#i'll spare yall

[sometimes-rendog]

Day 75 pt. 2, i thought i'd share some of the early sketches i did while scratching away at my LimL!martyn design, as a fun little expansion!

i really like these sketches especially since they focus in on the coral / urchin takeover part of his design, and the whole 3L and LimL parallel of martyn's character

i hadn't really decided on how his horn would look atp, since i had originally wanted his design to lean pretty heavy into his oceanic features ( that's why i initially gave him a coral-antler). but i ended up giving him faun-inspired legs in this sketch & that's what sparked the idea for a unicorn horn (even though it's not pictured here). i felt like that detail really pushed that he's still Martyn– Hand of the King– even if he himself has shifted into something more independent, more powerful. because no matter how much he tries to bury it, he never left those walls, he's still surrounded himself with them, even if it is just bamboo, even if he only feels the buzz of magic in his temples now, not his hands, he's still at Renchanting– and it sits heavy on his head, it's crowned him.

i think these are the first sketches i did of him with a 'unicorn horn' (though it's mainly just a simplified coral horn, with some coral-pieces off to the side)

otherwise, everything else was pretty much solidified (beyond his tail and fracture designs), and i'm really happy with how he came out! even though there are a few things i'd change now, i loved working on this guy

This is a death match for a reason!

Day 75, my piece for @treebarkzine! showing Martyn's Limited Life win, you can download the full zine here (for free!)

this zine was so much fun to be apart of and everyone who participated in it put so, so much effort into their work. it's such a beautiful project and i'm so happy i was able to contribute to it! happy treebark-ing everyone

closeups under the cut!

[contentfarms]

like. listen. when i say that series makes me insane

it makes me "change my entire ideal career path" insane. it makes me "study another language just so i can read and translate it for others" insane. it makes me "blorbo that occupies my brain 24/7" insane. i have never been as insane for something than i am for this.

and of course i would not be able to talk about it without plugging my manga fan translation work

[starry-bi-sky]

Blood Blossom Au: Baby's First Commissioner Meeting :)

TL:DR This Post: Danny (orphan) gets poisoned with blood blossom extract by Vlad. He runs away from him and ends up under the care of one Pre-Robin Battinson Batman! Starry is loudly pushing her batdad agenda.

(Also known as "Late At Night, When The Nightingale Sings" on my ao3!)

This was a fun rough idea I've been sitting on for weeks, thinking about how Commissioner Gordon and Nightingale's first meeting might go.

---------------

Commissioner Gordon likes to think that he's adjusting to the new normal of Gotham very well, -- the new normal being grown men running around dressed like bats, in military-grade strength body armor, committing acts of vigilantism, -- and slowly, little by little, he was no longer being surprised when this new normal pops up out of the shadows like the world's most terrifying daisy. His shaving lifespan thanks him for it.

....

The kid is a surprise though.

Granted, he seemed to be a surprise to the Bat too.

There's been a string of murders lately, -- which, in Gotham, is kind of like saying there's been another storm during monsoon season. And there's just been another; in some dilapidated building down in south Gotham, with the broken, boarded-up windows and mildew-crawling walls to match. The victim is a man in his thirties, multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, left in the center of the room for the blood to pool out around him.

The place is already secured when he arrives, the building swarmed with officers and the forensic detectives. The Bat emerges shortly after he does -- or, he might've been here the whole time, hiding someplace dark and shadowy. For his own sanity, Gordon doesn't think about it too hard.

The kid is a surprise, and he appears like a bolt of lightning.

He shows up in the middle of a conversation Gordon is having with the Bat.

A whistle, sharp and loud, slicing through the air, meant for open air rather than a confined space. Gordon's ears pierce and protest the sound, and the solemn, murmured chatter floating through the room abruptly cuts off like the swing of a gavel. As he turns towards the sound -- as they all do -- he swears, up and down, that he sees Batman's shoulders jump, just slightly.

