#paintbrushtheelf

[spirit-of-vengeance]

@fightfearwithfun "Jackie I got some nightmare fuel for you~"

@paintbrushtheelf

Edit: @50shadesofpitchblack "50 shades of Black indeed. "

[inkgluttony]

-Slams open window- I LIVVVVEEEEEEEEE

“Sweet Hell, ya almost scared the ink outta me! Good for you.”

[darkest-chasm]

“ want to make out? ”

Quite bold, aren’t we? I like it.

[peremadeleine]

Heyyooooo wanna explain to me why you don't like Mary Todd Lincoln? (in all honesty im hella curious) And can we talk more about Ann Rutledge? And what was your opinion on Mary and Lincoln's marriage? so many questions so sorry but I love talking about this stuff

I’ll say that I don’t actively dislike Mary. I think she’s often demonized, quite unfairly, and that she had many good qualities. She was intelligent, well-educated, witty, and charming. She was by all accounts an excellent, devoted mother. Without her, Lincoln probably never would have been president. I believe she cared for him, and that he loved her after a fashion as well (he adored his children as much as she did, and even if theirs was no grand romance, I imagine he would’ve had a love for the mother of his children, whoever she was). 

That said…

Mary was emotionally unstable, horribly insecure (did I just describe myself?), more and more paranoid as the presidency/war went on, and was, unfortunately, an easy target for vicious attacks in the press. Lincoln was already less than popular, and his “Southern” wife whose well-off family, some of whom owned slaves and fought for the Confederacy, was an obvious scapegoat, though through no fault of her own. She really didn’t help either him or herself by wildly overspending (on herself and on White House renovations) or by becoming obsessed with spiritualism following the death of their son in 1862. Of course both the Lincolns felt that loss very keenly, but Mary’s increasing erratic behavior afterwards only created more strain for Lincoln. He was prone to depression anyway and was, at that time, already at breaking point mentally/emotionally. To complicate things even further, Mary was also very easily manipulated by anyone who wanted something from her husband. Even people in Lincoln’s own administration didn’t like her, eve going so far as to call her the “Hellcat”.

Honestly? No person is perfect, and often hindsight doesn’t do them any favors. I’ve read the biographies of several first ladies now (one on Abigail Adams, one on Mary, and am currently reading one on Eleanor Roosevelt) and they all had their flaws. It comes down, frankly, to personal preference and to the fact that I adore Lincoln. Even if I was super interested his wife, he is my number one favorite historical figure and has been for so long that I don’t remember a time when he wasn’t, so Mary would already be playing catch-up for me? 

tl;dr I’m not super interested in Mary, but her personality–despite her many good qualities–just doesn’t appeal to me? I’m Just Not That Into Her?? I also think I see things in Mary’s personality that reflect things I don’t like about myself (as noted above) and also things I don’t like about my mother, but that’s…a whole different topic. Some other first ladies (see: Abigail and Eleanor) are among my other favorite historical figures, so…it’s really all subjective?

I will say that I think Mary got a raw deal. She was branded as a traitor and a Confederate spy, which she wasn’t at all. Heck, her home state of Kentucky (which was also the state of Lincoln’s birth represent) didn’t even secede, even if members of her family fought for the Confederacy. She was present when her husband was killed, which could’ve only been horrific for her, and afterwards she got vilified by people like William Herndon. Then her third son (Tad) died, and her only living son (Robert) institutionalized her for being supposedly insane–a betrayal no matter how you slice it even if her behavior was erratic. People continued to take advantage of her, such as when they “photographed” her with the “ghost” of her husband. Finally, this traumatized, grief-stricken woman died believing she was impoverished when, in reality, she was able to live in perfect comfort and financial security.

Maybe part of what I don’t like about her boils down to the complexities of the marriage? It wasn’t an altogether happy one, and Lincoln must have had serious doubts about even going through with it–after all, the courtship was fairly drawn-out and he broke off their engagement at one time. There’s an anecdote, for instance, (it’s late and I haven’t read the biographies of anyone involved for some time, so I can’t cite sources) about Mary once angrily chasing Lincoln down the street in Springfield with a broom. Even if that’s exaggerated, she had a notorious temper, and Lincoln, a history of depression. He was also away from home for long stretches of time because of his career, and at the beginning of their marriage, he didn’t make the kind of money to provide Mary–a Todd of Kentucky!–with the kind of lifestyle to which she was accustomed. They lived in a boarding house for at least a couple of years, and their eldest son was born there. There’s no way that didn’t cause some tension right from the start.

However, I do think their mutual ambitions–Mary was more “refined” and certainly better-educated than Lincoln, had valuable political connections (including to his hero Henry Clay), and was basically a sounding board/adviser for him–and their deep love for their boys helped bind them together as a couple. Mary insisted after he died that Lincoln was in love with her and that he’d never loved any other woman, which I think is…well, not true on either count? But again, I do think Lincoln loved her. She was important to him in many different ways. He may have regretted proposing to her and even regretted, to some extent, actually marrying her, but he was attracted to her and by her personality, otherwise they never would’ve begun a courtship to begin with!

