eggshell

[yumeka-sxf]

The main thing that stuck out to me with today's new chapter is the fact that it's labeled as "part 1." It seems like a straight continuation from the previous few chapters, so not sure what that indicates. But anyway, I'm glad to see that Henderson decided not to resign after all!

He looks so weary yet happy in this panel 🥲I also love how Endo keeps Anya's expression consistent in these situations, as she's not smiling like Becky and Damian. I mentioned this a few chapter reviews ago how she seems to not always know what expression to show in particular situations due to her ability to read minds at such an impressionable age warping her idea of social cues.

Loid making sure Anya gets the photo evidence! Maybe his plan is for her to get a stella for solving the case?

Schlag continues to show a more likable side. I'm still wondering if she'll end up giving the kids tonitrus in the end, but also stella to balance it out? Since they did break some rules but did a good deed too.

Love this footnote from Endo, lol. I think it can also be applied to the previous chapter with the kids "fighting" the teachers 😂

Damian flexing the Desmond privilege by getting his family helicopter to airdrop them to where they needed to go! Did that really take less time/effort than just calling a taxi and driving there? 🤣Also, poor Becky.

I like how she still needs a minute to recover once they arrive 😵‍💫

Good flashback scene to young Donovan's speech - really shows how much it inspired Henderson back then. It's interesting how both he and Loid want to do the opposite of what Donovan preached to them (in Loid's case, he wants to try and understand Anya and everyone even though Donovan implied it's impossible).

Again, I'm not sure why this chapter is labeled "part 1" but it should make more sense next time. I hope this situation inspires Loid to do more digging into Eden's dark secrets, which might also lead to more info about Donovan!

[kaderp]

Idk about you guys but I miss just the vibe that Cars 1 had

The desaturated color palette, the mid 2000s music, Lightning being such a young dumbass finding his way through life. Doc taking him in. Early salqueen navigating how they operate together. Mater teaching Lightning new shenanigans. The quiet of it all. It was soothing. Yet had just enough energy because Lightning had all the energy and it bled to the rest of the town.

Don't get me wrong I love older more mature legend Lightning who is kinda now what Doc was for the town. But I miss when the town was still new to him and he was learning.

[peachymcqueen]

In an alternate universe where Lightning somehow convinces Doc to get an Instagram account, Lightning almost immediately regrets it.

You know when you spend years carefully curating your feed- editing, airbrushing, and captioning every single photo to perfection- only for that one older family member to post the most unhinged, unflattering picture of you and tag you in it? Yeah, that’s Doc.

Lightning’s profile is a work of art. Every photo is glammed up, perfectly lit, and carefully posed. Take his birthday post, for example: a stunning shot of him in a designer outfit, looking like a doll, not a single crease or flaw on his perfect face.

The caption? Another year older, another year faster.

Meanwhile, Doc- who just learned how to use Instagram- posts a photo from the same event. It’s a completely candid slightly blurry shot of Lightning mid-laugh, grinning wide while passing Doc a plate with a slice of cake. The angle is terrible. Lightning was sitting down at the table while Doc was towering over him. His eyes look huge, his grin is so wide it reveals his cheek dimples and his hair is messy. If Lightning wasn’t so concerned with what people think, he’d realise it’s an oddly charming photo. He looks adorable.

But Lightning is horrified. There is a loud stream of panicked remarks consisting of “delete this right now,” and “I look like a big-eyed bug” and “you don’t understand - I have an image to keep up.”

Doc, hardly glancing up from his phone, merely states “you look better when you’re actually smiling.”

Piston Cup fans, of course, love Doc’s account. Its a stark contrast to Lightning’s PR-approved highlights.

Lightning’s post after winning a Piston Cup: A stock image-style paparazzi shot of him on stage, holding the trophy with a dazzling smile. Confetti and champagne in the background.

The caption? Hard work pays off. #Champion #Blessed

Doc’s post after Lightning wins a Piston Cup: Lightning the next morning, slumped on his couch in the trailer, still in his race suit. He can hardly open his eyes. His hair is a mess. He’s eating cereal and milk straight out of the Piston Cup.

The caption? Winner’s breakfast...

[glumby]

how do you compete with an angel? become one yourself

[elegentforger]

We see that all the children in the panels are clearly upset that Henderson is leaving the school, and even Becky looks sad, but it’s interesting to me that Anya doesn’t look as affected as everyone else. We see her behaving the same way multiple times throughout the manga whenever she doesn’t have her parents around.

