#pursuit of power

[his-heart-hymns]

When will you realize,the more you take,the less you have.

-Master Oogway to Warrior Kai

#pursuit of power #drunk on power #spirit realm #kung fu panda #desiblr #desi tumblr #desi aesthetic #oogway #old turtle

[dragonaur]

Eve & Kiki (c) Nodegama

#eve #kiki #pursuit of power #fanart

[maesonc-artistic-adventures]

Daughter of the Red Moon.

#my art #artist of tumblr #tumblr artist #fanart #art #critical role fanart #cr fanart #critical role #watercolor painting #colored pencils #imogen temult #cr imogen #bells hells #cr 3 #traditional artist #love this gal and her character arc #love her pursuit of mastery over her abilities and the power growth that comes with that #love how powerful she is while engaging with debates about power #was gonna name this “’daughter of a god eater’ but that felt spoilery so instead I’m burying it in the tags

[bonefall]

Maybe I'll make a post on this at some point but like, something deeply fucked up about TNP and Po3 that people have totally forgotten about is how badly they try to whine that "Tigerstar Had Good Traits :("

Firestar does it, Brambleclaw does it, and they keep doing this after it becomes this GRAND irony that Firestar almost gets Tiger'd to death in a fox trap because he was too trusting. Bramble gets his pity award of keeping deputyship and then cries to his son about how No One Saw The Good In Tigerstar :(

And it's wiiiiild that no one else in this fandom has done anything with the fact that Leopardstar broke the Warrior Code to appoint Hawkfrost, who had no apprentice, an extremely aggressive and warmongering Tigerclone who says things like "Tigerstar wasn't the worst cat to look up to." ONLY qualifying trait was being kinda like Tigerstar.

And she practically did that the SECOND Mistyfoot went missing. And then Leopardstar continued to be one of the most violent and xenophobic leaders through Po3, joining with WindClan to attack ThunderClan.

What I'm getting at is that like, a few years ago, with books like "Blackfoot's Reckoning" and "Shadow in RiverClan" it's like they suddenly decided to retcon in a bunch of "redemption arcs" in hindsight. They just pretended like there was this grand high reckoning with TigerClan, when there literally wasn't, and if anything that caused SERIOUS problems for the cast that the authors didn't fully acknowledge as such.

And now ppl haven't actually read the main series and are just working with their recent memory of all these retcon books.

But TNP and PO3 are still there, and you can go and see the ACTUAL timeline where Leopardstar is really not apologetic at all, and Blackstar is a useful stooge for the very next wannabe dictator that strolls in, in spite of the new side content that COMPLETELY mischaracterized them for their plots to work.

#I just wish people could be more critical of this #And im not entirely anti-retcon. Mind you #But I am here because i think these retcons make them WORSE characters. It's BAD for a character to GET a book with a redemption arc and-- #Then they don't change at all and act like totally different people later in the timeline #And Leopardstar is the worse one between her and Blackstar BECAUSE she has sooo many active choices here #Im confident in my choice for BB the more I think about it. Leopardstar's dismantling of the bonehill was good #But it works better as a tragedy imo with the rest of the series in mind #That for a brief moment. A fleeting whim. She could have changed. #But she never did. #And Blackstar who was FAR less repentant at the time DID eventually turn around. #At the end of the day one of them appointed Hawkfrost as codebreaking deputy. #And the other did not. #And I think it's fucking bullshit the way that Leopardstar's retcondemption implies that Hawkfrost was just so tricky he mislead her #The old and experienced leader who had been fooled by a tiger before and was soso sorry for it. Just got tricked. #Like fuck off. She never had a redemption. Stop trying to tell me she did 15 years later #She's a girlboss who empires too close to the sun in pursuit of power and drags everyone down with her #Not a sad weepy smolbean #Bone babble #Warrior cats analysis

[mammalsofaction]

The fact that the Doof had been paired and proved most compatible with Perry, canonically and repeatedly proclaimed to be one of OWCA's best agents in the field, is curious to me.

Some fics have a throwaway line or two talking referring to his compatibility with other agents. I think, also, about the canonical fact that he remains as third most dangerous evil scientist in OWCA's ledger.

I also like thinking about the fact that we have been proven, multiple times, in VARIOUS dimensions and fluctuations to the time space continuem, that were he not continuously thwarted throughout his career, he would not only have achieved tyrannical rule, he would have EXCELLED in it, and perfectly undefeated, EVEN BY HIS EVIL PEERS that people loved to pretend were always more competent than him.

