Together Alone. This is probably my last fan art for this year, and of course, to celebrate Canon Rlainarin Day it’s another piece of them.

This year might be the most fun I ever had in this fandom. Thank you for having me! 🌪️

I'm so happy that Canon Rlainarin Day has broken containment. Paintweaver illustrates our boys so beautifully!

Third butch from my mini series: Eshonai

I made some Jayvik art for a friend's birthday :) It was really fun to get into the stylization of the series. We saw Northern Lights and visited hot springs in Alaska together last year. Those are also featured in the fanfic the line is covered in jellyfish by @yunuen , which therefore was the perfect inspiration for this. ID by @priscellie

I HAD AN AMAZING BIRTHDAY, GUYS.

drawing and color sculpting faces and expression is just something that I really find very relaxing and enjoyable (which looking at my blog here... kind of obvious). So here is more of these two mad scientists.

ID: illustration of Viktor and Jayce from "Arcane" standing side by side, Viktor leaning into Jayce's space and nudging Jayce's chest with his shoulder with teasing provocation. They eye each other out of the corner of their eyes, Viktor's expression sly and subtly heated and Jayce anxious and flushed, trying to maintain a professional posture despite his partner's surprising audacity. Viktor is an exceedingly slim white man with long, gaunt features, tousled chestnut hair, beauty marks on the right cheekbone and left side of the philtrum, and wears a pinstriped shirt with rolled-up sleeves under a white vest. He has brass safety goggles around his neck, and a crutch under his right shoulder. Jayce is half a head taller, with a broad, muscular build, golden brown skin, and a 5 o'clock shadow. He wears a white tailcoat with fashionable leather pauldrons on both shoulders and two lines of large black buttons up the chest. His short black hair is ruffled askew, and he holds a notebook protectively in front of himself.

I wish age gap discourse hadn't spiraled the way it has because I want there to be a safe space to say "Men in their 40s who date 25 year olds aren't predators, they're just fucking losers"

... honey you just described a predator LOL

No, I said what I said. But thank you for providing an example of how this topic has become insufferable on the internet.

i am honestly burningly curious about how a 40 year old man who fucks around with college grads is not a predator

"College grad" is not a developmental stage, nor is it what I would describe a 25 year old as. I was 4 years out of college at 25. My mother had two children at 25. You can be a fucking congressman at 25.

There's a difference between a man who is immature and buys into misogynistic views of beauty and aging and one who is a predator. Also, many actual predators? Not losers and able to move through society pretty freely being seen as cool and the ideal, so conflating the two isn't helpful.

This is going to be my final response to any attempt at discourse. You're welcome to continue amongst yourselves.

also sometimes a 40 year old and a 25 year old just weirdly find each and it's a perfectly normal relationship - like all human relationships are complex and situational, it's so rarely an either/or thing let alone just one thing only

if a 40 year old dude only dates 25 year olds, DiCaprio style or something adjacent to it, then yeah he's a loser

if a 40 year old dude meets a 25 year old through social event or friends or whatever and they happen to hit it off and make a go of it, and this isn't some sort of reoccurring pattern for the guy, that's just a relationship with an age difference

being predatory means something specific, and man I agree w/ OP and really wish people just stopped ascribing it to any and all relationship dynamics they personally might not like

predator and groomer - two words that need to go up on the "can't use till you learn their meaning" shelf

Something I find really stressful is this seemingly endless creep of infantilisation and removal of autonomy from young people. Like, not to be all “in my dayyyy” about it, but… at 16, my friends and I were expected to be broadly responsible for our presence in the world. Most of us had jobs, we navigated public transport, looked after younger siblings. We were expected to make informed decisions about our future careers and our sexual partners. We were allowed to leave education and work full time (this was not necessarily good thing - I think increasing the school leaving age to 18 was broadly for the best). Most of us were smoking, or drinking, or both - again, not good things, but just facts - and many of us were sexually active. Many of the AFAB people I knew were on the pill. Legally, we could live independently, or get married with adult consent.

Legally (I live in the UK) we were not minors, although we inhabited an odd legal limbo until we turned 18, and we were certainly not “children”. Intellectually, socially, though, we were considered (young) adults, or at the most “older teenagers.” We were expected to read mostly adult books (rather than middle grade or YA), watch the news/read papers, watch mostly adult television.

And I do think we a bit under-protected, under-supported, and in some cases - neglected and financially exploited - and I’m not necessarily advocating that. But it did make us feel, I think, in charge of our own lives, capable and competent to make decisions.

