#but he's not infallible

[fury161]

very strange enchanted boy

[onionninjasstuff]

carrying each other :з

[wigglesdtuff]

I think I saw you say that Robin’s post-TS hairstyle was part of her character development reflected in her design (if that wasn’t you, my bad!) and I’d love to hear your expanded thoughts on it, and how that ties in with her Elbaf haircut now! After my friend said that her post-ts was just Croc’s ‘do but longer I haven’t been able to unsee it lol

That almost definitely was me because I feel very strongly about Robin's design journey and how Oda landed on the design he did and the way misinterpretations of her character because people want her to be nothing more than a hottie baddie femme fatale and *takes a deep breath* I know it's not that serious, but it means a lot to me!

Disclaimer: This is my personal interpretation, and I'm very passionate about it so take it all with a grain of salt!

So! Without further ado!

We can infer a lot about her haircut when she's introduced. Her face is covered/often in shadow from the hat which is intended to lend to the mystery of just who this woman is. We then see her first bounty poster. She's been wanted since she was 8. That's really fucking strange! Not only that but her haircut is nearly identical.

When she joins, she explains that she's more or less been on her own since she was 8, so you can infer that she's been cutting her hair like this herself. She's holding onto that moment where she had one friend she could rely on. She's literally stuck in the past. It looks almost choppy too, which to me tells me it's a quick utilitarian thing. It does not go past her shoulders.

Until she's been with the crew!

You can tell as early as Skypiea and through Thriller Bark, but it's super noticable in Sabaody just how long it grows to me. It's gotten super long!! She's letting them in by this point, she's found her home!

So when she comes back after being separated...

That change has fully taken hold! She's no longer covering her face either with a hat or her hair! She's more relaxed, she's almost always smiling unless something requires her full attention and even then she's Most Likely to Giggle and Verbally Heart Emoji. Her face is more open, it's softer. She's. Happy. She's changed in every meaning of the word! And she did it for her friends and for herself.

It's the most apparent to me in Zou. Like look at that face. That's the embodiment of joy. She's comfortable, she's relaxed. She's not hiding anything!

Then we hit Wano!

Miss Demonio dons the same old bangs and embodies the moniker her pursuers gave her. It is. Quite literally. The best of her and the worst of her. It is what she will do for the people she loves and who she has accepted love her. That is. Incredibly complex and beautiful to me.

Then we get some huge news...

Saul is not dead. The person who saved her and gave her hope and gave her the chance to get to where she is now, safe and happy and chasing the dream she picked up from the people of Ohara, so close she can almost taste it. He didn't die. He didn't die saving her.

She has

Come full circle. She has accepted her past and she is healing! Her bangs are the same, but her hair is still different! It's still longer, but it has a connection to that little girl who was lost and lonely. She also let someone else cut it, and not just anyone, but BROOK. The man who has kept his afro safe for 52 years so HIS friend could recognize him. To me, her hair in Elbaf is incredible. I take issues with the notion that "she's back" as if she ever left. This is new, this is different, and this is beautiful.

Thank you for reading my mini essay about her hair, but I really do think that character design means something. I don't think she's supposed to be a cold, badass. That was always an act. She just wants to love and be loved and she always has, and I think that her journey is portrayed beautifully by her hairstyles throughout the years.

[murphysletsdraw]

The whole “ooohhh it’s so hard not to like Joyce, everyone trusts her on the first play through, how could you not love a face like that… it’s such a clever rug pull that she’s almost as bad as evrart” thing is so weird to me, I’m sure I’ve said it before. That’s Maggie the maggot thatcher, she looks and sounds scary and sneering to me at first glance. I do not assume she’ll be nice, or reasonable, or that the game wants me to trust and like her. We all have our own bias but it’s weird when people forget that fact and assume everyone on earth would be naturally inclined to trust that face and that voice and that professional role and that class

[victusinveritas]

