#yari talk

[yagyokai]

im slowly in progress getting back into drawing more i just need one more month to be free ! !

[ps1demodisk]

Why Eomir is one of my favourite villains

This will mostly be a dive into Eomir as a character as there's not heaps of lore for him, mostly just information about him as a person, but let's just get into why he's one of my fav villains!

The short answer is that he's not some poor, manipulated, misunderstood little guy, he doesn't have a sad backstory that absolves him of his crimes, he just sucks, and the game tells us as much, both upfront and through diary entries found in the environment and the way the thorned faction (which he leads) in general are described.

I will let this speak for itself

Eomir has always sucked. It's stated by Dahnie and Arden a few times that they fought alongside Eomir and that's how all three became sages, but throughout chapter 2 and 3 you often get the sense that no one who knows him personally really likes him, he's just tolerated due to the past. He's respected by those who don't truly know him because with his leadership the thorned guards defended the dark forest against the hypofiends.

He is one of the characters I'd say is irredeemable, not just because he killed people/allowed an entire village to die, but because he used his status to exert control in order for it to happen.

Eomir has a need for control, he makes this clear throughout his dialogue, but again, his controlling nature is also shown to us before we even meet him in the form of lyca's description of the thorned guards (see image 1 in this post) and the way he uses the thorned guards to unilaterally execute the exclusion edict despite no one else wanting it, and how he manufactures situations in order to "justify" this (the thorned guards trying to purposely injure and kidnap Damian in order to blame it on the refugees)

He also boasts his perceived superiority over Dahnie, Arden, and even Eironn, repeatedly putting them down as he claims to be the one true leader, you see him get more aggressive with this whenever he feels threatened.

A few examples in his dialogue:

Back to the ghost village, yes he actually did allow those villagers to die to the corruption. That's why no one knew about the corruption in that village, and that was also likely his motivation. He had to start somewhere in order for the corruption to take root, he always planned for those villagers to die so that no one could be warned, and so his reputation remained intact, he used his status as a sage to achieve this.

Eironn says he chose to turn a blind eye, I personally believe that to be untrue, I feel that's his way of coping, trying to perceive it as him not paying attention rather than him planning their deaths from the start. They were sacrificed, as Lorsan puts it, it was intentional.

Throughout chapters 2 and 3 it's clear he's never really been a pleasant or nice person, the traits mentioned above are not new, but some of them are amplified by the situation. I love the fact he doesn't have a sad backstory that tries to justify why he's like this, I love the fact he just. Sucks. It's refreshing to have an irredeemable villain that's not super satan! He was not manipulated into doing any of this, he did it because he wanted to, he was already the kind of person who would do this kinda stuff and that's why Illucia targeted him, because she didn't have to manipulate him into doing anything, he was easy pickings, a willing subject, a power hungry wannabe dictator.

I hope you enjoyed my yap sesh, thank you for coming <3

Also bonus screenshots of Arden just being like "yeah slay that bitch to get the life force back bbg, dw it'll go into the egg" just cause

[madnessofthespirits]

see while i could write an entire laundry list of reasons why i care about cu alter and diarmuid that would probably turn into a pretty lengthy ship manifesto, right now i just want to talk about what is ultimately my favorite reason, and that is this that they are both characters who ended up in oddly similar tragic situations, which they responded to in ways that were just enough alike that they would be able to understand each other deeply, and yet also so radically different that they complement each other in ways that the other could learn from so as to grow and heal. both of them were forced to become people they never wanted to be in order to honor the geasa placed upon them, but cu alter responded to this by accepting his role as king (and later a servant/familiar) and the unpleasant changes the grail wrought in him so completely that he does not believe he is allowed to be any other way, while diarmuid refuses to be defined by his role as a traitor at all, preferring instead to hold on to hope that his new life will give him a chance to redeem himself by serving his lord faithfully and regaining new friends in place of the ones he was driven apart from in life. despite the opposite nature of both reactions, each stems from their mutual desire to live honorably above all else. and as with any sort of extreme, each reaction has its benefits as well as its drawbacks.

cu alter's problem is that being forced into a role he didn't want left him convinced that he is never meant to be anything more than the tool he had to see himself as in order to fulfill that role (and therefore honor his geis), no matter how unhappy he is that way. diarmuid, on the other hand, refuses to let anything stop him from being the honorable knight he believes himself to be, even after being forced to become a traitor, or from finding ways to find joy in his circumstances, even when forces beyond his control threaten to make this impossible. no matter how dishonorable his master is, he does his best to serve him honorably, and he even goes so far as to create opportunities to be the knight he wishes to be by creating and honoring his pact to fight to the death with saber, thus also creating hope and joy for himself in a situation otherwise devoid of both - not to mention a friend. he is proof that there is life beyond what is lost in the process of fulfilling one's vow, proof that joy can still be found even after it is stolen from you - and if there's anybody who needs to know that, it's cu alter.

but diarmuid is also so set on reclaiming his identity as a good knight that he has trouble accepting that he ever did anything dishonorable at all, or that he holds any resentment for those who put him in that situation, to the point that it causes him huge amounts of mental strife and anxiety. cu alter, on the other hand, completely accepts the ways in which his experience changed him, openly calling his way of existing "ugly" without further complaint, simply accepting it as part of his role and the way he has to live for the sake of his honor - even if it makes him miserable, even if it means becoming the "cruel king" who would seem to be the antithesis of the honorable hero he wants to be. he doesn't resent himself for simply doing what he had to, understanding that however paradoxical it may seem, even this can be part of being a hero if it means obeying his geis. and if diarmuid needs anything, it's someone who can help him accept the ways in which the tragedy of his life might have changed him for the worse, and the contradictory nature of being a hero itself. he needs someone who can show him that any resentful feelings he might harbor are just an unavoidable consequence of what happened to him, and not a stain on his honor in and of themselves - someone who can help him forgive himself for doing what he had to do in the name of said honor, no matter how dishonorable what he had to do itself was.

and since both of their issues stem from similar experiences, they can look at the other, finally see someone who knows what it's like to have to sacrifice your identity in order to fulfill a vow, finally see someone who knows what it's like to have your agency torn away from you in exchange for your honor, and see that maybe it's still possible to be okay afterward, after all. diarmuid does this by showing cu that it's possible for him to still be his old self in some ways, to connect with others and enjoy a good fight, and cu does this by showing diarmuid that he's no less the good knight he wants to be even if the events of the pursuit and the grail war changed him for the worse in some ways. what i'm saying is that by first offering each other understanding, diarmuid can offer cu alter hope and cu alter can offer diarmuid acceptance.

[paskariu]

Now that I'm already being very sane about the Toyota Yaris, it does kinda make me sad that when you try to search for it, a lot of the articles and pictures will be off the GR Yaris.

Which is understandable, as it's arguably the Yaris that stands out the most; but we still have to appreciate the humble regular Yaris' that paved the way for it.

I want to look at the regular ones. Call me tasteless but my dumb ass WILL sit in front of my Yaris and stare at it like a regular car person an old Mercedes.

[galegaleforce]

Writing Yari is so fun in these later chapters of book 2. She starts off like a feral animal and then slowly becomes the sweetest, most affectionate puppy.

[yusukenui]

.

