#serve only to prove

[aceredshirt13]

so I experienced my own version of Barbenheimer on my flight back to America from Japan that my boyfriend has dubbed Barbenteen. because I replaced Oppenheimer with 1917. I currently have a pet interest in World War I fiction that discusses the hopeless brutality of war as compared and contrasted with the humanity within it, and also I just really wanted to watch the Barbie movie, so it seemed like a good choice of duo.

anyway the Barbie movie did a better job of humanizing the Kens who redeemed themselves after the failure of their radical conservative takeover than the movie about war’s senseless violence and futility did of humanizing… literally any of the German soldiers, at all, whatsoever. which is Sure Not Something I Thought I’d Be Saying But Here We Are

[suntails]

acts of service

[fideidefenswhore]

the downfall and execution of a tudor queen (2023) / the boleyns: a scandalous family (2021) / the king's pearl: henry viii and his daughter mary (2017), melita thomas / anne boleyn (tv miniseries 2021) / the mirror and the light (2024) / elizabeth (1998)

[hojiteaversion]

I'd like to think Mehmed is thinking the same with regards to her, in this scene.

He gave her the sword. He controls his temper around her. She stabbed him and his response was to admire and kiss her. He promised to not hurt her friends. He kissed her in this scene because otherwise he would probably tell her everything, which he supposedly can't do yet. He's far from perfect but she is his one "weakness".

Lale was undoubtedly under his power in an unbalanced/dangerous way‚ but he is absolutely under her power as well‚ especially now, and I think he's known it for a long long time.

[vaugarde]

pokeani moments that exist purely to make Me miserable:

the line where they call ash's oshawott a throwaway pokemon in the unova league so they're just flat out saying they think it's a worthless pokemon

to thine own pokemon be true (extra angst points for me bc ambipom was my second favorite on the team at the time)

the granddaughter of the guy who trains gliscor calling gliscor pathetic and weak to her face despite gliscor being an extremely sensitive pokemon

pretty much everything about that gible

blue episode (favorite color but they made it a fetish somehow and also dewott and brionne and meowstic are all there and its so bad)

boxing heracross immediately. also that battle frontier episode where it's literally the only returning ash mon (barring torkoal i think but i dont count it bc its native to AG) to get humiliated onscreen

pidgeot returning but gliscor didn't even show up in the miniseries despite being an Actual Character

[bottombaron]

while doing research for another theory I came across a completely mundane detail that I can’t imagine holding any actual significance but at the same time I couldn’t pass up sharing it

so, during the scene that I am calling the Pepsi Challenge, we have this moment:

Nandor gives Guillermo, as he says, a “flat Pepsi”

except Guillermo doesn’t drink Pepsi…

my boy is a Coke-Cola drinker as the lord intended.

normally this isn’t even worth mentioning. maybe the line was ad-libed or read wrong, or it’s just a joke that wasn’t thought about very long and that’s all good! i’m cool with all that. what would this inconsistency even mean in the long run anyway right? how would Nandor even know the difference between Coke and Pepsi???

really what gets me is that in the scene the bottle is set and reset two or more times, almost always keeping the label visible.

now, it’s been a while since i’ve been thru this issue on a set, but my understanding was that no labels could be used without paying a licensing fee. which is why you usually see fake labels on products in tv and film or more likely, they just turn a product at an angle so the label can’t be read and nobody has to pay anything to use it. but here the label is not only clearly visible but it maintains visibility at almost all cuts. which means the bottle was purposefully realigned in order for audiences to see that Guillermo is undoubtably drinking Coke-Cola. wwdits paying a licensing fee for this seems a little odd considering it’s not like Guillermo drinking Coke is important in anyway. it doesn't give significant product-placement either. but then Nandor brings up the flat Pepsi and i’m like ??? and if anyone says that Guillermo drinks both, shut your goddamn mouth and jump in a lake and when you climb out find the nearest convenience store and drink one or both of them because obviously you never had before and have no idea what you’re talking about. the two drinks are notorious for, if one is liked, the person would find the other absolutely disgusting.

also, yes, Guillermo didn’t just have it for show. he actually drunk it.

again, i’m not saying this means anything. i just think it’s interesting. 🤷‍♂️

[infinitelystrangemachinex]

Mel for the unhinged character bingo!

yessss YEEEESSSSSSSSS

[little-tyrant-gortash]

You should kill them before they end up killing you. Be careful Gortash

"They are my ally. I will not kill them. And while your concern for my well-being is appreciated, I do not require it. With this in mind. Get out."

