#forever grateful I live in a community of artists

[felassan]

Snippets. 🐺💜

Corinne: "I’m screaming alongside the rest of y’all! It’s happening!!!!" [source]

Nathan: "Thrilled to share our latest trailer! Very proud of all these animators." [source]

Trick: "There we go." [source] / "I hear there's something at this [trailer] link now." [source]

Blair: "LIVE NOW! October 31st 💜🐉🐺" [source]

Brianne: "It's almost here... So close..." [source]

Corinne: "I’ve held the dagger in my hands, and well, needless to say I can’t wait until my own personal copy arrives. I’m definitely not going to be unhinged. 🤷‍♀️" [source]

Bryce: "if I may workpost for a sec, I'm forever grateful for days like today when I get to gush about dragon age with the fans. this community is so welcoming and my heart is so full today 💜" [source]

User: "Of the new companions, who do you think would have the best chance of beating you at pinball?" / Corinne: "Bellara, definitely. As an Elven tinkerer with a curious mind and playful spirit, I think she’d be so into it" [source]

Brianne: "So excited to share more of what we've worked on!" [source]

Corinne: "Some of the best moments I have is reading through the team’s experience, highlights, and feedback for the game. You’re right - we do love it! It’s a wonderfully talented group of folks I get the pleasure to work alongside." [source]

User: "MORRIGAN!!!!" / Corinne: "Keeping this secret has been KILLING me 😊" [source]. User: "I can't wait to find out all the other secrets that you've got in store for us." / Corinne: "Oh just you wait 😉" [source]

User: "HER CROWN I SEE THAT CROWN." [re: Morrigan] / Corinne: "👀" [source]

User: "CORINNE! It looks so good!! I can't wait to play it!" / Corinne: "Thank you so so much! The team did such a fantastic job. It’s been a labor of love for so many of us 💜" [source]

Corinne: "Can’t wait to hear about your adventures and the decisions you’ll make.I immediately preordered another copy of Rook’s Coffer even though we on the dev team get one 😅" [source]

Corinne: "I’m in awe of what this team has created 💜" [source]

Corinne: "We’re all so proud of this game and I mean it when I say we’re are just as excited to get it into your hands and hear about your adventures as your are to play it.This team is truly a wonderful group of creative people. 💜" [source]

Corinne: "The team has put so much of themselves into this return to Thedas, and believe me when I say that it means so much to all of us to see and hear about your excitement 💜" [source]

Corinne: "I’ll be honest, it still doesn’t feel real to me either that we are so close now. We all hope you’ll love this return to Thedas 😊" [source]

Corinne: "I hope you’ll share a pic of the Rook you settle on when you emerge from Character Creator. If you’re anything like me you’ll spend a loooot of time lost in the options 😉" [source]

Corinne: "Rogue is so so good. The Veil Ranger specialization is absolutely one of my favorites" [source]

Brianne: "I'm excited to see everyone's Rooks! I really like the ones I've made." [source]

Corinne: "Happy to say this time around we’ll be able to support those flowing locks in-game" [source]

The Codex is "vast" [source]

User: "question, of our 7 companions, which is most likely to be up early and watch the sunrise , which is most likely one to sleep till noon?" / Corinne: "When you see Davrin’s room, you’d certainly assume he’d be up watching the sunrise with that view. If only it weren’t in the fade 😅" [source]

User: "For purely scientific and artistic purposes....is Emmrich taller than a female elf or roughly the same height?" / Corinne: "Well… usually taller, but y’all can control your characters height now so 🤷‍♀️😅" [source]

Malcolm: "To all the people excited about the return of Her.... same, fam, same. And by Her I mean Morrigan. Just... just in case that wasn't clear." [source, two]

Malcolm: "The level art team for DA:Ve are incredible. The environments they've built are gobsmacking. I adore what they did for the Necropolis in particular." [source]

Malcolm: "And Rivain is just... 👀 Seeing this one go from early greybox to full art was such a delight" [source]

Malcolm: [image of bby Manfred] "That's my boy!" [source]

[textblock character limit break!]

User: "*remembering all those dang statues in my origin story in DAO* ah shit that’s a lot of gods" / Brianne: "You'll be fine. You... May want back-up 😁" [source]

Brianne: "While on the topic of Dragon Age: The Veilguard... I just adore him. [image of Assan]" [source]. / John: "the team's official Assan photographer" [source] / Brianne: "When I said I'd capture one, two, several more shots..." [source]

Brianne: "There are some spooky places to explore" [source]

User: "I'm so excited :)))))) I hope I spotted the bun hairstyle of one of my favorite hammer wielding characters in the world <3" [re: image of character who is probably Evka Ivo] / Brianne: "Well, would you look at that :)" [source]

Mary: "[Assan] is the best character in the game. We all know this to be true." [source]

Blair: "everyone went nuts about baby griffon, but Manfred is my boy, my sweet cheese, etc. ride or die, Manfred 💀💜" [source]

