#just...fucking wild man

[bottombaron]

just me thinking abt the insidiousness of the Familiar Clinic

a place where every familiar is recommended to be put down

not because of any injury or disease

but because their vampire cared about them enough to take them there in the first place

[wildegeist]

My favorite piece of subtle internet body language on Tumblr is when someone reblogs a post like several times in a row to show vigorous agreement. Like yeah I feel you little buddy

[timeisacephalopod]

If American politics wants to be the funniest 2 weeks to a month before the election both Donald Trump and Joe biden would die of natural causes

[zeb-z]

can we talk about Phil and Jaiden today and their interactions after Jaiden finally shows her wings because I’m going crazy.

Jaiden showing off her wings for the first time to Phil, and Phil both happy for her and also insanely jealous, because why did she get to keep her wings, while his got clipped so badly he needs his backpack to counterbalance the weight he lost - or at least the weight he looses having to keep them close to his back.

and the whole time they’re talking in a group, hanging around spawn, Jaiden is perched somewhere above the group. up in a tree, moving from branch to branch, or against the wall, or right on the top of that lamppost. Phil, on the other hand, stays sat on the bench the entire time. grounded.

and every time Jaiden hops from perch to perch, he looks specifically at her. zooms in whiles she’s sat on the lamppost even as he continues conversation. its such a small detail but really helps punch in just how much Philza can’t let it go, can’t stop wishing that he could do the same.

[mamawasatesttube]

it still boggles my mind a bit that people on the internet will just try to call you a bitch in a friendly way when they're like. complete strangers. are you aware that the only reason playful insults between friends work is that they are Between Friends. your basic manners... where are they...

[sandflakedraws]

YOUR BLOG HEADER?????

fun fact! the junior novelization for TBT is delightful.

also, a great observation from a friend of mine

[hi-intrepid-heroes]

top beardsley on dirty laundry moments

[screechingcheesecakecheesecake]

thinking about yuri briar.

Ik that some ppl mostly think that he has incestuous feelings for yor but like?? I think he is just overly attached to yor.

remember that the main reason why yor needed a fake boyfriend was because yuri asked her if she had one and he would have a peace of mind if she had a lover that was to his standard.

Then he found out that his sister is MARRIED for a YEAR from a friend WITHOUT HIM KNOWING AND HER NOT TELLING HIM.

He knows that Yor can be airheaded at times, and he's afraid that the reason why Yor never spoke about it is because her husband might be shit. He let Loid go currently because he doesnt have evidence to suspect him as of the moment.

Also, consider that in his point of view, his sister worked herself BLOODY to raise him, give him what he needs, buy him books and necessities. His sister is his only family and her safety is why he joined the secret police in the first place.

And Yor mentioned that he loves being praised by her. I think his conflict with Yor's marriage is because of the supposedly one year gap that she never told him that she's married. In his chapter he had to deal with a man who cheated on his wife and fooled around with women, ofc hes afraid of that happening to his sister. He values family above anything. He pretty much reverts to his childish self around her (with his line of work he probably feels safest around her).

He's not even hostile to any men that Yor knows, just this stranger who is married to his sister. Aside from the fiasco in his first chapter he doesn't even invade Yor's space and tries not to be a burden as much as possible because he genuinely wants her to start living for herself and be happy. He wanted to wiretap their room to find evidence to implicate Loid but backtracked because he doesn't want to hear his sister's sexual life.

Also, he doesnt really attempt to sabotage Yor and Loid's relationship, he's probably still suspecting Loid because come on, he never got to know Loid and suddenly this man he never knew is married to his only family. He literally doesnt trust Loid. Except for the first chapter where he is reasonably vocal about his suspicions he never (atleast as i remember) really spoke about his thoughts abt it again except in front of his boss.

(edit: he even says it himself!)

Moreover, he doesnt want Yor sacrificing herself so much for him, I believe thats why he lives independently from her so she couldve find happiness for herself without her needing to worry about him.

So yeah, Yuri wants to make the country a safe place for Yor. His hatred towards Loid until now is still reasonable because of the circumstances surrounding the marriage. He has huge attachment to his only family left that he grew up thinking had continuously worked herself bloody to raise him because they were in poverty.

[roychewtoy]

[bradshawsbitch]

happy 30th birthday lewis james pullman !!

[streamsofstardust]

hOW

[ride-a-dromedary]

Again I know it's supposed to be a haha reference to the turns into a bear when he's too aroused thing, but in again refusing to brush just over the surface of this character: "I must be careful or I'll lose run of myself again. An Archdruid should show *some* restraint." comes across to me as more melancholy than perhaps intended when a. You take it into consideration that several lines imply that Halsin has issues with self control and self servitude, and presenting an "acceptable" version of himself as an outwards facing authority figure, to the point where he brushes over his own feelings, or pushes things that he wants down in the effort to reflect better what others want from him.

