#now it will live in my mind rent free forever

[beanghostprincess]

Sanji having the finest gaydar for trans people is such an amazing concept to me.

Imagine this guy suddenly fighting a closeted trans man and all the crew is like "What happened to you and what did you do to our Sanji who doesn't hit women?" and Sanji just stands there like "No, no. This is a man. Right, dude?" and the trans guy they're fighting against has the most gender-affirming moment of his whole fucking life.

Same thing with trans women. But, unlike when fighting trans men, Sanji would probably drop some sort of cheesy thing like "I could recognize the soul of a woman anywhere" and would refuse to touch the girl he's supposed to fight against.

It has absolutely nothing to do with his years in Momoiro Island, by the way, he's just built different. And also he's genderqueer too, so maybe that's why.

[marvelous-tunes]

…One day, we will be remembered

[seventeenlovesthree]

Did you know that Takeru Takaishi is a Neon Genesis Evangelion fanboy who likes to write friendfiction AUs? Well, now you know, you're welcome.

[weekend-g]

ough. I just listened to the vbs cover of osmanthus and I'll literally never recover. they sounded so fucking beautiful together I needed to catch my breath midway through and then the an+toya lines knocked me dead

[snek-of-eden]

As your (virtual) birthday present...

I gift you this

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38039485

*wipes tear* it’s beautiful holy shit. hooolay shit. “le BDSM violente”

for anyone who does not click on random links, it’s a dumbledore/mario slash bdsm fic written in french and it is the best birthday present i have ever recieved. the only thing that could top it is crackfic written about me specifically

[the-girl-in-the-high-castle]

A few days ago I finished watching Into the Badlands, a show I wanted to watch at the time it came out, but never did, so:

- Liked it way more than I thought I would.

- In spite of it being 85% made of fighting, bloodshed and violence, it has a damn good story following it all.

- Probably the closest thing to GoT you can get out there.

- Quinn! Damn, it's the character you want to hate so much, but you just can't. He's consistent with everything he does, to the very end, no matter what, and I love him for it. We need more characters like this out there, urgently. And like I've already said before, Marton's performance here absolutely took my breath away.

- I didn't like Lydia at first, she annoyed me, but in the end, she ended up being my second favorite character.

- My tradition of not liking the main character is prominent here because Sunny was one of my least favorite characters, and I didn't like him one bit. He was pretty good at being a hypocrite most of the time.

- I love the fact that they took "the chosen one" trope with MK, chewed on it and mercilessly spat it out.

- I know MK was annoying as fuck toward the end, but somehow his journey made sense and it went well with his struggle and temperament.

- I loved that towards the end, the main character role actually went to the Widow because from moment one, whether it was intentional or not, she sort of carried the story. Somehow, things always started and ended with her. And, she's my absolute favorite character.

- I've seen people complain about the way her story ended, but I actually think it was perfect, because in the end she got to be everything a woman can be. Most writers end up failing at this, they reduce female characters to just one thing. You can either be a woman and a mother, or you can be a warrior and girlboss who needs no one. The Widow ended up being everything a female character can be, a woman, a warrior, a girlboss and a mother. She got to face her own flaws and demons and got to know what it feels like having everything to lose the way people did fighting for her. And I loved that.

- What completely came out of the left field for me was her romance with Gaius thought. His entire character was kinda redundant. I mean, I did like him, but he felt like a plot device through the entire time he was there, a plot device that in the end didn't even serve as that, cause the story would've mostly been the same even if he wasn't there. I appreciate that they tried to paint some backstory with Minerva for them to actually make some sense, but it wasn't that convincing. I actually liked his character more than I liked Sunny, but he deserved more agency and should've been introduced way earlier for it to make any sense and not only serve as the baby daddy.

- I hated that for half of the show's run Sunny was reduced to just one thing, the way writers mostly do to female characters. He was reduced to a father and nothing else, and his entire story, if it wasn't for Bajie would've probably been my favorite thing to skip.

