#are there even any words left

[hussyknee]

They shot Wael and his cameraman Samer while they were covering an IOF raiding a school in Khan Younis. Both in critical condition.

Edit: Samer was martyred. He was seriously injured and tried to crawl to a nearby school, and lay bleeding inside it for more than 5 hours while the IOF prevented ambulances from getting to him. By the time they got to him it was too late. Wael is okay.

How many journalists is it now? 91? 92?

[tapakah0]

Song

[valzhangism]

i know i said i was happy about how mel's story went, but the more i think about it the less i'm sure about that. this is very much connected to how the themes of classism and wealth disappeared in s2, but mel in the beginning was the epitome of piltover. she wanted to advance piltover to prove herself to her mother. to "put piltover—" and by extension herself, "—on the map."

she wanted wealth just to have it. and i'm not blaming her for anything that happened, especially with hextech! she, just like jayce and viktor, could not have known what it would lead to. i mean yeah heimerdinger said so but who the hell listens to heimerdinger? but anyway i think mel changed throughout s1, much in thanks to jayce. by the end she's become more cognisant of the mistreatment of zaunites. she's the first to vote for their peace. she was a good person all along but now she knows how to act on it. it's also seen more in s2 act 1. when she covers her painting with gold, it's symbolic—she won't act according to what her mother might think. she won't let her desire for approval dictate her anymore.

so somehow i wish those themes were. continued, somehow? like again they were dropped not just with mel but the whole show and it makes her story a off to me. there's no meaningful commentary on war or classism or how her ideology stands opposite to her mother's. like some people have said, it feels like she doesn't have much agency, even if she is really cool. and that to me is a shame because agency felt like her thing. "to shape your own destiny" as she says to jayce in s1. i know her collaborating with the black rose (but not fully joining them) and learning magic is supposed to represent becoming independent from her mother, taking her own path, but some other aspects of her character were thrown away... the more i think about it the more i'm thinking they kind of #girlboss-ed her a little bit. maybe to sell another champion. i can't help but feel like even though i enjoyed seeing her on screen, the payoff didn't feel proportionally satisfying compared to her setup in s1.

[sunsetzer]

Movie tie-in games are kind of a thing of the past, (I hate saying this, it makes me feel so old, this was big in the 2000s/early 2010s damnit that wasn't that long ago 😭) but god do I want a TF One game so badly. Mostly I just want more TF One, and if we've managed to collectively save it from Badly Marketed Movies Hell where it was going to rot alongside the likes of Disney's Treasure Planet due to Paramount's nonexistent marketing, it'll be at least like two years until TF Two and the lack of marketing material means we have Nothing but the film itself in terms of official content. A tie-in game would be so dope, give me an RPG set in TF One's continuity where I can make my own little robot blorbo and choose a side. I think it could work really well with the movie's worldbuilding and where it left off.

[eikichi-supremacy]

and they were singin', bye-bye Miss American Pie // american oldie i think kuwabara unironically listens to

(low effort lyric edit im queueing here in May cos im probably gonna forget it exists otherwise)

[fowlfics]

So there's this post that went "three person poly relationship made up of two people who are already dating trying to coax someone with horrific self worth issues into a loving relationship. stray cat style"

and then @deadnamedblog went "#This is my favourite Marco/Ace/Thatch take" and the hamsters in my brain decided to toss it in the blender along with the "subtle foreshadowing" tiktok trend: this is the result xD

also S/O to @saraisanamazingcow aka the most amazing cow and The Hype Squad Leader ever o7

i'll just say this is very canon complicit [sic], and in fact makes canon worse despite how deceptively fluffy it appears xD

***

After being together for over half a decade, there were times when Marco could understand Thatch without a single word spoken. 

Significant looks spoke volumes, and the glance Thatch had tossed him over Ace’s head as they brought him dinner was a message Marco had received quite clearly. 

Still, it didn’t stop Thatch from voicing it the moment they were alone in Marco’s cabin. 

“We’re keeping him, right?” 

“If he decides to join the crew-yoi,” Marco responded dryly, hanging his shirt over the back of a chair. 

Thatch draped over his back immediately, hands sneaking around Marco’s waist. “Y’know what I meant,” he said, breath ghosting against Marco’s neck and hairdo tickling against his chin. “I’m not blind, dear, I can see the way you look at him.” 

Marco tilted his head, raising an eyebrow at Thatch’s shit-eating grin. In a practiced move, he shifted them, crab-like, until they reached the bed, climbing under the covers. 