[muirneach]

u r all misunderstanding the canadian tennis curse it was not lifted when gaby and felix won mixed because it doesn’t apply to doubles only singles. or perhaps more accurately it doesn’t apply to gabriela specifically as she is the world #3 wta doubles player, whereas other canadians who play doubles typically end up flopping at some early stage. however, this doesn’t mean that gaby carried felix this week (unlike some teams where that sort of thing happened) because it was very much a team effort and felix is moderately good at doubles and pulled his weight

[fleetways]

The thing is, Sonic is very chivalrous with Shadow. And even though Shadow kinda has pick up on how it seems very exclusive to him, he doesn’t see the irony of it.

Sonic was a King, and if he had grew up as his peers had expect him to, he would’ve expect that sort of reverence from Shadow. Not viceversa.

He is gentle because he wants to, and because he loves Shadow already, he doesn’t view him as weak, he just can’t stand to see him hurt.

Que Vivan los Novios🦔🦔!

🎯

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

“By night all cloaks are black, Your Grace.”

- Bran III, ASOS

The Night’s Watch is probably the most underrated institution in the fandom, which is quite interesting considering the fact that an ice apocalypse is about to befall Westeros and the NW is the one thing standing between the Others and the rest of the realm. Sometimes, we tend to look at the coming Long Night as the North’s fight or even just the NW’s fight when really it’s humanity’s fight. It’s a fight everyone will have to mount against winter - and death itself. That’s why I like the quote linked above. Because at the end of the day, when night falls and winter comes, all cloaks will have to turn black. Everyone will have to become part of the night’s watch whether they like it or not. So the Night’s Watch evolves from being a ragtag group of a few hundred to a group that encompasses tens of thousands. It probably why the vows say “I am the watcher on the walls”. Not the Wall (singular) but walls (plural). But doubly important is the post of the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, whose job is to lead and command the entire Watch through this winter. He has to keep morale high, has to provide food and resources and training, has to come up with battle strategy, has to ensure that the NW remains true to its purpose, has to make and keep peace between all the different factions and prepare them for the coming winter, and so on. He has to deal with hundreds of lords and kings and dozens of armies. He becomes the most important lord in all of Westeros when you think about it. So it looks like our current Lord Commander, Jon Snow, has a lot of work cut out for him. But thankfully, GRRM spent an entire book preparing him for the task.

[mityenka]

idk if this is a hot take but i think that disregarding the value of philosophy as a study and reducing it to synonymy with mansplaining is no better than saying that art holds no value for humanity

[notetaeker]

I saw a video where Hillary Clinton blatantly lies and says there is a two state solution in Israel right now and Palestinians are in power and instead of using the money they have to build their country, they are using it all to attack Israel 🤢🥴🥴🥴💀💀🤡

The crazy thing is, since no one does their own research, I see the same exact theory in the comments of so many videos and posts. It really shows a few things- first that some people will not even do the bare minimum and will instead base their opinions on something they heard without having any proof, and two that politicians will blatantly lie. Just Blatantly. They are Not a reliable source of information they will say Anything to serve their ulterior motives.

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

Funny how that's actually true about how the characters/story would treat Dimitri, but when Edelgard does it it's "for a just cause" and it's always totally acceptable. This game really does love its waifu double standards.

[mossmotif]

Toxic gfs please 😖

TOXIC GIRLFRIENDSSSSSS

anon, my love, my world, how could i see this without immediately thinking about mei mei??

i was literally thinking about this ask all day, so a lot crossed my mind!! but what i really ended up latching onto was a childhood friends sort of au (v canon divergent)

obvs, i feel like having any sort of relationship with mei mei that lasts this long is going to turn sort of twisty and complicated. she's so honest about her greed, and i feel there's def an always present insecurity surrounding the reader concerning their value to her. not a pressing one, but one that's simply there. addressed so rarely that it's become dust covered and logical.

the tests start off small, like her asking you to do certain tasks for her. little acts of service like grabbing her snacks for lunch, or doing her work, or offering your gym clothes when she forgets her own. the people around you call you a pushover and a doormat. but things have always been this way, and the benefits are so easily identifiable.

she's kind to you. and despite what everyone else says, you're aware that once you turn your back that it's hypocrisy that fuels their attitudes, because it's your shoulder bumping against mei mei's when the two of you leave the room.

