#relatable at some point....

[verflares]

would you like to live deliciously?

[antirepurp]

something possessed me last autumn and got me plan little sticker designs for all of the pmd eos starters but i never ended up sharing them. here they are though :)

[luckyartdrawer]

Eclipse was a little late, but he finally found a candle to celebrate your birthday with!

(It turned out to be one of those joke candles that never blow out...)

vvvv Yapping and extras below the cut! vvvv

Sketch and Close up

Alternate sketch colors

I don't know why exactly I really like the glowy sketch version, but even if it doesn't even look like the outline stuff the vanny mask adds onto things in the dlc, it reminds me of it lol

I think it's neat!

I recently saw this art post where they drew and mentioned cannon Eclipse barely getting love and I immediately agreed. I just had to contribute ASAP. Gotta give this kind robo man a forehead smooch. v3v

I don't mean for the image to come off as entirely creepy, I just wanted it to feel like you've been staying in the dark plex with your best buddy eclipse! Stuck but at least not alone. :)

Plus I gotta let the creepy robots be creepy sometimes. It makes the sweet personalities feel even sweeter imo :P

[ingoodjesst]

have you put the pieces together yet, detective

[electrozeistyking]

tomorrow

[xboxfox]

chell pony

[sopuu]

missing them hours

[luckthebard]

I should know better than to go on CR twitter but I just read someone in all seriousness complain about Orym “pulling the dead family card” without any seeming awareness of how callous of a thought that is

And I just desperately want some of these people to take a giant step back and try to exercise some curiosity about different explorations of life experiences and emotional truths instead of resorting to downplaying or dismissing ideas that are difficult or uncomfortable.

[commandertartarsmoocher]

Today's bunch of doodles incoming:

A whole bunch of silly

[ginganthropy]

syscord: you cant have your source as your pfp if its problematic also you have to be completely source separated to the point where ur basically a brainmade or else ur actively harming your mental health also your gucci flop flops are creased so we're gonna have to ban you

people IRL: hey man how are you

[beaulesbian]

#i understood that reference

(part 2)

[meamiiikiii]

isat color palette challenge WOO!! these are always fun :D

[oblique-lane]

more mercenary analysis, whichever merc you want <3

Not a mercenary but... Okay!

Let's dissect Pauling

Always so collected, responsible and efficient. The one who is not afraid to get her hands dirty for the sake of a goal, and her performance is always one hundred percent. What could possibly be not cool about her?

Well, maybe the fact that this all is, in fact, an act. Of course it is.

I'm not saying her determination and dedication to her job aren't sincere decisions of her heart, she really enjoys it and shines in her work. It's just a matter of WHY and WHAT she's doing it for. And on what scale.

For her, her job is EVERYTHING. Eagerly working 364 days a year with barely any rest, masochistically putting herself in so much danger, blindly following the boss's instructions, not even hesitating to kill people standing on the way...

Wow, there's gotta be something going on here.

Well, obviously the Administrator plays A HUGE role in this situation. Why would Pauling trust her so much? Referring to the comics, Pauling trusted her wholeheartedly on whatever the Administrator was planning, even though she didn't know what it was. This blind following that vaguely resembles nothing less than a weird somewhat child-to-a-mother attachment. It's just a Boss, just a job, why?

Because that's what it is. Mother issues. Very apparent.

We don't know anything about Pauling's past, so there's where the headcanons begin:

I'm assuming her birth mother was very neglectful and dismissing, never acknowledged her daughter's accomplishments and struggles. No matter how hard Pauling tried to become "worthy" in her eyes, it seemed to be never enough, as if she didn't even exist at all. Maybe her mother was a substance addict or something and their household wasn't safe and stable, so Pauling had to become an adult early and run away from home as a teenager and find a job to get by.

(I assume that because I believe there was a mention in the canon lore that Ms.Pauling had been working for the Administrator for long long years (don't remember exactly), indicating that she started working when she was still a minor).

So, being taken under the Administrators wing, her young wounded brain found a substitute for a very thing she was lacking, subconsciously clinging onto the Administrator as a newly mother figure, in order to "get it right this time".

Administrators Strictness, responsibility and demandingness were the most favorite qualities of a person of authority in Pauling's eyes, in contrast to the laziness, unaccountability and indifference of the environment in which she grew up. She could finally strive.

This time she would show the mother figure that she's worthy, she's important and irreplaceable; she exists. She would prove that no amount of hardship is too much for her if it means approval for the Administrator.

And the Administrator kind-of-sort-of gave Pauling this pseudo-love in return, encouraging her to sacrifice herself even more for their work. Which is at the very least unfair, and at most just predatory. Administrators "love" was conditional, in contrast with when the real motherly love Pauling unknowingly expected. Administrator was too immature for a mother figure, too much in power for a partner or a friend, yet too close for a formal boss. What is this!? Something not nice.

