#rather ideally ;)

[movedtodykedvonte]

The idea that GolBetty is all seeing and inter dimensional and keeping Simon from becoming Ice King again is so *chefs kiss*

It hurts them both: Betty having to watch Simon trying to ruin himself again so he doesn’t have to deal with all the complex feeling of being without her. Simon having the guilt of preferring madness to his mundanity even though she sacrificed her complete humanity for him.

It’s a story of star crossed lovers trapped within Ouroboros and it’s beautifully eternal.

[sysig]

Just keep getting back up (Patreon)

[stuckinapril]

One of the most gratifying things about getting older is being secure in both my American and Iraqi identities. Like I used to think that I had to compromise one for the other, or that being half of each would always make me “diluted,” but I’ve never been more comfortable in my Arabness while simultaneously not caring for the western gaze & just making peace with what it means to be Iraqi American. Like I feel so lucky for my Iraqi heritage every day and I know that’s sadly not a feeling all Arabs experience……. But I cannot imagine being anything else and nor would I ever want to be

[40ouncesandamule]

[midnight-in-town]

Weirdly enough, I’m with Twilight on this, not necessarily on the setup possibility, but on the idea that Melinda’s fishy and that, maybe, she figured out who Yor was (Anya’s mom/Loid’s wife) as she initially invited her to come along. 

After all, the main theme of this story is about fake identities, lies and deceiving others. Since the Desmonds and the Forgers are clearly mirroring each other narratively speaking, as the antagonists vs main characters, it just wouldn’t surprise me if Donovan and Melinda were as untraditional, as a married couple, as Loid and Yor are. 

Let me explain: until two weeks ago, almost no reader really thought Melinda would appear any time soon nor that she would be as relevant as she’s turning out to be. Why is that? Because Sensei had a lot of fun so far writing a story in which Berlint’s high society is depicted as very traditional (with the men having the important jobs while women... idk, take care of the house or go shopping?).

Of course, that’s something the made-up family of Loid, Yor and Anya only pretends to live up to, as they subvert all these tropes with pride. For example, Loid is the one who cooks and sews, Yor is the strongest character in the whole series and Anya’s on a whole other level of "gifted”. 

That’s why I just wouldn’t be surprised if the Desmond family only pretended to be on the same level of “traditional” that the rest of their peers expect them to be, only for Melinda to weigh as heavily in the plot as her husband (if not more!). 

In other words, sure, Donovan Desmond is the head of an ultra nationalist conservative party, but does this mean Melinda was just introduced to play the dutiful wife act?

maybe (after all, WISE has nothing on her and she does sound lonely, with most of her friends being from before she was First Lady)

but maybe not because that’s only a cover that she deceives others with, as she plays a big part in her husband’s war plans or in an entirely different business

TL;DR

If the ladies are actually stronger and scarier than their husband in this series, then Melinda is a real foe we’ll have to watch out for, as a good match up for Yor.

Stay tuned, this chapter was insane lmao.

[yummyyummie]

Amira finds it endearing when prey put up a fight that they clearly can't win, because if you've wound up in her belly you've already lost

[jahiera]

without getting into the rest of this (enough thinkpieces have been written) the way you guys talk about being attracted to women is really weird sometimes. maybe it’s just the me being a dyke and all that but sometimes I can hear the “oh he wouldn’t like PUSSY 🤢🤢🤢” in your voices

[turbidapoplexy]

i despise ibispaint but i cant pull my art tablet out rn

[roseofcards90]

The fact that people were so willing to completely dismiss what happened in After Pain and Harrow after they saw It's Not My Fault and Deep Cover paint Mu and Kotoko in a worse light really shows that some people don't have literary comprehension 😭

[ahdriking]

Y'all imma come out and say it. Sex and nudity in film and TV is cool, and I actually really like it. In fact, I'm MORE likely to watch a show if I know it has sex and/or nudity in it. Call me a freak, but I find there to be so much value in the expression of human sexuality, no matter how complex or banal. Provided it is non-exploitative to real people, sex and intimacy and nudity on film seems to me to be a vital component in the expression of the human experience.

[buttercup-barf]

I have no explanation. I owe you no explanation.

[natsmagi]

??

??????????????????

surely not. are you implying that during date plan natsume was struggling with coming up with an idea and not only went to tsumugi, a completely irrelevant third-party with probably ZERO dating experience for advice, but then used tsumugis OWN IDEAL FIRST DATE as a base to work off of rather than, oh, i dont know, GOING WITH YOUR IDEAL DATE????? WHY ARE U BASING UR DATE PLAN ON TSUMUGIS IDEAL DATE AND NOT UR OWN ARE U STUPID. ARE U GAY. my eyes must be deceiving me bc aint no way

[rookflower]

i like crowpool as a narrative setpiece (less because of what it is and more because of what it sets up) and there's no issue if you are a fan, but i'm honestly confused by HOW many people are genuinely actively invested in it as a romance or make aus where it went well, because out of all the bland forbidden romances in warriors i think that is the one where they have the leeeast chemistry? and where the utter failure of it is the most interesting part?

[autisticandroids]

"why do you hate claire and emma so much but you're interested in ben and jack" because im a misogynist. hope that helps

[phoslux]

Yu-Gi-Oh! 25th anniversary anime short 08: Albaz

[katyspersonal]

Djura x Valtr divorce thoughts

Tbh the first thing I thought about when I've learned this bit was that Valtr commissioned this weapon specifically, rather than just used one of them cool Powder Kegs inventions, but it could be even so much more!

