#the mvp of the series

[too0bsessedformyowngood]

SHE CALLED HIM SEAWEED BRAIN I CANT-

[gunsatthaphan]

⊹˚. ♡ ⊹˚.

[moonkhao]

Why were you being so loud? Those guys harassed you. I saw it and yelled at them. It was the right thing to do, yeah? Next time, don’t. Humans can’t harm aliens. It isn’t something you should put up with. You’re not a joke. You’re not causing trouble to anyone so don’t let anyone cause you trouble. I don’t put up with them. I just don’t care. Okay. How about this? If you don’t care, then I’ll be the one that does. We’re friends after all, right? Don’t you remember? Here.

23.5 DEGREES | EP5

[pharawee]

Going forward, every day of yours will be a good day.

[phoenixcatch7]

Okay so I saw this post about dark percy (really him reaching his Limit and fighting full strength with everything he had) and I was imagining the potential fallout of that. Pretty bad, as you can guess.

The thing is a lot of percys strongest moments happen out of view of the olympians, especially in hoo. The hurricane atop the glacier in alaska, the poison scene in tartarus, bending the depression river and the one in the palace of nyx.

Stuff like the St Helens eruption got him washed up on an inescapable island literally removed from reality until calypso gave him the OK, the achillies curse he got tricked into losing by hera. Smaller moments, the minotaur, fighting ares, the stolen pirate ship, walking on water vs hyperion, freshwater sources, him knowing both Latin and Greek, they're more easily brushed off or at least mostly due to cunning, sword skills and sheer luck and grit.

But basically the olympians don't actually know the full extent of percys strength and divine power. They have hints - percy standing on the throne, winning against ares, his many victories - but what they aren't willing to brush aside in the heat of (an important) battle there have been pretty strong consequences for.

Heck, just look at Frank, he's no prodigy with weapons, he's polite and respectful, but his distant relation to two olympians letting him inherit shapeshifting earned him direct divine meddling and his life force tied to a hunk of half toasted firewood. Man is a honey bear with lactose intolerance and he was punished with a mythical death curse for being too strong.

If Percy's true strength came out, he would risk losing everything. His freedom, most certainly. If he wasn't straight up executed he might wind up in a Greek myth style imprisonment, the way of atlas, prometheus, calypso, or something like the myriad of ways Greek heroes met their end. Good scenario he survives a dozen curses and gets on with life with a dozen new disabilities, best case scenario he's stripped of every inch of divine power and dropped back to the mortal world, not even clear sighted. Total separation from the Greeks and Romans. Oh, annabeth would marry him either way, and his friends would hardly abandon him despite the gods wishes, but they'd hardly be able to see him, and no long range contact without the ability to IM him or vice versa.

All of that to say Percy is hiding his true strength from the gods themselves - maybe not consciously, and it's not even power he particularly wants - but if they ever find out?

It's game over.

But why is he so strong? I don't know. What I do know is that the half bloods of the books are so much stronger than the ones of myth. Used to be that divine blood would get you divine favour and a great fate whether you liked it or not. Maybe some cunning and bow skills. A spot of spell casting if you were really lucky. Achillies got his curse after he was born, Perseus had a dozen magic artifacts, orpheus had something going on but hercules is to my knowledge an outlier. Now? Everyone in camp has some special power. Flight, fire, necromancy, hypnotism, dream walking etc. However it's happening, half bloods are slowly but surely getting a lot, lot stronger every century that passes. Meta? I mean I guess. But.

What no one has done before is something that their godly parent couldn't.

Except.

Except Percy.

Except Percy, in tartarus, at his mental, emotional and physical limit, controlling poison with his mind, overpowering the goddess of poison in her home, making misery choke on misery. Feeling something in his chest crack. Doing something poseidon could not, and doing it better than the person who could.

Down there, hidden away from the gods, he evolved. For that brief moment, he did something, was something new.

And that was how the gods overthrew the titans.

And that's why they must never find out.

