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shortpplfedup · 9 months

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Only Friends Character Rankings Pre-Air

Jojo, Ninew, Ninepinta and Vivienne have now presented their stable of hoes to us, y'all have chosen your fighters, and I am gnawing on concrete in anticipation of August 12. Since I'm gonna be doing weekly character rankings, I wanted to set up a pre-air Clown Checkpoint so I can look back later and see how wrong I was. Until that YouTube premiere countdown hits zero, we know exactly nothing, but I'm ready to predict whose gay wrongs I will most support! Here we go!

1. Nick

I just want you to love only me!

Audience ranking: 6

Ever since Mark Pakin showed up in that pilot trailer scheming and sex-taping, Nick has been MY DUDE. I want him to be the most manclown character of all time. I want him to be DESPERATE AND PATHETIC for Boston's dick. ANSWER EVERY BOOTY CALL NICK, I BELIEVE IN YOU. HE WANTS YOU TO DO A THREESOME? NO PROBLEM, WHATEVER YOU WANT BABE. I want Nick to call his bestie (Sand?) crying because Boston came over at 3:02 a.m. and left at 4:37 a.m. and 15 minutes of that was him taking a post-coital shower. I want crying and begging and clinging and devious acts. Khun Pakin has the chops to make my dreams come alive, make it happen boo!

2. Mew

My type is pretty simple. I'm not a picky kind of guy.

Audience ranking: 4

Right up until time of posting I thought my #2 seed would be Boston, but something is telling me that when it comes to manipulation and making grown men cry, Mew will emerge the champion. Something in this butter-wouldn't-melt expression is telling me this man is the true demon from hell whereas Boston is merely a top-tier-yet-still-garden-variety slut. Him shit-kicking Boston into the pool and then jumping in himself to finish the job is the kinda deranged shit I respect immensely. Kill them all Mew. You deserve.

3. Boston

You should be glad to be my favourite.

Audience ranking: 5

I may have called this man a garden variety slut, but I love a good slut though! Especially one who will lend his toys to help out a friend. And then almost instantly regret it. And then cause chaos and problems for himself as a result. And then make it everybody else's chaos and problems. Basically, I expect Boston's job to be throwing hole around Bangkok and ruining lives, and I expect him to do it WELL, and I expect him to do it in the sluttiest rent boy outfits I've ever seen.

4. Ray

You think my life will be better with you? It's only fucking going down to hell.

Audience ranking: 3

Speaking of chaos and problems, OUR BI DISASTER IS HERE GUYS! Bisexual? Bipolar? Why not both? The trailer is letting us know from jump that Ray is A Mess With Money and happy to use that money to buy himself some company, but also not able to keep those lines from getting blurred. I’m expecting this character to make me fall in love with him but also want to strangle him, Teh Krittikorn Saetun-style, so expect this ranking to go up until he is somehow my fave.

5. Sand

Friends don't charge friends. Besides, you should save your money for a shrink.

Audience ranking: 2

First Kanaphan’s job at GMMTV is to rip our hearts out roughly twice a year, and he’s right on schedule. It seems like Sand never learned not to fall for poor little rich boys, so we will all have to suffer with him. Honestly his ranking is this low right now because I see these guitars and microphones and I want no part of them. There is a short list of GMMTV boys allowed to sing at me and as much as I love First he is not on it. Ditch the microphone and bring back the baseball bat bb, I’m ready to see you bust some heads, kneecaps, car windows, whatever in pursuit of your love.

6. Top

When I take aim, I never miss.

Audience ranking: 7

Ah yes, the hoe-turned-seeming-housewife who’s actually still hoeing. The village bike. The community top. Boston basically turns him out and he’s not only fine with it, he falls for the john. Delicious. I desire his ruin like I’ve desired nothing before in media.

7. Everybody we don’t know nothing about yet (Yo, Nam/Syrup, Nes, Lesbian!Nonnie, A Wild Papang, various and assorted surprise guests I’m pretty sure we’re getting)

Friends don't do this to each other.

