#well i can't really find any good images atm :

[keymintt]

Not sure if this has been asked before but, how did you start doing professional work for traffic cabinets? Was there some sort of job fair or exhibit that you advertised your art at and the city decides "this guy is really good, let's get his art in public"?

OKAY so the thing with public art is it's all local and every city kinda does it differently, but so far in my career all of the public art stuff i've done has been application-based

this got long so i'll go into details about what the searching/application process looks like under the cut but tldr: a big part of finding work like this is knowing where to look for local opportunities and submitting applications

generally the cities/towns/whatever will put out a call for artists (also sometimes called a request for qualifications or RFQ) that's basically like "hey we need some artists to do this, this is how much we'll pay you and the details for the project" and from there they'll link a form (or sometimes give you an email address) to apply to where you submit stuff like your contact info, resume/portfolio, sometimes references, and usually a letter of interest on the project

because i submit applications to things pretty regularly, i'm usually good about keeping track of what i use to apply to things—this includes what i've written for applications and stuff like image descriptions—so when I apply to new things it's a lot of copypasting and editing things to explain how i'm a fit for the specific project yadda yadda it's cover letters. it's basically cover letters. pain and agony

in terms of finding the applications, i'm signed up for several local newsletters and arts organizations, but i also check sites like the az commission of the arts (bc i'm az-based) for their updated list of opportunities pretty regularly, as well as searching for stuff like [city] arts and culture and poking around the .gov sites to see if they have an arts opportunities page. in all honesty a pretty big component of finding this work is knowing where to look, and unfortunately if you're doing public art a) it's not always listed on social media b) the best places to look/start are local, and that differs for everyone so i can't say like "oh look here and you'll find something"

once you apply it usually takes awhile to hear back (they usually give you a timeline on the initial application of how long it takes to review all the applications), but i've found people in these fields are good about letting you know when you didn't get something so you can move on with your life lol. atm i'm waiting to hear back from....over five things so i'm kind of always doing this "applying to projects while i'm working on other projects" song and dance which is honestly just...kind of the freelance artist experience?

i feel the need to mention that public art stuff like this consists of about...2/5 of my yearly income...? i'm not solely making a living off of doing these things bc i also usually have teaching and ttrpg illustration stuff in the mix BUT there are artists who can and do make a living off public art and murals and whatnot. i simply cannot resist the urge to stick my finger into any pie i'm even remotely qualified for

working with public art stuff is also that same thing with a lot of fields where once you get some sort of experience, it's easier to get more jobs, BUT as an artist your portfolio can do a lot of speaking for you, even if you don't have experience with public art specifically. take my traffic boxes for example: i've done three of them now and have a fourth lined up, i know that if there's an application for one i have the exact experience they're looking for and will in all likelihood be one of the selected artists at this point. however with my very first one, i obviously didn't have a traffic box in my portfolio so i included a digitally illustrated city banner i designed, several other digital illustrations of mine (bc they wanted a digital artist), and a mural i had painted on a 3d object (to demonstrate i could design with 3d forms in mind), and together these things all helped my credibility as someone who could do this project. as much as i loathe writing letters of interest these are also good places to elaborate on how your portfolio can connect to the project

also with public art starting local is also your best bet at first (not to say you can't land other opportunities right off the bat though), bc people like their artists to know the local scene. i have the experience to back me up more nowadays, but when i was first applying to things you bet your ass i was all like 'i love it here and want to give art back to my local community bc i'm an artist and i'm fresh out of college yaaaaayyyy' you don't have to mean this when you say it, but they don't have to know

thank you for the ask !! and best of luck with any of your potential artistic endeavors (to anyone reading this)!! feel free to ask any more questions, i'm happy to elaborate on anythin btw for anyone :>

[shazzbaa]

[sighs tiredly]

WELL.... obviously im not thrilled about the AI deal tumblrs involved in, or the fact that you have to opt-out manually rather than existing accounts being automatically opted out.

