#so i'm doing myself and like 3 people a favour and making it myself

[sawedofffeet]

'Marge looking at her potato'-voice: I just think he's neat

[mitamicah]

Hii there, Can i offer to you my art comms..

I prefer to commission only friends/mutual or artists where I know and love their art. so i will have to decline your offer. I hope you have a nice day regardless

[tellafairy]

thoughts on shifting + manifesting with ease. (as someone who's shifted many times, alongside manifesting)

coming back to this side of tumblr after spending years away from it has made me realized how many of you are truly the problem, it might sound kinda harsh but really. so many of you ask the same questions over and over again.. "but HOW do i do it?" "how do i shift" "how do i manifest" JUST DO IT. stop looking for signs, stop looking for methods or "cheat codes". just do it man.

your mind is so powerful and it actually kinda irritates me how many of you doubt it, just because it "seems to easy". you don't understand how you've been manipulated by society to not see your power. how have you been on loa social media, shifting social media, for soooo long — yet still don't see it?? let me tell you..

the moment i got off social media, the moment i took time to erase everything in my head and stop overthinking everything, was the moment everything came to me. i already had it, i just needed to stop telling myself i didn't.

it took me barely any time to get used to convincing myself i had everything i wanted, i shifted to my desired realities, and everything worked out in my favour. AFFIRMING IS ALL YOU NEED. I AM YELLING AT YOU. JUST AFFIRM.

really, please, affirm. the routine is so simple.

1. any bad thought is instantly turned positive.

ex: "i really want her waist"

to

"am i stupid ... i have her waist.. tbh mine even looks a little better.. am i crazy?? like actually? this must be a glitch or something cause my waist is practically identical to hers.. i literally love my waist"

exaggerate, say what you need to say to erase the negativity.

2. it's yours, so act like it..

ex: talk about ur DR normally. it's your reality, not a fantasy land you made up in a dream. ITS REAL. it's a reality. for example, i'd watch videos of my s/o in this reality, and speak about our lives in my dr. "i can't wait to see __ tonight... god i love __, it's so nice hanging out with them everyday.. wow they look so pretty in this video — i'm so lucky their mine". it's natural, they're yours aren't they? exactly, so act like it.. this is used the exact same way when manifesting..

you see someone with something you want? thinking of something you wanna do? something you wanna be? ... it's urs... so can you act like it?? like whyre u feeling sad someone else got a job promotion 😹😹 you literally got a better one ...

3. that's literally it

you don't need a fancy method (although it can give u some peace of mind.. let's be real, a lot of methods set y'all back and make you overwhelmed, blocking ur beliefs and making everything seem harder). you literally just need to live. tell yourself it's done, over and over again. nothing matters. it's done, it's yours, you have it, you're happy and fulfilled. other peoples sucess should really mean nothing to you negatively. it shouldn't make you stressed, shouldn't make you feel behind.. why would it when you have everything, you can do everything, go anywhere, and you can be anything.

it'll seem like manifesting blogs and shifting blogs just repeat the same things.. which is true, they do, because i'm telling you there's nothing more to it than what you've already read. it is that easy. all it takes is your mind. decide, and tell yourself.

as i said before, it took me barely anytime to switch my mindset once i actually started focusing on myself, my journey and not every body else's results. repeating stuff to yourself WORKS. repeating is literally ALL i did. choose what i want, told myself it's mine in any way i could describe it. and there, it's mine. ive shifted to many different realities, along side gaining a better life in this one after years of convincing myself there was nothing for me. if i can break out of the cycle, trust me you can too. i cannot describe how desperate i was at the beginning, how long i took in false info and wasted time on methods all while doubting every single thing.

so why don't you believe it? you'll sit there and tell yourself over and over again that you're ugly, or broke, or friendless... but you won't tell urself that you've shifted? that you have your dream body...? girl okay i guess....

once you realize nothing besides your mind truly matters, is when you'll be free with yourself. circumstances don't matter, past feelings don't matter, doubts don't matter, your mind is all you need.

yes this is just loa explained longer, that's the point of the post because some of u still can't get it in ur heads

[thestargayzingheroine]

Why A Better World is my favourite "Evil Superman" Story

So in the last two decades or so, there's been a notable amount of dark and edgy stories around superheroes turning evil and whatnot and most of them really love to do their own expies of Superman. I've never been the biggest fans of these kinds of stories.

And then there's the actual stories of Superman and other heroes being outright villains or at least just massive assholes. In recent years, this has been largely thanks to the influence of media like the Injustice Games or the Synderverse DC movies. It's... honestly become a trope I am tired of.

Because you know the damnest thing? There is a story that does all these ideas really damn well and arguably better. It is the two-parter from the Justice League cartoon "A Better World".

Now, I am aware how most people favouring the DCAU has become a bit of toxic nostalgia at times and it's something I myself am trying to work through a bit. But in this case, I do think it's the best idea of doing an evil DC story, much better and more interesting than the Crime Syndicate, who if you ask me are not very interesting, though I do remember liking the Crisis On Two Earths movie a lot, which funny enough, was originally going to be this two parter before various things led to it being canned and then later repurposed as a direct to DVD movie.

Anyway, my main crux of why I love this story is simple... The entire Justice League turns evil... and the reasons are very much in-character for all of them. You look at the scene with Justice Lord Batman for example.

As fucking evil as the Justice Lords are... Batman can't quite fully hate his alternate self for his reason for taking part in all this being basically one-step further than his own mission, that no child should ever go through what he did. Hell, I recall reading that the reason the writers had Batman drop his batarang at the end of this scene... was because he genuinely wouldn't be able to come up with an argument to that.

Superman likewise kills Lex Luthor because yeah, Luthor literally exploited the flaws in Democracy and became president of the US, threatening to kinda basically start world war 3. It's obviously horrible... but Superman is a character whose main motivation is making the world a better place. And if people who abuse the systems of power of the world are hurting people, why shouldn't Superman put a stop to that?

And yeah, Superman should obviously never kill, he's the most paragon of paragons of the DC universe, a man committed to always being better than the villains he fights... but this is him pushed to his most logical extreme. Hell, the main Superman knows this and its why Lex used his knowledge of this alternate universe as part of his plan in the season after this, to goad our Superman into crossing the line because yeah, there's a part of him that could go this far.

But right as Superman is about to apparently finish him, the big guy says this.

"I'm not the man who killed President Luthor. I wish to heaven that I were but I'm not."

Because Superman like everyone else, obviously would have those same thoughts and same urges. He's human.

I've kinda gone off Injustice a bit because to be honest... the injustice games were kinda just this but a bit too edgelordy. Hell, in A Better World, Lois Lane still lives and the whole genesis of it doesn't revolve around her getting fridged.

So yeah, A Better World is probably one of my favourite mirror universe stories because of the fact that well... it really is like looking in a mirror and seeing just how easy the greatest heroes can become evil and how they wouldn't be massively out of character doing so. But also it reminds us that as much as this darkness can tempt some of our finest, the ones who don't go down this dark path are stronger in heart than anyone else. Because when the world becomes a dark and horrible place, it becomes very easy to be just as dark. But even though it can be hard to still try and be a good person even in dark times, it's ultimately worth it. Because good always triumphs over evil.

[raviollies]

actually no im gonna yap

im trying SO HARD to gaslight myself into liking veilguard but so many narrative choices just make me scratch my head. I AM NOT DONE, I currently gotta go to Weisshaupt.

