#and so onto the next thing

[wandaluvstacos]

to any artist: if art is not making you happy, you don't have to make it. You can hit da bricks, you can just leave. You can just find another hobby that brings you joy and do that. And don't leave it thinking "well if I take a break I'll surely come back to it!", because I see this a lot, like "don't worry, you'll eventually be inspired and come back to it." Maybe you won't! Maybe you'll never touch a pencil ever again. it's okay. it's fine. You are not wasting some fantastic gift given to you by God on high. Sometimes you like a thing for a while and then you stop and never return to it. That's life. That's the passage of time. People like things and then stop them every day. You may feel as if it's entwined with your identity, and it's scary to think of being anything other than an artist because you grew up being the "artsy" kid in school, or you went to college for it. Dude, most people go to school and get a degree in Psychology, and 95% of them don't do shit with that later in life. The earth keeps turning if you decide it's not for you, even if you are "really good at art". You have permission to find a new calling, and to suck at that calling more than you did at art. The most important thing is that you feel right and one with the world, that you decide for yourself your worth and depend on no one else for joy or acknowledgement.

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Chronic Sonic pt 3

Despite what the amount of doodles I'm posting might suggest I really am trying to give my wrist a break

It takes Shadow a hot second to find the blueprints and the notes about his inhibitor cuffs. He's not sure if they'll make it better or worse for Sonic so he's hesitant to try until Sonic goes down mid battle and he risks it. The cuffs work, they're a bit unstable, but they work. So he finishes off the battle with Sonic in tow and goes straight to Tails.

[ryebread-aurt]

I think soda should’ve been allowed to be more of a horse girl. As a treat.

Close ups under the cut 👇

[mattodore]

you're begging me to take a bite

[black-and-yellow]

[sun-e-chips]

It may be the end of summer but the fun is just beginning!

Goodbye summer see you again next year :)

[necrotic-nephilim]

what's fun about shipping Tim with Dick, Jason, or Damian is he has, at some point, hallucinated all of them to comfort himself. even when he doesn't like them or particularly get along with them, he has to imagine/hallucinate them just so he has the power to go on. Tim's concepts of the Robin mantle and what it should be is so fun, because he respects the others through the Robin mantle. Tim worships Dick because he was the first Robin. he wouldn't be Robin if Jason hadn't died in the mantle. and a lot of his frustration with Damian is he feels Damian isn't honoring the mantle correctly. when you ship Tim with the other Robins you can't divorce their identities as Robin from it because Tim will always see them as a Robin first and that's so fun and fucked up. like.

batman (1940) #456

Tim perceiving Dick as *Robin* cheering him on, not Nightwing, which is the version of Dick that Tim actually knows? that's just. wild of him. he will always view Dick as Robin first, his personal hero but also the original of the legacy. his love for Dick is shaped by that.

and then of course, even when he's hallucinating/imagining Jason cheering him on, it's *still* through the lense of being reminded how Jason failed? subconsciously believing that Jason got himself killed because of his actions, and that being a lesson for Tim to learn from? Jason isn't a person to Tim, he's a moral lesson about how to be Robin. any potential idolization he could have of Jason isn't because he loves Jason, it's because of the lessons Jason's death taught him.

and then, even though him hallucinating TIm is from the New-52, which makes characterization all kinds of questionable, i do think it makes sense for TIm to hallucinate/imagine Damian after Damian's death in an attempt to cope with it.

teen titans (2011) #18

to an extend, he sees Damian's death as in part his own fault. and even hating Damian, Tim needs the comfort from this to cope with Damian being gone. he's angry that Damian even was Robin, and has to learn something from Damian's death and how it impacts the Robin mantle, and teenage heroes as a whole. like, Tim can pretend he hates Damian all he wants, even getting taunted by the image of Damian, but there's still an underlying love to their relationship.

i think that's just the fun of shipping Tim with any of them. you will never divorce Tim's views of them from the Robin mantle and how fucking Unwell he is about anyone else who's been Robin before or after him, to the point he has to hallucinate them comforting him when he's at his lowest. it's always going to be a little unhealthy, a little toxic, and driven by Tim's relationship with being Robin as well. i need more Tim being weird about Robin in these ships.

