#assume connections if you like!

[tabithaxking]

who: anyone! ( @aurorabaystarter ) CLOSED where: all night diner As the young waitress was leaning over the counter, her eyes were firmly placed on the book that was spread open in front of her, Tabitha barely noticed the trickle of the bell that signalled a customer. Considering the diner was empty, besides the newest arrival, she didn't consider this to be slacking on the job.

The sound of footsteps brought her back down to Earth and she fought hard to suppress her annoyance at being disturbed. Finally, her eyes peeled away from the page as she asked, “What can I get you?”

[treykingston]

WHO — @bluestarters WHEN — whenever works! WHERE — eddison recreational park

Fall was so close around the corner. It could be felt in the crisp of the air, school back in session, and football season on the go. Trey had finished his shift at Blue Harbor Community Hospital and had a later class to get to, and in the break in between he'd tossed a ball about with a friend until an accident happened and they had to run off to work. The owner of the vehicle didn't rush up when the window had broken so Trey did the right thing and waited. In fact he'd moved his own vehicle and parked it in from of the damaged one at the curb surrounding the park. His mind was on the fact that he'd be starting residency come December when someone approached. Pushing off the rear fender of his vehicle, Trey ceased tossing the football back and forth between his hands and greeted with, "hey." A weak smile came because he hated to be the bearer of bad news. "Is this your car or do you know who owns it?" Trey had gestured to the one behind his that had the rear passenger window busted with some broken glass on the pavement.

[sasika-lg]

where: snowcaps karaoke bar who: @easthavenstarters

It had been a long night, a lot of badly sung ABBA songs and although Sasika was having a nice enough time with her friend from work, after a swift trip to the bathroom, she was nowhere to be found. Checking everywhere throughout the crowded bar, Sasika was half-worried, half-pissed off but most of all, not surprised. Constantly the type to pull a Houdini and bail, it was more annoying that she'd had left her stuff with her friend, if she could still call her that. The brunette knew she should have kept a closer eye. 

“Hey!” she called out to the person perched nearby, someone who might have seen her. “You haven’t seen a blonde woman, sleeve of tattoos, about this height” her hand went up to indicate the height to be taller than her “—come this way, have you?”

[awriternamedart]

"How do you do it, gambler?"

Aventurine glanced up from the drink in his hand, an identical one clutched tightly in Dr. Ratio's.

"Do what?"

"Maintain a relationship."

Aventurine blinked, before his head shot up again to look at the doctor. Veritas didn't even spare him a glance, eyes glued to the scene in front of them— a grand IPC ball, held for investors and connections to be made. It was always a busy and grand event, one the Intellegensia Guild had to attend to maintain the IPC's investment.

It really wasn't Dr. Ratio's scene, but he had been chosen as their representative anyway.

"I'm not particularly adept at that, my dear doctor." Aventurine chuckled, watching the alcohol swirl in his glass.

"You are far more able then I am. Even upon falsities and fake promises, you managed to chat and converse with people in a sort of ease," Ratio slowly tore his eyes away from the crowd, glancing back to Aventurine before his eyes dropped to the floor in front of him. "..Its admirable."

Aventurine could just barely process what Dr. Ratio was exactly saying— direct praise?? From the good doctor himself???— before Veritas set down his now-empty drink on a bypassing waiters tray.

"Do you ever feel.. second-rate?"

Aventurine paused, taking another languid drink as he contemplated. It wasn't often the dear doctor opened up— he should tread carefully.

"I can't say for sure. Why?" He kept his tone even, trying not to distract from Veritas' thoughts. It was hard enough to get to know him in the first place, to squander his trust like this would be a waste.

The Doctor took a deep breath, practically hiding himself in the shadows of one of the many grand pillars decorating the room.

"I am not adept at conversation."

Aventurine could agree with that. Something about the doctor made it difficult to respond in kind— he was dry, a vague bit brutish, and if Aventurine dared, a little bullheaded. He seemed so sure of himself, founded confidence that was backed up by his many achievements. It was a little intimidating for the average person, he supposed. But as he looked on, that sort of Dr. Ratio seemed to fade ever so slightly, leaving behind someone who was still sure in his knowledge and discoveries— but struggled nonetheless.

"I find people.. grating, sometimes. But connection is one of the few necessities of livelihood, and so I try to converse with my peers as often as possible. It is.. difficult. It often feels as if they have no interest in what I am saying, neither asking questions nor inquiring further, and when I try to do so to show interest in their research, they often retreat back, saying it is not finished or the such. Offering to help only ever seems to drive them further away." Taking out the laurel clip in his hair, Veritas' thumb drifted over the gilded leaves, the polish in the finish reflecting his face back at him. "Despite my best efforts, I rarely ever follow up because I fear I intimidate them. I have seen them recoil at the mere sight of me."

