#two absolute GEMS

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

ailyn pérez and laurent naouri are both international treasures and we do not deserve either of them

[drawnfamiliarfaces]

He’s cool 🧊 he’s hot🔥 Like a frozen sun.☀️

[sleepy-pile-of-ashe]

These two panels

Have been living in my head rent free since they were posted ngl

[omegamoo]

a collection of secret life doodles ive done over the past... couple weeks? wow. this season has really inspired me artistically, and really got me back into this whole series :]

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

“What fire joins, none may put asunder,” came the echo, from queen’s men and Thenns and even a few of the black brothers.

Except for kings and uncles, thought Jon Snow.

[...]

“Will my lord be feasting with us?” Mully asked Jon Snow.

“Shortly.” Sigorn might take it as a slight if he did not appear. And this marriage is mine own work, after all.

- Jon X, ADWD

Something that makes me go absolutely feral about the whole Alys Karstark thing is the pure irony of it all. We know that marriages and inheritances are matters that need to be dealt with by the king. We see this play out in ACOK where Bran, in his capacity as Prince of Winterfell, has to deal with such matters: lands, succession, marriage, and justice.

Except now, there’s a terrible lack of kings up North. Robb’s dead, Bran fled, and Winterfell is now occupied by the Boltons who really aren’t the sort to mete out justice; in fact, they’re involved in the very acts of injustice that are presented to us.

So poor Alys Karstark needs to find a helper but the only person available is Ned Stark’s bastard son, Jon Snow. But big problem, he’s sworn to an order that prohibits him from wearing any crowns. Still she goes to him, kneels before him, and begs him to be her aid; she asks him to step in the place of the King in the North/Lord of Winterfell and do her justice. She even asks him to do so in his father’s name.

But here’s the kicker, Jon does have his father’s name: Stark. Jon can step in and be the King in the North. That’s because Robb legitimized him and named him heir. So Alys unknowingly sought her king, knelt before him, and asked him to help her. And he did! Her king gave her the justice she desired. Really, that’s what kings are for: justice. And Jon is already an old hand at that.

[donde-el-diablo-parquea-la-moto]

I have so many thoughts about turbo as a parent and Foolish's amazing parenting skills and how Leo would've become sunny if Vegetta logged on more and how Vegetta would give Leo mines and bombs to one up sunny but at the same time have no patience for their little rivalry while also being all jealous about how tubbo has so much and gives sunny so many things as soon as she asks.

[couldbebetterforsure]

Me: It makes sense why the Pokémon anime has chosen to retire Ash as the protagonist now. After winning the Alola League and now claiming victory in the Masters Tournament, he’s reached a perfect point in his journey to bring his story to a close. I mean his story, and his journey, will of course continue on even without us being along for the ride as we have been for the past 20+ years. But for the anime’s story itself Ash’s journey has reached a perfect point to close things out. I mean it’s obvious it was coming what with all the callbacks to Ash’s past companions and Pokémon. So while it is sad to say goodbye it was expected and I will be more than willing to give the new protagonists a chance in the upcoming anime adaptation of Paldea!☺️

Also me, sobbing pitifully: B-but….. Ash and Arven potentially becoming friends🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Ash and Pikachu interacting with Miraidon or Koraidon🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 Seeing what Pokémon from Paldea Ash gets and seeing which Pokémon he and I both clicked with🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 ASH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

In short, my dreams are shattered, my life is in ruins, and if you guys needs me I will be in mourning for the next 7-10 business years.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

was that like a. like a planned thing or did he just Do That

[blossoms-and-possums]

if anyone needs me i’ll be rewatching glee

[ribbonbonny]

finally some archie/maxie content in masters again even if its just an EX role upgrade. Wahoo

[darlingseraa]

DUNE

Y'ALL. LISTEN.

So I went to the movies to see Dune part 2 last night. And holy shit it was AMAZING. I've been a fan of the book for a long time, and since the first movie came out in 2021, I have been dreaming of getting more of it in movie form. Denis Villeneuve did a fantastic job of adapting the story and universe into a cinematic masterpiece. It was just wonderful.

