#point one hides point two

[summonthebats]

Edwin's magic ???

Odd thing about Edwin’s magic use is, you’d sort of think he’d be better at it?

Very smart and studious, probably at this for twenty years or more but still gets the books out for each spell? We do stan a careful wielder of supernatural fuckery but ‘gestures towards the cats’ he is not that.

So, what if he is better than he seems?

What if the first spells he learnt were in Hell, and they are cruel. They are unavoidably cruel.

And he got out and met Charles.

Charles is good. Charles is kind. Charles literally died trying to stop a hate crime. Charles would surely be shocked and destressed were Edwin to use such unnecessarily cruel spells. So Edwin does not use those spells. He can learn others. He will learn others.

But it turns out overwriting the first magic you learnt is more difficult than that. He studies and he practices and still the first spell in mind is always from Hell. It is the fire that burns souls or the ice that forms inside skin or the bindings made of thorns. It is the cruel spell.

It would upset Charles, if Edwin were cruel. And Charles has the Bag, they can bring the books. He does not have to be cruel so he won’t be. And if that means checking every spell and its context before using it so be it. That can be done. There is no need to distress Charles.

(Charles would take his best mate slapping problems with a horrifically painful hogtie over Edwin ever getting hurt any day. But Edwin doesn’t ask.)

Maybe after Port Townsend Edwin finds that he can use the painless binding spell. Maybe a reset from Hell, or a side effect of the Cat King’s binding, or even Ester using it on him even if she made it cruel. Maybe he gets one bit of magic that can be gentle.

But maybe, one day, someone makes the mistake of taking Charles.

Charles cannot be distressed if he is not here, or whole, or well enough to notice what magic Edwin has cast. And then it is discovered that Edwin Payne is really rather good at magic.

Much to his distress.

[buttercupshands]

can you even call it a warm up if I'm going to bed without drawing anything big

and a sketch I made while sitting in the park today

[untitledgoosegay]

re last reblog I do see fanfic culture pushing/replicating a certain model of "what trauma looks like," "how trauma works"

this is a problem across all areas of society obviously, but transformative works are, well, transformative. they're about crafting and modifying narratives where the fan-creator sees a flaw or a lack -- often for the better! don't get me wrong, I've done my fair share of "I take a hammer and I fix the canon," it's the main thing that gets my creative gears spinning -- but what happens when that "flaw" is simply a narrative not conforming to popular expectations?

some people just don't get PTSD from events that sound obviously traumatic. they're not masking, and they're not coping; they just straight-up didn't get the permanently-locked stress-response that defines PTSD. they walk away from a horrible experience going "well, that sucked, but it's over now." some people do get PTSD from events most people wouldn't find traumatic. we don't really know why some people get PTSD and others don't. but fandom has an idea of events that must be traumatizing, of a "correct" way to portray trauma. you see the problems with this lack of understanding in e.g. fans pressuring the devs of Baldur's Gate 3 to add dialogue where the player character badgers Halsin about his own feelings on his abuse -- because he must be traumatized, and his trauma must fit a certain mold and presentation of sexual trauma, under the mistaken impression that anything outside that narrow window is somehow "wrong" and disrespectful or even harmful to survivors.

take, for another example, the very common trope of a traumatized character who hates touch or sex "learning" to like touch or sex as a part of their healing process. certainly that can be healing for some people; other people will never like, or want, touch or sex, because of trauma or because they just don't. the assumption that someone who doesn't want sex or doesn't like to be touched must be traumatized, must be suffering from this perceived lack, is seriously harmful -- to asexual people, to people with sensory issues around touch, and to people for whom healing from trauma means freedom to refuse sex or touch.

and there's a secondary trope, one that's slightly more thoughtful but ultimately repeats the problem -- that once someone has learned that their boundaries will be respected, they'll feel it's safe to soften those boundaries. once they feel safe refusing touch or sex, they'll feel comfortable allowing it on their own terms. but many people don't, and many people won't! many people will simply never want to be touched, and never want sex, and they are not suffering or broken or lacking because of it. the idea that proving you'll respect someone's boundaries entitles you to test those boundaries -- the paradox is obvious, and yet this is something i've seen hurt (re-traumatize) people i care for.

