#I talk about her a lot outside of that

[seagull-energy]

I feel like doing some liveblogging for today's entry because I love it a lot and I have Things To Say! Under a cut because this got longgggg

"They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds [...]"

I'm sorry, those who have lived in Valinor do what now???? I don't remember this ever being mentioned anywhere else

'Frodo was now safe in the Last Homely House east of the Sea. That house was, as Bilbo had long ago reported, 'a perfect house, whether you like food or sleep or story-telling or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all'. Merely to be there was a cure for weariness, fear, and sadness.'

This makes me tear up and I'm not sure why.

This is one of my favorite chapters in the whole trilogy. I just love how warm it feels. It's like curling up with a cozy blanket and a warm drink on a winter evening, but it's also like sitting in the sun on a bright summer day with a cool breeze in your hair at the same time.

'In the middle of the table, against the woven cloths upon the wall, there was a chair under a canopy, and there sat a lady fair to look upon, and so like was she in form of womanhood to Elrond that Frodo guessed that she was one of his close kindred. Young she was and yet not so. The braids of her dark hair were touched by no frost; her white arms and clear face were flawless and smooth, and the light of stars was in her bright eyes, grey as a cloudless night; yet queenly she looked, and thought and knowledge were in her glance, as of one who has known many things that the years bring. Above her brow her head was covered with a cap of silver lace netted with small gems, glittering white; but her soft grey raiment had no ornament save a girdle of leaves wrought in silver.'

MY QUEEN MY BELOVED THE LOVE OF MY LIFE IS HERE!!!! <333333 *ahem* anyway, moving on

The mention of Beorn's son and Bard's grandson being leaders of their respective folk really puts into perspective how the lifespans of Men compare to Dwarves and even Hobbits.

''I will come and see [the Lonely Mountain], if ever I can,' said Frodo.'

Hey. Want to feel sad with me? I don't think he ever gets to do this.

'This is the Hall of Fire,' said the wizard. 'Here you will hear many songs and tales – if you can keep awake. But except on high days it usually stands empty and quiet, and people come here who wish for peace, and thought. There is always a fire here, all the year round, but there is little other light.'

Actually obsessed with the Vibes of the Hall of Fire. It's one of the places in Middle Earth I would most like to visit. Also if it ever shows up in an adaptation I may perish of happiness.

'Why, sitting and thinking. I do a lot of that nowadays, and this is the best place to do it in, as a rule. Wake up, indeed!' he said, cocking an eye at Elrond. There was a bright twinkle in it and no sign of sleepiness that Frodo could see. 'Wake up! I was not asleep, Master Elrond. If you want to know, you have all come out from your feast too soon, and you have disturbed me – in the middle of making up a song. I was stuck over a line or two, and was thinking about them; but now I don't suppose I shall ever get them right. There will be such a deal of singing that the ideas will be driven clean out of my head. I shall have to get my friend the Dúnadan to help me. Where is he?' Elrond laughed. 'He shall be found,' he said. 'Then you two shall go into a corner and finish your task, and we will hear it and judge it before we end our merrymaking.'

Bilbo and Elrond's friendship means a great deal to me and I feel it is tragically underrated.

'Don't adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story.'

Oh no here come the tears again.

'Strider!' said Frodo. 'You seem to have a lot of names.'

Oh Frodo you haven't heard the half of it yet... Also this has been pointed out many times before but I love that Aragorn remains Strider to the hobbits long after they learn his true name. It's really cute <333

He turned to Strider. 'Where have you been, my friend? Why weren't you at the feast? The Lady Arwen was there.' Strider looked down at Bilbo gravely. 'I know,' he said. 'But often I must put mirth aside. Elladan and Elrohir have returned out of the Wild unlooked-for, and they had tidings that I wished to hear at once.'

