#Creativity is necessary for survival. [My Art]

[bigmfrat]

I don't think I ever posted Xarxes here, but here he is in his unfinished art, yippie! The TLDR for why he's so fuckin big is that he's a genetically engineered super soldier pumped full of chemicals to make him a massive killing machine and then sent off to do his colony's dirty work. After they were done with him they yeeted him into the wild and he became a mercenary willing to do whatever any random elderbrain wanted so long as they fed him. Hes a sort of "homebrewed" illithid Sub-Caste, here's a copy and paste from my little lore zone in my discord for the nosey:

More on Apex Illithid

When an elderbrain needs something done that requires an Illithid mind but a thrall's brawn they will select a newborn that fits a list of criteria and send them to the creatives. Here they will undergo physical alterations that will make them larger, faster, and stronger, and if necessary, psionic seals for anything they may be lacking, be it physical attributes or unquestioning loyalty. they will then be sent to the Tamers for their physical and military training. While their psionics tend to be lacking due to taking a back seat in their training, they are still capable of using the most basic of their abilities when needed though they will always prefer their physical might, They are also extremely intelligent and will always get the job done no matter what.

Due to the resources to take care of Apex Illithid, they tend to be even more rare than Ulitharids, While a Mindflayer already has a fast metabolism while living a cushy life getting tended to by thralls, an Apex will often triple or even quadruple the calorie intake of even the most physically inclined Major. The stress on the community to feed these individuals is often more than their society can handle, so after the mission they were born to complete is done, and if they survive, they are often ejected from their colony of origin or culled.

The end result of an Apex is usually a sad one, their life expectancy hardly reaches 25. After ejection they're usually killed when weakened by starvation in an attempt to feed on anything that moves, be it other Mindflayers, adventurers, villages, or beasts if they don't simply starve, as they can only survive about four days without a meal. On RARE occasions, however, an Apex can become a mercenary after expulsion and, if well known enough, will often be hired by colonies to do their dirty work while allowing them to not waste resources on raising their own Apex. The down side to this is that they will often be subjected to psionic surgeries that erase the knowledge of their past jobs that often take fragments of the individual's psyche with them. The older an Apex gets, the less stable they become.

Also sorry Asterion fans but I'm using the height that Larian posted on their twitter for scale. Also the purple shit head is my Tav/Oc, Not the Emperor

[disgruntled-detectives]

I’ve been gaining a lot of followers lately, so here are a few things about me and what I believe in before you hit that follow button.

1: The Jewish community is my first priority here. I may not be officially a member yet, but they are my people. My community. Therefore, antisemitism of any kind is not welcome here.

And because far too many non-Jews have decided to be dog whistling, This includes the term “anti-Zionism.” If you are not Jewish, or someone I know personally, or I see your comments and see that you are actually educated on what Zionism actually is and what it means, any anti-Zionism comments will get you blocked.

1A: this obviously doesn’t mean you cannot criticize or speak out against the actions of the israeli government. Israel is being monstrous in its treatment of the people of Gaza. It is reprehensible, and I personally want and yearn for a two state solution. I believe that both Jews and Palestinians have a right to safety and self determination in that land. Both groups are indigenous to the land, and both have a right to be there. We can agree or disagree on how this is achieved. I am for civil, productive conversations surrounding this. However, if you are not Jewish, Palestinian, or have family or community ties to either group, then I am giving you a lot of side eye.

1B: However, this does not give you carte blanch to go after random Israeli citizens. Do you go after random Chinese citizens for what the Chinese government is doing to the Uyghurs? Do you go after random US or Canadian citizens for their government’s treatments of their Indigenous population? No. Because that’s asinine. Same goes for Israelis. People are not their government.

1C: Hamas is a terrorist organization. They are not freedom fighters. They are monstrous as well. What they did on October 7th 2023 was the single biggest Jewish massacre since the Holocaust. They need to answer for that. They need to release the hostages. Simple as that. That being said, racism or Islamophobia of any sort will get you blocked.

Okay. That out of the way…

2: Sex work is real, valid, work and it needs to be legalized, regulated and sex workers need and deserve protection and workers rights like any other worker.

3: UBI is one of the best things we can do for people.

4: People need to be creative. And not everything has to be a side hustle. People wouldn’t need a side hustle if they could survive on their wages.

5: We don’t invest nearly enough in the arts and humanities. STEM is necessary too, but humans need art. We’ve been creating since before we had language.

6: best way to end homelessness? Give them homes. The data shows again and again and again that just giving someone a home goes an enormous way to helping them get back on their feet. It helps the economy, it helps the job force and most of all, it helps them.

7: Healthcare should be free for all.

8: Abortion rights are human rights. Abortion is healthcare. Abortion access is vital and necessary.

9: while I think that children are obviously humans and deserve and need more spaces where they are welcomed and catered to, adults need adult only spaces too. Kids do not belong at wineries, bars, concerts (that aren’t geared for kids of course) and breweries.

10: you are not a temporarily embarrassed billionaire. Wealth inequality especially in America is disgusting. The rich only got that way by exploiting the poor and the working class. Your anger shouldn’t be directed at the dentist who makes 200k a year. Your anger should be directed at the billionaire who hoards so much wealth, they or their descendants could never even hope to spend it all. They could snap their fingers and end homelessness, world hunger, etc. Eat them.

11: ANYTHING anti-trans will get you insta blocked. TERFS; go eat a knife.

12: our puritanical views towards sex and sexuality does us all a huge disservice. Everyone involved is a consenting adult? Go for it. Your kink may not be my kink, but sexual freedom and liberation are everyone’s benefit.

13: Everything bagels are the best bagels.

[trascapades]

🚨🇵🇸#CeasefireNow #StrikeForGaza December 11, 2023

The National and Islamic Forces, a coalition of major factions in Palestine, has called for an inclusive global strike that would include all aspects of life in solidarity with the Palestinian people—particularly in the Gaza Strip—who have been facing an Israeli war of genocide, displacement and ethnic cleansing...

Tomorrow 11th Dec. is a global strike day. "If the politicians do not hear us, then we can strike from economic life and daily movement and we can boycott everything, we can put pressure on them to stop supporting and blessing the massacre that is happening in Gaza. CEASEFIRE NOW!!!!" 

Caption reposted from Esraa Alshikh إسراء الشيخ @Esralshikh

🛑We started a campaign to push for a total strike worldwide on Monday 12/11/2023..

⭕️It is necessary to paralyze the movement of life and the economic wheel in all countries so that everyone feels that he is directly affected by the impact of the aggression on Gaza... 

⭕️ Start making your communications today, mobilizing and publishing ..

⭕️The strike must include the transportation, aviation, trade, banks, ports, and even schools and universities.

⭕️Work on gathering the majority of supporters and forget about those who are negligent and discouraged..

⭕️Any personal loss we suffer is worth nothing compared to the massacres taking place against people in Gaza..

Image 2 by artist @heyimsakina 

Images 3 & 4 and caption by artist @shirien.creates: ...I got news that my friend Refaat had been assassinated by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza, alongside his brother, sister, and four of her children. There is confirmation that he had received a threatening phone call by the Israeli intelligence saying they have located him.

Refaat was a well-known and loved Palestinian author, poet, and English literature professor. He was also a founder of @we_are_not_numbers. Refaat taught hundreds of students in Gaza English as a way to help them tell their stories and connect Palestinian liberation with the liberation struggles of Black, Indigenous and colonized people around the world.

I met Refaat in 2014 during his book tour for “Gaza Writes Back,” a collection of stories from Gaza youth living under siege. Refaat taught me how important art and storytelling are as part of our resistance as Palestinians. His work profoundly impacted and inspired me.

Even under Israel’s relentless airstrikes, Refaat hopped around Gaza to find internet to be able to stay connected with his students, his friends abroad, and to take interviews to shed light about the atrocities happening in Gaza. He bravely spoke up knowing that Israel was systematically targeting journalists, academics, creatives, and all those exposing the truth. His home was already targeted and bombed in October, but he survived. This time, he didn’t. 

It’s hard to believe Refaat is no longer with us. It is a painful loss. His intellect, his love for Palestine, his passion to make life better for Gaza, his beautiful care for his people, and his great sense of humor will be missed. But in his short time on earth, Refaat left a lasting legacy on all Palestinians and on the world.

Refaat, in one of his last interviews, said expo markers are all he had as his resistance. But he would never give up, and he wouldn’t want any of us to give up. As he rests, we will continue to tell our stories, to demand an end to the genocide and siege in Gaza, and to keep struggling until Palestine is free.

