#the great re-read

[glazedcroissant]

I've been reading @post-it-notes7 heart and soul series once again, and I wanted to make some more fanart! As such, doodles:

Read their fic here!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Average Drama Enjoyer observes some peak drama.

[orbmanson7]

Happy birthday, Re-Animator 💉

Here's everyone's yearly reminder to read the beautiful two-part article "The Homoerotic History of Re-Animator" (Part 1 & 2) by thegorezone, because it's amazing and absolutely worth it

[melit0n]

Anytime I see people who say 'Erik should have gotten Christine!' I always let out such a loud sigh because they are completely missing the point of the book.

The tradgedy is not, and never has been, the fact that The Phantom didn't get Christine, it's the fact that he never got to be human.

Erik, as a character, is so insanely full of love and yearning and that is exactly what leads people to sympathise with him; to lead them to the point of 'if he got the girl everything would be fine'. He's poetic with his suffering and expresses his truama in a obsessive and borderline psychopathic way in order to deal with it and get what he wants. To have what he never had; real affection. To be kissed without his masked chucked at his face.

To be looked at with fondness instead of fear.

Leroux's whole point with the character of The Phantom isn't that he's another man who deserved the girl, his point was how real life literature Others are treated. Erik is both The Hunchback of Notre Dame's Quasimodo and Jane Eyre's Bertha Mason. Both, of which, despite the fact they don't conform to societal standards, still deserve to be treated as humans.

Erik deserves to be treated like a human despite his deformity, despite his otherness that has literally forced him into the basement of an Opera House he helped build; to be loved like any human wants love. Everybody in that book demonises him for such a human feeling and that is the point. That is the metaphorical kick to the chest.

Further, rounding back around to the 'if he got the girl everything would be fine'. If Erik got Christine, he wouldn't learn that the fact he murdered multiple people to get there, that he threatened to blow up half of Paris, that he tricked a young girl into believing he was her dead father, was wrong. If he got what he wanted, with no consequences, then it wouldn't teach Erik anything, because he would never learn what real affection would be like.

That's why, at the end of the book, where Christine shows him genuine love, willingly, he absolutely crumbles because he realises that is what it means to be human. To feel human; pure love given of someone's own accord.

To love is to be changed, as the poets' say, and that's exactly what it does to him.

[embers-archive]

I wonder what they're discussing

[almondcroissantsandink]

I'm following along with Dracula Daily and RE: Dracula this year! I've read the book a handful of times but haven't really ever drawn anything from it except for an Inktober sketch many years ago

[royalarchivist]

Cellbit: You think the Cucurucho that likes you is the like, cheerleader one or is it the gun one?

Jaiden: Um, I- I'll be honest, I think both of them like me.

Cellbit: Wow, ok.

Jaiden: What can I say, I'm just super friendly.

Cellbit: Yeah...

Jaiden: [Laughs]

Cellbit: You know, Cucurucho liking you isn't that much of like, a good thing, ok? Just don't- don't get like, super–

Jaiden: No, I mean like, I'm not- I'm not saying that, you know, I like him back or anything, I'm just saying that they- they have a soft-spot for me. Whatever that means.

[ Full Transcript ↓ ]

—

Cellbit: How is your relation with Cucurucho going? Like, have you seen him recently?

Jaiden: Uhhh, what do you mean?

Cellbit: 'Cuz you have like, a rocky relationship with him, don't you?

Jaiden: Yeah, yeah, yeah, last- last time we- I– he took me away for a bit, but uh... It's been, you know, normal. I feel like he treats me the same as he does everyone else. Yeah, he gave me a task.

Cellbit: What's your task?

Jaiden: To research rhinos.

Cellbit: Oh, yeah, you told me about that! [...] You think the Cucurucho that likes you is the like, cheerleader one or is it the gun one?

Jaiden: Um, I- I'll be honest, I think both of them like me.

Cellbit: Wow, ok.

Jaiden: What can I say, I'm just super friendly.

Cellbit: Yeah...

Jaiden: [Laughs]

Cellbit: You know, Cucurucho liking you isn't that much of like, a good thing, ok? Just don't- don't get like, super–

Jaiden: No, I mean like, I'm not- I'm not saying that, you know, I like him back or anything, I'm just saying that they- they have a soft-spot for me. Whatever that means.

