#//TAKE THIS BECAUSE I'M LAZY AND YOU CAN USE ANY VERSE YOU WANT

[boxingcleverrr]

Popular Hades & Persephone "retellings" are, rightly, getting dunked on all over the socials right now and, as a Pagan who has an altar to the Queen, I could not be happier. But also, I feel like a lot of people miss WHY they're bad - aside from just plain bad writing and lazy tropes. Which are, yeah, also REALLY bad.

Pretty much all retellings try to wave away, or excuse, or twist the whole kidnapping bit. And I actually do have sympathy and understanding for why, when speaking from a modern perspective.

But honestly...you gotta get over it. There are other stories to play fix-it with, not this one.

The Abduction is The Thing.

Were I a little more sober I could bring up chapter and verse of the Hymn to Demeter but frankly, if you know even the middle school mythology curriculum version of the story, you SHOULD know the themes. The story of Persephone was one mothers and daughters in the ancient world held dear, because it was a reality: you will, one day, be swept away from your home to go cleave to a man you most likely know nothing about. You will miss your mother, but chances are very good that he will be a good husband, once you get to know him, certainly better than Zeus or Ares, and he will make you a queen of his home.

Leaving home to marry was often scary, and violent (look up the history of the tradition of Bridesmaids, if you don't already know it - they were originally decoys on the marriage road). Centuries later we'd have tales like Beauty & The Beast serving the same function: comfort, hope, you are leaving your safe loving home to figure life out with a (often older, powerful) stranger. Your trauma over this sudden ending of your childhood made manifest in a Beast, or a God of The Underworld.

It's wonderful that we don't NEED stories like this anymore to comfort us (here, at least, in this culture). But if you try to force them into modern vernacular it just will not work, not really, because you're gutting out the whole point just to have a more tidy romantic male hero.

I have read MANY very good ...novelizations? fanfic(? however you would frame them, but they're certainly not "retellings"), etc. that simply take advantage of the blank spaces in the myth, and there are many!

It's not explicit that sexual assault happens - "The Rape of Persephone" as a title was coined in much earlier eras, when the word was just as often used to simply refer to abduction.

"She was starving!" the gods didn't need to eat. So it's easy to read her eating the Pom seeds as a deliberate choice on her part. Like, shit, people, scholars have written whole papers on the symbolism of this moment, between marriage rites and even yeah, Seph choosing both worlds with her husband's knowing consent.

And that, I think, is the real heart of the thing. People want an utterly mundane, spelled-out story here, as opposed to what it really is, has always been, just like any other myth or religious parable: IT'S A METAPHOOOOOOR.

They don't need to be destined, or meet at a goddamned BALL and then CONSPIRE to fake her kidnapping, or shit, I once saw one where Hades got MIND CONTROLLED by Zeus?! Jesus.

Persephone was yoinked into the Underworld against her will.

That's how it went.

I don't mean this in a "stay out of my belief system!" way, shit I'm a white American chick with delusions of witchery. I mean this in a "stop stressing yourself out trying to make things palatable" way:

This is a very real, very precious myth to many people, BECAUSE for at least that one event, Persephone had no autonomy, BECAUSE for thousands of years most women had no autonomy. Erasing that, sanitizing the fact that a girl is ripped out of the spring, from her mother's arms, is erasing the thing that gave comfort to women for centuries. And people can and should still find power and healing in it now!

Fill in the blanks the story leaves in whatever manner seems fit to you, there's plenty of room, but. Come the fuck on.

