#is this a meta post

[mochiajclayne]

Hiiii, it's me again :D please help me figure this phrase out:

落とし前つける時が来たんじゃねえのか？あの女は敵か…仲間か…

This is the famous Zoro ultimatum phrase from Water 7, chapter 340 (right at the end of it). What does "otoshimae" stand here for? I understand it as "responsibility", but the only things online I could find state it as compensation, payback (in money for a blunder) or the yakuza's custom of cutting off a finger. Also found it on Asakusa Shrine's official site in section dedicated to specific money gifts wrapped in envelopes and given to the gods.

OI will wait patiently for the answer <3

Hi! Thank you for this ask and so sorry that it took so long for me to answer this. KJSHJSJS.

落とし前 (otoshimae) in itself is a tricky word to translate, I'm afraid. I came across these translations, and it seemed to imply responsibility. I will highlight that both of these translations are on point: The Strawhats were subjected to both concern and apprehension as Robin suddenly disappeared on top of the conflict between Usopp and Luffy.

While I was researching on this, it's interesting that 落とし前 (otoshimae) is a combination of two kanji:

落 means fall, drop, come down. Another word starting with the same kanji that I could associate based on context would be 落とす (otosu) which provides two definitions: to shed light (on something) and to leave behind.

前 (mae) is in front, before, prior. Again, context-wise, I think this colloquial definition works, too.

落とし前 (otoshimae) itself means settlement for a dispute (esp. one caused by an affront or blunder); money paid to settle a dispute.

Please do take this with a grain of salt but all context considered, I think what 落とし前 (otoshimae) stands here is the Strawhats are responsible for shedding light on Robin's affiliation: where does her loyalty lie? What were the motivations of her actions? (Luffy never really asked Robin when he took up her suggestion to let her sail with them post-Alabasta as Luffy's way of "taking responsibility" for not letting her die.)

Zoro could also refer to leaving their preconceived notions (and biases) of Robin behind for them to assess the situation better, that the Strawhats should focus what's happening in the present, and where to go from that point. And if push comes to shove, the Strawhats will be the one to determine how they would settle that blunder since Robin is part of the crew.

Lastly, 落とし前 (otoshimae) usually make its appearance in the One Piece manga which is interesting because it is a ritual heavily associated with the yakuza, which coincidentally, doesn't take betrayals lightly like pirates, reminding me of what Big Mom said way back in Wano.

[ladyshinga]

[rollercoasterwords]

pet peeve is when a fellow hater conducts their haterism such that they leave the hater community vulnerable to attack. “i think characterizing Character A in x way is boring and annoying” = beautiful, flawless, unimpeachable haterism. no one can tell u that u aren’t allowed to find a certain characterization boring. “it is morally/objectively wrong to characterize Character A in x way” = sloppy, reactionary, overcommitting. you have left our eastern flank open to attack girl what the hell….now my dedicated hater troops are taking fire from YOUR enemies fuckkkkk

[neo--queen--serenity]

I need to stress how important it is that Jinx made that prosthetic arm for Sevika.

Jinx, for as long as the audience has known her, has only ever made inventions for her own personal use. She designs them in a way that is specific to her whims and interests, which gives the overall impression that no one should be using her creations without instructions. And they're made to suit her fighting style, which is why we don't see anyone close to her, like Silco, using them.

That prosthetic arm she designed for Sevika is quite possibly the first invention she's made that is purely and entirely for someone else to use. Jinx saw how Sevika mourned Silco, saw that her unrelenting loyalty for him still held layers of resentment and rage, but that she still grieved him anyway.

It's not coincidence that immediately after this encounter (during which she saw Sevika struggle to repair her old mechanical arm), Jinx creates this prosthetic for her, pouring all her creative innovation into it. She deliberately designs it as a gift in every sense of the word, wrapping it neatly into a bow like a present, for a woman who may or may not even be her ally anymore.

And the second Sevika puts it on, we see Jinx's trademark eccentricity, her wild colors, her manic machinations whirring to life. It's a sparkling, visual reminder of Jinx's affection on her body, a physical manifestation of her desire for Sevika to live and succeed. She gave the arm tricks, weapons, instruments of brutality--things we expect to see from her--but also music and fireworks, features that serve no purpose in combat other than making her smile.