For example, when their entire class is singing a farewell song for George, Anya’s the only one standing there with an unimpressed look on her face. Or when she’s caught up in situations that would terrify any person, let alone a child, she doesn’t start crying until she’s in Yor’s arms.

We don’t explicitly know what Anya went through before the story begins, but we do know it wasn’t anything good, and it was certainly traumatic. She was created in a lab, treated as an experiment, and happened to escape, which already tells us a lot. After that, she ended up in an orphanage, only to be adopted and returned four separate times. Four times. That alone is devastating to imagine, especially for a kid who can literally hear every thought from the adults around her. She knows exactly what they think of her, and will immediately know if they find her weird and strange. She has no protection from those thoughts. She absorbs the full emotional truth of every adult who's supposed to care about her, and that kind of constant rejection and knowing why is just... yeah. And despite how young she is, she’s shockingly good at hiding her secret, because she’s already lived through the consequences of people realizing there’s something off about her. She was told to keep her ability hidden, and she’s learned firsthand that her powers are exactly why most people find her unsettling.

She’s probably internalized all of this, and on top of being told by the scientists who experimented on her to never reveal her powers to anyone, she’s learned to hide what she can do almost reflexively. We can see that her life before Loid was awful, and there was no stability, no promised safety, and definitely no one who cared about her feelings, her emotions, her tears… none of it ever mattered to the adults around her.

So this is a learned behavior, not something that came naturally. She doesn’t cry or react the way the other kids at school do because she learned, very early on, that there was no point. In frightening moments, she doesn’t have the time to turn inward and feel her own emotions, she just defaults to survival mode because she’s always had to rely on herself. She won't act like a typical kid who starts crying as soon as they sense danger, but she'll handle the scary moment itself with uncanny calm— which gets commented on by her fellow students and the adults during the bus hijacking arc ("Her nerves aren't made of steel, it's made of tungsten!")… and then falls apart only after her safety net appears— her parents!!

She’s starting to realize she can fall apart, as long as her mom or dad is there to catch her. She’s learning she can break down, trusting them with her emotions, trusting them that they will handle any danger she comes across once she’s safely in their arms.

And I love that it’s the same for all the Forgers, as the whole manga/show keeps revolving around the fact that they're a group of misfits learning to rely on each other after having no one, and getting accepted for all their quirks. They fit together instantly, even with all the lies, because on some intrinsic level, they recognize each other’s loneliness, each other’s fears, and each other’s want/need to belong. They understand one another in ways no one else ever did, and that’s what makes them one of the best representations of found family I've ever seen in media.

[aerequets]

something something taking on the mannerisms of your loved ones

[liberalk1tsch]

propaganda im not falling for: peeta mellark is a soft, innocent cinnamon roll pacifist who doesn’t have a mean bone in his body and never kills anyone on purpose bc he’s too pure for this world

WRONG

yes, he’s kind and sweet and caring and loving. but he has a darkness in him too. in cf, he has a meltdown in the attic in d11 and literally starts throwing shit cos he’s so upset about katniss and haymitch keeping secrets from him again. we don’t see it very often pre-hijacking cos he’s soft for katniss, but that boy has a temper.

he straight up tells katniss himself that he’s just as fucked up as haymitch, but it’s easier for him to wake up with a paintbrush in his hand than a knife.

let’s not ignore the fact that he voluntarily challenged cato—fucking cato—in hand-to-hand combat so that katniss could escape. in cf, it’s highly implied that he kills brutus too whilst minimally armed and running through the jungle in the dark bc brutus (being the fool he is) gets in the way of peeta reaching katniss.

mind you, this is all before the hijacking.

people take one look at the fact that he got through the first games by only making one known direct kill himself—which is widely viewed as just putting a girl out of her misery—and that he said he didn’t want to be a piece in their games, but they don’t take into account literally anything else about him.

he challenged arguably the most powerful opponent in their games without hesitation and armed with a weapon he’s unfamiliar with the second he became a real threat against the girl he loves, and later assisted in his actual death. we also don’t actually know if he killed anyone else when he was with the careers, nor do we know how he managed to prove himself to them (i personally reckon there may be another kill or two that we don’t know about).

not only that, but he also spends several days laying in the mud and dying, as well as several more dying of sepsis in a cave. i fear it’s incredibly obvious we’re not getting Peak Fighter Peeta™️, so his lack of kills as narrated by katniss after 2/3 of the tributes are already dead isn’t very representative of his skill OR his willingness to fight/kill.

peeta is a badass with supressed rage, and he is not afraid to unleash it when someone threatens him and/or katniss. i will die on this hill.

