#folks of focal point

[theloniousbach]

THE FOLKS OF FOCAL POINT: RANDY FURRER OF JAKE’S LEG

Since 2010, Jake’s Leg, one of the longest running Grateful Dead cover bands in the world, began playing an annual gig at the Focal Point Traditional Arts Center.

Huh?

These are acoustic shows, just as the Dead themselves did in 1970 and 1980, but still, folk and roots music?

Hear me out, but I think so.

Randy Furrer, with fellow guitarist Dave Caspar a founding member of the band, points out, “These are great songs. There about something deep, sometimes even mystical. They aren’t pop songs.” Indeed, the Focal Point stage has heard “Black Muddy River” from no less than Norma Waterson who found it on an unmarked cassette and then recorded it with Martin Carthy and their daughter Eliza Carthy.

The Grateful Dead drew on Focal Point music—bluegrass, blues, traditional folk songs—as well as rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock’n’roll to make their own varied contributions to music. In December, Jake’s Leg was joined by Gerard Eckert of the Mighty Pines for Peter Rowan’s bluegrass song, “Panama Red.” It worked, of course.

With Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995 and the forthcoming end of touring by Dead and Company which includes three surviving members, their songs continue to fill the air as new generations of musicians take them on and make them their own. It’s the folk process; they have become part of the broad repertoire as blues tunes, fiddle tunes, Woody Guthrie songs, border ballads have.

Jake’s Leg though was one of the first, getting started in 1976, just a year after Focal Point itself. And over the years, they’ve developed a book of 300-400 songs, honed over more than 7,000 shows. “Dave says it’s 8,000, but I’d say 7,200,” says Furrer. “It’s never the same way twice, that’s what we took from them.”

Such improvisation requires fine coordination, most of it on stage. “We practice when we have a new member,” but they changed drummers 17 years ago when Ryan Wilhite joined. But keyboardist Bill Noltkamper has been ill for a couple of years, so they have some talented substitutes. “So we get together and break them in before the shows.”

The band lost 76 gigs due to the Covid lockdown, but a streaming gig via Focal Point kept them connected.

A testimony to this material is that their audience continues to grow and regenerate itself.

Our conversation happened at a bar and our server admired my Grateful Dead cap. I thanked her but said that Randy played in a GD cover band. She had heard of Jake’s Leg. Of course. She wouldn’t let me pay for our drinks or rent on the corner of the bar we occupied for an hour. That Randy comped her into an upcoming show was payment enough.

[miley1442111]

dinner revelations and reactions- r.cameron (part 3)

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a/n: this takes place in a au where the stuff that happens in the show doesn't happen :)

tropes: childhood bestfriends to lovers, enemies to lovers

pairing: rafe cameron x fem! reader, jj maybank x reader (dw, not for long)

(use of Y/n, and the nickname Bunny/ bun (but i promise not in a weird way there's a story to it i swear it's not just one of those weird smut things))

summary: rafe and you finally confront each other and it doesn't end as planned, neither does you night...

warnings: mentions of drugs and drug use and drinking, fighting, cursing, rafe is a dick, rafe's mental health, reader is going through it, smut (18+)(fade to black a little bit??) , kissing, alcohol, having sex while being drunk (?), drinking, kind of alcohol abuse, mentions of dead parents and sibling, rafe being jealous, rafe is also going through it (and I think that's it?)

not entirely proofread

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Rafe sat across from you, and you felt his eyes on you the whole time. He had no right to be affecting you like this, making you nervous, making you irritated, worst of all, making you feel anything. 

“So, Bunny,” Ward started. “How are your folks? I haven’t heard from them in a while.”

You felt your throat close, and an uncontrollable coughing fit started. Sarah hit your back and it finally stopped, but you excused yourself for a moment, not knowing what to do. You walked to the kitchen, a glass of water in hand, different to the strawberry daiquiri on the table, the one that Rose had insisted on making you. You felt yourself tear up as you thought about your lonely life. The past 3 had been the worst of your life. Coming home to an empty house, having to clean out their bedroom and everything else they owned, having no choice in how they went. A lot of your college friends ditched you at that time too, you didn't tell them what happened and you stopped coming out with them, so you drifted. It was so fucking hard. And explaining it would be difficult too. 

You hadn’t even noticed you’d started crying until Rafe had put his arms around you. 

And then there was the Rafe heartbreak. Your best friend and first love drifting away mere months after you moved to a whole new place, full of new people, and new ways to live. It was unfunny how upset you’d been, not leaving your room (except for going to school or for mealtimes), you almost broke your phone, you were so upset, and you got rid of anything (aside from the friendship bracelet you still wore) that reminded you of him. 

But for just a millisecond, you allowed yourself to enjoy him being there for you. 

Despite promising yourself that you’d never speak to him again when you turned 16 and he hadn’t replied in months, when big life events happened, you’d texted him. You’d texted him when your parents died, when you graduated with honours, when you got accepted into your dream college, and every single time, it always said that he read your messages. He knew what was going on, he knew you needed him, and he did nothing. 

You pushed him off of you and sighed. “Don’t try to comfort me now. That’s not fair,” you whispered, trying to stop yourself from crying. 

“Bun, please I’m-” he started, trying to take your hand, trying to make you look at him. To see the distress he was in, to notice the effect you had on him, to know that he still cared about you. 

“No!” you groaned, crossing your arms and moving further away from him. Thank god they had a huge kitchen. Rafe was always the focal point in every room, he drew attention in from everyone. His charisma, his smile, his looks, everything. Every time you entered a room he was in you were engulfed by Rafe, and it wasn’t fair. “Rafe, I don’t want your pity!-”

“It’s not pity-”

“Well I don’t want your help!” You finally stopped crying, the sadness easing but all that was left in its wake was rage. “I needed you, when I was a scared 15 year old girl in a new city, on the other side of  the country, I needed you when my brother died, I needed you when my parents died, I needed you when I was scared to move to college, I needed you when my first boyfriend and I broke up, and you weren’t there Rafe. But just because I needed you then, does not mean I need you now. You are exactly what is wrong with everyone on this island. You’re a prejudiced, privileged, piece of shit, asshole, drunk, with too much time and money on his hands. Get a job, work for something, for anything.” 

Rafe just stood there in shock. You pushed past him, rejoining the table.

“Sorry about that,” you chuckled. “My parents…” You paused and took a deep breath. “They died three years ago, sorry I didn’t call to let you know.” 

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Rafe sat across from you, and he had no idea what he was going to do. 

“So, Bunny,” Ward started and he rolled his eyes. Bunny had been a nickname Rafe had given you, and it had always bothered him when his dad used it, or when Rose used it, or when basically anyone but him used it . “How are your folks? I haven’t heard from them in a while.”

Rafe watched as your coughing fit began and he knew why. A sense of dread settled itself deep in his stomach and he sighed when you left to get a glass of water. He started getting up, then turned to Rose. “She doesn’t fucking like strawberry darquiri’s,” he spat.

He walked into the kitchen as quietly as possible, seeing how you sobbed with a hand over your mouth over the sink. He couldn’t help but feel partly responsible, and he hated seeing you cry. He felt you stiffen and quiet when he pulled his arms around you, then he held you closer as you started crying more. He’d missed you so damn much. He knew he should’ve responded, even after all these years, even when he fucking yearned to talk to you. But he’d made his bed and he had to lie in it. 

