#but more on that later

[messiahzzz]

nothing further to add except this:

gale: i love you.

nodecontext: with the warmth of having said this a thousand times before.

#which is a lie cause i have a lot of thoughts #but more on that later #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #bg3 patch 5 #bg3 epilogue

[dumbbullet]

a while back i saw this piece of art by waricka, and then later had a conversation about alphonse mucha and art nouveau and so, Mucha inspired TOG tour poster.

Edit: heres Mucha's original work i used for reference!

#sleep token #dumb doodles #sleep token vessel #teeth of god tour #alphonse mucha #vessel sleep token #sleep token art #I might have a handful of these to pass out at the shows im going to #but more on that later #also shoutout to a homie in the discord for catching my text errors holy shit i cant spell #this was a fun study! I'll never do it again!

[raayllum]

Gift Giving & Primal vs First Elves :: Or Going Off Into the Deep Lore Deep End

Remember that meta I compiled about Greek mythology, deceptive gift giving, and TDP? Yeah it's time to talk about the gift motif properly as well as some other deep lore things because these excellent thoughts ( @spicyviren, @kradogsrats, and @its-leethee) got the wheels in my brain spinning.

AKA an unknown amount of sectioned word vomit into the nature of magic, where it comes from, how deep magic operates, some gifts and motifs, and Leola, just a little.

Let's go.

Gift Motif

The gift motif is one that's a bit of a slowburn in TDP. While characters will often pass and hand over objects — tools, artefacts, metaphorical responsibilities or trust (handing over the egg, for example) — to one another, there's not a big emphasis on gifts in the first three seasons.

There are some, such as Callum's letter from Harrow (that he's given by Claudia once again initially as a goodbye), Ezran giving Bait to Barius in S3, and Rayla's family pendant, but most of these, as you've might already noticed, are contextualized within Goodbyes. Whether the gift motif will amount in arc 2 to escaping this "final gift" context remains to be seen, but that's how it tends to work in interpersonal relationships.

There is an element of peace offering in hoping that returning Zym — a gift and/or gesture of good will — will help usher in peace, but I think (as of now at least) that ties further into the series' theme of Reciprocal Exchange (the assassin mission being an eye for an eye vs olive branch for olive branch) than outright gift giving. (Although we will probably talk about Exchange and gift giving at some point because there is also a thematic tether there.)

However, there is one other thing that is more and more often referred to as a gift in Arc 1, and that's Magic. Specifically, dark magic.

Now, this actually isn't that dissimilar from what the Goodbye gifts amount to, either. In Harrow's letter, he gifts Callum the Key of Aaravos believing it to be a powerful magical relic of some kind; Rayla's pendant makes its way from Ethari to her to Callum, who then uses it for magical purposes; and Bait, as a glow toad, is connected to an arcanum himself.

I do think it's noteworthy though that in Arc 1, (dark) magic being a gift is emphasized upon, specifically because of these lines for Khessa:

Upon first watching it back in 2019, it made sense that dark magic would be referred to this way, even when I just thought maybe it was that humans had been given 'nothing,' as Claudia says. Dark magic is closely tied to ideas of theft and thievery — stealing magic from others to harness its power for yourself — and the series is deeply interested in concepts of ownership or who has 'true' ownership over something, in magic, a throne/crown, a price to pay, etc. This follows neatly into Arc 2 (for ex: why Karim seeking to steal the Sun Seed is a metaphorical dark path even if it didn't outright involve dark magic through Kim'Dael), which we'll build on later.

That said, given the depth of the knowledge at the Great Bookery that is open to Sunfire elves more than any other type of elf, and the information that Tales of Xadia and Ripples gives us...

While elves warned that if humans were meant to wield magic they would have been born with it, [Leola] gifted the wisest humans with secrets: the language of the dragons and the runes that shaped spells. With the unicorn’s gift, the most determined minds among the humans could finally harness primal magic.

It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters [...] Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have. And so there came a calamity.

It makes it more than likely than, unlike other elves such as Lujanne or Ibis, Khessa had reason to believe/know that there used to be primal human mages in the past... and that it wasn't 'enough' for them ultimately, because they still hungered and developed (and were given?) dark magic. "Your kind could not be satisfied with what you were given" was about the rejection of primal magic from Leola (the unicorns) in favour of a darker kind that involves theft and "dirtying yourself" (5x08) with dark magic.

But at the same time, this complicates the Gift Giving motif of including not just dark magic, but being also for primal magic — for humans, at least.

