#<- ???? its the intent that counts

[noknowshame]

why is religious Christmas imagery all so joyful and pleasant? where is the inherent horror of the birth of Christ? A mother is handed her newborn child, wailing and innocent. Her hands come away sticky. Red. Simply by giving her son life she has already killed him. He is doomed from the beginning. Her love will not save him from suffering. Because the thing cradled in her arms is not a baby, it is a sacrifice: born amongst the other bleating animals whose blood will one day be spilled in the name of what demands it. the night is silent with anticipation. Mary, did you know? That your womb was also a grave?

[cthulhum]

does anyone realize how crazy it is to have the actor of a mostly headcanoned queer ship say the fans were never crazy and they were right all along after 10+ years of everyone just absolutely going nuts over the said queerbaited ship

[hinamie]

picked up an old pen

[itslilacokay]

(lllate...) CHOSENWEEK DAY 3 : INTERACTIONS

i swear they rehearsed this

also dont worry theyre fine, adobe animate isnt though

+ a bonus, based off this community post

forgot to add promptlist and obligatory chosenweek announcement post for context blahblah yeahhh yayay blah

[xxbloodxx]

DAY 13: Murder

DAY 21: Cannibalism . quirophilia.

[eastbluecrewed]

tendonitis flared up bad during this one but i had fun so its ok. nerve pain is temporary east blue crew is forever

[shaadowmilkcookie]

😒 . I don’t like this guy

[ghostpajamas]

exploiting an irl duplication glitch : cloning for dummies

[shiguangbrainrot]

new angle of "neck kiss" just dropped. its about 1 min 10 sec into the video. link to og post about this performance

[general-cyno]

apparently it's the 15th anniversary of zoro's sacrifice in thriller bark (not sure if manga or anime though) so yknow. time for more zolu of course

one of the many things about zoro and luffy is that despite how their approach to certain situations might differ at times, they're still pretty similar at their core, sometimes to a comical degree (see: their definition of what a hero is back in fish man island arc). and this understanding of how the other works is what leads to moments like jaya,

this little one in water 7/enies lobby,

and follows consistently all the way to wano arc.

and I was thinking the other day about how their childhoods too kinda mirror or parallel each other's in a way that emphasizes (to me, at least) how special zoro's particular protectiveness toward luffy is, and why luffy relying on zoro that way is just as special.

the specifics of their childhood stories are different but both luffy and zoro have a turning point of sorts that's marked with the grief and loss of sabo and kuina, respectively, which leads them to say these:

(I cropped the panels, but luffy's also crying here)

it's important to note zoro and luffy had dreams/aspirations before this, to become the greatest swordsman and luffy's secret thing that we've yet to learn about (that ace, sabo and the crew now know). however, losing kuina and sabo is what prompts them to, on top of that, strive to become stronger for other people's sake. for zoro, it's his way to honor his friend and fulfill their shared dream. for luffy, it's to avoid losing the people he loves.

throughout the story, zoro and luffy end up expressing similar frustration and sentiments due to this. there's zoro innerly chiding himself for being too weak as he trains in the aftermath of arcs like little garden, alabasta and thriller bark, where the crew get stuck in situations in which zoro isn't able to help as he wishes he could (the wax cake, the sea prism stone cell, kuma). there's luffy swearing he won't lose a single member of his crew even if it kills him (the davy back fight) and reproaching himself for not being able to save any of the straw hats in sabaody, with the worst of it right after losing ace in marineford.

(and man do I have thoughts about bon turning into zoro, out of all the straw hats, back in impel down.)

anyway. as to why all of this is meaningful - when zoro agrees to join luffy, he mentions that his goal to become the greatest swordsman is all he has. yet as the straw hats go from journey to journey, and with a certain emphasis in luffy, you can see how zoro's view slowly shifts. he's now driving himself to become strong to protect them as well, to the point he's willing to set aside his ambition and offer his own head in exchange for luffy's, if it means he can ensure luffy's life and safety. that's huge. as mihawk inwardly points out, zoro has something, someone he values even more than his ambitions and pride. and it's through his adventures with luffy and the crew that he becomes closer to achieving that initial dream of his.

