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adrift-in-thyme · 9 months

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I need to know. First is probably touch starved thanks to all the shit that happened to him before his death, right? Which of the chain make it their mission to fix it?

Ok so I saw this ask, sat down, and started writing. So I hope you don’t mind but I’ll be answering your question in fic form

(And it’s more than 1k so I’m just gonna…hide it beneath the cut lol)

Sky breathes in deep and closes his eyes. The tantalizing smell of pumpkin soup wafts to his nostrils, mingling with the smokiness of the fire. The sounds of its crackling and the cheery talk of his companions reach his ears, and he smiles.

It’s been a long, tiring day for them all, but moments like this make it well worth it. The bruises from today’s battles may still ache, and the cuts still sting, yet at the end of it, they have one another.

He allows himself another moment of dark bliss, then opens his eyes. Taking in the sight of the heroes only makes his smile grow.

Across the fire Wild grins and nudges Twilight with his elbow, both of them chuckling over some shared joke. Legend and Warriors sit shoulder to shoulder. Their friendly teasing can be heard from where Sky sits. Wind has settled down beside Time, and though Sky can’t make out what their conversation is about, it seems like the older hero is telling the sailor a story.

Four sits off to the side, engrossed in a book, a soft smile on his face. And Hyrule joins in Twilight and Wild’s conversation now, the laughter growing louder at his cheeky contribution.

Everyone seems happy and light. Perhaps, more so than they have been for a while.

…well, maybe not everyone. Sky sits upright abruptly, scanning the camp for their little group’s newest member. He could have sworn the hero had been right here moments ago. Where had he slipped off to?

Aha.

Sky catches sight of the now familiar silhouette, dark and shadowy against the light of the moon. First sits a short distance away, back to the camp, face upturned to take in the sky. His cape floats lazily upon the breeze.

The Skyloftian takes another glance around the group and makes his decision. He rises.

Though First is much more at ease with the other heroes now, he can still be a bit aloof. Not that Sky blames him. Being with a group can be difficult, especially when constant danger is added to the mix. And after everything the knight has been through his behavior makes sense.

Still, Sky can’t bring himself to believe First actually wants to be alone. He’s seen the yearning in his eyes when he sees the others teasing one another, hugging one another, easy and companionable as family members. And he’s not the only one either.

“There’s no way he doesn’t actually want to sit with us,” Wild had whispered one day when First had broken away yet again to sit alone. “Going as long as he did without anyone even touching him? It’s torture.”

Time had nodded, expression solemn but understanding. “He’s scared. Give him time.”

So, Sky had given him time. Time to adjust and learn to trust them, time to find his footing in a time that was not his own. But First hadn’t stopped putting distance between himself and the others. And Sky is tired of waiting

It’s clear that the knight needs someone else to make the first step. So, tonight he intends to do just that.

It worked with Legend. If he’s lucky, it’ll work with First too.

And so, leaving the comfort of the fire behind, he walks to First’s side.

First doesn’t startle at his approach, but he does turn at the sound of his footsteps. He looks up at him, gaze sharp and cold. If he weren’t accustomed to it by now, Sky would likely turn tail and rush back to the others.

“Hi,” he says, instead, holding up a hand in a little wave. “Mind if I join you?”

Instantly, First’s expression softens.

“Of course not.”

He gestures toward the spot beside him. Sky settles down, sliding close so his shoulder bumps First’s. Though the knight tenses slightly, he doesn’t move away. The Skyloftian is more than happy to count that as a win.

“What’re you doing over here by yourself?” he asks, casually. “It’s much warmer by the fire.”

First hums. He’s looking at the sky again, pale hair and skin giving him an almost otherworldly look beneath the moon’s glow.

“You can see the stars better from here.”

Sky knows that’s a lie. The stars are bright enough to be seen from virtually any angle and the little clearing they’ve made their camp in is among the best. But he lets it slide.

“They’re beautiful,” he says and First nods.

“Every age of Hyrule is unique and their skies are no exception.” A smile tugs at First’s lips. “But somehow the stars are always the same.”

Sky grins. He knows well the comfort of Hyrule’s skies. The same constellations he once gazed at from atop the academy can be seen from Lon Lon Ranch or the Dueling Peaks.

“It’s true. See?” He points and First follows the direction of his finger. “There’s the Loftwing Constellation I used to see on Skyloft. It’s always been my favorite.”

First’s smile grows a bit larger, some of the tension bleeding from his shoulders.

“It’s mine too.”

Emboldened, Sky gestures to another cluster of stars.

“I’ve gotta admit, though, I’ve always been fond of the First Hero.”

First stares at the constellation for a moment. Then, with a chuckle, he shakes his head.

“Now, you're just flattering me.”

He shivers a little and Sky takes the opportunity to scoot closer.

“Here,” he says, untying his sailcloth. He stretches it so both he and First are enveloped in its warmth. “This will keep the cold out.”

First drags his gaze down from his star-gazing to skewer him with a questioning look. Sky meets it with a kind smile, and after a moment the hero relaxes. Carefully, he grasps his end, pulling it snugly over his shoulders. And Sky might be imagining it, but he’s almost certain First leans against him just a bit.

“Thank you,” he murmurs.

Sky can’t keep back the grin that lifts his lips.

