#also sorry for the rambling

[whateverthedragonswant]

So even though I watched it a couple of weeks ago, the TWD final season is still in my head. And I just had some more thoughts about two topics:

1) Leah: While I didn't like Leah as a love interest for Daryl (which they made pretty clear that she was not going to be from the outset of when Daryl saw her again), and while I thought she was...an extreme character, I actually liked this iteration of her compared to when we saw her last. She still had the same issues, wanting Daryl to choose her and be all for her, having that concern about loyalty and I daresay devotion. But, she was an actual badass, until things went to shit. I was stuck on this story I'm trying to write and it actually helped to dissolve that block because she literally physically represented everything that has been in my head for a character for ages but could never find the right visual to represent them. So maybe that's why I'm more kindly inclined towards that part of the season for Daryl (not to mention, imho that faction was way more heart-pounding-terror inducing for Daryl than the Commonwealth arc but that's just my opinion).

2) Caryl: When it comes to Daryl and Carol, I know I've said it before but I really am happy with how they left it. Tbh, Daryl was never one of my favorite characters (Carol was more so). Don't get me wrong, I like him, I like how Norman plays him, he's obviously very important to the story, but I think I personally connected more with Rick's story than I did Daryl's for example, even Negan compared to him I think. But I always loved the Caryl dynamic and it became my OTP. But, with Daryl, I never really looked too closely at his character but considering they never really gave him a romance on the show that included the physical (except Leah and we all saw how that one turned out), I do wonder, considering Daryl's sometimes still wanting to be off on his own, if perhaps the Caryl "I love you" at the end of the finale was as far as Angela Kang felt that she could go with that relationship, along with Norman and Melissa.

The reason I say that is Daryl had Beth, right? While it didn't go canon per se, there was a strong hint there. He lets her in, little by little, but they only get as far as some lingering looks basically, right? Daryl cares about Beth but then he loses her.

Connie comes along and it's obvious that he likes her. Connie cares about him and vice versa, even Carol picks up on it. He loses her but then gets her back, even with Carol encouraging him to do something about it. He never does, and it's clear by the end of the finale that while he cares about Connie, it feels like it's settled more into a friendship, especially for Connie. He's comfortable with where it's at. She's alive, happy, healthy as possible, and living her life safely. That's all he can ask for her, right?

We also have Leah. While he hooked up with Leah and possibly even fell in love with her for a time (I'd have to go back and watch this episode, I don't remember if they had this convo or not), eventually Leah leaves and he doesn't think he'll ever see her again. Even though he made the tough decision to give up his family for her as she had been demanding of him (which as a side note is obviously not healthy). He didn't want to give them up but he cared about her that much that he was going to give it a shot. (again, I really need to rewatch that episode, forgive me if I'm forgetting anything) Then when he sees her again, she's part of this extreme faction, he has to play on their old connection to stay alive and suss out the situation. When he realizes she might not be as extreme as her leader, he trusts her with the truth and very quickly finds out it was the wrong move. Leah still lives by that old ideology: you're either with me or with them, and now it's to the extreme. He mercifully lets her live and then is forced to kill her in order to save Maggie's life later on.

So all in all, Daryl has not had the greatest run when it comes to possibly-romantic (and sexual) relationships with the women he has come to care for in more than a familial or friendship way. The two women who mean the most to him on that scale (Carol, Connie - when in comparison to people like Maggie for example) are yes, still alive and he is able to do something about it, but he chooses not to.

I don't remember the exact explanation about Daryl's character back in the day but we know he's not from the comics and this is obviously not a romance-focus show. That doesn't mean romance can't happen (i.e. Richonne, Cazekiel, Glen x Maggie) but it's not the core that all other events of the show revolve around. My point being, Daryl wasn't created for that reason.

