#you cant. because she was.

[florida3exclamationpoints]

This is a less dangerous statement bc the TIU fandom is basically dead at least here but. The This Is Us writers made themselves responsible for fan's headcanons instead of writing what they knew was best for their characters and we ended up with "I've had you valentine's letter in my wallet for 40 years 🥺🥺🥺" instead of a meaningful relationship between Kevin and Cassidy that should have been developed at least through season 6. But probably actually in season 5. And the writers knew that but they abandoned it bc they read too many tweets by the wrong people

#😐 #tell me cassidy was not kevins future wife in the writers minds while they made The Guitar Man #you cant. because she was. #im tagging this bc im brave and correct and i wanna find it on my own blog again bc i love when im right #this is us #kevin pearson #cassidy sharp #kevin x cassidy

[stromblessed]

Mizu, femininity, and fallen sparrows

In my last post about Mizu and Akemi, I feel like I came across as overly critical of Mizu given that Mizu is a woman who - in her own words - has to live as a man in order to go down the path of revenge.

If she is ever discovered to be female by the wrong person, she will not only be unable to complete her quest, but there's a good chance that she'll be arrested or killed.

So it makes complete sense for Mizu to distance herself as much as possible from any behavior that she feels like would make someone question her sex.

I felt so indignant toward Mizu on my first couple watchthroughs for this moment. Why couldn't Mizu bribe the woman and her child's way into the city too? If Mizu is presenting as a man, couldn't she claim to be the woman's escort?

However, this moment makes things pretty clear. Mizu knows all too well the plight of women in her society. She knows it so well that she cannot risk ever finding herself back in their position again. She helps in what little way she can - without drawing attention to herself.

Mizu is not a hero and she is not one to make of herself a martyr - she will not set herself on fire to keep others warm. There's room to argue that Mizu shouldn't prioritize her quest over people's lives, but given the collateral damage Mizu can live with in almost every episode of season 1, Mizu is simply not operating under that kind of morality at this point. ("You don't know what I've done to reach you," Mizu tells Fowler.)

And while I still feel like Mizu has an obvious and established blind spot when it comes to Akemi because of their differences in station, such that Mizu's judgment of Akemi and actions in episode 5 are the result of prejudice rather than the result of Mizu's caution, I also want to establish that Mizu is just as caged as Akemi is, despite her technically having more freedom while living as a man.

Mizu can hide her mixed race identity some of the time, and she can hide her sex almost all of the time, but being able to operate outside of her society's strict rules for women does not mean she cannot see their plight.

It does not mean she doesn't hurt for them.

Back to Mizu and collateral damage, remember that sparrow?

While Mizu is breaking into Boss Hamata's manse, she gets startled by a bird and kills it on reflex. She then cradles it in her hands - much more tenderly than we've seen Mizu treat almost anything up to this point in the season:

She then puts it in its nest, with its unhatched eggs. Almost like she's trying to make the death look natural. Or like an accident.

You see where I'm going with this.

When Mizu kills Kinuyo, Mizu lingers in the moment, holding the body tenderly:

And btw a lot of stuff about this show hit me hard, but this remains the biggest gut punch of them all for me, Mizu holding that poor girl's body close, GOD

When Mizu arranges the "scene of the crime," Kinuyo's body is delicate, birdlike. And Mizu is so shaken afterward that she gets sloppy. She's horrified at this kill to the point that she can't bring herself to take another innocent life - the boy who rats her out.

MIZU'S ONE MOMENT OF SOFTNESS AND MERCY, COMING ON THE HEELS OF HER NEEDING TO KILL A GIRL TO SPARE HER THE WORST FATE THAT THIS RIGID SOCIETY HAS TO OFFER WOMEN, AND TO SPARE A BROTHEL FULL OF INNOCENT WOMEN WHO ARE THE CASTOFFS OF SOCIETY, NEARLY RESULTS IN ALL OF THEIR DEATHS

No wonder Mizu is as stoic and cold as she is.

And no wonder Mizu has no patience for Akemi whatsoever right before the terrible reveal and the fight breaks out:

Speaking of Akemi - guess who else is compared to a bird!

The plumage is more colorful, a bit flashier. But a bird is a bird.

And, uh

Yeah.

I like to think that Mizu killing the sparrow is not only foreshadowing for what she must do to Kinuyo, but is also a representation of the choice she makes on Akemi's behalf. She decides to cage the bird because she believes the bird is "better off." Better off caged than... dead.

But because Mizu doesn't know Akemi or her situation, she of course doesn't realize that the bird is fated to die if it is caged and sent back home.

