#this is sort of like a companion piece to my other drawing

[bassacaglia]

Just turn around

The companion piece I did

#the locked tomb #the locked tomb series #harrow the ninth #gideon the ninth #harrow the ninth spoilers #gideon the ninth spoilers #harrow nonagesimus #gideon nav #ianthe tridentarius #bassacaglia #my art #this is sort of like a companion piece to my other drawing #drawing the perspective was so hard this time so if you notice a mistake NO YOU DIDNT #ianthe the first #harrow the first

[biceratops7]

… let’s talk about “Arrival”

So I was fully intending on making a more general but thorough peruse through the new Good Omens title sequence, because my FUCK aren’t those always a gold mine. But then I thought to myself, “hey wait a minute, I can be even more unhinged and on brand.”

Something I’ve seen nobody talk about yet is that the movie that the procession is marching into is The Arrival, which is a 90’s movie that draws a pretty straightforward parallel. But I think if it doubles as a reference to 2016’s Arrival, THAT has some much more interesting implications. Either way this reference is doing some heavy lifting.

For those who haven’t seen the movie (or that one philosophy tube video about it lol), the basic plot is that a group of aliens later named heptopods arrive on earth scattered across the world, and just kind of invite humanity to check them out. Each country hires a team of linguists who are all tasked with figuring out what the visitors are here for. But the thing is, it’s only about aliens on the surface level. This is really about communicating, cooperation, and how language holds the power to alter your very fabric of reality.

Spoilers for the movie:

Two major revelations occur towards the end of the movie. The first is that an element of fluid time is revealed. Throughout the movie, the main American linguist has been having flashbacks to a daughter that passed away of an illness. But since the heptopod language has no regard for chronological order, we learn that these are actually flash-forwards when she becomes nearly fluent. In other words, learning heptopod, having a genuine curiosity and even compassion for these vastly different beings. has given her the ability to perceive reality in ways thought previously impossible.

Even before noticing the Arrival reference, I’ve been side eyeing these “flashbacks”, but this and the image above confirmed it for me. Any instance of the word “becoming” when talking about the past indicates some sort of fluid time nonsense. The past is fixed unless something ✨happens✨. I don’t think these are simply memories, I think something rather cosmic instead is afoot.

But it’s more than just “there’s probably time travel in this” though. Simply having Aziraphale as a companion has changed Crowley. It’s given him an ability that he’s not meant to be capable of as a demon. He already had it in him to be good and have mutual relationships based in trust and kindness, I’m sure all demons can if given the right nurture… but Crowley is experiencing love. In the show, something tangible to the senses and distinctly angelic. I’m very much hoping that that whole element of things is going to somehow be a driving factor in what’s occurring over all, and possibly involved in time going screwy.

The other element of Arrival’s ending that’s of import, is the heavy emphasis on the importance of cooperation. First of all, we learn at some point that not every country has the same message to decipher, they each have one piece of a whole. Some of the countries begin using games to communicate with their heptopods, and this poses a problem because it causes messages to be more easily interpreted as hostile. For example, the phrase “we brought a tool” can be easily misconstrued as “we have a weapon.” Eventually, the world gets impatient and scared, and a war is imminent. What finally leads to everyone putting down arms and cooperating, is the American linguist sending a message to the Chinese linguist saying “in war, there are no victors, only widows.”

Something noteworthy about this particular march is that the procession never splits like it does at the end of the first season’s. Not only are both angelic and demonic figures marching into the light atop a mountain as a United front, but this actually seems to be a theme this season. Heaven and Hell aren’t working together as far as we know, but they are at least working towards the same goal, which for some reason is getting Gabriel’s ass. There is also a heavy emphasis on mending broken relationships, with Crowley and Azirphale trying to fix a (probably) lesbian couple literally being the B plot.

Now this is where we bring in what’s actually on the movie screen, which is that damn box. So at this point we know basically nothing about it accept for it probably being a Mcguffin. But we DO have the imagery of three feathers, a black one, a white one, and a bluish grey one, falling into it… and it sure as fuck looks like a moving box. So back to arrival, what actually was the message? The heptopods told the linguist that they’re here to help humanity (via giving them a tool or new tech I think?) because in 3,000 years, they will need humanity’s help. So with this and the world eventually being inspired to stand down and share their pieces of the message, it’s this over arching theme of setting aside fear of the other and cooperating indefinitely for the benefit of the whole. The black feather, the white feather… and then something that is somehow both yet entirely unique.

I think… somehow, someway, this season may culminate in Heaven and Hell reconciling. Whether it be against a common enemy, for a shared goal, or in love, there seems to be many clues both symbolic and literal that show them learning to be one again. Learning to understand eachother’s language and see new ways of being neither before could fathom.

#by the way the last image (not the meme) are Aziraphale and Crowley circling eachother in a dance like pattern… like twin stars… #so close they may from a great distance appear as one… #good omens #season 2 #speculation #meta #analysis #ineffable husbands #Aziraphale #Crowley #arrival 2016 #season 2 title sequence #biceratops

[bullet-prooflove]

Crime Wave: David Hale x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @hatersaremymotivators bennykk kelpies-shed

Companion piece to Graffiti

David Hale wants to court you.

It surprises you because up until now the men in your life have been interested in one thing and one only and that’s fucking you.

When he calls you that night, you fully expect it to be a booty call. It’s past ten pm and you’re curled up in your arm chair, listening to the sounds of the 70s, 80s,and 90s over the radio as you sketch out a scene from the café on Main Steet earlier today. It’s nothing special, just a flower that you saw in a glass of water but you haven’t been able to get it out of your head so you’re committing it to paper. That’s usually how your art comes to you, you see something in the wild that sticks in your brain and you can’t let it go, not until you’ve drawn it.

Usually it’s people. You have entire sketchbooks dedicated to folks you don’t know the names of because you’re fascinated by their posture and facial expressions. It’s the reason you decided to draw David this morning.

When you met it had seemed like he carried the weight of the world up on his shoulders but in that moment, asleep in your bed, he’d seemed relaxed, free. You’d wanted to capture that. You didn’t intend to give the picture away and the phone number had been a last minute addition, hastily scrawled as he was heading out the door.

The truth is you never expected him to call.

“Don’t tell me it took you this long to find my number.” You tease after he greets you.

He laughs and that sound, you don’t realise how much you’ve missed it during the twelve hours you’ve been apart.

“It’s been a busy night.” He tells you as he sits at his desk, reviewing the arrest reports. “It’s been hard to find a moment between throwing the regulars in the drunk tank and arresting delinquents for drawing dicks on other people’s property. It seems you’ve started a trend, one that’s going viral.”

“You’re kidding right?” You say, tapping your pencil on the surface of your sketchpad and you can envision him shaking his head with that amused expression of his as he surveys the evidence.

“I wish I was.” He tells you and you hear the chair creak as he leans back in it. “Cars, mailboxes, shop windows. You’ve inspired a crime wave.”

“Honestly David, I’m so fucking embarrassed.” You say as you press your fingertips to your lips. “Let me make it up to you.”

“This is dinner and a movie at least.” He tells you with a humorous lilt to his voice. “I can give you a tour of your handiwork afterwards, we can rate them, biggest to smallest, most anatomically accurate…”

You can’t help but laugh and on the opposite end of the line David feels something blossoming in his chest.

“I actually took some pictures for evidentiary purposes if you’d like a preview.” He tells you as he scrolls through his phone. “I thought I’d ask as I’m against sending unsolicited dick pics to women I’ve just met.”

“That implies you’ve sent some to women you do know in the past.” You tease and you swear you can feel the blush creeping across his cheeks as he clears his throat.

“I can neither confirm or deny…”

“Some would consider it a form of art.” You say as you survey the images he’s just sent you. There’s some real creativity going on in these pictures, you’ve never seen such a variation of cocks. You wonder if you should be putting together some sort of art installation.