At 16-17 my parents knew they could leave me alone overnight/for a couple of nights, and I wouldn’t starve or burn the house down. I felt comfortable getting cross country trains on my own, or booking and staying at a hotel (yes, with my boyfriend.)

Then there was this… creeping of sentiments that we were all Too Young to trouble our heads about certain things. A lot of it was good - more stringent licensing laws, raising the school leaving age, raising the minimum smoking age(!) - but some of the broader cultural stuff was… a bit patronising? Eg, the introduction of “New Adult” as a category of books aimed at 18-25 year olds, the way cartoons and books written for the 9-12 age group were being marketed as for the 12-15 age group, referring to late teens as “children,” etc etc.

Then, in 2008, there was the big financial crash and suddenly my generation were (broadly) robbed of all the usual markers of adulthood and success, meaning that we got ‘stuck’ in the lifestyles and modes our late teens/early 20s. And suddenly, all the emphasis shifted from social and legal protections for late teens/ younger adults, to legal restrictions on their freedoms/rights, and strange philosophical protections on the emotional states.

So, OF COURSE a 23 year old can’t buy a beer without carrying an ID card, and a 17 year old can’t have a crush on a 16 year old, but also, because you’re *children* you don’t need to live like adults. So the UK government got to save money by saying “18 isn’t a proper adult,” then “20 isn’t a proper adult,” and “25 isn’t a proper adult” because it meant they could refuse to give single occupancy housing benefit rates to people of those ages (I think they’ve raised it over 30 now.) Or by refusing to clamp down on exploitative temporary/zero hours contracts - because they’re just “temp jobs for young people!”, or by raising the retirement age because “60 is far too young to retire. You’re not a real adult until 35.”

And it means the discursive environment is such that you can claim that a 21 year old trans person is too young to make their own medical decisions, or a 15 year old is too young to consent to the contraceptive pill.

Meanwhile, they are not offering additional *protections* to these newly infantilised adults. 18 year olds are still encouraged to saddle themselves with enormous educational debt, or allowed to have credit cards, or expected to pay rent, or no longer receive child benefits. You still have to *work*. In fact, in the States, they’re looking to removed child employment restrictions - but that’s fine, because 20 year olds are being protected from making their own medical decisions, and adults get to say which books their teen kids are reading in school, and kids aren’t allowed to change their name or what they wear without parental consent.

We can see what these people are doing to the rights of children - so why are we being so complacent in expanding the definition of ‘child’?

Regardless - 25 is VERY CLEARLY an adult. At 25 I was married, had two kids, an overdraft, rent to pay, and experience of living in the world for 6 years. I had more in common with someone of 40 than I did with someone of 15. Hell, at*20* I had more in common with someone of 40 than someone of 15. Any sexual or relationship decisions you make at 25 are your own to make.

Of course there are likely to be power imbalances in a 15 year age gap - which is why most 25 year olds don’t date 40somethings - but not actually necessarily. And yeah, a 40 year old who only dates 20somethings is a skeeze - just like a 30 year old who routinely ingratiates themselves with rich 80 year olds is a skeeze.

But if any young people are reading this (doubt it)… your rights are much, much more important than your protections.

Yes, young people should be protected, but if someone claims they’re protecting you while denying you access to personal autonomy, financial stability, intellectual curiosity, or sexual self-determination because you’re “too young” to need, or understand those things… be very suspicious of their motives.

And if you’re legally an adult, ask yourself why you don’t feel comfortable defining yourself in those terms.

This thread is from 2023, and now with the Cass report we have seen the real, tangible danger that comes from infantilizing adults in their 20s.

the long reply above mentiones this, but I want to emphasize this: many western societies have lost their "rituals of maturity". Young adults don't get to buy a house, starting a family is a lot of stress if all adults in the household have to work fulltime, and it's almost impossible to find a job above minimum wage that offers career options. All of which are things which previous generations enjoyed more broadly, and which were seen as steps into adulthood.

Only a few decades ago, 90% of the people in the region where I live owned their own houses. Granted, they were often shitty ones, but they were their own. Today, not even 50% own the place they live in.

We've removed the milestones of adulthood, it's no wonder we increasingly infantilize adults. And the worst is, this does nothing to prevent real predators from preying on under-protected people! With the removal of the milestones of adulthood, we also removed a lot of the safety net previous generations could rely on.

