#lost the thread a bit

[onlygenxhere]

Wip game

Rules: you will be given a word. Then you share one sentence/excerpt from your wip(s) that starts with each letter of your word.

I was tagged by @floating-in-the-blue Thanks my friend!

My word is: HEART

All words are from the beginning of the tentatively titled Fake Boyfriend Agency – Juke addition. Inspired by @floating-in-the-blue /Yeoyou’s fic Call for a Date (don’t fall in love)

How may I help you?

“Exactly.”

“And it’s semi formal, if that makes a difference who’s available.”

“Reggie is out of town visiting his grandparents and Alex has a date. I’ll ask Bobby if he wants to go but it’ll probably be me.”

That was fine with her. It was a good thing she loved her cousin, because she wouldn’t give up a Saturday night she could be playing an open mic for just anyone.

No pressure tagging @legolasghosty, @invisibleraven, @thephantomchronicles, and @sovvannight

Your word is: FORGOT

[elalalune]

Omegaverse roommates au

[aslyran]

Visions

[caeslxys]

Something I think is extremely interesting thematically when it comes to connecting what Downfall and the ideas it tackled to the overarching narrative of campaign three is that the things Downfall made a point to showcase of Aeor—Cassida, Hallis, the visual of an aeormaton proposing to her partner, the specific and intentional decision to shed light on a far from insignificant amount of the population being civilians or refugees—is that it plays in perfect parallel across from what is happening (and, really, has been happening) to the ruidusborn on Exandria in present.

Bear with me for a moment. Aeor is ultimately a city that was collectively punished for the decisions of its leadership. We could (and, judging by the amount of discourse around this particular topic already, probably will) argue about what the Gods’ motivation for all of this was—whether it be that they could not, in the end, bear to kill their siblings or that they were terrified at the prospect of mortality—for me it is a very healthy dose of both—but for this I am much more interested in the latter. They were scared. That, really, is the driving force behind both this arc and their role in c3 as a whole.

Why I point this out is: It is far more interesting to me, especially as we go back to Bells Hells this week, to dissect the Gods and their decisions not purely on sympathetic motivation alone but as beings in the highest seat of power in the highest social class in Exandria.

So, having established that the Gods (in relation to mortals) are more a higher social class than anything we could compare to our real life understanding of divinity and that Aeor was eviscerated largely because of their fear—what is the difference between those innocents in Aeor caught in the trappings of their autocratic government leadership and a divine war on the ground, and those of the ruidusborn being manipulated both by Ludinus and by the very thing that inspired such visceral fear in the Gods to start with. I would argue very little.

I think of Cassida, doing what she genuinely thought was right and good and would save people, her son, and the object of her worship—and how that did not matter enough to any of them to spare her because of the fear they held at the very concept of mortality. I think of Liliana and Imogen, one of which we know begged for the gods to help her or send her a sign for years on years, and how every single one of their largest struggles could have been avoided had the gods loved them, their supposed children, as much as they feared what they could be. I think of how the thing that did save Imogen, in the end, was a woman who herself existed in direct defiance of the gods will. I think of that young boy, sixteen years old, that Laudna exalted on Ruidus.

I think it’s completely fair to judge Aeor’s overall society as deeply corrupt—it was!—but its leadership and police force are not a reflection of every one of its citizens. Similarly, it is fair to judge the Ruby Vanguard as corrupt—it is!—but its multiple heads of leadership and even the god-eater further are not a reflection of every one of its members.

Notably, and what I think the Hells will latch onto, this did not matter to the Gods. It did not matter that Cassida was trying to help. She was still too much of a risk. Will it matter, what Imogen does? Will it matter, if that young boy is in the blast radius when they decide to take no further chances?

I’ve seen a lot of people say that the Hells will side with the gods and I don’t think I agree. Especially as Imogen has been scolded and villainized over and over for daring to try and save her mother—who herself has been seen by some as an irredeemable evil in spite of her drive being the exact same—her family—but when it’s the Gods it’s justified? When it’s the Gods, it’s sympathetic? Too sympathetic to criticize further than “they’re family”?

I obviously do not think the Gods should die or be eaten or what have you, and I certainly don’t agree with Ludinus (though I find him much more compelling than just a variation of hubris wizard), but when talking about the Gods in Aeor and in present it isn’t really at all about their motivation or their family. It can’t be. Too many people, including our active protagonists, lives have been effected for it to be as cut and dry as “they’re family”. These are your children. They are your family, too.

[runawaymarbles]

Would you be comfortable sharing that flow chart you mentioned in the tags about different ways Black and white people start conversations? It seemed really interesting and practical, but of course no worries at all if not! Thanks!

it wasn't about Black vs white conversation starters specifically: it's about making small talk at work without starting off with assumptions or putting them in an awkward position of having to explain something they shouldn't have to. (E.g. I do not outright ask people where they're from, what they do for work, etc.)

