#early belief

[thesilicontribesman]

Roman Depiction of Christ, Hinton St Mary, The British Museum, London

This is the central roundel of a 4th-century CE mosaic floor from a villa at Hinton St Mary. Dorset. It is one of the most important early Christian remains from the Roman Empire.

The roundel is probably the earliest known mosaic picture of Christ. It is the focal point of the main floor in the position usually occupied by a figure of a pagan god or goddess. However, the Greek letters X and P (chi and rho) behind the head indicate that the person is probably Christ. They are the first two letters of the word Christ in Greek and the usual symbol of early Christianity. At either side are pomegranates, signalling immortality.

[flwrkid14]

Tim Drake will never be anyone’s favorite.

And that’s fine. Really.

He’s known it for as long as he’s been Robin. From the moment he slipped on the red and yellow, ignoring Bruce’s protests, he knew he wasn’t what anyone wanted. He wasn’t Jason—the fierce, untamed fire that burned bright and was extinguished far too soon. He wasn’t Dick—the golden son who carried the mantle with effortless charm and unwavering grace. He wasn’t Damian—destined for this life, born of Bruce’s blood, molded from the very beginning to take his place in the legacy.

No, Tim was the placeholder. The patch for a wound no one wanted to acknowledge.

He saw it in Bruce’s eyes—the resentment that simmered under the surface. Bruce never said it out loud, but Tim felt it every time Bruce looked at him wearing the colors of his dead son. Tim wasn’t Jason, and he never would be, and no amount of dedication or sacrifice could make up for that.

With Dick, it was something different. Dick was kind, but it wasn’t the kind of kindness that meant he cared. Tim knew he was a second chance, a way for Dick to atone for the mistakes he made with Jason. To be better. To be a good brother this time. But Tim wasn’t Dick’s brother, not really. He was a proxy for the one Dick had lost.

Even Alfred—warm, unshakable Alfred—looked at him like a Band-Aid on a broken bone. Alfred had loved Jason, mourned him, and Tim could never fill the space Jason left behind. Tim knew Alfred cared for him, but it wasn’t the same. It wasn’t the same as the love for the boy who’d taught him how to hope for a better tomorrow.

When Jason came back, Tim felt the weight of his hatred. It wasn’t subtle, wasn’t hidden. Jason looked at him like he was a thief wearing stolen colors, like Tim had no right to call himself Robin. And Jason wasn’t wrong. Tim had known, from the moment he put on the suit, that it didn’t belong to him.

Steph and Cass were his best friends, his family in their own way, but they had each other. The two of them moved in sync, orbiting each other in a way that made it clear there wasn’t room for anyone else. Tim loved them both, but he wasn’t part of their world. Not really.

Then there was Damian. Tim knew what Damian saw when he looked at him: an interloper, someone who stole his birthright before he even had a chance to claim it. Damian hated him for it, and Tim couldn’t blame him.

Duke, newer to the family but still brighter than Tim could ever hope to be, looked at Dick and Jason with something close to awe. He gravitated toward them in ways Tim could never inspire.

Tim had always known he wasn’t anyone’s favorite. Not Bruce’s. Not Dick’s. Not Jason’s or Alfred’s or Steph’s or Cass’s or Damian’s or Duke’s.

And that was okay.

It had to be.

Because Tim didn’t become Robin to be loved. He didn’t do it for approval, or acceptance, or anything close to recognition. He became Robin because someone had to. Because someone needed to be.

Tim had never expected to be anyone’s favorite. He just wanted to matter, in whatever small way he could.

But sometimes, when he sees the way they all fit together, the way they orbit around each other, he wonders what it would feel like to be the center of someone’s world. Just once. To be someone’s first choice.

But he’s not.

And he never will be.

[suntails]

strength and nobility

[kacievvbbbb]

What is fun about the last time Shanks saw Mihawk he was probably 29 on the cusp of 30 and then they fall out and they don’t really reconnect until Mihawk is middle age and Shanks on his way there.

