#in love with my notion

[honeytonedhottie]

[framblebee]

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE 1x2 After the Phantoms of Your Former Self

—You should just throw me in the incinerator, make another one. —Hm. And what a waste that would be.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girl found dead in a hidden room.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[blackflash9]

No wonder why Connor is so emotionless: Imagine watching your mother dying in the burning down of your village and doing everything to help your people, only to get screwed over, deceived, manipulated and betrayed at every turn (with one of those people being your father, who deliberately hid the information of your mother's death so he could manipulate you to his side), with finally your people being expelled regardless by the people you thought you would help them (and finding out they don't give a shit about your platitude.)

My point: Fandom should stop hating Connor because he isn't Ezio.

The problem was never that Connor isn't Ezio. The problem is that we, as Western audiences, have been conditioned to reject characters who don’t conform to a familiar, Eurocentric mold of storytelling. Ezio is charming, charismatic, and effortlessly likable. He flirts. He jokes. He grows in ways that reflect our favorite power fantasies: freedom, control, and self-actualization. He’s the kind of hero we’ve been taught to root for, over and over again. He fits the mold.

Connor doesn’t.

Connor isn’t here to dazzle you. He doesn’t joke to put you at ease. He doesn’t flirt to win you over. He’s blunt. Angry. Grieving. And rightly so. His world is one of broken promises and stolen futures; he has no time or space for charm. He doesn’t perform vulnerability for our comfort. He is vulnerable, raw, young, and cracked open by the world, but never in a way that flatters the viewer’s ego.

Ask yourself: Would Connor have been more “acceptable” if he’d laughed more? If he'd made his trauma easier to swallow? If he'd flirted with Myriam or Ellen or softened his convictions for the sake of pacing?

That’s not a flaw in Connor. That’s a flaw in us.

We’ve been trained to celebrate protagonists who slot neatly into stories built on Western values of charisma, triumph, and emotional legibility. When a character refuses that mold, when he challenges us instead of charming us, we call him “boring.” Or “too serious.” Or “hard to like.”

But Connor is none of those things. Connor is essential.

Because where most protagonists in this series survive, Connor learns. He doesn’t blindly follow the Creed; he interrogates it. He studies the systems around him. He saw what gave the Templars their power, and why the Assassins keep losing ground. And even after betrayal, disillusionment, and unimaginable loss, he chooses to stay with the Assassins not because they’re flawless, but because their path is the right one.

He’s also the only Assassin to ever sincerely question whether reconciliation with the Templars is possible. He doesn’t just kill Haytham and move on; he listens. He hopes. He tries. That quiet dream of peace, followed by the heartbreaking realization that it cannot be, is unlike anything else we’ve seen in the series.

Connor isn’t just another blade in the dark. He’s the conscience of the Brotherhood.

Fandom didn’t reject him because he was poorly written. Fandom rejected him because he made injustice uncomfortable and because he refused to entertain us while doing it.

No, Connor isn’t Ezio. He was never meant to be. And that’s not just the point. That’s what makes him unforgettable.

[cya-nn]

Wild West by Gregory and the Hawk

[dent-de-leon]

Kether: "My [favorite] card is The Fool, and there's a couple of reasons for that. One of the reasons, is that I did go to school in England. I did my A levels on Shakespeare, and my papers on the roll of the Fool in Shakespeare. And the thing about the Fool in Shakespeare, is nobody can tell these assholes who are king what is going on, except for the Fool. And the Fool is the one who tells the truth and can get away with it, cause you know--he's a dumb shit, and he doesn't know anything. And so all through Shakespeare, you see this pattern of the Fool being the only person who's telling it like it is."

Whitney: "Jester's privilege."

Taliesin: "Jester was a paid position specifically to have someone whose job it was to be--to say something where they were not gonna be executed."

Kether: "The other thing about The Fool, is that he is like this guileless character without, you know--he doesn't have any plan, he doesn't have any things that he's trying to do. And if you look at the Rider deck, he's just got his head in the sky, and he's about to like walk over this cliff--"

Taliesin: "He's got a familiar too, if I recall--in the Rider deck. Is there-is it a little cat, a little dog--"

Kether: "A little dog. And he's about to walk over this cliff, and and it's like...I just know, that at the bottom of the cliff, is paradise. Because he can't--he can't go wrong. He's got the fate of...he walks his own path. He doesn't know how to get off his own path. And it's really, really cool, and I get goosebumps..."

Whitney: "It's very much, 'leap and a net shall appear'...Talking about the misunderstood cards of the tarot--I think the Fool is one of them, the Devil...and Death also--

Taliesin: "Fool is a big one...And for those wondering, the reason there's not a cliff in here--is cause we don't need the cliff. We have the Nine Eyes on the tombstone--that is the jump. Molly was also The Fool in the Oracle deck we made, where he's walking over a warring army."

Kether: "And he's also dressed like The Fool."

[uncanny-tranny]

Shoutout to all the other adults who have acne or any other condition of the skin that you are expected to outgrow or "just deal with."

