#he has given me so much by his stories

[vegetadaily]

Rest in peace Akira Toriyama-sensei. Thank you for creating and sharing your art and stories. They will forever be in our hearts as will you. May your light continue to shine on us. Thank you for everything.

#dragon ball #akira toriyama #dbz #vegeta #ベジータ #dbz gifs #mygifs #i'm still in shock tbh #he has given me so much by his stories #by creating and keeping vegeta around #thank you for everything #thank you for brightening my life #thank you for being your wonderful you

[botanyshitposts]

ok this sounds insane but in 2018 i went to a few carnivorous plant talks at the botany conference in minnesota. i got caught up in conversation with one of the guys there who was a huge nepenthes guy who told me a story about another collector in the pacific northwest who'd been buying poached plants, like a huge amount, and eventually got staked out by the fish and wildlife service and arrested and had all his plants seized and went to prison for it. idk if i ever talked about this on this blog before-- i know i liveblogged a lot from that conference but cant remember what all i posted-- but ive avoided talking about it since then because i was never able to find like, news articles or anything covering it, but behold.... we now have proof it was real, and im like 80% sure this was this guy he was talking about. the raid happened in 2016 and they'd been staking them out since 2013. he had nearly 400 plants and had been sourcing many of them from poachers in indonesia and borneo.

remember folks: poaching happens with plants too! it's a huge problem not only in carnvirous plants (nepenthes especially, which this piece is dedicated to talking about) but also in native plant populations in the US, including native carnivorous plant populations (north and south carolina's venus fly traps, california's darlingtonia, and sarracenia from the east coast), native orchids (historically one of the most poached categories), desert plants/cacti/succulents, and slow-growing woody ornamentals (cycads, for example). never buy bare-root plants off ebay or facebook! your best bet is local nurseries (which usually purchase farm-raised plants that do well in a wide range of conditions, and as a result have a healthy population in the wild) or specialty greenhouses (more expensive, but at least in the case of carnivorous plants offer young plants bred from established adult plants in-house, raised in captivity).

#super sad piece fellas like this shit guts me i cant even stress it enough #stories about nepenthes poaching hit different #there are hundreds of species #some are really common and widespread all over indonesia/china/japan/oceania #and some are like. super hyperadapted to one specific ridge on one specific mountain #theyre still being recorded and stuff because theyve speciated so much #so youll have a plant that has like. a max of 15 adults in the population at any given time. literally a nightmare scenario #AND theyre diaceous (there are male plants and female plants). doesnt seem like a problem until you think about the population dynamics #there not only has to be two plants but the plants have to be a male and a female #and people living there have reason to take them. like the poacher interviewed in this article does it to supplement his income #from working at a horrifying rubber production ordeal to feed his wife and kids #and he says everyone in his village does the same for the same reasons #nightmare!! nightmare!! nightmare horrible nightmare world!!! horrible fucking nightmare!!!! #nepenethes #carnivorous plants #poaching #conservation

[orchid-n-petals]

So I've already shared parts of this on a discord server, but I have to scream about Ketheric Thorm on here as well. Obviously spoilers about the character under the cut! It's a long one.

The entirety of act 2 is about him, right? Jaheira, Shadowheart and numerous other NPCs shit on him for his fickle faith. First Selune, then Shar, then, as we meet him, Myrkul. You hear about his changes of faith on a whim, you hear that he's the person responsible for the shadow curse, he is painted as a villain, plain and simple.

You can figure it out pretty early on that Isobel was resurrected and that she is his daughter; the detail as well that he wants Isobel alive is so on the nose, it gives him away completely but there are still a few questions that remain unanswered, mainly about his faith.

And then you get to the mausoleum and the picture assembles; this entire tragedy, the death of hundreds if not thousands and the complete ruination of a landscape was all, ALL because you had this absolutely wrenched, heartbroken father who had lost everything and nobody answered his grief. He was left woefully alone, the Goddess whose daughter his daughter was involved with did nothing to save Isobel.

Imagine outliving your wife and your daughter. Imagine dedicating your life to fight the Lady of Loss, your Lady of Silver's enemy, and then be left so completely alone and in silence with your grief, with your loss. It's so, so poetic how and why he turned from Selune, and it's so understandable as well; he broke. His spirit completely broke. He couldn't deal with that void of having lost the only two important people in his life, seemingly undeservedly so. He was going mad with this and a lot of his ire was likely targeted at Aylin who, in his eye, represented Selune; she's literally her daughter, after all, and it was implied that even before the deaths of his family, he sort of saw Aylin courting Isobel as Selune taking his daughter from him, despite his service. This relationship was clearly not seen by him as a boon of "giving his daughter to the Moon-maiden".

