#yet but am Thinking About all the time

[cospinol]

[saika] and such....? 👀

ahhhhhhhhhhhhh w... so saika is a hbtw dlc character semi-major antagonist in hbtw's second-third major plot arc (<-girl who is extremely still in the middle of restructuring this story's outline from the bottom up OTL partly to get this extremely self-indulgent 'mn on the same side in a military campaign' arc into the main plot. so a lot of this info is a wip still but), a good-hearted folk-hero type spearheading a small coalition of territories' fight against the tyranny of the izar empire, whose revolutionary efforts emery has been contracted basically as a mercenary by the empire to crush with extreme prejudice lol. saika's purpose as an opponent is mostly just for the sake of emy showing off (.. his Evil Tactics) but to the point of that post his main power source is a lightning magic seam that emy gets to cap the arc by taking for himself <3

his design also while i'm here ↓

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Trapped in a vicious cycle of pining? Try gay sex! (More things to learn over at Tiger Tiger!)

[corpsentry]

pick your battles

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

finally at that age where i'm thinking i should get a tattoo. not bc i feel strongly about it, just seems like a waste not to. i've got so much skin i'm not using

[sneez]

family portrait :D young sam and sybil are behaving themselves and vimes is throwing a hissy fit because they tried to make him wear the helmet

[id: a digital painting of three people sitting for a portrait in a domestic interior. young sam is standing with his hands behind his back and beaming proudly. vimes is standing behind him with his hand on his shoulder, wearing a shiny military uniform and a surly expression. sybil is sitting on the right with an arm around young sam, smiling at the viewer. a plumed helmet is sitting on a table on the left. end id.]

[stardink]

Waiting for stardust to get killed by the king again! There is no way he'll ever beat him-

[mxtxfanatic]

Just for the record, I actually don’t hate any mdzs character. Mxtx’s stories are so well-crafted that I love the roles that every character plays. I love the chills and digust that Jin Guangyao inspires in me. I loved the hatred that Xue Yang causes to flare up in me when I reread the Yi City arc. I love the amusement I get every time Jiang Cheng lives up to his failed-hero role, doubly so when I remember that he is also a failed-villain because Xue Yang is actually the better version of him lmao. I love dissecting Nie Mingjue’s hypocrisy in what it means when Wei Wuxian thinks of him as an “upholder of morality.” I love the pity that I feel for Lan Xichen such that I struggle to commit to how I view him just like how he struggles with how to view those he loves. And the complexity and diversity of each character’s life experiences and autonomous choices is the icing on the cake that makes fans’ (me included) obsessions over them wholly understandable.

What I hate is feeling coerced into liking a character how fandom wants me to like them, especially if the “evidence” supporting liking said character is just popular fanon that the fandom has taken as gospel truth. The more I feel pressured into ignoring a character’s canon personality to adopt a fanfic version of them whose only similarity is that they share a name, the harsher I want to be with my critique of them. Don’t give me morally righteous!Nie Mingjue who totally would’ve defended the Wen and I won’t give you hypocrite!Nie Mingjue who deserved to be cut into pieces, just not by the person who did it. Don’t give me best brother, best jiujiu!Jiang Cheng and I won’t give you pathetic manbaby!Jiang Cheng who deserved to have Wei Wuxian’s golden core removed from him the hard way for his ungratefulness and for his sister to come back to life to bitch slap him for how he treats her son. Don’t give me best bro wangxian shipper!Lan Xichen and I won’t give you morally weak!Lan Xichen who deserved every bit of the psychological torture Nie Huaisang put him through for his inability to truly stand by any of his brothers, biological or sworn.

Don’t give me some “everyone is secretly good with no flaws” bullshit and I won’t feel the need to balance it out by listing every single one of their sins and nailing it to the door like Martin Luther. I like these characters. Don’t turn me into a hater, cause if you think I’m mean now? Lol

[bluuscreen]

gonna tell my future niece/nephew that this was the shape of water

[sunnykeysmash]

[invye]

Mihawk does not fly a Jolly Roger on Hitsugibune.

I don't know why I never noticed it before, but now that I did I can't stop thinking about it. I don't think we have seen the black sails unfurled before, so it might be hidden there, but that seems unlikely. The fact that Mihawk doesn't fly a Jolly Roger of his own results in a very different interesting thought:

What if Mihawk does not consider himself a pirate?

(extended ramblings under the cut)

He's not denying it of course, after all he's got a bounty, travels the seas and is the feared Marine Hunter. But he also doesn't bother flying a Jolly Roger, he doesn't want a crew nor a captain, his boat is barely a better raft that's not meant for any other than himself and probably only manages to brave the treacherous whims of the Grand Line due to its owner's sheer willpower and sailing skill.

So now I'm thinking we might have things the wrong way around. Maybe Mihawk is not an enemy of the Marines because he is a pirate. He is a pirate because he is an enemy of the Marines.