“Like your life modelling?” He prompts and you tune back into the conversation.

“Does that bother you?” You ask him. “That other people see me naked on a regular basis?”

It’s been a source of contention with most of your previous partners. They don’t understand that life modelling isn’t about sex, it’s about the art form, about providing a subject for students to learn from, to develop. It’s not a job for just anybody, you have to be comfortable with yourself, sociable enough to put the artists at ease especially in the beginning stages of their journey.

“No.” He says and you can tell he means it. “You have a beautiful body.”

It’s your turn to blush.

“Do you want to come over tonight?” You ask him and he hesitates.

“Yes.” He says finally. “But I think we should wait for that dinner and a movie.”

You read between the lines.

I want to fuck you, but I want to date you too.

“Tomorrow night.” You say as you scroll through your phone searching for the movie listings. “I’m free tomorrow night.”

Love David? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

#david hale #david hale x reader #deputy chief david hale #soa

[will-o-the-witch]

Bringing Out Your Inner Dragon

This was something I crafted alongside my dragon companions that I thought others might find valuable. It's designed to utilize the energy we associate with dragons, find that within ourselves, and bring it to the surface for a boost of confidence, self-control, and awareness of our inner power. This can also be used in a dragon copinglink kind of way if desired.

What You'll Need

A candle

Dragon's Blood/Breath Incense

A bathtub

Any meditation tools you prefer (I'm using an accupressure mat and prayer beads)

Optional: Anything dragon-y you'd like to include to help create the atmosphere! This could be things like dragon figurines, ambient music, wearing special jewelry, whatever helps get you into that headspace. If you add more candles, just make sure the main candle stands out from the rest.

Instructions

Start drawing your bath. Add whatever bath salts/melts/bubbles you like, just keep in mind you'll be putting your head under the water later. Set the ambiance.

While the bath is filling, light your candle and incense. In whatever words feel right to you, call dragon energy forward into the space to help guide you. Any dragon guides/companions/etc you'd like to invoke can also be invited here.

Imagine the bath like it's the fluid inside of an egg. Your egg! Let your wash clean you inside and out, then sit back and relax. Close your eyes and focus on the breath. You're in this egg, slowly forming and gathering yourself. This is the time to think about what being a dragon means to you, what it looks like for you specifically, the precise way that your dragon energy feels. Take as long as you need to answer these questions honestly.

Once you're ready, submerge yourself (if you can't submerge your whole body don't worry, just try to get your head.) Take a few beats to really center this idea in your mind, then emerge once you're ready to "hatch." Drain the bath and dry yourself.

From this point forward, treat yourself as if you are a dragon! Do what feels right, move and express yourself freely. Speak or roar if you want. Just let it come out the way it wants to. (Try to avoid eating anything, though, since that's very grounding and we want to maintain this headspace.)

Once you're ready to wrap up, it's time to meditate again. It's fine and normal for your mind to wander, just gently try to keep at least a piece of your focus on the breath. We're letting this energy sort of settle into place. If you've invoked any dragons to assist you, feel for what messages they have for you.

Time to wrap up. Wiggle your toes, open your eyes, and start grounding. If you'd like to extinguish your dragon candle, be sure to thank it before doing so. Thank any dragon helpers and leave them some kind of offering as a thank you.

If you try this, let me know how it goes for you!! I'd love to hear peoples' results.

#dragon work #dragon magic #dragons #dragon spirit #witchcraft #Rabbit's BoS #spirit work #spirit companionship

[world-of-fire-and-flight]

The Lair in the Woods

A/N: I meant to post this yesterday but my day got hijacked by a migraine😭 (I’m fine now but oof my weekend got away from me! I still have to finish making my Christmas tree topper…) (I did however schedule my Insta and FB posts for the week though so there’s that😎)

Warnings: Some anxiety and feelings of fear, reference to stalker, self-image issues, reference to (past) threats, confessions (of sorts)

My Masterlist | Taglist Info or Taglist Request Form | The Lair in the Woods masterlist

Civilian furrowed their brow. “What are you insinuating?”

The more Supervillain asked them, the more overwhelmed and helpless Caretaker’s heart became. They’d asked questions about their childhood, about their job, about the grocery store clerk that usually rang them up, and everything in between. Most of their questions Civilian couldn’t even answer, because how should they know if someone was watching them while they’d walked the dogs at the shelter they volunteered at or if they kept running into the same person at the pharmacy and then again at the mall when they went shopping?

“Maybe we should take a break,” Supervillain smiled warily, as if they should be the one to feel exasperated by their line of questioning.

“Was any of that actually helpful to you, or are we still nowhere near figuring out who my stalker is?” Civilian asked, their voice full of dejection.

Supervillain’s lips pressed into a thin line. They nodded slowly. “I think if we can piece some things together, like the timing of the letters and what…‘event’ we’ll call them, they correlated with, and try to discern a pattern and draw a list of suspects from that, we’ll find your stalker. They will not torment you forever, Civilian. I promise you that.”

Their savior’s words didn’t fill Civilian with any warmth. Their stomach churned with doubt.

Supervillain had asked them a lot of questions. They hadn’t been able to offer their companion many answers.

“It all just seems so random,” Civilian mumbled, leaning back into the couch cushions and resting their head against the top. “Nothing about it makes any sense to me. I’m…I’m really not that noticeable…or…well, you know. Pretty.”

Supervillain scoffed. “People are drawn to different art forms for a reason, so whether or not you’re attractive matters only to your stalker.”

“Thank you?” Civilian turned to look at them, not entirely sure if their words offered any actual comfort or if Supervillain had only offered them out of duty. But Supervillain’s eyes gleamed seriously. The lines of their face had softened with an honest expression. Swallowing, Civilian quickly added, “But I’m not a painting.”

“Who said you had to be painting? You could be a sculpture instead,” Supervillain teased.

Civilian smiled, glancing away. “All right fine. I guess my stalker likes what they see. That’s not very comforting though, given…Their letters were…I wish I could’ve burned them.”

“But it’s a good thing you didn’t. They’re still evidence, and we could use them. Writing is like another thumbprint. Everyone has their own style, so there’s going to be something there to help prove that the person we bring to justice is your stalker. That, and I’m sure we’ll find other evidence to help convict them.”

“They’re typed though. We can’t exactly compare how they cross their t’s.”

“No, but sentence structure, word choice, and spelling can all help us.”

Civilian picked at an invisible thread on their pant leg. They hadn’t thought of that.

“We’ll find them,” Supervillain repeated. “And I think I know exactly how we’re going to draw them out.” Civilian’s breath hitched, fearing what their savior was about to propose. They’d hinted at a plan forming in their mind, and if the excited gleam in their eye was anything to go by, it seemed Supervillain was ready to share it. Pausing at their panic, Supervillain offered them an assuring smile, “You’ll be completely safe, don’t worry. In fact, you’re going to stay right here, completely protected by my team of highly trained professionals and Medic. But…Well, it’s not necessarily a bad thing I suppose,” Supervillain paused, turning away from them and leaning back in their chair. “I have a confession to make before I can tell you my plan.”

“O-okay?” Civilian gripped the arm of the couch. Their muscles coiled, ready to vault them off the couch and out the door. “What is it?”

Supervillain sucked in a breath. “It’s…easier if I show you, but some people find it rather…unsettling.”

“That’s okay. You don’t have to show me,” Civilian stuttered, “I’ll believe you.”

Supervillain raised a brow. “If you say so. Either way, I know you’re not going to like what I have to say because most sensible people don’t.” Civilian watched as Supervillain slowly stood from their chair and stepped away from the cozy seating area.

Encouraged by the distance they’d put between them, Civilian nodded uncertainly. “What is it?”