"Writing is a testimony…a memory that outlives any human experience. We lived for a reason, to tell the tales of loss, of survival, and of hope." - Dr. Refaat Alareer   

Images 5-8 and caption by @ajplus Israel has bombed the Great Omari Mosque, the largest and oldest mosque in occupied Gaza. Since Oct. 7, Israel has damaged or destroyed over 100 cultural heritage sites in Gaza, along with thousands of historical documents.

Associate Producer: Katherine Conner

Image 9 from @npr The United States vetoed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war at the United Nations Security Council on Friday.

The Security Council vote on the resolution, backed by Arab states, had 13 in favor and one — the U.S. — against, while the United Kingdom abstained.

#News #Gaza #Israel #Palestine #Palestinian #Mosque #History #GazaGeniocide #Gaza

[rochelle-echidna]

@micheladee tagged me in the "post a couple paragraphs of your WIP" share-a-thon, so figured I'd go through my Word docs and see what I could find - thank you so much for the tag, Michela :)

Truth be told, if y'all will allow me to vent a bit first... it's been a bit of a shitter these last couple years, especially wrt getting any sort of writing done. Never mind with fics (of which I feel awful I've barely started anything new, even the WIP below is from last year) - but I've also been trying to finally write a novel of my own after realising I really, really want to... and the words just aren't coming. Whether it's because of fear of ridicule, fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of financial stresses, fear of whatever... it's been really fucking rough since my spouse and I moved cross-country, and I've def been feeling ashamed at my lack of creative output :(

On the bright side, I'm getting some help with therapy and I'm doing a couple workshops to get me back into the swing of being creative so that I can tackle the work-life balance and not feel like the entirety of my (and my spouse's) survival rests squarely on my shoulders. Whether that means I'll be able to post any new work soon is up for debate, but honestly just taking these baby steps is better than nothing, so I'll take what I can get (and my body + mind can give).

And I know there's no "admission fee" to partake in fandom, but I still feel I'd be remiss if I didn't offer a huge apology for not positing fics recently, and especially for not commenting on fics y'all have made in these last several months - please believe me when I say I see y'all's work and it's great and makes me feel so many necessary things, even if I'm not able to type the words on AO3 atm.

Anyhow, just wanted to share an update with y'all and let you know I'm still here, still alive... just taking it one day at a time for now in order to keep my sanity strong!

Enjoy this little snippet of a WIP below, and I tag whoever so chooses to participate in this game - even if I'm quiet, I love seeing everything you lovely people write :D

When he was thrust back to reality in his own body, there was the usual disorientation that was to be expected of someone summoned through the dark arts. After all, if the infamous Thief King from 3,000 years ago had existed as a separate being before, there was no reason Malik’s other half couldn’t, too. Except… Ryou Bakura hadn’t exactly planned for this extra passenger to crawl his way back from the shadows alongside the former spirit. And what “Malik’s other half” – the phrase enough to make said individual gag – definitely hadn’t expected was for such confusion to be tainted by a profound sadness… one that had permeated his entire being for the last six months. Or however long it had been. Malik had gotten what he’d wanted, Ryou had gotten what he wanted, the Thief King had kind of gotten what he wanted – and all that “Malik’s other half” had gotten was a sense of displacement, dysmorphia and disdain. “You know… he’s welcome to stay here, Malik.” “You weren’t conscious during that damned duel fifteen years ago, host. Just be glad you weren’t privy to his cruelty firsthand.” “He’s right, Ryou. You’ve done enough already. There’s no need to put yourself in more danger.” “But there’s not much harm he can do now. I mean—" “I can hear you all.” Three pairs of eyes had greeted him when he’d first turned over on a – soft – bed. His hands had been bound, and he’d growled and snarled so much that he’d made Malik and the Thief King back up – but not the white-haired man in-between them. “You probably have lots of questions right now. And…” The blush that formed on the man’s cheeks had sent a – strange – shiver down his spine, warming his bound wrists. “I’m sorry I don’t have many answers.” He had merely hmphed at that, avoiding eye contact with his “main personality” and the thief who’d dared face him. Instead, he focused on the wide eyes of the man who must have been called— “Ryou… it’s no use. We need to send him back before he does some real damage again.” “Snap out of it, landlord. Just look at how he’s staring at you.” But the man – Ryou – had just tilted his head and let loose a very small smile. “What’s your name?”

[opia-tarot]

tarot reading

what you should be focussing on

Hi my darlings. I meditated and i got a message about what reading i should do. I specifically got a message to do a reading about what you should be focussing on.

any feedback is appreciated!

trigger warnings

⚠️mental health. I’ll be mentioning a few specific details (not graphic though).

⚠️childhood trauma

how to pick a crystal

Close your eyes and take 3-4 deep breaths in and out. And then open your eyes and focus on each crystal. Pick the crystal you’re actually drawn to. You’ll feel if it’s the right one. What crystal do you keep going back to? Which one is standing out the most? Choose that one. Really take your time. You might be drawn to more crystals, this is fine. Just take what resonates from each reading.

red jasper

Okay so this reading is about what you should focus on. Your messages were easy to get and it’s basically a very simple message.

I think what this group needs to focus on at the moment is gratitude. It’s not to say you’re ungrateful but I think you’re so focused on your goals and your future and what you want to manifest you’re forgetting to embrace the present. It’s a very cliché message but it’s important. You find it difficult to let things come in and to let things take its course, I feel like you’re stressing about why your manifestations haven’t come in or why it’s taking more time than you expected. I got a message, you are exactly where you need to be. This is a waiting period. This probably isn’t what you want to hear but it’s the message I got. I also got a message about you having a base chakra blockage. so this means you are too worried about the future and you’re not staying in the present. You’re so focused on getting your desired outcome you’re not allowing yourself to feel the moment.

I got a message about you needing to smell the flowers and the amount of cards I got with flower floral imagery on them is ridiculous. I think some of you would benefit from getting some plants it’s a random message I got. You are currently living in survival mode when it’s not necessary. The clear message I got is take a breather and relax. . Now before you roll your eyes there are some other messages ahaha. But before I move on you basically, should focus on living in the moment being present and allowing things to take their course and get out of your own way basically.

Some of you also need to work on yourself perception. I also got a message about some of you needing to invest more time in self-care. Self-care isn’t just the basics it’s also going out in nature meditating. This is cliché I’m aware but it’s the message I got. Some of you should focus on going out in nature more because you’re not very grounded at the moment and it’s important to take in what’s around you and reflect in those moments where you can really hear your thoughts.I also got a quick message about some of you being able to make money from your creative abilities. So if you’re wondering about your career or you wanted confirmation about your creativity this is your confirmation you are able to achieve financial abundance by being creative and expressing yourself creatively.

I also see some of you should be focusing on self love and pampering yourself. It’s OK to spend some money on yourself and it’s okay to invest in yourself. I keep seeing floral imagery. And I got a message about you blossoming and I really do see a glow up in all aspects. Another message I got is you have been manifesting love big time. I really see this group has been manifesting love. You are really yearning for a romantic partner. Some of you have been visualising and some of you have been writing down your manifestations this is just extra confirmation.

But your most effective way of manifesting is from your sacral chakra. Manifesting from your creative expression writing, singing, music, art is your most effective form of manifesting. I do also see some of you have been doing sex magic and if you have this is working very effectively. By sex magic I mean intimate alone time and picturing your ideal outcome or person. You know I mean. Anyway your time of being bored and stagnant is nearly over but you have to wait. It’s annoying and it’s frustrating but keep focusing on yourself because there is a love manifestation coming in, and it’s manifesting quickly.

I kept getting a message about a lover I couldn’t ignore them, they kept popping up in the reading. This lover coming in is a very passionate person. I literally could barely get any messages about them because this is very very fated. I got the four of wands twice and the wheel of fortune multiple times. I think quite a few of you are manifesting a very intense love. I got Scorpio and the 5th house. I got the ace of pentacles and the two of cups so this manifestation is going to be a reality. I got the north node card and I got the wheel of fortune so this is very fated you have to wait.

But in the mean time you should be working on healing those wounds in regards your self esteem and self perception. I got Libra Jupiter in the 7th house on my Astro dice so there is going to be a big expansion in your love life. This is amazing but please keep working on yourself before this person arrives. They are going to arrive unexpectedly, you are going to meet this person when you least expect, is a message I got. I got the knight of cups and I got the nine of cups so this is a wish fulfilment. This relationship is going to help you move on from past hurts and past baggage.

A message i got is this person is a fixed sign, meaning they’re either a Leo Scorpio Aquarius or Taurus. They are either a fixed sign or a fire sign. I also got a quick message if you’re thinking of going to a tarot reader about your next relationship or your next love, I wouldn’t recommend it because you aren’t supposed to know.