His ways in the past clearly didn't spare him from tragedy and having to cope with it (which he clearly didn't, he snapped under the weight of his grief). He was clearly angry and unable to do anything, furious and helpless, which is a dangerous combination. A good part of his first change of heart must have been fuelled by a sense of revenge.

But then Shar didn't provide any balm to his aching heart either. If you read his letters in Grymforge and in act 2, he is so focused on enacting the will of Shar because he believes that healing lies in oblivion. Everything would be easier if he could just forget, if the damn world could just forget, if nothing was remembered because without Melodia and Isobel, nothing was worth remembering.

Then came Myrkul. Literally the only god who was not only able, but WILLING to give back his daughter to him. Imagine spending your all, EVERYTHING you have to serve two gods who would not give a single shit about the greatest suffering in your life. You were basically nothing, your loyalty didn't matter for shit, everything that was taken from you amounted to no recognition whatsoever: you should simply cope and seethe. Your grief will not simply go unanswered (which is not inherently antagonising) but ignored.

And then comes this supposedly evil entity who can alleviate your pain just like that, snap of a finger and it's a done deal.

I am so serious when I say that I believe Ketheric's main incentive was to extend Aylin's immortality to Isobel as well. You can read in her diary that she feels a taint after having came back, and there are things not even Selune can cleanse, but at this point, Ketheric doesn't care about Selune, vengeance is secondary if not tertiary, he's done that war during his Shar years and what did it give him? Literally nothing.

He doesn't even care about the fact that Isobel is still her cleric. He cares about the single most important fact: Isobel is back. Life is worth living again, there is something for him, and it was not Selune or Shar who gave it to him but Myrkul, and for this singular gift, he would raze the world for the Lord of Bones. Like people can clown on him for being disloyal but the man has the loyalty of a dog bonded to its owner.

He is powerful and is willing to go to insane lengths for crumbs. What is raising a single life for a god? Nothing. It has happened and it will happen again. But Ketheric will go to the ends of the earth to serve the single god who actually listened to him. The one god who didn't ignore him.

He knows that what he does is not the morally upright thing! He is so insanely self-aware that allying with Orin and Gortash and doing this entire plot with them only to then betray them is morally reprehensible at the best of times, he knows that people hate him, etc-etc. He was a Selunite at one point and he's not stupid. He just doesn't care; it could be literal Asmodeus and he wouldn't care as long as he got what he wanted, no matter the price.

He is probably the only one from the three of the chosen who has complete clarity over his situation, he almost sways (if you pass the check during his confrontation), he is not an inherently evil man blinded by power.

But he is inherently loyal to those deserving, and as of the story's standing, completely broken by his grief. In his eyes, at this point, the only one deserving loyalty is the one who actually listened to him. Isobel lives. It doesn't matter that she hates him, that his entire life has fallen apart, that literally nothing else that is good has come of it, because Isobel lives.

I don't think he regrets a single thing. His consciousness might tear at him at the end, but I believe he would do everything over again, exactly as he did, because in the end, his daughter was brought back. Because what would a grieving, broken parent give to bring back their child? Everything. Absolutely everything. And it's such a simply given answer, no second thoughts, no doubts.

Nobody can tell me that this man is fickle. Nobody. This man was willing to burn the world to the ground, create a Boudica destruction layer all by himself for the one single thing he wanted. For any God that would listen.

I don't know, I just have a lot of thoughts about his character.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #ketheric thorm #and I also have a lot of thoughts of how Aylin foils him #I fully believe that he was in the right in the capacity that he switched around his gods when he was literally ignored despite his life's #work. despite all that he has given. I think it's reasonable to expect in the world of gods who actively meddle in mortal affairs on their #whims and make shit worse that in just one single case they would. idk. NOT expect one of their devotees to remain blindly loyal to them #after their prayers go unanswered. like yes; go and try your luck elsewhere because this devotion of yours is clearly being taken for #granted. you get NOTHING out of your worship. you can't even sleep well because your loved ones are dead and you are expected to just what? #deal with it on your own? and remain loyal? why? #some sense of 'honour'? #I really like this depiction of faith actually. I really like when clerics and paladins are given agency and critical thought that hey! #this is actually giving me nothing despite me dedicating my entire life to it! and I have only one of it so why not take it somewhere where #it's actually valued. you know. as a treat. #I *personally* much more prefer this depiction of a crisis of faith than what we got with Shadowheart or Lae'zel; their stories are very #interesting on their own but I think throwing yourself from one end to the other not because you actually have a goal that it could serve #but because you are desperate for a purpose #is a slightly less potent character narrative than having an actual goal yourself. not by much but by a little. #again #PERSONALLY

[moonpaw]

Fighting DEMONS rn trying not to get invested in one piece to figure out wtf you're posting about!!!!

