#a little bittersweet though

[hypersoft-tyre]

kmag first point of the season i repeat KMAG FIRST POINT OF THE SEASON!!!

[puppyeared]

renaissance dogys

characters belong to @canisalbus

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

In the same bed, but not on the same page

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[canisalbus]

Look, I know it's supposed to end badly. But I need to admit that in my head, they declared a mutual "fuck this shit" to the world and society. Packed all the stuff they could one late night and escaped to a remote open plain in the middle of some thick woods where they spent the rest of their lives healing and living freely in nature.

I've been having a lot of intense feelings about them as well. The tragical elements are so baked in to their story and setting, it's hard to imagine a happy ending for them. But every now and then I find myself thinking of scenarios and AUs where they both live and grow old together. For coping purposes, I suppose.

[herefortheships]

One great thing that can come out of Beetlejuice 3 ending with Lydia and Betelgeuse married, is that they can continue the story as a show if they want to, later on. An animated show, is what I mean, about Betelgeuse, Lydia, and Astrid. I could watch an animated series about their little family getting into all kinds of Neitherworld shenanigans.

[thebitchbehindtheslaughter]

I’m rewatching The Dragon Prince and. y’all. the scene where Runaan promises Ethari he’ll bring his heart back to him took me out like nothing else ever has

[dykedvonte]

I like to think in the P.E au that Anya and Curly specifically get haunted hard by Jimmy's weird reality crossing guilt manifested.

It's targeting them because Jimmy's guilt grows more around them. The idea of him acting and playing nice despite what he did. It's like a buffet that allows it to pick from their plates.

Anya sees this stagnant version of her, blood from her mouth, clutching her stomach with a bottle of pills in her other hand. She's talking about not being heard, a pixel, relief from a burden. She tries to ask a question and it's never the right one. She's not understanding but in a way, she's getting that this version of her is in pain. She tries to help, extends a hand and asks how she can help, stop it. She stares and there's utter despair and disappointment in her eyes.

What did you do?

Curly sees this burnt mangled thing. But he can't call it that. Even with no skin and chipping teeth, covered in sullied bandages and smelling of death overdue, he can see his face. He can recognized that eye, he stares at it a lot in the mirror, usually a second one is attached but he digresses. They are just watching, staring and unmoving. He asks himself what happened, how can he help and his own retched mangled voice comes out from a empty maw.

I told you.

They have no idea what it really means. They don't know who to tell. Flashes of a life they don't know or maybe a future they haven't lived yet. Perhaps they treat it as their own minds trying to tell them something. They bare that burden themselves and that alone makes it heavier. Plumper. More appetizing to the guilt causing it.

Tragically that guilt is not their own.

[feroluce]

Thinking tonight about Caelus, and the nature of his loss and his grief after the Everything that went down in Penacony during 2.0.

Because Acheron, Black Swan, and Misha kind of knew of Firefly, they at least met her, but they didn't like really know her, and Caelus never even got the chance to introduce her to the rest of the Astral Express Crew. The only person who would have talked to her much was Sparkle, who is. Probably not really someone Caelus is interested in grieving with skznmsks

Anyway, all this to say, I like thinking about how alone poor Caelus is in his grief, because he was the only one who knew Firefly. He's the only one really mourning her. There's no one to talk about her with. There's no stories to trade or memories to reminisce with anyone over. It's not as though he knew her for long, but still. No one else knew her at all.

And I love the thought of all of this coming bubbling up, hot and acidic and bitter, during a conversation with Sampo, who Caelus just so happens to run into in the Golden Hour. Poor Sampo is kinda blindsided, he knew shit was going down in Penacony, but yeesh. And he just. Isn't quite sure what to say about it all, because he's never really encountered this before. His feelings about the Masked Fools are...a mixed bag, but he's been a part of them for a very long time, and when you're with a close organization like that, it's hard to feel alone, in grief or otherwise.

So Sampo sits there on their little bench that the two of them have occupied, and he thinks of his old friend April, how she'd died in his arms cackling and spitting her own blood after a heist gone wrong, and how after he'd dragged himself back to the World's End Tavern they'd all held a Fool's Funeral- which is basically just a big party where everyone gets really really drunk and reminisces and toasts the dead and celebrates their life.

