#listen it is all connected

[theriverbeyond]

so i was thinking about this post, specifically the comparison between Ianthe/Babs and Silas/Colum. because on the surface, they're both necromancers whose relationship to their cavalier seems wholly consumptive. but: Silas differs from Ianthe on one big, key point -- he refuses to ascend to lyctorhood. he has been indoctrinated since birth to view his cavalier as only a tool for him; Colum was quite literally made for him, the 8th house breeds batteries, but when the chips are down silas refuses. he tried to kill Ianthe for it!! like, he was the only one in the room who thought what Ianthe did was so fucked up that she should die for it.

and this is so fascinating!! because one could potentially interpret the 8th house's treatment of their cavaliers like Mercymorn trying to innoculate her house against the grief that destroyed her for 10,000 years. she loved Cristabel too much, and she never wanted that to happen to anyone else. but the thing is, I don't think it worked. at best, I can see Silas becoming like Augustine "human plex" the First. you are not immune to grief etc.

and i think this is going to be important like, idk. the 8th house is the only dead Canaan House pair that hasn't yet had their arc concluded. and IMO, i think the 9th house wasnt the only house to have their dynamic be challenged by and radically shift due to the events of GtN!! that scene where Silas invites Gideon to "take tea" and then tells Colum to kill her -- Colum refuses, Silas lets Gideon go, and we never see the conclusion of that fight. and of course, despite refusing to wholly consume his soul, when fighting Ianthe Silas falls back on old habits to steamroll Colum's agency, and ends up opening the path for the River Devil that comes and kills them both. I think it is very intentional that this is framed as a consequence of Silas overriding Colum's agency and treating Colum like a tool and not a person, and I think the rest of their arc is going to address this. in HtN, when Silas fled Harrow's bubble, I am convinced that he went to go find Colum's soul.

im very interested to see where their arc leads re: forgiveness, atonement, etc, especially in the context of Gideon's forgiveness of Harrow in the pool scene, Hot Sauce's forgiveness of Nona, and Ortus & Harrow's mutual forgiveness of each other. how do we make it right when it can never be made right, how can we move forward without ever being able to erase what we have done to each other?

#this was originally just a reblog reply but then i was like going off on too many tangents so! new post #silas octakiseron #colum asht #tlt meta #gideon the ninth #im just fascinated by them bc they along w babs are like #like de-emphasized in the narritive in the like 'why do u care abt these losers' kind of way but the things that #they have going on are SO fascinating and i think on some level #our dismissal of babs and silas and colum is very much the result of intentional framing etc #but like!!! the river. what's at the bottom of the river? the stoma #whose house sucks at the stoma like a fat teat? the 8th #what monsters came out of the bottom of the river? the devils #where have we seen the devils? colum and the 9th house. #listen it is all connected #tlt thoughts #trb.txt #we've had one big forgiveness per book #and anyway #8th house makes me go kind of insane

[inkskinned]

there are a lot of posts out there that are positive and healthy coping mechanisms for handling the holidays. this is not one of them :)

i think there's like. going to be times in your life you will be stuck in a social situation that you cannot escape from gracefully. i do not know why the internet doesn't believe these times exist. it's not always just that your physical safety is at risk - sometimes it's legit like "i just don't currently have the energy or time to put in the effort of responding to this." sometimes it's a coworker you hate so much. sometimes it's just like, fine, you know? like you know you can handle your aunt when she's cheerily horrible, but if you actually set a boundary around her, it's going to be weeks of fallout with your father.

i don't know why people think the answer is always just "cut them out!" or "don't let them get away with that!" because ... the real world is tricky and complicated. i think kind of a lot of us have an internal "radiation poisoning" meter for certain people. like - i'm talking about the ones who are absolutely giving you gradual ick damage. like, you can handle them, but you'll be exhausted.

and yes. you absolutely should listen to your therapist and the good posts about handling others and set good boundaries and take care of yourself. prioritize peace.