come here cyber.... we have this thang

‎

#mp answers #i've been trying so hard not to be annoying to my bnha friends but if you will allow me to push this for this ask let me say 🙏 #if you're afraid of the episode count for one piece the manga is a lot quicker read while being just as enjoyable because the art style is #an actual delight. its great its fantastic im absolutely in love with it #the series is soooo good and i know luffy can seem unappealing to people before they start but he's just SUCH a great character & continues #to be even now. the story is SO GOOD the characters are SO GOOD... theres so much lore and world building that its insane #if you read the manga we get 'cover stories' on what's going on with previous characters to see what theyre up to even though we moved on #from where we left them. a lot of these cover stories blend into the main story so well its just seamless #there's one where we get introduced to a character we dont see hundreds of episodes into the anime and they show up like; during the second #saga. the series is about traveling to other islands and every single arc has been tied to another in some way or form that shows up later #even if its sagas and sagas later- it still becomes relevant again!! it's a huge ongoing story and there isnt a single arc that feels like #it has no purpose (sans filler in the anime-but even then!! some filler arcs are really entertaining!) #it's emotional! its sad! its downright stupid and silly but GOD... you can feel the love that oda put into this series and his characters #and the emotions in the expressions and the messages the story gives off it just makes me UEUHGHHAHGHH!!! #it's all about the adventure and the romance of it all! its about the freedom it brings and bringing freedom to others! #its a series where treasure should be a focus given its pirates and the its a giant treasure hunt for the one piece and yet! and yet so man #of the characters treasures are things that are not coins and gems but people and promises and family and and #im going to EXPLODE i love one piece

[sotogalmo]

6:06

Hmmm ... nightmare gas & red Smoke ,,,,

Hmmmmm

#time diary(?) #audrey/kellie's time diary #small idea. what if the toys(ones given to CC: fredbear plush) semi have the same thing going on?? yk?? #like. the fazfrights stories r weird. but like. i think they just mostly talk bout like. toys from freddy's or any merch from freddy's #cc has trouble sleeping. but also. also. maybe maybe ... the reason why william made the gas(minus to torment his kids: weird #i think he wouldnt rlly do that. he does emotional manipulation. he wouldnt want his kids scared of him. he wants his kids #to trust him. to trust him so much that they follow his every words like trained dogs. thats what he did to vanessa & it worked #so he must've also done that to his own kids: via Micheal's speech in SL. that video is never leaving me) #william sees himself in all of his kids. he wants to be the only one though. so hes distant(mentally & emotionally)- #he puts his kids to sleep. the dreams were nice yeah. only nice to two? one? the other one knew so much that his dreams were never #dreams. he knew too much: his nightmares. he knew it all to well. he knew what William was doing #just like William knew what his Mother was doing. William's mom's knew what her father was doing #great grandfather: hare. grandmother: hare. william: hare. Crying Child: rabbit #fnaf #five nights at freddy's #poppy playtime #poppy playtime red smoke #william afton #cc afton #evan afton #i rlly rlly like the idea of cc being like will if you couldnt tell<3

[apple-of-my-pie]

the thing about Three Stories is that it shows what makes house’s methods so special. three stories, three patients with inexplicable leg pain. the first two are treated by house and his team, who go above and beyond to find what’s wrong with them, no matter what; both patients return to their lives happy and healthy. the third is dismissed by ‘normal’ doctors as a drug addict for so long that the diagnosis and treatment are too late for a full recovery, making patient 3 the only one who still has to live with restricted mobility and constant pain. and then you find out patient 3 is house, and he’s doing for others what should have been done for him. ough

#especially when u add that to the fact that he’s pretty bitter abt his disability #like. nobody cared enough to help him when he needed help and now he obsesses over solving every case #if someone had put in that much effort to solve HIS case he might have been almost totally fine #it really gets me how the ‘drug addict’ story starts with a guy who literally cannot stop screaming bc he’s in so much pain #his pain wasn’t given enough consideration years ago and now he’s STILL IN PAIN #all the time #obvs house’s dedication to Solving The Case isn’t always a good thing #but he definitely gives more of a shit than a lot of doctors do #he’s Committed. he’s Invested #if he has a patient w a problem he will find and fix that problem or die trying #and that is exactly what he needed when HE was a patient—someone who really wanted to deal with his problem #instead he got vague indifference and a lifelong leg injury #house md #bay’s originals

[jamiesfootball]

Having just finished the first chapter of oh god, you're gonna get it (you have not been given love) I am throwing a bouquet (and myself) at your feet.

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Waaaaaaaaaah!!! Thank you so much! I'm so glad you got a chance to read it.

To reward your bouquet, here is a (rough) snippet from the next chapter:

Jamie jumped as his phone dinged, the device slipping out of his hand to land on the floorboards. Christ, he was jumpy. What the hell had the physios done to him in there anyways?