[wellen-katze]

Masterpost for all my BG3 fanart

You are probably here for it so here is a list of all the Baldur's Gate 3 Fanart I did so far, please enjoy! whew, that was a lot of work

Comics:(last update 19/04/24)

The circle of degradation - bg3 comic astarion, cazador

Weeping of a bhaalspawn - bg3 comic original Dark Urge Tav

astarion dialogue spoilers

Compassion - bg3 durgeTav, Astarion comic

A fun show - bg3 Astarion comic

Why not - bg3 Astarion, Tav comic

Lae'zel, Voss comicstrip

Needle and thread - bg3 comic Astarion, Halsin [TW SA themed]

the funniest pictures are created(...) - bg3 Astarion, Karlach, Wyll, Shadowheart, Gale, Lae'zel

Moon and stars - bg3 Astarion comic

Farewell of a wizard - bg3 Rolan (Gale) comic

Don't you fret - bg3 comic A.Astarion/dark urge

Hope is for the living - bg3 astarion comic (remake)

Words to care - bg3 comic, Astarion

Lae'zel the artist(?) - Astarion, Gale, Shadowheart, Wyll, Karlach

Filth - bg3 comic, a.astarion, dark urge

Pondering and caring - bg3 comic, astarion

Love of my life -bg3 comic, astarion

Ascended Minds - bg3 comic, Dark Urge x A.Astarion

How it might have started Tav, Jaheira, Astarion, Shadowheart, Gale

Pondering and hatching - bg3 comic Lae'zel , Karlach, Astarion

It's raining - bg3 comic, Gale, Astarion

Far away - Astarion, Gale, Shadowheart

Halsin and ducks

Calamari - BG3 comic, Astarion, Gale

Temptation - BG3 comic, Astarion, Tav 'Yaris'(by Iruka/Sabu)

Bookclub part 3 - Astarion, Gale, Volo

Yellow flower - A.Astarion

Arrow - Astarion, Durge Tav ,Gale Karlach

The past of a magistrate - astarion, durge, wyll, shadowheart, karlach, gale

Taters! -bg3 Karlach PART 1, PART 2, PART 3

Bookclub-time with Gale,&Astarion

The golden hour - bg3 Cazador, Astarion comic

I love you - , astarion,tav

A faint whiff - astarion,tav [tw trauma]

bg3 doodle comic about stupid Tav things2

bg3 doodle comic about stupid Tav things

Family runs through the magic - bg3 rolan,cal,lia comic

Death, life and fun -Astarion, Arabella, Withers, Gale PART1 , PART2 , PART3

Cold skin, colder heart - astarion bg3 doodle comic

The office meme, Astarion, Tav

Not the religious type - bg3 astarion comic

The meaning of Gale of Waterdeep, Tara, Gale

Curse of a vampyr - bg3 a.astarion, tav comic

AstarionxDragonborn Dark Urge lap scene

Path down to the heart - BG3 Dark Urge, Astarion comic [TW blood, violence]

The freedom to love - Astarion,durgeTav bg3 comic

No one is allowed to eat from Tav's buffet lol - bg3 shortcomic

Circular scars - Cazador, Vellioth BG3 comic [TW violence, blood]

Nibbles - bg3 comic [Shadowheart origin spoiler]

The library of a million realms - bg3, Astarion comic [TW trauma]

The fortuneteller - Astarion, Tav

The worst podcast - bg3 comic [epilogue spoilers]

God Gale as a motivational coach and his guest Astarion

POV you are having a very romantic date with Astarion lol - bg3 comic

Durge, Astarion and a bhaalist worshipper, bg3 shortcomic

Dark Urge&A.Astarion PART 1 , PART 2 , PART 3 , PART 4, PART 5

Gale's burden - bg3 shortcomic

Bloodtalk -Astarion, Dark Urge,

Gale, Tara and Catstarion

The box - Astarion,Tav bg3 Comic [TW Trauma]

Astarion&Shadowheart, scars, river and talk

Gale and Astarion's Bookclub

Lae'zel is not smiling, you are smiling! -Karlach, Lae'zel, Tav

Bg3 Clown comic - Tav, Astarion, Shadowheart

Gale meets the kids - Gale, Tav, Shadowheart, Astarion

Astarion and the Gur scribble

Gale and his children

Astarion short comic [TW sa themed]

A short Shadowheart comic

Old Astarion comic - Cazador, Astarion

Ravishing Mirror - S.AstarionxA.Astarion R18! (Patreon shop)

Other:(last update 19/04/24)

kisses and hugs for gnome tav, Karlach, Astarion doodle

Shadowheart, nocturne FA

Astarion confession scene, break-up FA

Astarion face doodles

Astarion with child doodle

minthara doodle

A moment of disgust, Astarion FA

7000 pieces, Astarion FA

Gale doodle

Astarion FA

Tav Meme

Midnight chimes, eh? Astarion FA

Astarion Fa

Astarion Fa

Gale would still marry you, if you were a worm

Gale and Tara weee

Catstarion has nine lives

Very serious first 1000 words

let me know if there are any mistakes

[melverie]

So I've seen some discussion about the way Mammon talks in 24-11, and how some think Asmo forced Mammon to speak this way while others think it might be because of a issue with the translation. And since I speak some Japanese, I figured I'd break down what's actually going on here

If you don't want to read through the Japanese grammar explanation, just skip to the last section, but for everyone else I'll try to break it all down. Just keep in mind that I'll simplify some things to (hopefully) make it easier to understand for those that don't speak Japanese

Right away, here's the dialogue above in the Japanese version + written in Romaji for those that can't read Japanese:

understanding sentence-ending particles

(not really relevant to Mammon's dialogue itself, but I think it'll help make the function of 「です」 ('desu') and 「ます」 ('masu') in the next section a little clearer)

Sentence-ending particles serve to indicate the overall tone a sentence is meant to have. There are a few of them and each one gives the meaning of the sentence a different nuance

The two easiest examples to understand this concept are probably the following:

the 「か」 ('ka') particle basically just a spoken question mark; turns any sentence into a proper question

the 「ね」 ('ne') particle literally functions the same way as 'isn't it'

ちょっと寒い。 ('chotto samui') -> It's a little cold.

ちょっと寒いか。 ('chotto samui ka') -> Is it a little cold?

ちょっと寒いね。 ('chotto samui ne') -> Bit cold, innit? It's a little cold, isn't it?

the auxilary verbs 「です」 ('desu') and 「ます」 ('masu')

Similarly to the sentence-ending particles, these two change the tone of the sentence and are placed at the end. Both make the sentence polite, and depending on what the sentence ends with, you use one or the other. If it ends in a verb, you add 「ます」 ('masu') at the very end, and if it ends in anything else you use 「です」 ('desu')—you cannot use both back to back

Which finally brings us back to Mammon's dialogue

As you can see, he goes a little overboard. Since 「やり直す」 ('yari naosu'; 'to redo') is a verb, the first use of 「ます」 ('masu') is correct, but everything after that is just overkill and wrong but it sounds very cute (The way Mammon speaks here actually reminds me of how half of my classmates used to speak the first few weeks of uni lol)

But yeah, it's definitely not Asmo forcing Mammon to speak differntly since all of the brothers are talking more politely. And given that they're all under Asmo's charm and serving him, it makes sense that they'd adopt a similar manner of speaking as Barbatos. It's just that Mammon is the King of Casual Speech™, dancing gracefully between 'still acceptable' and 'straight up rude' more or less gracefully at least, so obviously he'd struggle with switching to a more butler-like speech style

It's the same with Beel actually. He's usually the type to just cut straight to the point, which is why he also slightly messed up when speaking politely. To me the original Japanese version reads more like a cute little joke that's in line with both their character, that unfortunately got lost in translation since English just doesn't have an equivalent

[fragilecapric0rnn]

first lines tag game!!

thank you for the tags my wonderful and talented friends!! @judasofsuburbia @kkpwnall @fastcardotmp3 ❤️ love yall!!!!