Losing you was one of the hardest things he’d ever gone through, and it wasn’t like his mom, where he could blame external forces, he was stuck with knowing that you being gone was his doing. That he’d driven you away at the ripe old age of 14. He loved you, and you’d left, but he just couldn’t see a universe where someone as lovely as you wanted him to stay, so he left. And he was stupid for leaving, and even worse for not apologising, but he was never known to go back on his word. As he held you, he thought about all the time his dad had said something, had hit him, and he thought about the fact that he could’ve talked to you. He could’ve called and asked for your advice, he could’ve heard your voice.  

And he noticed how your hands stayed on his body, not pushing him away, and he smiled. 

He felt awful for his behaviour. He should’ve been there for you when your brother and when your parents died. He knew he should’ve driven to fucking California and held you at the funeral. Let you cry on his shoulder. He should’ve been sending you supportive texts as you entered college, he should’ve been facetiming you asking about courses and classes, he should’ve been there to tell you that your asshole boyfriend wasn’t the shit. He remembered how he’d gone on a two-day bender when you texted him to say you had a boyfriend. He’d never been so jealous, and he hadn’t seen you in years. But he knew, he knew your spirit and he knew how beautiful you’d grown up to be. He knew your personality and your smile. It wasn’t fair what he did, but he knew this wasn’t about him. So, he just enjoyed being wanted by you, even if it was just for a few minutes. He didn’t deserve you in any capacity, but you still stood in the kitchen, his arms around you as you cried. 

You pushed him off of you and sighed. “Don’t try to comfort me now. That’s not fair,” you whispered. And the moment was over, but Rafe still had to try. 

“Bun, please I’m-” he started, trying to take your hand. He needed you to see him. He needed you to look at him, and look at the desperation in his eyes. He needed to explain that he hadn’t felt alive since you’d been gone, and having you here, being able to hold you? It had brought him back to life. 

“No!” you groaned, crossing your arms and moving further away from him. Fuck this huge kitchen, he wanted you closer to him, but he knew not to overstep. He stood at the sink and you paced slowly. Rafe was being driven out of his mind with these mixed signals. This wasn’t fair. “Rafe, I don’t want your pity!-”

“It’s not pity-” He tried to reason, his anger bubbling, but he took a deep breath to try and settle it. 

“Well I don’t want your help!” You finally stopped crying, the sadness easing but all that was left in its wake was rage. “I needed you, when I was a scared 15 year old girl in a new city, on the other side of  the country, I needed you when my brother died, I needed you when my parents died, I needed you when I was scared to move to college, I needed you when my first boyfriend and I broke up, and you weren’t there Rafe. But just because I needed you then, does not mean I need you now. You are exactly what is wrong with everyone on this island. You’re a prejudiced, privileged, piece of shitty, drunk, with too much time and money on his hands. Get a job, work for something, for anything.” 

Rafe just stood there in shock. You pushed past him, rejoining the table. He felt sick. No one had ever called him out like that, you had never spoken to him like that. He stood in the kitchen, and for the first time in years, he cried. He felt a genuine tear fall down his face and he knew he was fucked. 

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You showed up outside John B’s place, wanting to find Jj. None of it made any sense, it never had. Rafe, your parents, your brother, everything. 

“Hey Y/n,” He smiled, opening the door. You pushed past him inside and to his bedroom. “Everything ok?” He asked, following you.

“Do you have something strong?” You asked and he smirked. 

“Yeah,” he reached behind you to a cabinet and produced a bottle of Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany Vodka. 

“What’s that?” You asked, looking over to Polish bottle. 

“95% abv,” he smirked. “Strongest out there.”

You uncapped it and took a large swig. Jj chuckled when you had no reaction. 

“Good,” he smirked, then took the bottle off of you and drank some himself. 

The night went on through a haze of alcohol, laughter, and a weird energy in the air, something you couldn’t exactly put your finger on. 

“You tired?” He asked, a smile on his face. 

You didn’t answer, just pressing your lips to his. His hands grabbed your waist as you pulled him down on top of you. You needed to forget, to be distracted for a few hours, for one night to not be inside your own mind. Jj could serve that purpose, and maybe more. You just knew you needed to stop thinking.

“A-are you sure?” He asked, pulling away for a beat as you pulled his shirt off. 

“So sure,” you nodded and kissed him again. He smirked as you desperately pulled at his hair. 

He pulled down your trousers and pants in one fluid motion and he groaned. “You’re fucking gorgeous. All of you.”

He smashed his lips onto yours once again. Next his pants were down and he wax putting a condom on, then he was inside you and fuck. He was big. 

“Jj!” you whined as he sunk into you. His forehead was already laced with sweat. 

“Yeah baby?’ he gritted out, using all of his self-control to give you a minute to adjust. 

“So big,” you groaned. 

“You can take it,” he grunted as he started to move. You were so wet, so tight, so perfect. He couldn’t get you out of his head, and this was a lot better than what he was imagining. 

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You weren’t sure what time it was when you fell asleep, but you were fucking exhausted. You fell asleep with his arms around you, and you woke up the same way, with your head pounding and the uncontrollable urge to vomit.

What had you done?

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obx masterlist :)

navigation for my blog :) (criminal minds, obx, the bear, marvel, top gun, the hunger games, challengers :)

taglist: (comment to be added :))

@hockeybabe87 @maybankslover @anightlikethisss @linaaaaa654 @ijustwanttoreadlols @ihe4rttwd @sunny1616 @wearemadeofstardust0 @rafeecameronsbitch @drewswifeeee @lovegeorgia @houseofperfecttaste @ymnizuh

[emergingghost]

"I had the pleasure of designing and illustrating the long sleeve for @julienrbaker’s merch capsule by @slowdowndrygoods for her current tour. This work was really special to me and I have some words about it if you’d care to continue reading As soon as Eli asked if I wanted to make something I knew I wanted it to have a nostalgic warmth. The whole project involving Memphis folks is already so special, I wanted to contribute to that in the most authentic way possible. We had the idea to run with a candle as the main focal point. I love illustrating rooms, furniture, and domestic scenes of all kinds (as I have emphasized ad nauseam through my tattoo work) The life and memories held within four walls can feel electric and evoke such varying emotions from person to person. Drawing particular spaces from memory, I find, adds a surreal and dreamlike quality that transforms it from specific to personal, reflecting and highlighting elements of a room that have stuck with me over the year, moving through and away from them. It is all at once vulnerable, specific, vague, and inviting. This space is inspired by The Seven House back in Memphis where I’d seen so many shows, seen Julien perform with The Star Killers and Forrister, and so many other keystones in the scene at that time. I included a bunch of other stuff that’s not so specific to The Seven House but to Julien herself. So, that said, there’s a lot of memories crammed into this room that I hold in my heart and now you can carry it with you too A few things I snuck in here include a painting by @arielwolfebaldwin, a smith7 sticker, Julien’s beloved Beans, a Dunkin’ Donuts cup, a picture of the Memphis College of Art building, and more. I don’t usually sign my drawings but I sort of put myself in here, in a more pictorial / literal sense. I also fully remember the 7 house having a busted standee of a basketball player? Can anyone confirm this? Anyway, now you know what your merch means. Thanks again for asking me to be a part of this, Eli. And thanks to Julien for always carrying your friends with you. Much love Layout and formatting for print by @mrdrewryan Thanks @smith7_wicker for all the memories" - via tattoosbyclover

[hatesaltrat]

Folks, I’d like to tell you about this amazing place I got to spend some time at last weekend called Warriors2US. I am just flattered to no end that I was invited to be there and I can’t wait to go back. It is privately funded, no tax money or grants of any kind are used. If you can, please donate to them.