*sigh* can't believe the Plot is making Aragorn miss out on quality time with his wifey :(( Also, twins mention!!! I love the twins dearly (mostly because of One Specific Fanfiction)

Near him sat the Lady Arwen. To his surprise Frodo saw that Aragorn stood beside her; his dark cloak was thrown back, and he seemed to be clad in elven-mail, and a star shone on his breast. They spoke together, and then suddenly it seemed to Frodo that Arwen turned towards him, and the light of her eyes fell on him from afar and pierced his heart.

THEY'RE TOGETHER!!!!! One of these days you will be getting my essay on Arwen's Presence in the narrative and that is a threat. Also she and Frodo have interesting potential as a dynamic. Also also if she looked directly at me my heart would also be very much pierced <333

That's all my thoughts I think! If you stayed until the end, thanks for your time <3

[geneticdriftwood]

dick and roy; a collection

outsiders (2003), #11, 12, 13, 16, 21

[comradekarin]

when you’re in a “shipping random white m|m/w|m ships to spite the bwwm ship” and your competition is every fandom ever like you guys fucking suck lmaoooo suddenly it’s no chemistry! heteronormativity! he’s gay and she’s a lesbian! platonic only! poor acting! she is an independent woman! even the elite ships aren’t safe for as soon as the girl looks physically different than their (usually book) canon counterpart, the people are up in arms. like suck my dick

[heartbeatbookclub]

I think, in a lot of ways, Monika and Sayori are reflections of each other.

Really, I think all of the girls are similar in a lot of their issues (self-esteem, anxiety, etc) and that's something emphasized in a lot of the stories, and a big part of why they all gravitate towards each other and work to create the club as a safe space for all of them, but I think Monika and Sayori in particular are just very much alike.

I think Trust really emphasized this similarity in the reveal of Sayori's poem, Become the Flower.

Prior to shifting focus onto the poem, Monika talks to herself about her real vision for the Literature Club. I think here, Monika points out what Sayori actually meant when she said that Monika was "trying to make the club [she] needs the most, out of anyone", even if she doesn't actually realize that yet. It's pretty clear that when she says that literature is a window to the real self underneath the person who's "forced to always smile and blend in", and is "forced to be perfect", she's really talking about herself.

I think that a lot of Monika's character throughout Trust is expressed more subtly, often in a roundabout way like this. A huge part of the story is centered around Monika's own personal struggles expressing herself, and that trait is pretty well exemplified in this indirect way of talking about her own struggles. I think that the reason why Monika's characterization here is so subtle overall is reflective of this.

And I think it's pretty blatant that this is statement is also meant to be reflective of Sayori, given that we immediately move from this statement onto the poem which reveals to Monika that she's been hiding her own problems. In this way, I think Team Salvato wanted to explicitly point out how similar they really are, and draw your attention to it.

I think that the way that Trust as a story is put together is meant to really emphasize just how similar they are even in their differences; spending a great deal of time focusing on Monika's own problems, to then showcase Sayori as the mirror to them.

I think the two of them make a very interesting pair in that respect, because a big similarity they have is that they very much place others above themselves, so they both end up individually building each other up while they put themselves down. It creates this strange back and forth where they each insist they suck and the other is great, when the reality is that they're both pretty fantastic.

In the statement Monika made to herself about her vision of the club, while it's clear she's talking about herself, she frames it in the context of somebody else getting those benefits out of the Literature Club, rather than herself. Throughout the entirety of Trust, she speaks dismissively of her efforts and her problems alike, while pointing out that Sayori is providing a lot of help. Sayori by contrast spends most of her time hyping her up and points out, explicitly, that Monika doesn't give herself enough credit. She also dismisses her own efforts, pointing out in most things she does, up into the climax, that Monika is a lot better than her at whatever she's doing. And when Sayori's problems are actually revealed, she explicitly says that she doesn't want Monika to worry about her, and that she doesn't want to have this conversation.

I think this all really shows that both of them are averse to tackling their own problems head-on, and I think this comes out of a fear of being vulnerable, since that's directly mentioned several times in Monika's issues openly expressing herself.

