#gifts for your friends

[meaganelaine]

10 ways to be more Sustainable this Holiday Season

Many of us are trying to be sustainable in our every day but what about on special occasions what about when it comes to holidays and traditions? “Can we still be sustainable? Can we make new traditions to help us align with our new goals? Are we willing to make these changes not only for ourselves but for our planet?” These are some of the questions we should be thinking about as we move…

[haridraws]

The Great Library: illustration for Into the Tower (x)

[shithowdy]

am i crazy for thinking it should be a legal requirement for people selling arrangements with lilies to have a warning about their lethality to cats? they are one of the most common plants found in bouquets (unlike most other lethal plants like oleander and sago palm, which are usually found potted solo) and so many owners or well-meaning gift-givers are completely unaware of how a single lick of pollen is enough to kill a cat, meaning unlike other potential toxins they just get left as a table centerpiece. like sure, chocolate and grapes can kill your dog, but you are probably not intentionally leaving chocolate and grapes on surfaces your dog can reach (and they also don't shed particles). about 30% of american homes have cats in them, a percentage you can't really gloss over when it comes to precaution. if you work with florals please, please post visible warnings by your lilies, it will save kitty lives. 🙏

[bonecarversbestie]

Don’t mind me just having my weekly cry thinking about Lucien wrapping Solstice gifts for everyone when he knows he won’t get one in return.

Like just imagine him sitting on the floor with scissors and tape making sure the creases are perfect and tying little bows on top 😭

[nori-no-name]

If Blue Diamond ever fused, I think Garnet should be at least a little petty about it

[astralibrary]

hi @marykedoesart, this is my gift to you for @natsume-ss' spring exchange!

you said you like tanuma/natsume and heartfelt, emotional themes so i went very symbolic with this, haha. i really love the idea of using imagery from the fish pond in tanuma's backyard to represent these two and their dynamic, so that became the concept i ran with. i'll explain my whole thought process below, but in the meantime i hope you like it! 💖

pls bear with me here bc this is going to be very long and wordy lol

so there's a definite theme of separate worlds here; while the environments are both pretty abstract, the idea was that tanuma is sitting in his house looking out towards his backyard where the pond is, representing the "real world," whereas natsume is in a more fantastical underwater setting, representing the world of youkai. also there's the implication that he's sitting at the bottom of the pond, aka completely immersed in that other world, while tanuma can only perceive hints of it in the reflected light & shadow on the wall.

tanuma's side is lit by the glow of the setting sun, and natsume's by an otherworldly blue light. also, there's their clothes: tanuma is in his regular school uniform while natsume is in a yukata, something that pretty much all humanoid youkai wear.

next, their poses; they're both sitting exactly the same way as a reflection of each other but natsume has his head bowed while tanuma is looking up; this is meant to represent their different approaches to their relationship. natsume is definitely more closed off, both as a defense mechanism and because he wants to protect tanuma & keep him away from the dangers of youkai. tanuma, though, is open and contemplative, maybe even hopeful; he wants to be let in and he wants to help, even if it is dangerous.

the lighting reinforces these conflicting attitudes, with tanuma's side being brighter and warmer while natsume's is darker and colder, representing this sort of "optimism vs pessimism" dynamic.

so now, the fish. the bridge between their different worlds, basically. on natsume's side it's a real fish while on tanuma's it's a shadow cast on the wall, which is obviously the original conceit of the scene in the source material: natsume can literally see the fish, while tanuma can only see its shadow. still, even if it manifests differently, it still exists to both of them, so it's a connection between them concerning youkai.

so they're both in their separate worlds, but because of this connection they affect each other, maybe in small ways at first; as the fish crosses over the barrier it leaves little effects, little disturbances behind. on natsume's side, bubbles drift up towards the surface, little pockets of air like little lifelines showing the way, and on tanuma's side little droplets fall and create ripples in the reflected water, these small things that grow and grow outward until they're not so small anymore. little feelings that bubble up and ripple out, hoping to reach the other in their own way.

the fish brings these feelings across the barrier, endlessly looping around them as they endlessly call out to each other, trying to navigate this relationship they have; it's possible to bridge the gap between them as long as they look and listen and learn to embrace the things that make them different just as much as those that bring them together.

and that's about it! my goal was to make a symbolic piece about their struggle to understand each other but with a hopeful note, so hopefully that comes across! i hope my explanation at least sort of made sense and wasn't too confusing! (to be completely transparent i only had about half of that in mind while i was drawing it, the rest sort of came together as i was writing this. neat!)

and finally, here's a still frame in the original higher resolution so you can see it a bit nicer! 💖

[senvurii]

real ones remember dsmp festival ctommy

[cosmicdreamgrl]

jungkook x purple for @jkvjimin 💜 [ cr: 0613data, namuspromised, @jung-koook ]

[mochiobonio]

Sidon gifting Link a pair of Opal earrings and is absolutely enamored with how beautiful it looks on his pearl

[fiskael]

Lizard plushies am I right?

[cringefail-clown]

a sweet token of appreciation for friends 🧁❤️

[atelier-melvalda]

The girl that loves night orchids

[topnotchquark]

Nico saying that Lewis gives his daughters boxes of presents every Christmas just got caught in my mind.

Imagine you were a mixed race boy born in Hertfordshire, different from everyone else around you. Bullied in school, being raised by your father to compete in a sport where money is very much of essence and you and your family do not have a lot of it. And then you meet this other boy who comes from the kind of life you dream to live one day. You're friends and fierce competitors. You find solace in each other. You visit Monaco for the first time with your friend, dreaming up the life you will have when you make it, when you beat out of the mould that the world thought it could capture you in.

And then you two grow through the ranks and you're at the pinnacle of your sport and you have what it takes to win and the world recognises that you can win. And you win. You win with your friend and fiercest competitor by your side fighting with you for those wins, and this fighting ruins something something that was valuable to both of you when you were still innocent and unsullied by life.

But despite everything that went into the doing and undoing of this relationship, you still realise that this person you once called a friend has a life and family beyond your bitter dynamic. He has children, and children need love and affection and good memories. And you're a better man now so you understand that. So you make sure the kids get gifts on Christmas. And you make sure of it every year. Afterall, if you met someone you loved deeply when you were both kids, wouldn't you feel a pang of nostalgia when they had kids. Wouldn't you try to extend the warmth that you couldn't find for your friend to his children. Afterall, whatever happens during childhood basically remains with you forever.

[lelianasbong]

Dorian: I should call Sera "Mrs. Inquisitor" from now on. Maybe teach her to crochet. She'll love that.

Blackwall: So, she finally made an honest woman out of you! I didn't think that was possible.

Cassandra: I wanted to say you looked lovely, Sera.

Sera: Josie wanted me in a dress so foofed you could lose a ham in it!

Sera: This, whatever this is, not our honeymoon. Just so you know.

Sera: If that bint ruins our honeymoon, I will wear her Qun for a boot! Let's wrap it up, love.

Sera: I have a title. It's wife.

[pandeesall]

Happy Birthday, Noire!🎉

@north-noire Hope u had a good one!🎂🎁🎈✨

[bamsara]

Are you getting things proper off your thrones list twitch thing?

I am for the most part! There has been one or twice where something came in damaged, but support was helpful with fixing it or finding an alternative so far