HOWEVER :) ...... since im often in a situation with a Gradual Sense of Ick person i cannot just "cut out" of my life (without losing someone else precious to me) - i have sort of developed the most. maladaptive form of mischief possible. because like, if i'm going to have to listen to this shit again, i like to have a little bit of private fun with it.

now! again, i am physically safe, just mentally drained by this man. you should only do this with people you are not in danger with. which leads me to my suggestions for when your Unfortunate Acquaintance shows up and says oh everyone pay attention to me.

my favorite word is "maybe!" said as brightly and happily as possible. whenever the Horrible Person starts in on a topic you do not want to go further with, particularly if they make a claim that you know to be inaccurate, do not respond to it. you and i have both tried to actually argue with this person, and it hasn't gone well, because this person just wants the drama of an argument. however, "maybe!" gives them literally nothing to go on. it is incredibly disarming. they are used to people having some response. they know they can't prove what they're saying, and maybe! treats them like the child they are. it dismisses them in the politest way possible.

i like to say maybe! and then, in their stunned silence, immediately change the subject. this is because i have adhd and i will have something unrelated to talk about, but if you can't think of topics fast enough, i recommend just pointing to something and saying, "isn't that lovely?" because fuck you let's bring in some positivity.

by the way. that second trick - of pointing to something and stating an opinion about it? - that just works on its own, like, 70% of the time. i picked it up from teaching preschoolers. it's an intentional "redirect". it stops children crying and it also stops grown adults from finishing their explanation on why women belong in kitchens. dual wielding!

keep it silly for yourself. i absolutely do not care if people think i'm fucking stupid (it's more fun if they do) and as a result i will purposefully misunderstand things just to see how long it takes them to realize i've completely removed them from the subject at hand. when they say "women aren't funny" i get to be like. "which women." "all women." "all women in america?" "no in the world." "like the mole people? the people in the world?" "what? no. like, alive." "oh are we not counting the mole people?" "what the fuck are you talking about." "you don't believe in the mole people?"

similarly, i play a personal game called "one up me." my Evil Acquaintance literally knows this game exists (my family & friends caught onto it and now also play it) and it always fucking gets him. i don't know why. you have to be willing to be a little free-spirited on this one, though. the trick is that when they make one of those horrible little bigoted or annoying comments they are always making, you need to go one unit weirder. not more intense, mind you - just more weird. "you don't look good in that dress." "yeah, actually, my other dress was covered in squid ink due to a mishap at the soup store." "you shouldn't wear such revealing clothes." "wait, what? oh shit. sorry, your son tears off strips when no one is looking and eats them. i swear it was longer before we left the building."

the point of "one up me" is to completely upend this person's narrative. we both know this person likes setting up situations where you cannot "win" and then they really like telling other people how badly you handled it. in a usual situation, if you respond "please don't say something that rude", you're a bitch. but if you let it happen, you're letting yourself be debased. they are not usually expecting door number three: unflappably odd. because what are they going to say when they're telling everyone how badly you behaved? "she said my son eats her dresses" ".... okay?"

if you can, form an allyship with someone whomst you can tagteam with. where they can pick up on your weird "soup store" story and run with it.

the following phrase is amazing and can be deployed for any situation: "oh, be nice :) it's the holidays!" i do not know why this works as often as it does. i'll say it for the most random shit. i think this is bc most of the time these people know they're being impolite, they just like to fight.

godbless. when in doubt, remember that you could always start stealing their pens.

the whole point of this is - if you can't escape. maybe see how long you can just be. like. a horrible little menace.

#this is objectively bad advice #don't listen to it protect yourself and do real work on yourself find one of the good posts i've made about this #but also. u know. if u want to have fun while u do the work of setting boundaries #.... it IS fun #i will say that my fear of him went SO down after i just started. fucking with him. #bc i used to get SO fucking upset #i'd spend WEEKS arguing with him. tearing my hair out. sick with anxiety and dread and anger about all of it #and now i just LITERALLY do not engage #instead i'm like '' haha :) mole people" and get the HELL out of any tense conversation #i kind of think some of these people are literally addicted to drama as a form of connection #they like the rush they get from arguing #but those arguments are incredibly damaging for me #so like..... i am in the process of literally rehabilitating this person to figure out how to find connection thru #NORMAL CONVERSATION #he doesn't get it yet #i also do talk to them like they're preschool kids lmafo . ''are you using a safe and kind voice right now?'' #'' do you need a snackie? you sound a little upset. let's have some hummus and come back to playtime when we feel ready''

[thatone-highlighter]

I love you albums. I love you songs connected by similar themes. I love you listening to songs in a specific order picked by the artist. I love you reoccurring motifs throughout the same album. I love you album covers. I love you albums with extended editions. I love you songs that reference each other.