That’s alot of time to miss someone you used to know intimately. A whole life has been lived there. And think how much Mihawk must have changed how much shanks himself has changed. All this to say that I really think Shanks loves watching this version of Mihawk being domestic and having his little old lady hobbies.

He loves watching him cook and bake and talk about recipes and how to make sure the little gremlins under his care are getting the proper nutrients. He loves watching him tend to his garden with his ridiculously domestic sun hat, he loves watching him pick strawberries and put them into a little quicker basket and plant and harvest cocoa trees for Perona, and teach Zoro how to chop vegetables really fast and embroider his little flower patterns and read erotica and newspapers Like the same thing and take naps in the sun spot like a cat and interact with the kids and just he likes seeing Mihawk live his life because I will never come down from the hill that Shanks really kind of subconsciously worries about him and his loneliness and kind of the empty way he was living his life.

Cause like I think for shanks it’s such a jarring juxtaposition with the Mihawk that’s still freshest in his memories 10 years ago. 20 something young dangerous and wanted. Mihawk back then was probably the definition of vagabond literally bound to nothing and no one except occasionally shanks. Sailing around in a tiny ass boat with only wine and his sword a one man calamity.The Mihawk he remembers was always itching for a fight and would gladly start one. And because I headcannon Mihawk probably didn’t get his title till after his big blowout with shanks this is still a Mihawk with a lot to fucking prove and he’ll prove it every chance he gets. This is a Mihawk who still regularly accepts challengers and is also actively challenging people. This is a Mihawk that is hunting marines for sport (or revenge Or both) His life revolves around wine, sword-fighting, violence and blood shed and in the way only a man that doesn’t even realize how lonely he is it revolved around shanks.

I just think 20 something Mihawk had 1 friend and 1 hobby and hewas a lonely fuck who was so intensely single-mindedly putting all his energy into both he ends up kind of losing both (shanks crumples under the weights of his expectations and he literally positions himself so far above the crowd in swordsmanship and the one fight he actually does want to have is ruined for him that for a long period of time he doesn’t even experience the same joy that he used to while fighting it’s just another thing he can no longer fully indulge in) 20 something year old Mihawk was a discontent mess rapidly spiraling into depression and nihilistic boredorm and like Shanks can’t do anything about it because Mihawk won’t do anything about it he won’t even properly acknowledge it’s happening. And suddenly they aren’t friends anymore the love of his life literally walks out of it.

And then 10 years go by and zap suddenly here’s this 41 one year old man mostly unchanged but definetly more mature on the cusp of something truly life changing and then there’s this 43 year old with an island and a home and these 2 kids that he can’t even properly contextualize how they fit into his life and that must be so jarring one moment shanks remember A 29 year old nihilist that is literally breaking his heart and now here’s a “mellowed” out little old grandma hobby having middle aged man doing needle point on a Sunday evening come to take his place. A whole life lived in 12 years and Shanks didn’t get to see a lot of it but he’s so glad to see this now, that he gets to have this now.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

The world if people stopped applying their understanding of "conservatism" and "religion/christianity" through a very modern, deeply American view onto Death Note (a manga from the Early-mid 2000s which is very much set in the cultural and societal context of early-mid 2000s Japan and all that entails):

[chalkrub]

vega my best friend vega

[ghost-bxrd]

Is Jason struggling hard trying to deal with envy that Tim has taken his family, his place in the court, his dragon? Of course, but at the end of the day Tim never owed Jason’s memory any respect or loyalty. But the egg he stayed up late whispering his hopes and notions of friendship and happiness and protection, patient and gentle for years, despite everyone telling him it was a lost cause. His egg –now a dragon– has forsaken the only person to dedicate themself wholeheartedly to its safekeeping. So Jason might eventually get to a point of understanding and tolerance with Tim but the little dragon must have felt him off in the distance and given up on him. It is the only way the pieces fit together. How can Jason accept that? He never faltered in his belief in his egg but as soon as he seemed weak it discarded him for someone easier to love.