There is an incredible lodge that sleeps up to 18. A well stocked kitchen has everything you need to cook a fine meal with whatever groceries you bring and there’s no lack of spices and condiments if you forgot a little something. There is a total of 4 bedrooms, 1 of which is completely ADA compliant and the other 3 are upstairs with bunk beds.

From the seats on the back deck you can see the fire pit and shooting range beyond. There’s plenty of firewood to fuel a focal point while sipping libations and telling tales. It sits on 200 acres of private forest with hunting, fishing, and hiking just waiting for all Military personnel, Veterans, and/or First Responders. There is no cost to the guests.

There’s a fine grill downstairs in the garage just waiting to be used. Near the grill is a freezer full of meat that has been donated to the cause. There are some interesting games available for use too.

With more donations they are planning to build another structure so they can relocate the screen print shop from the small shed to its own space near some open office space where there will be classes for everything from CHL’s to resume building, and advisory seminars for Veterans trying to adjust to civilian life and job seeking skills. I am going to be trying to do some fund raising for them while seeking out some volunteer VA advocates. There’s a few of us planning a trip or 2 next year to donate some time helping to build a chapel in the woods and a few other various projects they need help with. We will eventually be building a wood shop complete with a mini-mill. I haven’t felt this passionately about a cause in a long time. I will be shamelessly plugging this retreat often and doing what I can to contribute to them.

Please check out the link and if you’re a Vet who wants to spend some time with family or a group of Warriors reach out to them directly to schedule some time out there.

And as always-

REMEMBER EVERYONE DEPLOYED

🇺🇸

[evilminji]

I just realized something REALLY obvious?

That frankly? Should have occurred to me sooner.

The Star Wars Chosen One Prophecy!

.......name your local prophecies for me real quick. Closest religious order. Heck, YOUR religious order. Any of um.

How many do you KNOW? Remember the EXACT wording of? Even the "no really guys, this is SUPER IMPORTANT" Types. I don't no any. Most folks don't! At best? You Remember the general jist of it. Cliff notes. Not those tricky, damning, details... like the Exact Wording.

Also!!!

Pretty FUCKIN Human-centric? To just? ASSUME the Chosen One? Is gonna be a humanoid? It SPECIFICALLY did say? "Born to no father" RIGHT???

Wouldn't it, therefore, make SENSE? To start watching species that DON'T HAVE MALES?? Or be in the look out for a lesbian couple created kid, where one of them is trans? Heck, might be cloning! Chosen One could have been a Vode!

Prophecies are fucky like that!

Frankly? Tell me how Baby Yoda's get made. Are there Fathers THERE? Hmmmm? Grogu might be the Chosen One! We don't know! Can't know! There are BILLIONS of Father-less entities! And frankly? We don't even know how good that Seer WAS! Or the exact age when the vision occured!

We all know DAMN WELL, the just by KNOWING the future, you may change it. How many actions were or WEREN'T taken because of that prophecy? How has that rippled across time? Changed the future they saw? Because they spoke of it. Recorded it. Let it weigh heavy on the minds of Jedi for generations to come?

Maybe Anakin Skywalker WOULD have been the Chosen One. WOULD have brought balance. Been everything good and bright and wonderful, just as they saw it.

If they had kept their damn mouth shut.

But they didn't, did they? And they set the stage for a Sith Tragedy instead. A shattering of the Order. The deaths of countless. It became the very thing the Jedi are warned against. Taught to be worry off. Yet we're blinded too in their own house.

They became attached to it. Fearful of it. Obsessed over it. Hated it.

That one prophecy? Became a focal point of Sithly poison inside their hearts.

They should have Let It Go.

[chevelleneech]

An unnecessary, yet slightly serious post about Wade being horny.

Wade was so horny for men in Deadpool & Wolverine, that after a third watch, I do not see where anyone is getting the idea that he’s dude-bro coded.

The first movie, I could see it, and it’s mainly because his visible discomfort with being pegged put a sort of buffer over any and all gay jokes Wade makes. Not all queer men like being penetrated, and I would assume Wade doesn’t like it in the comics either, but due to his pansexuality being so thinly alluded to in the first one, I can see why the takeaway would be “He’s a funny yet gross guy who likes making sex jokes no matter what it implies about his own sexuality.”

However, in the sequel, it is shown Wade is attracted to Colossus like three times. He grabs his ass twice, Vanessa (in his subconscious) tells him not to fuck him, and he mimes “scissoring” to him — although in the an extended deleted scene, he also mimes “sword fighting”.

In this third movie though, Wade is kind of like, very much so horny for multiple men.

He assumes the TVA agents are male strippers and says he will be kissing them. He moans, groans, and ogles Cavillerine before calling him, “the full package”. He then damn near creams himself over who he assumes to be Steve Rogers, and physically wraps his arms around him unprovoked. Another near-orgasmic moment for him was when Logan tells him to shut the fuck up. After that, he repeatedly calls Gambit attractive, and lastly, Wade is literally in the process of dying for what he thinks is the final time, and still he ogles a sweaty man.

So even without the Honda Oddessy fight… Wade’s only exhibits of sexual desire were for men. He wanted Vanessa back, and he’s obviously attracted to her, but that wasn’t the focal point of this movie regarding their relationship this time around. He wanted her back on an emotional level more than anything else, and while I’m very well aware Disney is never going to actually buckle down on a version of Wade whom is expressly queer, I do think anyone who left this movie with the opinion that Wade Wilson only likes women for real, were not paying an ounce of attention.

There’s only so many times a man can call other men attractive, salivate over their bodies, and literally tells folks he’s not a natural bottom (a term not at all used in reference to cis het sex) or that he wants to kiss men, and have it not be because he’s into men. Wade is definitely into men in the movies as of this movie, it’s just also a fact that such truth will never be explicitly said on screen.

Sure, Ryan said Wade is fluid and has chemistry with everyone, but that’s really just a great cop-out answer. He’s not lying, but he’s also not being upfront. Because Wade isn’t somewhat fluid and easy to have chemistry with. He’s queer. Pansexual to be exact, and I think at the very least the movies should be allowed to say that. He doesn’t have to kiss a man or date one for that to be true.

[catiuskaa]

this close to begging

SUMMARY: an angsty tension formed out of pent-up feelings. a mix of alcohol, changbin and you might find just the way of solving it.

WC: 1.6k

CW: swearing, angsty feelings, drinking, drunk oral sex (f rec.), mentions of degradation and size kink, use of nicknames: bubs, my love, bunny, recreational use of pussydrunk!changbin because I say so, why not, and I think that’s all, folks! (pls tell me if I missed anything!)