I understand the idea of leaving/deleting in protest, sending the message that this kind of behaviour will discourage people from putting content on your site. And I respect that, I don't think it's necessarily misguided. Here's my cohost, for people who'd like to find me elsewhere! At the same time, protest seems like really the only reason to do that -- like, I don't think doing so preserves your stuff. My art is likely in the machine already, not because automattic made a deal with midjourney, but because my tumblr posts come up on google image searches -- they are not hard to snag. AI companies have already pulled content that was freely accessible and put it into their machines without asking; that's like 80% of my problem with AI art in the first place!

So, like, if I go "I'm moving to my own site" or "I'm only posting on cohost from now on!!" then is my data or my work any safer, beyond security through obscurity? It's wrong to use my work without consent, but practically, I'm not gonna be able to track down every generative model that uses my data to train without asking. As much as "we're making a deal to give your data to an AI model" sucks, especially when it's done so sloppily..... a situation where there's an explicit contract in place where the AI company (theoretically) has to get your agreement to use your data IS... WEIRDLY, a tiny step closer to what I want to happen???? Like it's not... GOOD..... but I dunno if it's actually Worse Than It Was Before? IDK....... just turning it around in my brain while I try to decide and I can't make a strong case for packing it up atm

I'm not a professional artist rn, I'm just here for fun, and I've opted out all my blogs, so for now I'll probably stick around and just keep an eye on everything and see how things go. BUT YEAH, if you're skeedaddling and want somewhere else to follow me, my cohost is shazzbaa and I have a carrd over here that I try to keep updated, so feel free to find me there too!!

[phoenix-is-the-hottest-thing]

oh do you associate ship in a bottle with Mobius? Out of curiosity can you elaborate on why?

This is gonna be a mix of quick character analysis, an actual explanation, and my mental AMV.

The song is about someone who's self-isolating and putting up a strong front as everything falls apart around them. I think it fits Mobius's arc in PE very well.

The singer (who is really talking to themself in second person) started with a hard-earned self-built space, the glass bottle ("glass ceiling, walls, and floor", doesn't that imagery remind you of her lab?). This ship in a bottle was built by their own efforts, as somewhere walled away from pain where they demonstrate high skill— just like Mobius and her lab, which she has earned through her hard work and the subsequent recognition, which also becomes the place where she's respected and, well, where she uses her brains.

In particular, "But nothing can touch your happy thoughts anymore" matches up how confident Mobius is shown to be early on, especially with the "picking apart your brain" image. Despite being widely disliked on a personal level, look at how she's completely dominating the conversation when she recruits MEI into MOTH (Mobius: Good News): Mobius was happy and comfortable with her competence in her line of work. The Honkai wasn't that bad yet, it was a challenge (the "blue waves crashing into it", present but not yet threatening), a humbling challenge but a challenge she was thriving off of, eager to uncover its secrets.

"Pick your brain apart and build it again" can also be seen as building the Elysian Realm, but I'd say at this point in the song that's more foreshadowing. The premise is simply: The ship is Mobius's lab, and her lab is her safe space, where she is respected and content to pursue her work. She has earned this place alone, with her own efforts and skills.

Emphasis on alone and self-made for that second stanza, I think it's fairly evident where the metaphor is getting at once we've established the parallel. She's striving to transcend the gods on her own.

The chorus, however, peels off her mask. Things ARE falling apart. In the first round, I'd picture adult Mobius and her actual child self, the one who was abused and decided to make humanity evolve past the weaknesses of flesh as a result.

If the first few stanza are set early on in the timeline, after the chorus we find ourselves after Klein's death. The singer admits to crying, the water rising (can't cope anymore), the glass protection of their safe space is cracking. The ship is leaking water now, and there are many more that have sunk— despite this, the singer carries on.