- I loved that Bajie wasn't just a blameless and sinless comic relief and that most of the time he was portrayed as not much of a good guy based on everything he's done. Just human and selfish pretty often.

- I'm sorry, but I fucking hated Veil. She was the most annoying character in the entire show. Followed by Odessa close by.

- Somehow, the only characters that were aware of the world they live in and what it takes to survive, without being merciless butchers, were The Widow and Lydia. That's why they're my favorite characters. They have gone through hell and learned, unlike other characters who seemed too naive most of the time, in spite of living in a literal hell on earth. I can understand that with young characters like MK and Tilda, but others don't really have an excuse for being fucking Starks.

- Which is why I was annoyed as hell with the Tilda turning her back on the Widow for selling Veil out to Quinn. You live in the fucking badlands, you do what you have to do to keep your head on your shoulders, but you have to do even worse things if you are fighting for something better than that. In spite of her action actually making sense based on the world she lives in, we still had the Widow face her own dark side and her own failures and mistakes, which is why she ended up the last one standing. Unlike a lot of other characters.

- Lydia did not have to die. Her death was useless and it kinda only served as a slap in the face of the Widow telling her "you fought and killed and sacrificed everything and everyone for the power you hold, you can't put it on anyone else's shoulders now, you can't run". It also gave Moon another revenge plot he would fail. I know he's supposed to be this badass clipper, but he kind of comically ended up being a walking failure. He failed to stay away from the badlands, he failed to beat Sunny, he failed to get revenge on Sunny, he failed to beat the Widow, he mostly failed as her regent, he failed to get revenge on the witch for Lydia.

- They didn't know they would get canceled, but somehow the second half of the 3rd season felt like they were rushing to wrap up the story and a lot of things felt a bit naive and off.

- Oh, and wtf is with the showrunners being alergic to love and sex scenes? You literally have bloodshed everywhere. You have a man's arms being broken and him being stabbed by the bones of his own arms, but have like two kiss scenes in the entire show. It's actually hilarious.

Probably forgot a lot of things, but all in all, I loved the show, and I didn't expect to love it as much. Would totally recommend.

[yourlocalmissingtexture]

Current mood: angry wooly mammoth soundbite from 2002’s Zoo Tycoon Dinosaur Digs expansion

[bumblekastclips]

Oh god i need that shadow valentine ask transcribed it's hilarious

Oh my god, I just listened to it. Yeah, this belongs on the blog 100%. It'll be posted as soon as I'm done, it's too good to leave in the queue.

[badboysupr]

puffs on a party blower like it's a cigar no matter what AU leo is in, he will typically have a certain degree of hatred toward his own pyrokinesis

i tend to default to somewhat of a pre-HoO canon for him in those universes—where he's still scared of his own power by extension of him blaming himself for his mom's death

so this boy is inexperienced uses his fire as little as possible

and when he does, risks harming others even more because he has so little control over it

avoidance and humor as coping mechanisms? ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ avoidance and humor as coping mechanisms !!!

[gayluigi]

That baby is 7 years old now…. wild!

Also casual reminder that he’s Medic and Heavy’s son!!! >:3c

It’s been one year…. Happy birthday to Medic’s baboon son!

[beanghostprincess]

Roger really DOES have mad girldad energy and I am feral.

Welcome to my walls btw, it's hot af in Florida, so lmk if you need a popsicle/hj

Just. Omfg imagine Toki and Buggy bonding SO MUCH and Toki is the one who helps Buggy find Her Style and Her Confidence. Oden also has Big Himbo Dad Emergy too, so I bet he'd just be like ":000 a GIRL! WONDERFUL!!! I shall have TWO daughters!"

Roger ofc takes big offense to that and it becomes a shipwide brawl over who gets to be her dad, and Buggy is just laughing, crying, pickpocketing everyone. Only like. Three fellas even have the driving NEED to call her their daughter, they just love the chaos. Shanks is just left GAPING bc ofc he loves Buggy, he always has, always will, but the way she was smiling, the way she's just beaming at the acceptance, no matter how dramatic it is - by Davy Jones, it steals his breath away.

