#no slander intended

[butcharondir]

my hot take is that i actually believe this is true. not necessarily in the sense that jack loves her less -- he's obviously unhinged about it -- but in the sense that belle just has so much more access to love than he does. she can admit her own feelings to herself, she can say what she wants much more easily than he can. and this certainly comes in part from her bravery and emotional vulnerability, but like so many other things, it also comes from her privilege -- the privilege of having been loved without ever having been abandoned. even in the power of their love, they are unequal, even in this she benefits. their honest, true, and mutual love saves her life; it ruins his. nothing about them can ever be neutral.

[tiger-grace]

Tim Drake is such a middle child I’m sorry but when I think of the robins I’m like “oh! Dick Grayson! Best acrobatic, kind hearted but sassy. The og team leader or most skilled of just about most hero teams he’s on! Has worked to get out Batman’s shadow, despite (or due to) being around him the longest!!”

“Jason todd, super interesting character arc! Dead robin, back from the grave with vengeance and murderous tendencies! Screwed up father-son relationships and a particularly violent moral code, known for tracking down the worst of people!”

“uh that guy. yeah he drinks coffee a lot or something idk he’s been on his laptop in the corner for 3 days. we tried to chase him out with a broom and he won’t leave.”

“𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 we’ve got mf Stephanie ‘𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭’ Brown…”

[doufudanshi]

for anyone who criticizes jyl for bringing soup to yiling instead of like, money—

we should first ask: could jyl actually have given wwx money? she must have something, you say. the jins are rich! she could even give him some of her betrothal gifts.

but realistically jyl probably didn't have much money at all! let's think this through. not only did she not marry jzx yet at the time of her yiling visit, but (based on many, many imperial palace tv shows lol) all her worth would be in betrothal gifts of jewelry, fine clothing, or other misc items, which is 1) heavy and difficult to transport without notice, but that doesn't actually matter bc it's ultimately 2) disrespectful to sell and worse to have the gifter find out when they come by for tea and you begin chatting about the event in two days and they say oh where's that one-of-a-kind jade bracelet I gave you wouldn't it match the also one-of-a-kind silk garment that lady jin gave you sooo well oh you will look so lovely in it won't you wear it.

or worse, have it recognized in some random pawn shop on the street by someone who has never really liked you and WILL get you in deep shit for it.

does jyl have any money from the jiang side? well, jc has been busy at work rebuilding lotus pier and the clan since before wwx's defection, and even if he's not borrowing a shitton of money from the jins (which he almost certainly is), he definitely has the opposite of surplus funds. he's also busy organizing and buying gifts for the wedding too, making him go more in the red because you know the jins aren't going to want cheap-ass things even if you don't have money.

let's say jyl did get a significant bride price (aka given money money)—not only does that go to her family (jc), but it is given during the ceremony (which, again, hasn't happened yet). and, realistically, jc probably will have to use it to offset the costs of the above.

beyond that, let's just take this scene from a storytelling perspective. sometimes it is simply about the emotional resonance. the vibes. let's say jyl did have some funds to give wwx. but imagine if jyl was like here a-xian take all this money 😐 ok sure useful for some period. but is that the gift that wwx would want during the first time he's gotten to see her in months, and likely the last time he will see her in a long, long time (possibly years)? would that be impactful for the story?

meanwhile, the soup she brings represents her love. we hear in the extra, from wwx's own words, the care she put into selecting the ingredients, making sure the lotus root is fresh and perfectly ripe. it also takes hours for her to even make iirc. wwx derives so much comfort from it—that's why it comes up again and again. it is one of his first memories of feeling safe in lotus pier, of home. it provides wwx some semblance of normalcy. he hasn't had any this entire time, and is likely something he aches for whenever he's homesick or sad or questioning his choices. it is simply, given the circumstances, incredibly thoughtful. (and how meaningful was it to see wn treat it with such respect? seeing that is literally the moment in the chapter when wwx realizes—ah. the wens are people I cherish as well.)

