#the shape of truth

[euphreana]

Guys I've been holding onto this TSOT doodle for over 3 weeks now and I finally get to post it please enjoy (or don't enjoy because sad)

[uncanny-tranny]

A lot of cis people may not want to hear this, but here goes:

You are going to have more in common with trans people who have a similar gender identity to you than you think. Trans people are reliable narrators of their own experiences, and whether you like it or not, we will have similar or even identical experiences to yours. Cis people don't have a monopoly over their gender or the experiences people have as a result of their gender.

[betweenblackberrybranches]

Part two of that short comic i made for @garbagechocolate s really cool truth virus au

Y/N is angry and hurt but understands the situation and is worried for their friend. Also both Sun and Y/N have anxiety

Sun is having a time, thats for sure

[lattien]

nyanzieks and nyasougi in the new capcom cafe collab outfits ✨️

[lavenoon]

Gotta make sure there are as few tripping hazards as possible in the daycare <3

[shorthaltsjester]

i do not want to dig a hole but i am too much of a laura bailey pc enjoyer to not make this post so:

selfishness ≠ a lack of kindness 

selfishness is a theme that has come up with all of laura's main campaign pcs. that doesn't mean that her characters are always making selfish choices or that they don't care about the rest of the people they're with or that they're not good. it's just that, for the most part, the first thing they're thinking of when they take action or make choices is themselves. 

in jester and vex both it is more typical and obvious selfishness. vex's developed because she needed it to keep herself and vax alive and as safe as possible and it grew into a behaviour that she had to actively work to avoid. it's evident in her greed, her theft of the broom, her reaction to her own death which relied heavily on i'm okay/i survived to which keyleth reminded her that she wasn't the only one who had to witness and reckon with her death. in jester's case, she grew up in an environment that literally trained her to make every decision based on two things - her mother's opinion and her own. so, when she's out in the world without marion for the first time, her choices are those that will benefit her and her actions are those that consider her own thoughts and not really many others' (aside from the traveler's). 

it isn't a criticism of either vex or jester to say that they are characters who act selfishly. in fact, i'd argue that to claim otherwise does a great disservice to exactly how immense both of their character arcs are. because the nuance of both jester and vex is that they are selfish, and they also hold extreme room for self-sacrifice and empathy. vex is much more brash than jester is, and jester is much more trusting than vex, but both of them are characters who begin with selfish impulses who grow with them. neither ever truly shed those impulses, but they use them in new ways, typically transforming them into impulses towards things that are in the best interest of the party. 

you may have noticed the lack of imogen in this post about laura bailey pcs and that's because of two reasons. one, we are an unknown amount of time into her story, i can't analyse her development the same way i can vex and jester's. two, imogen's selfishness isn't the blatant quasi-self-aware selfishness that we see in things like jester complaining about her lack of money to caleb or vex stealing a broom. instead, imogen's is very internal, like a lot of laura's character work with imogen. it is a bit similar to jester’s in the sense that it comes from a lack of awareness moreso than vex’s practiced behaviour, but imogen’s is a lot more tied to inherent beliefs she has about the world and the people in it.

as a consequence of her powers, imogen sees people's thoughts as their entirety, she holds it above their actions to be the truth of who they are - to act against what they think or to say something that doesn’t cohere with what they’ve thought is akin to lying, so for her to act empathetically is to act in tandem with what someone else’s thoughts are, not how they act, which is typically not all that wanted. the same as vex’s greed and jester’s naivety, this is a trait that makes narrative sense and it’s one i find quite compelling, especially when read in the vein of someone struggling through trauma that has made them assume that the world is against them. imogen’s cynicism is coherent cynicism, i can’t say that in a similar situation i wouldn’t have the same predisposition towards the world.

the part that is particularly self-interested comes in if you look at how imogen has actually been treated in the campaign (quite well) in comparison to the cynicism that she’s developed from her past (something that speaks to a world out to get her). certainly, a bunch of shitty things have happened to imogen in the time we’ve known her, but the same can be said for everyone in bell’s hells and pretty much everyone in exandria at this point in time. but, in a fight to save the aforementioned world, imogen’s focus was getting her mother back on her side. which, while very consistent with her character and a choice that i enjoy, is a very selfish one. the fun thing (to me, obviously) about imogen is that she has, more than most, an insight into the opinions of others and she also tends to seek others’ opinions out and genuinely engages with them and supports their choices. but she still very much acts towards what she thinks is best. it’s one reason i enjoy looking at the dynamic between her and orym as one between foils, as orym tends to be stalwart in his beliefs and doesn’t care too much for other’s opinions if he’s already sure of his own, but his actions tend to favour collaboration and protecting others.

as i mentioned earlier, imogen is a harder case to look at because she is still in the process of her story. however, the circlet is clearly influencing how she interacts with the world and in the wake of the solstice, the hostile reaction towards ruidusborn people has started to become more and more apparent and i’m interested to see what route that ends up leading imogen down and how it will influence her relationship with the rest of bell’s hells. (for better, i think, based on recent conversations, but if it's for worse i will be just as seated and excited).

all of this is just to say, please stop assuming that claiming a character has a trait you think is a bad one is criticism or a hate post. in light of the fact that i know that people who don’t believe this will continue to not believe this, i’ll encourage anyone confused about the ability of a character to be good and kind and selfish all at once to look to what the text itself says, specifically scanlan’s words to pelor when asked what vex means to him:

“Her name is Vex, and she is greedy and mean sometimes, and she can steal a lot. She’s a little bit not the greatest person, but her flaws highlight everything that is right about her, which is she does all these things to protect her friends and her family. She would give her life for any of us and for anyone who was truly in need. And she’s not perfect but she’s the most perfect of all of us.”

would you look at that... an ability to be a multitude of things, some in conflict with one another. i know that's hard for fandoms to believe, especially about female characters with agency, but i promise its true!