So my thinking on this, after seeing him not doing anything about Connie and thinking back to Beth, and seeing Daryl taking off again in the finale to be on his own (yes, this does set up the spinoff but it's also integral to his character I think, he's still restless, not able to settle in fully), I'm thinking that this is a make-up of his character that AK chose to stay true to. While Daryl lived in Alexandria, he still went out past the gate. He was able to live as he liked, like we see him doing in the finale. When he lived in the Commonwealth, he wasn't able to do as he liked, but he did it for two reasons: Judith and RJ. Those were the roots that were tying him down, meaning that was the only thing he was willing to put roots down for I mean. When things are made better by the end, he no longer has to do that.

How does this all relate to Caryl and their ending? Because AK took it as far as could go without A) betraying Daryl's character & B) keeping his character open for the spinoff. If there wasn't a spinoff, I still think AK would have gone this way. What Daryl has with Carol isn't sexual in nature. Which is interesting when you compare Leah to Carol, where Melissa herself talked about how there was mirroring going on between Carol and Leah in that episode where Daryl meets Leah. And there is: Dog is a big link between the two, for example. So not only do we have that connection between these two women in his life, Carol is the antithesis of Leah if you think about it. Daryl had sex with Leah, and he was giving up his family for her even though he didn't really want to. She made him choose. Carol and Daryl don't have a sexual relationship, and she has never made him choose her over the family, or even wanted him to. While Daryl wasn't happy with Rick when he kicked Carol out back in the earlier seasons, Carol never wanted to find Daryl in order to get him to choose her over the group, even after she came back.

So this ILY scene in the finale actually holds way more meaning than I think some people are giving it credit for. As we know, Carol loves Daryl for who he is, how he is. She doesn't make demands of him or insists he change the core aspects of who he is. Not in the way Leah did for example. Beth and Connie I don't think would have either, but they were never connected to Leah in the way Carol had been.

And if we go further, Carol has always been connected to the other ladies, not just Leah. Beth was stuck in the same hospital as Carol, both taken from Daryl while he was with them solely. Carol is there to see Beth die. Connie was lost due to Carol's actions/choices and she feels guilty due to it, it's why Daryl is so mad at her and it causes friction in their own relationship, and she never stops giving hope to Kelly. Carol has always been connected.

So for her to also mirror/be connected to the one woman we see Daryl get physical with and get the closest he's ever been to a verbal ILY in the show, it means exactly what we've been saying: Daryl loves Carol and vice versa. So that ILY holds way more weight than I think most people realize. Was it a kiss? No. Was it them getting married or them riding off for a makeshift honeymoon? No. But we got the confirmation. In a way that was true to Daryl's character, their relationship (who he has the most intimacy with emotionally and shares tender touches and embraces with), and having an unfinished air about it with hope for the future.

I did not see the Talking Dead so I have no idea if the actors were asked about this scene or not, but considering the story and how this occurred in that story, it completely makes sense why AK decided to go this route for them.

And Daryl being told he can still be happy too (alluding to him having to find it) isn't because Carol isn't it for him or he hasn't fallen in love yet. It's to keep things open for the spinoff while Daryl is still restless. Daryl is a guy, imho, that will always be on the move. Even if he married Carol, let's say, and they had a huge family of their own, there is no way that Daryl won't become restless during that time and still go out beyond the gate, for days at a time. He's not Rick or Negan or Eugene; that's not who he is. I think he even confirms that when telling the story of the hiding spot he used to go to when he was a kid, to hide until his dad fell asleep. While it's sad that he had to do that, it's what he became used to. Even when he had Merle, he was always on his own. I hate to use the word 'drifter' or 'nomad' but that's basically what he is. No matter how happy or settled he might be in other areas of his life. That's another reason why Dog is so appealing for his story line: Dog can go with him anywhere he goes. Dog can settle into Alexandria 3.0 or he can be on the road for days at a time. (not comparing Carol to a dog obviously but you get my point)

So for Carol to be saying goodbye to him, for them to mention how Carol has the new job now (as a reason why she can't go anywhere with him), it isn't just for the spinoff. It's because they're telling you this is why we're doing things this way; this is who they are together. And for them to have both characters saying ILY to each other (yes, even without the kiss), they're telling you all you need to know.