For Mobius, things are seriously fucked now, and her demeanor has begun to break down. People leave her, either by dying (Klein) or out of disgust (Nuwa and Fuxi) but she still sets out for her goals. She'll do it even if she has to do it alone. That's how she's always done things, but now she carries the weight of those who can't carry on, too.

I'm not factoring ELF Klein here because 1. obvious the song wasn't written for Mobius, and more importantly 2. Mobius never meant for Klein to follow her all the way, she wanted her to be free. She would've LIKED that, but I don't think she DESIRED it, so she left her behind with the Realm. Mobius is very into "if you love them let them go", and I believe she was always planning to set off alone to an extent...

The song points out the singer is losing what kept them sane, and that's absolutely true for Mobius, she started out playful (some of the time) and became much more sullen and cold after Klein's death.

Then the chorus is back, but this time instead of actual child Mobius, I'd see the Sim talking to the real one, trying to tempt her into committing suicide and letting her be the "real and only" one. Instead of the tethering of denying trauma, it's a beckoning towards the abyss, it's turned malicious...

I could see the final chorus as specifically the background to Mobius's goodbyes and the hologram messages Mobius leaves for her creations.

And in the end, has the sim won...?

As we would later see... no, she didn't. The captain kept sailing on her own. Mobius always had her eyes set no closer than the horizon~

ANYWAY I'm very tired because I did hard things with people all day and woke up stupidly early so I hope this is coherent. Other people feel free to add to this. Would love to see a lyricstuck of this someday... Or hear about other songs people associate with her??

Full song lyrics below the cut~

You can fit everything you know In a bottle for you to show Pick your brain apart and put it in (pick your brain apart) And build it again With needles and pins Everything you have earned is a ship With blue waves crashing into it But nothing can touch your happy thoughts anymore (nothing can touch your happy thoughts anymore) With your glass ceiling, walls, and floor

Sailing on a ship in a bottle Anchor all your thoughts to the bottom Pulling ropes and pulling your head back To see what is breaking the foremast You set sail alone there is no crew No one on the deck who can help you This is all your own battle to win This is your ship and you are the captain

Oh, captain, let's make a deal Where we both say the things that we both really feel I feel scared and I'm starting to sink And I only sink deeper the deeper I think Oh, captain Oh, captain, deal Oh, captain deal Oh, captain deal Oh woah

There are red spots under your eyes From when you cry Into the sky Ocean waters rising above your neck, mmm You feel the glass Start to crack

Sailing on a ship in a bottle Water's leaking through holes in the bottom Flying flags of ships that have long since Sat at the floor of the sea, but in defense You set sail alone there is no crew No one on the deck who can help you This is all your own battle to win This is your ship and you are the captain

Oh, captain, let's make a deal Where we both say the things that we both really feel I feel scared and I'm starting to sink And I only sink deeper the deeper I think Oh, captain, make up your mind Before the salt burns your eyes and you run out of time 'cause you're popping the cork You get lost in your brain And you lose touch with all the things that made you feel sane Oh, captain Oh, captain, deal Oh, captain deal Oh, captain deal Oh woah

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh

Oh, captain, let's make a deal Where we both say the things that we both really feel I feel scared and I'm starting to sink And I only sink deeper the deeper I think Oh, captain, make up your mind Before the salt burns your eyes and you run out of time 'cause you're popping the cork You get lost in your brain And you lose touch with all the things that made you feel sane Oh, captain Oh, captain, deal Oh, captain deal Oh, captain deal Oh woah

Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh Woah-oh-oh-oh-oh

[awakaru]

Considering that I'm likely just speaking into the void, I'm just gonna jot down the shit I've figured for my Untamed daydreams here lol

OC is a Jiang Clan disciple who started off accidentally befriending Yanli, which then quickly escalated to being close to the three siblings

OC is at least close to Wei Wuxian's level power wise and just as sassy; the two of them together makes Jiang Cheng flip his shit very often but OC is also the one person Yanli trusts to control her lil bro when he's on the verge of being extra unreasonable