Whatever you do tho, don't imagine Toki dressing Buggy up in traditional Wano attire. Don't imagine Toki taking on the role of aunt or big sister and sharing this culture with Buggy. Teaching her the ways of warriors from her homeland, the codes and dress and recipes. Don't imagine Toki telling Buggy "family secrets" like recipes, fighting styles, etc. Don't imagine Toki just easily saying that of course Buggy needs to know these things! Blood is but the fluid of life, and love is what makes a family - and Buggy has so much love to give, so much to receive, and Toki calls her a child of Wano in heart and soul, in all the ways that matter should Buggy want that.

And Buggy, who has only ever wanted to BELONG, oh she accepts without hesitation.

Leaving Toki behind was hard, but she gifts Buggy an heirloom of sorts, a hair piece that she keeps either tucked under her beanie or safe in a chest, anchored to the floor of her room ((or hidden carefully with Devil Fruit powers)).

The day Toki manages to make/get a suitably sized kimono for Buggy, maybe for a party on the ship, maybe a birthday celebration ((and here I insert my Wano Culture Headcanons, that there's a birthday where children transition to young adults, and it's similar to a quinceñera but different, partially because it's done at 13, and then a second one at 18, a five year period of growth, life compared to butterflies, and so Toki convinces the crew to do these for the Cabin Kids-))

Buggy comes out, hair done, kimono flawless and bright and bold and so very her, a quiet joy on her face, and the crew is FLABBERGASTED.

Roger is sobbing.

Rayleigh has suddenly aged 20 years because oh shit oh gods she's going to be beautiful as an adult, oh damn it all he's gonna have to beat men off of her-

Shanks is caught between swooning, wanting to tackle her, and remembering just how the heck breathing works.

((Roger, Rayleigh, Crocus and Oden do rock paper scissors to get the first dance with her, and it dissolves into a fist fight somehow. Shanks gets involved and bites them. Toki takes the first dance.))

I have. So many emotions about transfem Buggy, bestie, send help it's all my brain can think about.

It's okay, I miss hot weather because here in Spain I am freezing and I am a spring child. My spiritual flower is a sunflower. I need the SUN. I NEED TO GO INTO THE FLAMES. So I'll stay there happily.

Please, Toki would so adopt Buggy. And Oden would be THRILLED. He'll see them getting along and he'd instantly say they look like mother and daughter. Buggy would be shy about it but Toki would probably laugh and say "Oh! Do we really? What do you think, Bugs?" and it's just,, So sweet,, Oden loves her a lot and he can't wait to see his Hiyori grow up too. Roger would be FURIOUS when he hears that because he "found her first" which, you know, true, but it's a weird way of saying that's his daughter. Anyway- Rayleigh would be so fucking done with everything. They'd fight about it and Buggy would actually have the time of her life because she feels important and flashy for once in a long time, and she'd laugh oh so beautifully at them when talking with Shanks about it in their room. Like she'd just laugh at the situation and Shanks is still not getting used to his very very not platonic feelings for his best friend. But he'd enjoy his time with her. He's just going a bit insane.

I can't stop thinking now about Buggy finally finding a place to belong. She's been lost for so long,, Feeling left out. And now Toki has gifted her with the most precious treasure there is: A home. Belonging. And I am so so emotional right now. Toki would be so proud of her and Buggy would just be so thankful. If Buggy called her 'mom' at some point, she'd feel embarrassed right away, but Toki would probably fight the tears and hug her close. Going crazy, really. All the men in Buggy's life fighting for her first dance,, Rayleigh just knows he'll have to fight all the men that hurt his precious star. And Shanks is starting to think about that too and the thought of Buggy dating somebody else makes him sick, so perhaps he needs to start with a plan to confess finally (he's so asking Toki about it. I'm gonna cry). Roger crying because he wants to enjoy every second he has left with her... It kills me.