[angie-long-legs]

//thinking about how angel and husk are such opposites in the sense that, husk looks back on his life with regret over the things he did, whereas angel looks back with regret over what he didn't do

husk's afterlife is reflecting on the mistakes he made in life, making them all over again and not giving a fuck because he can't exactly sink any further

angel's afterlife is the regret of dying young, and finding himself trapped in a brutal situation while chasing the opportunity to live his truth in death

husk's grief is for a life wasted, while angel's grief is for a life cut short

[mango-sideburns]

My fav thing about TAZ is that any aspect out of context sounds fucking bonkers.

Like, in the balance finale there's a scene in which Garfield (who is very specifically never described visually bc most people imagine him as like. The Lasagna Cat. Who in this universe is the most powerful warlock in the realm and also has a hobby of cloning people, which is great for the one character that got forced into haunting a mannequin) is summoned by an alien spaceship that runs on the power of friendship so he could beat up some flashing balls. In D&D.

And that was just. Such a normal scene in the narrative. No one blinked an eye. I would like to bow down to Griffins clear unmatched talent for making me feel such big emotions over ridiculous shit like a goddamned umbrella or a regular ass pair of jeans or the idea of a taco recipe.

[lukewarmorangejulius]

good afternoon fellow mesh heads.

[iraprince]

Hiii, i love your stuff and kinda from a distance really look up at you for, in my perception, being able to express yourself without giving a fuck. Thats sick dude, Im so so afraid, of absolutely everything, its nice to think like i might grow into someone less apologetic of my existence. Nice to see people just being yknow

hey, thank you, this is really really nice. the secret that is probably not a secret is that i am also deeply afraid a lot of the time lmao -- but less than i used to be, and in ways that feel less stifling and self-suffocating, if that makes sense.

like, it used to be "i'm scared that if i express myself the way i want to, everyone will find me obnoxious, so let's just sand those edges down to be safe" -- now my fears are more like "now that i'm expressing myself in a way that feels natural and real, i'm afraid that it's all stupid/vapid/not worthwhile or meaningful" (<- specifically abt my art) or "i'm happy that i talk and act the way i want to now, but what if it makes me impossible to befriend," etc etc etc. which still feels bad and puts me in a funk a lot of the time but at least it's a fear that comes After/in reaction to doing stuff, rather than a fear that STOPS me from doing stuff, you know? like, it's evolved into a kind of fear that's less in my way.

anyway. i believe you'll experience something like this, because wanting to grow is the first step of growing. the fact that u hope or wish for something different means you're already on your way. to fewer fucks!! or at least distributing the fucks u give in a way that serves u better

[euphreana]

Ballister Boldheart killed the queen. That’s what everyone is saying, but things aren’t adding up for Ambrosius. Torn between his duty to The Institute and his love for Ballister, Ambrosius wants to find the truth. But with Ballister behind bars and the upcoming trial looming, will he find that truth in time? And why is a certain pink shapeshifter so eager to help him?

-

So for those who might've missed last week's note, I'm writing a fic with with @bitsy83! We're looking at a T rating for dark/grim and maaaybe some GoldenHeart citrus. I'm planning to drop chapter 1 next tuesday, so stay tuned!

Update: Chapter 1 is here!

Masterpost

[taikanyohou]

"My type is pretty simple. I'm not a picky kind of guy."

ONLY FRIENDS (2023). Book Kasidet As Mew.

[papayafiles]

i need one of these edm djs/musicians obsessed with lando to write a song about him. not only is he PERFECT fodder for songwriting (look at that face! make him your muse!!!) but do you recognize the commercial potential of that marketing choice… be the voice of the fangirls and we will reward you with endless spotify streams

[thedreadvampy]

every time something from Neil Gaiman's tumblr crosses my dash I'm so concerned about the people writing and to him like. why have you outsourced your imagination to this man? asking shit like 'what does Morpheus sound like in this scene' or 'what does this dialogue mean' or 'what's the backstory to this moment' like BABES. THIS IS WHAT BARTHES WAS TALKING ABOUT. YOU'RE MEANT TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS YOURSELVES THAT'S WHAT MAKES ALL ART A COLLABORATIVE CREATION OF MEANING. if the author wanted something to be explicit in the text they can make it explicit in the text and if it's not explicit in the text YOU CAN MAKE IT UP.

what really gets me is I 100% prommy these kids regularly use 'death of the author' to mean 'i can enjoy works by problematic creators' which 1) yes I agree you can and should (using some discretion re who it profits and what's replicated in the work) but 2) THAT'S NOT WHAT IT MEANS LITERALLY WHAT IT MEANS IS. NEIL GAIMAN'S POST HOC OPINION ON SANDMAN OR GOOD OMENS IS A NO MORE LEGITIMATE FACT ABOUT THE TEXT THAN ANYONE ELSE'S INTERPRETATION. the text has left his control it belongs to the reader now, you get to decide and debate what it means.

[etherealmonstas]

friendly reminder MACABRE WAS STIMMING IN THEIR SONG!!!🗣️🗣️

[tswwwit]

Thinking about the incubus one shot you did a few years back and now I'm just imagining a series of unexplained deaths hitting the town, and the deaths have seemingly no correlation save for the fact that the victims all bullied Dipper at one point or another, and eventually figuring out that the incubus that would later try and seduce Bill disguised as Dipper used that same trick to suck the life force out of all the victims, and it worked every time because the ones who picked on Dipper the hardest were actually crushing on him 100%. It gets hairy because only one person survived their incubus encounter, and because the incubus was disguised as Dipper, they accuse him of being some kind of killer and the town gets suspicious of him and so Bill and Dipper have to clear his name. I hope that makes sense 😭