#I hope you enjoy this rant

[nipuni]

Casanova sketches!

[queerdraws]

projecting on luffy again. get bited.

[pavo--ocellus]

i still can't get over the poem venti wrote for kaeya during his hangout...........

to any random person it's just a cute little poem about a boat surviving a storm and finding it's way to safety... but the entire poem is filled with little nods to kaeya, his past, present and future.

he's part of a plan much bigger and much older than himself, and it's not something he can escape from, "bereft of control". it's a threat constantly looming over his head, but until it springs into action, he's "directionless".

he pushes through every hardship thrown at him. even better, he has a life that he's at least content with despite it all; a stable job, friends and family, people who depend on him and who love him.

but loneliness clings to him. he may have friends that he loves with all he has, but there are still parts of him they could never truly understand, parts that he could never share with them. ultimately he has to deal with the worst of his troubles all on his own. "none but the ocean to hear as i sing", none but himself to witness his internal struggles.

"The stars in my eyes" the double meaning <333 one being so literal it's hilarious.

despite the future looking grim, he still hopes for a happy ending. that one day his destiny, his fated choice will stop hanging over him like a guillotine waiting to drop and he'll get to live a truly peaceful life. all he wants is to let go of the heavy burden he's been carrying since he was just a kid...

all of this is such a gentle, loving acknowledgement from another... and that being none other than venti himself must mean so much. the gods have never been kind to kaeya's people, and who knows what stories his father had told him before bringing kaeya to mondstadt. he never felt fully accepted, fully like he belonged in mondstadt. and here he had the anemo archon himself reassuring him.

"it's okay. you belong. i see you and it's okay. you don't have to believe me, but i will keep you safe."

[noxious-fennec]

Hands are too shaky these days

[cacaocheri]

this was supposed to be one drawing!! ONE DRAWING!!!!!!!!! but every time i draw them i can't stop i need to keep going

[notadreamurr]

Everybody go wish @justwantswafflefries a happy birthday RIGHT NOW because she is so awesome sauce!!!!!!!!!!!!

The amazing digital slasher by justwantswafflefries.......obviously

[flower-zombiee]

i literally just do not understand the amount of shit fiddlestan gets in this fandom man 😭

like it’s fine to not get it or even dislike it but ppl really feel so comfortable openly hating it…?

like it’s such an inoffensive little made up ship. we r literally just having a good time. if u don’t like it there’s this fun little feature called blocking the tag that’s totally free to use

[domnorian]

What it feels like for me most of the time on tumblr...

SB fans: Honestly, Conner being a Lex and Clark clone is bullshit! Freakin hate that Geoff Johns made it canon istg it's such a lame idea

Me: 🥺

SB fans: No, not you, Dom. You're cool

/j

[reilora-borealis]

Broke: c3 is not as good as c1 or c2

Woke: c3 is just as good as c1 and c2, anyone who says otherwise is a hater

Bespoke: we actually can't compare the three campaigns on equal terms until c3 is over, so that we can see the overarching story and every individual character's narrative arc from inception to completion, instead of wildly speculating about what should or shouldn't happen in a storytelling format that is built around improvisation

[ender1821]

re: shinyduo/gempearl being so not normal about each other after life series. other anon was so right why are they freaky.

pearl is definitely just as at fault imo. gem’s excellent at innuendos and tone of voice (“your red skin is my favorite~”) but pearl’s yes and filter falls apart in front of gem. the pickles a prime example, and the ren stream disaster wedding of course. she’s also very genuine and i love that for her. but that results in crazy lines like the “love you gem. always will. even if you dont want me, ill still be there.” TO STREAM WHEN GEM WASNT EVEN THERE.

and i need to mention the latest stream. Pearl “I only get asked if im gay when you’re in the picture” and how they both have to take a minute of silence to process that flejelejwkej. whose fault is that pearl? whose fault ?? to her credit she seems genuinely confused by the extent of her actions. the most damning evidence for her straightness i fear. rip gem though, she seems to be having fun anyway.

theyre both professionals and follow up in that stream with how the fandom will always play around with them as characters etc etc. good communication, very healthy, good for them. but this post is about why they graduated from shenanigans and innuendos to 2 hours of fanservice and it doesn’t even feel intentional half the time.

