#i may draw something based on this concept tbh

[c0l0ure]

So we've canonically seen Amy talk down at least two people in the games who, without her intervention, would have done something absolutely terrible, we all know that Amy's compassion is so strong and her charisma is so ungodly high that she could theoretically talk down pretty much anyone if she tried hard enough and had enough time, so following this logic I'm just gonna say that I would actually pay to see how an interaction between her and Mephiles would play out

[jokin-around]

I made a Twitter thread about this, but I've been reading early issues of Batman lately and something I've noticed is how differently the contrast between Batman and "Bruce Wayne" is depicted

obviously, in many things today, "Bruce" (ESPECIALLY in fandom) is often depicted as a happy-go-lucky himbo in order to draw contrast with a grim and "tortured" batman

so how does this hold up when you look at older depictions? the answer: it doesn't. in fact it was almost the opposite.

way back in the very first issues of the official Batman title, Bruce Wayne, no matter WHAT he's doing, isn't the one who laughs and smiles, Batman is.

and these are comics that were published BEFORE the comics code authority caused a dramatic shift in tone

Bruce Wayne (or least the cardboard cutout refered to as Bruce Wayne) isn't nessecarily described as grim, but he isn't a very happy person either, he's still a rich airhead, but not so much a "himbo" or even a dedicated businessman, he's depicted as a BORED, uninterested, aristocrat:

this Bruce seems to spend of his time smoking a pipe at home or mingling with other upperclass individuals, that in-between we tend to see MUCH more often in modern comics doesn't seem to exist yet (in part because the batcave Is non-existent which I suspect has given him a bit more privacy as a character)

MEANWHILE Batman, who's investigates murders every other night almost seems to be having the time of his life:

the early comics seem to routinely depict the burgoise as cold, snobbish & bored, in contrast to batman who seems particularly expressive and joyful, for all we know Batman may partially exist as some millionaires weird passtime, but of course Bruce Wayne (the real guy, not the facade) is written as someone who genuinely seems to care due to his own past experiences:

but , with all of that layed out, one can conclude that when ppl say Batman is the "true persona" ect. originally, it wasn't (just) because of his coping or whatever it was because when he wasn't Batman he was forced to live life as a cold, "useless" millionaire:

"what if a rich a guy gave a fuck?" is still very much the base concept here, but what's surprising is how much BITE there is to it

the concept wasn't being proposed because it's like… a plausible thing to happen or attainable on a personal level, but because the rich reliably and consitently do not care

the rich ppl in this book, "Bruce Wayne" included, are not written to be envied as people. they're written to be insufferable. ppl with endless resources who are still somehow unsatisfied with life and choose to do nothing useful or direct with the amount wealth they've accumulated

but ofc it shouldn't be ALL THAT surprising, Batman debuted in Detective Comics in 1939…. ONE year after the great depression, Bob and Bill had more than a good reason to feel a bit bitter

but rolling back to the point of this analysis, whenever I say "let batman be happy" I mean "let Batman enjoy his job" despite the pain, despite the death, despite the murder, despite the hypocritical nature of it all and how problematic it may be because it's a life he also chooses, not just out of compulsion, but because it's hands on, direct & purposeful. it gives him something to do & it gives him a chance to punch a problem in the face (which may be good or bad depending on what that problem is, but still)

that kind of depiction is what set up the groundwork for nearly every deconstruction that's come since but it's so buried in time at this point that lines from characters claiming bruce "loves being batman" seem to ring completely hollow

tbh, I think the old way of depicting Batman can be ( and as been in some media) woven into the way he's depicted today, in the past Batman was an outlet for every emotion Bruce Wayne had to hide elsewhere, a symbol of empathy, fury and passion, for modern Batman, I imagine those three things still hold true, layered on top of an alter ego that allows a modern Bruce Wayne to be weird and damaged and dark.

so uh, ln conclusion, I think batman enjoying what he does to a certain extent is a crucial aspect of his character that's been lost and withered and forgotten about, let him a have a little fun, we can discuss the ramifications of all that when discussion seems necessary

[ribunaaa]

I just wanted to get this off my chest.

First thing i drew as a kid were dinosaurs invading cities. At daytime, at night, even at sunset. Something about it was always fascinating and i felt like i needed to capture it.

Then i started drawing characters and anime mainly... Not because i liked cartoons or characters... Maybe i just wanted to draw girls that felt pretty because 1) i didn't feel as one, and 2) because i didn't have friends. But i didn't know that much back then.

My sister introduced me to YouTube tutorials of drawing "an anime head", and it became my pass-temps. Over the years, that's all i did. I liked the idea of drawing as a skill, not as a means to realize the picture in my head, so most my sketchbooks were filled with "practice" sketches, where the purpose was to be able to form guidelines for a drawing of a character, a pose, a head tilt, a hand structure... But never a finished piece that served a meaning.

I may be wrong here, nothing's wrong with practicing and unfinished drawings... But i felt it lacked meaning.

Only now, at 23, that i am asking myself this question, "what do you *really* enjoy drawing?"

"what do you enjoy seeing and want to recreate? What is other than what you just got used to do that you wanna draw? What makes you happy to see?"

And realized i enjoy more than just characters. I do like character design and making comics (i never made one)... But i think i enjoy cityscapes more. I enjoy ornaments like mandala and Islamic ornaments, i enjoy drawing things i find beauty in; like nature, cats, the sky and clouds, capturing the feeling of the golden hour, interior drawings, architectural details, even concept or abstract art, and many, many more...

But i never did any of that. I don't know why. Maybe i just got used to what was easy and in front of me. I created a visual feed that was based only on characters, never on other things, which may served in developing one skill over another.

This step is more about my self-discovery than an art journey tbh, to switch my interest to things i really wanna express.

That's all. That's all i wanted to say.

[anonomi]

i dont know anything about tf2 apart from the stuff an average internet user would know via exposure to it... where did engineer's truck come from... is it just an original idea you had because you like diremachine or is it based on something else in canon or fanon lore? truck is kind of hot...

It's a bit of both! Engineer's truck is an actual vehicle in-universe and featured in concept art and in his meet the team video (tho it's the enemy color ver.. and in the bg) Most tf2 vehicles are based on actual models and may or may not be realistic. I'm pretty sure this old guy is based on a Chevrolet AK pickup.

I made him alive! I did that a bit with sniper's campervan and plan to do more with spy's car (Spy car spy car), and tbh I want to draw out every vehicle (which tf2 has a lot of, even helicopters (¬‿¬)). There's a lot of personality that can be found in a southern engineer's old, beat-up pickup too. So yeah. I really love the idea of diremachines, and I am always consumed by tf2, so I combine the things I love. Sadly there isn't much anything of tf2 vehicles (beyond campervan but even thats sparse) but all the more reason to draw hot trucks yeah?

[adversary-to-inamorato]

I LOOVE your IGBP AU tbh! :) your story was super cool, I'm so excited for the next chapter, and i love also the way your write it! I'm so into it, i was shocked when SMG4 came back in the loop!!!

Some questions :

--> will SMG4 get out of this loop?

-->How will you portray SMG34, I'm curious abt this haha, since it can be interesting to see how it is put

-->Will each "loop" be the same or be different?

-->To the Previous question, does SMG4 will somehow loose memory, or a character? Temporary or permanently?

-->How many chapters do you think this story will have? (you can skip this question I'm just curious lmao)

-->Does any characters will know abt the loop?