John: "am I playing our game for fun on a Friday night, I certainly am. romancing my own companion to do one last check to make sure all the conditionals work. folks it is a very strange thing" [source, two]

Trick thinks the Spellblade spec is delightful :D [source]

User: "Is Solas speaking in the Hallelujah cadence at the beginning of the Release Date Trailer ? I'm trying to match it up but the best I can get is opposite stresses although the meter is 8/8/11" / Trick: "In DAI, only a relative few lines were in that cadence. He hauls it out for special occasions. :)" [source]

Original post: "I know that the AP Stylebook says the proper possessive form of Harris is Harris'. But the AP Stylebook also says not to use the Oxford comma. It's not a serious publication, let alone an authority on punctuation." Trick: "There was an actual voices-raised argument among the BioWare Writers and Editors over S-apostrophe vs S-apostrophe-S, along with threats made to writers who proposed character names ending in S in the future. Question time: Can anyone think of an antagonist in DA:I whose name ended in S? Corypheus's assassins' scimitars's's'' blades are coated with poison." [source, two] User: "I make everybody mad by switching between -s' and -s's depending on if the "s" represents a voiced or unvoiced consonant: Anders', but Fenris's." Trick: "I think that was very close to the consensus we landed on." [source]

Mass Effect

User: "fully accept that the answer may be "that was 8 million years ago I have no idea" but did you unilaterally decide to make Thane hallucinogenic when licked while writing ME2 dialog??" / Trick: "Yes. My intention was always that Mordin was trolling you there, but I don't think everyone took it that way. 🤣" [source]

[sequoiareachesforthesky]

After seeing all of the not so cool stuff happening in the Japanese side of the MILGRAM audience, I wanted to share some positivity about the international MILGRAM community.

I'm French, so I specifically wanted to highlight the honestly fantastic work put up by the MILGRAM FR YouTube channel. They are releasing french covers of all of the prisoners songs, with the help of various French utaite (some of which are pretty big names in the french community. Like I wouldn't expect non-French people to know who Sumashu is but goddam. I was quite impressed to see him as mikoto).

I find the dedication of this MILGRAM FR group truly amazing. Although they're not trying to translate the entirety of MILGRAM material that exist, they make high quality covers with beautifully translated lyrics. (My favourites are the Bring it On lyrics but sadly, Futa's songs have been removed from the channel for now, as the team has parted ways with his former cover artist. The covers should be back soon with a new singer tho!) It makes me proud of being french (which is not something I'm usually proud of ngl 💀) to see this part of the community making MILGRAM accessible to a french audience.

Of course I'm writing this post in English so it's likely that whoever reading this doesn't speak French, but that's the point! Getting people who wouldn't usually come across this channel to check it out!

There's so many people contributing to making MILGRAM more accessible to non-japanese speaking audience, and I'm forever grateful to them. Of course there's everyone translating the VD (especially @/onigiriico, thank you so so much for your translations), the unofficial MILGRAM Eng twitter account, the MILGRAM fancult (although they've deleted their twitter account, they've done a lot of translating timelines from the app and such), and all of the contributors on the MILGRAM wiki.

And that's only the sources I have personally come across while getting into MILGRAM. There's probably a lot more I didn't mention. Without them, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy MILGRAM as much as I currently do, so I'm thankful to all of them. Really.

And that's not even mentioning the various users on social media who share their theories, thoughts, headcanons, fanarts, fanfictions, memes and more about MILGRAM.

I was feeling a bit down about the MILGRAM community today, so I just wanted to make a post where I'm happy about it instead, where I can remember why I love it. Not to sound too sappy but fandoms as extension of works of fiction are truly amazing. Telling stories is amazing. Talking about them is amazing. And as someone who struggles to openly talk about my personal interests offline (and even online honestly), just seeing that other people are just as invested as I am in a story, if it's not more, truly makes my day.

Anyway, that was a bit unnecessarily long, I hope you guys check out MILGRAM FR and are having fun in your lives. Have a nice day!

[pack-the-pack]

Going though your blog and answers has me ✨ fascinated ✨ and I mean that in the most positive of ways. ABO is a hit or miss because it frequently intersects with my scent kink but only in the most specific of ways lol. (It has also been rotting my brains in trying to come up with different hcs lately so thank you for satisfying that scratch)

Originally came here from your slur list which I'm Obsessed with because mundane world building (mundane as in every day, I very much love it XD) so going through it was such a treat.

And now having spent almost an hour scrolling, I can confidently say that I love your blog ~

(I'm also on your 'give chan all the love he deserves' boat and currently Going through it trying to find good fics XD. If you have any recs I would be forever grateful <3)

Food for thought: I know most head cannons around abo stay relatively away from deviation aside from personality (going off fanfics, I haven't explored blogs that much, a travesty I'm now realizing), but knowing that in humans neither sex nor gender is binary in any way has me wondering what those deviations might look like in an abo setting. What would intersex look like in this setting? Pheromones are pretty obvious, certain scents being correlated with certain presentations, but the potency could also bring up insecurity (going off your beta having weaker scents hc). Glands could be missing or placed differently (is the scent kink obvious lol) but seeing as they're important for communication, that could be an interesting take on ostracization as the "inept" one. I won't get too far into the surgery done to irl intersex folk because this is fun fantasy, but it's another aspect to explore.

