#I can elaborate on that a lot

[asteraws]

my clown college grad project from december last year 🎪

[shorthaltsjester]

Imogen Temult, Exaltant Hope of the Red Storm

Heroes and Monsters by Penny & Sparrow // Critical Role Campaign 3

[autoauthor]

Garden

The Senju have a tradition of a courtship garden.

Well... It's called a "tradition" but that's actually just to hide the fact that it's something their bloodline compels them to do.

When they feel strong affection towards someone, they feel the urge to nurture and grow plants on their behalf. This doesn't actually have to be romantic affection. Expecting mothers are some of the Senju's most prolific gardeners.

Hashirama continues to maintain plants for all of his brothers.

He's also the first person to realize that Tobirama's in love. Granted, it's hard to miss the abundance of flora that have suddenly sprung up around Tobirama's home. He doesn't even seem to realize it himself.

The main flowers are:

Tansy: resilience, a fresh start

Red Amaryllis: pride, splendid beauty, determination, worth beyond beauty

Red Carnation: love, passion, admiration, courage

Red Snapdragon: love, passion, deviousness, grace

Purple Orchid: respect, dignity, confidence, peace and forgiveness

Peony:

Meanwhile, the Uchiha value something made with one's hands. Something that shows your understanding of the person in question. For example, one could write a song to represent them or paint a mural of a memory you share together. I'd say more, but I really think my ideas for Uchiha courtship should get it's own post.

Either way, it's not like Tobirama is giving Izuna the flowers (yet). He just finds himself compelled to tend to the garden after every time they interact. Surely there's no correlation.

[wackywatchdotcom]

before i go do smth else like smth i think abt often but was thinking abt a few hrs ago in particular is how the circus easily tricks the audience into thinking the circus would be Better Than Real Life. when i think from literally almost any angle you examine it its just as bad (if not worse, depending on your own problems)

i think theres like so many problems its hard to even list them all. some of it is personal taste things. cus i think a lot of people think itd be fun because they enjoy specific aesthetic choices in the circus, or bc of other interest related things. but like. what about people who HATE bright colors. what about people who dont like the idea of not being human. what about people who dont enjoy things like roleplaying. some aspects of the circus are only even appealing to specific tastes in things, making one of the few 'draws' of it not really even being a universal thing

and thats the superficial stuff. because more importantly, if you dont like the real world (for whatever reason), the circus may provide a temporary solution to that, because its so far removed from reality. but i think the circus is way smaller than people realize. theres definitely always going to be things to see since caine can always make things, but its just as limited if not more than the real world, because while the world grows and changes, genuinely new things are created and discovered and stuff. caine will never really get to see that, let alone recreate it for the players- and even then, it still isnt actually that thing. that doesnt even factor in that caine is already operating on limited knowledge of the real world. its not clear how detailed he can get on things, since the accuracy can vary (spudsys being so accurate to the real world, vs the dinner in ep 1 being so flat and lacking almost any detail), but theres a good chance that anything he makes is going to be limited to, at the most, a CONCEPT from the real world, if theres nothing in the real world you like, thats still all youll get, just in a different way.and if you DO like things from the real world, youll never get to truly reexperience it (even if caine remakes it, youll know its not the real thing, and it wont be 100% how you remember it, either)

then theres the safety/pain/horror aspect to what caine makes. i think because there hasnt been gore or anything its easy to assume the circus is still tame, and that anything bad that happens cant be TOO bad. but this is NOT true at all. the teaser of the show establishes that even when caine is not going for horror, he still hurts the players. theres things thatd be physically horrifying to a person like getting possessed, theres physical pain (i see it debated but i think its clear that even if they were to experience less pain, they still DO experience pain, but thats a different topic) or extreme discomfort, theres psychological torment (the exit doors are genuinely very cruel even if that wasnt caines goal, what ep 4 did to jax and gangle. kinger getting taunted in ep 3, etc). its all survivable but even if you like them caine isnt trustworthy enough in this way to never do smth horrific to a person, or cause it through his actions