And also for elves. (Ignoring how "great orb" is very similar to "great one" for now.)

Janai: It was a gift. But there's more to it than that. The great orb began as this. Karim: This is... a sun seed?

Now, the Great Orb being grown from a Sun 'literal' seed makes sense. We've known for a long time that in Xadia, "magic is everywhere. It's just part of the vibrance or spirit of things" (1x05). Primal magic naturally occurring in plants, animals, and elves likewise makes sense on that note. Just as not "many could bear the gruelling path of a rune mage," Karim cannot bear to have patience and faith in something that will only come to fruition centuries later.

That said, I raise the question: how functionally different is the Great Orb from say, a sun primal stone would hypothetically be? If primal stones and primal magic were gifts to humanity from unicorns — from creatures connected to the Star arcanum, for lack of a better understanding — then why not magic from Startouch (?) elves to other elves.

How do we know that all magic isn't simply a gift that was given once upon a time?

From the First Elves to the Primal Elves.

Primal vs First Elves

So what's the difference between First Elves and Primal elves?

Well we have a few pieces of lore:

1) Zubeia's status as a "heavenly majesty" (which we'll come back to in the next section) gives her authority to speak in the name of the first elves, who are effectively gods to humankind and/or Xadians ("Have our Gods died? / Where do the fabled Great Ones hide?" —the Epic of the Void

2) It seems that the First Elves are, as of now and for a while, exclusively in reference to what would otherwise be called Startouch elves, although the latter is seemingly a name that came later given Rayla's affirmation of "ancient legends". This is reaffirmed in Tales of Xadia's two lone mention of First Elves:

No group of elves presents a greater mystery than the Startouch elves. Sometimes called the First Elves, those bound to the Star primal are rumored to have made great marks on Xadia’s ancient history—but beyond story and legend, little real evidence is left to us today [...] Among the few extant records of Startouch elves are the Scrolls of the First Elves, now kept in the Great Bookery of Lux Aurea.

3) At a post-S2 con in 2019 (how's that for a far reach?) we got a timeline of the events of Xadia laid out for us. The description of the very first piece of history and era we know of goes as follows, with the Rise of Elarion happening 2000 years ago re: the Dragon Prince era ("The Return of Aaravos"):

The Era of the First elves is the first recorded era 5,000 years prior to the current era. Dragons and elves were not allied during this period. There were no distinct primal elves. This is an era before all that. Humans suffered during this period. 

—2019 con timeline

4) Justin and Aaron reaffirm this at the 2:30 ish minute mark of this video (a couple of months before even S3 was released) by reaffirming distinctly to Primal elves. Later (7:40-ish mark) we see this distinction reaffirmed again through the statement of, "The patterns have been that these primal based elves have grown cultures and civilizations that have become separate and differentiated from kind of whatever the early days were with the First elves were."

Okay, so there was 100% a time where there were only First Elves, and humans, and Primal elves as we knew them (maybe still with the hands and horns, but no arcanum? Or no singular, distinct arcanum) didn't exist. Why does this matter?

This is where the deep lore timeline gets tricky, as we don't know precisely when 1) humans received magic and 2) at what stage the First Elves / Great Ones / Startouch elves 'left' Xadia, only that they did, apparently, when Elarion (the human city) needed help: "Elarion, unworthy whelp / Wept as the stars turned black the sky / They donned their masks / They turned their backs / And left Elarion to die". Why abandon the city (beyond indifference/cruelty as Aaravos would likely claim), who knows.

However, we can assume the timeline looks something like this:

Era of the First Elves

Primal elves (and presumably archdragons *) are crafted / develop into being, whatever that means

Humans are magic-less and are having a bad time

Unicorns / Leola extend sympathy despite the fact that the First Elves tell her not to (Book One: Novelization / Tales of Xadia)

Humans have primal magic (Ripples / Tales of Xadia)

This attracts negative attention, consolidated in Elarion ("the stars she asked their light to cast / and stop the dragons’ fiery might" / "as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted")

Elarion asks for help and the Stars leave

Aaravos, the last star — presumably already Fallen from the First Elves — gives them dark magic under the guise of protection even though it will inevitably help him (i.e. give him the ability to possess people)

Dark magic replaces primal magic as the primary form for humans

Tension and violence escalates (unicorns are hunted to near extinction). Sol Regem is removed as King of the Dragons

Under Dragon Queen Luna Tenebris, the daughter of an elven leader suggests the Judgement of the Half-Moon, causing for humans to be banished rather than eradicated, and the continent split in two

Again, nothing too crazy / not too much we haven't already known or guessed at for a while.

