#so one must make due

[an-internet-introvert]

Countdown to October 19th (10/19)

So Long London Apartment

[dykedvonte]

Honestly I see Jimmy's refusal to put Curly out of his misery less about his weird feelings of envy or his delusions but the fact Curly is all but stated to be a shield to Jimmy from his actions and people seeing the worst in him.

The only characters that Jimmy really interacts with one on one before the crash are Curly and Anya, two individuals he has wildly different relationships with. It's likely that Curly really did most of the talking between them as the pilots and the rest of the crew as staff. They didn't know of Jimmy's more reprehensible behaviors cause they never really had the chance to and Jimmy is subconsciously aware. If they had disliked him more than Anya would have told Swansea earlier or even Daisuke when things got really bad.

It's why he takes the immediate opportunity to blame Curly; He's the shield. He's saved Jimmy's ass more times than he can count and more times than Jimmy would ever admit. Even when he can't really do it anymore, he mentally shields himself from his own faults by putting Curly between them. Letting Curly die puts too much on him because he doesn't know how to function without a safety net.

In the end Curly only lives because Jimmy needs the idea that Curly will inevitably make things better to stay alive, meaning Curly has to live, no matter how much it pains him to do so.

[sapphorror]

Zim, Dib, Gaz, and Tak are actually all horribly vindictive spiteful people to more or less equal degrees, but the interesting thing is that Zim and Gaz both exact vengeance in very specific, premeditated ways, which are often wildly out of proportion but once they feel like they've evened the score they will pretty much immediately forget about whatever pissed them off in the first place—whereas Dib and Tak are both ostensibly above being ruled by petty grudges, but very obviously boiling over with a constant resentment that sends them pouncing like rabid dogs at even the slightest opportunity or excuse to make the object of their ire suffer (and if they're both working towards their own self-serving end game that just HAPPENS to involve every terrible thing imaginable befalling their enemies, well... that'll just be a happy by-product of their personal success).

I don't I have any point to make here, I just like it when these freaks are all an overwhelming danger to society (and each other)

[moeblob]

Silent Protagonist.

[battleclawed]

What if the Sacred Orb survived and was the most doomed girl to ever live... long-ish OC lore under the cut

In my AU, the Battle of the Burning is pushed back a little bit, so Kludd gets to be an alive dad to both the Sacred Orb and Coryn for a while. Don't worry he still dies

I've named my Sacred Orb OC Guinevere as a nod to Kludd and Nyra's Lancelot/Guinevere-ness (bonus points because the root for "Guin" means "white"). She goes by Gwen in daily life, though Nyra likes to use her full name.

Gwen is Kludd's mini-me, right down to her appearance. When Gwen is still very young, she's closer to her mother, but as she gets older and her parents tell her about their plans and her role as heir, her father becomes her entire world.

(As far as Kludd's parenting goes, I can't imagine he likes babies at all so he's in distant father mode until Gwen starts actually having a personality, at which point he's like "Wait. This thing (my child) worships me and I get to tell it what to do and mold it into whatever I want? Sick this rules")

Gwen's worldview and sense of self are entirely built upon the idea that she is not only superior to all non-Tyto owls but also superior to everyone--she hatched from the Sacred Orb, she is the most Pure, she is the perfect heir who will inherit her father's kingdom.

The first crack in this view is the birth of Coryn (who's still Nyroc at this point). Nyra starts paying more attention to Coryn because he's born on the eclipse, which irks Gwen. She's the one who hatched from the Sacred Orb; who cares about some moon magic?

Gwen develops a complex about not being an eclipse baby and takes it out on her little brother, but otherwise ignores him. She thinks he's weird in classic mean big sister fashion. They are not close.

Before Kludd dies, Gwen is unshakably confident; she is, after all, the perfect heir, a great fighter, a Tyto Most Pure, just like her invincible, infallible father, right? The world will be hers one day. She is perfect, her family is perfect, and nothing will ever go wrong.

(Also, there's no way Kludd and Nyra are letting their precious heirs kill each other, so Gwen's TUPSI is her friend Cinder, a Lesser Sooty. Cinder was born into the Pure Ones, completely buys into their ideology, and is perfectly honored to be a sacrifice.)

("I'm honored that my death will make you purer," Cinder whispers. "I'm so happy to die for you." Gwen can't afford to hesitate. Her father is watching.)

Kludd dies in the AU equivalent of the Battle of the Burning, which completely shatters Gwen's worldview. After his death, she takes on the title of High Tyto, dons his mask and his battle claws, but they don't quite fit. She tries to be strong just like her father, but she slowly starts to crack.

Coryn still has firesight, so he still leaves for the Great Tree after seeing visions in the flames of Kludd's final ceremony. Nyra is deeply upset by this. Gwen is glad her mother belongs only to her again, but also plagued by the idea that maybe her mother would prefer for Coryn to have become the High Tyto instead.

