#Destined to Fail

[howtotrainabraincell]

A little rant...okay I got carried away so it's kinda long... apologies divine readers

Am I the only one that has noticed a rather....toxic pattern in Assassin's Creed romantic relationships?

In Unity the "relationship" between Arno and Elise is...very one sided when I take a deeper look at it. I'ma be fr here...I hated her character. I didn't revel in her death, but the game certainly felt more enjoyable without her presence and without Arno's lovesick puppy act of following her around.

She didn't stand up for him or even question the accusation of him being framed for her father Francois' murder. No 'Hey I know Arno. I love him. I trust him and I know he did not kill my father' or anything. She LEFT HIM TO ROT IN THE BASTILLE??? QUOI?? I AM CONFUSION. She was mad at him for not going after Germain because he wanted to PROTECT HER because he LOVES HER - when they got the chance to meet and kill him again later. And then THE BIG ONE - she abandoned him under that rubble to take Germain on by herself. All she had to do was take a few extra seconds to free Arno, they could have fought him together, and maybe - JUST MAYBE - she wouldn't have died. And it's not just that either it's the leaving him under that rubble for me. She was supposed to 'love him' and she left him under something that was hurting and trapping him? If it were me, I wouldn't stop until he was free Germain be damned. I will free my baguette boy and then we ferry onward to glory!

It seemed like a lecherous kind of situation where Arno gave and gave, and Elise just took and took. I felt like she hardcore used him because she knew how much he loved her, and she fully used that to her advantage. Maybe she did it on purpose, maybe it was unintentional but either way...it had me shaking my head and waving my red flag like I was in the color guard.

The same thing occurs again in Origins with Bayek and Aya. Bayek seems to love Aya a whole lot more than she loves him, and I even get the vibe that she just stayed with him because she got pregnant. I mean...she rejected his proposal because SHE wanted to go back to Alexandria to follow her dreams, SHE didn't want to be the wife of a Medjay, she was what I believe could be termed an 'absent mother' as Bayek spent more time with Khemu than she appeared to, and then she left Bayek to go off on her own and they wound up separated for a year not too long after their son's death. Bayek had to grieve alone while she seemed to just...refuse to grieve. It was strange. She never wanted to discuss Khemu even though Bayek was emotionally available for her to do so (which I loved about him because most men don't do the 'emotionally available' thing as they think it makes them seem weak). The one time I remember in the game when Bayek said that he wished not to be separated from her again after Khemu's death, she shut him up with sex...and then left again not too long after that. Then she eventually separated (read: pretty much divorced him imo) from him to go do her own thing in Rome. I mean...it certainly benefitted the Brotherhood in the long run...but it seems to me like she ran from her grief, left Bayek behind, shut herself down to all discussion of Bayek and then she even changed her identity. Reference to the Aya - Amunet transformation.

Their relationship was just tragic overall to me and the shutting down a conversation with sex, was a major red flag to me that their relationship was not going to survive the death of their son. I do think that Aya had...a type of love for Bayek. A fondness. A feeling of loyalty and a high-level trust. But I do not think for a second that Aya loved Bayek as much as Bayek loved her. Man would have gone to hell and back for her.

Why is the 'men being absolutely whipped for a woman who doesn't appreciate them' a recurring thing in the Assassin's Creed games?

I know I probably read WAAAYY too much into this but as someone who's bigtime into psychology I just - OOF. These were not some healthy fully functioning relationships. And I did not care for either of them in the long run.

Arno deserved better as did Bayek. I think they're both sweethearts - that each have their own faults and flaws of course because they're human beings - but they deserved more.

[evilhorse]

Krakoa was destined to fail.

(X-Men #29)

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

𝔖𝔠𝔞𝔱𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔢𝔡 ℜ𝔢𝔪𝔫𝔞𝔫𝔱𝔰 - 𝔄𝔱 𝔗𝔥𝔢 ℜ𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱 ℌ𝔞𝔫𝔡 𝔒𝔣 𝔑𝔬𝔱𝔥𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔫𝔢𝔰𝔰

[onlyhurtforaminute]

EMPEROR OF MYSELF-DYING EVERY DAY

[mayonness]

Otome Isekai x Text Post Meme

(Originally posted this on r/otomeisekai, but I'm posting it here too on someone's request)

[loeh]

From the moment he saw your portrait, his life began to change in ways he could hardly understand. At first, he attended the auction out of obligation. He was indifferent to the event until he saw you, captured in a frame, almost lost among the other items on display.

You didn’t stand out at first. Your beauty wasn’t the kind that demanded immediate attention. Yet, when the bidding for your portrait began, he found himself compelled to participate. Was it boredom? A reckless display of wealth? He couldn’t say, even to himself.