[roses-r-rosie3]

Dancing With Your Ghost: Unexpected Reunion

Miguel O’Hara x M!Reader

[Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]

(Btw credits to whoever drew that spider-man character)

Warnings: angst, spoilers for SpiderMan: Across the Spider-verse, and memory loss-ish

Summary: Miguel was in love with his version of y/n from his universe but that y/n dies bc that’s his cannon, and he meets an alternate version of y/n who is the Spider-Man of his universe, but isn’t in love with Miguel

Quote: “I'm sorry, but you're not ringing any bells"

✁ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Miguel is what some people what call “cold hearted” but he wasn’t always like this. He was happy once. He was in love with y/n l/n. He loved y/n so much. But because he was a Spider-Man, y/n died. He died when that universes’s goblin blew up a building, while y/n was inside of it. It hurts Miguel to think about it. The way he held y/n in his arms while he begged for y/n to stay with him. But Miguel couldn’t undo the inevitable, and y/n died in his arms while he cried for hours.

"Miguel" Jess said, snapping Miguel out of his thoughts.

"Are you okay?" she said.

"Yeah, yeah, just a little tired, what did you want to talk to me about?" Miguel said.

"I found a case where an alternate version of the goblin from another universe got transported to another universe, and is now having a tantrum"

Miguel's blood ran cold at the mention of 'The goblin', the bastard took one of the only people making him happy away from him.

"I know you have some issues with the goblin, but you need to remember that he isn't our goblin-"

"Yeah, whatever let's go" Miguel said, completely ignoring what Jess had to say.

skip to when Miguel is fighting the goblin b/c i'm lazy af

Miguel spent what felt like hours trying to land a single punch on the goblin, each attempt getting him more riled up. All of a sudden another spider-man swooped in and kicked the goblin in the face dead-on.

"I'll take it from here" The masked hero said cockily.

That voice... it sounded familiar, but Miguel couldn't quite put his finger on it. But Miguel had no time to play the guessing game, so he immediately swung over to help fight the goblin.

When Miguel finally caught up to the other spider-man, the goblin had already been defeated.

"How-"

"it's easy when you're as good as me" said the cocky super-hero, as he cut off Miguel.

"Oh great another narcissistic one" Miguel said as he rolled his eye under his mask.

"I wouldn't call it narcissistic, more like- wait- what do you mean another- oh whatever, who are you and what are you doing here" said that universe's spider-man.

skip to Miguel explaining the whole spider organization

"Does you telling me this mean that I'm apart of this organization now, or are you gonna pull a 'men in black' and erase this from my memory?"

"Yes, you can join" Miguel said in annoyance as he opened the portal.

"Holy shit, very cool.." The masked hero said before walking inside of it.

"Hey, scary boss guy, can i take off my mask, that portal thing is making me feel sick" said the hero.

"Yes" Miguel said as he turned to see what the cocky hero looked like under his mask.

When the spider-man unmasked himself, he was revealed to be y/n.

Miguel couldn't speak, his once dead lover was in front of him.

"Oh I didn't tell you my name did I? My name's-"

"Y/n" Miguel cut him off.

"How did you-"

Y/n was cut off by Miguel hugging the life out of him.

"I missed you so much" Miguel croaked.

"Woah, woah dude I don't even know you" y/n said pulling Miguel away.

Miguel took off his mask, hoping that universe's y/n would notice him.

"I'm sorry, but you're not ringing any bells" y/n said.

"Y/n please, we have to at least been acquainted in your universe" Miguel said with tears in his eyes.

"Uh- you're starting to creep me out" y/n said

"Oh, uh, sorry about him, you just look like someone he used to know" Jess interrupted

"Okay then..." y/n said as he walked past them to explore the place.

"Listen Miguel, I know you loved y/n and he loved you, but that's a different y/n, I don't want to sound harsh, but he probably didn't know you until now, okay? Just know that our y/n loved you." Jess said as the other y/n was out of eye-sight.

Miguel just broke down. The fact that, that y/n will probably never love him like his y/n, He felt like he was re-living the grief he felt when y/n died in his arms.

[klm-zoflorr]

Agnes Montague, the villain Phoenix :33

I used a stained glass filter on this one, looove how it looks. Also here are a few versions without as much editing so you can see the details.

