#it’s my fave piece of art knowledge

[jasperscringepit]

Tentatively thinking about javid in J.C Leyendecker’s style. His art is just so gorgeous, and iconic in terms of how it both revolutionised American illustration and also fit in to shaping the so called “ideal man”. I’m very aware that that doesn’t sound like a great thing, but let me tell you, if you weren’t aware this man was GAY. Like GAY gay. A lot of his studies were drawings of his partner at the time. His pictures were admired as the men always seemed so indifferent to the women in them, which many Americans at the time saw as “men knowing a woman’s place” which is so funny bc it was just because he was a HOMOSEXUALLLLLLL.

His illustrations were used in newspapers as illustrations and advertisements of the “ideal man” in terms of looks, build and mannerisms. Which turned out to just be,,, a gay man,,,

ANYWAY, I’m thinking about maybe recreating a Leyendecker with javid, but ALSO a universe where Jack goes on to illustrate clothing adverts and is using davey as his go to model, only for people to become obsessed with his way of drawing a “proper and desirable” man. And he’s so baffled, but is like “yeah, my man is hot” so he’s also oddly proud. Davey starts getting some extra attention in the streets, with people constantly saying “do I know you? You seem oddly familiar” and old women pulling the “such a handsome young man” card. He’s SO confused initially, but when he realises he’s both flattered, because his features have never been considered particularly desirable before, but also sort of mortified and he has a talk with Jack about maybe perhaps finding a different model for this kind of stuff. More models start popping up, but his likeness remains a firm presence for as long as Jack Kelly is illustrating for the magazine.

[scarletteye]

Soft and Smitten Scaramouche/Wanderer

I went through my scara fics recently and giggled at my own writing whenever Scaramouche acted soft/smitten. So I figured if I can be delulu about it, you can be delulu too!!!!

I made a smol collection of some of my fave moments, where I lowkey just explore his dynamic with someone he is smitten with (in my fics case, its the reader character) and appreciate how drop-dead gorgeous he is.

GORGEOUS I SAY. anyways, enjoy the clipsss, the fic will be linked at the end of the post! This story takes place in his Wanderer era! Just a heads up. I also can make a collection of him being smitten in his Scaramouche era, just lemme know if u want it!

Without further ado, I present to you: Scaramouche in love!

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

The Withered in Bloom Ch. 14

It was ridiculous to think that basket weaving could take whole 5 days to finish, yet as soon as you woke up, your brother notified you that they need your assistance with the baskets. At least he let you enjoy breakfast before he hurried you to the busy deck. All of your forest-ranger colleagues greeted you excitedly – everybody was over their job, and everybody wanted to finish the baskets as soon as possible. This was supposed to be the last day. The rest of the week was predicted for a full inventory check, but that was a job for the Forest Watchers.

You found a relatively cozy spot on the ground and began weaving. At this point your fingers had memorized the necessary movements, allowing you to work on autopilot and tie the basket together without mistakes. It also allowed your mind to wander, and you found yourself thinking back about the Sanctuary of Surasthana and your last conversation with Scaramouche. (...)

As if on cue, you heard the song of bells flutter through the air. A warm breeze blew across the deck, scattering away a few pieces of straw and bringing the melody to your ears. Though the sound filled your skin with goosebumps, you felt your lips twist into a gentle smile.

It had been a few days since you last spoke to him. He asked you for secrecy before you left, so you never disclosed your past or anything that was said between you to anybody. Though you weren’t sure whether Scaramouche told you to keep quiet because he was ashamed or because he didn’t want to burden anybody else with knowledge about your past. You agreed with him nonetheless. Your brother seemed happier since Irminsul changed your reality. Cyno seemed happier, too. He was less paranoid, and he allowed himself to relax with Tighnari instead of constantly watching you like a hawk. You weren’t planning on telling them anything.

The bells became louder. You heard his faint footsteps behind you – even and light strides that were barely audible behind the chiming of his hat accessories. Feeling his presence, you put your half-finished basket down, and turned around to face him with a smile.

He stood above you, wearing a deadpanned expression as he looked down at your heart-warming gesture. His arms stood crossed against his chest.

“Good morning,” you greeted warmly.

“It is noon,” he retorted blankly.

“Oh. Wait. Really?”

Seeing your genuine confusion, his lips pulled into a lopsided smirk. He untangled his arms and walked in front of you, finding an empty spot on the ground where he elegantly plopped down. “Obviously. Have I ever lied to you, darling?”

Your eyes narrowed at him. “Do you really want me to answer that?”

“Seriously?” he huffed. “I’ve never told you anything dishonest. I merely kept the truth from you at times.”

His fingers gingerly reached for the box of straw that you kept at your side. He began pulling out pieces, skillfully finding long straws that he could twist and tie together. Scaramouche was silent as he worked, focusing on the knots that his slender fingers tied with ease. The straw looked sturdy in his hands, whilst seeming extra frail in yours. Perhaps it was the way he held it that made it seem like an entirely different art form.

“When did you learn how to weave baskets?” you questioned. Your gaze was locked on his hands that worked diligently and quickly, creating an entire hoop of straw in less than a minute.

“I’ve been alive for nearly 500 years,” he mused. “Do you think I had spent that time living isolated from the world? I know more than you’d guess.”

It was still strange to you to think that he wasn’t human. He looked like everyone else. He looked soulful and alive – like a normal human who is just slightly more attractive than the norm. Whenever you looked at him, you didn’t see a puppet nor a monster. Truthfully, you didn’t care what he was anymore. If you could live through him being a God, you could also accept that he had been alive for hundreds of years.

Scaramouche eyed you carefully as he noticed your silence. Catching a glimpse of him doing that, you offered him a gentle smile. “Like what?”

It was his turn to fall mute. It seemed as if he didn’t expect you to be interested, or rather he expected you to be shocked and horrified by his life span. In the end Scaramouche only shrugged, and his fingers continued to twist the straw into hoops and knots. “Anything you could think of.”

“Playing the lyre?”

“Why?” he questioned you now. “Is there any specific song that you like hearing?”

You snapped your fingers as a shout of victory. “So you do play the lyre!”

Scaramouche rolled his eyes at you. “Yes, darling. I can play the lyre. I am skilled in swordsman ship, and knitting and weaving arts…” his voice trailed off. “I suppose I am well skilled with my hands.”

You blinked at him, feeling heat surge to your ears. His expression remained unchanged, and it seemed as if he didn’t notice that he said something questionable. Or maybe, you were the weird one for finding dirty undertones in something that wasn’t meant to be dirty.

“Well. Skilled with both hands and mind,” he continued, now sounding as if he were bragging. “I suppose I am just exceptional.”

You cleared your throat. “Humble brag.”

Scaramouche shot you a glare. First he looked at your rosy face, and then at the basket that remained unchanged under your hands. “Do you plan to let me do all of your work?” he grumbled. “I didn’t come here to become a Forest ranger. If you plan to slack off, I will leave and let you abuse someone else’s goodwill.”

“I didn’t even ask you to help,” you defended yourself.

“Well if I don’t help you, you’ll be stuck doing this for the rest of the day. And as much as I enjoy watching you struggle, I’d prefer if we could do something else.”

“What a charmer,” you grumbled, forcing yourself to start working on the basket again. You worked slowly, repeating the weaving patterns that you always used. Scaramouche passed you the hoop that he had created. As your fingers grazed his, you felt a strong flutter in your stomach. You tried to act normal as you cojoined his creation to yours. The difference in style was more than apparent, and it made the basket look ridiculous. He didn’t seem to care, and he instead continued to grab pieces of straw to make more.

You worked in silence for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence. Every now and then Scaramouche would toss you a complaint or a masked compliment regarding the basket, but you preferred for him to be silent. There was just something about him in this lighting. Sunlight hit his face perfectly, illuminating his purple eyes and making his red make up seem more vibrant. You liked the way his brows furrowed as he concentrated, and you liked the way his accessories jingled in the breeze. His pretty hat and the golden accents nearly shone in the sunlight, and the sheer mesh of his undershirt seemed lighter than it did in the shade. His Anemo Vision silently glowed against his shoulder, falling nearly hidden by the lotus that hung over it, and weighted down by the golden feather accessory.

Now you knew what that lotus flower meant. It was the same type of flower that he gave you before your first kiss. The same type of flower that you gifted to him as an apology. He kept the memoir.

You smiled to yourself, failing to notice how Scaramouche stopped working to observe you. His eyes glazed your entire face, and his expression turned more relaxed with each passing breath.