[mythalism]

im actually kind of surprised how at peace i am with this unofficial but inevitable end of dragon age. obviously im sad. for the people who just lost their jobs with seemingly very little notice, and also just a general sense of sadness for how capitalism is so relentlessly dedicated to crushing every last shred of human creativity and passion under its bloody boot. but personally, i actually think dragon age served its purpose in my life, and i'm not sure how much more i could have continued to get out of it. outside of providing satisfying closure on a story i waited 10 years for, which was a necessity, in order to actually carry on and reignite the passion i had for the franchise and reincarnate it into something that could last another decade in my mind palace... da4 would have had to have done something really groundbreaking for it to resonate with me at 26 the way it did with me at 16. even if i really enjoyed veilguard and thought it was great, i am not sure it would have carried over into the next phase of my life unless it was really special. think it could have easily been possible, for example i think if they went back to the full da2 greek tragedy vibe that would have absolutely gagged me and had me by the balls, but i also didn't necessarily ever expect that. i would have loved to see it, but i was never counting on it, and as i waited for the game to download on the morning of the 31st, even then it felt a long cycle finally coming to an end, rather than the exciting beginning of something new. what excited me was finally getting closure and catharsis, not starting a new cycle. loving dragon age primarily from ages 16-22 was genuinely so profound, the stories were so meaningful to me as a young adult and carried me through so much. it was exactly what i needed when i needed it, and though these games got me to this destination of who i am 10 years later... i'm honestly not sure they could have carried me any further. veilguard was the last leg of a very long trip. a cigarette-smelling, reckless-driving, overpriced Uber ride following a wonderful life-changing vacation and a 10 year long turbulence-heavy flight, but it got me where i needed to go in one piece. it could have been a much more pleasant ride, of course, but i made it. and now i have to find new destinations to travel to

[paintedkinzy-88]

BOOM, BACK WITH ANOTHER COMMISSION

Been super all over the place with work, but finally I get to hop back into drawing in my free time, and my gosh was this one fun. Trying to figure out how to make a colorful dragon not look TOO colorful was such a fun challenge! And bismuths crystals are some of my favorites :D

Might have to do a tiger's eye now, nlg--

Thank you again @bluebandedagate for the commission! <3

[towerofluin]

C’mon Raph, don’t noogie the elderly

(Or: finally, communication)

[stitcherofchaos]

TBH my ‘vision’ of Maglor is more of a music nerd than any kind of drama queen fanon makes him out to be sometimes.

Like someone who just doesn’t see the political ramifications other people saw in his songs, when it really was just a good metaphor. Someone with messy hair and pulls it back without even brushing it before going to a royal festival. The geeky, melancholic version of Finrod in his own family. A Maglor so obsessed with music and words he thinks about the sheer art of the Oath’s words rather than the context within itself or what it entails. Someone who wasn’t aware of how the Noldolantë could have been taken the wrong way and didn’t even finish it before he vanished from history (or, who knows, he probably forgot to bring the lyrics written with him when the Gap burned), probably had a meltdown when he realized that he had lost it. Someone who loves music so much that, after all is finished, he fades while singing, because it was all he had left.

Someone who once had a joyful, innocent spirit which was brutally killed after he did.

[aliusfrater]

similar cinematographic choices to portray the same imagery with insanely different circumstantial contexts

[devicecontact]

Starts shaking like a dog. Magiturge intro player KILL DOC

[anywayxstarchild]

currently on a random quest to acquire as many pictures of liam wearing his cross necklace as i can; if anyone has some at hand, feel free to share (please)

[zer0expektation]

hey, d'yall know that thing ppl do sometimes where they take pics to check to see if they're hallucinating?...

high school AU Powder/Jinx,,,,;

full version vv

[myokk]

It's a clear, beautiful summer's day, the type of day that starts out bright and full of birdsong, that ends looking up at the stars and the moon while crickets chirp and fireflies show soft bursts of light. When the air is warm and full of life and the smell of hot grass and lavender and honey permeates everything.

The whole summer had been like that, really. Running outside with abandon, chasing each other through the tall grass deliriously happy and lying down in the fields surrounding their village, watching the clouds float by while they eat cucumber sandwiches. It's the summer before their first year at Hogwarts; the Sallow twins know that their life's about to change and are determined to enjoy their last summer of childhood.

Maybe they're too old for this sort of thing - they are eleven, after all, but both of them know that this summer is a turning point for them and they want to cherish every moment for as long as possible. Their parents have been encouraging them, often sending them out for the whole day, piling journals and ink and quills and picnic baskets full of food in their hands, encouraging them to research and be curious about the world around them as they had always done.

This day, however, their parents are almost eager to push the twins out of the house. Their mum's smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. Sebastian feels nervous about this, but doesn't realize why until much later, when the memory is analyzed and remembered during his dreams. (definitely not while awake). When they leave the house in the morning, she makes sure to kiss each of them on the cheeks which she normally never does and Sebastian pushes her away in disgust, much to his future horror. In the moment, all he can think is that he might still be holding on to the last moments of his childhood, but he's too old to be kissed by his mum.

(but now, Sebastian doesn't know if his memory is faulty and he is adding moments that never actually existed in the first place. the mind is a tricky place)

He never allows himself to think about these halcyon days, the perfect-until-it-wasn't summer before they went to Hogwarts; this day in particular is forbidden to remember. His unconscious mind rebels against his iron will.