Gail would tell him--for the right price. Roy made a mental note to stop by the bakery the next chance he could; a fresh loaf of challah went a long way in the physio department.

By the time Jamie managed to fish his phone out of the well, his face had taken on a forcefully blank expression, betrayed only by the tightening around his eyes. The corner of his lip twitched down uncomfortably, like he was being pulled on a hook.

The light changed. Roy pulled forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Jamie take controlled, measured breaths and frowned. Perhaps he was in more pain than he was letting on.

With his poorly feigned stoicism pulled close like a jacket, Jamie casually flicked his phone back on. The rest of the pained tension bled right out of him as he huffed a sharp laugh.

"It's just Dani. They took the red-eye out of Heathrow last night, and they just landed in Guadala-jara," he explained, picking up the conversation like they'd been interrupted. The name of the city he pronounced carefully, effort and practice separating the word into manageable, if awkward, halves. He texted something back on his phone before continuing, "The Elenas have been sending me pictures all night. I'm pretty sure they're making a timelapse of how long it takes him to cheer up after leaving England. It's funny, innit? You'd think someone who loves going home so much wouldn't be so sad about it, but they've sent me about a dozen of him pouting in the airport lounge."

He held up his phone to show Roy said picture of sad-Dani, as if Roy were not actively driving them through traffic.

#you are so nice to me fr #I am not yet satisfied with this snippet but it has some aspects that I like #one of which is the continuing slow-bleed of my 'fuck jamie's dad' agenda #but a much funner one being that of Dani and his relationship with his girlfriends #they are honestly not a big part of this story but they are built into the Dani of it all #the important thing to know is that they are both high-stressed professional ladies #who Dani has thoroughly charmed with his *waves at All That Is Dani* #he is their emotional support footballer #and since Jamie is their emotional support footballer's emotional support footballer #they have a group chat #these tags got away from me fast #anyways! #thank you thank you thank you for the roses #rose for a snippet #wippets #writing progress #fic: oh god you're gonna get it (you have not been given love) #roy kent #jamie tartt #dani rojas #ask box is always open

[nailtagyuri]

when i was 12 this was the coolest most mindblowing shit ever i was genuinely so obsessed with it I'd read it very day like the bible. I would die for a version of this with the post 3D world content over my country

#i hve vs super mario bros on my switch bc i wanted to chronologically play through the storied hero timeline and i couldnt find a rom #I think it has the same appeal as spid.erverse kinda except instead of multiple different people filling the same role as sp.iderman its #the same guy it's still mario but the changes come from things going differently at certain points in his life do you GET ME!! #LIKE!!!!!!!! MOST OF IT'S DETERMINED BY WHAT HAPPENS IN YOSHIS ISLAND AND THERES ALTERNATIVE PATHS IF HE WINS OR FAILS!!! GAME OVERS HAVE #CONSEQUENCES THAT BRANCH INTO THEIR OWN TIMELINES MARIO CAN END UP WITH DIFFERENT PARENTS ITS SO COOLLLLLL #and i love how each of the major branches has their own theme like “action hero” is the one with all the gameplay-focused #mainline titles “storied hero” is the one with all the M&L rpgs and more plot-heavier stuff and “blue collar hero” is this third one #with all the donkey kong titles and wackier/arcade titles WHERE i might add his design had a blue shirt and red overalls #and the tl builds off of those games into nsmb so i like to hc that he kept his early 80s design well into the later games <-autistic sorry #AND how thetimelines represent how their different backstories have influenced their personalities and thought processes a little like #what happened to mario in the blue collar branch like he either becomes EVILL!!!! and kidnaps donkey kong leading to dkjr or #divorces peach and has a self isolation arc after nsmb2 whats going on w him... #and i LOVE how all of them have a sort of common event where bowser invades the mushroom kingdom and in each timeline its #represented by a different variation of the original super mario bros game with action hero's event being represented by smb itself #which is fitting since thats the branch where mario and luigi ended up with their intended parents and everything went as planned #and i think a general theme here is that the more things go against intention the sillier it gets dont even get me STARTED on the time #travel shenanigans in bottom right which lead into the handheld remakes i love this so much its unreal #i do wish paper mario wasnt explained away as a dream but like thats its whole other world and art style and itd be difficult #to fit it into one of the major branches so i get why it was done. i probably wouldve just given it its own isolated bubble in the corner #at that rate i probably wouldve added so much more shit to the main tl im talking game&watch games i look at this and i see a pitch #for a full feature length autism production you understand

[wild-moss-art]

Bruhhh I think the guy that used to live at my place is breaking into my mailbox regularly 😭