“I have superpowers,” Supervillain said slowly. “And not just any superpowers, I can shapeshift. So I can do this.”

Civilian watched, mystified as Supervillain’s features morphed and rearranged themselves before their very eyes. They weren’t sure if the rock in their throat was from their initial terror or because some part of them was repulsed by the grotesque display of skin and muscle rearranging themselves as Supervillain’s stature shrank, their hair grew out and changed color, and their entire appearance changed. The clothes became baggy and hung from Supervillain’s changed figure, a figure that Civilian had seen everyday of their life, every time they looked in the mirror.

Supervillain had become them.

Civilian gulped.

“You could be anybody,” they said, their mouth dry. “Even my stalker.”

“You’re right,” Supervillain said calmly, “I could be anybody, but right now I’m you.”

Civilian nodded. “So this is how you’re going to do it. You’re going to pretend to be me?”

“Yes…” Supervillain trailed off.

Civilian’s head hurt. They tried to focus, they really did. But all their mind could fixate on was the fact that a perfect copy of themselves stood in front of them, that that’s what their voice sounded like to other people, and that Supervillain had shapeshifted into them of all people.

“Close your eyes.”

They didn’t even think twice, doing as Supervillain said without question. It didn’t stop their temples from throbbing though.

“Okay.” Supervillain’s voice had returned to normal, and as Civilian opened their eyes, they were met with the sight of the figure of their savior as they’d been introduced to. Well-fitted clothes and all. “So yes, as I was going to explain, I—” Supervillain let out a heavy sigh and plopped back down in their chair. “Go ahead. Ask me anything you want.”

Civilian nearly burst, “Why that form? Is that what you really look like? Does it…” They glanced down at their lap, trying to calm themselves before they asked something insensitive.

“I like this height. It’s tall enough to reach the top shelf, but not so tall as to be noticeable and draw attention from people,” Supervillain said, amusement clear in their voice. “I plead the fifth on your second question, namely because telling you either way would risk my entire business, and no. It doesn’t hurt me. It looks worse than it feels. It’s more like…Well I guess it’s that I’m used to it. When I shrink it’s not so bad, but it can feel like stretching sometimes when I shift taller, but other times it’s like I’m pulling a muscle. The, uh, ‘joint pain’ I’ll call it because it’s sort of like that, as my bones shift isn’t fun, but like I said, I’m used to it.” Supervillain shrugged dismissively.

Supervillain avoided their gaze. From where they sat, Civilian could see how their hands clenched the arms of their chair. Civilian stared at them for a second, letting it all sink in and tried to wrap their head around everything.

“So…you can shapeshift and you run a private security firm that has a base of operations in an old ski lodge.”

Supervillain nodded slowly. They still hadn’t glanced their way. “That’s right.”

“I feel like you’re not telling me something,” Civilian said quietly. Supervillain tensed under their gaze, their eyes finally snapping to them. Civilian couldn’t hold their gaze, fearing the answer to what they wanted to ask—what they were going to ask. “Are you…I mean, I know you can’t answer this but…” They hesitated, debating with themselves if they should even ask. “Are you a hero or something?”

The Lair in the Woods Taglist: @just-a-space-rabbit @classicplesiosaur @pigeonwhumps @heninthegarden @kaiwewi @korejon @rivalriotrenegade @alpacamelons @averyconfusedhuman @amerementdoux @istealpants @sweetpeaflower01 @theimportantbreadtraveler @spideyholland @alltimelowing Let me know if you’d like to be added or removed (no reason necessary😊)! You can also fill out this handy dandy form if you’d like to be added too!

#writeblr #my writing #heroes and villains #hero x villain #hero x civilian #supervillain x civilian #The Lair in the Woods #good news: I made notes about what's supposed to happen in the next part #you know in case shit gets busy again and i forget wth i'm doing here again😅 #y'all i'm so sorry for the inconsistent updates

[writtenjewels]

See No Evil part 2

Part One

Salim found something that his new companion could use as a walking stick. This whole situation worried him. The smart thing probably would've been to just leave the American, but he had simply been unable to do it. Admittedly, he was glad of the company. Jason's presence made this place feel a little less daunting, and their chatter helped fill the time as they walked through the temple.

At first, he thought Jason's blindness was some sort of tactic to make Salim drop his guard. He had leaned in very close but Jason hadn't even reacted and wasn't even looking directly at Salim. His dark eyes looked clear enough, which made Salim think that the blindness was due to some head injury. Allah willing, Jason would eventually heal.

“So you from around here, Salim?” Jason asked him. Even with his makeshift walking stick, his fingers pinched into Salim's uniform sleeve as they walked.

“I live in a town called Badra-Mandali. I doubt you would know of it.”

“I'm from a small town, too,” Jason nodded. “We'll both get outta here and get back home.” His hand wrapped around Salim's elbow and squeezed. Salim smiled despite himself.

“You're an optimist, eh?”

“You could call it that,” Jason shrugged. “I call it confidence.” That made Salim smile more. He patted Jason's hand.

“Then I will trust in your confidence, my friend.” This time it was Jason who smiled, his features softening. It was a good look for him.

The two continued on in comfortable silence. It was a little strange feeling so at ease around an enemy soldier. Jason's blindness was likely a contributing factor: he didn't see Salim's uniform. It made Salim wonder what would happen when Jason's eyesight returned. Would they suddenly become enemies?

His thoughts were interrupted by Jason. The American had stopped, his hand closing urgently around Salim's elbow. Salim obediently stopped as well. Jason's head was tilted to the side, his face set in concentration.

“What's wrong?” Salim wondered.

“I heard somethin'.” Salim frowned and listened for a few moments. Jason's grip tightened. “There! You hear that?” Salim opened his mouth to give a no when he heard it, too: a faint clicking noise. It was said the other senses were heightened when one was lost; there was apparently some truth to that.

“It's coming from behind us,” Salim judged. “There's a side path ahead. We'll turn there and wait for it to pass.” Jason nodded his agreement and the two ducked into the hiding spot.

The clicking noise was growing louder and Salim's heart responded by quickening its pace. He shifted, slowly drawing out the long piece of iron he had torn off the wrecked car that fell into the temple. It wasn't much but it had a pointed end.

“Salim?” Jason hissed out in alarm. All the moving around made him lose his grip on Salim's sleeve. “The fuck are you doin'? Where are you?”

“I'm here,” Salim assured him. He reached out to touch Jason's shoulder. “I just took out my weapon in case we're attacked.”

“Tell me next time, asshole!” Jason snapped. Despite his hot words, Salim could detect genuine worry in Jason's tone. He dropped his hand lower to squeeze Jason's fingers. Salim soon turned back to watch for whatever creature had been behind them.

The clicking sound was growing louder now. Salim could see the shadow of its figure and sucked in a sharp breath. What was it? It finally drew close enough to their hiding place that Salim could see its head. He stared, mouth open as he took in the strange shape of it and the fangs protruding from its mouth. It looked a little like a giant bat, except its head was shaped differently and its body was more leathery-looking.

“Salim!” Jason hissed. “The fuck is it?”

“I don't know,” Salim answered back in a whisper. “A demon.” He watched, in parts horrified and fascinated as the creature crawled along the ground. “It walked right by our hiding spot,” he reported. “I think that clicking noise acts like echolocation to help them see.”

“You think that'd work for me?” Jason wondered.

“If these creatures rely so much on sound, us making more noise will only attract them to us.” Jason nodded his agreement. They stood hidden until the creature was out of sight. Salim let out of breath and emerged with Jason following him. “We'll have to go another way,” Salim mentioned.

“I'm with ya,” Jason agreed, squeezing Salim's hand. Salim had barely realized they'd been holding onto each other while they waited for the creature to pass.

Truth be told, he was a little reluctant to let go.