then theres the complete lack of autonomy, which imo is one of the most frightening things about the circus. bc unless your tastes are always aligning with the exciting, completely family friendly existence of the circus, and you never deviate even a little, you are going to be barred from any semblance of it. its best illustrated in how pomni HATES being touched but caines always prodding her and moving her places and stuff, and in how zooble is denied the option to opt out of adventures even when they state they want to directly by episode 4 implying the choice to even have time to yourself is deeply conditional (plus, the whole lack of an exit entirely meaning that even if you liked the circus, the lack of option to leave would still affect a person. youre getting locked in a big room for the rest of time and youll never get to leave). and also this post

and THEN you factor in the social aspect. because regardless of how you prefer socializing if at all, the circus is a nightmare. if you dont like people, thats great! you dont NEED to be anyones friend! except that you are going to be forced to interact with them eventually, and when you do its going to be repeated. its not gonna be once. and once caine notices hes going to bother you about it. forever

alternatively, if you DO like social interactions in any way, no matter what, if its not you, youre going to see others abstract. you are going to inevitably watch those you care abt struggle and eventually get stuck in a state that Seems Extremely Horrifying To Experience forever. its long and drawn out and itd suck and it wouldnt happen once

then is the easy to forget fact that if you have psychological problems they can and WILL follow you to the circus. gangle and zooble are the biggest examples of this. the circus didnt get rid of their problems, they just gave it a new, horrifying inevitable consequence. i sometimes fall victim to looking at the circus and assuming that ohhh i wouldnt have this problem! because i wont have to deal w it getting set off! but like... yeah i would. i wouldnt stop having this or that in the circus id just have to deal w it while ALSO going on adventures

theres many things. you cant truly eat you cant die you dont get to decide anything when you do die it seems terrifying to experience and youll be stuck in some level of that forever and anything you enjoy is not with you and anything you dont enjoy will follow you too to some degree and the list goes on and on

all this said i dont think any of this is an indicator that the characters lives are meaningless or smth just because it sucks. theres a reason gooseworx has said that the takeaway from the show should be that theres meaning to be found in a stagnant life. theres still meaning in their existence and i dont think its as hopeless as it may seem- but i think its still BAD. and tbh the idea that its worse only HELPS that theme of the show!!! i dont think itd hit as hard as a theme if the circus DIDNT suck

[thetismcave]

so, I started my own minecraft/mcsr world building..

I think it’s going well!

[turtleplushi]

I need to stop drawing them my god

[buwheal]

OH!!!!! HAVE YOU CHECKED THE CYBER CAFÉ DUMPSTER by any chance? there HAS to be some leftover cake there!!!! i heard there was an event recently!!

[hollownest-whore]

If they made a bardoon plushie I would buy it

[tanadrin]

There’s an interesting tension in complaints about capitalism or executive meddling for marketability purposes ruining tv and film, just because they are two of the most capital-intensive art forms ever devised. You can write a novel for the cost of pen and paper, or more realistically these days a cheap netbook. Painting or sculpture or other static visual media can be more expensive, but the initial capital outlay is like hundreds of bucks, or if you really need particular tools, thousands.

Meanwhile a film on a hilariously small shoestring budget can run tens of thousands of dollars—you gotta pay for actors and equipment rental and stuff. And more ambitious projects basically require the backing of large production companies, who—if they do not concern themselves with marketability—may rapidly cease to be large production companies.

And on top of all this, the scale of such productions means they are inherently collaborative in nature. That’s been true of performance arts for centuries, of course, but when a key element of your production is the Money Guy, it makes sense he has to worry about his ability to be the Money Guy on similar projects in the future. And given the vagaries of show business, and that there are way more consistent ways to make money, I don’t think there are many people in the business of film or TV or for that matter theater production who don’t care about the medium to some degree.

And in some ways capitalism is the ideal system to produce big film and TV productions in, at least for the would be auteur. If capital is allocated solely by private whim, you just need to get one loaded producer on your side to realize your vision—you don’t necessarily need to justify the existence of your art to a philistine public, or to bean-counting government bureaucrats, or to the people who process grant applications at arts funding councils.

Still, loaded producers are in limited supply, and it’s much easier to get their attention for your non commercial vanity project if you are already famous and well respected as a director. It’s not a system optimized for producing really top notch art! But the problem of where to get the money can only be shifted around, while actors and animators and sound technicians and so on and so forth are a finite resource.