and regarding jyl coming in her wedding dress—it is not for herself. it is for wwx. we saw how devastated wwx was just to even hear that jyl was getting married because he had to hear it from someone who wasn't jc or jyl. and to immediately then realize he cannot go? even more heartbreaking. and jyl, who clearly knows wwx extremely well, would know, without having to ask, how upset wwx would be to miss such a huge occasion in their lives that was previously a given. this is what she can do to offset that, even just a little. because jyl came in her dress, wwx gets to experience a piece of her wedding even though he cannot physically be there. not to be a 2000s mastercard ad, but there really are some things that money can't buy.

idk there's also some fist-shaking at the class discrepancy in the scene. and I get it. it sucks! her dress is certainly lavish, and the wens are farming on a corpse mountain and have only just started making a bit of money. yes, it's fine to think that if you were in the character's shoes, maybe you would've found it to be in poor taste—but the story isn't about you. it is about these characters, and what this scene means to them. and I'm of the camp that if there is no indication that wwx is upset by any of this, and in fact moved by it, there really isn't reason for the reader to be righteously indignant about these things on a character's behalf. that's just not the focus or the point of the scene.

plus, jyl is sharp. she is likely more aware of the discrepancy than most people think. she has also been shown in the text to not just be another sheltered, spoiled noble (re jzx soup incident). but if what you want is guilt from jyl—I personally think that guilt is performative, and accomplishes nothing. her guilt would've only made wwx unhappy. instead, here is an action that is meaningful and brings joy to wwx. to share her joy with him is not selfishness, nor is it some lack of awareness of their situation. if in this moment, she shows off her dress, if she revels in her joy, her happiness, it is for wwx, and wwx is incredibly moved by it.

and let's face it—wwx, of all people, would want to see jyl in a wedding dress that cost more than rebuilding lotus pier from the ground up. he wouldn't want anything less.

[antirepurp]

if anyone tells you the US ost of sonic cd is bad you shouldn't trust them btw this shit slaps

[transsongtaewon]

not sure how to articulate this properly but I feel like Yoojin is really lucky we see the estrangement with Yoohyun from his side first because otherwise don't think a lot of readers would feel nearly as sympathetic towards him.

Like personally when someone goes no contact with a family member (or whoever else) I 100% side with them and support them in that regardless of how it makes the person being cut-off feel. I think most people feel pretty shitty if someone cuts all contact with them but that doesn't mean it wasn't the right action.

And when looking at how badly Yoojin reacted to that (including aggressively! he was not chill) would only make me feel more certain that yeah Yoohyun was probably in the right in this regard

I'm not going anywhere with this it's just something I think about when I see the more intense reactions to Yoohyun, would this be flipped if he were the protagonist instead of Yoojin?

[thethirdromana]

I've never seen a picture of Stoker clean shaven (and one time I remember a report about people being intimidated by him for being very tall and all red-bearded while staring unmoving at a coast during holiday) is it because he's not English?

No, he just wasn't fashionable. It was the facial hair equivalent of being the guy in 2024 who's still wearing skinny jeans.

Per this BBC article, in the middle of the 19th century a full beard became fashionable because of the Crimean War. Crimean temperatures were so cold, and it wasn't possible to get soap, so soldiers didn't shave - so returning troops all had full beards, and beards became associated with heroism. But things go in and out of fashion:

By the end of the 1880s, fashionable men in London were returning to their barbers for a daily shave. The beard and full whiskers were now considered the domain of the conservative, older generation.

I suppose you could read something into Bram Stoker's preference for a beard. But maybe he just had a weak chin.

[everybodyknows-everybodydies]

Malacath's cake needing to be made early (so it isn't fresh-moist and poorly flammable) = you also do a bit of a ritual invocation over it when it IS immediately freshly made as a way of being like "hey, Orc Dad, what do you think?"

there's basically never a negative response though. Malacath is not going to look at a kid wanting their favorite flavor of cake for their birthday and go "eww no carrot cake is gross make something different". but it's the principle of the thing! making sure he's part of the process

[kaijuerotica]

robin hobb was really like "fitz has a supernaturally extended life and is forced to watch his wife grow old and frail while he stays young and strong. separate and unrelated, here's his soulmate who also has supernaturally extended life. do not read anything more into this"

[gootube]

Kill the painting you've drawn

[theworldisabrokenbonebutitishome]

"Personally if you felted a big fluffy hedge and had some glasses on the ground by it and his twinky limbs sticking out I'd be into it" - @blackswan-wildgeese

Guardian Bingo Fest's bonus prompt for March is 'Take A Leap' and I'm swapping my B5 'fake dating' prompt for this.

