#every day there is dust

[tleeaves]

[enter FOOL wearing sunglasses as a Stayin' Alive remix plays on loop]

First and foremost, you must remember that I know nothing about anything--never have and never will. The second thing you must know about me is that I am obsessed with time loops and anything time-and-space related (not just Dr. Who specific, chill, whovians), which includes the multiverse and layers of reality. Various timelines existing at once and so on. It's been done over and over again, and I can't get tired of all the interpretations and stories.

A truly satisfying story, in my humble fool's opinion, relies upon the use of seemingly innocuous pieces of the story recurring in such a way that they gain importance, gain a narrative weight, and start to predict patterns that can tell and add layers to unfolding events/character arcs. A watch is just a watch until you see how many times the reader's attention is brought to it, until we see it fixed, and later broken, for some reason or other. It's a piece of symbolism. In that same way, authors essentially "time loop" everything in a story to make consistent themes for characters to struggle against or within. Not many excellent examples are coming to my mind because I'm an old woman and it's bedtime, but here's some brief mediocre ones:

I would argue that The Shadowhunter Chronicles (TSC) is about time loops (without, of course, being about time loops) because of the cyclical nature of each "era's" narrative. Female Main Character, Two Male Love Interests (of various interest), curses real and imagined holding everyone back, over and over and over and over. Told and retold. This creates layer, which then creates significance when Clare varies the loop just a little bit.

Or, look at tragedies. I may have spoken about tragedies before (they're another personal favourite of mine), but what makes a tragedy, well, a tragedy? I argue that many are a tragedy because they are about time loops. The characters are stuck in a situation they are forced to play out to the end--and it will always have ended with the same bitterness, one way or another. The narrative is inescapable. Each time you open a book, it's going to happen the same. No matter how many times you tell the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, he will look back and she will be lost to the Underworld forever.

Now, this in mind, look at time loops themselves: they absolutely are all about grief. Whenever I have worked with time loops (god, I love them, I will always be trying to sneak one in somewhere), they are essentially an embodiment of grief. To me, grief has always been the replaying of something over again in your mind, playing it to death, trying to find how you got from Once Upon A Time to The End, how many other ways it could have gone, how many other endings you could have wound up with, why this one, playing it to death, trying to find out how you got from Once Upon A Time to The End, how many other ways it could have gone, how many other paths you could have taken instead, playing it to death, trying to find how you got from Once Upon A Time to The End, how many other ways it could have gone, whether you could have asked her to stay, whether you could beg, whether you could have punched him, if remembering to buy that carton of milk would have saved them from the accident, if a firmer step would have stopped you from falling and ruining a life forever, if you hadn't looked back--if somehow you trusted the god of the underworld--if you had only heard her voice, some confirmation she was there--if, if, if--

Grief is ugly. It's screaming, it's wailing, it's tear streaks, it's clawing at the dirt, it's reversing the clock, it's rereading old messages, it's listening to voicemails, it's rewatching recordings and movies, it's going back to the same place the murder happened trying to remember just one more clue to put your spirit at rest forever. It's a time loop. It's going back, driven by stubbornness, madness, desperation, the feeling that this time--this time--you can find something to do differently so the loop breaks.

All stories are about time loops, except time loops. Because time loops are about their inherent grief, regret, knowledge of a mistake requiring correction. Being stuck. Doing something over.

Staying alive.

Keeping someone else alive.

Keeping something, a memory, alive still in the only way you know how within your limited power.

All stories are about time loops, except time loops. Time loops are about grief.

Anyway, time to go rewatch all the Spider-Man movies that exist so I can live once again in a time-loop that spans universes as I try to also predict whether the next Spiderverse movie is going to break the loop.

[exeunt FOOL jingling merrily to something that has transformed into a Christmas carol]

all stories are about time loops, except for time loops, which are about grief

[hinamie]

playing around w slightly different hair renders

[shorthaltsjester]

the mighty nein - critical role

this is a place where i don't feel alone. this is a place where i feel at home.

[sneakercake]

update VIVZIE CANNOT STOP LIKING HUSKERDUST ART ON TWITTER

[somegrumpynerd]

Cross has trouble getting to sleep alone in his room and goes looking for a distraction, but ends up finding a solution for both of them

[corpusdiem-seizethedead]

Charlie: Angel is smiling, did something happen?

Angel: What? I can’t smile just ‘cause I feel like it?

Husk: Valentino tripped and fell in the parking lot.

[gloriousmonsters]

ok listen. listen. hear me out. what if Angel was the one to propose the contract

like.... the intensification of heartbreak and guilt when Val tells him 'I own you, or have you forgotten that?' as Angel looks at his signature, the heart he drew next to it. the extra layer in 'what's the worst part of this hell? I can only blame myself'. and above all it plays well with my observation that their contract had to have been composed with some level of input from Angel, because... why on earth/in hell would Val have given him control of his life outside of the studio; and while Val invokes the contract to put Angel back in 'his place', Angel invokes it to remind Valentino that he can defy him. It's actually similar in composition to a kink contract/agreement--if I'm in this specific place, you hold all the power and call the shots; but outside of it, I don't give you that level of control. Angel can straight up tell Val to fuck off in front of a crowd and all Val can do is say he'll make Angel regret it next time he's in the studio (and isn't that an extremely dark variation of the classic kinky romance beat of 'sub misbehaves when they're in public and can get away with it, dom promises they'll pay for it later'?)