Context: I photograph newborns for work.

Example: Grandparents are usually good for at least three minutes of conversation, but you cannot ask about the baby's grandparents, because there's a non-zero chance that they are deceased (worse: recently deceased) or on bad terms with the baby's parents. So instead I'll say something vague like "is everybody very excited about the baby?", which gives the parents the choices of saying something like "Yes, all my friends are texting me for updates" (inference: they do not have close family; I might follow up by asking if many of their friends have children already) or "I didn't tell anybody I was pregnant" (got that once, it was fascinating, we had a good time discussing how she planned to spring it on people) and "Yes, she's the first grandbaby on the dad's side so his parents are thrilled"

The last one unlocks dialogue options like: oh do the grandparents live in town? No, they live in Nevada? I went to Reno as a kind and it blew my tiny mind. Is that where you grew up, or did they move there later?

Then they'll either say "yes that's where I grew up" and I can ask what brought them here (potentially opening such topics as: their jobs, if they say they came here for work; whether they miss sunnier weather, and so forth) or they can say "no, I grew up in Scranton but my parents retired to Vegas" or just "they moved later" and not mention where they grew up, if that's not information they feel like sharing. Then I can ask if their parents are enjoying wherever they've moved to, possibly fall back on some vague and unoffensive personal anecdote about said place, or go on to my next pre-programmed question* without anyone feeling awkward about it.

Some people are happy to tell me about how they grew up in Ethiopia and where their family is living now and how they came to the US to study microbiology and whether or not they like it here and if they'll be getting the baby dual citizenship and so on and so forth: some people do not, and this usually lets me skip around that without sticking my foot in it. (I'm pretty sure a lot of people don't want to say that they're Russian, for example, which makes me sad.)

The TL;DR is that I try to ask vague/open-ended questions that people can narrow down themselves, if they choose to, or make sure that a question is sort of an either/or so that they don't feel like there's a wrong answer. And I try not to assume anything about them whatsoever: sure, 99% of my clients with Indian names and Indian accents are in fact from India, but once in a while they're not. *"Do you guys have any pets? if yes: Do you think your pet knew you were pregnant?" [Most people think their dogs noticed the pregnancy, and some suspect their dog was the first one to notice they were in labor. It's fascinating. Alternately they say "no my cat's an idiot," and I can tell them about the time my aunt's cat stuck his face in a candle twice, and so forth.]

[crystal-verse]

grief in gray

(that poem inspired by sweet tea, as mentioned. kind of melancholy again)

--

I taste

you, in

the sweet tea

you would

make for me

knowing

that I prefer

my tea

sweet,

hot enough

to warm my

frigid bones, stiff

joints

and fill my

palms

with warmth

the same as

when I'd hold

your face

so gently --

I see you

in every piece

of crystal, glinting

in the light

like your eyes

would do

I see you,

in every page

of folklore, and

the scent of

lemon, always fools

me

makes me think

for just a

moment--

that you are

just behind

me, dozing in

a spot of sunlight, or

the branches

of a crystallized

tree

if grief is

love unsaid, then

will this poem vent

the ache in my

lungs?

words cannot express

the depth of my

emotions, and

all I can

think, morning and

night, is

"i miss you."

please

dream of me, love

[demonic-radio]

Alright, I've managed to answer enough asks that the inbox seems like it isn't a glitchy mess! The inbox counter should be accurate now, though I'll still be giving it an error margin of 4 given Tumblr's count is always wrong. The only difference now is that it's not hiding random asks from me anymore.

Remember that all of them go into the queue, so everything I've answered is still not going to be answered immediately. Right now, the queue extends until May 23.

I did end up adding that tomato tag. I believe I got all of the posts. The tag is #tomato tag. If I missed one, feel free to tell me.

Additionally, if you have any suggestions for what you'd like to see on this blog, feel free to say them in either the replies or reblogs!

[longagoitwastuesday]

ngl it sort of pisses me off the way adults regard Gojo in Jujutsu Kaisen at times. Which could be a very interesting and poignant point in a good way if well written, but as it is it becomes mainly just frustrating and sad in a negative way.

Nanami saying Gojo never cared about anything or anyone other than himself crashes interestingly with Kusakabe saying the whole situation was just all his fault because he refused to kill Itadori. The students are very aware of those aspects of Gojo's personality, but overall they seem to regard him with way more kindness and fondness even when at their rudest, not truly coinciding with either Nanami's or Kusakabe's views.

[19catsncounting]

Hey does anyone still think about the thematic differences between Supernatural and the Wayward Sisters and how self-isolating male hunters are compared to community-building female hunters and how this was shown from the Harvelles to even arguably Missouri Mosely and even Samuel Campbell who is his daughter's father almost more than a man himself (especially in Season 6) is not immune to this?

