For Me It’s All About How You Make The Initially Awful Situation A Comfort Compared To Other Stuff,

Some badly photographed watercolour paintings I did in 2020 to cope with Quarantine.

REBLOG IF YOU ARE HELLA BORED AND WOULDN’T MIND SOME CURIOUS ANONS.

Once upon the misty moors...

... there lived a lonely young man, living simply with his mother as many did in a small house in a village on the domain of their lord in Greymoor.

Not much can be said of those early years, not much this young man would have wanted to repeat that bore mentioning at least. All that can be said was that one day his mother fell ill, and with the rumoured sightings of a strange woman in a red skirt, face hidden by a cloak and smelling of death, bringing with her to his door nothing more than rake whilst he was away...they should have known there was nothing that could be done.

But that certainly didn't stop him from trying though. Working hard and long each day on their farm and on the properties surrounding it. Selling their only cow, their chickens and what little of value they could spare to afford the herbs that could ease her pain, only to return to scorn and stubborness in her delirium with a soft smile on his face as he tended to her, nevertheless.

All the same it didn't change her fate. Nor the fate of the lonely young man, now adrift and lost without much in the way of direction.

Untill at least, he was approached one misty afternoon by their Local Lord of Greymoor, who spoke to him with hollow geniality, and offered him a job as a servant in his castle.

And so, with nothing in the way of excuse to prevent him from doing so, he accepted. And soon, Martin Blackwood found himself selling what was little was left of his mother's small slice of domesticity in Greymoor, and like so many others was whisked away to live and work at the feet of their lord. Bouncing between fetching food from the kitchens or fixing pots of tea; setting kindling alight to warm cold rooms that made your breath fog up if left to themselves too long; keeping clean what he could when he was ordered and keeping his head down whenever he could.

All the same he found something of a friend in that castle more than once, and had to himself the gift of an extra hour each day to sneak away and write poetry on a little rock in the shade of a willow tree by the loch. One of the few things he could say was truly his.

Of course even setting aside the whispered legends of the figure of pestilance that had taken his mother, Greymoor, just like the other lands just on the other side of the Deep Wood, was no stranger to monsters of its own. So much so that despite the dissmissals and denials of their Lordship for as long as anyone can remember, there have always been the mists.

Not much is known, as with any of the beings that creep along the shadows of rumors and heresay and children torn from their beds before they can so much as scream. What can be said, was that at least once a year, maybe more than once, should someone be caught out too late at the wrong time, they would find themselves lost to the mists. Alone and forever wandering between a state of life and death to wither away as nothing more than ghosts on that very same moorland from which they dissapeared.

And so it was, that after a time of keeping his head down and doing what he was told, Martin would one night find himself staying out a little too late by the loch into nightfall; and in doing so soon found himself running into one of his fellow servants, a woman named Naomi Herne; who'd go on to explain, had been sent on orders from Lukas to pick berries under the cover of moonlight from the nearby woods (having found his supplies empty of such fruits despite the supply run they'd made just earlier that day).

Of course, finding the request rather unreasonable given the dangers of ventering out too late into the night by one's self, he offered to help her in her task, and not too long after, the two ran afoul of the mists, and knowing the legends, and hearing the whispers on the gentle wind that only one of their number need be lost, handed the only stubborn flame that hadn't gone dark to Naomi, and told her to run back to the Lord's castle.

Naomi, despite her hesistance to leave her only companion in the misty darkness, complied, and ran back with their only light to the Castle in a panic and raised all the nearby servants she could from their posts to come and help him. Immediately, despite the fear, a few rose to help her. Some stepping in to calm her down and ascertain what had happened, a few of the others grabbing their coats and lighting lanterns to aid in the search, despite their fears and the insistence of a few that there was nothing that could be done. But not a foot had breached the doorway when their Lord and employer Lukas stepped into the room and forbade them from going. Demanding they stay and not risk themselves catching a cold or getting lost in the dark. Ordering them wait and do nothing more than pray that by morning Martin found his way back to them on his own time.

No one beleived he would of course. The mists were like that you see. Those who wandered too far would never return to them, they never had.

