#My peoples history has been destroyed again and again by this attitude

[possumteeths]

I literally never give a shit about movies casting non poc characters as poc like who gives a shit. But the new netflix doccuseries about like “powerful women in history” is a fkn joke. If theyre presenting something as a “documentary” and its about history something feels fkn malicious about race changing someone like cleopatra.

Presenting something completely changed to suit the current attitude of the general populace is big big yikes. Rewriting history has always been an agent of cultural erasure and the complete decimation of TONS of things that shouldve been remembered. Rewriting history is just about reaching toward fascist territory.

If you are presenting something that is meant to be somewhat “factual” and you completely change the race of who the person fkn is…? Is that not insane? Where is the line where it becomes not ok? Can people just start claiming that all influential people of history were some kind of POC as if to say “look the atrocities committed weren’t all that bad because they’re a poc.” “They were protecting their race! their people!” by doing these awful things? Like so were the fkn nazis??? This little thing is indicative of such dangerous fallout and misinformation that can spiral down into bullshit real fast and I fkn hate it.

#BIG ASS EYEROLL #its not ‘woke’ to cast a real person from history as POC its genuinely destructive to fkng history #not all… africans are black………. #she ruled an empire of slaves just like everyone before her….. #making her black is not girl power i just HAJFNSKFNWKSJD #Her race really didnt fkn matter in like what she did for her years if ruling or like how she behaved that part doesn’t matter #but to say in our modern world that cleopatra was black has such dangerous implications #You cannot erase history and present it in a way that the modern world would like to see #thats fucking gross #the ptolemaic dynasty was… not….. black #kushite dynasty was black!!! perhaps find a woman from that dynasty and make an episode about her rather than rewrite fkng history #RANT RABT #It needs to be said that I am double indigenous and I am TIREDDDDD of shit like this #My peoples history has been destroyed again and again by this attitude

[bi-bard]

Stay till the End... And After, and Always - Kaz Brekker Imagine [Shadow & Bone]

Title: Stay till the End... And After, and Always

Pairing: Kaz Brekker X Sun Summoner!Reader

Word Count: 5,624 words

Warning(s): Mention of Past Trauma [Kaz is damaged as fuck], hallucinations, drugging, canon-typical violence, mention of death

Summary: While on a mission to find and steal the blade sharp enough to kill shadow, Kaz is forced to confront a very real future that may await him.

Author's Note: I warned y'all that I jump around a lot.

Also, the quote as a title thing hasn't screwed me over yet!

**Written in third person**

MORE OF THIS OC HERE!

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Kaz traced the signature on the letter carefully.

Slowly.

As if the writing alone could bring (Y/n) home to him.

He wondered if it had been their idea to sign the paper or if the royal family had swayed them into it. Not that the origin of the signature matter. What mattered was that it was there at all. That (Y/n) was asking for the Crows to help.

Kaz hadn't heard from them since they separated. He returned to Ketterdam while (Y/n) became committed to the idea of tearing the Fold down. Saving the world.

He could still hear the thoughts nagging at him.

The collection of unspoken words that traced the edge of his tongue, desperate to be spoken to (Y/n) before the two said what could have been their final goodbye. It was a shame that his fear seemed to have such a strong reign over them.

He looked at the visitors in front of him. He could have asked them a million questions. But he didn't. He merely told Nina to have them find a table and that he would be right back.

He knocked on Jesper's door, paying no mind to whatever Jesper yelled from the other side before telling the pair inside to get downstairs. For Ravka's sake.

Now, the Crows sat opposite two of the people working with their missing member. Zoya and Tolya.

Nina stole the note from Kaz's hand, reading it over. She scoffed.

"The Neshyenyer?" she asked. "Sankta Neyar's blade?"

"You haven't forgotten what you were taught at the Little Palace," Zoya replied, enough attitude dripping from each word to flood the building. "Just your loyalty to Ravka."

"Ravka or Kirigan?"

Zoya tensed at the mention of the general's name.

"Didn't take him destroying a city or kidnapping the sun summoner from their home for me to question my loyalty."

Zoya rolled her eyes. Nina smirked a little bit wider, quietly thanking the Saints that she had asked Jesper and Inej about (Y/n).

"So, now that we all know that you two have history," Jesper said, trying to ease some of the painfully obvious tension. "Is there a payment for this job?"

"Name your price," Tolya replied. "If it matters to you."

"Lantsov crest," Nina noted. "Hideous."

"The job comes from the sun summoner."

Jesper immediately seemed more than interested in the mission. The mention of the friend that he longed to see was enough for him to be ready to jump on board. Nina looked at the bottom of the letter. There it was. The name of the sun summoner, clear as day.

"The job is to retrieve and deliver the Neshyenyer to (Y/n) (Y/l/n) in East Ravka."

"Why now," Jesper asked.

"The Darkling has returned," Zoya said. "At his side is an army of shadow monsters. Indestructible."

"I don't like the sound of that," Jesper muttered.

"The blade is the only thing that has a chance at killing them."

"Retrieve the blade and Prince Lantsov is ready to pay you whatever you ask," Tolya offered.

Kaz would have done the job for nothing.

He would never admit that, but he was willing to do anything for the chance to have (Y/n) back by his side. After the events of the last few days, he needed something to ground him and felt like (Y/n) was the only person who could truly do that for him. He knew that the first step was to stop the Darkling.

But again, he could never admit that. To anyone.

"I like the sound of that," Jesper replied to Tolya.

Zoya's eyes turned to Kaz. "I assume the same goes for you."

"I'd welcome the chance to help your prince spend his country's money," Kaz said.

Zoya knew immediately that Kaz was that person (Y/n) was so determined to get home to. Yes, the Sun Summoner had mentioned getting back to their family. The small group that protected them. But Zoya could easily see that one of them was far more important than the others. She could hear it in how (Y/n) spoke.

"I don't need kruge," Nina spoke up. "I need to get someone out of Hellgate. The Lantsov must have some strings that they can pull with the Kerch government."

"For a certain Fjerdan?" Zoya tilted her head. "He must be quite the slab of fur."

"The offer is the offer," Tolya steered the conversation away from the two. "Prince Nikolai is a man of his word."

"But we need to go now," Zoya added.

There was merely a short pause before Kaz spoke up. "It's settled. We're in."

"And your Wraith," Zoya asked. "I was expecting to see her."

"She's gone."

"Not yet," Jesper spoke up. "She's-"

"Not an option."

The tone was blunt. Annoyed.

He knew very well that if he showed up with the blade but without Inej, then (Y/n) would only have questions for him. Fears of the worst, anger for his choices. But Kaz had a tight ship to run. He needed to have some kind of order or else all of his planning and cleverness would be for nothing.

The group set plans to leave soon after their very brief meeting. Just enough time to gather what was necessary and sort out who would keep Kaz's new properties from falling into hands even more rotten than his.

Jesper dragged Nina along to see Inej.

She was angry at Kaz's choice. She knew he was upset with her, but she wanted to believe that he would eventually give her some grace. Especially when the job was something that would clearly be important to her.

She scoffed. "'Not an option.'"

"I know," Jesper said. "No idea where he could have gotten that idea from."

"And when I'm done, she'll never be an option again," Nina commented, carefully moving her thumb over Inej's wrist, leaving it looking as if no mark had ever been there.

"Why wouldn't he tell me about a job for (Y/n)," Inej asked.

"I don't think it had anything to do with (Y/n)," Jesper replied. "It's about his control."

Inej scoffed again, clearly getting angrier with Kaz the more she found out about.

"He knows that (Y/n) would be pissed with them if they found out about this," he continued. "I'm guessing that threat will be enough to convince him to think logically about this."

"Saints know that he does enough to push them away without the help of their anger," Nina said, grabbing both of their attention. "He feels so much for them but would rather die than say a thing about it."

Jesper scoffed at the bluntness.

"Was I meant to not say anything about it?" Nina raised an eyebrow. "I spent ages watching him trace their signature like a love-stricken teenager."

"I'm glad that you did," Jesper shrugged. "It was getting painful to watch."

His attention turned to Inej.

"Listen. I don't know what happened between the two of you, but I know that you deserve to know why we're doing this. For your Saint. For (Y/n)."

There was a pause before Inej spoke up, "(Y/n) hates being called a Saint."

"And yet they've grown into the role quite naturally."

She let a small, amused grin cross her face.

"I have to go," Nina said after a pause.

She stood up and started to walk out of the small room, grinning and nodding to Inej as she did.

She met Zoya, Tolya, and the other Crows. They were discussing what their next steps were going to be now that Kaz had gotten information from someone.

The Neshyenyer was said to be in Ahmrat Jen.

It took little time for Kaz to know that the blade was a fake.

"We already knew that," Zoya rolled her eyes. "Have anything new to tell us?"

"According to my contacts, it's been stolen by a thief known as The Disciple," Kaz explained. "He had a penchant for stealing Saint-related relics while on jobs."

"A thief and a collector," Wylan asked.

"And retired. But he has put a few pieces of his collection on the black market."

"So, to get to him, we go to his fence," Tolya replied.

"Ohval Saran. She has a tea shop in Bhez Ju. To speak with her, we have to order yellow chrysanthemum tea, off-menu."

While this conversation was taking place, Jesper was with Inej. They talked about a lot. About (Y/n) and Kaz and the job... about the hat that Jesper had found in Inej's place.

Eventually, she agreed to go with them. Kaz's anger and spite be damned. This was about something greater than him. Greater than all of them.

Kaz walked over as soon as he spotted them walking down the steps.

"I see you couldn't help yourself, Jes," he commented, saying the nickname as if it left a sour taste on his tongue.

Jesper merely walked around Kaz, not sparing another glance.

Kaz turned to Inej. "This is what you choose to do with your freedom?"

"I can't think of a way that I would rather spend it," she replied. "(Y/n) needs us. I am going to be there when they tear down the Fold. I promised to be there when they needed me. I won't break that promise because of your foolish anger."

They gathered their passports together and grabbed their supplies.

It didn't take long for Kaz and Nina to find themselves in the small teashop, waiting for the arrival of Ohval Saran.

"How do you think it tastes," Nina asked, staring at the teapot in front of them.

"Like tea," Kaz replied.

She scoffed at him. "Yes, but... is it floral? Bitter? Mildly sweet with notes of buttery-"

"Warm. And wet."

She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Are you like this all the time or is it just because (Y/n) is gone?"

Kaz rolled his eyes. He was far too busy to entertain Nina's curiosity.

"Saints, does your heart always race when someone says their name," Nina asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kaz replied, not even sparing her a glance. Probably because he thought that it would be too easy to prove he was lying if he did.

"Sure you do," Nina insisted. "I've heard it every time someone brings them up. Your heart races. When they were first taken... Inej and Jesper lost a friend. You lost something more-"

"Can we focus on the job," Kaz snapped. Nina held up her hands to show that she was going to back off.

There was a pause between the two. A long, very quiet pause.

"(Y/n)," Nina muttered quickly. She chuckled at the immediate jump in Kaz's heart rate. "I'm stunned that you haven't broken a rib yet with how hard your heart beats."

"Focus."

"I am focused!"

The two both fell silent again.

Soon enough, Inej was motioning to Kaz that Ohval Saran was near.

Ohval sat across from Kaz and Nina. She dipped the tip of her ring finger into her tea, flicking some off twice before touching her fingertips to her forehead.

Nina copied with no hesitation.

Kaz didn't. Not until he was pressured into the act by Ohval and Nina, who did everything in her power to put on a very convincing husband and wife act.

Kaz took a deep breath before sliding the gloves off of his hands. He mimicked the actions he had seen moments before. A little less smooth than that of Nina and Ohval, but they were done.

"Anyway, our contact mentioned that since The Disciple's retirement, he has periodically parted ways with some of his personal collection," Nina said.

"You're looking for something specific," Ohval replied.

"The Neshyenyer," Kaz answered bluntly.

"The Neshyenyer is at Ahmat Jen."

"From what we understand, that blade is a fake."

"I wouldn't know anything about that."

Kaz noted Ohval motioning towards a server.

"What if we told you that the Disciple could name his price," Nina asked.

"I'd say you have a surprising amount of disposable income... for thieves," Ohval smirked a bit as she spoke.

Nina chuckled. "We're not thieves. We're just collectors."

"I've worked with enough thieves to know them when I see them. If you want the blade, you'll have to steal it from Ahmrat Jen."

Ohval stood up abruptly. Kaz went to follow, only to get run into by a server holding a tray. If his mind hadn't shut off in that moment, then he would have immediately realized it was the same server as earlier. He would put those pieces together later.

Nina touched his hand in the hopes of bringing him back from whatever panicked state he was in.

It didn't work.

Kaz stumbled away from the shop and into the busy street. His breathing was frantic. Uneven, gasping breaths that made him feel like his throat was truly closing up on him. That the touch had caused a genuine allergic reaction.

He continued running into people, which caused more flashbacks of a younger him in that ocean of bodies, which only panicked him more and made it even harder for him to control his movements. And on and on and on the cycle went. It was beginning to seem hopeless to try to calm himself down.

Someone grabbed his arm. If he had been in his right mind, he would have swung his cane at them. But he wasn't. He couldn't do anything to fight back against the person that dragged him into an abandoned alleyway and shoved him against the stone of one of the buildings. He was sitting on the ground, rendered immobile by the fear.

His eyes settled on Inej, who was kneeling next to him after watching the episode break out in the shop.

"You were supposed to follow her," Kaz snapped.

Inej closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm sorry."

Kaz didn't reply. He turned his head away, holding onto his cane a little tighter.

Inej felt some of the anger simmering in her stomach. "I was just trying to ensure that you were alive when we made it to (Y/n)."

She laid his gloves on the ground beside him before lifting herself up and walking away. The Bastard of the Barrel was left to cling to his gloves while trying to calm his breathing.

He slid his gloves over his hands again before lifting himself to his feet and walking away.

The Crows gathered in a small building, gathered around a table. They tried to figure out what could be learned from the very brief meeting.

"Ohval's not just a fence," he said. "She's the Disciple."

"What tipped you off," Wylan asked while Jesper shut the doors.

"Her teacup," Kaz replied. "When she put it down, she did so without making a sound."

"And her heartbeat never fluctuated once," Nina added. "It held at one beat a second like a clock."

"So, she can control her heart rate and her emotions," Tolya said.

"Those are useful skills for a thief," Wylan muttered.

"Now's the part where you tell us where the blade is," Jesper spoke up.

"Ohval has it," Kaz explained. "Her signal to the waitress to spill tea on me told me as much."

"It's as if I know you," Jesper said dramatically.

"And if she's not going to sell it to us, then we'll just have to take it. After Nina and I ordered the Chrysanthemum tea, I had Inej follow the tea shop employee who was sent to notify Ohval."

Inej spoke up after that, "She lives just outside the city. When she stopped at the tea, she placed an order at the apothecary that she'll be picking up tonight. I watched her at home for a while, no one came or went except for her."

"So," Kaz continued. "While she's out of the house, Nina will tail her to make sure that she stays out of the house. The rest of us will grab the blade."

Zoya scoffed at the plan. "You don't seriously expect me to break into this woman's house."

"Why do you think we're here," Jesper asked.

"I'm a soldier, not a thief. Why else would I need you criminals?"

"Oh, there's much less of a difference there than you think," Tolya replied. "Also, these are (Y/n)'s friends. You know... the (Y/n) that's trying to save everyone. Let's not leave bad blood between all of us."

Zoya rolled her eyes. "You just keep eating your walnuts. I'll go with Nina."

Nina choked a bit on the food that she had been eating. She coughed before turning her question to Kaz, "Are you sure that you don't need me?"

"Nina and Zoya will wait for Ohval at the apothecary. Follow her. If she starts heading home, buy us some time. Distract her."

While Nina and Zoya watched over Ohval as subtly as possible, Tolya and the rest of the Crows found themselves outside of the thief's home.

Tolya called it traditional. He claimed that it had a specific layout and used that to outline a plan. Start in the front courtyard, go through the antechamber to the middle courtyard and then to the main chamber. The goal was to sweep the entire house. Check every single place that could possibly be hiding the blade that was needed.

With an emergency set up by Wylan and nothing but the knowledge of the weight of what could happen if they failed, they walked inside.

The front courtyard held nothing of note.

The antechamber seemed as if it was going to be very much the same.

Until everyone but Wylan had stepped in.

Tolya had been focused on a heartbeat off in the distance. He could hear it. Just barely. It was faint. Somewhere farther in the house. He couldn't spend enough time focusing on it before he stumbled onto a board that sank with the pressure of his step.

The doors on either side of the building slid shut, locking. Pulling on them was pointless. They didn't move. Inej tried to stab through one of them. Nothing. Durast-made locks and impenetrable doors. They were stuck.

The trap only got more intricate from there. A collection of gears turning and things shifting was only punctuated by a red gas starting to leak through one of the vents.

Tolya sat down, holding both of his hands over his chest, slowing his heart and his breathing. His goal was to last as long as he needed to in order to survive.

Jesper was the first to collapse. Rough and loud as he crashed to the floor.

Inej was next. She had leaned against the wall, having something to slow her fall.