(I need to rewatch the beginning again cuz some details have faded so how she ends up going to Clouds Recesses is a mystery right now; been working under the assumption that she was only allowed to go under the guise of keeping Yanli company specifically, so she's not actually attending the lectures when it's going on. [I am currently second guessing this but I really don't recall Yanli being at the lectures?? Ugh])

Anyway, assuming she isn't actually at the lectures, one day OC bothers Wei Wuxian for a copy of the Lan Clan's 3k rules for funsies

Cut to later when Lan Wanji finds her with her own written copy of the rules, but it's only the ones that she personally believes actually makes good cultivators, and ends up explaining her thought process to him when he doesn't leave (something about some of the rules aren't things that can actually be changed about a person like temperament and trying to make people conform to them can be damaging in the long term, plus some other stuff that I seem to have forgotten atm)

While thinking idly about if any of the other cultivators present would potentially have a crush on her during the lectures my brain fuckin screamed "NIE HUISANG" and honestly I couldn't dispute that, so that's a thing lol It's one-sided as fuck though

Like I had the mental image of the crush being revealed cuz the fucker has no poker face atp and Wei Wuxian just laughing at him cuz (and this is very silly and clumsy but thoughts are weird) OC's the "girl version" of himself and she would also laugh at Nie Huisang if it ever came up so might as well save himself the heartache lol

I've just been having fun imagining her dynamics with everybody c'=

Her and Jiang Cheng is especially fun to play with, to the point where I can't actually imagine her ending up with anybody else? Which is strange cuz I didn't really plan on romance being a thing. Like, I ideally would've gone for Wuxian but I do feel bad about ruining the soulmates ;; Ah well

I still need to have a very good think and probably write shit more coherently than whatever mess I just put down here lol

[spicycreativity]

Intertwined - Chapter 1

Rating: Teen

Content Warnings: It's a hanahaki fic, so. Mild body horror, blood, respiratory illness. (Starts at Ch 3 and gets worse from there).

Characters: All

Pairing: Moceit

Additional Notes: This one was supposed to be Darker and Longer, but turns out I'm not in the headspace to write angst atm, so it ends up moving p fast. Swaps between Janus and Patton's POVs. Post-PoF, light angst. Not whump. They both get hanahaki, but there is absolutely no version of Moceit in my mind where Janus isn't the one who falls first. My AO3 username is WizatdGlick.

Summary: The story of how Janus and Patton find each other at rock bottom and fall in love anyway.

A gentle knock on Janus' door drew him out of his thoughts. He donned a mask of triumph as he rose to open it, straightening his hat as he went. It couldn't be Remus; Remus never knocked so softly, which meant that Janus had to perform. He slid into the role with difficulty, struggling to find the edges of this gloating persona when all he felt was numb and tired and lost.

It was Patton at the door, and Janus felt everything slip, and Patton's eyes lit up with recognition, and all of Janus' resolve fell away in the face of that beseeching gaze.

"Come for another debate?" Janus asked in a low voice, making no effort to hide his ironical smile.

Patton smiled too, though he dropped it a moment too soon. Janus got the distinct impression that Patton was also far too wrung-out to put on any kind of act tonight. "Just came to check on you."

It would be as natural as breathing for Janus to draw back, place his fingertips delicately to his chest, widen his eyes. ' Check on me?' he would say, all faux-innocence, ' Please, Patton, I'm not a child. I don't need your pity.'

But he didn't.

Here was Patton, reaching out, and hadn't that been what Janus had wanted all along? That tiny, fervent flame that he hadn't allowed himself to acknowledge, that smallest ember of hope that someone might just give him what he was convinced he had to take.

The seconds stretched out until the silence verged on awkward, and Janus' pride stood up to do what his cunning would not: "I'm fine." He was fine, strangely. Not happy, as he perhaps should have been, but nothing hurt.