I'll start with things I like so far:

1. I think the game is really pretty and I like the puzzles :) Antiva is GORGEOUS, I think one of the prettiest areas in the entire series.

2. I really like the Minrathous/Treviso choice. More of that please! some actual drama and consequence!

3. Assan is adorable and I cannot walk past without petting him. I didn't anticipate myself liking Davrin so much since I'm usually drawn to magic babies over warriors, but he's probably my favourite alongside Bellara. I think him having left his clan is very interesting narrative choice (I am totally not biased considering it's very similar to Daee's story)

4. Thank you lord almighty for the wardrobe/mirror system. Godbless.

5. Everytime Lucanis speaks I think of Puss in Boots and that brings me great joy. Whimsy even.

6. When you place Tevinter decor in the lighthouse, they have a Hookah right beside a fresco of Solas killing Mythal and that is mind bogglingly hilarious. I do love that the Shadow dragons know how to unwind. We're turning up after fighting for elf rights.

7. Solas surviving entirely on meat, raisins and honey feels very r/malelivingspace

Things I am Not Liking So Far

1.Minrathous feels utterly toothless. Its described as terrible, den of slavery, conversion therapy through blood magic, treatment of elves being terrible - yet we walk around unimpeded. I expected a similar experience as the Winter Palace, or fights that could be avoided if playing as a human.

LAVELLAN is introduced in the TEVINTER TAVERN, wearing TEVINTER CLOTHING, like it doesn't...make much sense to me? Inquisition set up the cross roads with Morrigan AND the Inquisitior, it feels like it would have made much more sense narratively not just from..."I am the fucking Inquisitor In Fucking Minrathous" but "Solas and the crossroads are a vital connecting point of these characters story."

Speaking of Inquisitor, wildly bizarre to me that neither Solas nor Varric comment on you meeting them. Solas has a weird painting of the Inquisitor chair, but you meet the mf face to face and he just does't acknowledge it. I am not a Solavellan player but I felt Really Bad For Them In That Moment.

I think a good moment of comparison is the difference in tone of DAI and DATV...When we find out the orb is elven in DAI, Solas warns us to keep it to ourselves, with Lavellan even remaking that the world will blame us for Corypheus. In DATV, we inform everyone that Elven gods are attacking, and there's no thought or conversation about the impacts of that on Elves in society. The only one to mention it is Davrin way after we've been spilling the beans left and right.

2. I'm not done the story but hey has anyone mentioned we haven't fought a single Fen'Harel agent, what's up with that... I expected to be fighting Elves based on the epilogue in Tresspasser but ?? ???

3. I'm sorry I HATE THEM DISREGARDING THE WELL OF SORROWS IN FAVOUR OF MORRIGAN WHEN SOLAS MAKES A HUGE DEAL OF YOU BEING TIED TO MYTHAL IF YOU DRANK FROM THE WELL. Oh sorry, if it was unimportant then why the fuck did you go on a monologue about how you're "her creature" and connected to her. It felt like a retcon of the importance placed on it in Inquisition and how much of a deal both Solas AND Morrigan make about it. I'm sorry picking a ROMANCE was more important than acknowledging THIS?? ? ??

"But Ravie, they can't account for Inquisitors personality and making them important would piss people off" then just kill them off. If they're set on Morrigan carrying this piece of narrative, I would have written the Inquisitor off the table before the choice becomes relevant. Have them help you in the ritual at the start of the game and die. I feel similarly about Varric, because he feels like the writers stuffed him in the closet to not talk which just...JUST KILL HIM. Its better than being relegated to furniture!!!!

3. Speaking of Morrigan why the hell is so nice. This is not my beautiful mean witch wife. In fact everyone is nice. Even hardened Lucanis has been polite to me.

4. I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH ROOK. I profoundly hate starting off friends with Varric (and him getting shelved like what was the point). It ruins a lot of initial RP for character establishment, because it limits how the player character FEELs about the whole thing, your motivations are GIVEN to you. Furthermore, it feels like rook HAS an established character. I don't feel like I got to play my rook, just say things slightly differently based on an already established character. I dont feel like I am roleplaying a custom character, just as Biowares stand in protagonist. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the level of interaction that BG3 provided me.

The opening sequence is bizarre to me, because IF I MAKING THE STORY....I would have had the introductory quests for each of the companions be the first quest based on the faction you select (Shadow dragons with Neve, Mournwatch with Emmerich, Crows with Lucanis etc. etc.) That way you establish your character based on the faction and immediately get a little tutorial on what kind of character you're going to be playing. I would even keep the introductory quests the same with minor dialogue tweaks. The ritual would come after the tutorial prologue mission and then you start with Harding and the companion you got introduced with, since the order you get them...really doesn't matter or impact anything.

5. I think the Venatori and Antaam following Elven Mage Gods is kinda dumb. Sorry. I thought they both looked down on them for being either Elves or Mages/didn't even acknowledge them. What the hell is their goal anyway

My criticisms comes down to...I don't know what themes the game is trying to tackle? The game SAYS things but doesn't actually do anything with these topics. Minrathous HAS a slavery problem but we don't see it. Treviso is ruled by a faction of assassins but it's like a good thing! Elven gods are responsible for everything wrong in the world, but the narrative implications of what that means for modern elves are acknowledged in passing like acknowledging the weather. The game feels hesitant to actually unpack any of these things despite being the one to put them on the table.

Anyway I am going to finish the game and probably play on Daee with a Solavellan Inquisitor to see if that improves my experience by picking a character who is more tailored to the Rook they portray/not having an emotional connection to the Inky, but atm...Man I Had Hopes. Made me feel stupid for getting so hyped up for a conclusion to a story arc for a character THEY SPECIFICALLY LEFT ON A CLIFFHANGER FOR A DECADE. I'll just draw art, lie face down in the ground and imagine a more narratively satisfying conclusion to my Inquisitors story.

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 777: Sohoku's sprinter

Pag 2

1: Houruaaagh

2: Buooraah

3: It's not.... “he's going to attack one more time”!!

Pag 3

1: He's attacked already!!

Pag 4

2: Fifth stage!!

He used the last curve!!

3: Feelings at full throttle!!

He got his “three seconds” in the curve and then accelerated!?

This guy has been tearing apart-

Pag 5

1: Aventador!!

Orange*!!

-road racing common sense over and over again!!

(*NdT.: Issa's attack's name)

Pag 6

4: One guy has jumped ahead as they were turning the curve

Hakogaku and Sohoku are chasing him!!

The guy who's ahead with two strong guys following him.....

Pag 7

1: I've never seen his jersey before!!

Hyaaa!!

Who's that guy!? An unknown cyclist!?

But he's here at the sprint line

Can something like that really happen!?

Pag 8

1: Words things like “of course”, “I already know that”, are like shackles that bind our thoughts

2: There is discovery in “common sense”, yon!!

4: Even so, in road bikes

5: there are two or three ways to hold the handles, so you can change your posture

Pag 9

1: and use various muscles to accelerate, yon!!

2: Three people passed the 300m point, and now it's just a straight road

Pag 10

1: There's still one person running ahead!! The two people behind him can't catch up!!

2: They can see the sprint gate already!!

