#rude but fine

[jv-f1]

“When possible I try to start my race day morning's with a swim, today was 900m in the pool which may or may not have been followed by a race down the slides 🏊”

— James via Instagram

[taffywabbit]

they should invent a new type of "staying in bed for 2-3 hours after you wake up repeatedly opening and closing apps on your phone" where it makes you feel awesome and energized and emotionally fulfilled

[dread-knight]

poop

[vaguely-concerned]

I love it when odo drops a line he's clearly taken wholesale from one of his hardboiled detective novels fjdksah. 'you'll find I'm a man who... collects on his debts' yeah okay you embarrassing beige nerd

[doginacafe]

There's something deeply fucking wrong with you for having a gay character turn bi, especially after all the shit you wrote earlier. I hope you die screaming and alone, you fucking miserable, worthless, degenerate piece of shit. Absolutely nauseating. People like you are the worst possible part of the queer community and I wish I could kill you myself.

Fuck off.

first tumblr hatemail!! does this mean ive officially made it you guys

[kaladinkholins]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

[kimodraw]

yet ANOTHER op dump ive been drawing them so much to keep away from the horrors (waiting for an answer abt a dream internship)

[lastofthe20thcenturygirls]

i often think about the time ah-duo invited jinshi to drink with her and then just left to chill at the top of the palace walls on her last night in the rear palace talked to maomao about her baby son leaving her. lady your son was there at your invitation why did you leave him alone like that? no wonder the boy has so many issues and none are his fault 😭

[salty-an-disco]

something just dawned on me–

Slay the Princess, a game full of violent and gorish imagery, all described in explicit detail– and the ONE thing that’s censored in the whole game–

is a fuckin’ middle finger.

they didn’t have to censor that, but they did anyway, because it’d be hilarious, and they were absolutely RIGHT

[adiposesaleswoman]

I saw this person ask for blue collar worker body type Sebby and I want to see it too so I draw it as well

[pillowspace]

Lmao i know is cs sun/moon/y/n but would it be possible to have sunna/meno/y/n in alternate timeline or universe? Sunna and meno have been running in my brain badly and idk whether is a blessing or a curse. Still love them

I felt a strange amount of relief seeing this ask. Like, "on it, boss"

By the way, Sunna only enters your house through your bedroom window in this version of the AU. Eventually you just started getting used to the sound of the boards opening and Sunna crawling up onto the sill whenever, "whenever" including 5AM

[lynx-224]

being dissapointed abt ur fav tv show not being just like u wanted doesnt make u a bad person. however, bullying kids online bc a universal story isn’t told exactly how u imagined it does make u a bad person. hope this helps.

[harrywavycurly]

I know I’m not the only one who just thinks Joseph looks extra good in these scenes. It’s something about the hair being fluffier and the way his jaw and neck look like idk what cocaine or drugs they put in these scenes but….lord have mercy🫠🙃

[franticfloralfrenfern]

Fuck me i said "No mames" casually because i picked it up from a hardcore minecraft stream without looking it up and my spanish friend started choking w/ laughter im going to abandon my human form and live with the birds

[muttsandmustelidae]

man have whatever opinions you want about doodles, but if you’re immediately a dick to people who say they have a labradoodle or whatever you reeeeeeally need to work on not being such a deeply unpleasant individual. you’re not being the A+ Good Ethical Dog Person you think you are, you’re just being an unprovoked asshole 💀

[deathbypufferfish]

I realized the other day that a big reason you feel the desire to grow up quicker as a child is because you want to be treated like an actual person with thoughts, feelings, and bodily autonomy like adults get to.