At the source, perched on the window, is a boy. A boy in a gray-blue scarf and an oversized black hoodie, one that hangs off his frame and has ace bandages wrapped around the wrists in some attempt to cinch the sleeves. The hood is up, big like the rest of it, and threatens to swallow the upper half of the boy's face whole in the fabric. What upper half Gordon can see, is smeared with some kind of opaque, black face paint. He's holding onto the side of the frame with one hand, on his hip is a grappling hook. A familiar grappling hook.

Gordon has multiple questions, and his officers tense up.

Martinez puffs up, brows furrowing as his face shapes into a frown. Shoulders rolling back. "You can't be here, kid--"

The reaction is immediate, like a spark to gunpowder, the boy yanks his fingers from his mouth and his mouth twists into a scowl. Head snapping over to Officer Martinez, his hood manages to stay on but Gordon swears that as he bares his teeth, the glint makes them look sharper than they should be. His voice is rasp and quiet and harsh; snappish in its hissing; "Put a fuckin sock in it, Martinez. I'm not stayin."

Martinez reels back, and the boy immediately veers his attention off him. Like a switch, his demeanor drops. Despite half his face being covered, his mouth twists into a cringing, apologetic smile. Slanted and off-beat, embarrassed. It'd be disarming if this wasn't Gotham, and if he didn't just hiss at Martinez like he was about to bite his head off.

"Sorry." He whispers, voice deceptively polite and softer now. Gordon has to strain his ears to hear him. "I was looking for him."

He points his finger towards-- Gordon? No, Gordon follows the direction, and finds himself looking at -- the Bat.

The Bat, who always looks stiff as a pole, now looks even stiffer. Somehow. Well, the explains the grappling hook attached to the boy's waist.

"What are you doing here?" The Bat says, gruff and unable to completely smother the stumble of surprise in his tone.

The boy still holds a sheepish smile, and slips off the window ledge. His feet hit the creaky boards with a near-silent thud, the Batman finds his feet and rapidly begins crossing the room.

Gordon notes the slight tremble in the boy's legs as he straightens. He adjusts his scarf, which droops close to his knees now that he's standing, and slings a backpack -- how long has had that? -- off his shoulders. When the Bat reaches his side, he does as he always does, and looms over the boy like a spectre. A threatening mass of shadows cloaked in all-consuming black. Standing next to him, the boy looks teeny in comparison.

The Bat is a man who terrifies even the most hardened criminals, Gordon has seen grown men shiver in fear at the mention of his name. And yet when the boy looks up at him, he doesn't even flinch.

Instead, his sheepish smile melts away like ice under the sun, holding only traces of his previous embarrassment. It remains as a shadow on his face, a small upturn at the corners of his mouth. The boy pushes his hood back just enough to reveal glinting, ice-flint eyes surrounded in tar-black face paint. He holds the backpack up with one arm. "You forgot this."

[clairedaring]

So, it's your bath time, right? Eh? Let's bathe! Hey! I can walk! Khun Yai, stop! Khun Yai!

I Feel You Linger In The Air (2023) | 1.08

[myfairstarlight]

Good day friend! I've been really enjoying your takes for bridgerton this season :D Would love to hear your thoughts about part 2, particularly Colin's character portrayal if you're at all inclined!

Well hello there dear, thank you!

And what a coincidence, because Colin's portrayal, always the polarising topic in this fandom it seems, has been on my mind ever since I finished watching part 2... I shall ramble here then! I hope you do not mind a long answer, dear reader, for my last analysis post was not a quick read indeed. And I will now also stop trying to sound like Whistledown.

So, overall thoughts? I think he was handled mostly brilliantly, actually. And thus still despite the pacing issues (but that's an overall issue I have with the show, not specific to this season). Controversial take, already, so let's break it down a bit.

