#and even then

[markscherz]

do you feel positive, negative, or neutral about inaccurate plastic skeleton halloween decorations? like what's going on with this guy's everything?

you may not know this, but I am something of a specialist on amphibian skeletal anatomy, and this… thing is a sin against my entire field.

Frogs do not have ribs. Where is its pectoral girdle? Why does it have mammal feet? What even happened to its hips? Why does it have SO MANY VERTEBRAE‽ And what in the seven hells happened to its skull? Hypertrophy is one thing, but this… this is just lazy. They seem to have decided to give it a beak??? And the nostril is super far back and also somehow integrated into a bone¿?¿?

What in the name of Eru Ilúvatar is going on‽

[justaz]

country bumpkin merlin not knowing anything about city life and accidentally courting arthur without knowing

merlin, watching gwen give lancelot her favor: why do you do that

gwen, heart eyes at lance and not paying that much attention to the conversation: so he knows i’m rooting for him

merlin, with an Idea: ah.

gwaine, lover of chaos, pisser offer of nobles and royals alike, ultimate wingman: merlin…you have such lonely lips. shall i introduce them to mine?

merlin, unaware of the game gwaine is playing: so you can steal my breath away? i think not, scoundrel

arthur, crushing his goblet in his hand:

merlin: arthur’s been in a bad mood recently :( i should cheer him up

merlin, remembering when arthur was put out when merlin brought morgana flowers and not him: i know just the thing

merlin, bringing a bouquet of carnations, roses, and tulips and setting them on arthur’s table while he’s eating breakfast: good morning, sire

arthur, trained on flower language in hopes that one day when he was to take a queen he could woo her easily, trying not to audibly choke on his sausage as he reads merlin’s declaration of love sitting in front of him:

arthur, who recently found out about merlin’s magic and was trying to find a way to bring it up, catching him in the act and watching merlin panic to explain himself:

merlin, Freaking: and i swear to you arthur, i have only ever used it for you. my magic is yours. my life is yours. i am yours. i would never do anything to harm you. i have protected you for years and will continue to do so at your side if you’ll have me

arthur, already believing them to be courting, desperately trying to figure out if that was a proposal for marriage or not but tired of being confused and deciding fuck it: here.

merlin, taking it: i…uh…huh?

arthur, watching merlin with hawk eyes and trying to figure out what he’s thinking and feeling: it’s my mothers sigil

merlin, confused as FUCK but is focusing on the fact that arthur is handing him something of his mother rather than a death sentence: my…my lord?

arthur, realizing how scared merlin’s must be about him finding out about his magic and trying to comfort him while also proposing, killing two birds with one stone: i will always keep you at my side, merlin, so long as we both shall live. if you’ll allow me.

merlin, almost collapsing with relief and tearing up, smiling at arthur as if he had parted the storm clouds to allow sun to shine down on them in that moment: of course…of course, arthur. always and forever.

merlin, watching the castle staff rush this way and that: wow. this banquet must be incredibly important

sir leon the long suffering, day one ride or die, one of the original merthur shippers: banquet? merlin, this is for your wedding

merlin, overworked and exhausted: my WHAT? to WHO??

leon, regretting everything he’s ever done in his life that led him to this moment: to…arthur?

merlin, over joyed but also absolutely befuddled: i’m getting married to ARTHUR?????

leon: you two have been courting for the past year or so, have you not?

merlin: i’ve been COURTING ARTHUR?????? FOR A YEAR?????????

[victusinveritas]

His house, our molotovs.

There is, however, a good chance he doesn't live at that address, just owns the building and some poor schmucks rent there. So... don't go torching it in righteous rage just yet.

[frownyalfred]

today’s fun writing fact: did you know that most writing coaches estimate that it takes around one hour for the average writer to write 1000 words?

I know what you’re thinking — that’s really slow! I can write that in 20 minutes. Right, but that assumes that when you started typing, you knew exactly what you were going to write — every line of dialogue your characters were about to say, every description perfectly pre-planned, etc.

And then you have to go back and edit it. And tag it. And cut out parts that don’t work and add new bits. So by the time you’ve got that “short” fic all ready to go, you’ve probably spent at least two hours on it, maybe more.

So yeah, as an author, I cringe seeing the “this was so short!!” comments on fics, even when they’re well-intentioned. Because someone just took 2+ hours out of their day for something you could read in less than five minutes and be done with.

The next time you see that author put out a 1-2k chapter, remember to do the math! And leave a comment 💜 that’s how you keep those updates coming.

