#/ also i got carried away haha

[narsh-poptarts]

Gosh RGB, who let YOU have a face?

...I did? well, that's strange

really wanted to draw a solid expression or two and strangely wanted to do the guy who doesn't. have a face. so i did a panel redraw!!! (there's just so many moments in this comic where the feelings leaking out from him and what we see is just so POTENT and i AUGH!!! please please please go read The Property of Hate it is such a wonderful comic it will make you explode on the inside. i promise you will come out of it completely normal <- lying)

also STOP DOING THAT RGB you're gonna have people endeared to you

original panel and alternate less eye-strain-y version under the cut!!

it's so weird seeing him with a face, but it did give me an excuse to go overboard with the hair

[paintaya]

peter... the horse is here.

petaya... the horse is here.

[vitalitypopkat]

So I watched Pooh's Grand Adventure again today...

Might clean this up properly at some point but who knows 👍UPDATE: I did that

[saradiation]

God tier Dirk

[giulzart]

Velvet Solstice & Violet Rose

Template by @cozmiccore for @infamous-if

[sn0wbat]

strange dreams that make you go hmm.

[princesscringe]

weeping angel <3

[heliosphere-underthesky]

Has Venus's personality changed over the years ?

Yeah, I'd like to think it has!

I'll be honest, I didn't know what to do with her personality for real. But I do remember that I made her a "femme fatale" kind of character. The kind who's not tolerant of any stupidity (which, back then, Heliosphere had a ton of) so she gets exasperated easily.

She also constantly has a dagger look, or just a distant, "angry yet sad" look to her.

In the revamp, she's mellowed down a great deal.

She's still introverted and she still mostly keeps to herself. She still doesn't really have a preference for antics, but she's also very tolerant of others. She now openly enjoys their company, even if she's not emotionally showy unlike Earth.

Here's a redraw (2015 vs 2023; 2023 is a sketch so it doesn't have much effects unlike 2015)

Even if I still like the older concept for Venus, I still like the one we have now for better main cast chemistry!

One thing that never seemed to change is that she's a singer. I think I wanted her to be a ballad pop singer back then, or a jazz singer, not sure. But now, I made her an opera singer.

Here's a sample of her current singing voice. (around the 1:05 mark, I'd like to imagine the guitar solos are by Mars and she's the opera singer)

Actually while we're on the topic, she and Mars both mellowed down over the years. Same with Mercury, but Mars significantly mellowed down. Here are some examples:

[drones-of-innocence]

Hi! Great job on your collab with Elitadreams! You’re both so talented!

I have a question. How do you think the following morning after the last chapter would go down?

Hey there, thank you so much!! 🥺

If I were to continue where the last chapter left off, Mario and Peach would sleep through the rest of the night and possibly a bit late into the morning because of the eventful night.

It would be a deep and restful sleep that neither of them have experienced in a very long time. Mario is ordinarily a very light sleeper due to his being very aware of his surroundings for his adventures, and Peach tends to stay up late working and then wake up early to prepare for her duties. Yet, after that night with Peach safe beside him, Mario feels so at ease to the point where his body entirely relaxes and allows him to get a full night's sleep. Peach's subconscious senses only security and comfort without even a hint of stress on her mind, and she also gets to rest fully.

Mario would be so unused to this deep sleep that he would wake up quite disoriented and be confused at first as to where he was and what he was doing. But then, seeing Peach snuggled so close, in her soft blankets with her cute little Yoshi plush tucked in with her, everything would come back to him.

The sun would already be rising high, with the sounds of the castles daily functions as well as the birds and breeze outside setting a peaceful ambience. Mario would fret at first, but give in to simply watching Peach sleep for a few precious moments. Her hair all tousled, her face soft and peaceful. During the night, she had curled up beside him and tucked into his side.

It's intimate, and Mario can't help but smile despite the butterflies in his stomach.

However, he is aware that he shouldn't stay with her in her bedroom of all places, no matter how at ease he feels being with her as she rests. He wishes he could protect her just like this every day. But the threat is still present on the castle grounds, and he must see to it that Kamek is deported and will think better of coming back. He planned on convening with the Lieutenant and reorganizing the security arrangement and introducing night shifts. Plus, he has to check in with Luigi.

So he carefully eases away, taking great care to move very slowly as to not disturb the sleeping princess. His hand had rested over hers all night. He gingerly strokes his thumb across her knuckles, and gazes at her face for a long moment before finally shifts out of the bed.

