#two-strokes

[saddlebums]

Yes, it's the annual Gathering of the Nortons. They came from far and wide, mostly wide, and of a vintage suited to a motorcycle marque which had the bad fortune of hitching its star to Villiers Triumph to form a fragile trinity doomed to failure in a faraway land called 1973. Yes, they still come and go (actually having some success with rotary powered bikes of all things) but Norton motorcycles are best remembered in sepia tones for their beautiful vertical twins that young American men lusted for post World War II. So, here we are today, in New Jersey, near the Delaware River, to celebrate all that was good about British motorcycles away back when. And yes, there were plenty of non-Nortons in attendance to fill up the parking lot.

[the-crooked-library]

okay but like, as much as I am a fervent proponent of “not every ship should get married and in fact some of them would Never” - especially in context of enemies-to-lovers - I hope that everyone who sees me posting like that knows I am not talking about Spuffy. in fact, I would go so far as to say they are the two characters most willing and even desperate to get married that I’ve ever seen.

one of Buffy’s most persistent struggles is her right to girlhood and the inevitable expiration date she faces as the Slayer. she’s forced to fight and claw for every possible milestone that other girls around her take for granted - trying out for the cheer squad, running for prom queen, going to college, etc. one of the nightmares she has after killing Angel is about being unable to be a bride and get married. in Something Blue, she throws herself into wedding planning with a passion that speaks to her having daydreamed about it. in most cases, her commitment issues veer toward clinging rather than avoidance, and marriage is absolutely one of those beautiful, unreachable things that were ripped away from her when the Powers chose her. it haunts her.

Spike is probably even more obvious - he’s a man from Victorian England, a society that held marriage on a pedestal. furthermore, he is fundamentally a creature of devotion, never straying from Drusilla for over a century, and then from Buffy even after she was dead. their desperation is also quite similar - Spike’s original community had considered him undesirable, barring him from a love match; and while a union may have been arranged for him as a human, his vampirism took that option away entirely, in the same way that Buffy’s becoming did it. during Something Blue, he is just as committed to planning the minutiae of the wedding as Buffy is, even though they could’ve just decided to do it at the courthouse and get it over with under a shoehorned pretext. he’s been dreaming of a wedding for 150 years, let’s be real

Spuffy would’ve gone insane about a wedding. they would’ve fallen in love worse. they would have threatened each other with divorce constantly but stayed married anyway for however long they lived. hell, they should’ve done it just for the CPS reasons in season 6, just imagine having to hide it from everyone except the government, lest Anya thinks they’re trying to steal her thunder

[buckycap]

i do think it’s very important that liam pointed out specifically that no matter how hardheaded orym is in what he believes he doesn’t let that stop him from seeking dorian out for comfort and wanting dorian close to him and dorian quickly reciprocating. i think that’s especially important when so many people thought that their opposing sides would drive them further apart (especially on orym’s part) when in actuality we learned that orym’s love for dorian is SO fucking strong that it it supersedes his hardheadedness which when you remember who orym is, is actually a big fucking deal

[zoidsfan77]

Basic zedconian diagnostic equipment. Connects to their common interface port under their snout. Used for troubleshooting and repair.

[rathockey]

↳ crowley + "sides"

[mochiri]

Free! And color theory

The colors in Free! are always so lovely to look at. Every character has a very specific color assigned to them. But you also see some really interesting color combinations. You have the primary colors:

And if you start to mix the primary colors, you get our other swimmers:

And as I thought about it more, I was trying to think how Sousuke's competitive drive was shown since he really only wears red when he wears his samezuka jacket. Then I realized he's always drinking a can of coke (connecting to Rin, his thirst for the competition world). which also made me make the connection between Makoto, the ocean, and Haru.

(check this post out if you want to see how makoto and sousuke are parallel characters)

This one blows my mind here because I was thinking about Ikuya's color palette... And wow it's the final relay team in the final stroke...

[cedyat]

Reference and a bonus video under the cut (did you know you can't upload more than 1 video in a post? Cause I didn't 🫠)

Bonus video of me repenting for my sins for forgetting a certain someone...

[ronkeyroo]

SPLIT / IMAGE

[corpusdiem-seizethedead]

Fat Nuggets: *squealing inconsolably*

Angel: *appearing on scene, prepared to commit a murder* What happened??? Who hurt him??? I swear to satan if any of ya-

Husk: *casually turning the page of his reading material* I said he couldn't have two dinners.

Fat Nuggets: *squealing louder*

[brambletakato]

I got bored so I made a little chart of frequently seen eyes and their details in Professor Layton!

[hylianane]

Out of the (unfortunately) many One Piece scenarios bouncing around in my head one of my favorites is Zoro getting hit with the memory loss beam, and only remembering up until like. immediately after Morgan’s defeat. He’s agreed to join up Luffy and is already feeling his heart swell with loyalty, but is still under the impression that he’s going to join up to a much larger crew, with several other members.

So he just blinks awake and at first there’s none of the confusion and yelling that comes with the memory loss trope, he’s okay, he’s banged up cause of Morgan, he’s on a boat because he just became a pirate, and oh hey Luffy’s right there. This must be his new crew.

Hey, um, is that skeleton playing the violin.

