#Thus far at least!

[thelostgirl21]

"My number-one priority, which I said to her, was just to make sure that we were doing it right and that we did it sensitively with a care and a kinship, and I wanted to avoid all kinds of stereotyping, really. So there was an awful lot of script rewrites and things like that. We deleted whole scenes in favour of songs. So I brought in a new song, and I said: 'Can we just cut all this dialogue, and I can just sing something?'" - Joey Batey, Digital Spy interview

The first time I watched that scene, when Jaskier started singing that last part to Prince Radovid:

Of them, I’ve had enough. With you, I have enough. With you, I am enough. I am… I am enough...

I literally started crying. Because, although it's played for laughs, since the beginning of the show, Jaskier's often been portrayed like this "annoying character" that tries too hard to be liked, wanted, and involved in his friends' lives... to find his "forever home"...

But often, he just gets punched in the gut, blamed for everything going wrong in other people's lives, gets told off when he tries to introduce himself or be included in moments where people are there to offer each other comfort (but apparently want none from him) as a result...

Season 2 started to make some progress on that, with Yennefer and Geralt allowing themselves to show more vulnerability around him, and telling him that his help his needed...

Season 3 saw characters that are usually so quick to dismiss him and treat him harshly (ex: Yarpen Zigrin) actually thank him, when they realize how selfless Jaskier can be, and the risks he is willing to take to help others (even those that treat him like an annoying nuisance)...

But still, he'd gotten used, at some point, to being "barely tolerated" rather than "wanted". And his "break up" with Geralt broke his heart and hurt him so much that, although forgiven, I believe it did leave some scars...

As someone with ADHD (that has a tendency to get overexcited about a bunch of things without noticing that it doesn't interest people, impulsively interrupt them with my thoughts, follow them around, and "impose my presence" without meaning to) and associated rejection sensitive dysphoria, Jaskier's behavior and emotional responses are something very easy for me to identify with.

And having him sing "With you I am enough. I am enough," hit me right in the feels, in the most cathartic way!

Prince Radovid is the first person we met on the show, I think, that was shown as being immediately happy to meet Jaskier, wished to adopt that puppy and bring him home right away, saw him as being irresistible and special, envied Geralt for having Jaskier as a friend/companion, couldn't get enough of his singing, and listened when he talked to the things he didn't say...

Knowing that it is Joey himself that just decided to basically show up to work with that song he'd written, and ask if he could sing it instead of using the dialogue in the script, just ended up offering yet another layer to that scene.

When hearing him sing:

"It’s not a want, it’s a need, it is paying no heed to what others say to sing."

now, I can't help but feel like there's some kind of "meta" dimension to those lyrics, as the actor chose to sing what he - as the person embodying Jaskier - wanted to sing, rather than what had been scripted and what others would have wanted him to sing.

That song feels deeply personal, born out of a very intimate understanding of the character, and how being treated the way that he used to be treated would have emotionally and psychologically affected him.

I'll be 100% honest, when Joey was talking about the sapioromantic connection between the characters, and explaining how Radovid wore a mask, was a bit of a mystery to him, and how Jaskier would become fascinated and wish to figure him out...

...I was genuinely concerned that they'd somehow manage to "romanticize" yet another toxic relationship, where the two characters would constantly be trying to outsmart and play mind games with each other.

But that's not it at all. They are both seeing what they try so hard to hide from others. Prince Radovid's environment is highly toxic and dysfunctional (as Jaskier aptly described, he's stuck in a vipers' den) - knowing too much, or not enough - can mean life or death for him.

Whereas Jaskier tries so hard to meet expectations and be what others need or want him to be - give voice to other people's issues, stories and problems - that he all but becomes invisible to others himself as a process.

Sure, they know his name and his songs. But they don't know Jaskier's own soul or story. He fades away in the background for the benefit of others.