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

The Withered in Bloom Ch. 15

You were so pleasantly surprised by Scaramouche's behavior that you decided to award him with tea - the most bitter vile mixture you could make, but he drank it all without complaint. It seemed as if he enjoyed the bitter taste and you hardly held back from calling him insane. You were someone who preferred sweet over bitter. Though, that stark difference between you was the lightest among the bunch.

You spent the entire afternoon sitting with him and moving around Ghandarva ville to avoid chores. You mostly talked about your family and how they felt about Scaramouche after last night, and he seemed to listen carefully, despite looking distracted.

Noticing how he was observing the remnants of the tea that decorated the walls of the mug, you nudged his shoulder and began to tease him. “Are you trying to read your future? I heard that the tea leaf technique is quite rare.”

He looked at you unamused, before forcing a smirk. “Naturally. Divination is a very taxing profession. Only those with exceptional talents can dabble with fate.”

“Exceptional such as you, of course” you decided to entertain him. “So what do the leaves say?”

“They say I’m about to become very, very lucky.”

“It is nice to know that the leaves want you to have a good day,” you nodded enthusiastically. “What else?”

He let out a chortle. For a split second, his smile turned genuine, and then his face fell to its usual serious position. You felt your heart fluttered. Did you just make him laugh? Did you just…

“Let’s see,” he twisted the mug around. “Here we have. Prophecy of being lectured by a god. The curse of a blabbering companion who can’t keep her mouth shut. And oh…” he swiped his finger against the inside of the mug, tapping it against your face and staining your skin with green. You leaned back in surprise.

You watched him with big eyes. He smirked at you before putting his mug down. “I can’t believe you fell for that. Have you learned nothing from your journey? You shouldn’t be so naïve.”

“Was that some sort of Inazuman trick that people use on children?” you asked, wiping your face that began heating from embarrassment. “Because I will kick you off the deck.”

You were sitting on the edge of the second level of the village, far from anybody. Night was falling over the rainforest, and in turn the air turned louder. Cicadas, birds, signing rangers… the sound of warm evenings and of eternal summer. Every night in the rainforest sounded similar. The sky turned darker with each passing minute, showing more and more stars to those that paid attention.

It had been a while since you sat like this to watch them. In fact, the last time you did, you were with Scaramouche. Back then you knew him as the Wanderer, and you never expected him to be anything else. That night he told you horrible stuff – about you being abandoned and about you never finding true family. It made sense to you now. He projected his insecurities onto you that night, and they hit you deeply because you two, despite your differences, weren’t that fundamentally different.

“It’s not a common trick,” he stated. As he put the mug aside, you noticed his expression turn more sullen. “But the people that taught me used it on me a few times. I suppose it just stuck with me…”

You tilted your head curiously. You wanted to ask. You were actually dying to know more about him, but you knew how he got when asked sensitive questions.

He sighed. “If you must know,” he grumbled, sensing your curiosity. “They were a group of swordsmiths and miners who operated the smelting furnace in Tatatarsuna. It’s an island in Inazuma. The furnace was the biggest in the nation and used to smelt special ore that they could shape into finest blades. I’m not sure why I’m pointing that out. It is irrelevant,” he mumbled, sounding annoyed by himself all of the sudden.

“Oh. No. Actually, I never heard of it so…”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Okay, you don’t have to insult me now.”

“I’m not trying to,” he grumbled. Realizing that you were accidentally stopping him from telling his story, you cleared your throat and looked up at the sky. As you fell silent, he realized that you were waiting for him to continue. All thought your act was theatrical, it worked. He continued to share some light on his backstory. “I was a child. I had just wandered off alone to the shores of that island, when they found me. Needless to say, they were horrified to find somebody like me. Alone and abandoned. They pitied me and took me under their wing. There, amidst the mine, I believed I had found family.”

His eyes dimmed. He was looking at the sky, but his mind wandered off to the distant past. “They taught me all the basics of your human lives. How to tie knots. How to prepare meals. How to shape swords from molten iron… They were just a group of good-hearted men who tried to raise me. They tried to entertain me by using tricks and jokes. The trick with the mug. Anecdotes. Quizzes. The more I think about it, the more I realize just how unnecessary those were.”

You looked at him. Your heart felt full because of his story. You always believed he never had a family. It seemed as if he did. They even sounded lovely but… the look in his eyes told you that there was more. Maybe something happened to them, or maybe they disappointed him somehow, because the look in his eyes told you that it wasn’t a pleasant memory.

“It sounds like they really tried to give you a happy childhood.”

“I suppose,” he responded dully. “It doesn’t matter anymore. That was a long time ago. A mere fraction of my life.”

“But… that doesn’t make it meaningless, does it?”

He looked at you, seeming seldom-annoyed and seldom-comforted. It was always difficult to tell with him. In the end, he let out a sigh and looked up at the sky. The stars had grown clearer, showing you a beautiful painting of the galaxy.

A cold breeze flew past you, and you shivered. The night was drastically colder than the day, and you had left your jacket in Tighnari’s infirmary when leaving your teammates. You swiped your hands across your arms, trying to warm your skin.

“Here,” Scaramouche quietly said. He began untying his tunic. It covered him somewhat loosely, so it wasn’t difficult to get it off. He had trouble with getting his Vision off without damaging the Lotus that he strung close to it, but other than that, his tunic was off in a few seconds. Your eyes couldn’t help but wander to his bare shoulders. The sleeves shirt that covered his torso left little to the imagination, but at night it looked dark enough to hide his skin under it.

Your eyes stayed on his bicep for a bit too long because you were sure he noticed. The corners of his lips twisted upwards, and despite his best attempt to control his facial expression, he showed exactly how much your stares entertained him.

He wrapped his tunic around you, and you huddled under it gratefully. It was warm. As warm as his body whenever you hugged him. And it smelled like him too. You realized you were a bit too fond of that feeling once you pulled the tunic all the way over your chest. You weren’t that cold, but the sheer comfort of being in his clothes nearly convinced you that you would be freezing if you took it off.

“Had I know you were freezing, I would have suggested we head indoors,” he teased. “Though, considering how much you’re staring at me; I’m guessing you are finding this quite enjoyable.”

You were at a loss for words. Your brain felt empty – there was no excuses and no explanations for you to use. Your face turned red, and you were incapable of hiding it. The least you could do was huff and roll your eyes at him. “Somehow you’re more charming when you’re trying to insult me.”

There it was again. A glimpse of a genuine smile that made you feel crazy flattered. To think that you were capable of getting this kind of reaction from him was mind boggling. “I never try to be charming, darling. But I am glad to know you find me as such.”

“Oh great. Now I’m boosting your ego.”

He tilted his head at you. The red allure of his make-up. The darkness of his cunning eyes. You found yourself unable to breath or blink. He was gorgeous. From head to toe, there wasn’t a single part of him that looked flawed.

“Why are you smiling at me?” you quietly questioned.

“Does it bother you?” he asked with the same tone of voice. “I was merely thinking that you look pretty.”

Your lips departed in surprise. All that left them was a quiet breath. The heat of your face reached your ears, making you feel as if you were going to break a sweat at any given moment. It wasn’t fair how easily he made you flustered without even trying.

Scaramouche’s fingers gently traced your face. He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, letting his fingers linger on your skin. His touch was so gentle yet so chilling, be it the coldness of his skin, or the knowledge of the power that he had over you. You didn’t care to differentiate them.

With a feeble hold on your chin, he leaned closer. Your breath hitched, and he paused right before you lips touched, sensing your nervousness. Maybe he wasn’t sure if you wanted it, or maybe he thought you got frightened, but his pause prolonged. Your stomach burned with anticipation and desire. You could catch his breath into yours. You could feel the warmth of his body heat. Why did he think to stop?

You closed the gap between you. Your lips softly clashed. His were soft and warm; they moved timidly against yours. Breath against breath, he pressed deeper. You accepted his guide. You accepted the growing hold of his hand on your chin, and you accepted his eager lips. You felt the desire to hold him closer. To have him closer. And your hand traveled to his bicep, trying to fulfill your desires.

Your lips grew hungrier. Deeper. Sloppier. He pushed with more force; his hand slipped from your chin to the back of your head and you accepted his move. It made you crazier. Thirstier for his warmth. Your hands snaked around his shoulders, feeling his exposed skin and the thin fabric that hid the rest from you. You hugged around his neck, drawing him closer.