3: Tch, really, he forced his way through with an ambush like this

4: But

5: My “number one in Japan” plan hasn't wavered one bit!!

Pag 11

1: Lat year's autumn

Woooah cap!!

2: Gap!!

3: Guaagh.... it's always just me saying “gap”!!

Whatcha talking about, Kabu

4: About Doubashi!! I wanna leave him “gaping”!! Me!! Since I lost to him in the summer Inter High!!

You’ve lost the ability to differentiate between the words ‘gap’ and ‘gaping’, haven’t you?

5: Huh? I was able to say this properly when I talked to Aoyagi-san

… which was it again?

6: By the way, Naruko-san, you're supposed to be a good sprinter

Supposed to be!?

Don't you have some secret weapon? Like an ace up your sleeve

7: I'm a genius, so I think if you teach me I'll get it right away!!

I really don't feel like telling you... honestly

8: No, but.... I also thought of myself as a genius, but surely I wasn't that stupid

Pag 12

1: But it's a favour to a kohai, it can't be helped

I've grown too, after all

2: Listen carefully to this “secret weapon”

When you're sprinting

3: The “cog-wheels” you imagine, try imagine them more accurately!! Until the tiniest details!!

4: The....

5: … cog-wheels!?

6: Ah? What does that mean!?

7: Be more specific, please... you're not very reliable, huh

Ugh!! This guy....

I've been thinking this since before, but me and you really don't think alike, Naruko-san...

I'll kill you....

Pag 13

1: As expected from Naruko-san

2: Aoyagi-san was more reliable (even thought he was taciturn)

What does he mean “imagine”?

Hop

3: Ohhh, amazing, Kaburagi

4: Hahaha, I know, right

6: I can do this too

Ohhhh... a blind catch!!

7: How did you do that!?

Hahaha, I'm a genius, so I can do anything just by imagin....

Kaburagi is so cool!

Pag 14

1: Imagining!!

2: Just now I did a blind catch just by imagining it!!

Do it again!

What's wrong, Kaburagi?

3: Oi oi, wait, wait- is this what he meant?

4: Does that mean it'll work? If I apply this to biking!?

6: Imagine

The cog-wheels

7: accurately

8: until the tiniest details

9: Detailed

10: Times and times again

Pag 15

1: I imagined it over and over again!!

And then my “cog-wheels”evolved into “gears”!!

2: Oi, San-na!! Do you have one more special move?

4: Tch

Pag 16

1: Buah!!

Of course!!

I need one more shot to crush you!!

2: It's “Huracan*”, which is stronger than “Aventador”!!

(*NdT.: written as “raging bull” but read as “huracan”)

3: Use it now!!

5: I, too

Pag 17

1: will pull out “golden yellow” now!!

2: If we use them at the same time, it'll make us catch up!!

3: You understand it, San-na

There's no time for complaining about it

4: This guy..... the “golden yellow” that he absolutely wanted to save until the last minute before the sprint line!!

5: We have to close the gap and line up to him now

At this rate, that guy

Pag 18

1: He'll be the first to arrive!!

2: The lead is passing the 200m sign!!

3: Who's that, Gunma!?

I thought the Gunma team was supposed to be Jousui?!

Did the team debut this year!?

There's a guy that strong in Gunma

4: Waaaa

5: That number 181 is debuting now.... but

His career and profile is crazy!!

Pag 19

1: It's Kiji Kyuui!! He's the MTB Inter High two-times champion!!

Huh!?

2: So, the two chasing him won't be able to catch up, at this rate!?

Pag 20

1: Huh!?

What was that just now

For an instant, behind those two

2: I saw blooming golden yellow flowers, and a raging bull

Pag 21

1: This year's may

2: I see

3: Please

Basically

4: Doubashi, you mean you want to race me in a serious sprint battle... now that I've become an university student!!

[huellitaa]

hello hello huelittaa 👋✨ do u have any tips for someone struggling with motivation to workout? or even to take a simple walk? thank uu 🤍

bee's physical activity handbook: motive 🎀 . ݁₊ ⊹

hiiii ml!!!!!!!! 🫶🏻🩷💗 sorry this has been sitting in my inbox for a few days BUT IM HERE NOW !!!!! honestly this is something i also struggle with myself ,, i am still recovering from depression personally so this is still difficult for me sometimes too but these are some things i do !!!! ♡

🧁𓂃 ࣪˖ 1. prepare urself for the possibility

so since i know i have this problem a lot, it helps me to be prepared for this in advance. i actually have a whole notion page filled with a table of letters to myself in specific situations i find myself in a lot, this included, and have a whole archived stored of cute photos and motivation and things like articles and videos and tumblr posts on the main page and in the letters that make me wanna get up and do shit and its my LIFESAVER. (should i make a post on this?)

but i'd suggest to keep a note or page or document , physical or digital, filled with just motivation for this specific thing, like things you like about it, photos romanticising working out or going outside, songs that motivate you, etc etc etc. the list goes on but you get the point ♡

🎀𓂃 ࣪˖ 2. detective chapter: analysis! ♡

figure out why you dont want to. this is the main thing that helps me and its so simple but once u figure out the root u figure out the rest and this applies just the same here too. is it laziness? mental health? exhaustion? overworking? burnout? you won't be able to continue until you haven't found the actual problem. it's like trying to travel with no path to travel on.

💭𓂃 ࣪˖ 3. pep talk!

one thing i do that helps me the most is literally just lay in bed or wherever you are where ur procrastinating and thinking about this over and over and going back and forth whether to do it or not is to force the thoughts out (literally. u can envision it if it helps!) and deadass bully myself into doing it 😭😭

(🗒🎀 note: i've also found it helps for some people to do this in the mirror, just so ur face to face w urself as it were. plus u get to admire urself at the same time so its a win all around)

if ur not into harsh motivation, another thing i love, esp when im not feeling great enough to deal w harsh motivation is pretend ur giving advice to a friend or ur child in this position. this is one of the greatest pieces of advice ive ever gotten i literally cannot stress this enough. do this‼️ p.s. you can do this in ur head or out loud. i usually do some mix of both because i am a professional at talking to myself constantly literally all the time

🧁𓂃 ࣪˖ 4. use gratitude in ur favour!

one thing i like to do is essentially guilt trip myself into doing it. erm. you can also call this gratitude it sounds a lot better. think of how grateful you are to even have the opportunity to go outside safely to go for a walk, to be able to work out and keep urself healthy, because there's always someone who's not going to be able to do those things. it is a privilege to live your life and this should be classed as one too.

🎀𓂃 ࣪˖ 5. all about the outlook

another thing i love that falls into the category of motivation is treating it as an act of love and luxury rather than a chore and changing ur outlook on it. for example,

"oh, i have to do this or i'm a failure" or "i really don't want to do it today"

🎀𓂃 ࣪˖ into...

"i deserve to do this for myself because i deserve to be taken care of and kept in good health."

and i find this makes me so much more open to it because you do deserve it.

🧸𓂃 ࣪˖ 6. romanticism; obviously!

okayyyy i know you hear this EVERYWHERE but ‼���its‼️because‼️its true‼️ romanticism is my LIFE not a day goes by where i dont act like im a silly girl in a pink girly shoujo world, and i do this even more so when i dont wanna get up and do simple tasks like this.

some things that give me motivation via romanticism is getting dressed up and cute even if i'm just going for a walk and listening to music and appreciating the world (🗒🎀 note: i love taking pictures or going on different routes whenever i go for walks! it makes the experience so much sweeter and more enjoyable ♡), or putting on cute clothes, loud music and grabbing a pretty waterbottle and hyping myself up to do even just 10 mins of pilates because something is always better than nothing!!!!!!!!!!!

