#but this was hilarious to ponder

[xitsensunmoon]

I don't remember if I've talked about it but Gregory would be Moon's fav and Sun's worst enemy and Cassie would be Sun's fav and Moon's worst enemy.

And that's actually shown in SB and Ruin-

Sun is very angry with Gregory as he didn't follow the rules and let Moon out. While Moon is actually? Pretty chill about it? I would even say he's kinda ecstatic about being out, even tho his programming/virus does tell him to punish Gregory for breaking the rules. He still doesn't even sound angry, he's giggling and chucking and just kinda vibing.

In ruin we see the opposite. Moon is out, in pain and angry at Cassidy for trying to turn on the lights. He's VERY aggressive and even his laughs sound just forced/painful. Part of his aggression obviously comes from the fact that they're in pain and scared but you get what I'm trying to say. While Sun is happy with Cassie as she's here to help! Not like that brat Gregory lol

[feroluce]

When Al Haitham dreams, it's in shades of sandy blonde and red, metallic gold and feather-blue. His nightmares are colored much the same.

Kaveh leisurely strolls ahead of him, shoes leaving deep treads in the soft desert sand. He keeps a careful distance, arms length, and in return Al Haitham keeps an eye on him, the other man's back dead center in his sights.

He curses the sand in his boots and the long line of footprints he steps into, already the exact shape of the soles of his shoes.

They aren't lost. Al Haitham knows where they are. They've been here before. They are still here.

Kaveh doesn't watch their feet. His head is constantly tipped back with his eyes on the stars and their constellations (of which Al Haitham only knows two, Vultur Volans and Paradisaea). He'll walk right into a cactus like that. Al Haitham yells ahead for him to watch where he's going.

Kaveh reaches up to touch the side of his head in a strange motion, but otherwise there's no acknowledgement. They press on into the dark of night.

Something squelches beneath Al Haitham's boot.

It stops him short, pulls his attention like a magnet and as much as he wants to, he can't ignore it. He doesn't want to lose any more ground. But something won't let him move on. Al Haitham watches as red seeps into the golden sand, spills beyond the border of his bootprint until he slides his foot aside.

It's an ear.

It's a human ear, and there's a heavy earring attached, metallic gold, gems red and green, a familiar shape, a familiar shade-

Al Haitham opens his mouth to yell. Chokes. Swallows the lump in his throat as he quickly restarts his pace. Tries again.

"Hey!"

Another squelch under a hurried footstep. He doesn't stop to look. Al Haitham is pretty sure he knows what it is.

"Kaveh, hey!"

The path becomes littered, little slices and small pieces, fingertips and knuckles, Kaveh's arms once held casually behind his back now strewn along the sands. Every time Al Haitham extends his hand to him, reality warps and bends like the twisted image in a broken mirror, lines mismatched and edges jagged. Kaveh flits just beyond his grasp, fleeting fae, no longer able to hear him or to reach out to him. Al Haitham can only grit his teeth and follow.

His right foot marches forward. His left follows. His right again. His left suddenly doesn't follow, and Al Haitham is thrown off balance and pitches forward, swinging his arms outward to land on his palms and keep his face off the ground, because he's been in the desert enough times to know what a foot suddenly being stuck can mean.

Quicksand.

Al Haitham curses and swears in just about every language he knows as he tries to spread his weight as evenly as possible, stay afloat at the top of it because if he sinks, he knows he'll be done for, and shit, Kaveh.

His neck cranes uncomfortably in his search, Kaveh had only been a few feet in front of him, he can't be sunk much further, and he's in the desert much more often than Al Haitham anyway, he'll be familiar with what to do-

Kaveh stands in front of him, empty sleeves fluttering loose. Still just out of his grasp, still watching the stars. The quicksand is already up to his calves.

"Say, Al Haitham..." It's the first he's spoken this whole time. His voice resonates somewhere deeply nostalgic in Al Haitham's chest, produces a ripple that momentarily stuns his heart.

Kaveh is sinking.

Al Haitham stretches out on his belly as far as he's able, it's quickly up to his knees, Kaveh isn't even trying to redistribute his weight or pull himself out, it's at his thighs, Al Haitham sucks in a breath and yells for him, his hips, yells louder, his waist, Al Haitham's trembling fingertips can almost reach, his chest, Kaveh drops level with him, quicksand about his neck like a noose.

Kaveh's head tips back, back, impossibly far back, until it hangs, angle awkward, and he's looking right past Al Haitham with his tired smile and gouged, blinded sockets full of starlight.

"Do you believe in karma?"