-->Tv hardware? Will be shown, interact with the others? Hmmm

I'm SOOO sorry for all these questions, I'm sooo curious abt your AU, LIKE İ LOVE IT, I LOVE YOUR STORY❤️

Omg omg you're my first ask hgsngsnhn I cannot keep this cool and mysterious persona (that I already heavily failed) anymore RAGHHH iM SO GLAD YOU THINK SO HERES A LIST OF RESPONSES

- Yes he will, this will be angst with a happy ending! I will add more tags and tw and cw the more I add on (I'm not evil I swear)

- How I portray them is based on their current canon personality from what I have observed so far from MAR10 Day till latest episode. BUT with a dash of psychological elements that they (unwillingly) have to face during the whole shenanigans.

(help me these two are stuck in my brain matter it's almost parasitism- but it's actually comensalism)

- the loop will be the same, but it's up to the characters to change or alter how they go through it. E.g: Same place where it all starts, but different endings when they change their actions such as SMG4 didn't make any of those Toad Legs models, the whole meme reaction thing. This is because he is aware of the mistakes he had done and trying to fix it while he still can.

- It's more of a brain-fog kind of thing. (Temporary) Memory loss is quite common with people with depression/developing depression. There will be serious topics in this fic that might be triggering so I would have to warn y'all beforehand because working on this actually made my friends worry about my mental state AHAHAHA

- I'm glad you asked! IM WORKING ON THE INBETWEEN(s) RIGHT NOW AND ALREADY HAD THE MIDDLE AND ENDING DONE. I already posted the introduction. So far 6 chapters and there may or may not be more. I've been working on this since November and it's driving me as crazy as the guy.

Oh, did I ever mention that? Hehe, forget it.

- Unfortunately, no. Mario would probably have a glimpse of what's going on but not entirely. It is about his recolours after all-- I mean guardians.

- n̵̨̛͉͚͎̯̘̮̭͓͇̪͎̘̥̖̱͖͆̽̓̇͜o̴̧̧̡̫͙̥͔̞̼̝̪̝̜͇̜͓͈͍̎̌̇̔̊͂̃̆͑̑̀͑̐́͝ͅ ̴͚̜̹̪̊̉̌̑̎͋̌̕c̷̞̘̬̟̓͂̀̚o̴̡̰̜̜̮̮̘̺̲̰̅̌͂͐́̋̋̕͝m̴̨̡̧͓̱̼̫̝̞̝͎̮̘̜̬̣͙̼͉̣͛̉̈́m̵̡̛̰͎͙̟͙̮̲̪̗͓̰̹̰̪̦͍͕͑̈́̃͂̀̈́̇̾̚e̶͎̟̻̙̭̰̞̰͎̤̽͋́̆͒͂̑͗̌͛͆͂̽͘͝ͅ��̧̢̡͔̣͖̗̜n̷̩͇̙̳̫̬͓̓̃̾̆͂͋̃͌͆̚̚͜͝t̴͍͙͍̪̩̥̫̥͍̳͒̏̽̑̽̑̀̋̔̈̎̈́̎͊̾̆̑͆̂͂

That wraps it up! AND NO PROBLEM I HAD SO MUCH FUN ANSWERING THEM! and it helps me reflect on what other kinds of stories I should do with these two goobers ( or three! I really love Mario 💓) I hope I can get the next chapter up as soon as possible, if my work doesn't give me overtime again- ugh. I'm glad you love my work! It means that the ungodly time I spent drawing (still unpublished) and writing (also unpublished) wasn't a dud!

Thank you so much for expressing your interest and curiosity, anon! You made my morning a bit less bitter and a bit more better. (Incorrect grammar but this is nsrs). I hope I could deliver up to your expectations!

I hope.

(Might do a fan-fanfiction take on the BR AU a certain artist made though, I do like the concept. But I need permission probably lol so I'll work on that.)

Thank you so much! You really made me feel worth something :DDD

[eiseryn]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VAIL!!!

And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! AS WELL~

Today is not only the first day of 2024, but also the the birthday to best boi Vail. I drew him some soft uwu art because he is a soft uwu boy. Well, he is to Lei LOL. I would not say he's soft and uwu to anyone he has killed.

This outfit is based off the one I designed for Lei and her friends way back! I'm planning to redesign it XD cuz it's concept art for a series of illustrations I want to draw... I have so many WIPs both in sketches and in my brain it's kind of painful... cri... Anyways this outfit is more modern and I didn't change too much for Vail's design but I did add some patterns into his parka -- the cat face and some of his signature V's! The blue plaid inner lining is actually one of my fave parts of his whole outfit! :3 Cuz the theme in that series was their theme colour + plaid... man I really like that series 🥺🥺🥺 I want to draw that concept art so bad.

I think he turned out pretty cute here! I especially like how his hair turned out~ His blue gradient hair is one of my fave parts of his design, after all!

So what did he receive on his birthday as gifts? In my headcanons, not sure what Lexi would have given him tbh... but she's a rich girl so I imagine a previous gift was the red bike he uses XD Zoey's gift to him would be some nice alcohol or maybe one of the masks from her stash. Keeper's gift to him would definitely be something SHE personally finds cool... which probably happened to be a shiny holographic card from her personal collection. Possibly of a cat because they both like cats. Rose's gift? I'm not really sure. In my headcanons, Rose usually is the one who buys Vail cake since Rose knows of Vail's sweet tooth (specifically strawberry shortcake!). For dad vibes I imagine Rose often gets Vail some clothing as well xD Maybe fuzzy socks this year? :3 Maybe accessories some years? (Ex: like those silver chains he's wearing. In my design of Rose I gave him gold chains XD #drip).

As for Lei? Oh boy buckle up. It went something like this (this may be copium delulu and not canon but that's okay):

After already seeing his friends throughout the day, Vail sat on the couch of his apartment and waited for Lei to come home. She had asked him specifically to wait toward the evening as she apparently had a special surprise for him.

He was petting their cat Meng, a cat he had technically got for her during her last birthday, when he heard the sound of the door being unlocked. Meng let out a loud meow and leapt out of his lap and ran toward the door, being the loyal and affectionate cat she was. Vail followed suit.

Lei scooped Meng into her arms and gave the cat little pets and scratches on the chin and head. Meng purred as she always did, flopping over in Lei's arms and wiggling around.

She then turned to Vail with a smile and kissed his cheek, while still holding Meng in her arms. "I'm home~ Did you miss me?"

"Yeah." Vail replied honestly. He kissed her back. "I did."

Lei hummed happily and went to the kitchen table, placing the cat on there as she began to rummage through the multiple bags she had brought home.

"I heard Rose already got you a cake but I had already placed the order so you'll get two." She was saying, as she pulled out a cake box and placed it into the fridge. There was already a strawberry shortcake sitting in the fridge, so she seemed to struggle to place it on another shelf. Ever since she had moved in with him, there was considerably more food in the fridge.

"Do you want to have dinner first or are we having cake for dinner today?" She asked as she turned back to face him.

Vail smiled at her cheekily. "Depends on what kind of cake."

It seemed to take her some time to process his words because she first furrowed her eyebrow, looking at him with confusion, before a blush crept on her face. But she leaned in anyways to whisper, her breath hot in his ear, "You can have whatever cake you desire~ You're the birthday boy, after all~"

He barely resisted the urge to throw her over his shoulder and do as he pleased with her, but luckily she stepped back to the table to go through her other bags so this thought passed.