And there's so much I could say about it, about its aesthetic, its music, its ambiance, the sound design, the technical and artistic prowess its artists and technical artists have displayed to create this masterwork of a film. There's so much to say, and yet, I have no words to describe just how much its visuals and story inspire me to create.

I have the first movie's artbook as well as its OST saved in my Spotify playlists, and I'll admit, I haven't opened the book or listened to the music in a while. Seeing Dune part 2 yesterday has made me want to listen and look through it all again. It has inspired me to create something once more, something new, something that is of my own design.

And I'll forever be grateful to Denis Villeneuve and his team, as well as the actors, musicians and all types of artists involved in the creation of this film – because yes, all of them are creatives and artists at heart.

I'm grateful to all of you for reigniting the creative spark inside me that had nearly died out a while ago.

I may not know all of your names, and quite frankly will only ever see them in the credits of this film, or in other movies' credits as well. I may not know all of your faces either, and likely never will. But I still thank you.

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

[curry-and-gunpowder]

Decided on a whim to reread Wild Adapter (one of my favorite manga from my teens/early 20s) and am now currently going absolutely insane about how fucking many parallels there are to BSD. What does it meeeaaannnn???

This 👌 close to putting together a conspiracy board. Or at least a side by side scene comparison.

[chthonic-cassandra]

Turns out that my former therapist, with whom I had a contentious and miserable temporary ending a year ago and who planned/promised to contact me when she came back to practice after being on leave, gave a presentation on behalf of *my* organization last month without telling me.

I don't know whether she just thought I wouldn't find out? Or what? But I am so totally fucking enraged.

[the-blind-assassin-12]

Mando season 3... sigh. Sadly, I'm beginning to lose interest. The story seems disjointed, and the production value feels like it's diminished in quality.

I'm having difficulty suspending my belief. For example, the location of the covert. It looks like they're in the middle of nowhere. There are dangerous beasts all over the place, so why are they still there? Why did they save those baby monsters if they're only going to turn into more dangerous predators? It looks like no one has a ship, so how are they getting supplies? Where are they getting gas to fire forge? Practicalities like these are knocking me out of the narrative.

Also, the fact that Favreau said there's no end in site concerns me because shows seem to lose quality over time when there isn't a plan. The words "jump the shark" come to mind.

I'll keep watching, but I miss being excited for a new episode to drop each week. In fact, I haven't watched the latest episode and am in no hurry to do so.

Hi Michelle!! 😀 I was so happy to see you pop up in my inbox! I hope you’re doing well, lovely!! Thanks for swinging by with this!!

I’m sorry that you’re not enjoying this season as much as the previous ones. It seems like you’re not alone - I have seen quite a few people expressing less than favorable opinions on what’s going on with s3 - but that’s still unfortunate, and I hope that the remaining episodes give you and others more to enjoy about it!

That being said, I’m actually really liking this season so far, which probably (maybe?) isn’t what you were expecting me to say, but here we are. 🤷🏻‍♀️

But let’s talk about the things you brought up. Going under the cut to avoid spoilers for anyone who doesn’t want to see them:

I’m gonna start by saying that I do agree that the production value feels a little diminished. I’m wondering if it’s because of bigger budgets on other SW shows (I’m thinking Andor & Ahsoka- which I have HIGH hopes for), and them banking on the fact that the Mandalorian series already has a large fan base. It doesn’t feel (to me at least) as diminished as the production value of BOBF felt (that low speed chase on 50s era mopeds was … a choice), but I’ll agree that it feels like a half step down from seasons 1 & 2.

The only thing I personally have had a hard time with as far as the storytelling/disjointedness goes, was the way that the Pershing episode was structured. It was 5 minutes of Din/Bo/Grogu, and then a whole chunk of Pershing and the least trustworthy character in all of star wars, and then another 6 minutes of Din/Bo/Grogu. I didn't hate that we got some info on what was going on on that side of things - I have theories about where they're going with Elia Kane and all of that, and they were strengthened by some details in the latest episode - but I wish they had structured the storytelling differently by sort of breaking it up and sprinkling it into the rest of the episodes.