Whatever happened in his past that shaped him, I believe is also the reason he got the Marine Hunter epithet in the first place. He went on a literal hunt for the Marines, maybe for revenge, maybe for something else, leaving nothing behind but blood and death. The sailing is a natural consequence, after all, most of the Marines can be found at sea.

So the Marines brand him as a pirate, give him a title and a bounty. And Mihawk doesn't care to correct them. He doesn't care at all besides where to find his next fight, doesn't bother with a Jolly Roger or anything else. He's here to fight and kill and become the World's Strongest Swordsman.

Maybe things change a little over time, leading up to him attending Gold Roger's execution. He's there to pay his respect, not as a fellow pirate, but rather as a fellow fighter, a fellow enemy of the Marines. Mihawk doesn't care about the treasure or the One Piece, but he respects Roger for what he's done, for the challenge he had presented to their shared enemy for so long.

But that day he may for the first time begin to understand what it truly means to be a pirate, as he observes how all of the pirates around him scamper and run and yell and go forth to search for Roger's treasure. He observes the beginning of a new era from his position of being vaguely on the sidelines but not truly separate.

Later, when he meets and duels Shanks, being considered a pirate doesn't just not bother him, but he somewhat embraces it. Not fully, he will refuse to join Shanks' crew no matter how often he asks, and he still can't be bothered with the Jolly Roger, doesn't consider himself a captain either, but he has embraced the freedom to do as he pleases.

Mihawk joins the Warlords because he's getting tired of fighting not even mediocre Marines. He's stopped truly hunting them ages ago, ever since he has Shanks to give him a true challenge. But thanks to his title, now the Marines hunt him instead. Garp especially becomes annoying now that he hasn't got Roger to chase to occupy his time anymore. Mihawk doesn't understand why Garp decides to make him his next target, but it takes only so many deliberate near misses of canon balls lobbed at Hitsugibune until Mihawk answers Garp's yelling of "HAWKEYES!!! JOIN THE WARLORDS!!!" with a grumpy, near silent "Fine." (He had already planned to join just for his peace. It's definitely not because of Garp being annoying.)

If by some miracle anyone hadn't considered Mihawk to be a pirate before, joining the Seven Warlords of the Seas makes it official. Mihawk continues exactly the same way he's done before, goes where he pleases, duels Shanks, maybe occasionally shows up for a Warlord meeting to sip wine and observe the drama.

The world may have decided that he is a pirate for him, whether he considered himself as such or not, and honestly at this point? Sure. Why not. Pirate he is.

Mihawk still doesn't bother with a Jolly Roger.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

The dog days are over.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[arohuacheng]

imagining the story from pei ming's perspective is rlly funny i think. this god from all that time ago ascends again (you were there for the first two times) and immediately waltzes into a situation that fucks something up for your descendant (putting both of your reputations on the line, messing up how hard your descendant worked to become a god and how hard you worked to ensure that he would have that chance) and then refuses to let you smooth the situation out and on TOP of that your friend's little sister (who hates you and who you are trying to look out for by request of your friend) is on your case about it too. so you've gotta work all that out and then like. you chill for a little bit (still kind of upset about your descendant) until your friend undergoes a heavenly calamity. and then in the space of like A Day the god from earlier shows up again with a fucking ghost king, your friend dies, the little sister you're supposed to be looking out for disappears, and everything just kinda goes to shit. so you're like. grieving. trying to process everything. until your OTHER close friend goes off the fucking rails with the spirit of that guy she murdered, and then you get called out to the spooky ghost mountain where you're confronted with the girl whose death YOU were essentially responsible for and have never really come to terms with, and then like. you just kind of hang out with these gay people until everything resolves itself. fight some ghosts. fight the heavenly emperor. get your friend to stop being evil for a little while so she can fix the filing systems. and then you just have to keep being the god of love i guess

[esmes]

look at me baby, dead in my eyes it's the end of our holiday, but it isn't goodbye carry me with you all of the time eat of me baby, skin to the bone body on body, until I'm all gone but I'm with you, inside

🎥 @theriddletrades

[sigsfigs]

wips, will delete when i feel like it

[moonkhao]

hi.

[danwhobrowses]

So there was a Callowmoore question on 4SD which has got people talking and since nobody will ask me about it I'm gonna get it out of my brain anyway.

For someone on 4SD as frequently as Taliesin, Callowmoore questions are rare and I think that partly comes from us fans not wanting to try and steer him but also because his answers tend to be complicated. He's quite plain with other stuff, but a lot also gets offered into interpretation when it comes to Ashton and Fearne.

And granted, we Callowmoores would love for him to pull a Liam and just up and say Ashton has feelings for her, but I think we all know that's not Tal's way; aside from the nuggets of wisdom, killer one-liners and unique homebrews, we tend to love Tal's characters for their actions and expressions, some of which subtle and rewarding to those paying attention. For this reason I have had to mull over this one minute answer for most of my day and figure out what I think he means by it, like blue curtains in a book.

To note though, 'I think' is the operative term, but I also don't believe that Tal has left Callowmoore better or worse by his response.