I also got some messages about what signs you’ll be seeing before this person comes in or before this manifests. These are the signs you are going to be seeing when your manifestation is very close.

the signs

some of you are going to be seeing pink or white flowers. You could be seeing these flowers anywhere, it doesn’t have to be in person.

some of you are going to be having sexual dreams when your manifestation is close

I got a very specific message, some of you are going to be ovulating or very fertile. So if you’re someone who is very in tune with your cycle then this message is definitely for you.

Some of you are going to have dreams related to fertility or giving birth when your manifestation is close.

Some of you could be seeing bees everywhere (but this is the least prominant sign)

mariposite

You’re ignoring your issues. To anyone who picked this group this is going to be a tough love reading. This group was hard to read for in terms of energy I felt energetically drained quite quickly during this reading. But not necessarily in a overly negative way I’ll explain. You need to do shadow work that is exactly what you need to be focusing on currently. I see quite a few of you have a fear of being powerful or you have a fear of progressing, some of you feel you aren’t good enough to move past this trauma or hurt from the past. This group has imposter syndrome.

I see you had a difficult childhood. I see some of you had a dad who was let’s say difficult because I don’t want to trigger anyone. Some of you could have had a dad who left and wasn’t present. you have a fear of men and this is something that’s very obvious in the reading. This group has trauma to heal from, everyone has something to heal from but this group specifically it has something to do with childhood trauma. Sorry this is difficult and I’m going to try my best to keep this least triggering as possible and I’m going to try to word this in a way that is not too harsh. But you have a fear of men and this stems back to a male figure who left you with a lot of scars is what I’m hearing. Some of you could have also been bullied. But the six of cups and the five of pentacles shows me you left your childhood quite scarred and with a lot of baggage. I got the 8th house multiple times.

It’s time to face it and move on so you can transform and become the butterfly. This transformation isn’t something that’s easy this is something that comes from growing pains and growing pains is something I kept hearing while I was doing the reading. Your childhood or adolescent years were extremely difficult. What you need to focus on is realising you are more than your trauma and you deserve to heal and move past these wounds, because these wounds are still affecting you and your self worth. I see it’s time to start meeting your own needs and show up for yourself. It’s time to start showing yourself you are worth the time and the effort to invest in. I got the Jupiter card so this transformation, this difficulty you’re going through or you went through is not for no reason. if you’ve been noticing certain people leaving or you feel lonely this is a very positive thing. Now you’re probably thinking opia what are you talking about, but I got a specific message. if you’ve been feeling lonely or certain people have been leaving it’s because there are a lot of things being removed that don’t serve you anymore.

There will never be a right time to start your healing journey now is the right time. Now is the time to start focusing on where you can start on your journey to healing and addressing those hurts or trauma. It’s not easy and it won’t be easy and I won’t lie to you and tell you it’s going to be fun. But it’s going to be the most rewarding thing you’re going to ever do and that is something I’m hearing clearly. But I’ll say again some of you dealt with a very toxic male figure and this has really affected your view of intimacy specifically or your view of men in general. I do see you need to start realising your worth and you need to start realising how much you’re capable of.

this is a very tough love pile so I’m sorry if this is a bit harsh. But you need to start addressing those issues you have from childhood because they are still affecting you. the hermit and 10 of wands tells me you’re trying to keep pushing but you’re not actually addressing those issues. I got the three of swords and I got the four of wands, you are going to reach stability, you are going to find mental stability. It’s going to happen but you need to put in the work and you need to show yourself you’re worth it. No this is not your fault and you aren’t to blame for anything you dealt with, but you deserve to heal.

I got Virgo Uranus in the 8th house on my astro dice so some of you are recovering from an unexpected illness, if you are, i’m hearing to not give up on your journey to recovery. I don’t like to include health stuff, but i do see you recovering.

So I wanted to find what positive things are coming in the near future and I got the five of swords and the justice card. so there are going to be removals. if this removal that I mentioned earlier hasn’t happened yet it’s going to happen in the near future, there’s going to be people leaving or distancing quite suddenly. I do see an end of relationships or friendships. It’s going to seem like a punishment but a message I got is, sometimes when you are on your journey to healing you can’t have the same people or things around you because those same things can hinder you. I’m seeing specifically friends because I got Aquarius and the 11th house on my astro dice.

I also see this is because there’s a new friend coming in and this friend is going to be so so genuine and so positive and they’re going to make you feel so much more positive and excited. This person could be an Aries. I got taurus Pluto in the 8th house on my Astro dice so this person is going to be your stability and your support while you are on your journey to transformation. This friend is going to be I heard coming to your rescue while you are going through this tower moment. Tarot readers say tower moments when it’s sort of when you’ve been avoiding trauma or healing or a specific situation and it’s basically like intervention where things get removed and things seem like they are spiralling but it’s for your own benefit.

I got the semi sextile card and the page of cups, so this tower card really tells me these things are being removed to allow really positive things to come in and a really positive friendship. This is a wish fulfilment to help you on your journey because I do see you are going to be overcoming these fears. this is going to happen and you are going to start fresh. The friend coming towards you is going to be very bubbly and very emotionally open and they’re going to help you be less avoidant. Because I do see this pile needs to work on their attachment style I do see you have an avoidant attachment style or an anxious attached attachment style. I would really like to hear you’ve been doing your shadow work, because this friend is going to come in when you start putting those efforts towards moving on and improving. You can do this.

purple dalmation jasper

edit-> i saw 111 when i started your reading!

So this reading is a very positive reading. When I was trying to figure out what you need to focus on I found myself saying what do you need to hear over and over again by accident. So I finally gave in and I just let the cards do their thing. the messages were popping out with that without me having to really put any effort so it really made things easier.

An immediate message I got is you are very attractive. There’s something very powerful about your sex appeal or about your femininity in particular this doesn’t matter what gender you are but I got a message about femininity here. I got the maiden card I got the queen card and I got the queen of wands. Actually got the queen of wands twice. You are very attractive and I got a message about people feeling very aroused or very attracted to you. Like you have really hot sex appeal. I don’t know why this is relevant but the cards really wanted to tell you so if any of you needed a confidence boost then here’s your confirmation of being sexy.

I also got a message about you being very good at occult related things or you could be really invested in astrology or you could be maybe exploring tarot reading but I do see you have some sort of attraction towards occult related things. Now there isn’t anything you need to focus on is basically what the cards were saying. The reading was dominated by a very specific main message. I don’t think a lot of the tumblr collective chose this pile because this is a very specific pile for a very lucky few of you. Now. Keep an open mind this is exactly what I got. This year- don’t know why I said this year because when I tried to ask what the timing was of when you’re going to meet this person the cards were not complying. But anyway there is a very significant and very important and amazing partner coming in. You could be rolling your eyes because we all know the tik tok trend of saying you have someone coming towards u.

But I can’t make this up. Seriously when I tell you your love life is about to be insane very soon. I got the 7th house and Venus and the two of cups. Like this is a very fated relationship and this person is meant to meet you and you’re meant to be in a relationship. I also got the four of wands and the vow card. You are going to meet the person you are supposed to marry soon. And how I know this is fated is because I tried to find out who they are or when you’re going to meet them and I couldn’t get any messages not even from my astro dice, I couldn’t get any messages and the cards weren’t cooperating. I do see some of you have been manifesting or some of you have been doing love spells but if not, then you’re probably just very interested in the occult or you could literally be a witch. But seriously I can’t emphasise this in a better way like if you could see these cards you would be absolutely gobsmacked. It’s so rare to get these sort of messages. this is a highly fated union. This is the person you’re supposed to be with.

Now sometimes when you are meant to be in a very fated relationship there is some karma surrounding it or some sort of blockage. I do see this person could be married when they meet you or they could be getting a divorce when they meet you. If not this then, they’re going to leave a committed relationship, this is because something is going to be awakened in them where they see how fated this is and it’s going to be a moment where you look in each others eyes and it’s going to be instant recognition. I’m not here to lecture about morals, this is just the message. Because I see there is an important decision either of you will have to make when you meet each other and I do see this has something to do with relationships.

Some of you are going to be leaving a partner for this person. I’m not going to tell you what the right decision is to make or what decision they should be making but this is what I’m seeing either of you is going to be in a relationship when you meet each other and that relationship will end. I kept getting calls about a third party situation and someone being left behind. That’s just what I’m seeing. I do see a painful ending before you two can be together.

You are represented by the queen card, and they are represented by the don jaun card. This is going to be someone who’s on your level you are not going to have to lower yourself anymore or settle. They are going to be charismatic but that is literally all I could get. You are going to be very attracted to them. Another message I got is you could be different ethnicities or have different cultural backgrounds.