I will try to organise my rambling, but this is pretty much my immediate thoughts after watching the season. Perhaps I'll make a more organised and proper post later, adding Penelope's side, like my friends to lovers love letter, but we'll see! So:

Colin's journey to self-love

Because just like Penelope, though we arguably see it less, Colin has his own journey to loving himself because the thing with Colin is that he's still so insecure. Yes, he's more himself in part 2 now that he realised he's in love, he no longer tries to pretend to be someone he's not, but he still struggles to prove himself, and we see it in those last two episodes, when the truth is truly out. People are harsh on him for being so caught up in what Whistledown wrote and constantly celebrating the idea that LW might meet her demise, almost like a child who just got some sweets, but as we've seen in his discussion with Eloise after the reveal, it's because Whistledown calling him out at the beginning of the season for his new persona poked at his biggest insecurity, and he's still stuck on that, even more so now that he learns Penelope was behind the words, the one person who always made him feel seen and in this case, made him feel too seen. To me, him bringing up Marina so insistently was him grasping at straws, clinging to the one thing he knows for sure was unfair so he does not have to face the fact that what Penelope wrote was the truth (sidenote, was a little disappointed they did not have Penelope say she did try to talk to him about Marina but he literally did not listen and did not care that Marina loved another). He is still trying to find who he is and for a moment, he thought he had it, thanks to the very person now making him question everything all over again.

And oh boy does he not cope well.

Hero complex and what it means to be the man of the house

Colin has a hero complex. That's news to absolutely no one, unless you have not paid attention, so I won't make a list of the instances in previous seasons again. But we see it right away in e5 as he stands up for Penelope in front of Portia, then constantly shielding Penelope as soon as Cressida is involved. Penelope even thanks him for it, telling her no one has ever stood up for her of the sort, which fuels his hero complex. In fact, it is Colin's protectiveness that leads him to learn Penelope is Whistledown since he followed her out of worry, and that leads him to the realisation that she may not need him as much as he thought she did (and in his mind, perhaps she even just pretended to need him, to love him). And that, along with discovering that secret, shatters him. His whole sense of purpose, the one thing he thought he could for sure provide? Gone, just like that.

Even more so later when he learns she may be richer than him lol

So he overcompensates. When Cressida's blackmail is revealed, he does not listen, he jumps on the opportunity to prove himself, to protect his wife even if he's still mad at her, no one can disrespect her and his family so blatantly. As the man of the house, he needs to do what he must. And then he fucking fails and makes things far worse. And you know what? How satisfying it was that for once he failed, arguably when it was the most important for him, to remind him that hey, don't get on your high horse, listen to your wife and your family, don't try to handle everything on your own! (A lesson that Penelope also has to learn at the same time! That's marriage baby!) I like that he gets humbled twice, by Penelope and Cressida, the person he loves most and the one he despises so, yet they both throw the truth at him - he's privileged, as a man, and as a Bridgerton. He gets to question himself, travel to his whim, be even reckless like he just was because he will always have unconditional love from his family, but Penelope had to hide a part of herself to be able to do something she likes, meanwhile Cressida has to resort to questionable means to avoid getting married off to an old man. They do not have the luxury that Colin has to just do things. And it pains him to face that.

I've seen the sentiment that part 2 has Penelope be more assertive than Colin, with the dynamic shifting again when it should not, and while it is true she is the one who seeks him out more, it makes sense, she is seeking his forgiveness all throughout the last two episodes. I love her, but you cannot argue she is not at fault here and Colin deserves to be upset and a bit withdrawn as he deals with the conflicting feelings suddenly assaulting him. Yes the entrapment accusation hurt especially since he was the one who couldn't keep his hands to himself, but with his history after Marina, it makes sense that's what his hurt mind decides to focus on that, to justify the fact he's still so upset (It does bother me he never apologises for that comment though, at the same time Penelope doesn't hold it against him. They, or the writers, probably forgot about it.) But I would also argue that him being so troubled, is a proof of love, he even says so to Eloise "you are lucky you've never been in love" because if he wasn't, this would be much easier to deal with. Despite it all, he loves her, he chooses her, he will protect her, he must. He decides to sleep on the sofa to still stay close to Penelope despite the fact he could just sleep in one of the empty bedrooms. He still reassures her during their wedding, with one look encouraging her to walk more confidently down the aisle, and he holds her oh so tenderly when they dance at the wedding breakfast. He's so upset, but he's still so much in love. Of course, unlike part 1, there's no urgency or desperation on his part, there's no Debling threatening to take Penelope away, or him trying to earn back her favours so of course suddenly his displays of love feel less outward. But again, they're arguing, no he will not forgive her so easily, and that's a good thing, yet he's still here to support and protect her, and that says so much because again, he could just leave, that would have no consequence to him as a man. And in kind, Penelope makes an effort to do better as well, no longer witholding any secret from him, and he sees that.