Mizu is clearly not happy, or pleased, or satisfied by allowing Akemi to be dragged back to her father:

But softness and mercy haven't gotten Mizu anywhere good, recently.

There is so much tragedy layered into Mizu's character, and it includes the things she has to witness and the choices she makes - or believes she has to make - involving women, when she herself can skirt around a lot of what her society throws at women. Although, I do believe that it comes at the cost of a part of Mizu's soul.

After all, I'm gonna be haunted for the rest of this show by Mizu's very first prayer in episode 1:

"LET" her die. Because as Ringo points out, she doesn't "know how" to die.

Kind of like another bird in this show:

#blue eye samurai #mizu #akemi #kinuyo #bes #women are birds okay they are BIRDS #the let me die line is so SCARY AND SAD like a part of Mizu wants death but she cant? she doesnt know how?? excuse you show??? #when all these other delicate birds are dying all around her #akemis character gets more and more gutwrenching upon subsequent rewatches because whenever she says her life is in danger #NO ONE BELIEVES HER - certainly not other women #because shes rich and pampered and that means shes safe and is worrying about nothing right? right????? #and it turns out that all of akemis instincts were right and she was in danger the ENTIRE TIME #also I need to make a post just for kinuyo because I am sad

[cryptcoop]

Just as awkward and bony as he remembers

#overwatch #overwatch 2 #moira #moira o'deorain #Mauga #maugaloa malosi #alternative title: You've GOT to let me take you out to dinner doc. You're all skin and bones! #I dont see them as friends. I see them as Mauga loving being a menace to Moira because its easy #and she cant do anything about it #CRYPTCOOP ART

[querro]

my favourite part of the decked out guests stream was the two-way "thats what she said" bit. and i havent seen anyone talking about it

#decked out #decked out 2 #hermitcraft #inthelittlewood #goodtimeswithscar #rendog #skizzleman #impulsesv #jimmy solidarity #ethoslab #tangotek #thats what she said #this bit only worked because the range of the goat horn is way bigger than their voices in proximity mod #and timmy reached level 2 on time #i dont know how far down they can hear that in decked out but i assume you cant hear it in 2nd floor of level 3 #and also the coincidence of the context of both conversations at that moment #its so good

[boxesblr]

replaying the clip of Cleo saying "etho doesn't take himself seriously at all, but he takes other people seriously. That's part of his charm" over and over again in my head. It's so clarifying to me

#zombiecleo #etho #ethoslab #hermitcraft #okay fine if you wanna be real im making tbis about etho as a life series character #playing face up cards on the table open and honest to cleo because he takes her seriously when she talks about loyalty #grian said he needed friends and etho said welcome home grian #bdubs seems like the fly in the ointment of the statement but when bdubs is talking about buildings and stairs etho takes him seriously #he cant take bdubs seriously when he talks about loyalty and defending him from the washed up allegations #because its about him its about etho it cant be sincere not really #anyway #just character thoughts

[bigfatbreak]

Hi! Does Alya really assume the worst of Mari in this particular chapter (like, quite often yes, she does, but in this case)? Or is it Marinette's interpreting it like that? P. S. Love your work!

A bit of both! Alya doesn't naturally think the worst of her, but Lila is good at manipulating her and the class into assuming Marinette is "messing up" pretty frequently, and Marinette's pessimistic attitude due to trauma means every time no one stands up for her against Lila, it just proves her own insecurities right and she considers it fact. When Alya jumped into lecture mode, it came from a genuine place of worry - but lecturing someone who already thinks you hate them won't lead to any good conclusion, just further hostilities, or putting her on the defensive.

While Marinette's feelings are valid, they're not 100% rational, but no one's proven her WRONG yet, since Lila plays the part of cuckoo so well. If Alya thought the worst of Marinette, she wouldn't have come to her for help during her argument with Lila - but as you'll see in the next update, Alya and Marinette had a blowup argument in the past that was pretty messy on both sides, leading to this cold attitude from Marinette.

#replies #marinette is certain of how everyone feels about her because no one has defended her #and she considers that evidence of them hating her instead of a more reasonable alternative: #a lot of kids are just cowards when their friends are fighting #and no one knows how to approach marinette now that shes MADE herself hard to approach #you cant blame the girl for being braced for the other shoe to drop constantly #but it means she also expects the worst out of everyone in turn.

[formosusiniquis]

When Mike Wheeler, red faced and still faintly tear stained, asks him how he knew he liked both Steve doesn’t know how to tell him it was his sister.