Aventurine could just watch on in surprise— Veritas had never shown an inkling of this before. When he had first gotten to know the doctor, he had assumed Veritas simply didn't work with his peers due to a difference in dedication, or perhaps view. He was among the brightest and best in the Intellegensia Guild, always praised behind his back for being one of their stars.

Perhaps that wasn't the front Veritas had put up at all. Perhaps it was what Veritas was forced to wear in the face of his peers, forced to be seen as the cold unobtainable, the pinnacle of what they should be.

Being on a pedestal like that, it must be lonely.

"Do you not go drinking with your coworkers or something?" Aventurine leaned against the wall, cold of the stone seeping through his suit. Veritas glanced up at him, before looking back down.

"..I was never invited. It is against social convention to come along if you aren't invited, isn't it? I'd rather not strain and worry them more. It could impact them negatively if I were to come along and invite stress to what is supposed to be a time they unwind." He turned the laurel over in his hand. "..perhaps I missed my opportunity."

The light of the pedestal Dr. Ratio sat on seemed to blind all those who looked at it from underneath. They couldn't see his face, only his back— but as Aventurine leaned against the wall, gazing at the doctor in front of him, he got that different perspective.

There was.. resignation, in his eyes.

"Perhaps I am just doomed to be a looming figure above many. And yet, I'll still never be enough." His voice tapered off slightly, head dropping even just that hint bit more. "I am fully aware how much others are compared to me, and I hear them speak of my achievements behind my back. I wish they would stop, if I am being honest. Or at least tell me of my praise directly."

That surprised Aventurine.

"What, do people not give you a compliment or two? For someone so easy on the eyes and as esteemed as you, doctor, I find that hard to believe!" He chuckled— but it quickly faded out as Veritas looked to the side.

"Not often do I get comments directly on my achievements, no. Nor on my appearance, before you came along." He sighed. "You are.. the only person who does so."

The only one who's tried.

-

The Only One Whos Tried - awriternamedart

[huginsmemory]

Just. percolating thoughts about Bill, denial and his lies are lies. Bill as a character I'd say is characterized by deep deep denial. He's a character that's both aware and immediately not aware of his feelings and his situation; it's all very doublethink. It's about denying everything and drowning it all out (yeahhhhh big partier? Alcohol and drug abuse? Totally a result of being healthy; not to mention the dissociative episodes he APPARENTLY GETS???).

Because essentially, hes constantly warping his perception of everything occurring around this glass tower he's built of who he is, a ruthless, unfeeling tyrant of a monster, akin to a god (and beloved by humans when he deigns to charm them). This persona is something that he's made in response to his own belief that he's a monster, his own deep insecurities for being a freak and wanting to have proper connection, care and vulnerability with someone that he's lacked. It's a persona built upon self destructive tendencies, denial and the pursuit of pleasure for the purpose of drowning out anything uncomfortable, that he's practiced for trillions of years. And at the same time these insecurities that built this persona are all deeply denied in the way he'll deny that Ford meant everything to him but also when asked if Ford meant nothing to him, backtrack. He's both aware and not aware; he'll never have a thought of 'oh I loved Ford' because that is IMMEDIATELY repressed. He can't even admit that. It doesn't fit who he's supposed to be, it's vulnerable, and we can't have that. This triangle is more repressed than a fucking gay Catholic priest. He's both emotionally literate and completely illiterate because any emotions or situations that don't fit his fictional self gets immediately suppressed/skewed in perspective.

And that's how he's both good and terrible at manipulation, because he knows how to play people and can be very good at it, but his denial gets in the way. That's why you see him not talking about his dimension unravelling to Ford to ask him to make the Portal, instead of pulling the rug out under Ford; because it's vulnerable, it doesn't fit 'him as a monster' and even if it would get his way he can't do that. He mentally cannot even conceive of asking that and can't even in a way to himself accept that his dimension is unravelling and he can't do anything prevent it, can only take over earth instead. And he assumes that Ford will simply just bow to his will because that's what's supposed to happen, right? And it's the same as his lies about all the people he contacted over human history that were annoyed by him; he's too far in denial to even acknowledge that they didn't like him because hes supposed to be loved by all he tries to charm, that's why he puts the pages in to TBOB because he thinks it makes him look good, even if anyone looking at that goes 'yeah that's not what's happening'.