RULES: post the first lines of your last 10 fics/chapters posted on AO3 (if you have less than 10 fics posted, post the first lines of all your fics) and try to draw some conclusions

1. Anyway, It's About Old Friends

Robin stands beside Steve, her grip on his arm is the only thing keeping him grounded.

2. Hand On My Stupid Heart [chapter 1]

Instead of warming up for the game, the last game of his high school career, Steve Harrington is making the trek out to the woods behind the school. 

3. Hand On My Stupid Heart [chapter 2]

A pang of guilt hit Steve in the chest as he sits on the dirty bathroom floor.

4. you'll get older (maybe then you'll feel some control)

Something’s not right.

5. Young, Scrappy, & Hungry [chapter 4]

Robin’s tires screech on the pavement, echoing in the almost empty parking lot, before she cuts the engine of her mom’s red Toyota Yaris, whistling as she climbs out of the car, giving no one even the slightest hint that she woke up this morning on the brink of vomiting from the nerves.

6. It Might Be Worth It For Once

Steve feels so incredibly queasy walking shoulder to shoulder in between Robin and Dustin up to their dingy little hometown bar. 

7. Excuse Me, This is a 7-11 in 1985

“No way!” Steve scolds, the top half of his body turned and facing the backseat.

8. The Future is the Same (but i have to try)

The first time, it was an accident.

9. Young, Scrappy, & Hungry [chapter 3]

Nancy shuts off her car, cutting off the radio announcer talking about the ‘chilly morning’ that Orange County residents are in store for today.

10. Heat Wave

It’s an unusually hot night in Steve’s apartment. 

TLDR; we love to start with an action. we LOVE an action and also sometimes some dialogue!

No pressure tagging some friends!!

@cheatghost @figthefruitfaeth @snowangeldotmp3 @gideoncharov @starryeyedjanai @thefreakandthehair

[hantenguclonesimp-minuszoha]

Strange creatures... | Odd human...

Synopsis: The very first thing he wondered was why he wasn't burning under the sun. The second being why he wasn't in the Infinity Castle when he was mere moments ago. Why was he in a forest? The air smelled different and even this location's energy felt different... What was that giant creature? Why was the woman next to it not running away?

Warnings: N/A.

Content contains: Kimetsu no Yaiba + Steven Universe.

Upper Rank/Moon Four, Hantengu - Aizetsu.

Blue Diamond.

Blue Pearl.

Term meaning:

Minka -> traditional Japanese house.

Note: So, I've started with this little idea of mine. Been motivated but am currently keeping my mind off requests, which is also why they're closed! This is a 'start' to this post and just a little bit of fun really. Might write up the others, might not. Anyways, enjoy! + I apologise for shitty translation, Google translate is my only option since I'm a little lazy to look for more. I FOUND A BETTER TRANSLATOR (I HOPE IT'S BETTER)

This is not a guaranteed project.

I am by no means a Steven Universe fan, however, I have seen some clips of the show and the one that I chose was when Blue Diamond visited Earth to talk to Pink Diamond's shrine thingy.

Aizetsu looked around cautiously, trying to detect any sort of danger or enemies. However, he seemed to have found none. This is entire place was not... where he was from. His homeland. He's surprised to even call it that. It didn't feel like Japan and it didn't look like it either. There were no minkas and everything he saw, even felt was too advanced for him to comprehend. The air smelled different in a way he could not understand. It didn't smell like the fresh air he was used. It smelled... corrupted almost. He didn't know what it was but it made him uneasy. Aizetsu began to wander around a bit, trying to find out where exactly he is until he was stopped by a distant voice which he heard due to his sharp hearing.

"Oh, Pink..."

Instantly, Aizetsu turned to the direction of the voice, ears twitching as he picked up more of the voice he had heard. It was soft, feminine, compassionate almost—sorrowful like him. He didn't know how but he just felt something about this voice. Simply by what he assumed is a woman, he could tell that she understood his feelings, pathetic as that might sound especially from an Upper Rank like himself. He found himself instantly drawn to the voice but remained cautious thinking it was a trap to lure him in. Using his flesh manipulation, he summoned his yari and slowly walked towards the direction of the voice, hyperaware of his surroundings as he did so.

"I'm sorry.. I'm so sorry..."

Aizetsu then stopped, trying to process the words only to realise that he did not understand a word she had uttered. How odd. Suddenly, he was extremely tense, ready to dodge at even the slightest sign of danger. Nevertheless the demon approached until he was met with a few bushes. However, it weren't the bushes that had caught his attention, the bushes were the least of his worries. It were the things beyond it. His eyes landed on a sort of pink shrine and a very large, blue cloaked figure which appeared to be hunched and alongside the figure a blue-skinned woman, hair clearly covering her face and dressed in a strange outfit which had a skirt he could only describe as water. The grip on his yari tightened more if it were even possible, Aizetsu had his Blood Demon Art on standby should the creature notice him to attack. However, from what he's heard alone, he can tell it possesses some intelligence.

"I should've done more. Yellow says it'll all be over soon."

Aizetsu hated that he couldn't understand what she said. He needed to know what this woman was saying—he needed to know if he was in danger.

"I wonder what you would think of this. This is your planet after all. I still think it is..."

The demon then crouched behind the bushes, forming a plan in his mind to try and figure out what exactly this being was and if it were a demon of some sort. The idea that a creature that large could be a demon did not seem impossible, but one weaker than an Upper Moon very much so did. Unfortunately, Aizetsu was so consumed in his own thoughts, he hadn't noticed that the slight crack of a nearby bush thus drawing the attention of both the woman and the bigger creature.

"What are you doing over there?"

He was instantly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard her voice turn into that of a questioning tone. He crouched lower, yari gripped tightly as he heard the footsteps of the woman. The closer she got, Aizetsu felt compelled to strike her with his yari and just when he was about to, he stopped himself, noticing that neither the woman or creature had noticed his presence. "I thought I heard someone." He got a got a closer look at her and in the process was able to take in her scent. "I think we're not alone." He immediately noticed that the woman herself was no human and neither demon. This fact confused him and he couldn't help but stand up to try and observe both creatures better. Unfortunately, that act immediately exposed his location as the blue-skinned creature turned around much to his dismay. "Pearl?" His eyes snapped towards the direction of the bigger creature, instantly alert of its every move before his attention was once again directed towards the blue-skinned woman who suddenly made a sort of hand gesture before bowing. "My Diamond, I have a found a native." What were they saying?! It frustrated the demon that the words weren't even being comprehended at that point and he was almost tempted to attack. Nevertheless, he remained calm, observing both creatures keenly.

"... Bring it here."