They are both trying to figure each other out not because they are people that enjoy indulging in court intrigues, manipulating others, and dominating "the game" for their own gain...

They are trying to emotionally connect with the good, beautiful, and vulnerable parts of themselves that they have been forced to hide from the rest of the world to survive.

They are highly insightful empathetic individuals using their gifts on each other to empower each other, rather than malignant narcissists using their perceptiveness to control each other.

This is an extremely refreshing and healthy relation dynamic that I was sort of hoping for - since Joey put so much emphasis on how important it was for him to offer a relationship that may be flawed, but handled sensitively and carefully without resorting to stereotypes - but this totally went above and beyond my expectations!

If Joey Batey himself isn't queer, then he's got such a capacity for love and emotional empathy that he's apparently able to care about queer issues with the intensity and insightfulness of someone that has experienced them.

The fact that he's using queer labels and sub-categories that are often lesser known by people outside of the LGBTQ+ community to describe Jaskier's sexuality (sapioromantic, panromantic or pansexual...), as well as talking about issues affecting non-monosexuals, such as the desire to avoid bisexual erasure, brings some much needed attention towards the richness and diversity of the LGBTQ+ community!

I sincerely couldn't be happier, or more grateful...

Apparently, there are plans to further explore Ciri's bisexuality, too, with the introduction of Mistle in Season 3!

Here's hoping they'll be using Jaskier as "queer consultant" for the other queer romances on the show...

Also, the relationship between our sweet Bi!Ciri and her weird Pan!Uncle Jaskier means everything to me...

I'm trying to remember if Ciri has been exposed to any models of queer romances in her life...

I mean, most unions between princes and princesses, or kings and queens, are often political alliances. They might have same gender consorts, but I'm not sure that this is something they would have educated younger princesses about, or made very "public".

I sort of want to have her catch Jaskier and Radovid while they are kissing at some point, and realize that the innocent crush she had on Triss in Season 2 is something that is perfectly normal, and that she shouldn't be afraid nor ashamed of that part of herself.

Maybe even go to him and start asking him questions about it... That would be a very thoughtful and sensitive way to explore what being queer means in the world of the Witcher; having Ciri learn, directly from Jaskier, about the potential risks associated with being in an openly gay relationship.

There would really be such an opportunity for the two of them to continue to bond over something like this, and Ciri would know that she's got someone that genuinely loves her and that she can trust to support her and the choices she makes regarding her love life in the future, no matter what.

I can see so many possibilities, though I'm trying to be cautiously optimistic about this (since if they went that route, it would just seem too good to be true!)...

[deadpoets]

GEORGE HARRISON’S OUTFITS: DAY FOUR – JANUARY 7, 1969 The Beatles: Get Back (2021) dir. Peter Jackson

[ganondoodle]

carefully attempted to draw (still sick); wanted to give Shargon another redesign, this is an older version of him but the basics should also go for his younger self (idk yet about his lung replacement design; arms are posed weird to make anatomy clearer)

(wip, oc art, Shargon, he/they)

[fox-guardian]

[ID: Two digital drawings of Gwen Bouchard and Lena Kelley on gray backgrounds. Each image has a bust and a full body drawing of each of them. Gwen is a slim white woman with long blonde hair in a high ponytail, and she is wearing silver earrings, a white button down and grey off-the-shoulder sweater with the sleeves rolled up, a black pencil skirt, grey tights, black heeled booties, and a lanyard with an ID card on it. Her expression is annoyed-leaning neutral and in her full body drawing her fists are balled.

