#just a midnight thing

[eyesthecolorofarson]

Interacting with Entities

The Justice Leagues main meeting room wasn’t usually this crowded, with both the entire Flash, Bat, Super, and Arrow families in attendance. Though to be fair, Red Robin didn’t usually send out a message on mass that told them he had information that changed the fundamentals of life and death.

Tim was typing at the main computer, ignoring or not hearing the whispers of everyone around him as he opened what seemed to be a very disturbing image. It showed a little girl, no older than ten, with red hair and off-color green-white skin in what seemed to be a lab. She was leaning against an operating table, sobbing. On the operating table was a toddler, who couldn’t be older than three.

He’d been dissected. He was pinned open like a frog in a high school science class, and the only thing in his small body were his ribs. His other organs were in jars surrounding him, his heart above his head. His eyes had been removed as well, placed in separate jars on each side of his heart.

The room fell deathly silent as they took in the image. Tim turned around, tired and grim, and spoke. “Who you are looking at is Jazz and Danny Fenton from Ohio. Jazz is possible a different species, and Danny is a clone she created. The reason she knew how to do this and succeeded is because of her hyper intelligence and from watching her parents, who are scientists.”

Tim turned around again and clicked a button. “And as you can see, their very unethical ones.” The video began playing, projecting the girls deep, heart-wrenching sobs. You could hear how much she loved him, how many good memories she had with him. She choked, sniffling and whimpering in a soft, broken tone, “I–*hic* I….. I j-just didn’t wa-waaant *hic* to be alone any*hic*more….”

Behind her, something began to form.

It made the video distort, but it was clearly a person fading into existence. It looked like someone swirling something in reverse. The video cleared up and floating where the vortex had been was an old man, with icy blue skin and red eyes. He had long, white hair and wore a cloak that hid the rest of his body.

He placed a hand on her shoulder and spoke in a soft tone, “You are a child.” Jazzs sobs didn’t stop, but they slowed as he continued. “You are a scared, abused, neglected, horribly alone child. The only thing you wanted was to be loved, to have something to love. This was not your fault. This was a failure of the system, not you.”

Jazz had stopped crying, and for a moment they were silent, staring at the body in front of them. The man spoke again, but softer. “There is a way to bring him back, you know.” Jazzs head wiped around so fast many worried of whiplash. But the camera now has a clear view of her face, and her bright red eyes.

“How?” She said, gripping the man’s cloak, “no riddles, no cryptic messages, please Clockwork, please, just tell me how to bring him back.” He smiled softly and patted her head. “It will be a long journey, and difficult in ways unimaginable, and you must do it alone. But I believe you will be able to succeed.”

Clockwork began floating about the lab, picking out random things such as syringes filled with strange brightly-colored liquids and futuristic looking weapons as he spoke. “What is an Entity, Jasmine?”

Jazz watched him, confused, but answered. “It’s when the personification of a concept, like Lady Justice, or a natural unchangeable occurrence, like life and death or the four seasons, gains sentience and comes together to form a corporeal, human-like form.”

“It happens when these concepts or occurrences gain enough power,” she continued, “and then every part of them comes together to form a singular whole. Like how every religious belief formed Lady Death, or how everyone’s opinion on a season effects how they act and express themselves.”

“Very good.” Clockwork said, the objects he picked up floating around him in a circle when he let them go. “Deep in the Hindu Kush Mountains, in a place called Nada Parbat, there is an Entity trapped. Her name is ɭ̷͕̈́ค̴̡̞̮̱̩͓̝̅̈́͗͆̋̆̋̈́̉̿̓̕͠ᘔ̴̨̢̖͔͖͚͙̗̚ͅค̵͈͍̞͚̄̐̃̔̌̋͜ͅг̶̣̙̰̣͔̖̰̱̝͔͍̘͂͆̄̈́̆̍͑��͛̃̚ͅย̶͇̥̜͈͚̼͉̈́̈̓̒͊͗̍͋̄̆̕͠ร̷̪̃̈́͒̒̿͠͝.” The Justice League was torn from their intense focus of the video to the sudden pain in their ears, the wave of nausea that washed over them, the dizziness and confusion. Whatever language that was it wasn’t meant for human ears.