Adulthood isn't this magical time where everything just disappears, and the reality is that these skin conditions are largely genetic. It isn't your fault (nor your skin's fault) that you are an adult with different skin than other people. In fact, it's neutral (and even, dare I say, good!).

[love-triangles-au]

Exploring the idea of Euclideans going through moults. I think I kind of love it. I imagine it's utterly humiliating for a proud guy like Bill to be looking so ridiculous (and with his shape so uneven!!) so extra angst potential too

But, y'know, had to add his boyfriend being endeared by his ugly-cuteness and squish. I always love petting my snake after she sheds, her colors get so vibrant too :]c

He looks so disgusting and naked I almost feel like I should be tagging it as nudity he's so gross. If I saw that damn thing in my living room I'd stomp on it until it was a small brown stain

~ Mod Emily 🦇

[thetarttfuldickhead]

Coach Beard has a secret Traitors Club. It consists of himself, Nate and Jamie, ie people who have (at least in the opinion of one Willis Beard) betrayed Ted Lasso – but who have also learned the error of their ways through the goodness of Ted’s gentle heart.

(Yes, yes, you might argue that Jamie’s insulting remarks about Ted in 1x10 is a reasonable reaction to what, from Jamie’s POV, looks like Ted unreasonably dumping him, but a, I’m not sure that Beard knows that, and b, I’m not sure that Beard cares about that. You might also argue that Nate and Jamie have both learned a lot of stuff from people other than Ted, but: see the a and b of the previous sentence. And anyway, this is Beard’s club and you don’t get a say in his absurd selection criteria.)

Beard doesn’t inform anyone of the club’s existence. That includes the other members, Nate and Jamie, who just suddenly finds themselves regularly invited out for drinks with the most mysterious man either of them have ever met.

There are a lot of weird but oddly good talks about feelings. There are silences neither Jamie nor Nate know what to do with. And then there’s the football strategy chatter, which unites them all in a wild and eager frenzy, and an unexpected but pleasant sense of shared understanding.

Nate think it’s nice that Beard wants to hang and he’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth anyway, so he doesn’t question the set-up. Jamie generally assumes that given the choice anyone would always choose to hang with him always, so. He’ll indulge his coach. They have a shared love of trivia.

Eventually Beard learns of Rebecca’s early transgressions, and (secretely) inducts her into the secret club. Club meetings get a whole lot more interesting from there on out.

[theredmeansiloveyou]

Don't cry and definitely don't imagine a Heaven's Half Hour Loop Day. Following Matt since the start of the day... always resetting once Daredevil's fight against Bullseye ends...always after Foggy has been shot (or Matt feels like it resets every last heartbeat. From Foggy).

Foggy unaware of the loop. Matt desperate. Matt fucking things up even more. Foggy knowing the truth. Trying. Failing. Trying again. Matt grief-stricken after so many loops. How many? Foggy dying and living and dying and living again.

[turtleblogatlast]

[ cw: nightmares / trauma / ]

Post-invasion, Mikey sneaks into Leo’s room and when asked by Leo what the problem was, Mikey just smiles and says since he’s awake and knew Leo would be too, he didn’t want either of them alone. Leo laughs and lets Mikey stick around, both of them clumped together on Leo’s bed, watching grainy compilations of old Lou Jitsu commercials on Leo’s phone.

Technically, Mikey didn’t lie. He just didn’t explain everything that led him to Leo’s room. He didn’t explain the nightmare of his arms burning up too bright, too fast, destroyed before Raph and Donnie have a chance to help. He didn’t explain how he woke up with a wail caught in his throat, phantom pain in his arms and chest alike chasing away any semblance of exhaustion. He didn’t explain how his mind made sure he knew, vividly, that if one thing went wrong with his portal, then he would have never seen Leo again.

He didn’t explain, and he didn’t have to. Leo knows his brothers better than he knows himself, and Mikey has always been easy to read. So it’s no trouble to let Mikey know that he’s still with them, that Leo is here and alive with everyone else. And when Mikey finally regains his exhaustion and falls asleep leaning against Leo, Leo simply maneuvers him into a more comfortable position and stays by his side.

He doesn’t move, doesn’t go to sleep - not that he could, anyway. He just mindlessly scrolls on his phone, the soft snores of his little brother filling the room. He stays in place, awake, because he wants to be sure that when Mikey wakes up again it’s to the immediate sight that Leo is alive and well and home.

And, if Leo’s bring honest, that’s a reminder not just for Mikey’s sake.

[forlouren]

Not to be the first soldier on the frontless of the woobification of Qimir (he is a villain, we know this, and I love him for it), but the lack of nuance, or rather the one-dimensional angle people who don't like his relationship with Osha have taken with him, irks me so bad. I get it. He is Sith, right. Treachery is their way; and what are the darksiders, if not self-serving?

