#solitude sometimes is

[mitjalovse]

I did claim Tony Visconti could be one of the chief architects of British popular music. However, he didn't work much in Britpop, unless you count his production for several groups that got adjacent to the category thanks to them being present at the time of the genre's heyday. One such example could be Manic Street Preachers, yet he only worked on them after the whole Britpop thing was over, so he didn't really mold their sound in the imperial phase of the style. Still, Lifeblood does show Manics possess a certain something they never let go of even now. They continue to be a group, which rarely seems to be settled into what they represent. What that might be? Oh, this question deserves a whole debate, not just a post.

[pizzaqueen]

Rest Stop

Written for the prompt ‘rest’ for @steddiemicrofic

387 words / rated T / pre-slash

Recreational drug use

There’s a rest stop on the decommissioned road a little ways out of Hawkins. It’s not a lot of anything, a tin roof over a picnic table, but Steve likes it. Thinks of it as ‘his’ spot, even though Tommy H told him about it. But it’s a good place to be alone. To, well, rest.

And, sure, Hawkins is full of places like that, quiet, empty places, and alone isn’t something Steve likes to be that much, but nights like tonight…

He sighs, tips his beer to his lips. It doesn’t hit him often, but when it does, it’s a restless itch; he can get away from Hawkins, from his house, his job, his nonexistent love life, but he can’t get away from that feeling. Out here he gets close, though.

Tonight, his solitude is short-lived. Footsteps make Steve tense, and a deep voice cuts through the night: “Steve?”

The tension drains; Steve turns. “Hey, Eddie.”

Eddie blinks. “I found you.” He scratches his head, nods at the table Steve’s sitting on. “Mind if I…?”

“It’s a free country.”

“So I’m told.” Eddie’s lips quirk; he sits beside Steve, pulling a joint from his jacket. He waggles it; Steve nods.

“Why were you looking for me?”

An orange flame sparks from Eddie’s lighter, catching the end of the joint. “I wasn’t.” Eddie takes a drag, gives the joint to Steve.

“You said you found me…”

“Don’t have to be looking for you to find you.”

Steve shakes his head. “All right.” He takes a hit, relishing the pleasant buzz, passes it back.

“What brings the valiant Sir Steve out here?”

“I like the quiet.”

“That a hint for me to shut my yap?”

“No.” Steve knocks their shoulders together. “I like listening to you talk.” Why did he say that? He doesn’t really care. Huh.

Surprise flickers over Eddie’s face, but it settles into something pleased. “Good.” He winks. “Because I have plenty of stories to tell.”

After a few moments, Steve says, “Well,” waving his hand, “go ahead.”

Eddie’s eyes sparkle; he starts talking, gesticulating wildly, and Steve realizes the restlessness is gone. Maybe it’s the weed. He’s pretty sure it’s all Eddie.

Okay. Something to look at later. For now, he basks in Eddie’s voice and the easy, restful feeling of being near him.

[vesna-v-irkutske]

in your opinion, are there a lot of russian tccers?

I think so, yeah. People come and go, obviously, but there are hundreds of thousands of people. Okay, maybe a little less than that, and some are more "deep" than the others, of course, but still.

To be honest, I haven't had much interactions with Russian tccers in recent ~4 years, but now, because of my hyperfixation, yes, kinda. Well, it's not like I'm talking to them in DMs (and I don't really want to), I'm just observing while I'm looking for info or something. And I see a few here, obviously. 👋🏻 And I periodically receive notifications about someone's videos about various crimes & perpetrators (popular or not), so this stuff definitely has an audience. But I think it's more "casual" on YouTube.

In recent years, all this has been blocked more and more often (RIP to my favorite VK community dedicated to Dahmer and one great site about serial killers (mostly Soviet/Russian ones); I blame it all on kids with guns trying to repeat something that happened more than 20 years ago, they attract attention, and everyone gets blocked or worse), so many have laid low, so to speak. But they're still lurking somewhere. Where? Who knows. Mostly Telegram, I assume, but blocks aren't that rare there, it's not as safe as you may believe.