TAGGING! @ur-boyfiends-reading, from a fellow seolar <3 hope you like it! (feel no pressure at all if it isn’t your kind of thing tho)

[◾️☆💠☆◾️]

You hadn’t meant it. Of course you hadn’t.

You had been fed up with everyone’s bullshit in the past week. Dealing with the cons of dating an idol was usually fine, but added to the recent stress in your minimum-wage job, with your boss constanltly prancing around and making everyone’s mood so fucking crispy, roaming and firing people in several departments— including yours.

Let’s just say you weren’t in your best of days. Or… weeks.

And Changbin, well, you hadn’t had the heart to tell him just yet. Or to talk. Much to your and his despair, his schedule had also been against you seeing each other. Always full to the brim. Packed to the infinity.

You had barely seen him the past week. Maybe even the one before, which didn’t help at all with your current exhaustion.

Still, it wasn’t an excuse for the argument that stroke between both of you. You couldn’t point out who or what had started it, but the tension made the focal point of the loud discussion change.

“Leave me the fuck alone for a minute, okay!? You’re always clinging to me like a desperate little bitch.”

You froze, hands slightly trembling after those lies came out of your mouth. You hadn’t meant it, at all. You loved your smol little cuddly Binnie. You loved how you would usually wake up with his hands beneath your shirt as he pampered your face and neck with kisses, his hair messy and fluffy and his face puffy from sleep. You couldn’t figure in your head how that sentence had come off. You couldn’t understand it.

Still, for both his and your sanity, you had moved from your shared bed to the first floor, and locked yourself inside the guest’s room, which was never really used by anyone else than the rest of the members whenever they wanted to stay the night.

After you entered the spare room, you heard a ruffle of sorts and then the loud slam of the main door closing.

And since then, a couple of hours had passed.

You didn’t have the heart to text or apologize. You wouldn’t know where to start, and being honest, you weren’t sure he was going to forgive you. In your mind, that was totally plausible and justifiably so.

Where could Changbin gone? Your chest tightened, not daring to get out. What if he had left to stay elsewhere? No, Chan would’ve texted you.

Right?

You sighed, slowly banging your head against the door behind you, feeling the guilt spread through your body.

Brushing off the tears on your cheeks, you stood up, shaking your head, and decided to step out and head to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee.

The silence in the apartment was killing you slowly. Usually, as loud as he could be, Changbin would leave traces of where he was or what he was doing with small sounds. Like the little giggles when he was texting the members. The loud cackles when he watched instagram reels, and the proud snicker when he encountered edits of himself. The low humming when a song got stuck in his head, there it be one of his own creations or the ones he listened to. The small thuds as he practiced choreographys in his study, for tiktok trends or for Felix’s enjoyment.

Now, it was just silence as you sipped from he mug. It was probably not a good idea to have coffee past one am, but you didn’t care.

And then, you heard the struggles of a drunk man trying to open the door.

You hesitated. He was a mess when he was drunk, but now he’d probably be mad. And you kind of deserved it.

Shaking your head, you opened the door, and his body, slightly taller than yours, fell like a puppet, his head nuzzling into your neck as his arms closed around your waist.

“Bubs, y-you’re so preettty,” he sniffed. He was… crying? “Ah… I- m-missed you, sooo, so muchh…” he trailed off, his eyes teary.

You tried to craddle his face or to move him away, and failed to guide him upstairs.

“N-no!” He refused, tightening his grip around you.

“My love, you should go to bed.” You mentioned softly.

His eyes widened, and his head shot up, his hands now cradling your face.

“W-what did you just say?” He muttered. “D-don’t say that. If you… do that… n-no…”

You blinked, pouting unconciously.

“What, baby?” He shivered under your touch when your hands softly grabbed his wrists.

“Remember how… I uh… said that… alcohol… uh…”

The intense blush in his face made you almost jump in your place, your eyebrows shot up slightly.

You were unable to control a smile that creeped from underneath. “My love…” you started, and he almost whimpered. “Are you getting horny?” You whispered, and he nodded against your neck.

“You… you’re just s’prettyy… ‘n you keep wearing my clothes…” his fingers started to trail patterns, slowly riding up an old hoodie of his that you had most definetely stolen.

You licked your lips.

“Let’s get you to bed, yeah? Lemme take care of you.”

His body fell on the bed like dead weight. His eyes were closed, his features so soft you thought he had fallen asleep.

You started taking his shoes off, followed by his socks, because you knew he hated sleeping with them on.

Changbin sighed, and you stopped.

“Bubs, please,” his hand tugged your sleeve. “P-please… just. Just… this once. ‘M so sorry. I’ll fix this. I’ll do whatever I can. I’ll talk to the company or something.” He blabbered messily, and tugged your sleeve harder, swiftly taking your other arm and pulling towards him, making you fall on top of him.

He brushed a couple of stray hairs from your face, and you struggled you find a comfortable position to lie on him.

“B-bunny, w-wait.” His hands stopped your waist. “Fuck, I need you. Please. I know ‘m drunk… just…” his features scrunched up, thinking.

“Love…” you started.

“Wait, I know!” He blurted out. “Just lemme taste you.” He smiled, breathing against your lips, in a way that you could almost taste what he had drinked earlier.

“W-what?”

He whined. “You always taste s’good, bubs. Please. Binnie need this, pleaaase…” he trailed off, peppering messy kisses on your neck.

You felt him harden underneath you as you thought for an answer.

“But we had a fight, love. I don’t want you to do this and feel wrong about it tomorrow.” You said lowly, biting your lip. “Are you sure about this?”

“I know, I know. ‘m drunk, sure, but you still taste so fucking good ‘nd look like a goddess. Thinking I’ll regret this ‘s bullshit.” He mumbled against your skin.

You got lost in thought, and he took that in advantage, rolling his hips against yours.

“You said you’d take care of me,” he whimpers lowly, his voice hoarse. “Kiss me.” Changbin licked his lips, his mouth dry. “Please.”

There was an urgency, a burning desire that crashed through your body as his lips devoured yours after a shy nod. Each touch of his lips sent ripples of warmth through your body, making both of you more hot and bothered as it grew in intensity. It was a kiss that spoke volumes without uttering a word, a language of emotions conveyed through the mixture of breaths. A way of apologizing from before and a form of drunk reassurance.

The taste was a mixture of the drinks he had taken and your flavoured chapstick, tongues clashing against one another as his hands moved to your waist and turned both of you. With his figure over yours, he parted your legs with soft strokes on your thigh, leaning in, unable to separate from your lips, taste stronger and more addicting than any drink he could’ve found over at the bar.

When you broke apart, a thin strand of drool followed your lips, and without missing a beat, Changbin licked it clean. You panted, your hand on his chest as both of you stared at each other, eyes, lips, taking in the other’s untamed beauty. It was a moment suspended in time, entering your shared bubble back in what felt like months of craving.

Changbin went right back, biting your bottom lip, trailing lustful kisses down your neck, taking your and his clothes off as if they burned, nonchalantly throwing them elsewhere.