Before Nancy Wheeler it had only been boys. Before Nancy Wheeler Steve had been sure he was gay and knew well enough to keep it to himself; dating around enough to earn himself a protective reputation. Before Nancy Wheeler there’d been Marcus Summers, from the baseball team, during freshman year. Steve had gone to every game, and had been forced to make up excuses about schoolwork and his other commitments when asked why he hadn’t tried out for himself. Before Nancy Wheeler there’d been Tommy Hagan. The summer between seventh and eighth grade had been very kind to Tommy, he was sunkissed and boy next door sweet, Steve had wanted to hold his hand and count the freckles across the bridge of his nose. 

Before Nancy Wheeler there’d been his first love, a boy who only visited one summer, the year Steve turned ten. His name had changed every time they hung out but he’d favored E’s. Eli, Emmett, Elliott, Eric, Excalibur, Excelsior, and once for about an hour Wayne. His hair brushed his chin in pretty brown curls and his big brown eyes were always bright with excitement. He always got storm off mad when any of the other boys they’d played with that summer said he was acting like a girl, E would run off to the woods and Steve would always follow. E always came up with the best games anyway, he didn’t like playing soccer or HORSE or anything else with rules that couldn’t be bent; he preferred imagination games where they were knights or wizards. He didn’t laugh when Steve said he always liked playing house, but never wanted to be the dad because why would he want to be someone who never wanted to spend any time with his kids. E who, while insisting on being called Samwise all day, was his first kiss.

Cause he knows what Mike wants to hear. He’s seen the way Mike and Will have danced around each other since the last portal closed. He’s heard the things Mike has said to and about Will. He’s heard all about the week that Will was in the Upside Down. He’s heard all about the summer of ‘85. He’s heard all about the final off again that seems to officially mark the end of Mike and El romantically. He knows that Mike wants him to say that he’d never even thought about boys before he met Eddie. That there’s just something special about Eddie that makes him want to give up his lady killing ways. That Eddie was different. That it was okay that he was having these scary new thoughts, maybe Will was just an exception.

And Steve doesn’t know how to have that conversation. When he realized he liked both it was a relief, that maybe he could have something normal and wouldn't have to spend his life lying or hiding. 

But Eddie was different. Eddie was special. Eddie was probably it for Steve which is scary in a different way that he’s not ready to touch yet -- not when it’s only been three months.

There’s never been another girl since Nancy Wheeler, not really

There will never be another boy after Eddie Munson.

So he tries to help, as best he can. It’s easier with Eddie there, not quite dozing against his shoulder -- the kid’s emergencies always seem to come so late at night these days. “When I was ten, there was a boy whose name kept changing who decided prince charming should get to kiss his faithful knight. And when I was sixteen, your sister-”

Mike’s goodwill diminishes quickly as his sister gets introduced to the conversation.

“Stevie,” Eddie says. It’s not an admonishment for bringing up Nancy. It’s awestruck and watery. “You remember that?”

“Of course I remember the first boy I ever loved," that word catches up with him a second later. Remember. 

Cause there's Eddie with his riot of brown curls and his Bambi eyes. Eddie, who has explained why soft feminine words chafe against his skin leaving him itchy and anxious. Eddie, who has an Uncle in Hawkins. Eddie who moved to town the summer before he entered high school with a buzzed head and his mother's last name. Eddie who finally settled into an E he liked best.

"Wheeler, here's a tip from me to you," Eddie says, his advice is always better received than Steve's anyway, "if you have to ask you probably already know."

"Straight people don't really spend much time wondering if they aren't really straight," Steve agrees.

They don't rush Mike out the door, a crisis is a crisis and even in the wake of new discoveries Mike deserves to be heard out. Deserves a chance to cry and rage and feel those emotions someplace safe from his Reaganite father -- just as much as Will deserves to have someone who knows what they want come to him, deserves better than experimentation.

They cross the bridge from late into early by the time Mike sets off. The sun is creeping up over the horizon and Mike looks solid, certain; the dawn hints at the man he is growing up to be. Though every instinct of Steve's begs him to drive the kid home, Eddie's soft hand lingering at his hip holds him fast. They wave instead, encouraging Mike to go home and to bed before he does anything; knowing his front bike tire is already pointed toward the Byers-Hopper place.

"The first boy you ever loved, huh, Stevie?" Eddie teases before the door has even managed to click shut.

"And the last, I'm hoping, if I play my cards right."

"You were always pretty good at that. You were the only person that summer who called me by my name, except Wayne."