And b. Remember that Halsin was essentially just an apprentice when he was forcibly situationally promoted to Archdruid - he wasn't taught *how* to be an Archdruid or trained for it, or mentored; he was thrust into it because they didn't have any other choice. But they needed someone, so he stepped up. Halsin has spent the last century studying and learning things on the fly or through trial and error, and in a position of leadership like that, he is aware that every failure to uphold that mask *counts* and others *are* very much affected. How many times has he muttered that same mantra? Or heard it thrown around? An Archdruid not having control over their own magic is a big deal. Even when he is no longer Archdruid, he still grumbles it to himself. He's been at it over a century and he *still* doesn't feel like he's gotten it right. Even when he is in a place of progression, of trying to gain hold of himself again, those wisps of failure and self doubt still creep into everything. And that's sad to me.

[high-voltage-rat]

Actually I'm still thinking about it. Another interesting way in which RvB is anti-war is the way that the Director fills the role of a villain and antagonist (especially in the Recollections trilogy, where he's a faceless villain we never see but is responsible for everything that happens).

In his memos to the Chairman, the Director emphasizes his sense of duty and obligation to the military- he becomes irate for the first time when he feels that it's being implied that he was derelict in his duty... or that the work he did out of that duty is being criticized for being against the military's interests. He also talks about Allison's death in a way I find... interesting.

"You see; I never had the chance to serve in battle. Nor did fate provide me the opportunity to sacrifice myself for humanity as it did for so many others in the Great War. Someone extremely dear to me was lost very early in my life. My mind has always plagued me with the question: If the choice had been placed in my hands, could I have saved her? [...] But, given the events of these past few weeks, I feel confident that had I been given the chance, I would have made those sacrifices myself... Had I only the chance."

The idea of sacrifice is central to the way he talks about his wife's loss, to the way he talks about the war in general. He talks of sacrifice with a sense of veneration- that it's something he aspires to do, that he longs for. There's a few ways we can interpret "I would have made those sacrifices myself"...

-That in Allison's place, he thinks he would have laid down his life too.

-That if given the chance, he would have given his life to save hers.

But most interestingly...

-That he would have sacrificed Allison's life for the continued survival of humanity, if that was what duty called for.

...And personally, I think all 3 are true.

In most war media, the Director's perspective on sacrifice is very common. Sacrifice is glorious and heroic- to die in battle is an honour- and it's the only way to ensure the group you serve survives. This is a tool of propaganda- nobody wants to go to war just for the sake of it, you have to give them a reason that the risk of dying or being permanently disabled isn't just acceptable, but desirable. Beyond that, most people don't want to do things they think are immoral- you have to convince them it's important, a necessary lesser evil. You teach them to sacrifice their morals, too.

The way they train soldiers to follow orders and to kill, is to convince them that they, and the people around them, and the people they care about, will all die if they don't. It's drilled into your head from day one. It's the way they ensure their commanding officers won't shy away from sending their men off to die. The message is constant- sacrifice is your duty, and duty ensures your people's survival.

In the Director's eyes, the damage Project Freelancer caused was his sacrifice. He never got the opportunity to sacrifice himself during the war- so he sacrificed others, as military brass do. The Freelancers- including his daughter. The countless sim troopers. Any people he considered "collateral damage" on missions. And when the opportunity to do so presented itself, he sacrificed a copy of himself- Alpha- and he sacrificed a copy of Allison- Tex.

The very thing that derailed his life- the loss of his wife- he made it happen again. He put her copy in dangerous situations, let her exist in the position of constant repeated failure, created the circumstances that would eventually lead to her death. He put their daughter in deadly situations that nearly killed her repeatedly, provided her with impossible expectations leading to self-destructive behaviours in the name of duty, implanted her with two AI knowing they could cause her permanent harm. He was confident he "would have made those sacrifices himself" because he did.

The Director is the embodiment of the military war machine. As an antagonist, he is a warning against buying into the glorification of sacrifice. He's a condemnation of the idea that one should be willing to do anything to win a war- that duty to the military is the thing that ensures survival... All the messages that are pushed to ensure recruitment and obedience of soldiers.

He's a reminder that swallowing the propaganda leads to you doing terrible things... and in the end, you're a broken man left mourning the losses that you suffered even as you repeated them, convinced that it was all necessary.

[stalebagels]

[lady-tortilla-chip]

It’s so wild to me that in ATSV everything surrounding The Spot is considered a canon event EXCEPT Miles. It’s interesting because Miles’s universe isn’t hindered or destroyed by Miles becoming Spider-man, there is no black hole or people being swallowed into it. And yet Miles is considered the problem and as a result not even considered a true Spider-man. Which, what a fascinating parallel to The Spot that is? Someone who through half the movie was not only underestimated but considered not worth that much effort or time. Just like Miles who is treated as unworthy of his title and his placement in the multi-verse.

[bumblingbabooshka]

Harry Kim saying Naomi is lucky to be born on Voyager and that he would have given "anything" to have her life when he was a kid...