“My pleasure.”

They sit in silence for a moment, bodies pressed close, eyes trained on the heavens above. Then, First breaks it.

“You don’t have to do this, you know. I appreciate the gesture, truly. But it is unnecessary.”

“Do what?” Sky asks, nonchalantly. “I just felt like spending some time with my predecessor.”

First turns to him, studying him in the darkness. Sky can tell without even looking at his face, that he doesn’t believe him. And after a few very awkward minutes pass he realizes something more genuine is in order.

“I like being with you, First,” he says, gently. He places a hand on First’s shoulder and the knight stiffens. Even in the dark, he can see the fractures in his usually guarded expression. “We all do. You don’t have to be alone.”

Something flits across First’s face, come and gone too fast for Sky to catch it. But before either of them can say anything more, Wild’s cheery voice rings out across the clearing.

“Dinner’s ready! Hurry on over unless you want us to eat it all!”

First looks away, quickly.

“I suppose we’d best head back,” he says, tone suspiciously level. “I don’t doubt their ability to scarf down everything in that pot.”

He doesn’t move, however, and Sky decides to take another chance. He gives him a gentle nudge.

“You’re right, we should go.”

Rising, he secures the clasp on the sailcloth once more. Something like remorse flashes across First’s face, but it is gone as quickly as it came. And when Sky turns to head back to camp, he follows him without comment.

Wild is ladling out generous portions of soup when they arrive. He hands them both bowls with a grin.

“It’s Twi’s recipe,” he says, “or more Yeto’s. Either way, don’t worry, I made seconds.”

Sky gives him an answering grin of his own. “Thanks, Champion.” He turns to First and waves a hand. “Come on, you can sit by me.”

The knight hesitates a moment, looking at the log the other heroes have made their seats upon with a mix of longing and trepidation. Then, he nods.

Sky settles down beside Legend, sending the veteran a smile as he does so. That sets First between him and Twilight.

The rancher greets First with a genial nod, which the knight returns as he sits down. Despite his easy movements and relaxed expression, however, Sky can feel the tension that radiates off of him in waves. But as they begin to eat and the conversation turns to favorite battle strategies, he slowly starts to relax.

And when they finish their meal and sleepiness brings their conversations to a lazier pace, the other heroes start to shift positions.

Slowly, they drift over as they always do, seeking the warmth and comfort of close proximity. But unlike other nights, where they usually group together in twos and threes, the heroes decide to form a giant cuddle pile. Even Time joins, though he sticks to the outskirts of it, his head resting on Warriors’ shoulder.

Everyone else snuggles close, lazily mumbling complaints about bony elbows and knees, and sighing as they find comfortable positions.

And First finds himself smack in the center of it all.

He sends Sky an almost worried glance as Wind squeezes between him and the rancher. The sailor huddles close, with a wide yawn.

“This was your plan the whole time, wasn’t it?” The knight whispers, accusingly. But even as he says it, Wind tugs at his cape, cuddling into its warmth. His expression softens and he reaches down, tucking the sailor in more comfortably.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Sky sees the rancher try and fail to hold back a smile.

“I didn’t plan anything,” he replies, innocently. “I think the soup just made everyone extra sleepy. Right, Twilight?”

Twilight nods. “Nothing puts you to sleep like a good bowl of soup. And Yeto’s is the best. Better than a sleep potion, I’d say.”

From First’s expression he doesn’t believe either of them. Regardless, he doesn’t complain after that.

And when his eyelids droop, he finally allows his head to drop onto Sky’s shoulder. Gently, Sky pulls the sailcloth over his shoulders once more. The knight blows out a small sigh of contentment and snuggles closer.

Sky smiles, reveling in this small victory.

“Goodnight, First,” he whispers, settling in and letting his eyes slip closed.

When First replies his words are slurred and thick with sleep. But Sky can hear the smile in them anyway.

“Goodnight, Sky.”

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kizzer55555 · 1 month

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DP x DC: The Most Dangerous Card Game

Ok so Danny has essentially claimed earth as his. And he is fully aware that there are constant threats to the planet. Now he can’t stop a threat that originates on earth (that’s something he’ll leave to the Justice league) but he can do something about outside threats. Doing some research on ancient spells, rituals, and artifacts, he cast a world wide barrier on the planet to protect it from hostile threats so they cannot enter. This will prevent another Pariah Dark incident. However, barriers like this come at a price. You see, there are two ways to make a barrier. Either make one powered up by your own energy and power (which would be constantly draining) or set up a barrier with rules. The way magic works is that nothing can be absolutely indestructible. It must have a weakness. The most powerful barriers weren’t the ones reinforced with layer after layer of protective charms and buffed up with power. Those could eventually be destroyed either by being overpowered, wearing them down, or by cutting off the original power source. No, the most powerful barriers were the ones with a deliberate weakness. A barrier indestructible except for one spot. A cage that can only be opened from the outside. Or that can only be passed with a key or by solving a riddle. So Danny chooses this type of barrier and does the necessary ritual and pours in enough power to make it. And he adds his condition for anyone to enter.