For a second, your lips slipped off his, and a shiver rolled off his tongue. It filled your stomach with hotness. Made your lips hungrier. Pushier. He tasted intoxicating. He tasted perfect. Bitter like the tea that you had made him, and sweet like the sugar that you had poured into your own cup. The two polar opposites melted in your mouth, failing to quench you.

His hands traced down your body; tingles fluttered through your system, unnerving your stomach and making you crazier for him. Your fingers tangled in his hair. You were trapped in between his arms. Trapped under him as he loomed over you. A quiver escaped your mouth as you struggled to keep your sloppy lips on his.

You both paused as your lips departed, staying tied in each other’s proximity. You listened to his unorderly breath, feeling each of his breaths as tingles on your skin. You felt your heart forcefully beat against your chest, and you were sure he could feel it too consider how close he was. His warmth was driving you insane. His perfect scent and his perfect hands that held you sides now. You were eager to have more of him. To taste him for longer.

Your lips grazed his proactively. He caught you in an instant, returning the gesture by pressing deeper against your lips, and you melted as soon as you tasted his tongue. His fingertips pressed against your sides, holding you firmly and possessively. He put more force into your kiss, and your mind turned foggy beyond recognition. You couldn’t think anymore. All of your senses were focused on him. His scent. His taste. His harshness. His unorganized breaths between your sloppy dance.

Tangled in each other, preoccupied with your desires, you failed to be careful. You were reminded you were sitting on the edge of the deck only after his clumsy fingers grabbed at the ground, and accidentally knocked over the mug that he had put aside. It loudly clanked, nearly falling over the ledge before he hastily caught it.

He reacted so quickly that he practically jerked himself of your lips, and you were left leaning against his cheek. Drawing uneven breaths against his skin as he looked over your shoulder to make sure that the mug stayed away from the ledge.

“Darling,” he whispered against your ear. His voice sent a rush of heat down your entire body, and your lips nervously pressed together as you tried to swallow the feeling down.

“Yeah?”  you whispered back.

“I think we should get away from the open ledge.”

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

The Withered in Bloom Ch. 17

The afternoon turned quiet and still as you found yourself free from work. You were done with all your tasks quicker than usual thanks to Scaramouche. He hadn’t left your side all day, despite admitting that Kusanali was impatiently waiting for him to return to the Sanctuary or Surasthana. You didn’t try to shoo him away, knowing that he would be gone for a few days once Kusanali gets Her hands on him. You figured you could at least enjoy his companionship as long as you could.

Dirty and sweaty from hard work, you were desperate to take a cold swim at the waterfall. This time you didn’t let Scaramouche anywhere near your room as you grabbed your stuff, still feeling embarrassment as you walked past your bed. Memories from last night intruded your mind despite your wish to not think about sinful things. It was difficult to turn a blind eye to it, and the tips of your earns burned a stark red as you found yesterday’s laundry still piled on the floor – carelessly tossed aside by Scaramouche.

 He patiently waited outside of your hut, and silently followed you outside of Ghandarva ville once you had everything you needed. With a towel and a clean shirt over your shoulder, you led him across the dry forest path.

A few finches flied overhead, one of them trying to rest on Scaramouche’s hat. He let out a scoff and swatted them away, and you tossed him a confused glare which instantly made him stop. Being liked by animals was something that every ranger would be jealous off.

The waterfall greeted you with its familiar loud rustling. Water poured over the stoney cliff, showering the blue pool with a strong and majestic flow. Even standing next to it felt amazing, as millions of micro droplets splattered your skin with coldness. It was perfectly refreshing.

You smiled brightly at the feeling, failing to notice Scaramouche who silently observed you as you gleamed in the waterfall’s blessing. You began stripping off your clothes, stopping once you were in your undergarments. You rested your clean towel and shirt against a boulder and slowly made your way to the pool. Hearing rustling, you couldn’t help but turn your head to look at Scaramouche. He took off his tunic, carefully resting it with the rest of your clothes; his Vision shone brightly against the boulder’s surface, illuminating the lotus that decorated it. It somehow looked as fresh as it did when he first attached it to his Vision, making you question if he constantly picked new lotuses, or whether Kusanali tampered with it to keep it looking that way.

He took off his hat, putting it with the rest of his clothes before he proceeded to take his shorts off. He noticed you staring, and he looked at you in surprise before his lips pulled into a smirk. You hastily looked away, but you knew that you were too late.

You sat next to the pool, dipping your legs into the cold water. You had to get used to the temperature before getting in. Scaramouche plopped down next to you, still wearing that same smirk from earlier as his thoughts seemingly greatly entertained him.

“Are you not going to get in?” he questioned.

“It’s cold,” you said. “I need to get used to the water first.”

He hummed in agreement. It wasn’t long before Scaramouche slipped into the water. He didn’t even flinch. Goosebumps dotted your arms at the mere thought of getting in, but he didn’t seem to mind the cold at all. He turned towards you, and you instinctively put your hands up as a shield. “Please don’t splash me.”

“I won’t.”

You put your hands down. Scaramouche slowly swam over to your side, stopping once he was standing in front of you. He looked up at you with a solemn expression. Every hint of arrogance was gone, and his face turned soft. Sentimental. He came closer, putting his hands on your thighs and gently pulling your legs open to make space for his body. You suppressed a shiver at the sudden iciness of his touch. The cold water didn’t seem that different from how his skin usually felt. But in your mind, his skin was as hot as the night prior.

Scaramouche rested on the stone between your legs, his dark gorgeous eyes not once leaving yours as he leaned his head against your thigh. Your lips fell open and then closed. Scaramouche’s gaze turned you breathless. Oozing with honey, his usually dark eyes sparkled in the waterfall’s shiny blue atmosphere.

 He was mute; you were his entire world in that very moment. The center of his eye, the only meaningful, tangible thing… You didn’t know what to think. You couldn’t think. You were mesmerized by the loving eyes with which he gazed up at you.

Your fingers gingerly passed through his hair, messing his purple strands as you pulled them up from his forehead. He nuzzled deeper against your thigh, watching you still as you brushed through his hair.

Your heart fluttered; your heartbeat had long become unbearably fast since he first approached. The heaviness of his honeyed gaze rendered you completely still.

The waterfall’s continuous rustling turned to distant noise. The iciness of the pool bellow you became miniscule. Scaramouche felt so much warmer than the water that you briefly associated him with. His gaze; the loving, sparkling brilliance in his eyes. It warmed you from within, tugging at all of your heartstrings at once.

Your lips pulled into a smile. The joy from your heart threatening to spill from your mouth in the form of laughter. It was unimaginable to you that this man was yours. That you were the one he looked at with such endearment. That, despite his cold and expressionless nature, you somehow ended up helping him feel.

His brows furrowed slightly, knitting together into an innocent and questioning arch. He was puzzled by your smile.

It was as if he only then became aware of his expression. Only then, he realized how much he had relaxed around you. How enchanted he had become by your presence. His face quickly shifted to its usual cold exterior, proving to you once and for all that it was always an act. He frowned at you, leaning away from your leg and body.

“You are taking too long,” he said. Before you could say anything, he swiped his hands across the pool surface and splashed you. You yelped, pulling your knees up as cold water dotted your stomach.

“You said you wouldn’t splash me!”

“I made no promises."

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

okay te-hee. i'm still giggling. I hope you enjoyed! I decided to not gatekeep the kiss in the second clip so~

You can find the fic on my Ao3, right here. Withered in Bloom is the third book in my series "A Puppet's Heart". Hope you enjoy if u do end up reading it!

And as always, if u enjoy my writing, I also have a ko-fi and more fics on my ao3 account <3

[boybff]

wait hiiiii hi hello bestie i didn’t know u like video essays!! i’ve been trying to find more to watch recently, do u have any other recs? about any topic 👀

HIIIIII bestie Robin, are you ready?? After harvesting my Youtube subscription and liked video lists here is what I have compiled. I'm gonna put my current top 5 video recommendations and then the rest of the list, under the cut, is organized by creator.

Why Are There So Many Confederate Vampires

The art of religious interpretation (midnight mass vs god’s not dead)

Defunctland: Walt Disney's City of the Future, E.P.C.O.T.