'Old hunter' is the term referring to the Hunters of Gehrman's type, the different kind than Church's ones, and we know Djura is one of the Old Hunters as well! It would only make sense that Valtr got in Yharnam around the time when they were pretty active, especially since the pieces of Constable Set (corpses of his dead friends) are picked around Hunter's Nightmare, which is specifically built around Old Hunters era! It is also easy to assume that in that era, Powder Kegs were not active and instead it was Oto Workshop since you get Firing Hammer badge in Hunter's Nightmare, but:

It is hard to tell! The Oto Workshop badge, the Firing Hammer one, is dropped by NPC Bestial Hunter, whereas Oto Workshop did not create the Boom Hammer (funny enough!), and yet Old Hunters all over Hunter's Nightmare are using this weapon! Reasonable to assume that Hunter's Nightmare captivated the timeframe after Oto Workshop already fallen, and was replaced by Powder Kegs. And so, Djura was already a big deal!

I also love the attention to the bit that Boom Hammer entailed an especially strong vitriol towards the beasts. This attitude easily could have been Djura's past prior and during the time of Powder Kegs burning the Old Yharnam, something he came to regret (not unlike Maria). And so, Valtr had an idea for a weapon that would kill in especially twisted and aggressive way - an approach Djura could sympathise with! And moveover, sort of take Valtr under his wing, since he'd have a hard time, really:

Valtr instantly caught extreme prejudice and mockery on himself for the ""awful crime"" of not reacting in the most sane way on having his companions murdered by this beast. Valtr already has an aggressive temper, and clearly companionship means everything for this guy as his dying words are about his confederates, so of course he was more fucked than maybe even another hunter in this same situation would be. He was not even a hunter at that time! The way it is worded, in my opinion, emphasises what the Yharnamites think of him: that eating beasts is "just" what he does, or all those whacky foreigners do for that matter, rather than exceptional moment of his life. I think the nickname of beast eater got glued to him because of that, like eternal reminder that what he experienced, and how he reacted to the traumatic event, now defines him in everyone's eyes, rather than like... he made a habit of eating beasts... Heck, maybe it does define him. Maybe it did change him forever, and this "aggressive manic" character is what replaced the person that died in that day.

It is only fair that Djura would want to give a hand. I like the idea of him being the first one to try to reach out instead of being weirded out or afraid or disgusted: something that even other hunters could have felt nonetheless, as in, 'he is like a beast himself now lmao'.

It is also a no-brainer but I doubt Djura would hate Valtr for eating that beast over "beasts are people tho" sentiment (in other words, what Valtr did was cannibalism I don't see the problem lol). It doesn't feel very 'kind but foolish' person-ish to fear or hate someone for a psychotic reaction in an exceptionally extreme event even after his 'epiphany' on nature of beasts. That would also be at least two layers of hypocrisy on Djura's end then, as not only he himself had regrettable past, but also he doesn't mind "cannibalism" that much if he threatened Paleblood Hunter to leave them as food for his beasts! Three layers of hypocrisy, actually, because even under assumption that Djura did not take part in burning of Old Yharnam himself and just returned to the disaster, he forgave at least two people who did; Djura's Ally and Djura's Apprentice NPCs, who are both wearing Charred Hunter outfits:

Though if Djura was hypocritical in regards to going "actually I now find what you did inexcusable, bye ✌️", that'd be interesting reason for falling out also! It would be a cool goodbye if Valtr addressed it and rage quit, leaving Djura with feeling of shame forever! After all Djura is not only 'kind', but also 'foolish'? Lol Though I'd say Valtr's general attitude was probably the bigger factor, and he is the more likely initiator of the breakup!

Valtr outright states that nothing impure deserves to live, whereas Djura is willing to spare the surviving beasts of Old Yharnam based on the fact that they can't harm anyone outside. He is not against the hunt entirely and is reasonable enough to acknowledge that outside of Old Yharnam seclusion, beasts are roaming the streets and attacking people; he sends Paleblood Hunter off to "make the best out of the night". And Valtr, in turn, could see this as a betrayal of their previously shared still naive ideals to "exterminate all bad things to protect everyone :3". Beasts are a dark concept, they are humans that failed to uphold their willpower and fell for the darkest, dirtiest side of humanity. Even if those in Old Yharnam basically got infected, are not they still "filth" in his eyes? So, Djura suddenly sympathises with the "filth", all after having been the Old Hunter so legendary that Hunters are still modelling their caps after his to this day!

But also, Valtr turned out to be reasonable enough to leave him be. He is not summonable in Old Yharnam, unlike Alfred, who you just can tell has THE fanatical mindset. But Valtr sure could grasp the concept of being pragmatic: Old Yharnam beasts, and Djura himself, are isolated now, right? If he was willing to protect the world from the "filthy" things, as far as he was concerned, it was protected from Old Yharnam. Djura is like a gaoler and beasts are like his jailed criminals, and definitely Valtr would recognise the concept, of all people!

So he and Djura parted the ways without hate but for the same reason why Paleblood Hunter and Djura part the ways. Because there are dangerous beasts 'out there', that need to be stopped. And dangerous people, too, but for Djura there is no difference, of course. I imagine it would still be bitter. Maybe Djura would prefer Valtr to chase beasts in Old Yharnam to get isolated within instead of murdering them, but Valtr would be upset at the suggestion. Leave out the Ashen Blood patients, but the beasts outside certainly, definitely became those due to their own dark impulses. And if some asshole long ago didn't fall for the dark impulses, his companions would still be alive! So how can Djura sympathise with that? Is he implying that Valtr should be (retroactively) sympathetic towards THAT beast too? Really bitter things like this on both sides, and Valtr would have stronger grudge, but they are grown men and can agree to simply never see each other again.