#or any kind of a story to put this into

[marypsue]

If I were going to make a grungy, sexy, shitty-punk-vampires movie, it would open with a slow pan at floor level across the aftermath of a massacre, maybe in a dive bar or roadhouse. The grimy floor totally awash in blood, broken furniture, shattered glass, messily-torn-off body parts. Nothing moves, until we see a pair of battered shitkickers squelch into frame, and then a corpse, open-eyed, throat torn out, would drop unexpectedly to the floor, staring directly into the camera. Slow pan up to the grinning, bloodsoaked face of our main vampire.

And I'd set the whole thing to 45 Grave's 'Riboflavin'.

[canisalbus]

Hey, I’m new to Tumblr, but I’ve seen your characters around the internet and I love them so much!! Everyone has so much love for Machete and Vasco and your art is so cool to see! Do you have any tips for an aspiring artist and creative writer?

Hi! Welcome to tumblr! I'm glad to hear you like my dogs :]

I'm not really a writer, and I also completely lose my confidence when I'm trying to explain my art processes. So this is probably an obvious, unhelpful platitude at best, but one thing I've realized is that you should allow yourself to be self-indulgent. If you're the primary target audience of your own work, it generates passion and keeps you inspired and motivated. I like to believe that people who see your creations are more likely to respond to them positively if they can sense that you're putting your heart and soul to them.

[loriache]

honestly i'm kind of interested in the idea of laios in an arranged marriage. because obviously straight-up inherited monarchies are ...bad, to say the least! but it's what the characters are familiar with (even laios' father's extremely local, extremely minor leadership role is inherited, presumably through the male line). and it isn't just about what they think the best way to run melini is; in terms of ensuring that the other longed-lived nations respect melini's continued sovereignty, having it passed down in a manner that's close enough to their own ways for them to understand it and respect it is important. And it seems like most of the other nations have leadership through inheritance - thought that isn't confirmed for certain except with the elves.

Also, a marriage carries the potential to establish foreign allies - something melini is certainly lacking. A marriage could come with resources they'll badly need, treaties of mutual defence, money, legitimacy and political capital... not that these things can't be worked around, but if laios isn't strongly opposed, there are a lot of advantages! and i don't think he would be, because that's the framework for marriage (conferring practical advantages, building intracommunity relationships and providing a partner to do important work that he can't do) that he had grown up with. he isn't exactly a romantic and I doubt he's holding out for any sort of relationship of that nature.

Like, I don't think it's impossible that they would go with this path, because it's the most obvious and it carries a lot of advantages and it's what almost all the decision-making characters would consider normal and not objectionable. and it could be so interesting.

I think Laios would have major hangups if expected (i.e., by Marcille) to establish a genuine, romantic interest in a woman. Whether because of his sexual or romantic orientation, or just his own deep-seated trauma about rejection and being inherently disgusting and scary. And I think he'd hate the idea of having kids, too, and be very frightened of being like his father. But I don't think he'd refuse on that basis; he could cope with a marriage contract, with clearly laid-out expectations and responsibilities. And when it came to having a kid, I think he'd be reluctant to express that he doesn't want to do it, because he isn't naive and he understood when he agreed to be king it would carry responsibilities like this. It's clear from his nightmare that he already felt pressure from his parents to have children, probably magnified by the fact his father has got a position, responsibilities and wealth to pass on. Obviously he isn't a perfect martyr, so he might struggle when it comes to actually going through with it - but I don't think he'd actually, outright refuse. I think he might do it even though he doesn't want to, and I think that could be really messy in a way that appeals to me.

I don't know, there's something about negotiating these kinds of complicated situations that's interesting to me. and i love a platonic marriage. If they find a woman who has an interest in education, for example, and can work with marcille on setting up schools and universities. she'd ideally be politically savvy enough to be an able partner to laios: even though kabru can and would continue to do a lot of that, there are different spheres that a queen and a prime minister can work within!

how would their relationship work? maybe she finds laios' perspective on the world, and his frankness, unexpectedly liberating after an extremely controlled, cloistered upbringing. maybe she had a rebellious phase, has magic, or something else which makes her a relatively unpopular candidate for marriage - even as melini grows in power, i doubt that they'd be getting offers for the cream of the crop in terms of perceived value on the marriage market, because laios' relationship is a bit too ambivalent/monstrous for that, and melini too new. maybe she's a widow! an older woman, wouldn't that be cool - though they'd want her young enough that she could definitely still have kids.

