#abalisk

[cyb-by-lang]

Ask Game question!

"Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project"

Hmm.

I'll give you one answer per project:

A Ninja's Guide to Gotham: The impending confrontation with the Joker.

Ocean Stars Falling: Boss fight, boss fight, boss fight! (And dreading it.)

it must be a thursday: Pop goes the direwolf. :p

Among Lions: Aversa and Cornelia finally confronting each other without their "masks."

[tackyink]

I adore a good mystery and you certainly know how to build suspense ~ I am itching to know what's going on with that spooky forest and what sort of trouble our boys are gonna land in! Wakaba is a sweetheart and I will fight anyone that hurts her ᕙ⁠(⁠⇀⁠‸⁠↼⁠‶⁠)⁠ᕗ

Wakaba right now has a very strong suspicion that those three shady characters are conspiracy theorists/channers that have figured out her true identity and is wondering if she should call the police.

[breezeinmonochromenight]

Lunafreya is so pretty, I wish we had more of her~

Specifically the badass version of her that they scrapped :(

Agreed.

Tbhwy I’d have been fine with Lunafreya as she is if they’d gotten around to her dlc episode and/or didn’t do the arranged marriage thing.

I really really hate arranged marriage plots lol. You really didn’t need to have that as the reason for the road trip.

[ffs-abalisk]

Behold! The noble Shoop.

[writer-and-artist27]

Tag people you want to get to know better

Got tagged by @ffs-abalisk. Thankie, Nee :)

Last song: Full Moon Full Life, the opening to Persona 3 Reload

Current watching: The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten

Current reading: Joy at Work: Organizing your Professional Life by Marie Kondo and Scott Sonenshein. And a few other books (Spy x Family Vol 11, The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten [light novel] Vol 3, Overlord [light novel] Vol 12, La Morte d'Arthur...).

Three ships: Amane/Mahiru (The Angel Next Door), Yumiella/Patrick (Villainess Level 99), Marcielle/Falin (Delicious in Dungeon/Dungeon Meshi)

Favorite colors: Blue and green

Currently consuming: Water

First ship: NaruHina (Naruto) and Sakura/Syaoran (Cardcaptor Sakura). I liked the "get along at first sight" ships. Still do.

Birthplace: US

Current location: Bedroom - about to go to bed under three blankets. Just typing at my laptop.

Relationship status: Taken - been with my partner for 9 years of dating and 2 years of friendship beforehand.

Last movie: Godzilla Minus One

Currently working on: Chapter 89/"Lost Day 6" of Passing Days. And maybe trying to work on another watercolor painting piece. Preview of the chapter, anybody?

Tagging: @windwardstar, @partialdignity, @withanina, @teddog, @tackypies? Only if you all want to.

[ryathenaughtykitsune]

@abalisk child, I love you but *dies by sheep*

[ellestra]

Not the end of the story

I went to the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 the first night it was on because I was dreading the deaths it could bring so much I knew I couldn’t stay unspoiled if I didn’t. The speculations who will die in this one have been rampant for years. We know Gunn loves to kill off characters and of the starting team neither Groot nor Gamora are the ones we met in the first movie. Rocket was obviously the main suspect and since both Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldana said they are not planning to come back their characters were also likely to die. My longstanding fear was that Nebula would be sacrificed because her revenge and her redemption stories are done and that usually means there is nowhere for a character to go but death.

But this not that kind of movie so we see so many other options for these people to grow. Redemption doesn't have to be the end of the story. It doesn't need to end with death. There is life beyond that.

Sure, there are still big fights and even bigger explosions and there is a lot of death but for the main characters we’ve been following all this time it’s only about connections they built with each other and the connections they share with people they come from. The families they reconnect with and those they found along the way. And second chances that got them there. And sharing that option of second chance with whoever is willing to take it. Even if it sometimes take a long and roundabout way for them to take it.

I’ve said here before that MCU is strongest when it plays on the relationships we built with the characters along the way. When it makes us connect with the characters emotionally and then makes us follow their journey to grow. When it remembers their emotional history so we connect with both who they were and how far they’ve come. And when it’s done well like in this film it is so beautiful.

