#iole rambles

[artianaiolanthe]

I just had the idea of posting a queer person/couple a day for every day of pride month on my art blog.

Of course I know I'm not going to have anywhere near enough energy to do all that but it's a nice idea. Maybe I'll just commit to however many notes this post gets.

[avoidingcertaindoom]

Hi so the airbnb in NY didn’t have wifi, that’s lovely, that’s g r e a t. don’t be like me and save all your wips in a google doc hoard--

Anyway I’m gonna queue my pridewrite stuff and shuffle my queue since I make the ~brilliant~ decision to do art fight this month and while the urge to procrastinate with character refs is there I gotta represent team Wither appropriately. <3

[olderbyerslost]

//I'm back here but all the asks i have I DO want to draw for so I'll just make this announcement and fire off the prequisite rent lowering gunshot that I accept very little of season 3 and have not watched nor do I plan to watch Season 4 and that's all I'll say on that

[repressedalliance]

Hey! BEAUTIFUL PERSON AWARD! Once you are given this award you’re supposed to paste it in the asks of 8 people who deserve it. If you break the chain nothing happens, but it's sweet to know someone thinks you’re beautiful inside and out. :D

You're too sweet when I've been MIA so long, thank you--

[thearchivistsjournal]

Day 245,

Back on the island of vines and crabs, and thus back on our original outward bound course.  Going to go take a closer look at those trees that I didn’t get a chance to last time while Maiko catches another vineful of crabs for tonight’s dinner.

*******

And once more we make camp surrounded by tiny round flightless birds.  I had been a little worried about any crabs we brought with us escaping and becoming an invasive species, but as it turns out the birds have enough of a taste for them that I don’t think that will be an issue.  They’re rather less cute when they’re holding a crab down with one foot and plucking legs off with their beak.

The others have already begun to settle in for the night - with Maiko once again sleeping in the boat to avoid being a bird magnet - but despite the soreness in my back and arms and tenderness of my palms from rowing (I may have overcompensated in my attempt to make up for not being much help on the way out) my mind remains bothersomely active.  And so I turn to my usual insomnia cure of rambling writing, although gently stroking the bird that’s decided to nest on my lap for warmth helps too.

Oh yeah, speaking of animals, we saw a whale yesterday.  Or something that I’m pretty sure was one at any rate.  Didn’t get around to mentioning it with all my musing on naps and friendship.  And sort of getting cut off early both times I sat down to write.

It was shortly after we set off from Iole’s island in the morning.  Lin was the one to spot it and point it out to us since she was facing east, away from the direction we were moving as one does while rowing.  It was pretty far off, but it was big enough for her to spot the blow spout and for the rest of us to make out a lump on the surface of the water that wasn’t a wave.  Mostly though we just saw the fluke briefly go up as the creature dove back down.  What a sight it would have been to see it up close.

Although, knowing the bounded nature of this sea, I'm a little surprised to learn that this world has whales, particularly ones of that size.  I would have thought they’d need a wider area to roam and support a population.  I suspect this implies that the sea gets deeper than I’d previously suspected as well.  Given Pat’s story about the edge of the world (if I take it to be true and accurate) with the water getting shallow the way it does toward the edge, I imagine there must be some steep dropoffs/rises in the depth of this bowl we’re all living in.

I find myself thinking once more of that metal pillar.  Could it have been a boundary marker of some sort?   Part of the reason we don’t see large sea creatures like that closer to the Village?

If I go into Cloud Tower would I find an answer to that question?

Okay, my leg’s falling asleep before the rest of me.  Need to figure out how to shift position without disturbing this bird too much.

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[atelier-dayz]

No one:

Me, barging in: Did you say OBI-WAN KENOBI?

[thunderc1an]

aayyy samsung gang! i actually plan on getting the iphone x (with the yellow back 😌) sooner or later though!

T-Traitor!

[atropaheart]

i really should try being on here again. . .

[safelockedsurvival]

//shitposts incoming in the next week

[tailsformermaids]

For Women’s History Month I wanted to talk a bit about the female characters in IOL and the reasons they inspire me.

Captain Woodsinger inspires me a lot because she’s strong and doesn’t take anyone’s shit. She knows when she’s wrong and when to let someone else take the reigns. As a black woman I love how she is portrayed without words relating to foods and how she’s strong without being masculine or aggressive.