Now the Justice league? Find out about the barrier when Trigon attempts to attack, they were preparing after he threatened what he would do once he got to earth. How he would destroy them. The Justice league tried to take the fight to him first but were utterly destroyed, so they retreated home to tend to their injuries, and fortify earth for one. Last. Stand. Only when Trigon makes his big entrance…he’s stopped.

The Justice league watch in awe as this thin see-through barrier with beautiful green swirls and speckled white lights like stars apears blocking Trigon and his army’s advance. The barrier looks so thin and fragile yet no matter how hard the warlord hits, none of his attacks can get through and neither can he damage said barrier. That’s when Constantine and Zatanna recognizes what this barrier is. Something only a powerful entity could create. For a moment, the league is filled with hope that Trigon can’t get through yet Constantine also explains that it’s not impenetrable. And clearly Trigon knows this too for he calls out a challenge.

And that’s when, in a flash of light, a tiny glowing teenager appears. He looked absolutly minuscule compared to Trigon and yet practically glowed with power (this isn’t a King Danny AU though).

And that is when the conditions for passing the barrier are revealed. And the Justice realize that the only thing stopping Trigon and his army from decimating earth. The only way he can get through….is by beating this glowing teenager in a card game.

Not just any card game though. The most convoluted game Sam, Danny, and Tucker invented themselves. It’s like the infinite realms version of magic the gathering, combined with Pokémon, and chess. And Danny is the master. So sit down Trigon and let’s play.

(The most intense card game of the Justice league’s life).

After Danny wins, this happens a few more times with outer word beings and possibly even demons attempting to invade earth, yet none have been able to beat the mysterious teenager in a card game. Constantine might even take a crack at it and try to figure out how to play. He’s really bad though. Every time this happens, the Justice league worry that this might be the time the teenager looses. Yet every time, he wins (even if only barely).

Meanwhile, Danny, Sam, and Tucker have gotten addicted to the game and play it almost daily. Some teachers might seem them playing the game are are like ‘awww how cute’ not realizing this game is literally saving the world. Jazz is just happy they aren’t spending as much time on their screens playing Doomed.

#DPxDC #dcxdp #Danny makes a card game to save the world.#Technically he worded the ritual so that they had to ‘beat’ him as those are the most powerful barriers and most reliable.#keys can just get lost or stolen (like the one to Pariah’s Coffin)#A riddle would be useless once someone figured out the answer. Like how no one takes the sphynx seriously anymore.#(Sorry Tuck. But it’s true).#And there is NO WAY Danny is just leaving a hole open for anyone to pass through. No thank you!#So…beating him. But it’s not like Danny wanted to fight so…he edited the ritual a TINY bit. Card games are good. Much less painful too.#Danny Tucker and Sam made the most complicated card game they could imagine.#It’s based on their strategies for fighting ghosts. Capturing them in thermoses. And MUCH based on a on field battle strategy.#It often requires spontaneous thinking on the spot. So Danny? In his ELEMNT. It doubles as practice for his actual ghost battles too.#They had SO much fun making this.#Sam added an entire series of plant cards that act as traps and healing ointments and duds that just take up the field.#Tucker added legitimate hyroglyphics combined with Latin as well as English and ghost speak.#Yes. You actually have to speak that language to play. With proper pronunciation. (Amity Parker’s think the three are talking gibberish.)#I headcanon Sam and Tucker are fluent in Ghost.#Constantine WILL figure this game out SO HELP HIM!#Some of the cards also have combinations related to constellations either in name or placement on the board.#By the way the board is based on a Hexagonal summoning circle with Rhunes along the edges #And the placement of the cards on the board and on what rhune MATTERS.#Also the cards move disintegrate and have certain abilities. Think of Harry Potter Wizard Chess.#But they are normal when Danny plays at school. This is just for ✨effect✨ Against invaders.#Danny faces multiple opponents. He also halts alien invasions.#While Danny COULD stop crime on earth he’s not sure how to fight a normal human and hold back so he sticks to ghosts.#The Justice league are going crazy trying to figure out who this entity is and after deep research are convinced this is some sort of #Ancient being who has protected earth for millenia. They have paintings on ruins and everything.#Danny is not aware they think this.#Raven starts praying to Danny as if he is a god and wrangles the other Teen Titans into doing so as well. Danny is still unaware of this.#Danny is not a King or an ancient. Just a very VERY strong ghost.

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miguxadraws · 1 month

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I don't think I've ever drawn swap!pomni before so here it is (ft. ragatha)

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dealwithadeer · 3 months

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I love this picture because you can really see what both Husk and Alastor imagine as they sing this.

Husk is looking up at the sky with a genuine smile on his face, dreaming about freedom, his friends, the possibility of redemption and in this moment he can actually see himself taking off and leaving Hell (and Alastor) behind.

Alastor meanwhile is also dreaming of freedom but when he looks up he is not seeing the possibility of redemption but himself on a throne with everyone tied to his strings. He does not dream of leaving Hell, he dreams of ruling it.

The difference between Husk dreaming of saying goodbye to Alastor, and breaking off his chains while Alastor has a dream that probably involves Husk eternally chained to his side is just fascinatingly messed-up.

#inspired by Vivziepop liking that one tweet about Alastor telling Husk nonverbally #that he is going to be Alastors b'''' Forever #Alastor being possessive over Husk in a platonic way is just too good to pass up #husk hazbin hotel #alastor hazbin hotel #alastor #radiohusk

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uncanny-tranny · 6 months

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The thing that gets me about history and humanity is that you never know what is immortalized, and the things that will be immortalized are things you would never think.

