#it’s a gorgeous piece in person

[liorlenn]

I think I’m gonna talk about one of my favorite paintings at my workplace

Mrs. Cecil Wade, John Singer Sargent, 1886

Sargent’s work has always been one of my favorites. I think he’s fantastic at capturing some visceral level of personality. This painting is Large. 66 x 54 1/4 inches unframed. And it is placed right across from the entry way to the gallery.

Seeing it for the first time is something of a shock. She’s practically life sized. The way she’s framed by the dark room makes her pop out from the piece, not to mention her satin-y gown’s almost glow.

Here’s a reference for how large the piece is:

(Frankly, the picture doesn’t do it justice. She’s obviously not gigantic, especially for a painting, but in person she might as well be)

This is all to say. She is perhaps reported to be the most haunted painting in the galleries. I don’t necessarily mean as in her ghost is here (although I have had coworkers swear by it). I mean that she spooks nearly anyone who is off guard. If you’re on night watch in the museum, her ethereal gown practically leaping from the dark shadows can be mistaken for quite the spook as you pass by the large doorway. It’s impossible not to notice it out of the corner of your eye.

And in my opinion this has to do with Sargent’s command of expression, technique, and emotion. She is such a large and commanding presence, her frame practically popping out of the picture, that it’s almost like you’re encountering her yourself. I’ve been scared by her myself once or twice. Multiple people have reported to have seen her ghost in the halls. But I don’t think her spirit is there in the traditional sense. I think Sargent was just that good.

[cavarage]

Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes and The Tree of Life by Joana Vasconcelos, (04/08/2023)

[rioblitzle]

i guess im not too involved in the zelda fandom cause seeing a post about rabid totk defenders is wild to me. from my perspective people were singing that game's praises for 2 months total before it fell to the "popular game bad actually" criticism wave and i don't think i've seen anyone say positive things about totk since then lmfao

[beanghostprincess]

Buggy should adopt Pudding in his crew, it's Buggy it's doable

YOU'RE SO REAL FOR THIS!!!!!!! Pudding has always been bullied and marginalized for her looks the same way Buggy has or, well, basically all of his crew has. It's just obvious his crew is made for outcasts trying to find a place and sense of belonging, and somehow he manages to turn that into a home. And Pudding actually would get along with him. I mean- I am not really sure at first, but their personalities are very similar when it comes to changing moods and extreme feelings. The only thing I'd say is that it'd be hilarious to see this young girl rolling her eyes at Buggy's cowardice because she's been through so much and she's usually the intimidating one, lmao. He'd help her find a place of belonging and she'd help him stand up for himself. They'd talk shit about Shanks and Sanji (which ends up being only them insulting those two just because they're in love with them and they do not know what to do with their frustration about it) and Alvida would be so done with them (but at least she'd kind of understand Pudding). I am not sure how this thing would happen exactly but I personally find it so endearing. They'd be so cute and supportive of each other too. I mean, Pudding already comes from a very eccentric family. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind being Buggy's cook and dress in flashier clothes. At least she's appreciated and loved there, finding herself and her purpose and passion.

[mangocatastrophe]

They’re in danger.

THE BOYS ARE IN DANGER

THIS DOESNT BODE

[psalmsofpsychosis]

There comes a time in your life, most likely when you hit your 30, when you go "this book/fanfic is written spectacularly and the style and the execution of its idea are spotless, competent, gorgeous, it is everything it intends to be with utmost intricacy. But also i fucking hate the ideas and concepts and principles presented in this narrative and no amount of aesthetical execution will change that, and it's fine. I am going to appreciate this narrative for its beauties and leave it behind, it's not for me."

[onepiece-polls]

OPLA fan cast polls - Trafalgar D. Water Law prelims

There will only be 1 winner, so choose wisely.

Propaganda under the cut.

Manu Bora: Look. Let's face it: I'm only submitting this man because he's super fucking pretty and law deserves to be played by someone super fucking pretty. BUT! THE THING IS! Manu Bora isn't just a model, he's LITERALLY A DOCTOR! He practices medicine!! No one could play a doctor better than an actual doctor. Also he is from India, so there's literally no way he doesn't speak extremely good English.

Donny Pangilinan: A filipino actor, singer, and model. i think he would do a great job!!

Justice Smith: Justice Smith for Law. Why? Because I'm playing a video game with Justice in it and he's super dark and gloomy and cynical, so he's been on my brain lately. In the game he's this loner teen who listens to death metal and supernatural podcasts. He's bi in the game. Justice himself has come out as queer as well and is dating a man. Also in The Quarry (the game he's in) no one listens to him.

Doesn't he just look tired as fuck? Tired and done with your bullshit.