“We’re in agreement-yoi,” he said then, picking the conversation right back up. “But my answer’s the same; We can make the offer, but we can hardly force him to accept-yoi.” 

“We could bribe him,” Thatch offered instantly. “He loves food-” 

Marco rolled his eyes, pulling his boyfriend closer. “Let him join the crew first before planning our marriage, hm?”

***

There’s no

*** 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Thatch asked, as if the fact that Ace was willingly clinging to his hand wasn’t something he was going to brag about for the next week. 

“Yeah,” Ace nodded; At least, as much as he could while lying on his stomach. “If I’m gonna join the crew, I’m gonna do it right.” 

“You don’t have to get the tattoo, y’know-yoi,” Marco said, preparing the tattoo gun. Ace had specifically requested that he be the one to tattoo him, and he was finding it difficult not to preen over that choice. 

Ace craned his neck to look over at him, glancing between his face and chest pointedly. 

Marco rolled his eyes. “That’s different-yoi. I got the tattoo before the jolly roger was even solidified-yoi.” 

“So you’re saying you started the tradition?” 

Thatch snorted, making himself more comfortable beside Ace. “He does have a point, though,” he said. “It’s hardly a requirement. There’s plenty of crew who don't have the tattoo, and Pops would never expect this kind of commitment.” 

“I want to, though,” Ace repeated stubbornly, letting go of Thatch’s hand to trace the crossed out S of his other tattoo. “I want to celebrate the gain of a family, not the loss of one.” 

Marco had a feeling that tattoo had more to it than the “drunken mistake” most assumed it to be. 

“You’re the type to get a tattoo of your partners’ initials in a heart, aren’t you?” Thatch teased, and Marco had no doubt he meant partners, plural, even if the word sounded exactly the same as the singular. 

Ace spluttered, but settled down easily when Marco pressed a palm against his shoulder. 

“Well, maybe,” he mumbled into the pillow under his head. “Dunno. Never been in a relationship before.” 

Marco exchanged a look with Thatch, his partner’s refusal of getting any tattoos crumbling in real time. 

Something to discuss after getting the jolly roger onto Ace’s skin, he supposed. 

***

There’s no mention

*** 

Marco could hear them coming from a ridiculous distance, and it was even worse considering how shit his devil fruit made his hearing. 

There was a string of thumps—as if, for example, someone kept walking into walls and other obstacles—followed by increasingly annoyed exclamations of pain and consistently insincere apologies. 

“Damn it, Thatch, why did you want to blindfold me if you’re this shit at guiding?!” 

“Well, I did intend to carry you-” 

“So you could knock my head into every doorframe? No way!” 

“Ace, come on-” 

Judging by the loud thumps of boots on the stairs, Thatch lost that particular argument. 

Funnily enough, Ace seemed to be doing better without Thatch’s guidance, at least until coming out onto the deck. Marco managed to catch him before he walked right into their food, thankfully.

“Y’know, if you had your observation haki trained, this would have been a piece of cake-yoi,” he said as Ace removed the blindfold. 

Thatch, having finally caught up, scowled at seeing Ace in Marco’s arms. 

“Eh, I got a nice cake right here,” Ace snickered, clearly referring to Marco if the speed of the correction was anything to go by. “On the floor, I mean. At my feet-” 

Marco sat down at the blanket right by Ace’s feet, just to have some petty fun. 

Thatch settled beside him, pulling Ace along. He got started on serving the food immediately, correctly predicting it was the fastest way to get Ace to stop sulking. 

And, once it seemed like the unorthodox way of getting him to the picnic was fully forgiven… time had come to ask The Question. 

With one last look towards Thatch, Marco leaned against Ace’s side, sandwiching him in between them. 

“We had a question for you-yoi,” Marco said, his voice low. 

“Mhm?” They didn’t have Ace’s full attention, but this was something they factored in when deciding to do this over a meal. Thatch picked up where Marco left off. 

“Would you join our rela-?” 

A loud snore interrupted him, Ace’s entire body going lax as his head tumbled against Thatch’s chest. He never dropped the drumstick in his grip, though. 

Marco couldn’t help but laugh. 

“He’s got the wildest timing,” he shook his head, grabbing a napkin to wipe Ace’s face before he could rub the grease into Thatch’s shirt. 

“Just like the rest of him.” 

***

There’s no mention of Thatch

*** 

Thatch’s next great idea was trying to leave a message written on Ace’s food, which didn’t work out thanks to the combination of two factors: Ace being nearly illiterate, and the speed at which he devoured anything edible placed before him. 

