#i feel so . old . but also so emo .

[blujaymi]

so...it seems like ruby wants to ascend to be like summer.

but given that it's been said that the tree and ascension are about "acceptance", i don't think ruby is really going to ascend in the traditional sense.

ruby's goal for herself and her identity has always been to "be like the heroes in the books".

and now we've seen how jaune has handled that mindset (hint: it wasn't a great way of thinking. ouch).

part of that identity has been centered around summer. she inherited her emblem. she inherited her silver eyes. she's always being compared to her, and she's been living in her mother's shadow—"super mom", the perfect hero.

Qrow: You're special the same way your mom was.

rather, that's the version of summer that ruby has held onto. she's trying to live up to an expectation that was never really set in the first place, because summer wasn't perfect.

Yang: Mom took a risk the day she left. And I don't think it went the way she wanted it to, but she's still my hero.

which—side tangent—i feel like is part of the reason yang didn't seem to notice just how far ruby was falling, so to speak.

yang doesn't see summer as such complete perfection, but she's still her hero.

Yang: It's not like we were asking her to be perfect.

and of course, she (and everyone but ruby herself, really) doesn't expect perfection from ruby either.

and don't get me wrong, yang still definitely idolizes summer—just in a different way from ruby. ruby's idolization of summer is much more...unhealthy. she feels like ruby rose is not enough, but that summer rose is.

Ruby: And it never, ever goes away. The feeling of not being...enough. The Blacksmith: And how would you measure...enough?

that being said, i'm getting the feeling that we may be getting some insight into summer, whether that be through some flashbacks of her failures, or maybe even how she died (i can only dream).

through that, i think ruby might be able to finally accept herself, because summer wasn't perfect either. ruby is not her, she's her own person.

and she's enough.

[designernishiki]

yoshitaka mine experiences the epic highs and lows of having a boyfriend

[cyclone-rachel]

oh my god, clark reacting to brainy post-season 2 going through his Emo Phase (tm)

Clark wanted the best for Brainy.

No matter what happened- and certainly a lot had, the last time they’d seen each other- he hoped Brainy would be okay. When he finally went back to the 21st century, he wanted all the pep talks and reassurances he’d given him, every affectionate gesture, every kindness in general- to be enough.

He pictured Brainy having the entire Legion at his back in support, as he gave speeches in front of the planets Brainiac 1 had threatened, and even temporarily digitized, promising that he’d make up for all the wrongs his ancestor had done. That he’d started his journey to becoming a superhero to do just that, redefine his family name and renounce its association with evil, and this only gave him more incentive for such a task. That he was sorry, and hoped people would be able to forgive him, just as the Legion had.

(just as Clark had, many times over)

And he hoped Brainy would be successful. By the time Clark returned, already thinking of all the things he’d tell Brainy about that happened in his time, he imagined Brainy would be back with the Legion, wearing his ring again, maybe with some kind of technological assistance to give him the powers he lacked without his robotic form.

But here he was instead, in basically the exact opposite scenario he’d predicted. Hair grown out over the symbol that marked his face, wearing a nondescript dark outfit, Legion ring and belt nowhere to be seen, living on some planet that he’d only heard about from Saturn Girl when she’d admitted to tracking his location.

“Querl.” He said softly, once Brainy had finally opened the door.

(he’d learned Brainy’s real name, too- that was another change, something he’d decided upon when he claimed he was no longer calling himself “Brainiac 5”)

“Are you okay?” he asked, when Brainy didn’t answer. “Do you want-“

He didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence, as Brainy practically flew into his arms, embracing him… but as he held Brainy, he figured this was the answer to what he wanted anyway- and something Clark would happily give him, for as long as he needed.

[sysig]

Oh he is So baby (Patreon)

[triangle-strategy-notes]

Quahaug Concept Art

Quahaug's concept/reference art! Translation notes and image id under the cut.

Translation notes:

"OP sort of powerset" was literally translated as something like "cheat-like." I feel like OP is the more common English term for that sort of thing, so that's what I used, but some of the meaning was probably lost there.

"Older-tween-ish" was specifically a reference to a particular middle school year for children who are about 12-13 years old. Since grades and names of grades vary a lot from country to country, I just went with "older tween."

ID:

[Image id: Several images displaying different parts of 2 pages of the Triangle Strategy artbook, with both the original Japanese as well as versions with English translations. There are several disclaimers noting that the translator doesn't speak Japanese, and that there are likely many mistakes.

On one page, there is a large colored version of Quahaug's canon portrait, along with a smaller, uncolored version. There is an illustrator's note at the bottom that translates to read, "'Manipulating time' is an OP sort of powerset, so though he looks like a child, I aimed to create a look for him that conveyed a sense of unknowable power. (Tatsuaki Urushibara)".

On the second page, there are many drawings of Quahaug, including a closer bust-up portrait in which he's compared to Lyla, with an arrow and label reading, "Mother." There's also several notes that explain the construction of his costume. The costume is labeled as a Greek "phelonion" (a priest's outfit with no real sleeves, just draping fabric). There is a small drawing of this version, with an arrow leading to another drawing that does have sleeves, with the note, "If you can't display this in pixels, use this one." There are several notes that explain how this draping cloth should be considered his everyday clothes, while the ceremonial decoration that goes around his neck is placed over it. There is a close up of the ceremonial dressing's fastenings underneath the metal decoration. Some more notes highlight details on his staff, emphasizing the hourglass on top and the small wheel to the side that can be turned to flip the hourglass. A larger piece of text underneath one fullbody drawing reads, "Character Who Manipulates Time."

