'm sorry i'm going to miss out on seeing you fulfill your dream, but i know you'll make it." luffy clings and ace lets go. he dies just as he lived, even if he didn't realize it: loved and not alone. and so luffy saves his big brother, just not in the way he thought he would, not in the way he wanted to.

[mysticfemme]

something about butches being protective of femmes drives me absolutely wild

[khaotunq]

idk i just think he's neat ⇢ Khaotung Thanawat as Ayan (The Eclipse, 2022)

[kisuminight]

You know, as meditative as spinning is, I think the most satisfying part of the process is holding the wound skein in your hands and getting to thwack it.

[deepinifhell]

A Du Mortain simply does not care enough about humans to keep up with all the moral and scientific advancements in a timely manner. One day they're going to say something insane like "if you hold a baby too much you will spoil it" which, in their defense, is a much more modern idea than the 1100's it's just...from the 1920s.

[sysig]

Wake up somewhere better, maybe (Patreon)

[crimeronan]

officially cleared to start exercising again. the first thing i did to celebrate this was go outside and shovel snow.

in april.

[mooifyourecows]

me and the metric paper wasp building a nest on my front door have a deep, emotional bond built from making eye contact multiple times a day through the glass and so naturally i wanted to express my love for him by way of little treat and looked up if paper wasps like sugar water but the search results were all "HERE'S HOW TO LURE WASPS INTO A TRAP TO KILL THEM AS HORRIFICALLY AS POSSIBLE TO ENSURE THEIR LAST MOMENTS ARE PURE TORTURE AND AGONY" and like no, sir, you do not understand, we are in love

[vilnan]

mages who romance fenris and warriors who romance anders are my favourite dynamics

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

watching fandaniel go is wild because he is just [vestibular stims] [vestibular stims] [vestibular stims] [vestibular stims] and yeah man that's a mood

[rubenesque-as-fuck]

Love when Amazon leaves packages for other apartments on my doorstep, then said packages apparently get stolen, then the neighbors come looking for the packages and look at me when I'm a liar and a thief who stole what was apparently "stuff for their baby" when I tell them I haven't seen it.