Her room is still an absolute wreck. It's kind of hilarious to sleep so sweetly among such a mess, but as long as she is safe, Mario doesn't mind. He decides to speak to some of the staff about getting her space fixed up for her as he's stepping around some of the broken furniture.

As soon as the door shuts with the softest click, Princess Peach smiles to herself and snuggles deeper into her bed.

[romaritimeharbor]

guys i have no idea when this happened but i have like, multiple new genshin ocs bouncing around in my head

[autonomousxselves]

what kind of tragedy are you?

(oopsie long post hehe)

Tagged by Stolen from: @braveryhearted yet again hehe

Tagging: @epitomees @oraclememehacker @orphemiss @shadowedresolve @tvstarkuma @limitlesspossibilities

wrong place, wrong time

it shouldn’t have been you. oh my love, you should have lived. if only. if only you had made a right instead of a left. if only your friend hadn’t had so much to drink. if only it hadn’t rained last night. then everything would be fine. a butterfly could have flapped its wings at another time and you would have have been fine. safety was so close, and yet so far. but alas, the stars just had to align.

written in the stars

it had to end this way. we all know it. only you were unaware. you had hope. hope, of course, only makes it hurt all the more. we all knew you would look back, oh love, there’s no other version of the story. and yet, alongside you, we still had hope. we believed in you, even though we knew you couldn’t win. and you believed in yourself till the last moment. it isn’t fair, is it? you didn’t know you were doomed.

self-inflicted

you were given the choice to live, a thousand times over, and yet you never choose it. not intentionally, oh no, you didn’t know it was a grave you were digging. but with every turn, you were twisting the knife deeper. every decision doomed you more. had it been anyone else, they would have made it. but you? you are so perfectly you, there was no escaping it. the true tragedy of it all, is how preventable it was.

doomed from the start

there was no way of winning, and you knew it too. but you still tried. you tried again and again and again to change it. you fought tooth and claw to change your fate, but she cannot be easily manipulated. it’s not your fault. the game was always rigged against you. from the moment you entered the narrative, your fate was sealed. you didn’t stand a chance.

[lieutenantselnia]

Some thoughts on the choice of Carina Smyth's first name

Ngl even though there are many things I don't like about DMTNT, I think that Carina is like one of the best names that could be chosen for Barbossa's daughter. It sounds like a pretty regular name at first, but I think the backstory is what makes it actually a really great choice.

"Carina" is the name of a star constellation which is also known as "keel of the ship". In the german dub of the movie this is actually made more obvious, as Carina says that she's named after said star constellation, whereas in the original she says the the brightest star in the north (which is part of the constellation) gave her her name. Being named after a star constellation which resembles a ship (or at least a part thereof), her name is connected to both the stars and the sea, two focal points in Barbossa's life as a pirate and as a captain. He's a man of the sea and an exceptional navigator, and I think it's safe to assume that he has a very good knowledge of astronomy, particularly for navigational purposes. As he said himself, he knows which stars to follow home.

I like to think that Barbossa consciously chose his daughter's name because of its meaning. However, we unfortunately don't know under which conditions it was chosen, since we simply don't have enough information about his and Margaret Smyth's relationship. How many months before the birth did he learn that he was going to be a father? Were he and Margaret able to prepare for the changes in their lives that might come with having a child, did they make any plans for the future? Did they think up names together, and he suggested Carina, should they have a daughter? Or did Hector just return to land one day to learn his partner had died while he was at sea, and left him a child, and he had to come up with a name on the spot and the first thing that came to his mind were the star constellations?

I kind of doubt that we will get any canonical answers to those questions, so they are left to the realm of headcanons. I personally like to imagine that Barbossa chose the name carefully, and because of what it meant to him personally. Even though he kind of said in the movie that he never wanted his daughter to be associated with pirates (which happens to include himself), I think as her father he still wanted to make at least one meaningful impact on her life, which happened to be the choice of her name. Maybe also, in that way he would never forget her, since whenever he observed the sky and saw the star constellation Carina, he would also think of his daughter.

[monstrousproductions]

I trust your taste

Can you recommend some fiction books? Fantasy is highly appreciated!

Oooh what a sign of trust!! OK so I don't actually read a huge ton of fantasy, so I'll do my best with a couple of non-fantasy that I just can't resist mentioning at the end.