Despite several suggestions of various people being yeeted from various places "Professor Shen being yote off that roof" was the one that truly spoke to my permanently unserious soul. And this is why you should have friends that encourage your interest in crafting being used for shitpostesque purposes. I have spent half the time making this cackling to myself and if that's not a sign I made the right decision, I don't know what is.

The design changed and got slightly more complicated because what if Shen Wei had had to commit to his lie so much that we got a very different shot than what we actually got:

Proportions and perspective are definitely way out but oh well. :D

[911-on-abc]

@ podfic creators I want to kiss you on the lips!

[ozlices]

saying the fnaf movie wasnt gory enough is hilarious like oh im sorry was seeing freddy LITERALLY BITE A WOMAN IN HALF, AND SEEING HER TORSO FUCKING FLY AWAY SOMEHOW NOT ENOUGH FOR YOU???????? LMAO????????????????

[thechaseofspades]

I always thought “DuckTales” ended too soon. We could’ve seen more of Violet’s dad. Whatever they had planned for Negaduck, and they could’ve bought Poe (Magica’s brother) into the mix making him and Magica co-big bads of a hypothetical S4

Hey so I accidentally did the thing again where I wrote like 500 words. Apparently I have strong feelings about this, so bare with me. Or don't. Either way works. But big thanks for the inbox! I really do appreciate it.

I really try to be happy with what we have, because Ducktales is my absolute favorite show and nothing's gonna ruin that for me.

But, yeah, being critical for a moment, the show ending early really messed with everything. Suddenly the large cast was fighting for a rapidly shrinking amount of screen time, and arcs had to be rushed or minimized to fit the overarching plot. It wasn't a great situation.

Like, it's not Owl House bad, where entire concepts need to be squeezed down into one or two scenes, or even montages. But the difference is that the Owl House seems to be managing that crunch a lot better than Ducktales did.

Again, the cast being as big and fleshed out as it is, it's hard to divvy up a 22-episode season where everybody gets adequate time and also wraps up their story in a satisfying way. But the DT crew decided to just keep adding and adding and adding. This was supposed to be their biggest season ever. Several ideas were thrown onto the screen and then not followed up on because there just wasn't time for it.

"Astro B.O.Y.D." is my favorite episode of Season 3. And not to diminish that fact, but does any of it get followed up on? I don't think we saw Boyd once until the finale. We just didn't have any time for that.

Bringing Poe in for "Life and Crimes" is an interesting concept. But why are you introducing that A WEEK BEFORE THE SHOW ENDS, especially if it will have pretty much zero impact on anything else.

May and June didn't even get to exist for longer than an episode. You're bringing in pivotal characters in the series finale?

Negaduck! Where was he? Oh, they couldn't fit him in the show! My point exactly.

*deep breath in* *deep breath out*

I have no doubt that the DT crew put these elements in as a love letter to the past. It's very neat that they would do that, and it introduces a younger person like me to these great characters. But it just leaves us asking these sorts of questions. Leaves us wishing we had more than just one episode, or even just one scene.

I get that Disney is weird about shows having three seasons, but I still to this day don't understand why Ducktales couldn't be an exception to that. It's a reboot of the show that made DTVA, but better. It introduced so many legacy Disney characters to a modern audience and was well-received pretty much anywhere you looked. Everyone involved loved working on it and probably would have kept doing so for as long as possible. Not only did they have more stories to tell, but they clearly wanted to tell them. I just... I don't understand it.

Amphibia ended because the story being told was over. The Owl House is ending because it's too gay. But Ducktales ended... just because.

If Disney green lights six DT17 spinoffs for D+ covering each team's post-canon adventures, I will upgrade to ad-free Hulu.