as for next life series, i would be shocked if they didn’t keep up this befuddling yuri bit. theyve mentioned seeing all the tierlist maker dream team posts and pearl had to ask her chat “OTHER than gem, who should I team with” so theyre well aware demand is there. theyre fantastic as enemies and well aware of that, but they could get some scarian level drama by teaming together, and i dont say that lightly. since pearl keeps stalling pvp on hermitcraft, theyre never getting that 1v1 without cosmic intervention or a declaration of love 😭

rambling now. love to hear your thoughts xoxo

yippee i love anon rambles!!! im glad we’re all unwell

im NOT gonna go on another rant about the life series alliance situation because as i’ve just demonstrated yesterday i can literally rant. for hours. and we don’t need that lmao. at this point whether or not they team up in the next one SOMETHING will happen. i have that much faith in them. they’re bound to run into each other and do something and that’s the shiny duo connection speaking god bless

like the other anon said, i do think they can work with just about any dynamic and it’ll be insanity-inducing either way. one of my favourite things about them just as a pairing (in any context, platonic, romantic, etc.) is just the way they will drift towards one another, to be linked in a way that’s indescribable, to always carry a piece of each other with themselves wherever they wander because the influence they’ve had on the other is irrefutable— and okay yeah they’re getting way too freaky about it get out of my fan fiction-esque rant. what are you doing here. why are you like this. what. like there’s something going on when what they’re getting up to creeps more and more into being what i usually read in fics. i. hello???

i really, really want to give them the benefit of the doubt. okay. listen. for every mention of feet and poking at pearl’s straightness, there’s a chat message behind it that warranted it, i’m sure. this isn’t the post to be getting into how fans are with cc boundaries and how we’re STILL bad at figuring our tags out, but i feel like this discussion eventually HAS to touch on the fact that it’s been made clear that they don’t want to see shipping stuff, and bringing it up in chat crosses that boundary just as well. i think they’ve handled it well in acknowledging that they’re aware it’s for their characters, drawing clear lines between what they’re comfortable with and what they’re not, etc. i think just the muddled lines from people continuously bringing stuff from a fandom space up to a cc contributes a lot to why we got. whatever happened on that wednesday stream. honestly, from these instances on stream i think it’s been shown that they just find this stuff amusing, and good for them, y’know? still doesn’t mean we should be regularly poking them about ships and. well. i dunno. literally bringing it up in chat?

but still. BUT STILL. god the ways they “yes, and” each other just keep getting worse. stuff like the pickles and the wedding (and the SL ep 4 ender dragon fight! still one of the most baffling “yes, and”s i’ve ever seen from them, i swear to god) were almost completely just them. that was just them. there’s no blaming chat for gem saying “wait, i don’t have a beard” right after pearl rejects ren for having a beard, and CERTAINLY NOBODY ELSE TO BLAME when pearl takes that and literally proposes to her. that was all them. and why. girl. huh??? i do believe, at least to some extent, that pearl is oblivious to the implications of what she does/says. but that only goes so far. sorry man i can only give so much benefit of the doubt for like 2-3 streams of 2 hour fan service. good lord

i was texting a friend who isn’t into mcyt about this whole. thing. and the way i described it was: imagine being a gempearl shipper, and you’re enjoying life, driving this train with fanfics and fanart and everything’s all good… and then for some reason gem and pearl jump on the train, hijack the conductor seat and starts directing the train elsewhere. nearing the end of that stream i was questioning my life and screaming for a way off this train. that’s how it felt to me. of course i’m exaggerating but like. genuinely how did we get here

[itsjaywalkers]

luck came (and died 'round here), ch 2

bartylily | explicit | 2/4

“Always an honour to ruin your day,” he replies, lighthearted, as if all this is just a big joke to him. It probably is. Lily doesn’t think Crouch has ever taken something seriously in his life. “You really not gonna tell me what’s up?” “I don’t understand why I should—” “C’mon, we’ve gotten closer since I saw you sobbing your eyes out outside of the library—” “Shut it,” she hisses, fear gripping at her heart while she resists the urge to take a quick look around, check that no one they know is near, that no one has heard him. “We don’t talk about that. In fact, I’d like to pretend it never happened.” “And why is that? Are you embarrassed by any chance, princess?” “Of being seen with you? Incredibly so.”

[tpchicken7]

Imagining if the show had more time or inclination to care about it how Jaskier would absolutely defend Yennefer from Geralt's sword and wrath after the reunited in Cintra in 2x07.

I mean picture it: Geralt is PISSED and has his sword to Yennefer's neck and Jaskier sees this. Knowing that Geralt will absolutely regret it later if he hurts Yennefer, and considering she saved him in Oxenfurt, he sees the big, long stick Yenn has dropped and picks it up. Then he uses the stick to push Geralt's sword away, getting in between the two of them.

At this point everyone would be so confused, especially Geralt. Geralt would yell at Jaskier to get out of the way, and Jaskier would tell him to calm down before he makes any new rash decisions. Arguments would get heated until Jaskier screams at him that this is HIS wife and he will defend her since she saved his life.