I think what makes Monika's particular brand of self-negging quite so disheartening is that she dismisses it out of hand as her being silly and dramatic, and in that way, she doesn't actually address the fundamental problem underlying it, nor does she actually address the statements themselves as incorrect. The amount of time she spends talking down her own problems as something trivial and silly, particularly in comparison to Sayori's problems, are a manifestation of her own desire to avoid the vulnerability of even having these problems, and it's just...heartbreaking. Sayori's denial is its own can of worms, but Monika's ability to so consistently minimize her issues when they are clearly still impacting her is so uniquely troublesome.

I think a big difference between the two of them in that respect is that Monika wears significantly more of her heart on her sleeve, so Sayori finds it a lot easier to directly target Monika's problems than Monika does in the reverse, but their individual habits of avoidance are coming from the same place.

I'm traveling a bit aimlessly in this essay, trying to tie things together nicely as I see them, but there are just a lot of similarities I notice between their actions and the way they think that showcase that they have a lot of the same problems, and a huge theme in Trust is expressing oneself, which both Monika and Sayori struggle to do, in much the same way.

I think a key similarity between the two of them is their tendency to catastrophize over a situation when left alone, mostly revolving around seeing the worst possible scenario for how they could've personally messed up the situation. I'm just rewatching Trust for this little essay, so there are two major moments I see Monika doing this, but I remember Sayori doing this...a few times, actually, throughout the side stories.

I think the spiral Monika goes into after reading Become the Flower is particularly important, as it exemplifies the habit of dismissing her own problems fantastically; in this case, she has an excuse. It's true that Monika's issues with her perfectionism seem silly and trivial in comparison to Sayori's, but that's exactly the thing: She shouldn't be comparing them in the first place! Her problems are real, and they clearly cause her distress, but because Sayori's own issues appear so much more serious than hers, she dismisses them wholesale as her being dramatic and silly. Because Monika's problems seem so small, she doesn't see them for the problems they really are. In the same way, because her own accomplishments and work seem so small, she doesn't see them for the accomplishments they are.

This spiral showcases Monika's biggest problem, the reason why she has such trouble expressing herself, and conversely, the exact same problem Sayori has. She doesn't want to be the center of attention.

Put another way, she doesn't think she deserves to be the center of attention. Her problems are so trivial; her accomplishments menial. Her fear of vulnerability isn't a fear that others will hurt her; it's a fear of being selfish.

Sayori is very similar, in that the reason she actively works to avoid showing any possible sign that anything is wrong is because she doesn't want anyone to worry about her. She doesn't want other people to dedicate time and energy to her.

I think that for both of them, this comes from low self-esteem. Sayori is self-explanatory I think, but I'd say Monika's perfectionism makes it exceptionally difficult for her to really feel accomplished in anything she does, which, coupled with her constant preoccupation with how she appears to other people (I think Monika places very high expectations on herself. I mean, Trust literally starts with her frantically apologizing and saying "I normally don't ever do this!" when Sayori finds her napping) makes it very difficult for her to feel confident in herself.

The fear both Sayori and Monika have in being vulnerable isn't that people will use that vulnerability to hurt them.

It's that people will try to help them.

And I think that's a really big part of why Sayori feels like she can trust Monika with her darkest thoughts, because she understands that they're the same in a lot of ways.

Monika created the club which she needed the most...and it was also the club Sayori needed the most, for the exact same reason.

I think it's kinda easy to overlook a lot of this because of the sheer amount of focus placed onto Sayori and the more explicit issue Monika has (insofar as the plot is concerned), but I think Sayori is exactly what Monika needs just as much as Monika is what Sayori needs.

[uncanny-tranny]

I love giving advice, apparently, so if you are a newly pierced person or are planning on being pierced, here are some of the things I found helpful, as somebody who isn't a professional piercer but has had six plus piercings on my face and body, and multiple ear piercings (which I don't count, since I DIY'd them):

Normal bath towels are your enemy, proceed with caution after bathing. NEVER wipe moisture away from a fresh piercing, always pat it dry

You will hit a new piercing and it will hurt. This is inevitable, just know that you likely haven't destroyed it. Feel free to cry, though, it hurts like hell.