🎀𓂃 ࣪˖ 7. something is better than nothing

with the last note from my previous point in mind, try and always do just a little bit, even if it's not the amount you intended. say you wanted to workout for 20 minutes every day, but you really weren't feeling it today? do 10 instead. this way ur still doing something. we always have tomorrow. take it at ur own pace. you wanted to go running every day? just go for a walk. you can always try again. there is no limit on how many attempts you have with these things. this is always better than just doing nothing at all. this is basically finding the middle ground when you do these things. which leads me onto my final point ,,♡

✨️𓂃 ࣪˖ 8. finding the middle ground

the no.1 thing in all of this is please don't beat urself up for it if you don't feel like it sometimes, but still keep to it as best as possible. say for example you really didn't want to one day but you had no real reason not to, you should still do it. but if your emotional or physical health or anything like that is in a bad place right now, then allow urself to skip for a day or two. dont beat urself up over it, but keep to it when and where you can because i know its difficult sometimes ♡

all my love, and u got this!!!!!!!!!! 🩷🫶🏻💬💗🎀

[sciderman]

Hello sci. Do you happen to have a list of reasons why the spiderman/Deadpool comic is ass because I haven't read it in forevers and I seriously can't remember all the details anymore😭😭 TRYING to convince my friend who's only read that comic and none of the others that it's not good but it's so embarrassing since I don't really have any good reasons with the panels to prove it💔💔 Anyways I figured I'd give asking you about it a shot since your always writing your paragraphs upon paragraphs about comics... Maybe you have a list or something. Plus I think the way you talk about things is nice n easy to understand. :3

bless you @deadpoolpie! i do think it's always best to form your own opinions about things but i'll never miss an opportunity to dunk on sm/dp because i'm always perpetumad about all the POTENTIAL and marvel just. never delivering.

i'm not going to do panels, because - that series is such a mess that i can't even bare to go through it again. i just can't do it. it's practically indecipherable.

so. i think the first misstep in sm/dp was the timing. it was just, ultimately, the worst time to start a sm/dp series. the spider-man and deadpool series did not work because spider-man and deadpool were not working in their own series either. it was the least spider-manny and deadpooly that spider-man and deadpool have ever been. spider-man was running parker industries, being a billionaire and basically, being entirely what peter parker was never meant to be. and deadpool was a member of the avengers, was also kind of a multi-millionaire - had employees on payroll, had a wife and a kid, and ultimately was busy being entirely not what deadpool should be, either.

it was a bad time to do a spider-man and deadpool series, because spider-man and deadpool were not, presently, spider-man and deadpool.

2. joe kelly is bad at writing spider-man. he's good at writing deadpool. he's good at that. but he is so. abysmally bad at writing spider-man, particularly when spider-man is standing next to deadpool.

joe kelly will, without fail, make spider-man look like an ableist jackass and - honest to god, do very little that makes us like him. i can't think of a single moment in the spider-man and deadpool series were peter parker is sympathetic. the only time he's ever painted favourably is when he is apologising to deadpool for being wrong. and he is. consistently wrong. he doesn't have a single moment in that series where he is not wrong.

3. don't like healed wade. think it's stupid. think the reasoning is god awful too, and you would not believe the number of asks i've gotten on the blog because of this, in the vein of "wow... wade's only scarred because he doesn't love himself... wade... why don't you try loving yourself..."

i want to boil spider-man alive for this scene specifically

5. the jokes aren't funny. this is subjective but. the jokes aren't funny. it doesn't land for me. it's dated pop-culture references and just... i don't know, i guess i'm not who it's for. i don't know who the jokes are for, but, not me. and i think most people i've spoken to who DO play overwatch throw up in their mouths whenever i whip out this panel.

6. i know there are other bits of this series not written by joe kelly. i don't like those bits either. i don't think they're as egregious because i don't know. kelly was setting the tone and the other guys were just picking up an already underwhelming series. by the time the other guys picked up the writing i'd already jumped ship. i already wanted nothing to do with the series. i've tried reading the series, start-to-finish, but - it really gives me no pleasure at all. there's nothing in there i like. like. nothing at all. and those readers i spoke to that HAVE managed to subject themselves to the whole series have all said they're ultimately disappointed. and yeah. i don't imagine it going any other way.

i kind of love myself too much to fester over this series and force myself to hate read it. there's so much good content out there i haven't read yet. so why force myself to partake of the bad. it's not my obligation. if it's bad and i don't like it, then it's bad and i don't like it. self care is choosing to forget that the sm/dp series exists and moving on with love in my heart and sunshine in my mind

[homunculus-argument]

One thing I believe in life is the rule of three traits: You can survive while being ugly, stupid, or mean, but not all three.

There's plenty of people who are incredibly pretty, and have people doing favours for them regardless of whether they're stupid or cruel. Somehow this specific 2/3 combo type keep attracting partners who are sweet but not bright, and I've had to cut ties with people I genuinely liked because they wouldn't stop bringing their astonishingly beautiful but absolutely insufferable partner into social situations with them.

Being ugly doesn't really hinder a person if you've got enough wits to go with it - people who look like they were shaped out of clay by someone who's never sculpted anything trying to make the image of a person while being drunk and blindfolded can thrive perfectly well if they're smart. Whether they're genuinely kind, sweet people or absoltutely heinous makes no difference in this matter.

Personally I'm an ugly guy by inherent features and do myself no favours with fashion choices, and I'm cognitively fucked enough that it technically speaking counts as brain damage, so I've had no choice but learn to be nice to people. I know how to cheer people up and make them feel better about their life choices because making sure that my stupid ass is still alive is usually one of them. You gotta be tough if you're gonna be stupid, but if you can't be tough, you have to be nice to the people who help you out or they won't make the same mistake again.

One thing that breaks this scale is money. If someone's rich enough to never need to rely on people who'll help and support them out of their own free will, they never need to figure out how to make up for lacking something that nature didn't give them. Therefore, I don't think they really even count as people.

[being-addie]

How to Glow Up for School

Got an ask for tips to glow up, thought I'd make a separate post for it too.

⭐Workout⭐:

There's no rule that the gym is the only place to workout.

Youtube videos: There are tons and tons of great workout videos from people with a large following. My favourites are Caroline Girvan, growingannanas, Pamela Reif and Madfit. Go get sweaty!

Makeshift weights: You can water bottles filled with water/sand as weights or buy ankle weights to put around your wrists as you get stronger.

Run: This is an amazing source of cardio. I gave up a while back on this because I detest running, but it really does work. Plug in your headphones and go for a run in nature.

Dance: Dancing is a really fun way to workout. Try Zumba, hip-hop or K-pop routines. Hell, even Just Dance has some good ones. Join a class if you want to stay accountable.

Let me know if you want me to drop my workout routine too

⭐Diet⭐:

Honestly, I can't give much advice here, because I'm not qualified enough. Go to a nutritionist to see if there's anything you can do. If not, eat plenty of protein and fibre, limit your junk food intake and drink lots of water. Make lots of salads and fruit bowls. Overnight oats are healthy, filling and delicious.