In the wake of her father's death, sometimes Gwen wishes her mother would hug her and hold her like she's a chick again, but she knows that can never happen. She's the High Tyto now. She can't afford to show weakness.

Gwen is a good soldier but not as talented of a commander as her father was (or at least, she believes he was). The Pure Ones lose battle after battle after battle under her command, which only makes her spiral even further. (She puts on a facade of confidence to mask this. It mostly works.)

Nyra and Gwen argue constantly after Gwen becomes the High Tyto. Nyra wishes her daughter would obey her. Gwen wishes her mother would trust her abilities. They're all the other has left and yet they make each other miserable.

("I'm the High Tyto," Gwen says. "I'm the one in charge." Nyra counters by pointing out that she is the one born on the eclipse, the one with the great enchantment. Gwen resents her mother more and more, but she has no one else to rely on.)

She wonders if maybe Nyroc would've been better. Maybe it should've been him after all? Maybe this is all because she wasn't born on the eclipse. Maybe she was the wrong choice, except she can't be wrong because that would mean Cinder died for nothing. She can't be wrong because that would mean her father (who taught her and raised her and believed in her) would be wrong too, and that just isn't possible.

Coryn obtains the Ember of Hoole and becomes king of the Great Tree. Gwen wishes she'd been allowed to kill him in her TUPSI after all.

During their final confrontation, Gwen corners Coryn and tries to kill him--tries to avenge her father, defend the legacy he left her, justify her entire existence--but can't go through with it. (It's all too much. She wishes she was still a hatchling. She wishes her father was still alive. She wishes none of this had ever happened at all.)

Gwen surrenders, but, seized by the need to not disappoint her father even after his death, tries to kill Coryn one more time in an act of betrayal. She almost succeeds, but is stabbed through the back by Twilight.

Gwen dies a bloody death, just like her father. As the world grows dark, she wonders if he's proud of her.

[skunkes]

i loooove when ocs unrealized development makes them feel like real people like no i dont know whether talon is genuinely attracted to women after years of both clinging to them for safety and years of putting them onto that untouchable idealized Perfect Protector Pedestal that must remain untainted by any bad experiences, so he doesn't even try to Be With any. He doesn't know either

[alfhildr-the-word-weaver]

Shoutout to Long Face by the Vampire Lestat for being an actual real song that actually made it onto my top 100 songs this year btw. Do you think Lestat will make one of those little "thank you fans" videos to thank all of us who streamed his music?

[tale-of-two-queens]

Hiii I have an art request! Can you draw Greylock celebrating having taken over Rudistan? Wearing King Magnus's crown and setting off fireworks or something :]

GOSH!!! Your ask made me so happy snjsns

-

So sorry for taking too long, last week I went on a break due to heavy stress as making submissions for college apparently is hell on wheels- but also taking a moment to clear your mind does help you focus better and have fun. You can take is as

I did my best to draw Grey lock, i loved his features but gosh it was a hard to balance it as...apparently quality for reference hates me. Either way, I do think he could have been a better king that Magnus/hj

[guildling]

i appreciate him very much

[skitskatdacat63]

Happy 5/14!!!!

Aaaaahh not sure if this is my best work 😭 I just really wanted to draw smth for vettonso day but my brain hasn't really been functioning well LOL so I kept dreading working on this, especially bcs its so important to me, y'know? I hope it's good????? I'm happy with the concept, but I was just so unsure on so many of the angles and it was killing me. I did the color thing bcs I thought it'd add something interesting to it :) since I didn't paint it as I usually would

Anyways! Process!

Now I will explain all of them:

Boy king au is where it all starts of course. I think their relationship is the most developed in this compared to the others, but at the same point, they just start from such a different point, especially affection-wise. All of these kinda have a power dynamic, except the last one, and this is the most imbalanced. Fernando is being subservient, the only part of Seb he may kiss(in public lol) is his hand.

Matador au next. They hurt themselves when they try to be affectionate, because they live in the culture of a sport of violence and death. The sword separates them, their love for the sport keeps them apart, in fear that they hurt each other. Seb, yet again, looks down upon Fernando. Seb haunts Fernando's whole career, the constant overhanging presence. Also aside from that, shame that you can't see his three musketeers look bcs of the black background 😔

2012 core!!! I think this one is pretty easy to understand. Both of them often kiss their trophies, more so than any driver. So they're both trying to claim the wdc trophy by kissing it. Maybe you guys should just get rid of the trophy altogether and claim each other! But yes, just like the sword in the matador au one, the trophy and their ambitions divides, keeps them from ever bridging the vast gap between them, at least at that point in time.