Lena is a slim white woman with long dirty-blonde hair and she is wearing oval silver glasses on a chain, a red button down with the sleeves rolled up, white wide-leg trousers, a light brown belt, and red dress shoes. She has an ID card hanging from her shirt pocket. She is frowning and her hands are held behind her back in her full body drawing. end ID]

~~~~

time for the girlbosses uwu

[cwbuggo]

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(this page was co-written by, reviewed and/or revised with help from @doodlinge)

[darkmold]

Nobody:

Astarion the first fucking moment he can:

[faceeeeee]

Kaufmo human ver?

I was originally just going to leave this as a concept in my mind plus the previous ask but FINE. You want the pathetic clown? You're getting the pathetic clown-

[navree]

sam's better than me because if some lady pretended to be my friend only to drag me to a haunted mall in order to shove me, against my will, into a world experiencing the aftermath of the apocalypse all because SHE just didn't want to go back to where she originally came from in the first place, i'm not doing jack shit. let the archivist eat her or put her back into the original tma verse, i don't give a shit. 'oh but baby jack' fuck them kids too, i'm not falling into a hell mouth for a baby i met one time and his lying not-mom who was about to kill me, the eye monster could get baby jack to statement himself to death too for all i care.

[deadbaguette]

Shout out to that two week period where I went crazy trying to design Achilles… tried at least 7-10 times and scrapped all the designs/sketches

I will forever hold a grudge against him for that (sorry Achilles ily but you’re not getting drawing without Patroclus)

The only thing keeping me going was that anon request asking for patrochilles and I was just like.. SNIFF FOR YOU ANON I WILL MAKE A DESIGN FOR HIM☹️❤️

[moongothic]

People often seem to point out the parallels between Roger's "fame, wealth and power" in reference to Cross Guild, where each core member represents one of Roger's achievements

And like, I see where people are coming from, but I don't really agree with the conclusion, because there's no way to truly accurately match up each Cross Guild member to JUST ONE of those three things

All three members are extremely famous; the greatest swordsman does not need introduction, neither does Sir Crocodile who was a Shichibukai for like 20 years and spent a lot of that time being The Hero of the People Who Crushes Attacking Pirates. And do I need to explain Buggy's fame? It's literally all he has going for him.

Mihawk and Crocodile are both powerful while Buggy's a weak ass loser. Yes, I know you could argue Mihawk should be "power" because he's the 'greatest swordsman' etc, but we actually don't know if he'd be more powerful in a fight than Crocodile at this point. For all we know Crocodile is just as worthy if not more of the "power" title ('cause, as we all know, fame and bounty numbers aren't actual indicators of combat skill)

None of the Cross Guild members have wealth right now- To be fair we don't know what Mihawk's financial situation is actually like but I'm kinda assuming he's broke. But we do literally know that Crocodile went to collect Buggy's debt because he's appearently kinda broke, and because Buggy's also broke he couldn't pay Crocodile back. Thus the situation they're all in. None of them accurately represent "being wealthy" And yeah, sure, we do associate Crocodile with wealth not just due to how he presents himself but by also the sheer wealth he had previously gathered while running Baroque Works AND his silly little casino, and yeah he DID loan Buggy a bunch of money. But at the same time, even if none of these three have actual money in their pockets, Buggy does have a lot of assets under his name to get shit done, and that's a form of weath in itself.

Point being, the "Buggy = fame, Croc = wealth, Mihawk = power" could just as easily be "Buggy = wealth, Croc = power, Mihawk = fame" or "Bug = wealth, Croc = fame, Hawk = power"

[ethemreal]

"an untitled portrait by Van Dyck, 1621"

(watercolor on paper, 9"x12", 2024)

also on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/57560983

inspired by this post/fic by @cuubism

https://cuubism.tumblr.com/post/699751218188353536/a-van-dyck-dream-drawled-dragging-a-light

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42802623

[columboposting]

[redo-rewind-if]

Sorry for the lack of snippets lately, I figured since it's so close to release that I wouldn't do anymore atm but... I couldn't resist sharing some of this scene lol.

[cruel-hiraeth]

sampo is simultaneously the biggest slut and the biggest virgin in hsr

[fox-guardian]

i am going to pet sam on his silly little head i love him so much. ough.

[bloodfueledmachine]

day 20