But like I said, I'm gonna propose two theories, so bear with me:

Theory #1: What is Deep Magic?

The First Elves engaged with what we're gonna call Deep or Old Magic, for lack of a better term. There can be an assumption at times that this magic would be more 'pure' or less 'diluted' than dark magic or even the primal magic we've seen on screen. However, I think that's less than likely. Dark magic is often times a bad path for good outcomes, and primal magic can be a 'good' magic for bad outcomes (the blood freezing spell, for example).

While dark magic is a more textually malevolent magic system and primal magic is more true neutral — able to be used as a tool and a source of connection for the user — I don't think this necessarily means that Deep Magic is inherently enlightening (we see with the Ocean arcanum and S5 that knowledge can be an immense burden) or that it's on the opposite end of the spectrum and is outright benevolent.

What, then, am I suggesting Deep Magic to be? Well, we have some clues likewise from the same old interview post-s2 that we haven't had much basis to (potentially) understand until now, in which it's stated:

Deeper magic and deeper gifts that the original beings received [...] practical, usable, powerful magic is drawn from the six primal sources, right? But there is this idea that there's this earlier, less differentiated power kind of magic that's deeper and more - I don't kind of want to say what all of them are. It's not that important now, it has more to do with the history of beings and their interactions with each other. But Aaravos cares about some of this stuff. The best I can say is that one of them's Power — but well, what does that mean?

The six primal sources — potentially just five (hence why only 5 gemstones seem to occur naturally in nature, and Star seemingly doesn't) — are all based around physical, somewhat tangible principles. Earth, Ocean, Sun (fire/light), Sky (wind/weather) are perhaps the most tangible, with only Moon dipping into something into something more metaphysical: illusions and questioning the nature of reality, the nature of death, etc. However, I'd argue that the Moon arcanum's emphasis on death still makes it something that is particularly important to creatures who are mortal (but more on that later).

What I am arguing for is then, therefore, that Deep Magic is magic drawn from Concepts and Ideas > tangible things found in nature or parts of other magical creatures.

Three concepts, to be exact: (translated dark magic screenshot from Cartoon Universe spells reversed).

Zubeia: He chose as his instruments those who had strong hearts and strong minds, but who had an insatiable thirst and fascination with magic (power).

Three quasar diamonds, three deep magic concepts. Heart, Mind, Power.

("To know something truly and deeply, you must know it with your head, hand, and heart. Mind, body, and spirit." / "She laid before me her scales, her blindfold, and her sword, and told me to choose.")

Now, I don't know if it's these three concepts exactly — I could Truth, or Justice, or something like that — or even if it's three. But given what little we know about Deep magic thus far and how much the series' likes its threes, I think that's the likeliest number and combination.

We've known for a while that there's something weird with the connection between dark magic, spells that use blood, and 'star' magic. We know it's unlikely that Aaravos being able to possess people who have used dark magic was just a happy accident discovered after humans started using it. We know that when Callum is offered the dark magic version of the cube in his dreams, the symbol is blood red: "You can have unlimited power." And that dark magic "became the key that unlocked a place of power for humans in Xadia" (Tales of Xadia).

So what if dark magic stems from the vein of Deep magic that's taken from the concept of Power? What if when Aaravos offered his pawns "unlimited" Power, or when Kpp'Ar accused Viren of (potentially using star magic) "making the same choice you always made: the one that gives you Power," they meant it?

Alternatively, this could mean that most other Startouch elves — their longevity, their indifference — comes from the vein of Mind and subsequent intellectual detachment? Enough intelligence and reason not to hunger for more (Power), but not enough compassion and empathy to sympathize with others (Heart).

And it would also tie into Leola being unique among her own kind for her heart taking pity on the humans, and giving them primal magic — perhaps in the vein of Heart, if we're keeping things consistent — and why love ("To know something truly and deeply [...] I love you with all of myself, and I always will" / "To love is simply to know this: the tides are true as the ocean is deep") has been consistently tied to Callum unlocking arcanums. The "Narrative of Strength (power)" vs "Narrative of Love" being even more literal than we thought.