We have never seen this from Jinx before, never seen her do something like this for someone else. When Sevika asks why Jinx made it for her, knowing the novelty for what it was, she'd simply responded with, "It was something I could fix."

It's no surprise that Sevika continues to protect Jinx aftewards. Whether Jinx was consciously aware of it or not, she had been openly declaring, "this is my ally; attack her and face my wrath."

[5ummit]

Feeling insane about this

[everythingisamazing]

We all know about most of these by now, but I thought it'd be fun to make a comprehensive list of all the things of varying degrees of insanity both Jayce and Viktor have done in the series to, for and because of each other: 1. Viktor looking at Jayce in the most intense but also thoroughly enchanted way in the council room scene

2. Viktor stealing Jayces notebook from Heimerdinger after Jayces research was officially deemed "dangerous" by the council

3. Saving Jayce from suicide and instilling new hope, along with a sense of adventure in him manic-pixie-dream-girl-style.

4. Jayce asking for Viktors name in the most romantic way possible and Viktor answering him with 2 syllables and bedroom eyes

5. Jayce-I-egotistically-sign-all-my-notes-with-my-name-Talis going instant commie mode by calling his life long dream "our" dream after Viktor scribbled something on a blackboard and cracked a silly little joke once.

6. Casually snacking on pickles, bread, wine and coffee as if they weren't committing crimes and there wasn't a huge hole in the wall while nerding out about magic

7. Breaking into Heimerdingers lab together

8. Viktor using taking Jayce to his bedroom as an excuse when getting caught, and Jayce being too stressed out to notice

9. Viktor then having the audacity to look disappointed in the background when Mr. Oblivious reacts to Mel the way every single person with functioning eyes would react to that goddess of a woman

10. Both trusting each other enough to risk exile after knowing each other for like a day.

11. Jayce, although having just experienced the same crystals blowing up a building, going through with the dangerous experiment simply because Viktor says "trust me".

12. Viktor sacrificing his cane, which is basically an extension of his body, to keep the door shut 13. Jaye carrying him bridal style because of that afterwards.

13. Experiencing what they'd both probably rank among their top 3 moments in life when floating in the magic they just created together

14. Viktor smiling the only full on smile we see him do in the show because of that.

15. Jayce drawing a portrait of Viktor in his notebook, next to a little doodle of two brains with lightning between them and a reminder to ask him for his last name.

16. Working alongside each other as best friends for 7 years and creating world altering technology

17. Viktor yearning for Jayce each day, for each of those 7 years ("Viktor wanted things Jayce couldn't give him at the time")

18. Whatever the fuck happened at the distinguished innovators competition that was probably also among their top 3 moments because of the way Viktor looked when Jayce brought it up and the fact Jayce used it to remind Viktor of things that make life worth living

19. Jayce constantly touching Viktor. In almost every scene. Whenever he can.

20. Them giving each other the same dumb heart eyes but always when the other is not looking 21. Viktor looking at Jayces lips in the scene before he gives his speech

22. The way they say each others name. It gets progressively more breathy as the show goes on.

23. The way their pupils dilate in several scenes when looking at each other

24. The butterfly symbolism connecting them throughout both Seasons

25. (Debatable, but I will include it) Jayce having a bi-crisis when Ambessas twink reminds him of a certain someone

26. Jayce asking "You had a vision?" as if it is the most normal thing ever. (Thank you Jayce. We love a husband, who unabashedly supports his witchy partner, plagued by visions and omens.)

27. Jayce having his sex scene with Mel be intercut with scenes of Viktor (not something they actively did, but still has to be mentioned)

28. Jayce leaving Mel to be by Viktors bedside when he wakes up in the hospital 29. Jayces hands visibly shaking in the top-shot of him beside Viktors hospital bed. (someone posted a close up of it on insta - I linked it in the convo with the person suggesting this bullet point in the comments)

30. Viktor being the only one shown to notice how stressed Jayce is about getting pushed into being a councilor via the deep exhale he does in that scene

31. Jayce not letting Heimerdinger interfere with the experiments that might save Viktors life, no matter how dangerous

32. Jayce removing Heimerdinger from the council because of it

33. Viktor immediately thinking of Jayce when Singed mentions the word "love"

34. Viktor instinctively knowing Jayce will reach out his hand to help him up without having to look during the bridge scene