Agnes is one of my favorites in this AU. And in general too I guess lol. So I made her entirely too overpowered! She's obviously based off Dark Phoenix/Jean Grey/The Phoenix from Xmen. Without as much of the hero-turned-villain vibes Jean has, Agnes can be nice but she's mostly a wrong-doer.

I'd probably say she's the most powerful super-human in the 'verse, or at least where the story takes place. Her and Magnus are buddy-buddies because. Um. I just want them to be.

So, her powers, right. She can control and

produce fire, lots of it. She can fly. The wings only appear when she wants them to btw. I think she has some form of telekinesis, sure why not plus I don't have a lot of people like that in the verse (and I'm quickly running out of canon characters anyways loool). I don't think I'll give her too many psychic powers? Maybe just some ability to block psychic attacks. Oh well nevermind lets just make her cooler let's say she can attack people psychically, as in not quite read their thoughts (even if I think she could grasp on some of the things you're thinking while she's there) but like, cause intense pain to her victim and maybe even kill them by hitting them with her mind.

Her hands are more like talons or claws, with tough nails and strong, too. She can rip someone's face off or hold herself up with them.

The nature of her powers make them somewhat incontrollable and ill-suited for precision work or limiting damage/casualties.

Despite all of that, Agnes is very tired and looks as such. Her abnormal body warmth makes her sleep poorly and not very much, if she isn't setting the room on fire or throwing objects around when she's having nightmares. She holds off from getting intoxicated in any way because she might level off the whole island if she did.

And the cherry on the cake... She can ressurect herself. AND others. Let the holy cleansing fire engulf you and be reborn anew with your sins scrubbed clean yadda yadda you know the deal. It resets people to a younger age and cures any ailment they have, so that's a rather extreme form of healing too if you will.

Naturally, with that sort of powers the Cult Of The Lightless Flame (named like that because Agnes hoggs all the light) treats her as a goddess. Which isn't that far from the truth actually.

Suffice to say in the story she is not the big bad our heroes have to take down because that would be straight-up impossible.

Design notes and misc:

-I usually imagine her with dark hair, but for this AU she really just had to be a redhead I feel.

-Yes, in the art she doesn't have feet but that's just because I got lazy.

-She wears practical gloves, a guilded shiny supersuit, impractical shoulder pads and a white flowy skirt and shoulder sash that both get set on fire very frequently. This is meant to evoke how she mostly doesn't care or need to be dressing appropriately for fighting, she's too powerful to need to.

-She doesn't carry anything on herself either, no pockets no bags no nothing, she has goons for that. She's just there to look impressive and deus ex machina everyone's asses to the ground if they get too annoying.

-She's lived a long life, done a lot, was in the military at some point which influenced a lot of how she thinks. Again, she CAN be unfrivolous and practical, she just doesn't want to and has to remain a symbol. She can shoot a gun pretty well.

-Her "crown" (it's a paper crown) is something children that admired her gave her. She's very very careful not to burn it, but can't wear it everywhere either

-She's not much of a strategizer or a long-term planner unlike Magnus, she just doesn't see the point in that and she already has everything she could ever want. She could have the potential to rule the city instead of having everyone vaguely follow her lead, but she's just not much of a tyrant.

Oh, yeah, and Jude. Jude Perry is Agnes' right hand woman and closest friend, her villain name is Lampadarius and she can make anything that isn't organic matter melt/heat up (like those cans in MAG012: First Aid). One of her favorite tricks is heating up her gloves and burning people like that. It pisses her off when you call her Agnes' guard dog. She's been ressurected a few times by the Phoenix, so been around for a while too.

[qiutls]

TNGDH 021

After doing it a few times during the festival, it was now easy to avoid Kyle's eyes and turn into a person. In the first place, except for that day when I met with Sen, I've been spending hours together with him, so I had no time to worry about getting caught.

"You're a magician?"

"Yes, but I'm not that talented, I just do this and that..."

"I see."

I drank the tea and ate the scones he prepared while I lied nonchalantly.