Serene inspires me because she learns to slowly change her views, the way she was raised in her culture is not a strict rule-book that she lives by. She learns to adapt to a strange world and change how she sees men. She even becomes sword-sister’s with one! She teaches me that it is okay to change your views and opinions and that we always have to move forward.

Myra teaches me the importance of a good friend and how important it is to be confident in your culture. She stops hiding behind her hair and embraces her non-human features. Even though she doesn’t look like everyone else she’s beautiful and kind and trusting. Once again as someone who is Black and Ashkenazi, I’ve hid my features because they didn’t look like those I saw being desired. But I’ve been able to learn to love my features even if they aren’t (Western) Euro-centric.

Rachel teaches me about strong ness through motherhood. Mothers are warriors and not all are perfect. She cares for her children while still being able to lead her own life. She never backs down from a fight and encourages her kids to stand up for themselves. I love my mother and Rachel reminds me a lot of her.

Adara shows how complex women are, we aren’t a monolith. We have layers and we aren’t perfect. I love Adara, she’s skilled, she’s beautiful even when she isn’t sure of herself, even when she’s rude. I appreciate Adara for her fullness.

I could talk about this forever but I don’t want this post to be too long. The last women I’d like to appreciate in this post is Sarah Reece Brennan herself, obviously she is not a character, she’s the author, but I’d like to appreciate her for giving me a book that allowed me to express myself. One that allows me to run wild in my imagination. It isn’t bloodless but it isn’t so painful that my heart stops. It’s complex, like real life. Thank you, for all you’ve given me, for all you’ve written and how you interact with us, the fans. Anyway y’all I’ve rambled on long enough.

[whatyouwantedmetosee]

Thoughts on some Jack X Joey??

Boy howdy do I have a lot of thoughts!! (I actually love this ship, whoops.)

Disclaimer: a lot of my thoughts are from before the Illusion of Living, but now that I know the IOL stuff, I can’t not factor that in to my thoughts. So, various slight spoilers for the Illusion of Living under the cut!

Secondary Disclaimer: My information about the books is via other people, so I may have slight information wrong. This is a lot of headcanons anyway so please excuse any inaccuracies!

(It’s also honestly a lot of rambling character analysis rather than ship thoughts, so I guess if you want to hear my TED Talk on Jack Fain’s personality that’s in here too.)

SO! Obviously this one isn’t exactly like... an Obvious Pairing. But it’s one I think could, theoretically, be pretty nice.

First off: So like, I’m honestly just, gobsmacked, the amount of fuel for my sorta niche ship that showed up in the Illusion of Living? Joey Drew and Jack Fain have coffee and chat, that’s cUTE??? (Also apparently the audiobook puts weird emphasis on Joey enjoying their... meetings, which IDK, it’s probably intended as a like “haha yeah it’s a work meeting even tho we’re actually just having coffee for most of it” but tOO BAD I MADE IT QUEER NOW.

Anyway, on to actual thoughts, which I have split into mini chapters because I am physically incapable of being succinct:

Part One: The Accidental TED Talk About Jack Fain (Or At Least How I View Him)

A lot of my thoughts on this ship are affected by how I view Jack as a character, I think? I see him as someone who’s soft, and nice, yeah, and overall very chill, but I don’t really see him as a pushover, really? I feel like, Jack’s a character who can tell what people want, and then sorta... gently steer them in a direction, rather than just going with what they want.

So like, with Sammy - Sammy is real direct and blunt and rude, and somehow Jack manages to work with him well. This is actually sorta how I view that one IOL scene where Jack interrupts Joey and Sammy’s Gay Reminiscing:tm: - he sees Sammy getting off track and distracted, and decides to step in to keep things back on topic.

I feel like this probably is also how they’re able to work together so well, because Jack can tell when he needs to step in to keep Sammy on track, while also understanding how Sammy wants him to act and doing what Sammy wants him to do. (And as a side note, I honestly feel like Sammy probably knows this and appreciates it? Helps keep things running smoothly. Probably why he isn’t as much of an ass to Jack as he can be to other people.)

Basically, I see him as having a pretty good skill at like, working out people’s systems, working out how to please them, while also coming to compromises that help him also get his point across.