35. Viktor slapping his hand away, but then accepting when Jayce puts it on his lower back a second later

36. Jayce stopping Viktor from taking his own life

37. Jayce granting Zaun independence because he doesn't know how to save Viktors life but he has to do something to honor their shared dream

38. Jayce seeing the council room completely destroyed, with several people hurt and dead, but only tearing up when he sees Viktor

39. Jayce running several blocks while carrying Viktor to their lab

40. Breaking his promise to Viktor (and probably several laws) by performing necromancy on him

41. Jayce saying "fuck the council" and everything he has worked for, when he realizes none of that matters without Viktor

42. Jayce staying holed up in the lab for god knows how long to watch over Viktor 43. Jayce adding unnecessary details to his sketch of Viktors body, like the exact swoop of his hair.

44. Jayce immediately waking up after Viktor quietly says his name, whereas we saw him sleeping through an air alarm before that.

45. Viktor looking...very different, but all Jayce cares about is that he is alive. 46. Jayce, glancing between Viktor’s legs in his changed form an ungodly number of times.

47. Them embracing very closely while Viktor is nude, ending with Jayce looking slightly embarrassed when the emotions are threatening to overwhelm him

48. Jayce covering Viktor in the blanket from his childhood bedroom which Viktor will keep even after reaching godhood.

49. "My place was always here with you."

50. "It was affection that held us together"

51. Jayce getting glassy eyed when Viktor tells him he is leaving and holding out his hand as if he is expecting him to come back and grab it.

52. Jayce looking heartbroken at Heimerdingers reminder of him having broken into the lab before

53. Jayce generally giving off freshly divorced vibes in that whole scene

54. Jayce longingly looking at the remains of two male figures embracing in the AU while sitting in the rain

55. Jayce hallucinating Mel turning into Viktor in the fire at the bottom of the ravine.

56. Jayce basically walking a mile in Viktors shoes, fighting his way from the depths of the Undercity to the top of piltover with a broken leg. 57. Matching leg braces on opposite legs.

58. Viktor walking a mile in Jayces shoes by becoming a leader in S2 and his body finally being strong, while Jayces gets broken in the Au.

59. Viktor designing the sphere in the commune similar to the top of the Hexgates he built with Jayce

60. Viktor finally realizing through Singeds memories, that he wasn't kept alive by Jayce as an experiment, but out of love

61. Jayce tenderly stroking the hexcrystal on his bracelet

62. Viktor tenderly stroking the gear that reminds him of the night him and Jayce became partners.

63. Jayce looking at mage!Viktor in the exact same awestruck way he did when he was a child - even after about 6 months of pain and suffering

64. Jayce being ready to sacrifice himself after mage!Viktor reveals the truth to him

65. AU Jayces corpse responding to Viktors touch 66. The fact that the only "beautiful" place left in Piltover was where Jayces corpse was

67. Jayce dramatically adding "...and with me" after saying to Viktor how he thought he was done with hextech, like the bitter divorced husband he is.

68. Viktor excitedly inviting Jayce to the commune, believing he finally knows how Jayce really feels about him

69. Viktor waiting for Jayce floating in the air like a venus fly trap, with his upper body bare, while holding the gear in his hands

70. Viktors eyes changing color when he sees Jayce, because as confirmed by the writers, when he looks at Jayce he’s reminded of his humanity and is tied to it once again </3

71. Jayce visually having to fight himself to be able to shoot Viktor and not being able to look while doing it

72. Viktor never taking his eyes off of Jayce after being shot by him

73. Jayce leaving without as much as a glance back while looking absolutely destroyed

74. Jayce now dressing in dark colors - both Zaunite and mourning coded

75. Jayces clothes being asymmetrical in the final scene - Zaun style

76. The most homoerotic fight in history.

77. Viktor giving bedroom eyes #2

78. Viktor choking Jayce (twice)

79. "Let's do this once again as partners." (Viktor didn't speak when he said this. He purred.) 80. Viktors robot "crying" after being rejected by Jayce once more (shortly followed by "the line" starting to play </3)

81. Jayce lovingly caressing the gold poured into the broken council room table as if it was the golden lines in Viktors new skin. 82. Jayce having a dead wife-flashback, remembering Viktor lying dead in the rubble as he does this. (it's fast in the show - blink and you'll miss it)

83. Jayce having another dead-wife-flashback when Cait says "Viktor is at the center of all this, isn't he?", remembering him smiling, with a strand of hair prettily falling in front of his face, when that isn't what Viktor really looked like in that moment.

