#no regrets blues

[mariekanker]

visual gags that are well made and smart

[hollowboobtheory]

idc if you personally like spiders or reptiles but if someone posts a picture of their snake or tarantula and you reply with a picture of a gun you're a fucking asshole. that's their PET. imagine if you showed someone your cat and they yelled "KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!111!"

[laurenkmyers]

what if henry can't leave without one last kiss, what then?

[shima-draws]

IT'S LUSAN WEEK!!! I probably won't be participating the entire week but I will try my best 😤

Day One: Food | All Blue

(Thanks for hosting this @lusanluweek!)

[alwaysbewoke]

nah nah nah. y'all wanted to be white so bad, stay there with them and EAT THAT RACISM smfh

[firstxprince]

RWRB is a very serious movie made by very serious actors.

[dozyragdxll]

It started as a joke and here we are—

[hauntingofhouses]

We all already know Mizu and Akemi are narrative foils. But you know what? Lemme just say it, here's what I think:

Taigen and Mikio are foils.

Not necessarily to each other as individuals in the way that Mizu and Akemi juxtapose each other, but mostly in the contrast between their relationships with Mizu.

I've covered specific parallels between Taigen and Mikio in other posts I wrote; but as the number of parallels I'm noticing between them keeps piling up, I'm compelled to just compile them all in one post. So! This is, thus, the post in question.

First of all, let's look at their similarities.

1. Their status in society is the same. They are both samurai who lost their honour and have dreams of reclaiming it.

2. They are also both diligent as they strive to achieve this goal, they both care deeply about their work, but here as they begin to contrast, as the work in question and way they go about their goals is different:

For Mikio, his work is in taming and rearing horses; in order to prove himself, he must tame Kai—a willful and strong horse—and present it to his lord. For Taigen, his work is in sword fighting and martial arts; in order to prove himself, he must kill Mizu—a willful and strong swordsman—and present her dead body to his lord.

In the parallel above, not only are Taigen and Mikio contrasting each other, but Mizu and Kai are placed in comparison as well. And of course, Kai is Mizu's horse, and represents her. Which is why, when later, Mikio sells Kai off, it represents the way he is tossing Mizu (and their relationship) aside.

From there, the rest of the details of their character begin to contrast and juxtapose each other more clearly. So let's look at those differences, shall we?

Their backstory:

Mikio was a great samurai who was banished. A somebody to a nobody. Taigen was a fisherman’s son who rose to the top. A nobody to a somebody.

2. The first time we meet them on-screen:

Mikio is an adult. An older man. Mizu's superior in age. He is Mizu's to-be husband. A love interest. Taigen is a child. A young boy. Mizu's peer in age. He is Mizu's bully. An antagonist.

3. Their maturity and growth:

Mikio is mature, but stuck in his ways. Taigen is immature, but capable of changing and learning.

4. Their overall attitude:

Mikio is generally relaxed, easy-going and unfussy. Taigen is uptight, irritable and severe.

5. How they talk to and conduct themselves around Mizu:

Mikio is aloof, soft-spoken, and serious. Taigen is obnoxious, brash, and sarcastic. Mikio is quiet, speaking only when spoken to, even when Mizu turns to smile at him and shows openness to be near him. Taigen is loud, talking while others are silent, even when Mizu turns from him and shows no interest in conversing with him.

Mikio doesn't show much of who he is to Mizu throughout their marriage, despite their growing affection. Taigen openly shares his traumas and life story to Mizu during their brief alliance, despite their mutual antagonism.

6. Their external vs internal selves:

Mikio is calm, gentle, and considerate on the outside. Taigen is hot-headed, rude, and selfish on the outside. Mikio is cowardly and deceitful on the inside. Taigen is brave and loyal to a fault on the inside. Mikio tells Mizu that he wants to know and see all of her. But he scorns and betrays her, the woman he loves. Taigen tells Mizu that he wants to duel and kill him. But he endures torture to not betray him, the man he hates.

9. Their hair, a symbol of their honour:

Mikio's topknot is untied by Mizu during their spar. This humiliation occurs in private, the two of them alone in a rural location where no one can see them. Taigen's topknot is cut off by Mizu during their duel. This humiliation occurs in public, the two of them being watched by many others in the Shindo Dojo.

10. Their power dynamic with Mizu:

Mikio believes he is Mizu's mentor. He teaches her to throw knives, how to ride and care for horses, and about the tactical benefits of using a naginata. Taigen believes he is Mizu's equal. He views Mizu as a samurai like himself who received all the same teachings he did, and who possesses the same values.