#jason x salim #jason kolchek x salim othman #salim othman #jason kolchek #jason/salim #jalim #house of ashes

[pinkchaosart]

Another piece of fan art for the book Spell Bound by F.T. Lukens! My favourite character, Sun 🩷 I took inspiration from the cover art of the book with the colour palette and I really like how this turned out! I'm also sort of new to drawing animals generally, and I want to get better at it soon. It'll just involve my sitting down and doing it, you know? I'm also planning a companion piece to go with this for the other main character Rook, but I'm not entirely sure what to do for his, so it could be a while.

What's your favourite book? Have you read Spell Bound too? If you have, who was your favourite?

If you enjoyed this, consider leaving a like,, a comment, and following me :)

Constructive feedback welcome!

#fanart #digital art #artists on tumblr #digital illustration #character art #lgbt art #fantasy #fiction #nonbinary #gay art #lgbt #fantasy art #f.t. lukens #Spell Bound #Sun #Hee-Sun Kim #book recommendations #my art #lgbt books #enby

[whatacaitastrophe]

Gale x Taph - For Rim-Draws

Do You See What I See?

Song Inspiration: "The Lotto" by Ingrid Michaelson ft. AJR

A One Shot For @rim-draws <3 Thanks for requesting this! I had a great time writing it, and thank you for your donation to my Ko-fi!

Would you like me to write a BG3 one shot for you? Check out this post and send me a message <3

Of all the things that Gale expected to happen when he asked Taph to play with him in The Weave, he certainly hadn’t expected the sorceress to imagine the two of them sharing a romantic moment. Granted the moment Taph pictured in her mind was simply the two of them holding hands as they walked along the Chionthar, but how else was he supposed to interpret the vision, if not romantic? Gale certainly couldn’t remember the last time he walked alongside someone hand-in-hand in a platonic manner, and he couldn’t imagine doing so now. It wasn’t so much the vision itself that startled him, but the person who had it. In the tenday or so he’d known Taph, his relationship with the sorceress thus far was friendly enough, but their differences on how they viewed and wielded magic often ended in the two of them bickering, albeit playfully, with their companions rolling their eyes. Taph hadn’t really expressed any romantic interest in him at all before their moment in The Weave, and had even snuck off with Lae’zel one night to engage in what Gale could only assume to be some sort of Githyanki mating ritual (whatever they were doing, it sounded a mite painful), so the vision she shared with him? It caught him off guard and left him blundering like a schoolboy who’d never talked to a girl before. 

The fact that Taph’s vision flustered Gale so easily, when he’d shared a bed with a goddess for nearly a decade without any sort of trepidation? That annoyed him. What annoyed him more was Taph’s determination to not be alone with Gale since the moment it happened, as though she were avoiding giving him an opportunity to address the situation. Only, Gale needed to talk about it. He needed to understand if that was a fleeting thought, or if there was the possibility of Taph feeling the same way that Gale had begun to feel. Moreover, he needed to redeem himself after how awkwardly he reacted to her vision in the moment. Thus, a decision was made.

That evening, as they all sat around the campfire listening to Taph’s brother, Taf (which was not confusing at all), and Astarion as they regaled them all with the story of a Gur monster hunter they’d encountered earlier that day. A truly horrifying tale, and Gale was grateful they’d acted so quickly. Despite himself, Gale had begun to grow fond of the vampire’s antics, and their camp would probably be a bit more boring without him. Gale looked over to Taph, who appeared to be watching the pair from where she sat, and he moved to sit next to her, hoping that the presence of the others would not immediately send Taph rushing away.

“Could I speak with you, please?” Gale requested, his voice above a whisper, but certainly not loud enough that the whole group heard him asking Taph for a private conversation. 

The drow female was wearing her usual black mask that covered nearly half her face. While the mask was very pretty, and looked lovely on her, Gale hated the damn thing because it meant he could not see Taph’s eyes. The eyes were a window to the soul, he once read, and the fact that he could never see Taph’s, that he could only rely on her words and what little of her facial expressions he could see to interpret how she felt? It was maddening. Gale briefly wondered if Taph had taken off her mask during her tryst with Lae’zel, and a pang of jealousy shot through the wizard’s body that the githyanki warrior had perhaps seen a piece of Taph that she otherwise heavily guarded. 

“Looking for another magic lesson?” Taph teased, a slight smirk blooming on her face. “I’d be happy to give you an opportunity to learn from the master.”

Gale sighed. “I’m fairly certain it was I that gave you a lesson in magic that night, not the other way around, seeing as The Weave is my domain.”

“You mean your ex-girlfriend’s.” Taph pointed out, and Gale winced. Taph’s smirk grew, as though she sensed Gale’s agitation. 

“If you’d like to be technical about it, yes, I suppose you are correct, but I didn’t seek you out to discuss technicalities, Taph. You’ve been avoiding me.” 

The drow frowned, immediately deflecting. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. We’ve just been busy.”

“Not so busy that you couldn’t find the time to speak with literally everyone in camp but me every night since our magic lesson,” Gale huffed. He wasn’t stupid, and the fact that Taph was trying to treat him as though he were to avoid this conversation only agitated him further. Gale let out an exasperated sigh and a pleading look spread on his face. “Please, Taph?”

The sorceress turned her head to observe him (at least, he assumed she was observing him), and she was quiet for a moment as she considered Gale’s request. Eventually, Taph let out a resigned noise and stood. “Fine.” She agreed, and turned on her heel to walk towards Gale’s tent. Gale jumped to his feet, trailing after her like a lovesick puppy (Shadowheart’s words, after she saw him pining from afar one day, not Gale’s). Once Taph reached Gale’s tent, she stopped walking, only to stand in the exact spot she’d been in when she allowed Gale into her mind long enough to see her romantic vision of the two of them. Were he not a mite nervous about the conversation at hand, he probably would have thought something of it, but alas. Nerves won the day. 

“You wanted to talk?” Taph asked, gesturing to Gale expectantly, and Gale saw the faint raise of her eyebrow as it peeked out from the top edge of her mask. 

“Yes, I–well, I’d like to discuss what happened during our moment in The Weave the other evening.” Gale clarified, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. 

“You mean the moment when I showed you how easy doing magic is?” Taph retorted sassily, grinning. At least Gale could see her smile, if he couldn’t see the rest of her face. Her smile was truly lovely. Gale rolled his eyes, grinning. 

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m referring to, not the other thing that happened,” He replied drily, stepping closer to her. Gale scanned what he could see of her face, desperately trying to peer through the semi-opaque mask to try and read her facial expression. “No, I’d like to discuss– oh hells, fuck it. Would you be so kind as to remove your mask, Taph? I’d like to be able to look at you properly while we engage in this conversation.” 

Taph immediately stiffened and stepped backward, negating the closeness Gale created by stepping towards her, as though they were stuck in a dance. Though, perhaps, Gale supposed, they kind of were? “Why?” She bristled. 

Gale stared at her for a moment, his jaw slack. “...because I want to be able to look you into your eyes?” He answered incredulously. What the hells did she mean “why?” 

Taph took another step back from him, and Gale did not need to be able to see her whole face to know that the sorceress was looking around frantically for an exit strategy, the movements of her head were enough to know that. “What, so you can tease me about them while also reminding me of the wildly embarrassing moment I forgot myself and let you peer into my mind?”

She was defensive, and Gale honestly had no idea why. He knew most people didn’t particularly care for the drow as a whole, but he didn’t think he’d ever done anything to give Taph the impression that he was one of those people? If anything, Gale was grateful she was a drow– it made getting in and out of that Goblin camp so much easier, because the goblins simply bowed and let her through, no undue violence necessary. “I’m– I’m not going to make fun of you, Taph,” Gale reassured her, his tone gentler than before. “And for the record, I don’t know why you’re embarrassed. I’m embarrassed.” He admitted. 