If your piercer gives you instructions, heed them. If you're on restrictions, please take it as seriously as possible

When you're going in for a piercing, please eat or drink something - at least what constitutes as a snack for your body. It really helps

If you're getting an oral piercing, make sure you size down after the healing period - I hadn't sized down for my last oral piercing when I first had the chance, and it was... so annoying to have too-large of jewelry

Not all jewelry is made equally. Do your research on materials, threading, and sizing. I've found that titanium jewelry is really nice for me, and I like it, but that isn't the only option. Make sure you think about your body and its needs and preferences

Close your eyes while being pierced (I found this really helps me)

Don't over-clean a new piercing, twice per day is usually a good place to start

The completed healing period is a very average suggestion - you may heal slower or faster. Try to adhere to that suggestion, though, especially if you do not feel you're healed enough

Personally, I have found that I am completely healed when my piercing feels like just another part of my body, even when it is touched. When my piercings start to feel as though they are foreign when they never do before, I know I likely need to clean them

While I have DIY'd piercings, I personally do not recommend it, especially if you are either not using sterilized equipment, or are piercing a very dangerous place (like the tongue). If you are absolutely positive about committing to the DIY mindset, please try to do due diligence in research at least

Tip your piercer. Body mods are a luxury service, and it takes years to even become a piercer, much less to be proficient at it. Tip your piercer, ESPECIALLY if their prices feel too good to be true - they likely are. Unless you are directed otherwise by your piercer, just assume that you will be tipping them for their services and budget accordingly

Make sure you understand how your piercer wants you to take care of your piercing, and ask questions. There is no question too "dumb"

If you are getting a body part pierced you are insecure about, realize your piercer has most likely seen HUNDREDS of different body parts of various sizes, shapes, and oddities. Your body is not uniquely bad, nor would a good piercer make you feel unwelcome or uncomfortable with your body. If they do, however, DO NOT go through with the piercing. You should feel safe being pierced by somebody, and, indeed, that is the bare minimum.

If you use saline wash to clean piercings, you can DIY it. You will go through NeilMed like no other, and with it being $5USD a bottle, that price can rack up quickly. Make sure you use distilled water and non-iodized salt, though

If your piercing is infected, please don't be too ashamed to seek help. It's in your best interest to make sure you don't get ill or your site gets nasty ("nasty" as in painful)

These are just some of the things I've learned being a pierced person! My piercings are something I absolutely needed, and I do not for a minute regret having them. I want that same happiness to befall you, and that happens when you are able to understand a bit more what goes into piercings. You are, essentially, getting a new body part installed by a pro, and so I don't want you to not be ready for that.

Again, I am not a professional piercer, but am rather a body piercing enthusiast with many different types of piercings. I don't have every piercing, though, so please look at this critically for the piercing(s) that you want or have. At least, treat this like a soft suggestion or ways to help you brainstorm what you will find helpful.

More tips are obviously welcomed, especially if you yourself have more insight or expertise. Good luck to every pierced person or future pierced person reading this💛

[amelikos]

Something about the way Dot is handled in the narrative that I really appreciate is that it's less about "fixing" her and more about giving her opportunities to open up little by little. There is this nice balance of trying to respect her boundaries and space while also trying to reach out to her and make her feel included in things. Liko and Roy both care about Dot and want to spend time with her so they try to include her in different ways (when Liko invited Dot for curry, she just wanted her to make good memories, when they all went shopping together, they just wanted to spend time with her), but they never pressure her and it's up to Dot to go forward and make her own choices.