The moment he brought your portrait home, he placed it in his room—an odd choice, one that puzzled him. It started as a mere curiosity. What was it about you that had so many people interested? Why did you look so serene, yet so stern?

Your gown, with its deep crimson velvet, was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, clinging to your form like a whispered secret. The intricate lace on the bodice gracefully embraced your delicate shoulders, while the silk train flowed like liquid fire. It was mesmerizing, yet it was your expression that truly captivated him. It wasn’t one of joy or contentment, but of solemness—a quiet command that demanded respect and obedience.

Each night, as he looked upon the portrait, he became more obsessed, wondering who you were, what thoughts filled your mind when you posed for this image. It was as though you had reached out from the canvas, drawing him into a world where he couldn’t escape your gaze, a world where he was slowly losing himself to an obsession he couldn’t explain.

His curiosity had become an all-consuming obsession. The more he stared at your portrait, the more he needed to know about the woman who had captivated him so completely. He scoured records, questioned merchants, and chased down rumors, but for the longest time, his search led nowhere. You seemed to be a ghost, a figure lost to time.

Finally, after what felt like an endless pursuit, he encountered an elderly man who claimed to know your story. The man spoke with a somber tone, revealing that you were once the Crown Princess of a proud and flourishing kingdom. But tragedy had struck when your father’s own brother, betrayed the royal family. He committed treason, igniting a rebellion that tore the kingdom apart.

Despite being outnumbered and facing overwhelming odds, you stood as the last line of defense. You took up arms, leading the loyalists in a desperate attempt to save your home. The man recounted how you fought with unmatched bravery, refusing to yield even as the kingdom crumbled around you. But in the end, your efforts were not enough.

The last anyone saw of you was during a fierce duel with your once loyal knight and lover on the edge of a cliff. Some say you were killed in that final battle; others believe you vanished, your fate a mystery. The man who recounted this tale was none other than the head butler of your kingdom, a loyal servant who had witnessed the downfall firsthand.

Through further questioning, he learned that after your supposed death, your uncle’s reign quickly fell into chaos. The kingdom, once thriving, could not withstand the internal strife and soon succumbed to external wars. These conflicts were so devastating that they effectively erased the kingdom from history, leaving nothing behind but forgotten ruins and faded memories.

The more he uncovered, the deeper his obsession grew. You were no longer just a figure in a painting; you were a tragic heroine. The thought that your story, your life, could be forgotten by time haunted him. He felt an inexplicable connection to you, as if understanding your past could somehow fill the emptiness he felt within himself.

In the end, his search led him to a humble barhouse where you, once a Crown Princess, were now reduced to serving as a maid. The sight of you, stripped of your former grandeur, struck him like a blow to the heart. How could someone of your noble stature have fallen so low? The injustice of it consumed him, feeding the obsession that had taken root within him.

Determined to restore you to the glory he believed you deserved, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He married you, forcibly and without your consent, convinced that he was saving you from a life of indignity. To him, this was an act of love, a twisted belief that he was doing what was best for you, even if you couldn't see it.

He impregnated you with his children, two daughters who became the center of his world. In his mind, he had found his happy ending—a life with you by his side, a family that completed the vision he had constructed in his obsessive heart. He had given you back everything you had lost, or so he thought.

But you, despite everything, continued to resist. You sought every chance to escape, your spirit undimmed even in the face of his control. You spoke of how you didn't love this life, how you longed to be free from the gilded cage he had created. To him, your words were incomprehensible. How could you not see that he had given you everything? How could you reject the life he had worked so hard to build for you?

In his eyes, your ingratitude was maddening. He had rescued you, loved you, given you the children he believed would bind you to him forever. Yet you still sought to flee, still spoke of a life you wanted to escape from. To him, it was baffling—shouldn't you be more grateful? Shouldn't you love the life he had crafted for you with such care and obsession?

But in his twisted perception of love, he could not see the prison he had built around you, nor the pain he caused in his relentless pursuit of a happiness that was his alone.

Maximillian Ashet, Dylan Sean Blathe, Anastacius de Alger Obelia, Dion Agriche, Cruel Harte, Rezef Hill, Eros Vasilios, Callisto Regulus, Ahin Grace, Theobold von Baden Mismarck, Noah Wynknight, Abel Heilon, Prince Escalus, Luciano Valeztena

[azuries]

take me where gods cant judge

[johnskleats]

Azula would have lost the Final Agni Kai no matter what. Here's why:

Azula is insecure. That's why she takes cheap shots. She did it with Katara, and she did it with Aang in CoD, AND she did it with Iroh striking him with lightning. One could even argue that her behavior in CoD foreshadows some of what happens in the Agni Kai, where in CoD, Katara fights Azula, and Zuko saves her, whereas in the Final Agni Kai, Zuko fights Azula and saves Katara. It's a little mismatch of dynamics.