All to say, I'm just fascinated with the evolution and the "how we got here" side of abo and all the ramifications that come with it lol.

Hope you have a good day! You've made mine with a new blog to explore -w-

Hello!

So sorry, for taking so long to answer. I've been neglecting my asks a lot, there's nearly 100 of them, and I know I'll never get them down to a reasonable number. Oop :V But slowly I'll get through SOME hahahaha. First things first: I'm incredibly grateful for all the kind words. I know I've slowly got less and less time over the years to dedicete to this blog, But I still try to come by whenever I have some time to spare. And to know that there are people out there that really enjoy what I write and create is very heart-warming. Ah yes, the infamous slurs post. The A/B/O magnet that curses my notifications lol. Like I said in my last post, one day people will realize this is for FICTION, and as you said, world-building, not a real thing? Antis be bafflings as always, but what else is new, ey? YES! Channie deserves so much love. I unforutetly don't have any fanfics to rec, even though I am writting one myself. But I gotta say, as I write, writing Chris' persona (because when it comes to Real People fanfiction, especially idols, I make it very clear that we're dealing with their personas as artists, not them as real people in their private lives) is surprisingly difficult. Most of all when it comes to writing him as a source of conflict. Because bloody hell, he's so sweet, I can't write him being petty or whiny belivably enough! When I do write my fanfic though and at least post ONE chapter, I'll let you know, if you want I can send you a link also. Now for the interesting part. As always, omegaverse biology! I think it'd be interesting if intersex people were like, maybe anatomically like one dynamics, but behaviourally like another. Specially on their scent. You look at this big person, and you think "there goes an Alpha", but then they just smell like sweet Omega or Beta and you're like "wait a sec--". I like the idea of different shapes and placements of glands too! That'd be quite interesting. As for the gonads and reproductive organs, technically in my verse, Alpha females and Omega males are in a way, already what one may consider intersex (at least one interpretation of it). Female alpha have a slit/vagina that acts as a sheath for their penis, which only grow upon arousal, much like cats. And at least in my verse, Omega males have a vestigial penis and testicles, that although not functional for reproduction still react to arousal and stimulus. They also have a womb accessible by their booty, which I know many people don't like, but hey, my game my rules, right? Thinking of other possible intersex presentations in a verse such as this, then one could maybe argue for functional and larger penises for "supposed" Omegas while keeping the ability to carry offspring. And for female Alphas maybe maintining the ability to carry children, like Beta females, but having a smaller, non functional penis. And also a myriad of other possibilities. Would that be enough to constitute a new dynamics? Maybe, idk actually. I think much like in real life, it'd be up to the individual to decide whether or not they want to be segregated and categorized as something other. It's certainly a fun thing to consider and build a story or some headcanons in the very least upon. Thank you for the ideas :))

[blue-eyed-banshee]

I will forever be so grateful to have actually met the dark lady herself, the wonderful Patty Matson! She's super friendly, she's really into the community as a whole and when I talked to her, a line of other people stood behind me! And this was before she was at a live pannel where she and three other VAs acted out the makgora scene!

I even asked if she took part in writing those parody songs she does on youtube, which she doesn't. But, they're funny as hell!

Anyway, this is Lament of the highborne but with her singing. Her voice is phenomenal! I don't know why they don't include this!

The second video is her singing with a YouTuber/WoW song parody artist, playing lament of the highborne on a guitar.

[skambigbang]

Meet A Mod: Beulaugh

Tumblr -> @if-music-be-the-food-of-love

Ao3 -> Beulaugh

Instagram -> Beulaugh23

What is your Skamverse story?

I found the Skamverse exactly when I needed it. On one of my many YouTube rabbit holes in October of 2019, I came across two boys goofing off in a grocery store. Immediately intrigued, I learned of Skam and simultaneously started watching wtFOCK season 3 live while catching up on Skam and Skam France, followed by Skam Italia and Druck. Within a few months I'd watched nearly every version multiple times and absolutely adored Sobbe. When the pandemic hit, wtFOCKDOWN gave me something to look forward to every day, and I will forever be grateful for that experience. From there, it was an easy jump into reading and then writing fics, joining the fandom on tumblr, making new friends, and finally participating in last year's bang. I'd never written fic before nor been active in fandom, but I loved the Skamverse so much that I felt compelled to join and participate. I needed to share that love with others. I needed to talk about it. More than anything though, writing Sobbe fic gave me an outlet and a safe place when I thought my world was crumbling around me. Robbe and Sander will forever hold a special place in my heart because they were there for me when I needed them.

Why are you excited to participate in the Skam Big Bang?