This wouldn't be too out of line since Moon arcanum philosophy already borrows heavily from Plato's idea of the forms/reality (Plato's allegory of the cave, anyone?) and the forms basically mean "your imagined ideal of the object in your mind is going to be more perfect than any tangible, 'real' version of the object could ever be." That being applied to living beings who are literally in the sky would track a certain amount, in addition to the idea that however primal magic is set up in Xadia right is "the whole world is like a giant primal stone; sky magic is all around us, and it's also in me, with every breath we take." But I digress.

With the distinction of Deep Magic as 1) separate and a sea that flows into the primal as well as 2) older and earlier than primal magic, now onto the next theory:

Theory #2: First elves and the Archdragons?

Now admittedly this one is more speculative since beyond knowing 1) the First elves = what we'd call Startouch elves, 2) the rest of them except Aaravos 'left' Xadia a while ago, and 3) the aforementioned possible 'Mind' deep magic thing, we very quickly run out of set knowledge into full blown speculation. Beyond

With that in mind, I wanna talk about the... weirdness, I suppose, between the Archdragons / draconic royal family and the First Elves.

There's a few notes to this: we know that Ancient Draconic is the language of primal magic, indicating that dragons existed and presumably had primal magic before elves did, and that elves had to be given that linguistic knowledge at least to a certain degree.

Then we also have the way Zubeia is referred to being mirrored with the way she describes Aaravos later:

Likewise, the one person/creature we've seen referred to as a god outside the Epic of the Void poem is Avizandum by Harrow (bonus points for the game motif of "entire armies have fallen like toys" because of him):

Bloodmoon Huntress also asserts that from an elven point of view (or at least Lain and Tiadrin, and presumably Runaan, too) that "Dragons are the lifeblood, the very core of Xadia" and generally assumed that dragons have the most powerful connection to their individual primal sources.

So I'd be willing to wager (esp since Sol Regem is at least 1,2000+ years old) that Archdragons at least once upon a time had been contemporaries of the First Elves if not peers. What and why that connection exists and how relevant it is for today, I don't know, but I do think there's something there, especially since the one example we have of a First Elf-Dragon relationship in Aaravos, Avizandum, and Zubeia, was perceived to be positive somewhat on all sides — a matter of trust on his end (in order to be "betrayed") and a matter of reverence and importance on theirs; "admired and loved by all" / "you meant something to him".

There is also something to be said for the Archdragons being the most powerful embodiment of the primal sources (alongside maybe some rare and noteworthy elves, like Queen Aditi) still being "unable to risk a direct confrontation" with only one singular and Fallen Startouch elf. What would a whole slew of them at the height of their power look like? (And yet it is implied that the Nova Blade is "ivory draconic" so... maybe you just have to get a First Elf close enough to the mouth to be consumed / bitten? Or perhaps the Nova Blade is made from the tooth/claw of a 'Star' arcanum dragon.)

TLDR; it's looking more and more like Startouch elves as we understand them and First Elves in generally are — while emotive and feeling the way humans and elves are — something very different from anything else we've seen thus far in terms of knowledge and power skill, and that distinction is only going to be made more and more apparent as the story goes on.

Theory #3: Where do we go from here?

So if Deep Magic is distinct from Primal, and is distinct from 2/3 kinds of Deep Magic in dark magic (derived from 5-primal and Power deep magic thoughts)... where do we go from here, magically speaking?

Well, the important thing to note is that the story has given us some thematic clues. Aaravos is concerned with exile and power, both things we see thematically most represented by human characters (with some elven exceptions like Karim and Kim'Dael). The other Star touch elves are very on brand for "Xadian exile" as their favourite punishment as well as extreme isolationism ("I knew I had to be strong alone" etc). Therefore, whatever answer we give Magically also has to reconcile these issues from a thematic and character based standpoint.

It seems like a switch of where people are concentrating energy — for Startouch elves and humans — needs to have a drastic shift to one of the other veins/concepts of deep magic that will hopefully heal the rifts. If Aaravos is Power (humans) and the others are 'Mind' (Xadian indifference/isolation and banishment) for lack of a better idea, then subverting that binary and shifting more to a third 'Love' path seems to be very on brand for TDP. Holding both at the same time but being guided by a higher principle of peace and harm reduction is what Ezran's 4x03 speech is all about, after all.

Something something both Xadia and magic and the First Elves being reunited with Xadia / humanity and elvenkind as TDP's endgame, something something.