COMPLETE SILENCE while Geralt tries to process what the frack Jaskier just said.

Yennefer tries to apologize, but Geralt has regained half his brain and orders Jaskier and Yarpen to take Ciri to Kehr Moren, to which Jaskier totally flips out again. "People that show barely any regard for me don't get to order me around!" To which Geralt would be absolutely perplexed about again.

Jaskier only finally agrees to go with Ciri and Yarpen because Yennefer convinces him to. Jaskier makes Geralt promise he won't kill Yennefer or he's not going to leave them alone.

Instead of being standoffish, Ciri would have sooooooo many questions on the journey and Jaskier might even notice when Ciri gets possessed. Which would've been much more helpful when they got to the keep.

Then maybe after all the drama is resolved, Geralt and Jaskier could have a real heart to heart and Geralt could sincerely apologize about the mountain instead a halfhearted sorry from top of a horse.

But maybe after all these years, I'm still just super salty about the show's totally disregard for Jaskier and decisions to make him the butt of all jokes.

[kiunlo]

I think about hair a lot when it comes to characters and how they express themselves over time (specifically in WoW). As someone who's gone from short as hell hair to long, thick curly hair (which I get from the Aboriginal side of my family, and which I am also in love with and ador the most of my appearance) I can appreciate and see the ways in which a character's change in hair length/style says a lot about their character growth, what they've been through, what emotions they're feeling etc.

Anduin being currently in a state where he's not quite stable, needs time to heal, is trying to find himself again or whatever has made him become a bit. well. unkempt in appearance. He has a patchy as hell beard coming in, he's covered in dirt and grime, and he's cut most of his hair off. An experience that I have personally had (tho without the patchy beard and covered in stupendous amounts of grime, though I was certainly dirty and in need of a shower). Like. practically if you can't even shower urself properly, taking care of ur hair IS a nightmare (again, personal experience) so the obvious option is the big chop. But it can also be something of a reset, emotionally or personality wise. Letting go of this part of you (your beautiful long hair that everyone compliments you on and wish they could have themselves and get mad at YOU when you chop it all off) and starting over sometimes can be necessary. I've done it many times over. I'm at this point in time where I'm trying HARD this time to continue growing my hair long as hell until it's down to my knees, and trying not to give up on it and cut it all off again. It's a big, long and arduous task of just…washing my hair, keeping it healthy…and waiting a long ass fucking time. But When you got depression not only do you not gaf but also it's too much time and effort. Thus, Anduin chopping his hair off.

But it can also be for more than just practicality or needing a reset on things. Sometimes it's a choice you make as a result of your actions. See, the time that Thrall went bald for a while then grew all his luscious hair back a few years later.

Thrall doesn't really seem to have a "canon" in-lore reason for why he'd full on shaved his head. I searched all over the place for proper answers and this is the best I found:

But since I'm a weird freak I'm gonna speculate that it could've been more than just a random hairstyle he chose one day. Chopping all your big beautiful hair is (usually) not a simple decision. I can imagine having long hair for most of Thrall's life would make removing all of it in one fell swoop a little bit daunting. But I can see him doing it as some sort of…perhaps spiritual choice? He probably felt he had failed Garrosh with how things turned out, and him shaving his head would've happened in the in-between of MoP and WoD when Garrosh's trial was happening or had just happened. Perhaps cutting off his hair was a symbolic choice for him, in some way. A way to display to himself and others that he's changed as a result of his failure. And when he felt he'd finally moved on from it all, he chose to grow his hair back.

I wonder if in the future, when Anduin is further along in his healing process, if he'll choose to grow his hair back in this similar way, or if he'll decide to keep it short. I'm eager to see how things continue. I know this was basically a big ass post about hair and maybe others don't see it as being a big deal but. Hair really is a big fucking deal sometimes so I'm chosing to believe it is that deep.

[anetherealpoetess]

i am a proud feminist, i love haladriel, and i double majored in english literature and communications, so let me just use those credentials to elaborate on the following. choice feminism underscores the idea that empowerment lies in an individual woman's decisions, advocating for the idea that any choice made by a woman is inherently feminist.

however, this individualistic approach, which emphasises personal empowerment over collective empowerment, has created interesting ramifications in how romantic stories are perceived within a feminist framework. namely, choice feminism has intersected with longstanding patriarchal ideas that romance is somehow regressive.

below, i unpack how focusing on galadriel's romantic connections resists both patriarchal and choice feminist ideals that push for an isolated, individualist version of womanhood, which is a lesser version of womanhood, honestly.

both the patriarchy and choice feminism are anti-romance because romantic narratives place the most importance on connection, which contradicts the individualistic ideal of a self-reliant, self-defining woman. but women are not self-reliant, and we are not self-defining. we exist within a larger feminist framework, and men for bi and straight women are often a part of that framework, and this is no different for the female characters we love. to take a female character out of her romantic context is reductive. it reinforces patriarchal ideals that devalue connectedness.