One of the interesting things I want to point out is that my interpretations are observing the divide between Taliesin's words and his roleplaying; it is not to say that Tal is being dishonest in his answers, but I also see it as the answers are what Ashton thinks and his roleplay is how they feel.

So no, Ashton isn't 'precious' about Fearne wandering off when sleeping beside each other, if she said no or came back safely it wouldn't have bothered them, and it's fair for Ashton to have preferred Fearne to have woke them up. And yet that doesn't deny the reaction Ashton had waking up to find her gone and fearing that she's in danger, and not there to help her; the panic, the anger, the impatience are all clear and instinctive reactions Ashton is having that imply that her being with them is important. They're not precious about Fearne waking up and leaving the bed before they wake, and yet they'll still smile upon waking and finding that she's still there.

The 'Adventurers with Benefits' is one of two comments I can see being used maliciously against shippers, but it's worth reminding that on the last Callowmoore question Tal was asked, he mentioned that Ashton doesn't believe that someone would love them. Ashton feels unlovable, and yet they still ask for intimacy with Fearne, leaning further into their connection but also not pressuring her into commitment. It's also worth pointing out that this is still a slow burn, even Jester questioned whether her feelings for Fjord were legitimate or a romanticized fantasy at one point, and Ashton is not privy to Fearne's feelings for them. Ashton frames it as Adventurers with Benefits because they don't allow themselves to entertain the idea of Fearne reciprocating feelings for them, and yet their impulse to kiss her before absorbing the shard, to frequently engage in physical contact at a growing rate, to playfully steal and share each other's clothing, the desire to defend her from harm or anyone that might have ulterior motives, and to willingly do anything and everything just for her to smile in their direction again, that paints more of a picture than just benefits.

Which finally gets us to Ashton's theory of love. Tal mentions that Ashton believes that love is 'wanting to trust somebody, but not trusting them'. Immediately: No, haters, I don't think this means Ashton doesn't trust Fearne, nor do I think it means that Ashton trusts Fearne so they don't love her. Ashton trusts all the Hells (well, maybe not Braius since they just met), but Fearne is special to them in a different way, they've already platonically said that they loved her when they first were using their titan forms. In addition, this could be an elaboration of the last time Tal brought up Ashton's opinion of Love on the post-shard Callowmoore question: 'love is ignorance and adorableness'. This is another thing that can develop, elaborate and/or change over time, but at the current moment Ashton's interpretation of love can come from environment; Imogen wants to trust Laudna but can't wholly trust her given Delilah, but even Ashton can see that they love each other. Tal also mentioned that Ashton is not very experienced in relationships - which kinda plays into my belief that Ashton and Fearne, while have had relationships, haven't had deep romantic feelings or proper intimacy before, which makes them discovering it with each other more special - so their understanding of love can only exist on what they assume it's like.

And yet what if you reworded the phrase in the same spirit? 'Love is trusting someone wholeheartedly even with nothing to reassure it', there have been many a time something looked to go south and faith was put in another anyway; the shard may be a bad example because it did go wrong but even though the red flags were there Ashton upon completing the process said 'thank you for trusting me', when Fearne took the shard Ashton was a bag full of panic their experience meant they couldn't trust that the shard wouldn't be just as bad for Fearne, and yet they still wanted to trust that Fearne would succeed. Ashton couldn't trust that whenever Fearne was wild shaped, cornered by Otohan, or taken away by Ira on Ruidus that she'd come back safe, and yet still wanted to trust that she would, Ashton couldn't confirm that Fearne wasn't a Doppelganger in Nanna Mori's trust trial - even when FCG and Imogen suspected it was her - and yet they still wanted to trust that it was her. Ashton's view on love may not be entirely right but it's not entirely wrong either, what is blind faith if not ignorant and adorable? Even with their interpretation, Ashton has put plenty of faith in Fearne even when the risk was high.

In conclusion, Ashton's behaviour towards Fearne do often imply a complexity rather than a discrepancy to Tal's 4SD statements, that maybe Ashton's emotions and subconscious are not in sync with their self-doubt driven thoughts, perhaps it is the way Ashton tempers their feelings to try and not get hurt by them or cause Fearne to get hurt by them again. Ashton's apology to her post-shard made a point of noting how she means a lot to them, and how hurting her was one of the worst things they have done, and as they work towards self-improvement and self-discovery, there will likely be a point where self-realisation comes into play too, and they can understand why what they're thinking differs to how they're feeling.

Again, this is all interpretation, speculation and observation, one that like the core statements doesn't add or subtract but fills in some gaps either way. Ashton's feelings are a complicated matter, which is likely why Tal entices and creates such speculation with a complicated answer. Right now Ashton clearly does care for Fearne and share a special relationship that's regrowing after suffering tension, loss and fear, blooming back into trust, joy and comfort, but save 5 Disney Greek Muses backing him up in a Gospel song they're not just gonna out and say they're in love

And Yet...