Taph’s shoulders relaxed, and she took a step closer to Gale. “What do you have to be embarrassed about?” She asked, and he took another step towards her in return. Once Gale was certain that she was not liable to flee, he reached for her mask with both of his hands. “May I? Please?”

Taph chewed on her lip hesitantly, but eventually, she nodded. Gale reached for the black fabric, delicately taking hold of the edges with his fingers as he pushed it upwards to reveal Taph’s entire face. Her eyes were closed, but even so, she was even more beautiful without the mask than Gale already found her to be. “Open your eyes, Taph.” He requested softly, and the drow did as she was told. 

Immediately, Gale was taken aback by how pretty her eyes were. Taph had been the only one of them to be brave enough to let Volo dig around in her head, and her reward had been a new, magical eyeball that gave her the ability to see through invisibility spells (something that quickly became the most helpful spell any of them knew). The color of her new eye from Volo suited her, and the heterochromic effect it made with her natural eye complimented her face so well. Then there was the color of the eye she was born with. It was ice-blue, almost white, and it was radiant. “Forgive me if this is too forward, but I don’t quite understand why you hide your face from the world. It’s quite beautiful,” Gale confessed adoringly, a soft smile appearing on his face. “Especially your eyes. A man would be lucky to someday have children with eyes as beautiful as yours.”

The words left his mouth before he could stop them, and heat bloomed on his face in the firelight. “I–well, you know what I mean. You shouldn’t hide them away.”  Though he could picture it: a little girl running around with his chestnut hair and her ice-blue eyes. She’d be the loveliest person to ever exist, after her mother.

Taph’s eyes softened, and Gods, what a difference being able to see them made to reading her body language. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but most people don’t exactly look upon the drow kindly,” She said sarcastically, because of course Gale had noticed. He’d witnessed random strangers treat her with blatant racism just for existing. Even told off a few of them for doing so. “Hiding them makes it easier for people to just assume I’m an elf. Which makes…everything else easier.” 

Gale reached forward and tucked a piece of stray hair that had fallen from her long braid behind Taph’s ear. “You should never hide who you are. Not when you’re hiding some of the very best parts of you. The opinions of others will matter very little, in the end.”

Taph blushed, and Gale’s heart did a backflip, but it did give him the courage to say what he needed to say next. “I wanted to apologize for how I reacted to the vision you showed me in The Weave. I realize that it may have left you thinking that the idea of sharing a romantic gesture with you is not something I reciprocate, when in truth, it’s quite the opposite. That…that is something I would like very much.”

Taph stared at him in surprise, almost as if she could not believe this was not some sort of elaborate joke. “You– you would?” 

“I would, and I look forward to the day we get to have that moment,” He smiled, nodding at Taph, his hands falling back to his sides. “If you’ll have me, of course.” 

An easy silence filled the air as the two of them stared at each other. Then, without any sort of ceremony, Taph reached forward and slipped her hand into Gale's, lacing their fingers together. The sorceress offered his hand a light squeeze. “I’d like that.”

#baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #gale #bg3 fanfic #female tav #gale x tav #gale x ofc #bg3 fluff #gale dekarios fluff

[patbwaifs]

Anything Like Dreaming

If they stop and think, they both just might fall apart.

- @AlecTheWreck. "Chapter 14: Get A Look." Nothing Fucks With My Baby. 2022. https://archiveofourown.org/works/40685709/chapters/101942751

> The Only Worthwhile Thing

Compilation

There were a good number of snippets that I could put with this piece, and I did want something to match the length of Reed's but I feel like this line... is very succinct. Perfect for the direction this piece took itself in.

A companion piece of sorts to the drawing I did of Gavin. That one took me two hours. This fucker dragged me across the parking lot for two days (8h 36m tracked). I got really really frustrated. I have facial recognition problems, and it made it hard to know what to do next while I was sketching this piece. It happens often - but I didn't want to be defeated this time. So I was yelling into the void of a discord art channel. "I live eternity in a moment, and moments in an eternity. I am everything of the empty space between each atom." I'm soooo lame.

On one hand, the frenetic energy of "The Only Worthwhile Thing" and the controlled calculations I had to take with "Anything Like Dreaming" correspond to their representative characters.

On the other hand, I don't like my inconsistency. I saw that one tweet from Defunctland about the only thing worse than the process of making a film was not making a film. So true, bestie.

Here is the speedpaint, condensed into half a minute!

#dbh #digital art #art #detroit: become human #procreate #fanart #dbh rk900 #rk900 #speedpaint #emoster_again #patbwaifs #Nothing Fucks With My Baby #AO3

[tinyozlion]

Parsing Gundam Wing: 

A Field Guide to a Classic Anime

So, you’re watching Gundam Wing.

Maybe you’re seeing it for the first time, maybe you’re returning to it as a fan of yore, maybe, like me, you’re trying to introduce it to a friend. Perhaps you are watching the English dub, or with English subtitles– doesn’t matter. There’s only one script for both. You’re trying to make it through the first episode, and oh baby, oh baby– What is this pacing? Who are these people? Why do they talk like that? What the fuck is a battle seed? Yes, the robots are cool, but the rest seems like a cursed soap opera. You are understandably hesitant to continue.

 This is normal. 

Take my hand. Shh, shh, come to my arms. You are safe now. I’m here to help. Welcome, brave explorer, to a classic 90's anime that once took America by storm. It’s very good. No, really, I promise, it’s very good.

Now, I can’t promise that you’ll love it! If the Space Opera And Ethics Course With Hot People and Robot Fights genre isn't for you, that's fine, take some hummus and go in peace my friend.

But the rest of you… we are brothers now.

Gundam Wing was lightning in a bottle when it first came out in North America, but even if that particular explosive debut will never come again, I think there’s still a wealth of enjoyment to be had for new fans– especially if like me you love stories that have a lot of depth, a lot of crunch, a lot of rewatch value, a lot of iterative shipping possibilities.

I realize that we live in an era of total media saturation; the notion of investing time in ANYTHING new these days is a tough sell. There are infinitely many things to watch, read, play, listen to-- so how do you justify getting into something that’s kinda old and a little janky? With some parts that haven’t aged as well as others? Something that maybe takes a bit of extra participation to get into?

...As a spoonful of medicine to help ease the media-fatigue, let me share with you something that I've found true in my life: rough edges invite you to participate in creation.

Stories that invite (or demand, or beg) you to participate in them have their own unique value, completely distinct from the value of those that satisfy you immediately; they will reward you for investing in them your time, your creativity, your curiosity.

And I think this is one of those stories! I genuinely want more people to play in this sandbox with me! So, here I am, making a blog about it.

--This is my guidebook to getting into Gundam Wing. It is intended to be a sort of companion, a primer-- maybe a walkthrough? An invitation? to this complex and juicy series.

This won't be a fan wiki-- those already exist, thank goodness, and people can check those out for themselves-- rather, I'd like to make this a repository of context and insight, and to fill in those troublesome missing pieces in the show that are big stumbling blocks to understanding what's going on!

I want to give you what I didn’t have when I started this series back in anno domini two-thousand-and-naught:

All the damn information.

Naturally, there will be more drawings, memes, crabs, very stupid gifs, and probably some crying throughout. And you have my word that I will try and present this in a comprehensive, inclusive, character-agnostic way.

...That said, I am not stealthy! I cannot possibly disguise the fact that I’ve given exponentially more thought to certain characters than to others. You will almost certainly be able to tell when you’ve encountered my Blorbos, my Special Interests--

(Shh, Tinylion! Back in your teapot!)

--But! Look into my eyes. Here is an Absolute, Unwavering Truth about me:

I love, or at least love something about, Every. Single. Character in Gundam Wing. and I will do my absolute damndest to give them each their due diligence, because they're worth it, and so are you.