Community. There is something so special about being able to talk with others who love the thing you love as much as you do. I had a wonderful experience in last year's Bang, and I particularly appreciated the community we built on Discord. I'm excited about meeting new people, getting to know other people's Skamverse stories, and reading their fics and looking at their art. I'm excited to share our writing woes and act as cheerleaders for one another. I enjoyed writing and posting my fic last year, but what I loved most was having people to talk to about the Skamverse. That experience was everything, and I want to carry it into this year's Bang.

What would you say to someone who is feeling nervous about joining?

The Skam Big Bang community is very supportive and welcoming. I was new to the Bang last year and didn't know anyone. I found the Discord server intimidating at first, but it ended up being the most enjoyable aspect of the Bang for me. Everyone--mods, writers, and artists--was willing to jump in with an idea, a suggestion, some research, a gif to make you laugh, or a virtual hug. We are a diverse, worldwide community with a broad range of experiences. Wherever you feel like you might struggle, I guarantee someone will be there to support you along the way. Someone has been where you are.

If it's the deadlines and word counts that concern you, think about the timeline. There are 5 months between sign-ups closing and initial posting. Seven sentences a day or 500 words a week would put you over 10k. When you break it down like that, it feels like a much smaller task. Lastly, it's all about having fun, celebrating our love of the Skamverse, and creating new fanworks to share with others. Take a chance, and give yourself the opportunity to make friends and share your passion with others.

[lumalilies]

eulogy for a lost home

our landlord gave us 30 days notice today. it could be far, far, worse and we're privileged that right now, it's not a danger scenario. we have what we need to make it and more, and i am very grateful for that. (fuck landlords, though)

but losing a home is hard. our mind dips into derealization and depersonalization a lot. the sights and sounds that stay constant around us help us ground ourselves. our nest is important to us, we like to keep the twigs we know nearby. they help us make a home out of the world we live in now.

i have to say goodbye to this place. and it's public cause that's just kinda how we are.

to the very first home we had away from the shadow we had for so long to live beneath: it was on this couch that we first learned to comfort each other when we woke up from nightmares. we learned to say "i'm right here. you're safe now. don't you worry babydoll i got you. it's gonna be okay." we learned to clutch our stuffies and put up them to our face to feel something softer than our memories had left us with. it was in this place that so many artists of ours came out to sing. we read our first stories out loud to each other at that coffee table. so many beautiful pieces that we hang from the walls. we decorated the light fixtures above us so our babes could have something colorful and calming to look at in scary times. so much creativity and color and beauty resting in their precious hearts and minds. a safe room for us to dance around in.

it was in this place we transitioned. something so many of us wanted to try. we called it "going the way of the flowers" - for those of us who imagined us differently to try on new clothes, makeup, glances in the mirror. it was always a comprise that we had a hard time navigating, it's still something we're figuring out, but it changed our life forever. in this place, for the first time, we were free to try.

it was in that room that we were there for each other in the hardest times when it was all unfamiliar and new. acting out funerals and scenes of grief for the time and love we had lost. when we lit our candle every night and held each others' hands in quiet darkness. when we punched our pillows and billowed out our anger. crawling around on the carpet like tigers and kitties and wolf monsters snarling our fury and howling our sorrows and cozying up against the bed to rest their weary bones. when our rabbit hopped around and giggled with glee. our dwellers and deepest friends and family bringing their lifetimes and memories and the beautiful, unique way they saw the world to our eyes and our muscles and our heart for the very, very first time. it was here we learned to say "i love you" to each other. to hold each others' hands. to sit side by side. to kiss each others' paws and foreheads. to let our hearts out to each other (in a gay way) < thank you

it was in this place that we first saw each other. that we chose our name lumalilies, to commemorate the community of hearts and lights that had kept us safe and cared for for so so long out of sight. trivia bonus - it used to be "stardrops" (which was pretty damn rad if I do say so myself)

spoilers for i'm in love with the villainess (book 3). when may and aleah have to leave their home, they cry and cry into the comfort of their mommas' arms (much as we have been today). rae and claire let them act out a promise to help them process the grief of losing everything familiar. as they leave the house, they all turn back and wave together, shouting "be back soon!" as their home left on its own journey into the horizon.

i can't do that with my babes. we won't be back here soon. that really tears me up to be honest. these kind of changes are very very hard on us. i haven't found what i'd like to say yet. we need some time to think about it. maybe just. "to the home we'll find again." "to the past we left behind, that it will always stay in the past." "to where we go next."