"Before that, though, let me give you your gift." Lei said, as she pulled out what looked to be a leather collar. It was dyed a light blue, similar to the colour of his hair and had a silver buckle. There was a silver tag on it, and when he flipped it over, the words "Belongs to Lei" were inscribed in the back. "Since you've been a good boy and all." She smiled mischeviously at him.

Looking at such a cute smile, he felt like there was no choice but to take the collar, which was soft and supple, and he started to put it around his neck, right above the turtleneck underlayer he always wore.

Lei seemed to be much more hesitant and less confident now. "You don't have to actually wear it..." She said, her voice trailing off. "This one was actually a joke and your real gift is in this other bag." She tapped another bag and there was a solid knocking sound.

"Of course I do." He said with a smile, showing off the sharp canine teeth she liked so much. "It's a gift from you, after all."

She looked at him then, biting her lip a little, as she raised the green eyes he liked so much to meet his. "I do have to say, it's a good look for you~" She reached out and slid a finger under the collar, gently pulling him closer to her. "I have good taste, if I do say so myself~"

He went with her willingly, as he always did. It was near impossible for him to resist what she wanted. "Is part of my gift the same as the one from Christmas?" He asked with a little smile.

She smiled back at him. "But of course~ You can take that part of your gift whenever you'd like."

"I'm looking forward to that~" He said. "After we have dinner. You're going to need the energy."

But he couldn't help but give her a few hungry kisses. They were appetizers for the main course after all.

[insert suspicious line break]

Later, when she had fallen asleep, he gently twirled a piece of her hair in his fingers. It had gotten longer and the green underdye had shifted in position. She had asked him once if he preferred long hair or short hair, but he had told her honestly that he would like whatever length of hair she had. It wasn't so much the hair that mattered, but the person who that hair belonged to.

Months before if you had asked him if he planned to find a lover he would have scoffed and said no. It would be a bad choice for any runner who could die at any moment. And at the time, there was no one he could imagine liking him in such a way. Although there was someone who came into mind when Rose had asked him. The smug bastard probably already knew what was in store for him.

When that same person he had thought about at the time asked him if they could be more than friends... he couldn't help but give into such a dream. The dream of being loved and loving someone.

He was already relatively content with what he had: He was good at his job as a runner if you could call it that; he had people who he could talk to and understood him as they had gone through the same things as he did. They had taken away his ability to dream at night, but it didn't stop him from daydreaming. As his parents had told him -- or perhaps warned him -- long ago, he was a dreamer who always wanted to dream of more.

He still dreamed for himself. But he now also dreamed for others; wanting others to have their dreams fulfilled. It was only fair, when some of his dreams had come true.

He took the sedative he needed to fall asleep. Lei always looked so sad when she saw him take sleeping pills, so now he always waited until she was asleep before he did. After all, he needed to sleep, as there would be another day he'd have to get through when the morning broke again.

Wrapping his arm around her, he let himself daydream a little longer, thinking of sunshine and a future where his friends and loved ones were safe and happy. He was still thinking of these happy things when the sleeping pill took affect and darkness claimed him.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Yeah so the collar was a gag gift but u know I write these two as very horny so uhmm... things had to happen.

The actual gift she got him was a bike helmet that is made of out of sturdier material which matches his red bike! He broke the last helmet he had in the campaign LOL + I imagine the bike helmet she got was a cat eared one! Also hopefully from the same vendor / store Maric buys his helmets from cuz that shark boy has never revealed his face XD

BUT I MEAN I THINK THE ENDING IS KINDA GOOD XD Soft hours and some hurt with comfort thoughts you know

I love them so much 🥺🥺🥺 My OC OTP.

[wellnoe]

So lately I've been on a His Dark Materials kick and I remembered your Daemon au art (which, is stunning may I say!) And I remember you gave Jean, Scott and Emma daemons, but did you or someone else ever think about one for Maddy?

I can't help but be rather interested in what a daemon would mean for a clone, especially the circumstances in how Maddy came to be via phoenix force. I get it if you don't have much to say and tbh I don't either, but I can't help but wonder what this would mean for her; Would she have a swan like Jean? The phoenix living through her and replicating what she/it knew with Jean? Which creates it's own issues about Maddy finding personhood when what's meant to be her soul even reflects what she was cloned from, so is it truly even her? Would she even HAVE a demon, which causes issues for Sinister in setting her up and maybe her daemon is originally something Sinister creates, which adds a deeper level in the fact that her soul is quite litreally manufactured...

Sorry for the length!!! I got lost in rambling, but the concept is so interesting to me and I hope it is to you as well. One small thing I think I do enjoy as a happy ending for Maddy is perhaps when she finds herself in who she truly wants to be (in your case, which I love, is with her hair buzzed and a lesbian), then perhaps her daemon finally reforms into something that fits her better...I'd want to say a whole new type of bird but that still might be too close to Jean so maybe a reptile to match Emma or even a mammal...also since daemons commonly are the gender you're "attracted to" (and I use that term loosely) I think Jean having a male daemon and Maddy having a female daemon is smth that's also a small neat detail.

Again, sorry for the ramble! I've just been thinking about Maddy and daemons for ages recently!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA i love all these thoughts

i am inclined to like the idea that maddy at first does not have a dæmon, which is one of the reasons sinister is disappointed with her, and then gets one as she makes contact with phoenix? i think maddy tends to isolate this as the point where she woke up and came to life, so it makes sense to me as a point where she might also get a dæmon.

i HAVE thought about a d��mon for maddy and i personally would not give her a swan but i WOULD give her a snow goose (i also briefly thought about giving her an albatross. for the wandering and the flying. if i did give her an albatross, i would give her a short-tailed albatross).

anyway i think giving maddy a snow goose is fun for a couple of reasons: 1) they are commonly mistaken for trumpeter swans (or, hunters say that they mistook trumpeter swans for snow geese) and i gave jean a trumpeter swan and 2) snow geese are just. incredibly huntable birds. no bag limits, lighter restrictions than on a lot of birds, while trumpeter swans are not hunted in alaska. i think this could reflect the way maddy is targeted and hurt after jean reappears post-phoenix, in a way that really sucks for her, but is fun for me.

(i have read 1 His Dark Materials book, so my awareness of dæmons is very much based on a general internet sense and also me liking to draw parallels between characters i like and animals)

maddy is a character who i really want to have a happier ending at some point, or at least find her way to some sort of satisfying resolution. i think your idea of maddy having a female dæmon is a really good one! i don't really know what maddy's dæmon would finally resolve into...maybe it would stay a snow goose, as maddy finally accepts that she and jean have to exist in the same world, but that she can find agency outside of that connection. i DO think it would be interesting for maddy's dæmon to at some point shift into an eastern koel, a kind of migratory cuckoo.