Because it’s so guarded and blocked I try to figure out if there’s any blockages possible in terms of you meeting. The blockage I could get is you could be sceptical of this because this is something so beautiful and so genuine. You could be sceptical when you meet this person and you could take a while to open up and be receptive to them. So the message I’m getting is make sure you’re working on your healing, but I do see you have done amazing at tackling those traumas or difficult qualities. Keep going and if you haven’t started yet please start because I do see this scepticism could be a blockage if you don’t face it. Those are the messages I got. So what you should focus on is making sure you’re progressing on your journey to healing. this person is going to come to you. There isn’t anything you need to do you are doing great.

You don’t have to have these placements, i just thought i would include the astrological placements from the reading.

🔮 mars 9h (came up multiple times)

🔮scorpio 7h

🔮north node 7h (i got a message about some of you having this placement in your solar return chart when you meet them)

🔮aquarius uranus 8h

🔮taurus mars 9h

🔮8h cancer jupiter

🔮aries mars

🔮mars conjunct jupiter

🔮aries is important

🔮 sag pluto

🔮chiron 3h

aragonite

So this reading is going to be strict mum advice. I do see you have dealt with some sort of loss recently. this is either someone leaving you or this could be a break up or a friend who left. But I do see some sort of traumatic situation in regards to someone leaving quite suddenly. I don’t want to focus on this too much because it won’t resonate for everyone, but I do see you’re still recovering from some sort of loss. I do see you’ve recently dealt with it or you just haven’t recovered yet. You are dealing with mental health issues at the moment I do really see this and I do see you are struggling with emotional regulation.

Before I started your reading I kept getting messages about mirrors I got a message about mirrors by Justin Timberlake. I remember this message came up in my other reading but there’s a message about mirrors. Now I have to elaborate on this and the message I got is, you are struggling to see yourself within an accurate perception. You are extremely self deprecating. And this isn’t an attack on you I’m not here to lecture you and I’m not here to tell you what you already know. But I’m here to help and sometimes help comes in the form of tough love. I’m seeing you just feel really unlucky especially because of the Jupiter card in reverse and the seven of pentacles. You feel like there’s been blockages and you feel like there’s just no point.

Something you need to focus on is being grounded in reality, some of you are, I won’t say delusional but you are not grounded and the problem with this is, ur not seeing yourself clearly because of this and you’re not seeing things clearly. And when you stop seeing things clearly it allows for a negative perception of your reality to manifest. I was drawn to aragonite to represent your group and aragonite is all about letting go of emotional baggage. I even got the aragonite card and on the card it says release your emotional baggage.

I got a very specific message and this won’t resonate for everyone but I had to include it. There is a vow you made to yourself when you were younger and I got a message about you not fulfilling it. For some of it has to do with pursuing a creative passion but for the rest of you I couldn’t figure it out. I’m hearing a message, you need to stop giving up on yourself. I feel like sometimes you look back at yourself and you think what happened? I got the five of swords and I got the six of cups. Some of you have a fear of abandonment and this stems from either a parental figure or something to do with abandonment that happened in your childhood.

Now you’re probably thinking opia it’s easy to say. but here’s the thing, in order to really move on or to at least be able to cope, I’m getting a clear message of you getting a therapist. Find a therapist that suits you, someone who can really understand your experiences. If you are already seeing a therapist I do see this therapist is a great choice. What is important to understand is you cannot be able to function properly without tackling these issues I don’t know specifically what these issues are but it could be something related to what I’ve said already.

I do see some of you feel let down this could be by a person but I do see you’ve been let down by your own idealizations. You had a perception and a view of what things would be like by this point and you feel let down because you aren’t in that place currently. A message I got is to remember we move at our own pace and it’s okay if things feel blocked and it’s okay if you feel unmotivated. But the worst thing you can do in these points of lack of motivation is give up or allow yourself to stay in stagnancy. I’m hearing you owe it to your younger self to show yourself what you’re really capable of.

You have to learn to separate yourself from other people’s opinions. You aren’t what other people say you are necessarily, you have to establish who you are.

What I also see is you struggle to set boundaries and something you really should focus on is setting boundaries. You don’t have to feel guilty for declining people or for not listening to someone’s problem if you feel drained it is okay to make time to be alone and to recharge. The issue is, I see some of you have isolated yourself too much and this has caused you to be avoidant of people. You have issues with people because you are very paranoid person.

I also got a message about some of you working so hard to make money or some of you are really worried about your current financial state. Some of you could be really struggling at school.

I also channelled a message about the mirrors I kept seeing earlier. Some of you need to do some deep inner reflection self reflection and deep introspection about where you need to go and who you are. It is not possible to move forward when you don’t really know yourself, or when you are afraid of yourself.

A message I’m getting is about career success. I do see some of your going to be getting recognised at work (possible promotion) or school or college.

I got a career message. some of you, most of you have a creative ability you are hiding. Some of you are writers or graphic designers. But this group is the tortured artist group, you are extremely artistic in some way and if you don’t know this start exploring it.

There’s something about how you write or communicate that’s very magical. Some of you could have the ability to sing. But you are avoiding this because I got the hermit card, some of you are just unaware of this ability. I got Capricorn and the 10th house on my astro dice and I got the nine of cups. I also got the king of pentacles and the king of wands. You have the potential to make money and I mean money off of a creative ability and this is rare this isn’t a message for the other groups, this is your message so it means something. You could be a life path 3 or 9. Regardless your creativity is supposed to be seen. You could have an aspect between Neptune and mercury. I also got Mars in the 5th house on my astro dice, so it’s time to start exploring and really pushing your creativity. I got a random message some of you are fans of BTS this might seem random, but I guess if it resonates it’s just extra confirmation this is your message. Some of you also get creative messages in your dreams, or creative ideas, I really see this. You could be a pisces moon.

I also got cancer Saturn in the 4th house and the six of cups. So some of you could have had a strict mother or perhaps a restricting mother and this has caused you to cocoon yourself and not express yourself. It’s time to shine is a very very big message I got. But it starts with your thoughts and yourself perception otherwise you won’t be able to move forward.

quick final messages

🔮please get some sleep!! I kept getting messages about you not sleeping and this is affecting your mental health. I’m not a doctor but it’s the message i got

🔮some of you have a weak bladder😭 sorry this is so weird but it’s a message i had to include so you have extra confirmation

⚠️

🔮some of you have a toxic relationship with food. Remember it’s a journey. Please be easy on yourself

A quick message i got is you have a throat chakra blockage. i recommend searching throat chakra unblocking methods. But a big way to unblock your throat chakra is by expressing yourself.

hi my lovelies! I kept getting synchronicities while doing this reading. Doing this reading in particular, has been an interesting experience. I’m getting to know you better each time i do a tumblr collective reading. Let me know what you think, i love feedback! If you have any requests for future readings let me know🔮🖤

[cliozaur]

So, basically the main message of this chapter is that criminality is eternal and ineradicable: “Beneath the obscure roof of their cavern, they are continually born again from the social ooze. They return, spectres, but always identical; only, they no longer bear the same names and they are no longer in the same skins. The individuals extirpated, the tribe subsists.” The only hope to make it vanish is rather utopistic and so… eighteenth-century in its spirit: “What is necessary to cause these spectres to vanish? Light. Light in floods. Not a single bat can resist the dawn. Light up society from below.” In the Gillenormand’s chapters, Hugo could mock the eighteenth century as something outdated as much as he wished, but after all, he himself was still harbouring ideals of the Enlightenment (and there were a lot of references to it in the convent digressions). It warms my heart for the eighteenth century will always be my first love!

We are back to theatre metaphors: the quartet “undertook the preparation of the scenery. They labored at the stage setting”; and, of course, the most telling of these metaphors is “They kept a troupe of actors of the shadows at the disposition of all underground tragedies.” I find it amazing, though, that Hugo chose to speak about such a down-to-earth topic as criminality using the vocabulary of theatre. This way he (un)consciously recognizes that it is a kind of art that demands a certain degree of talent and creativity. However, this absolutely contradicts his main message that criminals are uneducated, dehumanized monsters inhabiting “the lowest depths”.

And here all these named and unnamed chthonic creatures are drawn to the caverns: they sleep in “the lime-kilns, sometimes in the abandoned quarries of Montmatre or Montrouge, sometimes in the sewers.”

I appreciate Hugo mentioning the real Vidocq as a nemesis of his fictional quartet; it adds some… I don’t know… substance and credibility. Also, before giving the list of names of Patron-Minette affiliates, Hugo says that these “names have survived in special memoirs”. Were they indeed mentioned in some memoirs (Vidocq’s?) or is Hugo making it up?