I just know that to this day, Buggy still thinks about Toki as her mom. She never mentions it to anybody, but she feels such a strong connection to Wano and she's dying to go there finally someday. She might have not been born there, but her soul belongs there. And it's just so sweet. I am sobbing, thank you. Every time she does her hair, she feels Toki's hands instead of hers and she remembers everything she taught her,,,

Now I have on my mind a very silly Shuggy thought about Shanks trying to flirt with Buggy but failing miserably (because he's a kid and he only knows how to tease her or follow Roger's advice which are, um, not good) and Buggy just being so done and exhausted. She can't stand him! He's so annoying! Sometimes she doesn't know if she wants to punch him or kiss him! And she doesn't even know if Shanks likes her back because he keeps acting stupid. And she goes to Toki for advice and she's like "oh, darling... Men are stupid. Do you know why you felt smarter than them when you were unaware of being a girl? Well, one of the reasons is that Shanks is a kid. He's dumb. But he loves you and cares so much for you... He's just having a hard time trying to make his way to your heart" / "But he-! He's so damn- Ugh. He's such an idiot. He already did, and he just doesn't know because he can't see it and I can't stand him-" / "Well, maybe you should be the one telling him, huh?" / "What?! No! And give him the satisfaction of thinking I fell first?! I'd rather die. No. He has to make the first move". And now Toki is involved (like the rest of the crew because Shuggy is a whole teen drama) in their love story because Buggy keeps complaining about men being stupid and Shanks keeps saying he doesn't get how Buggy can't see he's in love with her.

[minasweep]

scrolling thru netflix and stumbling on "my life with the walter boys" and instantly remembering every original work I ever read on wattpad

[thelittlecoughsomewhere]

Bad news for my savings account: I found out that live theatre makes me happy and giddy like a little kid.

[sapphim]

[ID continues: The Ravenloft modules all have titles like Roots of Evil or The Evil Eye or Thoughts of Darkness or Circle of Darkness or Bleak House: The Death of Rudolph van Richten or Ravenloft II: The House on Gryphon Hill, and feature an array of standard horror monsters on the covers. /ID]

I can't really recommend actually playing any of these. I mean, I haven't read most of them (and have no plans to, for the most part. so. why do I have them, again??) but the ones that I have read? Whew boy. They had not yet figured out shit fuck about module design best practices in the 90s. The occasional intriguing idea will be thrown in the blender with the most utterly baffling execution.

On the other hand, something that I do strongly recommend!! is to play Ten Candles!!! Every element of the game is so intentionally crafted to cultivate the perfect atmosphere. Almost runs itself. Perfect game for a Halloween one shot. Banger experience every time I've run it. Everyone dies at the end.

Great news everyone I am finally importing my RPG PDF collection into Calibre.

[ID: A screenshot of ebook library management software displaying thumbnails of two indie tabletop games (Lady Blackbird and Ten Candles) and soooooooo many AD&D Ravenloft adventure modules. Seriously why do I even have these. /ID]

[erinaeris]

Laios Touden and the Responsibility of Power

First off, let me gush just a bit about how fucking STRONK this man is. Olympic weightlifters are dying of sheer envy and lust over this man. He is a FUCKING POWERHOUSE.

My favorite panels ever, and judging by the cropping of the second photo, Tumblr agrees.

AHEM, where was I?

Ah yes. He's not just strong and incredibly hot, my man is literally an invasive species in this dungeon. He knows every single weak spot of every monster Thistle tried to throw at him and when he finds it he just fucking RAMS HIMSELF AT THEM AND TAKES THEM DOWN.

And when he's a dwarf HE LITERALLY BENDS STEEL.

"Beat Namari at arm wrestling"? My boy, she wouldn't let you anywhere near because you'd FUCKING BREAK HER HER HAND ALONG WITH THE TABLE. (It's such a fucking shame we didn't see Senshi at least raising an (perfectly plucked except it just grows that way naturally) eyebrow in the background when he sees this. Alas, he was too distracted by his hair.)