I'm sorry for lying but it's better this way, just in case I need a cover-up in the future.

If Kyle goes on an expedition, there would be a good excuse to accompany him. If he goes on to subjugate demonic beasts as written in the novel, as a magician, I can go with him.

"Rather than that, can you really spend time with me like this? Don't you have any work to do?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

"No....."

I'm not making you leave ah. I'm just wondering if you're really this free. It seems like the grand duke has a suspicion disease after I disappeared unexpectedly twice.

I turned my head, slightly guilty at the situation. Then his hand reached out and turned my face back to look at him.

"It's polite to look at each other's face while talking."

"I'm sorry I'm a man who isn't well versed in aristocratic manners."

"You should learn from now on."

"Why should I?"

He came closer and whispered.

"Aren't you my companion?"

A sin committed once lasts a lifetime. I looked at him miserably.

'How many times has it been now?'

Even beef bones won't be used as much as Kyle uses this companion comment. He has been using it to blackmail me whenever I tried to avoid answering his questions or to leave early.

You're someone who died without a companion in the original novel. Is that why you're obsessed with companions? To be honest, it's not that you didn't want to date anyone, it's that you couldn't right?

My mouth was itching to shoot back the comment at him but I forced myself to hold it in. Kyle who has been staring at me suddenly let out an airless laugh. He had a strange yet comforting smile plastered on his face. His bright expression pulled me in and before I knew it I had been staring at him as well.

"I feel comfortable with you."

"....."

"I know it probably sounds strange, don't think too much about it."

I have nothing to say if you tell me those words with such a soft smile.

Are you doing this on purpose?

I couldn't do anything except stare at him, I only came to my senses when he offered another scone to me.

"Since you're a magician, can you take a look at my magical beast? You can take a look at it whenever you're free."

I was about to bite into the scone then stopped after hearing Kyle's unexpected words.....That's strange. Did you just ask me, to take a look after.....ME?

I put down the scone and asked him again, this time listening with full attention.

"...What?"

"I asked if you could take a look at the magical beast I'm raising in the study."

I guess I didn't hear it wrong.

Looking alternately at the scone in my hand and at Kyle, my appetite dropped. Even though the desert looked delicious, I felt like I would get an upset stomach if I ate it now.

But Kyle didn't seem to mind my actions and continued pensively.

"I'm worried because he doesn't seem to have any appetite recently. And he's been lazy as well. He used to be a very active guy..."

Don't edit your memories ah! When have I been active? Apart from running on the wheel in order to get the skill, I was always lying down! You don't even know your own hamster.

"I think it's because, it's already in the growing stage, yet there's no signs of a mana stone forming inside him. I decided to periodically inject magic power (mana) as advised by the doctor but..."

".....Magic power?"

What's this? Who told you to do that?

"Since it's inevitable that it will suffer from the mana injected, I thought it would be a good idea to let you meet it and see if you can help."

"What...."

What? What's this situation?!

I can't even say no to his requests..... I closed my mouth and urgently called the system.

Hey! HEY! Hurry up and come here!

[ ……(*￣０￣)ノ ]

Why do you look like you've just woken up? I clenched my fist and looked at the blue system window in front of me.

'Hurry up and navigate to the Fruit Store or whatever it's called!'

[ ……. ] [ ……. ] [ ☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆ ] [ The Nut Store! ]

After a bit of loading, the shiny emoji came into my vision. I clicked my tongue upon seeing the decorated sign below it. Don't you get tired doing all of this?

I ignored the small letters that said renewal open and quickly scanned the store.

[ Mini mini Brazil Nut Madeleine, consumes 2% miracle value, in turn your body gets smaller for 30 minutes. It's even smaller than a hamster! ]

[ Hurried Almond Financier, consumes 3% miracle value, in turn you're able to run faster than usual. ]

Give me something useful please, what's the point of these items ah? If I wanted to be small, I'll just turn back into a hamster.