They spend the morning looking for the fairies that Anne had dreamed about the night before. She's convinced that it's a prophetic dream and they march around in circles in the little copse of trees - a forest to the two children, who haven't really ventured out of their village - as Anne tries to remember where she had seen the fairies in her dream.

Sebastian is happy to follow her even if (maybe especially if) he thinks it's a futile adventure - what else are summer days for?

They're in that strange junction between childhood and adolescence; desperate to just grow up already and become the people they were always meant to be, and yet just wanting to spend their days being kids, without a care in the world.

"Come on, Sebastian," Anne calls to him, a tiny stream gurgling between them. In one hand, she's holding the map that she drew as soon as she woke up; in the other, boots stuffed with her stockings.

Sebastian huffs as he trudges behind her, arms full with their bags, his shoes, and the picnic basket. Anne had offered to help him carry things, but he refused on principle. Their dad is always doing small things like this for the women in his life, and Sebastian wants to be just like him.

Anyways, Anne has her own role as the leader today, and it won't do to have her bogged down.

And he's eleven, more than old enough to carry everything.

He steps through the tiny creek, mud and slush squishing through his toes, and he smiles. There isn't anything he loves more than being outside, except maybe being outside with a good book.

"Keep your eyes peeled for a tree with a knobby trunk, with lots of knots that look like faces," Anne tells him, glancing over her shoulder, then turns her face back to her map and scrunches up her face. "In my dream, the fairies lived nearby."

They spend the rest of the morning continuing their fruitless search, laughing as they walk in circles, then set up their picnic in the field next to their house.

"What do you think Hogwarts will be like?" Anne asks, a dreamy look on her face.

Sebastian doesn't look at her when he answers. He lies back and stares at the clouds. They've already had this conversation hundreds of times since their Hogwarts letters arrived, both of them have their parts memorized. "Amazing. I can't wait to actually be able to use our magic instead of just reading about it."

Anne rolls to her side and props herself up on her elbow, getting a better look at her brother's face. With a smirk, she says, "I think I'll like Transfiguration the best. I can't wait to be able to turn you into a -"

A huge noise interrupts her before she can continue. Sebastian sees the confusion in her face before he truly registers that something has happened. It's like everything's moving in slow motion and all he remembers clearly whenever he dreams of this day are his feelings of confusion and disbelief and the smell of fire.

There's a huge explosion and the air is full of smoke and he and Anne are scrambling up, the picnic blanket tangled up around their bare feet and -

Hand in hand they run in the direction of the huge black smoke that is billowing up. It coats the air - they can't see anything and the smell of burning fills their noses and the smoke fills their lungs and they're coughing coughing coughing -

Sebastian doesn't want his sister anywhere near the blackened husk of their former house but he is also terribly afraid to be alone. They stand in the middle of what used to be their house, blackened half-walls, charred wood that used to be their table, the old couch they read on every night, it's all smoldering, all gone, the thick black smoke making his eyes water and choking and smothering everything in its wake. His mind can't comprehend what he's seeing. Everything is so familiar and yet so wrong.

He doesn't know how long he and Anne stand there, clutching each others' hands like they are a tether to reality. Which, he supposes, they are. They might be there thirty seconds, ten minutes, one hour, an eternity...

Then, neighbors are running to the twins, coughing, covering their faces in the crooks of their elbows as they conjure blankets with their wands and wrap Sebastian and Anne up and drag them out of what is - was - their home.

This part is always hazy. Sebastian can't remember if he cries. Or if he even says anything. He just stands there with Anne, the smoke thick and oppressive as it pours out of their house. Everything is crumbling apart.

(A hand gently caresses his scalp, fingers light and reassuring as they dance through his hair)

Their neighbors try their hardest to salvage what they can. The daguerrotype that their mother had cherished more than anything, taken a few years before, miraculously survives. Sebastian stares at it, the tiny figures moving and laughing and smiling as though everything is perfect. He wants to throw it and break it or maybe rip it up to shreds but he can't bring himself to do anything but stare.

Their father's wand is also shoved into Sebastian's hand, unscathed. It was found just outside of his father's curled fingers, lying pristine on the ground as if mocking the destruction that it caused.

At some point, their Uncle Solomon, who they've only really seen once a year growing up, shows up with a loud crack and tears through the rubble, tears carving wet tracks through the soot on his face. His voice goes rough with desperation and when he walks up to the two orphans, he is almost unrecognizable.

As if in slow motion - maybe an after-effect of the curse that has destroyed their lives is that the air has turned into molasses - Sebastian watches his uncle stagger over to them. He looks much older than Sebastian remembers.

Later, when Sebastian looks at his reflection in the mirror of his new home, the boy staring back at him also looks much older than he remembers.

Before It Felt Like A Sin, Chapter 14