And deep down, he understands Penelope, we see it when he confronts Cressida and perfectly described why Penelope became LW without her telling him in such words beforehand, because he's had similar struggles, he just needs to admit it, and be okay to show this vulnerability with her.

Colin's writer struggles and jealousy.

Now, I must admit, this was the weakest and a bit disappointing part of his arc to me, which is why I'm writing it last. I wish we could have had more time exploring that, and not just being told so (hopefully in s4? Assuming the writers won't pull a Kate and Anthony and constantly have them leave for no reason). This, however, adds to the previous part and Colin's struggle to provide, be the man of the house.

Here his wife is, an accomplished writer, even if under a pen name, who may be richer than he, oh how it must have deepened his insecurity. After all, if he cannot provide protection, or financial stability, then what good is he to her? What good are his silly journals when compared to that damn column that has all of Mayfair on a chokehold?

And yet.

Is it not telling and precious that he kept all of Penelope's letters? And that they're the catalyst of reminding him why he loves her so much, and how her love for writing and her cleverness shine through and that it is unfair of him to expect her to give it up when he himself aspires to be a writer? Writing is what brings them together truly, the same way writing letters to each other was the precursor for him realising his feelings as well. He is at peace then, Penelope is Whistledown, and she shines with her pen, and Colin fell in love with her quill, long ago, he was just overcome with grief to realise Whistledown held the same brilliance.

And sure, Penelope does not need him to provide, but she loves writing so much, and it inspires Colin in his own writing as well. And I also think it's super cute that he was going through a writer's block until Penelope told him she's loved him for years and suddenly the gates were opened (granted, this was before the reveal but now imagine post-reveal, as he struggles to edit and write, Penelope comes up beside him telling him he's doing well and boom, he's determined to write again).

But, back to the topic at hand, most importantly... he offers her love and support, even through all this battle, he unconsciously kept caring for her, and that's what Penelope craves, just someone there for her.

And that? That Colin can absolutely be, and he will proudly take on the role of her husband rather than "the man".

So I think this about wraps it up! Colin is the definition of a sensitive man trying his best to tough it up, a third son who struggles to find a place in this world. But he found a woman who does not need him to be what he is not, the one woman who will love him not for what he can provide, but for who he truly is, kind and incredibly empathetic. The one woman who fell in love with him because she made him fall off a horse and instead of yelling because of a bruised ego, he laughed at his own expense.

And I just think Colin Bridgerton is neat.

Also as I hit post it's 2AM for me so if some of this doesn't make sense, that's why, don't hold it against me, thank you dear one <3

[offorestsongs]

Józia's dorm uniform!!

fun fact, the whole reason why i put her in the same universe as Lysander was because i came up with a design for her dorm uniform based on Lysander's Ramshackle uniform and i just couldn't help myself

while i didn't want it to be 100% historically accurate, the general silhouette is based on the dresses from the second bustle era (so, 1880s) (tho the sleeves are more 1890. as i've said, not 100% historically accurate). why? because i like 'em. next question

the first design had her have a bow in her hair but i've decided that a mini version of a period-inspired hat would be fun and finishes the look off nicer

lore-wise i like to think Lysander made the dress for her so they're matching <3 <3 which i guess finally confirms that Lysander is canonically a historical fashion freak lmao