(Notably the auteur’s incentives are in many ways directly opposed to the acting and technical staff’s incentives—a world where even big name actors get paid peanuts or are replaced entirely by computers is a world that removes a lot of financial limits on an auteur’s creative vision! Of course a lot of directors and showrunners want their employees to be paid well; they recognize there is more to making TV and film than minimizing costs. But in terms of the labor economy of show business, the auteur or showrunner is management, not labor, and auteur theory is a justification of that arrangement.)

[thebramblewood]

Settle in, folks. It's time for a little story.

Previous / Next

Helena: Do you ever sleep?

Caleb: [distractedly] Rarely. It’s the benefit of an all-plasma diet. Hunting expends more energy than anything else.

Helena: Is that why Lilith always threatens to rip our heads off if we interrupt her beauty sleep?

Caleb: Oh, she barely needs a reason to make threats. What’s keeping you awake?

Helena: Why didn’t you stop me from feeding on that man. You could’ve gotten in my head and told me not to.

Caleb: I can’t be your conscience, Helena. That sort of willpower has to come from within.

Helena: [mutters dejectedly] You say that like it’s easy.

Caleb: Of course it isn’t easy. But it is possible.

Helena: I nearly killed him. She wanted me to go all the way and I almost did.

Caleb: You restrained yourself in the end.

Helena: Only to sit back and watch her finish the job!

Caleb: You’re hardly alone in that regard.

Helena: She tried to push you too?

Caleb: [meditatively] There’s no such thing as a good vampire. You’ll make mistakes, which is why you shouldn't strive to be perfect, just better. The point of no return is to stop believing you can be better.

Helena: I need to understand her — and why you stay with her. Caleb, where did all this begin? I tried to ask how she became a vampire, but she only told me to talk to you.

Caleb: [cagily] I’m not sure it’s my story to tell.

Helena: But she never will, and doesn’t it involve you as much as her?

Caleb: [after a moment’s silence] Focus on my thoughts.

Helena: I’m still not very good at this.

Caleb: Come closer. Physical touch strengthens the bond. Relax, Helena. Close your eyes. Let me show you.

[thestuffedalligator]

OK you know that. Thing. When you’re watching a piece of visual media that’s been going on for a while, and it started with very simple, almost abstract, character designs, but as time went on and the artist skills/technology improved, and they could consistently make more elaborate character designs, new additions to the cast would be more consistently elaborate in their design and the characters who were grandfathered in from those earlier installments wind up looking a little goofy alongside them?

Is there a name for that? Is this a recognized phenomenon? I’ve been calling it character design creep in my head

[nanami-is-nanamean]

I imagine that nanami, out of all the sorcerers ever, is so Normal that it circles back to being crazy— i kept thinking abt how gojo says that "every jujutsu sorcerer is some kind of crazy" and started thinking abt nanami and how much he just yearns for a normal life but cant do that because his sense of justice and fulfillment in sorcery is much too strong for him to be in a normal life and caused him to go back and like—yeah no i can see nanami having that special type of crazy, that even other sorcerers would claim is weird KJDFGKSR

if the "crazy" people say ur crazy, then babygirl ur a special one 💖💖

cuz i can see him being like—so dedicated to the idea, that he actually looks fucking nuts abt it. he talks abt his being a sorcerer in terms thatll make you think he's in some kind of freelance work and YEAH SURE HE KIND OF IS I GUESS but also like in vague enough terms that were it not for the fact that the people he usually talks too are sorcerers too, youd think that hes like—a freelance financial advisor, or a freelance bodyguard or, someone who helps run a martial arts/gym space, or a stunt man trainer/choreographer, or something—

like—"my last job? the client was quite happy with the results, there was minimal damages to the asset i was assigned to take care of, and minimal personnel required. overall, I'd say it was one of my smoother jobs."

and you'd think like "oh okay, he's probably some sort of hired security. maybe he was helping transfer some important item to a storage facility"

and in reality—it was actually a cursed object that started to go fucking haywire and attracting crazy cursed spirits to the area. the client was happy because the windows caught it early before any big damage happened to the area—just a couple of broken doors and windows, and like 3 destroyed walls which is actually on the LOWER END of collateral damage concerning curses. ESPECIALLY considering that there was such a large number already gathered there. and nanami's a bit of a self sacrificial bastard (beloved), so you bet ur ASS that he took a direct hit, and broke multiple bones and made the executive decision to not get anyone else involved because DAMMIT if he misses an episode of the great british bake off, he doesnt know what he's gonna do. he cant risk extending the mission too much, he cant let prue leith and paul hollywood down—