[cometcrystal]

thinking about how fortunate it is that candace fell in love with someone who understands the vulnerability of that situation... like. jeremy DOES recognize that candace is SUPER devoted to him. he knows she would do literally anything for him, he knows how much he has the capacity to persuade or hurt her, and he never once abuses that. he very much makes a point to make sure they're always on equal ground, despite her constantly putting him on a pedestal. it's not just about him liking her back (which he does), it's also him respecting her enough to make sure their relationship is balanced. and you see it level out over time!! by season 4, she's being sarcastic and snarky at him in my sweet ride, a tone she never would have DARED taking around him in season 1. and in for your ice only, when he figures out she's lying to try and impress him, they handle it by knowingly smiling at each other and dropping it immediately. god their relationship is so complex in its sweetness. they care about each other SO much.

[cometcrystal]

early canderemy makes me so insane. they're both so careful and restrained, but at the same time, neither of them really make it a secret that they've got feelings. there's like. a slight element of fear there. not because they're scared of each other, but because they don't wanna mess it up

candace being too afraid to ask jeremy to the sadie hawkins type dance in out to launch but once they're there she's saying corny shit like "look it's a shooting star just for us :)"

the pure excitement in jeremy's voice when candace agrees to go to chez platypus with him. like he sounds SO happy when he says "awesome!!" as if she would ever say no.

the shots of them trying to call each other in backyard aquarium. both of them wallowing in equal measure when the other doesn't pick up because they're both calling at the exact same time over and over again. the bit where they both lay their phones on their chest and stare at the ceiling kills me every single time

the end of comet kermillian building up to nothing more than just the two of them holding hands and it still feels like a MASSIVE moment because they've both been wanting this simple thing for years

AND SPEAKING OF. candace records the first time she and jeremy spoke as june of 7th grade, but he remembers borrowing a pencil from her and thinking she was pretty way before that. how long have they been pining after each other? like, seven or eight years by the time the show starts? how long has this song and dance been going on? how long did they spend dealing with their nerves and anxiety? how wonderful did it feel when they got rare moments alone with each other? getting randomly paired to work together on an in-class assignment must have felt like christmas morning to them. they're insane

[whatdeweydo]

“remember, we’re madly in love, so it’s all right to kiss me anytime you feel like it.”

THE MOVIE ROBBED US.

[dzroankr]

beneran deh, i need to stop

[dzroankr]

lepas, lepas, harus lepas. kalau ngga lepas sekarang, di akhirat menderita. berat, memang, tapi Allah nggak pernah minta kita tanggung sendiri, karena hakikat kita dalah lemah. Allah minta kita untuk bertumpu dan kembali, semata-mata untuk kita, karna kita yang butuh. seluruh kekuatan hanya dari-Nya.

sabar itu berat, panas dan harus mengerahkan seluruh kekuatan hati. tapi sejatinya, semua kekuatan bersumber dari-Nya.

Rabbana Afrigh 'alaina Shobro. wa tsabbit aqdaamana.

[dzroankr]

In span of a week udah kejebak di jalan 3 kali. Jakarta you are truly a wonder. Rabbana afrigh lana Sobro.

[dzroankr]

a real freedom, in islamic perspective

i came across a quote while scrolling yesterday

Only the disciplined ones in life are free. If you are undisciplined you are a slave to your moods and your passions

I think it struck me, that's why when i got another quote painfully similiar to that, it stays in my mind and i actually believe it.

The thing about habits are they have a gravity pull, and while maintaining one, we have to face against our deeply imbedded habitual tendencies (that's what the book says) such as proscastination, impatience or selfishness. These obstacles became the barrier of forming a new habit, and by breaking it, we obtain freedom.

but is it true?

When i brought this topic of my book club today, the moderator, my senior said, "yeah but the disciplined ones then become the slave of their routines then."

Enslavement or servitude is a very interesting topic, he said. We are actually never free from it. That's why many of our scholars have stated, either we obey Allah's orders or devil's. There's no in between. There's no third option. If you don't serve Him then you will serve His creation, there's no in between, be it devils, your desires, your goals, your loved ones, your idol, your job, the money, you name it.

