#strength to think hard

[hinamie]

I'll give them shelter like you've done for me

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

thinkin' about Bardaby and his illusion smoke...

[jkvjimin]

TAEHYUNG + 🌈 colors (cr. namuspromised, jung-kook)

happy birthday, kelli! @heybaetae 💕

[frobby]

rin 1000000% has a list somewhere of things hes good at that yukio is bad at

[aphantimes]

I love this scene so so so so so much. It’s a demonstration of Knuckles’ strength, but also shows some INSANE precision. If he just had brute strength with no technique behind it he WOULD NOT be able to do this. He’s EXTREMELY skilled and I loooove seeing it demonstrated like this. And the fact that he doesn’t even break a sweat? He isn’t exerting himself at all here? It makes me wanna know what him going all out looks like!!!

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

tbh i think that even unwinnable fights should be winnable. some of the BEST fights i've ever run as a dm were ones i built kill the players (in a fun way. I had some cutscenes prepped so even the loss would be a different flavour of win)- but then they were clever bastards and managed to either win the fights or pull themselves out of trouble. I think it's perfectly fine to plan for a fight that players aren't supposed to win, but you need to let them. if they can't win, they can't lose, and the meaning of that encounter is diminished. do that too many times, and they stop trusting you to give them roleplay prompts and start expecting to sit there waiting while you drive the story for them.

but if they can win... if there is always the chance to win, no matter how impossible the odds, then they ALWAYS have hope. they always get invested. they feel the big emotions of success or the big emotions of failure, and you fucking Win as a dm/roleplay prompter/lead bastard.

[thelaurenshippen]

the way that silver said "I will stand here with you an hour, a day, a year" to flint and "I will wait a day, a month, a year, forever" to madi....I'm sick to my stomach. who is doing unhinged devotion like this man

[opal-owl-flight]

If neo 3 is so curious as to why three is the captain just ask 8 why I’m sure she’ll give you one hell of a story from before 3 was captain.

“Heh. Just speakin the truth here, Cap. Youre nothin but a sad, broken relic. A legend thats fallen outta style.

…hm! Now that I think about it, I think I see the reason that crinkly fella gave me your old number.

Im the New Three, not because Im just like you, no, no.

I carry it because Im the one replacing you.”

[solargeist]

for over a week now i keep thinking abt grian and kid xelqua. something abt him taking care of this alternate universe child version of himself. i just stare at the ceiling and my eyes blur

[godasfarasyoureconcerned]

seen someone say it but it’s so poignant that izzy spends the entirety of episode 4 lashing out, screaming at the ship and at his own reflection. his anger and frustration comes out violently and he puts no effort into filtering it. he’s a drunk mess and doesn’t care to stifle his anger, if he even could. he’s used to feeling hurt and then lashing out. it’s normal for him to be hit and then go hit someone else about it. it’s normal for him to feel like shit and then go shout at someone about it. he can do that blackout drunk, and doesn’t even need another person around to do it

but when he’s gifted the leg, and suddenly given something to be actively happy about, he has to stifle his reaction. he suddenly has to choke back his emotion, and the words don’t even form. he can only shake and cry and keep himself as hushed as possible, literally clamping down with his hand to keep them restrained

anger is something he’s comfortable displaying even when intoxicated. but, even when intoxicated, bittersweet tears are something he feels he needs to literally hold in. anger is acceptable, anger is normal, anger is something he knows how to deal with. feelings of camaraderie, the sting of love like alcohol in a wound— he doesn’t know how to deal with it, nor is he comfortable sitting with it. it’s never been something he was allowed to embrace, and it’s still not something he even knows how to

sorta like if you keep getting hurt, your skin will scab and callous and you’ll get used to the feeling of that pain. it becomes normal and your body adapts to become tougher and more resilient. only problem with knowing how to power through wounds like that is that when it’s time to clean them, to wash them with alcohol to disinfect, it stings like something you’ve never felt. something deeper and sharper that your skin isn’t used to, something actively counteracting the way your body has adapted to repeated offenses. once you’ve felt enough scratches in your skin, the alcohol of healing hurts worse than yet another countless scratch

my poor guy has never ever healed from anything that’s happened to him, he’s always just powered through and calloused himself for the sake of efficiency. only realizing now that you can only power through with dirty open wounds so long before they start to fester and rot. poor guy doesn’t even know what healing feels like and he’s never been allowed to know. any previous attempts might’ve earned him “fuckin’ lightweight” and “if you can’t do it, someone else will” so even healing feels like something he has to stifle and keep quiet

