thinking about how eiji's a pole vaulter and how ash talks about eiji "flying" and how eiji's associated with bird imagery and how eiji's free (unlike ash) and how eiji comes in on a plane and leaves on a plane and how ash cannot fly, ash cannot be free, how nyc is ash's prison, and how ash is the leopard who dies climbing the mountain, unable to live at such elevation, how he was trying to reach the sky and be free but was always stuck to the earth, how he chose to die instead of climbing back down, how he chose to die where he could see the sky and hope and freedom almost like a bird with eiji's letter right in front of him rather than letting everything go wrong and ruin it once again, how eiji's a failed pole vaulter anyway, how a bad fall ruined his career and grounded him (physically and emotionally), how it took flying to america and meeting ash and needing to save him and skip for him to try flying again, how he landed hard and harsh and still the thought of that escape compelled ash to protect eiji at all costs because if he could fly that means something to him, even if he doesn't think he can fly, how eiji is the manifestation of his hope and how when he breaks and asks eiji to stay with him a while he folds himself over his legs and weighs him down and traps him and grounds him, how ash fights like hell to keep eiji alive not because he thinks he can be like him (hopeful, flying, innocent), but because he makes him forget the gravity of his situation, and so he can see eiji fly again. how he wants to see him escape. how eiji is a bird and ash is a wildcat and how ash never once saw eiji as prey. how eiji never saw ash as a predator. how it is eiji's naivete that first endears ash to him, how it is his freedom and flight and removal from darkness and his ability to leave that darkness that really roots eiji in ash's blood as something essential to him keeping on living in this hell of nyc. how it is that distance from the violence and that hope for the future that ash chooses to surround himself in as he dies. how ash dies in a dream because he feels more than anything that he can't fly like eiji, that he can never leave. how his violence is a part of him and will be forever, how it weighs him down. how he wants to enjoy the view from the mountainside rather than looking up from the ground below. as if they can both fly. as if he is with him up there and not grounded. eye-to-eye with what he can't have, seeing eiji's homeland: the sky. how he dies trying to reach the top because he couldn't take retreating and trying again. how ash, tired and tired and tired and convinced it will go on forever if he crawls back down the mountain, chooses to close his life deluged in eiji, in eiji's insistence that they can fly together, in eiji's hope for him and for them, in eiji's beautiful dream. how ash dies without trying to realize that dream. how ash, in dying, destroys it.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ a little lovemail for Emma ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

because I went on a little rant on discord recently about how capable she is and how much she’s overlooked by the fandom. too often I see comments saying she’s weak, or incompetent, or a glorified therapist for the princes when she’s not; Emma is honestly incredibly intelligent, but I feel people always forget to consider that she’s a) a commoner b) a woman c) in a medieval fantasy setting, and hold her to modern standards, which is... a little unfair

so I wanted to give her a little love too 💌

she knows three languages, two of which are entirely self taught—court french (Chevalier’s route) and japanese (Rio’s route)

she doesn’t stop there, though; she proceeds to learn even more languages after getting her happily ever after. in Luke’s post-route stories she knows at least 4 languages, and in Chevalier’s post-route stories she knows more than 5 languages and is actively learning more

while I’m on the topic, LITERACY. I think people often forget that “education for all” was not a thing until the 18th century, and before then only merchants and nobility got proper educations. Emma holding a clerical job as a commoner IS an admirable quality for her social status and the time period ikepri is set in

she’s a great entrepreneur. she opens a book-lending business (Chevalier’s route), as well as her own bookstore and a school (both in Clavis’s route)

not only does she pick up on court etiquette and skills (music, dance, diplomacy, politics) in less than a month, she’s also able to learn ministerial duties and absolutely kicks ass at it (Sariel’s route)

she knows how to play not only to her own strengths and weaknesses, but also to that of others around her. she’s able to broker bargains with many of the suitors (Chevalier, Nokto, Silvio, Sariel) across routes to get the information and/or help that she needs

another thing I see often is because she doesn’t say “no” to the princes and that somehow makes her weak, or easier to push around—there’s a world of power difference between her and the suitors. emma being able to hold her ground against the princes as she does, while navigating an entirely new battlefield of court politics and high society, is an excellent testament to her mental fortitude and character

she’s a skilled horseback rider (all routes) and swimmer (Jin’s events) way before she comes to the castle, and she eventually learns martial arts for self defense from Licht (Licht’s events)

she taught herself first aid and nursing, and is proficient enough to become a battle medic in many of the routes (Chevalier, Licht, Yves). emma also goes on to properly learn medicine to become a licensed doctor (Keith’s route)

