#(you know how it is)

[varyingobsession]

greetings ladies et al.

this took me months, 3 drawing program switches (and subsequent almost losing/corrupting the whole almost finished file), many in-game field research expeditions, and honestly more literature review than i expected to make, but by jove if i cant go way too hard infodumping botanical and biochemical information to make a speculative biology "thesis" for no reason, then what can i do

written as presented by my silly hearthian xenobiochemist oc, jet :-)

also comes in pdf form for your convenience

slightly bc i saw this [eote/dlc spoilers] speculative biology post from @ms-marz and got inspired

thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[starbuck]

“…to me” is one of the most powerful disclaimers we have on here… is this character analysis accurate? debatable. but it’s real… to me.

[podcastwizard]

everyone thinks they're a poet these days and thank god for that

[spader7]

another ghoul to fall hopelessly in love with...

[inknose]

happy valentines day!! they're really like this.

[sassydefendorflower]

No, but you don't understand! It is so important that (one of) the last pictures we see of Ed is him holding his son with the biggest fucking smile in the entire world on his face!

Because Ed is Hohenheim's mirror!

Ed's narrative parallel is his own father (oh, how he would hate knowing that - how he fights against that realization) - Ed is the one who leaves Winry behind, just as Hohenheim left Trisha and the kids. Ed is the one who burns their childhood home down, just as Xerxes is destroyed in the wake of Hohenheim's naiveté. Ed is the one who commits an unforgivable sin and seeks atonement following his own shortcomings, just as Hohenheim unknowingly helps the Dwarf in a Flask destroy an entire civilization and carries that responsibility with him for the rest of his (long, long) life.

Hell, Hohenheim telling Ed that him burning the house down because he is running away from his past - while horribly cruel - is really just Hohenheim talking to himself. He wasn't lying when he said that Ed reminded him an awful lot of himself at that age!

And in every choice Ed makes throughout the show, he's always trying to be unlike his father, while unwillingly playing into the same pattern. Ed's complete disregard for Hohenheim, his hurt in the face of the father that left, is what ultimately pushes Ed to make similar choices - he doesn't want to see himself in his father, so he doesn't see the similarities of leaving Winry behind to Hohenheim walking out the door without ever looking back. There's a reason Winry has a thing about "backs in the distance" - and there's a reason why the Openings and Endings of fma Brotherhood often position the boys as walking away, only showing the audience their backs as they walk off.

But in the end?

Ed mirrors Hohenheim. Hell, they even stand in the same spot in the two family pictures. Hohenheim and Ed, both on the left side, both holding the oldest of their two kids, both- well, Hohenheim is crying, while Ed is the happiest he's ever been.

And that's only because Ed stopped running from his past - Ed found happiness in the end, and part of that was accepting Hohenheim as his father. It's not a story about forgiveness, but acknowledgement. Just Edward calling Hohenheim "his rotten father" in the end is enough for him to move past his refusal to engage with the realities of Hohenheim. The realities of his own father leaving in relation to him growing up.

By the end of the story, Ed dresses more conservatively and still travels - he looks more like Hohenheim than ever. But unlike before in the story, when Ed was fighting this relation, he is now happier than ever before. Happier than Hohenheim ever was. Because with Ed accepting all the qualities he shares with the man, he can also embrace all the differences between them.

Ed managed to grow alongside his guilt. He found happiness in his family, a loving wife, children, research and travel, philosophy and friendship. Edward gets to be happy. He gets to learn from his mistakes (from Hohenheim's mistakes) and return home.

And that's where the mirror breaks.

As all mirrors are wont to do.

[iamthemaestro]

if there’s one thing about me it’s that while I do not really resonate with being a “man” I absolutely love like… boyishness. collective masculine terms. “boys” “lads” “gentlemen” that’s where it’s at. gender me like you’re an irritable 18th century sergeant addressing his men

[thoodleoo]

a 23rd knife has stabbed caesar

[undeaddrabble]

The Jax Show

[theeroticlover]

This, right now.... Need you, do you get it ?