[kimtaegis]

ANNIE !! you were one of the first army blogs i followed on here, mainly for ur gfxs and gifsets. let me tell u that i regularly scroll thru ur gfx tag bc everything in there is just so fucking lovely and well conceptualised, its so inspiring. 🥺 im not joking when i say some of ur gfxs live rent free in my head and i find myself wanting to capture a similar dreaminess in my art in the future.

tho i initially followed u for ur work, over time i noticed just how lovely ur entire personality is! u always treat every ask u get with such care and equal enthusiasm and ur blog is one of the few safe spaces on here, so judgement free. i am so grateful that u are a part of this community 💜🫂

its so incredibly kind of u to set up this event, i think ive said this before but its so heartwarming to see so many ppl come to ur blog to share some love. i know how much a simple @ my way can brighten up my mood, and thats what you've done for several ppl by setting this up 🥹

i hope the little sketch i made for u can put a smile on ur face :) - outroindigo

first your beautiful art, now this letter – kari, you make it feel like christmas all over again. I said it earlier already but I genuinely don’t know how I deserve you, every word you have for me is just filled to the brim with love, I’m gonna explode from it someday and it’s gonna be the best way to go. I feel like you always got my back no matter what, I feel less alone because I know you’re there to listen and take me seriously and appreciate what I say and do. there’re not many people who make me feel so appreciated and seen as you do, I am so grateful and am forever in your debt for that. you saying the other day that I’m artist? I can’t stop thinking about that. oh jeez I’m tearing up as I type this lol that’s how happy that makes me (heartbeat is playing in the background which just makes it worse). I hope you know how much your words mean to me, that you make my days so much better and that you keep motivating me to put out my art (??!?!!). I love you so so so much, thank you for everything 🤍

[ursifors]

43 & 48 ♡

43. Has AH ever helped you through a hard time in your life?

yeah, but mostly the community! the past few years have been full of insane struggles for me in my personal life (as you know) and this community has been here holding me up when i'm at my lowest point. i'm super grateful for that and i always will be.

48. If you have one, who’s your favorite fic author or fan artist?

i don't really read fic anymore and haven't for years but as far as fanartists go

you of course! despite your constant torturous onslaught of muppets, i love your art and i think you have been a good influence on me as far as having fun with art again and not taking myself too seriously, if that makes sense? you're not afraid to make shitpost doodles to make your friends laugh (or groan) and i love it.

@scarlettheknight is a huge inspiration to me! her super clean lines and the texture her art has and how stylized it is ugh chef kiss i could look at anything she's drawn forever.

@monarchisms also has a great really stylized art style and super clean lines, clearly these are things i love because it's stuff i personally cannot do LOL i think of erlande's dancing jack gif at least once a day.

@somegrumpynerd literally idk where this fandom would be without charlie i mean that wholeheartedly WHERE WOULD WE BE AS A SOCIETY WITHOUT DETECTIVE MATT AU

@abbeysquidd draws such fun and cute stuff as well i love seeing her art after watching a big live stream!!

[theartoflovingthomashunt]

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Happily Ever After

This family has my entire heart. Thomas and Alex have been such a source of comfort and joy for me over the past few years. Writing them means the world to me. I adore them more than I can say. Then came Bogart, who is the cutest, most fun pup to write for. And finally, my precious twins, Felicity and Vincent, whom I share my birthday with. I love them so much!!! 🥺😭😍💛

I can't thank the beautiful and amazing @/artbyainna on Instagram enough for this stunning family portrait.

Birthday Art #6 of 6 for my self-care birthday week + "birthday" for @choicesmonthlychallenge

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Baby Hunt]

49 notes - Posted March 6, 2022

#4

Three years ago today, I decided to join this fandom and I am so glad I did!

I had reblogged things randomly from a non-choices blog and liked things on my personal account but I had never really interacted with anyone or participated in the fandom. When I was in elementary school, I definitely was writing fan fiction, but then as I got older people made me feel less because of it and I stopped writing. Then I found this fandom community and decided to take a risk and pick it back up again. I never expected anyone to read it!

I'm truly grateful to everyone who has ever read or supported my writing here or on any of my blogs. You will never know how much it means to me! Thank you!

So how does one celebrate? With more fan art, obviously! 😍😍😍

One thing I've loved to do is see how different artist bring Thomas and Alex to life and I couldn't be more excited with how this latest art came out!

This adorable chibi portrait is by arssel_land on Instagram 💛

Thank you again for all your love and support. You (and HAlex) have helped me survive the last 3 years on this crazy planet and for that I am eternally grateful! 💖💖💖

50 notes - Posted July 8, 2022

#3

The Best Kind of Distraction 💋

This gorgeous portrait of my forever OTP Thomas and Alex is by the always wonderful and talented @rosefuckinggenius!

I had a short drabble planned to go with it, but seeing as @choicesrcd2022 ends now-ish, I decided I should at least share the art. I'm hoping I can get time to write out the drabble tomorrow. 🤞

Prompts: @choicesdecember2022 kiss, @choicesrcd2022 distraction, @choicesholidays I’m so glad we found each other (always & forever)

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Red Carpet Diaries]

50 notes - Posted December 10, 2022

#2

Thomas and Alex Hunt 💖💙

by @/hrhschreave on Instagram 

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win a commission from Amara in @/austie_romance 's 1,000 Follower giveaway. I am absolutely blown away by the talent and generosity of both of these lovely ladies. I can't thank them enough for making this portrait possible!