As far as the covert being in the middle of nowhere goes, it’s entirely possible that at least one other Mando has a ship, and it’s hidden. I always assumed that their tunnels and caves on Nevarro were more expansive than what we ever actually saw - Din at one point says he’s not familiar with a certain section of them, which made me think they were LARGE and possibly even connected to other tunnels where a ship (or ships) that belongs to the covert might be kept for emergencies or just to use when needed. I also recall a line (when the covert was on Nevarro) about how living in the shadows means only one can go out at a time for secrecy and safety, and that made me think that it’s not just Din who comes and goes off world, that others do, too if or when they need to. It’s also possible that they had a pre-arranged backup plan, so they didn't all need to leave Nevarro together, they just had to find a way there even if it wasn't right away. But again this is all just what my brain came up with throughout the series, so I have no idea if it’s canonically correct.

The fact that there are so many dangerous beasts on that planet was probably one of the things that made it a desirable hideout - because no one in their right mind would try to settle Dino World, but Mandalorians aren't in their right minds so I get why they chose it from that perspective.

THE BABY MONSTERS!!!! Can I tell you that as soon as the mama went down I gasped and said "but the babies will die now!" And then as soon as they turned up back at the covert I was filled with relief like "oh, nevermind, they're going to be loved and cared for!" I love that they were "adopted" by the Mandalorians. For one, raising them from hatchlings will allow them to bond with the lil beasts and possibly even rely on them for battle backup like Boba did with the Rancor. Also? I just love the reiteration of how important adoption is to Mandalorians. It's a part of their belief system that they take care of any children that need taking care of, no matter who or what their parents were. "Mandalorian isn't a race, it's a Creed" extends even to beasties and I just think that's very sweet coming from a group of tin cans. (idk what the beasts are called. I've been calling them pterodactyls to fit the Dino World theme - I've seen articles and posts where people are calling them shriek hawks, but I'm pretty sure shriek hawks are smaller and have feeyethers. I could be wrong about that, though!)

*thanks, Dieter*

The "no end in sight" is admittedly concerning, but I'm choosing to believe they won't let it go beyond where it needs to. Depending on where this season ends, I think it could probably go one more. With all the tie-ins from the Clone Wars & Rebels series (which honestly, I know animation isn't everyone's jam, but Rebels was truly great, and there is a LOT of Mandalorian lore and history in that show, including stuff pertaining to the Darksaber, Bo-Katan, and Clan Vizsla, so if you're ever looking for something to watch I recommend it, or at least the episodes that concern Mandalore) that have been popping up, I'm hoping that Filoni will take good care of the rest of this story. My fingers are crossed.

I hope that you do keep watching, and I hope that you do find things to enjoy about it as it continues! I'm very much looking forward to the next episode.

Thank you again for dropping in! I know my response was probably different from what you were expecting, so I hope that's okay!

[muirmarie]

Hey! If you're looking for an incredibly fun, incredibly well-edited, incredibly enjoyable podcast, might I suggest -

Lads on Tour: "a very chaotic, very queer, very fun D&D podcast about a bachelor party at the end of the world." (x)

It's set after a post-rapture apocalypse, it's SO funny, but it's also very soft??? It's just lads becoming friends!! And also the end of the world! And also D&D fights! And puzzles! And eels! And Dog, and cats, and BDSM spiders, and angels, and the hottest, sweetest himbo demon, and familial trauma, and also did I mention the end of the world, yes yes that, too, but more importantly: have you been to the Big Tesco????

The cast is fantastic, the eps are ~1.5 hours every 2 weeks (and there's no crosstalk/drawn-out gameplay that can slow poorly edited AP's down), the DM is SO good (I think some of my fave moments have been immediately following him saying "....sure, why not" to one of them lmao), and the characters are AMAZING, and I love them SO MUCH.

THEY ARE VERY GOOD LADS. THEY ARE, IN FACT, THE BEST OF LADS.

(I held off on listening to it at first because given the name I thought it was going to be very bro-y, and I absolutely could not have been more wrong, it is the opposite of bro-y.)

Found wherever you get your podcasts, but also:

spotify | apple | RSS Feed | twitter | insta | their website

Also did I mention how many eel facts you'll learn?? This is a pro-eel podcast.

[catzy88]

Tears For Fears - Shout

(From the 1985 album Songs From The Big Chair)