Also, this got... a bit long... so I'm putting it under a Read More lol

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin - classic fantasy about a boy who becomes a great wizard. I realise this is likely one you've already read, as a fantasy fan, but it's a classic for a reason! Absolutely beautiful, and really powerful for me as a Quaker because of its rejection of the idea that fantasy must always be about The Goodie winning over The Baddie by doing killing better than them. If you've read it already, read it again lmao Also there's a new audiobook that came out a few years ago read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith which is just brilliant.

The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin does come with a decent load of content warnings so do tread carefully if necessary, but it's also the best fantasy I've read in YEARS. The book is split over three different narratives in a world where magic users are an oppressed class, and again the audiobooks are amazing, read by Robin Miles.

Meanwhile I very much do NOT recommend the audiobook for Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb, though I did enjoy the book when I read it. The audiobook is, I believe, read by an American putting on what he thinks is an English accent, and um. Well. It sure is something. It's pretty classic fantasy too, and one of those books that you're like "what in God's name do you mean, this wasn't intended to be gay??"

The Heavens by Sandra Newman always makes my rec lists because it made me cry a lot and it's just very beautiful. Again the narrative is split, one taking place in an alternate, utopian present and one in Elizabethan England, with the narratives linked by the fact that the Elizabethan stuff is happening in the dreams of the woman in the present.

My favourite book ever is Fire & Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, it's about an unlikely friendship between a girl and a young man with lots of fae things and that brilliant blending of magic and reality that DWJ does so well. It's so much my favourite that when I recommend it to friends, I ask them to please not tell me if they didn't like it - just pretend you didn't read it haha Honestly I recommend any DWJ, but F&H is my baby <3

Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees was one of those books I read once that just stayed with me. It's about a Perfectly Ordinary English Town that sees an influx of fairy fruit and has to deal with that, and while I'm fuzzy on remembering the details, I know I loved it!

And then because I actually read more SF than fantasy as a general rule, here's a jumble of SF titles that I adore (though I'll spare you the waffle!):

the Imperial Radch triology by Ann Leckie about a troop carrier who becomes a person (she also has a fantasy book - The Raven's Tower - if that appeals more and all her audiobooks in the UK are read by Adjoa Andoh who I would simply die for)

the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, about a security bot who becomes a person (audiobooks are read by Kevin R Free, of Nightvale fame, and they're brilliant)

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, about two soldiers in warring time-travel factions sending letters to each other (also made me cry)

To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers, about space researchers who change their bodies to adapt to the worlds they find and what ethical issues they come up against

The City We Became by NK Jemisin, about people who become living avatars of the different districts of New York to fight an alien presence (also a good audiobook - Robin Miles again)

All Our Wrong Todays by Elan Mastai, about a man from a utopian timeline suddenly stuck in our timeline instead (good audiobook too)

Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel, about a travelling theatre troup in a world where civilisation collapsed after a terrible pandemic (obviously tread carefully wrt how upsetting that might be for you!)

And then it isn't SFF in any strict sense but The Man Who Was Thursday by GK Chesterton (Simon Vance does the audiobook I like) is just very very fun and good and I like it a lot. Also the Lord Peter Wimsey novels, for the same reason!

[inun4ki]

continued from this ask / @killxrofsorcerers

A frightening chill jolted down Kaede's spine and all the color drained from his face, lips fluttering withe very desperate and painful gasp for air. Pupils dilated, throat crushed under the weight of Yami's palm, and a thousand vile memories rushed to the forefront of his mind. The madman howling in his face - Taisho and Kurai's screaming in his ears - His fault, his responsibility, so much blood was spilt and the blame was his to bear. Saliva, blood splattering across his face, dribbling from his mouth. No more air, the only thing drowning out the sound of organs hitting the floor and getting beaten for his inability to act being the furious beating of his heart, blood pounding in his ears.

If...he hadn't known any better, he might've wept - and possibly allowed Yami to punch his face in. But he couldn't allow it.

Yami didn't mean to do this, did he? He was just lashing out - something precious was missing, and he blamed Kaede for its disappearance. Will it always be this way?

...Will it always be his fault?