"It was your name." He knows that's too simple. Knows how hard Eddie has had it, continues to have it. But that summer it had been that simple, Eddie trying on names like shirts each one fitting until they didn't. "For what it's worth, I like Eddie a lot more than Excalibur."

"Oh fuck off, I was going through a fantasy knight phase. Which I know you remember."

"Right a phase, and how much longer is this fantasy 'phase' going to last?"

They're the kind of tired that makes you feel drunk, when Eddie tackles Steve and sends them both to the floor and to giggles. Eddie might not have been his bi awakening, but Steve is pretty fine with him being his everything else.

#steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #trans eddie munson #implied byler #steddie fic #my fic #i do worry that sometimes i come across as a nancy hater #which i cant emphasize enough is not the case #nancy is a complicated character and i love her and she and steve are not good for each other #also eddie trying on wayne because wayne was the first adult he told that he wasnt a girl and who handled it well #wayne at the breakfast table like okay then what is your name if its not [redacted] and eddie does not have an answer yet #so wayne says well just tell me when you get up what youre going by #so he decides while playing that day that its wayne #and that lasts exactly as long as it takes for steve to call him that before hes like nope thats weird #eddie is short for edmund but also short for eddie the head #eddie contains multitudes

[dykedivorce]

THE WHEEL OF TIME | 2x06 "Eyes Without Pity"

#wotshow #wheel of time #wotedit #liandrin sedai #liandrin guirale #lanfear #isn't liandrin's reaction hysterical??? girl what have you been DREAMING of #whatever the opposite of a fluffy coffee shop AU with moiraine is she was dreaming of that. s-x dungeon toxic bd(sm omegaverse OOC!moiraine #hashtag dead dove hashtag NO aftercare #or maybe liandrin the kind of person to be more ashamed of her coffee shop AU tbh #anyway . havent even considered that it might not be about moiraine because it is. #mine #i cant believe i have to censor the tags or it wont show up...... #the wheel of time

[taxinealkaloids]

i genuinely do love everyone’s commitment to ianthe’s high-waisted leather pants but i feel like the batshit outfits she was assembling out of valancy’s wardrobe in htn also deserve acknowledgement 

#my art #tlt #the locked tomb #ianthe tridentarius #rip me for actually drawing the details in the bedroom and then deciding it looked better darkened practically to the point you cant #see any of them. #but anyway. i am a supporter of ianthe's terrible ill-fitting skirt and shirtwaist looks. #also i think she wears thick socks because despite being a necromancer she doesn't get any circulation in her feet. those are just her vibes #the quote in the second one is from pg 209 of htn btw :) #she didn't have the bone arm yet

[susieandhobbes]

There's something so fun about the idea of Sydney and Richie getting closer in season 3 and Carmy just losing his entire mind because Sydney was his. She was his hire, his business partner, the only person who saw him separate from the history with Mikey. His little mind-meld, sentence-completing, unison-speaking cooking twin and why the fuck is she giving Richie samples for her menu ideas before talking to him?!

And I really don't mean this in a shipping way - the logical end result of the s2 finale is Carmy throwing himself headfirst into work and being like "HELLO SYDNEY I'M READY TO WORK NOW" but there's no way she'll be able to trust him because she basically had that trust shattered repeatedly for 3 months straight. But somehow, in the midst of their friends and family fiasco, Richie, WHO SHE STABBED, had her back? He brought her down from her panic and gave her the encouragement to pull it together and complete service.

Syd obviously has a wonderful relationship with Tina but Richie being really good at Expo, the thing that literally makes Sydney throw up, means they'll have something to work on together next season.

And Carmy will cry maybe idk

#the bear #sydney adamu #carmy berzatto #richie jerimovich #and i do feel like i need to repeat this #I DO NOT SHIP SYD AND RICHIE #i will bonk you motherfuckers hard #And i think no matter how you view syd and carmy's relationship #he would feel threatened as hell by someone else in the kitchen getting close with syd #because you cant say 'i wouldn't even want to do this without you' #and then not feel some type of way when she's doing it with someone else

[spitblaze]

"Well I WASN'T gonna watch the show about the deeply discriminatory wizard world that thinks slavery is cool and good with writing that constantly employs racist and homophobic and bigoted metaphors and language written by a violent transphobe who pals around with nazis that has stated multiple times that she considers all engagement with her work, ESPECIALLY monetary engagement (money that she uses millions upon millions of to fund discriminatory organizations and legislation by the way), to be validation of her views but you were kinda mean about it on tumblr so you've really twisted my arm here"