Azula cheating (constantly), is a staple of dishonorable behavior, which I think is interesting.

We see her "play with her food" like a cat, with the Dai Lee and other opponents she encounters. She tricks them and manipulates them and there's no threat. Killing Aang with lightning was SUPREMELY stupid on her part, and she wouldn't have done it unless she was cornered. She didn't even stick around to make sure he was dead or have any of them followed-- because she was scared. Zuko NEVER flees in fights out of fear. He doubles down like a lunatic and tries to get himself killed instead. Azula is not willing to risk her life, and that's why she's a worse fighter. The insecurity gets to her head and she psychs herself out

Azula has a lot of fire power (lol), but Zuko has the heart and commitment to see actions through to the end. That's why he would have won, had Azula not cheated.

By the end, they were evenly matched in firepower anyway. They did the Raging Line of Flames Competing Colors thing and met in the middle, and stayed there. That's how animation tells us about their ability.

Azula's seat of power in her firebending is spite and fear. She's not even mad, bro.

Zuko's seat of power, at the end, is light and life and love. One is a powder keg that runs out after you blow it up once, and the other is like an oil fire in a parking lot. There's essentially infinite fuel there.

Zuko would have certainly outlasted her. And did, if you think about it. Because she panicked.

Azula's entire persona is a mask, just as Zuko's bravado and pettiness in the first season was a mask. (Funny, that he can only be himself when he's hidden the scar with the blue spirit mask, therefore freeing himself of the shame and the mark that brands him as a villain)

They show us that Azula's mask is not only slipping, but cracking, crumbling in the mirror scene. That's why it's there: to show the audience that all of her running has finally caught up with her.

This world that Azula created has been a sham from the beginning. Castles in the sky to make up for what she lacks: love.

Which is why she would never win against Zuko if they both reached their full potential, as they did during the comet.

[detectiveperspectives]

the line from Dane about nowhere being safe when Max was talking about going to Lucy’s vault is so hard-hitting like there really is nowhere for them to go away from corruption and violence… and yet… maybe safe would just be with each other. maybe home isn’t a place but another person.

[survivalistghost]

kdrama challenge : don’t let the leads meet as children or past lives

[moxiepoxart]

Denji and Asa cast in titanic pt 2/2

[purplecherries]

Back on my Leona Ro’meave Bullshit

I feel like if that was the canon plot point. I think Kiki would have kept Leona in hiding as long as she could canonically Kiki is very overprotective over her so it would make sense.

Like Kiki and Leona always traveling from village to village never really settling down when Kiki hears whatever is going on in O’khasis. Think of it like the beginning of the Anastasia movie when the villagers are talking about her.

“I know the sons are missing, and Lord Ro’meave is growing old and senile. What will he do once he can’t rule anymore with no sons and a wife up in age herself?”

“Well, haven’t you heard? Apparently there is an heir…the old High Priest’s in fact. Before he disappeared he wrote a letter to his mother saying that he had a love affair with a woman in the old Phoenix Drop village…but the guards have searched that place many times they couldn’t find the woman he described”

“Could you imagine? Harboring the next Lord of O’khasis? Think about the riches and power you would have……”

Kiki immediately starts packing their bags and they’re off to stay with Nicole for a while. Leona being so young always saw it as having a vacation every month. Kiki vents her frustrations to Nicole and Nicole tries to give her best advice about running away from your problems, (which is not really good considering her track record). So Kiki and Leona keep traveling and at some point end up back in Phoenix Drop for a night before sailing to Brightport.

But when Kiki wakes up to a banging on her door she’s surprised to see Garte Ro’meave himself. Immediately she draws the parallels between him and Zane. He tells her her own name and says that she has something that belongs to Okhasis. Kiki begs him to let her break the news to Leona and she does.

Leona at 9 years old discovers that she is the daughter of that monster priest that her mom’s friends sometimes talk about and that she also has two more uncles that aren’t Uncle Brendan. She also has grandparents…although her grandpa is kinda scary. She’s heard that her grandmother is the sweetest woman alive, but her mom hasn’t met her so she really doesn’t know. She also discovers that she is to be the next Lord of Okhasis, a powerful village that was once a kingdom.

And it was the exact thing that Kiki wanted to avoid

[made-my-peace-with-all-the-bad]

RIP Marcia, you would’ve related to 1 step forward, 3 steps back so hard

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

Scattered Remnants  -  Lamentation Of Tortured Souls

[daisdu]

Maybe I’m just Jewish, but I don’t think Viktor is Jesus

I think he’s Moses

[v1c-hs]

final destination (2000) ; the survivors and their parents