On the second half of the second page, there are drawings of some beta designs for Quahaug. He looks much more punk-ish. On one bust-up portrait, there are the captions, "The burden of the time demon caused some of his hair to go gray…." and "All-natural highlighted tips." On the same portrait, he is snapping his fingers, and there's a note that reads, "Manipulating time is as easy as snapping your fingers. You just have to want it or whatever." A speech bubble near his head reads, "I don't think of Anna as a mother." A caption pointing to some green markings on his arm reads, "Demonic time seal on body." In a fullbody drawing of his beta design (which is made up mostly of chains that barely cover him as well as a long roughed-up cloak, there is the note, "Almost naked cloak."

At the bottom of the second page, there is another note that reads, "Initially when we hadn't quite figured out the setting, we had an idea for a more older-tween-ish character as displayed here, but after discussing it with the producers and Mr. Ikushima, we went with his current form. As a boy who manipulates time, I placed an hourglass at the tip of his staff, and his face resembles that of his mother, Lyla. (Tatsuaki Irushibara)". /end id]

[astradyke]

"terrible influence" ok divas... anyway today i took a walk and i have a fear of dogs but i was committed to not shying away from any i saw and there was one tiny guy approaching me and i said "hello!" in the EXACT tone & inflection that Daniel Howell uses when greeting dogs... thank you for helping me in Southern suburban hospitality boys. <3

[oldphanny]

What's the nicest way to tell people I'm not my bosses wife?

[plusultraetc]

I just realized that it’s been too long since I’ve talked about Lewis Capaldi SO he wrote A Cure For Minds Unwell for All Might, I feel this in my heart

[morb1dcan1d]

Was doing things and found an old piece from 7 years ago, and obviously had the urge to redraw it :3

You can see the comparison below the cut!

Nov 2023 - Nov 2016

[girl-bateman]

No positive notes for today. I think my left eye got fucked up from crying too much bc it's bleeding. Tomorrow I vow to shower.

[yo9urt]

in other news i started reading l0u sull!van (avoiding search results) 's diaries today and its been very <3

[corvidcrybaby]

OMG! I’m so glad you like my OC Angel! She’s my baby and I’ve been working on her since I was a teen even nearly ten years later.

The reason I ask for you feedback/second opinion is because Alucard is so FUCKING DIFFICULT TO WRITE MONOLOGUE AND INTERNAL DIALOGUE FOR!!!

love the smug red-clad asshole but damn is he hard to write for, especially with a character like my OC.

Do you have any advice for writing dialogue, both internal and external, for Alucard?

And this is little bit embarrassing, but I’m also having trouble in some instances of Alucard and my OC interacting because she is an Empath and can see through everyone’s bullshit, literally, and she’s half-mad.

Alucard is fucking hard to write, I agree - I've made a post about this before that I'll link here but I suppose I can provide some additional pointers for things that help me.

Alucard is a spirit of temptation, being a vampire. That means that even with the fact he has a penchant for trying to dominate interactions with others, he's also got a real hard-on for poking and prodding people in their weak points - be it sensual or otherwise, he wants to see if he can provoke people into dropping their mask. If there's anything we know about Alucard based on his assessment of Seras ("beneath that girlish exterior lies a fascinatingly complex creature" or whatever he said to Walter when he asked Alucard why he turned her), it's that he's damn good at seeing what makes people tick beneath the surface. And that's where he gets his entertainment from.

Internal dialogue, however, is a different beast. This will sound ridiculous, but I often imagine I'm writing for a Terminator with a flair for the dramatic and seductive when I write from Alucard's POV. Right down to seeing dialogue options appearing in front of his eyes before he decides how he'll respond to any given stimuli - dude's life is a visual novel and also a sandbox rolled into one. Due to this, it's rare he ends up feeling any sort of direct connection to other people. It isn't necessarily out of a sense of self-deprecation, either, at least not directly. The dude's internal circuitry is just fucking WEIRD and difficult to understand. To quote Zemira, "The inside of that motherfucker's head has gotta look like an M.C. Escher painting or some shit."

I hope this helps!

[famewolf]

all my old fav youtubers coming back this fall has gotten me into a mood where I've been diving back into old bands I used to listen to religiously. and i gotta say ... they all still slap

[foggysirens]

.

[deadtower]

been at work for five hours now and a solid 50% of the songs that have played since 9.30am have been subpar covers of songs from the early aughts. it’s like the saddest fucking thing because like i love a good cover but people legit do not know how to make new songs anymore. there’s one beat that’s obviously difficult to translate into a text medium but legitimately every club song (which is most songs because people … aren’t making new songs that aren’t manufactured solely to be played in a nightclub by any bratty rich kid with a turntable among 14 other near-identical songs all also manufactured solely to be played in a nightclub by any bratty rich kid with a turntable) has it because they are quite literally all the same song

and oh my god it’s so fucking depressing. like i really and truly kept an open mind because i didn’t want to be like “back in my day blah blah blah” but like i’m a professional musician and it’s … literally the same song with slight variations and that’s the only song that exists now. that and covers on top of covers on top of covers

(i have to make it clear i am NOT talking about lizzo, she is beautiful and perfect and original and everything she does is magic. i love you lizzo)

[floral-hex]

oof, super cute emo girl with big mushroom earrings working at the gas station, and then I saw her a couple of hours later at the walmart nearby 😩