Audience ranking: 1 (combined score)

We await the tea on all the side characters, but the casting is superb, and I’m ready to see how high in the rankings they can climb.

LET THE MESS COMMENCE!

#only friends the series #bless this mess #only friends weekly character rankings #i support gay wrongs #only friends series #only friends #bl meta series

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lowrezbonuslevel · 3 months

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triple deluxe day

Let the record show that lining up this character introduction with the anniversary of Kirby: Triple Deluxe was an ACCIDENT

(thank god the comic ends there! sir lord dark meta knight could have gotten himself into a lot of trouble!)

#kirby #lrblev art #comic #sketch #kirby triple deluxe #taranza #dark meta knight #i mean im not saying that jan 11 was absolutely supposed to be tilldas birthday its just. dude #i made the tillda post then ran face first into tdx anniversary art lol #this “original character” stuff is too difficult for me damn!#and how do people keep track of all these release dates...#i would need to get a weekly briefing on kirby holidays lmfao

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class1akids · 6 months

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Interesting. I had to zoom in to read the Japanese to be sure, but yeah, the “greatest masterpiece” line is gone from the new spread. I’m curious to see how this and other changes work in context with the rest of the chapter. It makes me wonder if this is something that we’ll return to later in the conclusion and explore in-depth because I honestly don’t believe Shouto’s story is over.

Now I bought Vol 39, so I could look through the full sequence. There are a couple of interesting changes:

The bottom panel showing Shouto's approach from the family's perspective disappeared from the volume version. Instead there is a new double spread that shows the approach from Shouto's perspective - he sees the giant, about to explode fireball with Touya and Endeavor in the center, Rei, Natsuo and Fuyumi trying what they can, but their ice being dwarved by the flames. It's interesing that this is the first full Todoroki family panel since Ch 301 - Touya's attack. So it's a big moment and I'm glad Horikoshi emphasized the "family reunion" with a new, more fitting double spread.

The second big change is to Shouto's line ("He reached uncharted territory that I can't tread. Maybe I was never the masterpiece creation"). In the volume version this line disappeared and Endeavor's panel has been taken out:

I think this change achieves a couple of things:

While Shouto rejecting the masterpiece creation label is a powerful sentiment, the line implies that Touya is the "masterpiece", but also bringing back the "creation" idea which while a fair accusation to throw at Endeavor, may sound dehumanizing to Touya, the way it was to Shouto.

It has a sarcastic / bitter tone, speaking of resentment that's more fitting of Early-roki than Shouto as he is now. Since the theme of "Rising" is "become who you want to be" - Shouto has been trying to leave that person driven by negative emotions behind.

It may feel like Shouto with the jab prompts Endeavor to apologize, rather than Endeavor's apology coming naturally, on his own accord, which I think is important for Enji's character (and also works better for Shouto not to be fishing for an apology).

It leaves the scene way more open. "I was never a masterpiece creation" may be a fitting line to close Shouto's arc. But now, we are just left with "Touya's fire kept getting hotter..." which certainly makes the scene feel more unfinished. It makes me feel like we will get back to Shouto with much more confidence than before.

I also like Shouto's hand in the redraw - while in the weekly version he's standing there still with Phosphor in his palm ready to fight, in the volume, his palm is in a more relaxed position and it's just ice residue on his fingers, while his heart is emphasized even more. It gives overall the impression of a kinder, more compassionate Shouto than the weekly version one.

#bnha 390 #bnha volume 39 #bnha manga spoilers #todoroki shouto #volume vs weekly #todoroki enji #todoroki family #bnha meta #c1a asks

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tojosuggestionbox · 5 months

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Notice for small hiatus for the holiday season. The suggestion box will return to full operation for New Year's.