#guys i fucking love listening to albums fr #best thing CDs have done for me is forcing me to listen to albums in order #this post is about. so many albums and artists #bad suns #imagine dragons #Set It Off #bastille #FUCKING HELL BASTILLE #theyre albums are SO GOOD #guys seriously. give me the future + dreams of the past. go listen to it. its so fucking good #doom days also fuckin slaps man. my fav oart is the fact the first 3 songs merge together for me until i realise million pieces is playing. #<- and ofc it has another place on it #also Imagine Dragons‘ Mercury 1+2 OUGH #the tone shift as you go through the double album until it does a full circle #sometimes a good album can be made up of songs that are banger after banger #<- All This Bad Blood-bastille Night Visions-ID smoke+mirrors-id apocalypse whenever-bad suns elsewhere-sio etc #and sometimes a good album can be made of songs that tell a progressive story while referencing eachother to enhance meaning and connect wit #-with the artists lived experinces #<- give me the future + dreams of the past-bastille mercury act I+II-ID Duality-sio #Tree Man Posts #music

[zipsunz]

universally loved 💐

here's a version with all of the senders labelled!

#omori #omori sunny #omori spoilers #my art #sunny who has always thought that all he does is take #never giving anything back... a deep-seated insecurity omori readily throws in his face #but just in the span of three days he made an impact on so many people's lives. all from just listening and doing little errands. #even at his absolute lowest sunny still yearned for human connection and a sense of belonging #and there's smth incredibly bittersweet abt the achievement being named after what basil thought hero was most of all #the person sunny looked up to as much as his own sister #i just really like sunny 🥹

[panevanbuckley]

i hope fic authors who put songs that inspired the fic in the notes know that i am immediately adding those songs to that ship's playlist

#and will then spend far too long explaining to people why i have a random song in a playlist that isn't connected at all #for example: currently have a song from barbie in my f1 playlist and it gives me oscar piastri vibes #purely because i read a landoscar fic and the author said they listened to this repeatedly whilst writing it #my fandom playlists are a mess basically #ao3 #fanfic

[jerichoes]

Oh dear. I know what Jaakko needs. Ahma Beer to the rescue!

Alan Wake 2 (2023) (dev. Remedy Entertainment)

#alan wake 2 #alan wake ii #jaakko koskela #ilmo koskela #remedy entertainment #remedy connected universe #gamingedit #dailygaming #videogameedit #vgedit #listen i've done all i could about the grain and i give up #amiracleilluminated #gif #alan wake

[rexscanonwife]

Uhm uh uh...I have no excuse for this 😔 PPG self insert who is secretly an alien! I imagine her intro episode would have her having a little romance with the professor when he comes into a bookstore she works at/owns and the girls being (rightfully, given the prof's dating history) suspicious of her. Wacky capers ensue where they try to prove that she's up to no good, only to find that she genuinely is just chilling and wants to live a normal life on earth!

Well, normal as she can, now that she knows this family! I think she'd fit right in 😉

Taglist♡: @crushes-georg @changeling-selfship @me-myself-and-my-fos @tiny-cloud-of-flowers @sunstar-of-the-north @dearly-beeloved @adoredbyalatus @squips-ship @cherry-bomb-ships @miutonium