The quicksand swallows him entirely and Al Haitham dives, shoves his arms deep and pushes off with the one foot he'd had left on safe ground, because he can't, he can't, it's not the same without Kaveh, not anymore, he needs him, no one else keeps him sharp, no one else challenges him like Kaveh, if he can just grab him, if he can just pull him back up-

Al Haitham thrashes, against the sands, against gravity, against the hardwood of his bedroom floor. Clumsily scrubs the back of his hand across his face to rub the grit of quicksand and sleep out of his eyes.

Sometimes he thinks he preferred it when the Akasha was still harvesting his dreams.

He pops his head out from under his weighted blanket and lays where he'd fallen out of bed for a moment, blinking blearily against the lamplight shining from his desk in the corner. Deep breaths. His consciousness shifts along the blurred line of nightmare and reality, crosses over the slow transition into wakeful awareness.

He's home, Kaveh is home. It's dark out. The house is dead silent.

He's just going to go check, he tells himself as he peels himself out of his sweat-soaked shirt and roots around for a replacement. He's already losing memories of his nightmare, the details spilling away from him like wet ink, but he knows he needs to see Kaveh. It'll feel better to do something, anything, than try to go straight back to sleep.

He's quiet when he slips out of his bedroom door, because they both keep late hours but their bedrooms are right next to each other, and Al Haitham will never hear the end of it if he wakes his roommate up.

Lights off, door shut. Nothing conclusive. He moves out to the main room.

Kaveh sits on one of those ridiculous sofas he'd ordered three of for some reason, back to him as he tucks a lock of hair behind his ear. A mostly-empty wine bottle stands tall on the table, next to the cobbled-together remains of an architectural model that's been picked and fussed over for four days straight now.

"Kaveh? What are you doing?"

This earns him an exaggerated startle, but Kaveh doesn't turn to look at him, preoccupied with whatever new sketch or blueprint he probably has in his hands. "Ohhh, nothing," he slurs cheerfully. "Just working. Just thinking."

Kaveh has always been the world's chattiest drinker. Al Haitham waits for the rest of it.

"Say, I think...I think I asked you this years ago, back then, but you never answered me." Al Haitham feels all the blood drain from his face in ominous familiarity, drip cold down the length of his spine. Kaveh sinks into the couch until he can tip his head over the back of it, looking up at him with a tired smile and exhausted eyes.

"Do you believe in karma?"

[drinker-of-paint]

I had a dream last night that they had released a TMA tv series and for some reason we were watching the last episode in maths class (I haven't done a maths class in 10 years)

at the end they teased the next season being protocol with a preview clip of alice and it panned up to reveal that she's been a particularly detailed mannequin this whole time and it was just never mentioned in the podcast and everyone lost their mind

[hellkitepriest]

"i should make jonathan higgs birthday gifs" ok but what about your MOTHER's birthday gifs

[mogwaei]

I’m so sorry people are being jerks in your tags! I don’t understand what motivates people to do this. I don’t even share most of your fandoms, but have followed you for quite a while because I find your art and the pieces of story you convey through it absolutely captivating; I miss seeing your work on my dash, but more than that I’m sorry you keep having experiences that make sharing your work a stressor instead of a joy. Take care of yourself - and I hope it helps a little to know there are some of us who just enjoy the things you make without qualification or expectation. <3

hey there sweet anon, thank you for the kind and unexpected words. It's been a weird experience on tumblr for me as a small artist. I'm really touched that you have been following for my art rather than the subject?? And for a while? That's a massive compliment that I'll carry with me forever. Thank you. It does help, it helps a lot - with the state of social media and how much it's been making creators doubt themselves (the daily thought/question: "is my work even good or worth being noticed, what am i doing wrong") it's bewildering, in a very good and inspiring way, to hear that someone enjoys my art not for the fandom aspect. Especially where I feel at my current skill.

I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your day for me 💕

take good care of yourself out there friend!

[aspiringnexu]

We all have our wants and theories for season 2 but I really hope one of the main subplots is Sauron just being a pain in Adar’s arse and he isn’t even trying.

And for a good portion of the season Sauron doesn’t bother to reveal his identity so Adar is left completely baffled as to how this random human is so effortlessly defeating the orcs and setting up shop.

[chelseahotel2004]

been reading tolkiens letters for this paper and aside from the genuinely fascinating insights in this particular one im just generally a big fan of this paragraph (context: catholic bookshop owner cross examining tolkien about religious incongruities/possibly blasphemies in the hobbit/lord of the rings)

As for Tom Bombadil, I really do think you are being too serious, besides missing the point. (Again the words used are by Goldberry and Tom not me as a commentator). You rather remind me of a Protestant relation who to me objected to the (modern) Catholic habit of calling priests Father, because the name father belonged only to the First Person, citing last Sunday's Epistle – inappositely since that says ex quo. Lots of other characters are called Master; and if 'in time' Tom was primeval he was Eldest in Time. But Goldberry and Tom are referring to the mystery of names. See and ponder Tom's words in Vol. I p. 142.

get his ass john!!