And this is all the most obvious with what he did with his dimension, his guilt around it because if pressed he will never admit those feelings, and he doesn't even admit it too himself; in fact when it's brought up by others such as time baby he gets angry, because his denial over the situation becomes questioned. And it's only ever one instance, that you see Bill admit to vulnerability, to admit to being actually aware of any of all these underlying feelings, and that's the moment that he shares unprompted about Euclydia with Ford, in response to Ford's own vulnerability... in which he indirectly calling himself a monster.

And it's all so fascinating, because if his denial is ever properly cracked enough, oh BABY you know that glass tower is going to shatter, everything is going to come down like a house of cards, and Bill will be left in the wake of everything that he's done, with nothing to shield him emotionally. And so isn't it better to be in denial? To deny he killed his dimension? Doesn't it hurt less than to admit all along it was guilt, it was insecurity, and that after his dimension burned, he's razed civilizations to the ground in denial and self-destruction?

post previous to this (similar vein)

[rawliverandgoronspice]

anyway to end the series on ganondorf tp's writing, my take (which isn't canon but arguable as a valid "death of the author" read imo) is that he is at his most iredeemable AND that's because he has zero things left to lose and no community left and his goal doesn't even make sense anymore he is parasitic and a ghost and pathologically obsessed by his own godlike legitimacy because that is the only thing he still has and it has prolonged his life in a horrible diminished state in a nightmare dimension so SURELY it must mean something right right RIGHT

[toki-toro]

Jesus christ

[ryanthel0ser]

[ffc1cb]

ive never had alistair in any of my playthrus before because ive never played with my personal worldstate so this was my first time ever hearing this line in the game & it FLOORED me. it’s so funny

[everythingcatradora]

do you guys ever think about what would’ve happened if catra actually did die when glimmer left her in the horde weaponry explosion in s4….like how would adora react

[pinkcadillaccas]

Everyone needs to get on my spones divorce wavelength right tf now ‼️

[akkivee]

we have three people who’ve been affected by the true hypnosis mic and two of them, nemu and kuukou, have physical items that represent their bonds, kuukou’s matching bandana and nemu’s aohitsugi bracelet

sasara’s the odd man out so i wonder if it’s smoking that represents the mcd bond????? but the fact that sasara’s trying to quit instead of already sober is striking me as strange, like the bandana and bracelet are notably missing but sasara’s is still lingering???? 🤔

[bmpmp3]

give him to me NOW!!!!!!!!!!! or i'll settle for a release date pwetty pwease

[valleyxrose]

who: open ( @bluestarters )

where: farmer's market

Valley had never thought she was a Farmer's Market kind of girl. Of course, she'd never imagined that she'd be living in a town like this at all. Ever since her first marriage, she'd become accustomed to the finer things in life, and the finest things are hard to come by outside of the city. But here she was, getting her expensive shoes muddy at a market that stank of fish, just as she'd done every week all summer.

She had to admit that Blue Harbor was charming. There was a reason, after all, why she hadn't left town yet.

She smiled at the vendors as she perused their goods, comparing everything in her mind to things she'd seen in her travels. Everything reminded her of something lately. Everything was a memory. ...She was getting sentimental in her old age.

Not wanting to be weighed down by memories and connections, she got the attention of the person closest to her. She pointed to two things she couldn't decide between.

"Which would you choose?" she asked.

[utilitycaster]

because I've seen this again: I think it's entirely possible that, for a small group of people, the fact that there is not a fan art reel is why they are less connected to the story of C3, but setting aside this is not remotely my experience, there have always been fans who kept up or binged the show via the podcast or VOD and skipped the art reel. Even when I watched C2 live I mostly tuned in only a few minutes in advance and barely paid attention to the art reel. Also like. Novels have been around a really long time. Oral traditions of storytelling have been around longer. Even the first radio drama was over a century ago. The ability to find hundreds of pieces of fan art and fanfiction without getting out of bed is less than 30 years old. I feel like saying "Skill Issue" undersells how much of a problem not having a visual component to a fictional work - let alone not having fan art spoonfed directly to you instead of you having to go to the official fan art gallery or following a tag - isn't. For basically everyone else on earth.

[shadowblade8192]

i think its been well documented that each episode since wild blue yonder has had a name check (if you dont know what that is, its whey they say the name of the show/episode title in the episode itself), and i was wondering, since its not the same character every time, could there be a connection between them? i cant think of anything but i did make a list of every character who spoke the first name checking line in each episode so if anyone else can find a connection then do add it in the tags anyways heres the list:

wild blue yonder - donna noble the giggle - the doctor the church on ruby road - the doctor space babies - the doctor the devils chord - timothy drake boom - the doctor 73 yards - ruby sunday dot and bubble - lindy pepperbean rogue - rogue the legend of ruby sunday - carla sunday empire of death - TBA