11. Their perceptions of Mizu:

Mikio sees Mizu's feminine side first. He sees her as sweet and gentle, but also clumsy and incompetent. Taigen sees Mizu's masculine side first. He sees her as terrifying and deadly, but also strong and skilled.

12. The way they approach sparring with Mizu:

Mikio only spars with Mizu once. As the fight progresses and she is beating him, he tries to put a stop to it. When she teases/provokes him, he starts taking the fight personally and seriously, finding no enjoyment in it. Taigen spars and brawls with Mizu all the time. No matter how many times Mizu beats him, he doesn't back down. When Mizu challenges him with a chopstick, he is eager to compete with her and gladly rises up to the challenge.

Mikio and Mizu's one and only spar is a friendly match; Mizu is smiling and having fun while he grows increasingly frustrated. Taigen and Mizu's last-seen spar is a playful wrestling match; both him and Mizu are having fun and laughing.

Mikio cannot deal with Mizu being better than him, so he scorns her and walks off, avoiding her thereafter. When Taigen cannot deal with Mizu being better than him, he follows her to observe her moves and continues training in hopes to eventually beat her. After being bested by Mizu once, Mikio leaves her and sells the horse he'd previously gifted to her. After many times losing to Mizu and fighting alongside her, Taigen commends her and admits she is better than him.

13. When Mizu pins them down in a friendly spar:

Mikio sees Mizu's whole face objectively. Taigen stares at Mizu's mouth and eyes.

Mikio gets angry when she kisses him, throwing her off of him and snapping at her, calling her a monster. Taigen gets aroused, apologising, so she pulls herself off of him.

14. Mizu's blue meteorite sword is a reflection of her soul. She believes most are undeserving to face it, let alone hold it. And on that note:

Mikio is the first person (chronologically) that Mizu fights against using her sword. Taigen is the first person (we see on-screen) that Mizu fights against with her sword. Mikio is the first person (chronologically) to ever hold her sword, as she passes it to him, letting him wield it. Taigen is the first person (we see on-screen) to ever hold her sword, as she passes out, and he picks it up and carries it for her.

15. Then, last but not least, in Fowler's fortress, when she is drugged and in pain, she hears Ringo's voice in the dungeon. She then follows it to an open cell:

Mizu first sees Mikio as a hallucination, the sight of him haunting her and causing her to lose her grip on reality. Her eyes glow a surreal blue to represent this. Her Mama appears then and says Mizu's name accusingly.

Mizu then sees Taigen, but he is real, the sight of him a relief and grounding her back to reality. Her eyes return to their normal blue colour to represent this. Taigen looks at Mizu weakly and says her name softly.

Then, later, when facing Fowler, her revenge awaiting her, she instead chooses to follow her conscience (represented by Ringo's voice in her mind), putting aside her vengeance for a time, in order to save Taigen.

So that's basically all the ones I've noticed so far, but even then, I feel there's already so much that forms a contrast between these two.

What makes it especially incredible about these juxtapositions is that Mikio was Mizu's husband, the man she had fallen in love with, the one person she had ever been intimate with, the man who made her begin to accept herself, to put down her desire for vengeance and instead live a life of peace and happiness.

So for Taigen to have so many parallels with him... Do you see what I'm saying here!

Not to mention that Mizu clearly already has some burgeoning attraction to him, as indicated by how she thinks of him when asked about her desires. And Taigen clearly has shown interest as well (see: him getting a boner after their spar, him holding her hand and telling her, "We're not done yet.").

And on the topic of speculating future possibilities of this relationship, this post by @stromblessed has pointed out yet another parallel between Taigen and Mikio:

Mizu promises Taigen to meet him for their duel in autumn. Mizu fell in love with Mikio and duelled him during autumn.

With all that said, I do believe Mizu and Taigen's relationship is definitely hurtling towards something. But whether they will actually end up together in a sustainable relationship and have a happily ever after? Well, that is a whole other story; we'll just have to wait and see.