“Belle” isn’t just a role that Emma plays for a month; it’s a political position with a LOT of power. there is a reason why she observes the princes so closely, there’s a reason why she hides it and why she doesn’t let her feelings for the princes determine whether they are fit to rule or not. she can change Rhodolite’s governmental administration entirely, whether it’s directly, by naming a particular king, and thus a particular set of policies that will affect the entire kingdom— or indirectly, by influencing their views on how to rule. her first priority will always, ALWAYS be protecting her home and her people, regardless of who she’s in a relationship with; Emma is a kingmaker, not arm candy. 

there’s probably more that I can’t remember off the top of my head but my point is—– Emma isn’t just a pretty face and a kind voice to the princes. the reason the suitors fall in love with her isn’t because she’s the therapist who “fixes” them, it’s because she’s intelligent, brave, and a really hard worker. she stands by her convictions and morals no matter who she’s against and is determined to achieve her goals regardless of what stands in her way

is emma a little idealistic about her job and wanting a fairy tale romance? yes. does she try to solve her problems through nonviolence instead of action? also yes. but it doesn’t make her any less of a person or diminish her skills and worth because she’s not ambitious or assertive enough. she’s content with her life and her relationships, but she still strives to improve herself and help the people around her, and I think that makes her both a great character and a great woman

Alr imagine Ash and Eiji in their 90s, both very old and close to dying with Eiji being the closest.

Eiji goes to the hospital and the doctors tell him he'll die in couple days because of his old age. Eiji tells them he wishes to die peacefully with comfort his home brings to him.

He goes home and spends his last days with Ash, talking about everything they've been trough for so long, declaring their love for each other all over again and promising to find each other again if they get reicarnated.

One night, they're getting ready to sleep and Eiji is unable to stand up or get anything done. It was tiring for him to speak even. Of course, Ash knows what's up right away, puts Eiji on the bed and sits besides him.

Ash kept talking about their destinies, how did they found each other while being so different and how their managed to stand side by side. Whenever Ash asked a question, everything Eiji could do was nod or shake his head, anything else was too tiring.

At last, Eiji takes his final breath and Ash feels the grip on his hand that's holding onto Eiji's getting weak.

Ash breaks into tears right away, he didn't want something like that to be the last thing Eiji sees. Eiji already spent so much time comforting Ash and making his tears go away during their lives, he didn't want sadness to be the last feeling Eiji feels.

He cries for Eiji for what probably were hours, until his heart became so weak it couldn't beat anymore. He quickly wraps Eiji's cold arms around himself and lets his soul follow Eiji's.

i think there are lots of reasons that yuugo's death is dissatisfying. from the most obvious- he's a wonderful important character and now he's gone to the (however intentional or accidental) use of the trope of killing off the traumatized characters instead of letting them heal.

but the thing is- yuugo did heal. while i think that his 180 into supporting emma was Very rushed, he was eventually able to put an end to Goldy Pond, be reconnected with his best friend, and spend a year and a half healing and learning to let himself love and actually enjoy being alive. But, despite the fact that he did not die in place of healing from his trauma, his death is so incredibly devastating and dissatisfying (to me at least) because we didn't get to see him heal. he healed during the biggest time skip in the entire manga, that we only really got a quite rushed and pretty vague (if only compared to other arcs where we were fully immersed and kept on the same information level as the characters themselves) summary of before immediately being thrown into another mini arc and his subsequent death. i think i and a lot of other fans would feel differently if we actually got to see him heal, but, with the way the manga handled that, i don't think i'll ever recover or be fully happy with the way that went

The Termina update needs to come out so I can go fishing and catch a big ol' tasty fish for Abella and Henryk and they both kiss for me for it AND I get extra kisses for turning said fish into a good dinner. I need to kiss and cook for my sillies, Miro.