Cellbit: Yeah, when– like, if you ever see them with a chainsaw, you know, you probably want to go to the other direction, that's just like, an experienced hint I can give you.

Jaiden: Yeah, yeah, yeah...

Cellbit: But I don't think they would do that to you, they seem to have like, their own preferences and stuff.

Jaiden: Yeah, I mean, they've only done that to you, so they must– they just really don't like you.

Cellbit: Yeah, but they kinda like did some shtty things to other people, they shot Bagi, they shot- they shot most of the Island, at this point.

Jaiden: Yeah, they did, they did shoot Bagi. That's- that's not good.

Cellbit: Maybe they just like Hatsune Miku, and they- they confused stuff.

Jaiden: That is true! Actually, they're– I don't even know if this is like, who this is in the Federation, but someone um... Mouse was like, showing me a picture of– Sorry, I have to tab in. [She punches Cellbit] Um... [Laughs]

Cellbit: Ow, that was rude! [Chuckles]

Jaiden: I had to tab in! [Laughs] My Animal Crossing music had to restart!

Cellbit: [Laughs]

Jaiden: Mouse was saying that someone in the Federation uh, was placing tiny Hatsune Mikus in there, so someone in the Federation likes Hatsune Miku.

Cellbit: Hmm... That explains a lot, then.

Jaiden: [Laughs] What do you mean? No it doesn't!

Cellbit: No, no. Now I understand that it's a whole– it's a whole scheme, it's a whole corruption scheme, now I understand.

Jaiden: Ah no, it's not corruption–

[secretsimpleness]

I figured this out somewhere along the second-to-last act. Octavia, the Baroness / Pathfinder Kingmaker (c) Owlcat Games

[drummer-from-down-under]

Rewatched The Mighty Ducks trilogy. Have some shitty memes.

[theek-ache]

So in the manga this is their only canon interaction I just—

and still Sanji is so caring and Ace so gentle

[magnusbae]

Dreamling - Comfort given freely - 691w

Dream has a hard time accepting all the succor he had received from Hob since his return in 2020.

▾▾▾

"Why?” Dream asks.

“I knew you needed it” Hob smiles at him “and I could give it, so what’s the harm in that?”

Dream averts his eyes, pride and hurt fighting inside of him. He does not wish to be so, he wishes not to be depended on anyone’s pity, on anyone’s scrapes of empathy— but oh stars, how he does need it, how much the empty spaces of the fabric of his soul crave it, want it.

He cannot face this man, cannot look him in the eyes and let him know that he had won. Won where others did not. Many had gained his affections, some had gained his love, but Hob....Hob had won his trust. He had won his trust and he had won him over.

He has the power over him, one of the Endless.

Something that should not be, shouldn't have happened.

“Morpheus?” Hob asks, a short silence, and closer “Dream” he says, gentle, gentle as if talking to a wounded thing, a hurt thing.

Is there no end to this man’s pity? 

Dream’s insides twists, for he knows that Hob is honest, and that Hob is true. He knows that he means it, means this care of his. Dream wonders if he should leave, if he was mistaken for questioning it. Perhaps he should accept it, allow his pride some rest. And yet—

“I love you.” Hob says.

Dream looks up, sharp, alert. 

“What?” he says, though he had heard him quite well. 

“I love you.” Hob says with a shrug, kind eyes looking sad “You don’t need to think so hard about it, there’s nothing to it other than that, I love you, I love you and I’d do anything for you” Hob finds his eyes, and smiles again, there's a deeply rooted fondness in that look.

For a moment, Dream's shadow distorts, the lights in the room flickering. He notices that as he notices the heat in his chest, at his neck, on his face. This body of his, this image he presents to the world, should not do things he does not choose to show.

Words that are his to command, that come so easily to him at most days, are lost to him now as he opens his mouth and no sound comes out in response to Hob's confession.

Love. He knows love. Bright and passionate, strong and wild, worlds consumed, galaxies worth of feelings— love is not this, not the calm patience of a friend, not the endless devotion, not the... soothing safety he feels in Hob's presence.

“You confuse.” Dream answers at last.

“No I don’t” Hob’s light reply comes without a hint of argument.

“Hob Gadling, you—”

“—love you?” Hob completes, this time smiling. 

Annoyance ignites whitin Dream, the heat on his face deepening. 