people are imperfect victims. people don't heal in the ways you expect. many people have positive memories of their abuse, of their abusers. many people hurt others in the course of their trauma, in ways that can't easily be unpacked in a 5k oneshot. very few narratives of trauma and recovery actually fit the ones put forward by popular children's media and romance novels -- which are the ones I most see replicated in fandom spaces, because they provide the clearest narrative and easiest catharsis, and so they're easy and soothing to reach for.

that's not necessarily a bad thing! i am not immune to goopy romance tropes. i am not immune to teary catharsis. not every fic has to grapple with ugly realities. but there's a problem when these narratives become predominant, when people think they're accurate and realistic depictions of trauma, when the truth of trauma is unpleasant and uncomfortable, and doesn't fit any single narrative, let alone one of comforting catharsis

[feroluce]

Made a FANTASTIC discovery today regarding the meaning behind Boothill's fourth eidolon, I'm so happy!!! Most of it is just cowboy references, like

Eidolon 1: Dusty Trail's Lone Star- cowboy lingo, the Lone Star of Texas

Eidolon 2: Milestonemonger- more cowboy lingo, someone who roams and wanders

Eidolon 3: Marble Orchard's Guard- yet more cowboy lingo, a term for a graveyard (a fave of mine, because for me it evokes the image of a Church Grim <333)

Eidolon 4: Cold Cuts Chef- ????

Google didn't really provide much on Eidolon 4 like for the first three. Before today I had assumed it was just another movie reference of some sort, since Boothill is like entirely based on/inspired by old Western films.

"Cold cuts" are basically lunch meat/deli meat. It's precooked meat that doesn't need any kind of preparation- you can literally just eat it cold. Since it didn't seem to be a movie reference, I thought oh, maybe it's a nod to his lifestyle? Boothill is unhoused and lives on the run from the IPC with little rest, he doesn't really have the means to cook. Precooked, easy food like that would be a godsend for someone in his circumstances.

Anyway the original Chinese text gives it an entirely different, MUCH wilder meaning fjadskljfkld

love how they chose "celebrity chef" to show his expertise and/or fame in this fjkdlsja

Because no, "cold cuts" isn't cowboy lingo for anything, but cold meat specifically is.

It's how you refer to a corpse.

"Cold Cuts Chef" is not a title talking about his cooking ability, or his life's circumstances, or anything as mundane as that, IT'S ABOUT THE FACT THAT BOOTHILL SPECIALIZES IN DEALING DEATH, THIS MAN IS EXTREMELY SKILLED, AND GOOD AT WHAT HE DOES, AND WHAT HE DOES IS MURDER!!!!!

[lbhslefttiddie]

im so fucking mad. why did i work so hard on this. there isnt even a single gay bitch in this image all i have is latticework and osmanthus studies

[very-poorly-drawn-tgcf]

Go work off that debt Xie Lian! ....with an extra babysitting job.

Meme template for y'all under the cut + examples I made.

Anyway hopefully next episodes won't take too long. The thing is. The Ghost Groom arc is a lot longer than I remember. I'm still racking my brain over how the hell I'm gonna summarize it because I am not going every single instance

[triangular-static]

FEAR and LOVE (I'm not sure there is a difference!)