certainly i think he'd be happy for her to pursue other relationships, though ideally in a manner that couldn't produce illegitimate kids. with other relationships in play, that's even more interesting. like, both kabru and toshiro have complicated emotions relating to infidelity. i think kabru would actually find it quite cathartic to be in the kind of high-status environment that rejected his mother for perceived infidelity, pursuing an affair that all parties consent to, though he'd likely be incredibly aware of the public image - since "image" is what he was rejected for. toshiro... i just really really love the way he'd feel about being the "other woman" in laios' marriage, considering his feelings about his father and maizuru. especially given how much closer he is to maizuru than his mother, being in her position...! his emotions would be so complex, it's incredibly tasty. i bet he'd make a bunch of assumptions about how laios' wife feels about it and be totally wrong, and that's so interesting. also, i think laios' wife should fuck marcille (she and falin have an open relationship).

[volitioncheck]

does near every single post-canon DE fic out there need to be tagged ‘Sober Harry Du Bois’? i’m getting so tired of it.

do i expect every single piece of fan content to have to fully delve into the often-depressing always-complex topic of addiction? not really. sometimes you just want to write/read a silly fluffy romance one-shot, whatever. i get it. but i think my issue is specifically with the fact that for nearly every sillyfluffy au out there, there almost must be a ‘sober harry du bois’ tag. and it does feel very slapped-on more often than not.

i think to me it is an unconscious statement that nothing *good* can ever happen to harry du bois until he is completely and permanently sober. before solving the next big case, he has to be sober. before quitting the force, he has to be sober. before falling in love with kim, he has to be sober. before accomplishing anything, starting any sort of recovery, making any life improvement, he must first be sober.

sobriety as a goal, as a journey, and honestly as a concept in of itself is not as cut and dry as so many people think it is. and i think it would serve a lot of people well if they did some introspection on the implications of how nearly every single post-canon fic that isn’t dealing directly with harry’s addiction have him as completely sober instead.

if the plot of the fic isn’t going to touch directly on harry’s substance use (and again, i’m not demanding that every single fic should), why does that mean that sober!harry must be the default?

i think i am just tired of reading a casefic, a smutty one-shot, a fantasy au, whatever, where it almost seems that before getting on with the plot, the author feels obligated to first assure us that the harry we’re reading about is a Sober Harry. it’s established with a couple lines in the exposition, probably about his improved appearance, a tag up top, and then never brought up again; a checkmarked box. like the societal image of An Addict has completely prevented people from being able to imagine a person just, continuing to live life, while still struggling with addiction.

life happens, with all of its backslides and achievements, mundanity and changes, to people with drug addictions just as much as people who don’t. is a post-canon harry who isn’t sober not worth writing about?

i think so. i think the game we all played thinks so too. in fact i think that sentiment is woven into the game’s very core. i just wish i saw that reflected in our fan content more.

[puppyeared]

i feel like im not making any sense but does anyone else feel like there are stories that let u run with them and ones that spell everything out for you

[wonder-worker]

I've been thinking about the tragedy of Elizabeth Woodville living to see the end of her family name.

I don't mean her family with her husband, which lived on through her daughter and grandson. I mean her own.

Her sisters died, one by one, many of them after 1485. When Elizabeth died, only Katherine was left, and she would die before the turn of the century as well.

All her brothers died, too. Lewis died in childhood. John was executed. Anthony was murdered. Lionel died suddenly in the peak of Richard's reign, unable to see his niece become queen. Edward perished at war. Richard died in grieving peace. For all the violence and judgement the family endured, it was "an accident of biology" that ended their line: none of the brothers left heirs, and the Woodville name was extinguished. We know the family was aware of this. We know they mourned it, too:

“Buy a bell to be a tenor at Grafton to the bells now there, for a remembrance of the last of my blood.”

Elizabeth lived through the deposition and death of her young sons, and lived to see the end of her own family name. It must have been such a haunting loss, on both sides.

[sysig]

whoops i asked in the wrong place. would you be willing to do a request of the vargas boys in a SAW trap? thank you in advance <3

Day 2 - Was it not obvious enough

[userautumn]

"not all men" but not in a men's rights way, in a "it's important to remember that men aren't the only perpetrators of cruelty, abuse, and evil and that subconsciously or consciously training yourself to view men as inherently evil and everyone else as inherently safe inadvertently puts you in a position where you're both vulnerable to attack or harm from people you otherwise wouldn't suspect, AND causes you to limit the number of allies you might have in a time of need" kind of way.

