#the people of the ruins

[weirdlookindog]

"Night brings death. . . ."

Lawrence Sterne Stevens (1884-1960) - Illustration for Edward Shanks' 'The People of the Ruins'

(Famous Fantastic Mysteries, June 1947)

[roseunspindle]

September TBR 2024

[wiisagi-maiingan]

What a terrible world we live in where you can google wild plants or bugs because you're interested in them and the first results are all "how do I kill this"

[birdy-babe]

Blitzøs entire life spent being unwanted. So he adapted, and learned how to be something needed, something to be used.

Which is why I think he firmly believes he is being used by Stolas. He simply cannot fathom a different reality, one in which he is wanted for once in his life.

[camilleflyingrotten]

[beif0ngs]

There is no live action adaptations of Avatar: The Last Airbender...

[murasaki-cha]

How I feel like when I see new pjo fans calling percabeth by the name annacy

[nyancrimew]

Good.

[tobiasdrake]

My understanding of evil, age 0-10: MY NAME IS SMOG SMOKESLY AND I RUN THE POLLUTION FACTORY, IT PRODUCES POLLUTION!!! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

My understanding of evil, in my teens: You can't really boil things down to good and evil. People are complicated. Everyone is the hero of their own story, and someone who seems evil to you is actually doing their best from their own perspective. If you could walk a mile in their shoes, you'd understand. There is no such thing as evil.

My understanding of evil, in my twenties: Look, it's basically just tribalism. We are all necessarily thrust into competition with one another. There are always going to be winners and losers. Whining about evil is just being upset that you lost the game.

My understanding of evil, in my thirties: MY NAME IS SMOG SMOKESLY AND I RUN THE POLLUTION FACTORY, IT PRODUCES POLLUTION!!! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

[linkeduniverse]

TotK Spoiler

[weirdlookindog]

"Man had fought man with increasing fury, until at last the world was too weary to fight - or to live. . . ."

Lawrence Sterne Stevens (1884-1960) - Illustration for Edward Shanks' 'The People of the Ruins'

(Famous Fantastic Mysteries, June 1947)

[beepborpdoodledorp]

it may be trash but it is our trash

[lyss-butterscotch]

Iterators but theyre a massive fackin war llama from the hit game Ultrakill

[imsosleepyofyourbull]

I firmly believe that Kabru is autistic but masks so hard that he’s convinced himself and (almost) everyone around him that he’s neurotypical.

That man’s special interest is people and how they work, but he just thinks it’s him Being So Good At Socializing — like he doesn’t spend 95% of his time people watching and adjusting his personality in response to the traits he witnesses and obsessing over the intricacies of human interaction while mapping an ever growing relationship chart in his head. For fun. He even admits it in the manga!

Like, look at him!!!

It’s such a shame that — because he’s the narrative foil to Laios and his interest is generally considered more “socially acceptable” in both their world and our own — more people don’t realize this about him. He’s constantly misinterpreted as a horribly manipulative person who only acts the way he does to use the people around him, when that’s explicitly shown to not be the case at all. Kabru is naturally empathetic and is almost always thinking about other people, regardless of whether or not they’re right there with him or a thousand miles away.

I mean, his most defining motivation is his desire to do everything he can to avoid another tragedy like the one at Utaya. Someone who doesn’t care wouldn’t have a goal like that, and they most certainly wouldn’t go about it the way he does. He’s constantly working to help people who can help everyone else and tries so hard to make sure that anyone who seems like a threat is actually someone he needs to worry about before doing anything about it. His supposed aversion to Laios is only because of the ridiculous trolley problem he’s set up in his own head.

Outside of that, he (rather justifiably) hates monsters but is desperate to understand Laios’ love for them and his apparently most selfish goal in getting close to the guy was literally just to become friends with him.

When he’s interacting with the canaries and they imply that they’re going to take him and all of his friends to the West, his first thought is of Rin and how much she’d hate to be stuck in the place that gave her so many bad memories.