Like. I think about that. Why? What makes Heinz so dangerous? What made everyone else incompatible to a point OWCA realized they needed to send their best, and he needed to be on call ALL THE TIME?

Curious

#I turn the concept around in my head a lot #why not put him in jail? in OWCATraz? #the answer has to be the fact that you couldnt put him down that way. Either by political influence (his brother is a famous politician) #legal loopholes (his ex wife is a highly successful lawyer with old money) #or straight up ingenuity #Jail wouldnt have been able to stop him #arguably #such was the case with most evil scientists who are given a permaneng nemesis #like there must be somekind of prevalent circumstance that can't make them one and done #its such an interesting worldbuilding pursuit of thought #i really like they always make him a very powerful and malevolent villain in so many canon AUs #I love it when canon acknowledges his dangerous potential #i love villains #but exploring Heinz's specific type of villainy is so interesting and fun and new #heinz doofenshmirtz #perry the platypus #phineas and ferb #OWCA

[sleepyorchidmonster]

What about a genshin event where Furina and Neuvillette go to Sumeru? Maybe as a way to improve diplomatic relations, since both Sumeru and Fontaine had a change in their governments?

Just Furina having fun, meeting Nilou and Nahida while thinking of enrolling in the Akademiya (she can be classmates with Hatguy in Vahumana), almost getting adopted by Faruzan, going shopping with Dehya and Candace....

As for the diplomatic meetings, it was just Nahida and Neuvillette drinking tea while Wanderer, Cyno and Clorinde acted as bodyguards. Neuvillette decided that Nahida did nothing wrong and gave up on judging her. The sages are being drowned, though.

They also take a detour and meet Apep, who is much nicer this time around. Mostly because she finally found another dragon sovereign. And that's how we get more dragon lore!

Apep decided that Focalors is the only archon that she likes.

Also Neuvillette has a new target: Dottore. He talked a bit with Wanderer and Collei and Sumeru almost flooded.

#genshin impact #neuvillette #furina #nahida #wanderer #apep #don't know how neuvillette would visit without causing a blackout in Fontaine... #maybe he powers up the oratrice to run for a few days #nahida is seriously thinking of doing the same thing Focalors did #so much that even apep is like “no. you'll die AGAIN” #furina and kaveh vibing about how their pursuit of the arts broke them #4.2 spoilers

[cult-of-the-eye]

The OIAR is literally just middle management between eldritch creatures like they're the morally grey clipboard people standing behind the monster and telling it who to maul

#that is actually such a cool premise #and its always the clipboard people that get eaten in pursuit of too much #too much power #or knowledge #or just hubris #this is so fucking exciting #tmagp #the magnus protocol #tmagp 13 #tmagp spoilers

[dateamonster]

[ripping out my hair] rebecca was not an evil master manipulator and rebecca was not a girlboss. rebecca was a woman whos entirely life was dictated by her desirability to men. but also rebecca was an upperclass woman who threatened and used people especially those below her because what she wanted more than anything was the level of power only men of her class possessed. rebecca wanted to live with a rich white mans freedom but the best that was available to her was becoming a rich white mans wife and having domain over the estate which represented his patriarchal power. and still no matter how she went behind his back no matter how she deliberately provoked him she only became a true threat to him when he realized her affairs might lead to an illegitimate heir inheriting that estate. the only real power she ever really held over him was that of the potential unborn male that existed within her and that! was a lie! she was infertile! her only fear in life was of a slow death by sickness! because sickness would cause her to lose her beauty and ability and at the end of the day those were the only things she had! and when her worst fears were realized she killed herself for the slim chance that her death might be a final fuck you to the men that could only be infatuated with her but never love her! AHHHHHHH!

#rebecca daphne du maurier #SPOILERS I GUESS #SOMETHING SOMETHING WOMEN WHO SUPPOSEDLY WANT FEMINISM EXCEPT NOT AS A MEANS TO EQUALIZE GENDERS BUT TO UPLIFT THEMSELVES TO MENS STANDING #SOMETHING SOMETHING THE INTERSECTION OF GENDER AND CLASS #MANDERLAY AS A METAPHOR FOR PATRIARCHAL POWER THE PURSUIT OF IT CORRUPTIVE AND THE REWARDS UNSUBSTANTIAL AND TEMPORARY #THIS IS NOT A FUCKING LOVE STORY