I also feel like, I’m not sure how much of Jack’s Big Attention Seeking Energy is him, so much as him filling a role to do what needs to be done? I don’t think he necessarily hates it, but like... Working with Sammy, someone has to be doing that role. He knows how to work with people, work an audience, get the attention the duo needs to be successful the way Sammy can’t. (Sammy outright doesn’t want attention, but alas, that doesn’t really pay the bills.)

But then, when you hear about Jack at JDS, he tends to get away from everything and be more chill - and I read that as more like, now that he doesn’t need to draw attention for his job, he’s able to settle down a little in that regard. Writing is a lot different from pleasing a crowd, so he doesn’t need to maintain that persona, and can slip into more comfortable habits, get some more peace as he works on writing.

(Also, wrt the one audiolog he has about not being too bothered about that one award being in Joey’s name - I feel like, if he doesn’t actually want the attention so much, I could see him... like, legitimately just not minding it that much, actually, rather than being passive aggressive about it or anything.)

Anyway!!! Those are my thoughts on Jack, so now we can move onto...

Section B: Jack/Joey? On This Blog??? It’s More Likely Than You Think 

So then, with regards to like... shipping with Joey. Note that we’re now sliding into even more headcanon-y territory.

I feel like at the very beginning, Joey probably misreads Jack a lot. He’s still kinda expecting that showy, charismatic, crowd-pleasing persona, the like... what he reads as wanting attention. (Which, true, Jack was seeking that out - because the job required it, not because he, specifically, wanted it.)

So, what he gets is a bit more of a surprise - a bit more chill, calmer. But, he still has that ability to work with people, even though he’s not using it on a crowd.

From the sounds of things in IOL, it seems like, the meeting stuff between Joey and the Music Dept. Boys goes pretty smoothly... but like, I get the impression that later on in the studio’s timeline, things go slightly less well between Sammy and Joey. (Stares at the conspicuous lack of Jack Fain in DCTL. Hm.)

But yeah, I like to imagine, Jack in meetings with Joey and Sammy, helping like... smooth things over more when changes need to be made or the music isn’t working out quite how Joey wants it to. Jack knows enough about Sammy to know how to appeal to his side of things, while also compromising enough with Joey’s side of things, incorporating the changes Joey wants but suggesting ways it could work better, helping tone down Joey’s helpful suggestions that wouldn’t work as well as he thinks they would.

I’m a big fan of the concept of like... Joey originally has a big crush on Sammy, he’s so mysterious, what’s going on in his head, etc. - but then, a lot more slowly, he gets to know Jack better, spends more time with him, slowly works out how Jack actually works. Learns to appreciate that more subdued charisma he has, the way he can tell how people work and work with it.

And then, it’s just nice to imagine a nicer more chill Joey ship. Have some nice meetings, get coffee together, casually make out in Joey’s office. That’s some good content.

(It also works nicely because I feel like... IDK, I don’t think Jack would just put up with Joey’s Being Joey, I don’t think he’s that much of a pushover. So like, IDK, in this scenario Joey learns to be a bit less of a jerk, maybe things don’t go so bad. Or, I mean. Stares some more at the conspicuous lack of Jack Fain in DCTL. Hmmmmm.) 

...

Also like, this is also good opportunity for a Joey/Sammy/Jack OT3, give Joey the best of both worlds. Jack cares a lot about Sammy, Joey is infatuated with Sammy and slowly grows to understand Jack, Jack helps Sammy and Joey clash slightly less and work together better, etc. It’s a different ship, but also good.

Act III: Okay But What If I Added Some Angst? Eh? Any Takers???

So, first up, consider: this very good post of Jack Fain thoughts by @inkyvendingmachine. Now hear me out:

Jack Fain, who (through whatever nonsense) ended up with his office nice and tucked away in the sewers where he has some peace and quiet. Due to Some Reason, be it poor memory on Joey’s part or unclear instruction when he demanded that the Ink Demon be locked up...

The Ink Demon gets locked away in the Infirmary... but, unbeknownst to Joey, Jack is still in there. Things don’t go well. Joey realises, and...

Well.

Add in some previous Jack/Joey shipping, and Joey suddenly realising what he’s caused, unintentionally or no. Lead that into either Joey losing it and turning to his weird ink nonsense, or Joey going further than he meant in attempt to somehow reverse what he did.