[gingermintpepper]

I saw it in your tag game post that you're also fond of the Apollo-Heracles conflict 👀 for a myth that appears in only a couple of sources, it sure has a lot of presence in the vase paintings (no seriously, everytime I think I've seen the last of it, I find ten more)

SO do you have any favorites among the paintings that represent this story??

OMG OMG THIS ASK IS A GIFT. IT IS A GIFT THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR LETTING ME TALK ABOUT THIS

I also think it's extremely interesting that it's a story so popularly portrayed by vase paintings and in such a variety of ways!! It's certainly one of the stories that gets left out of written compilation of Heracles' legend a bit (which is a shame, I think it's a fantastic story) but Apollo had a very peculiar relationship with Heracles in general that I just kind of find amazing (and very, very funny).

Apollo is not a god with any legitimate grudge against Heracles, but he does argue with the mortal a bit like he argues with his favourite brothers 😂Part of why I love the story of Apollo and Heracles fighting over the tripod so much is that it is such a little brother thing for Heracles to be upset with the proclamation his elder brother has given him and so, he throws a great fit, taking up the chair and declaring that he'll just give himself a better prophecy! And Apollo, instead of being a marginally professional big brother, decides to fight him for it until their father has to break up their cat-fight. Like was that not just the plot of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes? Is this not exactly how Apollo treated Hermes when he was a child and now those two are inseparable? 💀

Because of this, my favourite vase paintings tend to be the ones that highlight the personal squabbling between Apollo and Heracles the most. There are some very elaborate ones that have the full host of them - Athena, Heracles, Apollo, Artemis, usually a dog and a doe, I've even seen a couple that had birds and plants etched on them, but the simplest ones that show Heracles about to bonk Apollo with his club out of frustration or depict Heracles nyooming away from Apollo while Apollo (presumably) yells curses about how he's going to fling Heracles head first into Tartarus for daring to take his things? Yeah, those are the premium big brother/little brother things I'm looking for.

(Photo. Marie-Lan Ngyuen)

(Photo. Museo Claudio Faina)

Also the one in the Theoi.com archives is a real classic - perfect energy.

[sadkachow]

And Then It Is Monday - Why Sunday's plan did not (and could not) work

So normally I don't really make longer analysis posts, but I kept seeing people on social media outright supporting Sunday's actions in 2.2, and I wrote something out about why I personally think that Sunday's plan is wrong. I don't know if this is an issue with tumblr as well, given that the people I saw supporting him were on different forms of social media, but regardless.

Before I begin, I'd like to pose a reminder that the opinions in this are mine and mine alone. If you agree, awesome! If not, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, so long as you're respectful! I have no idea if this is well written or will make any logical sense, but here we go!

(Spoilers for the 2.2 Trailblazer quest under the cut, if that wasn't already obvious)

So the first thing to get off the table: I feel Sunday is a very sympathetic villain, but a villain nonetheless. I understand the people that sympathize with him. I do too, to an extent. He was raised on unhealthy ideals and the belief that he was a "religious figure," one that people looked up to. Other people were allowed to just be, but Sunday always had to be better. He loved his sister, and the people around him, and he wanted to make a better world for them.

But that does not excuse what he did. Making a 'better world' can never come at the cost of taking away people's free will, because that world will never be "better". That's where Sunday's plan falls apart.

Because, yes, there are shitty people in the world, and yes bad things happen. Would it be amazing if we could stop all the bad things from happening ever again, and make the world a much better place? Yes! It would! I would love to live in a world where I don't have to fear for my life and my freedom for an assortment of reasons! But that world doesn't exist--in real life or on Penacony--, and getting it to exist shouldn't be the result of subjugating and controlling other people, because that in and of itself is violence. Albeit a different kind of violence, but violence nonetheless.

Not to mention that things like Sunday's plan and the concept of forcing everyone to act a certain way just to fit this "better world" to me almost serves as a condemnation of human nature and of the very act of choice itself. Your better world starts by saying that some choices are bad, so those choices get taken away, but where does it end? What if someone in charge views a harmless choice as a bad one, and takes away that one in return? Does it stop there, or does it continue, until no one at all is allowed to make any decisions, except those in charge? Who, really, does that benefit?

Consequences for certain choices exist. Generally, society says murder is bad (except for specific circumstances such as self-defense, which technically at that point is no longer even considered murder (at least where I live, it may be different in other areas, but I'm basing this off of my own experience)), so there is a concrete consequence to people murdering people--assuming that they don't get away with it. It doesn't stop people from murdering people, because the liberty of choice is still there, but it shows that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should or that you will escape without consequence.

