#saved for later purposes

[deoidesign]

Doing master studies the only way I know how: Stealing them and making them my guys.

(Barberini Faun)

(The Fallen Angel - Alexandre Cabanel)

(Covent Garden - William Bruce Ellis Rankin)

[aroaceleovaldez]

I was reading a post about CoTG and I realized: Rick has seemingly started to write every character pairing with the exact same dynamic, and he's not good at writing that dynamic and it doesn't make sense for 90% of the characters he writes it for.

It's that very specific dynamic of one half of the pair who is almost aggressive to the other party - "teasing" them constantly/insulting them, affectionately punching/judo flipping/maiming/etc, seemingly almost always exasperated with the other - and said other party usually just accepts this treatment or blanketly views it fondly, and may generally be framed as more incompetent than their partner and a little bit of a doormat (particularly relating to being insulted/teased/etc by their partner).

We start seeing this dynamic in HoO with Percy and Annabeth, as a sort of semi-inconsistent twist on their rivals-to-friends-to-lovers dynamic from the first series. Then the dynamic pattern develops further with Leo and Calypso. Then Magnus and Alex. Then Nico and Will, particularly in TSATS. And now in CoTG, it's Percy and Annabeth again but even more in this direction.

I know people have talked about Nico and Will's relationship over the series rapidly being shoehorned into Percabeth Two™, and it's extremely apparent in TSATS that Rick's doing it on purpose (including directly quoting Percabeth scenes but minorly tweaking them to be Solangelo). But recognizing it as an overarching trend in Rick's later books honestly reminds me a lot of how Rick started trying to apply the "Percy Formula" so-to-speak to nearly every protagonist in HoO (and then try to replicate similar character archetypes with Magnus and Apollo's narrations - moreso Magnus in being jaded and sarcastic, very much trying to be first series Percy. He only sounds unique because Rick failed at making him Percy 2. Apollo is more akin to later-series Percy characterization of being goofy and incompetent. Apollo [and Zeus] even got retconned to give Apollo a more similar backstory to Percy's). Rick seems to have decided that he thinks the audience wants this specific dynamic but 10 times over, except he's not good at writing it the first time because it's a bastardization of the time he did a different thing okay.

And Rick also seems aware of that too! Because he retconned Calypso and Leo at the end of TOA, probably because he realized how absolutely awful it was reading when they were written with that dynamic of Calypso just functionally hating Leo and constantly being aggressive towards him! The only time Rick's actually made the dynamic even semi-successful was with Magnus and Alex, because it actually fits within their characters, their dynamics with each other, and their environment. Alex beheading Magnus on the regular works out fine because there are no repercussions to that in Valhalla, Magnus will be fine, so it does genuinely come off as humorous. And Alex has been effectively established to be abrasive at times but have her genuine feelings shine through regularly, and that meshes well with Magnus' jaded-and-aloof-but-quietly-very-empathetic character. And Magnus has been established to, yes, not be great at combat, particularly compared to Alex. They are the only time that flavor of dynamic in that form was effective and cohesive.

Percabeth is no longer rivals-to-friends-to-lovers badasses on equal levels with shaky pasts who finally found some form of permanence with one another. Now it's super smart doting and affectionately aggressive girlfriend and her silly goofy 50%-of-the-time incompetent boyfriend who she judo flips/pushes off cliffs/etc - but affectionately~! Solangelo is trying to riff off of the early series "Poseidon & Athena are enemies" dynamic that Percabeth had but with Apollo & Hades being "opposites" but learning to accept each other, except it ends up with Will just coming off as a huge asshole and Nico being retconned to a complete doormat about it - when prior to that those characterizations would be completely contrary to their established characters (even just from TOA!). Calypso in HoO gets retconned from her PJO characterization to being snooty and aggressive, and Leo's false persona gets merged into his just normal personality except he just also becomes a doormat but more goofy than Nico with occasional haha-dark/depression-humor! Which Nico also got. Which was also a bastardized Percy trait that got redistributed.