This is who has taken residence in his heart. And because of who he is, that ILY was as far as they could have taken it at that moment. Or else we would have seen him do something about Connie when she came back, or we would have seen more romance for him in the show. But that's not who he is.

[britishraptor]

Concept sketch for an OC I made a long time ago.

Thanks to the encouragement of some friends, I’m looking into re-designing and playing with actual OCs again. This one is unnamed, for now, and is a wandering creature of impending disaster. Name and design suggestions are encouraged, as well as any other feedback.

[a-drama-addict]

not caring too much about a fandom’s favourite guy is the worst. you’ll think “oh i’ll look into the tag see if anything new and cool’s there” and it’s just that fucking guy again

[goldiipond]

Top 5 women?

bro i can't even top one woman ha ha h[two drums and a cymbal fall from the ceiling killing me instantly

[gingermintpepper]

I think, perhaps one of the funniest things to come from EPIC popularising the Odyssey is that now a ton of people think Poseidon wanted to kill Odysseus.

In the Odyssey, Poseidon has no intention of killing Odysseus. In fact, part of the whole reason Zeus lets Poseidon do whatever he wants even though he thinks Odysseus is rad and should get to kiss his wife is explicitly because Poseidon had no intentions of killing Odysseus. Poseidon wanted to pay back the suffering/inconvenience blinding Polyphemus would have caused. It's a really abstract thing tbh. How do you pay back someone permanently disabling your son? Poseidon's solution was just to amputate Odysseus from his other half; i.e. Penelope. The end game was never murder, it was always an endurance race.

(Od. Book 1: Zeus reassuring Athena that he is not, in fact, a part of Odysseus Hater-Nation. Trans. Robert Fagles)

Also, for those wondering if there's any sort of in text reason for why Poseidon wasn't around in God Games - at the time in the Odyssey when Athena petitions Zeus to let Odysseus leave Calypso's island, Poseidon was -checks notes- on vacation in Ethiopia. Yep. He left to Ethiopia for a festival and thusly was very much absent for Athena's whole "please let Ody go? Please? 🥺" request.

(Od. Book 1: While Odysseus was suffering, Poseidon went to party in the east)

I am begging y'all to read the Odyssey. It's a comedy for everyone except Odysseus and Penelope who are, in fact, suffering 24/7 365.

[mintaikk]

I fuck hard with Asexual Venom, but the idea of Venom, an alien whose species doesn't breed sexually and don't have concepts of sex, being sexually attracted to some boring sad and sweaty white guy he picked up on the streets is just so funny to me

[bizarrelittlemew]

i can't wait to be 30+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 40+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 50+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 60+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 70+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 80+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to be 90+ and still in fandom and i can't wait to look back on my life and know that i loved things deeply and passionately and was inspired to create and was part of communities with incredible people from all over the world brought together by the stories that touched us

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest

Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here

Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭

It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

Ranking the Veilguard companions Hookup Potential based on the kind of bed situation they have going on in the Lighthouse

(im in early act 2 so have no idea what further romance scenes are actually like, this is just jokin time without any romance spoilers. just pics of how their respective rooms in the lighthouse look and some basic characterization we know about them)

Taash: 8/10

In another game or the real world I would only rate this a 5 because they have no pillows or addition blankets. however they do have a real bedframe AND it's big enough for 2 which means the they are doing better than 90% of the rest of the Veilguard so this score gets boosted. And while there's not many blankets, there are plenty of braziers around the room to keep you warm, and Taash is probably their own miniature furnace to cuddle up to. Crucially, they also have a whole wheel of cheese next to the bed, which means you don't even have to leave the covers to get a snack after.