[snippity]

drew the champions of a mono-normal nuzlocke i did of yellow! featuring balut the fearow, meringue the persian, eggnog the wigglytuff, chawamushi* the snorlax and mayonnaise the pidgeot

*i couldn't fit the full spelling in

[athousandbyeol]

happiness and acceptance, old grief, fear, vulnerability and the need to belong; episode 7 recap

oh, wow. this episode is so bittersweet. it's so beautiful and pretty and kind and gentle, but so realistic and painful and jarring and quiet.

i think by far, this is one of my favourite episodes. it's such a surprise to me—i think we're finally seeing and hearing and experiencing jiang tian's inner voice for the first time—upfront. it's no longer hiding away with the shadow under his feet. it's evident. but still so very shy and afraid. but it's there. and it's waiting for the right time to come out.

i have to say, this episode makes me realise that trauma runs deep and long and everlasting. i don't think it could ever go away. and I see that in jiang tian. i see how that trauma has shaped him to be who he is—so closed-off and fragile and fearful—but still so gentle and loving and appreciative and attentive.

there's something in the way benjamin is as an actor—i can't compliment him enough. it's difficult to pull off these intricate yet believable facial expressions without being cringey or over-the-top. but he did everything with poise and grace and so much attention to detail that I'm just in utter shock and awe.

happiness and acceptance

something about this sequence... i can't really put my thoughts into words. but the way jiang tian's face morphs from happiness to awe to acceptance? probably, a thought crosses his mind; I'm happy now. finally, I'm happy with someone who makes me the happiest.

the smile he wears when he's looking at sheng wang is of gratitude. and relief. and it's so bittersweet to me how it took him 16/17 years to finally have a morsel of this happiness. he truly deserves this and more :(

old grief

honestly... would anyone ever believe that these pictures come after those stills mentioned before? i wouldn't. because how on earth did the sparkle in jiang tian's eyes disappear—and how did the old gloom of grief suddenly became too blinding? (benjamin tsang, THE actor you are.)

there's so much grief and unwanted old memories and the bitterness of remembering those recollections that were very haunting and hollowing and suffocating.

i can't even imagine the pain jiang tian went through as a child—to witness the infidelity of his father—to see his mother breaking her bones and wearing fake smiles just to make ends meet—to find refuge in a stray cat because finally, someone could understand him. could understand the loneliness. could feel the sadness coursing in his bloodstream. could feel everything he was feeling. and it's so heartbreaking.

fear

jiang tian's fear is so quiet. it's so distant. it's so elusive. but it's there. and it's growing. it has never stopped growing. even though jiang tian tried to push it away, it would still crawl back to him, like a second skin.

and it's daunting how there's a new fear unlocked in him; losing sheng wang. losing the shine. losing the happiness. losing the tranquillity sheng wang brings upon him. losing his light—his sun.

i think jiang tian was so scared of qi jiahao or di zhaitao hurting sheng wang again. because he didn't want sheng wang to experience that again—to fight alone—to be afraid alone.

but once jiang tian found sheng wang, the fear subsided. it's a relief. and it's the usual anger. but not the destructive kind. this time, it means i care. it means i'm so worried. it means don't ever do that again. it means don't ever leave me.

vulnerability

it's so mental to me how this episode finally brings forward jiang tian's feeling to the spotlight. we could see him slowly becoming more open, especially with sheng wang.

it hurts me so much when jiang tian could only look at sheng wang tying the bracelet around his wrist. he didn't say anything. he was just looking. because jiang tian didn't know what to say. he didn't know if words could ever describe how much this moment meant to him—how sheng wang meant to him.

so he could only watch. he has always been watching sheng wang from a distance. but this time, he could watch sheng wang from a distance close enough to be assured that sheng wang won't stray too far from his orbit. sheng wang would be there—here. and jiang tian would finally meet him halfway.

"suddenly i feel that you're about my age."

sheng wang was coming for my life when he said this. it felt like a sucker punch straight in the face. Lord.

it's so heartbreaking because i do understand the meaning behind sheng wang's comment. i guess, even to sheng wang, jiang tian felt like someone older—a brother, a father, a friend, a protector, a saviour.

it feels nice to hear sheng wang saying this to jiang tian. it's assuring too. somehow, it's a reminder to jiang tian that he's still young. he doesn't have to grow up before the right age. he doesn't have to be an adult between them. he doesn't have to carry the burden alone. jiang tian doesn't have to do all these alone. he has sheng wang now. they can be kids or grown-ups or whatever—together.