He still thinks about her a lot, and he remembers how the time he'd most keenly felt her absence was on Jarilo-VI, the one place where he couldn't talk about her because he couldn't say anything to give himself away as an alien. The Fools still tell stories about her every time he goes back to the Tavern. His first toast of the night is always in her name. Even now, all these years after she'd died, Sampo is still learning new things about her. He's never had to grieve her alone.

Caelus doesn't have any of that.

He might never have that. As they speak, Caelus has no proof that Firefly was even her real name, or if she dreamt with her true appearance. He might not ever find out who she even was.

And just imagining that kind of loneliness hollows out a strange little pit, right behind his sternum, deep between his ribs.

So Sampo claps Caelus' shoulder and offers him a deal. Come find him outside of the dream. He knows a guy who can get them a lot of beer for really cheap-

("Is that guy you and your five finger discounts?" "Whatever do you mean, dear friend, I don't even know the meaning of the phrase, hehee.")

-and they can hole up in a bar or a hotel room or something, and get completely shitcanned. Tell him all about Firefly, tell him everything, and he'll tell Caelus about April and everyone else he's ever lost. Sampo will carry Caelus' memories of Firefly with him, and at least this way, Caelus will be a little less alone in remembering her. And the next time they cross paths, Sampo will be the one to bring her up, and to tell her stories, and Caelus can get to be the one listening. He won't have to be the only person to talk about her anymore.

Caelus rolls his eyes when Sampo avoids another remark about sticky fingers, but...ok, yeah. That sounds good. Nice, even. Thank you. Caelus bumps his shoulder against Sampo's. Sampo bumps back.

(They find each other again the next day, and true to their word, get themselves completely and utterly shitcanned. Caelus talks more than Sampo has ever heard him; every minute detail, every word choice, Firefly's every odd little mannerism and habit. Because Caelus wants to make sure this will outlive him, that even if the Stellaron dwelling within him finally burns him to a crisp and he really does up and kick the bucket, or even, godforbid, if he forgets, he wants to make sure someone remembers her. She deserved that.)

((And it takes quite a while, after that. Caelus doesn't see Sampo again until after everything has settled down. On his last day in Penacony, he finds the guy slinking out of a seedy back alley and all but runs right into him. Sampo happily leads him to some dive bar in an even seedier back alley that Caelus has never even heard of, and Sampo raises his glass. "To Firefly! Who sounds like she probably would have hated me at first, but I would have liked to have met her anyway."

And Caelus stares at him, almost looking startled, long enough that Sampo worries that he's read him wrong and brought this up too soon. He's halfway into planning how to talk himself out of this situation when Caelus finally throws back his head back and laughs, tells him that yeah, Firefly would have politely called him out on every lie he told, and all their conversations would take twice as long with the way Sampo is so full of shit.

And he can see it, the same way he watches and sees through everyone, that Caelus' eyes have a tightness to them, his knuckles are nearly white around the handle of his mug. But he smiles. He hits his glass against Sampo's far too hard and throws it back and gets foam everywhere like he does every time they drink because the guy's about as elegant as a raging bull, but those things don't lessen the genuineness of his smile.

The grief is there, but so is the elation, and those emotions aren't a sliding scale between one or the other. It is all of both and both at once, and that's what contents Sampo enough to throw his own mug back when Caelus makes a toast of his own, "to April!!".))

[thepersonperson]

I think JJK going on break after the last chapter is a bit cruel. This is nerve-wracking. We still have 3 chapters left and so many things can happen there. 268 feels too good to be true and the title is weird.

I'm not sure what is the right translation and I don't have access to raws. Right now, it's 268 title is "Finale" or "Conclusion" but I heard from someone that it can be also be read as "Curtains".

If it can be read as "Curtains", then it could be a reference to "final curtains". The problem is JJK has its own version of "Curtains", right? Idk what to think.

Gosh I wish it was “Curtains”. The chapter title is 決着 (Kecchaku) which means settlement/conclusion/end.

For example, at the end of an extremely brutal fight in Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, Jolyne screams “Kechakuuuuuuu!” (決着ゥゥーーーッ!!) (It's actually a small Jojo meme in the JP fandom.) This got translated as "Game set!"