People are going to do bad things. That is, unfortunately, how humans are. But our responsibility lies in holding ourselves accountable and in promoting growth and healing. That is how you build a better world. Not trapping everyone inside a dream world without any care for their feelings or beliefs, but in getting people the help they need, in fostering a society of positive change and human connection.

And that is why, as "golden" as Sunday's dream may have seemed, it was never going to work. In the end, as the story quest shows, human will and the desire for freedom wins out in the end. When there's a will, there's a way.

[vigilskeep]

I know you went into this briefly before. But truly. HOW INSANE adding a child into the Isabelamance arranged marriage Hawke.

Is the child expected to inherit? Does it remove potential matches Hawke could have had, potentially making the fiance lower on the social ladder than Hawke?? The implications?? Does Isabela even LIKE the kid??? What if the kid gets seasick. What then. How does no attachments no complications Isabela allow herself to fall in love with THE most attached man in Thedas.

AND THE KID WOULD BE OLD ENOUGH TO HAVE AGENCY AND OPINIONS AND AND SHIT IN ACT 3 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAJHHH

making this woman the not-stepmother to a kid growing up in a hightown estate just to feel something

[musubiki]

another fun fact: marshall can beat lime in a fight BUT only if hes buffed by mochi or another one of the top 5 witches

[transrevolutions]

a short story

a scorpion, unable to swim, asks a frog to carry it across the river. "do you take me for a fool?" asks the frog. "you'd sting me if you let me on your back!"

the scorpion considers this for a moment. if it stings the frog, it will surely drown. yet due to its nature, it cannot ensure that it will not do so, no matter how illogical a course of action it would be. "you know, you're right," sighs the scorpion. "it is in my nature. I will find someone else."

the frog hops away, grateful at its lucky escape. the scorpion ponders the situation, and after a bit of study and reflection, seeks out a turtle and asks it to carry the scorpion across the river.

"but you said it was in your nature to sting whoever carries you!" says the turtle.

"I know," replies the scorpion. "I sought you out because your thick shell can withstand the sting, and neither of us will be harmed in the process."

the turtle, however, fancying itself a good judge of morality, declines. "it's the spirit of the thing that counts," it tells the scorpion. "my inability to be harmed by your sting does not lessen the depravity of being willing to sting one's benefactor. why should I take such pains to help you if your nature can do nothing but harm me in return?"

-

the scorpion is stumped once again. aware of its own contradictory impulses, it is at a loss for how to cross the river. noticing its plight, a long, silver fish approaches. "do you need help crossing the river?" it asks.

"yes, I do," replies the scorpion. "however, I cannot breathe underwater, and you cannot breathe above it, so any attempt to cross together would be a failure for both of us."

the fish acknowledges this. "unfortunately, I think this is indeed the case," it says. "I wish you luck on your endeavor, regardless."

"I appreciate it," says the scorpion, though no closer to finding a way across the river. such is the way, sometimes, of nature.

-

now nearing despair, the scorpion is about to resign itself to another stranded night on the wrong side of the river. but at that moment, a large spider emerges from its hidden web.

startled, the scorpion jumps back, stinger poised to strike. the spider is not deterred, though it does not come any closer. "what do you want from me?" asks the scorpion in a rather sharp manner.

"hear me out," intones the spider. "I know your dilemma. it is in my nature to trap and bite, just as it is in yours to sting. I can see you yourself are afraid of me, as some whom you asked were afraid of you. but please do not judge me too quickly. I might have a way to help."

"what do you propose?" asks the scorpion, desperate.

"I am a spider," says the spider. "I cannot swim you across the river on my back, as I cannot swim or breathe underwater myself. though my exoskeleton is strong, I cannot guarantee it would withstand your sting, nor that you would be able to escape my web. but I believe that more than one skill will be necessary to cross the water."

the scorpion is silent again, waiting for the spider to elaborate.

-

the spider scurries off on its eight legs, then returns moments later with the frog and turtle, as well as the fish (who remains in the shallows of the river).

"why have you brought them here?" asks the scorpion. "I've asked each individually, and they all refused."

"that was your mistake, and theirs," answers the spider. "now, listen carefully."

the scorpion listens, as does the others. the spider begins to speak once more.