#meta post #I might post some but yknow #weekly schedule interrupted for a lil bit bc holiday time is going to be pretty packed!#thank you all for following so far!#the ask box is PACKED DEAR GOD THERES LIKE 140+#i'll do my best fellas

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blog-of-hubris · 6 months

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Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 238: Shinjuku Showdown, Part 19

Oh boy oh boy. Another jjk chapter with Sukuna showing off why he is the KING of Curses. Beyond his strength, he speaks like a king to those he defeats, and his meaning is very esoteric.

I'm going to go full fanboy in this post, everyone, so please forgive me if you are here to hear bad things about jjk (you're weird, btw).

Perfection...Beautiful..

Kashimo looking at Sukuna with X-ray and seeing nothing but perfection is exactly what I feel looking at Gege.

But on a serious note.. Finally, seeing Sukuna's true form in action is insane!!! He looks so terrifying, and Kashimo knew that instantly. Sukuna not having any strain on his heart or lungs due to the build of his body is so damn impressive. I love seeing him flexing his perfection to Kashimo and then blitzes him.

I love this moment because it's showing how much Kashimo overestimated his ability to fight Sukuna. I knew Kashimo was a non factor, and Sukuna made it APPARENT. He literally showed Kashimo, he just was not that good, lol. (I was never a Kashimo fan, so this is nice for me).

Sukuna is quite truly beautiful. Gege gave him such a design to reflect him being the peak of jujutsu. I just want to say thank you to gege for following through so thoroughly on this.

Then to go even farther and give us Sukuna's feats against the great sorcerers of the past was even better. He defeated the Sun, Moon, and Stars squad that Uro was once a leader of. I love Gege doing this type of stuff, man!

If you remember, Uro's vision of calamity when talking to Yuta was Sukuna, and when Sukuna revived she knew it was him just based off his cursed energy. Gege made sure that all of this was continued by giving us more lore on Sukuna's final form.

It's these little things that really move me in story telling. Connects those dots for us!

We Are Loved Because We Are Strong

Sukuna's speeches to people after defeating them is becoming one of my favorite things in jujutsu kaisen. I already loved his moment with Jogo + his final words to Gojo, but now we can add Kashimo to this list, lol.

I love Sukuna mentioning Yozoru's words to Kashimo, because it directly reflects the short conversation we saw between Kashimo and Kenjaku. Kashimo wanted to go against Sukuna to feel fulfilled. Initially, I took this as a warrior fighting for the fulfillment of a real fight, or a true fight to the death. Kashimo is similar Gojo, where he felt all the surrounding sorcerers were below him, causing him to separate himself as an entity. However, this was dissatisfying for Kashimo. The difference between him/Gojo and Sukuna, is that the king of curses accepted that as a fact of life. Due to this fact, he saw the world as his playground, and anything that went against his desires were to be destroyed.

“You know the answer you seek, you just can't comprehend it, right..?”

I love this quote by sukuna. Implying that kashimo knew all along the answer to his soul's dilemma.

“Is strength solitude”?

That question is always known by the strong, but I think sukuna's lesson was to deeper understand how to live as the strong.

“You were strong”

I see this as sukuna reminding kashimo that because of his strength, love should be known. Those under you will love you because you are strong. He goes on to tell kashimo that the ones who challenged him did not do so to curse him, but to be recognized and to validate themselves. That itself is love, or maybe an easier word to translate it would be “admiration”.

Admiration however is a product of love. That is how sukuna connects with those below him. I believe Uraume is the example of this, as he/she has been by sukuna's side for seemingly the longest. That love Uraume has is most likely the best execution of love sukuna can have for one below him.

(it makes me wonder why uraume is so special)

Telling kashimo that he was strong, but also lamenting is greedy. Wow, sukuna... when you think about it, sukuna's outlook is very royal and fits that of a being existing on a higher frequency. What Sukuna is trying to relay, is that being the strongest comes with natural love (or being strong in general). It is when you begin to hate that strength or see it as a burden that you begin to lose sight of that love. Those around you love you for your strength, even those that challenge it have some form of admiration and search for recognition from that strength.