[r0b0t1me]

You are not supposed to be here. You don’t belong here. Get out get out get out GET OUT-

fanart for chapter 4 of take little bites by @bigdvmnhero​

bonus. because i couldnt pick a single scene to draw out LMAO

[powerpointpartygirl]

[twojamie-o-clock]

wish u were here

ko-fi

[mochiri]

sousuke and makoto are emotionally interdependent on each other

i noticed that in the final stroke movies makoto and sousuke watch some of rin and haru's competitions together... alone? Which was interesting because it would show in scenes that their friends were also watching.

but then I realized that for both makoto and sousuke, watching rin and haru race is such a high intensity, emotional moment for both of them... They're both anxious about their best friends' performances and watching them live out their dream... They both agreed that watching them swim made them nervous...

But it seems like they actually start choosing to watch these competitions alone because they know how the other is feeling. Sousuke even watches this haru race with makoto even when rin isn't swimming and reassures him that everyone's feeling the same. To me, it shows that they're relying on each other for support in times of high anxiety.

EDIT: I had to add this. Sousuke sees Haru's overworking himself and tiring himself out. Sousuke also sees people like ikuya and Asahi working hard to help Haru out, cheering him on. Then sousuke goes to say the following:

Although Sousuke is talking about a bunch of their friends, Sousuke already knows Makoto is the most consistently devoted person in Haru's life. he way he frames it—telling Haru to "at least take notice"—suggests that Sousuke has noticed how much Makoto constantly looks out for and thinks about Haru. Sousuke telling haru to pay attention to his friends more (but mostly makoto...) sousuke noticing that in the first place, Sousuke relating to both haru and makoto at the same time... as the friend who didn't take care of himself and the overlooked one maybe that's why they mix the blues and greens for him for some of his outfits.

Another instance Makoto puts a lot of trust in sousuke's care and friendship is after Haru's freestyle race with kaede and he practically passes out after. Makoto knows that Haru needs medical attention (or rest at least). So he runs out to find Haru after the race is finished.

except he doesn't go straight to haru. He actually calls sousuke first. The tachibana makoto who always puts the burden on himself to take care of haru goes out and finds sousuke and relies on his strength and care while being emotionally vulnerable in front of him…..

/the/ makoto who's fiercely protective of haru trusts sousuke enough to carry haru to the clinic... mind you the guy just went thru REHAB..... either makoto trusted sousuke more in carrying him or sousuke offered which in both ways shows their mutual reliability and care for each other.

i also think it shows Makoto who often shoulders responsibility alone (especially when it comes to haru) shows that he's learning to rely on others and sees sousuke as someone who can support him and someone he has a genuine trust and relationship with. While also solidifying sousuke's role among their group of friends/family.

I think it's beautiful the two characters in free! who have emotionally, mentally, and physically sacrificed themselves due to their fierce loyalty and protectiveness of their friend(s) finds solstice in each other despite often times hiding their emotions from those who care about them… By becoming emotional, mental, and physical strengths for each other instead?? (watching high anxiety competitions together, sousuke helping makoto with haru, makoto helping sousuke through rehab).

I'm happy the two have someone they can share their burdens with and someone who matches their own thoughtfulness.

bonus: makoto welcoming sousuke back to the swimming competition world ("Sousuke, okaeri."). he's so proud of how hard sousuke worked especially as the coach who helped him train ;;;

[gelphiegifs]

Gelphie Femslash February Day 15: Favorite Gelphie Scene

At this point in the story Glinda has spent years cultivating this public persona of Glinda the Good, despite missing Elphaba terribly she doesn't let those feelings get in the way of how she's trying to live her life. We know Glinda is unhappy as hell but she's still willing to put herself in the spotlight as this carefully curated figure and has spent a significant amount of time and effort doing so.

And yet the second she sees Elphaba again, all of that crumbles.

The Wizard is there! The man who could order her imprisonment if he wanted to is right there and Glinda knows this and she does. not. care.

Glinda didn't even know if Elphaba was alive, she's been dealing with these rumors about her for YEARS and she's so incredibly relieved to see her again she just has to hug her and she throws caution out the window to do so. (And this is GLINDA we're talking about. Her whole character relies on NEVER throwing caution out the window---except when Elphaba is involved. Elphaba is the only reason Glinda ever goes against the status quo but that's a whole other post.)

The scene plays a little differently with each performer, of course, but I love when Elphaba is portrayed as an active participant instead of just waiting for Glinda to approach.

Elphaba absolutely knows she's in danger, and yet she reaches towards Glinda and even shakes her arm a little impatiently while Glinda is frozen (sometimes Elphaba even walks up to her, too.) She's in danger and she doesn't care at all, she wants to allow herself this moment of reunion. Even while she's behind enemy lines. Because this is Glinda!! This is her Glinda who is right there!!

I could go on and on and on about this tbh but it's so precious how they haven't seen each other in years and they're on opposite sides and they're in this very dangerous place and through all the shock and disbelief of seeing each other again they still hold each other even for a moment.

Then it's back to business. "Only you shouldn't have come, if anyone discoverates you---" because Glinda is Glinda after all and there is work to do, but for a few seconds nothing but Elphaba mattered. It was like they were alone in that room.