84. "I've been confused about a lot lately."

85. Viktors Mask as the herald resembling the Talis Symbol

86. Another homoerotic fight

87. Jayce never looking at Viktor in any of his forms with disgust, not even as he becomes some sort of eldritch being, but like this instead:

88. Jayce kneeling down calmly infront of Viktor, accepting his fate

89. Jayces whole speech on the astral plane. Calling Viktors imperfections beautiful. Basically revealing how his plan was to deter Viktor from destroying the world by confessing his love to him.

90. IN ALL TIMELINES, IN ALL POSSIBILITES. SOULBONDED ACROSS INFINITY. INEXTRICABLY BOUND. ONLY YOU CAN SHOW ME THIS. NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, IT'S ALWAYS GOING TO BE YOU.

91. Viktors eyes practically glowing in Jayces memory of him.

92. The "you have no idea how beautiful it is"-magic Jayce had been chasing since he was a child turning out to be Viktor all along.

93. Viktor bending the laws of the universe because he cannot let Jayce die

94. Jayce dooming the world over and over again because he cannot let Viktor die

95. "Because I promised you."

96. Jayce embracing Viktor again and Viktor, starting to glow gold where Jayces hands touch him.

97. Viktor telling Jayce to go, giving him the choice to live on without him

98. Jayce looking at him so tenderly yet sadly, because Viktor STILL doesn't realize he will never go. Ever.

99. Jayce passing the rune embedded in his wrist back to Viktor as if handing him his heart.

100. "We finish this. Together."

101. Them fighting to hold on to each other even though the force of the Arcane is pulling them apart

102. It finally giving up underneath the touch of both their hands

103. That one shot directly after where Viktor looks up from where their hands are touching and he has this expression on his face as if FINALLY realizing that he is no longer alone because of how Jayce truly feels about him. 104. Their pupils are still dilating as they look at each other, even though a bright light is shining between them.

105. Their final embrace: Touching foreheads. Jayces hand on Viktors neck. Viktor gently stroking his arm as if to soothe his partner.

Ps: If I have missed anything, let me know! I want to add it to the list :D

[kerink]

sigh, today i'm thinking about ford settling back into the lab after he first comes home, and seeing the proof of how hard stan worked to bring him home

stan was always the "dumb one" between them, always riding on ford's coat tails and slacking off. but he was able to do, on his own, without help from anyone, what it took ford 12 phds, fiddleford's help, and bill's guidance to do. just based off of ONE of ford's cryptic journals and whatever scattered notes and blueprints he was able to find, all while having never graduated high school.

ford having to confront how hard stan worked, how far he pushed himself, how smart he actually is

EDIT: also, stan only had journal 1, that's NOT the one he was working with bill in! that's his first few years in gravity falls, when ford was just as ignorant as stan was! there probably isn't a lot for stan to work with in there.

[anistarrae]

haii👋

[glindauplland]

DOCTOR WHO | 2.02 + TUMBLR REACTIONS

[strawlessandbraless]

One of my favorite things in spn is watching castiel intermittently remember that he gave it all up for the first bottom who caught his eye

[gammija]

nothing personal but this kind of comment rlly exemplifies to me a disconnect between canon and popular fanon jmart characterization because they almost literally had this conversation in canon - except, their lines are swapped!

jon, for all his scared grouchiness, is a secret romantic, while martin, for all his forced optimism, is at his core a pragmatist

[villainsposting]

Alastor being aroace makes his dynamic with Vox like 100% funnier. It's a villain rivalry, you immediately know people will look at these two and think "they crave each other carnally", except only one of them has the capacity for it. Which is the perfect set up for a ridiculous one-sided obsession, but then Alastor is shown to be acting way more unbothered by Vox than he actually is. Dude is walking the streets of Hell menacingly staring into cameras and doesn't even have the excuse of homosexuality. Both of these fuckers are goofy as hell.