Patton's brow furrowed. "Am I supposed to believe that?" he asked gently.

Something warm and soft and dangerous bloomed in Janus' chest at Patton's look of confusion. He had freckles on his nose, scattered like spilled cinnamon: a trait assigned by Thomas’ subconscious. "Patton," Janus said, flicking his gaze upwards to meet Patton's eyes. "Would you like to come in?"

"To your room ?" Patton asked, eyes widening. He looked past Janus' shoulder and Janus fought not to move and block Patton's gaze with his body. He had just invited Patton in; there was no point getting shy now. "Won't that, y'know, do something to me?"

"It's just a matter of self-control," Janus said, hoping to get a smile out of Patton.

Sure enough, Patton did smile. "What color is my shirt?"

Janus said, "True blue," and stepped backwards to let Patton in.

It was a risk to bring someone into his room like this, but he felt unusually clear-headed tonight, calm and strangely secure despite the fact he had just let a known enemy past his defenses, and despite the exhaustion that made every breath feel heavy.

"Warm in here," Patton remarked, looking around.

Janus motioned him over to a set of armchairs. To be seen was to be judged, and he wasn't sure what he would do if Patton found him lacking again . "I have a question for you, Patton."

In the low light, the tear tracks on Patton's cheeks glimmered when he tilted his head inquisitively. "You do?"

Janus nodded, slow and calculated. He was sure he already knew the answer to the question, and preemptive anger bubbled thick and hot in his veins. "Who," he said, unable to keep from glaring, "came to check on you?"

"Well," said Patton, "Ah… They don't-- Everyone's upset right now--"

"And you're not?" Janus demanded. "And don't you dare tell me that you're fine." His emotions were running too hot; he needed to check himself, but seeing Patton make excuses filled him with a passion he'd only ever felt on Thomas' behalf.

"I am--"

"Don't."

"But I have to be," Patton whispered. "I can't-- I know they told me… They said it was okay for me to be sad, but--"

"If you fall apart, there's no one there to pick up the pieces," Janus guessed. "Sure, you can be sad, as long as it doesn't interfere with your role."

"Don't be mad at them," Patton pleaded, and Janus realized with a jolt that he would get into no one's good graces by slinging around insults.

"It's just hard," Janus said plainly, only half-noticing the words coming out of his mouth. He had just become aware of a keen and sickening new desire, borne on the back of a newfound respect for Patton that he had even lasted this long without having some sort of spectacular breakdown. Janus' whole chest ached with it, that and the equally sickening knowledge that he had just become horrifically vulnerable, that he had fallen under a spell he could never hope to break.

He saw it in his mind's eye: he saw himself stand and lean over, take Patton's jaw in his hands, kiss him long and deep and slow. He saw himself lay his body and soul bare before Patton, getting on his knees to forgive Patton all his perceived flaws. He meant well, after all. He only ever meant well, and it wasn't really his fault that those good intentions were capable of morphing into a cruel and deadly weapon.

But he would plunge that weapon straight into Janus' heart before their lips could ever even meet. Janus could see it now, Patton pulling away in confusion and disgust. His tenuous patience would give out then and there, and Janus would have no hope of acceptance ever again. Same for Remus, probably. They would remain Dark Sides forever, damned to be eternal outcasts. All thanks to Janus' pathetic inability to control himself.

"Why do you care so much about…" Patton hesitated for a moment and gave a shallow sigh. "Well, about me?"

And now Janus found himself walking a chasm’s edge. His instinct was to lean hard into the opposite of the truth and insult Patton so deeply that he left and never came back. Eliminate the threat. But that wasn't an option now of all times. No, he had to maintain a friendship with Patton, somehow. He had to keep himself under control. How fun. "You're a part of Thomas," Janus said. He paused.

"So are the others."

"You've earned my respect."