This takes me to when Nanami said to Gojo that he also once believed they should just send him out on every mission. Gojo felt that he could never be understood, and that burden carried with him his entire adult life. Before, he had Geto who he saw as his equal, best friend and dare I say other half. That is why he wished that Geto was there, patting him on his back. Gojo felt separated from everyone, even if he loved them, he still felt isolated. I believe that Geto was Gojo's “love” and that is why he could never truly feel satisfaction.. He could never save Geto.

(Sorry to go back to the sadness that is Gojo's separation from others as a human due to his exceptional skills as a sorcerer, but all of this ties in together so well).

Kashimo and Gojo both got “greedy”. They were strong, but also wanted to hate that strength instead of taking everything that came with it and finding true satisfaction within. Gojo felt pure isolation from his talent, while Kashimo felt lament because he could never have an equal. Both of these stemming from feeling the need for others to fulfill them, which is why Sukuna believes that...

Love is Useless...

Sukuna calls love useless. I find this so intriguing, because the “love” he spoke of was surrounded by the motif of “the strong”, and also he straight up says the thought of needing someone else to fulfill him never crossed his mind. He never thought that another person would give him the satisfaction he wanted, instead he put his desires first.

“I live according to my own stature. If that can't be measured or understood, that's not my problem”.

MEGUMI? YOU HEAR THAT?!

My god i hope megumi is listening. I talk with @theanimepsychologist about megumi coming back and also how sukuna is possibly his golden shadow. To expound on this train of thought, I see all of this as Gege playing deeper into Sukuna's role as megumi's catalyst.

In simpler terms, I see Sukuna & Megumi's dynamic on the same level as Mahito & Yuji's. Mahito propelled Yuji's understanding of being a jujutsu sorcerer, while Yuji propelled Mahito as a curse. For Sukuna and Megumi, Sukuna saw Megumi's technique as something to gain. There could possibly be more he plans on doing with the ten shadows specifically, giving him an even more powerful arsenal than he had before.

For Megumi, Sukuna was the first to make him see himself as a stronger person. The words “why did you run away” stuck in megumi's mind from the first fearsome womb chapters. That was when he discovered he could place things in his shadow, and from there he began to elevate each arc.

Sukuna being in Megumi's body right now feels like a terrible journey of enlightenment for megumi. I find it interesting that sukuna states he was born cursed and unwanted. Megumi talks as if he was treated the same way, even believing his father is still alive living it up somewhere. Megumi has no idea he faced his father in shibuya, or that his dad wanted him to be something outside the zenin clan. Even if he did end up there, he believed megumi would be okay because he was talented. Megumi never saw himself as wanted by his family, and his cope for that was Tsumiki.

Sukuna was different, he chased after his desires alone. He believed he could make himself happy, and that there was no one else who could fulfill that. Megumi losing Tsumiki is so difficult for him because he relied on Tsumiki as his heart and conscious. At first, megumi was indifferent, but expressed himself boldly. Tsumiki's positive outlook is what moved megumi, and that was all the family he had. Megumi isn't heartless as sukuna may naturally be, but his decision to save people has left him too selfless.

For megumi to return, I need to see his understanding of self-worth change. He needs to see his strength and importance as an individual to truly understand the love that comes from being strong. In order to save people, you need strength, but you cannot develop that strength without having a stronger sense of self to dismantle any sparks that fly your way.

"Its okay to be selfish"

"A jujutsu sorcerer's growth never comes easy"

(I could continue on about this megumi and sukuna connection but i think my point is made)

That is why Sukuna said love is useless. There is no need to look to another to satisfy yourself. To understand yourself is to understand your desires. And to be true to one's self is to chase after those desires without remorse. He hasn't changed a beat from when he spoke to Jogo, and I love consistency.

What Can You Do...Brat?

The final spread of the chapter was C R A Z Y! Uraume and Hakari break out of the domain with no damage on either person, while Higaruma and Yuij (with scales and claws??) begin to drop.

WTH?