The woman then began to walk, however, quickly stopped when she realised that Aizetsu wasn't following. This confused her as she then gestured for him to follow. Aizetsu refused, believing it was a sort of a trap as he then took a step back and narrowed his eyes at both of them. "Inochi ga oshiinara, jisei shiro... [Restrain yourself if you value your life...]" Aizetsu warned, not expecting them to understand but did so anyways as he then raised his yari slightly. He assumed she would get the hint and back away but it seemed as if she didn't and tried to approach him once more, this time reaching an arm to grab him. Aizetsu reacted by slicing off her hand faster than she could react as a warning and remaining quiet, simply giving her a sorrowful glare. The woman yelped in pain and stepped back in shock and a hint of fear. "M-My Diamond..." She seemed to retreat towards the creature he assumed was her master and remained vigilant. "Where is it?" The creature then turned around which revealed to Aizetsu a large rather curvaceous woman who appeared very sad. He could sense her sorrow and almost pitied her. Almost. Her gaze immediately landed on her companion who quickly bowed down and seemed to be apologising.

She then redirected her gaze towards Aizetsu, curious and a bit offended. "How did a human manage to do such a thing...?" The woman then stood up and approached Aizetsu with a few steps. Aizetsu in turn backed away, yari prepared and ready to use his Blood Demon Art. "Stay still..." He noticed that she was attempting to grab him but before she could take even one step closer, he disappeared from her eyesight leaving her and her companion confused. "What is this?" The creature would be surprised by a rather firm energy trust near her neck. She looked to her shoulder with wide eyes as she once again saw Aizetsu before he once again disappeared faster than she could react. This time, he was right before them once more, clearly displeased. "Jibun no namae, jibun ga nanimono ka, soshite kono basho ga nandearu ka o noberu. [State you names, what you are and what this place is.]" They both looked at him, confused at every word he had just uttered and simply stood there. "It does not understand us. We're scaring it, Pearl." Aizetsu listened intently on what both of the individuals said, trying to use the tones of their voices as cues on what they might do next but ultimately failing due to it not changing.

His eyes were trained on both individuals, noticing even the slightest twitch they make as he remained quiet. The giant creature then knelt down, remaining a safe distance from him before extending her hand, gesturing him to approach. However, Aizetsu remained stubborn and even backed away, a nasty glare painted on his face as he did so. "Do not be afraid. I won't harm you." From what he had tried to understand of what she said, he assumed that she won't harm him. He assumed she'd try to hint at that as a means of luring him in, but then he heard a name that he could translate into his own language. "I am Blue Diamond, human. I'm merely here to visit what was once hers." The giantess had shown no signs of malicious intent but Aizetsu refused to lower his guard. He did, however, decide to state his name and nothing more. "Watashi wa Aizetsu... [I am Aizetsu...]" The giantess seemed to have partially understood what he said before smiling softly. "Aizetsu. What an odd name. I've never heard anything like it..." Aizetsu noticed her observing him as he then tensed again. However, like the other times, she showed no signs of malice.

She then frowned softly before asking him a question, not expecting him to understand. "Do you grieve too, Aizetsu?" The expression he had, the furrowed eyebrows, deep blue eyes which with strange characters inscribed into hiis pupils, his frown. All of that gave her subtle hints at what he might feel. "Iya... [No...]" He simply responded, shaking his head, almost as if he understood the question. It almost felt like she asked if he grieved. What and why would he grieve? The humans so unfortunate enough to ever come across him and his clone brethren along with the past humans who have and have died various gruesome deaths? No. He could pity those creatures. He could only pity them for their weakness, that they are not as powerful as him. How do such weak things live?

At the moment, however, Aizetsu was thinking only one thing and so was Blue Diamond.

'Kimyōna ikimono da… [Such strange creatures...]'

'What an odd human...'

Note: That was a fun little experiment.

Divider credits:

Bubbles

Gradient and blue divider by rookthorneartistry

Taglist: @hawnkoii @fallstreakfeathers @dreamcorechild @lumitylovepill @hantengus-fuckass-clones @sunbrokenswords @georgette-mademoiselle @hearts4mitsuri @star-dust-wanderer @shytastemakerthing

[42bakery]

this is a random question but what's going on between fermin and pedro acosta??? this is my first year really following moto2 and they used to be best friends but they hate each other now or smt?? i really don't know 😭 thank you in advance, also i love you blog ♡♡

Hi there anon 👋👋👋👋

I'm glad you like my blog, it makes me very happy 🥹😍

It's actually not that random. I had been thinking about it for a long time, and actually there isn't a lot of info about it. I can only make guesses, but yours could be as good as mine because those idiots don't talk about what happened. Pedro refuses to say Fermín's name and he only referrers to him as 'the other rider' or 'him' when he's asked. But then again he went to Dani's 2000s circa rivalry classes. So the less he says a name, the more he considers you his rival. And Fermín does say his name, he actually was team Pedro last year and in Catalunya when Pedro and Alonso made contact he refused to say it was Pedro's fault (neither he blame Alonso, he just stand there and watch Alonso throw Pedro under the bus). Fermín also said Pedro is his rival and one that is an important rival for him.

We know that they aren't in a terrible situation because they hugged each other and talked during the podiums the shared last year. Fermín even tried to share Ramírez champagne bottle with Pedro in one of the podiums before Marcos took it away. Or even this year in Portugal they had a brief moment. And even Pedro's dad went to congratulate Fermín. So definitely there isn't bad blood there.

Now my guess is this. They have been racing against each other for so long, moving on the same categories more or less at the same time that they moved from friends to rivals. That paired with Fermín being younger and moving categories early than Pedro might have pissed Acosta.

Fermín was supposed to debuted in Moto3 in 2020, but the team where he was going to race withdrew leaving him without options. Pedro didn't do it until 2021. That year Pedro won the championship on his rookie season. That same year, Fermín made his debuted in MotoE that kind of helps skip Moto3 and give an opportunity to go to Moto2. Fermín also was doing the European Moto2 championship, where he won all races except the last 2 where he was 2nd and then made his Moto2 debuted in Moto2 replacing Yari Montella. So basically Fermín is younger and is 'making' the debuts a year earlier than Pedro. paired that they are from the same region (50-70 minutes away one from the other more or less) you have the perfect combination. Media has pushed them to be the new Pedrosa-Lorenzo.

So basically it's two kids that have know each other for their whole life in teams that have a beef with each other and forced to be rivals. (I think I saw this film before, anyone is with me?). Whatever Pedro does, Fermín is there to compete with him in being the youngest to do X thing (like a win, a pole, etc), but also outshine him. When people is supposed to talk about what Pedro has done, somehow Fermín does something equally crazy for us to speak about it.

But again anon, this is my guess. Maybe they both have a thing for the same girl and one of them got the date they wanted. Or maybe they tried (or did) date the other's sister and didn't end well. As I said, they don't talk about it. I just get a small summary from Fermín's side and that definitely is biased. He also didn't get into lot of details.

[michellemisfit]

WEEKLY TAG WEDNESDAY - FIRSTS!

Tagged by @suzy-queued @deedala @darlingian @heymrspatel @lingy910y @energievie @mybrainismelted @blue-disco-lights

Name: Michelle

Age: Currently getting a kick out of telling people that I’m nearly 40 and having them go ‘NO WAY!!!’ - It’s funny and flattering :)

First Pet: Siberian gerbils called Tom & Jerry

First Word: No idea. Turns out my parents kept a baby book for my older brother where they painstakingly recorded all of that stuff. I found mine a few years ago and it’s got a grand total of 3 entries, one of which is talking about how chubby I am, and how I am yet to find a food I’ll say no to, and let’s hope that’s not a sign of things to come… after which it was abandoned. Thanks mum.