Hogwarts Legacy, JK Rowling, and Trans Advocacy

Cultural Inspirations in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 1 - Water 

CHANNELS

biz barclay - hilarious, brilliant, my best friend who drinks wine and weaves me long insightful stories while sitting on the dresser or in the bathtub. The vast amount of knowledge, historical 

understanding snapewives: religion, fandom, sociology, & erotica

Goncharov (1973) video essay

The art of religious interpretation (midnight mass vs god’s not dead)

Xiran Jay Zhao - Author of one of my FAVE YA novels, “Iron Widow” (which is a MUST read). I always want more avatar content that focuses on cultural inspirations from trusted sources. Xiran taught me so much about the avatar universe I already loved as well as valuable critiques. They also do retellings of historical events such as- Bisexual Han Dynasty Emperors and Forgotten Warrior Queen - Fu Hao.

Cultural Inspirations in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 1 - Water 

Cultural Inspirations in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 2 - Earth 

Cultural Inspirations in Avatar: The Last Airbender Book 3 - Fire 

Fundie Fridays - Jen, a leftist queer feminist, and her husband James examine different aspects of Christian fundamentalism, American conservative politics and pop culture. She has remade a lot of her older videos so make sure to watch the updated versions! She was also featured in the Amazon docuseries “Shiny Happy People” which I would HIGHLY recommend. 

Vacation Bible School of Rock (3 part video series History of Contemporary Christian Music)

Ken Ham’s Creation Museum & Ark Encounter

Ask a Mortician - Caitlin Doughty!!! The adult Wednesday Addams we should have got. So compassionate, informed, and moving!! I love her work and she has taught me so much about what it means to have a relationship with death and grief. Her work deals with heavy topics and you can tell she does this work from a deeply respectful, informed place. 

The Lake That Never Gives Up Her Dead

Let’s Visit the Churches Made of Human Skulls

Why are Black and White Funeral Homes STILL Separate? With Dr. Kami Fletcher

Iconic Corpse Series

Princess Weekes -  Nuanced video essays on pop culture, race, feminism, and other social issues. Takes time to break down complex concepts, their origins and material consequences. The essay on confederate vampires and the connection later made to sci-fi media like Firefly were so paradigm shifting to me!

Why Are There So Many Confederate Vampires

The Magical Negroes of Stephen King

Ro Ramdin - Poetic, biting, and introspective essays on pop culture. 

Do Celebrities Hate Their Fans? (Doja Cat, Frank Ocean)

Hogwarts Legacy, JK Rowling, and Trans Advocacy

DefunctLand- History of extinct theme parks and themed entertainment experiences. 

Defunctland: Walt Disney's City of the Future, E.P.C.O.T.

Disney Channel’s Theme: A History Mystery

Mina Le - Fashion, movies and pop culture

WHY IS EVERYTHING SO UGLY: The Curse of Modernism

FAIRYTALE COSTUMES: it’s giving renfaire but why?

Quinton Reviews - Extensive videos covering niche topics, most popular for Nickelodeon deep dive retrospectives.

How Documentaries Lie to You

The ICarly/Victorious Saga Playlist

TheEpicNate315 - yea i fucking love endless hours of useless skyrim lore because the conspiracies are so deep and I have to do 0 of the research to get all of the information years of scouts worked to piece together! 

The Skyrim Mysteries Iceberg (Part 1 of 4)

The Fallout Mysteries Iceberg (Part 1 of 2, incomplete series)

Mike’s Mic - Silly, goofy, and thorough breakdowns of nostalgic TV shows

Any of his unhinged recaps - LOST, Pretty Little Liars, Glee

Tiffanyferg - Media criticism and commentary

Internet Analysis Series 

Zoë Ligon - sex educator, artist, and writer, who also owns SpectrumBoutique.com, a health and education oriented sex toy store. Such a special place in my heart for her!! Her bondage mini-documentary with Midori was so touching. 

Sex Stuff | Japanese Rope Bondage with Midori

Channels Newer to Me

Broey Deschanel - a mixture of film analyses, retrospectives, politics and just absolutely overthinking anything to do with pop culture

Elvis (2022) and the Utter Mediocrity of Biopics 

Meeptop - rambling about movies and stuff

Who is Dahmer Even Made For?

LadyJenevia - discussing entertainment media content including films, television series, etc. Expect to find reviews of recent cinematic releases, video essays on older releases, and interviews with talent from the film/television industry

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and The Art of Hiding in Plain Sight (Netflix Review/Video Essay)

As a disclaimer, I am not endorsing any creator fully and if you see someone you think I should not promote please reach out to me so I can edit this list. As a general rule of thumb the more I had to write about someone, the more informed the recommendation.

[kald-dal-art]

hiiiiiiiiiii! i'd like tips for beginners like totally new to art and what apps you use and do we need pen?

Hey sure I can give you tips

Assuming this is digital art tips you want, so here they are from me to you

So I guess my first tip is don’t immediatley go for the most expensive stuff on the market just because that’s what all the “Pros” are using. What is good art supplies for an hobbyist and a pro is different for a reason.

I’m not really too deep into tablet knowledge on what is the cheapest/best alternatives for a complete beginner though, both my drawing tablet and iPad/Pen were presents from my parents, but there are tons of videos/resources online to help.

I think Procreate is a very good drawing app for the iPad for what it offers and is relatively inexpensive imo, especially for a one time purchase

Have heard Ibis paint is good as well if you want a free option, but I haven’t used that one. So take that with a grain of salt.

My fave computer program is Clip Studio Paint and its more expensive than procreate but for it being a one time purchase it’s pretty good and it has sales pretty often so yeah.

Also if you are complete beginner I would also highly recommend doing traditional art first. Think the Undo button on digital can be a very easy thing to fall back on. With traditional art it helps you with growing more confident with your pen strokes and such.

Like practissing drawing stuff with a ballpoint pen is something I highly recommend, because you can’t erase anything and it really helps you to practice the concept of pen pressure and such, which is important to have down when you do stuff digitally.

Also another thing you can do that really helped me getting into Digital art was that I would doodle something on paper and then I would scann the drawing so I could color it digitally. Because I had such a hard time in the beginning to draw stuff from scratch digitally, so doing that part traditonally really helped me get into it

Also recommend studying art pieces you like and do “master copys” of them to really study why people do the choices they do

(Highly recommend to not post Master copys though, especially without credit, screw what every art commentator said in the mid 2010, tracing can do you good to understand art better)

[thedemigodoracle]

Please read:

Ok, so as I jokingly said before “I’m back.” - I’m not joking, I am back.

Not entirely yet but here are some things to wait for in the near future.

Before I list it I need to browse fast through the real life stuff first so bear with:

- one of the reasons I did go missing from art and fandoms in general wasn’t just the ammount of books but also family situations, depression, relationships and in the last few years I lost grandma, grandpa and even my mother to a disease they don’t have it diagnosed yet because it was so rare.

Obvsly took a major hit to my mental health and the ability to write and just have energy kinda left me. I’m handling it I’m in therapy. This is all we need to talk about it.

- it’s been over ten years since some of your fave fics have been updated and while both Clichesbullet on ff.net and thatu on DA will be there and won’t be deleted HERE are what’s to expect:

1. My endgame here is reading the books back and forth again, as well as other source

Material for other fandoms I will

Be publishing for.

-updating the old fan mixes and uploading it to Spotify so it’s more accessible and going back (when possible to art).

- I will use AO3 some new aesthetics and user name (though probably just thatu) and edit a lot more to fit what I believe is better not because the world changed in general but because so

Did I.

Some of the racism and homophobia will still be there are these are the characters having flaws whose arcs weren’t complete but lots of it will also be changed because I’m 34 now I also the world is changed and some stuff just wouldn’t fly and I kinda hate it (but the old material is still there available on the old

Accounts).

- I’m not sure technology will be adapted but some references will here and there and I can clearly deliver something better now that I’ve taught English for over half of my life and am taking a masters degree on translation studies.

- real life will get me too busy sometimes so please I hope you’re excited but I know lots

Of you also have jobs or even families. So leave reviews and keep

Me company but also understand I was bad at updating before even with better time

Management this is will be a ride.

- I’m doing this to prove myself I can do and make good things.

- This site as well as the thatu blog will be updated.

- if you were a follower and have deleted your tumblr or changed usernames please leave a reply with who we were because I’ve had an eventful few years. I remember most of you, but I may need a nudge.

- both my writing and art style have developed and so did my world views - stuff will look different but hopefully still bring you comfort. And laughter.

And tears…?

- there will be some one shots posted focusing on stuff like grown up characters and new knowledge

We now have though the characterization will still follow the book ones as that’s how I kinda got used to it.

