#but most of all the sublime

[lady-bee-holmes]

The problem with the art instinct is that sometimes it makes sense. You see a beautiful sunset or a flower and you’re compelled by it, eyes taking in every shimmer of the light or the grace of the forms.

Other times you have to hold back the need to take a picture of the fish in ice at 99 Ranch Market

[aro-arttorneys]

Happy "it wasn't christmas yet!" to those who celebrate 🥳

[justaz]

need post magic reveal/ban repeal where magic is free and everyone grows in their knowledge of just what magic is and how it works etc, etc. merlin (isn't one for bragging about his powers) doesn't really mention much about his magic so people just assume he has enough to get by with like chores but not enough to catch the ire of uther EXCEPT for gauis, lancelot, and arthur bc gaius and lancelot have known about him for years and know what he's capable of and arthur sat merlin down and demanded all the stories so arthur knows he'd be a formidable opponent but he doesn't really get it yk? so he's like "yeah merlin has magic and he's capable of defending himself and camelot so he's probably on the more powerful end of the spectrum like every other sorcerer who is powerful"

and then i need merlin to be Different. like noticeably different. like idk a sorcerer is like trying out to be court sorcerer (bc merlin doesn't want another job dammit arthur give it morgana or someone-) and they perform this elaborate spell that captivates merlin and he starts asking all these questions and the sorcerer is like "yeah it's super difficult, it took me months to get it right and it takes years for some others-" and they cut themselves off bc merlin was just like "i wanna try" and does it perfectly first try. the sorcerer is seething.

camelot is hit with a heatwave and everyone is suffering and arthur is just like "morgana can you make it rain or something? it's too hot to breathe." and morgana is just like "no you idiot i can't just bend nature to my will. it doesn't like that." and merlin finally arrives with waterskins full of nice, cold, refreshing drink that the knights are frothing at the mouth to get. arthur complains again and morgana huffs and merlin is like "has he been like that this whole time?" and morgana nods with a groan and merlin laughs before going "i can try something" and leaves before anyone can say anything and arthur looks at morgana and is like "i thought you said nature doesn't like to be controlled?" and she's like "it doesn't" and then they all chase after merlin but he's chilling in the courtyard with his eyes closed, not even chanting, and then the sky starts to darken as black clouds roll in, the temperature plummets and then...snow begins to fall. in july. they all end up having a snowball fight.

a power hungry sorcerer comes along and is like "emrys....he's perfect....just what i need...teehee" and casts some spell over merlin and begins to siphon his magic and his power and merlin feels waves of his magic flood through the connection and into the sorcerer and like he's a mix of panic and concern bc yeah this mf is taking his magic but they're taking his magic. merlin tries to bargain or talk them down while the knights and arthur try to attack but the sorcerer keeps pushing them back and ignores merlin and is like "i want power, i want your power" blah blah blah monologue time and they swing another wave of magic out at the knights and knock many out while killing some and merlin is just like "ok no that's all folks thanks" and starts to push his own magic through the connection. the sorcerer has this wild gleam in their eyes and they feel more and more power fill them and it's like a high until it gets too much and they frantically try to sever the connection and their telling merlin to stop but merlin is just like "i thought you wanted my power? i'm giving it to you" and continues to flood the sorcerer with his magic until gold begins to trace their skin and they idk explode or smth and then all the magic flies back into merlin and he flexes his hands. unnamed knights 3, 6, 22, 53, and 55 still died so it's a tragedy.

a bunch of sorcerers are entertaining at a feast (kind of like the trickler) and they cast illusions all around the room that look real enough (unless you look too closely or touch it bc they are somewhat see through and your hand would pass right through them) and it's a fun and joyous night. later that week, the knights bring it up during their break while training and merlin is like "sure, what illusion should i cast?" and after some back and forth, he settles on the illusion of a dragon. it's around the size and age of aithusa bc that's all he has to go off of and it's gold since he took inspiration from the pendragon crest all around the area. it jumps around and flaps it's wings to get some air and it's all fine and dandy until elyan goes to poke his hand through it's ribs but meets physical scales and he jumps up into percival's arms. merlin looks closer and is like "oh. its real. whoops." and leon is like "whoops?? you make a real life dragon and all you have to say is whoops?" and merlin shrugs and is like "it was an accident" and leon about keels over from a heart attack "an accident? how do you accidentally-" the dragon is considered a gift from magic to camelot and helps further heal the wounds of uther's purge.

idk just like merlin being casually the most powerful sorcerer to walk the earth and unnerving people just by how little he seems to care about his shows of power but they're all like "well he's just doing all these small things that don't harm anyone and he doesn't even seem to realize just how powerful he is so what can ya do?" and they leave it be and make peace with merlin being Like That. and then camelot/arthur is attacked or smth idk and then everyone gets to see exactly how powerful and dangerous merlin is

[foursaints]

barty is the type of guy to put his legs out when you walk past him then act surprised when you trip

barty is relatively easily domesticated if he cares about his partner enough (compared to, say, someone like evan), but it's like one of those situations where someone's keeping a jaguar as a housepet.

he has to trip you and be a little mean to you, sometimes. it's in his nature. it's his enrichment

[abirdie]

Films that I couldn't drag eight gifs out of...