[demonslayedher]

Sometimes I remember that InoAoi is canon and I snort with laughter all over again about how unexpected it was.

[c00kiex8]

"if my uh. ....if Mine" 💀 JOEL

[dragonsongmakhali]

so i did thaleia tonight for the first time (late i know) and so i watched all the cutscenes

and someone did a ready check but I was in cutscene land and figured, I can't be the only one there's always like five folks just spacin out in alliance raids

1/24 not ready :)

[jara-l-art]

I thought tumblr might appreciate some wizards throwing it back

[none-gender-left-man]

A lizard wizard

A wizard pondering the lizard wizard

Orbception,

[kookieswan]

On the road 🤭

[hellebore-petall]

My favourite fact about my dog Hugo is that he genuinely prefers anime to other genres of TV shows. He gets noticably more excited when we put on anime vs anything else.

[nothingunrealistic]

MIKE: I wanna switch gears a little bit, because one of my favorite things to do is to compare Cats to other source material, so TV shows, other musicals. And I thought Billions, and your work on Billions as Winston. I thought there was a lot here to work with, so. And I’m a fan of the show. So I was excited when I saw you pop up in [WILL: Oh yeah.] I think it was Season 3? I was like, “Oh, there’s Will.” I was like, “That was really, really cool,” ‘cause I’d just seen you, I think, in, um, [WILL: Yeah.] on Broadway, and loved the show. So let’s compare some of the main characters to Cats, and who we think they would be. And I’ve thought about this a little bit, but I’m putting you on the spot.

WILL: Alright.

MIKE: So let’s start with Chuck Rhoades.

WILL: Alright, so let’s see. If I — Chuck Rhoades… I think Chuck Rhoades is either, he’s either Old Deuteronomy or — or he’s, or he’s Bustopher Jones.

MIKE: Okay. Give me a little bit of reasoning. I had him as Munkustrap, but I can give my rationale why.

WILL: Oh yeah, Munkustrap. Okay, I understand that. Is it because of his, like, his sort of loquaciousness? His, like, his narratorial… proclivities?

MIKE: A little bit of — a little bit of narrative, but I also see Munkustrap being second in line, kind of giving me a little bit of the submissive of like, “I’m just waiting my turn, I’m kind of following orders.” And he, you know, he’s got his whole BDSM fetish that goes through the whole show. [WILL: Right.] So it just kind of fit. That's where I kinda was taking my — my, like, thought for it.

WILL: Yeah. I mean, that’s a good — I also think Skimbleshanks is a sub, so. [MIKE: Really.] Chuck could also be Skimbleshanks by that logic. Oh, my God, a hundred percent.

MIKE: Alright, tell me more, before we keep going.

WILL: Not at work. At work, he’s so — at work, Skimbleshanks is so Type A. He’s the most fastidious, like, “The trains are late!” Um, but at, you know, at home, Skimbleshanks is absolutely, uh, getting tied up.

MIKE: I don’t think I’ve ever thought about that. So I’m now trying to, like, think back —

WILL: Oh, you haven’t thought about Skimbleshanks’ sex life at home?

MIKE: No, no. [WILL: Well…] He’s, you know. There’s a lot of sex life thought in the show, so that’s why I’m like, I have, you know, you’ve thought a lot about who’s with who and who might be, you know, doing what with, with which cat. But Skimbleshanks is one that just hasn’t come up. He seems like the, you know, the uncle, fun uncle. Although someone got mad at me for calling him the creepy uncle. So maybe that does fit.

WILL: No, he’s not, he’s not the creepy uncle. He is the fun uncle. He’s also — I mean… yeah, I don’t know. Skimbleshanks is — I mean, I love Skimbleshanks. If I, if I could dance like that, I’d play Skimbleshanks for the rest of my life. He’s my favorite cat.

MIKE: I love it. Um, okay, Bobby Axelrod.

WILL: Uh, Bobby Axelrod… I mean, like, he gives me, like, lowkey Macavity vibes, ‘cause he’s, like, a criminal. Um, but he also gives you, like, Rum Tum Tugger charisma. So I don’t know.

MIKE: Spot on. I had him as Macavity. I just thought, like, you know, there’s a little bit of crime, crime boss.

WILL: Yeah, Macavity sun sign with Rum Tum Tugger rising. [MIKE: Yeah.] You gotta do these, like, uh, yeah, you gotta do ‘em like horoscopes.

MIKE: Exactly. Um, I do have Cats astrology signs. It’s on the Wikipedia fan page. Each one has been deemed an astrology sign, which is… strange that [WILL: Excellent.] somebody spent time to put each one of them on a Wikipedia page. Um, what about Wendy?

WILL: Well, you know, if I’ve learned anything about Wikipedia, it’s that people really, uh, take a lot of time to do stuff like that.

