#this isn't about dogs

[albertxylin]

Dog Cannibalism

Nobody ever asks why the dogs are eating each other, Why the world embodies such behaviour. It is just taken as unfortunate fact and left at that.

We are too used to struggle. We are too used to hard decisions and sacrifice, Too used to a world where the only way to get ahead Is to push someone else behind, Too used to kindness being punished And cruelty rewarded. We are too used to politicians getting away with lying to our face, With money being siphoned through perfectly legal means, With people starving and homeless presented as a statistic That is less important than GDP.

Cynicism is king and optimism the court jester. The king laughs, And the court laughs along As they dine on roast pheasant as peasants freeze in the winter. They laugh until the divine right of kings is questioned. They laugh until the court is dismantled and the castle is nothing more than a tourist trap. They laugh until we start laughing at them.

[dogd0m-charlie]

normalize doms (NOT SWITCHES) who say things like "okayy :3" and "YAYYY YIPPEEE" and kick their feet and jump up and down and make little noises outside of sex

[figofswords]

sometimes a guy is also a creature. im gonna make a sticker out of him

[sskk-manifesto]

It's Shin Soukoku Starting

[canisalbus]

Yeah sorry I drew this.

Hope you feel better soon ♡

.

[pocchi-poket]

You know, I feel like we're not talking enough about the fact that Alastor has in his room a full reproduction (?) of a swamp-forest that's highly likely very similar to the one where he was killed. Talk about being morbid.

Edit: someone pointed out in the comments that the swamp-forest is called bayou. It's a kind of ecosystem in Louisiana.

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 317

IMAGINE THIS: Lil baby Damian, bored and being not quite old enough to start learning how to use proper weapons (curse these wooden ones, he wants true steel!) is wandering the base. This is not out of the ordinary, he’s the prince after all. What is out of the ordinary is that his shadow, his Akhi, is not here. 

Technically, he should be napping, but he woke up and neither his mother or his brother- who is quiet but gentle and isn’t a good speaker (mother said it was from a head injury)- is there. Which is how he finds his way to the Pit, which he’s not supposed to be at. Or at least not alone. 

But! His mother and Akhi are there! And- and Akhi is screaming and he’s never heard him scream like that, like he’s in agony- His eyes are green- they were blue, had, had Mother placed him in the Waters- 

And then the pool is bubbling- he should be running away, get assistance or something, he’s five, he shouldn’t be running towards it when everything is screaming to flee. But one moment he’s at the doorway, the next he’s clinging to his akhi as something writhes in the Pit, a mighty bellow echoing even as the Shadows take defensive positions. 

The water cascades, laps at their feet, splashes everywhere as a scaled form rises from the depths, wings like a bloodied sunset spreading as fur bursts into flames. Crimson eyes glare down at them all, pupils slits as they bare down at his Akhi. 

The creature- the dragon- dips its head down, its breath warm as it chuffs at his akhi, wings folding as though it is bowing. His akhi is clinging to Mother, shivering, several scars glowing as they fade and a burst of hair burned white. 

Oh. 

Oh.

@fairy-lights-and-blobs @f4nd0m-fun @hdgnj @radiance1 pspspspsps

[welcometogrouchland]

I understand that literature nerd Jason Todd is kind of overblown in fanon compared to it's actual presence in canon (a few issues during his pre (and post?)crisis Robin tenure that highlight it) BUT consider that I think it's hilarious if the unhinged gun toting criminal has strong opinions on poetry

[whathorselegs]

My Thoughts on How Oda Views Dazai

I know we all like to quote Oda's descriptions about Dazai, but I think we do also need to remember part of Dark Era was Oda realising his opinions on Dazai had been clouded by bias and distance, and he changes them towards the end of the novel. There is a difference in the way Oda talks about Dazai when he's decribing his reputation and when he's witnessing Dazai first hand. Oda isn't certain how he views Dazai for a lot of the novel.

