#wanted connections to be updated !!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I'm not going back to Gusu with you.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[ineed-to-sleep]

Blacked out in front of my tablet and woke up with sketches of my Touchstarved mc + Kuras my beloved. woops

[critter-wizard]

i wish i were a monster...

[blackpearlblast]

connecting gaza's other effort: humanitarian aid for gaza is taking monetary donations

from the connecting gaza page on the egyptian food bank website: "Your generosity has made us connect over 200,000 people in Gaza with internet. But we also want to make sure they are all well fed, getting the needed medications and feeling warm in winter.

We - Connecting Gaza - believe that Food, Medicine, Clothing and communication are basic human rights.   We are proudly announcing the biggest Humanitarian Aid collaboration with Egyptian Food Food Bank, Egyptian Cure Bank, Egyptian Clothing bank and together for a better life to send aid several trucks to Gaza:  1- Food trucks through Egyptian Food Bank 2- Medicine trucks through Egyptian Cure Bank 3- Winter clothing truck through Egyptian Clothing bank 4- Thermals, Waterproof jackets and Waterproof sleeping bags through Together for Better Life."

i found this link through mirna el helbawi's instagram, it is the link in her bio and she has a post on the subject here, explaining it in more detail. mirna's instagram is directly linked on the esims for gaza website. given connecting gaza's success in getting esims to people in gaza and the various egyptian orgs they have teamed up with, i feel that they are in a good position to get some of the aid to gaza that is so desperately needed.

again, you can donate here on the egyptian food bank website, just click donate now after choosing a donation amount. the default donation amount is 400 EGP or 12.99 USD. you have to put your card directly into the website as there are no alternative payment options. if you are paying with an international card, be sure to select "international" for the payment card type! you may also get a flag from your bank wanting to make sure it was you who made this purchase that you will have to clear up, since its unusual for an overseas card to be making a payment in egypt.

[thunderstomm]

What’s with the Wells siblings and falling into fountains with their best friends?

[vampkomori]

Ena the Order is the concept of conforming to Fate, and Elio is an Emanator of Order

welcome to my pre-2,2 theory, i got carried away.

for those yet unaware, theres been a theory flying around that the Goddess of Sigonia, Gaiathra Triclops, is a folkloric interpretation of Ena the Order, on account of the iris of Ena's eye having the same colors as Aventurine's. we can go much further with this though.

(Aventurine's pupils are diamond-shaped, but little Kakavasha has round pupils. its likely that diamond-shaped pupils are a result of becoming a Stoneheart, because Topaz also has diamond-shaped pupils, and Aventurine used to not have them. but i digress)

Anyway, Gaiathra=Ena. Gaiathra is described as a left palm with 3 eyes, arguably Ena also has 3 eyes- two closed ones on their face, and one massive, open eye floating around them.

Gaiathra "reigns over all matters related to fertility, travels, and trickery." (Sigonia, Planar Ornament Relic Set) and is said to have been the one to bestow Aventurine with his luck.

but first: What is Order? Based on the words alone, youd think Order would have more in common with Equilibrium, but evidently that wasnt the case. Considering it was assimilated into the Harmony, it must have overlaps with that though, since the broader path is the one that absorbs the narrower one if their concepts are too similar. So, if Harmony is unity and peace, the idea of everyone joining a happy paradise, then how did the Harmony manage to absorb Order?

"I am filled with curiosity about how THEY swallowed up Order. The hymns of Xipe continue to spread and grow, occasionally overseen by ideology. In contrast, Ena's harmonic songs seems to align within a three-dimensional framework, akin to an emperor maintaining hierarchical order among all creatures. While there may be some overlap between THEIR Paths, the ancient Order is enormous in size, and swallowing THEM would prove far from effortless... Among the Aeons, there exist countless enigmas that surpass my own speculations." - Dev Log for Xipe in Simulated Universe, Herta's comment

Herta doesnt know either, and by all means a freshly ascended Aeon should not have an easy time absorbing someone as ancient as Ena- that is, unless Ena intended for it to happen.