Prompts: one more (kiss) @choicesmonthlychallenge

[Masterlists: Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer]

52 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

"Do I love you? My God, if your love were a grain of sand, mine would be a universe of beaches...I have stayed these years in my hovel because of you. I have taught myself languages because of you. I have made my body strong because I thought you might be pleased by a strong body. I have lived my life with only the prayer that some sudden dawn you might glance in my direction. I have not known a moment in years when the sight of you did not send my heart careening against my rib cage. I have not known a night when your visage did not accompany me to sleep. There has not been a morning when you did not flutter behind my waking eyelids." ~The Princess Bride, William Goldman

Thomas and Alex enjoying a quiet afternoon rereading one of their favorite stories.

I can't even explain how much I am in love with them and this art. Ainna (@/artbyainna IG) is literally the most beautiful genius and never fails to impress . I will be here crying over this for a while. It is everything I hoped and more. Thomas and Alex's love is infinite, they spend everyday choosing each other no matter how good or bad things are and I will always chose them. They are my comfort pairing and my happy place. I will never get enough of them or their love.

[All Thomas Hunt x Alex Spencer Masterlists] [Halex Commission tag]

62 notes - Posted October 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[silverhandpls]

@nananarc​ for the template. 💗

So... this is for my own year in review, but as I started in August, there really isn’t that much. 🤣 Honestly, I don’t want to get all emotional here, but when I say that this game - its story, characters, and COMMUNITY most of all - helped me get back into the world of the living, I am not kidding. While it’s mostly figurative, I cannot possibly overstate the value this franchise has for me. From falling in love with Johnny and the (tragic) story of silverV to making even more Vs and OCs and sharing them with my friends, fellow VP artists, modders, and anyone in between - I am forever grateful. 

So... thank you. 💗

[growninhaiti]

“Haiti reminds you that reciprocity, community, care and nurture are what keeps land and its inhabitants healthy and alive. The love this project brings up for the soil resonates and expands into a healing process for every person involved. While Grown in Haiti educates the community and itself through a holistic and shared learning approach, does it also provide us with a utopian vision of how life could be like in togetherness. I am forever grateful for having had the chance to connect to this unique ecosystem and continue to be happy seeing it grow. “ -Julia Behrens (@julesbehrens) Multidisciplinary Artist Slideshow contains images from a collaboration we did with Julia entitled: Haiti × Germany // global identities 06 // capturing two lives, two countries, two cities on one film. #growninhaiti #juliabehrens #haiti #ayiti #support #donate #community #growth #volunteer https://www.instagram.com/p/CkV0jcwOCnp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thesearenotphotographs]

Crest Hardware 1962-2024

At the end of August, Crest Hardware (558 Metropolitan Avenue in Brooklyn, NY) will close their doors after 62 years in business. The store was founded by two brothers, Manny and Joe Franquinha, over six decades ago and became an institution in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Manny’s son, Joseph is the second generation owner of Crest.

I moved to the neighborhood in September 2008, only a block away from Crest and during the first winter, I made my first visit to the store to purchase a portable heater since I discovered that the radiator in my bedroom was shut off and I had no heat. About a year later, I moved out of that apartment (with the heater too, of course) but I thankfully relocated only a few blocks away. We’d occasionally pop into Crest to check in on their animals, Franklin (a pig) and Finlay (a parrot) and bring friends to visit them too. When Crest made magnets of both Finlay and Franklin, we made sure to get one of each for our fridge. In addition to countless purchases made over the years, Crest became the place my husband and I would get our annual Christmas trees (Crest would loan you a wagon cart to bring the tree home and hold your ID. Once the cart was returned, you got your ID back), and we attended art and music events at the hardware store space too.

In April 2019, I locked myself out of my apartment after the Camp Cope at Warsaw concert and the following afternoon, I went to Crest to get a spare set of keys made to keep in my camera bag so that situation wouldn’t happen again. Less than a year later after the lockout incident, Crest became a place we could reliably get PPE (masks, hand sanitizer, gloves, etc.) and other necessary items during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ahead of their closure, Crest’s owner Joseph Franquinha did an interview with Hell Gate that’s fantastic (if you’re curious about where Franklin and Finlay will live now that the store has closed, it’s addressed here), and here’s an older piece from The New York Times where Franklin was featured in a piece about NYC businesses with pets. The NYT also covered the wake & second line event Crest did on Monday, August 19th here. The gallery that appears in this post are images that I captured digitally and on 35mm film casually during the final days of the store when I visited. On Saturday August 24th, the store shelves were completely removed and the shop was turned into a giant open space that featured a tattoo station, bar, DJ booth, and the walls were adorned with personal messages from people. In their yard, The Meat Hook served food, there was an additional DJ booth, plus a stage set up for Reverend Vince Anderson’s live set, and an artist creating pieces throughout the day.

During the Crest Family Day event on Sunday, August 11th, I spoke with Joe briefly and he expressed that he knew that they had community, but it became really apparent after the store announced they were closing and so many people made an effort to tell them how much the store meant to them. To me, Crest felt like one of those special places that would be around forever and I’m very grateful I discovered it after I moved a block away from it sixteen years ago. To their community, Crest Hardware was more than just our local hardware store and we don’t have many places like it left.