I saw a person sharing a new tattoo, and it was one of Onfim's drawings. A boy who lived so long ago he is barely a blip now, but his drawings meant so much to people that somebody is now permanently marked in their skin with one of those drawings. Do you ever look at the things you make and just sit there and wonder if this is the thing that future people look at? Do you ever look at your art, your writing, your schoolwork, or anything that is yours and just wonder who will find it, who will fall in love with a piece of your humanity and become overwhelmed with emotion over? It's not unlikely. It's not totally unlikely that somebody will find a piece of you in the distant future and devoid of any other context of who you were will still love you because you were here. You were here, and you are still here, even hundreds or thousands of years later. Treat yourself with the same love that so many have for dear Onfim.

#positivity #gentle reminders #if anybody has ancient children's drawings beside onfim let me know they melt my heart #i have always wanted a tattoo of that kind of thing too and i want ideas #see if archeologists dig me up or whomever else they won't find significant tattoos or other things. they will see i have loss.jpeg on me #and i think that's just as important. these people must know that people are silly and weird and don't make sense and that's IMPORTANT #i'm just. so obsessed with this because it's instantly humanizing #what little child hasn't drawn humans with twelve fingers per hand #or those kids drawings where it's only a torso/head conglomerate with stick legs and hands #i just really lived seeing how their tattoo turned out because i wasn't sure if it would look good in ink and skin #i feel the same way about archiving the internet. i was looking for the written crochet pattern for something #and the person who wrote and created it passed away and their blog has been scrubbed #their blog only exists on the archives. their pattern is only accessible on youtube because somebody made a video tutorial with the pattern #it's an eerie feeling. they've been gone for two years but their blog has been tethered by the wayback machine

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moeblob · 3 months

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Harvey telling the farmer it's their time for the annual check up before knowing them for a year is always funny to me. But the fact I keep drawing Asmodeus♡ with a big mouth and fangs made me read the dialogue more like "that's scary, please stop" rather than "okay onto the next part".

Anyway, I have never drawn Harvey before so please enjoy my attempt. (gives him a lil gray. as a treat. to me. the gray is for me.)

#stardew valley #farmer asmodeus♡#sdv harvey #i need to actually use the wiki for heart events and go on a spree lmao #im actually p high up on hearts for ... a lot of people ? but have seen so few heart events for em #cause im too busy doing fishing requests or the bonkers hey i need 100 amaranth on the fall request board thing #where its bigger tasks #cause hoo boy that took way too much of my time and i didnt really get to socialize much with the town except for randomly in passing #and so the relationships kinda halted progress mid to late fall #BUT ITS FINE GUYS #I finished fall ! and on fall 28 im proud to announce #asmo is no a good level 10 fisher #and i would like to say that its really funny that my last request was for a salmon on fall 28 #and im like dude requesting this you better be glad i have confidence in getting this in one day #since it was willy i was just sitting outta the shop fishing and then realized wait a second #i have about 7000g and an iridium rod is 7500g #so i caught the salmon and a few more to boost me up to 7500g and as soon as i go in to buy the rod #i look at my level and oh nice its now level 10 #happy level 10 have a new rod as a treat i guess asmo.... you have 131g now have fun

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disaster-catalyst · 1 year

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Braindead headcanons #1

Tim, before they got together, had begged Danny to work for Wayne Enterprise but Danny shot the idea down since he already made up his mind and wanted to go for S.T.A.R labs

Tim : Come on please?

Danny, exasperated : How are we supposed to have a consensual workplace relationship if I do that??

Tim :

Tim : Is.. Is this your way of asking me out?

Suffice to say that once they did get together, Danny soon decided to actually work for Wayne Enterprise's Aerospace division (not without continuous teasing from Tim though)

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miraculouslycool · 7 months

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It has been 16 years since Gilmore girls ended and I still think the Rory Gilmore hate bandwagon is forced, ridiculous and misogynistic.

#don't get me wrong she has her wtf moments too #but the way jess and logan - who i really like too - can be seen as complex and misunderstood #while doing fucked up things #but rory is seen as ungrateful and spoiled because....she had a human reaction #to being told that what shes been working for her whole life #is actually futile in the coldest way possible?#for wanting a break from the expectations EVERYONE ELSE including her loving #well meaning mother put on her??#i dont understand why rory is to be blamed for being a product of her environment #but jess and logan get a pass for that exact same reason #its because of our good friend miss o jenny #gilmore girls #rory gilmore

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uhbasicallyjustmilex · 6 days

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my sister just referred to arctic monkeys as “cold apes” and i may never recover

#she knows what they’re really called she just refuses to address them in any way that’s remotely respectful #she will never pass up an opportunity to make fun of any band or artist i love #and this was just… too good not to share 🙈#why you should never thesaurus your band name #arctic monkeys #alex turner #lulu posts

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dailypokemoncrochet · 1 month

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I forgot I have to remake an Onix because I somewhat impulse gave it to someone at work