“So good, my cute little bunny… already wet, huh?” He snickered, leaving marks on your neck and trailing dow, playfully biting the inside of your thighs. “Binnie’ll make ya feel s’good.”

His kisses started to get closer and closer to your core, making your sigh impatiently, whimpering. He cooead at you, and planted a teasing kiss on your cunt.

You squirmed on your place. “B-binnie…!”

“Shhh, bunny. S’okay.” Changbin smirked slyly, dragging his tongue on you in languid strokes. He grunted when you started moaning louder, your hands now in his hair, his mouth spread wide on you.

As you started babbling in pleasure, he started making out with your sloppy cunt more vigorously, tugging at your thighs, like he wanted to be crushed by them.

“Y’know, fuck…” he moans, and it travels all through your body. “when ya said I was a desperate lil’ bitch… fuck… made me so horny…”

He stared at you from in between your legs. “Binnie’s such a desperate slut for bunny, huh?”

He spread you open with two slender finger, moaning just by feeling how small you are and how you clenched around his fingers, imagining how tight you'd be around him, and he started grinding against the matress unconciously.

He stops grinding when you moan his name and grasp his hair, and lets you ride his face as you reel in pleasure.

You whine when his kisses get too intense and he comes up, his arousal all over his lips and chin, kissing you with all tongue and teeth, allowing you to taste yourself.

“We’ll keep going in the morning,” he panted. “Can’t have enough of you.” Changbin murmured against your neck, falling asleep with you.

~kats, who wrote this while blasting ‘careless whisper’ on her headphones just to see how far she could take it.

THINK I DID OK AS MY FIRST ACTUAL SMUT?!

[ingravinoveritas]

After seeing all those stories of Georgia going shopping with David (I'm honestly surprised that David knows how to drive, I don't know why), I think David is fed up with so much video.

@electronic-chocolate @victorianlonging Okay, so...I have indeed seen all of the stories that are referenced here, and I think a couple of things can be true at the same time. But let's first get the visual up for anyone who hasn't seen it (all in one video, for ease of viewing):

The first thought that I had is how reminiscent this was of what we've seen recently, with Georgia filming David when he seemingly really doesn't want to be filmed (such as at that festival last month).

What also came to mind is something I think at least several of us thought of (if my DMs are any indication), which is that David is clearly, visibly annoyed. There's no real way to not notice it, with him looking incredulous in the car (though I did laugh when he said "I'm not dressed for this," given how adorable he looked without even realizing it), and then when she sets the tone by immediately using the word "content." There's no question that that's what the objective of this was: To have content of/with David that Georgia could post to garner attention.

Once they're in the store, we see him balling up the shopping bags in his hands, which to me came across as a sign of anxiety. And given how non-confrontational we know David is, it's almost amazing to hear him respond to Georgia's "Say hi!" with an immediate "Nope." And the whole thing sort of becomes what you might call a self-narrating zoo exhibit (or "self-paparazzi," as I recently heard someone aptly describe it) where David is literally just trying to shop for groceries while Georgia is sticking a camera in his face.

We also notice that at one point, David is recognized by some fans and stops to take a picture with them, which when you think about it is likely a regular occurrence, since he has one of the most famous faces in the country. But because that is the case, you'd also think he would feel a sense of relief when those interactions are over and he no longer has to be "on"...until he goes back to Georgia and she is filming him. And as good-natured as David is, there's no doubt that it must get a little tiring after a while.

All that said--and in the interest of providing a balanced perspective--it is possible that David was playing things up, to an extent, and perhaps even exaggerating some of the annoyance that we saw. And there was something else about this that stood out to me, and that deserves discussion: His shoes...

Yes, David was wearing gay pride Doc Martens. GAY PRIDE BOOTS, ladies and gentlemen and those of other gender persuasions. And when we realize this is the case, everything about this vlog/series of stories starts to gets very interesting. Because while the shoes were by no means the focal point of the Insta stories, Georgia had to know that David's eagle-eyed fans would clock them right away. And clock them they did (and I also noticed this pair of Pride-themed Doc Martens, and would not be at all surprised to learn that David owns a pair of those as well).

Leaving aside the fact that no straight man on this Earth--no matter how strong an ally--would wear those boots (I mean...come on), I almost saw this as a callback/follow up to Georgia's story from a few months ago where she appeared to use "their" pronouns when talking about David (rather than he/him). Much discussion was had at the time of this being a way to "test the waters" for David to start being more open about his sexuality/identity, and this almost feels like a continuation of that.

Having heard from queer followers of mine who are not fully out to their families/friends, it seems that it is not uncommon for folks in that position to wear things to drop little "hints" around people they are not ready to disclose to yet. And when you think about the number of "hints" from the last few months--the nonbinary pin, the pronoun Insta story, David getting emotional talking about Pride Month on that podcast, and now these new Insta stories wearing those boots--it makes you wonder if it's all building toward something.

Whatever the case may be, it's still difficult to overlook how uncomfortable David looked at times in those videos today--even if he was playing things up. For my part, I would genuinely rather never have Georgia post anything about David again than see him in her posts knowing that he is uncomfortable with it. I also agree that her hunger for content seems to be increasing, but I would also like to hope that if David did seriously ask Georgia to stop filming--for any reasons--that she would do so.

So I suppose we'll have to see what (if anything) this all leads to, and what will happen if/when she films him again. Happy as always to hear others' thoughts in the comments...

[selfcestmovies]

It had been one of Avengers Tower's more raucous parties — filled to the brim with laughter, booze, and lively banter between Earth's Mightiest Heroes. And it was the first party where Wanda and Natasha were "out" as a couple. Nat couldn't keep her hands off her.

Wanda was a bit more bashful, however. She always enjoyed Natasha's attention in private, but in front of other partygoers the persistent flirtation was a bit much. She knew it was pointless to ask Natasha to stop, and any pushback simply fueled her pursuit even further. The seductive glances grew more fierce as the night went on, even when the two were seated across a room of bustling conversation.

And it would be the conversation that would lead to Wanda's downfall.

The Avengers were a pompous group and enjoyed jeering, taunting, and daring each other in times like this. The topic of Wanda's magic became a focal point. Folks were asking her about the limits of her powers, and Wanda was already a few drinks deep and much less coy than usual about her skills as a developing witch.

"Can you conjure other people?" The question seemed entirely hypothetical. Wanda politely deflected.

"I bet you can," Nat crooned. "I think you should try."

Wanda smiled at her girlfriend. "And whom should I conjure?"

Natasha took a sip of her champaign. "Do me," She winked.

In most cases, Wanda was never this cavalier about her powers. But Nat had asked for it. With a flick of her wrist and a cloud of red smoke, another Natasha Romanoff appeared out of thin air.

For the long minutes that followed, Wanda actually wasn't in the spotlight. The partygoers were far more entranced by the Natasha doppelgänger, and quite eager to search for any differences between the two Natashas. There seemed to be not a single distinction between the two redheads — not a hair out of place or a memory or mannerism that hadn't been perfectly replicated. Wanda managed to use the commotion to slink out of sight and grab another drink.