This is a lot of establishing facts before i get to the meat of things. We still dont technically know what Order even is, so lets try figure it out!

"The planets governed by Ena adhere staunchly to established rules, yet I must acknowledge that the various calamities in the cosmos were all hindered by Ena's guardianship, leading to extremely efficient development of civilization among diverse planets. Interestingly, however, civilizations all eventually hit rock bottom because of Order. The ancient planets that once fervently worshiped Order would shine briefly before their total collapse... Perhaps this is the "Path" of these planets." - Dev Log for Ena in Simulated Universe, Herta's comment

So: Order is the concept of adhering to a predetermined outcome- their "path". Ena observes humanity "gazing into a crystal orb containing the cosmos" and ensures that they all follow their predetermined path of Fate. None may go astray, no outside influence may interfere, no matter what fate awaits them, they must follow their set path.

"THEIR voice is composed of syllables sequencing the rise and fall of civilizations in accordance with the Aeon's path."

Ena has the ability to foresee the future, as they dont just sequence the rise, but also the fall of civilizations. They are inherently impartial, just, things are destined to happen and so they see to it that they happen. Order is the concept of conforming to Fate, if a planet is destined to be destroyed by a calamity, then Ena guides it to that outcome.

However, Aeons, despite being concepts, arent just concepts, they have some semblance of sentience, self-awareness. they have goals, they make deals, though humans are unable to comprehend them.

So, Ena conforms to fate, but what is the purpose of doing so? Ena can see the future, but we know Kafka. there isnt just ONE future, theres a lot of futures, and endless paths. So its logical to assume that Ena, by being able to see the fates of civilizations, can actually see the endless amount of paths towards all possible fates, and personally chooses which path is specifically followed. and for the sake of the theory, lets assume Ena is benevolent and guides humanity towards the most fortunate fate (though even the most "fortunate" of fates can still end in destruction)

Before Ena was assimilated into the Harmony, they made a deal with Qlipoth the Preservation: Qlipoth will bring an end to Tayzzyronth the Propagation (as they are interfering with the predetermined Fates of planets) and in turn Ena will help Qlipoth against Oroboros the Voracity somehow (likely foreseeing its Fate and interfering with it). Qlipoth held up their end of the bargain, but Ena was assimilated before they were able uphold their part, which is interesting

We know theres something fishy about the Orders assmiliation into Harmony- it doesnt make sense, especially knowing that Ena foresees the future, and is likely aware of their own fate.

Heres where we remember that Gaiathra is also a goddess of trickery. Theres two possibilities:

Ena foresaw their own "demise" and made a deal with Qlipoth knowing they wouldnt be able to follow through on their part of the promise

Ena, able to see multiple paths for the future, foresaw that being assimilated into Xipe would lead them towards the most fortunate one, so they let themselves be absorbed on purpose, as the Harmony would not have been able to absorb the Order otherwise. The deal was just a bonus.

Either way, Ena would have known of the future, and making a deal shortly before the assimiliation of their path is clearly a scheme- they get something great out of it, and dont have to follow up on it.

Heres where we bring up Elio (and the Stellaron Hunters). We actually still dont know what path they follow, and isnt that so interesting? What path could possibly include following a "script" to ensure a certain future? hmmm

sounds like Order to me!

Elio possesses the ability to foresee future possibilities and the paths that lead towards them. Essentially, the exact ability that Ena is shown to possess. All the futures look pretty bleak though, except for one, which hes trying to achieve by making sure to follow that exact path: his "script". the very definition of Order.

Note also that despite Enas assimiliation, their faction can still exist. After all, Idrila the Beauty is also gone, but the Knights of Beauty still roam around. The path of a deceased or assimiliated Aeon can still be upheld even if the Aeon no longer exists.

Anyway, Elio is basically upholding Ena's legacy by ensuring that we adhere to fate, and guides us towards the most fortunate one. His ability is far too powerful though, so its safe to assume hes an Emanator, since theyre considered to be "as good as emissaries of the Aeons' wills"

*As a bonus, Gaiathra also reigns over "all matters related to 'travels'". if you stretch the definition a little, "travels" could refer to the idea of embarking on paths towards fate. you "travel" on a path, after all.

