#and i only realized it in hindsight

[gamebunny-advance]

"Braids"

Messing around with an alt outfit. I think the braids are cute, but paired with the outfit, she's starting to remind me *too much* of another pink, rabbit-eared, diner uniform wearing character~

[basil-does-arttt]

sometimes i think about the fact that Dante was a hired merc and/or demon hunter, hanging out in sketchy bars and purchasing firearms at the ripe old age of like 13 years old

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

Broke (2016): BBC Sherlock is a phenomenal piece of media and anything that seems like a flaw just hasn't been fully explored yet

Woke (2020): BBC Sherlock is an incredibly flawed series run by an egotistical writer, it never deserved the hype and is actively bad on so many fronts (especially representation)

Bespoke (2024): BBC Sherlock is flawed and bogged down by increasingly poor writing, which many fans refused to see while it was airing, leading to hugely misplaced expectations (particularly for the final series), AND it has the seeds of some compelling characterizations and portrayals, some genuinely solid performances, and touches--albeit imperfectly--on complexities that are still being discussed today (particularly as it relates to the relationship between Sherlock and John). The huge cultural impact of the show has created a massive pendulum effect in its public perception, leading to most people today remembering a caricature of the show (whether positive or negative) rather than appreciating its nuanced merits and failings...that being said Season 4 sucked

[collieii]

one line in trimax that's always stuck with me is from chapter 65, right after wolfwood's death. when vash is sticking the punisher by his grave and he says "it was part of his life". that phrasing is so interesting to me. the neutrality of it is one thing that gets me, i think. it was part of his life. for better or worse, whatever it was, the punisher was wolfwood's.

It's pretty easy to think that the punisher might represent violence, the eye of michael, the role of assassin that was forced onto wolfwood, the loss of childhood. but it's not really presented that way, not overtly anyways. we never see wolfwood shun the punisher, he's not conflicted by his use of it. he never considers abandoning it for some other weapon. it's his weapon. he doesn't discard it when he eventually decides to take a more vash-like approach and actually let people live. he pretty easily accepts it as his own, a tool he can use. (to be fair, at least part of that is probably because the punisher is a very good gun.)

the punisher can still represent the harsher aspects of wolfwood's character, the violence he's committed, that he's capable of. that's an important part of his life! and the idea of it as representative of his violent adolescence, childhood that was stripped away, goes along with this - it's literally a cross to bear. but besides showing his past as a burden, i think of the punisher as being a cross of responsibility. when you have a gun you have power, agency - you have a responsibility to make a choice. that's what wolfwood tells vash in chapter 4.

the ability to take a life, the burden of it, is literally his cross to bear. that ability - and that responsibility - was given to him by the eom, literally in terms of the gun, and in terms of his skills. but the eye doesn't think twice about killing people. for them it's not really a choice, a responsibility, it's just a given. but wolfwood can't accept that. he's constantly considering the choices he makes.

so the punisher isn't only a symbol of the eye of michael, of the path that he was forced onto. it's also a way of expressing autonomy. the eye gave wolfwood the gun, but he decides how to use it and what it means. for much of the story wolfwood struggles to decide what to do, he's a very conflicted character. but eventually he resolves to use it against chapel, against knives, to help vash, and protect the orphanage. the gun gives him agency.

so the punisher was part of his life. it was the tool that he used to commit acts of violence, acts that he was forced into, but also the tool he used to break free.

it's heavy for vash, too. he's not exempt from that idea, the idea of responsibility. as wolfwood said much earlier in the story, vash has always been able to sidestep the question of "what do i choose?", because he's only ever given himself one option - everybody lives. and he's always succeeded. but as wolfwood says, "the day will come when you'll have to choose". one day, it's not going to work.

and of course the story progresses, the stakes ramp up, and vash learns more, goes through more, and is pushed to his limits. i think by this point, by wolfwood's death, and maybe because of it, vash has realized that he might have to make that difficult choice in the near future. that's one reason why he wants to "do him proud". he has a lot of reasons to say this of course - to not let wolfwood's sacrifice go to waste, for example. but if we're thinking of the cross as responsibility, then vash is saying he doesn't want to forget the lessons he learned because of wolfwood. wolfwood has always grappled with responsibility, with what the right thing to do is. and the right thing is often not easy. vash hopes that when the times comes for him to make a choice, he'll make a good one, one that does right by wolfwood's memory.