The next time she spotted the Natashas, they were whispering, giggling, casting gazes now twofold at Wanda across the party. What on earth had she unleashed? The hours ticked on. Wanda spotted the Natashas dancing together. Grinding. Making out. They were giving all their attention to one another instead of Wanda — and putting on a show to drive Wanda's jealousy off the walls.

By the time the three finally found a dark corner to themselves, their lust had boiled over. Natasha loved making Wanda jealous, and now with Wanda in her clutches, she had twice as many hands to touch her. Double the lips to tease her with.

"Upstairs, now," the Natashas spoke together, in unison. "You're ours for the rest of the evening."

Wanda looked from one gorgeous Natasha to the other. She was impossible to resist.

[frownyalfred]

Hello! I’m not Jewish and I just learned about Pikuach Nefesh. Being Jewish yourself, I’m guessing you have a lot of thoughts on this and how it relates to Bruce’s no-kill policy. I’d be really interested in hearing them if you want to make a post!

Hey friend!

I absolutely have thoughts, but I must begin with a disclaimer:

My perspective does not cover all Jews, nor is it the authority on what is or isn't Jewish. I grew up Reform/Reconstructionist, in an ethnically Ashkenazi Jewish family, and these are just my thoughts as a Batman blog.

Another important note: different types of Jews hold the halacha (rules/principles) of Judaism to be far more important in their lives. An Orthodox Jew will observe halacha much more strictly than a Reform Jew. Despite what some people will tell you, this doesn't make either of them better. Just different.

Whew, okay. Now that that's out of the way, let's get down to business.

What is Pikuach Nefesh?

In very general terms, Pikuach Nefesh (hard ch sound in the back of your throat) allows Jews to override other religious "rules" or values in the pursuit of preserving or saving a life.

A good example of this is a an Orthodox Jewish person, who, following halacha, will not drive or operate items with electricity during the Sabbath (Shabbat). But what happens if someone has a heart attack and they need to call 911? Pikuach Nefesh would permit them to use electricity, despite it being Shabbat.

If a Jewish person who keeps total kosher is in a situation where they will starve if they do not eat non-kosher food, they are permitted to eat non-kosher food.

Exceptions

There are some notable exceptions to Pikuach Nefesh, which I suspect is what your question is getting at. The threat to an individual's life generally has to be known, urgent, and not abstract.

Murder is another large exception, with some conditions. Generally, the intentional act of killing another person, or injuring them to the point where they might die from their injuries, is not an act that can be permitted by the principle of Pikuach Nefesh.

The slim exceptions to this include highly specific cases of self defense of oneself or another against an aggressor. One may kill to preserve a life in very strict situations, but they cannot murder. There are even times where killing is obligated, such as war.

So how does this relate to Batman/Bruce's no-killing rule?

Okay. So. I've had a lot of discussions with folks about this, and the answer I've learned is: it doesn't. Not really.

Pikuach Nefesh refers to the principle that a Jewish person should preserve life over almost any other rule or halacha. It does, actually, permit Bruce to kill under very specific situations. It does actually forbid him from gravely injuring people and doing so in the name of fighting against abstract threats, which are both things he does in canon.

The last time I wrote about this, I was definitely off about the details of Pikuach Nefesh in regard to Batman. I was corrected and I stand by that correction. I didn't grow up in the Orthodox faith and I don't observe much of their halacha, which is where a lot of religious theory questions arise from. I'm not an expert, and my explanation is only as deep as my own experience.

I think a good way of looking at Pikuach Nefesh is not as a way to define what, if any, killing is acceptable, but rather, what are we obligated to do to save a life?

The more important Jewish principle shaping Batman's ideology (in my opinion)

"Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire."

This is much more of an important focal point for Bruce's Jewish-influenced ideology. The flipside of this quote, from the Talmud, is equally important: "Whoever kills one life, kills the world entire."

Bruce's no-killing rule is famously tied to his parents' deaths during his childhood. In a way, his entire world ended with their murder. He sees his mission to clean up Gotham as a way to prevent that loss from occurring for anyone else.

Saving one person, like he tells Barry in Justice League, is enough. That is a viciously Jewish thought. It is frequently quoted in reference to those who acted in support of Jews during the Holocaust, doing what little they could against a fountain of evil.

Conclusion

In that regard, yes -- Pikuach Nefesh tells us that preserving a life is the most important thing above all else. But Bruce's no-killing rule would swiftly be broken if he followed the principle of Pikuach Nefesh closely, in that he would a) likely have to kill someone in self-defense at some point in his duties and b) it would not allow him to injure or hurt people to the extent that he currently does in canon.

More importantly, Bruce's no-killing rule is a better reflection of the Talmudic quote that "he who saves/kills a life, has saved/killed a world entire."

It is not much of a stretch, in my opinion, to connect Bruce's trauma from losing his parents at young age to his outright refusal to kill later in life. The more interesting question, in my mind, is if the creation of this no-killing rule truly was shaped by Batman's Jewish creators and their view on life and death, especially post Holocaust.

Comics became more widely available during and after WWII and the Holocaust, during which time many -- many -- Jews entered the field as writers and artists. Their influences on the characters we see today are obvious, often intentionally Jewish, but just as often un-intentional.

Was Batman's no-killing rule a product of the post-WWII Jewish comic writers who shaped his character? Was it a coincidence that lined up well with the Talmud, but not necessarily all the conditions of Pikuach Nefesh?

How else does Batman represent, or not represent, the goal of Pikuach Nefesh (the necessity that a person act in the preservation of human life, above almost all else)?

[aurantia-ignis]

My entry for @rockmiyabideusexmachina's summer contest!

When I read the contest guidelines, I knew I wanted something dramatic, yet also with small tinges of humour, featuring some of my favourite folks from the EXE series. When I started drafting a sketch, it began to look like a nightmare because I'd go WHY IS THERE AN EMPTY SPACE HERE DOES IT LOOK TOO EMPTY I BETTER FILL IT UP WITH MORE CHARACTERS AND THINGS and then suddenly the worry was that my composition might get too cluttered oh NO and how am I supposed to light it to get the focal points to still work out?!

Thankfully, with plenty of help and advice from my sister, I managed to get it to look somewhat like what I had envisioned <3 It was really fun to work on, in the end, especially as I got to revisit one of my favourite series of my childhood <333

Check out the other amazing entries here!! Everyone did a marvelous job!

[fefairys]

(on the pages where aradia talks about the battle with the black king after it happens)

"Hinting at a big, final boss battle was the way to go here. No huge animation. No way. I'm sure people wanted that they always did). Some folks out there did make a big, simulated king battle animation years later. But that would have been a very wrong application of production time and effort here. It's not relevant, it's not the focus, and the battles of the story almost never are. It's helping solidify the ongoing precedent that endgame battles really are not what Homestuck does. I've said things like that outside the story, and included many reminders of it within. The supreme example of this, of course, is the alleged endgame battle that is theoretically supposed to take place with Lord English. Conventional expectations lead to presumptions on the reader's part that the narrative is structured that way, and what it must be building up to. This is a rather substantial point of analysis, probably best left for closer to that moment. But navigating around certain big battles and confrontations relates to some themes I've bandied about freely in this book. That, in short, the "real story" we've been trained to look for and expect in such media isn't actually the "real story" of Homestuck. It's an imagined narrative that happens in the background while the stuff we're most concerned with takes place on an extra-narrative layer with a set of completely different focal points and objectives, and only uses the backdrop traditional-narrative layer as substance for deconstruction, satire, and subversion of expectations, and as a basis for the parallels it draws between the regimentations within narrative and real life, which exist to challenge those forced to grow up in either environment." -Andrew Hussie

[dootznbootz]

allow yourself to be a little arrogant! if you were to claim that you know more than most people about a specific character from greek mythology, which character would it be?

