#also they have so much to offer

[arcane-gold]

academy days

[beets]

[beansnpeets]

Thinking about human behaviour compared to animal behaviour again.

It's funny to hear people (the older gens) complaining that "kids these days are lazy, they don't wanna work, etc." What do we get for busting our asses? There is no reward. Many will never own homes. Many are unemployed, trying to find work, and nobody will hire them because they don't have a million years experience and a masters degree OR they want people to work for minimum wage??? People are giving up because there is no reward. Why would we do all this for nothing?

Same as a dog that won't recall when you haven't reinforced it with a reward. Your dog isn't going to do what you tell it to if there is no incentive. No, your dog SHOULDN'T listen just because you're boss and it should respect you. That isn't how it works. They don't think that way. And honestly neither do people.

When we went hiking Sprocket wasn't always taking treats gently from me when I recalled her or she checked in and I rewarded and my one friend told me to stop giving her treats. I told him I won't work for free so why should she. And he said "I do things for free all the time because I want to do them," and I didn't say it then, but I wish I had, but if you like doing it, that's the incentive. It's a self-rewarding behaviour. Just like anything else a dog does, like chasing a squirrel or sniffing things or getting into the trash. Heeling instead of going off to sniff stuff or recalling off of something they want to chase is something you have to reinforce. You have to give them something better so they make the choice you want them to make. They won't make it just because they *respect* you. They won't willingly recall off of exciting prey out of RESPECT. You need to give them a tangible reward for that. You cannot possibly expect your dog to listen just because and then punish them for disobeying you.

Yeah, Sprocket bit my fingers a couple times. The one time pretty hard. But she was excited. She knows how to take gently and I reminded her and she tried very hard to be gentle most of the time. I wasn't going to stop rewarding her for checking in with me and recalling while we were off leash hiking in the woods. I want her to know that coming back to me is good and in the event of an emergency I would like her to not blow me off.

[shopwitchvamp]

I mean this gently but I have to say somethin' here- I've been getting so much "make your skirts cheaper" "I love this but why are they soooo expensive" etc lately and like look, I know a lot of this is because times are hard.. (otherwise why would I be hearing this more & more this year when prices haven't changed compared to last year) but I just wanna say that one of the only ways I could lower prices (if I was ruthless and didn't care) would be to cut sizing options. Like idk how to word what I'm trying to say, but just know when you shout stuff like this at other brands & they decide they need to find a way to cut costs to lower prices, being size inclusive is gonna be one of the first things to go. I have no plans to do this myself, but for example, a D Size Skater costs me almost twice as much (talking about only the direct from the manu cost, there are other factors too such as that they weigh more so that adds more shipping costs as well) as an A Size Skater. Say I cut D Size altogether.. and many companies would have by now while also not even lowering the price.. I could increase my profit margins significantly right away. Now lets say I cut both C and D and become a shop that only offers the standard range of SM-XL. Wow! Suddenly profits are up so much!! Or maybe going not full corporate greed, I could handle lowering skater prices by like $10 (random number not based on real math idk what things would actually work out to because I'm not gonna do it). But now no one over a size XL can order from me. I fear none of what I'm trying to get across is getting across but I just mean to say, in order to offer what I offer, the prices need to be what they are. They aren't set arbitrarily high & lowering them would mean needing to make choices that I will not make (becoming less size inclusive or making my business unsustainable in the sense that it would not survive long).