Other Gift Giving Thoughts

The other thing I wanna talk about now that everything else is laid out is how gifts are Given, in TDP. We see time and time again relationships and magic systems being framed on the idea of whether they are giving, taking, both in a bad way or in a good way. There seems to be two main indicators for gift giving, therefore, either that in the receiver is worthy, or that the exchange is going to be reciprocal.

At its best, a gift works as intended.

Humans (and elves?) are given primal magic and generally use it for exploration and to care for themselves / one another The sun seed is given to the Sunfire elves, but they must nurture it. Callum gives Rayla her father's bow and she uses it to protect them. Callum achieves enlightenment and understanding of him and is rewarded with primal magic twice, even if the Ocean in particular is a bit murkier than he'd probably like. Gifts and belongings are relinquished or restored for freedom, for hope, for peace.

Here we have to wonder if Leola's Last Wish reconciles both the Goodbye gift motif and the gift of Magic motif, possibly resulting in the gift of the sun seed or more likely something to do with primal magic / alleviate the fallout of dark magic's consequences.

For example, to get an answer from Rex Igneous — a seeming wealth of knowledge — you have to give him a worthy gift that is also a sacrifice of some kind, according to Nath'an.

However, Ezran points out the major flaw in this line of thinking, as "We offered gifts that meant a lot to us, but the truth is, they don't mean anything to you." Not everyone is going to value the same thing or think the same thing is worth the price that was paid.

We see this interpersonally most with the mage fam ("Maybe the world would be better off without magic" from Soren, whose life was saved with it) and with Rayla and Callum (as Rayla's gift of sacrifice by leaving is something Callum did not want and rightfully did not receive well, alongside her moonstone pendant). Again: what is defined as worthy, or worthiness, is in the eye of the beholder.

Just like one of the initial thoughts that inspired this meta, Khessa asserts that dark magic is a magic that "takes" > being reciprocal for both parties, nevermind a gift. The irony, however, runs a bit deeper, as Aaravos thinks the same of his fellow stars:

But the stars kept from them one secret still: that their first lesson—patience—was not a gift of the stars at all. You see, patience is a lesson the humans taught themselves. No, the stars do not know patience, for they have no need for it. The stars want for nothing, and take all to their liking.

And we see this idea of a 'false gift' show up time and time again in the series. Nyx pretends to offer passage but actually wants to steal Zym; Rayla's act of love in leaving is a curse upon Callum's heart and wellbeing; dark magic itself is a false trade of sorts, given how unevenly it tips scales in Aaravos' favour and how much it ruins both the environment and body of its caster.

[The elven thief Lasair] never saw the precious blossoms fade and turn to cold ashes when exposed to the dawn. They never learned their gift was perceived as a curse, not a trade. 

—Tales of Xadia

Kim'Dael goes to Queen Aditi under false pretences ("The Queen's Mercy") but the gift that Aditi gives her is nothing good at all:

What pretty bauble, she wondered, had she tricked the queen into forging as a token of protection? What could be powerful enough to ward away the wrath of dragons?

Just as humans sought the stars' help to protect them from the ire of the dragons, Kim'Dael sought Aditi's. And just as Aaravos offered them a false magic that would protect and ultimately trap/destroy then, so does Aditi, with magic that doesn't seem to be entirely dark or primal:

“But know this: the binding around your neck—it is made with magic not unlike your own. It is a magic that demands, that takes."

A form of magic even maybe that demands sacrifice for that kind of Power.

You could almost say it's something Deeper.

Conclusion

Hope you enjoyed going completely off the rails with me, and that this long (winded) post got you thinking! I'll probably do a followup discussing the implications of what we have here for potential Laurelion-Aaravos later. In the meantime, take the fruits of my labour, and spin your own hamster wheels if you'd like.

#the dragon prince #tdp #tdp meta #gift motif #analysis series #dark magic #primal magic #worldbuilding #analysis #deep lore dive #i'm also pretty sure aaravos or someone got cast out bc of the primal magic thing too #stars wanted a punishment of some kind. yeah #but more on that later #something something 'but this isn't true strength. it's only power'

[hurricanejane]

#the song is “drive” by halsey #not even the most wincest line in the song #but more on that later #i'm trying to figure out gimp #wincest #samdean #wincest edit #supernatural #1x10 asylum

[heich0e]

childstar touya who started acting when he was way too young and went through a very messy, very public burnout in his late teens, before he'd even gotten his toes over the cusp of adulthood. who burned his own reputation to the ground and every relationship he'd built in the industry along with it.