#it’s a long story I’ve been finding it open or half open in the morning fairly often #and I do get important mail for him which is what I think he’s looking for. I’ve never had anything important go missing #but like. he KNOWS I’m willing to give him his mail bc at first I’d text him and he’d say he’d come get it but never would #if he’d just communicate w me he wouldn’t have to fucking break into my mailbox #and like I get IMPORTANT mail for him like tax docs!!!! #during covid I got his covid relief checks!!!!!! #I get stuff for his business!!!!!! #he even had his groceries delivered here once…… he did come get those #he could just text me instead of taking a crowbar to my fucking mailbox!!!!!!! #he is so weird I actually think he never updated his government address from my place #like. if he’s homeless or smth I get it and im fine with it. but I need him to tell me and not break into my shit #he has given me a ton of other red flags too. I just don’t know what his deal is #I don’t need to get into it too much but the state of the house and interacting with him has always been so confusing #and I’ve lived here for over 2 years at this point!!!!! #I’m gonna have a chat w my post officer next time I see her and see what she recommends

[hecksupremechips]

Girl like. The reason he said "this is how it should be" and faced death with a smile....is cuz he wanted to die. For 2 years he sat there thinking he was worthless and deserved to die. If he hadn’t be shot, his death would’ve been suicide, he was fully planning to die in a gutter somewhere undetected. When saying "this is how it should be" hes literally saying "don’t cry because I’m dying, my death is a good thing actually because I fucking suck and you are better off without me". I don’t think that’s badass even slightly, it’s actually really sad and really shitty. Shinjiro is so convinced that he deserves to die and hates the idea of anyone giving a shit about him because he literally can’t wrap his mind around the idea that he will be missed when he’s gone, that his death is a bad thing actually. And his last words were meant to be comforting because he fully did not intend for anyone to be there when he died, he intended to die alone, so he says them as a reminder that he’s not worth crying over

Personally, if it were me, if I was holding my dying best friend in my arms who was deeply depressed and suicidal and he said "this is how it should be" uh. I wouldn’t admire him for it??? Like am I losing my mind when I say the way this game handles Shinji is bad or is anyone else seeing this too 😰

#its like okay listen i understand the basic math of any persona game they say things and everything they say is actually #very bad when you think about it for more than 3 seconds #like what theyre intending to do with the death of this character is be like oh no your sad friend dies tragically thats so saddddd #but that doesnt mean you cant live a wonderful life full of meaning you cant let grief consume you life is beautiful awagga #and i guess shinji is a specific character whos used cuz i guess its more tragic that he never realized he was worthy of life and shit #and i guess its also like ‘dont be like this guy who let grief consume him and then died you gotta Be Different’ #which i dont. love. that last part cuz if you think about shinji and what led him down this road #its like. of course hes depressed! he accidentally killed a woman with a child when he was 16! #he himself is an orphan and he just made some other kid an orphan as well and it happened cuz his persona went out of control #which very much can translate to ‘this must mean im dangerous and can hurt everyone if im not kept under control’ #so of course he isolated himself and believed he was evil and became suicidal like who wouldnt feel that way #like am i supposed to be mad he left sees and took drugs cuz uh while i dont think isolation or Evil Drug is good for his mental health #i dont think him continuing to fight in sees is something he can just easily do again given how he killed someone like he shouldnt have to #be a part of this thing anymore like how would he even safely get castor to not do that??? he cant kill more people on accident! #so yeah like using shinji as an example of bad coping mechanisms is already just. a big fucking oof to me like it just feels like the game #is saying he shouldve gotten over it and simply not be suicidal and stayed on the team. idk if thats the intent but uh it wouldnt faze me #cuz persona games are notoriously awful at writing characters who are traumatized and abused #but what makes everything even worse is how the game kinda like. acts like shinjis death is a stepping stone #like we’re supposed to use it as a wake up call and understand the stakes but keep going on anyways #and akihiko and Ken get. ‘great character development’ according to the game telling you they have now developed #but damn all akihiko is is just repressed he cries for 3 seconds and then is like I SHOULD MAN UP and then neglects a depressed child #shinjis dying words are words to live by now even though they piss me the fuck off like girl am i crazy HES FUCKING #HES TELLING ME NOT TO CRY OVER HIM BECAUSE HE SHOULD BE DEAD ACTUALLY AND THIS IS A GOOD THING ACTUALLY #like if the game wants us to still find meaning in life despite losing someone it just really hurts that shinji has to die for that to work #apparently. cuz the character i see myself in is shinji. not some perfect prettyboy who does everything perfectly and has 4 gfs #his death seems like a punishment for bad behavior. the bad behavior being of course depression and drug use. and im simply supposed to be #better than that if i want to live. and we dont get to form a connection with him cuz thats gayyyyy #and his death is like a NOBLE HEROIC SACRIFICE idk its just such bullshit to me i hate it so bad #how is killing a suicidal guy and then treating it as admirable that he said ‘this is how it should be’ supposed to make me feel #makes me feel sick personally and it ruins the entire game’s theme to me because its fucking shallow and the story is bad and im tired

