#toast makes stuff

[cronchytoast]

has anyone done this yet

[healpimp]

im in my texas toast phase

[niccolites]

i am a simon 'bad drunk' riley truther. he never gets Truly smashed bc he hates the loss of control being fully drunk brings up

but he does drink enough that it has you on edge. ruins the vibe if anyone else is there, brings the mood down immediately. you start shuffling anxiously if you're in public or at a party, a tense feeling in your stomach because he will start a fight and you won't be able to stop him

he always manhandles you when he's sober, but you get the feeling it's just because he can. shifts you about where he wants you. when he's drunk, his thumbs always dig into you just a little bit too much, wants you blinking up at him with wet eyes. he wants you just on the edge of feeling ashamed and betrayed by him and his horrible behaviour before he yanks you back into him again. just because he can

[chalkrub]

quick doodle of the guy

[lizzybeeee]

The Lucanis vs Illario story would have had greater emotional depth/intrigue if the writers didn't water down how fucked up the Crows are as an organization.

Just some thoughts about how, out of all the side villains, Illario had some great potential to be a really interesting/tragic character in my opinion.

TL;DR: Zevran Aranai has a knife with Caterina's name on it for good reason and Lucanis/Illario need therapy...or whatever the Thedas equivalent is called...talking to Rook, I dunno

Going into DATV as a new player, or even as a returning one, the whitewashing of the Crows has a lot of the potential complexities of that life simply ignored or barely touched upon. The entire 'Illario vs Lucanis' boils down to: Illario seething in the shadows about Lucanis being the 'best boy'™ of the family while Illario is an after thought - which he is.

Let's be real, Illario is not subtle and immediately comes across as the Scar to Lucanis' 'Mufasa'. It's a questline with a very straightforward villain who has pretty lackluster motivations from what info we're provided - being 'I want power and to be the First Talon'. The game does very little explore what motivations he may have beyond being jealous of Lucanis/wanting more power.

However, if you play the quest line knowing what previous games have set up about the Crows - about how cutthroat and brutal the life is behind the glamour - then you can see that the entire Lucanis vs Illario conflict has amazing potential to be a dramatic tragedy.

We've seen how the life of Crow can affect Zevran - someone who was sold into the life through child-slavery. How interesting would it be to see how the life of a Crow can affect someone who was born into it? It's pretty clear in-game that Caterina intends for her grandchildren to carry on the family tradition - despite the fact that this 'family tradition' has likely led to the deaths of most of her grandchildren and however many children she had.

If there's banter about how Illario's/Lucanis' parents/cousins died specifically I haven't heard it, but the impression I got in-game was that it was likely linked to the Crows/politics in some way? Feel free to correct me! Still majorly fucked up that she pushes her grandsons into this life regardless!

Lucanis/Illario's situation was not like Zevran's - who was sold into the Crow's through slavery, with no one to speak up for him. Caterina was a woman who had power, who knew what the life of a Crow meant, and who still pushed those she 'loved' into it because is consolidated her place in the system. For all the Crows talk of 'family' Caterina doesn't seem to give a shit about them unless if they're contributing to the family business in some way - not to mention the whole 'you fail and we kill you' clause of being a Crow in the first place.

In the 'Wigmaker Job' from Tevinter Nights Lucanis talks about how Caterina hit him [also Illario] with her cane for mistakes and had him spend days without food/water. How he used to hate her but now 'realizes' that it was her way of ensuring he survived the life of being an Antivan Crow. Did it end up protecting them? It likely pushed them both to refine their skills out of fear. It's likely that simply by association with her they would be targets and thus needed to know how to take care of themselves and fight.

But why have him as a Crow in the first place? Why not simply train them well to defend themselves? You can't deny that she doesn't benefit from having her grandchildren in the family business - intentionally wanting Lucanis to take over her position as First Talon. The Antivan Crows are a force to be reckoned with and being one brings a whole lot of power in Antiva - being part of the elite of that group even more so.

If the game showed us the ugly reality of the Crows - the brutality of the lifestyle and how cutthroat the organization is, it could have really added some depth to Illario's betrayal - having it be more than "I want more power/respect" to "this is the result of what you taught me was valuable in life."

Warden: "Do you actually enjoy being an assassin?" Zevran: "And why not? There are many things to enjoy about being a Crow in Antiva. You are respected. You are feared. The authorities go out of their way to overlook your trespasses. Even the rewards are nothing to turn your nose up at."