And then, three days later, Martin returned to them.

Stumbling up the grassy hill just as the sun was setting. Freezing cold to the touch; dispondant and pale, with hair turned a snow white and breath misting even in warmer in air. Changed, or so it seemed, by his time alone in those mists.

The others were astounded of course. The head of them sending some of them off to fetch warm cloths and furs to warm him whilst they let him sit by the fire of the servants quarters. Asking him what happened despite his barely there eyes and the and the shaking hands cupping a hastily made mug of tea.

All the same it didn't take long for the news to find it's way to Lord Lukas, who at once demanded Martin's presence in his study despite the soft protests of those who could tell he was not well.

All the same Martin stood without a word from his place, still hardly warmed from his time by the fire, to meet with him.

"I saw you in the mists," he said once they were alone, "You told me I would forever be alone,"

And then he asked, simply, though by no mean masking the anger in now cold blue eyes, "You sent her out on purpose didn't you? You knew the mists were out that night."

Not a moment later, in a sea of fog that swept through the room and drained the life and colour from its walls, and the Lord Lukas was alone. Martin nowhere to be seen when he opened the door and stepped out, refusing to answer anyone's questions when they inquired on his health.

This time, it takes two days for Martin to return, and when he does Lukas gives them all new orders.

Namely that Martin Blackwood, not be allowed to return to the Grey Moors, lest it be with the head of the Watcher Beast, residing so they said, in ancient ruins found in the deep woods by the borders of land Panopticon.

He's given a day to prepare his leave.

And so it was, with nothing more than a single short sword, a map and some rations put together by those that asked after him, Martin was sent away without so much as the chance for a goodbye.

Martin himself, under no illusions that their Lord of Greymoor, had sent him there to die.

"Let them try," he'd whisper to himself as the foggy outline of a cold stone castle faded away by the rhythm and rumble of a horse pulled cart. "Let them try," even as the thought came again, that maybe this really was nothing more than a good way to get killed.

Hi!!!

I'm writing an aroace character and aroace people have told me that she's actually quite great rep and what they'd like to see but there's one tiny detail I can't figure out.

People have told me that she might or might not have had a past relationship and I'm just not sure whether or not I should give her one.

Could I get a little help with this, please? Thanks

HI there! That's so cool that you're writing an aroace character!! There's so few of them so thank you for adding some rep for us!

As for your question, I'd say it's 100% up to you on whether she's had a relationship in the past or not. Without knowing her story, personality, or background I can't say for sure if a past relationship is fitting for her or not. I can say that whichever you decide, both options are okay. Aros and aroaces often enter into romantic relationships.

For example, before I came out as aromantic and aroace I did have a previous romantic relationship in high school. And to be honest, I hated it the whole time. It felt like something was wrong the whole time but I stuck with it because I thought I was supposed to like it, that I was supposed to date. I was trying to be "normal". It went on way longer than it should have and it wasn't fair to me or the guy I was dating but in the end I am grateful for this relationship because it helped me realize that I don't feel those attractions that allos feel, that I don't want to date and that I am indeed aromantic.

Perhaps your character has gone through something similar? Perhaps she dated because she felt like it was something "normal" people do. Perhaps she mistook platonic attraction for romantic and dated someone she just wanted to be close friends with. Perhaps she was in denial about being aromantic and tried dating to prove it. Perhaps she was in a QPR (a queerplatonic relationship) and loved it but the relationship didn't work out. Or maybe it did work out and she's happily in a QPR today.

Or you could choose to have her not have had any romantic relationships at all before coming out as aroace. That's really common as well and perfectly amazing.

In the end it's your character and you should choose whichever fits right with her.

Personally I think both options are great. Just remember that if you do choose to give her a past romance, approach it from the viewpoint of an aroace and not an allo. She wouldn't have had romantic attraction whether she realized it or not so her reasons for dating would be different.

Hopefully this makes sense! If you need any other help let me know!

