#they're basically the same thing right?

[marvel-lous-guy]

Peter: Why do we even celebrate Valentine's Day? It's just a made-up holiday to sell greeting cards and chocolates.

Pepper: Oh, come on, Peter. Don't be so cynical. Valentine's Day is a time to show your loved ones how much you care about them.

Tony: Yeah, and it's also a great excuse to get drunk and hook up with strangers.

[thimblings]

*Viago will remember that*

(random scene from the fic i'm writing in my head lmao. takes place after leaving the cafe in "Coffee with Crows", hence the bag for groceries. first image is Lucanis putting a Gladiolus [Sword-Lily] in her hair that he bought while in the market. not intentionally flirting, he's just ~like that lmao)

(i will continue to find excuses to not draw Lucanis's complicated casual wear and also put everyone else in casual wear so i don't have to draw armor uwu)

[aroaceleovaldez]

recurring minor characters not being in s2 of the show does mean that TLO is absolutely doomed now if they ever do get to it, because the weight and impact of characters like Silena and Beckendorf are entirely based on how long they've been around in the books and their longstanding connection to events in the story and particularly Percy (not to mention Beckendorf's importance in SoM specifically but i digress)

HOWEVER. on the bright side: this means they are spared from being in the show for now. so.

[captainjonnitkessler]

It's kind of fucked up that every time an evangelical goes off about how those godless commies/queers/liberals are trying to destroy America and the church, tumblr embraces it whole-heartedly - Yeah, we're gonna attack and dethrone god! Yeah, we're satanic rebels intent on overthrowing the angelic hierarchy! Yeah, we're godless commies/queers/liberals and we're gonna destroy the entire fabric of American society!

And then as soon as anyone actually tries to criticize organized religion and the role it plays in the oppression of basically everyone it's suddenly a bunch of handwringing about how "ugh, you're just an edgy atheist, you only think that way because you're only familiar with Christianity (which is the Bad religion), any criticism of religion whatsoever is actually an attack on me and my community and so it's actually really harmful for you to say things like that."

And it's especially hypocritical coming from a website that complains so much about how any social justice movement eventually gets watered down and turned into a cheeky aesthetic, undermining its ability to effect actual change. Sorry that I actually believe in working to dismantle religious hegemony and wasn't just saying it as a quirky "fuck you" to a mega-pastor on twitter.

[gracefireheart]

Time for yet another Sea Grunkles adventure, 'cause this one I've had in mind for a lil' while. It's a long though, so I'll put it under the keep reading line.

It revolves around the whole "I'm still on your mind" poem, to which- a few months into Stan and Ford's sea venture- Bill finally finds out how to get back into Stan's mind again from the Theraprism.

The only problem? Well... Bill's essentially powerless there too. Can't really make Stan's dreams chaotic and distressing like he wants to (besides just being there himself, which seems to at least annoy Stan a lil' bit), can't really make a deal with Stan even if he wanted to, can't even float around this damn Mindscape! It was frustrating to be there, especially with Stan laughing at Bill's uselessness. However, it did make him feel immense joy to know that Stan haven't slept well because of him- coupled with the fact that Stan doesn't want to tell Ford about this- so he continued visiting as often as he could.

Of course, Ford eventually notices that something's wrong with Stan. Despite getting more sleep than Ford (old habits die hard and all), Stan still looked more and more tired the more days pass. He wanted Stan to tell him what was going on without any prompting from himself, but after about a week had passed with nothing from his younger twin, Ford tries to confront him himself. Of course, Stan brushed him off.

Being two stubborn old men, they do end up arguing out on the deck of the ship. A lot of "I just want to make sure you're okay!" and "I don't need someone to take care of me, I'm completely fine!" and so on, until Stan spots something out the corner of his eye. Looking over- and upwards, upwards, upwards- Stan looked up to see a massive pink axolotl, staring down at them with a smile.

"Ah, there you are." Echoed through the air, yet the axolotl didn't move it's lips as it spoke. And of course, Stan screamed at it as he had no clue what it actually is nor why it's here.

Ford, however, looks at Stan in confusion- wondering why his brother was suddenly screaming out of nowhere. They very quickly find out that Ford can't see this giant axolotl- which was very unfair, in Ford's opinion- because, apparently, it had come here to kinda see Stanley, not Ford. Something about how Bill is breaking some rules by half leaving the Theraprism- several times- without an authorized figure with them or even knowing about it, and this axolotl's here to try and fix that. Also, Bill wasn't allowed to visit the Pines Family (or any of the Gravity Falls residents) at all to not make them relive old trauma- or give them any new trauma.