Lucanis: 1/10

Oh no. I'm not even going to comment on the pantry angle because everyone else asks him about that to begin with, so this is just about the bed. Unfortunately the bed is a cot made of uneven wooden planks with some blankets on top of it, and is only wide enough for 1. This is because Lucanis hates sleeping and doesn't want to do it, so the less tempting his bed is, the better for him. Unfortunately this means sleepover potential is dreadful and you will have to find alternate solutions. He does at least have another blanket to go over him and one that's presumably being used as a pillow, so, he gets a 1 instead of a 0, but I am still planning on gifting him coupons for a back massage for Satinalia.

Bellara: 4/10

This setup is perfectly fine for sleeping. It's the lighthouse standard little bed couch thing, has a mattress/cushion, is elevated off the floor, has a pillow, and she's got her blankets folded below. Perfectly serviceable for getting a good night's rest which we know Bellara is not because she forgot to sleep again. However, it's very much a one person sized setup. You might be able to cuddle for a while but if one of you unconsciously tries to roll over you are going right to the floor. Ouch.

Lace Harding: 5/10

You might be wondring "why is sleeping on the floor rated higher than bellara's" and the answer is because this means you are not rolling off the bed onto the floor. it's not going to be comfy but we are not ranking comfort here we're ranking sleepover potential. Harding has managed to make this space look homey and the canopy gives the illusion of being in a tent or canopy bed to help with that illusion. There are rugs down on the floor plus the blankets and pillows--we know Harding is used to sleeping on the ground due to her career as a scout, and I'm sure she can scrounge up more blankets to make the cushioning big enough for the both of you. Your back WILL hurt in the morning but you'll get to have a fun night first.

Neve: 3/10

Girl I know you can do better than this. Which means you're not trying to on purpose, so, live your life I guess. I will say this cot IS bounds nicer than Lucanis's--you can see its a stretched canvas or hide on a frame rather than wooden planks, so it will have a little more give. However they are not THAT much comfier which I know having slept on this modern equivalent many times. Neve also apparently has 0 pillows or blankets so you're out of luck there, as well as the problem of it only being wide enough for 1 again. This woman has too many other things going on to think about romance so your Rook is going to be the one improvising on that matter I think.

Davrin: 10/10

Now here is a man who has his life together. Double or queen size mattress, rustic bed frame he probably lovingly carved and assembled himself by hand, and not only are there sheets AND blankets AND pillows, they are are full on matching set and this knight in shining armor dutifully makes the bed every morning. There's also enough pillows for two! While the remains of a giant corpse is hanging above you all night, the spacing of the ribs still gives you lots of room above to manouver, so just don't worry about that. As a bonus you'll probably even have a baby griffon come to cuddle in the night which is such a cute thought we're going to ignore how much worse getting stepped on by a griffon foot would be than even the biggest fattest housecat trying to stand on your stomach at 4:30am. My one criticism of the setup here is that due to the bed's positioning if the person on the inside needs to get up in the night they'll have to awkwardly crawl over the person on the outside, however everyone else's bed situation is so dismal I'm not even going to subtract a point for that. Great work Davrin.

Emmrich: ???/10

Where... does this man sleep. Peepaw I KNOW you can't be sitting in that armchair all night you need your beauty rest!!! There are 0 beds or cots or floor blankets in this man's room. HOW am I supposed to break his pelvis if he has nowhere for us to lie down??? We can't risk that old man's spine on the cobblestone.

Wait... unless. No, surly not. I mean--jk. Unless...? 😳😳😳

is daddy necromancer gonna fuck me on the sacrifice slab... 😳😳😳🥵🥵🥵

Bonus:

Solas 11/10

does not matter where he actually slept bc once my inquisitor Gets Him again they WILL be fucking on top of the piano in front of the mural in his Yearning Room

[frownyalfred]

I 100% believe Lois Lane requested the presence of Bruce Wayne in her delivery room.

Nobody, not even the League, understood until it was time to give birth and Clark froze up at her bedside. Bruce was there to coach them both through it, as Clark’s friend and as Lois’ human reinforcements.