- I’m back but I’ll be getting back slowly and posting updates here. Tell ur friends who haven’t been here in a while but used to be part of our group of

Weirdos.

- I missed being a fandom person and hopefully now I can find solace in you guys back again.

- some new fandoms will pop up, as will

Some

Ships (see what I did there? Find solace? Will some ships? Hehe).

-Some extra texts will be added to whatever adaptations I make especially regarding transphobia and HP though I do intend to finish my Hannah/Neville story.

- maybe I’ll write original

Stuff too who knows?

Also, I missed you, spread the word. There’s a brand new old me in town. New ships, new views, new one shots, edits, a very different music taste (actually no I just added more stuff) and a lot of improved knowledge of vocabs and world geography.

Please spread this to whoever you think might be interested. It’s not popularity or anything, I’m trying to get back some pieces of me I lost along the way and writing and drawing used to be FUN and help me make FRIENDS.

I’ll keep u posted once everything is at least remotely ready to go.

And omg you’ll finally know what Silena had on clarisse.

Oh and I’m still not for writing smut but there will be more Adult/Mature like material as some ships require it and I am older. No minors having descriptive s*x

Of course but u know it’d feel weird to talk about these huge ass long relationships and not bring it up naturally.

Anyway, reply to this with whatever. Leave a like or something too but mostly leave a reply so we can start this journey together -

New younger fans are also welcome I’ll make my best to keep this space as safe as possible!! I teach kids and teens and I’d kill for u to have a place to be you safely.

Also there will now be additions on author notes for whether a ship is canon or fanon what I adapted and new fandoms new ships and trigger warnings before sensitive chapters that deal with stuff that before I wouldn’t.

Love, I’ve missed this,

thatu.

[suzyq31]

15 Questions for 15 Mutuals

Thanks for the tag @nodirectionhome-ao3!

1. Are you named after anyone? Yes, my aunt! I'm little Sue ❤️

2. When was the last time you cried?

lol, yesterday. I cry a lot.

3. Do you have kids? Nope.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

What's a lot? Like Chandler Bing levels? Then no haha.

5. What sports do you play/have you played?

I am not a sports person, but I did play soccer when I was younger. I really should be more active though. I recently tried tennis and enjoyed that!

6. What’s the first thing you notice about other people?

Overall vibe probably.

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

I used to love scary movies, now I find I'm too triggered for most. But a lot of my favorites don't have happy endings haha.

8. Any special talents?

Hyper focusing on random things? Blessing and a curse.

9. Where were you born?

Born in Canada and never left haha (at least permanently).

10. What are your hobbies?

Mostly reading and writing, but I dabble in some other things like water coloring, air dry clay, gardening and I have a bullet journal/art journal. I also just really love to learn about new things and go down knowledge rabbit holes.

11. Do you have any pets? One pup, two cats. One bedroom apartment...it's cosy.

12. All-time fave piece of media? Oh this is so hard. I mean I've loved Harry Potter since I was a kid. Most of my other favorites have shifted depending on the time in my life. But a few more recent faves:

-Fleabag

-Normal People (book and show)

13. Fave subject in school? English and Social Studies...I came very close to majoring in Sociology or Anthropology in University.

14. Dream job?

I need to steal Cam's, I don't dream of labor haha. I honestly don't know, I'm still trying to figure out which direction I want to take my career. I do feel lucky to currently work in a field that I'm passionate about, even though the burn out is real.

But being independently wealthy so I can spend my life indulging in my hobbies and volunteering instead would be nice!

15. Eye colour? A mix of green and blue, they kind of shift between the two.

15 is too many people and I feel like everyone is likely already tagged! If you want to do it please do!

@glitterwitch1 @annonymouslyblonde @myst867 @bettertoflee @bellairestrella @tradingtruthsforlies @valshadowhunter @cordovabox @tiffanytoms

[edalynn]

willow deserves better i stfg im so sick and tired of shifting through 40 posts of people self inserting themselves on her to date hunter before i can get anything that actually talks about her, and THEN i have to make sure op isnt still trying to sneak hunter into it. i love hunter but its fucking tiring to see my fave with my trauma and body type be reduced to him, here’s hoping for a plottwist

honestly. I literally saw cute Willow art the other day, just of her. Nothing indicating Hunter in the art piece at all (to my knowledge at least) and it was tagged "huntlow implied obviously". Like. hOW?? HOW IS AN ART PIECE OF JUST WILLOW EXISTING FUCKING HUNT//LOW IMPLIED. H/ls are literally impossible to fucking interact with, they can't leave their boring ass, shitty m/f ship out of ANYTHING. Cute art of lumity? oh, well, hunt//low is there in the background because they're clearly in love :-) Art of Hunter, Gus, and Willow? Oh, Hunter and Willow are holding hands bc they're clearly in love :-) And the amount of OOC shit of Willow being this mushy, soft girlfriend that's treating Hunter like a newborn baby deer. Like are y'all okay? I don't think you ever watched a single scene Willow has been in, just blacked out until Hunter was on the screen again lmao. Willow? The bitch that has aggressively pulled Hunter underground using plant magic with no regards to him at all lmao?? Get real

[kunstseely]

Hey!

I‘m new here & tbh i don‘t really know how all this works someone please teach me T.T

about me:

i‘m kunstseely (same on ig) and i turn 21 in two days!

My favourite show is #supernatural (i also love shameless, skins, bojack horseman, arcane, …)

i am also getting into #anime: one piece, dorohedoro, jjk and my aboslute fave rn is #mashle!!

i am obsessed with #genshin, so if you know any swaggo artists who make amazing genshin art please share thy precious knowledge🙌🏻

about the drawing: this is my #OC :) i am very indecisive about his name but i‘m thinking of naming him Val. He‘s around 24-27y/o

If you decide to follow me for a bit i‘m sure you will learn lots of interesting facts about him! (esp the postapocalyptic world he lives in and get to know his friends :D)

I‘ve got a lot more art on my ig rn since i don‘t want to spam this acc with old stuff, so if you want to see more of my art i‘ll see you there!🤍

xx Ely xx

[dgdraws]

My art year in review!

I learned so much this year and made a ton of cool stuff! These are my favorites from each month, but it was so hard to choose. A lot of stuff didn't even get posted--I'll be sure to at least post the ones that made it to this list!

It's amazing to see how much I've changed and learned over this year, and to see the things that are emerging as part of "my style."

Here's to another year of delight, creation, connection and fun!

Some monthly reflections beneath the cut, but here's the highlights:

I participated in 3 art challenges, Artfight, OC-tober and Huevember.

I made fanart for the first time!

I created a piece I conceived of before I started drawing

Made some big breakthroughs in techniques and skills in April, July and November

January: My first branch into full character design, Rodd is the culmination of training on Hero Forge renders to make dnd portraits! I was doing this cool thing with neon rim lighting, I should bring that back!

February: I saw a piece on here with this amazing glowing effect, so I color picked it and experimented to figure out what relationship between the colors was making it do that! The answer was saturation. This rose is meant to be glowing from within, and I think I did a good job for my knowledge level at the time! As Chuck Tingle would tell us, it's beautiful because only I could have made it in that moment on the timeline.

March: I spent a million years on every detail of this one, it has at least 5 clipping overlay/saturation layers for lighting, multiple line work groups and I want to rework that background but! I never felt more accomplished than I did when I finished this one. I learned a lot, especially about things I could skip or simplify. And the symbolism really pops off ngl

April: I read Gideon the Ninth for the first time this month and I immediately needed to draw Jeannemary Chatur, Cavalier of the Fourth House, the worst teen to do it. She's the first fanart I ever made and posted! I also discovered a new pen tool with this one, which CHANGED THE GAME.

May: This one is an idea I had written down before I ever picked up the tablet and stylus. I thought I might commission someone to make it, the image of it came to me so clearly during our VTM session I just had to make it real somehow. Well I did it! This is one I will come back to redraw in like 5 years bc I love the concept so much. Also rife with symbolism and inside nods to the Low Kings.

June: I made a bunch of ref sheets in the run-up to Artfight in July. Caleb hadn't even been in my plans to upload, but I had time and inspiration! I will be uploading this and a few more of him <3

July: This is one of my faves from Artfight! This character is Blueberry, by way of OrchidEatsBread on artfight. I have still never played... rainworld? But I love me a slug cat. In July I drew a TON of people, it really drilled anatomy basics into me and how to get clothes looking like actual clothes a bit more. Also solidified some things I would consider "my style" at the moment, like no irises, and my approach to noses and mouths and fingers!