[livums]

Okay I got a weird idea i have to ask writeblrs I like: What would your ocs be an alternative universe? Any type you want, but I would love to hear in like completly different setting they are in real life. You have quite many wips so your choice!

omggg hiiii this is such a fun ask! I wanted to give it a lot of thought.... it was a little difficult because both of my main WIPs are set in like ... old fantasy settings which is typically the AU itself lol and I'm not terribly creative so that's what I would ordinarily go with... but that doesn't work here!

SO I decided to take The Marking Blood and The Romance of the Demigods and... swap their settings! Just to think about what would happen!

So without further ado... I would like to introduce The Mark of the Demigods and The Romancing Blood!

KESH is a vampire who has cheerily stalked the Mont Estival nighttime for years upon years, with no one to look out for but her own damn self. It’s a carefree undeath, save for dodging her ████████████████████ as well as the ever-diligent Hunters. Well, and the unshakable envy. So maybe she misses being a human. So maybe letting herself be turned was not her best decision. So maybe she feels corrupted and irredeemable. She takes it out, in her way, on the steadfast hunter Eve, whom she’s constantly teasing and toying with. It’s dangerous—the day Eve finally catches her is the day her undeath comes to an end. But it’s a thrill like nothing else. Despite proudly declaring herself the “biggest thorn the Guild’s side has ever known”, Kesh is shocked to attract attention for it. She’s thusly accosted by Nysa, a nobleman’s daughter and brand new vampire. Kesh has never reckoned herself the mentoring type, but there’s something that strikes her unbeating heart about Nysa’s determination to walk in the worlds of both the living and the dead. It would be nice, Kesh thinks, to feel a little closer to humanity.

Continued below the cut because this um. is gonna be a while.

EVE is an esteemed hunter of vampires, marching in the steps of her valorous forefathers. It’s among the holiest of callings. Yet she finds herself afflicted of late with the strangest dreams—dreams that more and more compel her to allow the vampire Kesh slip between her fingers. There’s something alluring in Kesh’s taunting. A deep and hidden longing is stoked in her. The more she lets the vampire toy with her, the more she finds herself daring to acknowledge her doubt, her craving. It’s a terrifying thing. Whether slaying Kesh will quell her confusion or amplify it, Eve is uncertain. But on and on she pursues the vampire, knowing not if this will be the night on which she finally refuses to stay her hand.

NYSA is the scion of a powerful nobleman… and, as of recently, a fledgling vampire. She’s done fighting her new nature tooth and nail. Human, vampire, whatever, there must be a way to thrive in both worlds, and Nysa is determined to find it. Or, if necessary, to force it into existence. It’s no simple thing—not when her father is a devout patron of the Hunters Guild, nor when her betrothed is of a Hunter family himself. Naturally, she seeks expert assistance—in the form of Kesh, the self-styled “greatest to ever do it”. Learning to survive as a vampire is hard enough, but maintaining her role as an upstanding noblewoman at the same time? Nigh on impossible. But she can’t afford mistakes when mistakes mean her head. Nysa will find a way to live both lives, or lose both trying.

IRIAL is known by many as the greatest Hunter of his generation. Yet one vampire has managed to elude his grasp—the devious Kesh. Unlike his fellow Hunter, Eve, he is patient in his pursuit of the vampire. There is an art to the hunt. This, he knows above all else. If he lays his trap well, he is certain Kesh will waltz her way right into the point of his stake. He is not at all prepared, however, for how taken he is with her. Oops!

THE MARK OF THE DEMIGODS is a way-too-complicated AU that took me three+ hours to type out. Kill me! It’s about vampires and vampire hunters screwing each other, what more do you want,

Sorry for the bait I actually took one look at the cast and was like oops! there are too many of you and I’m too lazy </3 so um if anyone’s interested. maybe I’ll make a part 2 with this . lmao .

[donnerpartyofone]

When MAD GOD aired on The Last Drive-In on Friday, the EIC of Fangoria quote tweeted me, where I'd said approx "What would you spend 30 years doing if you had no idea whether you would profit by it?" The comment he added was "Some of us know because we have," and this provoked a slew of responses from people announcing their many years of starvation in the various arts. It's nice that they all had a fun discussion but I found it a little insulting. I agree that "there's nothing to it but to do it" or whatever and I think that personal satisfaction should be your main motivator in any creative work, but I felt like my tweet got recast in this light as if I meant, "Can you IMAGINE doing something you don't get paid for?!", in order to prove something about who lacks character and who has the right stuff, and I thought that was really flattening. There's more kinds of people out there than those who Do and those who Don't, and if you don't get to do what you really want to, you don't always "only have yourself to blame" in every single instance. There are people who have to spend all their energy and resources surviving, combatting poverty or illness or both. Someone can always point to disabled and oppressed artists who built amazing careers despite it all, but the lesson isn't always "If they can do it then anyone can do it," sometimes the lesson there is "That particular person is extremely remarkable" or just "They have a totally different economy of energy than most people." There are people who aren't able to feel that they're good enough at what they want to do, so it's hard to fully commit to work that may not even have artistic value or entertainment value, let alone monetary value. Will power alone isn't always enough to bring together the material resources necessary to make the kind of thing you want to make, especially if it's as complicated as a movie (and let's not forget the creator of MAD GOD is an Oscar-winning artist partially responsible for the original STAR WARS trilogy, not some basement dweller with uncertain prospects). The more expensive and technical your thing of choice is to produce, the more support and ingenuity and self-confidence you need to get it done, and those things can be in short supply for many of us; just "being obsessed" doesn't always open every door.

Part of me thought, "Hey wait a minute, there ARE things I've done for decades-plus that are purely for my own satisfaction (my film writing is the biggest example), this isn't a foreign concept to me, I just think I'm asking a good question!"...and then another part of me thought, "I drew, passionately and prolifically, every single day of my life until I got into an abusive relationship in my mid-20s, and by the time I was 30 I basically never drew again. Something about that experience flipped a switch and there are now things I can't enjoy anymore, including things that had always been core parts of my personality. I hope this changes, but there's not much I can do about it." I think the Fango EIC is reacting in part to being constantly assailed by angry nerds who think they automatically deserve jobs at the magazine because they're fanboys and they're active on Twitter or whatever; a few years ago he wrote an editorial about doing creative work out of desire first and foremost, and how that *sometimes* does form the foundation of a career. I loved that, that's basically what I've been doing with my writing for years and I wouldn't stop even if I found out for a fact that I'd never see a return on it. I just HAVE to write for some reason, I don't question it. So yeah anyway I felt a little dunked on, and maybe I asked for it or something, but I didn't think it was fair. Thankfully I have enough sense not to go on the defensive with anyone on Twitter, but part of me felt like saying, "I co-run a horror academia non-profit, you don't have to explain to me the virtues of working for pride and pleasure above all else. I just thought it was worth posing the question in general, for anyone reading: What would you be willing to spend 30 years doing if all you ever got out of it, as far as you knew, was the work itself?" I mean yes, work hard, be obsessed, trust the process, make the journey the destination, etc. That's an excellent premise to start from, for sure. But not everybody who can't spend 30 years on their favorite thing is some kind of lazy ingrate, sometimes there's also circumstances. Anyway that episode of Last Drive-In was amazing, Phil Tippett gives an amazing interview, the whole thing was very inspiring and I highly recommend it.

[immemorymag]

Elise Corvaglia @cloudiselectric

About herself

"I was born on 1978, in an italian family. I live and work in Belgium.                                             Autodidact, I love to explore, discover, express… Younger, I went to the painting academy but their rules didn’t fit to me. I felt too gagged. I like to create following my mood, my life experiences.     Stories, books, movies, songs… all of them helped me finding my way. I grew up with them all along. I think that poetry has become necessary to survive in this world, so in order to stay afloat, art in all its various forms has always served as my lifeline"

How did you start your journey in photography? What does photography mean to you?

I’m curious by nature and like to experiment. I also need to express myself while keeping my thoughts and emotions vague. It is therefore quite natural that I turned to photography and particularly to the Polaroid.  Among other things, photography allows me to cut myself off from this world and physically enter my own. I don't take a picture, I make a picture. I show what is behind my eyes. My fondness for the Polaroid is due to the fact that the chemistry adds this magic to my vision. The excitement is at its peak when developing !                                                          When I look at one of my images, my emotions, my feelings of the moment come back. It's like a box containing smells, thoughts, atmospheres, the elements like the sun burning my skin... Selfishly, I know that I am the only one to feel them so precisely.

The aesthetics of your series differ from each other, how do you come to that decision (b&w, colour, interventions)? How would you define your style?

I have no rule. I just follow my instinct. Like the collage that I practice in parallel, I work in the manner of automatic writing. There is always an extremely personal and therapeutic approach in my creations. This does not mean that none of my images are thought out or considered.               I'm not used to labels. I don't define myself as belonging to a style or a movement.