(my heart was twisting and turning in my chest when I watched this... and I ended up crying...)

a sense of belonging

these stills are enough to explain the depth of their budding relationship. the reliance. the trust. the love. so much love and respect and desire and need and greed to be each other's protectors.

sheng wang just said everything i hoped he said at one point in this story. and I'm so glad that his words were so true and honest and beautiful.

"for everything you did to me, i'll do the same for you. I'll be here, with and for you."

i adore how both of them are brave to take the next step together. and I like how sheng wang was the one suggesting this move-in. i think it's so important for his character because he has always been beating around the bush—he has always made jiang tian guess what he wanted. but this moment right here, he was being straightforward and resolute and firm.

move in with me. it'll be only us there. it'll be our own little world. it can be your world. and your world is my world.

and the way jiang tian was looking at sheng wang with so much hope and relief and happiness and gratitude............ i'm bawling :(((

final thoughts

i absolutely adore this episode because i feel like it's a reset for the second half of the series. it feels more intimate, in a sense that we're finally getting into jiang tian's backstory (that will definitely kill me in future episodes) and the beautiful transformation of their love story. it's so bittersweet and I can't help but sympathise with jiang tian and sheng wang.

i'm certain the next episodes won't be rainbows and sunshine, but it also won't be only rain clouds and thunderstorms. I'm just so, so glad that episode seven, the second portion of the drama, started off with something very vulnerable but honest and relatable. it reminds me of how we witnessed sheng wang's backstory in the first episode and the first chunk of the series.

i'm most definitely anticipating tomorrow's episode. i hope it won't make cry the way it did in this one.

(also, shout out to my best boy gao tianyang! don't worry, love. li jia will definitely fall for you <3)

[sneezypeasy]

^ Okay, who the hell animated Mai in that one scene in The Boiling Rock? Whoever it was deserves a raise. They managed to portray Mai's sense of dejection, an epiphany that Zuko's position is both honourable and achievable, a sudden disillusionment with the war effort, a newfound conviction to take a political (not just a personal) stand against Azula, her parents and Ozai all in the span of three seconds and without even changing her facial expression or having any lines of dialogue to work with!

The other writers/animators needed three whole seasons to depict Zuko's infamous redemption arc. Pathetic.

Whoever animated Mai probably could have speedrunned the entire show in one episode. Woulda saved a ton of money in hiring voice actors storyboarders etc. Give 'em a pay rise, hell better give them an academy award, a beer, a statue in Republic City, a medal, a gift basket, a gobby, you name it dude. What a ripper c*** ❤️

[seatawinan]

#work wives

[riacte]

so hey guys i finished dungeon meshi yesterday and i'm still thinking about it

[singularityinthemirror]

'' What are you?

An idiot sandwich ''

[definitelynotshouting]

thinkin about last life scar again </3

Anon just for you here is a post-last life scarian au i discussed with my friend @sculkshrieking like a week ago

obligatory cw for canonical 3rd life ending discussion aka suicide

Last message that i could not include bc photo limit but arguably the most important:

TJ Shouting: Eventually Scar's head thunks back into the grass and he grins up at the sky and says "okay, you can join the Watchers now"

Grian SWATS him

Scar starts giggling uncontrollably and then startles Grian with another deeply passionate kiss

[pandolfo-malatesta]

[tangents-within-tangents]

Love is Mrs. Cormaci giving Gregor a new pair of shoes in almost every book

[torglives]

something something scar not killing pearl even when she was asking him to, handing him the win, and deciding to duel it out fairly and still ending up winning. hmm where have i seen this before…

[scrumptiousstuffs]

I’m reminded again how truly talented Khaotung is as an actor - he played Gaipa masterfully and the most recent BTS Moonlight Chicken, episode 7 funeral scene highlight this beautifully…

See his adoring fans 👇🏽 🫣🥹

MVP - Khaotung Thanawat as Gaipa in Moonlight Chicken

15/06/2023