(and why does the patriarchy dislike connectedness? in short, one woman is easy to stop, but a community is a lot harder to control. this is why choice feminism has been allowed to thrive under the patriarchy, because it focuses on the individual, and, as we have established, the individual is no threat.)

you might be thinking: what has this got to do with haladriel or any other ship?

well, this trend of viewing romance as an inherently regressive force aligns with patriarchal attitudes that have long devalued women’s community-oriented narratives as irrational or anti-progressive. and, make no mistake, romance is a community-orientated narrative. romance places a character within a larger context--and by that, i do mean a community--which pushes against the patriarchal and choice feminism ideal of the self-defining woman.

enjoying galadriel primarily through her relationship with sauron does not undermine her character, nor is it anti-feminist to consider how romantic connections might influence or define aspects of her story. in fact, positioning galadriel as self-defining, without acknowledging her relationships, aligns closely with the ideals of both patriarchal individualism and choice feminism, which encourages women to prioritise self-sufficiency at the expense of connection and community.

shipping any female character resists the confines of patriarchal individualism, which isolates women under the guise of independence, as well as the limitations of choice feminism, which prioritises the self over community.

so please do not listen to what anybody says: female characters are not diminished by their romantic connections. the same way we, real life women, are not diminished by our romantic connections. we are enhanced by them, and galadriel is no different when it comes to sauron--or whoever you ship her with, to be fair. you do you, just promise me you'll keep having fun, and promise me you will ignore those who accidentally uphold patriarchal ideals by wanting you to divorce galadriel from her romantic context.

[noxious-fennec]

Trying out some new designs (aka playing dress up)

[noangeleither]

"fixing" the panic attack scene to be more platonic ™

im extremely active on twt and have been noticing a sydcarmy tweet go viral multiple times a week (like w thousands of interactions its crazy), and its really great to see how much people love and see it for this ship. recently carmys panic attack scene went viral again, and naturally, some ppl gave their piece about how we are all dumb for interpreting it as romantic. that sydney represents his love for his job or his duty to the restaurant (*sigh*).

this scene imo, is the most concrete proof of this ship. i can excuse (not really) interpreting every interaction between them thus far as platonic but this scene....i just refuse. this is gonna be a long post, not analyzing the scene per se because i can't possibly say anything that hasn't already been said but more "fixing" the scene to fit the narrative of antis, and i hope in doing so really shows there's no other way to interpret this scene as other than romantic. again its gonna be a long post bc im just ranting and i think i will lose my mind if i dont type this out.

lets go.

so first off i like to think of this scene as an equation/experiment. simply a problem that needs to be solved.

problem/reason of panic = ...we will discuss this...

solution # 1 = claire -> failed

solution # 2 = sydney -> worked.

Problem/Reason

s02e09 opens up with carmy and claire finally consummating their relationship, with an interesting song choice might i add and carmy dissociating, looking sad, or broken (???) after. because many have said carmy pulling memories of sydney from his psyche to calm down have to do with work i always remember that, it really doesnt make any sense?

carmy is clearly having a panic attack due to him not being "fixed" as soon as he made it official with claire. he felt pressure from his family both currently and in the past to date claire because she is amazing and perfect. add mikey also being a part of that crowd, and carmy so desperately trying to connect with him when he cannot, is why i think he looks so despondent after that scene. i truly think he thought he would be a changed person after everything with claire and when that didn't happen he flipped...

we know this is the reason bc his panic attack starts with their sex scene and the lyric "I dont know" from strange currencies by REM.

this isn't to say that he isn't nervous or stressed about the soft open but its clear that he's not having a panic attack about work nor have we ever seen him have a work-related panic attack (correct me if I'm wrong). in s1 he has one or two due to him greiving his brother.

platonic fix: To make it about work I would have added scenes like when Carmy started that stove fire in braciole, his meltdown in review, some scenes of his horrible time at EMP, and him grieving his brother. i think these would represent his fear of failure, falling back into old toxic habits pertaining his career, the fear of fostering a toxic work environment like the ny chef and also the idea of "failing" mikey

but theres a reason why none of this occurs bc its not about his job or the opening of the bear. this is explicitly about his personal and romantic love life.