What sparks your creativity or inspiration in the construction of new projects?What or who inspires your work?

Music inspires my work. My family story (I’m a child of emigration) and therefore my Italian roots, feminism, the rights and status of animals, the questioning of identity, are recurrent themes. It’s therefore not unusual for these themes to recur in a cyclical manner.

What is the main feature of your photographic work?

Oneirism (that’s one of my favourites words) and mystery I guess.

[chipped-chimera]

Thought I'd do a little bit of a personal update! I'm doing the reorganising thing which is still slow but really motivating - enough that I'm having good energy days where I'm getting more done! I should be able to start work on the new fish tank soon!

More commentary/thoughts/where I'm going creatively below the cut. (It might be a bit heavy, you've been warned - check tags for more info)

EDIT: Fixed Tumblr borking this, now looks like how this WAS SUPPOSED TO oof

So I'm in the process of redoing my entire office just to fit this fish thank (which has now been leak tested so we're good to go), as well as reorganising based on tips I picked up from this book for people with ADHD that I've found massively helpful. Honestly it's been great for helping me just THROW SHIT OUT because while I can have my moments of ruthless detachment and clear inventory my family is very much a 'use/reuse/reappropriate' kind of deal, which while great often gives me hesitation throwing stuff out primarily because of that pressure - especially when I'm stuck living with them. Now I know it's necessary to get everything to a state where it will STAY organised.

It's also let me take inventory of the stupid amount of traditional media art supplies which have been sitting there since high school in near pristine unused condition (we are talking a LOT of very useable acrylic paints here) and get them all organised. After chatting with my psychologist yesterday I've bought more/replacements for things I had to throw out (literally dry as a bone markers) as she literally said she 'very much encouraged' my idea of starting a visual art diary to help process emotions and stuff.

I know over the years my inspiration to do stuff has withered, usually because it's been hammered by bad moods (caused primarily by external forces I could not control on top of my already battered neurology). I know now because of shit in my past that has been largely unresolved, art has never been an outlet for emotions for me because I'm so afraid of taking up space. Despite emotions being a powerful source for art, I rarely draw on them both because I have spent so much time trying not to feel them or hiding them because unfortunately my history is one of a lot of rejection, right down to a very young age where my caregivers should have been way more on the ball. It's helped me acknowledge my way of expressing love and affection is kind of fucked - when I feel close to someone or like them a lot it has the opposite effect where I instinctively want to pull away from them because I'm scared I'm going to 'ruin it', like my life is tainted and by associating with them I'll drag them down somehow. I know it's silly but it's very hard to get past because it's automatic - that was the only way I was guarenteed to get affection, if I was the most borin, biddable, palatable child in existence who caused no problems, even if it meant enduring physical and emotional pain alone. I inherently find it hard to trust people being genuine about liking me as a person because I'm just waiting for the shoe to drop when they realise I'm too much hassle - which unfortunately was the circumstance my relationship ended around so yeah, that did not fucking help. Basically I go from being really comfortable around someone to masking intensely and yeah that is NOT GOOD. I also legit feel the reason I have alexytheimia is because I had to develop a buffer so early in my life just to survive as far as I have.

I'm hoping art journalling will help me process some of those thoughts and feelings and I still want to try and show them, just to show myself they DO have value, they are a valid part of the human experience and they should be allowed to take up space - I do not need to hide them away or cut pieces of myself out to become more 'palateable' to people. So yeah um, I guess there will be some vent art, I don't know if I'll post only to my art blog or here because it's more sketchy shit and I reserve the art blog for finished pieces now ... either way knowing me it's going to be highly metaphorical and symbolic so I don't know how 'triggering' it could be but either way I'll probably tag the absolute shit out of it just to make sure I don't adversely effect someone (yes I am aware of the irony in me saying that as it's basically me trying to 'not ruin' things again but even putting it out there at all is a big enough step - also tags are just basic decency).

So uh ... That's what I've been up to? Also why I've been kind of shit about WIP Wednesday tagging and responding to other tag games (which I am now once again remembering a bunch of that I STILL have sitting in my motifs cause I still wanna do them ; m ;) I think I tend to get something like reverse SAD this time of year, arguably for the same reasons SAD develops - it gets so damn hot that I have the curtains closed in my office (which has the biggest window in the house) all day to keep the heat out. So arguably I have just made 'tiny dark winter' for about two months because I ain't going outside when it's over 30C (aka the temp tomorrow. And the day after THAT. Fuck I hate summer). Just instead of dark and cold it's dark and sweaty - feeling clammy also being a sensory problem for me so all around BAD TIME until the season changes :/

Outside of all that I'm speculating writing a wlw romance in a western setting because I have had on off cowboy rot since forever and I should probably do something with that already. Currently speculative Native American love interest/secondary protagonist with a background that probably touches on maybe the boarding schools and then reconnection with culture. We've had similar stories with our indigenous population in Australia unfortunately (colonialism is a plague) so I can sort of have some understanding but I probably need to hit the books on that one. For any Americans/Canadians reading this if you know some good books, PLEASE send me your references, I really want to make sure I do this right. I reblogged a post a few days ago about how Native Americans are often dehumanised in westerns and they just become part of the landscape, and I really want to push against that. Also do some contrasting against how oppressive western colonial era culture was by comparison to native culture honestly because I feel that would be a really interesting dynamic. Idk when/if stuff with this project will start happening but we'll see.

If you read this far, thanks! It's pretty validating to know people care this much, since it's hard for me to believe people do care a lot of the time because of all the above bullshit. So just so you know, I love you guys 💖 and you get a bonus cat:

Tiny p.s. living with my parents now is very different from when I was a child, I know the people who caused me hurt are long, long gone. They are not the same people anymore - so I am okay! It's still frustrating but more for the reasons of wishing I had my own (bigger) space to live in and put all my stuff and just 'I am a 30 year old extremely supressed lesbian speed running puberty and this environment is not conducive to exploring that' if anything. While I'm out with my Mum I can't like ... talk about that shit lol. So yeah, frustrating but for entirely different reasons. Just clearing that up.

[missmyloko]

Hello Again!

I was reading you review on Makanai's chapter 3 and I must say that I agree and Tsurukoma is one of my fav character she is such a great maiko and quite an interesting character who later will show a side of the Karyukai that is not the most pleasant one for fans but a good reality for girls this there days (I love spoilers but will not make any right now unless you ask me hehe).

Besides that, when I read your review during the double ozashiki reservation and how the retired geiko with a crazy personality takes herself a spot into the dinner, I remembered something quite interesting about the Karyukai history and come up with a question.

Do you think that in order to survive the Karyukai will be more open to start new trends like in the past or accept more crazy girls?

You know that nowadays the work is not what is used to be and less Japanese are interested in traditional ozashiki

But I remember a Tokyo hangyoku that was really unique and crazy, which didint like to her sisters and okasan but was loved by costumers and also make really popular even outside Japan.

And in the past they were the ones that come up with the new trends for women and were successful due to their originalities back then

So taking that into consideration and that all thinks must evolve to keep going and costumers look for new stuff as well or similar things but with new twist.

Do you think that changes will be taking at least into consideration? By example new musical compositions and dances, new trends in kimono, maybe more creative freedom for girls (we will se something related to it in the series as well) that even if they are performers, they are also artists that could want to do something else but not leave the Karyukai. Maybe some moderns complements or other stuffs added at least in a little way?

I personally believe that in this world nowadays and in some way will be necessary but will be contradictory with their mission being the guardians of tradition and art and their iconic image to it. Maybe they need like special trend for special days or like a new service for new costumers, like when they opened to tourist but that will be still Karyukai? quite hard to think?

What do you think ??

Thank again in advance Dear Justine

My very best Regards

It's really hard to say what steps the karyukai may take in the future on anything. However, opening themselves up to more "rowdy" or "outgoing" girls is against the tradition of temperament that they seek. Beyond that, we'll just have to wait and see ^^

[line-and-ink]

Ok it's Friday and I want to do something different. AI art has been making the rounds lately. I'm interested to know people's opinion on it.

I think it's an insidious and unnecessary creation that is industrializing a completely subjective field that AI should have absolutely no part in. Others (my husband this morning at the breakfast table) shrug their shoulders and just say it's inevitable progress of automation, like how workers were replaced at car manufacturing companies.

If Automation is the inevitable outcome, then why should creatives bother anymore? Why should we write or make music or paint or push ourselves through growth and development to try and achieve something new, when some tech bro can churn out an algorithm to make something kinda similar but not really the same.

