#they're so brilliant

[arthursfuckinghat]

"Have you ever robbed a stagecoach?"

"Nooo.. never.."

[asleepinawell]

Irem, the Pillared City: Futures

[writeouswriter]

Two people with the exact same brand of ADHD and shared intense hyperfixation clicked too hard, 100 dead, thousands injured, 3 million new timelines unlocked, a single starting line of conversation ending in 400 new novel length messages sent and one month between reply times

[eternal-fear]

Melkor and Feanaro have such wonderful parallels. Both were literally told that their works are not their own and stem from some other. (Melkor's additions to the Song and Feanaro's Silmarilli.) And both took it so badly that it permanently fucked Arda in so many ways.

[crazydaymycrazyway]

Mycoft and Albert getting married-

Mycoft: Is there anything you want to do after marriage? Any specific conditions?

Albert: Do you have a cat?

Mycoft: Yes?

Albert: Then buy fifteen more identical ones and don't tell anybody. Whenever someone comes to visit you, just say you have one cat who is really fast.

Mycoft: ....

Louis: ...I'm adopted

[rozaceous]

ive read mdzs years ago and stalled on tgcf (mainly bc i got really busy and then forgot everything lmao), but never really tried scum villain. if you don't mind, can you share why you like it? personally, the summary didn't really draw me in and the animation looked unfortunately really .... low budget.

hi anon! you've activated my trap card, which is Talking About Things I Enjoy At Length! congratulations! congratulations! congratulations! important things must be said three times!

(i also stalled w tgcf btw, bc it's so long that i could never summon up sufficient interest. and i will say that the svsss donghua is less than inspiring. i thought it was fun but that's speaking as someone who watched it after already being in love w the source content, so ymmv. i wasn't a particular fan of the animation style either, but considering that scum villain is the black sheep of mxtx's works in terms of the official content that gets produced, i was glad for what i could get.)

reasons to love scum villain!

hilarious use of unreliable narrator. shen qingqiu is one of my top favorite characters ever. he's not stupid or even, despite common fan depiction, all that oblivious--he's just incredibly genre-savvy and hasn't realized that the genre has changed. also he's hysterical.

but then sometimes, too, you look more objectively at things he glosses over and have a 'wait a sec' moment bc it's actually deeply disturbing.

it has a really fun way of of playing with transmigration stories and tropes. this was, in a sense, my intro to chinese web novel conventions as a western reader, and you can learn a lot bc mxtx is busy poking fun at all of them.

phenomenally meta.

luo binghe is a fantastic character. ppl who don't like him--i'll meet you out back. ostensibly the protagonist of the novel sqq has found himself in, supposedly blessed with every talent and the world prepared to fall at his feet, but MAN is it hard being luo binghe.

ppl will make a big deal abt lbh being obsessed w sqq but fail to acknowledge that sqq is just as weird and obsessed abt lbh. epitome of that AITA response of:

liu qingge

mxtx does so much with her villains, always.

as much as some of the miscommunication between sqq and lbh is contrived, it's also literally the only way that things could play out and makes absolute sense.

this classic scene, given utterly without context:

After a pause, Shen Qingqiu changed his angle. "What's your name?" The first one replied. "Six Balls." "What does that mean?" "When I was born, my pa held me and said I was six balls heavy." Shen Qingqiu was speechless. Shot put balls or ping-pong balls?! This kind of name is absolutely meaningless.

i think, honestly, my favorite thing abt scum villain is that you can read it quickly and have a good time, but if you're taking your time and paying attention, there is so much more happening underneath the surface! it's such a clever book, i'm honestly stunned (and humbled) that mxtx produced this as her first novel and at such a young age.

[dykehayleywilliams]

black hole opened in the kitchen / the future is a benevolent black hole / it would only take the energy to fix it / there's a hole in the drywall still not fixed i just haven't gotten around to it besides i'm starting to get used to the gaps / i can't stop staring at the ceiling fan / quarantined in a bad dream / drag racing through the canyon / it's an all night drive from your house to reno / do you see us getting scraped up off the pavement? / i went out and wrapped my car around the streetlamp / i lied i am just lowering your expectations / guess i lied, i'm a liar who lies / half a mind that keeps the other second guessing / do i get callous or do i stay tender? which of these is worse and which is better? / always an angel, never a god / lord, be near me my final hour i once had sight but now i'm blind / there's something in the static i think i've been having revelations / no i'm not afraid to disappear, the billboard said the end is near / coming to in the front seat, nearly empty / last night i blacked out in my car and i woke up in my childhood bed wishing i was someone else / skip the exit to our old street and go home / we've got a long way to go before we get home 'cause this ain't my home anymore

[lady-harrowhark]

sometimes i think about what would happen if you put palamedes sextus and alphonse elric, the best boys sci-fi/fantasy (broadly defined) has to offer, in a room together. because the way i see it, we're looking at two potential results:

they usher in scientific advancements the likes of which this dimension has never seen.

or they co-found the SFF version of a gossip girl blog.