It's exhausting. Rick write more than one relationship dynamic you can do it I promise

[ri-afan]

Thought posed:

Danny does the college stuff and interning for stuff at Wayne Enterprises while living in Gotham, but he doesn’t catch the Bats attention because he simultaneously is both Just Normal Enough while the Bats are Slightly Out Of Step of normal long enough that things with Danny don’t catch their attention. (Gotham as a whole is a huge ‘well this might as well happen’ place and after however many years…the threshold is a bit off for weirdness. Pair that up with normal Batdrama and role-code-switching and minor things are likely going to be subconsciously overlooked if not clocked as Dangerous.)

(Does Danny know the Bats’ IDs? … He would deny it if asked. Not his circus business though. He does think it’s smart that they at least try to cover their faces, unlike when he played the hero. He meets Clark before Superman and feels like he’s on the Office or something.)

Danny moves on with the astro-stuff (whether an astronaut, an astrophysicist, or whatever else) in another city and catches the attention of another hero as Not Normal, What’s Up With That Guy?? (two parts coincidence, one part Danny’s willingness to trust for the better, one part Uncanny) and they track his history to Gotham/WE and decide to ask the Batclan if they knew anything.

They find out nothing really is wrong with Danny (…the JLD was not called or conferred with, unfortunately for all) but it does spark the reeducation refresher of the Gotham Clan for Human Weirdness (that also educated the rest in just how messed up Gotham can be).

[silverior968]

I think it would have been fun if Optimus let Ratchet use his minigun or whatever every once in a while since it's not an integrated weapon. As a treat.

[pr0cyon-lotor]

I've been thinking about my COTL AU for Svsss. I made some designs for the main guys :D

Our simple but put together Cult Leader

His cold and sharp right hand man and husband

And their troublesome husband I mean— follower 👀

A little excerpt (im taking liberties with the lore because ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯) ↓

The Bishop of Death was once a kind shepherd. He led lost souls to eternal rest with a comforting smile. 

No one knew where he came from or why he stayed, but he was loved, and he loved his kin back. It was like the heavens above graced their undeserving lives with a good reason for death. Just to be cradled in his arms and pulled to permanent sleep. It was something to love with him there.

No one knows when it happened, but the bishop changed. Something tainted the shepherd. Those smiles were no longer kind; there was a madness in his eyes, and his voice lost its warmth.

A snake and a crow always whispered in his ears, the culprits many guessed. Yet his devoted followers refused to believe their shepherd would lead them astray.

A little lamb and goat were the most vocal about their belief in their shepherd. They were saved by him long ago; they didn't believe that cat, who smiled so fondly as he shielded two herdless creatures from the cruelty of their world, was gone. That kind shepherd was in there, they swear.

Then their shepherd attacked the other bishops. They heard this information from the very same bishops, bloodied and torn.

It didn't matter to the lamb and the goat. All they knew was that their god was gone.

It wasn't long before the lamb was taken after so much senseless slaughter of his kind. The goat tried to stop it but only got discarded on the forest floor, drawing his final breath as the lamb cried out for him to wake up. Those cries turned to static as the goat closed his eyes.

It hurt. The lamb never thought he'd be the one on an altar, a knife puncturing through his soft wool and even softer flesh like it was nothing. His last breath came out in a muffled cry, and darkness met him.

Oblivion. The same oblivion their shepherd would lead lost souls to. If only they were led by him this one time...

Except it wasn't oblivion where they stayed. They were thrown at the feet of a massive, chained figure. Fear bloomed in their chests before a familiar voice welcomed them.

"Ah— My little lamb. My lovely goat. You visited me far too early," said that comforting voice. A veil covered his face, but there was a smile, barely visible under the dark veil.

It was almost worrying how quickly they agreed to make a cult in his name. Maybe it was simple devotion, although it felt different than devotion. It felt warmer. It was more.

They fought tooth and nail for their god. In those small moments of failure, they were greeted with a smile and sent back gently. They truly didn't see the insanity in the shepherd's eyes, or maybe they didn't want to believe it.

Bishop after bishop, they fell like cards. Each gave warnings about the shepherd, and their god's excitement turned to mania with each fallen card.

Once the last card fell, they were left with the last one. The Ace. It was truly no surprise that the shepherd betrayed them. The veil was ripped off during the fight; they were met with the insanity in those eyes.