Why bother going to see live music ever again, why bother going to an art gallery? Why bother? Automation is inevitable, that's just the way of the world. You don't NEED art, you don't NEED music to survive.

That's a polite way of saying to artists that 'hey, those last 20 years you've spent slogging your guts out and developing your craft, not really necessary anymore....go find a proper job'.

I'm trying (I promise) to be objective about all of this, so I do want to hear other people's counter arguments. For instance can you morally disagree with AI art but still by your clothing from places like H&M who are RENOWNED for stealing artists work and selling ot wholesale on their clothing? Can you be against automation of something so personal and subjective but then still buy all your art materials from Amazon?

[captainkurosolaire]

Was quite captivated by your words. Pulled this quote to be reminded that our creations live with us and beyond us. —- :O! This is incredible and so sweet I was momentarily wordless. Very talented to see it given creation and amazing art even. But it does still ring true, it’s a unfathomable endless sea to admire and cultivate. I really do think exploring creativity and wherever passion is/may be concerned, is our real power, it’s the closest thing I know that not only we can give others, what we can bring to life or destroy, we’re the most limitless in the grasp of transforming what’s upon our distinct minds.

=Personal Story Time= If used correctly, it’s a real throne and kingdom that should be proud of that banner we bring. I live for that sight, that moment, to hear and not only bring it to be drawn by it! The more I’ve come to also take that in, I see everything is a story and life channels it into me and I am always compelled to write or do something because of it. Even my most darkest days and creative writing stuff I went through recently, I’ve put that even back on bring out in late night story que’s for the future, all my inexperience, all my flaws. Because all that is apart of me. I can’t ret-con myself either. …And because I treat myself like that and take everything in, I’ve become someone incredibly more whole. There’s a confidence now that stirs in my chest that tells me I absolutely, can achieve anything. That entire explosive energy in me, that’s compelled me to try channeling it outwardly too. Cause if I can feel like that, I know everyone else can cause they’re/you’re my betters. Should that not be what’s felt, well then I’ll make sure while I’m thriving and living to give everything my all until patiently that day comes. Moment’s can push you beyond things never thought possible. I was in a three-day coma, doubted I could even survive after I aspirated into my lungs, a botched surgery gone array. Had my colon removed for a year and then reversed back into me to try attempt to do a procedure that would give my colon its necessary functions again. Happened suddenly and the midst of Christmas even, I remember deliriously all the strong pain-killers that are so powerful they create life-like hallucinations, the aroma, the smell, everything I could hear/see witness, I was on such high stuff, I still even had dreams and with those they were formed from the realities of my memories, my experiences. When you have something like that flash upon your life, there is a message potentially hidden in all that. I would say before that I was more introverted then 99% of the people here. I never spoke barely anyone, I was quite to myself outside the very limited people and even those who were closest never really I expressed myself cause I used to be embarrassed of how nerdy, or everything I was still. I enjoyed many interests and things that I never knew would click, I lacked it all. My answer came, in writing. My canvas, the place where I found my own freedom. Because upon something like this, it’s natural for me, this is like having my feet buried in the soil’s of awaiting beach sands, I’m the most comfort in this element and environment. Nothing beats me here, ADHD to the point I needed special-care and education, mild case of autistic, depression, anything mentally that could attack me, I could defeat here. Lay it all out, become myself. I made my autobiography at 16, barely a life yet to make a story about, but you’d be surprised it had much writing, all the future written on that page! I started writing commissions when I was 18 for people on dating apps and Facebook even. I began making my own RPG elements, character sheets, I went for anything too starry or ahead of myself, when I got my second-chance, I took it!

And it let me even though I wasn’t able to attend my high school at that time, I was able to show people myself in writing and I overcame it, I became more confident and never again did I look back. I only decided to further venture into it. Because when I woke up from that whole health, stuck in a hospital a month in my own weakness and fragility, one of my closest friends passed and that tore my world’s existence apart – because, I didn’t get to show him that side of me, the one who meant everything. Never again.

I became someone who challenge and became his worst critic, every writer has one! I’m the worst, no one can out-perform me in being toxic or against me. No one is against me like myself, no one wants me to fail like some of the noggin voices in my head. But with every voice telling me to quit, give-up, I push myself and look back at the aftermath what I created the people, I spite and made because I fight! I create! I build! I go for more, no matter how big. I am drawn back to write again and again! Until I can’t no longer. For the longest time I felt there was nowhere I belonged because how vastly different I was with this passion so strongly pumping in me. But then I found this place on Tumblr and learned blogs, I found the right RP community, I found entire acceptance and everything a whole civilization, more then a few people. It made everything become even more encouraging. Now I’m even better than that long-time ago, I haven’t forgotten those moments, they carry and make-me, but now I’m even more tenaciously passionate. And many people have struck me down, targeted how deeply I was into writing, my passions, they succeeded, beat me down, made me overthink, they aided against my worst. But their shadows, they didn’t make sure the job was done, it made errors. The darker things become, the more space it consumes. Only takes ONE tiny star and if it glimmers a shine and when it does, it will bring a light that will carries a solar system. Within here; for every voice that used to exist that was spewing against me to damage me down, there’s now with one voice of someone, who’s been inspired, praised, seen or gone to a journey and trip around this tenure. They’ve echoed billions of sounds more impactful and I resonate with it, I create off it, and it’s going to eventually show how far I can take it, grow and nurture off this. I have no limits, I’m a writer, a creator inspired by the eldest of stone.

I can lose many things, but the one thing I will never let myself be taken away from is my moments of symphony, that are my choir of newfound life.

[expvrgction]

Hey. Charger here.

This is an out-of-character post and tagged as such-- As well as an important announcement. Even if it's not for you, then at least it is for me. Don't worry, it isn't anything life-threatening. I'm sorry for possibly having worried some, if not all of you.

You're in for quite a long read, so everything will be under "Keep Reading".

The last few months was a "parched" moment for me in terms of creative writing and art both. I barely post anything on Tumblr these days, and whatnot with being torn between maintaining all role play blogs I manage, and retiring all of them altogether.

I am currently unemployed as of the date of writing this, and as much as I would like to be hired under someone else, or be hired by a company, it isn't my type, and I don't find myself thriving nor surviving in such a work environment anytime soon. The way I see it, freelancing may be the best choice moving forward.

There are many ways in which this can go. I am currently interested in art, creative writing and video games, but all of these so far had been just hobbies, and making a living out of either would require a lot of knowledge before jumping in. At the same time, I have tried to dip my toes into live streaming some time in the past, and though content I made might be full of scuff, I have gotten the hang of the basics, and wish to pick it up again and move forward from there. This will also require more knowledge and learning along the way.

However, if I do decide to do live streams again (I have a couple past live streams on YouTube before taking a year-long hiatus due to burnout and prioritizing on myself, my friends and loved ones)-- And have a schedule I can work well with, then I may end up either having to engage in text role-playing more sparsely, put it to the side for now, or retire from it, here on Tumblr, and possibly Discord as well.

As such, all role play blogs I manage, including ones I have not promoted here (@expvrgction, @tokeikaijin, @mayor-bubblegum) will be put on indefinite activity/hiatus, effective immediately. Any thread that has recently been replied to on any blog listed, if at all, will still be worked on, and any in-character asks and submissions will still be accepted at this time-- But ask boxes and submit buttons to the following blogs will be closed at some point after this announcement. If any RP partner still wants to continue where any thread has been left off, feel free to send me IMs, or contact me via Discord @ zicasupercharger.

I can be contacted via my main Tumblr account (@zica-supercharger @notphonecharger), my other main Tumblr account focused on posts and reblogs ZeniMax Media related (@the-world-spear), or my aforementioned Discord handle. Any changes to these URLs, as well as my Discord handle will be edited and reblogged as necessary.

Thank you for 2+ years here (and more, if you count previous RP blogs I have deleted, going as far as my not-so-proud early 2010s RP era)! I would like to apologize for some things I did that might have upset you in any way, and wish you all the best.

See you when I see you,

Charger.