Even in the most recent episode, it was up to Dot to tell her mom that she wanted to stay on the ship. Liko and Roy wanted to know her side of the story and conveyed to her that they wanted her to stay on the ship because they care about her, and Liko tried to explain to Blanca that Dot needed to find the right moment to talk but that was it. Liko and Roy told Dot that they didn't want her to leave, but they didn't tell Blanca that. They didn't tell Blanca anything about how Dot should stay longer on the ship (because they knew it wouldn't be exactly right to intrude in this, or to impose). Even Murdock didn't interfere and didn't say that being on the ship had been a good experience for Dot. The only thing he did was encourage communication and told Blanca that bringing donuts to Dot could make her open up more easily (since he knows Dot loves those), but he didn't speak for her. In the end, Dot had to open up and tell in her own words what she wanted, and how she felt about being on the ship.

[bitchfitch]

I'm working on that spirit of spring thing and its got me curious about something

[yuridovewing]

i understand the frustration with “i made this gay pairing cis x trans so they can still have biological babies” with no thought to other methods and how ppl assume thats the case when it comes to mothpool aus where mothwing is also the mother of the three, but also…. idk i kinda dont give a shit if someone wants to do that and i dont really think its inherently transphobic as long as its handled with care and respect.

what really concerns me about this debate is how some people are adamant that you cannot portray trans people having biological children in media or youre being disrespectful. and im gonna say as a nonbinary person who doesnt want children for themself- thats kinda fucking weird? like i understand that for some people, theyre trans themselves and theyre speaking from a place of dysphoria, and i absolutely get that, which is why i think the topic should be handled with nuance and diversity in trans characters, but like…. guys. pregnant trans men exist irl. trans women get people pregnant irl. trans ppl’s ability and right to parent and have biological children are being debated irl. we get denied the opportunity to adopt as well.

in a climate like this, are we SURE we want the stance on rewrites and headcanons in the silly cat books to be “if you portray trans characters having children, especially with a gay couple, youre a transphobic freak no matter what!” does it really matter? especially if its being done by a trans person handling the topic with nuance who has a lot of trans characters with varying perspectives?

obviously yes, remember that thats not the only way certain gay couples can have kids, remember that not every trans person is fully comfortable with it and keep that in mind, remember that surrogacy and adoption are also perfectly valid ways to give fan babies- but remember that there are OPTIONS. not that you need to condemn the idea of transgender parents in the first place unless they fit the very specific criteria of “proper transgender representation” and anything that dares deviate from that is proof the op is a transphobic monster (bonus points if theyre a trans creator bc i mostly see trans people getting shit for this and it kinda pisses me off. although idm if cis people do it either as long as theyre handling it with respect)

[husband]

I took her to the Vet for a check up/fecal test and yeah she did have worms :) and then when I got home my neighbor called and said her owners where posting on nextdoor looking for her, so thankfully she wasn't one of the byb dumped dogs but i still think it's weird to have left a malamute puppy outside in the Texas heat with fleas and worms while you're at work all day.. we found her early in the morning and they weren't home and posting about her missing till nearly 12am.

anyway we gave her back to her owners after the vet... hope not to see her running around in the streets again because this is the 2nd or 3rd time shes been seen running around the neighborhood. unreal.

[trainingdummyrabbit]

maybe we'll try again next time.

[navysealt4t]

hii hestia i would all your thoughts on conner & co. from dbh pretty plsss :D /nf

DUDE IM SO. HEAD IN HANDS. i’ve literally been reading fanfic all day i can’t get this game outta my head .