Kaz was last. He had nothing to cushion his fall. It was loud and harsh. He could have imagined the pain that would radiate along his spine if his mind wasn't gone before then.

Instead, he felt the cold water swallow him as he fell.

He tried to shove himself up. The waves weren't helping him. The harsh landing, the cold temperature, and the rough waves were merely the beginning of his disadvantages in that moment.

The front of his jacket was grabbed and he was dragged to the surface.

He found his brother waiting for him.

Jordie. Cold, clearly soaked to the bone.

And suddenly, Kaz was back in his nightmares. The nightmares that he thought would go away after he rid the Barrel of Pekka Rollins. The nightmares that almost angered him more than they scared him.

"Did you really think that I would go away, brother?"

Jordie's question was left unanswered by him shoving Kaz back below the surface. Kaz tried to take a breath before going under. It only invited more water into his lungs. He was tugged back up again.

"You thought pain was your weakness? You thought you could fix everything broken inside you? You thought vengeance was the answer and still you drown."

Jordie shoved Kaz beneath the surface again, only to pull him back up.

The words became mixed. Kaz couldn't keep the sentences straight. Drowning, vengeance, broken, pain. All of it repeated over and over as his lungs filled with water.

He was ready to give up. To allow himself to drown.

Then, he was dragged out of the water again.

This time, Kaz wasn't met with his brother's face.

He was met with (Y/n)'s.

Not just that, but also warmth. A warmth unlike any Kaz may ever be allowed to know. As if sunlight had been injected into his veins in the hopes of protecting him from the freezing water that had once engulfed him. It moved through his blood slowly, crawling from his toes up his legs along his arms and finally settling in his chest. Armor worn beneath the skin, stronger than that which he already possessed.

(Y/n) grinned at the sight of him. Their hand cupped the side of his face.

He didn't jerk away. He didn't feel the all-too-familiar panic rise in his chest. He didn't feel anything other than their hand. For the first time, he didn't feel too broken for them to look at him with so much... love.

He was never one to concede to the saints' control over the world, but he was ready to get on his knees and beg to never lose that feeling.

The saints didn't give him the chance.

(Y/n) and the comforting warmth were gone far faster than they arrived.

Something was standing behind them. His eyes didn't focus for a moment, but when they did, he was convinced that his blood ran colder than the water he was in. Behind them was the Darkling, staring down at Kaz as if telling him to make sure that he was watching.

Kaz tried to speak. Yell at (Y/n) to turn around. He couldn't. He couldn't force the words out. He couldn't save them.

The Darkling grabbed (Y/n) by the throat, dragging them away from him. They were slammed on the ground, the air effectively knocked out of them.

The last thing that Kaz saw as he sank back into the water was (Y/n) going to defend themself, but the Darkling moving first.

If the water hadn't swallowed him, Kaz would have seen (Y/n)'s death and been able to do nothing about it.

The darkness clouded his vision soon after he sank.

Kaz wanted to yell. Beg. Those words that had been clinging to his tongue since they last saw each other were fighting their way out. No, come back! Please! Come back to me!

He wanted to reach out. For the first time, he truly wanted to reach out and hold onto something.

When the darkness started to fade, Kaz felt a hand touching his face again, but the warmth was gone.

He blinked slowly, allowing the real world to come back into focus.

Inej was kneeling next to him, holding the side of his face with one hand while clasping the other over his mouth.

Once Kaz realized what was happening, he jumped, trying to push the hands off of his skin. He heard Inej's quick apology as he did so.

He stood up, grabbing his cane as he did so.

He ignored the attempt at conversation about their hallucinations. He could see (Y/n)'s face burned to the inside of his eyelids. The shock and pain and... he shook his head. He didn't have time to be consumed by his fear. There was still a job to get done.

"What's the plan," Tolya asked.

Kaz turned away from the wall that he had been staring at. "You said that there was another heartbeat in the house."

"South-east corner. Heartbeat's weak."

"I suspect she built all of this to protect that heart. Along with a different way in to get to it."

They all laid back down in the antechamber. They played dead as long as they could, as long as they needed to.

Ohval walked in slowly, scanning her eyes along the collection of bodies now littered along her floor.

Except for Inej, who dropped down from the rafters behind her. She didn't have much time to move before Ohval kicked her hard enough to send her flying backward out the door that she had walked in.

The rest of the Crows scrambled from the floor as best they could, making it outside to aid Inej in whatever way they could. Except for Kaz, who moved in the opposite direction.

As the fight raged on outside, he found his way carefully to the south-east corner.

He paused in the doorway. He was met with the face of an old man. A man that was clearly nearing the end of his life, sitting in a wheelchair.

Kaz saw the art scattered along the walls. Priceless artifacts. That was enough for one answer to be provided.

He furrowed his eyebrows, trying to put together the connection between the man and Ohval.

"Who are you," the man asked Kaz.

"A visitor," Kaz replied. "I'm an art collector from Kerch. I left some friends outside. I was going to track someone down. I think I got lost in the halls."

"Well, you should look for my wife," the man said.

Oh. It clicked in Kaz's head. Every conclusion he needed for the time being.

"I can help you find her."

"Thank you."

Kaz made his way behind the chair, pushing the man back through the halls he had come through. They made it back to the courtyard, where the fight was nearly coming to a close.

"Sweetheart!" the man called. "We have visitors! Art collectors from Kerch!"

"I know, dear," Ohval replied. "I was about to offer them tea."

The others were just pushing themselves off the ground, barely recovering from her attack.

"These are the friends that I told you about," Kaz explained to the man. "They're collectors like me. They'll be pleasantly surprised to meet you... the great thief of the art world. The Disciple."

"That's the Disciple," Jesper asked.

"Have we met before?" the Disciple replied.

"Yes," Kaz nodded. "In your room, just now. And I've met your wife. In Bhez Ju. We had tea there."

"Bhez Ju Museum," the Disciple said. "The support beams are under every second section of the floor. The others creak. Important to know the secrets of a place."

"Truly."

Tolya and Ohval shared a few sentences in Shu before her husband spoke up again, "The Neshyenyer. I stole it for her."

"Please, dear," Ohval tried to stop him.

"It was the last piece I stole before we decided that I should retire. Anyway, you couldn't really call it stealing. It was hers to begin with. She made it."

"I'm sorry," Jesper said. "She made it?"

The Disciple pushed himself from his chair, taking short, staggering steps to get to his wife. "Hours of work. Prayers. And tears. To fight the unkillable army created by the clock worker Kho."

Tolya left out a breathless chuckle at the story that he knew all too well. "Three days and nights she fought the unstoppable soldiers. And when the last soldier fell, she laid down the weapon. And it was named Neshyenyer. 'Relentless'."

Tolya took a knee, bowing his head.

"We are honored to be in your presence, Sankta Neyar."

Kaz took a deep breath as a sudden and strange familiarity crept into his chest. He couldn't place it for a moment, but it soon became clear.

The saint saving the world and the thief that loved them without the status.

It was a mirror.

It was like seeing into a possible future. A future where he and (Y/n) survived the fight against the Darkling and tore down the Fold and saved Ravka. Not only that but managed to find some peace together. In love... accepting... both of them healing from whatever ghosts followed them.

If only time weren't as cruel as it was.

Even if they did both survive the final fight, Kaz would always age faster than (Y/n). (Y/n) could live lifetimes beyond him. Could fall in love with people after him, could find a meaning past him... could leave him behind for someone who could live on their timeline and not his.

A cruel possibility to be confronted with.

He found the rest of the crew kneeling, paying their respects. He bowed his head too.

"Come on, my love," Ohval muttered to her husband. "Let's get you to bed."

Kaz looked at Ohval after her husband had been placed back in his chair.

"This is our sanctuary. Where we can sleep peacefully. Not have to worry about thieves and bandits like you."

"We're not bandits," Kaz replied.

"No one gets past the poison. You're just a child, really."

"A child who understood your weakness."

"Weakness," she scoffed. "Four hundred years I've been alive. I've seen my family, my loved ones die. I spent hundreds of years with my heart closed as if that was the solution to ending all pain. What a safe way to live... what a small way, as well."

She looked back at Kaz. He wondered how much of his thoughts were clear to her, even with his attempts to hide them so deep within himself. Her face showed that she had caught something in his eyes that he didn't mean to show.

"You guard against pain, you guard against joy. But when you allow yourself to be blindsided by love... two worlds make a universe. He's not my weakness. He's my universe. And I will see him through his days. Sharing every moment until he is part of the night sky."

There was a spike in Kaz's heart rate. Nina heard it. As if she had been tuned into its change. It was nearly the exact same spike as when someone would speak (Y/n)'s name. She hid a small grin. What was the thought that crossed the man's mind?

Kaz knew that answer. It would continue to blare in his mind for ages. Would (Y/n) choose him over a life alone, yet safe? And better yet, would he allow (Y/n) to choose him if he could already predict the pain that he would bring them in the end?

"What do I care about the blade?" Ohval continued. "What do you care about the blade?"

"The Darkling has created an unkillable army made of shadow. Your sword is the only one sharp enough to cut them down."

"That sounds like Ravka's problem."

"You think he would be stopped by a line on a map?"

"I think I can still kill you where you stand before you can blink."

"Sankta Neyar," Tolya stood. "I have met the Sun Summoner who will take leadership in Ravka if the Darkling is gone. I can promise that they are benevolent. They want to finally bring peace... end the suffering that the Darkling has caused. But that can only be done if you grant us use of the blade."

"Use of it," she asked. "All this just to borrow the blade?"

"All this just to protect your husband in his sleep?"

"And why are you searching for the blade?" she countered, eyes turning to Kaz again. "What is your motivation for all of this?"

It was all the confirmation that Kaz needed to know that she understood him. Understood his thoughts while he watched her and her husband. She wanted to prove a point. They were both fighting for their person. The one thing in this universe that was more important than anyone else. That she and Kaz were one and the same.

"We all fight for what matters most," Kaz said simply.

"And on my life, I will make sure that the blade is returned to its rightful home," Tolya promised. "With you, Sankta Neyar."

"Ohval," she corrected. "The last thing I need are pilgrims crowding my gate."

"Is it time for bed now, darling," her husband asked.

"All of you, out," she instructed the group. "Except for you... the one with the hat. I'll give the blade to you. Alone."

One and the same, yet not similar enough.

Kaz walked out reluctantly, leaving Jesper alone to wait for the blade.

It was sunrise when Jesper came out again. He gave the blade to Inej. She was better to handle the blade than him.

They all walked off together, taking the time to have their own conversations. Wylan with Jesper, Nina with Zoya and Tolya, Inej with Kaz.

Kaz and Inej passed Wylan and Jesper, who seemed to finally be working out whatever had happened during the trip.

"Everyone's lost their minds," Kaz muttered.

"We all did in there," Inej replied.

Kaz paused for a moment. "Maybe I did see something, through the haze of the poison."

"The one that you're fighting for?" Inej tilted her head a bit. She knew that he wouldn't admit it. He couldn't admit his feelings for (Y/n) to himself, let alone her. His silence was all that she needed to be certain of that much.

"What did you see," Kaz asked.

Inej grinned to herself. She considered telling him. But her mind was riddled with him reminding her how foolish hope was. How her vision of her family would do nothing but spark another lecture of sorts.

"Couldn't make out a clear image," she said simply. The image she saw was only for her to know. "More important things to worry about now, aren't there?"

The group continued their walk to the Hummingbird.

This was merely the first part of their job. The second part was going to be far worse. They were all aware of that. But at the end of the day, their fear didn't matter.

This was one of the occasions when the greater good triumphed over any fear or hesitation.

----------------------

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#x reader #imagine #fanfiction #kaz brekker imagine #kaz brekker fanfiction #kaz brekker x reader #shadow and bone fanfiction #shadow and bone imagine #shadow and bone x reader

[grand-theft-carbohydrates]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN TANG DYNASTY CANNIBALISM?? /gen /that sounds so interesting /pls ignore if you don't feel like talking about this

Oh ho im always down to chat about history. I actually cant name any specific instance of tang dynasty cannibalism, since my knowledge of chinese history stops after 300 CE, but in general the cultural attitude towards cannibalism has been fairly pragmatic. It's not considered a moral event-horizon you can't return from. Of course, every society has instances survival cannibalism, e.g. you’re under siege/ theres a famine/ some other infinitely nuanced circumstance. But outside of actually history, cannibalism shows up in basically every single story. Not even as a major plot point it’s just there.

Take the 4 great classics:

Romance of the three kingdoms: a hunter kills his wife and uses her flesh to feed the virtuous Liu Bei. This is framed as a noble and selfless act. bonus autocannibalism; Xiahou Dun eats his own eyeball due to *checks notes* filial piety.

Water Margin: i cant remember the name of this guy, but there was this inkeeper who was killing passerbys and feeding them to the guests. He joins the main lineup of heroes. This is never brought up again.

Journey to the west: every demon wants to eat the Tang Monk’s flesh to gain immortality. Happens every 10 pages. Not technically cannibalism by the standard definition but it is a) consumption of human flesh and b) they are humanoid/are embodiments of human vice. So im gonna count it. my blog my rules.

Dream of the red chamber: havent read it and at this point im afraid to ask.

Historical tidbit: Lingchi (death by slow cuts) was sometimes followed up by selling the person's flesh to the crowd, either as medicine, or if the person had committed a particularly egregious crime, it was a way for the people to show their hatred. The phrase "the people want to eat your flesh" is a byword for "they fucking hate you, dude." though this is more to do with desecration of a corpse than the actual consumption, because if a body is destroyed, the spirit will not be whole in the afterlife.

followers feel free to chime in!

#history #asks

[dedenneblogs]

quincy doodle world hc / analysis time— long post so beware!!!

Quincy gets attached to others really easily. It’s mostly because he’s so used to people abandoning him, whether that be his “friends’” fully chastising him or his father being absent and leaving massive shoes for him to fill.

So he pushes people who genuinely care about him, to an extent, like Portia and (maybe) Reginald away out of fear that the people he’s naturally made to be close to in life will one day abandon him like everyone else, so becomes distant and cruel because of that.

(on the topic, i say “to an extent” because Portia’s (unhealthy) attachment can very well be rooted in her own issues which i’ll get too someday because i love sharing my crazy thoughts and Reginald could very well just been being playing butler for pay, unless his and Quincy’s history goes back further who knows though we haven’t seen the guy since the first key)

Because of this, when he’s placed into a situation where he’s forced to gain independence (after Reginald is teleported to DoodleCo City and his private jet is destroyed) he grows the closest he’s ever been to anyone in his entire life: Player, Suzie, and TJ.

Since he lets his true colors shine (which is first seen near the end of the Book key arc when he finds solace in healing your Doodles), he forms this attachment where he always feels like he has to give back to others to make them stay (the already mentioned healing, the Miracle key arc (which i’ll get to), plus really wanting to help you out in the future while you’re rescuing Suzie).

This could also tie back to his background as the son of Charles. The bullying he endures is obviously rooted in him being “DoodleCo Jr.,” so he tries to defy this image of a spoiled brat when he’s surrounded by people (you and your friends) who see him as a person.

Then again, the Miracle Key arc shows him join forces with DoodleCo again. I see this as him falling back into old habits when he was reliant off the company’s luxuries, but it seems he only joins their “side” because of TJ doing so first; if TJ hadn’t done so, it’s very likely he would’ve stuck by our side.

So I see his decision based either one of these two factors or both:

1. Quincy understands how TJ must feel. He knows what it’s like to be perceived as something you’re not (universal anomaly; spoiled brat). Not to mention it’s eluded to in game of the twos’ character arcs ironically paralleling one another (Quincy starts as a rude only to become kinder at the same time TJ to become more rude, their worst attitudes both based in the expectations placed onto them).

(it’s also funny and weirdly poetic to think the person who is causing TJ’s torment and thus behavior would very well be a Quincy from the future / alternative timeline, Zavier)

This is why Quincy sticks by TJ’s side during the Miracle key arc and why it probably stung even more to feel like he lost him after he departed from the group and devolved into a worse person. And if this continues, we could see TJ become more horrid then Quincy was at the beginning of the game, which would be REALLY interesting to see.

2. That being said, another factor that could’ve influenced Quincy could possibly be him having a crush on TJ (ok listen).

The Frigid key arc shows TJ calling out your friend group for someone having a “crush” on someone. Now, if I’m being honest, this is probably referring to Quincy and Suzie, who very well could be endgame based off their bond strengthening PLUS helping Quincy get over his issues of abandonment, which is a theme that’s revisited at the beginning of this arc through Quincy falling back into old attitudes in the aftermath of TJ leaving.

However, from the perspective of those in favor of what seems to DW’s most popular ship (look on AO3, it’s yaoi slop central there), it’s possible this mysterious pairing is Quincy and TJ. Quincy claims that TJ is his best friend, and would add onto reason for him joining him during the Oasis key arc and could further tie into his need of helping others.

That being said, I see as being unlikely. If this pairing is to exist in any form, I’d see it more as being one-sided on Quincy’s behalf, giving so much of himself for TJ but never reciprocating anything from TJ (ah… toxic yaoi— checkmate Quilt shippers /j).