whenever people wonder why zoro's as loyal as he is to luffy, aside from all the reasons why luffy as a character has earned that loyalty through his actions, I also remember that one line koushiro said to zoro in a flashback: "the pinnacle of swordsmanship is the power to protect what one wishes to protect and cut what one wishes to cut. a blade that injures all that it touches isn't really a sword." while sure, it works in the context of later power ups like haki, imo it perfectly captures zoro's character growth too and what luffy's given him. the current zoro isn't lost or directionless with only one purpose in mind or to live for, bounty hunting as a means to survive. he has a home to return to, people to cherish, to protect and keep getting stronger for, people who nurture him in turn. kuina's death is something zoro couldn't have prevented, and losing people in accidents like those is something that could happen again, but still within the limits of what's preventable - zoro can protect his friends now.

as for luffy... zoro kinda steals the spotlight when it comes to grand gestures of loyalty/devotion and being the MC of the story means luffy fights for different people (both crew and non crew), carrying their wishes and hopes as if they were his own. he gets help and learns from others as well and all members of the crew are important for luffy to achieve his dream one way or the other, but the way he relies on zoro specifically is so subtly meaningful to me. we don't get as much insight on luffy's inner thoughts, still, we do have context.

for someone like luffy, who is at his innermost genuinely terrified of being alone and losing the people he loves, the fact that he trusts zoro to protect and keep everyone safe (even luffy himself) is so good. as shown above, luffy vowed to become strong in the first place to ensure he'd never go through loss like sabo's again and this vow is all the more renewed after ace's death. luffy has to be strong for everyone but... the fact that he can trust zoro to follow his lead even when others might not understand his reasons to do x or y, that he's so unwavering in his faith that zoro will protect the others when luffy can't, entrusting the people he cares about to zoro, whom luffy also cherishes - it's all pretty special. everyone in the crew has their strengths and zoro may not be the only fighter, but all of them, including sanji, fall under his protection whenever it's needed.

it's not only about raw strength though. zoro's also there to set luffy straight and remind him of what's important when the circumstances arise, like in water 7 or punk hazard. and even when they don't necessarily agree, like wrt vivi's situation after the reverie in marijoa, luffy knows when zoro's right and acquiesces (albeit grumbling a little) because, once again, he's also aware that zoro wouldn't just risk everyone's safety. luffy listens to him. and their reunion in wano too, luffy's sheer happiness at the sight of him again, is a very clear example of how much luffy adores zoro even beyond all that.

although luffy isn't aware of what happened in thriller bark (that we know of), zoro's actions are proof of why luffy trusts, has faith in, and relies on zoro as much as he does and why it's so important for luffy to have him by his side, considering how afraid he is of being unable to keep his loved ones safe. this is more on a speculative note, but I can imagine how comforting that must be for luffy - to not shoulder that on his own.

happy anniversary!

[spiderin-space]

“Fear not, for though you are already dead, I still have need of you.”

(More shots beneath the cut!!)

[bugcatcherkit]

anybody else ever start rotating One Extremely Tiny Detail in their mind over and over and over again. And it won't leave. currently that detail is that Every single teddy bear in Minori/Mogami's enclosure is wearing something around its neck except for This Specific One. why is it naked

The fact that they're all wearing something around their necks is already a bit unsettling because of the (probably) Strangulation associations (big thing for many mp100 antagonists, but Specifically and Especially Mogami). And then that one specific bear (and it's the same one both times I think?) has nothing. Front and centre and on purpose. It makes it More Unsettling somehow. Does anyone understand or is it just a me thing

[oceanwithouthermoon]

why do people pick and choose what definition of canon they use for which situation and then get angry that anyone disagrees with any part of it 😭

personally, im much less interested in going strictly by the definition that appearances are the things that make canon and much more in what the authors intentions behind those appearances were... and like i feel that i should be allowed to do that without people screaming about how "well this is what i SEE when i watch the show so ur STUPID" LIKE PLEASEEE IM ALLOWED TO THINK DEEPER THAN THAT 😭

like... if i took EVERYTHING at face value, the scene where aiura tries to fake a lucky feel would just actually be attempted sexual assault 😭 but its an out of character moment and im 100% sure that the author didnt intend to make her creepy or an assaulter (more likely, it was one of those "sa isnt sa when its by a woman" moments by the author, so its not supposed to come off as sa and instead just her being a sexual person) ... so i dont see her as one 🤷🏻‍♀️ but again, if you see canon as only whats seen on screen then thats what it was, so you cant just like... refuse to see it that way and then get mad that there are similar things that OTHER people choose to do the same thing with just because you dont do it for those particular things

[boysareouttonight]

my barbie

[fernsensei]

what if we'd make v2/gabriel a thing. what would happen then

[onenightbreak]

in stars and time + jhariah // MAYBE LATER DANCE / sunsets (resilience) / FIRE4FUN / are you happy? (questions) / PIN-EYE / SASUKE