[fragmentedblade]

Insane that Blade during Todd's quest did basically the same thing Dan Heng was doing during this last video

#Fragments and scraps #I talk too much #I had just finished Todd's quest and I had so many questions and hypotheses and then the video dropped #And goodness it gave me even more things to ponder but I also think it kind of cleared things up when it came to what was Blade mourning #I also wondered whether this came after Kafka's companion mission but now I'm pretty sure it comes before it? I think it makes sense #Seeing confirmation of Yingxing being old looking was so hard to watch whilst compared to how young Jing Yuan sounds in Chinese #And when seeing him alongside Jingliu and Baiheng‚ who were both mature women when he was a little kid #No wonder he is so prideful of his craft. He deserves it. I really adore how they implemented a lot of details in the worldbuilding #and sidequests that throw light towards the characterisation and story of some of the main characters #Specifically I can't stop thinking about Yingxing in the context of how we see shortlife humans are regarded by some people on the Xianzhou #and especially in the context of the sidequest about the master and the apprentice. Everything it implies #Anyway... This video broke me. The confrontation between Dan Heng and Dan Feng was hard enough #(guy leave the boy alone‚ *he* has nothing to repent of) as well as beautiful. Some shots were gorgeous and full of symbolism #But seeing the five friends... goodness. Yingxing's bitter smile carries a weight that I think goes beyond him losing to Jingliu #given his age and how young his friends look. The way Jing Yuan reacts as if having the braincell but also teasing them was so him #The way his voice broke later on while reading Imbibitor Lunae's punishment took me out #Baiheng reminded me a bit of March 7th in this video. It may be due to how March reacts to Dan Heng's melancholic air towards the end #And how Baiheng reacts to Imbibitor Lunae's and Yingxing's at the beginning. I don't know if the parallelism was purposeful but I loved it #They all felt actually a lot closer than I expected. Mainly Jingliu. I expected her to be close only to Baiheng given what Jing Yuan says #The images that flash over the sentence were so good and so heartbreaking #Yingxing looking at the figure over the moon‚ his chest being pierced by the sword Blade now wields‚ #Jingliu blindfolded slicing something‚ someone suspended in chains‚... #And the heavy absence in those images of Jing Yuan‚ whose breaking voice hovers over them all #Truly brought back to mind Blade's line about him. How he knew better than anyone but he did or said nothing #And how he is not one of those who must pay #Everything was so charged I wanted to scream or jump off a cliff. The way the faces of Dan Heng and Dan Feng superimpose ugh #Truly everything was so good #I have so many thoughts about it I can't stop thinking hahaha #But I better shut up already. I should sleep a bit #I want to scream though. The Dan Heng/Blade parallelism makes me want to drown a sea‚ ontological barriers be damned haha

[andoutofharm]

How has your composing work influenced this new record?

"Well, last time we worked with Neal Avron [producer on 2005's From Under the Cork Tree, 2007's Infinity On High, and 2008's Folie à Deux] we didn’t know what we were doing. We were still trying to figure it out and I had ideas that I didn’t know how to describe. I didn’t have the language to get them out and now that’s what I do all day, get those ideas out. In the past decade, Neal has become this world-class mixer and he’s won I-don’t-know-how-many GRAMMYs, so I wanted to see what happens when we put all those things together. There’s quite a bit of that [composing] influence on the record in terms of orchestra or brass, or other instrumentation that I get to bring, and it’s more fun because I know what I’m trying to say now.”

And how does the rest of the album sound?

“It’s different. If people are expecting a big, loud, 2007 pop-punk record, it’s not that at all, but if you are acquainted enough with our history, I think it really feels like it’s in the thread of Infinity On High and Folie à Deux – it feels like part of that continuum. It’s not Sugar, We’re Goin’ Down Part 4.”

Finally, you mentioned it’s been a weird bunch of years – have they changed you much? Who is Patrick Stump these days?

“(Pauses to think) I’m a dad, I'm a composer, I'm a nerd… and I sit around and try and help other people tell their stories. And it’s always a joy when I get to help Pete tell his.”