[alistair-blackwood]

yeah so it turns out when you take an unapologetic eugenicist and give him a sympathetic backstory where he's been uwu traumatized you get a lot of people unironically defending a eugenicist. yeah it's because he's hot. yeah they're saying he has girlhood rage

[taxi-boi]

GUYS I JUST HAD AN EPIPHANY

APLATONIC LUCIFER

[goat-boy]

Wow people make Käärijä a villain in the story that is actually so much bigger than our fandom or the history we’ve lived. It’s so unfair to him. I’m scared actually and hope he will be safe <3

I think he'll be mostly fine though admittedly I'm only tuned in here on tumblr. I have definitely seen some people being incredibly harsh on here as well though and I have heard that the reaction on Twitter has been way worse. (I heard people sent kä death threats, which if true is just like really??? over this?) It's just such a strange hill to die on to me.

I see it as reflective of the more recent phenomenon of people snapping at others online for what are ultimately little mistakes or just opinions that don't fit a specific mold. I've seen literally anyone being attacked just for not holding the most extreme version of a belief.

I don't think there's much cause for concern this time. Most of what I'm seeing here on tumblr is just people wanting a better apology or explanation anyway <3

[anxeious]

u r not annoying your bday is literally once a year and that anon can kick rocks lol. happy bday again <3

thank you sm 🥺 i really had no idea how many birthday wishes i would receive & to me it felt kinda insincere to just to make one “ty for bday wishes” post and nothing else?? idk i’m sorry if anyone was annoyed i really did try to space them out with posts in between. thank u for this message & the birthday wishes!!

[chaotic-average-child]

getting back on my drawing slowly but surely ^^ here's an aleena

[articskele]

Thinking about....... Sun Onceler.........

[vaguely-concerned]

nothing makes me feel like a golden god quite like a new recipe turning out delicious on the first try. unfortunately, conversely nothing makes me feel more 'I am god's mistake' than spending all that time and effort on something and having to make a sandwhich b/c the results were inedible if you want to retain your capacity for delight. the duality of home chef

[abyssmalice]

Ten thousand years or a second into the future, in some alternate timeline where Tonia is a certified Space Traveler (TM) in permanent tree-for-hair mode - she types something into the search bar on her phone:

chat what does it mean for a boy to give you a ring

[thirteens-earring]

i could say so much about the homeschooled ballerina to tradwife pipeline

[secretagent9]

it's really funny, realizing that you've subconsciously surrounded yourself with ace people your whole life. i think we're all naturally drawn to each other, but like... people huddling together at a bus stop to get out of the rain. it's a survival thing, mostly, until the rain stops and you start talking about your favorite anime with everybody and sharing silly stories you've made and

...i've run out of metaphor. anyway, sex isn't real, writers and musicians made it up to sell books and albums. god bless 'em for it.

[greenbergsays]

I was reminded that the movie Stick It exists and remembering how much I loved that movie as a teen is a fucking laugh because looking back at it now, I’m not sure if I wanted to be Haley Graham or if I had a crush on her

honestly, probably both

Just one of many instances where I was being Extremely Queer and did not realize it 😂

[tinynap]

I guess I'll just always be a little skeptical of someone who purposely kept what happened vague and purposely misconstrued what actually happened so that everyone would assume the worst.

this is fair and i think important to mention like a lot of caiti's original statement used language that was pretty vague that caused a lot of uproar and future clarifications from her and ghostie following george's response kind of came across as still trying to make him seem like the bad guy ? if that makes sense ? but i do want to make it clear that i support caiti in her feelings she is valid in them i just don't agree with how she's going about trying to have them resolved and i think ghostie's way of supportign her through it is not good 👍