[whirlingbadger]

Hey @midstpodcast! That finale was EPIC. Y'all went full bore and it was breathtaking. What a conclusion! I can't wait to see what you do next.

[scarah-screeeaaammss]

some more pics of my 3D printed replacement pieces 😎

stopped by the library yesterday (id requested otgw and it was ready for pickup yay!) and I noticed the 3D printer was running and then I realized The Guy was also there so I came up and was like hiii I was the one who requested the wings and fins! and I had Rochelle on me so I showed him.

He said it cost about 60 cents worth of material to print which blew me away bc then I told him a lot of official replacement pieces can be upwards or 20, 30, maybe even 40 dollars depending on the piece. He was a little shocked to say the least lmao

But yea it was really neat to get these printed and then be able to show him what they were going to in the end :)

[haledamage]

talk me down

@queen-scribbles HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAIT!!! 💗💗💗💗 I thought you could use some more Tragen/Marii in your life 😉 well, this is way back on Yavin during all that Revan business, so it’s pre-ship, but I’m at least 95% sure this is Marii’s “oh no” moment. She’s definitely crushing on him by this point (and who could blame her, really?) XD I hope you enjoy, and you have the BEST day!

title from the song “talk me down” by People I Like, which just evokes the perfect mood for this story 💗

---

Twilight on Yavin 4 was long and slow, the sky lingering in gold and then gray for what felt like hours before night finally fell. The Coalition went their separate ways to make camp, as always; the Republic and Empire may have been willing to work together--for now--but they were still a long way from trusting each other while they slept.

With a few notable exceptions.

Marii sat on the edge of a cargo loader a few meters off the ground, letting her legs dangle over the open air beneath her and resting her elbows on the railing. Below her, her own little coalition was in the middle of making dinner. Kira and Vette spoke animatedly about something she was too far away to hear, Doc occasionally chiming in with something that made both women roll their eyes. Only Jaesa seemed to be actually working on cooking, but she smiled to herself as she listened to the conversations around her. Lord Scourge loomed near the edge of the camp, watching but keeping his distance as he always did, and Tragen was--

“Good evening, Aramarii.”

--Was right behind her. Curse his uncanny ability to sneak up on her. Even with the Force she could only sense him if he wanted her to.

“Hey.” She tilted her head up as he came to stand next to her. “Did they kick you outta the kitchen too?”

There was still enough light for her to see his wry smile. “Something like that. Mind if I join you?”

“Be my guest.”

Tragen sat down next to her, looking impossibly graceful as he did so. Marii wasn’t sure if she envied him for it or just admired him.

They sat in silence for a while, letting the descending night settle comfortably around them. It was… nice. Peaceful, even. She let her eyes slip closed and basked in it for a moment, the buzz of night insects and conversation from below, the cooling air and the warmth radiating from the man--the friend? She liked to think they could call each other friend by now--beside her.

When Tragen finally spoke, he kept his voice quiet enough to not break the serenity around them. “Jaesa told me you spoke with her this afternoon.”

There was no accusation in his voice, but Marii flinched anyway. “A little, yeah. I hope that’s alright.”

“Of course it is. I suspect you have quite a bit in common.” She could feel him watching her and knew he could see her clearly even as it grew darker. He saw everything, it felt like. “May I ask what you talked about?”

“All sorts of things. The Jedi. The Sith. You.” She finally opened her eyes and looked his way. “She told me about how the two of you met. About what you did.”

“And what did I do?” he asked carefully. All the warmth in his voice and expression were gone, turned cool and guarded.

On instinct, Marii reached out and covered his hand with hers where it rested on the railing. “You saved her, Tragen.” 

That coldness was gone as quickly as it’d arrived, replaced first by surprise and then by a smile bright enough to push away the encroaching darkness. It made her face grow warm and something in her chest feel strangely weightless.

She pushed the feeling away quickly. This was not the right time to examine that reaction or what it could mean.

Marii managed to maintain eye contact, at least, though she had to clear her throat before she could continue. “She said her master had big plans for her. So did yours. You chose a different path.”

Tragen scratched at the back of his neck and looked away for the first time since he sat down. “She chose the path herself. I just showed her it was there.”

She studied his profile, the line of his nose and sharp edge of his jaw perfectly silhouetted against the lights of the camps below. “I wish I’d had someone like you,” she whispered, the confession escaping while she was distracted, “to do the same for me.”

“Do you want to be Sith, Aramarii?” He was whispering too, like somehow Satele or Marr would be able to hear them from the other side of the clearing. Like they were kids telling secrets after curfew. Like the biggest rule they were breaking by sitting there together was just staying up too late.