[marc--chilton]

love love love love those moments where house's all seeing baby blues get misty. love when he gets super pathetic about his and wilson's friendship and how sometimes he pushes just a little too much so wilson draws a line like he can end what they have Right There as he stands without batting an eye as if that isn't one of the most devastating things you can tell house. sometimes that man just looks the most beautiful at his most vulnerable

[jonathanarcher]

I believe in immortal scully in the sense that scully doesn’t die. However I also believe in immortal mulder in the sense that every time he dies (and it happens fairly often), he just resurrects. RIP to everyone else but he’s different. presumably because he doesn’t know how to leave scully alone for any extended period of time

[shrugemojiidk]

Can I say something deeply odd but true I think in any universe where Jason Todd has a uterus he’s getting an IUD as soon as humanly possible. “I wanna get him pregnant” he’s already two steps ahead of you I’m afraid

[batmen-and-birds]

Batman or Bats in the Batentity crises is everything Bruce aspires Batman to be.

Because Bruce is human but when he dons the cape and cowl he tries his hardest not to be. Batman reflects this through pushing the limits of a mortal human far more obviously. He’s the night, the knight and even more rigid about justice than Bruce

It drives everyone nuts. Bats is far stricter about protocols and rules and neither the JL or the Batfam realized how much Bruce let them ‘get away’ with stuff. This obviously strains his relationship with everyone, he expects his kids to listen to him 24/7 no questions, which they obviously won’t do. Then they fight, then the kid in question will storm off, and then Bats won’t follow them.

Is Bats more willing to let them do dangerous stuff? Yes, actually. It surprises all of them and that’s mostly the reason the kids can get along with him. He may be more of a hard ass when they push the limits but the threshold is at least far higher than before.

He also exclusively refers to them as their hero moniker, even in spaces like the batcave. Even Alfred he more often than not calls Agent A. It unsettles them after a while and then they flee upstairs to the manor. (Then they either flee the property, stay in their rooms or come back down after a while, since they can’t stand Brucie for too long either)

Damien, Duke and Steph are always on the fence at all times because sometimes Bats will let them do stuff Bruce would never think of allowing but they can’t stand being commandeered like some mindless puppet. Babs and Tim handle the whole thing the best.

Jason can’t stand him and neither can Dick, they both have always had problems with Bruce being controlling and Bat is that times ten. Cass, she always understood Batman in a way that the others can’t, reading his body language and relating his guilt to hers, but Bat doesn’t have the motivation that Bruce has. He might comfort a victim as good as Bruce but she can see that none of it has the underlying guilt, care, affection, love that Bruce always carries with his every action.

He does have an easier time working with the Justice League, sure the morale is lower due to his standoffish attitude but he can respect them for the competent heroes they are. They all do miss their friend tho, since the watchtower is more often than not the only place they can meet on the regular, but Bats is only comfortable doing stuff on a professional basis.

He gets along best with Superman and Wonder Woman, he knows them best. The three of them had the most team ups together, worked side by side for the longest and those times are the ones that Bats can actually remember.

On the topic of remembering, he and the other personas only clearly remember the things Bruce has done while being them or stuff that the personas should know, so Bats actually spend a lot of time going through the files of everyone that he works with, because he tries to make working as a team as easy as possible. If he can’t get along with anyone, then their performance as a team will be compromised and he can’t afford that.

And so what if he watches video tapes of Bruce as Batman, smiling, joking bantering with all of them between or even during high stakes situations. So what if bats starts resenting the fact that he can’t recall those memories? then that’s between him and Bruce, who didn’t even had the decency to let Bats keep at least some of these moments for himself.

[blanc-ci]

Thinking about when McCoy and Spock walk in on Kirk in that crazy make-out scene in ‘Elaan of Troyius’ and how after McCoy explains the tears love potion thing Spock says

“It is true then, Captain?”