#text #i thought he was having a bad week/month #and i knew onix was his favorite #so before leaving for work one day i grabbed the onix from my ceiling #(felt like picking a fruit off a tree lol)#and then handed it to him when we passed in the hall #i ended up quitting like a few weeks after i think #but i heard he was walking around with it on his shoulder the other day so thats good #i got way too attached to people at work and i feel weird about having quit so suddenly for ostensibly a dumb reason #but uh im too autistic for whatever middle management shit they got going on. and possibly too autistic for any job 😔

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jestiamy · 8 months

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qsmp makes me feel like a conspiracy theorist almost constantly. I see someone go "yeah bad almost exclusively chooses tophats in games when given the option" and I immediately run back to my conspiracy board and pin that next to the photo of q!slime and q!mariana saying they'll adopt juanaflippa because she has glasses like q!slime/q!mariana respectively under a sticky note captioned "??? the original spanish-english egg pairs were designed in a way meant to attract certain parents to adopting them???", that's connected by red string to a note pad page stating "how random was the parent pairing REALLY?" with nothing under it - which is then connected to a string that leads to several polaroids containing the ending(s) of the wall and the wreckage of the button, captioned "why build a wall that big only to have it end at a certain point?" followed by a string connected to a notebook page in the middle of the board reading "the illusion of choice?" - connected to several other seemingly dead-end questions and theories, as well as some slight stragglers only connected to eachother and not the middle. and then I look over my board covered in feverish notes and I go. yeah okay so I may just have like a slight problem

#quesadilla island and the illusion of choice.#i am so normal #I spent. a little bit too long on this bit I think.#saying stuff #I have more thoughts but it's just the generic stuff.#why does the federation want the residents on the island so badly. how did wilbur even leave the island.#why did islanders from the island itself vs others who aren't arrive the same way. what the fuck is up with the codes.#why do the feds insist on having a good rapport with the islanders. why do they try to desensitize them to their presence via tasks.#why do they try so hard to look non-threatening to the point even grunt workers carry around bubble wands to blow on the regular.#a lot of this is easily “the federation wants to build trust” but that's also a why. what do they stand to gain from doing that.#hold on where's my nerd tag #i think.#oh my god really.#that's. okay yeah that checks out actually #qsmp #quackity smp #q!cellbit a man of the people (I am burning with questions about the federation all of the time oh my god.)#edit if you see spelling mistakes in this post do not correct me please I have a fragile ego #I did not notice until four hours had passed and now I'm committed to pretending I do not in fact care about it

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byronicbi · 2 months

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#prev notes thank u for the reminder bc i always put my trigger warnings in the notes then go back and add them when done with the chapter#but i do like to give a double warning bc not all triggers apply to each chapter

This! I hard agree! There's this nifty little tag on AO3 that's "Other Additional Tags to be Added" that I always use whenever I'm writing longfic and I've no idea where some things might go, because it lets readers know that, yeah, other things might pop up along the way that are not warned for just yet but might require a warning in the future.

It's always fantastic practice to restate content warnings at the beginning of the chapters that include them, because a lot of times readers tend to gloss over warnings anyway. (That one meme of the person looking horrified with the text "when you come across that one tag you missed".) That's the beauty of AO3! That it allows you to do this!

I do want to clarify that this isn't necessary, by any means. As someone who writes horror for a living, sometimes you gotta trust a reader that they'll take the overall content warnings listed out at the beginning (and in AO3's case, the tags) and know that those things will be present at some point. That's why it's imperative that content and trigger warnings go in the tags.

I tend to update my tags before a new chapter goes up and then in the chapter notes point out that I've done so, a "please give those a refresher!" type deal, but I recognize that 1) I only ever do this on desktop and it's way easier to do 2) come from a decade+ of writing darkfic and am very adamant that my readers take care of themselves and 3) a stickler for my own self-imposed rules.

#texts.#you do fantastic with your tagging tho can i can attest to this. sorry for snatching your tags this way but they were too good to pass up.#AO3 #i'm on a fandom etiquette kick today sorry guys

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your-local-grinning-cat · 2 months

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HAPPY

🎂 BIRTHDAY 🎂

TO ME~!!!

*cracks knuckles*

EXPLANANATION TIME!!!

(because AR needed to make this work somehow)

SO!

I am officially being labeled a Leapling on this blog!

I was born on February 29th, 2008!

“But Che’nya! That would mean you’ve only been through 16 years! You’re younger than Riddle! 🙀”

NOPE!

I’m a Cheshire. Time is a good friend of mine~! =^w^=

I made a bet with him that I could beat him at chess. If he won, I would lose a year. If I won, I would gain a year.

Naturally, I won. :3

Aaaaaaand then I nabbed another year while he wasn’t looking because when else was I ever going to get that chance?! Plus… for the lolz. 😹

Time was so mad… but also grudgingly impressed I managed to do it, so he just let me have it as long as I purromised to never do it again. Which… why would I need to? I was already 2 years older! My friend Trey’s age! I was happy with that. 😸

So… I may have been born in 2008, but I am 18 years old! Or rather… physically I am 18.

Because birthday wise? Today I am turning 4 years old!