All of these additions are absolutely spot on, but there's one more thing I want to add, and that is to point out how the "a 40yo dating a 25yo is inherently predatory" type of age gap discourse increasingly treats predation, not as a conscious, specific behaviour, but as an ambient effect of being in proximity to someone younger. Because if, as it's so frequently argued, it's impossible for people of different ages to have anything meaningful in common, such that there's no legitimate grounds even for friendship between (say) a 25yo and a 40yo, let alone something romantic or sexual, then what's being implied is that either that everyone is at all times only a single interaction away from natively turning predator, or that predation is somehow natural, automatic, reflexive - neither of which is true. But believing that it is is incredibly fucking dangerous. Because if there's no good or safe or reasonable way for someone older to interact with someone younger outside of a strict workplace or familial relationship (and sometimes not even then), then what we're doing is saying that it's inherently unsafe or wrong for younger people to learn from older people, or for older people to mentor them, or for (say) twentysomethings and fiftysomethings to exist in the same spaces as equal adults. We're saying that an eighteen-year-old should feel bad and weird about hanging out with a two-years-younger friend they've known since infancy because it's inappropriate for minors and legal adults to be friends. (I truly wish this was a hypothetical example, but no, it's not: I have legitimately seen multiple accounts of teenagers getting stressed out about exactly this type of thing because of this discourse.) And by acting as if the age gap power imbalance can only ever go one way, we're also completely ignoring the reality of things like elder abuse or older people being scammed or exploited by younger people.

But beyond all this, if you assume all older people are inherently dangerous to younger people, you're leaving yourself horrifically vulnerable, not only because you're not putting any effort into learning what actual predatory behaviour looks like, but because age gaps are not the only fucking vector for predation or abuse. If you can't distinguish between a safe adult/older person and a suspicious adult/older person or between trustworthy behaviour and manipulative behaviour because you've trained yourself to screen categories rather than actions, not only will you miss out on many cool friendships, but you'll be vulnerable to exploitation if and when someone, be they older or not, eventually sneaks past your guard, because you won't know to recognise what they're doing. Yes, there are absolutely times when an age gap is, in and of itself, a massive red flag, but if you can't distinguish between "45yo man marrying 18yo girl he's known since she was 12 the very moment she's legal" and, say, "35yo divorcee marrying 50yo widower she met at an art show," or "19yo dating a 17yo from the next school over after meeting at a mutual friend's party," or even "22yo has an extremely fun consensual one night stand with the 38yo they met at the bar," then you're going to be very poorly placed to recognise any abusive dynamics that don't perfectly align with the optics you've internalised as being indistinguishable from abuse, because the optics and the abuse are two different things. The one might indicate the presence of the other, but it doesn't guarantee it, and you can certainly have the abuse without the optics. And particularly in the context of conservatives increasingly insisting that just existing as a queer or trans person around children is an inherently predatory act, it makes me feel absolutely insane, how quickly so many people have conceded to the exact same type of logic (that an older person just existing around a younger person for non-familial, non-work reasons is inherently suspicious), argued for the exact same reasons (think of the children!) without stopping to question it at all.

Cake’s Top Ten Little Moments in the MCU

For @alphaflyer, who suggested the little MCU moments in which “ordinary people (like us) confront and comment on that super-ness.” .Thanks for the idea! This was a lot of fun.

10. “Can we get a selfie?” – Thor: Ragnarok

Let’s face it; who wouldn’t want to get a selfie with a superhero, especially one as hot as Thor?  But beyond that, this scene shows the way normal humans would acclimate to the Avengers, accepting their presence the same way we deal with stars and royalty.  We’d take selfies, post on social media, and overall be excited that our paths crossed with someone so amazing, even if only tangentially. 

Plus, Loki’s eye roll is absolutely fabulous. 

9. “Why the hell should I take orders from you?”  – NYPD officer in The Avengers

It’s a funny scene that highlights the difference between the police and Captain America. But it also shows the very human reaction of disbelief (the officer has no clue who this guy in a spangled suit is), mistrust (what does he know?) and basic skepticism superheroes would be met with by most people.  Only once the officer sees Cap at work, how quickly he neutralizes the threat, does he accept Steve’s orders and begin issuing them himself.  Like Doubting Thomas, he needs visual evidence and actions before he can come to terms with what’s happening. 

8. “I’m in the system?” – Luis in Antman

Sidekicks are the best and Luis is the pinnacle of perfection.  Think about it; he befriends Scott Lang in prison, helps him through his time behind bars. He’s there when Scott gets out, gives him a place to live, lets him borrow his car.  When they rob Hank Pym’s house, he’s in the get-away van; when Scott decides to turn hero, Luis dons his uniform and plays his part, even going back to rescue the guard he’d knocked out.  It’s Luis who knows a guy who knows a girl who heard about the Avengers’ compound and the part they need.  He always has Scott’s back, accepting the wacky hijinks with a smile and a long-winded story.  We would all be lucky to be as exemplary a sidekick as Luis. 