"the fish offered you aid when the others would not," it says. "but you both observed that the fish could not emerge from the water, nor could you as its passenger descend beneath it. it was willing to help, but your mutual natures prevented this. however, the frog can breathe both above and below the water. the frog can ride safely on the back of the fish."

"but I cannot ride on the back of the frog!" says the scorpion. "it is in my nature to sting! it would not be safe!"

"ah, but this is where I must turn to the turtle," says the spider. now addressing the turtle directly, it says, "turtle, I understand your grievance. you do not want to aid someone with a nature so predisposed to harm you. but is the scorpion really the guilty party? it sought you out in the first place, aware of its nature, not wishing to harm the frog. is it the nature of the scorpion that you truly despise, or is it the notion that you were only asked for help because of your capability or perceived usefulness?"

the turtle, who had never really thought of it that way, considers the spider's words and finds them somewhat accurate. "you're correct in that I resent my assistance being requested on my ability alone," it says. "the river is wide with a rushing current, and I am tired after a busy day. I should not have lashed out and blamed the scorpion, but I should not be obligated to carry out such a draining task just because I am technically able to do so."

the spider pinches its chelicerae in acknowledgement. "I see," it tells the turtle. "I appreciate your apology for judging the scorpion so quickly. perhaps a compromise is in order, which respects your exhaustion as well as the scorpion's need. would you be willing to carry the scorpion on your back if the frog can ride the fish in front of you and signal which direction to go?"

the turtle thinks about it for a second. "alright," it says. "that seems fair enough to me."

content, the spider returns its attention to the scorpion. "well, shall you set off, then?"

-

as directed by the spider, the frog sits atop the fish so as to better focus on the river in order to provide directions to the turtle. the scorpion climbs on the turtle's shell and this second pair proceeds into the water after them.

"thank you for your help," the scorpion tells the spider, who is standing on the river bank.

"you are very welcome," says the spider. "though I cannot physically aid your journey, I hope my advice was useful."

"very much so," replies the scorpion, and the foursome set off across the river. midway through, the scorpion stings the turtle, on instinct, due to its nature, but the turtle's thick shell protects it and no harm is done. following the frog and fish, they reach the other side of the river with relative ease.

"thank you," the scorpion tells the other three once it has been safely deposited on the shore. they all exchange friendly farewells before going their separate ways, with a new understanding of each other.

-

from its vantage point at the centre of its web, the spider watches the encounter, pleased with the solution the group had devised. though no creature was both able and willing to act as the scorpion's sole guide, together they were able to safely cross the river. each one participated in accordance with its ability, as well as in a form compatible with its need.

one's nature, the spider decides, is both as constant and traversable as the very river itself.

[tillywunderwing]

psst. hey. do you ever worry that you’re writing characters ‘ooc’ in fanfiction? well guess what. you’re not. that’s just your au now.

“they would not say that” yes they would, my au version of this character would totally say that

“ummmm this character’s powers don’t work like that” but they do. in my au

“these characters would never canonically be dating” buddy oh boy i cannot wait to tell you what fanfiction writers have been doing since the advent of their craft!! anything goes in my au!!!

the medium is inherently transformative do whatever you want forever ok ly byye

[bobendsneyder64]

Okay, so, I don't make these kind of posts often so excuse me if this is a mess but;

Do you all remember when I posted this post 1 year ago, where I mentioned that racers in the 60/70/80's had their blood types stitched on their suit?

Well, yesterday I saw this video of Fabio Di Giannantonio and I saw this (it was in the VR46racingteam stories so i screenrecorded it):

Did you all see it on his suit when he sat down? I made a screenshot too:

I think this is his bloodtype he has on his suit?! I mean, I can't think of anything else this could be. I checked the other stories and some posts and Marco Bezzecchi didn't have it so maybe it's a personal choice? Anyway, it just drawed my attention

[caligvlasaqvarivm]

wanna ask how you feel about the eridan bpd headcanon/theory(?? not sure what to call it!) you're so good at your character analysis and i'd love to see your outlook on it

Since I don't have a degree or any formal training in psychology, I feel deeply uncomfortable diagnosing characters. I've made an autism joke before but only because I'm on the spectrum. He's definitely traumatized and anxious, but I mean those as descriptors of his behavior rather than capital-D Diagnoses. I try to focus on those when I can - the cause and effect of cognition, self-image, and behavior - and those factors may very well match up with DSM criteria, but I try not to touch an actual diagnosis with a ten foot pole unless the author has explicitly stated that X character has Y condition.