[henryscapon]

like, okay, i'm sure this scene has been talked about and dissected to pieces already in this fandom but. BUT. i need to put my two cents in or i will explode.

so, your lord and best friend has just admitted to you that if you die, he will be so beside himself with grief that he might just die too.

the game then gives you THIS option in response.

and you, the player, know how video games work. you know this is the press x for romance button. you expect henry to admit his feelings—a culmination of all the hints he's dropped from the heart options we've chosen before—and kiss him as soon as the button's been pressed.

except henry doesn't kiss hans.

instead, henry places his hand on hans' hand. it's the first moment of physical contact between them in the whole scene...but it's not a kiss. it's gentle. it's intimate. it's tiptoeing the line between comforting a friend and something more...

...but henry leaves it at that. and he gets up and goes to leave.

and in that moment of panic. in that split second of 'this might be the last time i'll ever see you again, please don't go' — it's hans that kisses henry.

and it's henry who pushes hans away.

this is—for all intents and purposes—the opposite of what we, the player, chose.

and to add insult to injury, henry looks conflicted.

he looks SO conflicted that hans believes he's fucked up royally.

that he has completely tarnished their final moments together by acting on impulse—by giving into temptation and desperation and feelings he can't even put into his own words—and henry must be disgusted by him.

and hans believes this because he watches henry turn his back to him. refusing to look at him. and head for the door.

but henry stops before he opens it. and i keep thinking back to the heart option we chose.

the player is not making the choice for henry to kiss hans. we are not forcing his hand.

the player is reminding henry what he's been telling himself throughout the entire game.

don't run away, henry.

kiss him. kiss him back.

so henry does.

[deancasforcutie]

nothing I'm just sighing dreamily kicking my feet thinking about how Dean is loving to Cas <333

bonus:

[neo--queen--serenity]

There’s just something extremely touching about watching Izutsumi work through a wide range of emotions when she sees Marcille cry for the first time.

She’s sleeping on Marcille’s lap when it happens—something she hadn’t willingly done since her human consciousness was subdued in the Golden Country.

Izutsumi was initially very embarrassed when she remembered showing Marcille such unbridled affection when her monster (cat) side had full control in Melini. But now, shortly after, she did it again without any fuss, seemingly over this embarrassment.

But when she notices Marcille crying—not crying expressive tears over a situation with low stakes, but tears of real sorrow and loss—Izutsumi physically recoils.

She reacts with the childlike fear and panic that one feels when someone they heavily rely on and trust (like a parent or teacher) shows vulnerability, doubt, or weakness. She lashes out, trying to use words of reproach to get Marcille to stop crying. Or, in childlike terms, to try to force Marcille’s pain go away.

When that doesn’t work, we see her physically struggle as she tries to sit by and wait it out. But Izutsumi can’t do it.

Marcille’s pain causes her so much intense distress that Izutsumi immediately offers physical affection as a response—something she has not done for anyone up to this point.

When Senshi told the party about his traumatic backstory, Izutsumi did not touch him. She did support him, tried to offer words of comfort, but she did not embrace him like the others did. Maybe she didn’t know how; maybe she didn’t have a proper example on what comforting someone looked like. But she saw all three of them reach for Senshi, she saw them hold him in their arms, and anchor him as he cried.

This is the first time another party member has cried out of sadness since that moment. It’s possible that she saw how the others helped Senshi, and maybe, subconsciously, she saw that it worked. That it made him feel better.

She is clearly unused to it, and has her own rollercoaster of emotions as Marcille gratefully accepts the comfort Izutsumi is offering her. But it helps. It helps Marcille immediately, and Izutsumi knows this.

These acts of vulnerability are foreign to her, and thus make her feel uncomfortable, but she lets Marcille lean on her afterwards anyway. She wanted Marcille to be okay, wanted it so badly, that she accidentally overcame an emotional obstacle she never even knew she had.

[mikkeneko]

In various places -- here, the bird app, even YouTube comments -- I keep running into people with some variation of the same question:

"Does Scum Villain have a teacher/student romance?" And every time I want to answer with: No, But Also Yes, But Also Not Really, It's Complicated (And That's On Purpose.)

