#please please let me be wrong

[turtletoria]

Please help Tala and her family! They still have not reached their goal of $30,000 to evacuate from Gaza; they have currently raised $19,146/$30,000. Every donation counts so please don't become discouraged - every dollar counts no matter how little!!! With your help, we can help Tala and her family to reach safety!!

🌟 This campaign has been vetted - this fundraiser has been promoted by PYM Dallas and is supporting the family of a TX community member!!

Please donate and share widely!!!

This campaign is also a spotlight fundraiser from Artists 4 Gaza where your donation could get you a free art request from one of their many many talented artists!! Click for more info!

[template for the secondary graphic made by the amazing @/starelegy_ (IG)]

[duckysprouts]

if you were at your worst, if you’re a villain or a screwup or whatever, there is a goth man dressed as a giant bat who keeps coming after you, bothering you. he sabotages your journey of self destruction over and over. ur ready to give up but he won’t let you. you think, today he won’t come. today he will give up on me too. he never does.

[overlymetaromantic]

Dungeon Meshi, or as I like to call it, Marcille's-increasingly-difficult-to-ignore-revelations-that-her-endless-devotion-to-Falin-may-in-fact-be-more-rooted-in-lesbianism-than-she-originally-thought

[cozylittleartblog]

Columbo and the Knight (1984)

put me in the universe where Columbo ran through the 1980s and had a crossover episode with Knight Rider. I think they deserved it, and I am not just saying that because they're my two favorite Old Shows. @telebeast wrote a little fanfic blurb about it and I HAD to visualize it into a comic (which is also the longest comic I have finished thus far at five pages...), so writing credit goes to them.

Autism W!

[eggsistential-breakdown]

Crew of the Tulpar's twilight cruise

Higher quality/static images under the cut

[haunted-pool-noodle]

euclydia was destroyed, what, a few trillion years ago? we can joke about it by now, right?

(audio is of course from john mulaney's "The One Thing You Can't Replace")

[Video description:

Bill Cipher is shown, heavily zoomed in so that only the top half of his eye is visible.

The speaker in the audio says, "And I had that thought, that only blackout drunks, and Steve Urkel, can have." The audience laughs.

It zooms out to show that Bill is floating in front of the remains of Euclydia, the rest of his body covered in blood.

"Did-" The speaker is cut off as the audience continues to laugh and clap.

Bill looks at his blood-covered hands, then turns to look behind him. He glances back at himself, and jumps back as he notices the blood all over him.

"Did I do that?"

It zooms in on Bill's haunted expression, sharply contrasted by the humorous tone of the words. End description]

[littlecub9666]

Damian: أحبك. (I love you.)

Y/N: I love you, too.

Damian: You-How did you-?

Y/N: Guess this is a good a time as any to tell you I'm fluent in Arabic.

[cl0ckworkqueerness]

i think people should be more vocal about intersexism, actually, even if they're perisex. especially if they're perisex, actually.

to perisex trans people, they really only see "discrimination based on someone's assigned sex or expected gender" as a transphobia thing. it's not. because the idea that someone should have one immutable "typical" sex, either male or female, that corresponds with gender roles, expectations, and likenesses is also the foundation upon which intersexism is built.

sex is a complicated subject, and i don't know how much i don't know about it. but what i do know is that it's deeper than just "male and female, penis and vagina, sperm and eggs, XY and XX" that a lot of people tend to push or subconsciously adopt. yes, even within the trans community. as trans people, we should be well aware of not only the complexities of gender, but of sex as well.

the reality is, many of the things we as a community say "never happens" (i.e. forcibly transitioning children with hormones, surgeries, etc. against their will) does happen to intersex kids for no other reason than cosmetics and "making them look Normal".

a lot of intersex people are not cis. a lot of intersex people experience gender dysphoria. so many resources about intersex people, so many people talking about intersex people, only gloss over them, pay them lip service, use them to talk about unrelated issues, or straight up treat them as diseased, disordered people to be cured. hell, even the second source I cited uses the term "disorders of sexual development".

this would be unfathomable if it were happening to any other group, but somehow this rage does not carry over for intersex people. and i think it should carry over, actually.

this is only scratching the surface. hell, this is barely even that.

all i ask of you is to keep your ears and eyes open to intersex experiences, especially when you're discussing sex and gender. keep your language as open and inclusive as possible.

[daily-snufkin]

🌿 DAY 5

The sky is grey, it looks like a storm is coming.

[wikipediagf]

Links from people that have reached out to me recently

@alimeq92 support

@najahmeq2 support

@abdalsalm support

@youseffamily support

@aliandhadeel-family7 support

@abedallhferwanagaza support

@mohammedatallah support

[violent138]

I think Gotham city would be one of the coolest cities in the world for an architect to study. The city has its foundation in a Gothic/Gothic revival-esque style, but the frequent bombings, flooding, fires, explosions of plants, and occasional natural reclamation has led to massive parts of the city being reconstructed, usually retaining the city's classic style, but with more and more experimental and innovative buildings from all the PhDs running around the city, eager to redesign it to be stronger and more cost-effective. Add that to safety codes and zoning being a total mess and Gotham City totally throws up the world's most odd, occasionally aesthetically disastrous (don't worry it gets blown up soon) buildings at record speed. But one way or another, the city always returns to a variant of its original form.

[turtletoria]

Mohammed and his family are in need of your help!! They are still very far from their goal of $70,000, currently only having raised $5,878 to evacuate from Gaza. Every donation counts so please don't become discouraged - every dollar counts no matter how little!!! With your help, Mohammed and his family can realize their dreams of reaching safety and rebuilding their lives starting with finishing Mohammed's education. Please donate and share widely!!!

This campaign is also a spotlight fundraiser from Artists 4 Gaza where your donation could get you a free art request from one of their many many talented artists!! Click for more info!

[the secondary graphic was made by the amazing @/starelegy_ (IG)]

[michaelnordeman]

Lichens/lavar (Ramalina fastigiata, Ramalina fraxinea, Evernia prunastri). Värmland, Sweden (December 15, 2019).

[hauntingofhouses]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

[marisatomay]

“I can’t believe Tom Cruise of all people would stand up for his agent, a Muslim Libyan-American woman, who was being publicly blacklisted for her support of Palestine and calling out the ongoing genocide, including making a rare in-person appearance to CAA headquarters in LA to express his support for her. What a strange person who can ever guess what opinions he will have.”

Look. I’ve studied Tom Cruise a lot. One could even call me a Cruisologist. (Not to be confused with. Well.) And, it’s actually really easy to predict Tom Cruise’s opinion on something. The tricky part is whether it will be made public in a timely manner or not and, if it’s made public at all, will it be a lede buried in favor of pushing a narrative sold on background by a studio exec he pissed off because he didn’t roll over and take their bullshit.

[keferon]

*clasps your shoulders gently and looks you straight in the eye*

Keferon. Please read Ninth by Kyn on AO3. I think you would love it very much. It has a large chapter count, but don't be intimidated, it's very easy to get into. It is currently unfinished, but is being updated regularly.

You are the seventh person that recommended this fic to me so ahahahaha yeah

I’m doing great Help I hate some parts of it but I love the other parts I’m spinning in the blender

…..I made the moodboard….