So again tl;dr, I don’t think the Lincoln marriage was outright miserable. I think that affection existed between Lincoln and Mary, in particular after the births (and deaths) of their sons. Being Mary’s husband had very clear advantages for Lincoln’s career. But I do think they were a rather Odd Couple and that, once Lincoln became president, Mary’s Todd connections became a burden rather than a boon. Her spending habits, paranoia, and naivete cost Lincoln valuable time and energy in the White House when he already had the “momentous issue” of the war with which to cope. Who knows if they would’ve settled into a contented retirement with one another, seeing their grandchildren born, if things had gone differently? Maybe. I like to think so, anyway.

Ann Rutledge was the love of Lincoln’s life, if you ask me. Sure, the human memory can be faulty–but are the collective memories of 100+ people faulty?? I don’t know, maybe. It is, of course, entirely possible that Lincoln and Ann were just good friends and that there was never (as many, many people from New Salem who knew them claimed) an “understanding” between them. Either way, though, Ann and Lincoln met privately while she was on her deathbed–after which her sister Nancy thought hat Lincoln looked “sad and broken-hearted”–and after her death, Lincoln’s friends feared for his life, so intense was his grief. 

Ann was remembered by her friends and family as intelligent, kind, beautiful, and someone who “loved everybody.” Her death at such a young age was a tragedy, one that scarred Lincoln no matter what the true nature of their relationship was. Had Ann had lived, though, I imagine that Lincoln would never have become president…and that would’ve been a real tragedy. Still, the hugely sentimental part of me still wishes that she would’ve lived and married him and made him happy, because his life as it was (for all his funny stories and famous sense of humor) was in many ways a series of unfortunate tragic events, and it breaks my heart.

I apologize that this is long and rambling and undetailed, or at least nonspecific. It’s late, I’m tired, and I haven’t brushed up on my Lincoln reading in quite a while, but uh, as you can see, I have plenty of opinions to make up for it…

edit: Forgot to recommend the excellent book The Shadows Rise: Abraham Lincoln and the Ann Rutledge Legend, which is what first convinced me of the factual nature of their relationship.

[mintywolf]

are you going a different direction with your comic? either way I'm still excited to see where it goes :0

Yes. :) (Well - different from the game, anyway. Guardian has been building up to this all along.) I’m excited about it too!

[thenamelessdoll]

Hey question, when you the last 2 parts of the To Belong series, have you thought of like combining all of them into a "movie" ? That would be super neat to see it all in one big go.

Yes, I do have such plans! ;) 

Then I will be able to go back and fix old spelling mistakes, and it will be interesting to see how much I've developed as an editor while working on it. :)

[iamthewhalelord]

so my roommate does this thing where she post’s her “first day of class” and “last day of class” selfies on facebook and this year I was also in the selfie. after making it my profile picture, my aunt decided to say this

[villainous-oc-review]

Also you still do creepypasta ocs? because yall reviewed one of mine way back in the day and im fixing her and would like a review (sometime when i get it done )

Yup, I do!

[harlejokerx]

could you do a one shot where the reader is Leger Joker's best friend and sister/sibling and reader is dating Leto Joker? also im happy you guys are back i love and missed you !!!

Awwwhhh

[eviesketchy]

Hey Evie, first off I wanted to say hi and your art is always so bright and lovely to look through also, out of curiosity do you have any Nightlight or Katherine Head canons?

I wish I had a better answer to this!  I really don’t sadly.  I have a lot of headcanons about the Lunanoffs, but when it comes to Nightlight and Katherine, I’m so uncreative XD  I just take what Joyce has written and read it over and over like a true fangirl!

[spirit-of-vengeance]

@paintbrushtheelf

signs as wlw: taurus x scorpio

[inkgluttony]

-kicks open the door- "I love you you beautiful bean" -jumps out the window-

“Oh. Okay then, random per-”

Wait a minute-

“HEY, YER GONNA BREAK A LEG DOIN’ THAT! STOP IT!”

[spirit-of-vengeance]

@flossinspector @nightmarinqs @gatekeeperoftheunderworld @mr-mansnoozie @dreamsandmiracles @nikolaus-stnorth @nxghtlight @mischiefandnightmares @motherovernature @paintbrushtheelf @black-equals-mysoul @50shadesofpitchblack @nochildmissed

[cozycryptidcorner]

Rules: tag nine people you want to get to know better Tagged by @paintbrushtheelf

Top 3 ships: Rey and Kylo Ren from Star Wars, Lexa and Clarke from The 100, and Chidi and Eleanor from The Good Place. 

Last song: Boss Bitch by Doja Cat

Last movie: Under the Tuscan Sun

Currently reading: Warcross by Marie Lu

What food are you craving right now: Good ol’ fashioned shrimp and grits.

I don’t know a whole lot of people so... @what-big-teeth, @terato-is-life, @thetravelerwrites, @monstersandmaw, @lukeios, @rofax

[mintywolf]

otp question time? Rikku and Yuna with 17?

17. Who says I love you first?

Rikku! (And I think she was really close to it in that scene in X-2 where they’re talking about Shuyin’s world-destroying despair at knowing Lenne was going to die and then Rikku takes Yuna’s hands and tells her she knows how he felt.) I think it’d take her a little while longer after that to blurt it out but she’d be first to confess.

[paininmyassachusetts]

Y o so every single fricken Kmart I went in, in different cities all made me feel depressed and lonely like I was stuck in limbo. ALL OF THEM. I saw you commented on the fact that they all made you feel sad too what is this? and what did they make you feel? :o

Basically the same way tbh. They just feel so... strange on the inside