I finished reading page 1 and was about to turn into page 2 when I heard Kyle sigh.

"A magician, you say..."

"What are you thinking about, Your Highness?"

"I just thought, it's quite a relief."

"Why?"

"There has always been a shortage of magicians in the Blake estate. It hasn't been long since I became the leader, and I've had a lot of accidents at the Wyvern nest survey last year."

He looked at me expectantly.

No, I can't think of an excuse. Stop looking at me with such a face. How am I supposed to hold my ground, my expression turned to guilt. 

I moved my hand to cover his eyes, but of course my feeble efforts were rendered useless in just three seconds as Kyle held my wrist in place.

"The work at the estate is hard. I'm really so busy these days."

I made a vague excuse first, just in case he asks for another favor.

Even though the "Summon" skill was upgraded, it was only up to two hours. I can't do much with the time I'm given, and it's not like I can lie everyday that I need to go to the bathroom before I disappear again.

"....Is that so?"

Kyle's face was tinted with disappointment. I felt apologetic seeing this unfamiliar expression on him.

Why are you so disappointed ah? I'm a fake magician who can't even do basic spells. The only spell I know is how to turn into your hamster, Cashew Nut.

'Can you even consider that as a magic spell?'

The system just transforms me back and forth.

In any case, it's better to find a magician who's actually knowledgeable, rather than choosing me. But still... If you're this disappointed.

I added gently, as if teeming with good intentions.

"There's still enough time to look for magicians before the demonic beasts' subjugation expedition happens."

There was something that came to mind after I said that sentence.

The Northern festival was held during the coldest and darkest days of winter. After this tumultuous atmosphere, the Blake estate started preparing for a massive reconnaissance.

There are many reasons for this reconnaissance, the main purpose was to bring back the vigilance that was loosened during the festival. It was a reminder that no matter how good the life in the North is, it is still a dangerous place full of demonic beasts.

Another reason is probably the training of the newly inaugurated knights. At this time of the year, knights who were apprentices in the past will get to experience combat since their inauguration.

"The ceremony for the new knights....."

Kyle replied slowly,

"We did it during the festival, I remember it was pretty big this year since there was a lot of new recruits."

"Haha... I think I was pretty busy back then."

Kyle glanced at me suspiciously. I know I didn't have anything to be busy about, but just forget about it, let's move on! I ignored his piercing gaze as I recounted the events.

A knight's inauguration that was larger than usual.

The chandelier dropping in the middle of the banquet.

And then, a large scale reconnaissance.

I'm pretty sure at this time, Kyle...

[ The Duke of Blake is attacked during the reconnaissance and suffers a heavy injury on his right arm. ]

The system narrated the content from the original novel.

I asked a question quietly. 

'Will this injury, affect how he dies?'

After a moment of silence, the system answered succinctly.

[ That's right. ]

The sentence shone brightly in blue and it gave me chills. His fated death struck me with renewed vividness.

'Right...'

Kyle's death is now just 15 days away.

According to the original story, he started to confront Belial through the chandelier incident, and was attacked at the reconnaissance. Then he was stabbed to death by a strong man at his own castle.

Just because I changed a small part of the plot, doesn't mean I changed his fate entirely. Miracles don't happen that easily.

What now... What should I do?

"Hey."

"....."

"Shu."

"....."

"Shu!"

Kyle put his palms around my cheeks and I came to my senses when his cold hands touched my skin.

"Ah."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

I took a quick breath and tried to move my stiff fingertips.

"I'm alright."

He didn't seem to believe my words, but he didn't pressure me into confessing.

"I was just thinking about something for a moment."

Kyle frowned at my words.

"What were you thinking about that made you so pale?"

I couldn't answer honestly so I just shut my mouth.

Come to think of it, I always avoided his questions this way. Either I start talking fast, saying random excuses or I just shut up entirely. It must look suspicious.