(Under the cut because I have no self control and this got long)

Oda's early descriptions of Dazai focus mostly on his reputation and don't really tell us how Oda actually sees him:

'We had a saying in the Port Mafia: "The great mistfortune for Dazai's enemies is that they are Dazai's enemies." If he wanted to, he could even could even have a picnic in the middle of a firefight. Dazai was practically born to be in the mafia.' - Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era

This is Oda's opinion being influenced by Dazai's reputation, by the exploits Dazai tells him about and the common gossip from other members of the mafia. Often in these quotes Oda will refer to Dazai as a 'man' an adult.

But later on, Oda describes how he sees Dazai in the moment, as they work together:

'Dazai's expression as he placed a finger on his forehead and approached the enemy-that of a child about to burst into tears-remained burned into my eyes.' - Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era

It's in these moments that Oda describes Dazai as a boy or a child, because being exposed to the reality of Dazai reminds him of how young Dazai is. It's burning into his eyes because it shocks him, his two views of Dazai are waring in his head. In the beginning he's a 'man easily mistaken for a boy', by the end Dazai is just a boy.

But if they were the friends, why does Oda's opinions on Dazai keep getting so mixed up?

It's simple they were friends, but their friendship was maintained with conditions.

Oda states that his friendship with Ango and Dazai, their meet ups at Lupin only worked the way they did because they kept strict boundaries with each other. Something I think people tend to overlook a lot.

'We often gathered at this bar as if we were trying to avoid something. Then we'd shoot the breeze under the guise of "communication" until the dead of night.' - Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era

'The reason why Ango and I were able to be by his side was that we understood the solitude that surrounded him, and we never stepped inside it no matter how close we stood. But in that moment, I kind of regretted not stepping in and invading that solitude.' - Bungou Stray Dogs, Dazai Osamu and the Dark Era

They talk about work, they talk about nonsense, but they do not talk about their personal lives. There's an unspoken rule that they keep things light and because of this it means they couldn't be completely honest with each other. It brought them together AND kept them at a distance. (Dancing around your feelings and not giving away how much you're struggling until it leads to destructive behaviours is a major theme in The Flowers Of Buffoonery by Dazai Osamu btw)

It meant they kept things from each other too.

Dazai was not meant to know about Oda's orphans. When he showed up at the restaurant, that was a moment of tension. Dazai wasn't supposed to be there, he wasn't just surprising a friend, Oda had kept this side of himself separate from the mafia. That includes Dazai. There's a brief moment of tension where Oda doesn't know how to react, whether Dazai is about to become a threat or not. Even though he's there to help, Dazai plays into this for a moment, joking that he might recruit the orphan's into the mafia.

To Oda this just affirms Dazai as someone whose dangerous. (Though I think that's more apparent in the anime than the novel) They weren't supposed to know about each other's personal lives, but Dazai dug into them anyways, he knew about Oda's orphans and he knew about Ango being a spy. He doesn't reflect on the fact Dazai kept those secrets because they were his friends. He might have been digging where he wasn't supposed to, but Dazai never betrayed Oda. I don't think he even fully processes how far Dazai went to keep the orphans safe by moving them to a safehouse.

I've said before that Oda saw him as a child and I do believe that, but I believe he also forgot that for a while. By the end of Dark Era he's reminded how young and lost Dazai is. In his dying moments he tries to give him guidence because he realises he failed Dazai. (And by extention, Ango.)

By creating those borders between themselves, it was easier to stop seeing Dazai for the boy he was and start letting his reputation warp Oda's view of him. Dazai was his friend, but he was also one of the most dangerous people in the mafia, he was a boy but also the man he complained about work with over drinks. They played silly pranks together and neither of them flinched when disposing of piles of bodies. Dazai was someone he knew and trusted, but also some one to be weary of trusting.

At the beginning of Dark Era he says Dazai was born for the mafia, by the end of it he acknowledges that's only true because he was never given the change to be something else.

Oda had to be guided away from killing with the dream of becoming a writer. As he's dying attempts to fulfil a similar role for Dazai too. He's regretful he didn't do it sooner, that they weren't closer with one another from the start.

They were friends, Oda understood Dazai, but they were also strangers and Oda's views of Dazai were just as fallible as everyone else's. Dazai spent that whole book growing more and more desperate to save a friend that was out of his reach to begin with.