then new adult touya who does the work, even though it's hard and messy and ugly. who gets clean and healthy, and really doesn't ever plan to come back to acting. who doesn't know if anyone would accept him, a washed up problematic childstar burnout, even if he tried.

but mid-20s touya who does try. who finds an agent who's willing to take a chance on him and get him some auditions. who reads his audition scripts in the waiting room of his therapist's office, in the little park down the road from his apartment, and in his parked car while he waits to go into his 12-step meeting he attends three times a week.

try-again actor touya who learns how to accept 'no's and 'we've decided to go in a different direction's and 'best of luck to you's. who eventually picks up little roles in indie movies and some minor characters on TV shows. who is shocked when people like him in them. when people are excited to see him again.

comeback touya who gets his first big role on a major TV production, a secondary antagonist but with decent billing in the credits. who knows that people are still leery of him and his stained reputation. who hears the whispers that circulate on the production sets he's working on even if he tries not to listen to them.

touya who sits in your makeup chair for sometimes 8 hours at a time. who has never heard a single thing come out of your mouth that wasn't friendly and welcoming. who finds himself dreading the process of going from touya to dabi a little bit less every time he opens the makeup trailer door and sees your smile when you say good morning. who feels more grateful than ever that he got a second chance, because it brought him to you.

#touya todoroki #dabi #touya todoroki x reader #dabi x reader #dabi x you #touya x reader #touya todoroki x you #touya x you #actor au!touya #and this is all to say absolutely nothing about actor au!keigo #but more on that later #bnha drabble #bnha writing #writing

[thegraininessofitall]

#vilma bánky #gary cooper #paul mcallister #ronald colman #the winning of barbara worth #1920s #filmgifs #filmedit #filmblr #movieblr #moviegifs #me myself and gifs #of all the characters that i've seen #willard holmes (at least as played by colman) is the only one who could - in my eyes - compete with bogart's marlowe #for the character with the most rizz #however since bogart's marlowe is much more aware of and transparent with it he remains in first place #colman's holmes has *so* much rizz but alas it's just a bit too subtle outside of his romance with barbara to truly win #obviously the effects of his rizz are visible on more than just barbara #but i would argue that it has more to do with abe lee being particularly weak (bro me too) #rather than with any real effort on holmes's part #but more on that later

[bklynmusicnerd]

I don't even know why Spencer is surprised by Trina bringing that damn dove with her. She loves that imagery for them so much that she reclaimed its Cyrus origins.

I actually am surprised that Spencer kept his end of the bargain and brought his dove with him too. He was a lot more ambivalent about the doves than Trina was, so it's nice to see he ended up embracing them like her despite their wild origins.

Obviously, this is setting up them playing a prominent role in this upcoming presumed death arc but I'm more interested in how Trina and Spencer talk about the doves.

Trina brought her dove with her in preparation for moments when she's separated from Spencer. She doesn't expect him to stay with her the whole way through. Spencer, on the other hand, is once again using his favorite word to describe symbols of his and Trina's relationship, "permanent" and saying he plans to find a space to keep it permanently on his bedside table at the pied-a-terre.

Since he said he takes it with him everywhere he goes, he's basically saying he's not planning to go back and forth if Trina isn't. He's lowkey planting his roots wherever Trina is.

Once again, Spencer is sending out glaring COMMITMENT signals and once again, our girl is not entirely picking up on them because she thinks he's just being romantic.

#general hospital #trina robinson #spencer cassadine #ngl the marriage girlies have never been more up 🙈 #but more on that later

[white-bow-tie]

(Reminder for myself and, maybe, notification for you)

I have (bad) news about merch, would post about it in 9hrs or so

Just in case: it's still about yellow muncle charms.

#I'm sorry everything takes so long #but more on that later

[desicowgirl]

Has anyone ever told you how absolutely befitting your name is to you as a person. It’s perfect. Your name suits you so well, ever since I learned it I can’t get enough of it. Shoutout Ammi-Ji for naming you it 🙏🏽

AWW. You’re too sweet Harp TY 💞 it’s a very common name actually! I appreciate your kind words my friend, RAAAHHH SHOUTOUT AMMI-JI FR 🤲🏼 smiling so big right now you can probably see my gums and everything :D

#you have inspired my next post I am about to write #but more on that later #funny you say this i actually don’t think my name fits me AT ALL 😭 #but regardless: #I love you harp you are too kind #thank you 😊 #residents of tumblr town

[charlemane]

my first ever attempt at an inset heel! also my first ever attempt at working a spiral inwards instead of outwards. closing it was a bit tricky but I think I managed okay. there were some gaps in the innermost stitches when I finished, despite me keeping the tension pretty high for the girth of this yarn, but I just wove the tail through the holes and it filled in pretty nicely.