(Bruce flew to Metropolis in a helicopter when he got the news. He found Clark ashen and trembling at Lois’ side, eyes clenched shut as she screamed. He slid into place like he’d never been missing, talking Lois AND Clark through it like he delivered babies every day of the week)

[phthalosblues]

POV you read the book of bill and then the 3rd journal and then lost legends and then the great gatsby and rewatched the show twice and are on your third rewatch in the past two months and watched a bajillion animatics and character analysises and actually read fanfic which you never do like ever and you’re starting to feel like you’re running out of content and might need to start drawing more

[remxedmoon]

HAPPY (kinda late oops) BIRTHDAY MIWA!!!!!!!! ignore the other two LOOK AT HER!!!! IT’S MIRABELLE MSUNDAY!!!!

greyscale versions + my very normal color ramblings below!

ok full disclosure i already had this post drafted before realizing that mira’s birthday was coming up. i kinda debated just posting the mira doodles on their own but!!! i want to talk about my craft/general color headcanons still. and the mira art is part of that!! so be warned. also, this is going to reference my post about my craft headcanons a lot so like. read that if you so desire.

i personally think that mira’s healing craft is some form of creative craft, since the game describes her holding her palms up when she uses it (iirc anyways). this doesn’t really have an effect on anything, but it’s why i decided to color it yellow!

(also i ended up making mira’s scissors craft a lot more orange than i initially planned but that’s ok!!! i think both of her crafts would be pretty Orange. just thought i’d mention that since it’s a bit different from my first post)

i already explained sif’s craft in my last post so now i get to talk about the change god!!!!!! this is like. probably the most out there in terms of my color headcanons? but i have a reason for that. since the change god is, well, a deity, i thought it would be fitting for their design to match the colors of the 3 craft types (red, blue, and yellow)! this was a little hard to work around given that i also try to give my vaugarde designs warmer color palettes, but i think it worked out!

i also gave them a few slightly different palettes, since i think it’ll make sense for the change god’s colors to be variable. they never look the same, so why would their palette look the same? + i’m indecisive and liked all of these palettes lol

sorry for the ramble! i really like talking about character design and i’m not. very succinct. thanks for reading all this (if you did, perfectly fine if you didn’t!), here’s the greyscale versions as promised!!!

[chronicowboy]

buck going to the filmset to tell bobby athena's not only on the plane but flying it, welcome back evan buckley who gave athena his turnouts and told her how to get through the fire to bobby after he'd been shot because he knew what it was like to stand by and do nothing for Your Person and that if there was anyone who could save them it's always going to be the person who loves them most in the world...

[tedzyrotten]

vessel air guitar will never not be funny

[astronnova]

doodles (as i avoid work) of the super awesome you wouldn't like me alive fic by @ectoplasmranch which i binge read in a 7 hour sitting yesterday

[the-golden-kingdom]

As a person of colour, Toshiro is so unbelievably relatable once you realize the reasons and emotions behind his actions. He's been microaggressed upon p much all the time down to the name people call him, but he continues to be silent about it because of the cultural pressure he was raised on of having to be polite and kind and not to speak his true thoughts.

I can relate so hard to his jealousy about laios being able to be more open and confident and speak his mind. I can never bring myself to dislike him at all esp during the laios/toshiro fight because both of them are coming from very real relatable places to me. Its a nuanced conflict. Toshiro has a lot of pent up emotions he needed to get out for all the reasons i said before. And laios was rightfully upset about Toshiro not seeing him the same way he sees him and hiding all of this from him. Both of these guys are in the wrong in this situation. It's not a good guy / bad guy thing.

They both are different kinds of autistic people under different circumstances and I can honestly relate to them both on different things.

Also the scene right after dude gives him the bell and gives them a way out if things were to get bad. And with that we see he obviously cares for laios and the rest of the party despite everything.

All in all. Love u Toshiro they could never make me hate u !!