My assumption is that they are going to try to get Sukuna into Higaruma's domain to win a trial and take away Sukuna's CT. This could work, but I'm worried that even without a CT, sukuna is still going to be very proficient in his raw CE usage unlike the other sorcerers Higaruma has faced. Maybe that is all they need to start the process to save megumi, or something else entirely crazy that only gege can come up with!

Truly endless possibilities.

Gege is continuing to Gege (whatever that means) and I will continue to not miss a beat. I believe we have a break coming up, so we will have to digest on this chapter a bit before we figure out what's going on!

#jjk 238 #jujutsu kaisen chapter 238 #jjk meta #jujutsu kaisen meta #jujutsu kaisen manga #jjk 238 meta #gege akutami #weekly shonen jump #dh🍵#jujutsu kaisen #manga #manga meta

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stuff-for-your-scroll · 1 year

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Original Jekyll & Hyde Readers: Oh wow, what a twist! What a thrilling conclusion! Truly a satisfying end to this strange tale.

Me: Yeah yeah the duplicity of man, we’ve all seen it. But what does my good friend Utterson make of this?!!!!!!?!!!!!?!

#jekyll and hyde weekly #dr jekyll and mr hyde #the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde #mr utterson #for real tho!#what does our skrunkly lawyer make of this twist?#does he believe it?#does he dare relay his findings to others if he does?#servants and stuff were waiting for his conclusion!#and the book just ENDS there??#I’m too enthralled by the meta-narrative for this #sigh

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snazzyladreal · 8 months

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✨The Prince of Dreams✨

Aka Primal Bandee but I made him human ^^

Separate thing of the bottom left one cause he just cute

this boi belongs to @jojo-schmo

also was tired so I made a really bad shitpost

I’m sorry Jojo

not really sorry but still had to say it

enjoy

#my art #snazz screams #bandana dee #primal bandana dee #forgotten land roleswap #roleswap fanart #king dedede #meta knight #doodles #Oh yeah this is also my weekly waddle post #waddle wednesday #kirby gijinka

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blackbird-brewster · 10 days

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Weekly Criminal Minds poll. Reblog for more exposure, etc.

Send CM poll ideas

#Criminal Minds #spencer reid #emily prentiss #aaron hotchner #derek morgan #Jennifer Jareau #Tara Lewis #penelope garcia #elle greenaway #david rossi #Alex blake #matt simmons #kate callahan #Cm weekly poll #Cm meta #cm fandom #My poll

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hwestil · 6 months

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Ishmael

#whale weekly #ishmael: most whale art is and was terrible so this other terribly drawn beast might as well be a whale #i feel like this gif also works at a meta level because ishmael would write the most clickbait headlines ever if he were a journalist #gif

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imsorryimlate · 1 year

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so victor is genovese and his first language is french, yes? although he clearly knows other languages as well, most importantly german and english, he still has a noticeable french accent (which walton points out in a letter to his sister).

adam, then, is learning how to speak from the family he’s watching. we know that he lived in the forest outside of ingolstadt at first, but then found a village some hours away and the family on the outskirts. so he’d still be in germany, right? which means his first language could be german, but i don’t know, he’s quite close to the border and it could be french.

but if we imagine that he is learning german rather than french, it would again show the distance between him and victor. a child usually has the same first language(s) as its parents (even though they don’t have a typical parent-child relationship lol). adam, left to learn a language on his own, doesn’t learn his father’s native tongue, but another.

edit: well the family was in fact french so this doesn’t hold lmao 🙈

#the Symbolism™#frankenstein weekly #more thoughts but you already know what’s up #also like ‘‘father’’ obviously but again you know what i’m saying #my meta

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be-bi-do-crime · 2 years

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okay, let’s talk about this line from ep 35, when canglan is at the bridge:

xiao lanhua: 就没有其他人能入得了你法眼?; is there no one else to your liking?

dongfang qingcang: 没有。永远也不会有。今生今世, 永生永世。只有她。; there isn’t. there will never be. not in this life, or in any other life. only her.