😹😹😹

#a very merry BIRTHDAY to meeeeee~!#🥳🥳🥳#even my birthday is mad!#and it disappears too! 😸#ar: *cries in world building and character development* 🫠🫠🫠#ar: BUT IT WAS TOO GOOD TO PASS UP #che’nya: you could have just made me 20 like my highness #che’nya: and literally said I was too busy goofing off and got held back like he did #che’nya: or something #ar: NO DAMNIT I WANTED TO DO IT THIS WAY #che’nya: *giggles*#che’nya meows #twst rp #che’nya rp #a mad birthday

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watchmakermori · 1 year

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Womanhood as a prison in Natasha Pulley novels

I know that a great deal has already been said about Natasha Pulley’s portrayal of female characters, because even her most ardent fans (and I count myself among them) are often highly critical of how women are written in her stories - or, more aptly, written out of them.

But I think there is more to be said about how not only female characters are presented, but how the very concept of femininity is portrayed, via both the characters’ dialogue and inner thoughts. This analysis will reference all of Pulley’s books with the exception of The Bedlam Stacks. I’m excluding it on the grounds of it having little to no major female characters, but if any Bedlam superfans have any insight to add, please do reblog and contribute.

One of the main criticisms of Pulley’s women is their overarching similarity, so let’s briefly consider those commonalities. They are mostly educated, career-driven scientists (Grace is a budding physicist, Agatha a surgeon, Anna a much more experienced physicist). They are usually unnattractive by conventional standards; Grace is described as looking ‘like a boy’, Pepperharrow refers to herself as being ugly, Agatha is ‘tall and flat-chested’, and Anna’s introduction mentions that she has a ‘blonde buzz cut’ and is somewhat overweight.

They are also generally emotionally cold and poor caretakers, especially in contrast to the male characters. Joe’s wife, Alice, is noted to resent their daughter and engage with her far less than he does. Similarly, Shenkov is significantly more child-orientated than Anna. Agatha forces Missouri to watch a man having his throat cut, because she believes him too gentle for war. Said female characters may also show distaste for softer, more vulnerable women. Takiko Pepperharrow speaks of her mother like this (The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, p. 72):

Saying yes and simpering all the time was silly - her mother did that and even noticeably anxious ducklings walked over her mother

She isn’t the only person to speak of her mother with a degree of pity and distaste. Grace claims that to argue with her own mother feels like ‘slapping a kitten’ - Mrs Carrow is presented as too meek to understand her own powerlessness, to the point that she considers it an achievement to leave the house alone. In the epilogue of The Half Life of Valery K, Valery himself describes the pitiable housewife Cecilia as being ‘just as stunted as his own mother’. Similarly to Mrs Carrow, the aforementioned Cecilia is not presented as fully aware of how small and restricted her life is - her happiness rests on the outcome of a dinner party, nothing larger than that.

The common thread between these pitiable characters is that they embody traditional womanhood - they are married, they are subservient to their husbands, and they have children. Perhaps the most notable - and interesting - trend amongst Pulley’s female charcters is that they invariably have a complicated relationship with marriage, caretaking, and/or childbearing.

Pulley’s novels frequently frame motherhood (along with other traditionally feminine pursuits and behaviours) as an obstacle to the female characters’ goals. In conversation with her mother, Grace talks about the prospect of marriage in the following way (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, p. 102):

“Wives have duties. If I have children I’ll go insane for a year and a half - don’t look like that, you did, with James and with William, it was terrifying - and that will be a year and a half of weeping over nothing and a brain made of soup in which I can’t work. And then it will happen again with the next child, and then slowly I won’t want to work at all, and I’ll always be soup...”

In Grace’s mind, having children is a barrier to her academic pursuits. She is fiercely certain that giving birth will not only reduce her brain to ‘soup’, but that the impact will be permanent - she will lose herself to motherhood, and it will take away her drive and her intellect. Similar sentiments can be found among other female characters, such as when Takiko observes the following (The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, p. 175):

All her sisters had had children, and all she’d learned from it was that people with children turned inward. She didn’t see any of them anymore.

Once again, there is the sense that motherhood steals from women. It takes them away from themselves by turning them inward, and also from other people in that they lose contact with family members. The Half Life of Valery K foregrounds Anna’s perspective on motherhood (p. 137), which is probably the most extreme of all:

..she had told him straight up when they got married that she wasn’t a natural mother, that she didn’t do well with small helpless things, because she had been trained to care about electron microscopes, thanks, and obviously she would gestate him a small helpless thing to look after if he wanted [...] but there would be no talk of staying home, nesting, or maternal fussing, because frankly that was nothing but weakness of character in a woman...

A significant part of this passage is the notion that Anna is not a natural mother because she has ‘been trained to care about electron microscopes’. Not only does this again put scientific pursuits and childrearing in opposition (you may care for one, not both), the verb ‘trained’ suggests that this behaviour is learned, as though she has been educated out of maternal desires.

At this point in the analysis, I would like to specify that discussing these ideas in fiction is not inherently problematic or anti-feminist. It is vitally important for women to be free to reject motherhood, and by extension it is good to see female characters who are unapologetically unmaternal and unfeminine. When I first read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, I adored Grace’s character for this - I loved her arrogance, her stubbornness, her distaste for marriage, her coarseness. Even the fact that she looked down on other women made her fascinating to me, because we just don’t see a lot of multi-faceted female characters who act in this way. She was complex and interesting without being a Strong Female Character™ to look up to - she was allowed to be wrong and wildly dislikable.