The conclusion! Aka what I wish we will get at Imola 2024- kidding kidding. But it is 2024. Finally there is no conflict between them, there's no big thing keeping them in conflict, they can finally come together. Finally they can touch, there is no gap to bridge, they can appreciate each other, and appreciate what they failed to in years past.

The thesis is basically that they always have their aspirations between them, and their aspirations happen to be basically the same thing. Until those are resolved, the gap between them is too vast for them to recognize and/or find any commonality. How do you get along with someone when you're both fighting for the same thing? How do you get along when it feels like one of you is winning more? How do you get along when there's such a vast gap?

In boy king au, it's going to take a while before they both feel settled about the issue of the throne. That's what makes that au interesting, they're trapped in this state of non-closure and they have to actually solve their issues without the matter of one of them simply removing themselves from the equation. They have to find a way to get over themselves and their aspirations, because like it or not they're stuck with each other. I think with the hand kissing, it represents how Fernando, at that point, is only willing to play along with the game if it's tradition, and he often won't budge in other ways. Yes, I will show subservience, but only in this detached, formal way that I don't connect personally to. He's still holding his own bitterness over meaningfully appreciating Seb. Though it's not like Seb isn't at fault. It takes a while for him to not hold things over Fernando, and constantly humiliate him. One day they will meaningfully show affection, and it won't be some sort of power play.

I think matador au is pretty similar to real life, and the 2010s era(it's basically just their actual plot line but in the context of bullfighting.) They're forever going to have this big elephant in the room, and it only really gets resolved when one of them leaves the sport. Once they're not fighting directly against each other, they realize what they've been missing out on and what they were not appreciating for so many years beforehand. They finally come together because they can't just rely anymore on the sport keeping them together. They actually have to make that step to be in each other's lives, rather than just taking their presence for granted.

Also the text on the comic. "We keep missing, and missing, and missing, and finally kissing." It's basically: we keep missing the point of it all, we keep failing to appreciate each other presence in our lives and in our own individual grand stories. But when we're not forced together anymore, we have to make the choice to come together again ourselves. We keep missing what we actually need to do. Missing each other in favor of our aspirations. Etc etc. One day we will finally embrace and there will be nothing keeping us apart.

[fictionadventurer]

Potential September Reading

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (ideally in audio)

An English Squire by Christabel R. Coleridge

A Sherlock Holmes story (and/or a screen adaptation)

C.S. Lewis nonfiction

A sensation or mystery novel

A piece of one of the Psmith stories

Some kind of nonfiction book

[bumblingbabooshka]

B'Elanna, Neelix, Tuvok and Chakotay needed to star in an episode where they just talked about their different beliefs and approaches to spirituality/religion. Paired off and all together. I need to gain more insight. I need characterization and I need it to be messy.

[distressed-bird]

Kalina is the most interesting character to me because of all she has going on…

she is Cassandra’s familiar, she is simultaneously a pet and a friend and a servant and a family to a goddexx that is simultaneously her owner and friend and creator and parent and her god and reason to be—Kalina’s relationship to Cassandra is hard to put a name or label on (since what does being a familiar even mean?) but the bottomline is that this cat loves her deity enough to put everything and everyone on the line for her…

And adding in that she is a child of divorce. So to speak. I am extremely normal and haven’t been driven mad by the detail that baby itty bitty kitty Kalina was at Cassandra’s wedding to Ankarna and is remembered to have been toddling after her as she walked down the aisle…

Kalina will be the death of me /lh

[iamyounicorn]

there is a story trying to form in my head that sounds like a perfect plot for one of those yaois you read once and never find again, which sucks because I am so bad at drawing comics bigger than one silly page

[icewindandboringhorror]

currently at That Point which occurs once every few months where one briefly begins pacing around the house teary eyed contemplating selling their own organs or becoming an online scammer or getting on anxiety meds so you can bear the risk taking required to be a hitman or so on and so forth.... why must everything so Expensive... Surely all would be healed in life if only I had one big plate of lasagna and a simple loan of $40,000 ... auoughhh....

[darkshrimpemotions]

Actually the implications of John also being bisexual are so fucking tasty to me because like. OG John has no support system and no protection against the world except his own perceived strength so he learns to ferret out anything that can possibly be seen as weakness to those around him and that includes any affection or attraction he might feel towards men because nothing screams "stay in your fucking closet" like spending all your time around a fringe subculture of serial killing doomsday preppers in the Midwest during the Reagan era.

By the time he notices Dean starting to look a little too long at boys his age, he's probably convinced himself that whatever he felt (still feels but ignores) was a temporary youthful indiscretion, and of course Dean can't afford those, doesn't get to have those, he's got to be a soldier. He's got to be a better soldier than John, even.

I dunno I've just had enough conversations with family members who are loudly but somehow also mildly homophobic and yet say or do things that make me *eyeballs emoji* not to think this is not only possible but arguably likely.