#it’s a delicate balance of the two

[snowberry-pie]

i love sifri’s vanity. i love how she’s constantly trying to maintain this carefully crafted aesthetic she has going on or else she’ll keel over and die

[mylordshesacactus]

God though the fight choreography in Ahsoka really is next fucking level.

Like. Every so often I think fondly about the lightsaber duels in the OT because, bluntly, there weren't lightsaber duels in the OT. There were a handful of scenes in which two characters who didn't like each other much both happened to be holding lightsabers, and on some occasions they tapped the lightsabers together to make very satisfying noises. But we've now come far enough in the star war that we're getting detailed attention to genuine fighting styles, and fighting styles as character essays in themselves.

I just love it.

This show does SO MUCH characterization through physicality in combat; there's a whole meta-dialogue happening just through the portrayal of lightsaber forms and it has SO MUCH heavy lifting to do and does it WELL.

Like, for example, all the little character details that have to be PERFECT in the first two confrontations. I'm just gonna do the tower fight at the moment because the forest battle is its own whole thing and the wolfwren meetcute tower fight illustrates it just fine on its own.

Things that had to be established with little to no exposition in those two fights:

Sabine and Shin are pretty much equals, overall, in combat; BUT

Shin has her VASTLY outmatched as a duellist specifically, because she's been training in solely lightsaber combat more intensely and for longer; BUT

Shin doesn't KNOW that, because she's never fought Sabine before and all she knows is that she's facing an unfamiliar opponent who was Jedi-trained; AND

Sabine DOES know she's outmatched in this fight--she's unarmored, not a small deal for a Mandalorian, and armed only with a lightsaber that while she has trained with it pretty extensively she explicitly hasn't touched in years; BUT

Sabine is ALSO, separately, a highly skilled martial artist and hand-to-hand fighter even with the disadvantage of not being in armor. She's not a pushover or a flailing idiot.

Like it's obvious before Shin even draws that Sabine is not going to win this fight--and Sabine at least is visibly aware of it.

It's clear from their stances alone. Sabine stands and moves like a novice--not untrained, mind, but a novice. She's very cautious, very aware of her footwork, and while that's a good ready position it's extremely hesitant, she's not comfortable in it. She wastes more movement. Shin on the other hand is solid, confident, and grounded.

But not arrogant. Sabine is moving like someone with experience in combat, and Shin doesn't know her or her abilities, so she doesn't rush in at the first sign of weakness. Shin might be more immediately confident with saber combat, but she is also proceeding with extreme caution.

She lets Sabine come to her, ceding the first move in favor of giving herself a chance to read her opponent before committing to anything. And when they do start exchanging blows:

Don't get me wrong--Sabine is NOT a flailing idiot, for all this specific shot makes it look like she's leaving herself open. She's just....not fluid with her lightsaber. She drops her guard when she runs, because running with a plasma sword without burning yourself is actually extremely difficult and she's keeping that thing away from her body while moving at speed.

Her strikes are decent, but her technique is sloppy and she wastes movement--again, not in a way that suggests she doesn't know what she's doing, but in a way that highlights the gap between knowing what a technique is supposed to look like and actually being able to pull it off in a live-combat scenario.

Shin, meanwhile, is fluid, deliberate, efficient, fully in control of every movement--but, frankly, she mostly looks like an impressive threat in this fight because it's an apprentice-level skirmish between two evenly-matched opponents, and Sabine is at a stark disadvantage.

Don't get me wrong, Shin's doing very well--but in a way that highlights her main strength as being extremely solid on her fundamentals. None of these are high-level moves, almost all of them would show up in a youngling kata, and the few that wouldn't are mostly flair like this dramatic-ass battle pose.

We do see some signals that Shin's saber training is at a meaningfully higher level than Sabine's, though--she's had time to develop some of her own technique! I love the way she uses her cape as a combat asset; that's not something Baylan would have taught her, he doesn't have her highly-mobile fighting style (to put it lightly) and it feels just practical enough.

So they feel like viable rivals, Shin feels like a viable threat, and there's still a visceral awareness in the kind of choreography they're given that if Sabine fought Baylan, or Shin tried to 1v1 Ahsoka, they would not last ten goddamn seconds.