First Celebrity Crush: Leonardo DiCaprio

First IRL Crush: Dominik. We hung out basically every day after school. I would go round to his house and he would play me the latest Michael Jackson tape and show me new dance steps that he’d taught himself. I thought he was so cool.

First Kiss: Age 14 with my first boyfriend. He was 20 years old. We were in a relationship for over a year. Shit was fucked up. At the risk of repeating myself… Thanks mum.

First Car: Bebop 🚙 He’s my baby and I bought him this year and I love him! He’s a turquoise 2013 Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

First apartment/house/dorm/whatever away from your parents: Heh. I moved straight from my childhood bedroom to a different country. If you’re gonna do something, do it right! lol

First Time on a Plane: I was… 18 months old? Parents went on holidays to Florida. I have about 3 memories from that trip.

First Cellphone: Nokia 3210 😎

First Concert: David Hasselhoff. I was maybe… 6? And I got very tired and slept through the second half, but my parents woke me up for Looking for Freedom, which was my favourite song of his.

First Foreign country you visited? Italy or France most likely. Pure proximity, and most of our family vacations were done by car from Switzerland so…

First sport you ever played? Hmm. I did competitive swimming when I was very young. And then gymnastics. And after that… about five minutes of football (the only sport I to this day do not understand. How do I run AND kick a ball simultaneously?!?), then 3 years of tennis, 2 years of basketball, 8 years of roller hockey, and a whole smattering of other sports on and off.

First career aspiration? I mean… I basically wanted to be a Disney Princess, purely for the Animal Best Friend aspect! And then any form of Animal Whisperer would have done the trick. I watched all the TV shows and movies where characters had magical bonds with animals, and I wanted that. And then I realised that the characters in the shows and movies aren’t real, but the people training and handling those animals *are*. However that wasn’t something realistic to aspire to, being Swiss, so instead I became a bookseller (somehow that made sense at the time… 🤷🏽‍♂️). And then 15 years later, in a different country and a different life, I did end up training animals for TV and film. So that’s kinda nifty.

And finally… tell me about the first time you wrote/drew/created/whatever something that made you think “wow”

Hmmm. I dunno. I thought I was really fucking talented when I was about 12. I wrote a novel and sent it to publishing houses and literary agencies. One of them invited me for an interview, because they thought my writing was great and they wanted to meet the kid that had sent them a manuscript aged 12/13. They ended up giving me a job, working as a admin/secretary/slush pile reader. They also gave me lots of feedback and constructive criticism on my writing. I scrapped the novel I had sent them in favour of writing a different, better novel. I still think that novel was pretty fucking good. I tried to get my mum to proof read it and give me feedback so I could do any necessary corrections before I spent my pocket money on photocopies, C4 envelopes, and a whole bunch of stamps so I could attempt to get it published again. She was dragging her feet and I tried to explain the urgency, because I was clear that it needed to happen before I turned 14. That was the goal in my head. I had huge ambitions and dreams. I was also convinced that if it happened after I turned 14 it wouldn’t be special anymore. Like anyone could do it after 14… 🙄 In response to this my mum told me that she’d had ambition and dreams, too, when she was my age. But not to worry, that’ll go away, and once you’ve put away the fanciful notions of being talented then you can just get on with your life…

Not sure if this actually answers the question, but that was kinda the first and last time I remember feeling uncomplicatedly good about and proud of something I created. After this anything creative I did was always immediately followed by the doubt of ‘is this actually good, or is this just a fanciful notion I have about being talented, when in actual fact it sucks?’ 🤷🏽‍♂️

Wow. Ended that on a downer, didn’t I?

…

Erm… I wrote Tell me we’ll never get used to it,

They’re the only two people left that know what it’s like to have loved and to have lost a Lightwood.

And it’s a good story.

There.

I said it…

Tagging @crossmydna @palepinkgoat @too-schoolforcool @vintagelacerosette @heymacy @loftec @mikhailoisbaby @rereadanon @the-rat-wins @tsuga-of-mars @ian-galagher @andthatisnotfake @francesrose3 @faejilly @jrooc @creepkinginc if you fancy playing? I’m just very exited I’m actually posting this on a Wednesday still! Whoop!!

[galaxywhump]

A Lesson in Cooperation

[An Immortal Among Stars Masterlist]