[id: a picture of an eastern koel, a black bird with a red ring around its eyes]

i think an eastern koel would very much fit maddy's inferno vibe, with its brood parasitism being a kind of stand-in for the way maddy feels she was forced in with scott and the x-men.

this was very fun to think about thank you for sending this ask!! i feel like i did not respond to everything but i was very excited to talk about my maddy-snow goose-eastern koel vision

[sunny6677]

Ramble about my day again

@catsockpuppet since ya enjoyed my rambles last time if I remember correctly

I kinda overslept this morning since I turned off my alarm without realizing—and ended up being woken by my half sisters dad cuz it was about time for the bus to show up. So i rushed through the polls this morning, did my usual stuff and got ready, and in a half-asleep state I went down to the bus stop. I had a weird ass dream tho. It's kinda gross, so even if it doesn't make me too phased, I know it may gross some other people out. But all I'll say is that something fell out of my body and that afterwards there were weird translucent sticky tree roots like sticking out of me.

I rode on the bus like I normally do, took some photos and drew some stuff. And then once the bus arrived at the school, I took a few more photos cuz of how pretty it looked and sat with my friends at breakfast for a little while. I just had apple juice and that was kind of it. Then when it was time for Psychology—I went on down there and took some more photos cuz it looked pretty still.

Psychology was kinda funny today tbh. We were going over dream stuff since that's what we're supposed to be studying and I wrote the stuff about my dream on the assignment we're gonna be doing for the next few days, but we just got kinda side tracked cuz we all kept talking about out weird sleep walking or dream experiences. Some girl said she apparently writes on a board what she dreams about anytime she wakes up, and another dude told us about a sleep walking experience he had with his dad.

Spanish rolled around, and I think it mighta been cuz I was sleepy, but it felt a lit mess active than usual as we just took notes and everyone around me just sorta talked and talked. I participated in what we were doing as well obviously, but I was too exhausted to really speak.

And then when Chemistry came, my friend who usually sits with me wasn't there—so I just cut out and glued in a bunch of stuff in quietness as my teacher let us take some notes and occasionally got onto the other students.

Then in Technology, he gave some of the other students time to work on their animation concept thing—and I wanted to play Roblox, but my mind was dead set on drawing what I was voted to draw for, so I spent the entire time just drawing random stuff that popped into my head. Hypergraphia thingssss. Got a hug from my friend toward the end though and watched a bunch of Spooky Month tiktoks as I headed to lunch. And also recorded some of the scenery.

I ended up playing Roblox as my friends just kinda joked around during lunch the whole time, and just ate some chips and I drank some coca cola like I normally do. I did talk a little more with them this time though and they kinda laughed at some of my jokes.

And when English came around, we did an activity on different fictional villains based on who was the worst—I think my group ended up doing the best out of them all. And we also ended up reading some more and just discussing our book, but that was kinda it.

In Theater, we learnt about non-verbal expressions and acting. And as of now, I've been paired up with two others for a skit we're supposed to be writing/planning out. We didn't have much time today, so we'll be planning the skit out tomorrow.

Geometry was just kinda boring and I had to listen to my teacher mess with other students or scold them as I kept trying to work the entire time. Geometry, while easy, can be kinda boring sometimes. And I think whenever I'm especially bored, I do worse on it.

And finally when World History rolled around, we finished taking some notes and had some light hearted banter about some of the stuff. And also laughed because this dude kept going on about asking the teacher what her 'favorite method of ancient killing/punishment' was. That was kinda it for today though.

And then on the bus I got kinda stressed at the thought of writing, so that was when I asked if I should take a break as soon as I got home. It also mildly rained tonight, and right now, my brother and his girlfriend are kinda visiting with their new cute lil dog named Violet kdndndn

Photos I took today:

[swadloom]

I love the d&d outer planes they would be so good if they didn't SUCK!! Anyways here's a nerdy and very personally opinioned ramble about them from a guy who's barely gotten to DM before, mostly just based on what I know from the DMG. If there's any stories that do something more interesting with them I'd like to hear about it!! I have no idea where some wikis are getting the rest of their lore lmao

The main ones like the 9 Hells, Celestia, Mechanus etc are good settings but the ones in-between alignments are just like. Really empty-feeling from what I've read of them?? The only ones I like that much in their base worldbuilding is the Beastlands and Gehenna, and besides that like. What plot hooks and adventures could you make out of Acheron. They work as worldbuilding for the most part, but have so much wasted potential as settings to explore in the corners of the universe

The good-neutral ones (Arcadia & Ysgard) versus the neutral-evil ones (Acheron & Pandemonium) just don't feel that neutral-aligned? They're both very nice/bad places. In fact Carceri seems more Lawful Evil than Chaotic Evil, and vice-versa for Acheron, from what little we're given from them. Honestly I just think the base books don't have many well written Neutral monsters and settings alike tbh.

Which gets into Limbo. I know lots of people like the concept behind Limbo but I feel like you could make Elemental Chaos the exact same thing. It's nowhere near as distinct as Mechanus, and also I love the design and concept of the Slaadi but they are NOT the embodiment of Chaotic Neutral they should be (I promise I don't usually take alignment that seriously I just think their role in the planes is potentially interesting yk TvT). Personally I like reflavoring Limbo as a surreal alien infested void that spoots out new, highly volatile critters for no reason that don't look like living things, and could mess up the order of the world if they create something especially law-defying.

I may be biased since I don't like the Abyss aesthetic much, but I really don't like how they're supposed to be Devils opposites as infinite creatures without hirearchy!! Then the book tells you the hierarchy they follow anyways. GUAH. They should be more varied and customizable like humanoids are right? Opposed to Devils being molded to whatever form Hell needs to serve Hell's hirearchy, no two Demons are the same brand of evil. Mine are inspired by Journey to the West type demons: they have similar broad weaknesses and abilities but their personalities are all distinct, they're out for themselves, and they tend to have one special skill.

Stuff like those who go to the Nine Hells or the Abyss presumably becoming fiends but few other planes having unique creatures to them is just kinda weird. Like some of these just don't make sense as afterlives like they're said to be, and I think having distinct inhabitants of each plane would make them work better. Imagine the type of person who tows the line between chaotic neutral and evil filling up Pandemonium and what kind of creature their spirits would be, or what kinds of celestials occupy Chaotic Good Arborea, there's some fun stuff there! Also im a little gayboy who likes it when heaven is weird about free will in stories and I want more Lawful creatures following that pattern like Angels and Modrons do with more Chaotic ones as foils you get me

Uh yea that was my dumb lil planes rant, they're one of my favorite things to use in game settings just building off the concepts but I usually add a whole bunch first. I've been planning to draw some of my ideas for planar entities too (like Acheron being where tragic heroes and vengeful spirits fight in perpetual Kill Bill fashion or Pandemonium having coral guys who fuse and unfuse into monstrosities over and over. There's POTENTIAL guys. hough)

[gothhabiba]

they very much did not say that you never see visibly disabled people or people who use mobility aids in these streets; I think you'd benefit from reading their comment again? they said you never see visibly disabled people in certain photos that people share of these existing streets, or in concept drawings of imagined future 'walkable' communities (I don't know if this is true or not, but it's relevant insofar as it's the comment that you're purporting to have responded to—and I think you may have responded to it based on a misunderstanding). as it is, because you responded to something they didn't say, it kind of sounds like you're saying "some disabled people can use these streets" out of nowhere, which is how I interpreted it / what I responded to.