And how the Wayward Sisters could have been built not on sacrificing yourself to this singular all-consuming relationship with your brother and sacrificing yourself for the world second or in name only, but instead on what it takes to cut yourself into useful and digestible pieces for the sake of keeping your place in that community because you're almost certain that it's This Community or Solitude Forever (Alex you can never escape the life no matter how much you don't want it you've gotta pitch in do you want your family to die on this hunt Claire you know you'll never find anyone to love you unless you make yourself softer and then are they really loving you are you even worthy of love anymore Jody your husband and son would still be alive if you listened and learned you can't lose another child in every sense you can't quite let your children be defenseless children either and you know so well how sick this fear makes you and how you're dealing with it the wrong way your son got to be a child but your daughters can't be that vulnerable Even Donna you have Your Role to play here you're not good enough as a hunter but you're funny and happy and you don't take up that much space so that's exactly how much space you're given to exist in).

And yes, a lot of these things are echoes of Kripke Supernatural but instead of too-intimate and dark and quiet confessions that the Winchesters share and know that no one else could ever have the context to fully understand it's Community it's All Our Problems the humiliation and shame is all-encompassing because there is no privacy Everyone Sees You Everyone Knows You Everyone Wants To Fix Help You.

[mantisgodsdomain]

Anyways, to those who have been wondering what we've been doing during our impromptu Tumblr Vacation or whatever we're calling it, we've been trying to find a playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3 that is made by someone who doesn't annoy the shit out of us, and also tormenting Karlach Cliffgate (as you do)

[noelxbe]

a bit too quick

noel hasn’t spent much time with his pets lately, having been moved to the project green dorms and forced to leave behind his pets. his sister is staying at his apartment for the moment, taking care of his pets, and he’s sure she’s doing a good job, but that doesn’t mean he misses them any less. usually he’d be able to see them once practice was done, now he barely saw them. and he couldn’t hold on much longer, so he left practice a bit early, just for a single day, returning home for a short time before taking his dog for a walk.

they’re at the park, it’s comfortable to be hit by the cold hair, and noel is happy to spent time with mango (his dog). he’s sitting on a bench, barely holding on to mango’s leash, and that’s a mistake. there isn’t exactly a lot of people at the park, yet mango runs off, noel panics, standing up and running after mango, but mango runs straight into someone, making a stranger ( @betaejun ) fall. “oh god!” noel finally manages to grab onto mango’s leash again “are you okay?” he asks, reaching out a hand to help the other get up”.

[warrior-of-storms]

“Don’t you get it? This is what it’s all been about! This, this is what everything’s been leading to. This is the time you decide.” He bent down just a bit more and grabbed the Joker in a chokehold, then hauled them both up to standing. “If you won’t kill this psychotic piece of filth, I will.” He moved Joker to the side a bit, just enough to pull his gun back and rest the metal of the barrel against the clown’s pale temple. “You want to stop me? You’re going to have to kill me.”

“Jason, stop. You know I won’t-”

“All you have is a headshot,” Jason said, no longer able to hold back the angry tears that had been threatening to spill over all night. “I’m going to blow his deranged brains out and- and if you want to stop me, you’re going to have to shoot me. Right in my face.”

“Please, stop, don’t…”

“It’s him or me. You have to decide.”

Bruce looked from the gun in his hands to Jason’s face, something desperate and searching in his expression even through the cowl. Jason pressed his own gun closer to Joker’s head as the clown cackled. This was it. This was the moment everything finally ended. Bruce-

Bruce dropped the gun, letting it fall to the ground with a dull thunk before he turned and started walking toward the window. Of all the possible outcomes Jason planned for, Bruce walking away was not one of them. 

[crownshattered]

|| So, Kira with Lea and Isa in her KH verse... The way I see it, Kira isn't Lea's best friend (that right probably goes to Isa XDD). But Lea is Kira's best friend. Her childhood in her KH verse is significantly nicer compared to her other verses (which makes it all the more difficult for her to lose everything). But Kira, being Kira, is still a shy girl at heart. And, of course, her magic was pretty unpredictable back then, so I wouldn't be surprised if most of the kids her age just didn't want to be friends with the girl with random bursts of magic.

So, Kira was the little introverted girl with very few friends. Isa mentions in BBS that Lea has a habit of "picking up strays", and Kira was one of them. Lea was nice to her, offered to be her friend, and that meant the world to her. So she hung out with Lea (and Isa) as much as she could. I doubt Isa saw her as much of a friend (friend of a friend and all that) but she saw him as a friend. Lea and Isa were the only friends she had, other than her older sister (who was her guardian). When she wasn't helping Aurora around the house or practicing magic with Merlin, she was hanging out with Lea (and Isa).