[thebiscuitlabryinth]

something something pure vanilla learning more about shadow milk, digging up his past and finding the remnants left behind, connecting the legends around the academy back to this Beast and slowly unearthing more and more fragments until he can put together a haphazard image

something something shadow milk acting less erratic around him in their mind encounters, engaging him in intelletual debate and philosophical questions, almost seeming to settle every once in while with the enrichment of conversation. pure vanilla slowly starting to gather hope that, maybe, the Beasts can be saved, even if he doesn't tell anyone

something something pure vanilla falling in love with a version of someone that is long dead, a heartache he knows too well but can't seem to prevent, and paying for it

(something something shadow milk loving pure vanilla, but not in a way that would ever be compatible with pure vanilla, the way he is now)

#this is sort of what inspired my previous fic (and i might elaborate on it later too) #but i was just thinking on how you can possibly write sv as explicitly romantic #while still keeping the characterisation canon adjacent. canon parallel if you will #more specifically with pv's pov because. it's pretty easy to shadowvanilla from sm's pov because he is. a freak (affectionate) #but this is the only way i can see it working from pv's pov (that doesn't also involve watering sm down too much) #and i have to clarify that THIS WOULD NOT BE HEALTHY. THIS WOULD BE A TRAGIC TRAIN WRECK #but it would be SO fascinating to watch #hm. i may have to make this an au actually. i'll get back to you guys on that #anyway pv has a type and it is doomed scholar driven to madness by the pursuit and power of knowledge :) #shadowvanilla

[heartscrypt]

parallels that make me want to turn into a clam

#cfv #cardfight vanguard #aichi sendou #toshiki kai #ren suzugamori #kaichi #kairen #jamie talks #IT IS SO JOEVER #its sojoever #mfw toshiki kai pulls two bad bitches with psyqualia and loses both of them to the cruel pursuit of strength bc he's emotionally unavailable #both ren and aichi almost faint in front of kai from the exertion of using their powers #and the first thing they ask kai when they regain their senses is #''was i good enough?'' ''am i strong enough for you now?'' ''ive gotten better and it's for you its all for you please look at me please'' #toshiki kai when he attempts to escape his past and as a direct result of his actions it happens all over again😨😨😨

[theartingace]

Idea: orchard harvester saddle. More of a standing platform with a scooter handlebar for the rider where the centaur can hand things up and down. (playing Farming Simulator is making me crave more peaceful/agricultural world building; there's already so much Warlike WB around, it needs some balance)

(also, eat like a horse vs eat like a bird, horse metab is high efficiency but a lot of it just due to net size, imagine that efficiency applied to refined grains and breads. Centaur diets would be less-per-weight than humans, although not necessarily by much due to the metabolic needs of sapient brain and foretorso)

Ohhhh I absolutely love this and absolutely think it should be a thing. I've been thinking more about the inherent benefits of centaurs in an agrarian society and more and more the borders of the Merchant city has been expanding outward towards the edge of Rider territory with enormous matriarchal farm towns that feed most of the surrounding societies so this would fit right in to that kind of lifestyle! And sounds so useful! One doing the moving and loadbearing, one doing the climbing and picking.

And I agree, war shapes societies undeniably but so many worldbuilders forget that trade, craft and industry shape cultures and societies just as much! It's definitely a topic i could GO OFF about haha, I have major exports and interrelated trade agreements drawn up between ALL my current societies 😁

(also absolutely, the use of refined grains and bread was a huge part of my initial thoughts about how centaurs could survive feeding that big horse body with comparatively small/limited human teeth. The efficiency of processed grain and grass fibers would be SO necessary to their digestion and overall survival!)

#asked and answered #centaurs #agricultural pursuits #i have DESIGNS #for the rural merchant centaurs #it started with designing their homes #and then turned into a whole matriarchal time share family system #completely unique from the city centaurs #of the merchant culture #also good food thoughts #feeding that high energy brain #AND #that big horse body #would still require a lot of food #but the magic of human intervention #is the power of processed foods #and the beautiful glut of calories they provide

[decarbry]

a frequent visitor

#boku no hero academia fanart #Yabureme Aizawa AU #nomu aizawa #shouta aizawa #principal nezu #this is a response to an anon but it had a second prompt so I didn't want to answer it and then forget about the second one #but ya Nezu is one of the faculty that comes by super often when Yabureme is in Tartarus #there's always been a powerful mutual trust between these two before he was taken and Nezu only wants to help #the first time Yabureme is in Tartarus he is completely unresponsive but Nezu visits him every few days anyway in an effort to get #a response out of him. it doesn't work #but during his second stint in Tartarus he's more lucid and Nezu becomes a huge comfort as Aizawa is rediscovering himself #he's the reason Aizawa eventually relents and agrees to see his class again. he is totally resistant to the idea bc he knows he hurt them #MULTIPLE times. plus he was barely their teacher so he shouldn't be that big of a deal to them right? they knew him for like a week #when Yabuzawa is his own free agent again Nezu helps him bear the weight of his trauma and they bond over shared experiences as experiments #canon Nezu and Aizawa are cute and funny and wholesome bc of the whole cuddle-in-the-scarf thing but it's way deeper than that #Nezu is one of the only ones that Aizawa knew respected him for his abilities as a teacher vs just his useful quirk. Nezu gave him his job #and believed in him so much that he let him do whatever he wanted in pursuit of teaching students who would live longer #and less foolishly. Nezu/Aizawa are friends and value each other a great deal thanks xoxoxo