“No.” That much, at least, she was sure of. “But… well, you may have noticed that the Jedi encampment is over there.” She pointed to the farthest side of the clearing where a meditation circle had been set up, separate even from the rest of the Republic camp. “And I’m way over here.”

He hummed, an acknowledgement that he was listening while choosing not to interrupt.

Marii chose to blame her responding shiver on the chill settling in as full night fell at last.

Even as dark as it was, she could still make out the green of his eyes as she made her second confession of the night. “I’m not very good at being a Jedi, Tragen. I get attached.”

He chuckled, low and a little playful. “Is that such a bad thing?”

“So I’m told.” She spoke with the drone of a lecture, repeating words she’d heard many times before. “Attachment can make you selfish. Make you put the life of one person over the lives of others.” She sighed, scrubbed a hand roughly through her hair as if it was to blame for her crisis of faith. “The Order’s strict about it. No family, no lovers, no children, not even any close friendships. That’s why Theron and Satele are… the way they are.”

“Sounds lonely.”

“I wouldn’t know. As I said, I’m not a good Jedi.”

Tragen let out a sigh of his own, leaning forward to rest his chin on the rail, looking out over the jungle. “I wish I could say the Sith were better at it. Passion may be encouraged, but… it is hard to build a relationship without trust, and there is no trust among Sith.” There was an ache in his normally warm voice, sad and bitter and resigned all at once. “The closer one gets, the easier it is for them to stab you in the back.”

Marii squeezed his hand, wanting to comfort him but not knowing how. After a moment, he squeezed back.

“Sounds lonely,” she echoed, unsure what else to say.

“It is. It used to be.” He looked down at their camp and the mismatched group of lost and wayward souls they’d both collected. “They make things better.”

“Yes. They do.” And so do you, she almost said, but the words never made it past her lips. Probably for the best.

Tragen looked back at her with another of those smiles, bright and warm and devastatingly beautiful, and Marii got the sense he heard it anyway. Strangely, she was okay with that.

“Thank you for sharing this with me, Aramarii.”

That drew out a smile of her own, not quite as bright, but soft and sweet in a way she rarely let herself be. She was too distracted by her own thoughts to notice how captivated he was by it, and the dark hid the faint blush that bloomed across his cheeks.

She leaned closer until their shoulders touched, heedless and unaware. “If anything, I should be thanking you. You may not have shown me a new path, but… well, it’s nice to know I’m not the only one walking this one.”

He shifted, pressing their shoulders together more firmly. “Whatever happens, after this mission is complete, know that you have a friend in me. And I suspect in Jaesa and Vette, as well, though I can’t speak for them.”

“Same goes for me. And Kira.” She wouldn’t answer for Doc or Scourge, but she at least knew her former padawan’s feelings on the matter. ‘I hate that I like them so much’ had been her exact words. “You ever need anything, call and I’m there. Anytime.”

---

“So,” Vette propped her elbows on the edge of the crate they were using as a table, leaning her chin on her hands so she could better see the cargo loader and the Jedi and Sith on top of it, “how long d’you think it’ll take them to realize they’re still holding hands?”

Kira snorted a laugh, glancing up to follow Vette’s gaze for a moment before turning back to the camp stove. “If they haven’t noticed by now, my money’s on ‘sudden realization three years from now just before falling asleep.’”

Jaesa responded with a chuckle and a shake of her head. “Oh, leave them alone, you two. Let them have a little privacy. They’ve earned it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Kira drawled, completely genuine despite the sarcasm in her voice. “I guess if we’re gonna fraternize with the ‘enemy,’ I’m glad it’s him. And you. We could’ve done a whole lot worse.”

“Aww, shucks.” Vette leaned against Kira’s shoulder, batting her eyes dramatically. “Are we gonna hold hands now, too?”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” She exchanged a conspiratorial look with the twi'lek. “So which of us gets to go tell them dinner’s ready?”

[cuteniaarts]

Behold, my latest and most enamouring new obsession:

Malina, Lady of the Chief of the Northern Water Tribe. As if Red Lotus child OCs weren’t niche enough

[conscydraws]

I'm in love

I adore this lil bean so much 🤲

[outerspacedunce]

it turned out so good y'all 🖖

[opens-up-4-nobody]

I can't express to you how much I adore Weaver Márquez. The ghost in the static. A mystery not a puzzle. A person gone but still taking up space. A thing still leaving marks after it's gone.

[dontforgetoctober3rd]

I just wanna say to the OG Ewan Mitchell fans that you are right to gatekeep and in fact you should gatekeep even harder because I barely found out about the guy on HOTD and already I see people on insta and twatter making fun of his face and acting like he’s a creepy weirdo for being private and it’s literally gonna make me froth at the mouth it’s pissing me the hell off

[meansstoameand]

life feels like this a lot recently