BUT YEAH uh that was a lot lollllll

(thank you @taruth3mighty for influencing me to vomit my doodle world thoughts)

#doodle world #doodle world quincy #doodle world tj #doodle world suzie #headcanon #character analysis #long post #theory #analysis #roblox #i’m looking way too much into this white boy

[havenofcybele]

Some thoughts on feminism from a trans perspective

What has feminism done for trans people? This is, surprisingly, a question that isn’t often asked. But the answer is quite revealing: nothing, unless one wants to include negatives, in which case, a lot of bad things.

There’s an expectation for trans women that you’re supposed to be a feminist. So much as questioning feminism, or even expressing indifference to it, is frequently met by vitriol and hostility, typically expressed through misgendering, whether covert or overt. I’ve even had trans women say I deserve transphobia for not being a feminist. ‘Vitriol and hostility’ are really understatements of how tense other trans women can get when you don’t have the right opinion on this subject. The only possible outlet for criticism of feminism is criticism of TERFs, and transfeminists are extremely eager to point out that the TERFs are supposedly a minority, and hell, they’re probably not even real feminists anyway!

But again, my mind just returns to that question. What has feminism done for trans people? If you actually pose that to a transfeminist, they begin to stumble. They’ll stop talking to you, or they’ll deflect, or they’ll ignore the question and focus on something else you’ve said, or they’ll claim that somehow feminism laid the foundations for trans rights and that we don’t owe trans rights to the trans men and trans women who fought for them, or even to the researchers and surgeons who developed lifesaving transition-related care, but instead to activists who were fighting for unrelated concerns and who, by and large, were and are hostile to us.

What they’ll never do is actually name something substantive. I’m not saying individual feminists have never done anything substantive for trans people, but I can’t think of a single thing, and seemingly even transfeminists can’t either, otherwise they’d tell me. I can think of a large number of bad things feminists have and continue to do in regards to trans rights. Janice Raymond contributing to the removal of trans healthcare coverage under the Ronald Reagan administration of the United States, resulting almost certainly in the deaths of trans people, for example. Or the fact that gender recognition reform in the UK has been utterly derailed by feminists, or the fact that feminists have effectively destroyed youth transition resources in the UK. Or how about the time Sheila Jeffreys called trans people parasites to the Houses of Parliament? Feminists have been calling for the elimination of trans people since at least the second wave, constructing glossy looking pieces of academic tripe from The Transsexual Empire in 1979 to the Declaration on Women’s Sex-Based Rights in 2019. In my own homecountry, the people spearheading the anti-trans movement aren’t a bunch of far-right Handmaid’s Tale larpers, dreaming of a Gilead knock-off they hope to institute one day–they’re feminists.

Of course, I’m ready to hear the cry of ‘those are TERFs!’ or ‘those aren’t real feminists!’, well, where precisely are the real feminists? Again, what have feminists done that is good for trans people? Can you blame me for being antifeminist, when all the feminists I see having any influence on my life and the lives of my people, both now and in the past, are ones who want to eliminate us? At the very best, most feminists are utterly indifferent to trans issues, in which case, why should I support a movement indifferent to my suffering? At worst, most of them harbour transphobic viewpoints–not, perhaps, as toxic as your average TERF’s, but transphobic nonetheless, and such a conclusion is the one I lean to, considering how prevalent transphobic attitudes are in all areas of society, and my own anecdotal experiences.

What is interesting though, is that even if the correct choice is to support feminism despite its sordid history, the response to antifeminist or even just feminist-sceptical trans women is still insane. You think a movement which has been tarnished so badly by transphobia would be a little bit more understanding to those trans women who are reticent to interact with it, but instead all they receive is shaming, misgendering, and outright hostility. There aren’t even attempts to create dialogue around this issue, unless you first kiss the feminist ring and swear undying allegiance, in which case any dialogue you do attempt to make will be neutered from the start, set out entirely according to the terms of cis feminists. 

A retort might be that feminism means equal opportunity for women, or ending oppressive structures against women, or gender equality, or whatever else, and so the only reason you could be opposed to it is due to being a misogynist who hates women. This is a specious argument. Movements are defined by their members’ actions, goals, and political stances–not by a pithy, idealised definition which floats in a vacuum. Unless you transfeminists think that the only reason one might be opposed to MRAs is simply because one thinks men should have no rights?

In sum, I see no reason to support a movement that hates me and wants me gone, nor do I see any reason for my sisters to support it either. Antifeminism is the only path to true liberation for trans people, and I dream of the day most trans women shed this unhelpful ideology.

#trans #trans woman #transfeminism #feminism #trans rights #transgender #transgender rights #anti feminism #trans theory

[la-pheacienne]

For all that they talk about GRRM being anti-war, anti-monarchy and anti-feudalism, they love neglecting to mention that he’s anti-Catholicism.

Disclaimer: if in any way I come across as agressive, it's not at all directed at you anon, I'm speaking very generally here, thank you for your ask💖

Listen. The sheer notion of "anti-war" is the stupidest of the stupidest political/moral/ethical attitudes that someone could have. I know this is an unpopular opinion, but someone needs to say it. "Anti-war" doesn't mean ANYTHING. Anti-which war exactly? You need to be specific. Not all wars are the same, not all wars are created equal, there are some wars that need to happen, that are fair, and some wars that shouldn't happen. Yes of course, it depends on where you're standing. But it always does, that's life. And of course in every war there are people suffering, but that's life again. If the enemy comes at your doorstep and wants to destroy you and everything you love or if you have been violently evicted from your homeland, what will you say exactly? Hunie I ain't doin' anything about dat cause I'm anti-war? Lol. No. The "anti-war" agenda is only relevant for privileged, white Americans and Europeans thinking they are Americans, who haven't felt threatened once in their life, who haven't lost anything, who don't know anything about human history and think that the solution to every problem on planet earth is peace and love. No.

GRRM definitely isn't anti war. There is no way a person that dedicates decades of his life reading and writing about brave warriors is anti war. Sure he's "anti- war" in the sense that he doesn't particularly fancy going out with a sword decapitating people, but he's not anti war in any fundamental way. And newsflash, none of the fans of these shows/books are. We're literally dedicating years of our lives reading about war and watching war happen and supporting aristocrats that lead their people to war. That's literally the plot of the story. So no, in real life I'm not anti war, and in the ASOIAF universe I'm definitely not anti war. All of my favourite characters are warriors and/or leaders to battle, Jon, Jaime, Dany, Stanis, Brienne. It's exactly the same thing in any fantasy story. Watching a fantasy story about warriors and being anti war is the most idiotic thing you can do. Go watch Gilmore Girls. Unfortunately, people who should have stuck to Gilmore Girls ended up watching GoT because of its popularity, and that's the very reason we have the Anti-Targaryen phenomenon.

The same for anti monarchy. Like, I don't particularly approve of monarchy, my country has no monarchy because we literally chased the monarch away, thank god, and I don't think it's a good model of political structure in any country. That doesn't mean that I don't acknowledge that Europeans lived with that for centuries. Some monarchs/emperors literally changed history for the better. They conquered, they educated, they revolutionised, they made progress, they broke centuries of tradition. I don't see monarchy, again, through the lense of the privileged American who thinks their country discovered democracy and scorns any other political system because they just know better. No honey you don't, and you didn't discover shit. Magna Carta was created under Monarchy. The Catholicism received it's fatal blow because of a Monarch. Women and bastards gained power and legitimacy because one day a female bastard decided that she could be a better Queen than her brother or her perfect religious female cousin. Cities and schools were created by monarchs. Scientific progress that changed the world was funded by Monarchs. They also did terrible things, they are also responsible for destruction, slavery, misery. But perfectly democratic leaders side eyeing literally every single President of the USA ever also did all of the above. My whole point is, you can be "anti monarchy" if you don't like the way it works, that's fine, I am as well, but if you think that every single Monarch in history was just a "bad person" and you don't acknowledge the value and impact of certain rulers and certain periods of human history then you're simply illiterate. Again, people who think that way somehow ended up watching Game of Thrones, a show about Monarchs, and again, that explains the Targaryen hate. Watching a show that tells the story of Monarchs and Aristocrats doing vile and great/heroic deeds and being "Anti-monarchy"? Sure, you can be, but what is the point of that observation in that context exactly? It makes you look like a fool.

About anti Catholicism. Sure the faith of the seven has clear parallels to the Catholicism, the Great Sparrow was a character that came straight from the Inquisition, the Hightowers are pious little hypocrites that hate women and demonize sex and bastards. The parallel is there. In that particular aspect I do think GRRM consistently shows obsessing over religion as something inherently bad in his universe but it's really not that important because religion is not the focus of the story. Power is. The Hightowers' problem is not that they are religious, even though that makes them even more unlikeable. Their problem is that they are greedy MFs that started a war for nothing and they destroyed an entire realm because they preferred that than to see a ruler with a vagina on the Iron Throne. So it's not about religion exactly, it's about a unfair war (a war motivated by greed and treason) versus a fair war (a war motivated by the need to reclaim what has been taken from you by force and treachery). GRRM is definitely anti Catholicism though, that much is certain, but religion has a secondary role in his universe any way.

#I feel that i will get hate for this #if I do oh well that's on the internet I should have expected it #but I believe I won't get any hate because the text is so long not a single soul is gonna read it #so we're good #hotd meta #got meta #house of Targaryen #house of Hightower #no I'm not putting the anti tag because I'm stating facts #house of the dragon #anonymous #anti war agenda #aspa rambles

[biarritzzz]

Japan is already shit with its pedophillic ass culture. Yes, they have such an expansive and rich history but I can't get past their weird sex obsessions (tentacle etc) and age of consent. Obviously not all of them are like this but I just think that the country is a bit overrated and praised as if they can do no wrong.

Also it's rich of Joe Biden to claim that they're xenophobic and should open themselves to immigrants 😂. I guess more problems for them besides their dying population

I don’t speak Japanese and don’t personally know any Japanese so while I’ve read about Japan’s attitude towards pedophilia and weird sex stuff, I remain cautious about not generalizing an entire country. The unhinged shit I read about France from people who have never set foot there or merely spent a week in Paris and think they know the country is wild so I know how easy it is to generalize and miss the mark.

Having said that, there is a reason Japan has women-only train wagons. But then again all countries should have women-only train cars.

Also I would only be visiting, not living there full time so it’s unlikely I would run into constant sexism and misogyny during my trip.

If the country is overrated it’s partly because of twits and perverts obsessed with manga crap. Intelligent sophisticated people who go to Japan all seem to love it. But obviously Japan has its issues, like all countries.

I really want to taste authentic Japanese food. Plus a country that is safe, organized, clean and where everything runs on time is extremely appealing as far as I’m concerned.

I want to go to Japan before it gets ruined by mass immigration. A strong cohesive culture destroyed by greed and traitorous politicians, where have I seen this before.

Didn’t know about Biden’s comment but it’s a symptom of US egomania that they seem to think anything that happens around the world must have been caused or hastened by the US, a 250-year-old country. It’s laughable how Americans (sorry if you are one) think they can lecture the rest of the world about anything. Nobody wants to become the US, with its multiculturalism and ‘diversity’. Many countries are homogenous and that’s a fucking good thing.

[keepyourpantsongohan]

Ayesha Liveblogs Attack on Titan S4

Heading into the next season b4 I can think too much about it

Who are any of these soldiers? What an abrupt change in narration, considering Armin has done every intro until now

“Wasn’t I just flying around with a couple of swords in my hands? And there were Titans too.” That is also what I’m wondering, Falco 

“The successor to the Armoured Titan.” PARDON?? ALSO DOES REINER HAVE A BEARD NOW??? THAT’S NEW

So wait, if the loss of Bertholdt and Annie’s Titans are what caused the war, does that mean this war has been going for a year, since the battle of Shiganshina? Or has more time elapsed that I’m not aware of

“This war has dragged on for four years now.” I guess that answers my earlier question, assuming my premise was true

I must once again offer a hearty ‘Military bad’ to all of this:

“Look, Colt, you’re the chosen successor of the Beast Titan.” How do ur Titan soldiers feel exactly when u tell them u’ve chosen who’s gonna eat ‘em

"Honestly, you might never find a warrior candidate who is as talented as me.” What I would give for Gabi’s level of unwavering self-confidence 

“I don’t shoot kids,” said an adult, for the first time ever in the history of this show

Honestly, the context that Reiner, Annie and Bertholdt knew about the outside world and then still chose to make things worse for the people already living in Titan Hell Island just makes them harder to understand

[Zeke yells out of a blimp] [Dozens of parachuting Titans are created mid-air] So the Beast Titan ability is just to fucking??? Yell people into Titans??? ZEKE WHAT ON EARTH

This does explain where all of those Titan ppl were coming from in Shiganshina tho

“I’m sick and tired of all these walls.” Is that why you kept destroying them, Reiner?????? 

As a sidenote, now that there are visibly brown people on screen: The ONLY action anime that hasn’t made me feel weird about their brown-skinned characters is Bleach; granted I haven’t watched that many shows, but the depiction in AOT is about as yikes as I expected 

[ATLA voice] “Did Reiner just die?” “You know, it was really unclear.”

“My father, Grisha Jaeger, set something great and terrible in motion on that island, and as his former son, I would like to be the end of it,” said Zeke, like he had nothing to do with anything terrible happening on Paradis and as if he can renounce paternity like a belief system

So it’s not a known factor that Zeke has royal blood? Also why is royal blood so important in this show lmao like isn’t a king just whoever conquered ur country most recently

Ymir confirmed for bury ur gays (poor Historia) but when one female Titan disappears, another one must apparently reappear 

Also weird that there have been a number of Titans who are women but Annie gets to hold the Female Titan title just cause her Titan got tiddies 

Reiner being an older brother figure to these Other Military Kids gives me acid reflux why am I compelled to have stake in someone who has done so many wrongs 

“Surpass Gabi to protect her.” You see, ACID REFLUX

Also nausea-inducing: The transparent H******** analogies!! WHY

We interrupt this griping to notice: IS THAT EREN IN MARLEY WITH THE BLINDFOLD? THAT LOOKS LIKE EREN’S HAIR

Setting other things aside, that they had to have Reiner’s uncle say “Sorry nephew,” as a way to intro the fact that Reiner and Gabi are cousins is funny, bc no one would say that, why not just have Reiner say “Uncle”????

Because they’ve yet to check in at all with what has been going on on the island, it really does feel like a whole different spin-off

Annie’s being able to summon Pure Titans confirmed as a Female Titan ability

“Well, I’m running away as fast as I can,” said Reiner’s father, summing up the attitude of almost every parental figure on this show

Mad relate to Reiner becoming reliable to fulfill a need in the team

Reiner, Annie and Bertholdt don’t look older than 12 in the flashback, why must the core force of these armies always be pubescent 

What even was the point of Annie tracking Kenny? Bc he was Uncle Uri’s BF?

“His legs are saying it’ll snow today, right?” “Yeah, but his torso’s saying clear skies.” Thomas and Connie using Bertholdt’s sleep positions to predict the weather 😭😭😭😭😭 Boys ur friend is a douche

“Thing is, I don’t want this other candidate to be picked.” “Why not? Is this rival of yours a girl by chance?” It’s DEFINITELY Eren, and wow, Eren assuming the only reason u would not want ur friend to be a Titan is bc she’s a girl, quit projecting ur life onto Falco 

How exactly is Eren missing a leg can he STOP himself from regenerating? 

Also whose idea was it for Eren to be at exactly the place that wants to kill him the most kjghkgjh what kinda weirdass plan 

“I’m doing this for you!” “He really just up and said it!” The guards being invested in Gabi and Falco’s potential tween romance 

I really cannot follow the Commander and Willy’s conversations, are they going to overthrow the governments of the world orrrrrr

“My name’s Jaeger, I’m an internment zone physician.” Oh my god, Eren’s meeting his grandpa 

Ah, so Eren’s crazed rambling is hereditary, I guess

“I think I know why [this woman would save me]! She must be an Easterner from Hizuru.” Dshkjdhkfjh u must be East Asian in this Marleyan society in order to acquire empathy

Perplexed by the man in the kaffiyeh holding alcohol but perhaps that’s on me for not interrogating my own preconceived notions

“I got [Reiner] to come!” announced Falco to Eren excitedly, not knowing that he was facilitating a meeting of probably the two least sane people in the world at the moment 

Lmao @ the sudden content warning on episode 64, like should I be newly worried

“What do you plan to do?” “The exact same thing you did. As for why? That’s the same too.” Incredible that all it takes to threaten Reiner is ‘I’m rubber you’re glue’ (also yikes at Eren implying he’s gonna fuck-up one third of Reiner’s country) 

“I feel like I’ve seen you before.” Me too Pieck, I think Shady Helmet is Annie, and I love that for her 

Falco’s lesson of the day: Stranger Danger 

What exactly has Eren been doing the past four years that he now views himself as a villain and Willy feels confident to label him as such in a crowd of the whole world 

“If all that was to save the world, then you didn’t have much choice,” said Eren, even though Reiner definitely did, and Eren definitely does now (military bad!!!)