As this big axolotl spoke, Ford wanted to hear from Stan what it was saying, but of course, Stan doesn't want to say shit considering the subject matter. The Axolotl, having paused it's speech for a moment, looks sadly at the two twins- telling Stan how despite how happy this boat adventure seemed to make them, they still want to do everything in their power to "be better" for their twin. Whether by not being an inconvenience, or trying to pay back for past mistakes.

No matter, this wasn't why the Axolotl was here- the twins would have to figure that part out themselves once the Axolotl was done here. They shake their head before informing Stan that they need to be in his Mindscape for a bit to figure out how to get Bill out of there. Stan had no clue what to say to that, but even before he could try to say anything, the Axolotl surges forward and goes into his head- making Stan fall into Ford's arms, his eyes glowing bubblegum pink as he went unconscious.

This was pretty alarming for Ford to see- yelling out a distressed "STANLEY!" as he held his younger twin- but he quickly realized what was happening by the glowing eyes and remembered one of his own journal entries that could help in this situation. Carrying Stan's body to their shared bedroom, Ford places his twin's unconscious body onto the lower bed before he sets everything up with the lit candles. As Ford held his hand to Stan's forehead, it took a couple of tries to recite the exact latin words he needed to say. The moment he got it right, Ford was transported into Stan's mindscape- ready to face whatever was going on with this Axolotl he had heard high praises about in his travels through dimens--

"Hey Fordsy." "Hey. ... YOU--"

[wavesalwayscrash]

Correct me if I’m wrong (maybe I’m projecting from the human AU or something) but does Condor and Crane’s relationship teeter between familial and intimate? I tried to find where my brain held onto that concept but I couldn’t find it in the tags! (Apologies if it’s too spoilery)

Also what is it about Warbler that Condor and Crane found intriguing enough to make her a part of their weird family? I’m sure they’re were plenty of other orphans to choose from! She seems like a cutie, but I except she’s going to be someone who’s going to take a lot of convincing when she’s exposed to the entire deal that comes with being close to crane and condor. Did one of them know her old family?

For the Crane and Condor part: yes <3

As for Warbler: I'm sure there were tons of orphans in the war like you said, and no they didn't know her family, but Warbler was the lone survivor of her colony's massacre (They would not join the King's army. They fought and lost horribly). Crane saw the aftermath and took in Warbler, promising her safety and a family. Warbler was eager to take on any kind of mother figure/community after losing her own, to return to any semblance of normalcy. Little did she know Crane and Condor are a couple of freaks!!

[kickedin17]

So I've been privately quite resistant to the theory/read that clancy is being possessed through all of this and that's why he's acting the way he is. I've been ruminating on it more & I pinned down that the reason for that, the thing for me, is like. This album cycle so far has effectively served as reclamation for clancy - of his name, his life, the people and things that matter to him. Lyrically the album details a person resisting the urge to fall back into old harmful habits and isolate himself, which clancy does (with at least some self-awareness) by "overcompensating." We knew from the start of this era he was willing to do whatever it took to remain himself and to take down dema and end the cycle.

Obviously we still don't know exactly what happened after the end of the paladin mv. In my opinion we also don't know what Exactly last night meant either other than that clancy has drifted somewhere dangerous and maybe irretrievable (though I highly doubt that), and that he simultaneously seems to be crying out for help. Maybe all that means he has been seized this entire time or is dead already or whatever whatever. In My Opinion though, I think it's just the less logical conclusion to jump to because what does that leave us exactly? A clancy who once again has been stripped of agency. A clancy who, once again, is defined almost entirely by the perceptions and movements of the bishops or the banditos or whoever else thinks they have claim over him and his name and his face and his message. For him to come out of the gates swinging so hard but ultimately end up in the same place he started is maybe *realistic* if we are talking about literal cycles of addiction or mental illness, but we've already been exploring that for the last 10 years on 3 albums prior to this, and that's not what clancy (album/era) has been doing or saying to me. This is a person who is fighting so hard not to repeat the cycle that they go too far. They self destruct. They know there are people waiting for them to be better and they're trying, but it's a big fucking ask, isn't it? It's so hard to find balance, if that's something you've never had before. It's so hard to get it right.