contents: lady whump, immortal whumpee, captivity, a lot of dying, torture, asphyxiation, cutting, implied surgery, briefly mentioned eye gore.

~~~

Every time someone called Karita the immortal, it was terrible news.

She tried to be secretive, and usually she succeeded, but every once in a while someone would find out. There were people strongly attuned to magic of all sorts who could sense something strange about her and piece it together; there were those who simply saw her come back to life; and there were the most mundane ways, finding her old photographs, mentions of her in documents, because no matter how hard she tried, she could never fully erase her existence from the records.

Which meant, of course, that those in power were the most likely to find out about her secret.

"So, you're the immortal I've read so much about," Princex Yari drawled with a sly smile, looking down at Karita, who answered with her best look of confusion.

"Excuse me?" She frowned. "I-I think you got the wrong person. Your Highness," she rushed to add, her eyes widening as she put her entire heart into playing the part of a confused, intimidated mortal.

It rarely worked, and judging by the princex's laughter, this time it did not.

"Don't lie to me," they said, giving one of the guards standing by their side a nod. "I can easily test it."

Karita let out a terrified gasp when the guard handed the princex a dagger, shiny and bejeweled, more of a beautiful accessory than a weapon.

"No, please!" she choked out, struggling in the guards' grip. "Please, I swear I don't know what Your Highness is talking about, I'm not immortal!"

"That's just too bad." Yari shrugged, approaching her. "If you're telling the truth… Well, I'm terribly sorry, and I hope you had a good life."

The freezing blade was pressed to her throat, making her shudder, and with a quick precise cut her fate was sealed.

"Have you ever considered becoming an actress?" Yari asked, giddy with excitement, as soon as she came back to life. "I'm sure you'd shine in death scenes."

She glared at them, abandoning her wholehearted impression of normality.

"What do you want from me, Your Highness?" Her voice was dripping with venom.

"Information," they replied, leaning down to be closer to eye level with her. "A lot of information."

"I'm not telling you shit," Karita sneered. She saw stars when her reply earned her a hard slap to the face. It was annoying more than anything, but it drove a different point home: once again, she was a captive, after a mere few years of peace.

"Maybe you won't have to. All I need is your full cooperation."

"That's not gonna happen either."

"Really?" Yari raised one eyebrow, still smiling. "I think my offer is quite sensible, especially considering what will happen if you refuse."

"Oh? Then why don't you tell me about it?"

She had been presented with many offers she couldn't refuse throughout her life. It always turned out that she could, in fact, refuse, and the consequences were bearable. There wasn't much that could scare her into submission.

"Like I said, I need information. Information about the Serpent Cluster.”

Karita frowned. Serpent was a lost cluster, taken over long ago by loosely organized groups of the underworld, now a death sentence to any ship that passed too close. The cluster was being monitored as much as it could be, which wasn’t a lot, and for decades there had been plans and promises to deal with it once and for all, but it wasn’t going to be an easy operation, and as years passed, the groups ruling over the cluster only continued to grow stronger. No-one had been stupidly brave enough to venture there, including Karita - she wouldn’t lose her life in the cluster, sure, but she knew better than anyone that there were fates worse than death.

“I don’t have any.”

“I know,” Yari said with a patient smile. “But you’re going to get it for me.”

“What, you expect me to just waltz in there and ask around?”

“No, of course not. We’ll go with a more stealthy approach.”

“We?” Karita snorted, even as fear started to set in. “I’m not going to cooperate and you know it.”

“Yes, you are. Anyway, the plan is as follows: We’re going to put implants right here.” Before Karita could react, Yari grabbed the sides of her head and ran their thumbs behind her ears, pressing down to the point of pain. “They’re going to record everything you hear while you’re there, and send it directly to us. It’s only sound, but it will have to do for the most part.”

“No?” Karita stared at them in disbelief. “You’re not putting that crap in me.”

Yari sighed.

“Aren’t you forgetting something, immortal? I’m a princex. I’m in charge here, and right now I control you. You can act tough all you want. In the end, you’ll do exactly what I want you to do.”

“No,” Karita repeated and shook her head. “You can’t force me. What are you going to threaten me with? Death?”

“Actually, yes. In a way,” Yari laughed, and gestured at the guards, who grabbed Karita by the arms and started leading her - or more like dragging her - out of the room. Her thoughts were racing, her heartbeat frantic, as she tried to guess what the princex had in store for her. She had died more times and in more ways than she could count; mundane, horrific, suicide, murder, freak accidents, magic. She had suffered, she had been mutilated, there was nothing that could sway her and convince her that going to the Serpent Cluster to act as a spy was the better alternative.

She was pretty confident, until she started to realize where she was being taken.

She pulled. She tried to dig her heels in, to stop the guards, to free herself, to do something, and maybe she was wrong, but there it was, the airlock, and two people in spacesuits, and the vast universe outside.

No. 

She was paralyzed with terror at this point, which didn’t happen often - she had learned long ago to act no matter what, to fight through the fear, not let it overpower her, but this-

The star exploded.

She could’ve been there, on one of the destroyed planets, fire, burning, melting, ice, freezing, floating in nothingness, no hope of ever being found.

Sturdy manacles were closed on her wrists and ankles. Yari appeared in front of her, holding a helmet.

“So,” they said, taking in her terrified expression, “it’s just death, isn’t it? You’ll be fine, no matter how long you’re there. I still haven’t decided, to be honest. Let’s say… six hours, and then I’ll ask for your cooperation again. Then… we’ll see.”

"No." The word left her before she could stop herself, and that was it for acting tough. They knew how scared she really was. 

She wasn't going to be there forever, though, or even for several days, months, years. Six hours to start with, after which…

She couldn’t agree. She just couldn’t.

The princex put the helmet on her, but she already suspected it was only temporary - she didn't have a spacesuit or any protective magic, and a helmet offered a sliver of protection that her newest captor obviously didn't want her to have. The two guards in spacesuits grabbed her and pulled her towards the airlock, and she struggled, she did, but there was absolutely nothing she could do.

Immortality couldn't save her from this.

The hatch behind them closed, the one in front of them opened, and she was pushed into a nightmare.

Freezing pressure immediately surrounded her body and her breath caught in her throat. The guards wasted no time attaching a tether to the manacles on her ankles. There was no sympathy, no hesitation in their actions as they followed their orders, testing the tether, then taking the helmet off Karita, leaving her head unprotected from the ruthless vacuum.

They pushed her further away from the spaceship - the tether was long enough for that - and left her to die.

The first time she did, she wasn’t sure what was happening. She was freezing, but at the same time her blood and saliva were boiling and- She passed out.

When she came back to life, there was a layer of ice on her face, and she screamed soundlessly when she felt her eyes boiling too, an agony she had never experienced before. The vacuum was pushing, squeezing her body, compressing her lungs, she ran out of the meager amount of air she came back to life with, and passed out again.

She had read about this, just like she had read about every potential deadly situation she’d heard of, imagining what it would feel like, learning how to survive it, if there even was a way. The source of that particular report was a gnarly one, shady experiments on unwilling human subjects in a magically recreated contained vacuum; it wasn’t a publicly available document, but she had to find it, and she succeeded, only to be plagued by nightmares for days.

The subjects lost consciousness after ten to fifteen seconds.

She plummeted into darkness more merciful than that surrounding her, speckled with stars.

Death occurred around the ninety second mark.

She gasped when she came back to life, only for the vacuum to take all of her air, as if pulling it out of her, leaving her struggling weakly until her brain shut down again.

Deceased subjects recovered after 24 hours were frozen solid.

How long had it been? Karita was in no state to try and count the moments of consciousness, short, and yet feeling like an eternity. Freezing, boiling alive, suffocating, struggling, suffering, with no end in sight, unless it had been three, four, five hours already and she was going to be taken back soon, but it might as well have only been half an hour.

There was also the possibility that Yari was going to leave her like this for much, much longer. Maybe they were watching this, enjoying her pain and panic, or maybe they couldn’t handle it. Based on what was happening to her body, she could only imagine what she looked like.

This could be her eternity. The tether was the only promise that she was going to be brought back eventually, but if it failed, or if someone undid it, she would have no anchor. Restrained, and dying too often to be able to do much anyway, she’d be left at the mercy of space until she could no longer remember what it was like to be anywhere else.

It never got more bearable. If anything, it was even worse than she had imagined and feared for so long. She couldn’t handle it. She wasn’t strong enough.

Resigned, she died. She died. She died. She woke up in the grip of two guards.

She was inside the spaceship again. Every breath was agony. She managed to look up and saw the princex, who smiled at her and said something, but she couldn’t make out their words. The bejeweled dagger shined in their hand, was pressed to her throat, and sent her back into darkness.

“So? Do I have your full cooperation?” Yari asked when Karita opened her eyes.

It was always strange to come back to life free from pain. She had just spent hours in agony, and now it was only a memory. Her clothes and face were damp, but at least not frozen anymore - the temperature must have been cranked up to make her thaw out faster. 

She should refuse, but the thought of being out there again filled her with panic that made it hard to breathe. The Serpent Cluster really did seem like the better option.

“Yes.” She wanted to simply nod at first, but she had to make sure she could still talk.

“Good. I’ll give you a moment to compose yourself and… clean yourself up.” The princex grimaced and scrunched their nose. “Then we can proceed.”

She was dragged to a bathroom, and she was glad it had no mirrors. She sat in the shower with her eyes closed to avoid looking at what the water was washing off of her until she was forced to leave when one of the guards knocked on the door insistently.

The walk to the medbay felt like walking to the gallows, and she was barely aware of what was happening; her body was walking down the corridor, but her mind was somewhere else. They made her lie down on her stomach on the operating table, tied her hair into a tight bun so it wouldn’t get in the way, and hooked her up to machinery she didn’t even bother to try and recognize.

They were merciful enough to sedate her before the procedure, and someone even reassured her that there was no chance of complications, as if it mattered much in her case, as if what they were doing was supposed to help her. That was never the case - as soon as she lost consciousness, they got to work turning her into an unwilling spy, nothing more than a tool.