[wildflowercryptid]

forced to go to work when i'm truly meant to agonize over the underlying theme of adults failing the children they're meant to protect & nurture in scarvio.

#this was spurred on by an ask i got on florian's blog #i've talked about this before and it still makes me go coocoo bananas #like it's an obvious theme in starfall street but it really shows up everywhere!! #with implications that nemona's parents aren't very present in her life #everything with sada / turo's relationship with arven #briar being so caught up in her own pursuits that she neglects to see kieran's spiraling and even eggs it on... #also just power struggle going on in the league club #do they just... not have a teacher advisor assigned to them?? #*sits w/ my hands in my lap* i'm so Normal about this #pkmn scarvio #mj.txt

[ryanthel0ser]

Everytime Nero says something about "power" and "strength" in the DMC4 novel I hear a vine boom in my head as Vergil's voice echoes

#loving the novel so far #but gawd damn Vergil your pursuit for power was so strong it got implemented into the genetics #also Dante being like “ain't no way Vergil had sex” like thanks for confirming my headcanon askjdf #dmc4 #dmc #devil may cry #dmc nero

[bonefall]

I know you're keeping Clear Sky as an antagonist (and he's very compelling as one in your rewrite), but I'm curious: if you absolutely had to give him a redemption arc, how would you go about it? (Besides not fridging his sister and wives, of course.)

If I was forced to give Clear Sky a redemption arc I'd slip a femur right out of my legmeat and beat someone to death with it

I'd never write a redemption arc for him, ever. It would be a completely different character.

Clear Sky's redemption arc is not even an idea worth considering; This an extremely consistent abusive family member who drives the entire plot, a predator who will leverage the love people have for him, whose defining characteristic is that he dresses up his megalomania as "Just Trying to Protect Everyone"

And I'd give that up?! for what?

I'd rewrite the whole plot, JUST like how the writers did with TWO born evil foreigner villains so their story wouldn't get boring, so I could prove the he could be a good boy if he wanted to? WHY?

It's doing the same thing the Erins do, totally uninterested in the story of his victims to write yet another plot centered around the pain of an abusive man.

Elder Bones is disappointed in you if you even think about it, actually. I am holding the femurbone in my hand as we speak. I'm gonna GETCHA

#Bone Babble #Clear Sky can be redeemed in my wine cellar. if he'd like to come down to take a look #And I am sorry but like. I've never seen it done well. ever #When other people attempt it #I have never enjoyed an AU or an analysis post exploring some possibility for an alternate redemption arc #And I have seen a *LOT* of them #Every single one has played into legitimizing his Oh So Sincere Pain And Regret #HELL no!!! #NO he fucking doesn't!! EVERYTHING revolves around power to this character! #Any moments of sincere reflection or remorse get shoved down in the pursuit of more power and respect #He is incapable of sitting with his shame and that's INTERESTING #How he's a complete weasel who will find a way to twist the words of authority telling him to Cut It Out into something that benefits him #How the emotions people feel when interacting with him is either Guilt or Fanatic Affection #He's a horrible and toxic person!! The kind of person you're VERY lucky to get away from #So I've never actually seen anyone do it in a way that works. #And I'm not entirely convinced it exists. Anything is possible but no. Not in my house

[empirearchives]

Napoleon as a rallying cry during the revolutions in France during the 19th century

July Revolution (French Revolution of 1830):

French Revolution of 1848:

Source: The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914, Richard J. Evans

#The Pursuit of Power #Richard J. Evans #Evans #Napoleon #napoleon bonaparte #Talleyrand #Charles X #Thiers #Marmont #Lafitte #Jacques Lafitte #Louis-Philippe #Lafayette #Revolution #french revolution #July Revolution #1848 revolutions #Revolution of 1848 #1848 #napoleonic era #Blanc #first french empire #napoleonic #history #french history #my pics #book #book quotes #revolution of 1830 #France