Where I take issue, however, is the fact that we have never seen an alternative to Grace in all five of Natasha Pulley’s novels. She is yet to write a significant female character who is complex and important despite being more traditionally feminine - there are no women who are scientists and dedicated mothers, who are career-minded and gentle, who are fiercely independent and hopeless romantics. It is one thing for Grace and other characters to disparage the poor, oppressed housewives in their society, but it is another thing entirely for the narrative itself to disparage these women. A woman without an education is still a fully-realised person with her own internal life. Women who cannot attain much agency are still as complex as those who can, yet Pulley’s stories never quite acknowledge this.

Which leads me onto the overarching portrayal of womanhood in Pulley’s novels. I’ve always been hesitant to assume too much based on singular characters, as I do think it’s imporant to recognise that a character’s perspective is not a proxy for the author’s. But after five books, the patterns are undeniable, and I think they’re more marked in The Half Life of Valery K than they ever have been. Consider the quotation below, taken from p. 30:

[Valery] never knew what to say when women pointed out that they were women and that it was, generally, awful. There was a knee-jerk human instinct to say it couldn’t be as bad as all that, like he would have to anyone who was feeling blue, but it was one of those instances where it really was awful, and trying to say it wasn’t was somewhere on the spectrum between stupid and criminal.

Valery offers an invariably bleak perspective on womanhood, which is in keeping with the attitudes of the female characters in Pulley’s books. Not only is womanhood described as miserable - Valery also claims that to deny the truth of this is either ‘stupid or criminal’. There is no space to take a more positive view on femininity.

Being charitable, we could view this as a (heavy-handed) condemnation of sexism and patriarchy, and I do think that this is Pulley’s intention. But it’s worth considering that she does not discuss other marginalisation in this way. Despite the homophobia her numerous queer protagonists face, nobody goes on a similar tirade about the misery of being a man who loves other men. The trials and struggles are acknowledged, but queer love is still rightfully shown to be beautiful and privately joyous - in a way that being a woman never is.

Instead, womanhood in Pulley’s novels is oppressive and inescapable. Even a young girl’s fingernails cannot be neutral - they too represent the trappings of patriarchy (The Half Life of Valery K, p. 274):

“I can’t do it,” Tatiana said to her own laces. She studied her fingernails. “My tools of the patriarchy are getting too long.”

(This is an utterly bizarre thing for a little kid to say, by the way).

Towards the end of the novel, a carriage full of female prisoners is set upon by male ones, which is portrayed almost as an inevitablitity - we do not get a scene of exactly what happens, because the outcome is obvious enough to be implied. This outlook on the inevitability of violence against women is never challenged at any point; Valery only emphasises it in the final pages of the novel (p. 369):

every doctor he worked with and laughed with in tea breaks probably had an identical wife, all of them keeping women like bonsai trees

The messaging across Pulley’s novels is that of womanhood as a prison. There is little to no joy to be found in it; it results in confinement, loss of the self, isolation from others, and exposure to physical and emotional violence. Women who ‘succumb’ to marriage and children are given little voice in her stories - they are pitiable, ‘identical’ lost causes, called ‘stunted’, compared to kittens and bonsai trees. The only female POVs are that of women rebelling against conventional femininity, who are ambivalent or outwardly resentful towards caretaking, childrearing, and reliance on others. And even these women do not get to take up a great deal of space; all of them serve as obstacles to the central romances and all of them are written out to secure the male characters’ happily ever afters.

I do not believe that Natasha Pulley has malicious intent in how she writes female characters. It is important to address misogynistic violence and the ways in which the institution of marriage has restricted and oppressed women, and I believe she does try to do that. But there are ways to explore this issue whilst still acknowleding the variety of women’s experiences - and, crucially, showing that there is more to femininity than suffering.

But it requires time and space. Natasha Pulley has no hope of doing this if she does not start deviating from her usual archetypes - her stories need a better quality and quantity of women. While I live in hope of improvements to her female representation, I would be lying if I said I was optimistic.

#natasha pulley #the watchmaker of filigree street #the half life of valery k #the kingdoms #the lost future of pepperharrow #i wrote this instead of doing my actual job this afternoon #I just couldn't. stop. thinking about it #my friend finished reading the kingdoms yesterday and we ended up talking about the huge Weirdness of her female rep #and the more I looked back over valery k the more i think that book has such a STRANGE presentation of women and gender as a whole #the fact that it almost tries to pass itself off as feminist (in such a heavy handed way too!) while shafting the female characters is just #not good chief #long post

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fleshhhteeth · 10 months

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Habit bites you say? 👀👀

Could I get

some headcanons going more into detail about that?

I don’t think it’s any hot tea to say that the community thinks Habit would be big into biting, leaving scratches, knifeplay, etc he be that kinda demon <3 and the kinda sub masochist that might be down to try that? I be that kinda person

Also you’re a really good writer! c:

Yes, yes you can :} (also thank u!!! got me kickin my feet in the air n shit heehee)

Suggestive / nsfw under the cut! Minors dni

HABIT biting / knifeplay headcanons (tw for mentions of slight gore)

He'll bite you for a whole slew of reasons, not just horny shit. Piss him off and he's getting in your face? Gnashing teeth. He wants to piss *you* off? Biting you while you're in the middle of something. Just minding your own damn business? You're never safe bitch.