[aromanticasterisms]

no but actually. the parallels to other Twins in different nations of teyvat in relation to the traveler and their desire to reunite with their own sibling makes me a little bit bonkers. like.

diluc and kaeya as what the traveler has and fears, after we will be reunited [separation born from conflict that seemingly cannot be mended; they both care for each other but ultimately their opposing ideals mean they cannot be at each other's side in the same way that they used to, and no longer have the close bond they once did]

ei and makoto as what the abyss sibling experienced [a crushing loss not just of one's twin but the last remaining friend they had and the safety and security of their nation, coming out the other side traumatized, cold and jaded and making decisions that will ultimately hurt the people they claim to want to protect for the sake of an unattainable goal]

and lyney and lynette as what the traveler and the abyss twin used to have before they were separated [never apart for long, home is wherever we are together], what the traveler wants [their separation brief and quickly amended, continuing to be inseparable after they reunite], and also the choice they'll have to make [the twins being together in an organization the traveler inherently doesn't trust - does the traveler want to be by their sibling's side badly enough to throw their lot in with the abyss, and turn their back on everyone else they've met on their journey so far?]

[general-cyno]

Something that fascinates me about Zolu is how the relationship is full of opposites (pirate and pirate hunter, god and demon, two kings in their own right) and at the same time is clearly about complements (sun and moon, captain and first mate, king and knight, devotion and faith). I really feel that Zoro walks a fine line in which he can be an equal for Luffy (starting from their similarities in things as simple as their lack of orientation, the indomitable will that the two have that separates them from the rest) while still being his second, his right hand, one of his wings and, in my opinion, the cornerstone of his crew. It's a relationship that could be of rivals or equals or enemies or lovers or best friends or...

I don't have much to add bc you laid it out perfectly but YESSS! their relationship is just so good from all the different angles you can view it from, and the multiple layers it has despite how simple or effortless they make it seem when interacting with one another. I'd also say though it's perhaps a little contradictory? that zoro and luffy understanding and complementing each other as much as they do (despite some of the thematic opposites they have as well) is exactly what allows zoro to stand as his second and find purpose in following/tying his own dream and goals to luffy's instead of just striking out of his own, just like it allows luffy to trust and rely on him the crazy way he does in turn.

tbh when it comes to these two I don't really think them being equals or not has to do with strength. ultimately, luffy will always be as strong as the plot needs him to be and stronger than his crewmates and fellow captains in the kind of raw fighting power he excels at against the enemies he faces. any other weaknesses or shortcomings he may have or whatever battles he can't fight bc he's focusing on the local biggest bad - that's what the straw hats and the allies he's made along the way are for.

BUT. for example, the one person who's absorbed luffy's pain and exhaustion in the most literal and physical way possible, all while protecting the entire crew but especially luffy himself as well, is zoro. and the most recent chapters have only highlighted how special this is, from kuma's pov, even though it's been years (within the story and irl) since it happened.

roger and rayleigh are also a good point of comparison imo. ray's basically known as a legend second only to roger himself and he was still very much his partner, no matter if roger was technically stronger. now, for crew dynamics reasons I don't think zoro and luffy will directly call each other the same but there's very obvious parallels between these four so there's that too.

[cherrywhite]

Being a silt verses fan and an ethics town fan is so funny because. Like.

These are the same VAs 😂😭

[aru-art]

hey google what to do when you can't stop hyperfixating on a game that's not even released yet

(originals are from red spring's blog, relationship chart template is from here) 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨

[trashbag-usa]

it feels like a lot of people have given up on fully connecting ISWM/Engie Mark to the wider lore (aka WKM) since IRL Mark straight up told us he wasn't Actor.

but not only am i a stubborn son of a bitch, but yknow what Mark also said?