I'm also not sure what you're talking about in your tags tbh:

#wtf did i say to warrant that tone? #i was literally agreeing with the person #if anything #it's the people who present this as a climate thing #who are wrong

what tone is this? I was incredibly level and calm in my response given the offensiveness of what you said (/ what it seemed like you were saying, given the aforementioned misunderstanding)

it's very clear from some communists' visions of future city-planning that they expect disabled people to just shut up and die, lmao

[meursaulty]

oops all wiz!

commentary below:

January - I made this when I needed an icon for my new wiz blog. I didn't have a pen though so I did it with my finger lol

February - I was obsessed with the divine paradox look!! I was still learning the ins and outs of digital so I colored all the flats by hand....... but I also remember being very proud of this

March - I drew SO MUCH stuff this month, but some of my favorite works were the little comic pages. I'd do more if they didn't take so long and if I actually had a story to tell

April - Full Mellori hype mode. I had a lot of fun with this even though I had to scrap the first concept and start over

May - Malorn brainrot came out swinging. I did this one on my computer, which has been broken this past year so that everything looks yellow on my screen. So let it be known I genuinely didn't know he was so pale until I looked at the post on my phone 😭

June - A piece from the scrapped wiz calendar. Looking back at this, I'm not sure how well it would do on paper (it seems too dark - i'd have to readjust the values). Tbh I'd still do wiz calendar if other people helped

July - Big art block summer but I wanted to paint something, so I chose pirate aquila. If only the quests were as good as the aesthetics... (hot take: the harpies are worse than the bumballoons)

August - Not much art because my mom was diagnosed w/ cancer and spent the month in the hospital (she is ok now). But i did manage to get some pirate sessions in! A lot of just sitting around and watching people's fits for inspo

September - Quick thing based on a photo i took last November from my old dorm, painted while moving into my new one

October - Trying to get back into the 101 obsession with good old Bonnie Anne

November - Based on a photo I took at school

December - Lowkey cheating because I actually did 95% of this in April, but i fixed it up a little December sooooo I say it counts? There are a *lot* of things I'd change about it now but it's still a vibe, also first time I drew 2 of my wizards interacting I think?

So this was the most I've EVER drawn. I took a long break (2017-end 2021), so January was the first time in literal years that I sat down to draw something, let alone post it publicly. The 101 community on tumblr has been so nice + tolerant of my brainrot that I really enjoy putting my stuff out there as a way to tell myself I'll stop messing with something lol.

Stylistically, I took a big leap. I learned with traditional media and I was taught in a more realism-oriented way, so trying to figure out what I wanted to do was super challenging... This explains why none of my stuff really looks the same, even after a year lol (and you can kinda see the traditional vibe in Jan.? Maybe?)

But anywayyy if you read all this, tell me: what fandom do you think I first started drawing for? I am SO curious what vibe I have

[gokupowers]

tell me what u love about ur fave honestuck character I need to know

Dave !!!! tbh I fixated on him when i was young cuz I wanted to be him & REALLY related to his home life (I also. really was obsessed w zuko as a kid) and upon rereading Homestuck I liked him because his character arc is so deeply relatable to me... self actualization, overcoming masculinity/gendered concepts, being able to be vulnerable, sexuality, childhood trauma, yup!!! also because he's the most cool/chill (other than sollux shockingly) character and I like his confidence. I like his cool masculine ambient swag ... and the fact that he can sword fight is fucking epic idc. I also just think I can't shake the sentiment I felt for him as a kid. That being said the way I see him has definitely changed. when I first liked him I was literally 10 and thought emotional repression and being unflappable and ironic and cynical was cool? because I couldn't connect to other people and I couldn't understand what made me so different + thought apathy meant I wouldn't be able to get my feelings hurt... now almost a decade later I think of him as a kind of corny weird guy who's been through a lot and has come out the other side different for it. like I mean he's just plain funny as a character but also, his repression is no longer something I admire and now it's something I find funny/corny/embarassing but endearing. cuz Dave is ultimately, a pretty lame dude, but I still really enjoy his confidence (as half baked as it may be)!! n I enjoy the idea that eventually, he was able to let down his walls. Sometimes I remember he's hussie's self insert and I feel sick to my stomach tho.

I am also a little surprised by this ask bc I think. it's pretty clear who my fav is based off the amount I draw him 😭 there's just a lot of things to analyze w him !! n he's the most grounded in reality (out of the humans anyway cuz jade is a girl dog) and similar to who I am (the other Harleyberts r just not like me personality wise, Dirk and Roxy are similar to me but Dave is a good middle ground)

[awesome-cookies-and-cream]

time for a history lesson kids

Iso anyway after 9 years of waiting (oh god) my dreams came true and hetalia finally has my country featured. And my first instinct is to draw a precolonial Philippines and then headcanon the shit out of it based on all my readings

i knew an Anthropology degree was gonna be useful someday

so anyway head canon history lesson time. gather round kids. I took this college program for a reason:

I feel like the recent Philippines would be born post 1565 after Miguel Lopez de Lagzpi. That boy must be a considered Mestizo ( mixed-race individuals, who were born from intermarriages of the Spaniards and merchants with the indigenous Filipino (Austronesian/Malay/Malayo-Polynesian) natives)

But let’s assume he is an Indio (who somehow lost all his tattoos?? oh well) then there’s an angsty and slightly badass headcanon that he actually killed absorbed all the other representatives from other tribes. they don’t die easily (unless harmed by economic struggles/or i guess hurt by fellow representatives) so it kinda explains the whole Bayani concept of undefeatable heroes. (we love our epics about heroes don’t we?)

That said! (our precolonial ancestors’ history is pretty badass tbh and very brutal. i wouldn’t put it past him to actually have killed all the other reps. We literally have a headhunting sport haha) let’s get on to the cultural aspects shall we?

I based most of this from the Boxer Codex’s illustrations which probably is centered around Visayas and Manila settlements for obvious reasons that they were found first. (they deteriorated first too :’) but since I’m from Visayas, the info i can give you are better off being in Visayas (also he has a tarsier lmao. mostly found in bohol. i hc him to be in Visayas. I’m sorry)

the obvious parts here are the tattoos which if you think looks kinda like the one in Moana, you’re right. it is (somewhat) we may also have descended from the same Austronesian ethnicity from Taiwan or China (most SEA countries did actually. there are many conflicting theories for this and most of you guys learned the Otley-Beyer’s wave migration theory WHICH IS WRONG PLEASE FORGET ABOUT THAT SHIT. IT’S VERY RACIST. something about calling negritos inferior because of the technology sits very wrong. throw that multi linear cultural evolution thoughts away and say fuck you to Morgan and Lewis and also say fuck you to DepEd for not changing it. anyway

the point is virgin Otley Beyer, chad Peter Bellwood. Listen to Austronesian Wave Migration theory (you’d find this evident in the way southeast asians to melanasia and pacific islanders share linguistic similarities. i can’t find that teletubbies salamat meme

but let’s talk about pre-col culture because I’m rambling now. everyone probably knows that tattoos are a symbol of social roles from your HEKASI lessons. they are the Pintados. It’s a sacred tradition where you earn them at every achievement. you start at your legs and trail up to your face. the ones on the chest that look like breastplates are awarded after you win a head from the head hunting (which yeah they think of the head as a holy place too so they eat it, thinking they’ll consume its holiness) the face tattoos are for the greatest warriors (and seeing he’s an immortal country, he would have face tattoos) different tribes have different patterns, but you usually either see snake patterns or sea patterns (thus the zigzag)

fun fact: cebuanos were very ruthless pirates haha. we are voyagers my dude. we devised long ranged boats way before sailing was a major thing. much like in moana. you can see traces of it in the traditional fishing boats with those braces on the side to keep balance. it’s cool. point is, water is a very large way of life. (i think you also earn a tattoo from sailing but I’m not sure)

the deep red dye is an honor given only to the bravest warriors. the longer your putong or headdress is,the braver you are. we also used gold like it was nothing. (magellan had to stop his crew from trading their stuff into gold haha) we used it everyday and even placed them in our teeth. (YES WE HAD DENTISTRY BACK THEN) our art and aesthetics believe in the pride of our bodies thus we decorate it, believing we are past primitive thoughts by modifying the human body. so we didn’t care about property, we cared about our appearance. we are also culturally expected to strut our new tattos and piercings with pride. speaking of piercings men and women were expected to pierce their ears and wear large ass earrings.