GotG does it best because it finds the perfect balance between saving that one friend we all love and saving everyone (and I mean everyone they are able to – they even save the animals and abalisks like the big, damn heroes they are). They even give second chance to Adam Warlock who tried to kill them and some High Evolutionary goons who have enough sense not to try. The whole movie is about empathy and compassion over perfection and utility. The people like Hight Evolutionary who only care about the latter see other as tools but the former is what makes you stronger because we are all stronger together. Even the monsters and weird misshapen creatures.

My only small gripe was how callously the Counter-Earth inhabitants are disposed of since we are so preoccupied with other storylines – Gamora saving Rocket, Adam trying to save Ayesha, High Evolutionary ship leaving – that there isn’t time to think of all of them dying. I know High Evolutionary was going to destroy Counter-Earth anyway – he just waited to spring the trap – but it hurt to see all those people including that nice Bat family die right after Peter said how not perfect that word is. It’s like he wanted Peter to feel bad about it but it’s never really followed up on.

This ability to connect with others is why Mantis is the most powerful of them all. She sees what others need and why they are needed. She helps Peter understand he needs to reconnect with his grandfather and his roots on Earth and heal some of his pain. He didn’t lose everyone he loved – he still has time. And she makes Nebula look beyond the superficial to see that everyone matters. Even if your family drives you nuts sometimes when there is love they all matter and have a place.

We see that building connection with people is really Peter’s superpower too. It made him a good conman but it’s also what allows him to save his friends and galaxy without killing people. He convinces others to help. It was really nice to be reminded he too is hyper-competent at what he does. Just like Rocket is at building tech Peter is at this whole thing of finding ways of in and out of both places and people. This is why his plans work so well. Unless, he’s overwhelmed by his own emotions. He still doesn’t deal well with them but that’s what he has friends for – both Nebula and Mantis help him through the worst of it.

Learning to connect to others in ways that are not build on pain and fear has been a big part of Nebula’s journey in MCU – from embracing Gamora through friendship with Tony and Avengers to becoming a Guardian of the Galaxy. We see how Nebula really comes to her own when she cares for others. She is the one who ends up running Knowhere long before the ending. She is the one who defends it. Look at her when she put on her wings to fight and actually defeat Adam Warlock. Look at her finding the information on what Rocket needs and putting the team together to find a way to cure him. And finally shed the last of the toxic thinking Thanos taught her to see who Drax really needs to be – a dad.

She even arranges for both Peter and Gamora to finally confront the ghost that’s been haunting both of them and find peace in knowing that what was, was beautiful but it doesn’t exist any more.

I know for most people the main relationship that drives this group are that of Peter and Gamora and Rocket with family but my favourite is the relationship of Gamora and Nebula. I’ve said it before I wanted more of the sisters’ relationship that isn’t tinged by hurt and distrust. Especially now, after they saved each other (with Gamora saving Nebula from Thanos and Nebula returning the favour and Nebula even killed herself to save her, well a version of herself, but still). Seeing them being there for each other despite being on such a different stages of their healing was great because it’s a lot of what we missed between GotG Vol.2 and Infinity War.

And, of course, Drax connects with the kids and saves them. It’s a perfect pay-off to a man who lost his family to another maniac convinced his pursuit of perfection needs to be paved with other people’s lives. It gives him opportunity to become dad once again. And to become the person who dances. In MCU full of dads who suck he is the best dad.

Groot has grown up with them all and they are the family that he will forever love and one that taught him to give second chances to people. Even the people who try to kill you because they may end up being the ones who save you. This is how they got Nebua when he was little. This is how he got Adam Warlock.

Even Kraglin and Cosmo got find their heroic selves with connection to each other and with help of others. Kraglin remembers the lessons from Yondu and is saved by Cosmo. Cosmo holds on with help from Mantis. They both reach their potential because they have others to help them.

And the whole movie is about Rocket connecting with people through different stages of his life and how much it hurts to lose them but also how beautiful it was to have them in his life. How much they made that life worth living. And how those connections saved his life and allowed him to save lives. He can lead people because he is able to care about people. Because he allows himself to care and be cared for.