[laugtherhyena]

Oh right uhh, Kokoro lives in -2+2 (And Emma, and also Hibiki)

[andhumanslovedstories]

I'm so genuinely mad about Saddleback Church getting expelled from the Southern Baptist Church because they ordained three women as pastors. That's literally it. Thousands of people voted that women in positions of spiritual authority is something so fundamentally opposed to Christianity that a church that allows this can't be part of this denomination. This fuckin evangelical megachurch ran by a guy who says Christian businesses shouldn't have to pay for their employees birth control and who numerous times reiterated his opposition to gay marriage, he's too feminist for the Southern Baptist convention. This guy whose entire argument for ordaining women is, by his own proud admission, not based on the the reality of seeing women successfully lead churches or him "becoming liberal" but instead solely on scripture, this guy's too radical, his church has gone too far on the Woman Question. It's infuriating. American evangelicalism is like "there are three genders: People (white men who present and act the right way), Breeding Stock Helpmeets (white women who present and act the right way), and Freaks (everyone else, including those in the first two categories if they ever step out of line)."

[cherrirui-official]

I FORGOT TO POST THESE HERE!!! But please take the sillies that i did a while back while i work on other art stuff!

[thedepressedjuggalette]

I have to take momentary breaks from Tumblr despite moving here from Twitter due to the pictures I now see on the daily about the monstrous actions happening to Palestine.

Just a second ago I saw an image of a decreased person with shrapnel in their face.

I understand why we must share the images and emphasize our pleas to support Palestine and boycott businesses that support and fund Israel.

But the images and stories take a toll on me mentally and emotionally. I will always stand with Palestine. Understand that.

I have that liberty to take that break and I cannot fathom what the children of Gaza see on a daily basis which is why, no matter what horrific or emotionally damaging images I see I reblog and keep up my support.

I do my best to keep my breaks short. A day or two I just leave Tumblr and zone out gaming but the back of my mind is just constantly thinking about Gaza.

I ask myself how do the soldiers sleep at night doing all that shit?

How they can excuse murdering civilians...

I wonder what it would be like to be fast asleep only to hear bombs go off and find myself under rubble half dead.

I wonder if reblogging and staying away from Starbucks and scanning items to see if they're from certain companies is enough...

I won't stop though. I can't do nothing but there is nothing I can do... So I do what I can. Which is why I am typing this.

I make my breaks from Tumblr brief but I keep up my boycotts and when I come back I redouble my reblogs and I do my best to keep up my mood.

I have been diagnosed with PTSD, Depression and Anxiety before this war started. And the pictures pull on the triggers of my depression and anxiety, yet I don't stop my support.

I just want to remind everyone that you can support Palestine while taking care of your mental health and getting a damn good cup of coffee. It's rather easy to make milk foam, yes even with almond milk.

Just microwave your milk for like 1 min 30 seconds and use a frother or whisk until the foam starts to thicken. Just be careful to not burn yourself.

I am not a religious person nor do I pray, but I do believe that Palestine will be free and that Israel will find a place where it belongs without needing to go to war or commit genocide.

[thegreatyin]

all caught up with dungeon meshi! overall this is weirdly peak as fuck. whadda hell. im really hyped for the second cour now

[synnthamonsugar]

I'll never forgive Christopher Nolan for not including John von Neumann in Oppenheimer.

[ando666detonao]

hi<3

[nulltune]

been neglecting my moon bonbon . !!!!!! AUGHH u can expect more spotty activity this week tho bc </3 Finals + festivity stuff 🥺 i'll obtain freedom (winter break) after that tho so !!!

[bottomcyclonus]

Wish I could write Nightbeat bc it'd be OVER for the 4 Brainstorm/Nightbeat stans 😤😤

[stmulnts-a]

its, like, 6am and i have no idea how im gonna feel after work, but idk if i'll be on dash much today, anxiety kinda hit me outta the blue last night and sleeping only helped a little bit... ;;