"Engineer Mark isn't Actor Mark, but Actor Mark just might be Engineer Mark."

so hear me out, y'all.

preamble; if you saw this in a yt comment section, no you didn't. (that was also me i didnt steal this i prommy-)

i have this entirely insane theory about iswm that Engineer Mark is actually Damien, but only sometimes.

the most obvious places i can spot him is in the abandoned ship with the candles ("captain needs their sleep" and whatnot), as Old Mark (specifically in the empty diner), and most definitely as the "Mark" we see as part of the finale, the one who realizes he was wrong.

Actor is allergic to admitting fault so I Don't Believe That's Him.

this explains the thematic focus on sleep and rest in these scenes, things told to Damien and told to US by DARK several times.

("Don't remember" anyone?)

speaking of Dark, it explains why he isn't there. we DO however see the suspiciously Darkiplier-esqe Ms. Whitacre, which it isn't controversial to say atp is CLEARLY Celine.

that is, until the universe does its final kablooey and Dark as we know him, Damien attributes and all, comes to take the warp-crystal.

and besides, think about it.

given Actor's whole goal in all this, as laid out in the Damien Project, do you REALLY think he would write a story in which all problems arise from HIS OWN NEGLIGENCE? NO!

that would make him a villain, and all he ever wants is to be portrayed as the hero, literally for eternity!

but you know what i think he would do? set up a farce for the most troublesome of his "co-stars".

you, the viewer, want genuine choices? you want to have some real control over the story? some responsibility? FINE.

everyone looks to you, but under your leadership everything goes wrong, no matter what. you don't know why, but you're actively villinized and the harder you try to go back and fix things, achieve an "ending" on your own, the more people HATE you. the more the thought that maybe there IS something wrong with you specifically will stick in your mind as a possibility.

all these options, but none of them "right", creating MORE suffering instead of fixing it just to find that ever elusive end.

damien wants control of the narrative? he wants his old friend, you, the District Attorney to be released from his eternal story and given back to him? FINE.

here's his role back in earnest, given the possibility to engage and choose instead of intrude and twist like usual.

(yes, i do think Damien/Engineer is genuinely going down his own hopeless path while we find our own. in one of the descriptions leading to the final "Hold On/Let Go" confrontation, it says "you're not the only one making choices. you're not alone, you never were".)

he is allowed to fight for the safety of others, side by side with his closest companion, just as they did when they were alive.

BUT, the twist is Damien becomes a genuine villain. in his quest to do the altruistic thing and help at all cost, he is personally responsible for the death of LITERALLY EVERYONE EVER.

this is a personal hell for someone like Damien, as seen from WKM, all he ever seemed to want was help others and guide them towards peace.

for his actions/leadership to fail so unthinkably catastrophically, seems like the exact hell a bitter Actor would want to subject his "old friend" to for meddling. :/

Actor sets the stage for a theatrical punishment game. Mayor and Attorney, together again, taking an impossibly long stay in a personally crafted hell for the horrendous crime of ever even thinking they'd be worthy of ✨️staring roles✨️.

Actor turns you two against each other, and once Damien is brough down to the depths of despair and you have finally learned that true responsibility can lead to catastrophic, painful results, we're brought back to our proper places.

you go to a proper ending, with the Engineer role now being played by Actor once and for all, and Damien once again becomes part of Darkiplier, pocketing the warp-crystal to plant on the box in Heist.

Engineer isn't Actor, it's a role he plays when it suits him and his goals, to make his enemies suffer. he's willing to be Damien's understudy, if only for this purpose.

but at the end of the journey, Actor becomes Engineer to take in the fruits of his labor. ..and maybe invite you to a Heist while he's at it.

BUT HEY, THAT'S JUST A

very long winded """theory""" that is pretty much only insane fanfiction-

[todayisafridaynight]

reward piece done for a twitter lovely !

Commission Info (23 Aug. 2023)