#tossing my thoughts into the void

[fancy-rock-dove]

Having some feelings this evening about Frodo’s reaction to people around him being corrupted by desire for the One Ring. How generally devoid it is of any blame placed on that person, and how he instead treats it as a tragedy to spare others from by distancing himself.

It’s a big deal in the latter books that Frodo wants to show Sméagol kindness if possible because things have progressed so far that Frodo can recognize his own experience in him. But what’s really making me stare at a wall right now are Frodo’s early days reactions even before the personal identification is as strong.

Basically, I can’t stop thinking about how deeply Frodo’s reaction to that last encounter with Boromir is informed by the fact that the first person to ever try and take the ring from Frodo was actually Bilbo. The fact that the first person Frodo ever saw corrupted to that point, even for a moment, was the kind, clever, caring uncle who adopted and taught him, and who Frodo thinks the world of.

Just thinking about the personal relationship Frodo had with the very first person he saw the Ring affect and how fundamentally that set the tone for his understanding of it for the entirety of the journey.

[iersei]

the law of being hermie the unworthy (any iteration) is that you aren't allowed to win

[fwuffletail]

[gillianthecat]

Dear @absolutebl, @bengiyo, @benkaaoi, @clairificusrex, @heretherebedork, @iguessitsjustme, @lelephantsnail, @placetneplacet, @poetry-protest-pornography, @respectthepetty, @thequeenofsastiel

I've been wondering something about Big Dragon and I've noticed that you all have been watching it, and so was curious about your thoughts. (feel free to ignore this of course)

Why do you think that Love In The Air has been so much more popular than Big Dragon* has, at least in the international fandom (or at least the people on tumblr)? They seem to me to tick a lot of the same boxes - enemies to lovers, a dom/sub relationship with the sub quickly melting for the dom but resisting that, characters discovering they're bi, high heat sex scenes, the style of humor. Even a lot of their flaws (as I see them) are similar. And Big Dragon even has the glamour and the high end cinematography that I think were part of what made KinnPorsche such a big hit.

*Big Dragon has more posts than many of the really small shows, but as far as I can tell has nowhere near the reach of LITA.

Although I do personally prefer Big Dragon, this isn't actually a complaint disguised as a question - I'm genuinely curious.

Is it just that LITA has been marketed better? Is iqiyi a more popular platform than Viki? Nevermind, Big Dragon is on all three. Is it Mame's name recognition? The fact that a lot of people are watching a censored version? (but that's also true for LITA, I think?) Or is there something about the show itself that appeals to a broader swath of fans - the university setting? the particular ratio of fluff to angst? (I wouldn't call either one fluffier than the other so far, but the type of fluff and the type of angst are different.)

Or perhaps this is just an tumblr phenomenon and they're equally popular in Thailand.

Anyways, if all of you, my fandom elders, have any thoughts on this I'd love to hear them. And anyone else as well! The people I tagged were just the ones I've noticed talking about the show.

xoxo gillianthecat

[tossed-bricks]

Been having a particularly fun time lately with people telling me rlly conflicting things they thought or assumed about me since they met me in September. All my uni friends keep telling me rlly weird conflicting opinions. I’ve had ppl tell me they thought I hated them bcs I’m hard to read w/ scary vibes, someone else was FLOORED and said I was so happy and welcoming they couldn’t believe it. Got told today several ppl thought I enjoyed being teased or lightly bullied/made fun of and had to be like well. No. I’m usually actually panicking or in a mild fight or flight when you tease me. I’ve heard that I’m scary more times than I can count but I get that bcs I have a lot of eyeliner and a miserable resting face. I’m just so confused on who people think I am because I think I’m as clear and open and honest about myself as I can be and I just don’t get where the confusion comes from

[fyncherly]

just impulsively cut my own hair it's time to go godmode on my jrwi: suckening animation i've been too scared to touch for weeks now LET'S GOOOOOO

[demonetta7]

Okay. So, I have a (mostly) unwritten fanfic about BOTW, that I shall refer to as "vows" for simplicity. It is a reader-insert fic that is centered around both the reader character's growth as well as Link's, and I had a thought. If vows was a comic, how would it be drawn in a way to visually but silently show the growth of both characters? And upon the thought, I recalled a key moment I had already written down within the one and a half chapters (unpublished) I had already written and decided to expand upon that thought. I typed out my idea to my romantic partner, and thought I'd share it.