[becca-e-barnes]

Humour me while I scratch a personal itch: Your dad's best friend showing you how your body should be appreciated 😵‍💫

"Come on sweetheart, I know he's just not doing it for you." It had never been a secret that neither Bucky nor your dad liked your new boyfriend but you never imagined this would be the angle that Bucky would be taking to convince you to end things.

"That's none of your business! I'm not talking about this with you!" You're so stunned, you can hardly even get the words out. It's nothing short of mortifying to be talking about your sex life with your dad's friend, never mind the fact you've silently been interested in him since your dad introduced you a couple of years ago.

"You haven't tried to convince me I'm wrong though! You need to stop dating these boys, they're no good for you. They're not what you need." He almost sounds like he pities you and that doesn't sit right with you at all.

"You have no idea what I need." You roll your eyes in derision, unable to believe he'd be this bold.

"Don't I? I bet I could guess. He doesn't kiss you right. He never even dreams of letting the tip of his tongue press against yours and then take it from there. While he's kissing you, he's probably pawing mindlessly at your breasts. He doesn't know how to take it slow and work you up the way you need. He has no idea that rubbing you over your panties won't do enough for you. I bet he's never taken the time to appreciate every inch of you. When's the last time he kissed from your ankle to your knee? How often does he stop to kiss your forehead? Has he ever enjoyed every soft slope and curve of your body? Not just the obvious ones, I mean all of them. The curve of your shoulder or the softness of your hips or the firmness of your calf muscle. He doesn't even try. He's doesn't put the effort in for you." He sounds more upset about this than you thought he would and for a couple of seconds, there's nothing at all in your head.

"Show me how you think he should treat me." There's no point taking the time to think about the implications. You want to know how it feels to have your body safely in the hands of someone who knows what to do with it and this is a better time than any.

His lips barely graze yours at first and it makes you crave more of him. Everything in you knows this has to be a bad idea but his lips are so inviting and his hands are gently holding your waist in a way that makes you want him worse than ever.

The tip of his tongue begins to inch forwards and tentatively, you allow yourself to do the same. Your tongue meets his and rather than feeling overwhelmingly off-putting, the gentle, wet pressure is tender and romantic and intimate. Thrill bubbles in your chest because if this is what kissing is supposed to feel like, you have no idea what else he can teach you that you've never experienced before.

You find you're the one increasing the pressure, looking for more. God, you want this. Excitement buzzes low in your tummy and before you know it, you hear a moan that you can hardly believe came from you.

His hands are roaming the expanse of your back over your clothes, never once straying towards your ass or your breasts. It's too early for that and he knows it's not what you need.

He's enjoying this just as much as you are. He's taking you apart, piece by piece. He knows he's only got as much control here as you hand over to him but he's not taking this at the faster pace you're used to, no matter how you try to dictate the pace.

"You're such. An angel." He kisses down the side of your neck, cradling the other side in his hand. His lips are plump and slick and the sensation leaves you quietly gasping. "You don't know how you deserve to be worshipped. You're stunning."

He presses you back, letting you hop up onto the kitchen counter, massaging your calf muscles with his fingertips. You never thought that would do anything for you but seeing him appreciate each inch of you; seeing how he finds ways to extract a pleasurable sensation you've never been treated to before is breath taking.

"We're not jumping ahead of ourselves, but just to prove my point..." His fingertips trail up your leg, under the skirt of your dress and he checks you're okay with it before pressing the pads of his fingers to your underwear.

The thin cotton is soaked through under his fingertips, arousal making you almost dizzy.

"Good girl, look at you enjoying yourself! Bet you haven't been this wet in a while, have you honey?" He presses his fingertips to your lips, letting you taste your own arousal and your mind races at the thought of sucking it off his length later, something you've never wanted to do for anyone before.

[shesnake]

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer (2023) dir. Christopher Nolan

[the-adventures-of-dave]

funniest two posts to see back to back

[planet-wyh]

Rsl swan song thingy!

Ignore the hand. and the clothes I got tired

[anede]

blue house