Illario, bitter about Caterina favoring Lucanis - resentful of the fact that she has already decided that Lucanis will be her successor, being offered power by the Venatori (at the expense of the Crows) and accepting because why not? How different is it from what the Crows do? Isn't power and status the whole point of working yourself up in the Crows? Getting into a relationship with Zara because why not? Isn't sex part of the allure of being a Crow? Why can't he have this? Why shouldn't he have this?

Rook: "When we met, it didn't seem like Illario and Caterina were close." Lucanis: "It was hard to be close to her. Even for me. And...I was her favorite."

Why would he have connections to his family? Why should he? Caterina certainly never seemed to value 'family' beyond what they could do for her and their family legacy. Most of his family is already dead, and of those that remain the only parental figure he has obviously favors Lucanis. We don't have a lot of evidence in-game to show that Illario ever really cared for Lucanis, but the prequel story 'The Wake' and Lucanis' own banter imply that they were practically brothers, best friends. Perhaps he did care and then ceased to at some point, perhaps he didn't at all, or perhaps he accepted that an early death for them both was inevitable like everyone else in their family. Dead now or later - what was the difference? At least if Illario sells him out now to the Venatori then he'll get something from it instead of another dead family member to bury.

It's the tragic result of raising a child in an environment where he was taught and experienced the need for self-preservation at all costs. Constantly threatened, punished, and made well aware of that fact that his life was an expendable commodity. Then, when things in the world went to shit he picked the only option that made sense to him. To save himself.

The irony of the potential fall of the Crows, the fall of House Dellamorte, coming at the hands of one of their own - not because he had a change of heart but because he was taught too well by them. The Crows view those that fail them as disposable, someone to be discarded - if the Crows fail Illario, what is to stop him from applying that mindset to them?

But this would require the writers to acknowledge how messed up the Crows are and we can't do that to our 'Noble Freedom Fighters'™. They'll also need to address Zevran's existence and what lore was established in past games...and we can't have that either lmao.

[ithinkimauggie]

I've seen some Hancock/The Ghoul fanart floating around as of late and it's so good so choice but I've seen no art with The Ghoul and Raul Tejada and I can no longer allow this fandom to sleep on my emotional support geriatric. Once I'm done with my finals it's over for you fools.

[toastsartcornerthesequel]

An AU where Kon saves and befriends his many clones ( + Travv)

Context and rambles are in the tags

[backfliips]

Someone totaled my car today and I do not like being in insurance limbo

[toasteaa]

Is it bad that whenever I have to do something I really don't want to do, I just envision it being Eclair doing it instead? Like there's a part of me that says I probably shouldn't do that but idk, I feel like it helps me actually get things done? Like...idk how to describe it, I do it with my other ocs as well, but it's like...they're the ones doing chores and I can think about little development points here and there about them. I'm not sure if that makes sense but wnxjwjwjs

[goozeghost]

Lil wip sneak peak (that those on twt may have already seen shhhh 🤫)

[evilmagician430]

mabeline/jonah wolf in my 2020s timeskip au! read my tags for more information about her

[cronchytoast]

i never post traditional art usually but these were fun quick doodles

[iceeericeee]

I love writing fanfiction because it’s the closest I can get to playing god

[sketchy-tour]

Being a silly enjoyer of my oc x canon, and also just always someone who expresses love of a media that way, I've never REALLY been one to ship canon characters with other canon characters all too often. I never hate them! It's more of just I see em and I nod like "Oh okay!" Maybe give it a like cause the art and the way they present the dynamic is fun but I've never been crazy (/pos) over canon character ships.

All this to say!!!! I kinda wanna hear about yalls! I guess mostly WH related cause, ya kno, that's the silly shit I post. What are yalls ships for WH? What dynamics do you see with them? What about it do you like so much? I'm curious!!!!

[cosmogyros]

I need a flavor intervention... there is too much spice and salt and seasoning in my life lately, my stomach is in revolt :(

[abel-draws]

It's my bday woooo confetti emojiii

Well technically it was on the 20th but i was on a work trip and couldn't celebrate properly until now. Not gonna let that take the chance away from taking in the fact that I've managed to get to 25!

Life is not easy, but I've managed to know myself better and, even if i haven't been able to be at peace with myself just yet, it's nice to feel like some progress is happening. Things aren't as hopeless as one thought

Thanks a lot to everyone who's been by my side, helping me keep my shit together through the many many ups and downs. I put together some of the pics that bring me joy for one reason or another in this post as a bit of a celebration to the art I've done despite it all. Thank you too, art, for existing and making life so, so much better