[inkskinned]

you were raised in comparison.

it wasn't always obvious (well. except for the times that it was), but you internalized it young. you had to eat what you didn't like, other people are going hungry, and you should be grateful. you had to suck it up and walk on the twisted ankle, it wasn't broken, you were just being a baby. you were never actually suffering, people obviously had it worse than you did.

you had a roof over your head - imagine! with the way you behaved, with how you talked back to your parents? you're lucky they didn't kick you out on your ass. they had friends who had to deal with that. hell, you have friends who had to deal with that. and how dare you imply your father isn't there for you - just because he doesn't ever actually talk to you and just because he's completely emotionally checked out of your life doesn't mean you're not fucking lucky. think about your cousins, who don't even get to speak to their dad. so what if yours has a mean streak; is aggressive and rude. at least you have a father to be rude to you.

you really think you're hurting? you were raised in a home! you had access to clean water! you never so much as came close to experiencing a real problem. sure, okay. you have this "mental illness" thing, but teenagers are always depressed, right. it's a phase, you'll move on with your life.

what do you mean you feel burnt out at work. what do you mean you mean you never "formed healthy coping mechanisms?" we raised you better than that. you were supposed to just shoulder through things. to hold yourself to high expectations. "burning out" is for people with real jobs and real stress. burnout is for people who have sick kids and people who have high-paying jobs and people who are actually experiencing something difficult. recently you almost cried because you couldn't find your fucking car keys. you just have lost your sense of gratitude, and honestly, we're kind of hurt. we tell you we love you, isn't that enough? if you want us to stick around, you need to be better about proving it. you need to shut up about how your mental health is ruined.

it could be worse! what if you were actually experiencing executive dysfunction. if you were really actually sick, would you even be able to look at things on the internet about it? you just spend too much time on webMD. you just like to freak yourself out and feel like you belong to something. you just like playing the victim. this is always how you have been - you've always been so fucking dramatic. you have no idea how good you have it - you're too fucking sensitive.

you were like, maybe too good of a kid. unwilling to make a real fuss. and the whole time - the little points, the little validations - they went unnoticed. it isn't that you were looking for love, specifically - more like you'd just wanted any one person to actually listen. that was all you'd really need. you just needed to be witnessed. it wasn't that you couldn't withstand the burden, but you did want to know that anyone was watching. these days, you are so accustomed to the idea of comparison - you don't even think you belong in your own communities. someone always fits better than you do. you're always the outlier. they made these places safe, and then you go in, and you are just not... quite the same way that would actually-fit.

you watch the little white ocean of your numbness lap at your ankles. the tide has been coming in for a while, you need to do something about it. what you want to do is take a nap. what you want to do is develop some kind of time machine - it's not like you want your life to stop, not completely, but it would really nice if you could just get everything to freeze, just for a little while, just until you're finished resting. but at least you're not the worst you've been. at least you have anything. you're so fucking lucky. do you have any concept of the amount of global suffering?

a little ant dies at the side of your kitchen sink. you look at its strange chitinous body and think - if you could just somehow convince yourself it is enough, it will finally be enough and you can be happy. no changes will have to be made. you just need to remember what you could lose. what is still precious to you.

you can't stop staring at the ant. you could be an ant instead of a person, that is how lucky you are. it's just - you didn't know the name of the ant, did you. it's just - ants spend their whole life working, and never complain. never pull the car over to weep.

it's just - when it died, it curled up into a tight little ball.

something kind of uncomfortable: you do that when you sleep.

[ew-selfish-art]

Dpx Dc AU: Ectoplasm is required for Ghosts to be visible to the human eye- And Danny creates his own ectoplasm.

Danny is visiting Jazz in Gotham and its weird how friendly everyone is. Like, the city gets a really bad rapport, everywhere he goes there is someone trying to strike up a conversation or answer his questions about getting around to the tourist spots. A few people even pointed out restaurants and ways to find off the beaten path gems! Jazz seems to role her eyes at him, but when he brings up her 'roommate' being kind of cute she flat out laughs.

Danny then comes to understand the Jazz doesn't have a roommate and that Ghosts in Gotham don't move far from their haunts- He's just been inadvertently turning these undead folks visible by accident of generating abnormal amounts of ectoplasm.

Which, is comforting in a way, he's never walking this dangerous city alone and really, most of the ghosts have been really friendly! They disappear once he's a few blocks away from them anyway.