It only gets worse if he's turned on tbh, but I DO have a bit of a hot take. Of course he loves digging his teeth in, leaving frighteningly severe marks all over you, and the rush he gets in licking up the pooling blood- But its not a one way street.

I think, under the (rather unlikely) circumstances that he's genuinely into you? He'd want you to reciprocate in the whole "literally ripping each other apart in every way imaginable" thing.

You're clearly weaker than him, and couldn't make a dent in him if you tried? He'd get off on just watching you try. Its cute, to him. Bonus points if you REALLY get into it. He appreciates the effort and gusto.

You actually stand a chance in getting him to hurt? Go fucking nuts, he'll let you. Yank his hair, step on his throat, choke him out, rip chunks out of him with your teeth, its all on the table. Being practically invincible, and having everyone else cower in fear around you gets really boring when you've lived that way for your entire existence. If you can physically manage to overpower him? He'll let you. (good fucking luck though asdfhksdfg)

On the same note, knives. Hoo boy.

I don't think he'd have the patience to like, trace up your body with the tip of his knife, or carve words into your skin or anything, but he would definitely get creative with it nontheless. Y'know how some people will do the whole "count while I spank you" thing? That, but with knife wounds. Sitting on his lap and everything.

And of course, he'd love holding that shit up to your neck as he pounds into you- genuinely coming close to cutting into the skin, pressing dangerously harder with every breath you take in. Who needs choking when he can have you desperately holding your breath all on your own?

On the flip side, he would definitely be into you teasing him with one of his own knives. Run it feather light up his abdomen, his chest, up to his throat, all he wants is for you to drive it down into him, and give him that weirdly euphoric release of agony. The anticipation is nice, but he'll never admit that out loud.

He wants that shit to hurt- like blinding pain. It sort of registers in his head like an orgasm would, since he doesn't exactly experience that level of pain very often.

HUGE bonus points if you actually have him vulnerable during it. (tied up, overpowered, ect.)

Tldr: this man is obsessed with pain. In any way, any method, any form, all of it. Doesn't even matter who's on what end.

#If anyone is wondering #Yes I did think WAY too hard about the way habit acted around the god killer knife #so audacious and intimate wtf #sadomasochist habit stans rise up #I may not be a masochist myself but I respect y'all for being so brave. 🫡#emh #everymanhybrid #Habit emh #emh habit #Habit x reader #I kinda went to0 hard with this but an opportunity to preach my sadomasochist habit beliefs was too good to pass up.#Nsft #suggestive

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dawnthefluffyduck · 3 months

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Gesture & Figure Studies

I mentioned in a previous post that a professor of mine gave me some resources that I find super helpful, and that once he fixed the links to those resources, I would share them here.

So, as promised, I'm making a post to compile the various online goodies I've been given/stumbled across on my own. All of these are super good resources to practice gesture drawing for free, and in a more comfortable environment than staring at a real person three feet away from you. Some of these are also good references to have for longer drawings, so feel free to use them in whatever way helps you! Links put below:

Before anything, I think it's important to explain what exactly gesture is. At its core, gesture is simply looking at some form of reference, and drawing what you see as quickly as possible. Gesture drawing isn't actually exclusive to drawing people; it's helpful with pretty much all subject matter, such as still-lifes or landscapes. This post focuses on figure studies, but the techniques found here can be used elsewhere too.

These exercises are typically done in increments of 30 seconds-5 minutes. That's not a lot of time, so it's very important to not get hung up on details while working. Instead, focus on whatever you're drawing in its entirety; the point is to capture the energy of whatever you're looking at, not each individual shape. These drawings tend to look a little goofy and that's perfectly fine! The important part is proportion and energy, not form.

Below are a couple of videos that I think best help introduce gesture drawing. Seeing it is action explains it better than words can, in my opinion:

A demo of figure gesture drawing (this is closest to how I was taught)

Short video that explains good things to watch out for while you work

And for the poses:

Playlist of timed poses (non-nude)

Playlist of timed poses (nude)

Pose image library (nude/non-nude/hands/more+)

Timed image library (nude/non-nude/hands/more+)

Another timed image library (nude/non-nude)

Pinterest board of hand/feet references (helpful even outside of gesture drawing)

HUGE pose reference library (very helpful even outside of gesture drawing)

DeviantArt page for the above (more poses I believe, but harder to navigate)

I'll update this post if I add anything else to this list, but this is all I have for now. Hopefully a couple of people can find this useful :D

#even if nobody uses these I would like to have them here so I don't loose them #but sharing is caring and I love these resources so maybe someone else might want them too #i will say:#if you're an artist/wanting to learn to draw people #and you ever get an opportunity to join a live model drawing session #definitely don't pass it up; they're not all nakey people #i've only seen one of these events held outside of my classes and I very much regret not being able to go #regardless learning it virtually is still a massive help and has been how i've learned for most of the past year #it's helped me a ton with my anatomy over the past year #but it's still a good way to warm up even if you don't need help with anatomy #gesture drawing #figure studies #art resources #drawing resources #non-art post

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