Figuring that being circuitous would get them nowhere fast, Marco decided to take matters into his own hands. 

“Ace,” he put his hand down on Ace’s shoulder, waiting until he had his full attention. “You know how Thatch and I are in a relationship?” 

Ace blinked at him, swallowing the bite in his mouth and not immediately going for another. 

“Yeah?” 

“We were wondering if you’d like to join us.” 

This got Ace to put his food back on the plate, turning towards Marco fully. 

“What?” He asked, his voice quieter than Marco ever heard him. “What do you mean?” 

Thatch decided to join in, crowding against Ace from the other side of the bench. “See, when three pirates love each other very much-”

In a blink of an eye, Ace was gone, flash of sparks the only sign of where he went. 

Marco and Thatch were left staring at each other. 

“...Too much?” 

“Think the love spooked him off.” 

***

There’s no mention of Thatch in the article

*** 

Courting Ace was like trying to tame a wild animal; Move too fast and he’d scamper off, hiding in some dark corner until the imagined danger passed. 

Getting him to accept the fact that they wanted to spend time with him, that their affection wasn’t a trick, was like pulling teeth. 

But they had to be patient. They made their intentions clear, and Ace would come to them if he was interested in accepting their offer. 

Marco had talked to Ace—other than the regular conversations pertaining to their duties—and he knew that Thatch had, too. Explaining where they were coming from, and that Ace was free to reject them if this wasn’t something he wanted. 

With this being his first relationship, rushing him to make a decision he might regret later was not something they wanted to do.

But… They didn’t want to just give up, either. 

The patience finally paid off one evening. Marco had nearly missed the knock on his doors, quiet as it was. Glancing over to make sure Thatch was decent—his partner was procrastinating on getting in bed in favour of leafing through a Devil Fruits encyclopedia—he walked over to the doors, opening it while hoping there was no emergency waiting on the other side. 

But, no; There was no emergency, just Ace. He looked uncertain, his shoulders sloped as he hugged himself. But when Marco opened the doors, he straightened to look him in the eye. 

“Are you-” He hesitated. “Is the offer still-?”

Marco opened the doors wider, stepping aside to let Ace in. 

With a deep breath to brace himself, Ace crossed the threshold. 

“Ace!” Thatch nearly fell off the chair in his excitement, the book instantly forgotten. “Does this mean-?” 

“If… If you’ll have me.” 

The fist pump and little victory dance Thatch proceed to do seemed to have real-time effect on making Ace feel more comfortable, which was the only reason why Marco decided not to tease him about it. 

“Wait, I gotta,” Thatch scrambled towards a pile of stuff he kept in the corner of Marco’s room, despite having been offered a cupboard of his own multiple times. “Can’t leave this here!” 

“Your devil fruit?” Ace tilted his head, curiosity making him relax some more. “Why not? It’s not like either me or Marco can eat it-” 

“Exactly!” Thatch kept the fruit in a tight grip as he ruffled Ace’s hair. “Have you seen yourself? You eat anything put in front of you, I’m not risking you sleep-eating this thing!” 

“I wouldn’t-” 

“No, he’s right,” Marco sat down on his bed. “Sometimes, you fall asleep at dinner and you just keep going-”

“And I’m not about to lose my new boyfriend on the very first night!” 

Ace blushed at the words, but didn’t run away this time. 

“Okay,” he mumbled, and Thatch couldn’t stop himself from pressing a kiss against his forehead. 

“I’ll be right back,” he promised, darting out of the room. 

At Marco’s encouraging pat, Ace settled next to him as they waited. 

And waited. 

And…

***

There’s no mention of Thatch in the article on Paramount War.

[usertoxicyaoi]

"What's wrong? Is your stomach hurting again?"

STAY WITH ME (2023). Episode 19.

[quirkle2]

mogami arc thoughts. posting this feels like getting skewered in the town square

[longagoitwastuesday]

ngl it sort of pisses me off the way adults regard Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen at times. Which could be a very interesting and poignant point in a good way if well written, but as it is it becomes mainly just frustrating and sad in a negative way.

Nanami saying Gojo never cared about anything or anyone other than himself crashes interestingly with Kusakabe saying the whole situation was just all his fault because he refused to kill Itadori. The students are very aware of those aspects of Gojo's personality, but overall they seem to regard him with way more kindness and fondness even when at their rudest, not truly coinciding with either Nanami's or Kusakabe's views.