[originalartblog]

watching the storm pass (x)

[tea-time-terrier]

Does your dog have any built in programming that is particularly helpful? (Or just really amusing)

[slashmagpie]

“Pearl? Why are you in my house?” 

Pearl blinks up at Bdubs from where she’s sandwiched between the wall and the waterstream, curled up on herself in the narrow space. “Somebody destroyed all the lights in my base and now it’s full of mobs,” she says bitterly.

“It wasn’t me!” Bdubs cries, raising his hands.

“Well, I didn’t think it was you, but the way you just said that’s making me think—”

“No! I’d never! I swear!”

“...I believe you,” she says after a moment, and Bdubs feels himself relax. “Can I stay with you tonight? I don’t really feel like…” She gestures in the direction of her house.

Bdubs nods. “Oh, sure, for sure,” he says. Then, “Should we invite Joel over? His house got blown up too.”

“Ah, yeah, probably. Good idea, Bdubs.” She fumbles in her pocket for her communicator, eventually fishing it out. The screen is cracked. Her fingers shake as they tap against the glass. 

“Are you okay there, Pearl? You look a little…” Bdubs forces his hands to tremble. 

She glances up at him, face scrunching in confusion, before she lets out a small laugh. “Just the adrenaline, y’know.” She grins. “I’m red. It’s great.” 

“If it was anyone else, I’d think they were being sarcastic. But with you! With you, I’m pretty sure you’re being serious!”

She giggles, hitting send on the message and shoving her communicator away. Bdubs doesn’t feel his own buzz; it must have been a whisper. “You know,” she says after a moment, “I’m a little surprised.”

Bdubs blinks. “Surprised about what?”

“That there’s still three of us.” 

He laughs. “Yeah, I’m a little surprised, too! I thought for sure Joel would die today. For sure.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“Oh, no, never. But between you and me… that guy’s kind of a loose canon!” 

She snorts. “Throwing stones from glass houses, there, Bdubs?”

“Surely I don’t know what you mean.”

“Mhm.” She pauses, eyes glancing down to where her fingers pick at a stray thread on her hoodie sleeve. “That’s kinda what I mean, though. Joel doesn’t live here, and you’re making friends with half the server, I’m surprised I’m not spending tonight alone.”

“Pearl…”

“What?” She snorts. “I know how these games go, Bdubs. People don’t stay loyal. Not for long, anyway.” She glances up at him, eyes half obscured by her hair. “People like Joel, people like you? I know how this ends.”

And Bdubs—

Well, he can’t pretend he doesn’t know what she means. Can’t pretend he doesn’t remember Impulse yelling as Bdubs’ arrow had found home in his throat. Can’t pretend he doesn’t remember Etho backing away when Bdubs had tried to get just a little too close. Can’t pretend he didn’t fight when he promised he’d run. Can’t pretend he hadn’t taken advantage of his broken home. 

…He can’t pretend he doesn’t remember telling Martyn about their plans, or planning to do harm to Etho. Can’t pretend he doesn’t cross his fingers behind his back every time he makes a promise, just in case.

But at the same time, he remembers—searching for Cleo in a castle she’d been too dead to return to, pushing Lizzie to her death for a life he’d never received, taking two hands in his own and vowing to face the end as four instead of two, for once, for once in his life, choosing three and being pulled apart because of it—

Bdubs lets out a breath. “Pearl, hey, no,” he says. “I told you, didn’t I? I’m your weapon.” He gets down to his knees, lowers his head before her, feels her gaze burn into the top of his head.

“Bit late for that,” she says. “I’m my own weapon now, mate. Don’t need you to attack for me anymore.”

“Well, no—but—” He looks up at her. “Pearl. I’m yours. I promise.”

“Right. And you’re Martyn and Etho’s too, huh? We can share.”

“I’m using Martyn!” he protests. “That’s—that’s all it is—I’m usin’ him because he’s the first red and he knows his stuff! And Etho—”

“I don’t mind about Etho,” Pearl interrupts. “Like I said, I know you guys have your little thing going on. I don’t care about that.”

“I set a trap in his base,” Bdubs blurts.

Pearl blinks at him. “Excuse me?”