"inset heel" isn't a technical term and I didn't find anything relevant when I googled it, but just in terms of adjective-noun combos it's the best way I can think to describe what I'm doing here. if you want a better breakdown of how I worked this, it's basically the in-the-round variant of "heel type C" as described here: https://www.shelaghlewins.com/reenactment/naalbinding/sock_construction.htm (accessed 12/20/23). that's the one in figure 9. I didn't quite follow these directions, so what do I know, but they seem like good directions!

#nalbinding #needlebinding #up next: heeling the other sock #then- if i have time to get this done before christmas- i have Ideas on how to work the ankles #but more on that later

[geek-fashionista]

My husband and I have talked about getting rid of our Pokemon cards and only collecting full art/trainer gallery cards. Problem is, those cards can be pretty expensive, and some downright hard to find.

So we walk into a Japanese trading card shop yesterday and discover they have two boxes of these cards, each one only ¥100-¥200, as well as more valuable ones in cases at still affordable prices.

"My love," I said, "if we only want them because they're pretty, it doesn't matter what language they're in, right?"

We walked out with a little over forty cards, only because we were running out of money and still needed to eat dinner. We're going back for more before we leave. 👀

#life #text #in other news I saw my former students #but more on that later

[akashicpoint]

Idk the general opinion on this, but like Sylvia has definitely been two timing Travis and Henry even up to NMH3 still I feel LOL. 

#She keeps causing drama and cloning their asses back so she can get top views on her twitch channel now #she's making youtube videos called MY EX KILLS MY HUSBAND? #hashtag emotional #She's having reaction streams where she just watches her ex slowly lose his mind while her audience spams pogchamps into the chat #Also im still sick if you couldnt tell #I do legit think she never let Henry go though #but more on that later

[artist-issues]

I’ve been running frequently and must catch up on reactions, though I’m sure art will follow:

— I WISH FIVE HAD BEEN THE ONE TO SHOOT IAN.

— Peter is Simon?! How? How, how, how??  — Where do you think you’re going, Janine, you’re the only counterbalance for all the straight-up goofiness the other characters bring to the table.

— PETER IS SIMON! SIMON’S ALIVE! YESS!

—On Season 6 now and I like the new politics-and-cold-war plotline they’re running with. Lots of “characters fighting their inner demons” tropes, too.

— Aw, Jody and Tom! That was weird when they were hinting at it before. Maybe because she’s the panicky runner who likes to knit and he’s a half-insane war veteran who once kidnapped an infant and tried to carve words into his sister’s arm with a knife, but now their little love story is growing on me.

— SIMON! IS STILL! AROUND! I missed that guy!

— Still don’t like Amelia.  — STILL hate Moonchild. Keep thinking we’re done with her hippy-dippy crap, and she keeps popping into Five’s head at the worst moments, and now they’ve apparently CONFIRMED that it’s really her?? She’s not just a post-traumatic stress reaction or a hallucination? Five has “Moonchild Syndrome?” Do you know what this MEANS?

IT MEANS I HAVE TO KEEP LISTENING TO HER STUPID INANE COMMENTARY.

It also interestingly means Five, as a character, has some more autonomous character development going on. Like, Runner Fuve can’t just be going through this Moonchild thing ambiguously, however the player wants to interpret it. In-canon, Moonchild is really in the character’s brain and is affecting the plot directly. So. Neat. But annoying.

— People keep mentioning Five and Sam “drifting apart” but I am sensing literally none of that so far.