Eren has defeated Reiner through the power of empathy and 10 years of deep-seated psychological trauma 

“If I escaped while my people died en masse, the world would not rally to our cause.” Willy Tybur really willingly offered himself and a bunch of civilians to die to both smoke out Eren and to start a world war. And Eren really went through it, knowing he would be offering the first blow in the war, and killing a bunch of people of his same heritage! A game of cat and also cat (war crime edition)

“But I’m just as sure that we’re devils ourselves.” Who’s he calling the devils? Him and Tybur? The military? Non-Eldians as a whole? Commander Magath’s vibes are constantly oscillating, what’s his deal

I’m going to guess that the War Hammer Titan is Finé, since she is the only Tybur child to get a name 

Update from 6 minutes later: It’s Auntie War Hammer, actually

The parallels between Udo and Eren trying to lift something off of their loved ones who have been crushed by debris. Sickening 

Is it wrong to be happy that the Scouts are finally showing up? I mean, everyone is clearly on Murder Avenue, but hey, they are the protagonists 

“You’ve killed so many civilians. Innocent people. Kids.“ Not to be pedantic, Mikasa, but he did that in Stohess like five years ago with Annie, that ship has sailed 

Fascinated by everyone’s new looks now that they’ve abandoned most of their morality - not loving the slicked hair and goatee for Jean but Mikasa’s hair is fun 

“Are a bunch of humans... really about to come and kill me?” U can’t put people on Titan Hell Island for 100 years and expect them not to learn how to kill Titans 

“Stay alive; that’s an order.” Levi's steadfast look and personality are a welcome constant

I’m like, pretty convinced Eren is going to die at some point in this season, he seems pretty down and out and Armin ain’t the narrator for nothing 

Oh hey, speaking of Armin, been a while since we’ve seen you, your hair looks nice but I guess you are also Unwell™

Did Levi just detonate a bomb on Zeke’s Titan face while he was still standing on it, what kinda wild tactics

“Did I hesitate because of that kid?” We’ll call it a mild victory that we didn’t have to watch Jean murder a child in cold blood

Wow the scouts have blimps now? They’ve really seen some benefit from travelling across the sea; decades of knowledge in five years

But seriously what the fuck did Eren, Armin and Mikasa DO in the past four years that caused them to look so haunted? I get that they’re fucked up by what they’re doing NOW but it seems like a pre-existing condition

“You have a real kickable face, you know that?” Ah, it seems that Eren did not have permission to go live in a place where people wanted to eat him

“We’ve fought the New Eldian Empire’s first battle, and it ended in Victory.” Guess Titan Hell Island has decided to embrace their title as Eldians? They didn’t even know what that was five years ago jghjgh

“Honestly, I’m just glad that we made it. I know this isn’t fair to the others, but you guys will always be special, to me.” Connie treating being close friends with Sasha and Jean like it’s a betrayal to the military kjhgjkhg

“Mr. Zeke was killed right in front of us.” Oh so Zeke’s like, dead dead?

“You’re one of the good ones.” Again, I want to emphasize how much I hate everything that’s happening right now

YIKES @ Sasha being shot by a child, are they gonna kill Gabi now?

Once again I must be thankful that Jean doesn’t love murder

Whomst the heck is Yelena, I thought we would be seeing an Annie comeback?? RIP

“Quite the performance, coming from a mangy furball.” SO WE’RE WORKING WITH ZEKE NOW? THE HELL IS GOING ON 

“You noticed that trend [of rescuing Eren] and used it against us. Held yourself hostage to force our hand.” Both more manipulative and shrewd than I have come to expect from Eren; growth??????

I suppose we’re going to find out whomst the heck Yelena and Onyankopon are

“I was concerned for Historia’s safety.” Eren what happened to youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu three years ago you were all still relatively.... yourselves

“Welcome to our defiled island of filth-blooded devils, you’re gonna to love it here.” Again, thank u to Levi for being who he is

“But as we gradually set aside the labels we have for one another, and worked to see each other as people, we can reach an understanding.” SCOOOOUTS WHAT HAPPENED TO UUUUUUUUUUUU WHERE ARE THE TEENS WHO PLAYED IN THE SEAAAAA

“Thank you for every tasty meal you made for her.” Ahhh Nicolo loved Sasha even despite their different upbringing that’s so sad

“Right, Annie? Say something, please.” Can’t remember if I brought this up when Armin first ate Bertholdt but imo it’s been an underpinning of Armin’s actions throughout the series that he has some deeper feelings for Annie, so it is not lost on me that both vessels of the Colossal Titan have liked Annie

It tickles me every time Hange calls Eren out for his crazed muttering

I can’t believe the pay-off for Mikasa being the only East Asian person on this island is that she’s a lost princess but of course, why not? 

“But I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect match than you.” Okay Historia, I see your subtle flirt with Mikasa, I am not opposed to wlw princess vibes 👀👀👀👀👀👀

“Zeke will pass on the Beast Titan to an individual who has royal blood, and that person must spend the 13 years they’ll have left bearing as many children as possible.” Gross. Also if this so-called royal blood is so important, it really should be Zeke who fucks as many child-bearing people as possible bc someone with functioning testes can typically make waaaaaaaaaaaaay more babies in that time than someone with a uterus 

EUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I HATE THAT HISTORIA IS HAVING A BABY JUST FOR MILITARY PURPOSES; GROSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh wait, she chose to find a partner and get pregnant in opposition to the military’s timeline? Hmmmm, still hate it 

Hahahaha I guess now we know why everyone’s so much beefier, they were building railroads

“You brats got taller. It’s like you’re sprouting up just to spite me.” Hahaha Levi 

Eren’s friends all going around and offering to be his Titan heir (and, as a result, EAT HIM) is so fucking funny, Jean being too smart, Connie and Sasha being too dumb, Mikasa being too valuable (not to mention the fact she could never eat Eren jkhgkjhg)

“Because you’re important to me. More than anyone ese. I hope... you’ll live long lives.” [Eren’s entire friend group blushes] I too wonder, Jean, what the hell kind of mood they’re trying to set here kjhgkhgkgh

Jean raises a very fair point about Eren not caring who lives or dies if he’s willing to send his whole friend group into battle 

Tho as a counter to Connie, he of all ppl should recognize laughter as a trauma response 

Like, laughing is exactly what Eren did when Hannes died, and he was definitely mourning then

Also good that we are finally getting some Current Emotional Narrative Focus on the literal PROTAGONISTS 

“All are welcome at the Braus Stables,” I can’t believe Sasha’s parents are taking in the kid who killed their daughter oh nooooooooo

Wow Louise, what an unexpected callback to the evacuation of Trost

“But [the invasion of Marley] was recent, and my mother was killed four whole years ago.” Kaya is also an unexpected callback, but damn, I don’t think u can talk Gabi out of her dedication to generational sin 

Side note: The legacy of Sasha rescuing a child vs the child who murdered her, super fucked up 

“You don’t have to apologize for Marley, you just happened to be born there.” Kaya killing Gabi with kindness

Incredibly pot-kettle for Reiner to have any objection to Zeke defecting lmao he did exactly what you did, dude 

“Well, you are a boy at that age; I bet you’d like to do all kinds of ‘discovering’ with Annie, if you could.” On one hand, Hitch u right, on the other hand, Armin would never get involved-involved with Annie unless it was reciprocated, and on a foot, he’s like 20 now right? Shouldn’t he have a grasp on his hormones by this point hgjhgkjhg

Yelena’s description of Eren’s divine fury is truly filling in the Venn diagram of Death Note and AOT fans huh

“You’re right that there would be no harm in letting us talk to him, so why would [Premier Zachary] forbid it?” My current guess is he’s testing how well Armin and Mikasa will abide by military orders

Well, Armin’s guess is usually better than mine, so I guess it’s Plan E(at Eren)

Did Eren just bisect the Premier?????????? Eren, once again I am asking, what the fuck??????????????

“We believe that whoever delivered the chair must’ve planted a bomb in it.” Oh good, it was not Eren, but it was probably those fanatic scout recruits 

“Armin. The hell is going on right now?” Same, Mikasa, same 

On a more lighthearted note, was the timeskip (aside from being a shorthand for large leap in character motives) mostly to age and beef Eren up, because it would’ve been harder to pull off this Messiah on the Hill moment if Eren were still a skinny fifteen-year-old?

“But as a result [of adapting to turbulent times] our prestige has been reduced to the point where we’re now derided as a pack of wretched, money-grubbing vixens.” Hey now, Lady Azumabito, what’s wrong with being a money-grubbing vixen

“Armin and I were there when the bomb went off; we almost got killed by the blast.” But whether Eren instigated the assassination or not (I suspect not) seriously I do not fuck with any version of Eren that would let Armin or Mikasa die what happened to the boy who was ready to have an all-out brawl with Levi on the chance Armin could get to live?????

Another mild bit of knowledge I recently had was that Eren would eventually look older and have long hair. In S3 Part II, I was incredibly convinced that that would come as a result of defection based on Armin’s death. And I’m not saying timeskips are always pointless, but they are often used to get around the fact the character you wrote just Wouldn’t Do That

Eughhhhhh they are finally explaining how Zeke has been long-distance Titan transforming, poor Ragako and Connie :(

“And seeing as you murdered every person who lived there, you should learn the name, you bearded shit.” Levi is the only person in this show that gives me any kind of peace

HAHAHAHAHA a moment of recognition for this dialogue (it’s me I’m the ladies - also RIP Petra)

Zeke: Doubt you were well-liked by the ladies. Considering how you think you know what everyone else is feeling.

Levi: I do know. And I was liked enough. So.

Zeke, who has never been liked by a lady, bitterly: Well, good for you!

“Guess that makes us even, you Eldian devil.” 1) The fuck, Nicolo 2) Is that wine poisoned or smth

Update from 7 minutes later: Yes, but also no 

Well I think with Gabi’s murderous monologue there goes the last of whatever sanity Nicolo had left

The Scouts still not wanting harm to come to Gabi despite her killing their friend :(

The way that Mr. Braus is holding that knife against his fingers really looks like he’s about to cut his hand a la the Titan Gang but that would be an abrupt change of scene 

“Way I see it, when it comes to shoulderin’ the sins and hatreds of the past, that burden should fall to adults like you and me.” MR. BRAUS <3

Kaya’s murderous rage about Sasha was entirely expected but still sad

So like...... everyone in the military who drank that wine will become a Titan whenever Zeke wants? HORRIFYING

“What the hell became of the hope we all looked towards?” Oh don’t worry Levi, things are about to get much, much worse 

“Why would I want that? Always with the killing. It’s like it’s all you ever think about. Just like someone else I know.” Armin said: Gabi, you remind me of my BFF Eren, who also loves murder <3

Eren said: Speak of the devil and he doth appear

Floch has never had a good opinion in his whole damn life, everything he says, I’m like ‘go fuck yourself, Floch’

“And you wouldn’t put us at risk either. You care about us more than anyone!” THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING MIKASA (itslazywriting.jpg)

“Then part of you has become Bertholdt. Within you is an enemy, who has feelings for another enemy.” I think Armin had feelings for Annie pre-eating Bertholdt, but maybe that’s just me 

Eren calling Mikasa, a survivor of human trafficking, a slave, is gross as hell. Eren can go fuck himself too. WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘YOU’RE IMPORTANT TO ME!’ THESE ARE YOUR FRIENDS, MAN!!!!!!!! THE NARRATIVE HAS YET TO GIVE ME A GOOD JUSTIFICATION FOR WHY YOU’RE SUCH A DICK NOW

“The mere sight of you has always made me so damn angry. And now I finally know why. I just couldn’t stand to look at a slave with no mind of her own, who always followed orders without question.” SHUT THE FUCK UP EREN, ARMIN AND MIKASA WERE YOUR FRIENDS FOR YOUR ENTIRE CHILDHOOD, AND YOU LOVED THEM, DUMBASS

“Believe me when I say this, Mikasa. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve hated you.” I will note that Eren and Mikasa’s relationship has always had a weird tone bc Mikasa was exuding a ‘siblings by chance <3 lovers by choice’ energy but Eren, despite not responding to those feelings, LOVED HER AS A FRIEND! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE GUY WHO VOWED TO PROTECT MIKASA AND DISCOVERED HIS COORDINATE POWERS IN AN EFFORT TO PROTECT HER???? WHY ARE WE IGNORING THE PAST THREE SEAAAAAAASONSSS UGH

HONESTLY? GOOD FOR ARMIN, I’D ALSO PUNCH EREN!!!!!

“Is there any wine left?” “Of course not, we’ve been here a month, there’s not a single drop left.“ If Levi becomes a Titan or is killed I will riot. This show is already hot wet garbage, I can’t see it getting any better in the remaining half season

Thank god for Levi, who has done so many wrong things, but has principles, and I love him with my whole dumbass heart 

“I want you to beat up the Commandant here mercilessly until he can’t stand anymore.” Eren and Floch 2022 for the Worst President and Vice President that any nation has ever seen 

Update from two years later: I can’t believe I am STILL watching this stupid fucking show

“Your throw has some serious heat behind it, Zeke!” You’re telling me that Zeke’s entire Titan fighting style and ideology is based on the fact that he’s good at baseball and Ksaver zoned in on his daddy issues

“The truth is, [your parents] never loved you,” said Ksaver to Zeke, in what might be a true statement, but still probably is something you shouldn’t say to a child 

So given his youth respective to Annie & co., Zeke is supposed to be what, max 10 years older than Eren? He’s 30? He’s aged like sour milk 

“Would it be possible for the Founder to make it so that none of us can have children anymore?” What’s the endgame of this eugen!cs plotline 4 real bc it makes me want to throw up

So Zeke’s plan... is to have Eren... enforce eugen!cs by way of mass sterilization????? Why would someone write this story? Why am I still watching this story? I hate it, I hate it so much 

“If the Eldians in this town had never been born, then none of them would have to suffer and die in the plan that you and I are about to carry out,” said Eren, like he and Zeke weren’t 100% responsible for each and every suffering from hereon out 

WHY DO PEOPLE IN REAL LIFE HAVE EREN POSTERS ON THEIR WALLS?? EREN GIVE ME SOME HOPE UR NOT ENTIRELY THE WORST AND YOU’VE GOT SOME OTHER OBJECTIVE OR PLAN IN MIND, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Me, still trying to finish this show despite the bone arsenic it gives me every episode:

I still don’t think Levi is dead despite being exploded upon (twice), however he dies (as I’m almost sure he will), he’s gonna go out fighting 

Now that I think about it, I assume he will fight Eren, and I hope he kicks him in the ass

“Assuming that he hasn’t just lost it, I don’t see him [hurting Armin and Mikasa] without having some kind of reason.” Finally, a word of sense. Jean and Levi 2022 for a Government Which Still Probably Sucks, But At Least The Public Can Trust That They Have Some Kind of Sense of the Common Good 

I can’t believe Gabi is STILL holding onto the Good Eldian/Bad Eldian dichotomy in spite of everything she’s seen

“But to think that your cause was so noble. It just touched my heart!” I am assuming Armin’s crocodile tears to Yelena also have some greater plot purpose

Eren said: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal Pieck 

Turns out, I was wrong. Levi is dead. THANKS FOR NOTHING, AOT

WAIT, HANGE TOOK HIM, I’M HOLDING OUT MINIMAL HOPE

“I saw a girl I didn’t know, sculpting the earth to reform my body.” Queen Ymir, I guess? 

“I don’t trust Marley one bit. Having said that, I trust the comrades who fought at my side completely.” Pieck as the only person in this dumbass military who has some perspective

They really do just breeze past Gabi being chained to Pieck’s severed hand LMAO, where does the cuff go?

Yelena’s learning of Eren’s no. 1 skill: Not listening to anyone

“Who else could talk Marley into doing something so stupid?” Firstly, pot-kettle, Eren, and secondly, yeah, sounds about right. Reiner and Eren remain the most out of their minds of anyone in this whole show

Magath really talking about bringing an end to 2,000 years of hatred like Marley had nothing to do with it 

I’m not sure what the Jaegerists were expecting, their artillery isn’t really designed to fight people one-on-one

“I’d like to hear [Onyankopon] out at least. ‘Kay?” Armin’s kekkei genkai is immeasurable patience. My god

“[...] That the world is more interesting with different kinds of people. I think you believe that. And I think that belief goes against everything Zeke’s doing.” I just don’t understand what the end game is here! Like, what is the point!!!!!!!! What are you trying to say!!!!!!!!! 

“Do you actually believe Eren wants to stop all Eldians from having children? You honestly think he’d go along with that?” NO ARMIN, THAT’S WHAT I’VE BEEN SAYING FOR THE LAST HALF SEASON

All this said: Starting to lose my faith, buddy, seems a little too optimistic at this point

Fnfjnfjfnf Eren’s friends said: I’ll rescue him, but I’m not happy about it

Poor Falco and Nile, hate that that they’re sitting in a dungeon, waiting to be turned into Titans. Zeke, ur the worst

“I’m glad that we’re fighting towards a common goal, now.” Can I just say, I am glad that for once since this season began, the Scouts/104th cadet corps have some sense of agency? Good grief 

Quick question, what in the fuck is wrong with Yelena? What kind of Junji Ito-ass expression did she just make? 