Syaikh Ibn Taimiyah Rahimahullah said,

The highest degree of love is Tatayyum (total enthrallment). The lowest degree is 'alaqah (attachment), when the heart is attached to the beloved: then comes sabahah (infatuation), when the heart is poured out: then gharam (passion), when love never leaves the heart: then ashaq (ardent love), and finally tatayyum. When we say that a person is enthralled, as it were, by Allah, it means that he worships Allah, because enthrallment is like enslavement to the beloved.

And when a person reach the servitude level, where he submit and love only Allah, whereas Allah has filled his heart whole, that not any creature can take even an inch from it. Then he obeys Allah's order, loving Him by worshiping Him and Him only, loving anyone or anything anything else only for Him, that's when he reaches the the Wordly Paradise. That's what freedom is. The heart won't find happiness and be at ease unless it filled with loves for Him and always return to Him.

On bright days, when a person attain what he wants, he will be grateful for Allah, the love within him deepen and he will be fulfilled with joys by this. And on dark days, when he is facing misery and disaster, he won't drown in sorrow and regret for he knows about Allah, of His wisdom and affection, for he knows that Allah shows His love towards a tribe by testing them, by knowing this his heart gained courage and he loves Allah even more deeply. There is no place for sorrow nor suffering. This is a true freedom.

to be completely free is to love, worship and submit to Him and Him only.

[dzroankr]

i was having a digestive problem today, all i think for the first 5 hours is to buy some bananas. and to drink more water. however, the pain comes and goes and it hit me after i finished a rak'atain prayer, i thought, i can't take it anymore, then i took my phone to open a delivery app. But just before that, i thought, why don't i ask Allah first? I'm already here anyway (re: in a condition of praying) so i lift my hands and pray in such insincere way. Without any openings, any praise upon Him, any greeting toward ny prophet. It's such a half-assed way actually.

then i continued to look for bananas. It doesn't take 5 minutes until i got the urge to relieve myself. And i finally free from the pain completely.

It's mindblowing. And heartbreaking. How My Rabb has answered me and helped me even when I' doing such half-assed prayer. Even when i don't commit to my obligation. Even when i continue to betray Him in the worst ways possible. It's heartbreaking how close He is. It's like being reminded again how Merciful and Mighty He Is.

It's heartbreaking how kind He is to me, when i'm already so deep in my sins, when i commit them knowing fully He is watching me. Believing He is hearing me and seing me.

All i did was sending a short plea, with the taught, i can't ask anyone before Him, and this tought, too wouldn't cross my mind if He didn't guide me.

Thinking again, i am very shameless towards Him. It is truly for He is Merciful, i still have any friend, for what I have sinned and commited.

My Rabb is very kind. So kind that it breaks my heart how shameless i have been, how dirty i am, how far i am to Him.

My Rabb is very kind. So kind that it breaks me each time He answered my prayer. I haven't even done half the things i'm obliged to do. I haven't even asked Him in the most sincere way. I haven't sacrificed my nights to pray for Him nor I haven't sacrificed my days to leave my desires for Him.

And yet, to this lowly servant who constantly disobeys Him, He answered.

[dzroankr]

your "normal' day is someone's dream, so be thankful everyday.

ada berapa dari orang-orang yang mengeluh lelahnya bekerja yang menyadari langkanya kesempatan 'bekerja'? ada berapa dari orang yang mengeluhkan bosannya belajar yang menyadari besarnya 'kesempatan' belajar itu sendiri? ada berapa orang yang mengeluhkan beratnya merawat orang tua menyadari beruntungnya dia karena orang tuanya masih diberikan kesempatan hidup?

kesempatan-kesempatan yang kita keluhkan beratnya, lelahnya, monotonnya, bosannya, ada jutaan orang diluar sana yang merintih menangis ingin berada di posisi kita.

bahkan di hal-hal mundane yang sering kita acuhkan, tubuh kita yang sehat, untuk makan pun tidak perlu pusing, tidak usah galau akan 'tidur' dimana malam ini, sudahkah kita menyadari bahwa semua ini adalah nikmat yang besar? bahwa nikmat-nikmat ini adalah mimpi bagi orang-orang yang berada di ranjang pesakitan, orang-orang yang mengais rezeki di pinggir jalan, orang-orang yang harus tidur dengan beralas dan berselimut kardus?

sungguh benar firman Allah subhanahu wa Ta'ala, "dan sedikit dari hambaKu yang bersyukur."