What I like to do, is eat everything in moderation. Say I've had a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. I won't deny myself a nice bowl of ice cream (again, not a sundae, the key is moderation). But if I've had greasy food for lunch and takeout for dinner, I'll probably settle for fruit instead. Know that you can eat without punishing yourself, but remember not to go overboard. Food is fuel, remember.

⭐Other tips⭐:

Skincare: Don't make it too fancy. I know influencers and the like have those weird 15-step skincare routines, but it isn't necessary. I use the Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser and the most basic Cetaphil face lotion I could find along with an organic lip balm my mom buys. It works like a charm and its not too fancy. I also take an ABC smoothie (Apple, Beetroot, Carrot + some water.) This is such a game-changer.

Abundance mindset: I like to think of the universe constantly working in my favour. It's always looking out for me, and I'm the luckiest girl in the world. What you think is what you attract. If you think negatively, you will begin to see only bad things around you. Stay positive.

Wardrobe: Go thrifting, or DIY some old clothes. Pinterest has tons of amazing ideas. Paint your T-shirts, dye your skirts, make cute jewellery at home. There are no limits.

Makeup: I don't recommend it honestly. I'm more or less anti makeup to the point where I only own two pieces of makeup(eyeliner and lip gloss) and even those are used sparingly. Don't get used to your painted face. Your natural beauty is beautiful; and should not be hidden. There's something so amazing in someone who is confident in their own skin. Own yourself, and people will love you more for it.

Hope this helps you become the best version of yourself. Baby steps to your goal, okay? This takes time and with consistency, you WILL get there. Stay lovely. xoxo

<3

[snakepitgunner]

I’m so sorry I haven’t sent any photos, but if I’m being honest I’ve been a little scared to, not just backlash from fans but the legal side as I know GNR lawyers are aggressive. I can only apologise if you don’t believe me; I’ve been offline all week as I’m tired of being called delusional and having my story invalidated.

Someone side stage asked me to go with them and I assumed I was in trouble as I’d recorded a lot of the concert, maybe I’d disrupted them? But everyone else had been doing the same. They took me to a dressing room and 5 minutes later Slash walked in, he told me he couldn’t stop looking at me in the crowd and wanted to take me home with him, we talked a little and took a car to the hotel, then he kissed me.

We got to the room and he poured me a drink, he had water, I had wine. He went to take a shower and put on some music. He came out about half an hour later in just a towel and told me to come over, I was full of butterflies at that point.

We kissed, I pulled his towel off and he carried me over to bed, I was DESPERATE to suck his cock, but he made a meal out of stripping me off first, kissing me, biting me a little and finally went down on me, I genuinely felt like I couldn’t control myself like his mouth and fingers… oh my god.

When he’d worn me out one way; he lay back and told me I could return the favour, he was bigger than I thought he’d be, and thick👀 I know he’s kind of bigger muscled etc. but he still has a very sexy V line, he had to stop me blowing him because he didn’t wanna cum.

He was very gentle, he held my hands above my head while he was on top but kind of in a support way rather than a restrained way, if that makes sense? While he was on top he kept whispering how beautiful I was and that I had a gorgeous body. If I had a praise kink, I’d have squirted on his face at this point.

He preferred me being on tops and couldn’t keep his eyes off my breasts, he kept pulling me to him so he could suck on them and squeezing me whilst I was riding. I’m generally a pillow princess but… come on, it’s Slash right?

His stamina was impressive, we probably got to it around 1am? And when I looked at the clock when we were talking afterwards it was about 3:30am

I can understand why you would be hesitant to expose yourself but I would still love to see the pictures. I would keep them private. There are a few people here who can vouch that I don't post messages if I'm asked not to.

Were you at the show by yourself? Did you snoop through his stuff while he was in the shower? What kind of music did he put on? Was he a good kisser? Did he get you a ride home or did you have to get one yourself? When did you talk about his personal life (meegan, London, ect) before or after the sex? Did you sleep there or leave right after?

I have a ton of questions but if this is too much, let me know. Also, we can speak privately if that is better for you. People who follow me are cool and like hearing about this. If you look at the notes on the previous asks, everyone just wants to hear about it. No one is saying anything mean. Everyone over here is pretty nice (but nosy like me, lol). We just want to know all about it.

[Originally posted on February 6, 2024]

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I broke up with a guy after learning that he is clinically depressed and has anxiety?

So rolling back in time, I (22f) met this guy (28m) through a work event. We hit it on really well, and started going out for chats & coffee soon after. I told him from the get go that I was ace and seemed decently chill with that despite not knowing much about it. I was pretty cautious since pretty much all my relationships have gone down the drain because of that (ie my being blamed for leading people on). Things were going decently well and slow paced until I had to go back home for a month (one of my parent's funeral).

Not surprisingly I haven't been in the best of moods and felt pretty much no interest to pick things back up when I came back. But in an attempt to not close off myself, I went back to chat with the guy. Which is where things came up that he is depressed (has been for the past 5 years following a burnout) in addition to having anxiety. While he's been going to therapy for a while, he's been in a slum most of this time (ie, not having progressed at work, very few friends, etc), which isn't helped by him having some substance issues. Overall this wouldn't be the end of the world but it makes him very needy which I absolutely hate (especially considering that I'm trying to fix my own problems). His neediness translates to him being very very affectionate (which, I don't mind? Just that I'm not a teddy bear) but also him really really wanting to help me since he has problems that he wants to share and therefore wants to return the favour. Thing is. I really don't want that? The support that he offers doesn't do much for me since I already have other methods of coping with my problems (including friends that I feel more comfortable chatting with). I realise that it might not be the healthiest but I'm not keen to open up and share problems when it doesn't help me.

So this leaves me in the situation where he haa very much fixated on me while I'm not willing to commit more effort to trying to help with his problems (the fact that he seemed to have his life together, only to not have done much over the past 3-5 years is really the issue). I can't really sustain a one way relationship + work has been extremely stressful and life has been kinda shitty (rather obviously). But I feel like an AH for dropping him the moment I learned that he had mental health issues.

So WIBTA for breaking up with him?

What are these acronyms?

[grapejuicegay]

A... rather personal defense of Pran

I've seen a lot of people being confused about Pran's behaviour and rather upset by him. But like @waitmyturtles said in their review, "I see Pran dealing with something really complicated." Which, yes. That's what this post is about. I just don't think it's about Singapore.

It's about Pran's OCD. I think there was a consensus last week with the way Pran talked about it that it was a recent diagnosis. And I think this episode just confirmed that for me.

This is where the personal part begins - I was diagnosed with OCD in 2020, in the very first few months of covid. When I told people about it I got about the same response that we had to Pran - it's not surprising but it's good that it's an official diagnosis now.

Such a diagnosis is almost a relief when you get it because suddenly a lot of things start making sense. But it also comes with a very fun challenge - learning to deal with it. Because while you understand why you get so much more anxious and overthink more than most people, you're also suddenly more aware of your thought patterns. You have to be, to find a way to work through them, to not give into the intrusive thoughts. But looking at the intrusive thoughts is one of the best ways to let them take over. You do have to look at them though, because you have to learn to recognise them. Because you cannot deal with them until you do. It's a rough cycle.