"Oh," said Patton. "Wow, um. Gosh, that's…" His lower lip trembled. "I should go," he said in a broken voice.

Janus surveyed him in silent agony, teetering on the precipice of a lie. With a monumental effort, he pulled himself away from it and opened his arms. "Come here."

The floodgates opened. Patton fell into Janus' lap, already sobbing. Janus held him, all his muscles stiff and awkward. He was much smaller in the mindscape than he was in Thomas’ eyes and it was difficult to support Patton’s much larger frame. A sharp pain flared in Janus’ collarbone where Patton had buried his forehead and his tears were already starting to seep through Janus' clothes. He cringed at himself and the absurdity of the situation, wishing he had some way to make it better. He should have had words for this, all the right words to soothe away Patton's worries and set him right again. But he was so tired.

"I'm s-s-sorry," Patton said through shuddering sobs that dug his forehead harder into Janus' clavicle.

"It's okay," Janus said, concentrating hard on keeping the effects of his room at bay.

"Are you--" Patton sniffled " --sure you're okay?"

A rush of affection melted Janus' heart and he sighed and held Patton closer despite the shooting pain in his collarbone and the ache in his arms. Even in the midst of a post-breakdown breakdown, Patton was self-sacrificing (self- destructive) enough to check in on him. "You don't have a selfish bone in your body, do you?" Janus sighed, lamenting Patton’s bleeding heart. For some reason, this only made Patton cry harder. Janus cast his mind back to the last time Remus was this upset, found nothing, had to speculate. He and Remus and Virgil were self-sufficient, secretive. When it came to personal crises, they weathered them alone and bore the aftermath in stoicism. "Do you want me to play with your hair?"

"I don't know," Patton sobbed into Janus' chest.

Janus sighed and began to run his fingers through Patton's honey-colored hair, grateful that the thick material of his gloves kept their skin from touching. It was better this way, and a good reminder for Janus. He guarded his heart so closely for a reason.

 

Janus, despite the discomfort from the awkward weight distribution and the clammy feeling of cooled tears on his shirt, was half-asleep in the chair by the time Patton stopped crying.

"Sorry," Patton said, pulling away, and even with snot and tears all over his flushed cheeks, even with his eyes all red and puffy behind his fogged-up glasses and his hair standing up at strange diagonals from Janus' attempts at comfort, he was radiant.

"For having feelings?" Janus asked, gently imaging himself into a new, dry shirt.

"For making them your problem." Patton took his glasses off and began to polish them on the hem of his own shirt.

"Patton, I need you to know this." Janus waited until Patton looked at him before continuing, "I owe you nothing. If I had wanted you to leave, I would have asked you to leave and thought nothing of it."

Patton nodded and went back to polishing his glasses. They were silent for a long moment, during which Janus found himself unable to suppress a series of yawns. It must have been around 4:00 in the morning by this point. They had to have been the only ones awake.

"Hey, Janus," Patton said, finally putting his glasses back on. "You know The Breakfast Club?"

"Yes," Janus said distractedly, trying to figure out where Patton was going with this.

"This wasn't our version of that, was it?"

"What do you mean?"

"When tomorrow comes and we're back to, to some sort of normal… You'll still be my friend, right?"

Now here was a situation Janus had never once envisioned for himself. He had pictured winning over Roman, had pictured gaining Thomas' support. Never once had he expected real friendship with any of them, let alone Patton. "Yes," he said, feeling sick at the irony of it. He had been comfortable as Patton's enemy, was now yearning for his kiss… How could he be friends with Patton when he burned like this for Patton's wholehearted affection? Was he really just supposed to endure it?

Patton smiled, so sweet and earnest that Janus had to bite down on his tongue. "Good," he said. "Speaking of, do you wanna have breakfast with me?"

"Not right now, I hope," Janus teased.

"No, no, not right now." Patton muffled a yawn into his sleeve. "I guess I'd better go."