[kideaternomnom]

Y’know Idk why people compare Zuko to Todoroki when…Zuko’s sm prettier, badass, cooler, and just better in every way possible. 🙌🏻Don't compare my boy Zuko to some random ripoff-

[boowhumps]

Whumpril 2024

Day 1 - Limp

⚠TW⚠

- Swearing

- Descriptive Body Horror

- Self-Harm

- Blood

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~

Karyme could hear her heart beating intensely in her ears. Her breaths came out shallow, as if a invisible force was pressing against her chest.

She found herself stumbling, her vision blanking out the more she moved. Her ankle seemed to drag across the grass, holding her back.

She grabbed onto the closest thing she could find, and used it to push herself further up ahead. All around her, tall trees stood, preventing the sun from touching her.

She yearned for the warmth to reach her, her and her cold, frozen body. Even when she could see the sun rays, she still shivered.

She wanted to make it out, so the sun could grace upon her.

In reality, Karyme wasn't even sure where she was trying to go, but she felt the urge to go somewhere else, away from where she was now.

She steadied herself against a tree, stopping to rest. She looked around, until her gaze fell to the floor, where the green grass looked oddly dark.

She studied the patch of grass closely, watching as drops of red dripped from somewhere, staining the grass further.

Her eyes traveled further, landing on herself.

She could see her torso, the black fabric of her turtleneck appearing darker near the middle.

Karyme goes to touch it, only for a stinging pain to travel through her body quickly. She hunches forward, grabbing onto the tree to keep herself up right.

Disoriented, she looks at her hand. Her skin tone pales in contrast to the dark red blood that thickly coated her fingers.

Then it hit her.

The blood.. this forest..

She had been here earlier, hiding from.. someone..

She didn't succeed.

She was found.

She remembered being backed up against a tree, looking into the eyes of.. someone..

Then pain. Searing, hot pain.

Then blood.

A hole. A gaping hole that was in her. Blood seeping through it, like a waterfall.

Her limp ankle dragging behind her, broken beyond repair.

Little cuts running up and down her arms, both of them, some not deep enough to bleed, others deep gashes, causing pain.

A pounding in her head, blood escaping from somewhere, blinding her.

Karyme remembered.

“..Karyme..?”

A voice rang out.

A familiar voice.

She let go of the tree.

