#anyway thanks for coming to my tagtalk

[tbcanary]

2023 reading list: Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka - Vol. 1 (1987 run; issues #195-205)

You do not change the world by the stroke of a pen or the sweep of a sword. You change the world heart by heart, mind by mind.

(ID under the cut)

ID: Four animated panels from Wonder Woman comics.

1: A television set depicts Wally West, dressed as the Flash, and Diana of Themyscira in her Wonder Woman costume. They stand in the middle of a forest fire. Wally starts to run, then comes back to talk to Diana, before finally leaving her behind. Scrolling text above the television reads: "...JLA No Comment..." Scrolling text below the television reads: "News From Colorado..."

2: Diana stands at a podium in a bookstore in front of a crowd. A poster for her book, "Reflections," featuring art of her lasso, is hung on the wall. Someone asks: "Do you, ah, do you have a boyfriend?" Diana responds, "I don't, no, not at the present. I'm not really looking right now." A few hands shoot up. Diana adds, "I should add that I don't have a girlfriend either." A few more hands go up. She says, "Does anyone have any questions about the book?" All the hands go down.

3: Diana stands in the rain as protestors call out to her. At first, it's bigoted statements about immigrants and her liberal lifestyle, but it quickly devolves into panic after someone in the crowd is shot.

4: Diana stands, silhouetted in gold, in front of a tableau of newspapers and magazines with her on the cover. Her silhouette hides her face, but she's smiling in all the photographs. The magazines start in black and white, but light up in colors one at a time.

/End ID.

[bestagons]

2012 | 2024

[toestalucia]

guy whos gonna feel like a fraud whenever they end up supporting someone to move on

[rivianrudolf]

Sorry everyone that I haven't drawn the cowboy from the cowboy poll yet. Im.... not having a great time regarding my relationship with my artwork right now. It's really hard to make things at the moment.

[syrinq]

me coming full circle by initially writing character profiles as "this guy is x. he does x and y and lives in place z", then over the years slowly steering away from that and wanting to write bios that read more as inch resting stories with arcs and shit, then finding the word count is usually short essay-sized (3-5k) and needing to add a little summary that goes. you guessed it. "this guy did x and y and lived in z."

[namig42]

Everyone in my life assuming that my fascination with Astarion is only because he's hot and traumatized, thinking all I want is to "fix him" and sleep with him.

Let me just start with yes, he's hot. I absolutely will not deny that I find the sexy vampire man attractive. He's so incredibly attractive and at times so incredibly cute and sweet. To say that's not a part of my draw to him as a character would be a lie.

There's also the reality of the fact that I connect with the guy on so many levels. Between his avoidant mentality about his own insecurities and fears hidden behind deflective charm, feelings of being only appreciated for physical aspects of himself, and the whole journey of self-exploration away from trauma, there's a lot I've reflected on these past 6 months because of Astarion. Seeing someone so similar to myself yet also so different is such an experience. It's given me great days of growth and some days where I fall back into dark places, but can eventually move away from those bad thoughts when I realize how much of a better spot my life is in now. There's so many reasons why I connect with Astarion, whether I romance him or friend him or just identify with him. It's a beautiful experience, one I can't recollect ever experiencing this intensely with a character.

But no, the only reason anyone likes Astarion is because he's hot and trauma, obviously. All this other stuff is me trying to justify my obsession over the guy.

[not-here-leave-a-message]

My mom: *constantly bugging me about why I don't write a novel.*

Me: *has written multiple novel-length fics* 🙃🙃🙃

[thunderpot]

[sparrowmoth]

[notepadsandtealeaves]

Molly O’Shea x GN!Reader in: Loving You With All of Me

From the van der Linde Ladies, With Love 💌 || VDE 2021

MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DO NOT INTERACT || 18+ ONLY ||

|| ao3 version | event m.list | rdr tag | main blog ||

|| rdr vde (gents) | batboys vde | bnha vde ||

In learning how to truly love myself I found something just as precious in you. ____, my love, you are everything I’ve ever wanted, needed, but never even knew to ask for. Kindness and patience and caring and so many, many more lovely things that I would run out of ink before I could even list a quarter of them.

In finding herself, she’s found something just as precious in you…

↠ Requested By: My burning desire to receive a love letter lol ↠ Reader Gender: Neutral ↠ Content Type: SFW fluff ((but my blog’s 18+ if minors want to consume my sfw stuff while still respecting my wishes of them staying out of this space, they can head over to my AO3)) ↠ CWs: None ↠ Betas? Nah, we don’t do that here. ((tho we should, honestly)) ↠ Total WC: 1k~

Full disclosure time: I don’t much care for Molly.

Now don’t get me wrong, she’s well written and a sympathetic character (for the most part, it’s not like Dutch put a gun up to her head and made her leave her cushy life to be with him) but her attitude just rubbed me the wrong way. There was a haughtiness about her that I guess was left over from her days before joining up with the gang, and the way she was content to sit back and watch all the other ladies help to keep things going without raising a hand herself was a big no from me, dawg. Like you’re in the shit now, might as well get used to it, ya know? She held herself apart like she thought she was better somehow and… yeah, just no. I could be misremembering things as I haven’t interacted with the game since the year it came out, but there had to be a reason I picked up those vibes…

All that being said, I did my best by her. She’s not the first character I’ve had my biases against, and she won’t be the last. Hell, if I can write for Dutch who I side-eye the absolute fuck out of then I can write for her lol. By my estimation stuff like that shouldn’t keep a person from writing a character with as much care and depth as any other. And it’s not like she’s beyond redemption, though I do believe that if she were to have any hope at having a good and healthy relationship she (like p. much everyone in this gang) would have to do some work on herself otherwise things would only ever end in disaster—and so that’s what we see here. But now I’m rambling so–

Here, have my take on Miss O’Shea. I like to think I did her a good…

|| Loving You With All of Me

To my dearest love,

I know that I am giving this to you as part of your Valentine’s Day gift, so forgive me if this letter is a little self-indulgent, but there are some things I needed to tell you, some things that I feel as if you deserve to know.