[artsy-cupid]

Things I would say to my younger self now that I’m turning 30

No one actually cares about what you do once you get out of school and, even then, no one cares enough to stop you.

People don’t hate you. Sure, they might not like you, but not everyone is going to like you. You’re gonna have to live with that. It’s not that bad a thing.

What you see online is a microcosm of the world. Your experience on the internet is your responsibility to curate and process, and it is a FRACTION of a reflection of the real world.

The awful shit you see in the news is bad and you should stay aware. But not everything is awful; there is still beauty and goodness in this world, there are still people who want to make it better.

Hating things doesn’t make you cool, it just makes you look like a miserable jerk. Enjoy things with your full chest. Cringe is dead, and you’re still breathing.

It’s better to assume ignorance over malice. Someone might not share your ideas because they’ve never been exposed to them before, and a question that may sound foolish may be coming from a place of curiosity and wishing to understand.

The world is a rough place. Don’t contribute to the pain. Put something beautiful into the world instead.

That thing you did all those years ago? That thing you’re embarrassed about still? No one remembers it or cares about it. If they do, fuck ‘em.

[lostxmelody]

4/5.... what do you mean my last chapter was in june?

ah, sorry, sorry for the wait. here's chapter four, we're almost done! please enjoy. its the same length as the last chapter which, in case you forgot, was 40k. i have no words left to spare

[icewindandboringhorror]

recent things and such~

[deadqueernoldor]

Thinking thoughts about those from Cuivienen and how they later treated the Valar, especially after Cuivienen was destroyed.

I imagine a foundation of sorrow and a layer of betrayal and pettiness. They had promised safety. And how did it turn out? Kin of Tata and Tatie their first leaders, slain in Valinor by the Dark Hunter from which the Valar promised protection in Valinor.

And then, the War of Wrath comes and with it the destruction of Cuivienen.

If any of those were re-embodied in Aman, I wonder if they make it a point to always turn their back to Valar and Maiar. I wonder if they only speak in the tongue they had first devised all those millennia ago and spoke in Cuivienen before time and different kindreds changed the tongue, not Sindarin or Quenya from the Great Journey's time or later. I wonder if they sing songs in their ancient tongue, songs about the beauty and unsullied health of Cuivienen every time any of the Ainur are near.

I wonder if the Valar feel any shame when those who they once looked upon in wonder and love gaze back at them with indifference or disgust.

[chimerafeathers]

there's an essay jumbled up in my brain about dunmeshi's beginning and how clever and deceptive it is as a sleight-of-hand trick that distracts the audience from the depth and scope of the worldbuilding and foreshadowing that's being set up the entire time by dangling zany characters and wacky dishes and biology fun facts in front of us, and how that serves to catch invested viewers off guard when those elements come to the forefront, but also how it works against it with other viewers wanting "more" and not seeing it because the plot bait isn't laid out up front

how people getting frustrated with the characters "not taking things seriously" is mirrored and refuted in the confrontation between Laios and Shuro. how the characters' attitudes aren't just a result of shallow low-stakes "comedy rules" where nothing matters, but are an extension of their personalities (Laios's nonstandard expression of emotions being offputting even to people he knows) and the world and social environment (adventurers being desensitized to death and injury because resurrection magic is commonplace). the way the party refers to "saving Falin" instead of "retrieving Falin's corpse," indicating that they still see her with full personhood, and how that phrasing leads to some readers/viewers believing that Falin is alive in the dragon's stomach, conscious of being slowly digested while the party carelessly fucks around "wasting time." how the weird tonal dissonance makes sense in-universe and yet is deliberately challenged more and more the deeper the party goes

all the character building and pieces of lore slowly weaving together the shape of the larger world, laying the groundwork for the major themes that will surface later. so much is right there in the "low-stakes" early episodes if you know what you're looking for (or pass the perception checks).

it can be so satisfying to see new viewers/readers pick up on the clues even in the earliest "simple" episodes, or notice new things and make connections yourself....and it can also be frustrating to see people dismiss oddities and dissonance as shallow or bad writing because they don't expect a "cooking anime" to have depth like that. why try to question and understand and peel back the layers when you don't expect there to be any layers?

why can't laios take things seriously for once?

[separatist-apologist]

TTPD at it's core is about the slow, miserable death of a life you've imagined with a man you desperately wanted to be the love of your life and then the rush of a toxic situationship with a man more in love with wasting your time and the idea of you than he is WITH you, while you project your hopes and fears onto him because you're terrified no one will ever truly love you.