[ixtab]

Time traveler: *sneezes*

Chapter 62:

[the-gayest-tree-you-ever-did-see]

finally caved and started reading all for the game. two chapters into the foxhole court and what kind of gay fucking shit is this! also did not know there were sports in here

[alien-enjoyer]

oot/mm link is so fucked up like.

you are a 10 year old child, living with other children, and you are different from them. you don’t know how.

you are a child, and you have found other children, supposedly like you.

you watch as your newest friend is torn from you, leaving only an ocarina and knowledge of a sword behind.

you pull the sword from its pedestal and the world goes white.

when you awaken, you are a child in a 17 year old’s body, and the world has turned to ruin in your absence.

you are a child in an adult’s body, yet you begin your quest to defeat the evil that took your friend from you.

you have gotten used to being in a 17 year old’s body, but the first friend you made in your new world has just sent you back to relive the childhood he believes was stolen from you, without even asking your permission. he does not know you’ve gotten used to this life.

you remember your previous life, in this new one. he would not have known.

you are 9 years old. you are an adult in a child’s body.

you face a demon puppeting a child’s body.

you have three days until the moon crashes. the moon crashes. you play a tune, and you have three days until the moon crashes.

you try not to think of yourself when you look at the skull kid, wearing the mask of the demon controlling them.

you try not to think of them when you tear the souls from others and craft them into masks. the agony of donning them is enough.

you do not know how old you are. you are 9 years old. you do not know how many times you have lived three days. you are not 9 years old.

you hold the power of a god in your hands.

you wear the power of a god on your face. you are a god in a child’s body.

you do not know what you are.

[aphidclan-clangen]

Ok, here's an Idea I've had:

U said you coded gravel back into the game right? Well, why not code one of lilacpaw's Siblings into the game! It would Cool to see!

(btw, this is just a suggestion!)

Coding a character in seems to me like a much more involved and complicated process that id rather not bother with at all, as opposed to literally just changing “dead: true” to “dead: false” in the games files. I really don’t wanna bother lol

[whollyjoly]

okay so i saw this on my dash and although i wasnt tagged i just!! really wanted to do the thing!!

shuffle your on repeat playlist and list the first 10 songs:

Julia by Mt. Joy

Wasteland, Baby! by Hozier

Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan

Moody Orange by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan

Wonderful Nothing by Glass Animals

Hide by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

South London Forever by Florence + The Machine

Lips by The xx

Painkillers by Rainbow Kitten Surprise

tagging some people cause fuck yeah!! music is great!!

@thetangycheesemanwithaplan @kyellin @theredrenard @alost-traveler @the-cinnamontography-is-amazing @gourdita @1waveshortofashipwreck

and anyone else who sees this and is inspired like i was!!

happy listening loves 🥰

[skitskatdacat63]

I only wanted to sketch her face and then boom, full drawing. I'll take it!!!!

+ I liked the lineart of her face a lot

Typisch comparisons since I can't help myself

First and most recent vs. newest

Also have this little chibi of her I never finished

[geolato]

Day 4 of reposting my old Dan and Phil art because the old posts are gone phorever apparently.

These are my phavorites so I left them for last <3.

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Please do not repost.

[agendratum]

motivating myself to go out to vote by picking the text posts that i can make new memes with later when i come back. literally like my mom telling me as a kid we can get mcdonalds after some less than exciting activity, but this time it's me, myself and a presidential election

[flowercrowngods]

i don't know how to be merely acquaintances when we used to be friends. or i think we used to be. i don't know how to yearn for a simple hello when you've been heaping your affection on me months ago, and i don't know how to talk to you when you won't say anything. when suddenly it's all about me. you know i have nothing to say, you know my brain is void of everything but horribleness and i cannot tell you about my day because i don't even know about my day. i cannot tell you about my day when i know you won't listen, when i know you'll apply your philosophy to my world and don't believe me when i say that everything is terrible. i don't know how to be the person you seem to think i am, or the person you want in your life. i don't know if you want anyone else in your life now that you're in love and sappy, found another recipient for your affections, leaving me empty and wounded and yearning.

you said you missed me. said it many times, while i was gone. now i'm back, have been back, and i wonder how you missed me, why you missed me, when you won't talk to me. i think you mistook missing for worrying. i think you mistook caring for a feeling of obligation. i think you like missing me more than talking to me.

and i think i can't breathe with how much that hurts