~~~

taglist: @stab-the-son-of-a

[things-about-cars-in-posts]

OMG I'm such a dumbass I knew you did one on the GR Yaris before too, and I love her ALSO, but I actually meant the GR Supra 😳🫣 (slip of the tongue)

Gotcha.

Since I managed to take some two weeks to answer this (got distracted both by real life obligations and other posts that were meant to be very quick to make. Meant to.) y'all may have forgotten, but our dear friend of the blog had asked for opinions on the GR Yaris, hinting to its controversial status. Turns out the GR Supra is what that request, and thus that hint, was actually about - so let's talk about the car and the controversy that engulfs it.

In 1993, Toyota launched the fourth generation of its rear wheel drive sportscar (well, arguably a bit of a Grand Tourer, i.e. something more oriented to cruising than a sportscar) the Supra - which was born a quarter century earlier as a more upmarket, six cylinder version of the Celica, graduating from Celica Supra to its own dignified name with the third generation I talked about that one time I forgot to check what blog I was reblogging with.

But this time, things would be different. Most notably because the inline six the Mk4 Supra came out with was an absolute MONSTER.

Remember how I talked about the GT-R's RB26 engine being one of the greatest, most coveted production engines to ever come out of Japan? Well, the 2JZ-GTE is the other.

It was larger at 3 liters, no less powerful, and to reduce turbocharger lag it used two of them sequentially: first air goes in the smaller, more responsive turbo, then gradually some of it gets sent to the bigger turbo to make it start spinning, then when it gets going the two are finally used in conjunction. (Imagine the big turbo as a hung husband that takes a while to get it up and the small turbo as an eager stepson ready to take over until the hung one can join in for a spitroast. Or something. I don't watch porn with real people, but from what I gather the plots seem to resemble how sequential turbos work.) It even at one point got Variable Valve Timing, i.e. the ability to vary the time in which the valves open depending on engine speed, which allows to optimize tuning for performance and efficiency! (Cool thing to go over in detail if y'all want me to.) And also, the kind of things that engine is able to take make me wish I hadn't used up my porn analogy quota.

See, to chop off eons of nuance, an engine is just a big block of metal with a lot of bits attached, and the two main measures of an engine's potential are the slope of the line in the Bits Fiddled With / Power Output graph and how far up (It's up, right? The second axis you specify is the vertical one, right?) you can take it before the block becomes the weakest link - with another important point being when you need to start messing with internals, i.e. the components inside the engine, e.g. pistons (the things the boom pushes down), camshaft (the thing the pistons spin) and connecting rods (you can guess).

So for instance, just to make the point that an engine can be beloved without having much overall tuning potential, in one of Toyota's most beloved engines, the 4A-GE four cylinder illustrated above (yes, the one from that white and black car in all the eurobeat videos), some pin the block's limit as low as 250hp. The 2JZ, tho? It can take 800hp without even messing with the internals, and once you get your grubby hands on those you can keep pushing the line to some 2000hp. That is two Bugattis. That is 40 times my car. That is well above the power level where "tires that will at any point grip" and "tires that are in any way road legal" stop intersecting.

I am not in the slightest exaggerating when I say that this and the Skyline GT-R are widely regarded as the top of Japan's 20th century automotive production. The Messi & Ronaldo of the Japanese Domestic Market. It is absolutely no coincidence this was the hero car in The Fast And The Furious.

And then in 2002, as all things, its production ended, and given the abysmal sales and catastrophic recession, Toyota decided that would be that.

And then, years later, The Teasening began.

I want to stress, almost half of my conscious life (I choose to believe the stretch from birth to kindergarten is just run-up) the world was in some state of getting teased with talk of a new Supra. The trademark on the name was renewed in 2010. In 2014 they dropped the FT-1 concept, and of course that became speculation about what the production version would look like.

Because come the fuck on, it's not gonna look like that.

Or was it?

Only five entire years and much more teasing later would we officially get an answer, when after seventeen years, the Toyota GR Supra (and for those wondering what GR means, y'all should've clicked the Yaris link >:C) hit the streets.

You know what, good enough.

Good enough to earn itself a sea of words of praise, Jason Cammisa's "The most punch-above-its-weight sportscar ever made" just some among them.

It did have its share of problems at the start, like its power being 335hp and not 382, a lack of manual transmission, and the inability to spec it with a less powerful 4 cylinder engine - well, I don't know who considered that last one a problem, but Toyota's updates solved that one too.

The Supra has a much bigger problem than those though, one no little update can solve. That red car in the background.

See, the new Supra is actually a joint venture with BMW, who made a new model of its Z4 roadster out of the platform. And unlike with the other joint-venture sportscar Toyota sells, people are big mad about that. Why?

See, the interior is engulfed in BMW switchgear and the drivetrain is all BMW (the manual gearbox took until this year to come out because BMW did not have one for that engine so Toyota had to modify another BMW transmission to fit), giving people the impression that this was less of a joint venture and more of a BMW project that Toyota tacked its design on top of, which is a problem whether true or not.

See, a range-topping sportscar is supposed to represent what the brand is capable of - having it done by someone else (or so the criticism goes) is a bit like performing Hallelujah in playback.

Actually, a better musical analogy: You know "I'm back bitch" singles? When a humongous artist drops a new record with a humongous lead single about absolutely nothing but reaffirming they're the biggest fucking deal in the universe? Without Me, Bad, Gimme More, so on. Well, think of SexyBack - one of the most monumental phenomenons of its decade, most incontrovertibly proving Justin Timberlake sat atop the goddamn world. Now, imagine if, after all the years that went by between that record and the next, when he finally came out with Suit And Tie all the verses were Jay-Z. Going from a humongous statement about having the power to reach the top of the game and stay there to having to get absolutely carried by what in this logic is essentially a competitor. Basically, that's the critics' complaint: the supra went from 2JZ to too much Jay-Z.

And therein lies the other problem of the Supra: the Supra.

See, any time you evaluate something, you do so relative to its context - and when you give it a nameplate, you make that context include where else that nameplate has been. An undeserved name may not just be stupid, but even outright kill the car in some's eyes, see the case of the Dodge Dart, or get me to talk about the Ford Capri prototype recently spotted if you want to find out what I'm like when I lose my cool. (I'd liken this phenomenon to undeserved Grammies but I already used my music analogy quota too.) So the Toyota Supra does not just need to be good, it needs to deserve the name. And some argue it doesn't. But why? This thing is no less powerful, no slower, hell it's not even any bigger or heavier and we've gone over how rare that is these days! So is it the lack of backseats and a targa version? No, no one gives a crap about those. It's something deeper.

Sometimes, the problem with a revival is people base their expectation not on what the original was like in the context of its time but what it's like in the context of today (for example, I've heard people call the latest GT-R "too computerized, too assisted, far from the pure driving experience of its predecessors", when its predecessors had some of the most technologically advanced driving assists of their time and could only be called "pure" and "analog" by comparison with cars decades newer). But of course, that'll only be some people - so if what the original car looks like to modern eyes and what the original car represented at its time are two different enough concepts, any revival will receive some criticism for not being one of the two.