[solitairedreamer]

Asocial

I don’t hate people. I just don’t like being around them for too long.

Socializing feels like a performance—one I never signed up for. The small talk, the forced smiles, the constant pressure to be on. It drains me in ways I can’t even explain.

I like my own company. The quiet, the stillness, the freedom to just exist without expectation. I don’t crave constant interaction, and honestly, I don’t see why that’s such a bad thing.

But sometimes, I wonder—do people see me as cold? Distant?

Do they mistake my silence for indifference?

Because the truth is, I do care. I just show it differently.

I’d rather sit in comfortable silence than force a conversation. I’d rather have one deep connection than a hundred surface-level friendships. And I’d rather be alone than surrounded by people who don’t really see me.

Maybe that makes me asocial.

Or maybe I just value my peace more than I fear loneliness.

[fervonian]

alt verse: star guardian.

name. irelia xan colour. pink year. four blood type. O+ hobby. cooking favourite food. cold soba noodles favourite subject. gymnastics proficiency. blade manipulation quote. " remember what's been lost; fight for what hasn't been. "

about star guardian irelia. irelia had her home destroyed by the influence of the dark star. she took the oath of the first star amidst the ruins of her family home. she worked alone for a few decades before linking up with a team; one of the members being kayn ( @umbane ) who is later corrupted by rhaast on a mission gone wrong… all she remembers is seeing an explosion of dark star magic as he picked up the scythe before she was knocked out.

when she later reawakened in a hospital bed, all she's told is that he went mad, and that he was the one who turned on her team and killed them. confronted by the pain of betrayal and her anger towards her former teammate, irelia swore to seek out the former teammate and exact revenge.

irelia was once an enthusiastic and cheerful leader of her former team. the loss of her loved ones may have hardened her outer walls, but they've also hardened her will to destroy the monsters that threaten the forces of light. though jaded and a little tough on newer guardians, she hides both her sensitive heart and her quest to find kayn, the one remaining connection to her past.

meet her magical medium. hana is a draconic familiar which represents irelia's love for dancing. introverted and quiet, the creature only shows his playful side to irelia herself. hana often joins irelia when she is dancing, twirling around her effortlessly with his iridescent scales shimmering in the light. he transforms into irelia's floating blades when any potential threat shows itself... including if anybody tries to steal a bite of his favourite meal cooked by his master.

[the-witch-of-woods-beyond]

can we please finally talk about how can’t catch me now is literally clarke griffin’s anthem post praimfaya: believed dead and mourned for six years by spacekru, but she unburied herself from the wreck of their departure and crawled across the dessert to build a home in the last piece of earth left, waiting years for her people to return and nurturing the land they then fought for and destroyed all while raising the last true commander of the twelve clans.

[bluesidez]

pride month almost over and not a single kiss from a girl 😪

pride month almost over and I’m sure no boy will be near these lips 😪

[supurman-a]

this is here i rp if you guys were wondering.

[noctupede]

I wanna ramble about solitude. So I will! I just kinda wanna ramble about general information about the world

Solitude

Solitude takes place in a fictional town, located on the coast of England named: Nóctufjörður. It was made by Icelanders immigrating in the 1920s, hence the icelandic name.

However, it has also gotten the nickname of the nocturnal town.

Species within solitude:

- Anomaly: a non-human entity that is capable of turning humans into oddities. These are the least human of all species, but are at times capable of hiding completely into human society

- oddity: human that had been altered by an anomaly, once altered fully they become abnormals. Oddities do not have fully non-human features, but may have small features such as abnormally sharp teeth or spirals of the eyes.

- abnormal: a fully turned oddity. They are similar to anomalies in looks but are incapable of turning humans into oddities, but their own mental state can affect how human they are.

- humans: just normal humans

- distortions: rare form of abnormal that happens extremely rarely and is a temporary state. The abnormal will affect the place around them, similar to glitches in games. This can be deadly for those around.