But it can't be helped. Anyways, I changed the subject as naturally as I could and leaked the plan I had in mind in advance.

"Your Highness, may I follow you on this large-scaled reconnaissance?"

He answered straight away, as if it was not a difficult decision.

"Sure, but have you ever been outside the territory?"

"No."

"The north is much more dangerous than you think. At the snowfield, humans are the first learn how weak they are."

"....."

The outside, is entirely different from the Blake estate, as the grand duke described.

I gulped down and looked him in the eye.

"It will all be alright if Your Highness is there to protect me."

Protect me, Kyle, and I'll protect you. You might not know, but our fates are linked. Our survival depends on each other.

Kyle whispered back.

"Do you trust me?"

"Isn't it natural that the people of this land trusts you?"

"I know."

He said with a mischievous smile on his face.

"But I was asking you."

Acting like a hooligan. You already know the answer.

I squinted at him, pretending to look hateful.

"Of course."

"All right, I'll be responsible in protecting you, but, how are your horseback riding skills?"

"Ah."

Well how should I explain this... During our school trip, they went to Jeju Island and everyone rode a pony, but I was left behind doing homework at school.

Before I could answer anything, he added.

"Actually, it would be difficult to ride alone with your injury."

Fortunately, he didn't seem to think of leaving me behind.

But wait, what? Don't tell me? You're thinking of giving me a ride?! In front of all the new recruits??? Wait, no!

'.....Should I not have told him that I wanted to join?'

I bit my lips in order to calm down the goosebumps on my arms.

"....Thank you for being considerate, Your Highness."

When he leaves, I must learn horseback riding immediately!

t/n : longest chapter yet! thank u for all the ko-fis~ also posting twice today since I might not be able to do so tomorrow!

[just-horrible-things]

'Verse: Resistance AU: Healer and Handler, co-author @whump-sprite

Whipped, pt2 [ First | Prev | Next ]

They make it to the showers without incident.

"Can you stand?" Ariadne checks before setting Alex on his feet. He sways in place and she holds his arms until he's steady.

She turns on the water, then picks up the plastic stool from the edge of the room and positions it so that Alex can sit under the edge of the water without it falling directly onto his back. She checks the temperature with a hand, and waits until it’s hot to motion Alex forwards.

Undressing in front of her is easier than it was. She’s never shown any interest in his body. (Sometimes he wonders – if she was, if he could please her that way, would that be enough to convince her not to leave him? Not to go back to her other job?)

He sits, and tips his face up into the hot water. The heat soaks into him. He tries not to think of anything else. If he forgets about the whip, and what might happen tonight, and how much he’ll have to heal, and everything else – if he can forget, he can just enjoy the chance to be warm for a few minutes.

Ariadne catches water in her cupped hands and pours it gently over Alex’s back. He twitches at first, and again when she touches the skin, but her fingers slide between the cuts, just dislodging the blood from the skin, and it doesn’t hurt much. “Don’t worry,” she assures him, “no funny business. Just this.”

But she tsks her tongue as the blood disappears down the drain in streaks of red and brown. “This is deep,” she says. “No wonder you’ve bled so much… He should never have gone this hard. That fucker…”

He cringes again from the anger in her voice, even though it’s not directed at him. She’s not angry at him. She’s angry that he got hurt. She cares… even if it’s only because it makes him less efficient.

No one’s cared – except to take sick pleasure in his suffering – since Taryn. Since he lost the other half of his soul.

As Ariadne reaches past Alex to catch another handful of water, he tilts his head against her arm. (Neil liked it when he initiated.)

She pauses, hesitant in a way Neil never would be. In a sudden rush of sick affection, Alex lets the contact linger, resting the side of his head against her forearm.

After a second, she pulls her arm back, but she tousles his hair. It’s nothing like Neil’s touch. Alex is too tired to stop himself wanting it to mean something real. It’s nice, on a basic, animal level.