But I mentioned responsibility, didn't I? Strength is power in the dungeon, and we all knows what comes with great power. And Laios is, in fact, very responsible with that power!

(Futther examples under the cut, wee bit spoilers for anime watchers)

This scene lives rent-free in my head forever, because of two things: Thistle suddenly realizing just what the hell he's up against,

And Laios breaking Thistle's arm.

Now, I think Laios didn't mean to actually break his arm here, he's just half-blind and dizzy and knows he has to restrain Thistle or it will all go to shit. So that's what he does. The move you see above is a restraining hold. The point is that the person pinned down can't struggle much because the position of the arm presses the suprascapular nerve, so it hurts a lot, but unless they're held that way for too long they'll be fine.

But Thistle is TINY and elves are generally fine-boned. I think Laios really did just underestimate his strength.

And the moment the dragons aren't an IMMEDIATE THREAT anymore?

Laios heals him. Thistle's a better mage than him by miles, he could have done it himself. But no. Laios does it. He was too rough, too careless with his strength, and he immediately backtracked, fixed what he broke, and continued with more mindfullness.

And these are just the examples that stuck in my mind the most. And it happens often enough that the team isn't even fucking surprised! Laios' strength would 100% scare people who only saw him in a barfight and didn't know anything else about him. Hell, the other adventurers they meet fucking quiver before this guy who just took down a monster they had nightmares about in one blow, up until he opens his mouth and they relax. You put more malevolent software in that sort of hardware and he'd be the next Shadow Governor.

But Laios is Laios. He's a gentle soul at heart (a Great Pyrenese, specifically, the gentlest souls ever unless you're out for their flock) and he is VERY CAREFUL with his strength, ESPECIALLY around his team. Chilchuck, who is literally half his size and underfed to boot, can smack Laios as much as he wants with ZERO fear because Laios is aware he can hurt Chilchuck by literally tripping over him, so he just stays still and lets Chilchuck smack at him. I'd be surprised if he ever managed to leave a bruise. Chilchuck has to aim at Laios' weak spot (back of the knee here) just to get Laios to notice him!

But because I have some experience with marital arts and close combat, I think the fight with Shuro exemplifies my point so fucking well! Laios is HURT here, he's living every autistic person's worst nightmare.

And he HOLDS BACK. His restraint is fucking IMMACULATE.

Shuro is fucking lucky Laios still liked him when he started talking shit, because he would have broken his spine otherwise. Laios doesn't even take the fight seriously! He starts with a fucking SLAP.

Shuro retaliates with an actual punch (that does nothing but piss him off)

Laios wobbles. Shuro HITS THE DIRT.

And this is the part where he realizes just how outside his weight category he is. Shuro definitely has technique on his side, but that means jackshit when you need ten blows to to even bruise your opponent, but one hit from them will leave you drinking through a straw for a week. For a second there, Shuro thought he was in ACTUAL DANGER.

But instead of finishing the job, Laios tries to talk him down, which just sets him off again. Man was at his fucking LIMIT, and it snapped. Self-preservation who?

And the best part is? Shuro is throwing all his strength behind his punches and Laios just takes them, but Laios? He mostly pushed Shuro around!

They're mostly grappling here, precisely because Laios is very conscious his friend is pretty fragile right now.

And when he does have enough?

Shuro is flat on the ground again, and Laios has a black eye and a bloody nose. He sits down and five minutes later he's ready to go! Like yes, Shuro was at a low point here, but he's been mowing through monsters at only a bit slower pace than Laios' party. He's no weakling regardless. And Laios had to HOLD BACK SO HE WOULDN'T HURT HIM. And it's so obvious that Maizuru takes one look at the two of them and leaves them to their toussling.