[moonshynecybin]

okay but fucked how the neon yellow issue shouldn’t be an issue to this day and age yet there it remains. all neon yellow. even if pecco inherited the friends and family business of giving everyone and uccio reason to hate on marc by being the best (and only, mind) vr46 rider to amount to anything as of yet (sorry 😭), it still shouldn’t be going that far, should it? it’s been… literal years? soon to be decades? what would the reason for the continued haterism from uccio specifically (that bet lmaoooooo) be if like, nothing changed and we are all very much aware that neon yellow will take “marquez fucked me over” to his grave… like the amount of aggression just doesn’t click in place compared to the severity of marcs alleged crimes against humanity even if uccio really fucking hates marc (for reasons unknown?) it’s just astonishing, honestly… what the fuck did marc do to warrant such petty and cruel and pathetic loser behaviour to this dayyyyyyyyy from a guy in his 40s!!!!! vale stop talking about marc every day so uccio can finally move on!!!!!!!!

girl he won against vale. its that simple

like theres a LOT at play in the uccio/vale dynamic that drags its ass over to the rosquez of it all but. essentially. uccio's life and career is all tied up in vale. in wanting to see vale win. in specifically doing whatever vale needs to be successful. and it clearly comes with a lot of love (childhood best friends !!!!) and a sort of. guard dog like intensity and protectiveness over vale's ability to compete and his LEGACY ! so marc comes in and is charming and talented and. vale keeps saying hey maybe hes the next me :) "it is not an exaggeration to say marquez is the next valentino rossi" and "marc certainly has the potential to be the greatest of all time") and uccio is like. what the hell is that supposed to mean. you are SINGULAR ?? GET UP ?? like vale's just come off two down years and this twink comes in, charms the pants off of him, wins the TITLE AS A ROOKIE, and vales just like OHHH WELLLLLLL and invites him to the RANCH. and on a personal level for vale this makes sense because hey he isnt competitive yet anyways so who cares. he'll be nice. he likes marc !!! but UCCIO is VERY protective of vale's legacy..... and i think hates marc on fucking principle because of that....

and then 2015. have you ever had a friend flop. have you ever had a friend in crisis. have you ever sat down with said friend and invented excuses/reasons for their floppage to comfort them because thats what you do when you love someone. like. marc is already a broader "threat" to vale's GOAT status, he's been specifically and persistently fucking annoying ALL goddamn season, and uccio just doesnt fucking like him anyways. perfect excuse. here. unburden your floppage, blame this SABOTEUR. and then theres sepang-> confirms him as reason for floppage/losing the title-> the next few years marc just doesnt stop winning-> MORE of a threat to GOAT status -> argentina happens now he's DANGEROUS to boot -> still fighting against his and vale's joint babies-> GODDDDD he fucking hates that guy to this day

[justalittlebluetiefling]

I remember a long time ago you mentioned you hadn't really had any ships in campaign 3, which was a little odd for you. I'm wondering if you ever found any relationships romantic or otherwise that you've liked or feel yourself coming around to liking?

I'm still pretty neutral on everything! Most of the dynamics I like aren't really romantic. I am a fan of most of the relationship dynamics from a non-romantic lens for the most part, but when it comes down to romance, there's still stuff missing for me to really feel connected to it. Which is still kind of shocking to me but that's where we are!

[capricioussun]

Gen q: since I won't be really using instagram much anymore, how would yall feel about me posting the kind of stuff I'd post to stories, here? More frequent wips, random commentary abt things, etc etc

Edit: just stuff like this mostly ✨

[softquietsteadylove]

Hello! 🫣

I had this idea: thenamesh academic rivals?

Gil is a top student, mostly getting a mark of 100. but whenever Thena asks her rival what he got he always says a lower point (for example he says 97 and she got a 98) , hiding his exam behind his back 🫣

Thena glared at the chair next to hers as it was taken.

"Uh," Gilgamesh attempted - yet again - to strike up a casual conversation, "hey."

Thena tapped her papers on her desk, waiting for the professor to come in, as well as tell them how they would be conducting the labs with their students for the day. "I trust you've already looked up what your score for the mid-term was."

"What was yours?"

Thena clenched her teeth in her jaw. It didn't matter what she got, he would get just the same, if not better. She had worked her whole life to become a historical scholar, as was expected of her. And this guy always managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with her, seemingly without so much as blinking. "I achieved 98. I believe the two point demerit was due to my oversight in the essay section."

Gilgamesh merely nodded, offering a nervous kind of smile. "Ah, well, the essay parts are always the toughest."

She slid her eyes over to him. She didn't truly wish to know, but she also couldn't resist knowing. "And you?"

"Ninety..." he trailed off, as he always did when they were discussing their academic performance. She glared at him to finish, "seven?"

Thena smiled, although she did her best not to appear smug and unbecoming. "An admirable mark."

"Thanks," he laughed off, like it was nothing. Professor Stoss was a famously tough professor despite his young age, and getting any good mark from him was already a feat.

Thena did somewhat believe that the affability Gilgamesh possessed made people go easier on him. And even then, she had to concede that he was intelligent and competent in their field of study. It infuriated her.

She had the weight of the world on her in the expectation to perform. She was even a teaching assistant entirely to advance her studies and career. Otherwise, the interaction with other students was far too much for her own preference.