Also, doesn’t bode well for Armin that Yelena agrees with him

If Nile gets shot for trying to help Falco see his brother, I’m gonna scream

“There were never any devils on this island.” FINALLY, GABI!!!!!!!!!! It took like, at least 4 different encounters with kind people (Jean and co., the Braus family, Armin, Nile) for the lesson to stick 

“So yeah, Udo and Zofia are dead ‘cause of me. And also, I’m in love with you.” Being 12-years-old is tough in this economy

Colt really has a lot of information to process about his brother today. Confessing to unintentionally facilitating mass casualty, love, and his imminent death/dehumanization 

“So that’s where my dear little Pieck met her end.” Is it though? No body, no death

Yeah, thought so. Zeke’s never been correct about anything

Does the ep title ‘Two Brothers’ foreshadow both Zeke and Falco dying, as one of half of two brothers? Truly unfortunate for Falco, he’s just a little guy

The real question is if the Scream can also compel Armin, or Annie. They’ve never tried it on Intelligent Titans, I don’t think

Also, Annie was able to Scream Titans to do stuff, back in those woods. She could also be of royal blood?

Also speaking of the whole royal blood thing, if Zeke’s spinal fluid’s ability to turn people into Titans is unique, how were they doing it before Zeke inherited the Beast? Like how did the whole penal colony angle function if Grisha and Dina were turned BEFORE Zeke inherited? Does any Titan spinal fluid work, and if so, why is it so difficult to obtain? Riddle me that

I don’t even have the energy to process how fucked up what just happened was. Nile, Pyxis, and every damn soldier down there getting turned into monsters with no out but death. Falco inadvertently incinerating his brother (for nothing! Porco is going to sacrifice himself anyway!! Colt’s death served NO purpose other than demonstrating his love for his brother)

UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

WHAT

WHAT

WHAT??????????????????????????????????

EREN?????????????? WHAT???????? THE FUCK????????? 

“Those chains around your neck.” “I was starting to wonder if you ever going to say anything about that. Well, even if it took a while, I appreciate your concern.” Zeke said: Don’t worry, we may be in Titan Purgatory, but I have still retained my passive aggressive personality

“Do you seriously believe I’d euthanize the Eldian people?” FUCKING FINALLY EREN! PLEASE TELL ME YOUR PLAN IS TO GET RID OF THE ABILITY TO TRANSFORM INTO TITANS

“I waited to hear your true feelings, and that was the right decision.” This really is the season of sudden but inevitable betrayals

What’s the point of having a Founding Titan or Coordinate at all if you need royal blood to use it? Seems redundant, since it seems like Zeke can more or less control Titans on his own. Is it only the biology thing

“He sacrificed his children on the altar of nationalism.” Absolutely hate to say it, but Zeke, for once in his life, has a point

If the rest of this season could be Baby Eren chasing butterflies, that would be much appreciated. I’d watch 10 hours of that

“He was a shitty human being who did a shitty job as a father.” I like it that it’s Dumping on Grisha Hours, it’s vaguely cathartic 

Lmao at Eren ‘you’ve undone his brainwashing’ hahaha u could hold ur stupid fucking plan for months or years, but somehow u think this’ll work? Same old impatient guy

“Why did he wait so long [to take the Founding Titan]?” Hahaha Zeke’s finding out the reality that not all siblings are raised equally

“He set aside his mission for the sake of his son. Would’ve been nice if he could’ve done that for me. Good for you, though.” Take a shot every time Zeke is passive aggressive and develop severe liver damage

The one bit of world-building here that doesn’t give me bone arsenic is that people can develop autonomy within these memories, and seem to have some access to the future. It’s interesting

“I came into this world ready for a fight.” Eren said: Murder is my only personality trait 

“I won’t move on if it means abandoning you.” Wild that both Grisha and Zeke decide to put their plans on hold for Eren’s sake, when Eren seems to care so little for it in response 

Eren really does have his dad’s whole face, huh:

“The power of the Attack Titan offers us brief glimpses into the lives of those yet to inherit it. Meaning, it allows to witness events in the future.” Ohhhhhh so it turns out Paternity-TSD is not just a Titan thing, it is an Attack Titan thing

“Eren will get everything he wants.” I can’t believe that Grisha’s fall from grace comes from EREN being the one to force his hand, through memories alone, to kill the Founding Family. Eren said: Uno reverse, Dad! I AM THE SHITTY FATHER EVERYONE DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT

Imagine, momentarily, being followed around by a grown version of your 9-year-old who incites you to commit violence. No wonder Grisha’s like this

“But even so, I will always love you. If only... I’d let you be my son instead of trying to make you a soldier.” Is this a hurtful or a healing experience for Zeke

So ur tellin’ me Founder Ymir got Titan powers by falling down a well inside of a tree? Okay Grimdark Inuyasha

Pretty fucked up that the royal family got the Founding Titan power through coerced reproduction, but what in this show isn’t fucked up? I’m so tired

If Maria, Rose, and Sina all had kids, I still think Annie could be from the royal blood line. We’ve got Zeke and Historia from two different blood lines, that still leaves one blond to go

Also also also this backstory doesn’t answer the question of how everyone else became a Subject of Ymir. Is everyone from Titan Hell Island her direct descendant? That doesn’t make any sense, because then everyone would be descended from Fritz also. Honestly the thing I suspect (and have suspected, ever since Ragako) is that anyone can be turned into a Titan, not Eldians specifically

Although, this Foundervision makes it seem like all Eldians do specifically have a specific link to Ymir. Is the implication all the people in that society had a little piece of her? Honestly none of the royal bloodline stuff makes any sense if you think about it for more than a few minutes

“The Titans of the Walls will continue their march until every trace of life beyond our shores is trampled flat, and the people of Paradis, are all that remains of humanity.” Eren said: Survival of the craziest

To paraphrase a tumblr post: If you go to the circus for advice, don’t be surprised when it’s delivered to you by a clown

This episode is called Thaw, which means FINALLY Annie. I have been waiting for her to come back to the side of the Scouts!

Honestly, kind of surprised it’s taken Reiner this long to give up LOL

“We’re doing what they feared we’d do, because we have to.” Do you have to, Jean? DO YOU?

“He did this for his friends. Eren wants to protect us, even if it means killing everyone else on the planet.” [B99 VOICE] COOL MOTIVE, STILL MURDER, JEAN 

Well, Connie’s psychological break is much to be expected, I guess

The Braus family and Nicolo automatically protecting Gabi despite how much she’s hurt them personally <3 I love them

“There’s a devil in me, Kaya. And in you, and in everyone else. That’s why our world’s the way it is. There’s a devil inside us all.” I mean, yeah, but I fail to see why you use this framework of oppression metaphors if ur suggesting that everyone is on equal moral standing, because it reeks of ‘there are bad people on both sides’ which like. Then why frame it as slave and subjugator? Why not just frame it as a conflict of nations? They are different metaphors

Armin thanking Pyxis and wishing him rest as he puts him down. Ahhhh oh Armin :( <3 

“You survived.” “Damn, no need to sound so excited about it.” That’s also how I feel about Floch, Jean

“I can’t say for sure, but if Eren could do [a Titan transformation reversal], I think he would’ve done it for our comrades that Zeke turned into Titans, instead of leaving them for us to kill.” Armin still hoping for empathy from Eren despite his plot to kill everyone in the world

Although, this does make a bit of sense as to why Eren also reacted so strongly to Zeke trying to scream. He couldn’t undo what Zeke was about to do

“When he brought the walls down, he did it by breaking all Titan hardening, everywhere.” ANNIEEEEEEEEEEE

Turns out Hitch, Annie’s former roommate and prison guard, is voiced by the same VA as Wendy from Fairy Tail. I knew she sounded familiar LOL

Gjklgglhgkjh @ Annie’s story being ‘your found family can also be garbage’

Annie [Tiktok audio voice]: Traumatize ur parents BACK

LMAO @ THIS BANTER, GUESS IT’S BEEN ROUGH FOR ANNIE NOT TO BE ABLE TO SAY ANYTHING FOR THE PAST HALF DECADE

Hitch: Okay wait. I don’t need to hear your entire life story.

Annie: I didn’t need to hear about every failed relationship you’ve had in the past four years. It’s not going to kill you to let me talk for a few minutes.

Did Annie’s dad just die???? It remains unclear

Not to state an obvious point but the Jaegerists are so icky. Who has the capacity for a military coup in the middle of a mass casualty event which affected EVERYONE, including them. Fuckhead Floch, that’s who

Also Shadis admitting he’d let the recruits attack him on purpose and advising them to not fight the coup! He really is a good teacher

“There’s no point in worrying about Eren. We can’t stop him, he’s a lost cause!” Armin has finally reached the limit of his near infinite patience

Not Mr. Braus calling Connie a decent sort to Gabi when Connie’s mid-way through a plan to murder her friend

“Be as annoying, selfish and arrogant as you please.” “Well, that’s kinda rude.” Jean truly deserves to be the protagonist of this show

Connie and Armin going to bat who will be the most mentally unwell companion to their traumatized 12-year-old. Based on Armin’s “Levi saving the wrong person” comment, there seems a very real possibility that Armin might offer to let Connie’s mum eat him instead

“He’s just a poor bastard who refuses to die.” LEVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII LOVE U, NO BODY NO DEATH

I can’t believe Hange’s explanation for Levi not dying via explosive blast is ‘he’s just built different’

I guess he did lose a couple of fingers but my real question is why have u advanced in all technologies except for prosthetics. Feels like that should be a common need here

Appreciate Levi stating Pieck (Finger) and (Theo) Magath’s full names for exposition lol

“Sasha. Would you have understood what I’m about to do?” Considering all of Sasha’s love towards her siblings and protecting kids, no, probably not, Connie 

DEAR GOD. THE BEST PLAN CONNIE COULD COME UP WITH IS ASKING FALCO TO BRUSH HIS TITAN MUM���S TEETH. HE TRULY IS THE DUMBEST OF THE ALIVE SCOUTS, AND THAT’S INCLUDING EREN

Full disclosure I had to stop watching this episode bc of all the things this show has made me watch, the concept of Connie trying to Hansel and Gretel this 12-year-old child has pushed me to my limits. I’m back now and I’m gonna try my best

PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME WATCH ARMIN DIE AGAIN, I WILL CRY. PLEASEEEEEEEE 

Update from 1 minute later: OH THANK GOD 

“I want to try and become the kind of soldier my mum would be proud of,” said Connie, as the child he’d almost murdered wheezed in the background 

“Guess whatever you’re worried about doesn’t really bother Jean.” Is it weird that I am kind of hoping Mikasa and Jean end up together? There’s something compelling about how they’re both simultaneously so fucked up in slightly opposite ways now

KFJHKFH the comedy of Annie just being sat right beside Armin and Connie as they theorize about her 

“Goodbye. Sincerely, your gloomy roommate.” Me whenever I leave the house

[Mocking] “And I get to live out my life with your sad little gang of xenophobic shitheads?” Onyankopon makes a direct and accurate hit

YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I KNEW JEAN WOULDN’T MURDER HIS FRIEND!!! GO SCOUTS!!!!!!!!!

“Don’t you ever brush your teeth [as a Titan]?” “You shouldn’t ask such things, I’m a lady, remember?” LMAO Hange asking the real questions about titan dentistry 

“Then that burning pile of bones would’ve haunted me for the rest of my life.” Jean truly has never stopped being in love with Marco this whole time. Bisexual king 

“Let’s go.” “Go where?” “To end this, and save the world.” Alright, alright, they do know how to refocus my attention:

The scar on Jean’s dream wife’s cheek showing he still has feelings for Mikasa <3 Ahhh

I appreciate this retrospective on how they coordinated the attack, though it does probably mean the last eps in this part will not advance the narrative that much 

“I’ll do it. Eren’s killed too many already. I won’t sit back and watch him steal more lives.” Good for Mikasa!!!

“You remember Willy Tybur’s speech. What’s the world gonna do when we prove him right?” Jean reasonably points out that Eren has essentially guaranteed the destruction of either civilization (Paradis v. the Outside World)

I continue to be surprised about how explicit Armin and Hange have been about the fact Eren is committing geno-[GUNSHOT NOISE]

I know it was established last episode that this was still about Marco for Jean but it’s brought into sharper relief when they have a mise en scene dedicated to every single person they’ve lost, and then Marco gets his own panel. Everything always returns to unresolved trauma and transparent metaphors for bisexuality: 

“Hange. In the end, I’ll always be a Scout.” Jean said: I will prevent our friend from committing crimes against humanity, but I’m not like, happy about it 

“Compared to the sum of the carnage and misery wrought by Eldia, your island’s suffering is a joke.” I know Magath is probably trying to test their conviction in standing against Eren, but what a dick thing to say to the people whose lives and homes you have been actively destroying for ten years

Also Magath being a poster child for propaganda efficacy

“If we’re going to be at each other’s throats, let’s stick to arguing about stuff we’ve lived through ourselves.” That’s what I’m saying, Hange

God. Mikasa and Armin STILL wanting to get through to Eren to convince him to stop the Rumbling AFTER everything that’s happened. The residual loyalty Eren has proved himself beyond reciprocating 

“We shouldn’t be fighting,” said Annie, right after provoking Mikasa to fight

Are we finally going to see the fucking point of Yelena as a character? Being from Marley makes sense for her, but honestly I feel like all she’s done is be like, Non-Island Floch (inciting violence and planning insurrection in her group of volunteers/Jaegerists), and we don’t really need two of those, do we?

“Who wouldn’t want to imagine themselves as the saviour of hundreds of millions of innocent lives? To wash the bitterness of hatred out of their mouths with the honeyed taste of righteousness. From where I sit, it seems like that’s what all of you are doing right now.” Yelena said: Actually, you guys are stopping the wholesale slaughter of all other people on earth for selfish reasons 

How the fuck do any of these guys trust drinking alcohol after what happened with Zeke??????????? JEAN YOU WORRY ME

Kind of glad the Scouts got an explanation from Reiner and Annie for how Marco died? At least they get some closure 

“We all just started fighting, and assumed it had to be to the death.” Well. In more direct terms, Reiner, Bertholdt and Annie did actually try to kill you all, Jean, but I see what you’re saying about non-lethal force being an option in your lives 

“Don’t forgive me. I’m truly worthless.” Bold of you to assume anyone was gonna forgive you, Reiner? LOL

Yeah, Jean beating him up is a very fair response 

“Gabi. I’m sorry about kicking you. You okay?” “I’m tougher than I might look, I’m fine.” “I’m glad. Reiner, you’re not getting an apology.” Hahahaha love every bit of this for Jean <3

The way the ep preview is a pic which looks like it’s promoting Armin and Connie’s buddy comedy film, Unhinged and Unhinged-er

I’m glad the Scouts still advocate for non-lethal force, however idealistic

“For now, just stay out of it.” Annie and Reiner said: Our bad for destroying your homeland <3 We will kill your friends so you don’t have to; that’s teamwork! 

“Forgive me. All of you. I was... a fool. I’m sorry for my behaviour last night. We were never in the right. I deluded myself into thinking we were the good guys. I wanted to believe the evil I’d done was justified as part of some great cause.” What an absolutely rapid as hell turn-around for Magath, choking out Yelena one (1) time and hearing Gabi and Falco plead for help caused him to self-reflect? Or more likely it’s a Erwin-esque Inspire-to-Death speech

“There’s no way to avoid spilling more blood today. So please, look the other way.” “I’m not doing that. I refuse to let someone else stain their hands in my place.” Armin said: We can murder our OWN friends, thank you very much, Magath

“You won’t make your world any less violent by making it smaller.” Lady Azumabito having some of the realest dialogue of any character

“In any world, it’s important to understand our place [...] This [island] is the world now. You need to recognize your place in it.” Floch said: Have you heard of racism? I have reinvented it 

You see? This is why we don’t need two Flochs. One is already too much

Floch has never said anything worthwhile in his whole damn life. Get got Floch. I don’t have a lot of faith in Armin’s plan, but if Floch dies, that’s probably a win for everyone 

Fully didn’t realize Daz, Scout who loved to cry about how he was going to die, was still alive. I imagine not for long

Update from 8 mins later: RIP Daz and Samuel 

“We’re with you. Eren has to finish the job or this island is doomed.” Armin. This is the best plan your huge brain could come up with? Connie has rubbed off on you in a bad way 

It’s a good thing being shot through the face cannot kill Armin atm

Better to have tried and failed at a non-violent solution, I guess

There go the last crumbling threads of Connie and Armin’s mental health

How did Floch NOT die at point blank range of two Titans transforming? Proximity to one transformation was enough to kill Colt! Unbelievable

Well, he got his about 15 minutes later, so there we go

This entire season is just a glorified trolley problem, huh? 