(A few highlights about the new record from Patrick’s interview with Kerrang, 1/20/23)

#i love how composing has given him such a new perspective on things and on storytelling #and the part about not knowing how to convey ideas before in a way he can now was pretty cool to me #also lmao ‘it’s not sugar we’re going down part 4’ patrick keep talking #and just. getting to help pete tell his stories. their dynamic is so fucking special and i love it so much #fob #fall out boy #patrick stump #fob interviews #so much (for) stardust

[crusaderce]

Its quiet times like this when I remember amusing facts about crowley, mostly portioning to his backstory as a human. Like? This man was an absolute monster on a battlefield, and mind you this guy was like early 20s during the crusade, so was probably battling in his teens as well. Absolute monster unit that when their commander died, everyone turned to Crowley to get everyone out alive ( of course no one could've predicted a vampire had other ideas ) - he was in a skill class on his own basically. Dude also comes from nobility, like he is the third son of a noble ( which is why he knew how to read and write )- he even mentioned his father and brothers only once, more on his father than anything. And despite this all, he was still quite a humble individual. Living up to the code and everything of what it takes to be a crusader ( this dude literally was refusing woman and beer when his entire team was indulging ) even his best friend at the time was teasing him and calling him a virgin. He even scolds Jose when he talks ill to a prostitute! If anyone reads Demon Slayer, he is the Akaza of Owari no Seraph basically.

And lets not get into the fact when he retired from a life of fighting, he was still training children ( mostly to pay back for living in the town he was )- and this man basically rocks himself to sleep on a broken chair and suffers from ptsd with everything that had happened. This man watched his entire squad get completely killed by a singular man ( aka a vampire ) and was the only one left alive in that squad ( the rest of them die due to ferid later fuck ferid )- he basically is an older brother figure to Jose, and then turned father figure towards Marlon ( who is an orphaned child of a town that was destroyed by a vampire seemingly aka probably ferid I gotta read the Novel again )

Not to mention that when Ferid breaks every bone in his body, this man still tries to move and stop Ferid for the sheer fear of Ferid killing all his comrades- and the first thing he does when turning into a vampire? Ignores the free meal ( his dead teammates ) and goes straight into hunting down Ferid, only said to say when he eventually finds him years later he has become numb to emotions to where he found himself not sure why he was doing it anymore. And to finish it off, Crowley even broadly admits himself that he has killed more humans in his time as a crusader than he has done actually being a vampire. This points at a few things, Crowley doesn't seem to be the type to kill his victims/prey- and when the world went to shit, he seemed more of 'taking hostages' alive sorta person. Seen with the scene of Guren and Shinoa Squad going to Nagoya. Crowley is just a super interesting character and he always has been.

#° ☩ 、 𝐎𝐔𝐓. ¸ pushed out into this war. #° ☩ 、 𝐈𝐒𝐌𝐒. ¸ there is a monster under your eyes 、it longs for freedom. #this man was knight coded from the very beginning and #while i hate where the manga has gone with the story #i will always give credit for the michaela light novels being well done and making me FEEL EMOTIONS FOR A FICTIONAL VAMPIRE BARA MAN #the manga did him so dirty despite being one of the most interesting vampire characters #like no other vampire other than mika and maybe krul has had this much attention to their backstory given #lets be honest #the fact that the guren light novels have so much but the novels focusing on the vampires was just crowley and his story alone OO F #kagami knew he was going to do crowley dirty so he had to give him his own awesome novel before the end smh #oh well canon doesn't matter on this blog anyway

[sovonight]

,

#ohhhhhhh i really do dislike the tonal shift in bg2/tob so much........ and by that i mean mostly in xan's mod 😭 #i mean maybe the sense of betrayal and disappointment is immersive but it really leaves me with No idea what to do with him #in my version of radri's story. like. do i do my best even with all the parts i find ooc? do i cherry pick what i want and forget the rest? #and even after all my complaints i keep thinking back to his author. the fact that somehow this is the *intended* experience #currently feeling like the necromancer who resurrected their wife and is convinced she came back wrong but who just never truly knew her #i keep going back to 'estel'amin'. the fact that xan named charname his hope--and then quickly stopped using that name for her #once her bhaalspawn nature continued to affect her life after the conclusion of bg1 #so--basically--i'm to assume that he changed his mind? she's no longer his hope; his light; and if she is it's rare #he just calls her beautiful now; something far more shallow #and the fact that in tob he vacillates between subtly criticizing her for her nature which she has no control over #(and which in radri's case she has never even willingly given in to)-- #and attempting to comfort her after her nature makes bad things happen to her & around her #--but then his comfort is once again undermined by the aforementioned shallow compliments #it's coming across as 'i love your body despite what you are in spirit' and really isn't a great look at all #look maybe i'm crazy but in bg1 i got the impression that he was able to accept and move past it fairly quickly #like 'ok you're a bhaalspawn so now let's move into problem solving. obviously i have to quit my job and travel with you full time' #but in bg2 he spends most of his time lamenting about how hard it must be for her to live like this #while also pointing it out as a personal flaw of hers. as if she'd had any say in who her father was #like there are npcs literally shouting 'i hate all bhaalspawn!' and here he is--supposedly her closest supporter-- #also subtly saying 'i hate bhaalspawn' right to her face #when literally as a neutral alignment and as a companion of 1-2 years-- he should actually have THE most nuanced take on her??? #in bg1 he says murder is unavoidable in the life of an adventurer. then in tob he comments that charname kills everyone haphazardly-- #--as though in another jab to her nature. meanwhile as a constant companion he should know better than anyone that it wasn't so simple #idk. i'm almost feeling gaslighted by the narrative in a sense #because when everyone else talks about xan in bg2/tob--including charname via the dialogue options/written internal dialogue-- #they say that he's ~gray~ and calm and collected and emotionless etc #meanwhile he's literally the most emotional guy in the game. like. he's freaked out SO many times #so?? how am i supposed to take anything here genuinely?? how am i supposed to engage??? SIGH #anyway today's my first day at my new job and i have to wake up in 2 hours & im certain that i'll be too nervous to eat today #my goal for today is just to not be fired 👍 12 hours from now it will be over...