But for the Supra, this compounds with another problem: the original Supra (as in the previous generation, since no one gives a crap about the first three), to modern eyes, looks like a thousand-horsepower flame-spitting beast, because that's what all Supras have been turned into, and that's why you know of Supras in the first place (it sure isn't because people bought it!), and that, consciously or not, exacerbates the problem of misplaced expectations to a level akin to hearing an NBA player is about to have a brother and expecting the baby to be a 6'4" three-shooter.

But I wasn't asked about the controversies, I was asked about my take. And my take is: no realistic expectation of what a Supra would look like today was disappointed - at least not by where the car stands today. Well, unless the expectation involved backseats.

"But it was made by BMW" and so? This is a new Supra, and a good one - what does it matter how it got here? Especially when this is an upgrade over the Z4 in every way - looks way better, drives better, and now has a manual that the Z4 doesn't.

Okay, almost every way: the Supra's roof won't get out of the way. If only though, if only. Could you imagine a Toyota product that looks this good, sounds this good, goes this fast, and has a drop top? ...and maybe backseats?

Well, I can.

Yes, the badge and core concept may have some people consider it from midlife crisis mobile to old man's car. (though we know it's not a car bought by old men because if that was the case someone would be buying these). But just try to imagine sitting in this thing.

Take a couple of seconds to take in that picture and truly immerse yourself. You're in a Lexus LC500 Convertible, with a V8 at your right foot's command, its spectacular sound ready to battle the perfect sound system serenading you with your fanciest CD, because of course Lexuses still come with CD players.

Are you immersed? Okay: Someone just called your Lexus a midlife crisis car. See? You don't give a shit either, do ya.

Automatic only though. The pain. Oh, and it kind of costs as much as two Supras. But, you know, neither of those Supras will be convertibles!

Links in blue are posts of mine about the topic in question - if you liked this post, you might like those!

[claremikas]

no but the scene where yari talks to ganchou is so good bc she essentially goes "yeah taiki is back, asen's the new emperor and also gyousou has butchered ppl of tai and so have you 🙂"

[xxxdegenerate]

Can I request 28 with Aizetsu? Maybe he’s the one who loves the reader but the reader doesn’t love him back cause the reader is a demon slayer?

Of course! I don't think I have his character down 100% BUT I hope this will be good enough :)

It hurts // Aizetsu X DemonSlayer!Reader

❥note ;; I hope this will be good! I GOT A LITTLE CARRIED AWAY! Also requests are open :) ❥contents ;; angst?, fighting, blood, making out, consented.

You were slashing through the buildings, trying to get back to Genya and Tanjiro and his sister. You were launched far away with the stick that one of the demons had. You were confused. How could the demon just split? Tanjiro mentioned this had happened before, but into four? You had no chance.

You ran through the forest before suddenly slowing down. Something felt off, the way the air stopped moving. A breeze hit you on your face. Not just any regular one though. No. It was sharp. Something had flew past you. Hitting the floor. A yari. "What the fuck?" You whispered.

You snapped your neck at a sudden sound that was made. Nothing.

"Who's there?" The demon watched you from the darkest parts of the forest. Hiding in the shadows to watch your every move. The way you moved around. The way you held yourself and held your weapon.

He was engrossed. Your hair slightly bouncing as you looked around with fear in your eyes. Not just fear, confidence. Your eyes lit up, ready to attack whatever came at you. He admired your lips, the slow part as you took deep breaths. How full and plump they looked..

He was cut out of his thoughts when a weapon was thrown in his direction. He stood in one place too long. "Come out." You hissed.

He walked out. His eyes darting around at everything, but you. "S-sorry." You glared. You knew demons were weird, they all had their own unique way of fighting. You were on edge.

You cursed yourself for throwing your weapon. He held it in his hands. "D-do you want this back..."

"What?" Your jaw dropped. He moved in closer as you stepped back. "Stay back."

"Do you not want this..?" He looked you up and down, you had holes in your clothes. You shifted uncomfortably before running towards him, catching him off guard as you yank your weapon out of his arms.

You breathed heavily as you stood a couple feet away from him. He caught a whiff of you. He noticed the anger on your face. It made him sad you looked at him like that. You ran at him slashing your weapon.

"How rude." He jumped backwards. Eyeing the way you ran as you took your attacks, attempting to catch your rival off guard.

Soon your battle became a dance, the two of you not getting hits on each other. More so liquid movements. Truly the two of you were dancing.

You stumbled backwards, catching your breath as he held his Yari. You ran and jumped towards him. You were having fun! You grip your hold on your katana and fell towards him, attempting to slash once again.

He caught you effortlessly. His arms wrapping around your waist and pulling you close. You drop your weapon and yelp in surprise.

His face was close to your own. His blue eyes grew soft. "It hurts.." Your face scrunched up in confusion.

"What?"

"Being in love with someone who doesn't love you back.." His tight held onto you tighter. Your eyes widen.

He couldn't have been talking about you right? There's no way.

"W-what are you talking about let me go!" You slapped and grabbed at his arms, trying to pull yourself out. You were warm, he didn't want to let go. He couldn't let you go.

"I love you."

"You can't! You're a demon you have no feelings." Oh but he did, he felt it. "I'm a demon slayer! I can't!' You struggled, oh how you felt so weak in his arms. Your feet dangling as he held you flushed against his chest.

His hold on you went tighter, he felt weird? He didn't like how you were trying to leave him. You looked up at him.

Holding eye contact, you freeze. Why were his eyes so enticing? No you can't. You look away and wiggle around some more.

"Don't look away.." He sounded upset, like he was going to cry.

You snap back at him your e/c orbs catching his blue ones. "Let me go."

"I can't do that."

"You can and you will." You grunted out as you closed your eyes and threw your head back. Throwing it forwards, in an attempt to headbutt the demon. Something you learned from Tanjiro ;)

Sudden, a warm feeling took over your mouth. Your eyes go wide as you pull back and look at the demon who held you. Heart racing you couldn't move. What was this demon doing, he was trying to use you. You were baffled.

Although, the way he looked at you, the look on his face was something no demon has ever held. The way his eyes flickered over you, his arms holding you up. That slowly moved under your thighs to hold you up, making you wrap them around his waist. "Wait- I can't I'm a demon slayer, and you are a demon." You could easily pull away from him now.

His hold had loosened and yet you stayed still. You felt wrong, but the feeling in your chest was something new. Fire? Something warm was taking you over. Was it because it was your first kiss? Were your hormones confused?

The demon brought a hand to the back of your neck and pulled you closer, your lips touching for a second. He pulled back and brought the hand behind your neck to your cheek. Thumb softly caressing your bottom lip.

You watched his eyes in content as he basically drooled from the way your lips felt. He pressed his thumb down on it. He couldn't help himself.

His lips meet yours once more, the two of you dancing once again. In a newfound way.

His hand found it's way back down your back and holding your hip. Lips smacking and wet sounds traveled.

He nibbles on your lip before shoving his tongue in your mouth. You wrap your arms around his neck. You hated how you enjoyed this.

Maybe it felt good because it was wrong. You pulled away from his lips and gasped for air. Only for him to come back, his lips hungry for your own.

You pulled back once again and blinked. You realized who he was again. "Fuck.." You shoved off of him as he stared at you with lust filled eyes. "I can't love you.. I'm a demon slayer." You ran off, without looking back. Your chest hurt, but oh boy did you enjoy that. He watched you run off, he smirked. He would have to find you later on.

Although he knew you would never love him.