[lilsnowpea93]

I have a few extra things to add to that longpost I made the other day about the typical working experience in America. 1. So, I suppose something I’d super advocate for is something like UBI, or at least funding of the arts of for creative people. The latter is a biased framing ofc. And we do have some safety nets here like food stamps and Medicaid. But I think those could be expanded slightly, especially healthcare. So, note that when I mention funding of arts/creativity, like we do have bigger problems. But arts are also important, and the first stuff to get cut. Anyway. I feel there’s this attitude from more centrist and conservative people I talk to that, if a system like UBI were put in place, it would lead to nobody wanting to work, especially if it was a good program (which won’t happen, like gov giving u a liveable paycheck monthly, they should do that for ppl who can’t work but broadscale it will never happen). Handout this and freeloader that. Cool cool cool. And so, in order for society to function, there are so many jobs that need to be performed, surely. Now, for many of those jobs that are considered more “skilled” and have large large responsibilities and huge consequences for mistakes- people typically go to school for that stuff, or spend years of their lives dedicated to it, it’s their thing they do. They also hopefully get paid well, which is the incentive sure. Also for the “unskilled” dirty shitty jobs that need to happen, employers should pay them well too, incentive. For transparency, I work in this field, but it’s small time. Now, idk if this is specific to me, but a lot of people I personally know, work retail and random stuff like that, (in contrast to those “societal bolster” jobs like being a building planner or whatever). And granted sometimes those overlap, like supermarket jobs. So, I think it’s fair to say that ppl working those retail or service jobs aren’t typically training their whole lives for those positions, they usually don’t love their job (sometimes you’ll hear well off ppl romanticize these types of jobs, get real usually ppl don’t want to do that for their whole life), they may have multiple of these jobs.. I get the sense this is the typical working experience in America? An aside- I’d like to note that the narrative we were all broadly told is that you “work your way up” but, haha no dear that does not happen for many people. “Started in the mailroom” type shit, stop it. Again, temporarily embarrassed millionaire brainwashing (or frankly, 100,000aire) is bullshit, I’m so tired of that. I get frustrated nearly daily how burned into my skull that is. It is a lie. Stop spreading it. It worked for a handful of people, do people understand the size of the workforce? It’s not designed for everyone to win, even a little bit. It’s clearly designed to exploit and make as much profit as possible “ethically” possible. ANYWAY, sorry. So these jobs, hate to say it but a lot of these places super don’t need to exist. They’re projects by big/med sized biz owners or corporations to make money for themselves. These are everywhere, look at all the dumb stores and restaurant chains everywhere. These are your options for pay if u don’t have a marketable specific skill (me included).. Look at all the advertising we’re bombarded with daily. U really think all that stuff is necessary for society to function? No lol. It’s people trying to get rich or rich people profiting. Now I think small one off businesses are cool and typically offer something to the local community, I have nothing against those, unless the boss is horrible and exploiting workers.. but u know what I’m saying? We’re surrounded by pointless shit designed for wealthy people to get wealthier, for us to give our hard earned money to that we got from our annoying unfulfilling job (mines ok, talking about average experience) to buy an overpriced chip bag 75% filled with air because our survival brain decided we need a salty interesting flavored snack and can’t resist. Is this not hell of our own making? My drama queen debut yes yes.

2. This is an obvious point, but I’ve always felt this (even though I’ve historically only worked for non profits I like.) When I clock in to work, I’m taking on the load and responsibility of someone else’s project. It’s like I’m living a separate life. And yes, baggage from my personal life will seep into my professional one, and definitely vice versa (worrying about work shit at home). So, personally, my own “project” is constantly majorly f’d. I have so many things I want to do at home, for myself, for my small projects where I make stuff for other people. Stuff like, I’ve hated my underwear drawer for 10+ years. I need to find out what cut and material of underwear I prefer, because it’s not the generic one. It takes time and research to do that. I do not have that time, and that’s a silly one of the 100 large important “me” projects that I need to eventually do. Stuff that impacts my daily life, like hating my underwear situation every day for 10 years. Every day I get up, and ignore all of that for my survival paycheck. I put me to the wayside, and put someone else’s thing to the front for hours and hours. Thankfully it’s a non profit I like. If it was a bs retail stuff with angry customers, well that would be very bad. But, even not having to work a huge amount of hours, I get home, and I try to work on the projects where I’ve promised things to other people. Sometimes I have to take a nap, and that’s even a privilege. But yeah, I’m tired, sometimes I don’t get good sleep, it happens. Before I know it it’s time to make dinner, time to go to bed, time to do it again. You hear this from countless people who work 9-5. Is this really life? Never actually working on yourself, always having to spend that energy elsewhere? Shirking your own happiness for money, because of survival? No one should have to do that, yet we all do. There are clear penalties to not participating. Poor and homeless people are actively punished. How many Americans are one medical emergency away from getting into this trouble? Point of all this being, we are used to putting ourselves last. Discouraged from even having the time to think about what we need as people. I believe this keeps us less effective and less mentally/physically healthy. This is a byproduct of profit being put over lives, and I would say it happens most to the lower class. Wealthy people can get away with exploiting poor people, because they need the money. Wealthy people romanticize these workers and jobs. The workers want and need the pay, they do not want to work grueling hours. They typically have little power in this relationship though. High capital earners usually do not do the right thing. Landlords do not usually do the right thing. These people are in these positions for easy money, not to be nice (gotta be some exceptions of nice rich people sure sure sure). I’m aware how cynical this comes off but I can’t help it after learning about this topic from multiple angles. I don’t have a good end to this but I’ll likely have more to write about this in the future. I understand this way of life to be broken, and so many people around me don’t, it’s frustrating, and I need to be able to prove why instead of just being like oh this sucks and having them think I’m lazy. People can think that, idc, I know I’m not, eh. But there are reaasssons there are reasons I’m dissatisfied, and believe it could be so much better. And I know other countries are worse cool awesome, it can be better. I don’t have all those answers, but the more I write the more they form, sorta. But I’m a toilet cleaner why would I have anything intelligent to say on this lol, I’m supposed to take what I can get, and I do. I think my opinion also matters though. At least I’ve had time to form this opinion, I could have easily not.

[antonia-gergely]

Food Research

Related to studio inquiry and seminar paper

Cecilia Novero, Antidiets of the Avant-Garde book – reviewed by T. Nygard

“As a critical framework, Novero used concepts from the study of food, such as digestibility and indigestibility, to understand the cuisines developed by artists. The book also discusses the idea of symbolic incorporation of food, and non-food, into the body by eating it.”

Digestibility and indigestibility – I could do that – Michelin food and Abstract Expressionism 

The link between the idea of simplicity being easy in art as well as food. “My child could have made that”, or “I too can put a leaf on a plate with a swirl of some sauce”

So, can we bring the idea of traditional food and its longevity to art? Traditional art forms like painting – can we approach them with the same view as traditional foods? Some people do, I suppose. 

Preserving the art of painting through ideas of traditional food – not like old paintings. Traditional food is still alive and shifting; people try to find the purest or best version of traditional foods, why is it not ‘innovative’ enough to do the same with visual art? 

We need art, we need to create, the same way we need to eat. 

We eat to be together, we create art to be together. Self expression in both forms.

Tiziana Andina, “Can Food Be Art?” The Monist, Vol 101, no. 3 (July 2018) https://www.jstor.org/stable/26478113  - held up by theories of Kant

“If ‘food’ is understood as ‘cuisine’, we could say that it obviously involves the creative act of mixing its components together and subjecting them to different types of processing; also, food can be arranged on the plate in a way that is very similar to drawing a shape or making a sculpture. Nonetheless, there seems to be a fundamental difference between culinary products and paintings, sculptures, or music: in fact, however unpleasant a life without art may be, it is impossible to die because of a lack of aesthetic experience, whereas food is directly related to our physiology and is absolutely necessary for our survival.*

For this reason, even if food can be said to have aesthetic value, we have a very natural and physiological inclination towards it. But how can we feel a disinterested form of pleasure for something we know is indispensable for us? This point is stressed by the ‘Interest Exclusion Thesis’ defended by Kant, who maintains that aesthetic pleasure towards a given object should not be based on our desire for that object. He considers the pleasures of eating to be agreeable but not beautiful.”

So using that as art can hammer home social or theoretical concepts intended by the artist. We need food, we understand it innately; as it is directly related to our physiology; so making art from it creates a more visceral link between the viewer and the work. 

Wing Sze Leung, The Moral Significance of Art in Kant’s Critique of Judgment: Imagination and the Performance of Imperfect Duties https://muse-jhu-edu.mtu.idm.oclc.org/article/700021

“Scholars interested in the moral significance of art in Kant’s account of aesthetic ideas in the Critique of Judgment (CJ) tend to focus on art’s ability to represent what Kant calls “moral ideas.” They further suggest that, in representing these ideas, art symbolizes our capacity to act according to moral laws. I argue that this reading fails to adequately capture the complexity of Kant’s account, for art’s capacity to represent moral ideas is intrinsically related to its ability to prompt a specific kind of mental operation among the audience—that is, a harmonious cooperation of imagination and understanding.” 

“Joshua Landy, for instance, claims that narratives only “preach to the converted,” that is, narratives can improve us morally only if their values agree with ours” – not relevant, just interesting regarding the moral narratives within artworks. 

“Poetry is Kant’s highest-valued art form in terms of its ability to express aesthetic ideas.”