But Gilgamesh said he was good in historical studies merely because his mother had possessed a fondness for them. Thena devoted hours to studying and research and Gilgamesh worked part time at a diner close to the university. And yet he used to consistently beat her in every assignment and quiz and test.

Only in recent months did he seem to be coming just a single point under her, and even that was not enough. Thena had already heard from her own family how outstanding this no-name student was and how those in their field of work were asking about him.

"Did you...do anything this weekend?"

Thena looked over, somewhat astonished that he was still trying to make conversation with her.

He shrugged, tapping his fingers anxiously on the cover of his textbook. "I heard there was a fancy party for the TAs, I mean. I assumed you went."

Thena frowned. There was indeed an event for the faculty and their chosen assistants--those who showed promise enough to earn extra credits in teaching. She hadn't attended because she felt no need (nor did Phastos, in her defense). "I assumed you had gone."

"Oh, no," Gilgamesh smiled down at the desk. "I take the late shifts on weekends. They're long, but we don't get many people, so I can get studying or work done, y'know?"

Thena swallowed her words. She had all this envy for his natural skill, but his work was just as legitimate as hers. And he worked to pay his rent, living off campus, while she lived in a dorm for female academic leaders. Gilgamesh stole his time studying as opposed to building his entire life around it.

"You deserve to enjoy yourself a little."

She looked at him again, still frowning. "I beg your pardon?"

"S-Sorry." He went back to staring down at the tattered edges of his textbook. But she kept looking at him, waiting for him to elaborate. The silence worked, dragging his words out of him. "I just mean...you work really hard, right? You're always top of the class. You should be allowed to have some fun, sometimes."

She did work hard. She devoted every waking moment of her life to her studies, and the one person who continuously thwarted her attempts at perfection was the one to point it out?

It would be easier to be angry with him if he were dislikeable in any way. As it stood now, all she had to go on was that he always beat her in academic achievement, and so effortlessly at that. But even with that, she had to concede that he worked just as hard, if not harder than her for it! And it was infuriating!

"Sorry," he repeated, looking away from her glowering at him.

She sighed. "No, I'm sorry. It was an innocent question."

He looked at her, completely astonished. She would like to snap at him for thinking she couldn't even just apologise for being overly adversarial with him. But that would defeat the point. "Well, I know you don't really like small talk."

It was that she wasn't good at it. She angled herself in her chair, destroying her perfect posture to face him somewhat more properly. "Should you not have also...enjoyed yourself? When do you have time to socialise if you are either studying or working?"

"Well, I have friends I can see in my other classes," he shrugged.

Oh. Yes, of course. Thena felt her hackles raise again at the idea that she was so unfamiliar with the idea of having friends in any of their classes. But she was trying to be nicer to him.

"But," he offered another sheepish smile, bending closer to whisper like children trading a secret in grade school. "This class is my favourite."

Thena just stared at him. She supposed that made sense. He always said he had the same like of history and classics that his mother had. But the idea that she was included in the categorisation of his favourite anything; a warm feeling spread in her chest.

"The lovebirds are here already."

Students began filtering into the small lecture hall, facing them seated at the front of the room. The one who made the comment plunked down close to the door. Another one looked in their direction, "don't you two ever sleep in?"

They got jokes and insinuations that they were together all the time. Apparently, everyone could see some kind of brewing, invisible tension between the two of them. Thena always found it ridiculous.

"We don't-!"

The student startled, as did the rest of the room slowly taking their seats. The declaration was sharp, and loud--far louder than was needed for a room this size.

Thena felt warmth rush to her cheeks, first for the outburst, then the realisation that it seemed overeager to deny something that wasn't even said. She cleared her throat, turning towards the board (since she had shot to her feet in her denial). "Sit down and start copying."

The student body present groaned but obeyed. Gil was the far preferred teaching assistant because he didn't scare anyone, and even if they under-performed, he had kind encouragements as opposed to scathing condemnations.

"Guys, come on, you heard her."

Thena barely glanced over her shoulder. There was nothing new about their students complaining about her teaching methods. But Gil usually didn't take quite so stern a tone with them. Even in her defense.

He peeked at her with a smile, perhaps hoping to show that he was indeed her ally and not her enemy.

Thena whipped her head forward again. So long as they were pitted against each other in any setting, he was no friend of hers. No matter how winsome his smile was.

[chimchiri]

I'm I'll and bedridden, so basically just lurking in your Tumblr while I re-watch some things, so I present another thing. . .

Your Crow butch isn't too feminine because, consider this, Ellen Ripley from the Alien movies.

(Grouping these together since they're pretty similar)

You're both sweet and I'm glad that it's not a resounding 'yes' to my worry of her not being fit for the butch label lmao.