Did i impulsively spend weeks on rendering after getting hooked on a Batfam fic? Yes.... Yes I did.

for real though guys, the author of this fic is an absolute angel. So... @lulurythmea: Happy Birthday.... thanks for making me cry and go feral.... can't wait to see what the hell you do next you crazy son of a bitch ;)

the fic in question is Across the Sands on Ao3, go check it out if you also want to go feral and get some of that sweet sweet hurt comfort!

Tfw you accidentally destroy and entire city when you’re like 6 and you still feel bad about it.

(Feel free to use as a reaction image I know I certainly do)

Redraw of a double page spread I did in my sketchbook.

Meet Djalu/Neferatemu of the Tirratzlikhan and his little desert adder familiar! A Dnd character in a growing list of characters I hope to play one day.

I had a lot of fun thinking about the culture of the Tirraztlikhan, a desert village supposedly blessed with immunity from a particularly mischevious and often malevolent God. Specifically the naming conventions, as each person usually has at least three.

The first name is received upon birth, and is endowed by the druid/wiseperson. Djalu's childhood name was Neha, a name that is continually used throughout adulthood to refer exclusively to the person as a child.

During childhood, he picked up the personal family name of Xhochi, something name that functions a bit more like a nickname exclusively for close family and loved ones throughout his lifetime. You have to know him really, really well to be able to use this name.

At his coming of age ceremony though, Neha got to choose a new name for himself, and settled on Djalu. A name generally used informally between casual acquaintances and friends.

In becoming a druid though, Djalu was also gifted a formal druid name: Neferatemu, which he pretty much only uses in formal contexts or when he's throwing his weight around as a druid.

And of course, finally, there is his spirit name. A name only known by Djalu and higher powers, and used exclusively by the Gods in addressing Djalu during communion or ceremonies.

"Such a petulant child..."

(Pose Ref is this)

So a free tool called GLAZE has been developed that allows artists to cloak their artwork so it can't be mimicked by AI art tools.

AI art bros are big mad about it.

This is why I like character driven plots, there’s reasoning behind everything a character does that’s tied to who they are as a person, and you can see that used to great effect in Aurora.

It really helps too that these are very clearly multifaceted individuals with their own strengths, weaknesses, similarities, differences… they are their own people and it’s really interesting to see that, not just in how they contrast each other in their responses, but in why and who they are even before we know anything about backstories for 2/4.

It’s just good writing my man.

What did Kendal tell the others? Why has Falst jumped to the conclusion that Kendal has to be broken out immediately and is being used as a hostage? Why are they so on edge if theoretically Kendal will be released once they leave?

The gist is that he's being imprisoned until they leave, don't freak out, it's fine. Pretty simple message.

Erin recognizes a power play when he sees one. Zuurith has snatched and imprisoned Kendal, and even if he's supposed to be released once they leave, it's not ideal. Erin does not have the authority to challenge Zuurith directly over this, and if he tries, he risks dragging Asera into an actual intercity conflict. This puts himself and Kendal squarely in the sights of Asera and the mage academy, something he's trying to avoid until he's got his own business more under control. He also risks drawing attention from the Paladins if he does anything too dramatic. Erin needs to trust that Zuurith will release Kendal as promised, because if the diplomatic option fails, his only other options have catastrophic collateral impact.

Falst recognizes an abuse of power when he sees one. Kendal is a lot like him in some ways. Falst knows the security a city provides is conditional and easily misused to harm people the city doesn't like. With Kendal imprisoned, no matter how diplomatic they claim the process is, Zuurith now has leverage over all of them, and is clearly using leverage over Kendal to keep him restrained. This city has made its intentions very clear, so it's time to defend themselves. Underneath, he also deeply dislikes the indication that if he was in Kendal's position, Erin wouldn't hesitate to leave him behind.

Alinua is torn. She knows that this isn't something she can fight. She's not a diplomat, she's not even halfway experienced with nuanced social situations, and Kendal specifically told her this is his problem to solve because nobody else can. All she can do in this situation is brute force and divine fiat, and brute force will cause more problems than it fixes. But she hates leaving Kendal in this situation, especially since she knows his self-sacrificing habits make him an unreliable judge of how much danger he's actually in.