#artfarts #self insert #self ship #self shipping community #self insert community #oc x canon #self insert x canon #the powerpuff girls #professor utonium #crush: 🔬 #ngl im not exactly sure why i chose alien i just thought itd be cute and aliens were on my mind #and i was remembering a little song that i learned in elementary school called interplanet janet :3 #and i was talking to asuka about it and tbhhh #ok listen #being an alien as an allegory for my autism is SUPER fitting #and tbh the professors pretty dang autistic himself 😂😂 #i think being able to connect and relate to someone based on the ways they DONT fit in would be rly sweet 👉👈 #idk if its bad representation to have the reveal be that shes an alien but idc #this is my self insert and IM HAVING FUN #but them bonding over misreading social cues and the urge to infodump and being able to listen to each other!! #and all the little quirks she'd have would be ones i have too 😂😂 #like sometimes mixing up parts of words so they come out reversed #and lots of other stuff waaah #im hungy i gotta make dinner soon #but this is the result of watching nothing but ppg for like 3 days 😂😂😂

[bloodyrawsweet]

the end of 'bones and all' if they played strangers by ethel cain

#lee screaming and ethel screaming at the same time. on loop in my brain 24/7 #i cant listen to the end of this song without picturing this scene theyre just connected in my mind #</3 still not over this movie and never will be btw #first edit ever yes im not an editing genius but i do not care i had to do it #ethel cain #bones and all #bones and all edit

[phoenixkaptain]

A story like Thousand Autumns is very subtle in its romance.

Shen Qiao has only ever known his sect. He knows it very well, because of this fact. He knows the people, he knows the rules, he knows the daily doings and who is doing them. He knows every blade of grass and every stone. He’s like a lonely mountain flower, on the highest peak, unseen by any but a few birds and unknowing that there’s more it might never know.

When he finds himself away from his sect for the first time, he’s confused. At most, he’s gone to the base of the mountain, maybe the fields surrounding that, but no further. The flower was plucked and tossed aside.

For a man stumbling blindly in the world, literally and figuratively, there really isn’t a better guide than one that knows just about everything. And that’s, without a doubt, Yan Wushi.

Yan Wushi has lived longer than Shen Qiao, has been more places than Shen Qiao, and has fought more battles than Shen Qiao. Yan Wushi is the perfect example of something out of reach even for someone out of reach. He’s the only one who could answer any questions asked of him, but especially the questions that Shen Qiao would want to ask him.

And there’s no question in my mind that Yan Wushi doesn’t fall for Shen Qiao at first sight, but he’s certainly attracted to him. Not in an overtly sexual or emotional way, but Yan Wushi, the way his character is set up? It’s impossible for him not to be fascinated by Shen Qiao.

He knows Shen Qiao is the very picture of a peerless immortal. He’s well aware that Shen Qiao is considered untouchable by even the people closest to Shen Qiao. He’s most aware that Shen Qiao is Qi Fengge’s (coughhndisputedcough) favourite disciple, and honestly that’s enough for him to overwhemingly want to mess with Shen Qiao.

There are a lot of reasons for Yan Wushi to fall for Shen Qiao. Most of the people in the novel fall for Shen Qiao, after all, there is a precedent.

But the one I’ve seen questioned is Shen Qiao’s affection for Yan Wushi. Where does it come from? When did it start? Does Shen Qiao even fucking like that asshole?

The easy answer is: yes, he does. The novel tells us that. Shen Qiao, despite everything, does fall for Yan Wushi’s, um, “charms” in the end. This is made clear.

But why? A thousand voices cry out. Why the fuck would any reasonable person like Yan goddamn Wushi in any capacity?

Well, there’s your first mistake. Shen Qiao is not a reasonable person.

Shen Qiao as a character is absolutely terrifying. He could absolutely destroy the world given half the inclination, but he just doesn’t want to. He’s already considered unmatched before he’s pushed unceremoniously off of a mountain, and his journey only increases his strength. He isn’t quite equal to Yan Wushi, but he’s the only person Yan Wushi ever sees as equal to himself.

Shen Qiao’s best and worst trait is his patience. He’s unwavering. He really just embodies taoism, especially as it’s presented in the novels. He is the picture of a river that doesn’t stray from its path.

Which is why it’s hard for him to reconcile his own attraction to Yan Wushi, but let’s all be clear here. Yan Wushi absolutely starts seducing Shen Qiao on day fucking one. If he could’ve (if Qi Fengge hadn’t been there) he would’ve tried to eat that cabbage when it was just a little sprout. Shen Qiao is unpracticed in most social interactions, to be frank, but he’s especially unused to romance and Yan Wushi really is his first introduction to being hit on.

