Commission For @nightrainsoldier :D

Did some writing while procrastinating on drawing Cecie’s reference sheets. It’s rough, and I haven’t decided if it’s canonical or not, but here’s a concept for Cecie and Francis meeting (written from Francis’s POV):

Featuring: Cecie (she/they), Francis (they/them)

Mentioning: Maddox (he/him), Inanna (she/it)

With Maddox’s help, I’ve gained a decent grasp on the local language and culture. While before I had to use magic to surmount the language barrier, we now converse quite comfortably in his native tongue. I’m teaching him the Primordial language, too, but that one will take longer for him to master. Until I learned about his people’s customs, I had remained in isolation, not wanting to embarrass myself (or worse, garner suspicion of my origins).

I decided I was now ready to pay a visit to someone important. Important to him, and revered by the general public. Although Inanna had been keeping tabs on her for a while, I’ve never properly met her. Today, we’re going to fix that. Maddox was able to pull some strings to allow her and I to meet privately, so we wouldn’t have to be wary of the eyes and ears in her walls. I do wonder what he said when first mentioning me to her.

She had an ethereal sort of beauty, like she was standing with one foot in the realms of the arcane. She was always immaculately dressed; thick white hair braided to frame her face, modest but elaborate clothing draped over her figure to add to her mystique. Her kind grey eyes often seemed distant, as if she was listening to words the rest of us cannot hear. She carried herself with poise and grace (and forearm crutches, sometimes). She was one of the few people I struggled to read, her fair face a perfect mask of calm. It’s needless to say that she caught my eye, especially after Maddox told me about her unique gift and the people who abuse it.

I strode into the room, idly examining my nails, stopping when I saw that the woman had already arrived. She sat on the couch with her legs folded and hands clasped in her lap. When I entered, she appeared to snap out of a daze, eyes boring into me with surprising intensity.

“Francis.”

“Cecie.” I settled in the plush chair adjacent to her, getting comfortable, with my eyes never leaving hers.

“Tell me why I’ve been seeing you every night in my dreams for the past six months.” Cecie’s voice is soft, and delicate, but no less serious. I carefully controlled my reaction, not wanting to betray anything incriminating.

“I don’t know, Cecie. That could be caused by any number of things. I’d have to see your dreams to give you a definite answer.”

“You’d… be able to do that?” The tone of her voice shifted ever so slightly. I raised an eyebrow. “As in, see my dreams? I thought only I could...”

The corner of my lips quirked up as I responded. “Yes. Though, I won’t without your consent. I wouldn’t want to violate your privacy.”

Cecie grew quiet, eyes now fixed on a faraway point. She idly twirled a lock of her hair in her neatly manicured fingers. I’ve intrigued her, I can tell. And she has intrigued me.

“…Interesting. I’ve… I’ve tried showing others before, but… it never seems to work. They aren’t able to discern what they see, and… sometimes I can’t, either…” Cecie sighed wistfully, falling silent again.

I’m more than a little surprised that she admitted this so quickly. From what I’ve heard, Cecie hasn’t ever struggled to understand the signs she sees. She’s always been held up as being the flawless mouthpiece of the Divines. I can’t help but wonder how much of her image has been fabricated by the ones around her. Who Cecie is, behind the veil.

I reached out and gently took one of her hands in my own, tracing the lines of her palm with my thumb. Her hands were soft, and cold, and trembling ever so slightly, like she thought I wouldn’t notice her anxiety. She glanced back at me, startled by the contact.

“I can help with that… if you’ll allow me to.” I was close enough to smell the faint scent of lavender that clung to her skin. The soothing fragrance suited her perfectly. “You aren’t the first seer I’ve met in my time.”

“I…” Cecie pursed her lips, brows furrowed. “…Who are you, Francis?”

“A friend, if you’d like me to be.” I lowered my voice, matching her soft tone. “I don’t want to overstep my bounds, but.. I will say that Maddox has shared some about your situation. And… I understand how it feels.”

Cecie’s eyes widened as she took in a sharp breath. She gripped my hand tighter than either of us expected her to. “Wh- what did he say about me?”

“Essentially, that you live with overbearing relatives and haven’t had much of a say in what goes on in your life. He didn’t go into specifics.” I gave a wry smile, somewhat regretting having brought the topic up. Alas, it was bound to happen at some point.

“…He told me that you’d be able to help, if I reached out to you. I… I want to believe him…” Cecie trailed off, attention returning to where our fingers were now intertwined. Unsure what to make of me.

Now I knew I had her hooked. The desperation in her voice was well concealed, but not well enough. This is the voice of a woman who is desperate to live. A voice I’m all too familiar with.