It hurt as much as the knife that reunited them as they made a mighty mountain fall. No longer the colossal being that they looked up to, just a cat. Wounded and weak.

They approached, and there was a moment of clarity in his eyes. The fallen shepherd looked at them and smiled as he did that first day.

"My little lamb. My lovely goat," he said fondly, as if he wasn't at their mercy.

The lamb just needed to raise his blade and...

It would be so easy. So simple. Their fallen shepherd wouldn't have to suffer anymore, but...

There was a silent agreement between the lamb and the goat as they sheathed their blades. The lamb gingerly picked up the former god of death, careful with his injuries, and brought him half unconscious to the very same cult they made to his name.

They left him to their healer. Yes, their shepherd wouldn't have his madness healed overnight, but they were going to make sure he can once more see through his madness and see them again. No matter how long it took.

[oacest]

noel: "that is the best advert for alcohol i've ever seen in me life." liam [gibberishly]: "it's not, don't believe him." (x)

[brainrotcharacters]

the next thing they'll be involved with, Logan will be drinking and gets told by a non-Wade "I'm here to save you from Deadpool" or some funny shit like that. Toss in a mention about incursions or Wade's 'higher purpose' having no place for Logan. Watch Logan laugh.

[whatiswhump]

I love a dazed shell-shocked man in handcuffs covered in blood that isn't his own being led away by heavily armed guards. Right?

[comic-sans-chan]

cursed modern human garashir au where ds9 is an old ruined resort that was built by some evil rich motherfuckers years ago and was recently seized back by the native people whose land and economy it had destroyed. it's since been converted into an affordable apartment complex sort of situation (just... with a pool, bar, restaraunts, spa and tennis court built into it lol) and is run by sisko and kira. since it is rundown, odo gets hired back on to keep kids from further vandalizing it and o'brien's team gets hired on from the nonprofit organization sisko works for to fix the place up best he can. dukat is the old overseer of the property who drops by sometimes to remind them he and his hospitality business still exist, and my, what a fine job they’ve done renovating the place! it’s actually nice again. sure would be a shame if someone bought the property out from under them (lmao jk kardasi hospitality and starfleet are friends! no hard feelings. they should collaborate on some future projects, actually).

garak's a sad bitch who just lost his amazing morally dubious nepotism career at obsidian corp. (which absorbed kardasi hospitality) and moved into the complex just for the comfortingly familiar architecture. even tho he's not on the payroll for his (secret) dad's evil exploitative company anymore he's still vital to its continued efficiency and is an absolute sucker who still does unpaid shady work for them from time to time. so no one in the complex likes him, but also he's a very pleasant and fastidious queer man who pays his rent on time and has completely taken over the laundry room, to the benefit of everyone, because all the machines actually work now, it's always tidy, and there's a variety of forever-stocked detergents and soaps available, plus an iron?? there was not an iron before garak moved in. which is how it eventually becomes public knowledge that garak has an online tailoring and fashion design business, and he's actually pretty good at restoring clothes that get fucked by the washing machine or eaten by rats, soooo. yeah. they let him stick around.

meanwhile julian's a hot doctor who works at the local hospital and is absolutely buried in student debt that he refuses to let his moderately-wealthy family help him with because they're awful people who had him on illegal drugs without his knowledge since he was a little kid. they were afraid he had something wrong with him, apparently. he was too far behind in his class or w/e. they couldn't handle having a kid with special needs, so they pumped him full of dangerous experimental stimulants. only reason he found out is because he snuck off somewhere to start transitioning and had some tests done that revealed all the crazy shit in his system. he's insanely lucky he didn't end up in the hospital with seizures or fall into a coma or worse. not to mention his parents still dead-name him left and right over a decade later. it's a whole mess and a huge secret, because he technically has a history with illegal drug abuse, and it's a partially ongoing history because going cold turkey off drugs he's been on since he was six is Not A Good Idea, so??? fuck his life, actually. he lives in the apartment just down the hall from garak's. 