Throw in some additional: Jack is no longer there to help balance out Joey’s Joeyness. He’s also no longer there to help out with Sammy and Joey interactions - a Sammy who can tell something’s happened with Jack, but Joey sure isn’t going to just tell him what happened, and that certainly isn’t helping things here.

...

maybe i put something like that in my requirement au. just a little. its fine. i lov to cause myself pain

[artianaiolanthe]

I can't tell if I wanna psychoanalyze Mithrun, make a roleplay blog for him, or just pick him up and drop him into a spa ASMR video.

[avoidingcertaindoom]

So what I was saying about Mira earlier--

Her purpose in the story has always been to be something of a mirror character. She's in the middle of things with the chapel and the deaths, and one of the story characters who actually does have all the pieces before her from the beginning but none of drive to place them correctly.

Considering her and Arne's parents are dating, Arne's frequently exposed to her way of thinking and reading the room. The reader initially wasn't meant to get more of her perspective than what was filtered through his reading of it, then I got to writing again after a while.

Mira's perspective, at least in the middle three chunks of the set up, actually feels like it reads better! Both so the "obvious" reveal doesn't take as long to get to, and so we also get a look at the toll everything is taking on Arne as well. Mira's stress is very clearly telegraphed in a ton of ways, but Arne as a character is so far in his own head I wasn't actually sure he'd be able to notice his own distress. So including a few Mira chapters fill multiple gaps!

[olderbyerslost]

//So for reference, how soon is too soon to start reblogging unpopular ships on this new and pristine blog...

[repressedalliance]

Me trying to make a return before realizing I haven’t drawn or played DBD in months

Anyway who has sketchy prompts for me to canonball back in here?

[thearchivistsjournal]

Day 257,

I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of knocking at my door.  My first thought was that it was another prank from the nature sprite, and so I tried to ignore it and go back to sleep.  As the knocking continued, it occurred to me that it might be Maiko, and I bolted upright, disentangled myself from the sheets, and scrambled to the door.

It was Cass.

She’d been waiting and checking the bracelet all week for me to come back to the house and, luckily, this didn’t happen to be one of her mother’s insomniac nights.  She’d brought her copy of Iole’s book with her and said that she’d wanted to work on it together, but instead I spent the night giving her an ear to bend and a shoulder to lean on while she vented her frustrations with her parents and anger at Theo.  Just as well, seeing as I had no idea what to actually do with the book now that we’ve copied it.

Hoping to console her, I told her I’d spoken with her father and that it looked like there was a good chance that she’d be able to resume her apprenticeship once the rainy season comes back.  She was sharp enough to point out that’s when we won’t be able to do anything exciting.  Maybe not, but maybe being boring and at least giving the appearance that we’ve learned our lesson will get everyone (mostly Theo) to ease up and give us room to do something else again.  And it’s not like we can’t keep studying and making plans in the meantime.  The fact that Cass still has her copy of Iole’s book implies that while Theo can somehow tell where we are from a distance, he can’t tell what we’re doing there.

That prospect of being secretly rebellious seemed to appeal to her a worrying amount.  I guess she is a teenager now, if only barely.

She took the news about Lin less well.  Mostly, she seemed hurt that she didn’t get invited along.  She claimed to understand why but that understanding doesn’t mean she has to like it.  Same with her parents.  Apparently she’d dug out that mask we found under the cathedral on our first outing and used it on her parents when they weren’t looking.  Literally feeling their concern for her took some of the sting off their decision to put her apprenticeship on hold, but it didn’t change the fact that she believed their concern was misplaced.  Hence frustrated with them rather than angry at them.  

That is, of course, a summary of a much more rambling, nonlinear, and emotional conversation.

Eventually it got late enough that I was able to talk her into going home before she’s missed.  I did have to promise her that I’d look through this copy of Iole’s book and report back the next time I saw her, so I should probably get started on that.

If I can figure out how.

*******

I dug up the copies of transcriptions we’ve taken from writing we found in the cathedral - both on the Reader’s book and on the sarcophagi - and spent the day going line by line through the copy of Iole’s book to see if I can find any words or phrases in common.  I think I’ve found a couple word’s in both so far.  Not sure what that means, but it’s something I guess?  Whatever I did in my past life, it wasn’t linguist or archaeologist.

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