Thank you for coming, I hope you enjoy whatever you find here ♥

~ Wesley, and to a lesser extent, TinyLion

#Parsing Post #Gundam Wing #TinyOZlion #tinyozlion pgw

[wiltkingart]

Hi, Wilt! I hope this isn't a strange message, but I wanted to give you a heartfelt thanks for sharing your work with the world. While I'm not trans, I firmly believe that your work has helped me grow as an artist, and that deserves all the thanks I can give. There's such a beautifully crafted feeling to all of your work, but especially your most recent paintings - the tenderness and delicacy with which you construct your forms and compositions…the way you push colors and shapes…

I’m certain I’ve lost hours at a time just to staring at the works in your archive. I won’t go on, lest it start to sound like I’m writing your art a love letter, but I can say that you’ve helped me to more concretely identify many things I want to strive for in my own work. I’ll follow your creative pursuits for as long as I’m able, and I hope that making art, in some form or another, will always bring you peace and joy.

hi. i kept this message in my inbox for a few days so that i could keep it in the back of my mind and rotate it like a sparkly marble. to be honest lately my mental health has been affecting my ability to draw, which has been especially rough because art has always been sort of my lifeline through thick and thin. this is one of the reasons why i haven't been posting or drawing as much for the past few months. i love the pieces i've been able to put out on my good days, but yeah. it's been an ongoing struggle.

this message, however, helped me remember to worry less about how little i'm drawing and to just create things that make me happy - even if it's just a sketch, a scribble, a silly fanfic, or something i don't finish or polish. so for the past few days i've been working on more fanart for yet an obscure book series that only 5 other people on planet earth have read, and its been nice. it's slow going but it feels good, and i'm going to hold onto that. i'm going to keep making art because it's what i love to do. so thank you for the kind message. for taking the time to send it. it means more to me than you know.

may art be a patient companion to you as well, for however long you want it to be. <3

[toothpaste-dragon]

🔫 chrysie. thursday. syllk.

(In reference to this post)

It's interesting you picked these three because they're some of my most underdeveloped characters XD And for good reason, in each individual case. But you asked, so you shall receive.

Chrysie There's not too much to say about her, unfortunately. She's a blatant self-insert (which I still get embarrassed about occasionally) and sometimes I draw her in place of myself when applicable. I purposefully didn't create her with much lore because I'd rather focus my efforts on developing my actual characters. So the only real lore I can provide is that she lives in a fairy colony in the mountains and helps gather resources for her village, while also exploring the area and interacting with various animals - and sometimes humans. Mountains are my happy place, so it's obvious why I went with that location :>

Thursday Hoo boy, how to explain this seagull child's history...I don't even know how you found him to begin with, since he's so far back on my art blog XD While Thursday's story has been on the back burner for a long time, he was actually my main focus when I created him back in high school. I was obsessed with birds at that age, especially birds that most people disliked or found annoying, so it all started when I thought to myself "What happens if bird + boy?" I eventually ended up piecing together this shred of a story about a journalist named Melissa who lives in a small coastal town and stumbles upon a so-called seagull boy (AKA a boy who both resembles and has the mannerisms of a seagull). It's revealed that the seagull boy has an injured wing, so Melissa helps nurse him back to health over the course of 2 weeks, while simultaneously nursing some of her own wounds and forming a sweet bond with the quirky son she never had. I was very intentional about making Thursday annoying and loud and messy, which explained why most beach-goers didn't enjoy his presence. Thursday purposefully remained underdeveloped because I wanted the story to be simple and focus on the main character's emotions/reactions more than any sort of backstory they arrived with. I also always imagined the story would best be told as a visual short story or comic, and one of my friends had planned to illustrate the script at some point, but plans changed and it didn't happen (which is totally understandable). Thursday's story still means a lot to me, especially since it was the first time I 'finished' planning out an entire story. I hope one day I might be able to see it come to life...but until then, I'll simply hold onto it.

Syllk Syllk (tiefling sorcerer) was my most recent dungeons and dragons character, before I ultimately left the campaign to prioritize mental health and other important stuff. She was a ton of fun to play! But much like Chrysie, she doesn't have too much lore. Syllk's whole gimmick was that she completely lost her memory and washed up on the shores of Candlekeep, where she met the rest of her companions. The only item on her person was a sealed book, which she believed would help restore her memories and locate her parents. My very first legit D&D character had been easy to play because he acted a lot like me - so this time I wanted to challenge myself to play a character on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Which is exactly why I made Syllk to be sassy, morally gray, quick to anger, and overall just a little gremlin. Near the end of the campaign, Syllk unlocked her book and it led her to a strange laboratory...and there she faced off against a powerful mage, who claimed to have stolen her away from her parents and experimented on her. Syllk was so angry that she aided in killing the mage, but the anger faded once she realized she'd probably never be reunited with her parents. Thankfully, one of her party companions Karliah (tabaxi monk) had been inching closer to Syllk as a surrogate mother, so Syllk decided to stick with her for the time that followed.

I hope these answers are sufficient...I honestly don't know if I described 'lore' rather than just threw random info at you X'D Regardless, enjoy :>

#ask #iggyfing

[nor-did-i-care-to-goodbye]

Content Warning: suggestive image, implied/referenced non-con, discussions of fictional mob families and their unethical practices, unhealthy or inadvisable relationships, otherwise batshit and unrealistic things

stocked

finally she posts! first it was anxiety over punting this thing without the mature community label curtain. then it was a the posting limit she (i) hit on the other blog. then it was the general blog content warning she (i, again) forgot to post in favor of being an attention whore with no empathy for other people! (i'm working on that) what will she do next! (no please do tell me when i forget to tag things or tag things incorrectly or am generally being an asshole, thank you. the painfully aware presence that is not everything else usually catches it, but a shot to the knee is always welcome.)

now, onto house:

so as you have now probably gleaned (– and if you haven't, check the tags –) that the houses i write and draw are very au. very, very au, as my last attempt at fanfic or fan finagling with a piece of media has absolutely rotted my ability to not be au with it. he's still a bastard, of course - he's still robert edwin house, ceo of robco industries, sole proprietor of the new vegas strip. he's now just a little bit... other things as well.

he's Robert Edwin House, the mob wife of a mafia heiress Mary-lynn Lussier, and groomed since late adolescence to be so, partially of his own will, partially not since it's the mob, nevermind it being french, not entirely of his said mob spouse's full consent on the matter either, because 12 year olds will think anything is cool when it's a family thing and they're made to feel included, and she's protecting her nerdy twerp friend who's brother is a shit and who comes off as a mean snob when really he just doesn't get people all of the time, like her own one brother, of which there are several and think, that when she is sixteen and a prodigy at daddy's job, that her not-boyfriend sort of pet nerd, who made her a custom automatic baseball pitcher tailored to her and her needs, should also be tailored to her needs in turn and sex ed in fallout america is bullshit anyway, right?

he's also Robert Edwin House, long lost, now newly reacquainted and acquired in college, childhood friend of rancher and stable master's nephew Victor Keene, of the ranch just across the watering hole at hidden valley, that boards horses of the Lussier family as well as other people and is a rider and ranch hand himself, when he's not off pursuing his degree in geology. this pin-up is something from around that time. in the off season, when he is not off keeping the piece behind the scenes of the pitch, he's with vic and occasionally with a message from mary on some underground subject or rather. house is not fond of being made a pigeon, but he weathers it, because in spite of all that is duly sane and logical, he likes being around vic and being vic's (- though the latter was a bit slow with the shot, at first -), and mary's, to a broad extent, deeper than the physical aspects of anything, because you aren't this kind of childhood sweetheart without some kind of other understanding of each other, which they have, in every sense, developed over the years.

is it mean, to have house this way? to have his life have so little peace, to only find it in the sole and solid existence of his companions and the fleeting, barely there substance of the things he's worked for so long and so hard, that he can barely feel as more than heavy air surging up his fingers from time to time?

yes. undoubtedly. and believe me when i say: this might not even be the worst of it.