If you love a small business, be sure support them however you can while they’re still around.

[the-good-projxct]

May 6th, 2024

3:22 pm listening to Inauma by Bien. This song is FIYAH. So many feels. Kenyan music is top tier. Hmm, lemme rephrase. Kenyan r&b/soul is FIYAH. I am a bit too foreign for the rap scene. They speak a swahili that I likely will never understand so I don’t even seek it. Wagwan baby cakes? My period started yesterday and I had these weird cramps. Like it hurt but it didn't hurt hurt. Usually it HURTS. Anyway, as usual I am on day 2 and feeling like a brand new babe. It's the day before and the first day that kicks my ass. Something I have been thinking a lot about is how humans deal with uncertainty. We plan and plan and plan. Make schedules and 5 year plans to calm the storm of uncertainty that unsettles us. However, no matter how much you plan, it rarely goes as planned. Life happens. Life is happening. All the time. And so I am trying to lean into this uncertainty. I have no idea what my life will look like in a year, in a month. I just know I have a small amount of income, my grandmother's house and a community that Loves me. And that is a lot. I have a lot. I am Blessed. This SZN of freedom. To do as I please with my time in my home country. To read books. Go on walks. Spend time with my grandmother. Fall in Love. I am also taking this SZN to Love myself. As I write about Love, I am seeing the ways I do not Love myself. In Epekwitk, I had these identities that I Loved. Black, immigrant, Queer femme, Artist, Activist, Sneaker head. None of these identities really hold water/exist in my current reality. I am a fat Meru woman raised in the Nairobi suburbs that lived in the west for a long time. That’s it. I don’t Love this identity. It is mine. It is where I am now. It is who I currently am. But I LOVED my Epekwitk identities. I cherished those. I related to those. Those identities fit me perfectly. This one feels too big or too small, like it doesn’t fit right…yet? I have work to do to accept this as my new reality. I know I will become an Artist again, maybe a writer predominantly. I know my writing/ Art will be Activism. I know even when I am a wife, my Queerness is forever a part of me. Here I will never be “Black”. Here I will never be an immigrant. There are some identities that are fading away, some that will re-emerge and some that are new. I am grateful for this time to work through these spiritual, emotional, mental and physical changes. I am grateful that I am aware of my identities changing. I am grateful I am not in full blown identity crisis mode. Instead I am leaning into this transition. I am excited to see who I will become on this side of the world. I am excited to be who I deserve to be. It has been a month of constant rain. Every afternoon and almost all night it rains. It was cool at first but now I am over it. The gray days are just …ughh. The cool weather while my pals are entering Summer szn is a bummer. I know this too will pass and the hot days will be back. I don’t know Kenyan szns that well, isn’t that funny? I remember when I moved to Canada and I didn’t know Canadian szn’z and now I am a seasoned pro. I know I will learn the Kenyan ones too over time. Organically. Seasons, change, transitions, evolution. It is always happening, sometimes more clearly than others. I am in a deep transition period. This too shall pass and another will come. LOL, cheers to being alive. Life is complex and I LOVE it. Truly. 

Life is Gøod. Evolution is Gøod. Change is God. I am God.

Ase. Ase. Ase. <3 <3 <3

[euthymiya]

oh my goodness i’m crying! i’m crying because you make me cry with that alhaitham fic😭🫶🏻🥺

reading all of that in that format and prose was so healing for me as someone who wasted a year and some months on a situation with a guy (nothing happened but i am healed from that)

i honestly would not have believed that i would be able to get another sense of closure and a healing session from a random artist on the internet about a topic so heavily guarded to me that damaged me a lot but thank you so so much from the bottom of my heart

(i’m so sorry for the trauma dump but i feel the burning need to thank you and to sing you praises)

i adore how you explored alhaithams character while staying true to to his essence as well as the MC being a delight, i was screaming and being frustrated in the scenes where the MC was in her head, but let me tell you the love confession was delightful

i am so sorry my mind cannot string together more praises but please do enjoy these ones, i love you and this piece of art will forever live in my mind (and blog🤭)

omg!!! hello your ask will make me cry this is so precious i will combust 🥹 first of all i’m very glad you’re healed! i think i also wasted a good amount of time on a man that inevitably got me nothing and a small part of this fic is a reflection of that so i’m glad someone could’ve read it and felt seen or heard 🥹💖 but i’m genuinely so mind blown that a silly little fic i wrote would have someone telling me they got a second sense of closure. that’s crazy!!! and im grateful!! thank you so much for giving it a read i am so very thrilled. thank you so so so much from the bottom of my heart for enjoying my fic!

i thoroughly enjoy a fic where reader is the cause of the miscommunication or the “conflict” in the plot and especially when they’re scared or unable to fully be optimistic about a situation bc sometimes i feel like it’s nice to see them be portrayed as overthinking in their heads. idk it makes for a fun ride and it makes the character more dreamy when they’re good at communication and reassurance 😚

but truly this ask was the most lovely string of praise you could have sent and it definitely made my day. thank you once again and i hope my future writing will bring you as much joy too! giving you a big tight hug 😚💖

[thestarlightforge]

“Interdependence is a love poem”

2/24/24

******

Being disabled your whole life, there’s an oppressive feeling that most people never believed in you. It’s a haunting, subconscious voice that rarely quiets—even once surrounded by kinder, truer words. I know it well.

