#and other necessities

[salesart]

Solas cosplay update: I finally finished this bag 😭 I spent ages on it but I'm so proud of my first bag ever!!

Solas doesn't have a bag like this in-game (I mean, he does have a pouch thing in his original apostate gear but not this size/shape). I really need one for the convention and found this pattern on Etsy that seemed very elfy haha

One of the reasons it took me a while is because it's not leather, it's upholstery vinyl!

It's a lot more flexible/thinner, so I had to double up layers and also paint it to look like leather. I ended up also using some foam to give it more structure. I really hope it doesn't break on me at the con 🙏

[nunkisketches]

"Don't worry, it's still here"

[catmomjudy]

(@stevenrogered)

I can’t find a gif of this particular shot, but Bobby and Athena, sitting quiet and wrung out, not talking, and Athena just obnoxiously slurping her Big Gulp. Yeah. That.

(@lavoixhumaine)

And, well…

(@thefrsers)

[bloominglegumes]

our large bipedal son who we found on the street

[untitledgoosegay]

re last reblog I do see fanfic culture pushing/replicating a certain model of "what trauma looks like," "how trauma works"

this is a problem across all areas of society obviously, but transformative works are, well, transformative. they're about crafting and modifying narratives where the fan-creator sees a flaw or a lack -- often for the better! don't get me wrong, I've done my fair share of "I take a hammer and I fix the canon," it's the main thing that gets my creative gears spinning -- but what happens when that "flaw" is simply a narrative not conforming to popular expectations?

some people just don't get PTSD from events that sound obviously traumatic. they're not masking, and they're not coping; they just straight-up didn't get the permanently-locked stress-response that defines PTSD. they walk away from a horrible experience going "well, that sucked, but it's over now." some people do get PTSD from events most people wouldn't find traumatic. we don't really know why some people get PTSD and others don't. but fandom has an idea of events that must be traumatizing, of a "correct" way to portray trauma. you see the problems with this lack of understanding in e.g. fans pressuring the devs of Baldur's Gate 3 to add dialogue where the player character badgers Halsin about his own feelings on his abuse -- because he must be traumatized, and his trauma must fit a certain mold and presentation of sexual trauma, under the mistaken impression that anything outside that narrow window is somehow "wrong" and disrespectful or even harmful to survivors.

take, for another example, the very common trope of a traumatized character who hates touch or sex "learning" to like touch or sex as a part of their healing process. certainly that can be healing for some people; other people will never like, or want, touch or sex, because of trauma or because they just don't. the assumption that someone who doesn't want sex or doesn't like to be touched must be traumatized, must be suffering from this perceived lack, is seriously harmful -- to asexual people, to people with sensory issues around touch, and to people for whom healing from trauma means freedom to refuse sex or touch.

and there's a secondary trope, one that's slightly more thoughtful but ultimately repeats the problem -- that once someone has learned that their boundaries will be respected, they'll feel it's safe to soften those boundaries. once they feel safe refusing touch or sex, they'll feel comfortable allowing it on their own terms. but many people don't, and many people won't! many people will simply never want to be touched, and never want sex, and they are not suffering or broken or lacking because of it. the idea that proving you'll respect someone's boundaries entitles you to test those boundaries -- the paradox is obvious, and yet this is something i've seen hurt (re-traumatize) people i care for.

people are imperfect victims. people don't heal in the ways you expect. many people have positive memories of their abuse, of their abusers. many people hurt others in the course of their trauma, in ways that can't easily be unpacked in a 5k oneshot. very few narratives of trauma and recovery actually fit the ones put forward by popular children's media and romance novels -- which are the ones I most see replicated in fandom spaces, because they provide the clearest narrative and easiest catharsis, and so they're easy and soothing to reach for.

that's not necessarily a bad thing! i am not immune to goopy romance tropes. i am not immune to teary catharsis. not every fic has to grapple with ugly realities. but there's a problem when these narratives become predominant, when people think they're accurate and realistic depictions of trauma, when the truth of trauma is unpleasant and uncomfortable, and doesn't fit any single narrative, let alone one of comforting catharsis

[fraternum-momentum]

give me your complete and unwavering devotion.

[momochanners]

Yes, YES; This one gets it.

[rad-roche]

Art Progress Timeline

It's hard to see this stuff as it's happening, and it's easy to think you're not making progress, so it's good to do these every once in a while. 'finished dww' is both a personal milestone and an excuse to draw them so small, so tiny, but also the point where i didn't have to split focus between two creative disciplines so could focus on the art. been boning up on the fundamentals this year. i've no formal art education (though i did always want it, life had other plans), so i'm thrilled to see i'm getting to where i want to go. hoping 2025 is a good art year for me too

[aro-bird]

Okay, for aro awareness week, I need you all to start recognizing that:

NOT EVERYONE IN THE ARO COMMUNITY IS FROM THE UNITED STATES OR EUROPE.

Please, when we're having discussions about aphobia, allonormativity amatonormativity, and other issues for the love of god STOP PRETENDING THAT WE DON'T EXIST AND LISTEN TO US!

We aren't just your token aros that exist in the other side of the world just for you to prove that we are everywhere or whatever point you're trying to make, we are living, breathing human beings and members of the aro community and we deserve respect and to be remembered not as a point in your discourse but as equals.

I am sick and tired of people just assuming that everyone in the community is either from the United States or Europe and only centering those voices in the discussion. We exist too.

[rileys-battlecats]

do you ever look at other people's art and vibrate out of your skin from how much you love their work

[valtsv]

terror codependency chart

[uncanny-tranny]

[jamandjazz]

There’s something about the casual physical affection the gang displays that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy

[totallynotsarkaz]

hunters college AU w/ orcabirb

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

Okay challenge mode. You are a therapist and Eridan Ampora from Homestuck has just walked right out of his intro page into your office. How do you fix him?

put him and karkat in a room with a pile of stuff and tell them they can't leave until they've jumped into it and talked about their feelings