all in all, the translation for xiao lanhua’s line gets the basic message across, and receives the right answer. dongfang qingcang is committed to her and her only. but the way she asks the question is so much deeper than just you should go and like someone else, stop being hung up on me.

first, the rough, actual translation of the line: is there no other person that can access/get into your 法眼 (fǎyǎn; lit: the eye of the eye)?

what does 法眼 mean? in essence, yes, it’s the eye of the eye; basically your innermost soul and knowledge, your insight, who you are. from google: it’s a concept in Buddhism that “refers to the eyes that can see all natures of reality; it generally refers to keen and profound insight.” from baidu: “they can not only see the facts, but also see the ins and outs. at the same time, their own energy is large enough to intervene in the fundamental structure of things to cause changes in the facts.”

so what is xiao lanhua asking, really?

well. to put it simply, she’s asking dongfang qingcang if there is truly no one else in the three realms that can access his soul so completely. if there is truly no one else that sees him for him, that loves him for him, apart from herself.

go and find another soulmate, she’s begging him.

and his reply, steadfast and sure: why would i, when you are the only one i will ever know?

#why are they LIKE. THIS.#im gonna change the translation a bit on my edit #maybe make it 'is there no one else that can see you for who you are?'#anyway. enjoy my meta post for the week. weekly dose of insanity. etc #love between fairy and devil

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shortpplfedup · 8 months

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Only Friends Character Rankings Episode 1

THE MESSY MESS IS HERE! Here's the week's runners and riders.

1. Nick

It's with one-year warranty. If there's a problem again, drop it here anytime.

Everybody was playing their little games this week but Nick WON for most inventive and effective thirst trap. He clearly knew who Boston was, and he figured out how to get his attention. Now to keep it.

2. Sand

How did you manage to live this long?

HE IS SO FED UP OF THESE HOES, but he is also a softhearted fucker so one hint of vulnerability from Ray and now he's starting to feel FOND. Oh Sand...don't do it. Run a mile. Also, we will ignore the singing.

3. Ray

You’re sulking like we’re boyfies.

This man is so Gemini I had flashbacks. 'You saved me? Well FUCK YOU VERY MUCH.' His pissy faces every time Top came around though? *chef's kiss*

4. Boston

You and I are the same kind. Don’t get his hopes up. If you want to do him, do it and get it over with.

This 'I can be a ho but you can't call me that'-ass motherfucker. Top clearly rearranged his brain as well as his guts when they fucked that ONE TIME. He thought Top would try the novelty of naivete, realise he prefers experience and return to blow his back out again. Instead, he played himself and he doesn't know how to un-play himself.

5. Mew

I’m a grownup. Don’t worry. Besides, I know how to screen people.

Oh Top has met his MATCH. Mew got that heat-seeking missile to nearly blow him, cuddle him to sleep, take him on a date and confess in public, and IT'S ONLY EPISODE 1.

6. Top

A virgin? Seriously? I wanna try. I’m so sick of those fierce ones who already know it all. I want something new.

Oh I HATE THIS GUY. He thinks he's a player but he's the one getting played and I LOVE IT. Mew already has him wrapped around his little finger and it's only gonna get worse. And he knows EXACTLY how Boston feels and is toying with him. Still, when he HOPPED up on that countertop I may have blacked out a little from the downward rush of blood.

7. Cheum

We live in a country where PM 2.5, Covid, and radioactive cesium take turns to say hi. We can die any minute. If you found the right one, you found the right one. Love doesn’t need much time, Mew.

The lone lesbian trying to keep these boys alive and happy like so many over the generations. I am ready to see more of her.

8. Surprise!Drake

How about we continue at my place? There’s alcohol, music, and...me.

LEGS WIDE OPEN WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE!

#only friends the series #bless this mess #only friends weekly character rankings #i support gay wrongs #only friends series #only friends #bl meta series

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allgremlinart · 5 months

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oh no

#dawning horror realization that the atla mc tags are going to be unusable for years and be filled #with live action meta and live action discourse. oh no #but once again KORRA STANNIES DO NOT HAVE THIS PROBLEM 💪😎💯 WILL STILL BE ABLE TO #FIND OUR WEEKLY NEW TLOK POST WITH EASE !!! WE STAY WINNING !!!