[teecupangel]

Imagine if, during brotherhood, when Lucy started focusing more on getting the apple and less on keeping desmond safe, desmond's eagle vision started seeing her as an enemy. And he is sitting in the sanctuary and is messing with his eagle vision and does a double take when he realizes lucy is red

It starts off as red footprints leading to the villa.

Desmond found it during one of the few short breaks he was allowed to have. He figured he’d check the villa while he could still be hidden by the darkness of night and just… move around.

One of the things he missed from when they were in that hideout in Rome had been learning to move the same way as Ezio did.

Well…

Mostly, it felt like Ezio but, sometimes, before he could even understand what was happening, he would jump or move like Altaïr.

If he let his instinct takeover, it was like…

It would switch to whoever would have the better move that Desmond needed right now.

Not once did it felt like he was moving on his own.

That was why when his Eagle Vision activated on its own while he was just walking by the fountain, he knew that it was Altaïr’s habit and not Ezio’s.

Ezio used his Eagle Vision when there was a need to. Even if it was just a poke in his mind that he needed to, he would use it.

Altaïr used it regularly. Every three seconds or even less if he was feeling more paranoid than usual.

Altaïr used it like it was his real vision.

He used it like he was ready to be attacked at every given moment.

And now…

There were footprints glowing in red where everyone believed they were safe.

Desmond was immediately on alert, fearing the worst.

Templars.

Abstergo had found them.

He hurriedly followed the footsteps and it led him to Mario’s study. There were many footsteps all around the study but they all led to the hidden entrance.

There was no time to analyze the movements of the footprints. He followed the path quietly, his movements feeling more like fusion of Altaïr and Ezio making their way towards their target.

The Hidden Blade wrapped around his arm felt both light and heavy at the same time, his mind clearer than it had ever been.

He has his mission.

He has his targets.

He knew what to do.

But he stopped dead in his track, his heart beating louder and louder that it drowned out Shaun’s complains of him appearing ‘out of nowhere’ and to make a sound or something next time.

The grounds were littered with red footprints and Desmond finally had an answer to the silent question he had upstairs.

“It looked like only one pair of footprints but why was is moving all over?”

Seeing the footprints here and the locations of all their equipment, Desmond realized that the owner of these red footprints had been helping in moving and setting up the equipment they used.

And now…

“Desmond, are you okay?”

A familiar voice.

The woman who saved him from Abstergo and brought him to the Brotherhood.

The woman now shrouded in that sickening red glow in his Vision.

Can he truly believe his Vision?

Hell…

Seeing the dim blue glow of both Shaun and Rebecca, Desmond was reminded that he was still an outsider.

The three of them were close, members of the Brotherhood.

Even if Desmond was to tell them of the red glow he saw…

Why would he even believe that these two, more white than blue, would even believe his words over hers?

It would be easy to destroy any of his accusations.

‘Desmond has been in the Animus for too long.’

‘It’s the Bleeding Effect. Who knows? Maybe he’s seeing me as someone less. Someone like Lucrezia Borgia?’

Worst case scenario, they might sedate him and push him into the Animus under the excuse of ‘this is for your own safety’.

Desmond couldn’t even be sure if this paranoia was his or Altaïr’s.

Hell, at this point, it could the both of them and Ezio’s as well.

What he did know was…

“It’s nothing.” Desmond blinked.

The world burst into colors once more.

And Lucy Stillman stared at him with the same concerned expression she always had.

Was she truly concerned?

Was she acting?

Desmond couldn’t be sure.

What he did know was…

He needed to figure out if Lucy was red because she had her own agenda that would be detrimental for him.

Or…

If she had turned her back from the Brotherhood and was a Templar sent to keep Desmond-

Ah.

Ezio’s memories.

That was what she was after, wasn’t it?

The Apple.

Like how Vidic desired the map from Altaïr’s memories.

Well…

He would play along for now.

He’d make a plan while he lets Ezio’s memories play out.

It’s alright.

Now that he knew he was alone.

He had all the time in the world to plan.

.

(I will say that if this was an actual fic, I would suggest naming this Red Shoes as reference to the fairy tale the Red Shoes)

The red footprint is based on the one you can find in AC Brotherhood as explained in the trivia section of Eagle Vision wiki.

[poppy5991]

[wayrad]

we don’t talk enough about how important it was that gale and john lived. they lived. boys cried to their mamas if they got assigned to the 100th. they were known to fly in the ‘purple heart’ position. they’re group was titled bloody, unlucky, cursed. everyday going up in the sky was an 9/10 chance you wouldn’t be coming back. and one time they didn’t. over bremen, and then munster; 15 months in the stalag luft three and they lived. and they almost didn’t. but they came HOME. and history books call this the power of friendship gmfu

[you-need-not-apply]

Everyone here thinks you have to 100% agree with your chosen politician/leader. I hate to say this but if you agree with everything, as in absolutely everything, they say, you are in a cult/likely brainwashed.