Yeah, I keep thinking of butch women that really are more like Ridley and which aren't bulky, overweight or pure manly tbh. Because I feel that's the narrative a lot of people think about when they hear butch. Like the far end of the spectrum.

I'm just a bit worried since I know my art style is more in the 'pretty and/or soft' category. So everything leans more into a feminine direction from the get go.

Yet at the same time I'm also worried that any buff/butch women I draw may look like a man - not masculine, I'm talking man. That's probably my biggest art pet peeve when I see (fan)art of buff/butch women and makes me grind my teeth when I see it from advanced artists.

[shima-draws]

I’m really really liking how they’re handling the fights in this arc. Like obviously we WANT to see how much the Strawhats have improved and having them go up against enemies equally matched would feel kinda disappointing and anticlimactic, especially for Luffy. It would have been such a huge letdown if they all trained for two years and then struggled against any new enemies. But nope! Luffy literally beat Hody’s ass in two solid punches and that was IT. The overarching antagonist of the arc, who has been pulling strings behind the scenes at Fish Man Island for YEARS now, was absolutely obliterated and Luffy didn’t even have to break a sweat doing it. But it was drawn out long enough that is was satisfying. The pacing is PERFECT, Oda you absolute madlad

[slippery-minghus]

created another reparative experience for the pile today. these are getting so mundane now, in the best of ways.

i'm on vacation in the one place my family would ever take me to when i was a kid. it's a cozy beach town, and a vacation spot that i've reclaimed as my own. i don't know if i've actually been here more times as an adult than as a kid, but certainly more times as an adult that i actually remember.

and the thing is: this is a pretty chilly place.

i totally thought i came prepared. checked the forecast, packed a hoodie... but 65 on a sunny still day is different than 65 on a windy, misty beach.

as a kid, i would've been told to suck it up. or worse, would've had to lie that i wasn't uncomfortable so that my mother wouldn't force her jacket on me and then make it my problem that she was the cold one now... (and then incite my father's wrath at both of us for being... needy)

so. i bought myself a jacket.

yanno, like tourists do.

it's got an octopus on it and everything.

which is something my parents would have found absolutely unthinkable. you should've been more prepared, you should've worn your mother's jacket, you shouldn't waste your money, you shouldn't be so fucking weak

but here i am. with a cool jacket. that i bought because i committed the sin of not being fully prepared

[im-still-a-robot]

M. It was impossible to make their name look good 😔

Notes:

- Main outfit based off the orginal skin for them (minus capelet). I might do a better design at a later point but I am out of outfit brain power atm

- They like nicer clothes (like sweaters and button ups) but are often annoyed by the lack of mobility

- Mask only comes off when alone or with people they trust. Their headscarf, on the other hand, is used to protect their hair, so they might take it off in public, but usually only briefly, to adjust it.

- The Moofia was important to them. Even after its effective dissolution, cows were very dear to them. Also cow axe :]

- Prone to annoyance and nervousness in equal measure. An asshole on bad days and tricky bastard on good ones.

Thats mostly it. I am going to be thinking about them for weeks to come <3

Diamond (the fox!) belongs to @twodragonsinatrenchcoat

I genuinely don't remember who the child was- feel free to tell me if you know :]

[chat-dank]

If you’re not into Angbang for the "In a world where I hate everyone and everything, against all odds, I found acceptance / love in you” dynamic and the ancient, poetic intimacy of order and chaos, of creation and destruction, I’m not really sure what you’re here for.

[swordsofsaturn]

that's it

[wanders-in-stars]

"Hey, Tamar," Gore began, "are you familiar with this thing called a chair? Y'know, what most people sit on, instead of tables." She didn't answer the merc; only gave him a wide, wolfish grin. Even in human form, her incisors seemed a little too long, a little too sharp. It should have been disturbing. Yet somehow, it wasn't.

[darlingamidala]

sucks how self care actually requires taking care of your future self’s needs instead of mindlessly indulging your present self’s impulses. is it not enough to lay on the couch and scroll through tumblr. must i wash dishes and get a full night’s sleep

[ravenofsilver]

It is 4:45am. I am at work, cold, and sad.

I should get a weighted blanket that’s like. Throw blanket sized to bring with me on Sad Shifts. Won’t fix the tired or the work but it sounds warm and makes my anxiety brain go brrrrrrrrr (or at least the idea does, I’ve never used one before but I think I’d like the experience bc pressure makes my brain good)

[transpanda-1]

🍓We love 358/2 Days but every day we agonize about how it lightly destroyed the metaphor of sea salt ice cream being how Sora and Roxas's combined existence creating a greater and unique whole and not 'general symbol of bonding friendship'