I was a few years older than Pran when I was diagnosed, and in a very different place in my life. The pandemic that we didn't know a lot about at that time looming over our heads did not help my anxiety, but the lockdown gave me something really special - time and space to work through it all. I wasn't in college so I didn't have the constant looming threat of deadlines and figuring out my future in that very moment. I also didn't have the very unique set of stressors Pran lives with - friends and family from whom you're hiding a relationship that if revealed could potentially lead to very severe consequences, consequences that in the past have been the worst of his anxieties come to life. Nor a relationship to maintain while being overtly aware at all times that this is not the kind of relationship your partner would really want, that they're only in this because of you.

And there is the sacrifice of it all. There is the thing that keeps coming up again and again - that Pat does so much for him. That Pat helps him all the time, that Pat's sacrificed so much for him, that Pran isn't sure he's good enough or ever will be.

Add to that the regular reminders from Pat that he overthinks. They're meant in a very good way and they do help in the moment, I'm not denying that at all. But it's also a fact that Pran struggles with. It adds to his concern that he's a burden on Pat with the way he thinks, that Pat has to do so much work because of Pran's brain, something Pat had no say over (something Pran had no say over but it's harder to see it like that in the moment).

I've had my diagnosis for the past 3 years now. And it hasn't been until the past year that I've finally started feeling confident in myself and my ability to regulate my anxiety, to finally start feeling like I have control over my brain. Because as much as knowing the diagnosis helps, the work you have to do afterwards is no joke.

So yes, Pran is going through something very heavy, but it's not the prospect of going to Singapore (I don't believe that exists just yet, but it's coming soon). Pran is in the process of figuring out how to make his brain work in his favour instead of actively against him. He's learning to rely on people when he needs to while fighting off constant reminders that he's a burden.

And we've seen Pran make a lot of progress. Any points at which he talks about being anxious are progress. Any time he lets himself be upset is progress. Any time time he says any of his worries out loud (even if he can't say them directly to Pat yet), he has fought his way through who knows how many intrusive thoughts to get to that point. And in the same regard - he probably feels guilty about having Pat say "I can't live without you" first. Because he's likely just as aware that Pat has done so much for him that this is just another thing he's adding on top of that.

But - and I think this is very big - he knows that he needs Pat to say it first, to give him permission to feel this, that this isn't too much for him to ask for. This is him asking for help to express himself when he feels like too much. It helps them both in the long run. And I do think it's a very important step to get what we saw in ep 12 - a Pran that demands love, that demands to be babied. This is him giving himself permission through the hardest part of learning his diagnosis.

I love that we get this between ep 11 and 12 because with this ep 12 also becomes a hug, a way of telling us things may be rough for him but he gets through it. He'll get where he needs to be, wants to be. Just give him some time. Because just like with the parents, sometimes time is just what you need.

[em-writes-stuff-sometimes]

Haven't heard from you in a while, hope you're doing well! <3

Hey, nonnie - I'm doing alright. Personal ramble below the cut. Skip if you're just here for fanfic reading and don't care about my silly little melodrama.

Not going to go into too much detail, but I've been really feeling the depression lately. For context, I have clinical depression and take a really high dose of antidepressants, which fuck with other aspects of my life (i.e. weight and lack of sleep). Medical consensus is that I'll need medication for the rest of my life as my brain does not perform the appropriate mood-regulating functions (I'm not super sure what the specifics of this are). I've struggled with low feeling, demotivation, SI/SH etc. for nearly nine years now. I've slipped into a bit of an episode lately - not necessarily related to being online but Tumblr is a part of it - but I'm trying to work my way out of it by picking up some new-old hobbies, such as crochet, and doing things that I like and that don't stress me. I'm safe and don't have the opportunity to action any of my feelings, so please don't worry about me!

Unfortunately, Tumblr has been a source of stress for me since I've come on here. I've made some downright terrible choices in friends, in behaviour, in the amount of energy I commit to this space, and the only one who can really break this cycle is me. This site hosts a really wide range of personalities, and I just... feel like I've encountered some of the absolute worst among all of that, and it's done me absolutely no favours when it comes to making good choices. We all say that as adults, we should know better, but there's no sudden switch that flips, you know? We spend our whole lives making mistakes and learning from them. Adulthood isn't the abrupt entry into moral infallibility, and that's been something I've had to address and work through when it comes to my own failings.

To be perfectly honest, Tumblr isn't a supportive place. Or the people aren't. I don't really know which. To clarify, I do generally speak of the community of artists and writers in this, not the people here who just want to enjoy art or read someone's fanfic. I suppose there's a certain level of - I don't know - self-centredness? - when it comes to creating an online presence and sharing one's own creations on the internet. That mentality, I think, bleeds over into feelings of entitlement in creative communities. Entitlement to other people's time, to people's attention, to people's promotion, and when one doesn't get that, the problems start: (best to worst =) transactional interaction, badmouthing, hate anons, public bashing, and the list goes on. I've definitely been someone who has been upset by people's lack of interaction. I've responded with "oh, I'm not reblogging until they reblog mine" more than once. We all know that I've been involved with badmouthing and publicly bashing others. I continue to be very ashamed of this, and I am honest with myself about what I've done and how I got there in my journey working through my problems and making meaningful change in my life.

Anyway, point is - I'm trying to divorce myself from the entitlement, and I think to do that I need to divorce myself from the notion that we exist as a community. I've put far too much effort into that idea, and it's gotten me absolutely nowhere. There are more people who dislike me than not. Most just straight-up ignore me. I deserve it, sure, but (or maybe and) I have no intention of continuing to engage in a space that either doesn't exist or where I'm not wanted. I've felt anxious and upset at the mere thought of going on Tumblr the past few months. It hasn't been bringing me joy anymore, and that was the whole point of it. There's so much bad blood associated with being on here, but I love writing. I love this show. I can't give up something that makes me so happy in every respect other than this one site.

So I've taken some time off, reassessed the way I'm intending to use this space, and I've essentially decided that I started it for me so I'm going to do it for me. I'm going to interact with who I want and post what I want and damn absolutely everyone who tries to police me (of which there has been A LOT - apparently I have a "responsibility" to support others which I now know is actually code for "I'm jealous that you're getting any kind of attention online, so instead of addressing my issue with this, I'm going to vaguepost about/anon/DM you to try and guilt you into giving my work attention so that maybe it'll transfer to me").

For the casual peruser, no change at all. But I'm done giving my effort to the idea of 'community'. It doesn't exist, or I don't belong. I am going to do what makes me happy now, and only what makes me happy. That's the whole point. I'm sick of focusing on negatives. I'm sick of posting about them, to be honest. I think this mindset will do me good.

If you've gotten this far, I hope that it's okay that I've decided this. I'm feeling positive about it!

[starwarsmum]

Day 23 Regency! Continuing on in Forging a Bond

Part 1 Part 2

@maribat-calendar-events

After two months of living in Gotham with Damian, Chloé had insisted that she had to come and visit to meet the boyfriend ‘at last’. Marinette had tried to persuade her to stay in Paris, and that they were going to be visiting in the summer anyway, but the blonde had remained stubborn.

“My love, it will be fine,” Damian soothed her, kissing her shoulder as they lay in bed together. She hummed noncommittally and he huffed out a laugh. “Bourgeois has waited a considerable amount of time if the way you describe her is anything to go by.”