“Do not mock me.” he starts, voice raising a fraction, deepening a bit. He will not allow this. He will not stand here as a mere human makes mockery of—

“Dream, I don’t.” Hob reaches a hand— hesitates only a second— and takes a hold of Dream’s tense hand. “It’s okay if you don’t, I don’t expect you to, but this..” he presses their joint hands across his own chest “...is how I feel. I’d do crazier things for you than just care for you, " he stops as if he swallowed one last word, looking mildly bashful but with an unashamed smile on his lips. “tis just how it is” he says and squeezes Dream’s hand firmer against his chest.

Dream can feel the quick rhythm of his heart, can feel the roughness of his hand, can sense the human warmth of him— he can feel his love.

"I...understand." he says, and this is not true, he does not.

He does not understand this form of love. Does not know how to experience nor how to express it. Yet he finds himself wishing for it. Finds himself wanting not for the scorching heat of a dying star but for the soothing tranquility of a spring lake. Something calm, something without waves to drown him under. Something...safe.

Something that might just be Hob Gadling.

[jettorii]

OKAY BUT KAI HAVING STUPIDLY TICKLISH HIPS IS SO CUTE. I CAN TOTALLY SEE JAY JUST LATCHING ON AND SENDING TICKLISH SHOCKS THROUGH THEM UNTIL KAI IS SNORTING AND SOBBING BUT STILL LOVING EVERY SECOND OF IT.

YOU DONT UNDERSTAND HOW I FELT WHEN I READ THIS. IH MY GOD I FELL TO MY KNEES AND SOBBED IGM NOT DOING OKAY

i present to you this piece on how i feel qbiut this. warm, overwhelming and silly all in a butterflies sort of way

extra :]

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

Something I'm trying to do is re-read all the books I was forced to read for High School English and hated them because they were homework. It's been fascinating to re-read them and find that I'm enjoying them now that a teacher isn't forcing me to.

So, help me choose my next one.

[ismyteadoneyet]

“[...] tell me what you’ve got there...?” Furina said, sheepishness turning to perplexity. “... Food?” Arlecchino asked matter-of-factly, trying to disguise her nervousness behind a serious façade.  “Do you intend for us to eat an entire gramophone, and how did it even get here?!” Furina exclaimed. “I carried it.” “YOU CARRIED… AN ENTIRE GRAMOPHONE… OVER HERE???”  - 'Guilt of the helpful' by @draconicstella88888, chapter 7

I know what you're thinking; "What is that ???? Fanart of another franchise???? Could it be done?????". I would be as shocked as you are, if not for the fact that This Moment in the glorious ArleFuri fanfic linked above, written by my beloved bestie @draconicstella88888, leads up to what might be one of the most stunning parts of writing I have ever read. Genuinely had me at a loss for words when I first read it, which I will brag about being one of the first ones to do, because I have been handed the honors of actually beta reading this beautiful story !!

If you haven't already, take this as a sign that y'all should read this too! You don't even have to know anything about the game lore to enjoy it enough to have scenes live in your head rent-free for days and weeks and months on end. Take me as an example of that lol <333

[shannonsketches]

he's so important to me

[asha-mage]

Anaiya nodded. "We understand your reasons for disliking Elaida, even hating her. We do understand. But we must think of the Tower and the world. I confess I do not like Elaida myself. But then I have never liked Siuan either. It is not necessary to like the Amyrlin Seat. There is no need to glare so Siuan. You have had a file for a tongue since you where a novice and it has only roughened with the years. And as Amyrlin you pushed sisters where you wanted and only seldom explained why. The two do not make for a very likeable combination."

-The Fires of Heaven, Chapter 27: The Practice of Diffidence

Re-reading The Fires of Heaven has made me increasingly confident in the show's read of Siuan's character being book accurate (an opinion I originally articulated here). I always encourage re-reads of the books, but I would very much encourage re-reading The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven specifically if you are doubting the choices the team made in episode 7.

Cause the thing is, Siuan's central character flaw- the one Anaiya is trying to gently cite above, the one on heavy display all throughout both books via Siuans treatment of those around her, is her complete lack of trust paired with a willingness to force and browbeats others into doing what she thinks is best.