It certainly seems that way to Jason, yeah :/

(Jason has no way of knowing that Robin hatched only a few weeks after his perceived death, and that the little dragon was inconsolable for many months to the point of near starvation, and that Dick and Bruce were so wrung out about Robin’s impending loss that Tim snuck into the dragon caves to try and coax the baby dragon to eat something, and that Robin didn’t just latch onto the first best person he saw, no, Robin felt that Tim came the closest to Jason’s kindness and uplifting spirits for the first time in months….)

[firadessa]

Mark Cote Info Reveal- Silvermist's Quest

(Long Post Warning)

Me and a few friends are doing our own searches for information on the elusive Tinker Bell draft. We were able to secure an interview with Mark Cote, who was on the film for both a 2d and 3d version. Unfortunately, we were not able to save many recordings in good quality and mine has no audio. I also failed to transcribe our meeting, but hopefully this will not be our only meeting.

Before the original movie was put into 3D, it had several character quests all linked to the narrative to save Neverland. I thought it would be like Disneytoon's failed Enchanted Tales series, but unlike Enchanted Tales or Cinderella 2 the segments wouldn't be so self contained. It was like the movie Fantasia, but connected through a larger plot. There would also be a ticking time bomb in the form of the worlds of the mainland and Neverland combining due to the theft of pixie dust by Tinker Bell and friends before they earned it messing up the natural order. He told us that all 5 character quests would have to be approved by management, so he experienced delays in production. Several quests were greenlit but they had a hard time when they got to Silvermist and Iridessa.

We asked in a riddle, what brings water life? It took a while to get an answer, but @princessquinnella was reminded of water fairies in the books. The thing is though, Silvermist was conceived pretty differently from Rani. Despite being a water fairy, she was a repressive and pragmatic character. If you had a Disney Fairies DVD that came with the toys, you might remember the line "Still waters run deep" in reference to Silvermist. The pond and lotus where she lived, is implied to be "Stillwater Springs" or Lilypad Pond from what we know. x Here is the description from the illusive "pitch book"

Firstly, Mark told us for this "epic story" Silvermist's quest would be next to last. None of the fairies can fly because of the magic has dissipated. The story starts in her home of Stillwater Springs/Lilypad Pond, she creates a magical cloud named Tempest to fly. Tempest is an opposite to SIlvermist, he's a joyful and free spirited cloud like a impish child. Like in the final cut, there are 4 seasonal areas? There would be 5 themed areas in Pixie Hollow where each fairy lived. Many inanimate things live here in this word inspired by Art Nouveau.

She needs to fly on Tempest to reach the "water of life", and she travels to Pixie Hollow in a harsh desert area. She has a small glass vile to collect the "water of life" and flies over the stretch of desert looking everywhere. There's a color script of this segment somewhere on AODF (dont know where to link), where it is blurry and you can see the desert.

Silvermist and Tempest even meet other clouds on their journey, but they are grumpy and stern adult clouds.

Here, on the color guide- we see things a bit different. There seems to be some sort of snowdrop-esque flower in place of Tempest- but also some clouds, so I'm not sure what it could be.

Silvermist has been in the sky for a while now in this desert, but cannot find the water of life. Suddenly! Tempest, the child cloud starts to die. Silvermist is scared, because her friend is dying and she hasn't found the water of life. She sits down defeated... and starts to cry.

He showed us a piece I am very familiar with:

It is then, when she is at her lowest- when she cries... Tempest is resurected, and she is able to save her friend and collect the Water of Life, the quest item she needs to save Pixie Hollow.

Lastly, I should say the desert like areas in Pixie Hollow remind me of the elusive art from the mysterious artbook "The Art of Judith Holmes Clarke" (excuse quality, its a short frame in an IG video)

Now it's time for the next quest to reveal information about, there should be 2 left with more info to share with you...

This one shall be fill in the blank:

"------ is the key that opens every door."