I love the localization they used for this since that entire battle was like struggling in arcade mode for a fighting game.

Anyways, in the context of JJK, especially since this has been a literal Sukuna Gauntlet and the previous chapter had the “Ringing the bell on a long fight.” editor’s comment, I don’t think there’s an ambiguous way to read Kecchaku. The Curtain/Veil kanji in JJK is 帳 (Tobari). (Though if there’s some fancy wordplay I’m missing please let me know.)

However…I would kneel before Gege if this was an elaborate trick by Sukuna—him giving Yuji delusions of a happy ending only to yank it away last second. It’s very hard to make characters feel familiar but slightly off on purpose for misdirection. That kind of tonal control is something I praise Umineko for. (Dungeon Meshi does it excellently for the shapeshifter scene.)

But that is pure copium I think. Sometimes otherwise good media just fumbles the endings. (Not an example of good media, but I was around for the Secret BBC Sherlock Season 4 Ending meltdown so I’m not too hopeful about a turnaround.) I personally blame the JP work culture/crunch since a lot of modern mangas have rushed endings due to burnout/unfair contracts.

I think the most heartbreaking examples of this phenomenon for me are The Owl House and Moral Orel. Those shows still stick the landing imo, but the creators are very open about how studio interference forced them to condense everything. You can feel that suffocation in the final episodes. Everything is just slightly off and you know it would be better if the creators were allowed their breathing room.

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

hold on i need to get a thought and emotions out. so with Welcome Home, there seems to be a before and an after. obviously, we're in the after. the website is the after. and if it turns out that the story we see, the one where shit hits the fan and the show is practically erased, then... that already happened. whatever horrors we see, we'll know that there is no saving them. there is no happy ending - it happened, and it's tragic. the show is doomed to end and be scrubbed away. if any of the characters are revealed to be dead/gone by the website, then when/if we see them at an earlier point, we'll Know

and there's a special kind of dread and horror in that for us, the audience.

[rubbishvibes]

I started watching Star Trek recently... Scotty has my entire heart

[artsystargazer]

The fibromyalgia and ME/CFS diagnosis is finally official after fighting for so long to know what was wrong with my body.

I also got my autism assessment results. I'm autistic! Shocking, I know.

[moe-broey]

HEARTBREAKING

Worst Dad You Know Has an Extremely Endearing (Now) Reoccurring Character Trait

For further context: this whole FB involved Sharena and Henriette seeking out lockpickers in the Order of Heroes to open this VERY SECURELY locked box from Gustav's room that took Tina's special staff to finally crack open (or rather -- "steal" the contents out of. No one could actually break the lock!)

And the first instance of this!

It makes me wonder if he saved anything related to Sharena..........

[seas-of-silver]

First Sentence, Then Scene: “I know your secret.” Lila said as she pinned Marinette to the wall.

Just a lil warning that I touch on anxiety and dealing with that... emotional feedback (I guess you could call it?) of being in a high intensity situation with your bully/source of anxiety.

~/~

'I know your secret,' Lila said as she pinned Marinette to the wall. Marinette wriggled, but Lila's grasp didn't budge.

'What secret?' Marinette asked, still trying to loosen Lila's grip. 'I don't have any secrets.' Lila tsked, shaking her head in mock disappointment before smirking up at her with a devious glint in her eyes. 'Playing innocent, I see...'

The Italian's tone sent shivers up Marinette's spine, but made sure she gave no indication of how the girl's words affected her.

'The only one "playing innocent" here is you,' Marinette spat. 'Everyone thinks you're so kind and sweet, but you're like the devil in disguise.'

'Hah! You flatter me,' Lila purred, 'but I am not the Devil- well, not yet, anyway.'

Marinette's eyes narrowed.

'See, the problem with you angelic types is that you're too honest for your own good,' Lila said, voice heavy with faux concern that made Marinette want to grind her teeth. 'Too kind, too generous, too self-sacrificing. You would do anything for a friend, and expect nothing in return.'