Janus nodded. "See you in the morning?"

"Um," said Patton, who didn't appear to have been listening. "Thank you, Janus. You didn't have to-- Well, thank you."

He sank out without another word.

Janus imagined himself into his pajamas, imagined the lights off and threw himself onto his bed. "Fuck."

 

--

 

Frigid air seeped from the hallway seeped under the crack where Janus' door stopped just short of the carpet. He didn't allow himself to notice, and continued to put his outfit on piece by agonizing piece. The cold air made his joints slow and achy, and he struggled to get the clasps done up. It was just as well that he hadn't put on his gloves yet. He had become quite adept at handling things while wearing them, but for this task, the bulky fabric would only get in the way. After all, just like his singular snake fang, his gloves were for aesthetics, not function.

Finally, he donned his hat and faced the door, forced to confront that fatal truth: He could never have what he wanted. The moment he had achieved his goal of Thomas’ acceptance, the triumph had slipped away in his hands to be replaced with a truly unattainable goal.

Memories from last night, the phantom sensation of Patton in his arms, teased him until he had to sneer at himself. Pathetic. He was acting pathetic. Falling for Patton was strategically inadvisable, even if he couldn’t help it, but actively pursuing him was out of the question. It was all-risk, no reward. Still, his treacherous heart fluttered, teasing him with the thought of Patton’s lips on his own, Patton’s hands on his body, sharing heat, deepening the kiss--

“All risk,” Janus said out loud to himself, “no reward.” A mantra to see him through. He opened his door, his gloved hand slipping a little on the polished brass of his doorknob, and nearly walked straight into Remus as he passed by with an armful of dismembered dolls.

“Well,” said Janus, tilting his head to better examine the pile of plastic limbs and bodies in Remus’ arms, “I won’t ask what you’re up to.” He stifled a yawn behind his hand, visualizing a piping hot cup of coffee. A shudder wrecked his concentration and he frowned. “Are you the reason it’s so cold in here?”

Remus ignored the question, his feverish eyes darting from Janus’ mouth to his hand to his face. “I knew you were up late last night. That’s why I came this way.” He gave a crooked but strangely boyish grin. “I wanted to know where you’d gotten off to. Or who you’d gotten off with. ”

Janus, to his horror, blushed. Fragmented images flashed through his head-- What if he had kissed Patton? And Patton had kissed back? Mask, mask, mask! “I was spreading the Gospel.”

“You were spreading something , though, weren’t you?” Remus shifted the dolls in his arms and held up a masculine torso. “I know I heard Big Daddy’s voice. Play a little game of Patton- Snake , did you?”

Janus swore he could hear porcelain cracking as his heart began to race. “In all seriousness, Remus, we did reach an agreement.”

“Sounds like you reached more than that.” Remus waggled his tongue.

God, he was relentless when he was on the scent of something. Janus hid his face behind his hands, realizing a moment too late that this display of shame would only add fuel to the fire. So he took the only option left and muttered, “Boundaries,” into his palms.

“Oh,” said Remus, leaning back on his heels. “ Oh. Janus, you didn’t .”

“Of course we didn't!” Janus hissed, dropping his hands.

"But you wanted to?"

“How much did you hear yesterday, anyway?”

“Oh, I heard the whole debacle, including that heartwarming little moment at the end,” Remus said, rocking forward onto his toes. “Thanks for putting in a good word for me, by the way.”

They fell into an awkward silence as Janus once again reached for words that simply weren’t there. “I didn’t mean it,” he said finally, cursing himself.

“No?” said Remus. “Not even a teeny tiny little bit?” He poked Janus in the chest with the plastic torso, still clenched in his left hand. “Right here?”

“You,” said Janus, “are just as evil as I am.”

Remus backed off with a grin, leaving Janus in doubt that he had ever even been angry in the first place. “So where are you off to now? Roman’s got this place awfully cold; gonna go warm Patton’s snake?”