Which is an answer that's too long to fit in a tweet or a YT comment, but fortunately tumblr has no (effective) post limit! So here I go.

1 - No

In the very straight forward porn cliche sense of "oh but professor, I really ~need~ to pass this class or my life will be ruined, can't I do ~anything~ to get you to change my grade?" *bats lashes* and "Hoho, my pretty young teen student, I've got your good grade right here in my pants, if you ~apply~ yourself..." then no.

No sex or romance between a teacher and their student in the bounds of a teacher-student relationship happens in this book. No deliberate grooming of an underage student on the part of a teacher occurs in this book. No sex or a romance between an adult character and an underage character occurs in this book, nor is the adult 'waiting' for the minor to reach adulthood to initiate one.

2 - But Also Yes

No sex or romance between a teacher and their student in the bounds of that relationship happens in this book. Two people who were formerly in a teacher and student relationship do enter into a sexual and romantic relationship by the end of the book. Also the nature of the society they're in further means that even though they are no longer in the schooling environment, it is socially assumed that the deference owed by a student to their teacher lasts forever, even after the student leaves that environment, and they continue to regard themselves and refer to themselves in those roles even though the teacher no longer strictly speaking has authority over the student.

Also, the student was really hot for his teacher even when he was still a student. (The teacher was oblivious to this fact.)

3 - But Also Not Really

By the time sex and romance is even on the horizon for these characters, their relationship has so drastically changed from that of a "teacher and student" that it is barely recognizeable as such. The power/authority dynamic between a teacher and their student is subsumed pretty much entirely by the facts that:

A. The 'student' has become a medeival fantasy warlord of such unsurpassable magic and might that literally no other person in this world can stand up against him, 'teacher' included, and the 'teacher' is well aware of that.

B. Also, the 'student' is metaphysically endowed (heh) with the Protagonist Halo, a literally active force within the setting they're part of, which means that not only can he not be defeated, he ontologically cannot be denied anything that he desires; what he wants, he gets, and what he doesn't want, cannot be forced on him.

C. ...But also, the teacher in this setting is a metaphysical outsider to the world order the student is part of, which means that he is aware of all of the above, and can and does manipulate it to suit his own agenda, which may or may not align with giving the student what he wants at any point in time. Assuming that the teacher has the correct understanding of what the student wants. (He doesn't.)

D. ........But also also, for all his power, one harsh word from him can destroy him. For all his knowledge, one tear can devastate him. (Which one? Both.)

4 - It's Complicated (On Purpose)

*throws the chalk against the wall*

Between a teacher and their student, who has the power? Between an emperor and a scholar, who has the power? Between a hero and the villain he is predestined to destroy, who has the power? Between a character and the reader who's read ahead to the end of the story, who has the power? Do we find some of these power imbalances more acceptable than others? And if so, why do we?

Trying to track Who Has The Power or Who Has An Unfair Advantage socially, physically, and metaphysically between this particular pair of characters is damn near impossible and that's on purpose.

The Scum Villain's Self Saving System is a lot of things, but one thing that absolutely defines it is that it is a parody. It's a parody and a deconstruction of a lot of things -- the 'stallion' genre, the 'isekai' genre, the 'pay-per-chapter webnovel' genre, the 'gay drama' genre and, most relevant to this conversation, it is a deconstruction of teacher-student romance.

What kind of a teacher-student romance has a clueless, fish-out-of water NEET in the role of the Wise Old Mentor? What kind of a teacher-student romance has a black-hearted, demonic, domineering feudal warlord in the role of the Blushing Virginal Student? What kind of a teacher-student romance has the two principals so close in age -- by the end of the book, they may be as little as a year apart -- that they're more like peers than teacher and student? What kind of audience are we, going into a story like this one and finding ourselves cheering for the teacher to fall in love and lust with his student, only to be disappointed when that doesn't happen because the teacher fails for three books straight to recognize love and lust when it's literally looking him in the face and crying?

Asking "does Scum Villain have a teacher-student romance?" is sort of like asking "does Galaxy Quest have a lot of high science fiction concepts?" No, but also yes, but also not really. It's complicated, and that's on purpose.