#nexus connection

[isilrina]

Happy #ArtMonday, everyone!

Today, I'm thrilled to share the story behind a logo I completed two weeks ago. It all began during a creative session while I was working on my "workspace" piece, listening to "Making of a Legend" by The Phantoms. The music sparked a surge of inspiration, prompting me to pause and sketch out the initial concept for this logo. You can even catch a glimpse of this moment in the time-lapse of my "workspace" piece on Instagram.

But later that same day, fate dealt a cruel blow. In the midst of my hyperfocus, I accidentally closed the project without saving, losing hours of work. Yet, I managed to salvage fragments of the design—just enough to piece together the essence of the final logo.

Despite the setback, I chose to persevere. Typically, I would shelve such projects indefinitely, but this time, I embraced resilience and dove back into the creative process with renewed determination. And you know what? I couldn't be happier with the outcome.

Of course, every journey has its setbacks, and losing the original time-lapse was a bitter pill to swallow. It captured the logo's evolution, each idea unfolding in real-time. Nonetheless, I find solace in the fact that the end result surpasses the previous version in every aspect.

This project also marked my venture into working with vectors—a new frontier promising smoother results for future designs. It's a learning curve, to be sure, but one I'm eager to tackle head-on.

So what is this logo about? It's the symbol of one of my OCs from an original story called "Nexus Connection." Meet Alex, also known as Ikaros in the streaming world. He's not the protagonist, but a vital character nonetheless. Alex is a renowned streamer, celebrated for his gaming prowess and commitment to gender equity in gaming—a central theme in our story.

His pseudonym and logo, inspired by the Greek myth of Icarus, symbolize the dangers of unchecked passion. Just as Icarus flew too close to the sun and fell, Alex's journey serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of obsession. It's a reminder that even our deepest passions can consume us if we're not careful.

Reflecting on my recent setback, losing hours of work to hyperfocus, I'm reminded of the importance of balance in all things. Funny how life imitates art, isn't it?

In essence, this logo embodies resilience, creativity, and the power of embracing imperfection, ultimately leading to growth and improvement.

Speaking about all those things, I also wanted to give you a heads-up. I've been off my focus meds for a few days now due to some health issues, and it's been very challenging. Until I'm in the clear, I can't take them anymore (and there's a possibility I might not be cleared, ever). So because of that, my whole creative process is going to be much slower than usual.

My husband and I are going to stay at my parents' house in the south of France for a week, and I'm going to take this time to get better and try to refocus myself, but it might not be enough.

We'll see how this goes. Take care and see you next Monday.

[wimbledon2008]

buck and eddie are desperately reaching out trying to hold on to one another and complete each other but the nefarious television program 9-1-1 on abc is doing everything in its power to tie their hands behind their backs and keep them apart. buck and eddie know they belong together and the show is keeping them separated by force. that's so fucked up. mr. minear tear down this wall!

[llamaisllama777]

DAILY*/WEEKLY* LAES, TSAMS, EAPS REVIEW! 👏 👏 👏

Yesterday's episode were great I wonder what today's episodes will bring...

HE'S HERE!!! TAURUS IS HERE! EVERYONE PANIC! let's see how badly this ends....

Surprisingly well actually.

The music in this episode was also really good. I usually don't pay attention to the background music, but the music in this episode was really good it kinda reminded me of Walking Dead mixed with Last of Us. I'm not sure if that was the intent, but it works really well I feel for this situation.

Taurus is obviously menacing, but he's also oddly calm. Not what I expected from a destroyer of worlds. He says he's just here to observe Lunar and the others and decided if Lunar and probably the whole world should live.

I ain't gonna lie, I don't have hope for this world.

Taurus is gonna take one look at the whole place and decided everyone is better off dead. Which will probably lead to some kinda of Astrals civil war or Nexus showing up and whooping Taurus and the others Astrals behinds and Lunar having to step in and save the Astrals. But that's a pipe dream I guess. We'll have to wait and see.

I can. Nebula isn't a big fan of Taurus, and he clearly isn't a big fan of her. The way he talks to her, I get she's just the messager, but she's still a person. Taurus is gonna be observing everyone and his next stop his Sun and Moon, and I don't have high hopes for what he'll say or think of them. Him and the other Astrals know about Nexus and his little stunt with star power. Sun, Moon, you guys better have a good space lawyer. I know Earth plans to befriend Taurus and make things easier on Lunar, but I have a feeling Taurus isn't the friend making type.

Gemini did say Taurus would threaten Lunar's family to get a reaction out of him. Taurus, I swear to gosh! If you hurt any of them.

