#i'm thinking character study but. idk

[adnrewminyard]

imagine being kevin day, son of exy, born and bred to be a cog in the well-oiled machine that is the edgar allan ravens. all you know being the routine of practice and practice and practice and performance and victory alongside those you call brothers.

-and then one day you wake up in your estranged father's apartment between a bottle of painkillers and a bottle of vodka and there is a knot of bandages where your future used to be. you don't wake up at 4am anymore. you sleep until noon and vomit the remainders of life as you knew it into unfamiliar toilets. you watch orange and white clash against each other from sidelines you haven't touched since you started growing facial hair.

your brother doesn't ask you to come home. you would come if he asked. the days are longer here and the food is too rich. the colors are too harsh, the language barrier is too much. you speak and no one understands.

they feel sorry for you, but not for what you have lost, instead for what you have suffered. you try to show them what belonging means, to sever parts of yourself to fit inside a uniform, but they don't understand the necessity of the blade the way your brothers did. they don't understand that suffering feels religious if you do it right.

the therapist tells you it's survivor's guilt but the only survivors you can see are on the court in black and red and they read your eulogy after the game at a press conference. you are not a survivor in any way that matters anymore. how treacherous your heart is for continuing to beat when you can't even hold your lifeline in your hand without dropping it.

you want to go home but your key doesn't open the same door anymore. you want to sit beside your brother but there is no space on his side of the table. you want to be a raven but you are a fox.

you grieve for connection until there is a knife where your neck guard used to sit. you grieve for your life until a boy offers to show you how it feels to survive. you offer to show him how it feels to live. he tells you he won't sever parts of himself to fit the uniform, but there are telltale bloodstains in the fabric from long before you asked.

you wake up at 4am again. you take turns vomiting in the toilet, you when the alcohol level dips too low and him when his smile runs out. he doesn't speak your language but he understands it. he keeps the car running when you visit the therapist. he keeps an eye on your back to watch the 02 on your jersey turn orange. the colors don't seem as harsh anymore.

he offers you safety. he offers you belonging. he offers you the only thing he knows how to give, the only thing you know how to take.

he offers you a lifeline. you pick it up with your right hand.

[littlelightfish]

This half-foot. Dandan.

Looks preety similar to this lady here (I'll put them together so you see):

Half-lidded eyes, black hair&eyes, small eyebrows, curly hair... Dandan's skin is lighter probably because of low sun exposure (dungeon), and he has tons of freckles because he preety.

This two are clearly relatives if not siblings.

Flertom is a mirror image of the lady up there. She got Chil's eyes. She even has almost the same haircut (a bit longer). She's clearly the mother. We've solved Chilchuck's wife mystery.

But this wasn't what I was going to say.

This implies that Wife and Dandan both knew Chilchuck since their childhood. Because there's no way that Chil was just friend of the sister. They're both close to the same age, and I'll say Dandan is a Younger sibiling (she gives big sis vibes, and he gives young bro vibes). So either she introduced him to her brother or he introduced him to his sister and they became best friends as kids.

Could you imagine how their relationship was after Chil's Wife left him?

He knows he has to say something, but he doesn't want to end his relationships. At the end he takes his sister's side. He distances a bit from Chilchuck, calling him an "aquitance" rather than a friend. It isn't that he hates him, is just that it's complicated. And they both know it. They're in good terms tho, they just aren't best friends anymore and they don't talk about it. Their worry is the guild, not their personal stuff.

That's why Dandan introduces Chilchuck to Laios. If they were in bad terms, he would've suggested any other half-foot. They both priorize the guild and general safety of their own race. That's why Dandan suggests Chil instead of a less experienced hafling. He cares about the union and respects Chil's time and experience in dungeons. They're on good terms, at least good enough. Summing up, I get the feeling Dandan doesn't particularly likes Chil after what happened with his sister, but he respects him at least.

[yoosung-ah]

a brief summary of Mystic Messenger (OG edition) x

[fairmerthefarmer]

I don’t know how I never played any of the Nancy Drew games as a kid, I love point and click and I love Nancy drew and I would have been all over them!! My sister and I are playing through them together now and it is just an absolute joy. (She is however much better at puzzles than me so idk maybe they would have frustrated me as a kid)

Also it’s giving me some inspo to ~actually~ practice drawing and backgrounds etc. so anyway here’s treasure in the royal tower WIPS. I really want to do some actual illustrations from these games.

Also Evelyn/gabsmolders streams are just prime content for background comfort noise when pain flares or fatigue keep me in bed.