#spitblaze says things #READ ANOTHER BOOK #LEARN TO CARE ABOUT TRANS PEOPLE #STOP GIVING MONEY TO NAZIS I DONT KNOW HOE TO IMPRESS THIS UPON PEOPLE #WE HAVE BEEN EXPLAINING THIS AS NICELY AS POSSIBLE FOR YEARS BUT PWOPLE KEEP GOING #'yeah but i can separate the art from the artist right?' #NO. YOU CANT. YOU LITERALLY CANT BECAUSE SHE WILL NOT LET YOU

[heartorbit]

the star you've longed for

#PLEASE WATCH REVUE STARLIGHT!!!!!!💥💥💥💥💥 #project sekai #revue starlight #pjsk #emu otori #nene kusanagi #emunene #prsk #proseka #yuri win. i make my fav pairing fight tothe death #HAPPY EMUNENE WEEK LOOOOOL #Can i be hinestni think this sucks it took way too long cause i forgot how to draw for a week #im seeing demons and stuff. i feel more normal now. Also you may recall emu has a big hammer for revstar #thats the bottom of it the gem thing all the weapons have hers is sharp #i remember seeing meta post abt how mahiru has a blunt weapon because she never actually aimed for the lead role #rather she only wanted to be by karen's side. so her weapon wasnt capable of cutting anything in the first place #Fastforward to the movie and well LOLLLLL #though i think its funny in the movie her mace is still mostly used for i timidation againstbhikari.. bc again shes not winning for a lead #revue starlight youre neat. maybe i like revstar. #<- has been insane for 4+ years #Needed their pose to be smth where nenes weapon isnt visible because I DONT KNOW WHAT WEAPON TO GIVE HER. OOMFS HELP. I NEED A NENE WEAPON. #i thought some sort of polearm/spear/halberd etc something with range but that can be ambitious #but i feel like smth with that much footwork needed doesnt suit her.. And she cant hsve a sniper i dont think thatwould fucking work #aruru gets pistols in the revue but aruru also is Ummm well shes uhhh. [screaming] [car crash] #throwing knives would be funny wouldnt it. Put that gamer aim to use #idk if the emunene week tag is on here but i'll donit anyways #emuneneweek2024 #i remembered to switch which account this pists to for the first time in like 3 pists. so you get to see all my tags this time #rather than accidentally posting it to the wrong account and having to dekete and repost andngoing IM NOT WRITING ALL THAT AGAIN.

[the-owl-tree]

leafpool my friend leafpool 👉👈

do you think leafpool resents spottedleaf after everything that happened

#warrior cats #leafpool #spottedleaf #deer scribbles #“follow your heart” to “leafpool you FUCKING moron” #and when leafpool is on trial. she cant even have spottedleaf vouch for her #because she's dead and gone despite her paw in everything #and even more importantly. would spottedleaf regret how she handled things

[bucketwritingpail]

Thinking about Danny wishing to go back to a time where he wasn't constantly in danger, and Desiree not being able to find a time in his life that can fit the bill so just,,, nothing happens.

#bucket writes things #danny phantom #danny fenton #desiree #danny phantom prompt #think of the fallout #desiree begining to say 'so you wish it-' but then stopping halfway through because she cant make it be #and they just stop mid fight and look at each other #and obviously this is bad parents Jack and Maddie #you know with all their unsafe lab practices and keeping radioactive substances in their fridge #just oh the feels #angst

[jujoobedoodling]

high res download available for supporters

i've decided we need more sylvaina kisses in this world.

if yall recognize the words, yes, it's based on that tumblr post

#world of warcraft #sylvaina #sylvanas windrunner #jaina proudmoore #obsessed with soft girls #and jaina taking what she wants because sylv is obviously down bad but has too many hangups #jaina: kiss me NOW you dumb fucking elf #i still cant decide what brushes i like the most after cycling through like four different ones #mine

[devils-bite]

i relate to orin because i too sometimes want to bash my sister’s head in for her questionable choices in men :)

#you cant tell me her main motivation for the attack wasn’t because durge was fucking gortash #i mean she literally bitches about how down bad her sibling is trash man #im an avid durgetash enjoyer and orin is their number hater because i say so #and no woman ever likes her sisters boyf bc i say so #it was very younger sister of her to team up with Dad in order to get rid of her older sisters new boyf #durgetash #bg3 durge #gortash x durge #durge #durge tav #durge oc #astarion x durge #durgestarion #dark urge #gortash #enver gortash #lord enver gortash #gortash x dark urge #orin #orin the red #orin bg3 #bg3