I loved how they finally got to the moment their scars healed enough that they no longer need to cling to each other and explore the lives they want to live. Lives that aren’t driven just by the hurt they’ve experienced from others or by atoning for the hurt they caused. These are just their lives.

Saga comics has taught us all that there is beauty in mundanity. We should all strive for the boring life of just being with people we care about. Boring is good actually. They all could use a little boring. I’m sure adventure will be there whenever they are ready.

And they all live. They go each their own way. Like all families they eventually find out they want different things at the moment so they go to explore them but Nebula and Drax make sure they’ll always have home to come back to whenever they need it.

Whenever Mantis feels she needs a break from exploring the universe. Whenever Peter wants to take grandpa sightseeing.  Whenever Guardians need to rest and regroup. Whenever Gamora feels like reconnecting with her sister. For us that means a lot of goodbyes but for them it’s just until we see each other again.

[sketchbananafairy]

@abalisk I've got a few videos where you can hear the cicadas progressively further down the driveway. The general drone/buzzing noise throughout is the cicadas 😩

[oddmawd]

UNDERSTAND MY SHIP IN 5 MINUTES

thank you @la-grosse-patate for tagging me!

BLANK TEMPLATE BELOW THE CUT

i had so much fun with this that am probably going to make these for the rest of my romance fics! nice way to spend my post-surgery day haha (i am verrry loopy on meds)

tagging some folks to fill out as well, but no pressure! @abalisk @ladyaudentium @pinkcatminht @neon-gothicc @nequittezpaswrites @tootoomanycats @youkorose

i am medicated and know i am forgetting some people i'd normally tag so please fill it out if you want to!!!

[langwrites]

Drew some sleepy sheepies for @abalisk. Been a long time since I drew anything digitally.

[image description: a sleeping Mareep and a cartoon sheep avatar tucked up against each other. The Mareep's tail is circling around the sheep avatar. end description]

[cyb-by-lang]

Your specialty is definitely sustained and engaging dialogue which always has me in awe

Aww, thank you! I find that characters chattering serves as my way of anchoring or pacing a scene, weirdly enough. :)

[tackyink]

Oh dear god, I just realized...

You mentioned that Wakaba already thought Yusuke and co. were members of the weird conspiracy cult. She's gonna TOTALLY think they're nuts when they start talking about demons and spirits, no matter her feelings about that shrine 😂😂😂

For sure! She ran away to the boonies because she didn't want to hear about paranormal stuff for the rest of her life and on her second week there she's already talking to a psychic, a dude who died twice and isn't even human anymore, and a spirit fox. Her luck is fantastically rotten.

[daeryn]

do you have any OP fanfic recs?

of course!! i mostly read (and write) oc fics, so hopefully that’s what ur into.

some of my favs are:

memoirs of a suicidal pirate by @alkhale

flight of the albatross by @ffs-abalisk

tell it to the marines by tsume_yuki

pars una by chibitami

counterfeit hearts by @sugiwa

one step behind by sagidraconis

burst your bubble by ayeeelien

as for non-oc fics…

beginning the next dream by riko jasmine

the fire and the sun by dezace

finally i get to choose what’s wrong (and what is right) by via_the_cryptid

the sky is falling (but you’re here with me so there’s no place i’d rather be) by vallmo_05

all of which are on ao3!!

[ffs-abalisk]

Furina: *screaming, crying, throwing up* "I need an adult!"

Neuvillette: "You are an adult..."

Furina: "AN ADULTIER ADULT!!"

[writer-and-artist27]

Tagged by @windwardstar.

…Thankie, Osie. I needed this to take my mind off the lack of sleep.

Tagging: @teddog, @partialdignity, @abalisk, @shinyvivillon, and @lovingempress. Only if you want to.

[mothman-etd]

She knows.

So my friends play this game called “Explain yourself” and basically when you bring a new person around we will bring up embarrassing/incriminating stories.

When said friends tried to play Explain Yourself with Joy they got super pissed since Joy already knew all my stories including the ones that might land me in jail.

“Did you know mothman burnt a building down?” <eyebrow-wiggle.gif>

“yeah, which one exactly are you talking about, the accident or the intentional one?” 

“Fuck, he told you both times already?”