---

Tim Drake is having a horrible day.

He'd been given intel that one of Black Mask's guys was going to snitch but that he'd died before given the opportunity to reach out to the GCPD. He tracks down the guy's last know whereabouts and yikes. Its next to the Theater. Tim was often grateful for his childhood obsessions, this time it backfired.

Tim and Bruce get into an argument about trust and respect and, worst of all, mental health. And even though Tim was vehemently against Batman accompanying Red Robin to the alleyway - that's exactly what happens.

They arrive and Bruce is closing up faster than a clam in the contaminated Gotham Bay- Clearly being in the Alley bothers him. No fucking shit. RR gets started on collecting evidence, there are a few extra blood splatters and a single left shoe... When a kid walks into the Alley.

"Uh, sorry to intrude-" The kid looks scared shitless, and runs away. And then, all of a sudden, Batman and Robin aren't alone in the Alley.

Tim can hardly believe his eyes as the dead man appears and quickly blabs Black Mask's bank passwords and what the plan had been- and While he's over joyed to have that closure, he turns around to Batman weeping in the arms of his parents.

The ghosts fade, and the emotions are certainly charged as this was never something Bruce or Tim would have ever dreamed of happening. Ghosts in Gotham. Talking, floating, granting closure.

"RR, Bats, come in." Oracle calls into their ears.

"Reporting in, but, uh, we need a minute."

"A minute? We have a case on 4th and-"

"O, we just saw the ghosts of the Waynes. It's going to be a minute."

"...Lots of Ghost reports lately then. Any chance you saw a kid looking like he could be adopted?"

"Yeah, actually, black hair and blue eyes. He was super polite before he ran away."

"We have work to do. Oracle, lets prioritize finding our person of interest and divert Nightwing and Robin to the case on 4th." Batman cut between them on the comms and he sounded... calmer than either of them anticipated.

---

Jazz is no longer laughing when Batman appears at her door explaining that he's looking for Danny (Who already flew away from town to get a good night's sleep before class on Monday). Turns out Danny reunited the man with his dead parents just briefly- and then the second guy appears and mentions how Danny had also given a guy who'd been murdered by a Mob enough time to explain the ongoing threats the city faced.

Jazz just rolls her eyes and says that it's not like the ghosts are going anywhere anytime soon and Danny will visit in another month. When pressed, she just explains that her brother is a weirdo. No of course he doesn't have powers. Gaslight and Girlbosses her way out.

And Jazz thinks that the game is up for at least another month, obviously when Danny visits more shit will stir up, but then this new guy appears.

Unlike the other Bats who are keen on watching her from a distance, the Red Hood knocks on her door. Are her eyebrows all the way into her hairline when Red Hood asks her to send his thanks along to Danny because somehow this whole situation led to his Dad expressing remorse for his actions and apologizing? Yes, yes they are.

But Jazz can smell Dissertation Data off of these vigilantes- Who is she to send them away? Jazz welcomes Red Hood into her place for a cup of tea and a small chat.

The story then devolves into Jazz getting shit done, Danny being cute by proximity and also bringing ghosts to the party, and the Bats having trauma resolve between them.

[boarloved-art]

Wei Wuxian should be able to get drunk for once. I think he'd either be singing bawdy drinking songs on the roof of the Jingshi or he'd be getting irrevocably lost no matter where he is. He's found in the bushes behind the mountains like a cryptid, and then he's like "I can't believe you all got lost" (extremely slurred) as if he didn't get embarrassed by something Lan Wangji had said and just somehow disappeared when everyone looked back at him

oh ABSOLUTELY im walking with u and nodding and agreeing, i can see him becoming an absolute menace to keep track of at his drunkest.

anyway heres wonderwall The Gang (Wangxian & their fave group of ducklings) in a city known for its STRONG wine and wuxian being like well. ur all grown now, youre technically not juniors anymore. we have to see whos lasting the longest against this stuff!, smash cut to a suspiciously wei ying-less group of the worlds drunkest cultivators being wrangled through the woods by designated driver hanguang-jun, with at least 2 of them clinging to his robes at all times.