In such a particular soft tone that my brain wants to interpret it either as concern for Jim essentially being assaulted OR (if you funny spirk lens it) as Spock almost being hurt/in disbelief at Jim being with another woman

Realistically, it may be more along the lines of Spock knowing just how much Kirk hates it when he’s not in control of himself (the most recent one before this being ‘And the Children Shall Lead’ I think?) and immediately going into “I must aid the captain so that he doesn’t do something he will regret” confidant/support mode

[sealrock]

febhyurary, day 18: shadow

"when dad was losing his mind, he stopped seeing us. when he lunged at me with that knife, he didn't recognize me. in a short moment of lucidity, he came to realize what he had done to me. after months of watching him sink into a deep, black pit, I finally had my dad back. even now, I could feel how tight he hugged me as he wailed out a thousand apologies... but it was too late. dad was sick, he couldn't sleep and could hardly eat, he lashed out at anything and anyone. his migraines only exacerbated the issue. but mum had been so absorbed in her work back then that she was hardly home to get dad the help he needed. the constant fighting they had ended up pushing her away. she didn't want to deal with dad and how he was deteriorating before our eyes. it wasn't just her; no one helped dad, they pretended nothing was wrong like they do with gammy's 'fits'. but they don't make my blood boil nearly as hot as mum. mum treated him poorly during that period, she put her work above him and above us. when dad finally snapped, she abandoned him in that house. I hated her for it. we were just kids, we had no idea what was going on. the twins don't even remember him, they don't remember how much dad loved them, or how he wished they'd stay small forever. I'll never forget his screams, the desperation in his voice when mum snatched me away. I didn't want to leave him. we locked up any aethograph of dad from that time. we didn't want to remember dad like that, we didn't want to be burdened with those memories. but there was another reason why we stored those away—in almost every aethograph, there's a shadow."

[yikesy]

"But you're a killer

and I'm your best friend

I think it's unfair, your situation"

is hermes about zeus

and

"You're a flashlight in a dark room for the loneliest blackout

you were all that we had left after it all was filtered out

Turn you on in a dark room right before we both pass out

Turn you on when I need you but the batteries ran out. They ran out"

is hermes about apollo

[catholicsapphic]

“Only God can judge me” actually God can’t judge me either. I’ve placed my unwavering hope in His endless Mercy, therefore constraining Him to show Himself to me as a Merciful Father rather than a Just Judge. Get on with times bro 🙄🙄🙄

[gingermintpepper]

Day 4: Aristaeus

Interpretation notes and trivia below the cut!!

All rise for the entrance of my president !! Honestly, of all the figures and characters that were up for debate when I first started thinking about this story and who I wanted leading the charge Aristaeus was not one of them. Originally, I'd always known that Asclepius and Orpheus would be worked in somehow - they've always been favourites of mine in terms of children of Apollo (even if Orpheus as the child of Apollo and Calliope is less popular classically) and I expected my pick for the third child of Apollo to be involved to be similarly mortal like Iamus or Tenes but the more I looked into Aristaeus the more I fell in love with him! Ultimately, he's meant to be both a foil and a reflection of his father - a boy who grows up thinking his father's footsteps would always be warm only to realise that following in them would lead to death and destruction. While his status as a rustic and hunting god is still important here, Aristaeus' interpretation is much more focused on his connection to the Etesian wind and his quelling of the dog star Sirius which is why his hair in particular is so long and spiralling. All in all, more than any other figure I've chosen to interpret and represent in my work Aristaeus is the god I hope more people get interested in and research! I think there are a lot of important stories in his various myths and travels and I definitely want more people to discover and fall in love with them as I have!

Some fun trivia:

Apollo's firstborn son. Because he was born mortal on account of his very mortal mother, Apollo immediately took him to Olympus to eat ambrosia to begin his transition into divinity. Apollo would continue to feed Aristaeus small amounts of ambrosia and nectar for the next ten years until the child fully shed his mortal skin and was reborn as a god.

Due to the nature of making mortals deathless (namely the fun part of the process where they are completely remade and lose their mortal memories) Aristaeus spent most of his early life with his mother and siblings where they all pitched in to reteach him his family, his hobbies, his favourite things and ultimately how to live and love. Aristaeus was very attached to his maternal family because of this and his early acts of ingenuity were mostly born from his wish to make things easier for his family.