every single person he's worked with has, at some point in time, wondered why he just hasnt become an assistant manager instead—the threat to ur life is SIGNIFICANTLY LESS, and there is some overlap between what he did in his salaryman years and what the managers do. HELL, you can even see him training some of the newer managers (with ijichis approval and permission ofc) (hell sometimes ijichi assigns the newer ones to work with him to secretly give them training) (he always fesses up after the mission tho fdkbjgk)

and then while they're chillin in the breakroom, shooting the shit and drinking coffee, someone mentions his salaryman past. and dear LORD the pure vitriol and venom that started spewing out of his mouth when given the opportunity to shit talk having a regular job—if he didnt have such good control over his CE, he wouldve spawned a Special Grade from how much he DESPISED his old job JKHFDLKJhgbLS

and considering the similarities between that old job and being a manager, yeah no—everyone understands why he doesnt become a manager instead LJKSDfhLGJkSDFKLh

[unfortunatelyilikebnha]

Thinking about the KaeyaJeanDiluc friendship where they grew up together and they were CLOSE & sure maybe Jean felt like Diluc & Kaeya were closer since they were brothers & sure maybe Kaeya felt like he had to keep secrets from the two of them bc they would never understand but they were like. A trio! A team!

& then Diluc’s 18th birthday comes around and everything goes to shit and Diluc LEAVES so they’re no longer KaeyaJeanDiluc but just Kaeya & Jean & in some ways Kaeya and Jean get closer because of it but there’s also a pronounced DISTANCE where Jean doesn’t know how to reach Kaeya anymore & Kaeya is even more determined not to tell Jean anything & they both lose themselves in their duties to Mondstadt while also missing Diluc and ALSO, despite everything, offering each other unconditional support

& then Diluc comes BACK & in addition to Kaeya & Jean there’s the shaky reestablishment of Jean & Diluc and Diluc & Kaeya but it’s not THE SAME. they’re no longer KaeyaJeanDiluc; Jean & Kaeya are knights and Diluc will never be a knight again & they all changed while Diluc was away & none of them know how to talk to each other anymore AND YET there’s still an undercurrent of trust!! Not fully, especially between Kaeya & Diluc, but Diluc still calls on Jean during the archon quest, trusting that she will keep their secrets even though as the acting grandmaster she should probably not. Jean says in her about Diluc voiceline that she understands why Diluc hates the knights & is working hard to make them an organization he can trust again. Kaeya covers for Diluc’s darknight hero escapades & fondly reminisces about their childhood in front of him. Diluc invited Kaeya to dinner at the winery & (afaik) never told anyone about Kaeya’s origins. Kaeya tells the traveler that they need to give Jean their full support and planned a birthday party for her. Jean left Kaeya in charge of Mondstadt when she went to the golden apple archipelago! On some level they recognize that their goals still align!! There’s still trust and love there but there’s also this gap between them that none of them know how to cross and I just!!!

[edenfire]

✨️❣️ what are those two conspiring about? ❣️✨️

some finished chibis from my nun goro x priest akira au👀 if anyone orders my nun goro design as a print, this will be a lil freebie mini print to go with it~🎉🎉🌟✨️

as a reminder, my print pre order sale is still going until the 28th of this month~☆ so get em while they're hot🔥

[mishy-mashy]

Me if DFO isn't canon

[summertimemusician]

Linktober 2024, Day 1, Mirror (Self)

Alright here we go again.

Technically a sneak peak of a bigger thing to come in the future that I'm repurposing, and the result of my final playthrough and readthrough before EoW dropped being Four Swords Adventures and that made me sad about Shadow Link again.

Note that this is for the Four Swords Adventures iteration of Shadow Link that might evolve into an LU Shadow, not Dark Link in either LOZ or LU, I have other plans for him.

This one shot was brought to you by Scars by The Crane Wives, Ribs by The Crane Wives, Ruin by The Amazing Devil and Two Minutes by The Amazing Devil because the author's playlist decided to be incredibly cheeky when they blacked out to write this like an ancient seers being cursed with visions and then called mad and hearing they've been put up for execution.

As always the nature of the relationship can be romantic or platonic, mostly due to the author's time constraints and further plans.

Anyway enjoy the reading!

