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Wolfe and Santi // Shattering and Pieces

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i love when characters lie to themselves in the complete privacy of their own minds

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new alignment chart just dropped

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Diogenes

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Been busy with some artsy stuff

Yes, it is my full intention to put this on a t-shirt. Maybe.

I had the idea a few days ago and had to bring it into existence. That quote is the first that came to my mind, because Chris just has a way with words. But I'm open for more suggestions.

WIPs and no text version below the cut

I don't do digital drawing because have you tried doing that with just a mouse? And with your non-dominant hand?

I started with a pencil drawing and coloured it with acrylic paint, which unfortunately messed it up. So I traced it on a fresh piece of paper and coloured it with coloured pencils this time. The scan of course messed that up again, so I ended up tracing it digitally with a mouse after all (the pain 😭). At least that made moving stuff around easier.

I don't like how off-centre it all is, but what can you do when none of it is symetrical? Though I think I eyeballed it somewhat alright.

If anyone's still reading: Yes, you may use it for your own enjoyment, just tag me if you post it. I can also provide the full GIMP file if necessary (via discord) (it even has titled layers!). I would be honoured if anyone's interested.

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please god, take that man’s pain, double it, and put it on ao3

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On mobile so can't do a proper share like normal, but hey, I updated!!!!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/44411035/chapters/111700726

Out of Kilter, or what I call 'the self-indulging Jess whump fic'. This chapter is from Wolfe's PoV.

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I do think making Santi high commander is a huge leap and I’m not really a fan of the pacing of it all, but on some level it is truly a perfect encapsulation of who he is as a character. I’ve said before that he doesn’t change and his lack of character development fascinates me, and this sort of exemplifies said lack of character development.

Wolfe and Santi have both seen what horrors the library is capable of, they’ve both helped enact those horrors, but they start out with this unwavering loyalty towards it. we see this with Wolfe in Stormcrow (which is fascinating on its own given that he is literally the result of systemic sexual abuse carried out by the library but I digress) and that loyalty gets tested by what happens in Moscow. when we first meet Santi in Stormcrow, he already has the attitude that Wolfe comes to adopt by the story’s end: the library as an institution is broken but fixable if someone can find the right way. may it change.

and Santi, crucially, keeps that view throughout the entire series, without seemingly doing much to act on it. for example, while the creation of a printing press solves a legitimate question of efficiency, it’s also undeniably an act of humanity. the idea that a printing press will fix everything (or at least most of it) is held by a lot of characters in the series. and even when that’s pretty decisively shown to not be true, they still hold onto the hope that it could be a solution even if it’s not the solution. not Santi, though. his relationship to the printing press is “thing that got Wolfe tortured and almost killed but if it’s important to him I guess it’s important to me too”. this holds true for a lot of his “betrayals” of library; it’s for Wolfe and nothing else.

Wolfe, though, eventually arrives at a different conclusion about the library: whether or not it’s always been there is a matter of debate, but there is something horrible at the center of this institution, and it might not be reparable. he’s offered his own huge leap in power with the title of archivist, and he immediately turns it down (again his choice to name Khalila instead is its own post). for a lot of reasons, certainly, but I don’t think it’s much of stretch to read that as at least a partial rejection of the library as an institution.

Santi keeps the position of high commander, and while we do see changes made (particularly with the iron tower), I don’t know how much real military reform he’ll actually be motivated to do. it’s less of “we’ll stop doing atrocities now that I’m in charge” and more of “the atrocities will be justified now that I’m in charge”. what he sees of Rome affects him, certainly, and I do think he genuinely wants to make sure what happened to Wolfe doesn’t happen again, but to what extent?

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Reblog if you’re 30 or older

This is an experiment to see if there really are as few of us as people think.You can also use this to freak out your followers who think you’re 25 or something. Yay!

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Having FEELINGS about this bit from Sword and Pen:

Like, obviously by itself it's a gut wrenching moment.

But then you remember that Jess watched his older brother Liam die alone, sacrificed by his father. And like, godddddd. So he admits to his new father figure that he's dying, and he doesn't want to die alone (like Liam), and then he tries to justify that by explaining how he could still be useful, and the first thing he wonders if Wolfe is feeling in response to that is ANGER, because that would have been Callums reaction to Jess asking not to be abandoned. But then the second guess is anguish, because he believes that Wolfe loves him like Callum doesn't.

I just. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

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"spam like = blocked" if you spam like me i am going to cast 1000 protection spells on you so nothing bad happens to you ever

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the weird schrödinger's emotion that is "that character death was narratively satisfying and emotionally impactful and ultimately the best way to handle their character arc" simultaneously with "noooo but I wanted them to live :( :( :("

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whumpy hints

some tiny details that tickle the whump senses

• dark circles, bloodshot eyes

• falling asleep fully clothed, possibly with jacket and shoes still on, legs/feet hanging off the foot of the bed or sprawled half-on half-off a couch

• the “oh shit, i’m gonna faint/nevermind i’m good” face (and aborted grab for nearest solid object or person)

• a character losing their footing for a moment on rough terrain. someone reaching out to grab them so they don’t fall and they both hold on for a hot second

• closing their eyes and leaning into a gentle touch

• shaky hands, shaky voice

• falling asleep at their desk at work/tucked away in an odd place

• doing things that are out of character & having others start to notice: losing their cool, being extra chipper or extra quiet, jumpy

• zoning out

• someone getting between them and whoever they’re having a heated exchange with, gently pushing them back with a hand against their chest or shoulder

• slipping out of sight from the others to lean against a wall, tip their head back and close their eyes

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the more i love him the more he'll suffer tbh

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Dario would definitely dog-ear books. Jess would definitely punch him about it.