“You already made a ‘Patton snake’ joke,” Janus said, slamming another mask onto his face to hide his blush. “But to answer your question, he asked me to join him for breakfast.”

“Aww.” Remus wiped fake tears from his cheeks. “You better not start spending too much time with him or I’m going to get jealous.”

[bookishjules]

I posted 1,227 times in 2021

38 posts created (3%)

1189 posts reblogged (97%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 31.3 posts.

I added 550 tags in 2021

#sobh - 132 posts

#tsc - 117 posts

#pjo - 56 posts

#dreams - 45 posts

#words - 44 posts

#what i live for - 43 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 38 posts

#percabeth - 30 posts

#important - 26 posts

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Longest Tag: 127 characters

#or is the ghost taking away their means of communication because it doesn't want jules to find out about their family's history

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

BABES. we beat Taylor Swift AND Harry Styles in one day!! We are a fucking force to be reckoned with *heart eyes x1000*

45 notes • Posted 2021-11-16 02:07:26 GMT

#4

Tessa, dear, I'm really gonna need you to circle back about that "tempestuous affair with a ghost" thing

49 notes • Posted 2021-12-06 18:56:13 GMT

#3

ofc jules would take a liking to katniss "i volunteer" everdeen, the literal definition of "i would die for my sibling"

49 notes • Posted 2021-11-22 22:48:27 GMT

#2

I am very okay with the option that Matthew was spending a summer at Cirenworth with James and Cordelia when Oscar passed. Much better than.. um.. the alternative.

54 notes • Posted 2021-12-06 18:33:13 GMT

#1

Ways in which Emma is starting to act like Not Emma™

1. "improbably" and "scudding" feel like VERY old words. I looked up scudding and its peak usage was around 1850, but it recently has started to be used more so this reason could just be a strawman

2. "well it doesn't matter what I thought" as much as we all love Emma implying that she thought he was going to propose, this is so much Tatiana on so many levels. Tatiana has literally said in previous diary entries that her "only purpose in life...is meant to be to find a better last name to replace [Lightwood] with." Emma is a modern woman who, while I'm sure she would love to marry Julian more than anything, probably wouldn't be hanging onto that expectation any time he seems intent on asking her a question.

2b. the fact that Emma just let that thought linger and disappear is a trait that Tatiana might have as the youngest child and only daughter of a family that values sons more. Her language would display more attributes of "powerless language," which discounting her thoughts, especially ones that show she is a woman in love, seems like it would be akin to

3. "I was pretty freaked out he even mentioned BREAKING UP as a concept" I related to this line too much to realize that this wasn't Emma at first. I can't imagine her being this insecure, especially with loving, doting, logical Julian, who would obviously use this as a preemptive statement alone. Tatiana, on the other hand, is so understandably insecure about love because of the family she was raised in. this also points to my theory that she enchanted a "silver band" to give to Rupert to keep him loyal to her.

The list could very well go on, but this is what I have atm. Thanks to @starlight-in-my-eyes for bringing Emma's Not Emma™-ness to my attention because holy mother of all that is good in the world I am STRESSED about my queen okay?

!! EDIT

(bc people keep interacting with this post and I think this addition is Important)

[Emma just describing the sky at all] feels so... like the way Tatiana writes, she does it as if she's in a movie. She likes to portray herself as the Main Character and in such needs a bunch of outward images to set the scene and give reason for the choices she makes.

Emma, on the other hand, literally would not give a shit about any of that, because, as she herself said, she isn't a writer. Her writing is completely stream of conscious and often goes completely off the rails. She wouldn't set a scene, give reasons, and then follow it up with a logical story arc, as the first paragraph of this diary entry does.

62 notes • Posted 2021-11-22 22:32:05 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[rudshores-blog]

i want to get a tattoo of dauds blade and a whalers mask maybe have dauds "and the rest is void" quote or something but , like idk