garak hates the country his dad's company expanded into and would like nothing better than to move back home, but it's not really logistically possible. especially since everyone there hates him cuz his (secret) dad's company is a mega-corporation that's completely taken over everything p much and is a complete monopoly nightmare, and he did... kinda... work there for decades. no one would hire him if he went back. it would be an extreme conflict of interest, since everyone wants to stay on tain's good side, including garak. but starfleet is interested in him, so he does some begrudging contract work for them sometimes, but he really has no desire to join them. he just wants to resume his old career and reclaim his assets.

julian's hospital is owned by starfleet, tho. his scholarship into medical school was also from starfleet, in fact--they're the only reason he was able to (sort of) afford becoming a doctor at all. so he's a big fan, even tho they are pretty hardcore anti-drugs in a way that's made him have to forge medical records and risk serious legal charges and prison time. julian comes across as a squeaky clean medical professional and an adorable idiot, but he's intimately familiar with back-alley dealings. which is kind of how he ends up helping garak with his drug addiction, and keeps said addiction off the record.

but basically, how it begins is julian likes to support the local restaurants in the complex and garak finds him there and thinks he's gorgeous, and it proceeds as expected. they fuck nasty and become codependent. ten years later, julian lives in a modest house with garak in his home country and garak irons all his old university hoodies.

[seaghosst]

we need to stop characterizing misako as a terrible mom and instead hate dr julien for deadbeat and leaving echo in that damn lighthouse

[funkle420]

ppl calling Harris brat while she and Biden gleefully send bombs to aid the genocide of Palestinians, you would've been holocaust supporters 100 years ago. You're holocaust supporters now.

[that-spider-fan-over-there]

Actually guys let me ramble (read: shout over text) a bit more before I sleep (because I am hyped but it's 2AM-)

BNHA 422 spoilers ahead!

THAT IS MY FAVORITE MAIN CHARACTER RIGHT THERE HE IS THE MOTHER FRICKING MOMENT

HIS FRIENDS? SUPPORTING HIM WHATEVER IT BRINGS. CRIMINALS? PSSH, THEY'RE HIS ALLIES NOW. NON-BELIEVERS? THEY'RE ALL CHEERING ON HIM NOW. THE WORLD? HE'S CONQUERED THEIR HEARTS LOOK AT RODY AND MELISSA. THE SYMBOL OF PEACE? DECLARED THAT'S HIS HERO. HIS MOTHER? SHE'S 100% SO PROUD OF HER KID.

THIS KID IS THE EMBODIMENT OF "FALL EIGHT TIMES, GET UP NINE"- THAT'S THE SYMBOL OF HOPE RIGHT THERE- WHO CARES ABOUT THE QUIRKLESS ENDING OR NOT LOOK AT HIM GO!

THAT IS THE TRUE CRYSTALIZATION OF EVERYONE'S HOPES-

MIDORIYA IZUKU IS THE WORLD'S GREATEST HERO AND HE'S GOING PLUS FUCKING ULTRA!

... Oh yeah also I know who we were expecting but psst he'll be back I promise Horikoshi-san is saving his favourite boy for later yes he's too relevant to not show up think of him as the here's own surprise trump card later- this is Izuku's moment right now let's focus on that for a bit this is his Rising chapter the moment the narrative has been building up since the title of Chapter 1, the other little guy will be back soon-

[essektheylyss]

Like a month and a half ago my spouse showed me one of the book goblin tiktoks about hoarding multiple editions of a book and I was like, hah, that's not me, I don't own multiple editions of books! Certainly not more than two of the same book!

And then I ordered a signed version of the Southern Reach Trilogy combined edition, but I was like, well, that's only two.

And then a tenth anniversary edition with new prefaces was announced. Literally a week and a half later.

I am being TAUNTED by the universe.

[mattmonss]

.

[oldmisfortune]

Finally got to finishing the comic idea that's been haunting me lately ;; i got super lazy with some of the poses and just copy-pasted them xD i hope this amuses people as much as it amused me :)

This is happening in my personal alternative ANE where Ez got dragged back to the guard and Nevra isn't a stuck up at first anymore and oh look! My oc is also there!! (I haven't decided on a name yet ;;;;;;)

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Ngl youtube videos suddenly got me slowly turning into a Justin Russo hater.