7. “We are vegetarians” – M’Baku in Black Panther

He’s the leader of the J’Bari, a mighty warrior, a keeper of tradition, and entirely human. M’Baku has no time for royalty or superheroes. What he wants is to be respected and to keep Wakanda and his people safe and free … even if that means turning down the heart-shaped flower and saving his rival T’Challa. This scene sums up M’Baku in an ad-libbed line that cracks me up every time I watch it.  M’Baku is a fully realized character who isn’t impressed with all the posturing that happens in a world of superheroes; he makes a joke out of it instead.  

Plus, this scene, like so much of Black Panther, is layered with the history of colonialism and racism; M’Baku barking at the CIA representative is more than funny, it’s a reclaiming of self-agency. 

6. Peggy almost touches Steve – Captain America: The First Avenger

Another unplanned moment, the furtive hand movement from Peggy Carter as Steve emerges from the pod is sweet, funny, and so very poignant.  Peggy is a woman in a man’s world; she knows her value, is ready to punch her way out of situations and has battled to be where she is. It’s such a telling slip, reaching out to see if he’s real, if he’s okay, if he’s still Steve.  All the yearning pent up in one action, the knowledge that the young man she’s grown fond of is now changed forever. You can see it in the way she heaves a breath in the second gif, like she’s been through the process herself. This is the moment, with the others celebrating the scientific breakthrough, where Peggy realizes just how screwed she is to be falling in love with a superhero. 

5. “Yes, I did” – Darcy Lewis in Thor

There are so many Darcy moments to choose from.  “Still muscly.”  “I’m not dying for three college credits.”  “Give me your shoe.”  But this moment, when she proudly admits she tasered Thor, the guy who fell from the sky, is when we knew Darcy Lewis was a ‘take-no-shit’ type of person who will deal with what’s happening and worry about it later.  She’s not impressed by superheroes, but, unlike M’Baku, she’s a small woman who relies upon her wits, her smart mouth, and pure luck.  She’s not a genius like Jane Foster, not a fighter like Peggy Carter, she’s just plain Darcy and that’s what makes her strength of will so damn amazing in the MCU.

4. “No” – Sam Wilson in Captain America: Civil War

From the moment Sam jogs his way, slowly but steadily, into the MCU, he never doubts that his job is to skewer the egos of all these super-powered people, make sure they never forget their goal is to help others. From his invitation to eat breakfast “if you people do things like that” to making Natasha thank Redwing to asking T’challa if he likes cats to the fabulous fight scene at the airport with quips flying between him and Bucky, Sam is on equal footing from day one. Of all the scenes, this one in the car, when he’s literally inches in front of the Winter Soldier, a brainwashed assassin whose already tried to kill him twice, really shows just how confident Sam is of his own abilities, both as Falcon, but also as a caring person who’s trying to help Steve get Bucky back. 

3.  “For Wakanda? Without question” – Okoye in Black Panther

Okoye knows superheroes.  She is the Captain of the Guard of the Dorae Milaje and her job is to protect the King of Wakanda, the Black Panther.  She could have been rigid, unyielding, a follower of the rule of law … and she is all those things, but she’s also very human, a woman who had to choose between the man she loves and the King she serves.  She’s funny, loyal, unfazed by super soldiers and magic-wielding witches.  She side-eyes Bruce Banner when he trips in the Hulkbuster armor, fights flawlessly in an evening gown, and stays true to her convictions even in the face of King Killmonger’s reign. To Okoye, those with superpowers have a great responsibility to protect others and she’s not afraid to call them on the carpet if need be.  

This scene is revolutionary because of the idea of a woman who doesn’t put romantic entanglements first, who, like male heroes, is willing to sacrifice everything for what she believes in.

2. “Don’t waste your life” – Yinsen in Iron Man

God, I teared up just looking at these gifs. Ho Yinsen, a scientist, husband, father, man who just wanted to do some good in the world. Caught in the midst of such violence and faced with the man whose company built the weapons that killed his family, the man who once ignored him and his ideas. This moment. This fucking moment when he’s dying, has always known that he would die, understood just how small a part he was going to play in the larger-than-life story of Tony Stark. How do I get to be this type of person who not only accepts who he is and what he’s not, but uses his precious few seconds on the world’s stage to change the future? Make no mistake, it’s because of Yinsen that Iron Man exists, that Tony builds the arc reactor, saves himself, saves New York, saves the whole world, saves the fucking universe.  One regular human guy who saw the potential in Tony and made the ultimate sacrifice. 

Ho Yinsen. 