#robert edwin house #mr house #mr. house #robert house #fnv #fallout new vegas #fnv fanart #suggestive themes #mature themes #dead dove do not eat #young mr. house without a mustache is cursed #house of goodsprings meta

[astranauticus]

ok one last post about the Project to truly exorcise it from my brain. just some process/design thoughts (also now that it's done if you want to read my liveblogged whinging for whatever reason here it is)

first off some stats because i kept stats like the nerd that i am:

time wise making this animatic took about 93.5 hours give or take (thanks procreate process replay) spread across exactly 2 months

anyway when i said i finished this project mostly through stubbornness and sunk cost fallacy this is what i meant lol like a lot of my thought process through this was just 'no way in hell am i letting some of these drawings disappear into my drafts forever'

on average each frame took about 2 hours 45 minutes but thats a bit of an overestimate since i forgot to count some of the animated bits from the first two lines (so id guess the actual number is more like.. 2 hours 20 minutes?)

btw that line with the starry apparition fading away? 12 hours total

the single longest and most painful frame to draw was the one of the crew walking through tu'narath (5 hours 30 minutes) because a. perspective b. architecture design c. for some reason i put a lot of detail into rendering the armour on all the githyanki i drew why on earth did i do that

(its especially painful bc that frame was one of the ones that didnt... feel like an important enough moment in the actual story of the show to be worth capturing the way the wish or even like, endellion is, i just needed to put that there for the storytelling flow or whatever of the animatic itself and it bothered me so much)

one other interesting little mishap was that i did all of these on canvas size 1080x720px (so that's why the youtube resolution isnt particularly high lmao) which is why procreate let me put an absolutely absurd amount of layers in one canvas (all 8 frames of with memories projected on the astral sea were done on one canvas. 159 layers) because the layer limit for that canvas size is 400 BUT. i accidentally started the starry apparition fade on an A4 canvas (my default canvas size for like all my normal fanart) and i only realised after finishing all the lineart and starting on colouring because i hit layer limit so i had to resize the canvas which did... interesting?? things to the lineart resolution

also if youre wondering how i drew K-LB that many times in something resembling timely fashion the answer is i sacrificed some... amount of sleep to 3d model and rig him in blender which. honestly? i consider it a roaring success

splitting the frames by bar was a Choice and certainly a choice ive.. had doubtsTM about but thats the kind of thing you cant really change without bringing the whole project crashing down so if the frames seem to move a bit too fast im so sorry there was really not much i could do there

idk if people actually noticed the very very tiny drawings of the crew moving around on the ship in the 4th line especially since they sometimes get obscured by the subtitles but the REASON for that is in my original drawings the subtitles went in the top left corner but they kept conflicting with other stuff so i just gave up and threw them to the bottom (also i originally included the chinese lyrics but then i got lazy lmao)

anyway that little detail like VR-LA angstily looking at the sea reminiscing about the JourneyTM and the crew sort of appearing along with the memories of their adventures together was one of those things that seemed SO COOL in my head but once i actually execute it its like. hmmmm not sure if that worked out the way you thought it would buddy. also the tiny crew was EXTREMELY hard to draw so put that down as another point in 'me subjecting myself to deeply painful and out there compositions for no good reason'

anyway i called this my magnum opus but i do actually have some thoughts about another one (a companion piece, if you will) for another song by the same band because now that i know what capcut can do im.. really itching to try something a little different because this like powerpoint presentation style? fully a product of me using iMovie as my only available video editing software for the past like 7 years of my life

#rwd #asto speaks #re: the projectTM #one last time using this dumbass tag lmao #honestly? also put another point in 'i worked on a project for so long it became just a Project to me and proceeded to get #absolutely blindsided by the emotional affect it has on people' #2 months. 2. months. #whatever actual emotion this idea was originally trying to draw from is long fucking gone buddy #like i did manage to re-experience some of it looking at the finished product but #i appreciate yalls screaming a lot i just truly did not anticipate it LMAO

[saintsenara]

nor all that glisters gold sirius black & bellatrix lestrange teen | 8.8k words

an understanding dawns between them. despite their age gap, they recognise in each other a shared capacity for cruelty. they know their blood runs with a shared desire to see other people get hurt, a shared need for pain.

he treasures it.

when he was a child, sirius wanted nothing more than to follow in the footsteps of his favourite cousin. this desire will not last.

this piece was written for @womenofthehouseofblack fest [you can find the other fics in the collection here].

author's notes below the cut

sirius and bellatrix’s relationship is an area of canon which i find fascinating. the two are set up in the narrative as being extremely similar - right down to the fact that they both die laughing - in personality [and, of course, in appearance - the description of sirius in this fic as having brown eyes comes from a desire to emphasise that physical similarity; i know that jkr has said he has grey eyes, i’m just ignoring her…].

above all, both of them have two incredibly contradictory aspects to their personalities: they can be incredibly cruel; and they are astonishingly loyal.

and in this, bellatrix serves to emphasise something which i think is the standout aspect of sirius’ role in the harry potter series - what he says about the value of choice. i’ve written about this in more detail in the notes for lux aurumque, a sirius-focused one-shot i published recently, but the summary is that i am very uncomfortable with portrayals of sirius which undermine the significance of choice - and, in particular, the choice to defy your family in an extremely lineage-based society - in order to suggest that he feels more comfortable within the world of his birth than with james and the life he chooses to make for himself. lux aurumque deals with several of the choices referred to in this piece - particularly the idea that sirius asks the sorting hat to place him in gryffindor - in more detail.

it was important to me in nor all that glisters gold to draw out the idea that sirius’ discomfort with his social class starts early. he dislikes the pureblood friends his mother wants him to make, and the boring activities he is supposed to do to demonstrate his class background. he loves his cousins - his closest childhood companions - but when faced with the reality of what they are becoming as the first war rears its head, he knows what he has to do.

because bellatrix, of course, makes a different choice.

nor all that glisters gold is an examination of something which i am certain must have been a key aspect of bellatrix’s radicalisation, but which is absent from a lot of analysis about her: that she is someone who, from childhood, wishes to escape the gendered expectations of her social class. here, as in the three sisters [author’s notes here], another piece i’ve written for this fest, she talks about wanting to be a warrior like other girls talk about wanting to be a wife; and loathes the ephemera of girl-hood like dolls and tea-parties. in this, she is very much in contrast to narcissa, whose conformity to the expectations of her gender is explored in my narcissa-centric piece other women and of purer blood [author’s notes here].

one of the key gendered expectations that bellatrix chafes against is, obviously, marriage. [which is also something clearly rejected by sirius as well.]

that purebloods practise arranged marriage is implied by canon - sirius’ statement in order of the phoenix that pureblood parents who wish their children to marry other purebloods take an interest in choosing from the pool of eligible candidates tells us that - and wizards regardless of blood-status seem to marry far earlier than muggles [james and lily marry at nineteen, for example, and we can identify multiple other women in the series who seem to be married when they are between the ages of 18 and 21].