Yan Wushi is far from good, at really any point, to anybody but especially to Shen Qiao. But that doesn’t particularly matter because Shen Qiao chooses to forgive him, again and again. And I really think, after giving Shen Qiao to a confirmed terrible, awful person who has already promised to do terrible thing to Shen Qiao, that Shen Qiao himself wouldn’t forgive literally anyone else for doing that. And he shouldn’t, because it was really fucked up, but that still doesn’t matter because Shen Qiao ultimately DOES forgive Yan Wushi.

What am I saying? I’m saying that Shen Qiao fell for Yan Wushi first. It is the only way the story makes any sense. Shen Qiao is annoyed at him, he’s furious at him, he’s so fucking pissed he could kill that man, but he likes him. He likes Yan Wushi’s company. He likes that Yan Wushi gives him a challenge. He’s exasperated, but he likes it.

Shen Qiao forgives Yan Wushi SO MANY TIMES. Yan Wushi humiliates him and mocks him and is the absolute worst, but Shen Qiao forgives him and more than that, Shen Qiao always is waiting for Yan Wushi to come back to bother him more.

Is there more to Shen Qiao’s attraction? Probably. Is it a daddy kink? It could be. But I honestly can’t help but read it as Shen Qiao falling for the absolute pits of a man that is Yan Wushi. Shen Qiao likes that old bastard and decides to spend the rest of his life with the fucker and he is just too much of a block of ice to show it.

#thousand autumns #qian qiu #shen qiao #yan wushi #yanshen #long post #it’s been a while so #extra long post #the inane ramblings of a madman #listen i realize that this is an unpopular reading #but the story just makes more sense #if you read it as shen qiao coming to terms with his own terrible taste in men #there are so many other who shen qiao could have with just a thought #but he has the worst taste in men known to man #and qi fengge KNEW #and that’s whY QI FENGGE ENCOURAGED HIM TO STAY ON THE MOUNTAIN #IT’S ALL CONNECTED #look i promise it’s all connected i promise #just look at my corkboard and you’ll see it- #xiao qiao er asked qi fengge who that handsome guy was #and qi fengge immediately planned how to make it so his precious baby would never ever leave #qi fengge has suffered for so long without us knowing #but i uncovered it #🫡 you’re welcome #how much sleep did you get last night kacie? #about fifteen

[semiotomatics]

i gotta get better; i'm all that i've got

#SOBBING #fuck this album is so good #ajr #the maybe man #tmm #ALSO #THE ALBUM REPEATS THEORY WAS FREAKING RIGHT #god #i've got it on repeat rn and i'm prolly gonna listen to it all night lol #i need to read all the lyrics #get a pinboard perhaps #i'm connecting the dots #personal spewage #this has been an original post

[rox-of-iu]

hulloo, i am here once again with cultivate....but not the usual one (~_~;)

so funny thing! i had most of these already done from before, but felt a bit silly so i didnt post them. but then (spoiler) we got Tao Ying in his fresh new look and like.. i had to draw him and post the rest of the gang along with him hksfh. so here, the sillays

🍑Tao Ying

🐉Qing Mushu

🦆 The Empress

🐗The General

aaand more sillies of the goobers

aaaaand thats it hdjhdsjfhds so sorry for the long post lmao

characters yoinked from @neonghostcat cultivate

#long post #sorry hadhkdjf #cultivate #cultivate: slow life on a monster infested mountain #listen i am not immune to making humanizations of everything i can get my hands on hajhsh #i am obviously not saying this is how theyd canonically look like im just having fun #i know im missing the mark verily but ykno hjcbsd #speaking of which #i struggled so much with tao ying lmaooo #fun fact this is not in fact my first design that i had in mind after reading the new chapter #he was supposed to be more uhhh airy? not so heavily set in physical reality ykno hsahkdj #but i couldnt rly put him on paper properly for the longest time and finally hit a vibe with this design so thats what i stuck with #and he grew on me so #even tho he is prolly really really not accurate to neonghostcats vision hahha #anyway the group pic was supposed to convey that theyre all scarily tall but instead it just makes SY look like a baybey oh well #hahh cheers #WAIT OMG I JUST NOTICED BUT i hope no one interprets the empress saying the bottom bit to the ducklings shbdnxksndndk omggg #THOSE TWO DRAWINGS ARE OBVS NOT CONNECTED OH GOD o(-<