It is, ironically, a trait she shares with Rand- both are unafraid to use their power (physical, magical, political- what have you) to make others obey, and both also are unwilling to demonstrate trust and good faith out of a fear of showing weakness. It's something born inherently of their shared insecurities about their respective positions of power- Siuan's young rise to the Seat and the fact that she is carrying on her conspiracy with Moiraine and Rand's belief that he isn't strong enough/good enough/hard enough to be the Dragon Reborn alongside the tendency of the people he cares about to get hurt or have their lives ruined by simple proximity to him.

Throughout both The Shadow Rising and The Fires of Heaven Siuan uses primarily tactics drawn form the same playbook that would later also lead Rand to disaster in the back half of the series: she comes to view those under charge more for their value to her agenda then as people she should be looking after, forcing Min to remain in the Tower against her will, refusing to make any effort to console or reassure those who care about Elayne (Gawyn, Galad, Morgase) that she is well, and engaging in many actions because their are expedient without regard for their moral implications (ordering Mazrim Taim's execution without trial, lying about Logain being set up by the Red Ajah, manipulation Logain so he has no choice but to follow along with her plan). And I don't think it's a mistake that many of those actions either lead to, or directly follow, Siuan's downfall in the Tower.

In fact, Siuan begins to make the turn in her character after encountering Mistress Tharne, which largely sets in motion Siuan's character arc for the remainder of the series: realizing that she can not force the word to conform to her will, not least of all because she is no longer the most powerful woman on the planet, but more over because it's wrong. Mistress Tharne's rough treatment of Siuan, her complete lack of respect or deference, is a wake call to Siuan that gives her empathy and understanding of the way she treated others when she held power. Much of her arc there after is about emphasizing that point, first as a stilled woman serving Aes Seadi, then as a restored but drastically weakened Aes Sedai.

In this way Siuan gets a taste of what it's like to be on the other side- forced and expected to obey, constantly fighting against a system rigged against her from the start, meant to keep her out of circles of power and away from the ability to make decisions as a woman who can not channel, and then as a Aes Sedai who does not stand high enough in the hierarchy. More over it gives her perspective on why things like the Oaths and the Tower's traditions matter- on the ways the Oaths protect ordinary people and the way Tower traditions like 'staying out of the business of other Aes Sedai' and 'respect secrets of individual sisters and Ajahs' help keep Aes Sedai working together and functional. But it's really her friendships, which she is able make on now even terms, with Nynaeve and Egwene, that help her gain empathy and understanding, and in particular allows her (via her mentorship of Egwene) to try and positively influence the Tower's future via reforms to make it more equitable, less mired and fractious and cracked.

As Amylrin, we're told, Siuan ruled by playing one faction in the Tower against another, widening the cracks between Ajahs and within them so that no one was able to effectively oppose her and her agenda- that is until someone came along who could rally support, to take advantage of those simmering frustrations and angers in order tear her down. But that person, Elaida, shared many of her faults and few of her virtues- instead of playing one faction against and brow beating, Elaida (with the Shadow's help) turned the Tower into armed camps ready to lash out at each other. Siuan's tendency (often cited by even herself) to send sisters to do penance on farms for opposing or annoying her, became Elaida using the same tool to humiliate and punish her enemies and using edicts to demote them to Accepted for being weak, and Siuan's precedent for keeping secrets and working around the Hall became Elaida plotting to kidnap Rand and 'make him supple' via Galina's embassy.

And it's a neat closing of the circle, the kind Jordan really likes to play with, that Siuan's redemption for this is her training of the woman who will replace both her and Elaida. Someone who will actually fulfill both women's ambitions of leading the Tower in the last battle- Egwene. Siuan's justice against Elaida is to help prepare an Amyrlin that will be more then either she or Elaida ever could- someone who will be free of their faults, who will be able to unite the Tower as both women dreamed of doing but never could- who can guide Rand and bind the nations to him, who can serve as a general of the Light strong enough to balance the worst of the Shadow. Siuan teaches Egwene how not to do the things she did, to fall into the traps that brought her down- the arrogance, the pride, the domineering, the compromises with her own morals- and it's that teaching which, in part, gives Egwene the ability to persuade the Tower that still saw her as a Novice....to raise her to Amyrlin of it's own accord.

Siuan still should have been allowed to kill Elaida though instead of the Suffa stuff, I will die on that hill.