He helps Kuro learn Common when Mickbell is asleep and firmly looks forward to the day that the half-foot and Kuro can communicate properly so that their relationship can get properly started without any miscommunication.

And he understands Mithrun with only a handful of weeks AT BEST interacting with him, getting enraged when the elf seems to give up and immediately trying to help him find a new motivation for life.

I’m excited just thinking about the day that Kabru starts unmasking more and more around his friends — both new and old — because if being with my current friend group has taught me anything, it’s that hanging out with anyone so unabashedly themselves is bound to make you more comfortable with yourself too. It’s part of the reason why I like Labru so much! There’s something nice about imagining them hanging out in the throne room or laying in the grass outside and talking for hours on end about their special interests. They might not strictly understand what the other finds so fascinating about monsters or people, but they can grasp that shared feeling of love.

They probably influence each other in really good ways too, with Kabru helping Laios figure out what people are thinking even when it doesn’t make sense or Laios helping Kabru understand that not everyone and everything needs to be analyzed a thousand times over. They both get to learn that there are people like them and people who will love them without them ever having to change a thing about themselves. They deserve to know that they’re fine the way they are.

[nekoning]

final part - huafenglian turns xi4nle and everyone is gay in a kinda lame way / parts 1 & 2

ID courtesy by @imber-florum

[Image description: A grayscale comic featuring Feng Xin, Hua Cheng, Xie Lian, and Mu Qing. As a note, all caps text in the comic has been adjusted to regular capitalization in this description to aid readability for screen readers.

Feng Xin is fiddling with a torn dummy from fighting practice. San Lang scoffs and says, "You're pretty miserable, huh?"

"Yeah, this dummy tore apart too soon..." Feng Xin says, focused and not looking at him.

"...Not what I meant." At Feng Xin's confused glance, San Lang says, "You have no choice but to share with someone you hate."

"I don't hate you though."

"Oh, and you expect me to believe that?"

Feng Xin turns back to the dummy. "I thought you were going to hurt Dianxia so I wanted you away from him, but he's safe and happy with you, so it's fine now."

San Lang's eye twitches. "...You really are simple-minded."

"Fuck you!" Feng Xin shouts. "Tch, and you think too much. Just like Mu Qing." Hua Cheng abruptly shifts to his Crimson Rain Sought Flower form, his hair raised and shadows looming ominously around him. He barely restrains himself from punching an oblivious Feng Xin by thinking of Xie Lian's happiness at him and Feng Xin getting along better.

"Speaking of that one," Hua Cheng says, "What is he up to?" The comic shows Xie Lian approaching Mu Qing, who blushes.

"Uh, I think Dianx— ...A-Lian wanted to plant cherry trees," says Feng Xin. His words are paired with an image of Mu Qing looking downward, still blushing and perhaps saying something. Feng Xin continues, "And he offered to help, because 'he didn't trust him to do it right' and all that." These words are paired with an image of Mu Qing's eye glancing to the side.

The next frame shows Mu Qing in simpler clothes diligently sowing, planting, and watering seeds. One of Hua Cheng's butterflies flits around him, spying on him.

One day, Hua Cheng comes to spy on Mu Qing in person from behind a bush. 'Does he really have to come every single day?!?' he thinks.

It is on this day that the cherry tree seedling sprouts. Mu Qing smiles happily. At the sight, Hua Cheng leaps from the bush, shouting, "What the—?! Who is that?!?!"

"It hasn't changed!!!!" shout Xie Lian and Feng Xin, who leap up at the same time from the bush next to him. The three of them turn to each other, flustered, and Mu Qing jumps and hisses at them, a furious blush on his cheeks. Hua Cheng and Xie Lian look back to him with bemused frowns while Feng Xin sweats in fear of Mu Qing's rage. End image description.]

[honeybard]

Clerics of Spyre ✨️❄️☀️🌙