*puts on the hat of arrogance so I can take it off right afterward*

Penelope 😅 😂

Like most of what we find of her is in the Odyssey, and even then, in my opinion, Homer I almost feel purposefully makes her a bit of an enigma. As we're in Odysseus' "POV" most of the time, and it's kind of a "She tricks the trickster, she tricks the narrator, she tricks the suitors, she tricks the reader, etc."

But even with this lil bit of "sneakiness" with her, we still get so many hints of her character and who she is and I adore it 🥹

Even then she has a lot of background lore that is just SOOOO much fun to play with. Her being of Naiad descent (whether 50-75% depending on what myths you go with), her many brothers and one sister, Her dad being a racer, her being cousins with Helen, Castor, Pollux, Clytemnestra Sparta itself, And that's just background lore!!!! There's so much to play with and that makes it so fun!

And well, like, I KNOW I'm the reason for a big boom of "Water Wife" lol 😅 Were there "Naiad Penelopes" before I came back on Tumblr? YES! :D Absolutely! I'm definitely NOT the first "Naiad Penelope" person!

But I DID create "Water Wife" AND I know I help cause more Water Pennys to be in the world >:3 Even if folks weren't directly inspired by me, they probably got it from someone else who was! :3 and I know my headcanons are often being used by others.

*The hat of arrogance droops a lil on my head so it becomes a lil bit of the sad arrogance hat*

I sometimes don't really like that I'm like, "the biggest, loudest Penelope fan", you know? ;~;

I know I'm not the only Penelope fan <3 I know there are others. Many lovely fans and creators :3 This isn't to negate them and the love and works. <3

But in fandom in general, In some ways, I...I'm a lil sad that like, a lot of the info that some people have on her in the fandom I know is because of me 😓 Like...Why did it take someone else to be a nerd about her for others to be a nerd about her, you know?

Like, it makes me happy that people are finally giving her love and seeing a lot more fics and headcanons with her as a focal point but like, I'm sad feeling like I started it in fandom (again, Penelope HAS been praised throughout the ages after all) recently. Why did it take ME to get others so nuts about her? Why do I see most folks caring about her simply because Odysseus and Telemachus do?

It's like, there are many Odysseus bloggers, there are a few Telemachus bloggers (Hi! :D ), but there are few, (if really many others) blogs that are like "most stuff I do is Penelope, Odysseus and others are there sometimes but It's mostly Penelope in here".

(granted I have not really...looked too much recently as it started making me sad to think about her not getting a lot of love) I am also very picky. I won't stand for cardboard Penelope who is only there to prop up her husband and/or thinks he "cheated" or have Odysseus cheat. Penelope, and women in general, are not props for their husbands/sons.)

As like, I got most of my info FROM the Odyssey AND just simply looking stuff up about her and Sparta and her family. And so I get this lil feeling of "...We both read the same book, why did it take me pointing out that Penelope is constantly wishing violence on the suitors for people to know that she does that? Why did you think that Penelope didn't come up with the archery contest when it explicitly says she did?"

And it's not like, even a feeling of "gatekeeping" or wanting to be like "You're a Penelope fan, huh? Well then tell me the names of all her possible brothers? >:(" It's more like a

Me: "I love Penelope!" Person:"YEs! I love Penelope too!" Me: "Yippee! Can you tell me about your Penelope? :D I love all Penelopes! I wanna talk about her!" Person: "Well, she's more quiet and reserved but that's her secret >:3 she strikes when you least expect it!" Me: "YES!!! That's so fun! I have her 'Likeminded' with Odysseus and she's silly, reckless, hotheaded just like he is :D Can you tell me some headcanons about her? What do you have for her childhood? I'm really excited!" Person: "Oh I don't have much for her childhood actually." Me: "That's okay! Do you wanna brainstorm together? Maybe bounce some ideas so you can get some down?" Person: "Oh no, that's okay. I've got all I need,as I really only have her when she meets Odysseus." Me: "o-oh okay.:'D "

As like...I dunno. When you love a character, you wanna meet others who also will ramble nonstop about them too, you know?

I sometimes feel like, idk, some folks are like "Think up Penelope headcanons for us! :D " especially as like... I've had that whole "Oh no, I've got all I need!" experience more than once :')

Ngl, like, part of the reason I go so "apeshit" about her is yeah, because I am, but also like, in hope more people will join me? Which yeah! People have! And that makes me happy!

But even then, I just... I DO like this joke, don't get me wrong, but with how whenever I fangirl about her, people are like, "Found Odysseus" and yippee! :D I think it's fun to be called Odysseus!

But also like...Why does it still tie back to him? Why is it still about Odysseus? (even my own tag of "Shot by Odysseus" is still technically about him! (I'm keeping it because I'm stupid but still)) Why aren't Odysseus fans called "Penelope" then? She loves him just as much, right?

I think there's more "OdyPen fans" than there are Penelope fans. Because most Penelope stuff HAS to do with Odysseus, and it's usually like, STILL centered around him. Which is really weird to me, as I don't know how you can be a big Odysseus fan without being an equally big Penelope fan. They are way way too intertwined to not be equally talked/headcanoned/etc. about in my opinion. They're like the same person imo in a way lol.

In my opinion, you cannot bring up Odysseus without mentioning Penelope, you cannot bring up Penelope without mentioning Odysseus.

It's literally like that in the Odyssey. (Explain that part of Homer's passage here.)

...So why are there so many fics with Odysseus doing so much without Penelope, and yet, very few Penelope fics that don't have much of anything to do with Odysseus?

*takes off hat of arrogance*

And like...I'm a goober just like every other fan, you know? I'm not some "mastermind". All my "good" headcanons are simply loving her and thinking about her often. It's...not hard to love a character. I just rotate her around a lot. :3

[tojiscrack]

𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐌𝐄 ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

this was long overdue but it’s here now so let’s go!

— i’m a freshly-turned 18 year old (24th oct)

— ‘sumaya’ is a pseudonym 🫣

— british asian :)

— currently studying for my a-levels

— major satoru gojo enthusiast (you will literally never find someone who loves that man more than i do)

— my favourite anime of all time is attack on titan. following that would probably be death note, but i really enjoyed the journey jujutsu kaisen was taking before its end <3

— very opinionated and enjoy debating

— rom-coms 🤝 me (emphasis on the com part — i like to think it shows in my writing lol)

— i’ve watched so many shows over the years, here are the couples i ship for all of them:

gossip girl: dan and blair, lily and rufus

attack on titan: eren and mikasa, ymir and historia (but HEAVY on eren and mikasa, my babies)

the vampire diaries: stefan and elena

harry potter: harry and hermione, remus and tonks, lily and james

jujutsu kaisen: toji and mamaguro, miwa and mechamaru, yuta and maki (HEAVY on the first one tho)

you: joe and my fist

the hunger games: katniss and peeta

modern family: literally all the senior couples (gloria and jay, cam and mitch, and phil and claire), but HEAVY on phil and claire, i love them sm

i’ve definitely missed a couple hundred shows/films, i’ll probably add to this list haha

— fav mc in all of fiction = eren jaeger.