Before we met, I was… Well, you actually know how I was because I didn’t change—improve—until well after we were acquainted. For so long I based my identity and worth on external factors. Much of this I blame on my upbringing; every sphere has its struggles, and while mine might seem irrelevant when put up against those of people less fortunate, they were struggles nonetheless. I always had to be this picture perfect girl—no flaws, no unsightly behaviors or beliefs or anything else that would make me seem remotely human. I was taught to hold myself apart– No, above, and I’m sad and ashamed to say that for a long while I actually bought into all the lies. It was easier that way, to just lean into the curve and let my life flow along its predestined path. It wasn’t until I met someone who was at once both a part of that world and not that I began to question things.

Even after escaping the confines of my old life I still believed myself to be better to a degree. Looking back on it now I cannot for the life of me say why; it is not as if I ever faced any true hardships, as even after leaving my family behind there were still people about to look after me. I was not content to just borrow the struggle of others, I needed to own it, and in doing so I felt as if it were something more for having been ‘mine’. After all, how can one miss something they never had? I was convinced that the others around me didn’t understand lack or loss because they never had to leave behind all that I had. A foolish—and not to mention highly narcissistic—notion, I realize that now, though I truly wish I had done so sooner.

In fact there are a great many things I wish I would have realized sooner such as how to differentiate between who and what meant me good. I thought I had it all figured out, but in actuality I had only succeeded in shifting the bulk of my self-wroth from one set of hands into another. I won’t go into the details of my sole, previous relationship as you got to watch the majority of that disaster unfold in real-time, but suffice it to say I was much better off once things ended—once you stepped into my life.

I know that makes it sound as if I just shifted myself about again, but that is something you would never allow. You were always interested in Molly O’Shea, even when she herself was not entirely sure who she was. The few traits that I had managed to foster were not at all great, and yet you stuck around anyway. You made me question things that I never thought to, made me reflect in a way that was actively discouraged by so many around me for so long. You held up a mirror to my existence and made me take a long, hard look at who I had become and it hurt, badly, but it was the wakeup call that I needed. I didn’t like who I saw looking back at me, though I did not know what to do about it, but there you were, offering me a lifeline. You told me that it was never too late to change, that I could find myself, that I could blaze my own path. Your words, while simple, were the starting point; the faith you’d placed in me was among the first set of tools I needed to rectify things.

Through it all you stood by my side and for that I am forever grateful. So many before you loomed over my shoulder, offering ‘advice’ that was more akin to mandates. They directed me down paths that would ultimately benefit themselves with little regard as to the deficit that would be created in my soul. It was as if I were little more than a plaything to them, a toy to be manipulated and discarded whenever it suited them, but you…

You…

You never wanted anything other than the best for me. You offered advice, yes, but never anything more than that. You let me stumble about when needed, though you were quick to offer a helping hand before I fell too far. You were a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen, and most importantly a friend when I had none. You became so much to me, so dear and cherished, is it any surprise that I fell for you?

In learning how to truly love myself I found something just as precious in you. ____, my love, you are everything I’ve ever wanted, needed, but never even knew to ask for. Kindness and patience and caring and so many, many more lovely things that I would run out of ink before I could even list a quarter of them.

What I can at least try to convey, however, is just how deeply I care for you. In the time since we’ve been together I’ve done my best to let you know just how much you mean to me, but as I’ve long since learned there’s always room for improvement, and what better day to start than Valentine’s Day? To this end I’ve planned several things to help get us into the holiday’s spirit, ranging from the mundane (I hope you enjoyed your breakfast in bed!) to the more, let’s say involved (the specifics of that I shall leave as a surprise for now). I truly hope you enjoy it all, love, because if there’s one person that deserves to be spoiled today—and everyday—it is you.

But this letter is getting rather lengthy, so I’ll end it here so that we can get to enjoying the rest of the day with each other.

Loving you with all of me, Molly xx

© notepadsandtealeaves, 2021 || Please do not repost, translate, or otherwise alter or distribute my works without my express permission. And for the love of god keep it away from Youtube and TikTok lol…

[god-fucking-dammit-mizutani]

“I’m still pushing my narrative [Taichi and Koushirou] were never foreshadowed as drifting,” isn’t really too much of a reach actually when I think about it because I’m pretty sure the Tri staff writers in that one interview literally said pushing Koushirou off to the side (for Yamato) was an active decision they all made?? Like not something that was just naturally happening?

That’s kind of what that first paragraph here is saying, right? Or am I totally off base?

[peterflopker]

[etastra]

y’all mind if i,,,,,, toss a one liner starter call out ??

[theiceandbones]

oof!

[clockwork-vessel]

uh oh!!! i might have come up with a chapter breakdown for chime and clock’s story i was already planning to write a fic for it

now it’s like. got a start. i can actually outline the chapters. i can??? start??? writing????

[namig42]

This is the kind of aesthetic that I feel like Astarion would think looks super cool even though it's giving "angsty middle school boy who thinks guns are just soooo cool"