i love connor so much like omg. me and my cousins played the game very pacifist and got a pretty good ending (only simon and luther died :(( but the rebellion succeeded and kara and alive r safe!! and connor deviated) but just like. i will forever think about hank and connor. i just know connor has so much guilt from everything he did to work against the deviants, but also like !!! he doesn’t have a mission anymore and he doesn’t know who he is . like thinking about how u can pre construct attack options as a game mechanic - he totally does that whenever he panics bc he’s trying to be soft and shit. also . touchstarved. 100%. i just. sigh. man i love characters that lose everything that they called their identity and they have to build themself a new one and it’s terrifying and they don’t know how. i love when characters who aren’t human learn humanity from themself and other around them and the love . like. he isn’t human but he’s alive. he wants to live, he just doesn’t know how. gah . that’s what bank is there for ^_^ i love them sm

and MARKUS ‼️‼️‼️ having humanity from carl just to have it ripped away from him BY HUMANS…. he gets quite bitter and i love it and it hurts so bad . i understand why many ppl chose him to be like. violent in the revolution but i was just constantly thinking… he always goes back to carl as his basis for humanity and he can’t hurt them like they’ve hurt him. (he’d be justified tho 🫶) also i. i think if u choose to be violent, markus should get with north, but if you choose to be pacifist, markus should get with josh. HIM AND JOSH JUST HAD SO KUCH MORE CHEMISTRY IN THE PACIFIST ROUTE IMO. i love markus sm tho. he has no clue what he’s doing but he’s the leader of the revolution so he can’t break down. he does that in private ^_^ also i loved the like. 3 times markus and connor interact like oh my goddddd. ALSO CONNOR IN THAT BEANIE AHHHHHH . PUT HIM IN HUMAN CLOTHES RN

[useramor]

>:/

[lyricalchrysanthemum]

I think I'll be ok, Hilbert.

[tibtew]

*clutching head* rodya and meursault would have such a good dynamic actually

I wonder if rodya would initially see meursault's indifference as like. a simpler version of her own feigned carefreeness and as a deliberate attempt to place himself as an outsider... only to realise that No, he really Is just Like That. and then she gets annoyed because it turns out that people who don't care about anything don't seem to be any fun.

(ofc he does actually care about a lot of things, just not necessarily his grander place in the world lol)

idk. nihilism vs absurdism. fun duo 👍 rodya would find meursault's genuine comfort with being a speck of dust in the universe baffling, while he would probably find her desire to assert her own importance pointless, but they could probably bond over little things like their shared desire to live in the present and appreciation of/indulgence in earthly joys. and meursault would probably listen if rodya wants to rant about anything without asking any uncomfortable questions. I think they could appreciate each other's presence.

[shimmerluna]

Sara was literally so scared to go to school at Marieberg that she was at risk of failing her grade and her mom suggested they both go back because of Simon?

[general-du-vallon]

I was thinking about Porthos again last night. He's such a good adaptation imo, he's big and strong and is sort of 'the stupid one' but mostly by reputation. His intelligence is just quiet and background. I like that in the dreaded s3 athos finally just says oitloud 'he's the smart one actually you should notice that now'.

This version of Porthos has lots of agency, he uses people's impressions and misimpressipns of him, it's him who choses to keep quieter about it. I find H Charles acting choices excellent. You can kinda see Porthos choices, and confidence and competence, and when he loses confidence or is frustrated by the fact that he has to work so hard to be seen as more or equal to the others, in the line delivery and way he acts in situations.

I'm thinking of all the complexity he packs into "i know who and what I am" and his demand that he is French, or the early s3 scenes with Sylvie where he just follows his orders and is visibly fed up with evrything, or the bit with the judge when he's being tried for murder where he has a split second beat before he says 'enjoying Paris at night' early on where he's maybe calculating that the judge isn't going to listen to a word he says sand there's no pint biting back.

And we also see his intelligence in his fighting. When he fights, how he fights, when he backs up the others. When he fights the red guard he's showing off his skill, when he fights with musketeers he's careful and shows off his strength, with his 'real' fights he's strategic but confident and uses what's to hand. I'm simplifieing and making things fit but he does fight differently in the different situations.

He's just such a great character and there's so many layers and things to think about and tturn over. There's Dumas OG Porthos who Dumas clearly loved to bits, and while I think the show as a whole failed in lots of ways at adapting satire to Serious Business they seemed to have a lot of love for the material too, and there's H Charles acting choices, all these people loving the character.