[clouvu]

Offering lil doodles of them bc my eyes have been opened

[on-the-clear-blue]

To help boost relations with the people of Amity Park, Danny (with the help of Sam and Tucker) starts a podcast.

---

Tucker, sitting across from Danny in an abandoned house: So, continuing where we left of last episode before we were rudely interrupted by an overgrown man child dressed up like a vampire...Phantom, is it true that yoy are a sickly Victorian child that died at the ripe age of 12?

Danny, eye twitching at the comment: No...no I am not...sorry why do people think this?

Tucker, grinning ear to ear: oh, it's the frail weak voice and sad wet kitten energy.

---

Sam, looking up from her phone, bearly holding back laughter: Now for the question segment of the show...this one is coming from...Dashtom4life asking "if not twink why twink shaped?"

Danny, pained look on his face: Not...not a twink, I swear to the ancients I am not a twink.

Tucker, on the edge of loosing it: I-I don't know Phantom...G-Got a snatched waist...

---

Just the idea of Danny starting the podcast so he can help the people better understand ghosts and how they do things only for it to be derailed in the second episode to be 30 straight minutes of Sam and Tucker ragging on Danny and arguing about things that barely pretain to ghosts.

After Danny gets over the exasperation of having his podcast getting taken over, he gets a 10 minute weekly segment for talking about space.

(Jazz finds out later, and after a little bit of convincing, she gets roped into doing psyche evals on ghosts.)

[marigraphia]

I've had this pose ref saved for a while and the Superman set photos just gave off the same energy 👉🏻👈🏻

The reference is this photo of Katharine Hepburn as Antiope and Colin Keith-Johnston as Theseus in the 1932 play 'The Warrior's Husband' (and I'd love for people to turn into a draw your otp meme pls pls pls this pose is so good)

And also, of course, the Superman (2025) set photos

[itsmespicaa]

"Whoops, so sorry. Where are the shears for the least expensive clothes? Looks like it's not this one."

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo’s tendency to push his way into the spotlight despite clearly being a natural in the shadows. Hell, you could argue that his worst moments are when he’s forcing himself onstage, and his best are when he does things no one notices until it’s already been done.

[suntails]

[sharing/rb appreciated 💛]

my silver artbook is FINISHED and will open for preorders on 8/31 at 12pm EST!! it's been almost 3 months of work and i'm so excited to finally be able to share all the art i've worked on, PLUS a small bonus charm!

if u know silver fans,,, tell them

[theactualsunshinechild]

I think Aventio and Screwtio shippers shouldn't fight. After all, Ratio has two hands!

That's right. Two hands.

One for his chalk.

One for his codex.

Both of which he's holding in an embarrassed death grip as they chat away with each other about him.

[ayyunah]

happy (late) birthday owl house. I miss you everyday

[corvus-frugilegus]

Spite Meta! Riffing a bit on a solid post from @antivancathedral and some thoughts i've been stewing on about spirits and demons for a hot minute here.

I've been chewing on this line from Morrigan towards the end of regrets of the dread wolf for a while now:

"But like any spirit when ANGERED or twisted against her purpose, a more violent aspect arose." (emphasis on angered mine)

This is the line for me that really cinches the idea that Spite isn't a demon. And reinforces that spirit-demon seems like it's maybe a false dichotomy. Sure some spirits get stuck at an extreme, but vascilation along a scale of emotion feels normal right? Like Wisdom and Pride can't strictly exist in isolation they go hand in hand and aren't necessarily always in conflict either. So while spirits in the Dragon Age universe tend to focus on a single facet of human emotion it's also true that they're a reflection of the mortal world and we know that spirits struggle with the idea of the world as a static entity- So why would their very natures be fixed?