Theres also this interesting little tidbit here:

"THEY are always so symmetrical and so equal. If we were to rank those most sublime beings, only the Voracity and the Permanence can stand toe-to-toe with the Equilibrium's antiquity... Oh, and also the Order. After Ena disappeared, the Equilibrium's duties have only grown greater. Then, how would HooH perceive Nanook?"- Dev Log for HooH in Simulated Universe, Herta's comment

The fact that Nanook is brought up is pretty funny as theyre the youngest Aeon, and since only the most ancient ones would be able to stand "toe-to-toe" with HooH, youd think as the youngest, Nanook wouldnt stand a chance against them. but they were brought up regardless, in tandem with Ena no less

Coincidentally, Nanook is also the Aeon that Elio wants the Trailblazer to defeat too. Curious! You could say that it is the Will of the Order to see the fall of the Destruction? anyway,

HooH's duties "have grown only greater" since Ena disappeared, meaning that they must have overlapped in some way before, but coexisted. (similarly to how the Remembrance and Preservation coexist, possibly) We dont know much of anything about Equilibrium yet though, so lets put that aside.

Lets talk about luck.

Luck is just chance. The results of "chance" are left up to "fate". We know that not all choices or events matter in the grand scheme of things. Theres endless possible paths, so rolling a 1 or a 6 doesnt matter because it will still lead you onto the same destiny. Luck is irrelevant to fate, it does not influence it. Luck only influences how you arrive at it.

So how do you reconcile that with Order? if Order is staunchly adhering to fate, observing humanity to ensure they all end up on the "right" path, then how does chance, luck, happenstance, fit into all this?

Luck is the ultimate Order, because there is only ONE path that luck can take: the most fortunate one. It does not influence your fate however, luck only influences which one of the countless paths towards your fate you end up on. and always being lucky narrows your potential paths down to just one.

This is also why Nihility was the natural conclusion for Aventurine. If you realize that no matter what you do, you cannot change the outcome of your choices, then you realize its futile and decide to succumb to it. youll always win, so whats the point? Thats Nihility: succumbing to Fate, the inevitability of everything, realizing your choices dont matter. When youre lucky and everything you do leads to the same result then you start to think that maybe nothing matters.

Back on track though. Fate, despite being predetermined, is not singular. as in, theres predetermined fates (plural) waiting for you at the end of your path. theres multiple endings. Luck means you have less paths to end up on but luck does not influence the end goal.

In a way, what Elio is trying to do is very similar to what Aventurines "luck" does: he wants to end up on a very specific path that leads him to a very specific fate, and luck leads you onto one single path, theoretically making it easier to achieve certain fates. Its an interesting parallel.

"Blessing" someone with luck seems a bit too hands-on for someone like Ena, so while we might never know why Aventurine was blessed specifically, we can kind of see it as a sort of trial-run. Ena does not interfere, does not "defy" fate, but bestowing luck onto someone to narrow down their futures is a bit like interference- except its not, only on a technicality. theyre still adhering to the set paths that exist, after all, im not changing fate, what are you talking about? look, hes still on one of your predetermined paths. the fact that he cant go onto other paths is irrelevant if he still ends up at one of the predetermined endings.

As a note though, Ena is not Fate itself. Ena adheres to fate and ensures that humanity follows it. Nihility is basically succumbing to fate and thinking its inevitable and change is futile, and I guess you could see Harmony as the concept of circumventing fate- instead of arriving at one of your predetermined endings, how about you get assimilated into our harmonious hivemind and experience eternal bliss? (lets wait on that 2.2 harmony lore-drop before saying anything about that though)

got off track a little. basically, Ena's Order is the concept of conforming/adhering to Fate. potentially, in their era, Fate was a singular end, because they were the one to guide humanity onto certain paths and towards certain ends (which is why civilizations thrived but ultimately still collapsed). Enas assimiliation was on purpose, although we can only speculate on the reason. so i will. heres my speculation:

Ena is not Fate itself, but a Guide. seeing the countless possible paths and possible fates for humanity, they foresaw the same thing that Elio foresees- a terrible End at the hands of the Destruction that may affect humans and Aeons alike. potentially, Enas Will mightve been to avoid that (but remaining within the confines of fate, not defying it) so they set in motion the steps needed to embark on said path, which necessitated their assimilation into Harmony. if Enas reign caused the Fates of humans to be "set in stone", then Enas disappearance could be seen as humans regaining the ability to choose their own paths, their own fate. Essentially, Enas disappearance wouldve been necessary in order to even create the possibility of an "alternate ending" and leaving the choice up to humanity.

anyway thats the conclusion thanks for coming, godspeed if you read the whole thing. im bad at keeping things short and concise. and i started rambling near the end

as a disclaimer: these are vague thoughts and i change my view on things often. if we get new info in the future that says this was all nonsense then thats that. im not trying to convince anyone. just offering a perspective for funsies

[pmvstump]

flag is under the read more :)

i also made a version where i combined it with the 2017 philadelphia pride flag (black and brown stripes at the top) and another with the victory over aids black stripe at the bottom. both can be seen here.

[spotaus]

I hate apple products so so much.

[suave-hogan]

revives evil sung with no context and a new look

[stickynotelovers-art]

Is that progress I see? I wish I could say I'm shocked it's taken me this long to get anywhere, but sadly, I'm not.

I lost a lot of steam to work on anything for several months and I'm trying to work better at that.

To some, this may not look like a lot of progress considering I'm still in the rough stages; however, I am actually finalizing the rough sketches for each panel before I start lining them. This chapter is starting to actually feel like I'm moving along with it!

[deiaiko]

#21 - Wall

Masterlist

Previous

Next

Let me know your thoughts in the reblogs <3

☕ Buy me coffee ☕

[windydrawallday]

Long-PSA-short of sorts that's more a vent: I was always aware my behavior and way of expressing myself online can surprise many people, especially if they are not used to someone who uses the writing medium as a playful form to tell emotions in a very descriptive way as I do. I'm quite affectionate with words, yes. And I always beg people I hang with personally to let me know if some of that bothers them, curtly of course. So far there have been few instances of individuals confusing those signals with ulterior means, things I assure you there's nothing more than me being friendly and supportive.

Imagine idk an excited dog seeing its owner haha

Until the past week, I found myself being tackled by something that made me almost knock everything aside because it made me realize that probably I'm a walking trigger/squick inducer with even the way I wield words like "love" and "friendship".

Almost...

I'm pretty tolerant of whatever way people conduct themselves in this life, the only moment I flinch is when an individual assumes from my default behavior and presentation that I want to impose my way of life... And nopes.

This is simply how and who I am. Nothing more, nothing less. I don't search for conflict but for understanding. My language for expressing marvel and reflections is like this, never to make the other feel awkward or attacked.

So, it upset me knowing that by wielding this forever welcoming and lovable disposition, I can be something to fear and even despite... to some people.

But, you know? That means that my "love" and "friendship" lifestyle are not made for you, no reason to come back to me and point at it. Just keep walking if you have only rage and rejection to give as a reply to my point of view. Because by wielding rage and rejection, what you only do is burn bridges. To create conflict and assume imaginary antagonistic scenarios where there's nothing of that at all.

You can't create the world you wish to live in by burning bridges.

It took me a lot too to forge who I am right now. I even keep learning and chiseling through traumas and mistakes—kindness and patience taught me more than rage and rejection. And "love" and "friendship" are the bricks I chose to build those bridges. I know everyone else uses different concepts but in the end, we all build bridges. By creating bridges and inviting others to do the same, I expand not only my world, but the other's too!

Isn't that better than demanding to be this or that through a black/white flag of rage and rejection? I think so. And I understand perfectly we sometimes need to be blunt when marking our boundaries. Still, never justifies treating the other bad.

And if some of you find "fake" or distasteful the way I wear this flag of "love" and "friendship" I'm sorry: this place will never be safe for you then. The exit door is always open. Go ahead.