When she’s done rinsing the blood from his back, Alex expects her to shut the water off. Instead, she washes his hair. It’s starting to grow out enough to curl again. She uses no soap – he’s glad – just her hands and the hot water and patience. 

If he closes his eyes, he can imagine that those are Taryn's hands. It’s okay, she won’t see his tears, they’re hidden by the water streaming over his face. Her fingers rub gentle, methodical circles across his scalp, and he lets himself melt into the touch.

Too soon, Ariadne's voice snaps him back to reality.

"Feeling any warmer yet?" "Yes sir." His voice sounds hollow to his own ears. "Still cold? Be honest, it's okay." "Always. But… it's fine." It doesn't get better than this. "You've lost blood,” she says. “I want to get you warm if I can. Do you need longer in the water?" "N-no, thank you. I'm done." "Okay then."

He knows he’ll have to heal, if he’s done. He just hopes he gets a little longer before the start of the shift. And maybe that he gets to lie down, even if only briefly. He’s so dizzy.

Ariadne shuts off the water, but somehow Alex fails to realize that it’s a cue to get up. He just sits uselessly, and she has to take his arm and tug gently before he understands. He kicks himself for letting himself seem lazy, but she doesn’t seem bothered. 

She’s patient, and generous.

When she holds out a towel for him, he doesn’t take it from her hands like he knows she expects. Instead he steps into it, into her arms, so that the towel folds around him.

He doesn’t look at her face. He doesn’t want to know if she’s disgusted by him, and he doesn’t want to know if she’s pleased. She lets him get close, and that’s enough.

After a few seconds, she finds his hands and presses the towel into his grip, encouraging him to hold it against himself, to keep himself covered. She makes sure he has it before she steps back.

“Don’t worry about drying your back,” she instructs, “I’ll help you in a minute. But… get some pants on, okay? I’ll be right here.”

She has to help him even with pants, in the end, holding his arm to steady him while he steps into the clean clothes, then lifting them up his legs until he can take the waistband without having to bend. 

She dabs the worst of the water from his back, and towels his hair briefly when he makes no move to do it himself. She gets him another cup of hot water to drink.

Then she picks him up and carries him into the hospital proper, and Alex holds on around her neck and hides his face from everyone who isn't her. Misery churns in his gut. Or maybe that’s hunger – but he still doesn’t think he could keep anything down.

Ariadne reads the day's list without putting Alex down, then she carries him into an empty exam room and sets him on the table. Relief is hollow. He gets a little longer before he has to heal. Only a little.

"Lie down. I'm gonna get you cleaned up before we start. I don't want you bleeding everywhere. It's unsanitary." "Sorry, sir," Alex mumbles, ashamed. "Hey," her voice softens, "that's hardly your fault. The guy who whipped you ought to be the one apologizing."

The smell of the antiseptic brings back a flood of recollection Alex had almost forgotten, from the hazy time when he was almost dead and she took charge of him with all his broken fingers. His grip tightens on the edge of the table.

He remembers the burn of the strong-smelling liquid. A unique torture no other handler has ever cared to inflict.

He resolves to take it bravely, and instantly breaks that resolution by crying out as soon as the first drops touch his back. The liquid seems to eat into the exposed flesh, searing it to new heights of pain.

"I know," his handler murmurs, "I know it sucks." Alex tries to cling to the regret in her tone, to hold onto the knowledge that this isn’t punishment. "This will help it heal quicker and cleaner. It won't sting for long." He believes her, he does, he's seen the same antiseptic used on real patients but –

It burns, and as the burn spreads down his back it gets harder and harder to hold onto his thoughts.

"I know," she says, working the chemical into cut after cut. "Won't take long."

"You're doing great," she says as he yelps and whines and starts to cry.

"I-I – I-m s-sorry –" he gasps, because it is the only thing to say, the only thing that might help it end sooner. And, "It's okay," she says in answer, "you're okay, you've done nothing wrong."

“I’m sorry,” she says, too, as he sobs into the table. "I'm sorry, healer. Nearly done."