There are a few things that support this fluidity to the nature of spirits that we see throughout the series.

Mythal and Solas both in some ways vascilate between their two aspects. We see in conversation with the fragment of Mythal that she manages to hold the duality of both benevolence and retribution. Even as a fragment she carries both. We see this in Solas too, he's wisdom twisted by pride but even as he misses the big picture on things he's close to it's true he simultaneously shows wisdom in how he speaks and acts and the thoughts he shares. This is perhaps more good natured in inquisition, especially so in a Lavellan romance, but even in veilguard his cunning and trickery relies on wisdom too- he knows when to be subtle and when to push. He too is simultaneously embodying both ends of a spectrum.

So coming back to the Morrigan quote above: Angered is a really key word here. It's easy to focus on twisted beyond their purpose, and I think that's what we see most often in the series. The back against the wall possession of mages and this extreme depth of feeling / extremity of circumstance that forces a spirit to stay within a more violent aspect of its nature. It's also true that most of the examples of possession we see and the way demons are framed earlier in the series is that malicious spirits are always lying in wait to take hold of the mortals to exit the fade (in light of the elf knowledge this feels much sadder actually, especially given the camaraderie we see between spite and manfred). This is largely the Chantry line. The examples of "good" natured spirits and spirit possession we do have feel much closer to the version of Spite we see in veilguard (if less inclined towards stabbing- arguably this is the influence of Lucanis).

So angered is what I keep coming back to with Spite. Is Spite a permanent state of being- the totality of Spite's being? Or has both Spite and Lucanis's experiences pushed Spite into fight or flight. (let's be real it's fight Spite loves a knife). This really tracks with Spite's role in the narrative too- Spite is an allegory for Lucanis's trauma, and like all spirits a reflection of the world, in this particular case Lucanis's mental state.

Anger is a protective emotion. Anger is something we tend to feel in repsonse to a violation or an injustice. Both Lucanis and Spite have SO MUCH TO BE ANGRY ABOUT. It's through the violation and injustice Spite and Lucanis have experienced that Spite's nature has shifted in the way it has. Spite is the determination to survive. Spite is what carries both of them through the Ossuary. Spite is what keeps them "safe" (heavy on the quotation marks here) when Zara and her lackeys are doing everything in their power to break them. Spite is Lucanis trying to protect himself. Spite is this spirit of Determination trying to protect itself.

At Spite's core the facet of the human experience it reflects is Determination. Anger pushes it to something more intense, but Spite has never actually shifted away from its original purpose. And, in a route where Rook completes Inner Demons, as Lucanis heals and begins finding peace, It feels like Spite does too. Given time I suspect Spite will find its way back to determination.

This is probably a whole separate post and deep dive but Spite's role as an allegory for Lucanis's trauma is really important here too. Lucanis has lived through so much and kept going anways, even before the Ossuary. He carries all of these deep wounds and bottles up his emotions so tightly, and I suspect there is so much anger in him deep down from all the hurt and abuse he's endured. Knowing Lucanis it's probably anger he's afraid of. And Spite reflects these feelings too (here as a narrative device more than in a literal sense), Spite reflects the things inside Lucanis that he tries his best to avoid acknowledging. Spite forces him to confront this, forces him to confront the Dellamorte family dynamics. And again, as Lucanis starts to heal and move forward, we see a shift in his relationship with Spite too- because what's also happening is a shift in his relationship with himself. He's accepting the ugly parts of himself and starting to address his problems. As as result Spite itself seems calmer and more agreeable.

Spite was never a demon, Spite is Lucanis protecting himself and we only think of Spite as a demon because Lucanis does. Because that's how Lucanis sees himself.

Spite is a benevolent spirit simply responding to its environment.

There's so much more to this too! Spite's nature is so interesting and there's so much in the lore that I think really solidly supports that 1. Spirits and demons aren't that cut and dry and 2. Spite falls more into a benevolant nature than a malicious one.