so like. all of that about the contract also works if Val proposed it, but I love headcanoning that their relationship was on the rocks around the time it was signed, and one of the factors was Vox coming onto the scene... and so now i'm just thinking about Angel in his peak era of both-sides-ing their relationship problems, knowing his 'commitment issues' (partly real, partly consisting of val's 'you know other men??' issues) are a major cause, furious and disconcerted at someone else drawing so much of Val's attention, wanting to make a stupid desperate Hail Mary pass to save their relationship but devoid of the usual options of 'have kid' or 'impulsively propose marriage' or 'move to a new house that's inevitably haunted' i watch too much horror, going for the option of '...hey do you want to make the kind of binding contract that is accessible to us?'

and surely it's not that stupid! he's only really giving Val a formal version of the power he gives him already, right? Val's his dom and his director and manager, and maybe there's... problems but it's mostly been great for Angel so far, so if having it on (magic eternally binding) paper would make Val happy and make him understand that Angel really wants him, wants them, the risk is toooootally worth it. just, best not to tell Cherri about it she'd definitely think it was insane.

(and when, much later, she learns about the contract and berates him for being an idiot and not telling her when Val brought it up, maybe don't correct her assumption. just keep it to yourself and feel even worse.)

[nachtart]

come back 2 bed or its laser eyes for u

[skunkes]

[spotaus]

Hi guys, this is usually what a doodle page ends up looking like <3 (oh, and @ancha-aus thought you might like this! Not writing but certainly fuel to my fire lol-)

This one is New Age filled!!! (Close-ups abd Lore beneath the cut!)

1) Night and Cross!

Night is actually very clingy once he's a teen. He doesn't usually realize it, but around the castle he'll snake to be closer to his Knights so long as there's no one he needs to keep his composure infront of is nearby. Cross is the one who's not used to physical touch (when it's not Ink ofc) so Night in his personal bubble makes his heart melt but also scares tf out of him <3

2) Error and Night's Meeting!

Error was carrying his whole life on his back and trying not to get arrested for unintentional property damage at this point, so when he saw the chance to get back at his brother and prove he was strong enough? Yeah, he got that on chance instantly. And was VERY smug when Nightmare chose him. (Also, Error is wearing gloves, so less Haphephobia)

3) Dream and Blue designs!

I think these are good tentative designs! Dream probably has a more regal fit, but he likes to play up that rugged exile look- He's inspired by Archers, while Blue takes on that classic Knightly-vibe. Their equipment is mostly stolen from Night's troops or brought with them from Blue's home kingdom.

Also, Dream is approx Killer's height at this point, shorter than Cross and *much* shorter than Apple!Nightmare. (Hc that Skeletons tend to be tinier in stature thanks to weird monster beauty standards. Horror and Geno's fam are outliers.)

4) Horror and Dust designs!

Horror is naturally a very *large* monster. He's very malnourished when Nightmare meets him, but by the time he's a Knight Nightmare has made sure that's no longer the case. He actually loves comfy, simple clothes, but to play up the whole 'strong mysterious' bit he wears a more barbaric Knight's garb. He doesn't mind acting scary, it's more fun that way :]. Dust is very very small, and envies horror sometimes for his size, but his tiny stature let's him control his body and move a lot quicker. He's very much based on a rogue, and usually covers the lower part of his face w/ a black cloth, and the upper part w/ his hood or mask. Dust only removes both to bathe, eat, or relax in a safe location. (Ignore that I can't draw the stupid gaster blaster lmao-)

These last two were space-fillers, but Cross and his Borzoi (Windmill, otherwise known as Milly (Killer named her-)) and really bad first wips of Ccino! I think Ccino was a chubby, happy toddler, but lost a lot of 'weight' (bone mass? Magic?) due to stress and pressure and bad eating habits. So it isn't until a while after the Coronation that he starts to relax abd feel safe enough to eat normal meals (Nightmare used to guilt him into eating snacks together, but as his boss (and younger brother) he can encourage it more often). By the time Killer shows he's still not quite healthy, but he's better. As more weight is lifted off his shoulders, the better he is. (That 'beauty' most people saw was a more stereotypical slimness, but Killer never stopped seeing Ccino as beautiful-) I think he never looked traditionally underweight, so no one noticed, and it was only much later that Night processed it. (And maybe it's why Dream hardly recognized him later on-)

[undead-potatoes]

Friendly reminder to all my queer peeps to be as weird and undefinable about your identity as your heart desires, the world is a better and more colorful place because of you and you make being queer such a joy, love you very much okay mwah mwah

[fable-the-queer-bookworm]

Day 22: Husk and Angel

[the-hilda-librarians-wife]

I love the relationship (or rather, the lack thereof) between the Hilda fandom and Luke Pearson. I don’t know if this is just me, but I feel like we’re just marginally aware that he’s A Guy and that he makes the thing we like and that’s as far as we care to go. You see fandoms researching their favorite creators and following them in every social media and looking for each of their projects and we just. We just want the stills and trailers. Some people care about what he has to say about the plot and animation. And that’s it. He’s just a dude whose name is in the opening and whose self insert shows up sometimes to Be Useless and we’re fine with that! The opposite of a parasocial relationship. We’re parallel playing in the same room

[desultory-suggestions]

I keep starting work and going “:(!!! I am coughging!!! Sickened! Struck by the plague!” And then remembering I work on the 10th floor of a library and I’m inhaling Ancient Dusts

[somegrumpynerd]

More doodles of the new chapter of How Nightmare Became Dadmare by @topazshadowwolf please go read it

[north-wilkesboro-moonshine-cave]

congratulations to Mme. Pascale Leclerc, who has surely just experienced both the funniest and most unhinged weekend a mother could ever have. Dear fucking christ, I hope your middlest son brought you a bottle of champagne for yourself, ma'am.