The Administrator doesn't love Pauling for Pauling, she loves her working qualities. And thus, Paulings subconscious guess was confirmed that "I'm only important when I'm doing the job. I AM the job."

Tying your worth to what you DO instead of what you are is a huge dangerous existential rout one could choose. But she never really knew her importance outside of her skills, so she wouldn't know.

Now imagine how actually painful that character arc was for her, when the Administrator proved herself to be unreliable and secretive, and when Pauling started to question her intentions for the first time.

"... Because I trusted you!"

"Then why are you questioning me now?"

It wasn't even the real conversation between them, just Pauling's mind torturing her.

It reminded me of the crisis of a 4-year-old when they realise that their parents aren't perfect; they don't know anything and they CAN hurt you.This shattering illusion of almighty love. When a child stops believing that the "harsh love" their mother treats them with is simply an abuse.

Wouldn't it be terrifying to realise in your 20s thar despite running for "the mother's approval" all your life, you will never truly get it. If your mother failed to provide it to you at such a young age, nothing will truly substitute that, especially now, when you're an adult, no one will love your inner child the way it was supposed to be loved.

Unless you yourself decide to take that role.

...

Realistically speaking, it's not nearly that sever with Pauling! She's happy in the environment she's in, there's lots of interests for her to explore (Guns, fights, killin'!) So many adventures every day! Even if Pauling has her inner suffering, it's not that bad aa I describe it. Her mother problems may actually be an advantage, a reason she is such a good and caring boss for the mercenaries.

I'm just edgying things down for the sake of the clearer analysis. But still...

If the Administrator will be gone and Pauling loses her life-dedicated job... What will be left? Who is Pauling once Mann Co is no more? Can she answer that?

References:

– A video that helped me better understand the Good Girl mask:

– "Lise Bourbeau's 5 soul wounds model: Injustice"

[batwingsandblackcats]

I am absolutely fascinated by the implications of, as the web of PCs grows, who among the main cast chooses to play who.

Particularly considering Downfall.

Taliesin and Ashley are both playing the gods that their past PCs followed. Taliesin said in the cooldown that Asha, specifically, is Caduceus’ Wildmother.

Pike helped reconstruct a temple to Sarenrae in Vassalheim, and her relationship with Sarenrae is an absolutely intrinsic part of Pike’s character. Intentional or not, Trist’s daughter Haylie sounds a lot like Pike’s step-daughter Kaylie.

Laura as the Matron in particular though, is making me a little insane, and that’s because the connections are indirect. None of Laura’s PCs have a direct, sustained link to the Raven Queen, and yet somehow the connections are more numerous.

Emhira walked beside Purvan, the man who originally wore the armor that would eventually be trapped in a sunken tomb and kill Vex almost a thousand years later.

Emhira walked beside Purvan, the man who originally wore the armor that Vex briefly claimed after the tomb before giving it to Vax, who would wear it as part of the deal he struck with the Matron to resurrect Vex.

Emhira walked beside Galdric, Purvan’s wolf who later rested in a pocket plane attached to a crystal. A crystal that would later hold Trinket.

Emhira walked beside Galdric, Purvan’s wolf who was later released into the Parchwood to protect Vex’s chosen home.

Vex would later have a son named Wolfe.

Vex speaks to the Matron directly only once while striking a deal for Vax’s life.

The Matron appeared at Vex and Percy’s wedding, delivering Vax to Vex one last time via Scanlan’s last Wish spell.

In C3, Vex no longer wears two blue feathers in her hair, but two black raven feathers.

In C3, Imogen spends a long moment standing between (and potentially deliberating between) the temple of the Dawnfather and the Duskmeadow in Whitestone before ultimately deciding to appeal to the Dawnfather for help in saving Laudna.

I’m sure I’m missing other connections but it’s 1am and my C1 lore is a little rusty.

It’s one thing to start reaching back to past campaigns for cornerstones of new characters (I could talk about the ripples of connection concerning Orym and Laudna all day) but considering that Taliesin, Ashley, and Laura are playing gods right now, the backwards ripples stretch almost infinitely.

Do any of these connections actually mean anything within the narrative? Nah. They’re professionals and compartmentalizing different characters is what they do.

I just find it absolutely fascinating, on an above-the-table meta level, that as more and more stories across Exandria and across different times in Exandria are being told around the table, and the more characters are introduced, the bigger the house of mirrors grows.

[sysig]

You're still standing off to the side. Somehow, center stage has shifted from under your feet without you realizing, and you're standing in the wings, performing to no one.

Starring Role (Patreon)