[willowser]

the thing about bakugou and attraction is that he's not shallow and i don't think he has a type. like, he considers the value people have—who they are, what their strengths are, their passions, their goals, their mindset—and i think those are the most defining factors for him when it comes to 'liking' someone.

and yeah, he's a man. he has initial and instant attractions to people. but i think they're fleeting and go as quick as they come. so i think he doesn't pay much attention to physical appearance, per se, when it comes to deciding who he wants to give his time to.

but—when he does decide that you are the person he wants to give his time to, everything about you is suddenly so attractive.

[island-in-the-shadows]

Truly, my sympathies to people watching IWTV and are getting tired/bored of different perspectives. I'm not bored or even remotely tired.

Interviews by their very nature are perspective based. The story has this specific framing. As did the first book. They added to it with Armand now being an active participant and Daniel being more seasoned at interviewing. I understand how Armand's very edited and hyperbolic take on events that Book Lestat describes in The Vampire Lestat rubs people the wrong way. I do think that one could argue the way Lestat writes his own autobiography is the objective truth (note Armand in his book does not contradict Lestat). However, sorry to say, there is never an objective truth. The truth is always subjective.

I was raised by a whole family of lawyers and if I learned anything is that you can spin things in any way, but an objective truth will never exist. Not in crime, not in person to person storytelling, not in fictional storytelling. Hell, viewers seeing the SAME show CANNOT come to a consensus. Why? Because we all put our thoughts, experiences, and feelings to it. That's all perspective.

We see Louis give Armand a kiss in bed. Some think aw domestic and cute. Some think Louis is deliberately withholding and rewarding Armand for good behaviour. Some saw the act they put on in E2 as some version of truth and domesticity and some think it's only an act. Some think Dreamstat is actual Lestat out there somewhere and some think it's Louis' conscience.

Yes, the narrative will confirm one thought or another on some things but not all of them. They're deliberately left up to interpretation. Something btw, Lestat urges the reader to do in TVL when he does not go into details about his time with Louis and Claudia. And part of that has to do with perspective.

We could have a straightforward narrative with no corrections and no perspectives. But would that be as interesting as seeing how minds that far exceed our own twist and bend and interpret events? Would it be as interesting as seeing a vampire who tells himself a story so that he can carry on living despite being miserable? Would it be as interesting as this vampire who tells himself a story get pushback on what he's saying by someone who notices errors and inconsistencies? Would it be an interview at all? Or would it be, as Daniel put it in the very first episode, "a fever dream told to an idiot."

If you want a straightforward non-challenging version of the story, the 1994 movie exists. It's not perfect and a lot of details are missing, but there's only one, unchallenged perspective to it. And even then...how many people didn't (want to) see the queerness in it?

TL;DR I get being frustrated or tired or bored by the way the show is trying to tell the story, but at least it's doing something a little different and not word for word.

[light-bender]

Rereading Rhythm of War and listening to how Gavilar talks to one of the most driven, talented, amazing women in Alethkar like:

I want to haul up this man's soulcast statue and bring him back to life just so She can be the one who gets to kill him this time.

[yuri-alexseygaybitch]

40k is literally just Italian Futurism for people with just enough braincells to know blowing things up IRL for the aesthetic is probably bad

[artbyfinnbrown]

How many worlds need to be unmade to separate you from the ones you love?

[listen-to-the-inner-walrus]

i vaguely remember seeing a post about the woman on tiktok illegally digging a tunnel under her house to make a storm shelter, but i did not realise that 1) she has 0 qualifications and works in IT, 2) she got into her areas watertable and started pumping groundwater out into her yard, 3) when a fire broke out, she recorded herself putting it out with a fire extinguisher in one hand and her phone in the other, 4) she hit a radon gas bubble, 5) shes located somewhere with big sulphur pockets and as she got into the waterline, she might have produced sulphuric acid which leaks into the aquifer, aka she could be poisoning the local drinking water, 6) she lives on a CUL-DE-SAC, 7) shes just been releasing silica dust whilst not using respiratory gear herself, let alone warning her neighbours, and 8) her neighbours have said the ground would randomly shake sometimes but many of them felt they couldnt report it to local authorities for fear of deportation.

she has now been stopped and seems to think that since shes only tunneling under her property, itll be easy to get permits to continue. she also drives a tesla which... yeah, that sounds about right.

[lousydrawingsforgoodpeople]