the precolonial cebuano is a showman (and we still are). you show off these accessories with finesse. you need to live the art. walk and make those golden bracelets jingle. so if you feel like being dramatic, that’s the spirit of your ancestors encouraging you to be dramatic hahaha

(funny enough the ye olden people thought the spanish were poor and backward for not ornamenting their bodies.only a monkey would have white teeth like that and undecorated skin! yeah love how we chismis like that way back then too)

one last side note. we wore cock rings/piercings too as status symbols okay bye

anyway I have more to talk about pre-col phippines. we haven’t touched gender roles (pre-col philippines would also be very chill about gayness and transwomen are even venerated into priestess positions. it’s all cool so pre-col philippines is definitely not cis haha and probably chill about not being straight yay indophil)

anyway yeah

[gingerswagfreckles]

Queer is my fave word, thanks for posting about that book, I'm gonna try to get a copy! It's just awesome to have an umbrella term for not feeling cis-hetero but not entirely certain where you fit under the umbrella yet.

Ahh yes!! You mean Gay New York by George Chauncey? That book is THE book on queer history in the US (it's really not just about NYC, but it is focused there). Not only is it the most meticulously well researched book I have EVER read, it is just. So brilliant in how it analyses the construction of and intersection of gender, sexuality, biological sex, class, race, and society. Like I read it for a class in freshman year of college and trust me I was already EXTREMELY liberal and well versed in queer discourse. Yet it completely I mean COMPLETELY changed my understanding of not only sex and gender but just like. What identity is, how much of what we see as static and natural are actually very contextual social constructs. And it really showed in a very concrete and reality based way how every identity exists and is defined through the context of its environment, and that while our experiences are very inherently real, the lines we draw around these experiences to define them are not. Like. The existence of a queer identity the way we generally think of it now did NOT exist in the same way throughout history. The intersection of so many facets of life have been interpreted so completely differently throughout history and in different places and social contexts. The queer community has never been some static and well defined club that one is or is not a member of. It is and always has been a nebulous and highly changeable social network of people with common experiences and interests who have defined their own communities in wildly different ways depending on where you look. Trying to strictly define who does or does not belong in or who has or hasn't existed in the queer community throughout history is completely pointless, because in reality we are talking about an absolutely enormous group of people who have been variously connected to and socially isolated from others, who have seen their own identities and their own communities in completely different ways.

It really highlighted for me how pointless 99% of the discourse on this website is, and how much almost all of it boils down to a fundamental misunderstanding of what identity is. NONE of the identities we think of as inherently real are inherently real, and arguing about who should be included in a community or who's identities are "valid" just shows that you think the framework through which you understand sex and gender is universal rather than cultural, contextual, and highly individual. Like, identities overlap! Identities step on each others toes!!! Words and labels change, and people do not universally agree on what they mean at any point in time!!! You would not believe how many people who you would think of as being part of the queer community didn't think of themselves as part of the queer community, and you would not believe how many people who you do NOT think of as part of the queer community DID see themselves as part of it, and were accepted!!

Like, for example, the interpretation of what it even meant to be "homosexual" was SO different depending on what period on time you look at, what location, what social and financial class these people were part of, what racial identity they saw themselves as (and that's a whole 'nother can of worms!) Sexuality was often seen as MUCH more connected to gender performance and sexual roles one took than it is today, and a lot, I mean a LOT of men who always topped did not see themselves as homosexual/gay/part of the queer community at all, especially in working class communities. And!! Guess what!! This is the part that will really blow your mind!!!

T H E Y W E R E N ' T W R O N G!!!!!!!!!!!

They were not WRONG about how they defined their identities or how they saw themselves in relation to a certain social community!! Because they were using their OWN social and sexual framework to interpret their identities and their actions!!! And saying they were WRONG in their interpretation fundamentally misunderstands that the criteria YOU use to measure whether someone is part of an identity or social group is not any more correct or real than the criteria THEY used! Saying these people were "wrong" is to impose one's own modern and highly contextual social framework on people from the past-- and TBH it's fine to see people from the past through modern lenses, and to recognize that they would be seen as gay/a certain identity by modern standards. That's fine! But the way they saw themselves then wasn't wrong, it was just different, and your criteria for what you see as gay or straight or part of a community is just as arbitrary and based on the context of your environment as theirs was.

People like to argue with this all the time, saying things like that these individuals were just suffering from internalized homophobia, gender bias, ignorance of what this or that identity "really" means, and these people are really really really misunderstanding the point. These are usually the same people who say things like "words mean things!!" when points like the one I'm making are brought up, because they continue to misunderstand how much these words yes, mean things, but mean things within historical and cultural contexts that are NOT shared by the entire world. Like, ok, you may say our example man from the 1910s is gay whether he recognized that or not, because he engaged in homosexual acts. But what does it mean to have homosexual sex? To have sex with someone of the same biological sex? Well what is biological sex, and how do we define what makes ones biological sex the "same" or "different" from your own? Is it someone with the same type of genitals as you? That's not a universally shared opinion, and the way you define the "types" of genitals are not universally shared either. What if I told you that there have been cultures throughout history who have categorized biological sex through the length of the penis, with people with shorter penises being seen as a separate sex than those who have longer penises? So two people with penises could have sex with each other and not be understood as having sex with someone of the same sex, in that culture!

Oh, that's not what you meant? That's wrong? Why? Why? Because your personal understanding and your culture's general perception of what biological sex is is more valid and real than that culture's? Why? WHY? Could you really explain why, or is it just that the difference is making you uncomfortable, because it threatens your perception of a LOT of the ideas you see as inherently real?

And we could do the same thing with the ACT of sex! I mean, what is sex? What physical acts are sexual, and what aren't? Is it just someone putting a body part inside of another person's body in some way? Well what about handjobs and other kinds of outercourse? Is sex then some physical thing we do in pursuit of an orgasm? What if you don't orgasm? Is it not sex then? Is sex the use of our bodies to derive general physical pleasure? Well what about a massage? Is a massage sex? In some times and places, many people would have said yes!

These aren't just theoretical questions- Chauncey outlines how these differing definitions of what sex is and what makes it queer not only allowed for a lot of people we would unquestioningly think of as part of the queer community to exclude themselves, but also resulted in the inclusion of people we would never consider to be queer now. Like, most female prostitutes who served only male cliental absolutely hands down refused to give blow jobs in the early 1900s, because blowjobs were seen as an extremely deviant expression of sexuality and were understood to be part of "homosexual" activity, regardless of the sex or genders of the people involved, because it was sexual activity that explicitly was not seeking to create a baby. This was a widely understood concept at the time, and persisted despite the fact that many of these women were using contraception and therefore obviously not seeking to get pregnant. Blowjobs were still seen as perverse and "homosexual," and thus not something most regular female prostitutes were willing to engage in.