“I know, she was just the first rich kid that ever got under my skin. Sure, we're friends now but she can still be kind of…mean sometimes. Luka mellows her out a lot but he isn't coming with her because he has a few concerts across Europe this week.”

“I am sorry I will be busy on the Watchtower for the second part of her visit,” he said, snuggling up to her and resting his face in the crook of her neck. She sighed and lost herself in his touch for a while, so glad they had gotten past their initial rocky start.

_ _ _

“So. You're Marinette's new beau, hm? And what makes you think you're worthy of our Nette?”

Chloé had arrived half an hour before and was determined to be as abrasive as possible, apparently. Marinette hissed at her to be nice but Damian and Chloé ignored her in favour of eyeing each other warily. Muttering darkly about rich kids, Marinette decided to make the coffee while she watched them.

“Worthy is not a word I would apply to myself, though I would argue that nobody is worthy of her. I am merely fortunate that she has chosen me to bestow her affection upon,” Damian said steadily. “And I am doing everything in my power to make her as happy as she can possibly be.”

“Hmph, I suppose you'll do,” Chloé agreed begrudgingly. She turned to Marinette with an arched eyebrow. “And I would like to say that I'm offended that you didn't tell me you bagged a freaking Wayne. Only you, Dupain-Cheng.”

“You of all people should know that surnames mean nothing to me, Chlo,” Marinette chided as she brought the coffee around to the sofa. “I like Damian for being Damian, not for his family, trust me.”

Damian squeezed her hand as she handed him his coffee and she smiled at him. She knew Chloé would be pressing for more information about why she didn't like the Waynes later, but she was kind enough to wait.

_ _ _

The day that Damian went on his ‘work trip’ was when things started to go wrong. It started well enough, he woke her early to say goodbye and they had breakfast together. He warned her about a recent Arkham outbreak and she assured him that she would be sticking to Chloé like glue.

Even the beginning of their shopping trip was great; Marinette had dozens of ideas about different designs and fabrics and Chloé had begrudgingly admitted that the shops were ‘adequate’.

They stopped at a high end restaurant for lunch and that was where the trouble started. The food was delicious, the servers courteous and friendly, and they paid without any issue. Everything was perfect until someone stormed into the building just as they were standing to leave.

The man was shorter than average with an oversized head and teeth. He had red hair partially covered by a hat that had a broad brim with a slip of paper sticking out of the trim. He was dressed in a green suit and he scanned the room while his goons filed into the room. His eyes gleamed when they landed on Marinette and Chloé.

“Well, it must be my lucky day! If it isn't my lovely Alice and the deplorable Red Queen,” he said, leering at the pair. They stayed silent, not wanting to make it worse but it appeared he was already set on his course of action. “Worry not, fair Alice, the Red Queen cannot keep you any longer.”

“Listen you little nutjob,” Chloé said, her anxiety clearly making her prickly. “I'm not Alice and she isn't the Red Queen.”

“Hmm, I suppose she is a little young to be the queen,” he mused, obviously ignoring her saying she wasn't Alice. “But with that dress there's no possibility that it's a coincidence! She must be a regent, standing in place of the vile wench.”

“No, really, we don't have anything to do with Alice or the Red Queen,” Marinette said hesitantly, hoping to pull his attention away from Chloé. It didn't work, his eyes staying fixed on her blonde hair and the blue skirt that flared out. 

“Well, Regent, I suppose I shall save your queen the job of ending you once she finds out that you failed to keep Alice captive,” he said with a sinister smirk. His zombified minions began to move towards the pair and, despite Marinette's struggles and Chloé’s pissed off screams, Chloé was dragged away.

It took too long for Marinette to subdue the people attacking her, her need to be careful of the mind controlled people making her hesitant with her strikes. By the time the police were there, she had no idea where Chloé could be.

_ _ _

Several hours later, Marinette was slinking across the rooftops of Gotham, the early evening light framing her silhouette. She couldn't become Ladybug, but she wasn't about to leave it up to the Bats to save Chloé. She had sent a message to Damian but knew that he was off-world and wouldn't have access to his messages.

She had spent a great deal of time narrowing down the likely places that Chloé could be hidden and when there were two places left, she let her luck decide and flipped a coin. It fell on tails and she headed towards the non-descript warehouse in the fashion district.

Her heart hammered in her throat as she observed the goons milling around the warehouse, preparing explosives and guarding her friend. She took several deep breaths and let her Ladybug magic seep into her blood. She would need no small amount of luck to get them both out of there alive without transforming.

Beginning with the people arming the bombs, Marinette started to take them out of commission one at a time. She worked out that once she removed the hats they were more than willing to get the hell out of there. As they disappeared, she finally managed to catch Chloé's eye and understanding passed between them.

Immediately, Chloé began talking to the Mad Hatter, indulging his questions and asking her own to keep him occupied. By the time Marinette had cleared the warehouse, Mad Hatter had finally worked out that there wasn't enough noise for what he had ordered to be done and turned wildly to find out what was happening.

Ruthlessly, as Damian had been training her out of the suit, Marinette leapt towards him. She could almost hear his voice in her ear, Your opponents will nearly always be bigger and stronger than you. Take away their advantage of reach by getting in close or using a long range weapon. 

Without a suitable weapon, she got up close and personal with the deranged man. He flinched back but not soon enough to avoid the punch to his throat. Before he could recover, she grappled for his arms and brought him down into a hold, perching on his back and putting her weight onto them.

“Chloé, see if you can grab those zip ties without disturbing the explosives,” she ordered. Surprisingly, Chloé didn't voice any objection to her stern and commanding tone, merely delicately picking up the requested item before shoving them into Marinette's hands.

Once he was secure, Marinette took the hat off his head and set it far out of his reach. As she turned towards the exit she spotted a dark shape moving in the rafters and froze. She relaxed only minutely when she spotted a blazing blue bird symbol and a gleaming red helmet.

“That was impressive, Ma- Miss,” Nightwing said, cocking his head at her. She was fairly certain he was squinting at her as if that would tell him how she had done that.

“Um, I was just trying to get my friend out of here safely,” Marinette said, shrugging even as she cringed slightly. The last thing she wanted was for the Batfamily to be interested in her beyond her being Damian's girlfriend. The possibility of them drawing some - entirely accurate - conclusions was too high.

Nightwing and Red Hood looked at each other before the latter shrugged and shooed them out of the building. Marinette hesitated only momentarily before pushing Chloé through the crowd of recently freed goons and to an ambulance. It took very little time for the paramedics to clear them of injuries and they headed straight back to Marinette's apartment.

Marinette poured them both generous servings of wine and they settled onto the sofa to decompress from it all. It wasn't long before the glasses were empty and they were both fast asleep.

Part 4

[limitbreaker23]

How to watch episode 19&20 wearing shipping goggles

So, I rambled about the beloved Zhancheng Sunshot Campaign episodes here, but still have many thoughts within me, which culminates in this extended cut.

I'm calling episode 19 and 20 of The Untamed the Zhancheng Sunshot episodes, because they basically are just one mini-movie of them wandering around, investigating Wei Wuxian's disappearance and sunshooting while being cute.

Starting with their power couple entrance.