“Then allow me to prove him right.”

oops, forgot to send the refs:

and additional info:

caustic.caffeine’s art fight 2024 info

since the art prep thread is long and such. besides, there’s some things i’ll note that don’t fit there!

my art fight profile: https://artfight.net/~caustic-caffeine

my hitlist: https://forms.gle/VAoyqmHSmNdE9UDp8

plans: my biggest priority is getting onto the top three longest revenge chains this year. this person and i are shooting to reach 800 levels, minimum, which means at least 400 attacks per person. whew! that’s a lotta drawing! i’m setting a 13 drawing daily minimum for myself with some days where i’ll draw more, and probably some days where i’ll draw less. assuming vivi and i hit the 800 level mark/end up on the top 3, this’ll probably be the only year i attempt this xD i’ll die happy if we manage to get on the top 3 for sure.

i’m also hoping to hit some instagram mutuals and do some scenes, as far as art outside of the 800 level chain goes. i won’t hit the majority of the people in my hitlist; it’s there for me to find fresh ocs if i feel uninspired or bored by the ocs that i’ll be very exposed to/focused on this year

all this to say: i’ll do my best to revenge, but don’t expect it! (you will be more likely to get revenged if you attack fran, though heheh)

i’ll update this blog to reflect my status as things change. suuuper excited for this season!

Genuinely the #1 thing you can do to make sure trans people around you get gendered correctly is to just lead by example. Saying "hi this is [x] she'll be joining us today, could you show her [y]" is 100000x more effective and less scrutinizing pressure than a pronoun circle.

Ever thought of taking viewer drawing suggestions?

not really since i didn’t think there were enough eyes on me, but i’m open to it!

4th of July plans?

nope, absolutely none, despite being an american i forget that holiday exists and i don’t really celebrate it tbh. /neu

my mom’s birthday, on the other hand, on july 5… now that’s something to party about /lh though she’s been in the hospital for a few days so her bday will probably be a chill day

everyone is always acting like there is some crisis of human interaction with one another because everyone is overly sensitive to how strangers approach them and like. no actually its because nobody has any fucking manners. social etiquette has legitimately vanished. it makes interacting with strangers miserable because people don’t know how to fucking behave in public.

like it is rude to stare. it is rude to point. it is rude to have a loud phone conversation in a quiet place. it’s rude to listen to music or videos or whatever on your device with no headphones on a loud volume, or at any volume in an enclosed or quiet space. these are rude things to do. like i’m sorry while some etiquette is silly, an acceptable level of decorum is necessary to make existing in public bearable for everybody…….it is LITERALLY common courtesy

“What’s this? The consequences of my own actions? NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-“ -him, probably /j

Sol likens himself to a martyr, a victim, or a broken bird. He is none of the sort

not sure if anyone is interested in this but here is a list of the most joyfully vital poems I know :)

You're the Top by Ellen Bass

Grand Fugue by Peter E. Murphy

Our Beautiful Life When It's Filled with Shrieks by Christopher Citro

Everything Is Waiting For You by David Whyte

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Is Alive! by Emily Sernaker

Instructions for Assembling the Miracle by Peter Cooley

Barton Springs by Tony Hoagland

Footnote to Howl by Allen Ginsberg

Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman

Tomorrow, No, Tomorrower by Bradley Trumpfheller

At Last the New Arriving by Gabrielle Calvocoressi

To a Self-Proclaimed Manic Depressive Ex-Stripper Poet, After a Reading by Jeannine Hall Gailey

In the Presence of Absence by Richard Widerkehr

Chillary Clinton Said 'We Have to Bring Them to Heal' by Cortney Lamar Charleston

Midsummer by Charles Simic

Today by Frank O'Hara

Naturally by Stephen Dunn

Life is Slightly Different Than You Think It Is by Arthur Vogelsang

Ode to My Husband, Who Brings the Music by Zeina Hashem Beck

The Imaginal Stage by D.A. Powell

Lucky Life by Gerald Stern

Beginner's Lesson by Malcolm Alexander

Presidential Poetry Briefing by Albert Haley

A Poem for Uncertainties by Mark Terrill

On Coming Home by Lisa Summe

G-9 by Tim Dlugos

Five Haiku by Billy Collins

The Fates by David Kirby

Upon Receiving My Inheritance by William Fargason

Variation on a Theme by W. S. Merwin

Easy as Falling Down Stairs by Dean Young

Psalm 150 by Jericho Brown

Pantoum for Sabbouha by Zeina Hashem Beck

ASMR by Corey Van Landingham

A Welcome by Joanna Klink

From Blossoms by Li-Young Lee

At Church, I Tell My Mom She’s Singing Off-Key and She Says, by Michael Frazier

if i can impart any one piece of wisdom to y’all, it’s to, whenever possible, assume good intentions

assume people are trying their best, want to be good and treat others well, and that when their behavior doesn’t align with those goals, it’s because of outside factors that are pushing them to their limit

it’s hard to do, it doesn’t always come naturally, but it’s worth it