Gael García Bernal in The Limits of Control (2009, dir. Jim Jarmusch)

Gael García Bernal (uncredited, and they changed the audio from his original Rudo y Cursi vocal) in Vamps (2012, dir. Amy Heckerling)

Gael García Bernal in Salt and Fire (2016, dir. Werner Herzog)

Gael García Bernal in Acusada (2018, dir. Gonzalo Tobal)

Gael García Bernal in It Must Be Heaven (2019, dir. Elia Suleiman)

Gael García Bernal in The Mother (2023, dir. Niki Caro)

[other gael filmography gifsets]

[exasperatedoctopus]

Mirrorverse! Mirrorverse! MIRRORVERSE! MIRRORVERSE! MIRRORVERSE!!!!!!

[glasscandywitch]

gankutsuou + automata and mimesis on the stage of theatre history - kara reilly

[anthonycrowley]

genuinely cannot tell if you liked the new season or fucking hated it with every inch of your soul

it's complicated. it's layered.

[moonsidesong]

tierlist of every touhou character ranked by their fumo count (only including base fumo types, so not including nendoroid plus, deka, etc) bc i was feeling slightly insane that gift made lost word alts of reimu and marisa instead of. Any of even the popular characters they havent touched yet (its weird that byakuren doesnt have one right. like is it me or is that strange??)

[greatbigbellies]

I love whenever someone stumbles into the preg kink advent calendar for the first time cause I always get notifications of them liking and reblogging their favorite pieces of it so many months after it all came out. Like "Yes I'm glad the mukbang fic and the dommy mommy feeding audio were to your liking" it fills me with joy.

[cha-lii]

years later and i can still safely say the walking dead season 7 premier remains one of the best crafted episodes of television i’ve ever seen

[mumblelard]

this morning i saw eleven turtles in five miles and stood inside a van sized pyramid of frozen, woven, knotted light, wondering what happens next

[azol-otl]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ♥️

I won't lie, I had reread all my stuff to be able to answer this and it was actually harder than I thought it would be. Turns out I do actually like how I write, who'd have guessed.

But here we go:

With a Kiss From Your Blade: (JayTim) So this was actually the first fic I posted that actually got me to keep writing fics and it holds a special place in my heart for that. Plus I just love how sappy and goofy Jason and Tim are in this and it was the beginning of my hairy Tim Drake agenda.

Hunting Compulsion: (JayTim Digital Devil Saga au) Okay I didn't expect to love this fic as much as I did. It was an off the cuff idea with zero plans that was written in chunks and I wouldn't have it any other way. I've always loved fusion fics (no surprise there considering the amount I've written) and discovering in real time as I wrote all the backstory events and general suffering the bats are going through in this porn fic was really interesting. Also I've been a sucker for literal man eater bats since Gotham Ghoul and this felt right.

Fair Play: (JayDick) First off I love how much of a loser I made Jason in this. It's kink discovery in the best way because he's just silently freaking out the entire time and is a useless gay in the face of it and I had so much fun writing that. It was also my first real attempt at writing this kink and honestly there were so many times I had to be reassured that this was in fact hot and not just a me thing. Shouout to the ending third with Dick's happiness at his change because it was a single paragraph but it had strength that I didn't expect it to.

The Stopgap Favorite: (JayDick, dungeon mesh fusion) Man what can I even say about this besides that this might be the most unhealthy Jason I've ever written and the way his story would translate to the Dungeon Meshi universe is fascinating. It has some of my favorite internal Jason monologues and the sheer bitter resentment and love he has about Bruce despite having sex with Dick is really good like damn I'm proud of myself for that. I also think it has some of the best lines I've ever written, specifically where Jason compares himself to Dick in Bruce's eyes.

A Learning Experience: (BruJay) Look, I don't ship this pairing. I just generally don't like Bruce. But I had so much fun writing this. Between repressed Bruce and confident Jason and just their entire dynamic-! It was so easy to write like I absolutely had a blast doing it. The parts I'm the most proud of are anytime Jason's speaking to Bruce honestly because Jaybin is such much nicer than Jason normally is but also he's a huge brat who knows he has Bruce wrapped around his finger. I just really like this fic guys.

[sysig]

The problem with single thread embroidery is that it’s weird as hell to not have a knot at the end of the thread, to just be out and free in the wind, able to slip right off at any moment and only need to rethread the needle to start going again, to be caught on any imperfection of thread and just continue on like nothing’s wrong because what, am I going to undo the last ten stitches just because a bit caught? No

Because it’s actually way easier and cleaner and prettier to satin stitch with a single thread than doubled

[acourtofquestions]

Tower of Dawn

Chapter 1

… This is peaceful after EoS, I missed Chaol, I also enjoyed liked the little bonus lead in via EoS… but also it’s killing me not knowing if any of my bb’s r ok (every Aelin mention cannot be handled UGH SARAH YOU MIGHT AS WELL BE STABBING MY SOUL), alas I shall enjoy every page! So, I FINALLY started it (ugh… life does not leave enough reading time😭 and binge reads for cliffhangers)

… per usual watch for spoilers per chapter… & here we are…

[sinni-ok-sessi]

last reblog worked: somehow found a terror fic that I hadn't read previously and which didn't trip any of my approx three million petty dislikes

I am of course now a hollowed-out shell of my former self, but that's the price of good fic