In the video, Jazz didn’t seem effected, and even understood what he was saying. She muttered the word, over and over again, before she said, “Lazarus? I’ve never heard of that before. What’s she made out of?” Clockwork floated back towards her and continued to explain. “Her true name is Lady Life. She is the oldest, the truest, spread among and deeply connected to every part of this universe. From the smallest ant to the largest planet, she is Life in its purest form.”

“Is she older than you?” Jazz asked, tilting her head and grabbing every syringe she could reach, placing them on a different table than the one Danny was on and organizing them by size and color. Clockwork laughed. “Far, far older. She existed before Lady Death did, in a sort of ‘chicken and egg’ scenario.”

“I tell you this,” Clockwork started, handing Jazz several of the weapons before continuing, “because for the past few centuries, Lady Life’s powers have been severely abused by people who are not worthy of them. And those subjected to her power against their will are going about treating the side effects incredibly wrong.”

“What are the rules for interacting with an Entity?” “Do not take, do not lie, do not steal.” Jazz replied, “Ask, explain, thank. And good will follow.” Clockwork smiled. “Very good. And what is the rule for when bringing an Entity into the body?” “Do not bathe, for it washes away.” Jazz again replied. “Do not inject, for it pierces skin. Consume, for eating is only done willingly and happily.”

“Now, a series of questions.” Clockwork said, “When bringing an Entity into the body, what happens when you attempt to lock it away?” “It will attempt to lock you away.” “And when you ties to fight it?” “It will try to fight you.” “And when you try to control it?” “It will attempt to control you.”

Jazz finished her sorting and turned to look at Clockwork. “The best way to bring an Entity into your body is to accept it, respect it, and love it, and it will give you the same in return.” They stared at each other silently for a couple minutes, not blinking or breathing.

“I have to bring Lady Life into Danny.” Jazz finally spoke. Clockwork nodded. “But how?” Jazz look to the operating table for a moment, before turning back to Clockwork. “He can’t eat anything….” Clockwork moved to the side, blocking her view of the table. “Remember, Jasmine; ask, explain, thank. Like everyone, Lady Life has many sides. While yes, she can be endlessly cruel, but also deeply loving and compassionate. It all depends on how you treat her.”

Jazz thought for a moment. “So, if I free Lady Life—because that’s what you want me to do, right?” At Clockworks nod she continued, “Right. So, if I free her, and I treat her really nicely and I ask nicely, she’ll bring Danny back?” Clockwork said yes, and Jazz fell silent again. “How do I do it?” She said, her red eyes alight with determination. Clockwork held out his hand, and when she took it—

Both them and Danny were gone

[kosalus]

bicep meme 2 electric boogaloo with dame aylin and isobel

[teaboot]

Sometimes at work it's not my place to tell people the things I want to say, and I find I often go home at the end of the rougher days to stand blankly in my shower and tell myself over and over what I wish I could pass on.

This accomplishes very little, and mostly just gives me a tension headache, but through it all I think I've narrowed myself down to a few solid things I'd like to tell people the most.

You can't change people. Not permanently, not for anythig. You can support them, encourage them, love them, give them tools and opportunities and resources, but you can't make them change. They can change themselves if they want to, but they have to want to, and they have to want it for themselves, because they're the only one that's certain to be with them forever.

For better or worse, you make your own choices, and blaming bad choices on others doesn't only work to absolve you of responsibility- it also robs you of control. Because if you say you only did something because I did something, then you arent only shifting blame- you're admitting that you cannot control yourself, that you cannot truly make choices for yourself, that other people can control you- and as long as you truly beleive that, you'll keep facing the same problems over and over. You'll keep letting others dictate your choices, because you'll beleive that they can, and you'll never be free.

White knights on horseback are from fairytales. Nobody can help you if ou're not willing to help yourself. To try, to put the dirty work in, to belive you're worth that effort- Act as though nobody is coming to save you. From a struggle, from pain, from bad relationships, from yourself. And when you do save yourself, because you will, because failure here isn't an option if you want to survive, you'll never find another dragon that can keep you prisoner.

Don't say anything to anyone that you wouldn't want them remembering forever.