We're picking up with them after the entire "insert Golden Core in shidi" drama after a 3 months timeskip. This is just a whole banquet served for a starved shipper like myself. Just think of all the sweet and salty filler you can use those 3 months for. Jiang Cheng was all by himself after the Core debacle, having nothing but spiritual power and a fancy hat. Without a sword, he basically had to hitchhike or walk to the Cloud Recesses to find help. Lan Wangji had just led an group of disciples to take his home back from the Wens. His uncle was still injured, most of the Cloud Recesses had been burnt, his sword was also unavailable. He does carry a sword in episode 18, but it doesn't seem to be Bichen and he is without one when we pick up with him here.

This is also the first time we hear Lan Wangji speak again since episode 14. So, it's necessary to have him say something iconic like "Kneel" to make Jiang Cheng melt on the inside. He does make an incredible entrance, even without a sword. As does Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng flies in all by himself. He has no sword, no disciples, and no one knows where he got the fancy robes from. He has Lan Wangji though, who basically works like a sword to carry. Good choice, Jiang Cheng!

Wearing your shipping goggles, you can happily fawn over them taking the lead in this moment together. Lan Wangji walks ahead, he has Wangji somewhere in his pouch, some neat strings available for chord assassination. Jiang Cheng isn't using it in this scene, but he does have Zidian. Even without borrowed swords, it wasn't a bad idea of them to infiltrate the Indoctrination Bureau. There's an entire fic waiting there how they did that. I can already feel the tension in their sudden need to trust each other in several life threatening stealth situations. Tehe~

After retrieving their swords, Zhancheng find themselves staring dramatically at the horizon to discuss their feelings. Jiang Cheng discusses his feelings because he does that all the time. It's all very normal. They match sky for cinematographic purposes, not because my shipping goggles come tinted.

We also learn that Jiang Cheng thought he'd find them all (aka Lan Wangji, Jin Zixuan, and probably Nie Huaisang who fainted and was carried back to dage, and even possibly Wei Wuxian) regrouping in Lanling. So, during the three month timeskip, he did in fact either go there first to get his new robes and help, or directly to the Cloud Recesses, where we last saw Lan Wangji's grand return after missing him dearly for several episodes.

I'm in favour of Jiang Cheng hitchhiking to the Cloud Recesses for simple reasons of it being closer, him having no means to travel without Sandu, and mostly because he reunited with Jiang Yanli only later in Qinghe when she was with Jin Zixuan in Lanling after departing with Song Lan. Obviously also because I wear shipping goggles and want Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji to go purple robe shopping. Which they could also do in Lanling. Many options, much food.

After sharing his worries with Lan Wangji, they are reunited with their swords. Sandu and Bichen are very sad to be separated. Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji look cute together.

Jiang Cheng lets Lan Wangji pull at Wei Wuxian's sword to find it has sealed itself. The utter display of trust and lack of questioning is something people wearing shipping goggles latch on. There is also delicious tragedy in this, because if Jiang Cheng had pulled Suibian now, the Core debacle might have doomed all of them less or more, we'll never find out. What we can find out, after adjusting our shipping goggles, is that this moment can come back to haunt Zhancheng almost twenty years into their future. As if they needed more angst potential.

Zhancheng regroup with their supporting cast on the Unclean Realm's battlefield. Jiang Cheng can finally reunite with his sister, hugging her while Lan Wangji watches like he wants to be hugged like that. Jin Zixuan also regrets not getting any hugs. With the Jiang siblings hugging it out, Lan Wangji can also marvel at Wen Xu's head, taken off by Nie Mingjue. Ah, the delicious fuel to have Lan Wangji of all people look vengeful at someone. Wen Xu broke his leg, burnt his home, murdered his fellow disciples. Lan Wangji could really use a hug right now. Looking at you, Jiang Cheng, not at Jin Zixuan scooting in there.

The best thing about their strategy discussion with Nie Mingjue aside from all the looks Lan Wangji throws at Jiang Cheng is them asking for the same assignment without previous discussion.

Lan Wangji looks delightfully worried about Jiang Cheng's angy moment, but does not have a snickers available. A hug might do. And Jiang Cheng searches for Lan Wangji to look at in his worried moments. Just hug.

Some wordless communication and in sync movement fogs up the shipping goggles. Nie Mingjue also approves of young heroes sticking close together for fighting and comfort. Jin Zixuan almost gets smacked out of the way by Lan Wangji trying to hurry after Jiang Cheng.

Next time we see Jiang Cheng, getting some soup from his sister, it is dark. This can mean many things like they finally had time to take a bath and stop smelling of blood, but they can also have a few lovely fic filler hours together. Tehe~

Next time we see them, Jiang Cheng has also retrieved/recruited some disciples of his own and is allowed to command the Lan disciples, except for Lan Wangji, who has a special spot at his side. The disciples seem very used to Jiang Zongzhu giving commands, they are off like he threw them a treat. Dog trainer Jiang Cheng strikes, I guess. Lan Wangji approves of good displays of leadership.

Sticking close to Jiang Cheng means Lan Wangji can witness the beautiful display of leadership and Zidian usage from the front row. His glance from the side is gasp and giggle worthy for a lost shipper soul like mine. He approves of an efficient, dramatic usage of spiritual weapons.

Their investigation of the reversed talismans not only comes with memorable lines, but another display of standing closer than necessary and trusted words. Their hands almost touched. Jiang Cheng has never heard of reversed talismans, he doesn't know about this, and he isn't afraid to ask for Lan Wangji's opinion and help, which is just melting me like butter in the sun.

Honourable mention to them putting Lan Wangji on a Scully box for this scene to appear giant because his heels didn't seem to have been enough next to Jiang Cheng. Lan Wangji's magically changing height doesn't seem to bother Jiang Cheng. He will be fine with three centimetres smaller Lan Wangji, three centimetres taller Lan Wangji, and Lan Wangji wearing heeled boots to appear taller. He will have to carry him when his little feet hurt, though. Do not go Sunshooting in heels.

Alas, the necessary heartbreak for such legendary love stories! Lan Wangji watched Jiang Cheng return from his confession scene to Wen Qing. Don't be sad, Lan Wangji, he came back to you! The disciples in the back cannot believe the audacity of Jiang Zongzhu giving a comb to somebody else. Bless them being on our side!

The episode then follows our heroes on their travels around Yiling where mysterious murderings hinder the sightseeing but give us more shared looks and words and standing next to each other.

Jiang Cheng has also taught his disciples to bow properly to Lan Wangji and him at the same time, which is very gasp-worthy.

The climax of the Zhancheng episode is approaching, and Jiang Cheng can't wait. Lan Wangji can't quite wait either, touching Jiang Cheng. Lan Wangji often touches people. It is normal.

Zhancheng stake out Wen Zhuliu and Wen Chao from a rooftop spot. They are sitting delightfully close to peek into a tiny hole. Most likely, they just jumped up there without making much of a sound. But how did they find the delightfully useful hole? It's nice sometimes to think about them giving each other a leg-up and then wandering around the shingles in search of the hole. Maybe their shoulders touched.

In times of shock and disgust, find yourself a travelling companion to share the burden.

A compilation of Lan Wangji watching Jiang Cheng hug everyone but him.

Sadly, our beloved Sunshooting with Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji episode comes to an end with a devastating break up. Sandu touched Lan Wangji's chest much like Lan Wangji's arm touched Jiang Cheng's chest before. The rift between them grows. Lan Wangji leaves. Jiang Cheng stands up for his family. There was never a happy ending here. But food was served to fight the sadness.