[trans-li-ling]

I think we should give Zora a gun and whatever happens to the Shadow Decree happens

#dislyte #Listen I'm going to be honest. I like a lot of shadow Decree characters. But also. #Given the chance I would kill them off in story because of how much I hate them. #Mainly the fact a good chunk of them are like. Okay with child murder? Like hello #The union 100% deserves criticism (hi Luo Yan the cop who got fired bc he thought the law was beneath him what's up w u being here) and #Tiye's story is. Whoooo boy. The union definitely has An Interest In Branding #But again. Orphanage burning was A Thing That Happened #And ofc there's the meta view of like... What are the bad guys ideals? Are they only evil bc they're extreme? And I try 2 keep that in mind #But like the Shadow Decree is kinda... Just full of selfish people. Ofc some ppl are more sympathetic but all of them Are Selfish #Honestly Bonnie is like the only one who stands out to me as like... Yeah the union failed her community and she's rightfully mad #Most of the others lost like. One person either to the union or just thought the shadow Decree would let them get revenge and #It's a case by case thing like some of them probably feel like they have nowhere else to go and that's understandable but the initial #Actions they took were selfish and I feel like dislyte puts too much into making the characters surface level sympathetic (Ophelia) rather #Than grappling with if they view themselves as good people or if they're disappointed in themselves or if they don't care #(forgot to say earlier Jiang Jiuli n Jiang Man r valid in hatred though like the union directly fucked them over and it's understandable #That they fucking hate them so like it's more grey) #(also this is why like... Nicole n Cecilia r some of my faves they don't give a shit they just wanna fuck stuff up and I can respect that) #And Catherine is actually well done because she's full of hatred and even if she has soft moments shes just. Mean as hell! #LYNN I love Lynn but girl you know about the orphanage burning right???? Right??????? #Anyway how well known is the burning of the union? Iirc it was both the HQ and the Orphanage so do ppl only know abt the HQ or both or???? #Anyway the union is flawed but trying unaffiliated espers are similar and the shadow Decree is 90% people who are selfish and toxic and #Really fucking annoying. I fucking hate Ophelia so much you have no idea I want to throw bricks at her. #Anyways Zora is the best character and deserves free therapy and a lifetime supply or tiramisu and a gun #JASPER TRIED TO FUCK W THE UNION WITHOUT JOINING YHE CHILD MURDER ORGINIZATION

[coolrobotgrimreaper]

#losh #legion of super heroes #legion of super-heroes 2023 #dc #polls #I hate this TImber Wolf so much I'm sorry #Like his voice acting and animation is fun but he's such an idiot #why is he in charge #the movie did lean into the campiness occasionally but not as much as my liking #also just like. there are so many cool stories you could tell with the Legion #why does DC just keep re-hashing 'current-time hero goes to the future to train with them' #WE ARE NOT JUST HERE TO TRAIN PEOPLE FROM THE PAST WE DO OTHER THINGS Y'KNOW #honestly i was really into the body horror at the end but it's definitely not everyone's thing #and there were a couple of times where i was like #'okay they're going really on-the-nose with the autism stereotypes for Brainy' #but I think it's overall good that they DID lean into making him autistic #I mean there's never gonna be a Brainy who's NOT imo #A depiction of Brainiac 5 is acceptable to me if it has at least one of the following: #incredibly rude to everyone he speaks to OR incredibly gay #and the autism is a given #Anyway um yeah. Mon-El's voice acting was really good that's another thing I liked about it #Triplicate Girl was pretty fun #although she did feel a little bit 'same exact personality as literally every black woman in the Young Justice cartoon' #Phantom Girl was divisive I do like the capey thing but I do not understand her pink ponytail #And her personality was a good balance to the team but of course I miss her personality from the 2006 cartoon #Bouncy and Jacques were both really fun they deserved more screen time #okay. done for now