I hope you find your place and flags out there too, but don't forget that to do that you need to build bridges. If you don't want to call it "friendship" call it "glue" or whatever makes you comfortable, but don't kick people like me who fought with claws and teeth to reclaim those words and feelings.

Fight your fight by being a good example, not a bad experience that makes someone never want to deal with something like this again in their life.

"Any color you like, (in the end) they're all blue."

[peliginspeaks]

Circumstances of Encounter: Dola Hallowrove

A list of places Hallowrove frequents and what they might be found doing there. Meant as a helpful reference for anyone looking for a premise for calling card messages or other ingame social interactions, or who wants to let me know that one would work well for me to send to them.

In-game name for social actions: Dola Hallowrove

Wolfstack Docks: Can often be found there gathering monstrous rumours and stories from zailors and dockhands, or maintaining the mechanical aspects of the Hammerhead II zubmarine. Likely to meet: Zailors, dockers, brawlers

The Medusa's Head: A favoured spot for relaxation after a long day, as well as exchanging work talk with likeminded and similarly chewed-on colleagues. (And whoever else chooses to drop in - Hallowrove is personable to a wide range of people.) Likely to meet: Menace Eradicators, Monster-Hunters, anyone else with a reason to be there

The Department of Menace Eradication: Hallowrove has no professional office, but he directs those hoping to commission him to leave a note with the front desk at the Department. He checks back semi-regularly. Likely to meet: See above + prospective monster-hunting clients

Bugsby's Marsh: Hallowrove's place of residence. She lives in a fixed-up cabin in the swamp, a 10 minute walk or so from what could be considered the city. With a little persuasion, she might be convinced to lead a guided nature tour. Likely to meet: People living nearby, tour-goers, any poor sod who got lost

The Upper River: Hallowrove's longest standing commission is with the GHR, primarily improving the stations' defenses against monsters, but finding every excuse for a wide variety of diversions along the way. Likely to meet: Rubberies, artists, railway workers, Discordant stewards, devils, anyone else riding the train

Sophia's Club: While recent attendance is spotty, can still be found on picnics or sitting in on tea meetings with the group on a quiet afternoon. Likely to meet: Monster-Hunters, fellow members of Sophia's

The Bazaar Sidestreets: A place often passed through for shopping or visiting. Likely to meet: Anyone who lives in the area, anyone who shops there

Benthic University: While Hallowrove seldom uses her own lab, she often makes stops at Benthic to deliver monstrous samples to academic friends for dissection and analysis. Her own lab work consists mainly of hobby mechanical fiddling and weapon repairs/improvements, and creation of antivenoms by trial-and-error. Likely to encounter: Correspondents, academics

Calling cards, Menace helps, teas, slights, etc. are all on the table! I have no reason to be stingy with my actions right now, so I will offer whatever helps or lessons in Dangerous I can if the need is there.

[dennisboobs]

Dennis says the L word

[thedinanshiral]

Quick update

Seeing as BioWare has decided to take a rather curious approach to marketing in which they tease the game by spoiling major plot points and lore revelations about it before we get a chance to play the game, explore it and find things out on our own as the story progresses...I've decided to pretend I did not see any of it and will not comment on it. I'm avoiding any further spoilers.

I'm not sure how much is left of IGN's exclusive coverage for the rest of September, or what they'll do in October (because they're really leaving less and less to the game itself).

For the time being I'll be mostly focusing on Vows&Vengeance as it's side content set previous to game events and will introduce the companions allegedly without spoiling anything for the game.

If the CC is revealed before release I might comment on that but I'm not making promises.

I kept telling myself "if they're ok revealing this now that must mean the game has so much more stuff going on" but there's a limit to everything and I'm not sure I can keep doing that kind of heavy lifting in their favour.

I want to play the game, meet the companions myself, explore the different areas myself, uncover the new lore and solve the mysteries by myself, as I play the game.

[mail-forwarding]

WRs after forcefully obtaining a free Exile-related therapy session from MC