[queenerdloser]

i just finished dark heir

#me foaming at the mouth during the last chapters: HE IS! FUCKING! SAVING YOU! #i am huddled around will kempen hissing like a mama cat none of these fuckers are allowed to look at him #dark rise #okay but like. cyrian at literally every moment in the book you see will anticipating things and making connections #that you never make. doing things like a leader & being fucking smart and strategic. and your dumb ass really thought. #hm. must mean i shouldnt listen to him about the magic staff that can literally stop the end of the world. must be evil. #me: [screams into the abyss] #i know i cant expect characters to react like readers and they DID all react like i knew they would but god it was so infuriating!!!!! #and heart breaking! god!!!! god!!!!! will reliving his mother's initial betrayal over and over and OVER again #and thinking about all the little moments we get where the novel tells us: if these 'evil' characters had just been accepted #instead of tossed aside maybe they wouldnt have fallen. if they had been protected instead of killed maybe they would have #become protectors instead of killers. maybe if will's mom hadn't tried to butcher him for the sin of his own birth #he wouldn't have been so scared to tell people he lied to them. #anyway im not normal about will kempen and if book 3 doesnt give me his friends fucking accepting him i'll kill someone #me looking directly at visander: i dont care how charming you are i'll murder your ass about it #i read this book in like 5 hrs im being very normal about it

[freakartack]

we need the funk we gotta have that funk

#that's required listening by the way i'm not just saying things. mothership connection is the album of all time. anyways #warioware #jimmy t #art

[buqbite]

I like to imagine that her gentleness is genuine

#Havent used this brush in forever #it's usually too soft for my generally very... jagged art #ill write down some thoughts later lemme write the fandom tags first lol #hsr #honkai star rail #hsr robin #hsr spoilers #implied... its hella subtle tho #my art #(pulls out the plastic chair) ok listen up. #first of all i leaned a bit into the old timey tv style bc i felt like itd fit her vibe ykno #second of all the little pinkish thing behind her is meant to resemble a) a blood splatter and b) xipes fucked up halo #penacony is so fucked up and twisted and all while robin has been genuinely kind so far #Like even firefly was kind of weird and suspicious but she appears so earnest #and Im really curious how the story is gonna go for her. Im expecting her to still be alive in some way #Esp so we can find out why she left penacony #and her connection to the family #my hope is for her to be out of place in the place that should perfectly fit her vibe #alternatively itd be rlly funny if she was like. evil. not evil evil but more like Hey Remember How The Harmony Is A Hivemind

[tp50pi]

#ghost trick #i was listening to lemon demon when it came to me #i rlly hope this hasn’t been done yet #it all just kind of makes sense yk like ghost and spirit phone and phone lines and everything #it connects in my head but idk if y’all get it #lemon demon

[daily-hanamura]

#persona 4 #p4 #persona 4 arena ultimax #p4au #hanamura yosuke #yosuke hanamura #satonaka chie #amagi yukiko #hello i have spoken recently about how yosuke functions as the team's morale backbone #even when hes not around chie and yukiko think of him when they're frustrated or worried #consciously or otherwise they know they can turn to yosuke to cheer them up or at least alleviate some of their anxieties #chie calls yosuke because she needs to rant - even though she complains about how unserious he is she knows he can be relied on to listen #yukiko calls yosuke because she thinks he'll know whats going on with their friend - she sees HIM as the connected person in the group #i think its part yukiko seeing yosuke as yu's substitute and also part just... a general recognition that he's the most on the ball #and even when he doesnt know the answer #yukiko still finds comfort in hearing him talk #however yosuke sees himself i think its nonetheless true that his friends love him and depend on him!!! #and i love that so much guys #yosuke team wrangler but also team emotional support and just all around good friend confirmed!!!! #he's good with his queue