This was pressing on all of Marinette's buttons. She knew what the true purpose was of these words, and yet-

'And that is why you'll always lose to someone like me,' Lila finished with a devilish grin.

'You know what your problem is?' Marinette snapped. 'That attitude. Those lies. I know you can't help it, you're born this way, but the thing is you could be so much more than this.'

She couldn't help but take satisfaction in the way Lila's eyes widened ever so subtly.

'You have an incredible talent, and an even more incredible mind - you could be truly amazing if you wanted to be, but you don't, so you're not. You lie, you cheat, you play these twisted games, wasting your time and energy on things and people that do not matter to you - and for what? To get me down? To hurt me? We both know that you're targeting me with all this, for some minor disagreement long-since forgotten- which, let's be honest, doesn't justify all that you've done since then. I've tried to make amends, to help you, to do what I can to build bridges, but you burn them every time, turning away any offers I made so that you could keep that flame burning within you. You think that everything that makes me who I am makes me weak to the likes of you, but in reality-' Marinette forced her hands free from Lila's weakened grip, '-that's why you'll never win against someone like me.'

'Aaaand cut!' Nino cried, leaping out of his director's chair, his hand clutching his cap as his arms waving excitedly. 'That was electric! That was super tense and believable and ohhhhh, I knew this "angels and demons hidden amongst humans" theme was going to work! And you two! Man, I could not have cast more awesome people for these roles!'

'You're welcome, by the way,' Alya lightheartedly sing-songed from behind him, grinning happily.

'Yeah, okay, I owe you an Andre's ice-cream, but if this take is as good as it was in person, I am buying you ice-cream every day for a month!' Nino promised before dashing off to look at the take.

'Whew! It was sooo hard being so mean!' Lila fibbed, earning her some comments on how fantastic of an actor she was by their fellow classmates. With Lila sufficiently distracted, Marinette let out a shaky breath, the adrenaline pumping through her body making her fidgety and unsettled.

'Hey,' Adrien greeted gently as he approached her, placing a hand on her shoulder as he handed her a glass of water, 'you did fantastically out there.'

They both knew the real meaning behind his words.

'Are you okay?' he asked.

"I know your secret." Lila's line echoed in her mind, Lila's expression - and the way it scared her - haunted her. It was like she really knew...

'Yeah... but also... no?' Marinette answered. She wasn't entirely sure he'd understand what she meant, but he nodded like he did. 'The acting bit, I'm fine with, but her? It's... she's...'

'Overwhelming?' he prompted. 'Like suddenly, it's all too real, and it's hard to remember where you are and what you're doing.'

She nodded. He understood.

'I felt like that every time Dad was at a photoshoot,' Adrien admitted. 'Despite him being my father, he's this intimidating, powerful, incredibly critical figure that with one look can pull my performance- can pull me apart, and make me feel vulnerable in such a way that I feel like a kitten backed into a corner, trembling in front of this towering, snarling dog, and it always made me want to run and hide. But I had to fight through it, push through, pretend I had everything under control when I didn't feel like that at all, and let myself decompress once I was alone and safe in my room.'

Marinette's heart ached for Adrien, while also taking comfort in knowing she wasn't alone in feeling this way. Any other time, she might've felt guilty for taking comfort in such a painful thing, but she was too rattled right now. Instead, she silently hugged him, ignoring the stinging of tears forming in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around him, careful not to spill the water in the glass she was still holding as he hugged her back.

In his arms, she felt safe, and the world around them faded away as she let the adrenaline run its course and bleed out of her system, knowing he'd catch her if she fell. She ignored Nino's cries of a perfect one-take wonder, she ignored Lila's grandstanding to their peers, she ignored the clicking of phone cameras. She was in her own bubble within Adrien's arms, and all she could hear was the sounds of their breaths and his steady heartbeat against her ear.

~/~

Ask game: Give me the first sentence and I'll write a short piece for it!

[lemongogo]

vash w this hairstyle is literally so cute.. .. wolfwood matchies or smt T__T

[longagoitwastuesday]

I actually like the last chapter. I think the ideas are very good. I have my qualms on how some things were managed, as I always do, but I think shonen authors get tangled in the expectations of a shonen to the point it jeopardises their writing, often even when they're not lacking in skills