“Violence will always be part of human existence. Won’t it, Captain?” Levi looks exhausted. Me too, man

Falco has really handled being in charge of one of the world’s only nine sentient biological weapons as best he could for being 12. He’s trying his best to help

SHADIS!!!!!!! I was curious who took out the reinforcement train

“Last chance for you to take a swim.” “No. I’ll stay. I’ve been looking for a good end to this life.” Shadis said: I must die in the most dramatic way possible

“It’s far too late, but I’ve finally realized how happy I would’ve been if those kids could’ve led normal lives.” Magath is the only adult in this show ever to admit that having child soldiers is bad LMAO:

I’ll hand it to Shadis and Magath, that was a pretty cool way to die

Though Magath’s comment about Shadis being remembered as a hero doesn’t make a lot of sense, considering he was about to explode any and all witnesses to Shadis being there 

Annie taking the inevitable loss of Liberio the hardest (unsurprising as everyone else there has lived through the hell of the past four years, while Annie was quite literally frozen in time, regardless of physical aging)

“I don’t want to fight anymore. Not with any of you. Not even with Eren.” Oh, Annie

“It could be that he’s always been like this inside. But if this is the real Eren Jaeger, what did I see in him, that made me keep him so close?” A question we’ve all perhaps been wondering, Mikasa 

“They’ll try to feed the car carrots if they manage to catch it.” “Hahah, give them more credit than tha—Wait, are they buying carrots?” I appreciate that we get this reprieve after all of the violence

Also I haven’t said much about Onyankopon because he’s normal and nice, but I do enjoy him 

“Well, look at that another enemy immigrant.” To be clear, this show DOES feel like it’s hate-criming me but it seems redundant to discuss that when they’re in the middle of a [LOUD FORGORN NOISE]

LMAO @ Levi being the one to cause the scene after his snark

“You’ve come to make it known that the people of Paradis wish to coexist in peace?” Well, that plan didn’t go very well, it seems

“Mikasa, what am I to you?” Eren said: It is time to talk about the unspoken crush you’ve had on me for 9 years, Mikasa

Hahaha good for the 104th cadets, getting to party and let loose with one another like actual teens for once. Also the way that Mikasa, Eren, Armin and Jean are laid out in the centre does pull at my heartstrings:

“What If I’d given him a different answer? Would we still be in this situation right now?” Mikasa, I don’t think romance would’ve fixed Eren

Eren would literally rather kill everyone on the planet than make Historia become a Titan and have children for the military’s sake. Chivalry is not dead I guess, unlike everyone else on the planet

I can’t believe Eren floated this plan by Historia!! Replacing one burden with an even heavier burden 

“There are straightforward explanations for all the behaviours you’re describing, that have nothing to do with genetics or conditioning. [Mikasa] doesn’t slaughter Titans out of some inborn compulsion to keep you alive. She does it because she adores you.” LOL @ Zeke having to be the one who explains this to Eren. The closest he ever comes to actually being a big brother

Now that I’m thinking about it: Where the hell is Zeke? He seems nigh unkillable, are we saying that Eren’s transformation did him in? No body, no death

“That’s what I need. For them to live long and happy lives.” 1) Did you really think, knowing your friends, that any of them would be happy with you killing everyone? 2) Armin is on a timeline just like you, so if we have to take the 13-years-since-Titan-inheritance to live at face value (Idk that I do. I do think it’s something they could lie about), he’s also got less than ten years to live and 3) Doing cruel things out of love does not make them any less cruel!!

Can I just say a big fuckin hoo boy to Eren’s whole life 

Their vaguely-brown accents have gotten a lot worse since that first battle with Marley LMAO. 3/10, hire a brown person 

“I imagine, we learn that our wish isn’t possible. We never find a way to save Paradis.” My name’s Eren Jaeger and I was born with the gift of self-fulfilling prophecy

This genuinely is sickening to watch. What’s the fucking point 

Of course Eren is killing his and Zeke’s grandparents. Why not?

“It’s weird how at ease I feel,” said Armin to Annie, as if it were not kind of a dick thing to say whilst her hometown was being trampled

“What I wanted was to see you.” Armin said: It’s time to talk about MY unspoken crush I’ve had on Annie for the past 4 and a half years!!

“Good is just what people call people who help them.” Armin really dropping some of his most compelling moral philosophy mid-confession

“So when did this start?” “When did what start?” It is SOOOOO funny that they’re choosing to address the romance angle between Annie and Armin NOW, when the whole fucking world is being brutally, unforgivably murdered. YOU COULDN’T HAVE DONE THIS, LIKE, A COUPLE OF EPISODES AGO

Are Yelena and Pieck the same voice actress because they both have a mild lisp like they’re talking around a retainer

“Even trying to say sorry feels presumptuous.” It is, Reiner! You’re learning something. Perhaps, like 10 years too late, but still!

Annie hugging Reiner goodbye even after acknowledging he’s the one who started all this. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh

It’s very kind of Team Save the World to all be so understanding of the fact Annie no longer has any desire to fight

Floch said: I would like to be a problem one last time before I mega-die

“Armin Arlert. As of now I appoint you 15th commander of the Scout Regiment.” Hange said: I volunteer as next for mega-death!!!!

Levi scout-saluting Hange on her heart instead of his.... Ahhhhhhhh

Hange joining all the fallen Scouts in what seems like a very chill afterlife. Good for her

“Killing Zeke should end the Rumbling.” Ah, apparently Zeke is somewhere in his little brother’s Titan body like an extremely fucked up babushka doll. Or a tick

“He died cursing my name. Calling me a traitor, while I told myself I was saving the world. Was it the same? For your team? You, Bertholdt and Annie. Is this what it felt like?” It is also extremely funny that whenever someone does something really terrible to a huge group of people they look at Reiner and go, ‘Is this what it’s like to be you?’ and he goes, ‘Yeah. :(’

It’s also a callback to when he and Bertholdt were Connie’s dads. Shout-out to a less complicated time

“It’s like he wants to find how we’re going to respond to what he’s done.” 

Eren Jaeger 🤝 Itachi Uchiha

Deciding the appropriate judgment for committing a pre-emptive massacre against a huge group of people is having your loved one(s) beat your ass

The fact that Eren’s friends are STILL trying to talk him down. God. It is so much more than he deserves:

“But from you, I will take nothing.” Except most of the buildings on our island, the Scout leadership’s influence over the government, the fellow recruits I have radicalized for my cause, at least two of our closest friends who died as a direct result of my actions, every friend you made in Liberio, your sense of personal agency over the future, any hope you had for peace, and any remnants of sanity that you have left

“You will only stop my advance when you stop me from breathing. And you are free to try.” Eren said: We interrupt this plane ride for a message from our Founder. Hey besties, please beat me to death!

“They told us back in training that the Female Titan can manifest the abilities of the rest of the nine by taking in parts of their bodies.” OHHHHH so THAT’S why Annie can scream Titans to do stuff. I still think she could be descended from royalty, but this does explain it in part

Hmmm is Zeke’s spinal fluid why Falco had the memory of flying around with swords in his hands? A pre-transformation memory from Zeke? I had wondered if it was from Cadet Ymir 

Turns out Annie’s father is NOT dead, nor are any of the immediate family of the other Marleyan Warriors. Instead, they’re probably going to die very shortly

“We cultivated hate. Nurtured our resentments. Let ourselves believe that could save us. And what came of our failings, we simply dumped onto the ‘Island of Devils.’ This is the result. Those failings gave rise to the monster you see. And it’s marching our hatred back upon us.” General Muller said: Turns out, oppressing people for their ethnic heritage is BAD! Who knew!!!!

All the Marley Eldian parents being like. My bad for inflicting generational trauma onto my children, xoxo

Is Zeke straight up throwing LIGHTNING NOW? Zeke has chidori? What is going ON

“The forces of Paradis are trying to end the Rumbling.” Oh HELL YEAH they are

I’m going to be real honest with you, I am incredibly attached to most of the remaining Team Save the World, so when some or even most of them inevitably die, I will cry. Or be sick. Or both

“Exactly one minute from now, I’ll blast these bones apart.” Armin preparing to kill his best friend to save everyone else. Awful

EREN JUST SWALLOWING HIS BEST FRIEND WHOLE INTO THE FUCKED UP BABUSHKA DOLL WITHOUT HESITATION???? WHAT?????????

“He’s being restrained, but he’s not hurt. The problem, is that he was whisked off towards Eren’s ass.” What a thing to say at a time like this, Levi

“Theses husks are the people who bore the Power of the Nine before us. I don’t know if their minds are still in there or not. But I’m betting the Founding Titan has the ability to resurrect them as many times as it needs to.” Eren said: Hey besties, please fight these Big Fucking Skeleton Ghosts of Your Ancestors and Friends

I suppose the friends part disproportionately affects Reiner, since he was closest to the most former Titans (Marcel, Porco, on top of them all being friends with Bertholdt)

Bertholdt crying in Armin’s Founder Ymir-Induced Suffocation Scape implies the former Titans are CONSCIOUS of being used to hurt their friends and commit gen-[GUNSHOT NOISE]? HATE THAT

“Do you still think we can win?” “Nope. But I don’t care. I wanna fight to the bitter end.” I am in love with you, Jean Kirschtein 

“You’re kinda in the way, Mikasa!” ANNIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Colour me bananas, but if Falco (I see why they named his character that now) was so certain he could turn into a Bird Titan, why’d he have to do it ON the boat. Couldn’t HE have been on one of the little lifeboats, transforming in the water and swooping away? 

“Hang on, where’s Arm—I mean, where’s Pieck?” Annie, you’re allowed to care that Armin’s alive, it’s not weird HAHAHAHAH. It’s weirder that you said it that way

“Your childhood friends sure have a way of getting themselves captured,” said Annie, as if she had not been the first person to capture them 

“Damn it. I had a long list of things to tell that dumbass off about.” This is Levi saying how much he loves Eren and doesn’t want to kill him :(

Gjgkgkjgjgjg Annie’s advice to Mikasa about how to deal with their comrades killing the man Mikasa loves: Try not to think about it

“That one. Isn’t it an okapi?” “What the hell’s an okapi?” I too would like to know what an okapi is, Mikasa

“Erwin, I didn’t choose you, and I don’t regret that. I’m entrusting the future with the same look in his eyes as all of you.” I LOVE YOU, LEVI, AND I LOVE YOU ARMIN

The subsequent cut to Armin screaming at his inanimate body about how much he hates it and himself. This show is exhausting

“I should be in a Titan’s mouth right now, so how do I know what’s happening to my friends?” This is a question I also had Armin, but I wasn’t really expecting an answer

“You still seek to multiply? Why? Is continuing the species really that important to you?” Zeke said: Actually, y’all are saving the world because you wanna fuck (Zeke and Yelena fight over who projects a more insane motivation onto the Scouts)

“This strange, lovely thought popped into my head. I felt like maybe I’d been born to race Mikasa and Eren up that hill.” Oh, Armin

Armin seeing this object in the paths as a leaf that reminds him of Mikasa and Eren while Zeke sees it as a baseball him and Ksaver played with. Everything always comes back to baseball and absent fathers

Is the payoff for Armin being Babushka'd for a solid thirty minutes going to be that he’s going to convert all of these Former Titans in Purgatory (aka the Paths) to stop being Eren���s Skeleton Ghost Army? Incredible 

I was wondering when Cadet Ymir was going to make an appearance. Good for her! 

I also appreciate that Eren’s own (skeleton ghost) father is among the people actively fighting against him. PARENTING 

Zeke, as he gets decapitated, probably: See, I CAN be helpful!

“The rumbling just stopped.” THEN WHYYYY are there 45 more minutes in the episode!!!!!!!!! What are you going to do!!!!!!

I would like an explanation on what the glowing-worm-spine-thing that gives people Titan powers is. An alien? A sea creature? A really vengeful spirit? Explain!!!!

“If [the Titan Worm] survived that explosion point-blank, we can’t kill it. The one we should target is Eren. This nightmare won’t end until we take him down.” To be fair, Levi, you just had Armin try to explode Eren too, so can you really kill him?

“Could this be the same gas they used on Ragako village?” “Mikasa, Pieck, get on Falco, we need to leave. Cause only Ackermanns and Titan wielders are immune, remember?” OH MY GOD THEY’RE GOING TO TURN JEAN AND CONNIE INTO TITANS. I KNEW THIS BATTLE WASN’T GOING TO PASS WITHOUT KILLING SCOUTS, BUT OH MY GOD. JEAN. I AM CRYING, THIS IS THE WORST POSSIBLE WAY HE COULD DIE. THE WAY ALL OF THESE PEOPLE’S FAMILIES COULD DIE. I HATE THIS. I AM SICK. 

“You’re gonna live without me for a long time. So forget you knew me. Forget, and be free.” I don’t care about this Eren-isn’t-a-mass-murderer fantasy sequence. Any remaining energy I had for this narrative died with Jean

Mikasa kissing Eren AFTER decapitating him is an incredibly weird way to end this battle. Why write this show? What was the point?

HKFHKJFHKFJHFKJHF not them having Eren appear as a child and say sorry for the mass murder!!!! What kinda Naruto behaviour is this!!!

“So you did all that to push us away, huh? To make us turn against you and become the heroes who prevent the annihilation of the human race by killing you.” “You got it. Every human left outside of the walls will owe you a debt of gratitude.” This is the most backwards ass, stupid ass plan I’ve ever heard of. I can’t believe THIS is the excuse for everything I’ve had to witness. 

Eren Jaeger 🤝 Itachi Uchiha

If I do ALLLLLL the murders, no one will think badly of my fellow people, even though I am one of those people

“You’re hoping we can all become like the Tybur family and protect Paradis from reprisal.” Except for Jean and Connie who are mega-dead, and Annie, Armin, Reiner and Pieck, who will presumably all die in less than ten years, Falco who has thirteen years left, which leaves Levi and Mikasa to stand for their whole island? 

“Founder Ymir, she loved King Fritz.” Of course, who doesn’t love someone who murdered their parents, enslaved them, ripped out their tongue and then [redacted] them and had their kids [LOUD HONK OF A CLOWN CAR]

The way they’re cycling through Eren and Armin’s ages. It does hurt me 

“The past and future, it’s all happening at once. And so, I had no choice That day, in that moment, Bertholdt would’ve died, but he had to live, so I sent it away from him and towards mom.” So, not only are you saying that Eren was retroactively controlling Titans from the wall’s breach, but also that HE is responsible for his mum getting eaten? Why does Eren have to be responsible for everything? Can’t things be also Reiner and Bertholdt’s fault?

“You’re a selfish heartbreaker, and I hope she does forget about you because she deserves to be happy!” Sweet of Armin, but I can’t take this seriously inside of everything that’s happened 

INSANE OF ARMIN TO BE MORE MAD ABOUT EREN DISREGARDING MIKASA’S FEELINGS THAN HE IS ABOUT THE GENOC!DE. Armin said: Two can play at the unrelentingly crazy takes on what chivalry means, Eren!

“But hey, the good news is, I know of one charming young fella she’s pretty close to already.” You mean Jean, whom Eren’s worm ally Titan-murdered??????

[Sobbing] “No. That’d break my heart. I don’t want her to find someone else. I want to be her one and only love! Even she does get over me, I think it should take her ten years at least!” “Oh, I see. Sorry, I didn’t think you’d say something that pathetic.” HAHAHAHAHA I genuinely just can’t absorb Eren saying this dialogue as true, because it feels so stupid and out-of-character, however, Armin’s response is VERY funny

“Twenty-percent of humanity is all that you manage to save. It’s been determined.” “’Been determined?’ But you determined it. You’re the one who kills them!” Eren said: [Count Frollo voice] It’s not my fault, it’s in God’s plan

“I trampled the world because I wanted it.” This is like, the third set of motivations Eren’s played his hand at. When will we land on one that sticks?

“Why? Why did it turn out this way? I finally know. Because I’m an idiot. I’m nothing more than a garden-variety idiot who got his hands on power. That’s why this is the only resolution I can bring about.” I guess this is motivation #4

“You’ll be joining me? Where?” [Pleasantly] “Assuming it exists, in hell.” Armin’s dialogue is so unrivaled in how crazy it is, I almost admire it

“Yeah. Look for me in hell. I’ll be waiting.” “Right. We’ll be together, for all time.” This is the opposite of meet me in gay heaven energy. Meet me in White Boy Hell:

God. Armin’s scream when he sees Eren is dead. Unbearable

“He said that you would make a choice, and that in the end it would cause the Power of the Titans to be erased from this world.” JEAN AND CONNIE AND GABI ALIVE? ARMIN AND REINER AND ANNIE AND FALCO STAYING ALIVE? ALSO WHY WAS THIS NOT AN OPTION BEFORE? Finally, a reason for all of this. The longest, most chaotic, worst path to a reason, but a reason nonetheless 

Eren being like, surprise!!! Here is my post-mass-murder voicemail about how much I love you all, besties! Except you, Pieck, I don’t know you. And everyone’s just like, ‘Aw, I missed him!’

I was worried for a moment that Levi seeing the fallen Scouts was an indication he was dying, but it seems like it’s some kind of goodbye present from Eren

“My name is Armin Arlert. And I killed Eren Jaeger. I stopped the Attack Titan and ended the rumbling.” Armin said: I am not afraid to take credit for the murder of my best friend

“All this time it was you, peeking into my head.” Mikasa’s headaches are actually Maternity-TSD from Founder Ymir? Sure, why not

I suppose it would be unrealistic if the fraction of people alive DIDN’T want to retaliate against the Island. What else could you expect? 