Doing the right thing in bad circumstances is hard. It's the hardest thing. But if you make the choice to do that hard thing anyways, despite your fear, you'll go on the rest of your like knowing that you're the sort of person who did something.

The present only seems the hardest because the past I over and the future hasn't happened.

There's so much joy ahead of you, the kind you can't possibly understand until you see it yourself.

The responsibility of consequences is often disguised as the power of permission. "I won't do this if you help me", "I'll work on my anger if you do this for me", "I promised you I'd quit, but can I have just one?". The unspoken question is, "Can it be your fault if this goes badly?"

You cant make someone love you the way you need to be loved. Someone can love you very much and still be bad for you, even if you love them very much in return. Two people can love each other very, very much, and try their very best, and still be wrong for each other.

Sometimes being near to someone changes you, even in good ways, and the people you become don't fit together as well as the people you were.

Caring takes work. Even if it's real. Especially if it's real. And the most important gestures aren't the grand, poetic, songs-and-flowers-and-tears moments; they're getting out of bed even though you don't want to. Paying attention to things you don't enjoy. Scrubbing pans, or opening a window, saying "thank-you", or helping carry groceries into the house. The small things fill the big things- without the small, boring, mediocre things, big things feel hollow.

Thrre is honour and dignity in humble work.

If you are a cruel and spiteful person, then you will find every place you visit to be full of the same cruel, spiteful people. This is not because the world is as cruel as you, but because everywhere you are, you will be disliked. This is the curse that comes with being persistently cruel and spiteful.

If you are a kind and ppsitive person, you will repeatedly encounter kind and positive people, because as they grow familiar with you, they will be happier to have you near. This is the reward of being a kind and positive person.

When splitting paths with loved ones, briefly or forever, aim for your last words to always be "I love you".

[nhura]

QUICK NO ONE'S LOOKING

(See readmore for thoughts, cope, bonus, etc.)

Anyone else up thinking about Ratio's big, strong, secure arms and how warm and all-consuming they could be in a hug or embrace. :/ Anyway

I just wanted to draw them being cute and seizing a sliver of a moment where they could have some PDA silly time without actually having any eyes on them. They're public figures and working adults with very clear boundaries between public persona and private life (to varying degrees of "in a sad way"), so while it may be in Aventurine's nature to constantly blur lines for various agendas and self-preservation (read: play "the flirt" without an aligned goal), I believe that in an actual relationship they'd be fairly private.

It's kind of fun to break your own rules, though! Ratio would be more upset about the consequences, though. He's a little bit of a hypocrite, which is devastating for someone of such discipline, but nobody's perfect.

I'm of the mentality of, "If you're tired of working on it, then just post it!", so here are some fun peripherals that I didn't feel like adding:

Some staff in the background sweeping up to evoke a blended sense of fragile privacy and liminal time.

A laptop on the aquarium/bar/counter because there's something fascinating about seeing people on their work laptops in public.

The rest of their clothes (casual friday)

[to-be-a-dreamer]

I can’t stand that TikTok trend that’s like “just saw Hadestown and my boyfriend is walking the entire way back to the hotel without looking back at me to prove Orpheus was a chump” because not only do they not get the whole point of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth they also Were Not Paying Attention to the musical they just saw.

Hate people who see WSS as “just a Romeo and Juliet retelling”. Hate people who see Hadestown as “Just an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling”.

Hate people who watch a musical that takes a classic story everyone knows and uses it to explore/critique our modern society and only see it as a funky retelling.

Not Getting The Point of WSS is one thing because it’s more subtle and it can be really easy to just see it as a modern R&J, especially if you don’t really know R&J.

How the fuck do you watch Hadestown and see it as just an O&E retelling? It is one of the most heavy-handed political musicals out there how are so many people missing the point?

Orpheus has to fail. Not because that’s how the Greek myth ends but because that’s the whole point of the message of Hadestown.

Social reform is hard. Changing the world is one of the most challenging things you can try to do. So often we see people try to make a difference in society, to change some kind of injustice in the world. And so often we see those people fail. It can feel so impossible to actually do some good in this fucked up world because we see these people who are smarter and stronger and more qualified than us fail over and over again.

Why do we even keep trying?