— i’m a book girly through and through. if you know i’ve watched a movie or a show that has a book counterpart, 9 times out of 10 i will have already read it

— fav series for books:

the folk of the air series: the cruel prince , the wicked king , and the queen of nothing (followed by the spin-off duology)

a good girl’s guide to murder series: a good girl’s guide to murder , good girl, bad blood , as good as dead

a thousand splendid suns (this BROKE me)

— my mbti: entj — commander

— i love caramel milk tea, or caramel frappes, or just anything caramel really

— the same way gojo loves sweet treats, i love spicy food (like if i’m blowing up the toilet at 3am, mission accomplished)

— favourite season: autumn 🤭

— favourite holiday: halloween!!!

— i live off of fizzy drinks. ppl call me crazy but i hate water :/

— horror movies/mystery genre 🤝 me

— as much as i write a lot of fanfiction, i don’t ready any 😭 unfortunately, i see characters a certain way in my mind (like their canon counterparts), and if i read some and they’re more fanon centred… idk, it just rubs me the wrong way. it’s just a personal preference tho, write fanon as much as you want, it’s your story after all! i incorporate bits and pieces of fanon in mine, too, but i just don’t prefer it being a focal point, so i tend to avoid reading fanfiction all the same :)

— i’m a study freak 😕 (workaholic)

— open to making friends on here, always. i like to think i’m easy to talk to!

this will most likely be updated if i’ve missed anything else. until then, you know all there is to know about me!

[salixsociety]

The Gods Don’t Care if You’re Silent

On guilt and shame for not reaching out to the Gods ‘enough’.

I’ve been a folk practitioner for a very long time now, compared to how long I’ve been alive. And I’ve believed in the (potential) existence of the pagan Gods relevant to me for a long time now, as well. But as a beginner I didn’t know how to start worship, and didn’t feel comfortable creating something physical. This dragged on, and much to my dismay, even now, in my twenties, I do not make dedicated time for worship in my practice much at all. I’ve spent much time questioning why that is, why I’ve let this drag out for so long, why I am still not a ‘real, dedicated pagan’… And the truth is that I feel ashamed. I feel, before the gods, like a child before their mother, about to admit they still haven’t cleaned their room. And procrastination was, in my childhood, the greatest sin of all. I think I can only begin turning into the dedicated worshipper I so want to be if I stop seeing the Gods like judgmental parents.

The Gods, to me, are very much omnipresent. In my personal cosmology they are indwellers; the real world's components do not reflect my Gods, they are them. Njörd is the sea, and the fish on my line. Odinn is my outbursts, and the magic I feel. Frigga is my home and the work I put into it. I feel comforted by this constant presence. I can connect much better to Gods that are tangible in some way than, for example, the Christian God and the Holy Spirit, who are much harder to find in the profaneness of daily life. It is not hard for me to see the Gods all around me, and that way I can connect with them well on a more superficial level nowadays. I can see them, and feel them, and I can conceive of ways to worship and devote myself, but I still feel afraid to do it. So instead, I have talked to the wind, I have thrown art into the sea, I have surrendered myself to natural forces and fate time and again. And in doing so I have - and perhaps am still in this process - come to the conclusion that the Gods don't care if I worship 'enough' or in the right way.

I don't mean that to be in an uncaring way, mind. People often are taken aback when I express my opinion that I believe the Gods are not wont to make people in particular their business or their focal point. I do not believe individuals are so relevant as to capture the attention of the Gods with indifference nor great effort. I simply do not view the Germanic Gods as one does the Christian God: a loving, ever-forgiving Father, nor as Gods that are completely indifferent to the trials and triumphs of mankind. I have always preached to peers and mentees alike that the Gods are always there, and always by your side, so long as you give them the power and permission to be through faith. And that, in turn, means that you do not need to offer to them, it's just commendable. Not many religions preach that your God(s) will disappear if you don't offer your love or devotion, after all.

Still, somehow, it never occurred to me to apply this logic to myself. I hold myself to some ridiculous standard of historical accuracy, practicality, functional syncretism, performance, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. One that I would never hold others to. So perhaps it's time I convince myself that the Gods don't care about my silence, either. They are too busy being the wind and the waves, and too busy placing bets about the wars we fight. They do not feel insulted by my lack of offering or devotion, because they are not my insecure mother, who feels that my dirty bedroom is a reflection of her skill as a parent. They are the Gods. I can stay a silent worshipper for as long as I like, I can become a fervent devotee and perhaps gain some favor, and I can equally as quickly go silent again. The wind will not go away, magic will not go away, and neither will my faith.

[julianplum]

thought I'd upload a little process video of my latest piece! I've seen some tags from folks who were saying it looked digital even though they know it's not, so I wanted to show a little process so y'all could see how this painting came together!

also THANK YOU to everyone who reblogs work and leaves tags on it, it is free serotonin for artists to read what y'all think of our work and I love it so much!!!

I'll talk a lil more about my process under the cut, for anyone who's interested.

Step 1 is always research & what I call "get to know you" sketches. For this particular piece, I have a lot of nasturtiums in my garden, so I went and sat outside and sketched with neocolor crayons to get the shapes, colors, and vibes down.

Step 2 is to dive a little deeper into the details. I found references in my own plant & also online, and sketched out some more detailed flower and leaf shapes to understand how this plant works and what makes it feel like a nasturtium. I did my base color study at this point, too.

You can see some of these exact shapes repeated or elaborated on in the final piece! This was a really helpful part of the process.

Once I feel comfy with my subject material, I'll sketch out the final composition. This step REALLY helps me figure out how everything is going to flow and land on the final page. Composition and layout is that secret thing that takes your piece from a study to an illustration. I'm making conscious choices here about which way I want your eye to move in the piece, where my focal points are, where I'm leaving white space (or black space, in this case!) and where I'm putting leaves, flowers, and critters.

As you can see this isn't final, and I made some changes particularly to that middle-top section in the final because it wasn't flowing right on the page, but this is what I worked off of to get:

Some folks use lightboxes and trace their final sketch onto the page to get clean lines. I like to keep the looseness of a sketch by just drawing (and erasing!) onto my final paper. I used Arches Hot Press paper and a light green colored pencil here, and the great thing about nice watercolor paper is that you can erase into it and not hurt the grain. Obviously don't go too hard, but it's pretty forgiving!

Once I have my final sketch down, I'll usually block in my important shapes first, hence why I started with the leaves, then lay down textures and other colors, add final details, and then in this case I added the black background last, which was terrifying. I took a lot of pictures just before blocking in the background in case I messed it up!

Anyway I hope that's interesting to someone, it's probably way too wordy and granular but I love talking about this stuff and it's always really helpful for me to peek into folks' processes, so! If you've made it this far, keep an eye out for this piece to pop into my Etsy shop in a couple weeks 👀