— HOW is Simon alive? I mean, I’m not complaining or anything. But can we establish how? And how the new face? And why everyone at Noah Base just…vaguely gradually realized it was him, without any bug reveals or conversations, but Jaimie didn’t recognize him? I’m confused but just happy he’s around

#Although #there’s a disturbing trend in media of being able to re-name and re-identify yourself and have everyone treat you like you’re a new person #but more on that later #peter lynn #simon lauchlan #runner 4 #runner 3 #zr #zrs5 #zrs6 #season 5 spoilers #season 6 spoilers #sam yao #runner five #5 #5am

[ngnwnchstr-arch]

an  official  headcanon  on  this  later,    but      .  .  .      for  me?    the  saviors  never  disband  in  their  supernatural  arc.    they  do,    however,    become  potentially  less  psychotic  once  negan  is  taken  down  a  peg  or  two  by  his  war  with  another  hunter  that  sees  him  get  his  throat  cut    &    start  his  redemption  arc.    he  recognises  the  difference  between  saving  people,    and  what  simon      (    as  well  as  other  rogue  saviors    )      started  doing  behind  his  back  in  the  saviors  name.    upon  his  agreed  release  for  taking  out  alpha,    he  instead  turns  the  group  into  something  less  feral    &    more  organized,    which  almost  ends  up  making  them  more  terrifying  than  they  were  before  because  now  they’ve  got  real  purpose  and  order  as  opposed  to  mindless  violence.

#out of character. ⸻ hope speaks. #i also think team freewill had smth to do with this #but more on that later

[whichwoods]

going through the lsts tag and I will confess that it took my blind ass way too long to realise it was viserys I on the sonogram... as in the old vizzy t and not daemyra's baby vivi

I fully missed the "I" part and thought it was bby viserys (II) cuz of the running joke/ hc in the fandom abt him being lucemond's lovechild and that said hc somehow made it into the lsts au 😭😭

lollll nope lil vizzy (like a rapper!) is just daemon and rhaenyra's kiddo in this au 😭 lucemond were 12 and 14 when he was born in lsts, which is young even by targaryen standards 🥲 (compels me, though)

plus the decrepit face of viserys i is much more startling for luke to come across on his baby's sonogram. which was precisely joffrey's goal

#lsts #i do find that premise so interesting but alas the timing doesn't work for lsts #also doesn't really fall in line w how ppl see luke and aemond ;))))) #but more on that later #ty for the q <3 #to everyone else who's sent asks ty as well #i try to answer all i can but alas tumblr tells me i have more than what it shows me in my inbox :') #wynch writing

[licncourt]

Could you talk about chapter 4 of The Act of Leaving? I found it very interesting and well written (as always!) but I think there's a lot going on there that I want to understand fully. Thank you!

Oh yeah sure!! I spent a lot of time thinking about ch 4 and deciding how I wanted to approach it, so I have a lot to say.

The two scenes are definitely halves of a whole, cause and effect but purely reactionary as well. Ch 1 establishes a baseline for Louis in this era, then ch 2 shows how his he's starting to lose his grip a bit and I think hints at things going down a certain path. Ch 3 is the calm before the storm, the recession of water before a tsunami as Louis' brittle "normalcy" starts to show its cracks.

The first half of ch 4 is the beginning of the spiral, Louis acting impulsively on his desires in a way that's far less restrained than ch 1, but with an attempt to mitigate his shame in by creating ambiguity about his role and responsibility for what occurs. The dubcon (really noncon considering the circumstances) is a loophole essentially.

The second half is the reckoning that follows the sort of "inciting incident". There's an element of trauma and power there obviously, but now Louis is trying to cope with the shame and guilt he hasn't managed to avoid. This section is built off the theory of sexual inversion that was popular in the late 19th through early 20th century, and Louis is really using it as a last-ditch effort to reconcile his shame with the reality of his situation. It's another attempt to absolve himself of responsibility for this "perversion".

Though he's not aware of this consciously, the woman he chooses is an idealized figure. She's sweet, well-behaved, a little old-fashioned. She's a wife who wants to be a mother, channeling her sexual desire for men towards the appropriate avenue of procreation. She's what Louis sees as the perfect vehicle for the attraction he feels. He envies her and he hates her. She's what could have been for him (he thinks, probably incorrectly) if just one thing was different.

If he can confirm that he's an "invert" and a victim of "latent heterosexuality", maybe this is something that makes his situation tolerable, the idea that it's a congenital defect rather than purely a moral failing. He's kind of putting on this woman's metaphorical skin out of desperation. But the truth, as we all know, is that this isn't how it works. He's not even experiencing gender dysphoria. He's just homosexual, and he can't deal with that.

As you'll see in ch 5, that realization sends him over the edge, especially combined with his grief and loneliness and repressed anger at the world and himself and any representation of his sexuality. Ch 4 is a hail Mary and it's not going to work. It was never going to.

#there's also a sort of satirical meta nod there to the idea of the dahmer/buffalo bill/gacy stereotype of the gay serial killer boogeyman #but more on that later #answered #fic: the act of leaving