...possibly simultaneously.

[bird-inacage]

Only Friends Episode 10 | Sand & Ray's Fight Scene

This has got to be one of the most memorable scenes delivered by this pair in the series. It's one I come back to again and again.

Probably the single confrontation where we see Ray so utterly devastated. Even in his 'fight' with Mew, he didn't look this torn up. Khaotung manages to combine high levels of rage with incredible sadness, that his every response is laden with just how deeply hurt Ray is feeling. The first gif breaks my heart because Ray looks like a wounded child, the vulnerability in his expression simply says 'Why? How could you possibly do this to me?'

Whilst Sand (as always) tries to reign his emotions in, tries to remain as composed as he possibly can whilst Ray verbally batters him. This is also the only scene where we see Sand unravel, but he only allows himself to do so once Ray has left the room. The degree of anguish and disbelief in his face when Ray accuses him of lacking any integrity really hurts to watch.

I've said this before but when these two characters come into conflict, the dynamic is so challenging. Ray is always outwardly emotional (which requires Khaotung to be explosive), whereas Sand is mostly inwardly emotional (so First needs to be tightly wound throughout). This could very easily be misbalanced but the tension bounces between these two so well.

[arthursfuckinghat]

Still serving, even after getting hit by a train

[schmweed]

[thisisaheist]

"I love her so much. She's amazing. When we were working together, we were at the end of this long - she was at one end of a table and I was at the other end, and all I wanted to do was to get close to her. I kept running over to her after every take. She's just... I adore her." - Julianne Moore, about working with Nicola Walker on Mary & George [x]

[002yb]

For as rough as his brother's hands can be, they're gentle with him. Even when Ace couldn't return the kindness, Luffy endured him; holding fast to clenched fists and knuckles that were split and swollen. Persistent, stubborn even after Luffy pried his hand into Ace's and grit his teeth through the ache of Ace's bruising grips. Whining because he was a crybaby and it hurt, but never pulling away. Only squeezing just as tight in playful retaliation. Smile wide as he coaxed Ace's fingers out of their vice grip to clasp their hands together - warm and soft in a way that made Ace flinch. Because while there was dirt beneath Luffy's nails, there was blood beneath his.

And in spite of that—in spite of everything—Luffy never let go of him. Whether or not Ace feels worth that love and tender devotion, Luffy holds on to him: hands clasped together as Luffy beckons him on new adventures, a reassuring squeeze whenever Ace wavers, a bruising grip when Luffy is overcome; nails cutting into Ace's skin until Ace soothes him. Lips ghosting over knuckles - swollen and split).

Rough, but gentle with Ace. Always.

[beanghostprincess]

we know how op loves usopp as the damsel in distress but you're all aware that in sanuso dynamic usopp is pretty much sanji's hero right

[nikoisme]

Niko, Niko, may I present you with the week-long trip to Sparta! Odysseus in his matching t-shirt and shorts, socks and sandals and brim hat, Penelope looking very chic and Telemachus on one of those leash backpacks

(I'm still at work, but Brim Hat Ody never left my mind and this idea hit me)

Odysseus carries Telemachus in one of those baby carriers for hiking. Argos is coming along too btw.

The visual you just provided is so striking and you are so so right. How will i go normally about my day now

[delta-piscium]

Steve finds out this gay club he and Eddie go to sometimes is having a metal night, it’s on a Friday and he’s exhausted from work but still, he takes Eddie. It’s absolutely worth it with the way Eddie’s eyes light up at the start of every song

He did however miscalculate a bit because he keeps trying to kiss Eddie who does happily kiss back but only for a second before pulling away to scream-sing the lyrics in Steve’s face

Steve makes a mental note to remember the next time he wants to make out with Eddie in the middle of a dance floor he should go with music Eddie doesn’t know down to his bones