Also, I think it's a matter of time until Earth runs into Nebula again, and if she does, I hope she can convince Nebula to help them with EVERYTHING going on.

We'll have to wait and see.

Now, let's see what Sun and Moon are up to maybe they'll have a calmer episode today...

Nope. Just trauma and sadness.

Solar and New Moon reunite.

Probably not the way either of them wanted but here they are.

Okay, Nexus has just completely gone off the rocker!

"All it takes is one bad day" -Joker

Guess that saying was right for Nexus (Not really but still)

Solar tries to reason with Nexus and even says he can help him come back to the family, and Nexus just laughs! He starts spouting off all these lies about the family, like how Lunar never cared about him. He did! That Earth was just trying to fill the void cause her dad didn't love her. Earth still believed the creator loved her at that time, so that's a lie! And that Sun never cared and just took pity on Nexus. Nexus, you dense mother.... Nexus, you are just a terrible person. Knock off the oc act and get a life! Seeing as how you lost the one you had. I mean, you'll probably get yourself killed soon anyways so what's the point. But we probably should worry. Someone pointed out to me that Nexus could be a part of Rez's plan, and it's definitely looking like it. Maybe Dark Sun is Rez's master or at least is in league with Rez and his boss. I feel so bad for everyone here. (And I kinda feel bad for Nexus.... but not by a lot.) I more pity Nexus cause one day I hope he'll realize that he lost the BEST thing that ever happened to him and will never get it back and I hope he dies knowing that.

I more so feel bad for Sun and Solar.

Solar already had to kill his Moon once... and now he has to do it again. And Sun sounded so shocked and saddened when Solar suggested they kill Nexus. Nexus/New Moon was the Moon who actually showed he cared for sun. And he did at one point, but now he can't even say Sun's name without wanting to gag! Oof.

This is just sad all around.

And now they have Nexus, Taurus, and Creator after them.... LOVELY!

This is all going to boiling over and culminate in some crazy Infinity war level poo I hope.

And now, it's a less sad one but still equally as worrying.

Puppet and Solar reunite! Yay! At least one of his reunions went well today.

Puppet filled in Solar to everything that has happened. Gosh, that must have been fun. This is like the second time someone has had to explain to him what's been happening since he's been dead.

Solar gave Puppet some advice on what to do about Eclipse, and Sun gave her some advice on what to do about the other Sun and Moon. I hope their advice works. Puppet expressed at the very end of the episode her wish to leave this new dimension and return to the old one.... Puppet...

WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST STAY IN THE OTHER DIMENSION THEN?!

Puppet, you left that universe to protect everyone from Puppeteer. Now, I'm not sure what the deal with Puppeteer is now. He's been weakened cause Puppet herself has been weakened, but there is still the risk of him coming back. Are you really gonna take that chance, Puppet?

Also, Puppet, you uprooted your entire family's life to go here. You don't have that apartment anymore! You can't just decide to move to a whole other universe and bond to said universe only to decide to leave it after what 3 weeks?

Yes, I know Foxy chose to go with her, and he could have chosen not to but did, but still, you can't just decide to ditch when the going gets tough Puppet, you stick it out and ride the waves till it all calms. I hope everything works out for Puppet and Eclipse and hope Sun and Solar's advice to her works. Also, sorry if it seems like I hate Puppet's character, I don't. I love her character and this flaw of hers. I'm just being critical.

11/10 TAURUS HAS ARRIVED.

[thefloatingstone]

I really want to draw something meaty and put some characters into The Situations but I am dealing with a double whammy of art block and some REALLY insane migraine/Sinus issues the past 3 or 4 days.

So all I managed was a quick Solana. I wanted to give her a cool leg prosthetic but then I didn't really draw her legs sdjfdsjkfsdhf So that's the level of cognitive function I am dealing with at the moment

Fun fact! I really dislike a lot of the female turian design! So I just... ignored the parts I disliked lol.

[bonefall]

naruto as a whole is a fucking mess and i say thisas somebody whos read the entireseries 3 times over. “naruto is going to change the system! haha teehee never mind hes not doing anytning about the child soldiers and slave castes and the genocides.” “sasuke can be upset at his brother for committing a genocide but actually genocide against an oppressed bloodline is good if theyre getting uppity and its sanctioned by the government and also have a genetic predisposition to be evil so he should just get over it and be okay with it” “sakura needs to stop obsessing over a guy whos not even interested and become strong for her own sake. actually shes a housewife now”

kishimoto im going to blow you up with my mind

YOU GET IT

For real though I think what they did with Sasuke's arc was one of the most baffling fucking things I've ever seen. "Actually. Your brother who carried out a genocide loved you :( he only put you in the Torment Nexus for several days because uhhh he wanted you to hate him and not find out about the government who ordered it. Everything he ever did was actually to protect you. And Uchihas are actually kinda rotten anyway so it's good an entire GROUP OF PEOPLE died. Don't think about any babies or children who were also slaughtered btw uhh nope all of them were bad."