August: Another fanart for the Locked Tomb series, I never posted this!!! Will be rectifying that soon.

September: I got really into javascript and css this month, and I made this to be a landing page image on my neocities website XD I'll get back around to that eventually...

October: At the last minute, I discovered OC-tober and the prompts from @/bweirdart, a worthy follow up to the rush of Artfight two months previous. I developed so much stuff for the Low Kings, including this drawing/character, Amayah/Girl-Z, who has been a figment of my pintrest board for 2+ years.

Huevember: Chasing that OC-tober high, I found Huevember! I did not expect to actually do every day, but it proved to be an amazing exercise! I learned so, so much about color, discovered amazing new brushes and techniques and found I really enjoy working in those one day capsules! I loved a lot of the stuff that came out of this month, including my highest note post ever!!!, but this one is still my phone background and I'm maybe developing an OC world around it. We'll see what happens in 2024.

December: I got hit HARD with the writing bug this month, so this was my only choice for this month but I WOULDA CHOSEN IT ANYWAY. I unlocked something here that I'm really excited to visit again, in fact I'm working on a companion piece rn! This is also fanart btw, prepare for me to get even weirder about this guy in the coming months.

If you've read this far, thank you so much! I have so much fun writing these little reflections and making my posts on here.

xoxo, wren

[soldier-poet-king]

please give me a passionate ramble about [spins roulette wheel] the antagonist you relate to the most

Holy shit friend this is an INCREDIBLE question and SURPRISINGLY I /DON'T/ HAVE A RAMBLE ALREADY LOCKED AND LOADED???

So I'm thinking abt this, and it's difficult, and I'll inevitably change my mind and come back to it, but at least off the cuff, my fave antagonists fall into one of three categories, but really only one of those categories I would say I "relate to". Also I'm using antagonist in the most literal sense of opposing the protagonist (even if they switch sides later) and not strictly as villain or bad guy.

There's camp antagonists (often but not always queer coded) that are just entirely FUN and a delight to experience. Eg. Team rocket, dr drakken from kim possible, tons of Disney villains, dr doofenshmirtz, etc. Theyre a blast and I love them

There's unabashedly evil and/or rancid antagonists or pseudo antagonists like ianthe tridentarius, lestat, and mairon/Sauron and I love love love them and I enjoy these types of characters a lot but I wouldn't say I /relate/ to them.

And then there's the woobified antagonist which is the type I DO relate to because I'm a villain apologist AND a redemption for all truther and I want to believe people are mostly good and even people who do bad things do it out of (misguided) good reasons and everyone has the potential for growth. So in this group there's a lot of traumatized kids who aren't REALLY antagonist or villains with a redemption arc. Eg. zuko, jason todd, essek theyless, cullen rutherford, the feanorians, l*tor from v*ltron, literally every single child soldier in snk, scar from fma, etc etc etc. You see where I'm going with this.

Out of all of these I'd say Essek and Cullen are the ones I relate to most. I excluded Jason and Zuko bc really they're just traumatized kids. Essek starts out as a villain because he feels an outcast, he's got that gifted kid pride, he feels so alienated from his faith, he's ambitious but in non traditional ways, he's lonely. I get that. I get that SO bad. I would do terrible things for knowledge and a sense of intellectual superiority and yeah I hate that about myself.

Cullen is more difficult, I'd argue he's straight up an antagonist in da2 ("mages aren't people like you and me") and while he tries to atone in Dai he still WAS a horrible person. And I GET THAT and I know fans love to hate him and that's fine but I also know what trauma and mental illness and isolation do to you, and when you're lonely and insecure and have no real supports you turn to the faith of your childhood and the one thing that gives you solace and you dive headfirst into that. Even if it was a key factor in traumatizing you in the first place you cling to it like a rock and become more and more severe with your beliefs, twisting it and manipulating it out of a sense of self righteousness. And you ignore all the warning signs along the way because it's the only comfort you have. So like. Yeah. I get using callous religious extremism masking as devoutness. It's why Cullen is one of my favourite characters. It's not because I think he deserves to be forgiven. But he deserves a chance to atone. To do better. *I* deserve that chance. I have to believe it.

This was a delicious question. Truly I'm such a villain apologist and it's partially bc I'm so soft hearted and partially because I genuinely am such a hopeful little universalist and I want and hope that everyone has the chance and the opportunity and the love to grow and become better and do better. It's not about deserving forgiveness. It's just about trying to be good. Even if your good is only marginally better than yesterday. Idk. It's the core theme of my life maybe, and why I'm so attached to antagonists and villains. Thinking abt this question I struggled to come up with examples because so many of my favourite pieces of art the antagonist is either the protag vs fate, the divine, themselves, or else it's like The Man or society as a whole, it's against the nature of human greed and selfishness, so rarely is the antagonist just Some Guy, without that guy being emblematic of wider systemic issues. And I think I like that, I like that most of the evil in the world doesn't boil down to individuals, that most individual people aren't terrible. I like that. Or I like to believe it. Idk

(I guess I DID have a ramble locked and loaded it just wasn't directly answering the question 😅)

[kiatheinsomniac]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇-𝐔𝐏!*˚ .♡⋆ˊˎ -

𓆩♡𓆪 𝐒𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄!

❝For the valentines matchup! Aralez, non-binary bisexual, they/them, Taurus, INFJ. assassin’s creed or HOTD! I’m a semi professional actor, with my wheelhouse being mostly Shakespeare and stage combat, fave is sword fighting. I do ballet and have a black belt in tae kwon do; hobbies also include crochet, reading/writing, and music I’m very energetic, sharing/giving, strong willed, ADHD Galaxy brain, also narcoleptic (professional sleepyhead) xD lot of magpie kike tendencies, I like to try/collect/do a little bit of everything, also love shiny things especially crystals and jewelry. Thank you for doing this!❞ @aralezinspace

ੈ♡˳ 𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄!

♡ I can absolutely see your acting being what initially catches Arno'a attention. The man might be an Assassin capable of immense violence but he's still a lover of the arts at his heart.

♡ he really admires your balance between elegance and grace as opposed to strength and chaos; the ballet and tae kwon do, the quiet hobbies like crochet and reading vs your high energy levels. You have an element of both balance and unpredictability to you that he likes a lot.

♡ in order to get a little closer to you so that you'd feel comfortable enough to accept his proposal of a date, he offered to coach you some more in stage combat techniques, using his knowledge of actual combat and inviting you to the training room above the café-theatre

ੈ♡˳ 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝐀 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄?

♡ Arno takes you to a market! He knows you like to collect little trinkets and such so he thought it would be perfect! He'll insist on buying everything for you and if you start to worry about him spending such money on you then he'll just buy them once you're distracted at another stall~

♡ he really likes seeing you fill your hands with shiny bits of jewellery and crystals until they're spilling through your fingers as you hand them over to the vendor. He also makes sure to point out pieces that he thinks will be to your taste and the two of you grab some snacks from some food stalls too.

♡ should you start to feel sleepy, you'll return to his home where he has afternoon tea set up for you and you can have a more slow-paced date cuddled up and reading Shakespeare.

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒: acting and stage combat sounds so cool omg!! hope you enjoyed taking part in my valentine's event!

missed the match-up event? try ships instead! ☾ ⋆ ﾟlike my work? why not: ∘ buy me a coffee? ∘ comms. ∘ taglist ∘ follow/reblog

[wri0thesley]

Nat I'm so sorry, I have to marry Cass now. Yes I know he could and would kill me, but I see a Byronic, redheaded man and I go a little stupid

OUGHUGHUGH.... we probably have similar tastes anon, unfortunately. the only way i could have carefully curated him to my tastes more is to have him be a blond, but i CONTROLLED myself. the tortured artist archetype is one of my absolute faves and weird fucked up daddy issues artist in a gothic horror house with pre-raphaelite leanings . . . ah. we can All Go A Little Stupid, as a treat!!!

oh and as i am replying on a pc and not my phone have some more picrews of him (i do make art but honestly i am not as good at it, sometimes a picrew captures the vibe better!);

my beloved awful man. how i despise him.

as i love to talk about my little guys. here is some info on cass from his refsheet (that i must get around to doing a little updating of!) cw: child abuse, eye trauma, alcoholism, yandere mentality, A Guy

Cass grew up in an impoverished aristocratic family; the kind of old money old-name whose estate was crumbling to pieces, but preferred to pretend they were still in their halcyon golden days. A latent talent for painting making itself known at the tender age of five and a half meant that his family's connections were very quickly made use of - and after that, money was not so much of an issue. Cassian lost his entire childhood to work and being dragged halfway across the world to be fussed over and paint portraits, a lack of stability that he insists was thrilling but he still feels now right down to his bones. Private tutors, an education that only took art and art history and anything else related seriously, and a father who took great issue to Cass being something of a daydreamer have all played their part in making Cass exactly who (and what) he is today.