I’d love to hear your take on some Bug types!(any is fine, but if you need a specific one, how about Heracross?). Thanks for your time Mx. Shine!

Hey, thank you so much for the ask! I focused on heracross for this one, but definitely keep an eye out for future assorted bug-type trivia, and please feel free to send in any more requests or questions you might have. Without further ado, here's some fun facts I was able to dig up about heracross!

It's well known that heracross are nectarivores, meaning they feed primarily on nectar, honey, and tree sap. This means that they don't normally need to prey on other pokémon, even in the wild! However, in desperate times (or, occasionally, on accident) heracross have been known to feed from nectar-producing grass-types such as bulbasaur and bellossom, much to the discomfort and chagrin of the grass-types in question.

Heracross, of course, have a set of wings hidden under their elytra! Unfortunately, they have trouble using them effectively due to their massive size and weight, and can only fly very short distances. One population of heracross in Lostlorn Forest in Unova has developed a unique use for their wings, likely in response to competition with Pansear and Simisear for tree space. These heracross are able to bat their wings rapidly to deflect or even outright mitigate weak fire-type attacks! Lostlorn heracross have also been recorded using this same strategy to deflect pollen and power-based attacks from enemies. Looks like those wings are more versatile than we thought!

Much like magikarp enthusiasts have their own league for the time-honored sport of magikarp jumping, many trainers pit their heracross against one another in massive tournaments meant to test which 'mon has the best throw strength! These tend to become quite the spectacle, drawing large crowds and lucrative betting opportunities. The current reigning champion, three years running, is an especially beefy specimen named Heracles.

Because in the wild heracross prefer to sleep in large logs, bushes, or under tree cover, it's highly recommended that trainers provide their heracross with a large blanket; the feeling of being covered while asleep is said to put them at ease.

❃ If the Scions wanted some fun at the beach for some rest and relaxation, then by the Dusk Mother they were going to get it! This Odtsetseg swore! And she would not be taken completely off-guard this time!

im having a bit of a miserable time with the fish tank and i cannot figure out whats wrong with everyone!!!!! the shrimp losses were rough already but i think ive somewhat understood what happened (mixture of metals in our tap water/potentially copper treated plants/the ich medication) and ive just decided if these shrimp dont make it ill just not keep shrimp as my water permiters just dont suit but now ive noticed a few (2-3) of my kuhli loaches have fin problems with their pectorals degrading down to just nubs (literally when did this happen) but otherwise seemhappy and active so im treating the whole tank for finrot (i dont know how many loaches have it and it would be a nightmare to try and isolate them) and today i noticed one of the two german blue rams has just completely declined shes just sat on the bottom of the tank in the back corner not really doing anything :(!!!! i dont know whats happened!!

sucks cause like ive done so much research for these guys it feels a little miserable not knowing what the problem is and just seeing problems crop up out of nowhere

i got home late last night and played star rail for like three hours and then passed out a few minutes afterwards around 2am and then woke up after like 6 hours of sleep but feeling incredibly relaxed and well rested and i’m not sure why. i’m gonna assume i received some sort of lesbian visibility week status buff

Nice..... her divine majesty kafka took benevolent notice of your dedication and gifted you strength

My love the sea devil angler fish lost!! :(( tbf the giant phantom jellyfish is worthy opponent and they deffinintly have my vote going forward! They're all winners really

i mean the polls still have 2 and a half hours right they could still make it *checks post* oh no

he was living alone and literally going out and hunting for his own food by at least 4 so.

a girl's gotta get her iron

[ID: Calyx, a Duskwight Elezen from Final Fantasy 14 in a green coatee and straw hat, standing in the water near Costa del Sol. The sun is setting behind him. End ID]

Nearly at level 40 for fishing, maybe we'll hit 50 by the end of today? Depending on how much procrastinating I'm doing lol...almost a higher level fisher than paladin now, and I'm thinking I'll try Weaver whenever I get bored with fishing.

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