“But if we must fight, let it be for an end to fighting.” Historia finally gets some agency after her Farm Pregnancy Arc LMAO

“You know, it’s a real shame your life got longer, Reiner.” HAHAHA Jean. This is the kind of bullshit I missed 

HAAHAHAHAHAH ARMIN, I see you and Annie haven’t gotten any better at communicating:

Armin: Don’t forget that we’re Scout Regiment. We’re a bunch of dreamers who don’t know when to quit.

Annie: But I was in the Military Police. 

Armin, ignoring her: Anyway—

“After trying to kill each other again and again, we put down our weapons and began to call for peace.” I suppose this is the most tolerable possible resolution to an incredibly deranged show

I can’t believe this series has beaten me down so hard with its bare fists that I feel like 80% of the world dying is not the worst outcome. That is OBJECTIVELY AWFUL. I guess it helps that there’s no death/fighting scenes for last third of this episode. It’s just been so unbearable that if I’m not crying or actively nauseous, it’s some kind of victory. What a horrible show

Are we suggesting Eren has been reincarnated as a bird? Sure, fitting for a wings-of-freedom Scout metaphor moment, I suppose!

I’m not going to comment on the mid-credits scenes. This show has put me through enough. I have followed it through to its conclusion, and its conclusion was as brutal and absurd as the rest of it. Goodnight! 

#do i recommend this? no #did i watch it? yes #and now i may put it to rest #to be clear: i have no intentions to post about this show ever again. bye #ayesha talks anime #ayesha liveblogs aot #long post #liveblogging #tw: literally everything #aot spoilers #every kind of violence u can imagine is in this show. EVERY kind #i drafted this such a long while ago that they changed the text editor #as u may be able to tell by the fact it still has indented bullets #aot series #funny enough two years ago i ALSO watched j.j.k and this show successively. probably says something psychologically #if u liked this show. i don't think you'll like my liveblog LOL #(it's more of a record of my viewing experience than anything else) #anyway. next liveblog will be smth lighthearted i promise

[stillness-in-green]

Chapter Thoughts — Chapter 381: Dark

A short one this week. But more pictures than usual!

O  Shishikura, my lad, what in hell are you on about?  This first page is so completely bugfuck I almost can’t comprehend it.  Protect?  Protect??  This guy??

Human? Hardly. More like a disaster on legs... Or a wild beast. Just like the rest of the animals we've got locked up here. (...) They might walk and talk like people, but these disgusting beings only managed to mingle with society as long as they did because quirks have warped our standards for humanity.

Okay, yeah, we don’t know for sure if this guy was Shishikura’s father or not.  But we do know Shishikura’s father was a warden at Tartarus, which naturally leads to an expectation that, when we get scenes in Tartarus, we will eventually see someone with a family resemblance to Seiji.  And this guy had similar hair, and he sure as hell had a similar attitude.  Like, even the anime made his hair lavender, so they clearly saw the inference, too!

Even if he wasn’t, though, the response from Less Openly Fascist Guard to the above diatribe was to shush him for fear of recordings of his dehumanizing bullshit being leaked to the public, not to shush him because he was saying dehumanizing shit. It’s not some huge shock that the above was a widely accepted attitude around Tartarus.  Notice, certainly, that once it was decided that Kurogiri was going to get help, he was moved to a hospital: help is not a thing that Tartarus was built to facilitate.

I suppose the intent here is that Shishi-papa was “protecting” the country from its most dangerous criminals, but like—he did that while being very much hateful and full of spite.  You don’t complain about not being able to use missiles against human beings if you don’t have a huge measure of spite.  So what kind of mantle is Shishikura proposing to take up, exactly?  Tartarus was destroyed and it very much deserved to be.  Will Shishikura’s mantle fare any better?

O  I'd love to know if there's any kosher explanation for Shishikura being present here at all. Like, he failed the first stage of the license exam, meaning he wasn't eligible for the remedial training that would have let him take a second crack at it, so he shouldn't even have a provisional hero license. The exams are held twice a year, but the one the UA kids took was in September; not enough time has passed in the story for there to have been another. That being the case, either Shishikura is here with no license or the HPSC pulled some strings to haul in more warm bodies to bolster their ranks prior to the war, including students who wouldn't normally have been considered up to par. A bad look either way.

O  I talked about this plenty last week, so I won’t harp on it too much, but—Tsukauchi says that Shiketsu was already on the move before HQ contacted them with the aid request, right?  But how long ago, in-story, did Skeptic start mucking with the refugee transport?  How long did it take Shiketsu to get here?  I realize the travel times in the series are Basically Magic at this point, but it really does not look they made an effort to investigate the refugees’ safety (which, again, they were specifically designated as responsible for) at all.

O  Sigh.

Is that so, AFO? Is it really?

(Note, in the top picture, how far away the scaly dude in the hoodie and the long-necked gal are in particular from the truck AFO is clearing in a single swift, graceful leap.)

(X) DOUBT.

O  Inasa talking about learning modern history mostly reminds me how annoying it is that we never see the UA kids learning this kind of thing.  I know UA teaches normal subjects?—Present Mic is an English teacher, for example—but we see so little of anything that would inform the world beyond the commercial.  We get the commercial stuff: attack names and identities and agency team-ups and so on.  But history?  Legal issues?  Sociology?  Hardly anything, and it really contributes to the feeling of heroes as shiny walking billboards that don’t really think about how they fit into their own broader society.

O  TOKOYAMI’S REAL COOL, Y’ALL.  That disdainful sneer as he and Dark Shadow blot out the sky around AFO is aces, and I love that, as a fellow fan of darkness, he’s got stuff to say about AFO’s style of dark. Here’s hoping this is at least slightly more effective than Suneater’s Plasma Cannon. (Big maybe.)

O  I wish the story would make up its mind on whether Hawks is a bright-eyed hope-having hero capable of bringing light to people like Nagant, or a man with blood-stained wings who murdered someone he believed to be a good person.  Also, it’s a little hard to entirely buy Hawks thinking about passing things forward to Tokoyami when he’s mostly been doing backflips to avoid Tokoyami with the sole exception of Tokoyami’s internship.  Like, Tokoyami is putting all the effort into this relationship, you know?

#bnha #bnha 381 #chapter thoughts #shiketsu fen #bnha afo #my writing

[chemicalbakeryarts]

(Heyo!! Here’s my main Skylanders Oc! I forgot that I haven’t uploaded her ref onto Tumblr so here she is! Enjoy! 💙)

Name: Sakana

Skylander name: Dowser

Age: 24

Pronouns: she/her

Element: Water

Height: 6”1’

Personality and interest:

Dowser is a go-getter with a joyous attitude. Despite being an introvert for most of her life, her recent training to become a Skylander has greatly helped her with public speaking. Currently she is very kind to those around her, especially going out on missions. She can be incredibly bubbly when she is in a good mood. But most of all she loves learning. Both about history and the people around her. Knowing the ins and outs of her friends so she can better understand them. This can lead to her breaching privacy at times due to her lack of social experience at times, but she mainly just wants to accept people in open arms. That being said she knows when to be serious. Able to drop her otherwise lighthearted tone instantly if she realizes the situation, though that’s IF. Again, she has a hard time understanding when people are getting serious.

Backstory: Dowser doesn’t remember that much of her past, her species, and home. As unfortunately at the young age of seven she was kidnapped by pirates! Who originally planned to “get rid of her”, but thought keeping her as someone to do their dirty work around the ship would be a better use, after they found out she was a good fisher they stopped providing her food and made her get food for herself. This was fine by her, though. As fishing was her escapism from being held captive. She would live on this ship until shortly after she turned sixteen when this ship was destroyed by a village these pirates were about to raid. All the pirates were sentenced to the cloud cracker prison. But she escaped the ship before they could find her and thus avoided being trapped. Having no social skills and a mindset of “don’t speak up for yourself or face the consequences” she lived homeless for awhile, but still going fishing to provide herself with food. Having no knowledge of what do to in this situation, not really having any knowledge to be honest. She would stay living like this for months until someone who also happened to be fishing started talking with her. At the time Sakana’s English wasn’t very good. And her public speaking was ten times worse. But she was able to talk with him enough that (after confirming she didn’t have a home) this man brought her to stay with his family. Even provided her with a new fishing rod! In this new home she helped around for several more years of her life. This was where she learned reading, writing, and extended her vocabulary greatly. And her social skills also greatly improved, it was whiplash for her as all the sudden people started caring for her. After she one day saved village from a troll raid showing her immense strength and using none other than her new fishing rod as a weapon! (Now of course the village is great at defending themselves but she just took care of these trolls for them) This made her new family realize she would do greatly as a Skylander rather than staying and helping in the village. So now she has been training to become a Skylander for the past few months! Even going on occasional missions.

#digital illustration #skylander giants #skylanders superchargers #skylanders giants #fan character #ocs #oc artwork #oc #anthro

[bookwyrminspiration]

Okay got brought up the history of medicine in the special interest post and I’m very excited to hear about it (although I probably won’t see this ask until tomorrow)

I have been holding onto this ask for so long because I'm very excited about it and want to do it justice so like. Tomorrow is long gone at this point but! I have things to say!

it's special interest time everyone get ready I'm about to learn you a thing about ancient greece and culture and the timeline of human cadaveric dissection because like. It's very interesting.

So you may already know some of this, but I'm going over it again, starting with Ancient Greece. Human dissection can be traced back to two people there, Herophilus of Chalcedon and Erisistratus of Ceon, and they were working in the 3rd century BCE. If there were people dissecting human bodies before them (to learn about anatomy, not for burial purposes like in Egypt) then we don't know about them. Hippocrates was a little before them as well, but he's the father of medicine, not of dissection.

But! The thing is, after Herophilus and Erasistratus, the next mention of human dissection in history isn't until 1700 years later. if you do the math, that's the 14th century CE. It comes back in Italy, but that's not what I'm talking about here.

So where did it go? Why 300 BCE then almost two millennia until it comes back?

Many answers. It's possible a rival school of medicine/school of thought (empiricism) stamped it out because they thought it was useless, the library of Alexandria's burning lost knowledge related to human dissection (we have no texts from Herophilus or Erasistratus, we only know they exist because other people later on have referred to their work), and also! Religion! Dissection was considered blasphemous so don't dissect people and instead listen to the church, just replicate knowledge from the past and study it.

This also isn't my point though. My point is that all things considered, it's incredible that Herophilus and Erasistratus were able to do any human dissections at all. Ancient Greece wasn't different from everywhere else, it also had its own regiment of beliefs and customs surrounding the dead that would've prohibited human dissection.

The corpse was considered a pollutant, and people who interacted with the corpse were polluted. The house was polluted, the clothes worn by the corpse, etc. I found one source saying you weren't allowed to die in a temple because you'd pollute it, but I'd need to further confirm that.

The way corpses are treated and dealt with is very significant, as is evidenced in plays like Antigone. There are specific customs and manners of dealing with corpses to pay respects and allow them to pass into the afterlife, and then to cleanse those who came into contact with the corpse and the home. A lot of the purification has to do with water, washing and bathing and such to get rid of the pollutant.

Then there's also the attitude towards skin! Skin was wholeness, it was heavily associated with community (the skin of the community holding it together). Skin was order, it was representative of the internal. Think how you skin an animal when you've defeated it, and you'll hear of warriors with animal skins showing their strength. The skin was taken as it was conquered. This is a very simple explanation but my point is that skin was incredibly important symbolically, and if you didn't know, dissection involves cutting that symbol, destroying that wholeness and binding order. These cuttings are referred to using words that denote violence and violation, so clearly cutting skin in Ancient Greek customs is not a good thing! It's violating and disrespectful to the corpse, and on top of all that you're being polluted.

So then how on earth did Herophilus and Erasistratus do any of the massively influential work that they did as the pioneers of systematic human dissection? It seems to center on the fact they worked in Alexandria, you know, the place with the library that was renowned for its knowledge.

One reason may be that Alexandria was trying to show itself as a place of scientific knowledge and intellectual advancement, and human dissection fed into that. Herophilus and Erasistratus made huge discoveries (like the difference between sensory and motor nerves, the four ventricles of the brain, the liver, seven of the twelve cranial nerves, etc), and that helps establish Alexandria's reputation.

Alexandria was also a frontier city, which meant it was on the border between places. It was a transition zone, meaning that the Greek values places on corpses weren't dominant there. Sure, they may have been present, but they weren't more important than any nearby beliefs from neighboring cultures.

Additionally, the lack of democracy likely contributed as well. Without a democratic system, even if everyone else was against their practice of human dissection, so long as they had patronage (e.g., royal patronage from those looking to promote the city) then they were guaranteed to be able to continue what they were doing regardless of if people disliked their practiced because of the social norms is violated.

And! Aristotle had made advancements in the field of biology in the 4th century BCE by dissection animals, so the idea of dissection (while not on humans) was already familiar to the city. They're not exactly the same, but it is worth mentioned.

And! At the same time both stoics and epicureans were starting to emerge, which are two different fields of philosophy. They're pretty different, but share the belief (at least at the time) that everything is just matter. Death isn't bad, the corpse isn't bad, it's just matter in a different state.

Combining all that brief and grossly oversimplified explanation along with other details I haven't mentioned, Alexandria in the 3rd century BCE was like this brief moment in time where everything socially aligned for the two of them to conduct their research and be able to actually follow through with it. These conditions didn't immediately disappear after their death, but Herophilus and Erasistratus were the two we know of, and it died with them for 1700 years.

After them came the rise of different reasons I mentioned earlier that kept it quiet until 14th century italy (and that list of reasons isn't complete either, there's a lot going on), but I think it's neat to look at the culture surrounding this single generation long blip that allowed for such significant advancement so long before so much of the rest of medical advancements. They were 1700 years ahead of their time and it's fascinating to look at!

I will stop here because this is already quite long but! I am very invested in the history of medicine and it's so so cool to look back on. Love learning about it and reading about it and talking about it, so thank you for the opportunity. There is. So much information :)))

#the history of human dissection #history of medicine #quil's queries #gaslight-gaetkeep-gayboss #me and the national library of medicine website are in a committed long time relationship #there are so many excellent papers on the history there #some of them are behind paywalls :/ #but even so! #there are great sources outside of it #there's this one four part series on youtube that's like four hours long talking about the history of dissection and it's just!! ah!!! #love it so much so so much #one time someone sent me a video talking about medicine and medicinal beliefs in the past and I think about them every day #I love that video it's fascinating #and I never would've found it otherwise! #so so good #if you send me things about the history of medicine I will love you forever #oh and when someone sent me pictures of old anatomy models!! I think that was kepler? #may be misremembering #but oaiwrhagoiernge special interest :)))

[brianbrianbrain]

Thoughts in no particular order on This College because I have been :/

COVID isn't over and the school that had the audacity to send out a school wide email promoting a documentary about the history of the disability movement here unsurprisingly does not actually give a shit about anybody's health. I sit outside and every 5 minutes or less someone walks by on the street coughing with zero mask. There are people coughing during lecture but for some of them attendance is mandatory no excuses right now :/

Go to the dining hall and half of the people dump a full plate of food into the compost. Reminds me of an article I read in the school paper where they were like "no casual link between food waste and food insecurity" like yes, they had some good points about how food is just too fucking expensive but at the same time it's about people's attitudes to food and how they just don't fucking care. If many people are regularly tossing perfectly good food I guarantee you most of them don't give a shit about the cost of food and how fucked up our food system is, and that is a fucking problem and insulting on a campus that claims to care about human rights and the environment and all that shit. There is a big gap between "don't care at all about individual actions and mindset" and "corporations need to stop pretending that all the onus is on individuals," and food and water access is core to every single human and labor rights issue because of the simple fact that if people don't have food and water, they cannot exist in the first place.

On that note I'm losing my mind over people's first approach to their (humanities related) interests being "haha I'm going to double major/minor!" Like yes, please do educate yourself, but generally it is far better to focus on interacting with the actual communities involved outside of a academic setting rife with respectability politics, bureaucratic bullshit, and accessibility issues.

Someone got drunk 3 days after we moved in and multiple people keep talking about rushing. IDK about you but no trust for sororities and frats which by definition generally reinforce the binary and all the shit that comes with it. Most of them are socially acceptable (white) cults that you pay to be in in order to destroy your health.

Keep seeing shit about "philanthropy" on this campus. Like goddammit how about you work more on people getting what they need from the beginning instead of focusing on your savior complex.

U.S. centrism, obviously.

There was an event where a bunch of big brands came and were like "we're serving the community" like that is just marketing bullshit, please fuck off.

On that note once again you cannot "buy sustainability." Consumerism is fundamentally incompatible with respect for each other and life as a whole.

Interacted with a 30? mid-30s? year old transfer who lauded China. There's a big difference between "China definitely does some shit better than the U.S." and "China can do no wrong" and they were definitely going for the latter. Pretty much every single U.S. v. China discussion that I've seen so far still treats U.S. and China as totally separate entities and does not look at how both governments benefit from the power play and how the economies are intertwined.

Forced to listen to shitty self help speech that doesn’t actually address any root causes, as usual.