Sasuke: "Yes I understand. I will now rule the world through fear. Actually nvm Naruto won our fight so, my philosophy is gone now."

Thank goodness that Evil Sasuke killed the three Bad Government Officials before that point, though. We had this whole theme going about toxic structures, cycles of abuse, and how oppressive regimes can propagate themselves even when a leader is well-meaning... but, like, Naruto REALLY wants to be Hokage, so actually if you just kill these Three Bad Governors it's gonna be fine.

There is no need for systemic change. Slave castes and child soldiers are fine. It's ok as long as the president is blonde :)

[moe-broey]

Meanwhile, Book ??? and a half, in the far off floating islands of........ uh............ I wasn't paying attention. Sorry. There's a Yggdrasil here, too, though. Unrelated to the one in Zenith. Yeah, apparently these things are fucking everywhere.

Our Heroes, The Order of Heroes, no wait, uh. The Goat Grabbers -- no, still not right. The Dandelion Guild. They're here. On a mission. What mission? Fuck if I know.

Their leader seems to be this very serious young man. But is he the leader, actually...? He may just be the most responsible one. His name is Alfonse. Kind at heart, happy to help others, but tends to keep to himself (...... mostly.)

Joined at the hip, always at his heels, is his younger sister, Sharena! Vibrant and upbeat, she's such a joy to talk to! She's only a little bit odd. But she's so utterly charming, so fun and friendly, you pay it no mind. She truly is the life of the party!

Going from upbeat to offbeat, we have this fucking guy. It seems friendly enough... it's just. Weird. And has an attitude problem. A bit crude, too. That troublesome little creature is named Moe -- and the sheep is Kuro. It's always trailing behind either of the siblings, like a shadow.

Now, who will be our f2p girlie our guide, for this unspecified Book? It's Elanorre! A forest spirit of sorts, a practitioner of arcane earth magic, and an aspiring scholar of The Labyrinth... she has a bit of trouble expressing herself, but don't let that fool you. She's extremely passionate about her work. Just. In a very monotone voice.

(plus a little illust of her!!!)

And for our final team member, to properly fill out a party of five... we're gonna need all the help we can get, after all... what's this? It's Veronica WITH A GUN (WHO GAVE HER THAT?????)

That said, party members of the Dandelion Guild seem to come and go. It's just those three (Alfonse, Sharena, and Moe), who are always together.

Regardless! Onward! Into the Labyrinth!!!

[mobscene-london]

BASIC INFORMATION:

NAME: Carla Beneventi-Vespucci.   AGE: 32. PLACE OF BIRTH: Launceston, Massachusetts, United States. AFFILIATION: The Sovrani. OCCUPATION: Lawyer; public defender. FACE CLAIM: Greta Onieogou. AVAILABILITY: TAKEN.

BIOGRAPHY:

“You know you don’t have to come with us, right? Your life is here, my love.”

“A life where I spend every day worrying about what’s happening to you guys?”

There she stood, with her hands on her hips, and defiance in her words that she’d learned by heart from the woman before her. Like mother, like daughter…

And no matter what people said—no matter the looks they might’ve received over the years—she was her mother. It was a great source of pain when anybody doubted it.

From the very start, it’d been the Italian who had raised her; though never through any fault of her biological mother’s. It was just one of those unfortunate things. Frieda had been sick, and Allegra had been her best friend in the entire world. Without any family to fall back on, and with so much love for the small human she had been blessed enough to spend three painfully short years with, she had pleaded with the woman she trusted most to take care of her child when she was gone. People were so quick to paint the Italian as a heartless monster, but Carla knew better. There was no way she would be half the woman she was today if Allegra hadn’t made that promise.

“Your father and I will be fine.”

“And what if you’re not? What if something happens and I’m stuck here?”

It was a terrifying thought.

Whilst Carla didn’t remember anything of Frieda—the only knowledge she possessed at all coming from the memories and photographs Allegra happily shared with her—the bond she had with her mother was unbreakable. And that wasn’t to say that she didn’t love her father and her sister, too, because she absolutely did. With her whole heart. But there was something special between them. The woman was her mother, her best friend, and her mentor all rolled into one, and whilst it pained her to wonder what might’ve been had Frieda lived to raise her, Carla knew that she was blessed to have been taken in by the family she had. So much so, that being without them for the first time in her memory was a dire prospect.