Aristaeus is the only one of his children Apollo hand raised full time. In those days, Aristaeus adored his father and believed him completely upright and blameless, the true face of a benevolent deity and the kind of man he aimed to be when he was full grown.

They would later have many bitter arguments and conflicts, the first and perhaps most impactful of all being their disagreement over Actaeon, Aristaeus' firstborn son. He wanted Apollo to teach him stating that it was a normal thing for a grandfather to do but Apollo vehemently refused to have any part of Actaeon's rearing, stating that he was not his child and that it was highly inappropriate for him to educate another god's son. When Actaeon later dies, Aristaeus blames a not insignificant part of that on Apollo - something that only worsens when he learns that it was Artemis who cursed the boy and that Apollo was always aware Actaeon would die young.

Spends most of his time travelling from place to place. Doesn't really like Olympus and prefers to spend his time minding animals or tending to fields. Is on wonderful terms with Demeter and Persephone and often makes decadent exchanges of olive oil and preserved meat for exotic flowers and fruit for his bees.

Big fan of wind and percussive instruments. Never liked the kithara because of how finicky it is and far prefers the hand drums and reed flutes of his mother's country. Exceptional dancer.

Will sell prized cattle for high quality and highly unique jewellry. Doesn't much care for gemstones but is an absolute gold fiend and has a massive collection of bracelets, anklets, nose and lip adornments and rings. Has never been north enough to hit India but got a ton of rare and different adornments from his Phoenician in-laws when he was married to Autonoë.

Hates dogs but doesn't mind wolves. Not a big horse fan either

Unlike other winds, he cannot transform into various animal forms. He's close enough to the Anemoi that he keeps up with the gossip but he's only really friends with Notos. Gets along poorly with Zephyrus whose preference for pretty youths has often led to them getting into physical altercations when they were younger. Aristaeus still holds a bit of a grudge about it.

Has a big stupid crush on Dionysus which is embarrassing because Dionysus also put him out of a job. Due to Dionysus' relative youth, he feels a bit conflicted about such feelings - mostly because Dionysus is on extremely good terms with Apollo and Aristaeus doesn't want him to get burned.

Despite kinda despising his father, Aristaeus is a pretty decent eldest brother and regularly keeps in contact with a lot of his siblings. He often delivers mead, flavoured honey and olive oil and uses it as an excuse to chat and catch up. Currently in a bit of a tiff with Asclepius because he's worried about him and his family.

Favourite colour is the rich gold of purified honey, favourite food is lokma and his favourite time of year is winter.

[marc--chilton]

hang on i'm once again thinking about house being stupid with love. stacy moved in with him a week after meeting him. that's HUGE change. could you imagine how much he'd have to be obsessing over her to make HIS home THEIR home??? and he still wasn't over her 5+ years later after everything either.

(and like. i wonder if there was ever a moment there for wilson where he's watching house and stacy be so witty and beautiful and in love together and thinking to himself, huh. so this is what that feels like.)

[enjoythebutterflies21]

The reality is quite simply that no punishment the FIA could come up with would ever be enough for the haters.

Max could get a 10 second penalty and they‘ll say it should have been a drive through. He could get a drive through and it will be he should have been disqualified. He could get disqualified and it will be he should get a race ban. Nothing will ever be enough for these people!

These people don’t want to see Max fairly punished. They want to see him humbled.

They want to see a 4x world champion on his knees, they want to strip away all his success and legacy. So much more success and legacy than their own drivers.

Their drivers who are Max‘s peers in term of age but never on track.

Max’s stats and records are going against that of the legends & greats of this sport meanwhile these drivers are stretching to reach his pre-championship level success.

And they hate him for that. It doesn’t matter what he does, they will never forgive him for the simple fact that he is better than their drivers. Better in all the metrics that count.

Could‘ve, would’ve, should’ve they say - Max is.

And that is unforgivable.