I guess it's up to any Leas and Isas to determine how much she meant to them, but to her? They were everything. So it really crushed her to lose them and her sister when Radiant Garden fell to darkness.

[skoulsons]

worst part of rdr is varmint hunting

[sercphs]

@infatuua closed starter

⠀⠀⠀⠀It's a rare occurrence that the Shi Director is personally contracted for an assignment. A price that many would consider entirely absurd, inflated by his own reputation and that of his own students in their efficiency and success rate. A rare facet of the world is the times that their contracts go unfulfilled - that someone who could reasonably impede the best assassins alive actually stands in their way.

⠀⠀⠀⠀So it is of particular headache that his first field assignment in weeks around all of his paperwork has him face-to-face with one such person, a Color plenty capable of giving him a hard time. No clear victor could be easily concluded, and the damage surrounding such a confrontation would be significant...

"..."

⠀⠀⠀⠀So the pale blue gaze of the Director rests on Khanna, his hands resting on the handle and scabbard of the wakizashi on his hip. No motions of aggression are made, but his gaze is still - level and even...

"...I hope you've a good reason for standing where you do."

⠀⠀⠀⠀Figures that a contract wanting him specifically would have an impediment of notable significance. His last contract that could have had such an impediment was with K Corp, and could have put the Red Gaze in his path...

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Lucky him, nothing like that came to be.

⠀⠀⠀⠀Past the Color standing in his way, a glimpse is caught... A child, is it? The slightest furrowing of his brow, seeing the way that the child trembles. For a contract to have been put on their head, surely they came to witness something they well and truly shouldn't have from someone of significant power and importance...

"Mh... You know what it is I do and why I'm here. And... I know that you have a good reason for being where you are. I'd rather not draw my blade against you, if it can be avoided."

[theladysherlock]

talk shop tuesday! you get to talk about music a lot on your blog (and i can't help but to admire how diverse it is!). does music play a part in your artistic process? if so, is it inspired more by lyrics or the tune itself?

Haha, once again thwarted by my inability to shut up. haveyouheardthisband has been a boon to my blog, truly. The trick to having a diverse music taste is to have a friend who knows more about music than you do and will give you recommendations. This has never failed me before.

In general, I usually prefer lyrics to the melody when I'm listening to music, or at the very least I find that interesting lyrics are what turn a good song into a great song. So when I get inspired by a song to make an art piece (which is often) it's because there have been some lyrics rattling around in my head like stones in a rock tumblr.

I have lots of ideas for lyric-based drawings but I haven't quite figured out how I want to set them up, so they're on the back burner for now. I also do NOT have the patience for animatics, so I won't be making any of those anytime soon (but I have edited them before and that was a lot of fun! if anyone has any animatics ideas they want to draw but they don't want to edit them feel free to hit me up)

The two most notable song-based drawings are pieces I used to experiment with some lighting techniques. And I still really like them, so I'm going to brag a little bit. Under the cut!

[ID: A drawing of Alek from Leviathan in casual wear, looking up, shielding his eyes from the sun, and grinning at something off camera. He's in the middle of a sunny quad with a Neoclassical Building in the background]

Starting off with this drawing of Alek! This is an older piece ("older" meaning early 2021) that I still like. It was my blog banner for a loooong time and I stand by that. This drawing was the first time I used multiply and overlay layers for shading, and I wanted to play with colored highlights and shadows, and mixing hard and soft shadows. I think it worked pretty well, especially for my first attempt.

The song associated with this one was Heirloom by Sleeping At Last, which is about generational trauma and escaping cycles. I got really really emotional about the thought of Alek being truly, legitimately happy after the end of the books, which was only possible because he rejected his claim to the throne. "You are so much more than your father's son / you are so much more than the wars you've won" just rattled around nonstop in my brain, and I'm pretty sure I hid the line somewhere in the grass and then blurred it beyond all legibility.

Now that I think about it I should do a redraw of this one

[ID: a nighttime drawing of Mina, a brown-skinned Aasimar woman cuddling with Halia, a drow elf woman. Both are in their nightclothes and Halia is asleep. Mina has a concerned look on her face.]

This piece is from only a few months ago. Unlike the drawing of Alek, I didnt originally intend for it to be a lighting experiment. This was fully inspired by the song The Crow by Dessa, which is such a Mina song that I couldn't escape it. Specifically, it was inspired by the line "I can't ask you to show love / but would it kill you if you did?" I just really wanted to draw my girl visibly struggling with the mortifying ordeal of being known.

Once the main part of the drawing was done, I started playing around with the night lighting, and I got excited about the idea of showing a street light shining through and casting some shadows on the two. If I had planned it out that way originally I think I would have done some more work to make the shadows follow contours, but for a spur of the moment decision I'm really happy with it.