When I saw her reaction I had to scroll back and take another look, because I was sure she would intervene! But she doesn't! She is aware of Laios' strength, she has to be, and she doesn't lift a finger to help her precious charge. She knows the big dog he's wrestling with knows to watch his strength.

And that's my whole point: my boi is STRONK AF! And he is very aware of his strength, and how he could hurt the people around him is he wasn't careful, so he is ALWAYS CAREFUL. He has deeply internalized the fact that to have strength is to be careful with it, to use it in service of people rather than to hurt them (possibly from his dad). He is going to SUCH a good king! He's not going to like the job but by GOD he will do it really well.

And I will give my right arm to see a fic about the first corrupt lord/governor/courtier who attempts to misuse their authority for their own gain. Kabru's gonna have to talk Laios out of an execution.

[bolognamayhem117]

Hot Take: Astarion does NOT hate flowers. You just missed a few subtle hints through Act 1 and early Act 3.

Astarion's negativity is directed toward just about anything remotely pleasant as you move through early act three, starting the moment you leave Wyrm's Rock. First thing after Gortash's coronation he marvels near tears at the colors of the city in daylight. If you ask if he's alright, it pisses him off.

There's other instances I can't quite remember but he's a straight crank throughout early Act 3 and it took me several hours of gameplay to have a lightbulb moment about his newly crappier attitude.

He just spent the last two hundred years seeing everything in the overwhelmingly warm dim tones of indoor lighting via sconces, rushlights, and braziers, or the dingy blue gray of moonlight outside. Daylight colors are something he had more than a lifetime to forget and now that he has a chance to remember that vibrancy in his own home town, he knows he's going to have to forget it all over again either by death or by remaining a vampire spawn forever. The worm isn't going to live rent free in his head forever, and killing Cazador to ascend in his place likely feels like an insurmountable and impossible fight against a literal titan who could stomp him flat without a corm of effort.

He doesn't hate flowers, he hates EVERYTHING right now because it's all going away very soon and if he convinces himself he hates everything then he won't miss it when it's all gone again. He was denied this for two hundred years and he's PISSED at what was stolen from him and PISSED it's all going away again.

He behaved similarly in Act 1 about anyone besides him enjoying physical intimacy. Some of this content was cut, to my best knowledge, but the overwhelming majority of his dialog addressing the PC romancing anyone but him are negative or backhanded. This is for two reasons, I think. A: his Simple Plan just dissolved right before his eyes when you chose someone else which in his mind means he has zero safety net, and EVERYONE gets to enjoy sex (key wording being ENJOY, not simply having) except him... And it pisses him off.

He also gleefully interrupts the bug bear and the ogress, I think for the same reason as the above paragraph, being: If he doesn't get to enjoy intimacy neither do they.

He reacts with anger and disgust at anything he's being unfairly denied. Which... That's fair. His feelings are valid, but his reaction to it is pretty shitty and meanspirited.

The other companions I tend to keep in my party, (that is Lae'zel, Halsin, Karlach, and Wyll) however, are actually appearing to behave pretty patiently with him in Act 3 which I find interesting.

In the instance with the flowers Karlach doesn't bother trying to convince him otherwise of his opinion, she just tells him how they make her feel instead and rather than getting snippy or doubling down he more or less agrees to disagree. I also don't recall anyone disagreeing with Astarion during Gale's last quest tasks when he mentioned that he quit praying to gods who wouldn't hear him a long time ago but to be fair, I think the gods did everybody in this crew dirty and they all know it. It seems like they're consciously giving him the space to be mad about things, is what I'm saying.

Everyone I know including myself who crawled out of a long-term hot garbage situation kinda went wild for a bit with freedom, spoke poorly, behaved strangely, had extreme emotional reactions to things, and made some particularly terrible choices. I think that's just a part of recalibrating yourself, healing and learning how to be okay again.

Point is, I wouldn't conflate too many of the turbo-negative things he says with how he actually feels about anything. We certainly know what he says and what he feels are two very different things.