I think that's enough in terms of info for now because I am tired

[remembertheplunge]

Lew Moments

“…the very poor lack spokesmen in the shape of writers. Writers come predominantly from the middle class in which privacy is more easily obtainable, and in which solidarity with friends and neighbors is not so stringently demanded..” From the book  Solitude p. 82 by Anthony Storr.

My margin note to the above: (written in the margin of page 82 of the Solitude book)

"I give friends and neighbors the light touch. I crave and savor Lew moments! "10/31/2009 Saturday 7:50am

N: 7/2/2024

About 15 years since I wrote the above margin note and I still crave Lew moments. At that time , I had to work those moments into my time with my partner Jim. But, Jim’s liver failed and he died November 9, 2009, just 10 days after I wrote the above margin note. I went through months of intense mourning after his death, but emerged with a strong desire to have "Lew moment' writing sessions.

I enjoy time with my friends, but, I crave time with my inner scribe.

[melpcmene]

As someone who constantly keeps pins and needles in their foot. I know for a fact that Sonic has never felt such a thing in his life. His feet/legs do not get numb. Because he's running, always moving. ( Plus he stretches! He keeps in shape all the time. ) And he may freak out one day when he does get it. ( Especially if somewhere along the line, Sonic gets trapped by Eggman for like six months. Oh, I hope that doesn't happen at all! )

[tavlerone]

WAIT MY ONCELER FANDOM ANNIVERSARY WAS 3 DAYS AGO? NOOOO

Well, Happy belated birthday to 1 year onceling me!

[tespianmage]

[NOT CANON]

A continuation to this comic I did a while back with Tessie and Xavier

Putting the two comics together, uuhhh Duality of Man or something I dunno (they are meant to be complimentary to each other in some form)

[rosecoloredknight]

life is pretty much about learning to love your solitude and making the most of it huh?

[dividedsingularity]

What is MACHINE?

I offered that I'd make a mini-comic explaining whatever element or concept from my story that my friends asked for, and that ended up being Machine! It's not so 'mini' after all and there were some challenges but I think it does the job, so ENJOY!! As always with MoS, ask about anything and everything you'd like and it'll be my pleasure to talk about it. To clarify, when Alex says "Phoenix", he's referring to Phoenix Research, his workplace.

Transcript of all image text is under the cut, divided by page.

MACHINE is a brilliant feat of engineering of its time, and one of Phoenix's proudest achievements. The name is actually an acronym; Moonlight Applicability Converter for HIgh eNergy Endeavours. (you know how much scientists love to have fun with names…)

As the name suggests, it was built to exploit the special properties of moonlight and serve as a power source for other projects. I joined the project in its construction stage, when all the design details were already worked out.

To simplify, it collects the moon's light via the lunar panels mounted up on the surface, densifies it, cools it down, among others, while processing it into a liquid, which is then distributed across the facilities to wherever needed. If adjustments to the process are necessary, anything breaks down, or somebody simply wants to observe the parameters more closely, there's a control station room at the top of it in addition to the panels on ground level.

It takes some work to get up, though. That's how it all used to be, at least. Another group of dedicated engineers managed to downscale the system enough that every room can have their own mini-converter, rendering the original unnecessary. I even made use of one of those in my project!

There's talk of repurposing the apparatus sometime in the future, but as it is, the whole thing has fallen into disrepair. We don't really visit that part of the facilities anymore. I wonder if it gets lonely…

[rainc0at]

FEBRUARY IS NEARLY OVER GUYS!! HOLD THIS LAST WEEK IN YOUR HANDS AND MAKE IT MAGIC!!! READ!!! DANCE!!! SING!!! SURROUND YOURSELF WITH BEAUTIFUL THINGS - SUCH AS: LAUGHTER (EVEN IF IT'S YOUR OWN) AND ART AND GOOD FOOD!! INJECT SO MUCH LOVE AND BEAUTY INTO THIS FINAL WEEK!! WE WILL NEVER GET IT BACK!! MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL!!