After losing his eye, he felt like he lost his entire identity. He'd spent so long thinking his only worth was in what he could make with a paintbrush in hand that it drove him to despair, and to find his solace in the bottom of a bottle - he would have done anything to regain his vision. And eventually he found his solution in a tiny bookshop in Whitechapel; first floor all children's books, second floor books entirely on the occult. A kindly bookseller gave him some assistance, and later on that night Cass found himself performing a ritual that ought to have attracted the attention of a patron deity of artists.

Things are never quite so straightforward.

Cass can see perfectly now, thank you very much. He can also hear the whispering and the chittering of the servants of the demon he made a Faustian bargain with, talking behind the patch he wears because now his eye is . . . rather distressing to look at. He has a boost in speed and strength and endurance, too - but most importantly, he has the knowledge that when he does die, there's an eternity of torture waiting for his immortal soul . . . so why not have fun now?

Cass is on the search, always, for his perfect model. His Lizzie Siddal, if you will; someone who will get in front of the lens of his camera (oil painting takes so much longer, and though he does still paint on rare occasion, his models don't always last long enough for that) and will provide for him the work that will make him immortal. He doesn't care how many models he tears through, breaks and buries in the search for just that.

After all; art is the most important thing in the world, is it not? And Cass intends to leave behind a legacy.

[buggysmalls69]

Well I'd best explain myself.

Hey. It's milk ✌️

If you know me from being moots elsewhere.. Hi! This is my special interest blog. A real rebloggy blog. For reblogging. And talking about my interests if I feel like it!

Current interests:

In no particular order

- Figures ✨

I collect figures. I have like well over 300 at this point. I don't keep track anymore and this one is slowly but surely subsiding. I will always adore figures and collecting them though. My figures make my room a safe place for my senses. They're all so pretty 💖

- Pokémon 🌈

Oh my god an autistic person who likes Pokémon it's a miracle. Yeah. I started playing Pokémon when I was 3, so 17 years going strong. I originally preferred the toys and cards, but heart gold and soul silver converted me and then I became a mega fan. Tracking releases, learning lore, creating fanart. Mind you I was like 7. There's a deviantart account out there from when I was 6? and yeah that shit Sure Is (you can try and find it I don't really care anymore jfjsjfjg). Anyway!!! Faves are cleffa, whimsicott, blaziken, galvantula, giratina, mimikyu and Registeel. Faves by proxy include lapras, torkoal, lilligant, gengar, rayquaza, mudkip and ledyba. Fave humans are Iono, Lillie (LillieMoon 💖💖💖), Ingo and Emmet, allister, N, Erika and Elesa. Gen 5 is currently my favourite but I have played gen 5 a LOT the past few years and a lot of my faves are gen 5. I attended both the Pokémon center pop up in London in 2018, and EUIC 2024 in London, also for the Pokémon center lmao.

- Bugs 🐛

Woo big surprise it/they user enjoys bugs. My favourites are moths, exact favourites being hummingbird hawk moths and Madagascan sunset moths. Also a huge fan of weevils, worms, snails, beetles, bees and butterflies! I hope to have a butterfly collection one day in frames :3

Hatsune Miku.

- One piece ☠️

Pretty new one but yeah, I'm caught up so I spend a LOT of time thinking about them damn pirates. Faves in no order are Zoro, Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Robin, Perona, Mihawk, Law, Corazon, Ace, Yamato, Katakuri, Crocodile, Buggy, Doflamingo, Lucci, Okiku, and Big Mom.

- No but for reals Miku 🎧

Fun fact! I've been a Miku fan since 2010. That's 14 years baby!! My first vocaloid songs that I remember hearing are nyan cat (duh), world is mine, Romeo and Cinderella, butterfly on your right shoulder, gugurekasu, and my all time fave, corruption garden. Absolutely underrated banger. This should be a general vocaloid section really because my favourite cryptonloids are Kaito, Luka and Miku and then my favourite non cryptonloids are Meika Mikoto, Lily, Nekomura Iroha, PoUta, Teto and Luo Tianyi! My favourite producers are PinocchioP, Neru, Giga, Kira, Iroha(sasuki) and OwataP!

I went to Miku expo in London 2018, 2020 and I am going in 2024!!! A selection from my personal wishlist for London 2024 setlist :

Paradichlorobenzene - OwataP 💛

Kokoro - Toraboruta 🧡

Kunoichi Demo Koi ga Shitai - MikitoP 🩵🧡

Digital Girl - Kira 🩵

Break it, Break it! - E.L.V.N ❤️

Non Breath Oblige - PinnochioP 🩵

Erase or Zero - crystalP 💛💙

-Minecraft 🌲

Yeah yeah you can laugh all you want. I've been consuming Minecraft since it came out, and I've played it for 10 whole years. I got pc edition 5 years ago now (INSANE). I love Minecraft. I tend to play just random mods shoved in a folder, but I do play with friends sometimes!!! If anyone ever wants to play please tell me I will kiss you.

NON SPECIAL INTERESTS BUT VERY IMPORTANT TO MY IDENTITY

-Dinosaurs (since I was like 4)

-Sanrio (as long as I can remember)

-Animals

-Anime in general

-Art (lotta A's huh)

-Shitty adult cartoons (south park, family guy, American dad, I have encyclopedic knowledge of all 3 and I can recall every episode. I also know family guy season 4 word for word :3)

-Sitcoms (Actually enjoy: Two and a half men, modern family, young Sheldon kinda, does house count? It should. Encyclopedic knowledge: Big Bang Theory, Two and a half men, Frasier, Friends)

THE "SOMETIMES" SPECIAL INTEREST

- Five Nights at Freddys 🐻

I know, I'm so cool. This game has had its dirty grip on me since it came out. Basically I hate it but every time a new game comes out I can't help but go on a self destructive info absorb and I watch like 6 hour video essays on the new lore and implications. It's fun I like fnaf silly Creachure. My fave is the puppet because I'm non binary haha.

-UNDERTALE ❤️

I pretty much tick all the boxes for middle school anxiety huh. Yeah undertale is a beautiful masterpiece and every few years I'll have a mega "aaaaa undertale" phase where I'll just do nothing but play and consume undertale content. I've played the game through at least like 10 times? A few of each ending. I'm still really bad at sans fight.

-Animal Crossing 🐾

I think everyone should have this one. Occasionally I'll just be like "hm being an adult in the real world isn't really what I wanted right now" so I play animal crossing until oops 6 hours passed. I'll then play for about a week before putting it down again. I tend to stick with new horizons, just because it has the best gameplay. Also BUGS heheshhfksjgh. Fave villagers are Lily, Eugene, Beardo, Judy, Merengue, Lolly, Merry and Marina. I also love Flick and Celeste.

Kinning!!

Yeahhh I kin some bitches. Big deal.

- Yamada Ryo

The big one. She's just me for real for real. I love her for realsies. Also um hi bocchi kinnies.

- Rina Tennoji

She's so fucking autistic. I also struggle with expression (fluctuates between under and over!).

- Kokoro Tsurumaki

Genki. I have made it my personal goal to make people happy in recent years and it's really helped my own mental health

- Madoka Kaname

😳🩷🖤

- Kirby

Small, Round, Pink, Poyo

- Flandre Scarlet

Tiny Creachure clinging to childhood (with a dash of trauma).

- Kanna Kamui

I just, deep down. I experience friendship the exact way Kanna does. I have no concept of boundaries. I will crawl into your bed at night.

- Stocking

Sweets, hypersexual, kinky, goth, chubby. Me.

- Yamato

Oblivious, love friend so much, bad family relationships.

- Kuromi

*cough cough* *straightens paper* Although Kuromi may look and act tough and punk, she is actually very girly and is attracted to good-looking guys. That is all.

And yeah I think that's pretty much it. Obviously this post will get updated as regularly as it needs it. Hope u enjoy my silly content!!!