For the explanation, I wrote the reader character's name as "Camil", to make it easier to organize the character and make it easier to develop within my own brain

I imagine that if vows were a comic, it would start as completely black and white. Then when it switches to scenes more focused on link's perspective, it's suddenly in somewhat dull colors, but still noticeably colored. And as the story progresses, every once in a while Camil slowly sees things in color, one by one. Like how I kept describing Link's eyes, putting emphasis on them, since otherwise she can't really see color. The more the story progresses, the more color there is. For camil, at first it's just things that are, in a way, important to her. Starts with Link's eyes, then maybe his hair, and then sentimental items she brought with on her journey. Small stuff that'd absolutely stick out as important to her. And as she slowly sees more things she holds dearly, and the more she grows, the colors slowly start fading into her perspective. And for a while she, too, sees the world in very dull colors. And meanwhile Link's POV goes from becoming almost vibrant from being around and getting to know Camil, to slowly fading into even duller colors than he started with. Only seeing in vibrant color when it comes to personal moments with Camil or in genuine moments like the champion's gifting their abilities and giving a final goodbye. His perspective, the closer he gets to having to fight the calamity itself, eventually becomes near monochrome. It then lightens again as a result of his win against Ganon. After the fight, camil pulls him aside and they have a truly wonderful moment together that brings the world into a brilliant show of color. After that, their perspective may still remain a bit unsaturated compared to what you'd see in the game, and continue to fluctuate with the oncoming crises and the pain and grief that come with it all, but ultimately remain in color as they grow with eachother.

There's probably more I could write to expand on my idea, but it would indirectly spoil my plot ideas. Just thought I'd share though.

I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts on my idea!

[fancy-rock-dove]

I think one of Fengqing’s core communication issues is that Mu Qing mainly expresses himself through acts of service, while Feng Xin mainly expresses himself through quality time, but both really mostly expect to receive affirming words (being used to spending time with Xie Lian after all) and they cannot put two civil words together in each others’ presence to literally save their lives.

(Yes, this does also mean that Mu Qing’s job as Xie Lian’s personal servant sucked for him not because he hated the work but because it left him feeling literally unable to express affection when any conceivable act of service could be considered within his job description. There is a reason he felt the need to establish that he didn’t need to fix Ruoye before doing it.)

(Yes, this does also mean that Jian Lan and Xie Lian both being physically absent around the same time in book 4 left Feng Xin feeling particularly useless and unable to express care or affection and particularly ready to accept that he wasn’t wanted.)

No real point here, just love the way MXTX crafts unpreventable-feeling tragedies by putting characters in to situations where their completely morally neutral traits react very badly with situations and/or other people.

[iersei]

Hot Glenn Holidays / @hot-glenn-holidays-2023

The Beach

~

happy wet beast wednesday to the monsterfuckers out there <3

[wolves-in-the-world]

On the basis that I like this bit a lot but it didn't fit the fic I ended up writing, please have a slightly different approach to Parker and Hardison finding Eliot's sealskin, beginning after the con in San Lorenzo.

—

"Any luck so far?" Hardison says, checking out the nearby surveillance cameras on his phone.

"I don't believe in luck." (Why doesn't that surprise him? Aside from the fact that she's so good at what she does she doesn't need it.) "Just some diamonds."

"I feel like you should be more excited about that."

"It's a matching pair of necklaces," Parker says, over the comms, "stolen by a team two years back. One of them got shot doing it."

That makes him pay attention. Not that he was just watching the feed of the stray cat nosing around on the other side of the building before. "Shit. Someone you knew?"

"Not really." He hears a low scrape, like boxes being moved. "I'll take them, of course-" of course "-but I'd like to find something a bit more..."

"Interesting?" Hardison supplies.

"I guess."

She doesn't sound enthused. Hardison frowns at that, wondering if this trip had been a mistake. Eliot's walks are long at the best of times, but they could have gone with him - except he'd seemed to really need that time alone. If they headed back now, they could be there to greet him when he gets back.

On a whim, he checks the time. Winces. Yeah, no, he's heading to bed the moment he gets back. He didn't exactly get much sleep what with preparing to send all those emails last night. Shit, is this what getting old feels like?

He realises, suddenly, he hasn't heard any noise over the comms for a little while. "Parker?"

"...He has a sealskin."

"That's messed up." Hardison feels a stirring of unease in his stomach. "Still, I mean, he seemed like the type. Rich people and their exotic curiosities." He raises his free hand for the air quotes.