Therefore! Female prostitutes who only ever had sex with male cliental but DID provide oral sex (and many other not-penis-in-vagina-activities) were often lumped in with lesbians!!! And treated as such in arrest records and propaganda! And guess what?? As a result, guess who these women usually hung around with, and where they usually could be found? Within the queer community and queer spaces!! These women were seen by the broader society as well as by much of the queer community as QUEER, and many of them likely understood themselves this way as well!

And for the record, these questions of what sex is and what gender is and what makes it gay or straight or whatever are not questions that belong strictly to the past. Survey the general population about what act they consider to have been the one where they "lost their virginity," and you will get wildly different answers. Survey self identified gay or straight people on what kind of sex acts they engage with and with who, and you will similarly find an enormous variation in reports.

And these questions MATTER! These questions matter, not in that we have to find some way to answer them, but in order to understand that we can't, definitively, and that thinking our own perceptions of any of these things are more valid than others' perceptions is incredibly harmful and dismissive to the lived experiences of other people. You can't define other people's identities out of existence just because they threaten or overlap or contradict with your own understanding of some concept, because your definitions of literally any of the criteria you are using to try to build your boxes are ALSO up for interpretation!

Like, I'm sorry I know I am rambling soooo much but you opened the same floodgates that this book opened back when I read it. If the people on this stupid website had any understanding of the history they claim to know so much about, they would see how their attitudes of "this identity is more valid than that identity" and "you can't sit with us because you're not actually part of this or that identity because my definition is better than your definition" is nothing new or woke or progressive, but is the exact same shit that has always been done and has been used to marginalize people who's existence or behaviors threaten the status quo. Like yelling at asexual or pansexual or nonbinary or aromantic people or whatever other group that they don't belong, or that their identity isn't real because it threatens the perceived integrity of another identity...it's all so stupid!! Your identity is also just a way for you to define yourself within your cultural context! Like I've literally seen people be like "asexality isn't a real identity bc if we didn't live in a society that was so sex obsessed then you wouldn't feel the need to define yourself this way." And it's like....what?? Yeah, ok??? But we do live in this society???????? And you can say that about LITERALLY ANY identity??! Not even ones related to sex and gender! Like "you aren't really deaf and deafness isn't real, because if we lived in a world without sound then you wouldn't notice you couldn't hear." Like yeah?? But we do live in a world with sound?? So...people find this term useful to articulate their experiences? And they might even dare to form an identity around it, and maybe a community, and might even become proud of it, even though it is a social construct, just like pretty much everything else??

It just drives me nuts. We go around and around in circles without ever understanding that so much of the bigotry we face is the same thing we are perpetuating with each other, because we don't understand that it is natural and normal for people's definitions of certain identities to conflict, and for their interpretations of the world to run up against each other sometimes. And that there is no strictly defined queer community, and who does or doesn't "belong" is not a decision that any one person or even any one culture gets to make, ever.

To try to finally actually wrap back around to what your actual comment was to begin with, I think queer is a wonderful word, and that GENERALLY SPEAKING in our current cultural context, it is used to encapsulate so much of the messiness and overlap that makes people so uncomfortable, but is what makes the queer community so great!!!!! That being said, it of course has had different definitions in different time periods and cultural contexts just like everything else, and some people may still have negative connotations associated with it and therefore not feel comfortable using it to self-identify. And that's fine too, as long as you don't try to force other people to stop using the term to describe their own identities on the basis that your definition is more real than theirs, which is the opposite of what queer history is all about.

If anyone is interested in the book I am talking about, you can buy it as an ebook, audiobook, or paper copy here: https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/george-chauncey/gay-new-york/9780786723355/

It goes into way way way more depth about everything I'm rambling about here, and backs it up with the most research and evidence I've ever seen in one single book. The physical copy is about as thick as two bricks stacked on top of each other, so if you can't get an exclusionist to read it, you can always just whack them over the head.

[lov3nerdstuff]

Hi Kay!

I just wanted to take a moment and say how deeply moving (and overall comforting) I find your writing to be! I've gone through almost the entirety of your masterlist twice in the past month alone and have found myself returning more often to the pieces of literature/poems your reference sometimes. (Especially that one poem by Benedict Smith! I've read a few more by him because of you and they're just wonderfully lovely 💛 so I'm eternally thankful to you for including it.)

I may be wrong in assuming, but I believe you may have studied/are currently studying a degree involving literature. I hope this isn't too foreward of me but I was wandering if you have any other works of literature that you'd recommend? (I'd love to read anything you recommend from poems to plays 💛) I'm slightly embaressed to say but the works I've read are quite limited to a highschool level and since I'm currently studying Pharmacy, there are very few people who can recommend me such moving works. :)

I also feel like I should apologise for writing such a large ask, so please accept this apology as well hehe 💕🥺

Sincerely,

Bek 🌻

Hey there Bek 💚💕✨

First of all... I'm incredibly sorry for how long it took me to reply to this ask, I know you sent it weeks ago and I'm honestly just ashamed of myself for only replying now! I've been taking a bit of a Tumblr break again, or rather a break from literally everything, and I guess not having written anything in a while made me feel guilty whenever I opened Tumblr, so... All I can say for myself really is that I'm sorry you had to wait so long! Again, I never ever ignore anyone, I promise! It just sometimes takes a while for me to reply 😅🙈

Now, I'm so happy to hear that you've been enjoying my writing! 🥺🥰 Hearing that it's comforting and inspiring to you is honestly such a relief and indeed does make me happy more than I can say 💚 It's so cool that you're checking up on all the references I make aaahhh 🥺🥺🥺 I love it 😁 You're always more than welcome, love! I don't think I could stop including references to literature, culture, history and the science around it even if I tried 😅☺️

And yeah, I did study classics and newer literature as a minor for my undergrad degree 😄 But tbh I still work with literally a lot even now (I'm in grad school for media and cultural studies) even though it's technically not something I've been properly taught ☺️ I'm just a nerd who likes to learn on her own, and with media and culture you can pretty much delve into almost anything you want 😂😅🤷🏻‍♀️

Now, it's not forward at all to ask me for literature recommendations! 😁😃 I truly love recommending stuff!!! I have a few up my sleeve, even though you've probably heard of a few already, for obvious reasons: A lot of what I truly enjoyed reading was something Tom Hiddleston has worked on in one way or another! It's truly a magnificent guideline for picking new literature... Just look up the literary origins of his films/shows/plays and you will be in for quality literature most of the time! I don't think I've ever mentioned it on here, but me reading High-Rise (JG Ballard) because I heard Tom would be partaking in the film adaptation was actually what sparked my love and passion for literature!!! Yep, it's that good. Now on to the recommendations though 😁(This... got rather long):

Plays

Anything by Harold Pinter really, but for obvious reasons you'll find a lot of additionally fun stuff for Betrayal, which is lovely and truly funny if you're in on the kind of humour btw

Medea by Euripides (a classic, but I love it nonetheless... You can find translations in almost every language) ((and pls stay away from Seneca's Medea, because ugh... Euripides is far better AND the og story, as much as anyone can say that for Greek mythology)

La Bohème by Puccini (I know, this is technically an opera, but if you read the libretto it's honestly just like a play... And if you're up for it, the og story is in prose and written by Henri Murger... It's better than the opera, but oftentimes more difficult to find) ((this one is hilarious and basically explains an entire cultural subgroup in the 19th century)

Faust by Goethe (many people hate it, but I LOVE this one!!! It's also been translated into any and every language, and it's so interesting philosophically!!! It's also referenced SO freaking often literally everywhere, and the operas and ballets based on it are always my fave) ((there's technically Faust I and Faust II, but you're good to go just reading the first one)

Anything by Shakespeare, obviously... Though I do love me my Hamlet like every other literature enthusiast (Yes, I can do that one famous soliloquy in act 3 scene 1 by heart as well...)