[an important aside, of course, is that arranged marriages and forced marriages are not the same thing. arranged marriage is practised all over the world, and many arranged marriages are complete and loving successes. lucius and narcissa were very probably an arranged marriage; they also obviously adore each other. bellatrix’s issue is not that she objects to this particular way of bringing about a marriage, but that she doesn’t want to be married full stop.]

because there’s nothing wrong with rodolphus - they get along well enough, and he isn’t cruel or abusive - they just don’t click as husband-and-wife. and this only serves to increase her feeling of being trapped in a gendered cage which she wants to escape.

and we all know who helps her with that…

several commenters have noted that the characterisation of bellatrix in this piece as quite naive - and also as acting young for her age and being rather girly - is quite an unusual one. partially, i like this portrayal of her because the harry potter series has such a tendency to assign femininity to wives and mothers [such as narcissa], and to suggest that women who aren’t those things are in some way unfeminine, but i also think that reading her like this - and the hints of it are there in her behaviour in canon; the desperate way she talks to voldemort in the dark lord ascending, blushing when he looks at her, is one of them - provides an interesting insight into her radicalisation.

because all the implication of canon is that bellatrix becomes a death eater when she’s very young [meaning that the same naivety about what that means that we see with regulus and draco can also be meaningfully attributed to her], which means that - whether or not you believe her relationship with voldemort is sexual [I do] - she is being groomed when she’s barely out of school by a man who is in his late forties. indeed, in nor all that glisters gold, i stick to my long-standing headcanon that their sexual relationship starts when she’s only seventeen, and that voldemort is the first person she ever sleeps with.

and, in this, we can see the complexity of bellatrix’s radicalisation - because voldemort clearly has an enormous amount of power over her [as sirius notes, he dictates how she dresses and she begins to parrot his beliefs; she gets engaged and married, essentially, at his command - probably because he wants something from her father-in-law], but she also wholeheartedly believes in his causes. she is a blood-supremacist, and would be with or without him. she is capable of great and ruthless violence before she meets him - indeed, this is the reason voldemort bothers to groom her in the first place.

and voldemort also offers her a chance to escape the gendered confines in which she lives. with his objection to early marriage ages and loveless unions, he’s a bit of a girlboss in this, which might seem out of character; but i do think it’s justifiable on the basis of his canon portrayal that he’s someone who has no real interest in the maintenance of traditional social structures [what he does like, here and in other women and of purer blood is the idea that he has the right to dictate the social order, and to be heavily involved in his followers’ lives]. after all, he himself exists outside of the class structures which define the wizarding world, and he clearly rejects the expectation that this should be something he aspires to [he refuses slughorn’s job offers entirely because he wants a job he got himself, for example]. he’s also someone whose physical description - especially the way he speaks and moves - implies a certain degree of effeminacy, and i am incredibly convinced by the idea that he can be read as trans or genderqueer.

which is to say that i have always had the headcanon that bellatrix falls so heavily for him because he is one of the few men she knows who is willing to support her desire to live a life of her own making, outside the social expectations placed upon her.

and this, i think, is one of the things that the sirius of this piece is not entirely able to understand - after all, he frees himself from the world which constrains him.

sirius’ jealousy of voldemort is something which has stood out to multiple commenters, and i think this is partially triggered by the fact that he himself retains more gendered influences than he may believe. i’m always struck in canon, for example, about the way he talks about the duty barty crouch sr. should have had towards his family - and while i don’t think that this would make him the character i’ve criticised above, who thinks his family is more important than his choice, this expectation drives his anger in nor all that glisters gold at how bellatrix and narcissa don’t stick by andromeda.

[on whom: i often find that andromeda is written as being quite stuck-up, as though all of tonks’ vibrant canon personality comes from ted. that she is exactly like her daughter in this piece was important to me.]

because this piece is, of course, also about the black family more generally. in particular, it builds on a theme in lamentation [author’s notes here], another piece i’ve written for this fest, that walburga suffers from postnatal depression. the fairies and changeling imagery appears across both of these pieces - as the images of elder trees, also associated with fairies and widely considered to be unlucky, do across this and the three sisters. regulus is a minor character, but he does appear as an example of something which i think must have contributed to the canonical tension readable between sirius and dumbledore - that sirius knows who voldemort is probably recruiting, and how, but sees that dumbledore appears to be doing nothing to stop it.

[finally, i can never give up the headcanon that sirius has an aspen wand. they are protective trees, often planted near houses for safe-keeping, and the connection between this and the role of secret keeper…? stunning.]

#asenora fics #bellatrix lestrange #sirius black #nor all that glisters gold #women of the house of black fest

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 11/07/2023

Knowledge of the Depths

Season 5 Featured on: The SiIvaGunner Spooktacular Halloween Horror Special: Curse of the Fallen Angel

Ripped by Heboyi

Requested by an anonymous reader!

About a week or so ago, I got a request to discuss some of the channel's storylines more in depth on this blog. The ongoing storytelling on the channel has always been one of its biggest draws to me, and at this point I've been following the lore for so long that I could write pages upon pages on speculation, interpretations, theories, et cetera. However, this blog is specifically about individual rips, so I'm only going to be discussing story events in relation to individual pieces of music. That may change in the future, but for now this is how I'll compromise.

In the midst of Season 4 Episode 2's All-Star Summer Festival, we were introduced to Woodyana Stones: Raider Made of Lost Bark, an Indiana Jones parody in the form of an audio drama starring channel protagonist Wood Man. This kind of storytelling was somewhat new to the channel, and is sort of the spiritual successor to the King For A Day tournaments of the prior two seasons: More self-contained stories featuring an ensemble of characterized memes, whilst still serving up small nuggets of lore here and there. Season 6 would later clarify that these events were Wood Man using his powers of interdimensional travel to visit alternate universes as a way to keep himself occupied before returning to SiIva's main universe. A cynic could call them filler, but that would be disregarding the insane amount of effort that's gone into each of these stories, and all of the weight they still hold, both as beíng genuinely quality and funny and in serving some very interesting pieces of lore for the channel as a whole.

The storyline that today's rip is from - Curse of the Fallen Angel - currently sits as my favorite, though I admit the others are also due for a relisten. For me, a big part of that is due to the intriguing lore concepts it introduces that were directly tied to the channel's ongoing status at the time. Masked Wolf's Astronaut in the Ocean and Lady's Yankin were two themes that had become feared by commenters after infecting the channel's regular uploads during Season 5. The reasons for this dislike are many and long-winded, so for the sake of summary: Think of it like The Bean from Season 1, a type of rip that had commenters work together to warn one another to move to different rips. What this audio drama does is establish these themes, "Figments" in SiIva lore, as "Cursed", holding some sort of abnormal dark power beyond that of normal figments. The audio drama sees Wood Man and a band of companions journeying to hunt down these Cursed before their powers can be used by "The Fallen Angel", referring to the most powerful Cursed of them all in Yankin'. One day I will go further in talking about Yankin' in particular, but trust me: Of all antagonists in SiIva lore, I don't think it would be exaggerating to say that she's the one the fanbase fears most due to her overwhelming presence on the channel in Season 5.

With the mood now set, what I love about todays rip in particular, Knowledge of the Depths, is the atmosphere its able to instill with this background knowledge in mind. It sets the stage to the third act of the audio drama, with Wood Man and c.o trying to find this accursed entity submerged deep underwater, with powers completely foreign to both the characters and us in the audience. Like most of the storyline's soundtrack, its a fully original composition, but uses elements of Astronaut in the Ocean's progression and vocals to keep its presence known. A theme otherwise only known on the channel for its low quality rips is now able to set a genuine mood of suspense and fear, with a sound akin to Kenji Yamamoto's Metroid music or Super Mario Galaxy's Drip Drop Galaxy theme. Its immaculate stuff!

Its even more interesting hearing this theme come from Heboyi in particular, based on the impression I've gotten of them beforehand. They're behind a lot of the funniest rips on the channel in recent memory, often using ironically-bad sources much like Astronaut in the Ocean itself, yet here do a complete 180 in emotional reaction. Its very funny to learn that the person most apt in wielding the Astronaut's power for comedy is also just as capable in wielding it for atmosphere and mood-setting.

#todays siivagunner #season 5 #siivagunner #siiva #Heboyi #astronaut in the ocean #ambiance #underwater #water levels #masked wolf #Youtube #Bandcamp