MIKE: Uh, exactly. Wendy Rhoades.

WILL: Wendy. Wendy. I mean, Wendy’s Grizabella. Wendy’s our leading lady. She’s our, you know. [MIKE: I —] She's not old, but she’s — but she is our, I mean, like, Wendy Rhoades and… I think the thing for me is, I associate it too much with the power of the actor. So Grizabella, to me, is a Betty Buckley or a Mamie Parris, and to me, uh, you know, that, that is, uh, like that’s — I, it, it is about the, the actor’s presence, you know?

MIKE: Yeah, I definitely see that. I actually, I had her as Jenny, for the same way of, like, [WILL: Oh!] you know, a motherly but also whipping-the-mice-into-shape type of thing. Like, I did see, I saw [WILL: That’s fair.] some of that power dynamics. [WILL: I just think —] But I do see Grizabella from that.

WILL: I think, I think Maggie Siff is singing our eleven o’clock number on Billions. Like, [MIKE: Yeah.] so, she’s that — that’s the problem with me, is I always, I always view these things too much through an actor lens, and I’m always like, “Oh, who plays that person?” And that’s how I’m, like, doing, like, you know — like Giamatti plays your Old Deuteronomy. Oh, Giamatti would be a great Gus stunt cast! [MIKE: Yeah, very true.] Oh my God! Paul Giamatti as Asparagus? Sign me up!

MIKE: I love it. I love it. Um, what about Wags?

WILL: Wags. Uh, Wags is Mr. Mistoffelees. He’s got that mischievous trickster energy. [MIKE: Ooh. I —] I mean, there’s a lot of trickster energy in the show, I guess. [MIKE: That’s —] He could also be both Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

MIKE: I think we’re thinking the same way. I went with Bustopher Jones, ‘cause I just saw him being a little bit of, like, [WILL: Oh, great mustache.] in the crime family, and similar kind of, like, just, demeanor and body type. But the Mistoffelees makes a ton of sense.

WILL: Yeah. I mean, he’s a, he’s a, he’s a, he’s a mercurial trickster character. Um, which I suppose Bustopher Jones is as well.

[…]

MIKE: Okay, let’s do two more. Uh, Taylor Mason.

WILL: Oh, Taylor Mason. Uh, Taylor Mason is… oh, man. I’m gonna say Taylor Mason is… Taylor Mason’s got — I, I don’t know. You see, this is — again, this is the problem. Working with Asia, they have real Rum Tum Tugger energy. But, like, Taylor does not. [MIKE: Yeah.] So, like, this is all — I immediately am like, “Rum Tum Tugger! They’re so much fun!” And, like, not, like — Taylor Mason the character is not nearly as fun as the Rum Tum Tugger. Um… Skimbleshanks. Taylor Mason is tightly wound.

MIKE: That, that’s a good answer. I went with Mistoffelees. A very, like, smart, magical — although the, part of it’s also a little, I thought there could be some, like, Mungojerrie-Rumpleteazer.

WILL: Mm-hmm. Yeah. I mean, there’s also something very sinister about Mistoffelees. Why does he know how to do all this stuff?

MIKE: Yeah, Uh, yeah. That’s a whole different story. What about Winston? How would you, how would you cast yourself?

WILL: Oh, Winston. I mean, I think Winston is, like, half of the Mungojerrie-Rumpleteazer. I think there’s, like, a couple of duos on the show, um, so there’s like, Winston and Rian, and there’s Tuk and Ben Kim, and I think they’re both Mungojerrie-Rumpleteazer. Like, “We just work for the boss!”, kind of, [MIKE: Yeah.] uh, energy.

MIKE: Exactly where I had it, so, love it, love it.

WILL: Love a duo.

[dear-mrs-otome]

Your own personal orgy. You get to choose one guy from each ikemen game. Who are you picking?

I can't tell if you guys like me or hate me sometimes.

Lemme preface this by saying, I had to make two rankings really. Because while my heart may be biased to certain men, I know for a fact that very few of my favorites would ever play nice enough with others to put together a satisfactory orgy. I'd be spending more time soothing ruffled feathers and jealous snits than actually getting any fucking done.

So, I let the ovaries have their say too on who they think would deliver the right combo of 'personally interested in' and 'would be happy to participate' that would leave them pleased.

Ikesen ❤️ - says Kanetsugu 🐈 says - Kicho

Ikevamp ❤️ - says Theo. No, Faust. No wait, Galileo? 🐈 - says Comte

IkeRev ❤️ - says Oliver. Big Oliver, I'd hope that goes without saying. 🐈 - says Dean

IkeGen ❤️ - says Kurama 🐈 - says Kagetoki

IkePri ❤️ - says Silvio, of course 🐈 - says Jin

IkeVil ❤️ - says Jude 🐈 - says Victor