I'll be the magic you won't ever see

the one with the whales

So Constantine calls all the bishops to his fucking summer resort, on the imperial dime. 280-318 bishops are going to argue about if the Logos (Christ) was "eternally begotten" or the first creation of God. Santa Claus is going to punch Arius in the face for saying the Logos was created. While we're here, let's set a date for Easter, which we also never pinned down. And we have to decide if eunuchs can be ordained because EVERYTHING HAS ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY.

I've been to church conferences. I lose it every time I think about this. Bishops coming into Nicaea tired from the road (travel's a curse). Rural bishops coming to the seat of power for the first time. There's one guy who doesn't understand Robert's Rules and another guy who won't stop bringing up points of order. Someone's sleeping through all the speeches; he's just happy to be on vacation at the emperor's summer resort. The decision made here will form the closest thing Christianity has to a universal declaration of faith for the next 1700 years and it's going to take THREE MONTHS and we have to do it again in 6 years

tall ships caught in a squall in Sandy Hook Bay, New Jersey, 2026

Uh, while my inbox overflows, I'm going to continue posting little fictional guys, ok? Ok.

Gondor Week day 3: Rangers of Ithilien, nature.

I think Legolas' restoration of Ithilien would heal parts of Faramir that he hadn't realized had been hurt. During the war he was so deep in protecting Gondor's borders that he had no time to mourn the degradation of the land, and he never realized how deep a wound it was until he started seeing it come back to life.

Also I thiiiink this is the first time I've drawn these two on their own together? They'd be friends. Like Legolas and Boromir are comrades and provoke the shit out of each other for fun, but Faramir connects with Legolas on a more personal level, and given the rebuilding/resettling of Ithilien by both Gondorians and Silvans, they'd develop one of the only friendships in this messy group that isn't founded on shared trauma.

Despite impossible schedules and emotional fatigue, some friends continue returning. They send memes during meetings. They remember your important dates. They call you out-of-the-blue. Not because it is convenient. But because somewhere, beneath all the exhaustion adulthood imposes, they still consider your inner life important. Sometimes it is simply the stubborn decision to keep returning to people despite the world constantly training you to prioritise everything else.

Okay posting my thoughts on this before we go on to episode 5. I have seen bits and pieces of this floating around for years but it was this line that basically convinced me...

As much as I want to take the "It was love" explanation at face value, I do not believe it for a second. I did not believe it when it was Armand giving it to Louis about the coven "betrayal" and I do not believe it now either.

You want to tell me that the vampire Armand, control freak that he is, the most powerful vampire when it comes to the mind gift, who goes in and out of people's heads like he is reading the newspaper. The one that does not believe in boundaries, who stalked Daniel for four years, who erased Louis's memories who knows how many times. Mister Gaslight, Gatekeep, Girlboss, You are telling me that he would NOT go into Daniel's mind?

It does not matter how you look at it, it doesn't make sense!

He has Mr. Molloy, investigative journalist, in his home and interviewing his companion, and he has a couple of HUGE secrets that could blow their relationship up if found out, and he doesn't live INSIDE Daniel's mind?

And on the other hand, he has Daniel, his beautiful boy, his beloved, in his house, within his reach for the first time in who knows how long and he doesn't live INSIDE Daniel's mind?

It makes no sense.

And yet he does not go into Daniel's mind at all during his interview in Dubai. Think about it, every time it happens it is Louis who is meddling or ruminating , not Armand, never Armand.

Again: It. Makes. No. Sense.

Unless… he cannot get into his mind or at least he finds it very difficult to do so.

It has all but been confirmed that Devil's Minion relationship happened in some way in the past. So it was love, there was love, and there were blood exchanges over years and years.

And slowly, as more and more blood was exchanged, the veil of silence that falls over makers and fledglings fell or at least half formed between Armand and Daniel. It WAS love, their love and their blood exchanges that stopped Armand from entering Daniel's head

Now, that would explain so much about their dynamic during seasons one and two. Armand disguises himself as Rashid so he can spy on Daniel because he cannot get into his mind. He sends real Rashid with Daniel when he leaves the apartment because he cannot get into his mind.

He does not see Daniel regaining his memories of San Francisco, he cannot adjust Daniel the way he does Louis after he is found out (you cannot tell me that Louis' reaction the next episode is not a mind wipe… come on) he does not follow his scheme with the Talamasca. He does not see it coming because he can't see it coming.

THEM. TOGETHER IN ONE FRAME.

Let alone drag said human all across the world based on every tiny impulse that ever crosses his mind

I mean sure, Daniel is snarky and crotchety and loves an argument but he never had any presumptions of trying to force Armand to do anything...

Ah. Except, of course, the only thing they consistently viciously fought about