"I don't think it's that." She sounds firm. Urgent, even. Hardison automatically straightens in his seat, checking the camera feeds for company. None.

Parker goes on, "I've seen the ones people have in private collections. They're old, I mean they're kept in good condition, but you can tell. This one doesn't look like that."

"What does it look like?" It shouldn't matter. Some poor schmuck lost a part of themself to Moreau, is all. Most likely they're dead already. It doesn't feel right to be curious about it.

Parker's voice comes through after another short pause. "Grey. Pretty beat up. Scars."

So they're looking for someone with scars. That doesn't narrow it down much. Doesn't even mean it can't be one of Moreau's victims.

He thinks, unbidden, of Eliot. Nevermind that he just needs to think of the pool for his stomach to twist, that the talk he and Eliot had about that was not nearly enough to put it all to rest, it's pretty clear to him that Moreau wasn't exactly good to Eliot either.

He pushes the thought away again. Today is for celebrating, he reminds himself. They had all been together for that, him and Parker, Sophie and Nate, Eliot so bright and so light and willing to laugh with them, even to dance a bit. Then Eliot had said he needed a walk to clear his head, and it had felt like the right thing to do to let him go alone. When Hardison got back to the hotel bar Sophie and Nate had disappeared, and Parker had gotten itchy.

Ribera wouldn't be checking out his new villa until the morning. There was time enough for a brilliant thief and a top-tier hacker to take a look around.

It had been easy to find someone willing to lend them their car - there are a lot of people out celebrating today. It's no Lucille, drab and beige and at least twenty years old, but he paid them well for it anyway. He'd like to leave them something extra, when he returns it, depending on what Parker finds.

He leans back in the chair again, frowning down at the screen of his phone. It's gone blank, undisturbed for too long.

"I think there are organisations," Hardison says, putting confidence into his voice he doesn't quite feel, "that deal with this sort of thing. You know. Sea burials and the like."

"Hardison." The uncertainty in her voice makes him go still, eyes on the dashboard, listening intently. "I think you should see this."

What? He gentles his voice. "Parker?"

"What if they're still alive? The person it belongs to?"

"O- okay, good point, we can't be sure-" 

"You need to see this, Hardison."

"Parker-"

"You need to see this."

[beetroot-merchant]

endlessly funny to me how dial, who's canonically the type of guy to be able to convince a physicist that the earth is flat, was unable to convince toby to just Sit Somewhere Else. when the alternative was an eternity in purgatory. he's just that determined to have a bad time

[rararasputins-dick-mind-control]

i had a dream that i was the Onceler and i was just wandering around in the fucking backrooms until Cyrus from pokemon came sprinting towards me, stopped in front of me, and was very out if breath for a few seconds before he offered to help me out. and he smelled like raw meat i guess. However, not only was I the Onceler, but I was also disguised as an old lady, which meant that Cyrus did not recognize me as the Onceler, which was good because I, as the Onceler, for some (likely malicious) reason, summoned Cyrus to the backrooms and if he knew that I was the Onceler he would likely attack me. Then I woke up

[throwawaywhumper]

I have also been thinking a lot about whumpee betraying caretaker, whether its just the result of incredibly deep rooted training, a sense of self preservation, or a fit of anger.

Like caretaker sneaking whumpee food when they're not allowed to eat, and whumpee snitches on them to whumper without taking the food

Whumpee who trades their own pain for caretaker's without a second thought. They're so tired, and they're sure caretaker can handle it, right?

Whumpee who lies to caretaker and tricks them into getting caught

Whumpee who unapologetically attacks caretaker, physically knocking them out

And a caretaker who no longer feels safe taking care of whumpee because they know whumpee would throw them under the bus at the first opportunity

[gillianthecat]

What are other words besides "western" that better capture what people mean when they use that term?

sometimes I think people just mean "white" but often it is broader than that

"Europe and European diaspora" but diaspora is far too neutral a word for what actually happened

"whiteness dominated countries/cultures." probably accurate but clumsy

"European imperialist descended countries/cultures." also probably accurate but clumsy.

Idk, "western" has always felt like a euphemism to me. At the very least it flattens out what’s really going on. But I can’t at the moment think of common alternatives that capture the population/group of cultures that western is supposed to.

(Also when I was a kid and saw references to people in "western clothes" I pictured them in like. Cowboy hats, denim and spurs.)

[skyllion-uwu]

Fighting against the stealing socks allegations

[zephyr-mew]

me staring at all these yakuza thoughts in my drafts and wondering if they're worth posting