1. “Captain’s Orders” – Cameron Klein in Captain America: Winter Soldier

Of all the moments in the MCU, it’s this one where I see myself the most, the little peon at their computer who suddenly is thrust into the middle of a superpowered battle and has to make a choice between life and death. He knows, knows that he’s dead, that Rumlow will shoot him and push the button anyway. Look, I’m not a brilliant scientist or a warrior or a military officer; I’m not going to be the one fighting beside Steve or laughing at T’Challa or tasing Thor; I’m Cameron Klein and I hope to God that if that moment ever comes where there’s a gun to my head that I can say “Captain’s orders” and refuse. He’s one of the many faceless S.H.I.E.L.D. employees who work at a desk or cafeteria or mailroom, doing their jobs, only to be injured, have their lives destroyed or die when the Triskelion falls or when Hawkeye attacks the Helicarrier or when their names are revealed on the internet.

Cameron is #1 because he’s me, the small cog in the wheel that got caught when the machine gave way.  He said no without having the power to fight back or to change anything … but he did it anyway. 

louis XIV goes to the doctor and says he is depressed

"you should go to versailles and see the State" says the doctor

"but doctor," says Louis XIV

From Taravangian’s Interlude in Rhythm of War. The lack of Renarin content in this book is devastating…

HAPPY BI SHALLAN DAY

Today, we celebrate the beginning of the Canonically Queer Stormlight Holiday Season with the anniversary of Brandon realizing and confirming that Shallan is Bi! This would be reflected in text in Rhythm of War four years later and affirmed in interviews.

Holidays Include:

And while outside the primary holiday season, one mustn't forget:

All are celebrated with a traditional exchange of fanworks and headcanons and joyscreaming about one's faves. Enjoy responsibly!

It's September, which means we're two weeks out from the beginning of the Canonically Queer Stormlight Holiday Season! Ready your pencils!

Ral-Na and the Mink are boyfriends now. Talik has two (three?) dads. Thank you for shopping at Kroger.

ShinHan Pass hybrid paint on Fabriano cold-pressed paper, ~28 x 28cm.

The Kholin boys are having a good week, in my art at least. 💞

ID: An exquisitely detailed watercolor painting of Renarin and Rlain sharing a kiss.

Rlain leans into the embrace, making Renarin bend slightly backwards. His head tilts gently toward Renarin, and one hand rests tenderly at Renarin’s lower back, drawing him close. His skin is marbled black and red, and his ornate, copper-toned carapace gleams with intricate etchings.

Renarin is dressed in soft, flowing garments of pale yellow-orange with a blue sash at the waist. His tousled black hair is streaked with blond. He leans upward, eyes closed, kissing Rlain with quiet devotion. One hand tentatively cups the side of Rlain’s head, fingers feather-light against the carapace protecting his cheekbone.

The background is filled with a triptych of pale blue and gold stained-glass panels depicting stylized figures, though much of the panels are obscured by the lovers. The first I'm assuming is Kaladin, eyes glowing and expression hard, holding one hand upraised. Lighting strikes behind him. The second is Adolin, astride a horse. The third is Renarin and Rlain standing together and facing the viewer, Rlain holding Renarin from behind.

Wind and truth spoilers, Nale's entire character motivation in this series has been getting Szeth as many magical swords as possible.

In the Sanderlanche in Oathbringer there’s a brief moment when Renarin mentioned he felt like dancing, so to celebrate my 1k milestone on Tumblr I decided to let him dance with Rlain. :D

Thank you for being so patient and kind with me and my art. Whether it’s now or 5 years ago, I’ve always loved reading the tags and comments people leave under my posts. Although I make art first and foremost for myself, the fact that people can find joy in the things I create makes me want to dance and spin around as well. Thanks for being here. 💜

Viktor's reminiscing hands - 14/many

Until I can get my hands on that gear necklace...

An origins comic for my first ever stormlight au, "Tien Finds a Very Special Rock," or what I also affectionately call "Literally the Most Obvious AU for Szeth Stans Reading WoK." Originally I figured he'd take the oathstone from the belongings of a terminal patient, but I think it's important to me for the vibes of this au that Tien acquires it in the most innocent and innocuous way possible. This au is a fun one, Tien lives and becomes a lightweaver, Kaladin remains a surgeon, and the parents lose their minds when they eventually realize they've been harboring the assassin in white.

Thank you @to-shards-you-say for the image ID's (seriously tysm, I really didn't feel like doing it), and @highly-invested for writing the death rattle, and @taravangians-storming-balls for spren reference materials. And thank you all for reading along, as I slowly figure out how to draw comics. <3