[cornertheculprit]

sometimes i hate my tendency to try to puzzle out how exactly a fictional mechanic would function irl because i just wanted to make a post about how i think the terrifyingly good gramarye eyesight (that works in tandem with the tension sensing and the focus to let them Perceive—"Their 'power' relies on eyesight combined with exceptional focus.") would affect apollo being abruptly moved from a quiet mountainous area to a metropolitan city with a bajillion people in it as a child (it would suck at first. Badly) but then i started trying to explain WHY it would suck so badly and now i'm knee-deep in articles about neuroscience and psychology and shit like "Variability in human cone topography assessed by adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy" in an attempt to somewhat explain a possible way the gramarye power could work. and you know what. fuck it. rough potential explanation of my original point with no elaboration behind it. exceptional visual acuity is where the ability to subconsciously "sense" tension comes from (they See it but they don't consciously register it because of selective filtering—"She wouldn't realize that she was subconsciously detecting this tension...") -> the other known gramaryes in the games were raised in and/or very accustomed to loud chaotic environments (we know jack shit about magnifi's childhood) so they were desensitized to all the visual noise (habituation) in a way that apollo wouldn't have been since he was raised in relative isolation in the mountains -> apollo might not have known how to employ the "focus" part of the power at that point but he had to have been absolutely miserable at first (until he also grew desensitized to it) when you consider his eyesight combined with being thrust into a giant city. his bracelet was probably clamped onto his wrist until he got used to it and was able to tune all the visual noise (People, especially. Everywhere) out. Or something. WHATEVERRRRR

[cangrellesteponme]

the options are: - very stupid fembastian AU but it's mostly just humour - sonboy is NOT doing well and the hungry demon isn't helping... until he is for some reason???? (dadbastian but in the fucked-up way i enjoy writing dadbastian) - grelle character study that's kind of cute but depressing - weird sebagni "fix-it" except agni still dies - finny-centric early days of phantomfam fic because i need to learn how to write finny at some point

now the real question is which writing wip do I want to work on

[blyghthound]

hi so i made a few changes to sylvie's backstory. again, yes, but it's mostly because there were just things i felt like could be smoothed out or sharpened that i couldn't sit with anymore.

pasting part of her jot-note backstory below the cut, bolding what was changed., and providing a short list of those changes before the big blurbs of stuff.

Changes:

Clarified Sylvie's promotion to Warden-Ambassador and her duties at Weisshaupt (focused on recruitment in the North on behalf of Montsimmard)

Re-wrote discharge from the Wardens — tied into her struggles with grief/inability to reconcile with losing loved ones/loyalty to friends vs. her cause. Disobeyed orders to tank rescue mission, which resulted in losing her unit just to save her friend. Results in setting mutated darkspawn loose, sustaining grievous wounds, and Deshar resenting her for being reckless with Warden lives.

Discharged for repeatedly disobeying direct orders from her superiors.

Eventually settles into Lavendel after a period of wandering, sustaining herself through odd work/labour jobs. Living in deep guilt for her past choices, extremely lost and purposeless. (This is also fun because I'm thinking she offers her home to Flynn as a makeshift infirmary, or somewhere to house the Blighted.)

Her recruitment into the Blight Hounds is now out of a sense of responsibility ot clean up a mess she made, a debt to the Wardens who died because of her, and the slim (possibly selfish) chance to return to the Wardens.

Post-Inquisition (34 y/o)

Returned to her fractured Order in Montsimmard, persistently wrote to Weisshaupt calling for accountability for Adamant and Clarel’s actions.

5 months later, Weisshaupt invites Orlais’ new Warden-Commander and a small delegation of Orlesian Wardens for a memorial ceremony. Sylvie is in attendance.

Following the ceremony, the Warden-Commander advocates for Montsimmard to recruit in the North given their delicate state — a small restitution in the wake of Weisshaupt’s absence in their time of need. After much discussion, the First Warden reluctantly agrees to temporarily instate an ambassador to help recover Montsimmard’s presence.

Sylvie’s loyalty and persistence is recognized and she is made Warden-Ambassador of Orlais.

Sylvie is transferred to Weisshaupt.

Late Warden Career – Warden-Ambassador (34-39 y/o)

Sylvie’s duties were primarily to travel, recruit, and train initiates, with the intention of transferring some to Orlais. However, she earned a reputation for being outspoken with higher-ups, using her status as Ambassador to advocate for a stronger Order.

Her stance was twofold: aggressive efforts to recruit, and better transparency between higher and lower Warden ranks.

Developed a passion for building up new recruits and watching them grow.

Warden numbers dwindled over the years – sparking her concern. Soon, Sylvie noticed her efforts became redundant — given that Weisshaupt's numbers stagnated, Montsimmard wouldn’t reap benefits either. Her concerns fell on deaf ears. An old wound of distrust reopened, questioning her faith in the Wardens’ leadership.

The Dread of Hunterhorn (39 y/o)

Towards the end of Sylvie’s service in the North, a relief unit sent on a rescue mission fails to report back to Weisshaupt in time, and are assumed to be in danger. This unit was headed by Warden Deshar, a Qunari Warden who became a close friend to Sylvie.

Sylvie insisted she be enlisted to the second relief unit — however, after some deliberation, the First Warden calls off the rescue; following protocol, which presumes death after an extended radio silence.