you're turned golden with the connection. she's always had midas on her side, tucked into her lashes, her teeth, her nails, any part of her that she can drag along your skin.

it's a hot summers day when she brings you out to an abandoned train track. she's brought you to the edge of a thicket. the old rusting tracks look like they're the ageing borders to another world.

something in your stomach croaks as mei mei playfully balances along the steel rail. your feet remain carefully planted into the loose gravel. the sound of hollow metal and rock clashing against each other is a pleasant one. despite your subconscious unease, you briefly close your eyes and take in the warm air around you as she reaches out to grab onto your hand whenever she misplaces her balance.

she brought you out here to celebrate getting through another year together. your ears had burned at her words: together. so much implication behind such a simple word. you found your mind running as she brought you out without any other explanation. it wouldn't matter as long as you were together. as long as you were there whenever she threatened to tip over while treading along the thin metal beneath her with her arms splayed out like an elegant bird's.

the thicket walks along with you both, never ending in its length. just as mei mei hops off the rails and stops walking, you wonder just how she stumbled upon this place.

"we're here." she circles you languidly as your steps also slow.

"here?" you question dryly as she stands behind you.

you're facing the thicket head on now, eyes sucked into a whirlpool of sameness and obscurity. the endless and thick lanes of bark all mold into something foreign. the birds have ceased to chirp. something rancid seems to waft out of its clearing, like a gaping mouth that's feasted and starved.

"yes," mei mei whispers. her mouth is dangerously close to your ear.

she rests her head on your shoulder lightly, staring up at you with a look you've seen a thousand times before.

your head rests against hers, leaning into the touch.

"what is it?" you ask. eager, and perfectly pliant.

she chuckles softly, raising her hands to block your vision. they act as a blindfold, though her palms seem softer than any fabric.

"a surprise," she answers cheekily.

she makes contact with your skin, completely darkening your vision. your senses frenzy as one is dampened. for a moment, all you're able to register is mei mei's body against yours.

there's the faint chance of her perfection melding into whatever it is you've made of yourself.

the chance is however eradicated by the sudden rise of a rank smell. it oppresses the other scents around you so strongly that the feeling of it sliding down your throat has you choking on your own breath and spit.

with the loss of your sight, the rot in the air grows heavy with every passing second, stalking its blind prey.

your expression twists beneath mei mei's palms and she seems to feel the shift of every muscle in your skin. her fingers separate from themselves slowly, allowing light to creep into your vision through her command and nothing else.

what hobbles across the train tracks turns the spit in your mouth rancid.

what you can only identify as a discoloured mound of flesh and teeth writhes between the thick trunks of the thicket ahead of you. its skin gleams with bright and volcanic cysts, oozing the smell of rotten and overly ripened fruit.

"mei—"

"shh," she hushes. her lips are so close that they're able to graze your ears now, her breath fanning across your face. she smells sweet, like lollipops.

"just look," she demands. her voice progressively becoming shrouded by the caws of birds

her hands have hardened around your skin and if you weren't so frozen by fear you would recognize the testing and prodding of her fingertips. they try to spot any flaking, any fools gold feathered across you.

when she finds nothing, when your feet remain planted into the ground and you remain in her clutches, when you mold and gouge against her instead of crumbling, mei mei finds herself smiling.

she turns your body towards her just as crows manically dive into the monster and begin to merge each other into a pool of unidentifiable gore.

you've gone weak in the knees, but she catches you, still grasping you by your soft cheeks. the fear in your eyes glints against the excitement of hers as her thumbs brush the sweat and tears off your face.

there's a sort of ownership in her hold that's never felt safer to you before now.

[whippedcloudsofcream]

Honestly, people on both sides misunderstand Thrawn. People either say slay or babygurl and ignore his crimes and make him some oversensitive guy who was forced into working for the Empire. Or some cliche comic book villain with no self control whatsoever. They’re both wrong. Thrawn isn’t bloodthirsty, he isn’t barbaric or sadistic, but he still a villain. Thrawn is, in the end, still a fascist. Still an Imperialist. He is a part of not one, but two governments that value control, order, and abuse over the masses. He is comfortable in fascism and it has benefited him greatly his entire life. He doesn’t want things to change. He sees no reason to change it. Thrawn has made his choices and he is a bad man who supports a bad system. He does anything to achieve his goals, but just prefers to do so with the least bloodshed possible for convenience sake and not any actual care to the lives of the people who serve under him. That’s literally it.