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vickyvicarious · 1 year

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I was the attendant or page of Queequeg, while busy at the mat. As I kept passing and repassing the filling or woof of marline between the long yarns of the warp, using my own hand for the shuttle, and as Queequeg, standing sideways, ever and anon slid his heavy oaken sword between the threads, and idly looking off upon the water, carelessly and unthinkingly drove home every yarn: I say so strange a dreaminess did there then reign all over the ship and all over the sea, only broken by the intermitting dull sound of the sword, that it seemed as if this were the Loom of Time, and I myself were a shuttle mechanically weaving and weaving away at the Fates. There lay the fixed threads of the warp subject to but one single, ever returning, unchanging vibration, and that vibration merely enough to admit of the crosswise interblending of other threads with its own. This warp seemed necessity; and here, thought I, with my own hand I ply my own shuttle and weave my own destiny into these unalterable threads. Meantime, Queequeg’s impulsive, indifferent sword, sometimes hitting the woof slantingly, or crookedly, or strongly, or weakly, as the case might be; and by this difference in the concluding blow producing a corresponding contrast in the final aspect of the completed fabric; this savage’s sword, thought I, which thus finally shapes and fashions both warp and woof; this easy, indifferent sword must be chance—aye, chance, free will, and necessity—nowise incompatible—all interweavingly working together. The straight warp of necessity, not to be swerved from its ultimate course—its every alternating vibration, indeed, only tending to that; free will still free to ply her shuttle between given threads; and chance, though restrained in its play within the right lines of necessity, and sideways in its motions directed by free will, though thus prescribed to by both, chance by turns rules either, and has the last featuring blow at events. Thus we were weaving and weaving away when I started at a sound so strange, long drawn, and musically wild and unearthly, that the ball of free will dropped from my hand, and I stood gazing up at the clouds whence that voice dropped like a wing.

So this passage is obviously referencing the Fates. The talk of fate while Ishmael and Queequeg are working on weaving the mat makes that pretty clear to me. I don't actually know enough about the process to definitively assign each of them a role though mostly they seem to be filling the role of Lachesis (measures thread/determines destiny). But of course it's not a direct comparison only, and the text itself is pretty clear about what metaphor is happening. Still, it's interesting to me that Ishmael is pretty firmly paired with unalterable destiny, while Queequeg is chance/free will/necessity, much more mutable stuff.

It just seems to echo and reinforce the sense of inevitability that has been building this whole time. Reminds me again of the script chapters and how that emphasized the status of "tragedy" in which the characters are trapped.

And yet, somewhat significantly perhaps, Queequeg is personified as separate from all of that here. He is free will itself, mere chance... It made me think back to the various ways Queequeg has had more agency so far, or at least less inevitability. He was looking for any new ship, and it was chance that Ishmael got put in his room at the inn, as well as that Ishmael suggested the Pequod to him. Ishmael was somewhat helpful in getting him a place on board, but once there he's more important. As an experienced whaler, he's definitely higher in the pecking order on the ship than Ishmael, and even in this scene Ishmael says he's acting as Queequeg's attendant or page. It's not like you can say Queequeg has been totally removed from all the ominous imagery or suggestions of inevitability, but maybe there's a case to be made that they come along with Ishmael more? I definitely found it interesting, at least.

Certainly here, Ishmael's fate seems to keep getting more and more 'sealed' in this sense of encroaching doom. At the end of the bit I quoted, free will literally drops out of his hand at the first encounter with a sperm whale. It's far too late to change things.

#whale weekly #ishmael #queequeg #also this chapter ending with ahab surrounded by 'phantoms' aka ghosts #sure seems to foreshadow some brutal stuff!#obviously they turned out to just be people but still the imagery was there this chapter for sure #(sperm whale = no free will + ghosts) that is #moby dick meta #my meta

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