Unable to accept this, or to leave her friend to a dire fate, Sylvie convinces the relief unit to set out anyway. They do so, against the direct orders of the First Warden.

Ran into mutated darkspawn running rampant in the mountains’ Deep Roads tunnels.

In a perilous battle, Sylvie is gravely injured, Deshar is saved, but the rest of their unit, except for Warden Clémence, perishes.

The three Wardens are miraculously saved by the dwarves of Kal-Sharok. They reluctantly see to Sylvie’s wounds, saving her life. Her face is reconstructed and broken, missing teeth replaced with silver dentures and crowns.

Sylvie and Deshar are sent off as soon as she can walk. She barely makes it back to Weisshaupt, where she spent an extensive amount of time recovering from her wounds.

Dishonourable Discharge (39-42 y/o)

Sylvie is traumatized by the encounter and ridden with guilt for the deaths of her unit. To sour the wound, Deshar is deeply upset with Sylvie for sacrificing so many lives just to save his — curdling their friendship.

After she’s healed, the First Warden gives Sylvie a final chance by ordering her to return to Orlais.

However, Sylvie protests — calling for action against the strange blight in the mountains. When she’s met with dismissal, Sylvie crashes out and ends up dishonourably discharged on account of insubordination.

The Blight Hounds (42-45 y/o, Present)

Unwilling to return to Orlais, feeling the burn of her exile, Sylvie wandered the North before settling in Lavendel in the Hossberg Wetlands. There, she made ends meet doing odd jobs, mostly taking up work as a labourer to help repair the village from the constant mold/decay.

Two years later, an unexpected visitor arrives — Warden-Captain Deshar.

In their conversation, he mentions that mutated darkspawn are sighted again — and that since her departure, Warden Ramesh had survived a similar encounter and returned with more information. He then informs her that a secretive unit had been assembled to investigate this strange blight, and to contain it as best as possible.

Sylvie questions why he’s letting her in on this. Deshar insists she helps, not just because they need the numbers, but because she owes it to the Wardens lost due to her recklessness years ago.

Sylvie hesitates at first. When Deshar offers the possibility of returning to the Wardens, if she can prove herself worthy by seeing this mission through, she accepts. It’s her once chance to go home, and possibly her last chance to make things right.

[slightlytoastedbagel]

my brain can't make sense of it rn but please take my hand and ponder the differences between the family structure of the Shiraishi household compared to the rest of vbs.

[dootznbootz]

I think some folks MAY have gotten the wrong idea about how I feel about Circe with some of my posts. So, to clear the air...

Homies, I love that fucked up sorceress.

I love how we're never given a reason why she turns people into animals. That's so funny and so awful. And another potion-making magic gal?!?! I love that she's just basically vibing on an island doing whatever she wants. I even love the fact that she scares Odysseus shitless! She's morally gray and that's why she's FUN.

I just sincerely hate when people try to girlboss her or have her be a victim of SA when she never was Looking at you, Miller. Especially when she was actually the one who coerced Odysseus in exchange for his men being transformed back into humans. And even then, while he was clearly afraid of her, (it's in the language of the Odyssey) she likely meant him no harm after a certain point. He just didn't know that.

Why does she need a reason to do awful things? Why can't she just be a goddess who does whatever she wants? That's the reason why I love her!!! She's fucked up!!! :D

I hate what the Telegony did to her as well! >:( You're telling me, this sorceress goddess, who makes potions (!!!) wouldn't have magic contraceptives??? Would WANT CHILDREN?!?! WITH THE PATHETIC WIFEMAN?! No. Fuck no. Eugammon of Cyrene, I have beef with you 🤬

Anyways!!! Understand all the "#anti circe" I have is simply Anti "Girlboss Circe" or the book. I genuinely think she's neat af as her morally gray, fucked up sorceress self and just get frustrated with...everything :'D

[protagonist-art]

"Uh- I'm Arnold. Bennett. It's profoundly difficult to get your lifes works and studies accepted if your name isn't... yes, oh! Are you a fan of moths, sir?"

NEW RDR2 OC!! a reclusive, clumsy entomologist and bug collector; cooped up in his study of uniformed clutter

[sceebybeeby]

there's something to be said about nickels and having two of them

[hecatesbroom]

did I finally manage to write a brand new fic? I sure did!! with many, many thanks to the lovely @eeblouissant for inspiring me with these beautiful drawings of Blanche dipping Dorothy (and the incredibly sweet follow-up with Rose playing the piano, after our chat about this scene!!) I hope I managed to do it justice ;)

Summary

When Dorothy mentions she’s never been dipped before, Blanche and Rose decide to take matters in their own hands.

[koyacyi-vode]

???????? ???? ????????!

[averlym]

miscellany (again),, tags in the last image by @pyrotechnicarus

[petrichorade]

Local loser yapping about ratiomei again

Related to this reading material and Ruan Mei's annotations towards it

[a-crowcats-nonsense]

@2-kamikou-1

Your Shizuku is ready...