It was cold.

The sort of cold after a wildfire, when everything's turned back to ash, the sort that left burned your vision white after the flames licked through your veins and left an ache in your bones. He shuddered, coughed black onto the stone floor, shaking with a muffled whimper.

It never got any easier, being dragged from the Dark World and into the Realm of Light, the goddesses' world itself revolting against an intruder, wanting the wound torn asunder into their oh so precious realm cauterized. To purge the intrusion and smite it where it stands.

Too bad for them (and for him), his master didn't particularly care about what the world wanted. Didn't particularly care that he hadn't grow accustomed to the pain or the cold, he had to stand up. There was work to be done.

(Shadow gritted his teeth, willed himself not to think about the prophecy of a golden haired princess- because whether he liked it or not, it was prophecy. As those with divinity running through their veins are wont to spill from their throats so carelessly- of violet eyes and a smile a third moonlight and hands holding a hammer.

It always hurt more, after one of the heroes liberated one of the maidens, or the jewels, the pain lingering for days afterwards and carving a home in his metaphorical bones. But just this once he'd take the cold bite of the Four Swords over the pain in the hole in his chest that Vio's betrayal had left, something that felt so much worse than every other time before.

Just this once he wished that maybe, just maybe, the hurt would be too much to bear, that he wouldn't wake up again-

Why? Why does it hurt so much but he's still here? He already knew the Light was uncompromising and unforgiving, but he thought them at least above curses.)

His ears twitched as soft, almost silent footsteps came up to his side. Someone crouching by his fallen form, setting a cautious hand over his own that Shadow couldn't help but draw away from with a hiss, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the world again, to your face, carefully blank as you guided him to lean against your side, a silver choker with a crimson gem winked mockingly at him, the shade closing his eyes and going boneless against your side.

Shadow was so, so tired.

He heard you quietly sigh, plucking his cap from his head and running your fingers through dark amethyst, smoke and mist made hair. "I told you so."

"Shut up." He grumbled, nuzzling further into the crook of your neck. One clawed hand curling against your free wrist, digging into the skin. Absentmindedly noting there were new scratches just above the metal.

It was routine by now, the warmth of your existence against his own a welcome balm, not quite of the Realm of Light where it's unpleasant, not too close to the Dark World where he felt like melting back into the embrace of the darkness, only to howl in agony at being dragged out.

Memories not quite his own bled into his mind all the time. How you'd shape ice into flowers for the princess in winter with nary a though, of blinking and from one second to the next you'd have whatever sword he had hostage if you though it was time for a break with a smile brighter than the sun.

His master had changed that though. It took months for you to stop trying to claw the collar out and to stop trying to fight Vaati.

(Funny how holding a mage's dragon as a bargaining chip is just as effective as kidnapping a ruler.)

Your gaze flicked to the polished obsidian of the Dark Mirror, to the gold, ornate frame. "The offer is still open, you know. Let me take the suffering from you."

"No." He scowled, leaning back to glare into your eyes, a hint of fangs poking out from a maw struggling to keep the shape of a human jaw, "You helped him. Helped them." Shadow spat, there is that hurt again.

You shrugged, a movement that's just slightly awkward as you flinch, "That I did." You confirmed simply, it almost made Shadow see red as he leaned away, knocking your hand from his head in the process, but if there's anything him and the heroes shared, was a lack of a desire to hurt you. It was a little grating to be honest, "Vio even offered to take me with him, to be honest."

"Then why didn't you leave?" He demanded.

Why did you stick around?

Your eyes shuttered, a hint of conflict in your pursed lips. Before you found your words, they come out softly, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you why. You'll just have to find out yourself."

You tug your wrist from his grasp, and Shadow lets you go.

(Stubbornly pushing down on memories and emotions that arearen'tarenotanymore quite his.)

You stand and turn away, pushing the curtains away from your sight, you turn your tired eyes to Shadow with an emotion he can't put a name to. "Just keep it in mind that there's more than one way to end this. Nothing is truly inevitable."

Shadow watches you go. 'There's nothing that can be done. He tells himself, hand hesitating above the Dark Mirror, briefly, it curls into a fist. The hero's original self stares back at him.

'… Does he really believe that?'

He shakes his head, and focuses on willing the Dark Mirror to show him his counterpart.

His chest still hurts.