Fly with you later!

[bamsara]

maybe a weird/selfish question/request but have you considered maybe dropping fic updates on patreon when you’re comfortable? stuff like Solar Lunacy or whatever you might feel like doin, or would that still feel too tense for you? i understand if so!

I'm sorry but I can't do that for reasons even outside of my comfort zone! I'm not sure about other countries, but in mine fanwriting and fanart have different grey areas when it comes legality: fanart is more greenlight than fanwriting is. Plus i'm a very firm believer of not having fanfiction being put behind a paywall

[zigazone]

Iridessa's Quest

Iridessas Quest ✨ (Big Lore Info Dump below)

So here’s what we got told about Iridessa’s Quest ✨:

As we know, neverland is loosing magic and queen clarion sent everyone off on quests (for the 2D script at least, the quests were later removed when the film transitioned to 3D).

Iridessas Quest is really fun. Her quest is to find the flame of courage. She has two firefly friends named Blinker and Gloria. They were basically like Iridessa parental figures.

(Marks Cote's Art, all concept art of the fireflies).

From what I remember iridessa goes into this dark cave to find the flame of courage but she gets lost and the cave begins to darken because never land is losing magic. She eventually gets lost in complete darkness. Iridessa is terrified and it’s not until she figures out how to find the light inside her and gains great courage that she can escape.

Similar to this color script we have here by Fred Cline.

If I remember correctly her quest was one of the first ones to be approved.

Candessa was a really early name given to Iridessa. Mark wasn’t familiar with it so it was probably given from marketing. It seemed like some things had to go through marketing before making it to the film.

(Mark Cote's art - iridessa)

(Background by Bill Perkins)

Mark also mentioned how Iridessas design was what got them approved for the Tinker Bell project.

Specifically this beautiful watercolor drawing by Mark Cote of Iridessa. Marketing thought she was marketable and so they thought the rest of the franchise would be as well.

It's a shame this design specifically was later scrapped by John Lasseter and Bradley Rayomnds Team.

Hopefully, we can get clear scans for you guys so we can share all this amazing art in its beautiful quality. I love Mark Cote's art, his consistency with these drawings and the watercolor is GORGEOUS. Anyway, taking a break from riddles and stuff for the holidays but don’t worry we’ll be back.

Remember believing is just the beginning ✨

[thesilicontribesman]

Eassie Pictish Symbol Stone, Eassie, Scotland

[thechesapeakebaywitch]

This year i fed the little demon of my own hubris by successfully crafting an insane amount of things as gifts for the holidays and only starting in July:

1. A corner to corner blanket with the Mighty Nein logo

2. SWEATER

3. Secret horse bag

4. Hat

5. Liverpool hat

6. Rat Sweater™️

7. Double knit scarf

8. Another blanket

Not pictured: another scarf and a THIRD blanket

[sparkly-sediment]

do you have thought about. polyteam (minus spyscout. FUCK spyscott)Who the shit is scott

why yes I do! I think these gorillas wake the jungle with their monkeyfucking!

Why the Tf2 mercs could actually be a polyteam

I believe polyteam minus interfamilial relations (ew!) is a biological destiny derived from primitive social systems and is a result of homo sapiens’ evolution

Early modern humans banded together in polyamorous groups of roughly 10-15 people and those groups likely had open sexual relationships (supported by fossil records and the habits of our closest relatives the apes!!)

🦧 🦍 ❤️❤️😩💦🧬

These groups would work together to survive and share tasks such as hunting, foraging, building tools and shelter, and even grooming!!

They also had sex with each other!

Intimacy improves the relationships within a group and builds trust. Yk how some people enjoy a/b/o? Minus the hierarchy and m-preg thing (unless… do you think Medic would??) yes Early Modern Humans were like that!!! most likely with the current scientific understanding of homo behavior and evolution

So, the tf2 mercs being one big band of men living together and fighting together is already canon. It makes biologically sense to make them be freaky!! T O T A L L Y how science works! Medic def agrees I’m sure!!