Outside of my personal clancy/blurryface dichotomy theory (which I think explains why his shirt is sometimes black - it's blurryface, not necessarily clancy being smeared (unless you assume those two states are one and the same which on a separate meta level they probably are but getting into that is going to add like 3 more paragraphs to this)) - I believe clancy has been himself, unequivocally, through this whole era so far. I believe last night he was cognizant and chose to push the torchbearer away, maybe because he lost trust in him due to paranoid self sabotage, maybe to try to protect him because clancy is also aware that he's on a crash course but cannot find the brakes anymore (the line). Maybe some combination of both.

Also worth noting - his letter about "absolute power" did not anywhere say that he wanted to be a bishop. It sounds more like he wants to be a king (of a kingdom swingin on a swing etc etc). Whatever he's trying to turn dema into I think it will be different, even if it's ultimately just as toxic. We know, and he knows, he can simply destroy it all (bandito/overcompensate), but that's also hard. It's so so hard. I don't know how many of us ever actually make it that far - I know I never have. I think that's probably what he went in intending to do but it doesn't seem like that's where we've actually ended up.

The cycle might repeat again, and maybe (my fingeys crossed) take us back to blurryface somehow for its 10th anniversary, but I think it's going to be different this time. We aren't going back to jumpsuit/the start of the trench era. We aren't going back to how things were during sai. These concerts were intended to be flashbacks, memories, "reminding us why we fight." Reminding clancy why he's doing what he's about to do. Which is different than whatever he's done before. Whether or not this "sounds like an ending" (it doesn't), I think this is something new. That doesn't mean it's something Good. But we don't quite know that yet, either.

In short and to try to make this probably incoherent post more coherent: To Me (and I could be wrong, I've been wrong before) it is still clancy, just like it was always clancy. Whatever he's going through and whatever he becomes are because of his own actions. Not the bishops, not the banditos, not torchbearer. Him. And isn't that so much more tragic? And so much more real?

[essektheylyss]

me: okay time to edit. I am focusing.

me, like four paragraphs in: [angrily ranting about some shitty writing advice post I got served on substack today because I found a line that blatantly disproves one of the stupid examples]

[waitingforsecretsouls]

Now why is the French translation hosted on Webtoon SO much better than the official English translation, holy shit...(I know the bar is not high, but still...Having access to such an improved alternative on Webtoon itself...)

[guiltyonsundays]

Incredible sequence of posts on the dash just now

[dootznbootz]

@thehelplessmortals shared this with me and...Penelope coded.

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She definitely tried to gross out Odysseus in a dumb "You think you can handle me, idiot? >:) " way. (She's stubborn and in denial at first. When she realizes she actually likes him, she's a mess.) And while eating raw fish is normal for naiad-born in Sparta, when she learned Odysseus wasn't used to naiads in daily life, she just really went wild with it.

He's just staring at her kind of expressionless and she thinks "Ha, see? You don't really like me."

But he's just like

"You like carp? Cuz if you do, we got plenty on Ithaca! Many more fish too! And if we don't, I'll get you some!"

And she's annoyed because her plan didn't work. Girlie is self-sabotaging even though she thinks he's neat.

[zestyzigzagoon]

What I enjoy about the theoretical dynamic between the older/future Hoenn Coordinators is that you just know Harley spent years teasing May and Drew with all kinds of sappy stuff, but you also know that once M&D do get together, they are, in fact, that sappy (probably worse), and Harley would then complain about it and call them gross forevermore.

[gu6chan]

oh yeah!!!! forgot to mention this is my last day at work :') honestly the pay wasn't the greatest (not complaing though, this is a public position and it was certainly enough to get by) but ngl this was probably one of the most enjoyable jobs ive had 😭❤️ for a ridiculously conservative population like this im glad they seemed to enjoy the numerous marxist solutions to all their problems getting slid in under the reasoning of "community/small town values" and "neighbours having each other's back" and 5 minute small talk about how taxes work at the line in the grocery store lmao

[flowerakatsuka]

kept on thinking about some of the more emotional beats of the kurokara lore while i was trying to fall asleep last night and i just... i need to explode...

[astro-g0re]

Genuinely AI and character ai will never replace the absolute joy and excitement of planning out a whole plot and story with potential reactions, ideas, concept, and art with the other person

The people only using character ai really don't know the soul and fun that comes with doing actual roleplay that stays consistent and won't repeat the same sentence/motion a million times over