Because we have to.

Because one day, someone will try and they’ll succeed.

One day Orpheus won’t turn around.

One day the people of Hadestown will get to see someone escape and they’ll know they can escape too. Only then does the world get to change.

So we have to try. We have to keep singing the sad song, no matter how many times Orpheus turns around, because one day he won’t.

In the Greek myth, Orpheus fails because he loves Eurydice.

In Hadestown, Orpheus fails because we fail.

We try and we fail to make a difference. We try and we fail to change the world for the better. We try to see the world for what it could be and it keeps letting us down.

But we don’t give up. We don’t stop singing.

Hadestown is genuinely one of the best musicals ever. Full stop. This musical is one of the reasons i wish I was smarter because I would love to be able to do an entire thesis on this show and all the themes and messages in it. Some of them are subtle. Some of them aren’t.

It is not just an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling. I am begging people to hear the real message.

Never stop trying to change the world.

One day we’ll make it out of Hadestown.

We just have to keep singing the song.

[doriana-gray-games]

can we get a snippet of Dr Watson taking care of Sherlock? :>

“You were foolish—“

“Calculating—“

“Foolish!”

“I miscalculated,” you correct. “Or missed some variable. Being wrong, in some small way, is not the same as foolish. Truly Watson, to think you so against learning, improving oneself by accepting failures—“

“YOU BROKE YOUR TOES!”

“Just the one toe…”

“The important one.”

“I don’t discriminate on such things.”

Watson pushes you down to remain on the bed. “I need to bind it. How’s your pain?”

“Tolerable. Unless…”

“No—“

“Then do not ask.”

Your good doctor had kept you in bed, elevated foot and everything for far too long now. It had been nearly an hour.

There’s tea on your cupboard. Extra sugars. And the very best biscuits, the one Watson hoards for the longest of days.

“Watson?”

They hum a soft sound, an acknowledgment, as they bind your broken appendage with steady and careful hands.

“If I am forced to endure monotony, I shall demand you do it with me.”

Watson looks at you, over those steady shoulders. A small smile across their lips. “I shall remain by your side. For as long as… as you need me, Sherlock. I can promise you that.”

[rotinmycore]

who wants to attend their baptism!

[kirby-the-gorb]

[napping-sapphic]

I just want to fall in love with someone who makes me feel safe like even when we’re angry or sad or upset i just want to know that both of us are still going to be okay

[54625]

girl help every day I wake up and draw him again

[armenelols]

Daily reminder that it happened twice for someone to be compared to Oromë while riding into battle. The first one was Fingolfin. The second one was Théoden.

Fingolfin, burning with so much rage, Beleriand ablaze, his nephews dead, eyes so bright and inhuman and otherwordly that he gets mistaken for a Vala. And he challenged Morgoth to a fight, and wounded him seven times, and scarred him for the rest of eternity, and orcs made no boast about that duel, and no songs were sung about it, for the sorrow was too deep.

And Théoden. Just. Théoden. Whose mind was poisoned, whose son was dead, and the world was falling apart around him, but who would not stand down and would not give up. And the armies of Rohan came, the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them.

Something about Fingolfin riding out to challenge Morgoth in wrath and despair, raging at the world and nothing going as it should be — something about Théoden riding out in wrath and hope, because there is a better future and he will be damned if he doesn't do everything in his power to lead the world to it.

[stealingpotatoes]

ending this year with a total of 968 arts (which is somehow 300 less arts than 2023! what the hell was wrong w me last year!)

as always thank you all for enabling my art insanity with all your wonderful tags, comments, asks, and commissions!! i love you guys!! looking forward to a new year of art insanity with all of you

[glacierclear]

HAPPY FUCKBOY LEON SUNDAY!!!

[bigchumpus]

"Is it foolish to still hope you'll keep your promise?"

[iveleftitwithyou]

i would pay stephenie meyer the entire contents of my bank account (7 dollars) to write the rest of the twilight books from edward’s perspective ESPECIALLY new moon. i need to know what that weirdo was doing in rio every day

[jkvjimin]

seven days a week; jungkook's birthday countdown ↳ mon: 1st time I saw him

[cr. namuspromised / spotify template]