[velvet-games]

fuck it my vox is asian now

I'm taking projection to a whole new level yay

honestly I don't think there's been a single chinese character in fandom that I've liked so I'm just gonna force it on vox lol. it was kind of a crackpot hc at first but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to me.

weirdly enough, I think my sexuality is the only part of my identity that I'm genuinely proud of. I've been lucky enough to have been exposed to a lot of positive media representation, and I've been able to control who I come out to. my feelings about racial and gender identity are a lot more complicated; I don't see chinese culture as beautiful and interesting the way I see queer culture as beautiful and interesting, and that makes it harder to reverse my instinctual disgust and shame at myself. there is, to be clear, a lot to love about chinese culture; I just feel like I'm expected to love something I never chose and would otherwise have no relationship with.

she's going to be tujia chinese; I have some memories of going to my family's tombstones and getting smoke in my eyes while burning joss paper lmao (p sure that's the english translation? it's supposed to be money that you can give to dead loved ones by burning it). I think it's really funny and tragic that vox uses this as a last ditch effort to say goodbye; yes your family's beliefs have been disproven yes somehow they landed in heaven and you didn't yes your only way to connect with them now is with money and a memory you can barely hold on to yes you've forgotten the language they understand best no you won't feel better afterward.

but y'know. you'd feel worse if you didn't try.

[sera8273]

Gods…are immortal…

“ATHENA!”

Gods…were powerful….

“Oh to the fates above! Is she dead?!”

So why…why…..

“Why is she Bleeding Red!?”

It wasn’t possible to kill a God…

“D-don’t worry! We can fix this!”

He tried with Calypso and other banished Gods but they did not die….

“WHAT DID YOU DO!?”

He didn’t….

“Shit shit-SHIT! ATHENA-“

Maybe it was because she bled red…

“FUCK! APOLLO! SHES BLEEDING REALLY BAD!”

Maybe it was because she showed humanity…

“IM TRYING MY-I, I DONT DO WELL UNDER PRESSURE!”

Athena. His precious, golden daughter….

“WHAT DID YOU- WHY! ZEUS! YOU-“

Oh to the fates above….

“What have I done?”

[the-mother-of-lions]

blue submarine no. 6 (1998-2000)

[popponn]

sometimes, you wondered if the 'i love you's you had said were enough. if he understood how much you mean to them. if he truly ever heard and took them with him, tucked in a secret corner in his heart.

you wonder, if he knows that you regret not saying it more to him.

"i..." you tried to tell the empty space in front of you. a space that had come to place itself in your life in a presence that resembles a puzzle's hole more than a crack.

something should have been there and you know more than anyone what it is—who it is. yet, it remained unfilled no matter how much you wish to reverse time back to a happier time.

you wish it was all meaningless. that all these thoughts are mere hauntings built up by your own fantasies and when you blink, he will be there. maybe he could smile, maybe he could feign a cool mask, but all the same, his finger would intertwine with yours.

maybe, he would take a step closer to you, bumping your shoulder. maybe, his eyes would stray and look around, while the heat from his body remains just next to you. maybe, full of concern, full of care, he will ask you, "what's wrong?"

but, it is mere wishful thinking.

from somewhere, the strangers' footsteps resounded in the distance and he was not by your side. it would have been like a penitence, like an admittance to no one. so, in the end, you swallowed all your words down.

"i love you," you wanted to say, "i truly do."

sae, ISAGI, nagi, chigiri, VIL, jack, deuce, cater, jade, cyno, al-haitham, zhongli, NEUVILLETTE, wriothesley, diluc, KAEYA, XIAO + your faves.

[avephelis]

highly topical jillion christrider art.

[xxnelli]

What about a firstprince Minx!AU?

“It’s simple. Your concept is good, but to put it lightly, you’re boring as fuck. You need something that makes you different, something that makes your idea pop. That’s where I come in."

- excerpt from "Fast Lane" by Ash_morrison on AO3

[sofiaruelle]

It was a little crowded at the fish port. So here’s a little color study of some Mayamaya on display.

EDIT:

They’re actually called Bukaw-bukaw according to my parents lmao. They also said the fish got its name because of the eyes. They’re huge just like an owl’s and in Hiligaynon owls = bukaw. The fish is also a fave of my lolo’s and tita to grill/sugba.

[yukipri]

Yessssss i found it!!!! The TruMoo Blue Milk!!!!💙

Review: it tastes EXACTLY like a melted vanilla milkshake. Which, might not sound too appealing, but it’s actually quite nice! It’s very sweet, a dessert beverage, and thicker/creamier than most milks, but still definitely milk and not a milkshake.

It's a completely different beverage from the Disney Parks' blue milk, which I actually love! But this drink isn't citrusy or refreshing like Black Spire Outpost's; it is, again, a melted vanilla milkshake. It's not the most original or unique flavor, but also nothing weird or unusual, despite its coloring.

You can apparently find them at "select Cub, Hy-Vee, Coborn's, Walmart, and Target stores." Found mine @ Target!