Solution # 1 : Claire

carmy proceeds to try and calm down by thinking of claire through literal rose-coloured glasses...

the music is distorted, he's thinking of his abusive family, he remembers every one pushing him to date claire bc shes a #goodthing.

again...this is not about his job and wouldnt make sense to think of sydneys place in his work life as a soultion to his clear personal problem....

platonic fix: in the story of carmys love life claire and sydney act as narrative foils. they have been compared and contrasted for all of s2. my platonic fix for this would be making the NY chef this first "solution" of a work-related panic attack. he represents a horrible time in his life but also represents a time when carmy was at the height of his career. when carmy gets locked in the walk in and has his monologue, its alluded to that he will revert back to that mind set in order to not let everyone down.

NY chef abused him for so long, it makes sense that carmys psyche would readily go back to his insults and the time he himself was an isolated 'psycho' bc it yielded results.

nothing is black and white and i DO think sydney represents a healthier approach to the toxic mess that is the culinary world and does represent that for carmy. if the show was invested in that, sydney and the NY chef could be overtly contrasted like sydney and claire have been.

BUT again this isnt about his job and dedication as a chef...thus why he tries to think of claire to solve his personal problem, and it fails.

Solution # 2: Sydney

LMFAOOO.

carmy then in a crazy plot twist starts thinking of his platonic work bestie sydney adamu....the love song dedicated by the show to his relationship with his girlfriend is then made clear highlighting some pretty damning lyrics about desire and love.....all platonic btw. yes you are dumb if you think otherwise (*wink*)

I actually have two platonic fixes for this...

platonic fix # 1: if we only wanted to focus on sydney as a person who calms carmy down because shes his work bestie who represents his responsibilty to the bear and the postive change they are trying effect in the culinary world, i would add scenes where they are...you know actually cooking???

i think its pretty crazy how the memories carmys immediately jump to are ones that have little to do with their jobs. when they first meet (would also like to note that when carmy first laid eyes on Sydney, he forgot she was there for a job, so this is his raw reaction to seeing a pretty girl lol) and when she comes back after she quit and their break up fight.

i would add their scenes in carmys kitchen (even tho this is extremely damning bc they were flirting DOWN - they don't make this easy at all). this represents their collaboration skills and the way they WORK and bounce ideas off of each other seamlessly. specifically the scene about him wanting to give her a star, representing his duty to her and the restaurant.

*and no shade to carmy but if his responsibility to the bear/syd as a co-worker was bothering him this much and calmed him down wouldn't he have just immediately called the fridge guy.....anyways*

platonic fix # 2 (the best one): if i was chris storer and joanna calo and i REALLY wanted to sell it that carmy isnt in love with sydney then i would put every single member of the OG beef crew + Nat to calm him down not just Sydney.

im talking to them laughing at family, carmy giving tina his chefs knife, richie in his new suit, carmys one on one w Marcus/trying his donut, nat telling carmy shes pregnant (signifing rebirth/wanting to rid all the toxic abuse from his family), carmy trying sydney risotto, and her face when he said it was tremendous etc etc...you get the gist

and honestly?

even as i type this out im tearing up a little bit bc that would have been really beautiful. carmy is changing. he can and is getting rid of old toxic habits from his family and the mess that is the culinary industry. things are changing for the better....that would be beautiful....IF his panic attack was about any of these things lol.

and to even look at this scene without this need for symmetry and we entertain the idea of carmy thinking about his job as a solution for his personal problem...carmy has said himself (s02e01) that this isnt fun for him. i dont think that means he hates cooking i kinda disagree with the ppl who think he isnt passionate about it. i just think currently its something that doesnt bring him joy but i do think its something hes starting to or at least could have started to enjoy if he just committed to working with syd...

conclusion

theres a lot of....delusion? denial? straight up bias? yes all of that, going on.

idk what is happening bc this show is really great at being subtle. but i dont know whats more in your face, dumbed down, even a toddler could understand, than this scene. if you dont come out of this understanding that carmy is falling in love/currently in love with Sydney...and i hate using this term..but you just arent media literate.

bonus: bc it makes me laugh and connects the purpose and solutions.

i think we need a Snyder Sydcarmy Cut™ of bolognese and omelette.

the start of the episode is when sydney and carmy fight over claires inclusion in the menu, and also when sydney randomly asks him to define his relationship with Claire. the episode would continue until we get to the table scene.

i think its WILD how as soon as Sydney asks him to define their relationship, carmy starts calling claire his girlfriend. then the show proceeds to insert sydney in their romantic montage, shows her tattoo about heartbreak and someone getting in the way of your relationship...THEN proceeds to have carmy compare these two women in his mind and only calms down after seeing Sydney.

i could talk about this scene for AGES. wheres the straitjacket....