And, with Scout and Spy being related, it still works. In contemporary hunter/gatherer societies children have upwards of 10-14 primary caregivers! Scout could either be fathered by 8 men of bodied by 8 men. Either way, it would work out alright.

As a means of unifying the group, strengthening bonds, and coping with the gravel wars, these guys could totally circle jerk. More likely, however, is passing one another around like a blunt and they all get ripped

(not literally tho, i prophesize they take prep rather seriously) (fingers up their butts) (monkey sounds)

[icewitcher]

Do you think after embeding the heteromer-shard in him to get Asimov's password and activate Hyperreal, Lee's Entropy frame got a scar that can't be repaired no matter what the Science Council tries to do ? Because this is the heteromer-shard we are talking about and nothing is simple when it comes to something linked to the Punishing Virus.

Do you think when Lee reverts back to Entropy for a reason or another, the scar is throbbing, it hurts him, horribly and sends him back to those few seconds/minutes when he was searching for the code as he fought the data that wanted to overflood him but he doesn't hide it because his words after getting out of the Tower were true, that he won't hide anything anymore from Gray Raven ?

Do you think Liv, with her medic training and even if it's useless because they are not humans anymore but Constructs and its a scar indirectly coming from the PV, takes care of the scar like she has been taught to ? And tells Lee what to do to treat and it helps him deal with the difference between how, as a Construct, he has been treated and has to behave under Kurono VS how he can act as Lee of Gray Raven and in front of his superior in Babylonia ?

Do you think Lucia is helping Lee to move whenever the pain is atraciously unbearable and he lets her do it because he knows he can rely on her but also Lucia was also very silent and awkward with her feeling before transferring her M.I.N.D. in Plume's frame so they understood each other well ?

Do you think if vital fluid would start flowing again from it and Lee has to bandage it and Murray happens to see his older brother bleeding again, he actually comes to help him instead of silently retreating like he did when he was younger, applying whatever (good) advice Vera told him and Lee says nothing because no more white lies between them and it actually helps them to reconnect, to be open with each other ?

Do you think the Commandant would say something along the lines "Hey we match !!", referring to the scars they accumulated over the battles they fought in and for a flicker of second, Lee "lives" again all those horrible futures where he lost everthing but he quickly dismiss it because it's not going to happen ?

Because after all of that, all of their gest, words that are not false promises/lies and sincere care, he believes them and in them, for he is not alone anymore, he doesn't have to carry burdens he believed that were only his anymore alone. He has companions, a family, loved ones that will help him find that bright future and make sure the dim light of hope he has given them in the form of the Clean Zone and the Inverse-Tower becomes larger and bigger and brighter until it embraces the whole world and they can get their happy ending.

[rosalinesurvived]

Kunikidazai is a galaxy-brain ship obvs but but i need a fresh out of the PM Dazai viewing Kunikida as like the Ultimate CumulationTM of both Oda and Chuuya, the people who loved him, one Dazai left and the other who left first, I need Kunikida terrified of Dazai not because of any PM suspicions but because Dazai’s everything Kuni could be if he skewed to the right: the sucide obsession, the dangerous morality, the lost ideals, the general bizarreness–what puts Kuni off of Dazai is that he’s everything like Kuni and at the same time nothing like him, surely and that has to Fuck You Up, being stuck with your distorted image day in and day out.

“You are everything I could have had,” Dazai thinks towards Kunikida

“You are all of the horrors I could become,” Kunikida thinks of Dazai

[verycharismaticdragon]

One popular scum villain take i've seen that i completely disagree with is that Luo Binghe is aware that SY!SQQ and SJ!SQQ are two different ppl. (obviously this is talking about canon, not divergence au situations where smth happens that tips him otherwise.) Not only do I think he doesn't know this, I think that a number of his "irrational' actions post-Abyss are informed by believing SQQ went from hurting him to being nice to / accepting of him once before already.