But as much I hate the narrative of internalized ableism that comes from a lot of people who become disabled later in life, and/or from people writing stories about them—the constant refrains of, “I have an impairment now, so my life is over,” which is so awful that I want to believe it’s just thoughtless because, if it’s intentional, what does that mean for how they value what my life has always been—I imagine that, to those who are genuine, the becoming-disabled story is a whole different beast.

That heartbreak still isn’t, for example, “I can’t walk anymore and I use a wheelchair, now, so my life is over.” That’s ableism and, to top it off, inaccurate. That person’s life is different, now—not over.

But the heartbreak? Really lives inside… “Everyone used to believe in me. And now, hardly anyone does.” It’s in realizing that even though you’re still you, the world clocks, classifies, and perceives you differently, now—usually worse. Excellence, or even ability, is almost never assumed again. As people perceive you, instead of reading you, your appearance now passes through a subconscious filter of our ableist society’s installation, these immediate reactions phrased with various degrees of cruelty: Poor. Useless. Problem. Welfare. Crippled. Waste. Leech. Dead.

So it’s not becoming impaired that hurts. It’s becoming invisible.

What a nauseating thought. But it makes sense even to me, someone who’s been disabled forever, given how hard even I fight to hide the degree of my impairment in the vain hopes of skipping that filter. Someone who, for years, only experienced an “I believe in you” default from a small handful of loved ones—and fear lead even them to doubt at times.

I can hardly imagine how much worse that might be. If I remembered “before.”

But at the same time, it’s why one of the most vulnerable and special ways that disabled people connect—whether they’ve always been disabled or became so on the journey—is through exchanging, “I believe in you.” It’s in saying, “I won’t judge you for the help you need, and I will have your back.” But it’s also, “I believe that you can, and will, have mine.” From “would you hand me that pencil,” to the little, “You get it.” It’s being willing to say, scary as it is to risk triggering detection: “I am willing to ask you for help. Willing to show my cards, show the gaps I try to hide. Because I understand. Because to me, you are not invisible. And I believe that, to you, I’m not, either.”

Trust. Belief. Vulnerability. Understanding. Connection. Platonic or otherwise, interdependence is a love poem—in everything but name.

I wish more artists understood that. And I feel so grateful to have finally found enough community so that I can, too.

[shiaazi]

TAYLOR AT TOKYO

Taylor Swift recently performed four back-to-back shows as part of her Eras Tour in Tokyo, Japan. The concerts took place at the Tokyo Dome, a 55,000-seat venue, and were completely sold out. Taylor expressed her gratitude towards her fans for their overwhelming support throughout the shows. Despite a minor incident where Taylor tripped on stage during one of the performances, she continued to deliver an amazing performance. The Tokyo leg of her Eras Tour was a huge success, and fans were thrilled to experience Taylor's energetic and captivating live performances.

OMG, BLINKs! I just had the most incredible experience attending Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" in Tokyo, Japan! It was an absolute dream come true for me as a Swiftie. I posted a video on TikTok of me singing my heart out to Taylor's iconic song "All Too Well (10 minutes version)" during the concert. I was completely in my element, belting out every lyric and feeling the emotions of the song. It was truly a magical moment for me, and I captioned the post as "Best 10 minutes in Tokyo" because that's exactly what it was. The Tokyo Dome was filled with over 55,000 fans, and I was lucky enough to be there to witness the start of Taylor's tour leg. It was an unforgettable experience being surrounded by so many passionate Swifties. I felt like I was part of a community, singing along and sharing the love for Taylor's music.

In a five-minute TikTok video that I shared after the show, I gave you all a glimpse of the concert and the joy I felt throughout the night. I was joined by my close friend Joan, who is also an influencer. We had the time of our lives, enjoying Taylor's incredible performance and soaking in the atmosphere of the Tokyo Dome.But it wasn't all just fun and excitement. There were also emotional moments for me during the concert. I couldn't help but shed tears while listening to songs like "All Too Well," "Karma," and "22." Taylor's music has a way of touching your soul, and I was deeply moved by the lyrics and the emotions behind them. This experience reminded me of the viral video from the 2022 VMAs, where Taylor Swift jammed out to our performance of "Pink Venom." It's incredible to see the mutual admiration and support between artists, and I'm grateful to be a part of such a loving and supportive community. Attending Taylor Swift's concert as a special guest and standing in the VIP area was a surreal moment for me. I felt so honored and privileged to be there, and I wanted to share that joy with all of you. Those 10 minutes of singing along to "All Too Well" will forever be etched in my heart.