[stillthesunkenstars]

hi hello! im slowly trying to get into bernice summerfield/gallifrey big finish, do you have any suggestions on where to start, or fun facts you like, or anything (perhaps related to character relations etc)? all of this is very overwhelming and i have so many questions and dont really know where to begin, and you seem very knowledgeable irt all this stuff :']. ive been scouring the fandom wikia + trying to find all free content, and im still very lost.

(also, so good to see another chinese dw fan out in the wild!!! i love your art also!!!!!!! really love the most recent brax piece :])

Hi hi!! U are right I AM kinda knowledgeable about this stuff!! I like the bennys more than Gallifrey because it has books and anthologies that expand the characters so much more than an audio only series which Gallifrey is; but the problem it’s a lot to follow and u have to switch between the books and audios to get the full picture of the story. the bennys is more.. interpersonal in my opinion because while Benny do go around adventuring in space she always returns to the same weird messy found family she finds herself in and i love seeing these guys (Benny, brax, Jason, bev, adrian and other supporting characters) navigate their relationship while the universe throws every kind of shit at them. But please be warned this series can get rly dark at times!! Holleh @setaregan ’s this post helped me a lot getting into the series as a brax fan (they are responsible for getting me into brax in the first place around 5 years ago through this piece of meta, and u can check out my tag #holleh meta for more of their analysis on stuff)

Holleh is also on ao3 as unincased and their fics are SO good..!! I drew the fave comic that I’ve drawn for one of their fics

This is my onedrive folder of Benny stories it’s best to start in collection era!! (big finish bennys single release cds and anthologies)

Big finish trigger warning list (u can find the Benny series there)

If u want to hear a more tight knit series about tense political machinations u should listen to Gallifrey!! It’s also got rly good character writing but it’s less messy and human like the bennys (because it’s timelord politics they got every bit of the pretentiousness lmao) Gallifrey also has classic who companions romana and leela as protagonists, and feature a younger brax before the Benny series (so you can see him being less mentally ill but tbh he is less interesting in Gallifrey too.. he needs some of that edge)

I don’t have a folder for Gallifrey.. sorry..

Thank u so much for liking my art!!! Brax is my favorite character across all media and I’ve been drawing him for like 5 years.. he means a lot to me!! Also hi a fellow Chinese person!! 假如你以后还想跟我聊的话说中文也可以！！很期待用中文和同好聊天>.< !!

[sleephearts]

i am here to partake in ur witl askie game puddin :3 i would like to giv u a few anime if u don mind hehe : the girl from the other side , sugar apple fairy tail , furuba , n' haikyuu (ෆ˙ᵕ˙ෆ) !

hewo luvvie \^o^/ i absolutely dont mind ! if anything dis is making me realize how much i'm missing ;;

~ the girl from the other side

never seen it | need to see it | hate it | ugh | it was okay | i liked it | LOVED IT | one of my faves

uoo i just searched up da series...DA ART?? it looks so good i must add it 2 my list asap >:0

~ sugar apple fairy tale

never seen it | need to see it | hate it | ugh | it was okay | i liked it | LOVED IT | one of my faves

art looks so pretti ! shall looks especially handsum heheh.. :9

~ furuba

never seen it | need to see it | hate it | ugh | it was okay | i liked it | LOVED IT | one of my faves

ue..umm...i dunno how i never watched fruits basket when i was younger D: i hav general knowledge of da plot but IVE NEVER SEEN IT... eek im actually kinda embarrassed now ;; my first ever anime was fairy tale n i guess i never deviated frm shounen ;w;

~ haikyu!!

never seen it | need to see it | hate it | ugh | it was okay | i liked it | LOVED IT | one of my faves

aa my middle school obsession !!!! literally grew up wif it + lost a piece of myself when da manga ended in 2020 :'( it still has a supa special place in my heart <3

📩put an anime in my ask

[infiniteanalemma]

So, this is about Dragon Age, which means it's a long essay of a post. The question was which companion was my favorite.

Okay, so first of all, asking me to pick only one favorite? In a BioWare game? Cruel. 😞 How can I pick just one across three games and multiple dlcs? Impossible. I'm too indecisive for that.

Instead, I'll do one per game, which is still hard. Long post ahead. You've been warned.

Origins first, as God intended. If I have to pick only one (*sob*), it has to be Sten. Don't get me wrong, I love Alistair and he was my canon Cousland's romance. But as the player, Sten's my guy. I love a strong, silent type who'll talk philosophy with me, so what can I say? Maybe we don't always agree on everything, but that's half the fun of a philosophical debate. It was through talking with him and hearing his thoughts that I started to be interested in the qunari, which wound up causing me pain in DA2, but I don't regret it. Plus, my dude likes art -- truly a man of culture and taste.

It was a little bittersweet at the epilogue, knowing he would return to Par Vollen. Despite the Warden becoming his kadan, if he ever did see any of them again, it would probably be in war. However, they had a mutual respect and the hope that any war would be pushed back beyond their lifetimes.

Honorable mention goes to Nathaniel Howe in Awakening. Although the Warden killed his father, in the end even he could agree that his dad had it coming. Despite the shortness of the story, he actually had a fairly nuanced character arc. It felt especially satisfying to me to have him and my Cousland become friends. Something something, healing of old wounds, something something, found family.

DA2 is probably the hardest for me to pick just one. I loved them all, and all for different reasons. It comes down to a three-way battle between Varric, Fenris and Carver. But, since only one can win, it has to be Fenris. Sorry, sometimes I am just a basic bitch.

The thing I really appreciated, especially in Fenris's rivalmance, was the exploration of trauma and coping. My canon Hawke is a mage, and their relationship really showed how two people can hit each other's vulnerabilities and trauma, but still love and care for each other. It really shone a light on Fenris's character flaws, but also showed him grappling with them. That's how real-life trauma works. It wasn't an immediate "love conquers all" situation. It was a deeply wounded person lashing out and hurting someone they care about (and who cares about them) because that person inadvertently stepped on their trauma. Fenris winds up being very cruel to Hawke at times, which he later regrets, but it was a dysfunctional coping mechanism that he has to unlearn. And that takes time. He screws up, regrets, and tries to do better. Not just once, but many, many times. That's real.

Really, that's the thing that makes him win out for me over Varric. I love Varric, but no matter what happens, he's still Hawke's bestie. They never really have any serious conflict. While that's great for Hawke, it also means we never really get to see Varric's flaws and insecurities in action or have him overcome them. This makes sense, as Varric is the one telling the story -- a story that isn't about him, but it also slightly flattens his character. Carver (and Bethany), on the other hand, never really gets the screen-time to build up their relationships in the same way. I love them both to pieces, but there's so much with them that we never get to see. Really, I wish we could have gone more in-depth with everyone, but I guess that's what fanfic is for.

Inquisition is another game where I could write an essay on every character and, once again, I'mma be a basic bitch. Solas, Solas, Solas, my beloved egg, my problematic fave. Like with Sten, I enjoyed the philosophical bent to his conversations with the Inquisitor. Also, as my canon Inquisitor was a Trevelyan mage who gained his respect, I enjoyed the meta knowledge of how much their friendship was tearing Solas apart.

I liked that, once you know what he is, you can literally see the anguish he experiences as the story goes on as he grapples between what he personally wants and what he has to do to achieve his goals. I find it a satisfying thought-experiment to try to delve into a character's mindset and understand their motivations, and Solas is an interesting character for that. It's a fascinating window into his character to realize that his pride is such that he can't give up on his goals, because to do that would render all he's done and sacrificed to be in vain, and he can't allow that. He's doing it all "for the People", so he can't allow himself to "be selfish" enough to stop, so he condemns himself and tells himself it's noble to martyr himself this way. He's fascinating to me, and I want to pick his brain and study him like a bug.

Second honorable mention goes to Cullen, who is technically a companion, if only briefly. I know Curly is divisive within the fandom*, but I feel like that speaks to the complexity of his character. Personally, I'm glad he's not the unproblematic, idealized love interest. Perfect people in fiction are boring, anyway. Granted, the fans have to fill in a lot of places where BioWare could've handled things better. That said, I do think you can love someone and also be critical of their actions. I think you can care about someone, want them to grow and overcome their traumas and indoctrination, while also pointing out that they've said and done things that were really messed up. Even someone who wants to change can still have subconscious, problematic views that they don't even realize are still affecting them. I wish BioWare had leaned farther into that aspect, actually, instead of trying to smooth things over and make him less problematic.

*I do kind of find it funny that the range of opinions on him go from "I love him sm" to "he's terrible" to "he's the most boring, generic white guy of all." The Dragon Age fandom is ... definitely something.