And she collapsed.

~~~~~~~~~

Kaiden was panicking, plain and simple.

I mean, who wouldn’t be panicking in this kind of situation? Leony had freaked out, claiming that Karyme was in danger, and couldn’t give more than the name to the supposed place she was in.

La Immort. The biggest, and most dangerous forest in Eris.

Why would Karyme be there, well, Kaiden had no idea. He had no idea about anything that was happening. He could hardly remember the past few weeks, not to mention what caused Karyme to leave without a word.

Nonetheless, Leony’s persistence was enough for him to go searching for answers.

That’s where he was now, searching in La Immort.

Every sound made him jump, hoping to see Karyme, only to be met with nothing. It didn’t help that it was windy either. The cold air sunk into his bones, making an already unpleasant situation even more unpleasant.

He wasn’t even sure he should be here. Even when his heart pushed him forward, his mind screamed at him to turn around.

Kaiden was a mess, completely conflicted.

Until he heard it.

A sound clear as day, unlike everything else he heard in these woods.

A scream.

It was loud enough to make every hair on his body stand up rigidly. Alarms went off in his head, but yet, he didn’t move.

He should run, run and escape whatever the hell caused that kind of a scream from someone.

But something was stopping him.

Someone.

No, he had never heard Karyme scream.. or do anything for that matter.

But what if it was her? He couldn’t just leave her..

It was risky to keep going, but he had to.

So with a shaky breath, he trudges on.

His eyes are tightly shut, as if that will keep him safe.

He stops once again at the sound of something else.

It’s heavy.. wheezy even, like a whistle..

He takes a step forward.

He hears something else take a step.

It goes that way for a bit, step by step, each one approaching each other unknowingly. Invisible strings seems to tug at them, pulling them ever so close..

Finally, Kaiden takes the last step.

A scent is carried through the wind, a metallic one..

The smell is overwhelming, overpowering even..

His eyes scan the area.

Then he sees it.

Clear as day.

He wishes he couldn't see.

There's so much.. blood. Just, everywhere.. it.. this can't be happening, no, this has to be fake..

A pair, no, a single, red eyes looks back at him. There's nothing behind her gaze. Not pain, not.. anger, just, nothing.. numbness..

His voice is stolen away from him.

He can't say anything, fuck, why can't he speak!

Say something..

Say something!

His mouth opens slightly, a small breath of air coming out.

"..Karyme..?"

She blinks.

Then she falls.

It happens in a spilt second, Kaiden can't even react, but his body can. He's at her side in seconds, just as fast as she fell.

He grabs her, trying to help, his ears ringing.

She gasps, her hands pushing at his chest.

Even with a huge wound going across her torso, she has enough strength to try and push him away. She cries as she fights against him. Kaiden just grabs onto her wrists, holding her still as she thrashes and cries.

Kaiden doesn't know what to do, fuck, he doesn't know what to do! Think, for the love of Selyna please think..

911. An ambulance, he needs an ambulance.

He scrambles with his phone, somehow managing to dial the number despite the blood coating his fingers.

He talks to someone, a lady. He can't make out what she's saying, but he responds.

At some point, she tells him to try and stop the bleeding.

Kaiden is shaking, yet composes himself enough to coordinate his movements.

He has a jacket, a old one, he can use it, it won't matter, it's not important.

Kaiden holds the jacket up, and closes his eyes, mumbling a quick prayer before pushing it down onto the wound.

Karyme reacts, a short cry escaping her throat as she clutches onto Kaiden's shirt, letting the blood smudge onto it.

Kaiden's ears finally stop ringing, and he hears himself speaking quickly. He can feels tears in his eyes. They're blurring his vision, he blinks them away, they come back.

"-okay, your okay, dear Selyna please be okay.." He says quickly, feeling out of breath despite his limited movement.

Karyme lets out a choked sob, gripping onto him even harder, scrunching up his shirt in her grip.

The jacket made a sacrifice, but the bleeding won't stop. He can't make it stop, why don't it stop.

Kaiden keeps applying pressure, letting out a breath he didn't even know he was holding in. He takes her frail body into his lap, while still talking.

"Stay with me, stay with me, you gotta stay, okay, no leaving, you need to stay here, with me, yeah-?" He stammers, his breaths short and rigid.

Karyme's still conscious, by some miracle. Her breaths are just as short as his own, maybe even shorter. They end with a bit of a wheeze.

Kaiden's eyes wander over her, spotting so many different injuries, even her ankle which seems to be fractured, maybe even broken.

Kaiden just keeps listing the same things in his mind.

"Broken ankle, punctured lung, head injury, impaled.. broken ankle, punctured lung, head injury, impaled.."

He can't fathom how she's still breathing, nor how she got this way in the first place.

All he knows is that no average person did.. this.

It was something else.

Something bigger..

..someone more powerful..

Kaiden snaps out of his thoughts as he feels Karyme's grip loosen a bit.

He looks back down at her.

She's gone dangerously pale. Her eyes seem darker than they were just moments before..

"Hey, no, Karyme, stay here, stay with me, don't go anywhere, you need to be strong, help is almost here-" He begins to stammer again as the faint sound of sirens approach.

He only stops when Karyme's hand reaches up, slightly cupping his face. Her lips part slightly, a bit of air escaping through them.

"..baby..?" He mumbles, eyes widening a bit.

Her hand stops.

And it falls.

Kaiden grabs her hand in his, clutching it as to keep her here with him.

"..shit..! No no no no no.. Hey, stay with me, please just stay-!" He begs, tears finally falling.

Her other hand, still gripping his shirt, loosens before falling as well.

"Fuck, Karyme-!" Kaiden cries. "Don't do this to me-!"

Her eyes remain open, blinking slightly.

Then the curtain falls, and they close.

"Karyme, Karyme, baby, please wake up-! I-I need you, please don't die, oh Selyna don't let her die-!" Kaiden begs helplessly to no avail.

Even as the sirens finally are near, and the sound of many footsteps and voices are heard, something isn't around.

The beating of a heart, the sound of breathing.

Some of it is missing.

And it may never be found.

~~~~~~~~~~

[zrpants]

i feel like dried jerky