But I feel like the specific phrasing of "the Jedi like you would call me Sith" implies so much about his own unique characterization, and I don't understand why we are glossing over it. It's not a self-identifier. It shows it isn't as much as a title he'd give himself, but a badge he'll wear since in the black/white viewpoint of the Jedi, he is not allowed to be anything more or less. His almost catty, "semantics" hammers in this fact for me, personally.

He strikes me as one who takes what he wants of the Sith code, and disregards the rest. I don't think it's a mistake that even after his reveal, we don't see him with the signature dark side eyes.

I say all this to say; Qimir's ultimate goal is not power, it is FREEDOM. *That* is what he is driven by. He craves to live outside the confines he deems as constrictive/oppressive, and have by his side, someone who wants the same.

So even while disregarding Leslye's interview; I honestly don't know how with what we've been shown in the show so far, aside from him being a sith, makes people think otherwise.

[pareidolla]

i've been thinking a little about the belief that true freedom can only be found in isolation. reasonably, you can do whatever you want when not constrained by laws or the public eye. yet, without limitations, what's the point of doing anything? it's connection which give you purpose and it's other people who define your reality.

and, where the princess is imprisonment, i think abt how the long quiet represents freedom. without the narrator imposing his limitations, tlq can accomplish whatever he wants if he believes himself capable. according to the shifting mound, even after escaping from her shackles, the princess recognizes, if subconsciously, that the long quiet is a gateway to her freedom.

and then i think abt cold. and i think about how he wants us to do whatever we please without fretting over emotions or morals. the long quiet is Nothing, but the only way for him to encompass Nothing is through isolation. to be freed of the princess who gives him shape.

and cold helps you but at the same time he urges you to chase new sensation because even then he represents longing. he uniquely understands the princess's since he, too, has spent an eternity in the cabin, and he longs for connection with her. to feel anything other than oneself. it's not only rage and sorrow he hopes to repress but Love.

and then i think abt the new ending. how if you choose again and again to choose cruelty, to deny your connection with the princess and slay the shifting mound then you'll lose the voices along with her. true freedom at the expense of losing the sums which makes you You. is this anything

[seyaryminamoto]

Fic-to-Art #49: Sokka and Azula's kiss in Piandao's mansion

I have to admit, this is a scene I've always wanted to depict properly and for once I may have done it justice. This is very much Rui Shi's glorious POV when he innoncently hoped to let Azula know they were ready to leave Shu Jing... only to wind up confirming the Princess he serves is indeed involved in a very complicated illicit relationship with the least convenient guy :'D Quite the sight to witness, that's for sure...

This is very much the moment where these two commit to each other for good in Gladiator, and one of my favorite scenes to revisit and write, back in the day. I got several references for this to make it as good as I possibly could... and I think I'm pretty satisfied with the result! Definitely my best version of this scene up to date, if nothing else, haha.

Hope you guys liked it! If you'd like to be part of the creative process behind these pieces, a $1 Patreon pledge makes you eligible for suggesting and voting for prompts, as well as reading Gladiator snippets 6 days before the new chapter releases!

[teleportationmagic]

The thing about Jayce and Mel is that like. She does not view him as an investment. That is just certifiably false. You have to skip over all her scenes to believe that.

In the beginning she does! She absolutely does! She conceives of their relationship as a business one - where she makes profit off his inventions, and he profits from her business and political acumen, both monetarily and powerwise. And overall, she believes she's fulfilled her half of the bargain.

It's only when he comes back to her after Viktor gets sick that she realizes he believes this is something deeper. And it's notable that she responds to that emotion - she opens up about herself too, comforts him, and expresses real emotionality about it. It's then that we see his ideals start to influence her - especially reawakening in her a desire for nonviolence.

Wanting to do things peacefully is something that's been with her since she was a child. It is what guides her away from Noxus, because her pacifism just does not fit there. It's why she loved Piltover so - they aren't a violent expansionist empire, which is a really low bar, but that's what she's grown up in.

She never finds the violence in Zaun, because she never goes looking for it. This is her fault, and her flaw, let me make that clear. She has some of the most power in the city, and should know about what kind of violence is holding up, and work to resolve it, truly. But she doesn't, because she's focused on her own exploits, and has so insulated herself away from the class struggle that it does not register for her until it grows to violence.

And then, once that violence comes, she maintains that pacifism with an iron grip, more than Jayce himself. It is Jayce who constructs (almost) all the HexTech weapons that are used in the Undercity, in Caitlyn's police squadron. He betrays the oaths that he's made to his partner, where Mel keeps the promise she's made to her's. She is the only politician left to try to tamp down on the worst of Ambessa's instincts, and her removal from Piltover is what marks it's descent into militarism.

She is ultimately a complicated woman, with a bunch of interesting relationships to Piltover and Zaun. I think you can divide Piltover as a city neatly between her, Jayce, and Caitlyn - each of them standing for some of Piltover's best instincts, and some of its worst.

[tomwambsgans]

greg said actually i wanna take YOU out and I'M gonna pay for it