#i'm a visual learner

[lindseymcdonaldseyelashes]

Leverage: Redemption 3x6- "The Swipe Right Job"

The Red Line (2019)

[raphael-balls-inspector]

afraid to ask but is your pfp what i think this is 😭

Nonnie, with all due respect, I have no fucking clue what you think it is, but here it is bigger! (That's what Haarlep said-)

(House of) Hope it helps!

[hyena-frog]

Is there no love triangle between Virginia, Darrow and Cassius? I always had the feeling that Virginia had at least mild feelings for Cassius. Even still In DA she says that she can't exactly classify her feelings for him.

I would still say no, no love triangle. A love triangle implies reciprocation in some way. It implies there is a possibility for whoever reciprocates to get together. Sorry, Virginia would never leave Darrow for Cassius. It just wouldn’t happen. Besides, I personally never saw Virginia as being even a little in love with Cassius.

A true love triangle is technically like this:

What a mess. No reciprocation whatsoever. This is actually rarely done and when it is, it’s usually annoying as hell. It obviously doesn’t fit this situation at all.

The typical love triangle you see in YA and other media is more like this:

Oooh, who will A choose? This is obviously the most important thing we should be focusing on during the Apocalypse. This is... it’s not even a triangle. It’s a line. But whatever. It still doesn’t apply here. If A is Virginia, she only ever reciprocated Darrow’s feelings. That’s not in question imo.

The Darrow/Virginia/Cassius situation is more like this, if you’ll excuse my personal interpretation of Cassius’ feelings (but I’m right):

This is a mutual relationship with reciprocated feelings between Darrow and Virginia, with Cassius third wheeling it. Poor guy. Even his other ex Victra was in love with Darrow. Sucks to be you, dude.

Point is, I never interpreted Virginia’s complex feelings toward Cassius to be romantic in any way. She was only ever in love with Darrow. When she was with Cassius, she was using him as a means to protect her family. She admits to that. She’s not sorry about it either. She’d do it again if she had to.

But that doesn’t mean her actions sit well with her. At all times, she tries to be moral but can’t always succeed. Such is life. See her conversation with the Duke of Hands. She repeats his memorized speech verbatim except for the one part where he speaks about his history of sexual battery at the hands of Golds. She lets him say that part even though she has it memorized too. She feels it would be immoral to take those words from him, since she is a Gold. So while what she ultimately does to the Duke is morally gray, she has a moral code that she tries to stick to as much as possible.

My personal interpretation of her feelings for Cassius is platonic but complicated. She knows he is a genuinely good person and that makes her feel guilty (but not to the point she would ever think “oh woe is me for being so wicked as to trick him” you know?) When she was with him, she made herself into the perfect dream girl. It wasn’t the real her. The woman Cassius loved never really existed. He doubtless opened up to this fake version of her about things he never told anyone else because he was hopelessly in love with her. She knows his soft parts. She tries to be moral, but in this case she couldn’t be because protecting her family trumped treating Cassius morally. Knowing that Cassius is a good person (I’m not excusing the times he was not so nice, though, trust me) would have made her deception harder. Truly she was miserable during that time. 

Darrow may have said there was no way Virginia wouldn’t reciprocate Cassius’ feelings because he’s such a catch (which I could go into my thoughts on that relationship but that’s a different post hehe) but that doesn’t make it true. I genuinely think that was him projecting onto Virginia. As that point in the story, he’s hurting, he’s not in a good mental place. Seeing the love of his life, who he willingly pushed away, on Cassius’ arm would make him rationalize her actions that way, despite Virginia herself telling him she never reciprocated Cassius’ feelings. We all know Virginia is more emotionally intelligent than Darrow, especially at that point in the story, so I’m inclined to believe her.

I found her two cents on Cassius during Dark Age fascinating, to be honest. Her deception of Cassius would have been easier if he was an irredeemable asshole but she knows he’s not. Darrow’s stubborn resolve to give him chance after chance after chance until it finally stuck forced her to reevaluate Cassius’ character. She put an arrow through his throat when he deserved it but she also checked on him after Sevro saved him from hanging. We aren't privy to that conversation but she told Darrow that Cassius was “emotional” and grateful to Sevro. Oh to be a fly on that wall!

Anyway, my point is, her feelings for him are complex because he's done things that were morally reprehensible but she also has acted immorally towards him, according to her personal ethics. Both Virginia and Darrow suffer from “too hard on themselves” syndrome so I’m sure it irks her. But by this point it’s been ten years since she last saw Cassius. Her guilt is just an annoying itch at the back of her mind that comes up sometimes. She’s not hung up on it. But it definitely puzzles her, who is usually so intensely self-aware, that she can’t define her feelings for Cassius. But I don’t think they are, or ever were, romantic at all.

I’m really looking forward to their reunion tbh. I want them to resolve their issues. Whether she acknowledges it or not, I think Virginia would be very relieved to resolve her issues with Cassius. It’s not something she requires but it would be nice, you know? I think by this point, Cassius has gotten over his feelings for Virginia, but that’s just my personal interpretation. I think he would benefit mentally, as well, from tying up loose ends with Virginia. I think they would be really great platonic friends! You can see the potential for it in Red Rising but things got complicated after that (understatement of the century).

My point is, I never saw Virginia’s feelings for Cassius as romantic at any point. But it is a complex situation that would benefit from an honest conversation between the two of them. They’re in their mid-30s at this point. They can talk it out like adults. And we know Pierce Brown loves to subvert tropes. This situation has so much potential to subvert the “friend zone” trope and have Cassius be grateful to be Virginia’s friend! As any sane person would be.

[prettysureimlost]

my love language is sending me pictures of where you are. i don't care if it's the worst picture someone has ever taken on any camera phone ever, you took it to send to me, so it's beautiful

[honeybeardyke]

I want to see fat studs n butches.

[nouearth]

“there's a sense of urgency to him taking his clothes off.”

Me too he’s not special! - 🪶

💌 : ok, let me see it!!! preferably in my bed!!!

[bi-files]

Mutuals whenever you change your profile pic, just know that I am squinting at the new icon and trying desperately to remember when I followed you because I know you by the image alone not letters.

If gets really bad I click on the profile page and then scroll until I see lore that I remember.

You deserve better than this.

[thelesbianraven]

Reaching the point of my life where I want someone to teach me how to do makeup