Poetry

Again, anything Shakespeare for the win, but I LOVE the sonnets and keep a copy of them with me most of the time (Yes, I own multiple copies of the sonnets...) ((My faves are 116 and 91, but there's always so much truth to be found in there!!!))

A lot of the stuff William Blake wrote is amazing, though you have to pick carefully with him if certain religious motives aren't your thing... I love The Tyger, which is an individual poem, and the collection of works called Tyger, Tyger which does have many good ones and a few ones that are a little more on the mediocre side

Do not go gentle into that good night by Dylan Thomas (I know this one by heart as well... It's beautiful, and there's a version of Hiddleston reading it on YouTube, which gives you even more goosebumps than the poem does anyway)

Invictus by William Ernest Henley (same for this one, also read by the one and only) ((I love to read this when I'm feeling down or powerless))

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. Eliot (This is another wow piece with many quotable lines and truths... I love it a lot and keep coming back to it! It's also a great example of how literary modernism tried to condense the complexity and passing of time and history into a single frame that had to be intrinsically poetical in nature... As in, this poem could've been a short story in any other period, but modernists loved to make everything a poem so here you go)

Der Zauberlehrling by Goethe (This one sucks in all English translations I’ve found, poetically speaking, but in German it’s such a fun piece! If you’ve ever seen the Disney ‘The Sorcerer’s Apprentice’ with Mickey Mouse or listened to the orchestral piece by Paul Dukas, then this poem proves very useful in truly understanding either! But again, the English translation should only be taken for informational value... The German one is also worded hilariously)

Prose

Short edited by Alan Ziegler (This is a collection of short prose forms that honestly is a must for me... I love this book to pieces and have had it for years now! It’s an international anthology, so you’ll find more and less famous authors from all around the world represented with short stories, prose poems, short essays and just curious and interesting snippets of writing! I draw a lot of inspiration from this book)

High-Rise by JG Ballard (As mentioned above, I owe this book part of my personality... I don’t think I would be the same person without having read it. It’s not necessarily full of wisdom, but if you’re interested in a different kind of portrayal of the human condition, then this is the read you need to take a look at)

The City of Dreaming Books by Walter Moers (This is another piece that changed my perception of literature, even though this is a more ordinary and ‘fun’-value read... It’s one of my favourite books and it’s endlessly entertaining! So if the classics are a bit heavy for you, this one is perfect for casual readers as well! Its value really does lie more in the realisation of how fun literature can be, and the freedom you have as an author... So really, I could recommend everything by Moers, his style is amazing both in the German original and in the English translation. Yes, I’ve read both.)

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett (This is comedic gold, stylistic gold and generally a bloody perfect book. Also a ‘fun’-value read, but it also does a magnificent job at showing you what you can do with literature, and how well-developed characters are supposed to be written)

The Penguin Book of the Undead (Penguin Classics) edited by Scott G. Bruce (This book is basically an education on fifteen hundred years of supernatural encounters and how culture wrote, used and perceived them. You get introductory texts for different periods and social groups, explaining how and why ghost stories were written and used, followed by passages of the prime source texts (eg. ancient necromancy shown on The Odyssey). Really, this book is just for cultural history nerds)

The Earthquake in Chile by Kleist (This isn’t necessarily one of my faves, but it has helped me understand what studying literature and culture can do for you. In case anyone remembers my insistence in Wicked Game that you gotta know what a pomegranate symbolises... this novella is such an instance where this knowledge would prove useful. Generally, it gives many opportunities to think about privilege and circumstance)

The Symposium by Plato (You’ll probably not want to read the entire collection of speeches tbh... But the concepts introduced mainly here and in some of Plato’s other work are well worth looking into! For example, the ‘double being’ introduces a concept that in modern fiction is called soulmates... Just sayin’)

[freunwol]

remember when i said id upload the rest of the ssau beta designs i coould remember where they were. remember when i said that literal months ago. uhhh

ohhhgh i threw this design out like almost immediately.... i have no clue what i was going for w the shoulder pads tbh, i dont draw a folded up scarf like that (i think. i wouldnt now)

also evan & ds at the top, and also kirby for??? some reason?????? whats he doin here

another page had basically nothing relevant i just liked this one

i may actually have been trying to go for a folded scarf oh no

(not sure whats going on in the bottom right either but just focus on silly lumis and also kirby)

evan...... i was limited in my color choice i would not have chosen that yellow naturally

my concept for him was that toxic positivity is basically his religion... plus other things that are BIG spoilers but essentially hes still a dragon master, but here since he has a lot more access to darkness mir kinda morphs into a more twisted looking onyx dragon... he still tries to be, yknow, Mir, but hes ride or die for evan and ride means losing urself at least partially to mass amounts of darkness yknow. i know that has almost nothing to do w the design and thats bc i dont think i put much thought into it beyond cool jacket

also no i have NO clue what i was going for w the fishnets ik i just wanted to put smthn on his legs but why fishnets im just as confused help???????? (EDIT ON SECOND THOUGHT that may have been my attempt at drawing a texture that i... could have made w cross hatching but didnt???? so its not actually fish nets?????? or it might be and im misremembering??????? help)

(also fun cameo of my earliest design for lucid lol)

ok that side profile there has always stood out in my brain and looking at it again i understand why... the Energy.... the wind maybe... where did it come from how did i make that hello???????

idk whats happening in any of the other doodles

yis papa... im aware that one looks jank as hell but i dont think i cared. or it was on purpose???? i Do Not Know. also lmao @ low standards

(I KEEP NOT NOTICING GIANT FUCKING SPOILERS IN IMAGES anyway.)

i think the extent of cygnus's role here was to be the phanaria kid and also eight. that was... it. i will say the her trying on the gloves is adorable and i also like the flower dress!! i can tell why i didnt wanna color that though lmaoooo

idk either

THESE designs though i actually have something to say!!! at least on arans end, merc i mostly just wanted to make more... queen-ly, no comment on how well that went (shes wearing tights its not colored in but i prommy theres tights)

aran though!! i based her armor on the temple of time guardians bc. well thats spoilers but i took notes from that book. i think it was actually in the last post too, that she also has a helmet and when she has it on the ponytail looks like the lil plume of smoke they have n all... yeah

arans closer to the more serious self she was originally since she never lost her memories, not like stone cold (i doubt aran ever was That cold if she naturally turned into a more jovial her) but still more serious.

in the story they have... kind of a fraught relationship, on the same side but for very conflicting reasons and kind of resent each other... but like maybe..... yknow? yknow????? i also just like the energy of this one

maybe ending off on one u have essentially nothing to say abt is passe but hey!! i like the earrings w the chain thing. shes so fashion

maybe one day ill stop saying ill write ssau one day and actually write it lol