Being a member of the Vespucci family was a privilege for all, not just the girl who had ended up there by a twist of fate. Her parents had done well to hide the reason as to why from her for as long as possible, though. It’d been disappointing to find out they’d kept it from her; that, far more of a blow than realising her family was about as involved with the mafia as was humanly possible. Of course she’d heard rumours, but she’d always just thought people were teasing her. Carla wasn’t angry with them. Any hurt had been short-lived because as was always the case, they had only been doing what they thought was best for her, and how could she be upset at that?

Her parents just wanted her to do better. To be better.

“If things get too crazy, we’ll come right back home.”

“You say that like I don’t know you. I know you won’t turn your back on Vincenzo right now. I know that he needs you there, and that’s okay. Just let me be there, too.”

Thanks to her family’s wealth and influence, Carla knew she’d lived an utterly privileged life. They could afford to send her to the best schools, to buy her the best clothes, to take her on the most wonderful family vacations to Rome. And whilst she would’ve been a fool to pretend she didn’t love every moment of it, the best part of all was that she felt so unconditionally loved. Perhaps, in ways that some children never even felt with their biological families. With her parents also came the extended family—both Vespucci and Auditore. Maybe some of the people in their home borough of Valence raised an eyebrow at them wandering around with a child who looked like her, but the family never had. Not once. And she was damn sure that if they’d ever caught word of someone treating her with any less respect than the rest of them, there would’ve been hell to pay.

In all honesty, Carla had never had any intention of following in their footsteps, though. Her parents needn’t have worried. Whilst she didn’t condemn what they did for business—how could she when everybody good in her life was a part of it, too?—she would’ve never had the heart to do it herself. Allegra and Michael had wanted better for her, and she was happy to oblige. With smarts, strength, and a whole load of ambition, she instead set off for law school, and it fit her like a glove. Life had blessed her in ways she could never be thankful enough for, so maybe she could start by giving a little back in defending the people who needed it most.

“Has anybody ever told you, you’re incredibly stubborn?”

“Wow, wonder where I learned it from? Look, we only just got dad back. I don’t want to lose him again. You know I always keep myself safe, and there’s no way it can be any worse than Launceston. Maybe I can even help the guys out whilst I’m over there.”

It wasn’t as if she’d never done it before.

Wearing the name Auditore or Vespucci in Sovrani circles was akin to being royalty. But whilst some played on that knowledge to prime their egos, she never had. It might’ve been one of the reasons even the lower ranks had seen her as so approachable. The reason she called so many of their loyalists friends. Michael hadn’t been too keen on that. Even from prison, he’d always made it clear that whilst he wouldn’t tell her what to do—she was an adult who could make her own decisions—he didn’t want her associating with the Sovrani any more than she already was. Even when it was just to offer a little friendly legal advice or some representation for their more minor grievances…

Carla had always been a kind soul, though, and he only had himself to blame for instilling that in her. From her mother she gained her ambition, her strength, and her smarts. From her father she gained her humility, her generosity, and her good heart. The two had always complemented each other in the most admirable way, and it was only proven by how their two daughters had turned out. Everybody who didn’t hate the Italians on principle alone adored her because it was impossible not to. And that made her so happy. She loved to be around people, she loved to be around her family, and she loved to be the person they could turn to when they needed help.

By the sounds of how things were going in London? They needed it there, too.

The fact so much of her family had uprooted itself to go there had been a difficult pill to swallow. Eventually, many of her closest friends had followed, too. It dawned on her quickly that almost everybody in her life was affiliated with the Sovrani, because people outside of it were too intimidated by her familial connections to give her a chance. Staying behind without them would be lonely. Hearing about them getting hurt without her being there to help them out, frustrating.

And that was precisely when she’d made her mind up.

Carla had no interest in war, nor did she have any real interest in leaving Launceston behind for somewhere like London. But as the people she loved started leaving the city one by one, she realised that even though she adored her life just the way it was, it was mostly because of the people in it. The sheen was dulled by the day.  

It didn’t really matter whether her parents agreed or not, and they all knew it.

As kind of a soul as she might’ve been, as the legal world already damn well knew: if she wanted something, she wouldn’t stop until she got it.

Like mother, like daughter, remember?

“You promise me you’ll come home at the first sign of trouble?”

“I promise, mom.”

“Fine. Make sure to pack an umbrella.”

