Ebb and Flow is such a fun story I ended up doodling quite a lot
Twitter link to nsfw art
“Geralt has learned to live with it, really. Even tense, rushed and impersonal, sex is sex; he can’t be picky. Needs to keep a clear head to do his job.
When he says that last bit to Jaskier however, the bard’s jaw drops in disbelief.”
the Jaskier characterization is one I particularly like where he’s rude and thoughtless while also being totally sincere in his affection for Geralt. that combo of selfishness and sincerity is peak jaskier for me.
I made a doodle of my own fanfic, because writing a long-ass AU about secret agents and pirates wasn't self-indulgent enough LOL
I haven't done 2D art in approximately 87 years and never digital, but some fool gave me an Apple pencil, access to Procreate, and a fresh new ADHD prescription.
So here’s something I was thinking about. The Bonus Track in Octotune starts with Pearl and Marina in the studio recording the rap part of Into the Light, and Pearl flubs her take (which really amuses Marina, it's very cute).
But here's the thing: this is very uncharacteristic of Pearl.
As per Marina in her Splatune 2 interview, Pearl usually does her raps in a single perfect take, sometimes two if necessary. Also per the same interview, the one time Marina remembers Pearl ever hesitating or getting nervous while recording is when they recorded the chorus for Ebb & Flow, their first ever song together - they needed a lot of takes for that one.
Marina speculates Pearl may have been worried about not singing properly. And yeah, for sure, Pearl has been a little less confident about her vocals vs her rap until rather recently so that tracks. But also, it feels like she wanted to make sure Off the Hook’s first single together was absolutely perfect. Because not only was their career hanging on this one track being successful, but also, Pearl admires and respects Marina so much, and Ebb & Flow is her baby, and Pearl wouldn’t have wanted to mishandle something so important to her new bandmate, she had to get it JUST RIGHT.
And I think Pearl flubbed that take for Into the Light for the same reason she needed so many takes when they did Ebb & Flow, because Into the Light is EXTRA IMPORTANT to them. Pearl and Marina wrote this song because of the events of Octo Expansion, for their new friend Eight, but also I feel as kind of as something between the two of them? What happened during Octo Expansion recontextualized their friendship, took down so many barriers and misconceptions between them and made them stronger together, and you can really hear that manifest in Into the Light. They both get so emotional after performing it live, and Pearl mentions it reminds her of when they first met, it's so special to them! So it makes sense she would take recording it even more seriously than usual!
Seriously, she flubs the RAP part!!! THE RAP PART!!! That's the part she never has any issues with EVER!!! And she flubs it!!! Because she's so nervous about it being perfect!!!
Into the Light is just so important you guys I'm cry
(also as a side note Marina getting all giggly after Pearl flubs her take while Pearl is all grumpy and annoyed about it is the cutest shit)
Throughout our lives our identity is constantly fractured and shifting; our different selves rise to the surface and fall away, surge forward only to be repressed, or come into conflict with each other in the ebb and flow of psychological and emotional experience.
from the Introduction by Peter Collier to In Search of Lost Time, Book 6: The Fugitive by Marcel Proust
The tide was out, and the bald beach had the gray, wet gleam of a stripped shellfish, but far down the strand the sea was bending like a bow, and Molly knew that the ebb had ended.
the freedom of not having to think. to be able to let go of all thoughts. to just Be. it... brings a tear to my eye as i think about all of the frustrations i have endured, even up to this very day. the pressure of trying to figure out everything, of trying to portray myself as certain, of having specific goals fall through so many times. of course i thought something was wrong with me. instead, my wisdom is innate. my wisdom has been here for millennia. i take a dive into the well and absorb its knowledge through the pores of my skin. through experience, through observation, my mind knows no bounds.