“I set a trap in his base. Tripwire hook.” He grins. “Right outside the bedroom. I—I think I got Grian, in the end? But—could have been Etho. I coulda—could’ve been Etho.” He swallows.

“And you’d have been okay with that?” Pearl asks, smile gone from her face, expression suddenly very serious.

“I—after I set it, I went up to them. Had a chat. Lied the whole time. I coulda—coulda told him. I didn’t.” 

“And you’re okay with that?” she stresses.

She sounds dubious. Bdubs can’t blame her. He feels sick, swallowing back the bile that’s building in his throat.

“I—Pearl.”

“Bdubs?”

“I learned my lesson, Pearl. I learned—don’t put all your eggs in one basket! Because—because either they die, and then you get left alone, or—or it gets you killed, and you die. You gotta—I have two hands. I can be loyal to multiple people. But then I learned—when you do that? People aren’t loyal back. They don’t trust you anymore. Nobody else…” He laughs. “I feel like I’m the only one who can trust people like that anymore!”

“So…” She frowns. “So you’re making friends with everyone so you don’t get betrayed or left alone?”

“Exactly.” 

“And you know none of us are gonna trust you for doing that.”

He swallows again. “Yeah, I know.”

“And you’re doing it anyway?”

“Well, what else—what else am I supposed to do? I can’t… I can’t go back, Pearl. That’s… I can’t go back. You know how it is.”

“…Yeah,” she says quietly. “I’m—I want you to win, Bdubs,” she says. “Out of everyone—I want it to be you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. So… You better not make me regret this.”

He blinks at her. “Regret what?”

She bows her head to him. “I’m your weapon,” she says, an echo of his earlier words. “And a bit more of a dangerous one at that.” Her smirk leaks back into her words as she glances up and winks at him. “So use me well, alright, Bdubs? I want you to win this.”

Bdubs’ heart is in his throat. He swallows it back down. It burns.

“I’ll do my best,” he promises. 

The door slams open, startling them both out of their skin.

“Hey guys—uh. What are you doing?”

“Oh, for—Judas Priest, Joel, learn to knock!”

“You invited me over! Or, Pearl did—hey Pearl.”

“Hey,” Pearl says. “Come on in! Sleepover at Bdubs’ time.”

“I can’t believe this is the last of our bases left standing. It’s, like, the worst one.”

“Hey!” 

“There’s no space in here!” To punctuate his statement, Joel slumps down against one wall, kicking Bdubs in the ribs as he does so. Bdubs grunts. “See?”

“It’s definitely not the most spacious…” Pearl acquiesces.

“Anyway. What were you guys doing before I came in?”

“Swearing loyalty,” Bdubs says. 

“Oh.” Joel blinks. “Do you need me to do that? Because I’m a Mounder for life. Loyal to the end.”

Bdubs and Pearl glance at each other.

“Somehow I actually believe him,” Bdubs stage-whispers, and Joel squawks in offence as Pearl barks out a laugh.

“No, I think you’re good,” she says. Leaning her head back against the wall, she says, “This is probably our final night.”

The three of them are quiet for a moment.

“Well,” says Joel. “We gotta make it to the end then, don’t we?”

He’s looking at Bdubs. They’re both looking at Bdubs. 

Bdubs nods.

“May the best Mounder win,” he says solemnly.

Joel grins.

[wyrddogs]

Something something just because the dog isn't flashy doesn't mean it's not driven. Just because it's not screaming doesn't mean it's not in drive.

Just because the dog is best suited for trailing, locating, and flushing game and thus rarely gets to participate in killing game, doesn't make it less important than the team members who are better at killing. The killing might be the flashiest and most exciting part, but it isn't the most important part. The dogs that kill won't be able to do that if the dogs that flush don't put the game into the position to be killed.

Grumbly venting brought to you a conversation with someone who thinks the actual kill is the most important part of hunting. And who thinks that only badass, hardcore, drivey, screamy dogs that murder are good hunting dogs.

[front-facing-pokemon]

[cold-neon-ocean]

The magic words 🐶🐾

[detectivenyx]

i hate cinemasins so much you would not believe