Personally has not been bad just... ticked off. Went to the public library (not the campus libraries) and was very nice. At some point I'm also really going to make a coherent effort to visually illustrate some of this shit, hopefully soon.

Unrelated to college stuff but with all the strikes... imagine if we could go further and eliminated the corporate boss entirely... no?

#rant

[debra2007-blog]

The One Who Must Change Monday, June 19, 2023 More On The Other God We often have a hard time with change. We want other people to change their ways and attitude. We want our spouses, children, parents, ministers, and our friends to change. We want our situation, finances, job to change. The more things we want to change, the more frustrated we get when they don't. The fact is that nothing has to change, but us. We think of ourselves as unchangeable. Only God's unchangeable. He says, ""I change not."" If we don't change - we can't grow, we die. Our salvation starts with change. Repentance, growing in maturity, putting away the old self, putting on the new - that's change. Becoming a new creation, being born again is the only thing you have to make positive changes - not that your situation changes, but that you do. We have no control over anyone else's change, just our own. Open your heart and mind today so you can change and become more like Him. Be a change for God, for God is the only one who changes not. That's His job, to change not, and He shouldn't. But your job is to change.

Today's Mission Today, make it your aim not to change your circumstances, but to change yourself. What change does God want? Start changing today.

Malachi 3:6 6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. “I am God—yes, I Am. I haven’t changed. And because I haven’t changed, you, the descendants of Jacob, haven’t been destroyed. You have a long history of ignoring my commands. You haven’t done a thing I’ve told you. Return to me so I can return to you,” says God-of-the-Angel-Armies.

Have a blessed day and week. May Yeshua Hamashiach bless you, Love, Debbie

[wisdomrays]

JEALOUSY

Question: What should an appropriate attitude be towards those who envy us and cannot stomach our achievements?

Answer: First of all, it needs to be known that not being able to stomach others’ merits is a serious spiritual illness. The example of Satan’s attitude towards Adam and his later going completely astray is the most striking example of just that. Considering the words of Satan in different verses of the Qur’an, it is seen that he is a creature that knows God. But in spite of that, he refused to prostrate himself before Adam for the sole reason of his jealousy and not being able to stomach God’s honoring Adam. While mentioning Satan’s disobedience to the Divine command, the Qur’an uses the word “aba” (refused), which denotes insistent refusal. That is, he was insistent at his haughty refusal to prostrate himself before Adam. Since he was full of grudge and hatred, this prevented him from seeing goodness and thinking positively. Had it been easy to overcome jealousy and inability to stomach others’ merits, Satan’s end would probably not be so pitiful. Perhaps, realizing Adam’s relation with the Almighty Creator and the angels’ respect for him would bring Satan to his senses. However, that poor victim of jealousy fell headlong and is still falling. It is narrated in a parable that Satan once asked God Almighty, “You forgive so many people, should my punishment and suffering not be over?” God Almighty reminded him of the first test that he failed, “Go and prostrate yourself before the grave of Adam. Then I will forgive you.” However, Satan was totally seized by his jealousy and inability to stomach Adam’s merits once again that he continued his refusal and denial. Jealousy has such a compact potential for evil that Satan threw himself headfirst into disbelief.

From jealousy to fratricide

On the other hand, God Almighty relates the parable of Adam’s two sons in the chapter Al-Maedah (5:27–31), in order to show where jealously and inability to stomach others’ merits can destroy a person. Although the names of the two sons are not specified in the Qur’an and the Tradition of the noble Prophet, earlier scriptures refer to them as Cain and Abel. They were born into a family blessed with Divine revelations, which was also a nucleus for the final Prophet. One of these two sons, whose father was mentioned as “the Pure Servant of God,” was an unfortunate one who could not stomach the merits of his brother and turned so furious as to kill him in the end.

When we review history, we come across many examples of this kind. The lesson to extract from these is that jealousy caused many people to fall. Grudge and jealousy even caused some people to be antagonistic toward the Pride of Humanity, who would not hurt anybody in the slightest degree. At one instant, Abu Jahl confessed this truth with the following words, “All that he conveys is true. He does not lie; we have never witnessed that. However, his tribesmen (Banu Abdul Muttalib) already said, ‘We have the honorable duties of giving Zamzam water to pilgrims, keeping custody of the keys of the Ka’ba, and offering food to pilgrims.’ If they say now, ‘The Prophet has appeared from among us,’ I cannot stand that!” Until the day he met his end at the Battle of Badr, that unfortunate one spent all of his days in enmity towards the Messenger of God, and then drifted to eternal perdition in the vice of his jealous grudge. He could perhaps be granted Divine forgiveness if he had said even as late as a few minutes before his death, “Until this moment, I have always been trying to destroy what you built up. But now, I am asking for forgiveness,” and then accept faith. However, he was absorbed in a jealous grudge, arrogance and envy even during his death throes. Let us give it a thought; his inability to stomach others’ value was like an inauspicious iceberg not melting even in the significant atmosphere of the Messenger of God.

Not even a ladder to paradise

Some people might entirely object acts of benevolence for the sole reason that they did not personally take part in initiating, planning, and realizing these initiatives, no matter how significant, beneficial, and beautiful they could be. For example, in recent years, Language Olympiads have been held in Turkey with students from four corners of the world. The organization is realized by devoted teachers, selfless tutors, and philanthropic people of Anatolia; it is a fruit of the concerted efforts of so many self-sacrificing souls. This organization does not only stand for teaching language, but also for sharing significant values. The values of a deep-rooted spiritual heritage are presented for others to see, without missionary like intentions or imposing things on any of the contestants or audience members. Every language carries with it the culture and world of thought it is based on. People of Turkey did not achieve an organization of such success, even in their most prosperous periods. Now, at a time of economic crises, philanthropic souls of Anatolia face variations of possible difficulties, send help to different areas, and carry out a very important service by the grace of God. However, still you see that some people of the same land express their uneasiness by remarking that the concept is exaggerated. At another instance, a columnist makes an accusation and defines all those altruistic services as mere show. Although the educational activities are realized through so much suffering and troubles, some cannot find acceptance towards these and attempt to discredit them in many different ways. Some even take jealousy to the degree of wishing to destroy all these acts of goodness. Sometimes, this feeling causes them to make groundless accusations and complaints to the authorities in different countries, with an intention to eliminate the services. Even “jealousy” is too innocent a term for such a degree of loath and grudge. I think the word “envy” could petition to be excluded from a relevant glossary; such a destructive spirit can only stem from animosity toward faith. Those people do not show their true face and it would be too unmannerly for us to label them hypocrites. But their souls are seized by such malignant feelings that even if you offer them a ladder to Paradise, they will do everything to destroy that blessed ladder.

#allah #god #islam #muslim #quran #ayat #revert #convert #help #hijab #hadith #sunnah #prophet #Muhammad #pray #prayer #salah #muslimah #dua #religion #reminder #revert help #convert help #islam help #muslim help #welcome to islam #how to convert to islam #new convert #new revert #new muslim

[princeofgod-2021]

LIGHT OF LIFE 242

John 1:4

SATAN’S STRUCTURE 49: CULTURE & TRADITION 8

1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that YE WERE NOT REDEEMED WITH CORRUPTIBLE THINGS, as silver and gold, FROM YOUR VAIN CONVERSATION RECEIVED BY TRADITION FROM YOUR FATHERS; KJV

Now, the only way that negative behavioral patterns can be developed through inspiration from divine building Blocks of our dear Faith in scriptures, is if those scriptures have been tampered with.

Remember that the 3rd Type of Tradition we have seen is the type – commonly imputed in Church – that impinges on God’s divine commands and poses no pure or intrinsic value for anyone, right?

2Ti 2:16-18 STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE WHO TALK ABOUT USELESS THINGS THAT ARE NOT FROM GOD. THAT KIND OF TALK WILL LEAD A PERSON MORE AND MORE AGAINST GOD. THEIR EVIL TEACHING WILL SPREAD LIKE A SICKNESS INSIDE THE BODY. HYMENAEUS AND PHILETUS are men like that. THEY HAVE LEFT THE TRUE TEACHING. They say that the day when people will be raised from death has already come and gone. AND THEY ARE DESTROYING THE FAITH OF SOME PEOPLE. ERV

If some heard that the 2nd coming is past already, they have tendency to believe because it commonly seems difficult to live a holy life in the first place, and thus they could “backslide” or behave badly.

1Co 15:32-33 If, after the way of men, I was fighting with beasts at Ephesus, what profit is it to me? IF THE DEAD DO NOT COME TO LIFE AGAIN, LET US TAKE OUR PLEASURE IN FEASTING, FOR TOMORROW WE COME TO AN END. Do not be tricked by false words: EVIL COMPANY DOES DAMAGE TO GOOD BEHAVIOUR. BBE

From the verses above, we can see that Satan is really working hard to impose the impression that Resurrection or 2nd coming is obsolete, and we can see the damage: people start living frivolously.

Heresies can indeed induce bad behaviours.

The more a heretic can convince people to believe in lies, which erroneously represent the gospel, the more people will go wild in evil behaviours.

Rev 2:6 But you have this in your favor-YOU HATE WHAT THE NICOLAITANS ARE DOING. I also hate what they're doing. GW

The Nicolaitans, according to history, were a sect of “acclaimed” believers, who adjusted the gospel to embrace permissiveness.

They committed heinous evils like sleeping with each other’s wife, etc.

Many other supposed Christians of that time, unlike the Ephesians, embraced the “Nicolaitans doctrine”. Don’t be surprised that these behaviours thence become deep rooted subsisting traditions.

Rev 2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate THAT WOMAN JEZEBEL, WHO CALLS HERSELF A PROPHETESS, AND BY HER TEACHING deceives my servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. NET

First, a seductress [Jezebel] says she’s a Prophetess, implying that she was the voice of God.

Then she teaches doctrines that induce and lure people to start committing licentious and immoralities.

There are, so called, Pentecostal Churches today, who obviously, as more or less a Tradition, commit adultery, polygamy and are drunkards.

Yet they would pray and you could feel the heavens shaking.

Rev 3:17 You claim to be rich and successful and to have everything you need. But you don't know how bad off you are. You are pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. CEV

Doctrinal Emphasis could also determine the behavioral pattern you see in even supposed born-again children of God.

If you over-emphasize prosperity gospel, it can adversely complicate attitude.

Christians who “worship” the prosperity gospel tend to deduce their righteousness by how much money they make (the richer, the holier) and hence, they abandon true righteous living.

Rev 3:18 So I counsel you to purchase gold perfected by fire, so that you can be truly rich. PURCHASE A WHITE GARMENT TO COVER AND CLOTHE YOUR SHAMEFUL ADAM-NAKEDNESS. Purchase eye salve to be placed over your eyes so that you can truly see. TPT

Beloved, faulty emphasis and prioritization of the Gospel is equivalent to heresy, and it would make people behave in a disorderly manner with respect to God’s Standard demand over their lives.

Mat 23:23 "How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, BUT YOU NEGLECT TO OBEY THE REALLY IMPORTANT TEACHINGS OF THE LAW, SUCH AS JUSTICE AND MERCY AND HONESTY. These you should practice, without neglecting the others. GNB

Preaching “sowing and reaping” far above other aspects of the gospel to brethren, makes “sowing” their “assumed” righteousness and they could easily become morally bankrupt, while yet sowing.

Their “behaviour’ becomes aggression and unchecked passion for making money.

Some would steal and lie, just to get money to give and make profit from God. Such “crimes” won’t matter to them anymore.

Jas 4:2-3 You lust, and don’t have. You murder and covet, and can’t obtain. You fight and make war. You don’t have, because you don’t ask. You ask, and don’t receive, BECAUSE YOU ASK WITH WRONG MOTIVES, SO THAT YOU MAY SPEND IT ON YOUR PLEASURES. WEB

Was James talking about Christians? Yes beloved; the letter was written to the church please.

I pray that you will never be found in that number, in Jesus name, Amen.

Come back on Wednesday for more digging into this intriguing subtopic.

Keep Shinning!

Brother Prince

Monday, August 29, 2022

08055125517; 08023904307

[heavy-lies-the-crown]

check yes or no

it's old. but hopefully still enjoyable! love to you all.

It’s the first Valentine’s Day they don’t have to give cards to everyone in their homeroom if they’re going to distribute them. Since they are - how does he say it - growing up, there are no poorly constructed mailboxes with their names hanging off the backs of their seats this year.

Instead, there are candy grams.

(it goes like this. buy them for a dollar, send them to the guy or girl you like-like, stress yourself into an ulcer wondering if you’ll get one back. squeal a lot either way.)

It’s all very dramatic, this love thing. Very heavy stuff. He might not be cut out for it.

(later, give or take four years, he’ll discover that he is.)

He doesn’t expect a candy gram since he’s never been a joiner in the whole ordeal. He’s never done cards, even when they were mandatory. Teachers have contacted his parents about it before; apparently that attitude demonstrates “bad sportsmanship” or “a lack of spirit” and they “cannot tolerate that in their classrooms.” Something along those lines. They’re sympathetic when they find out he’s poor, but actually, he can swing three bucks for the Snoopy card set at CVS, the kind that comes six to a page with perforations to make the process of love real nice and simple.

(big spender!)

It has nothing to do with his aversion to buying into the Hallmarkian scheme, though that’s what he tells people. He’s just never wanted to.

But now there’s someone calling his name, waving a little package around like it’s a flag and he’s the proud, patriotic champion of the island-nation of love. Absolutely everyone can see. And hear.

(jug-head? is there a jug-head in this class? someone loves you jug-head!)

They’re looking at him, they’re looking at the candy gram, they’re looking between him and the candy gram, and it’s all very much against his general ethos of maintaining a profile lower than ground-level.

He owns up to being Jughead, even though it might actually cause his death.

He eats the little bag of candy hearts in one go as if that will destroy the evidence it ever existed. But then there’s the problem of the little slip of paper that came with it saying I like your hat, Juggie! Love, Betty. There’s also the even bigger problem of this... this external Judas of a force that has him carefully folding the stupid thing and tucking it into his pocket like a little treasure.

But in History, he learns that Betty apparently found something likable about everyone in their homeroom, and by lunch he’s in the bathroom about to throw the card away. Then she busts in, all hi! did’cha get my candy gram! hope you did! with a big, bright smile.

(she being betty, the actual big spender. there's twenty-five kids in their homeroom.)

“This is the guy’s bathroom, right?” is what he comes up with. It’s a real winner of a response that surely has Casanova quaking in his boots somewhere.

“Oh.” She looks a little guilty. “Yeah, sorry. You just move around really fast.”

“Yep, that’s me,” is what he comes up with next. “I got it. Thanks, by the way. The candy was great.”

(it seriously wasn’t, it was chalky)

“Oh good,” she says, like she’s very relieved. “I just want to make sure everyone knows someone thought about them today, you know? I didn’t want anyone to feel left out.”

“Yeah, totally. That was really nice of you,” he says. “Well, thanks again. For the candy. And you know, the love.”

She blushes and he thinks he might die again. He did say this love thing is very dramatic.

“Sure,” she says. “I really do like your hat, though. I meant that part.”

He logics himself into this conclusion – if she meant the part about her liking his hat, she must not have meant the part about love. But still, it’s a nice enough sentiment since he likes his hat too, so he hangs on to the paper for the rest of the day. That is, until he gets home and the Judas entity emerges again, and the paper finds its way into the shoebox under his bed he keeps odds and ends, letters from his dead grandma, his dad’s dog tag from the army; things like that.

Later, give or take four years, she’ll give him another Valentine’s Day card, a really pretty card with artwork by an up-and-coming female artist because she supports good causes like that. No Charlie Brown characters in sight. A really pretty card with even more beautiful sentiments handwritten in it. And she’ll sign it, love, Betty again.

He’ll say something incredibly awkward like “oh, I hope you mean it this time,” in the name of trying to come off as casual, since love has never stopped being this dramatic thing and he has never stopped putting his foot in his mouth when it comes to it. Then, after a lot of confused looks and a round of “what do you mean?” “no, what do you mean?” he’ll learn that he’s been a real idiot for actual years because even if she did send a candy gram to everyone in homeroom in sixth grade, did he know that his was one of a few she did not sign from, Betty?

(no, no he did not know)

“Obviously it was a slightly different kind of love, but it wasn’t like I didn’t mean it,” she’ll say.

“Different, huh?” He’ll be smiling, and it’ll look slightly deranged because he’ll be trying not to smile too much and make her instantly regret this different love.

“Mmm.” Then, she’ll give him this very soft, wonderful look he’ll want to bottle and keep forever in his shoebox under the bed as she taps the new, very pretty card. “I’d say this one’s more the romantic variety.”

After several moments of making sure his heart won’t emerge if he speaks and plop onto the table - that would probably ruin the nice mood - what he’ll come up with is, “the love-loves kind of romantic?”

(foot, mouth)

And she’ll say, with that big, bright smile of hers, “Yeah, exactly. That’s just the kind I mean.”

(and later, give or take four years, at a table with a really pretty card and a lot of diner food between them, he’ll tell her he loves her, he love-loves her too, and mean it as well)

#happy valentine's day! #bughead fic #riverdale fic #bughead #repost - can't seem to find the old one #can't seem to find anything?