On reflex, his hands desperately sought the source of his pain, knobby knuckles and burnt fingertips clawing at Yami's fingers and wrist - reminded of the here and now, what was tangible and what was not. He choked on the pressure, soon beginning to flail his legs and push and shove and kick at Yami. He didn't want to fight him, didn't want to hurt him. He couldn't! He wouldn't! But he wasn't going to take this, wasn't going to sit here and allow him to spit on his generosity nor strangle him just because he was lost in his own shit--

Kaede cried out, his voice little more than an agonized sputter, but at last - at last! - he'd fended Yami off, shoving him away just enough for him to put some distance between them. Within seconds, he'd darted across the room, a table and chairs an obstacle between them now, and as Kaede heaved and shuddered in pitiful gasps, he clutched his throat. Old wounds felt the strain, vocal chords threatening to snap, bruises beginning to form on still-puffy scar tissue, faint tears appearing within the cracks. Yet, with a furrowed brow, Kaede lifted his head and glared at Yami from across the table.

"...Fool!" he wheezed pitifully, snarling like an alleycat. He coughed and trembled miserably, but he wouldn't be deterred. He had to speak to Yami's sense of reason, or things would get much worse than this. "How dare you accuse me of such trespass...! Do you think I'm some degenerate who cares and knows nothing of love or loss?! Do think I would betray you-- As if-as if I didn't know! As if I couldn't! As if I'm some petty thief with no morals! I hide myself from you, never my intentions!"

Oh, if only anyone had known.

He viciously guarded the distance between him and Yami, categorizing it as ground in battle to make sense of it, mind working overtime to solve the issue at hand. It wouldn't be so simple as explaining himself - Yami wasn't in a state to accept anything he'd say anyway. Was he to surrender, then? To bow his head and lay himself bare in the hopes it might calm the fury storming within Yami? Would finding his ring soothe him, ease the burden for a time? He couldn't know, not then, but if he could get Yami to calm down long enough...perhaps...

He drew a shaky breath, his expression softening considerably, his weaknesses on display.

"Please, listen to me!" he pleaded, throat burning from use. "I come from a lesser clan that's built its wealth over the centuries. I came with that money to repay you for your help! I would never steal from you!" A new panic took root the longer he prattled, bleeding into every broken word. "I didn't steal it! I didn't know it was there! I came with money I worked for--"

Kaede withdrew, unable to fight against the consuming darkness within Yami's gaze nor the parallels to a time long past - ghosts, all. Trapped, caged between a meager semblance of respect and adherence to principle, all the world around him melting into the oil-slick vomit of his waking nightmares. Fingers shook as they released, flexing instead around the edges of his face, as if he were watching it happen and facing the blame, rage, and hatred of them all over again. Panicked breathing, wheezing, and pleading, all useless it seemed. Ever and always, it must be this way. It was his purpose to be a tool, a receptical, a fate he both earned and inherited, perpetuated by rights.

There was no hope for kinship. No hope for the cycle to be broken. Around and around, until he drew his final breath.

"I would never... I would never--! Stop blaming me! I can't be responsible for your pain, too!"

[sysig]

Escort mission (Patreon)

[tealeavesandthorns]

Maria & Theo | Nothing Personal It's Just Business

@dxrknessexplored

"Maria-"

"No, dad I appreciate you think I need protection but I will not let your, well your goons. Intimidate my customers. You might be entangled in all this mess and murky world and I love you but The Grasshopper is my space."

"And it will remain so, but the condition of me investing-"

Maria folded her arms across her heaving chest. She was furious with her father and his entire enterprise right now. She understood exactly what he did and exactly why she required protection, especially in Gotham but she didn't exactly walk around with 'mob boss' daughter' tattooed across her forehead.

The Grasshopper was her world, it was her place. It had nothing to do with his work. It was supposed to be a warm place of comfort in Gotham. A solace from everything the city was. It was all books, tea and cake.

"Yes I understand," Maria softened. "I understand." She took a breath and rubbed at her arms before she spoke. "I know you love me, they were inside the shop today though, and they weren't conspicuous, they were intimidating and scary and they broke a mans hand."

"For stealing."

"Hector, is homeless and I knew he was there and I knew he was taking biscuits. He wasn't dipping his hand in the till." Maria gritted her teeth. Maria and her father stared at each other for a moment. Nic Bloomsco could rarely ever deny his daughter anything though. She had too much heart for a world that was so cold though and he'd protect it as long as he could.

"I'll talk to the boys." Nicholas softened as a figure appeared in the doorway.