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS:

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single. FAMILY: Allegra Vespucci (adoptive mother), Michael Beneventi (adoptive father), Rosa Beneventi-Vespucci (adoptive sister), an amount of cousins and second cousins so large it could only be Italian. CONNECTIONS:

Vincenzo Vespucci: Second cousin, good friend. More of a protective older brother than a cousin, but she can appreciate that he's always looking out for her in a less-invasive way than if she actually had a mob-affiliated big brother. Carla loves all her family unconditionally...but if you were allowed to have favourites, Vincenzo would definitely be hers. Though she knows he doesn't need to hear it, thus will never tell him, she worries about him now he's leading such an unpredictable city.

Greta Sorrentino: Best friend. Whilst her family is undoubtedly the biggest reason for making the trip from Launceston to London, Greta is a close second. They met on their first day of school and have been utterly inseparable ever since. Even though she took a much more involved stance with the Sovrani than Carla did, it's caused surprisingly few problems during their friendship. Greta is a little shit, but she always has her best friend to keep her in line, and everyone is grateful for it.

Aria Rossi: Good friend. Where she and Greta might be polar opposites, Carla gravitated toward Aria because of their similar nature. They're both kind-hearted souls in a world filled with growingly few, and sometimes it's refreshing just to be around somebody who isn't constantly preoccupied with the mob wars unfolding around them. They've grown so close over the years that Aria's son affectionately refers to her as 'aunt Carla'.

Patrizia Pecatti: Mentor. It's a role Patrizia seems to have fallen into both begrudgingly but affectionately. There are few in the legal sphere more cut throat than Patrizia Pecatti, and whilst some of the lines she toes for the people she does makes Carla uncomfortable, she can appreciate it's always for the benefit of the Sovrani. She's learnt much from the older woman (both career-wise and how to balance the lives they lead with the family they're apart of) and if she pursues the ability to practice law in the UK, knows Patrizia can and will help secure her a position at the prestigious Bennett & Gallagher firm, no questions asked.

[self-spaghettification]

i finally read through the moon and i sure am appreciating the ocean/water motif like. 10 times more now thank you book 5 ocean i see you

like how callum goes from this

to trusting rayla with anything. respecting her decision and his lack of control in the situation instead of fighting it

and how the lack of control is literally tied to a body of water (moon nexus, uhh the water control thing i guess)

once callum understands the ocean & be ok with his lack of control he can jump in with her

[oldschoolfrp]

Ships in action from the world of Starfire, Task Force Games’ space combat game (Gary Kalin cover for Nexus 12, April 1985)

[acgames]

Seeing that post about Ezio's story in Nexus, does really make me want to draw Auditores again, presumably that Auditore family portrait Leonardo drew for Ezio, but with added Elio (because in my stories Elio would be part of that portrait no doubt and also because I think it's so cute and so Ezio to have portrait with all his family in it)

Also can't forget the main reason why I need to draw Auditores: Claudia's new badass armor 👌👌👌

[head-empty404]

the fact these mfs are twins associated with the colors red and blue that (possibly) have polar opposite personalities makes me think that i have a new type

idk, something about twins that are red and blue makes me fall in love with them <3

[kattythingz]

"Oh, dear. Already? Perhaps I should've matched her with the Troll instead. Brute force seemed to be more her forte in hindsight... Ah, well. I suppose it couldn't be helped this time. I'm sure the red one will clear Big Mama's name lickity-snip! "But what say you, baby blue? Hm?"

Do you ever think about the fact that Leo is canonically the only person to have ever outsmarted Big Mama (twice, if you count his initial mistrust of her) and she even praised him for it, and in another world she totally could've had bigger plans for Leo that may or may not involve bribing him into making a "mutually" beneficial deal with her?

Because I sure fucking do. Battle Nexus New York, amiright?

Bonus lyric vers.:

I still have it on loop help

[chaosgenasi]

i can't believe brennan straight up said "primordials are deeply attached to the same form of geomancy that creates leylines" months ago and it took me this long to connect everything

[bijoumikhawal]

Rotating siskarak in my mind again

[theodore-sallis]

“The Demon Plague!” Fear (Vol. 1/1970), #14.

Writer: Steve Gerber; Penciler: Val Mayerik; Inker: Chic Stone; Colorist: Stan Goldberg; Letterer: Artie Simek

[outerspace-iiinnerspace]

thimking about that fucking awful candy crush drone ad. relating it to that subplot in the grand tour where some company tried to get elverda apacheta to do the same thing except over south america and she said "okay" but took their money and instead sky-drone-ified a painting of mary she made for the occasion called "the virgin of the andes" and received widespread acclaim from art critics and also from catholics and people who would rather look at a painting than ads but then she had to flee the planet and like go into hiding on the moon bc the guys who hired her were going to assassinate her over this.

life imitates art but worse. i'm like not necessarily thrilled by a huge christian sky painting but i would take it over candy crush.