Neil would apologize sometimes. He'd say he was sorry for going too far – and then he'd do the same thing again, and again, and again.

He sobs, and sobs, and can do nothing but bear it.

Then her hand is on his cheek, and he opens his eyes. She’s crouched beside the table now, face at the same height as his instead of leaning over him. Her expression is serious and worried and he clings to that worry like a lifeline. She isn’t enjoying this. She isn’t Neil, or Roger.

"It's done," she promises, "I'm done. I know it hurts, but it'll get better soon, it’ll fade." "I'm s-s-sorry," Alex sobs, and she cups his face with both hands, and wipes his tears with her thumbs "You're okay," she promises, "don’t be sorry. You did nothing. I'm not mad. It's done, okay? I'm done."

It's not done. He has to heal now, and he won't do as well as he has been, and she'll be mad. He tries to stop crying, and cries harder instead.

"Just ride it out," she tells him softly. The steady cadence of her voice does more to reassure than the words. "It’ll stop burning soon. Then I'll get you all wrapped up and it'll feel a lot better than it did before we started."

He sniffles into her hands, and she doesn’t stop him, and when eventually the need to hide his face in her hands subsides, she doesn’t stop him pulling back either. She wipes her hands on her uniform and strokes his hair instead, and it’s not how you treat a human being but it’s something, isn’t it? It’s something. She doesn’t want him to suffer.

Slowly he's able to get the tears back under control.

"Don't go too fast today," she advises. "Take it slow so I can keep an eye on you, okay? Lean on me if you think you're going to fall." "Yes sir," Alex agrees miserably. "Thank you, sir."

[Next]

[stranded-ziggy]

Ziggy's Beginner Oil Painting Tips (Part 1)

Despite being far from a master oil painter, I'd like to do what I can to try and make this amazing medium easier to access for all artists in the wake of AI, NFTs and the current culture of art being seen as "content" rather than something timeless.

I'm far from a spiritual person in any sense, but there is something completely unique about holding an oil painting you created in your own hands. I've yet to be lucky enough to see any of the old master's paintings in person so all I've seen are my own but despite my inexperience there's a depth to my oil paintings that my digital art can't begin to compare with.

Disclaimer: I take a very relaxed approach to oil painting and have never sold a painting before nor do I have any intention to start selling them any time soon so if you want to create museum quality pieces this is not the guide for you.

This is a guide to help people start experimenting with oil paints and putting paint to paper/canvas.

Contents:

Paints

Gesso

Mediums

Paints

I'm primarily a portrait painter so the palletes I recommend will mostly be useful for painting people.

My favourite pallete:

Titanium white

Yellow ochre

Dusty pink (optional, I just got it for quickly mixing skin tones but burnt sienna and white will do the same; provide a base which you can then cool down/darken/hue shift as you want

Vermillion hue

Burnt sienna

Burnt umber

ultramarine blue

Basically it's the Zorn pallete with a bit of customization, but that means if you want some tips for painting with this pallete you can just search "painting with the zorn pallete" and find a lot of helpful resources.

(Note: You may note there is no lamp black or Ivory black, that is because I prefer to mix burnt umber and ultramarine blue. This dries faster in my experience and also lets me cool it down or warm it up as I want.)

Budget pallete:

Titanium white

Yellow ochre

Vermillion hue

Alizarin crimson

Viridian hue

(Note: in this pallete alizarin crimson and viridian hue can be used to mix a grey/black)

Gesso

Despite my laziness in nearly all aspects of life I do like to gesso my painting surfaces even when they are pre-primed (if you are using a surface that hasn't been primed already such as paper priming is very important).

Usually I buy packs of cheap canvases for around $6 AUD so I feel as though the least I can do is add a few extra layers of gesso to them to help stop the paint from sinking right in and beginning to look dull and matte.

Honestly I don't have a brand to recommend, I have used the liquitex gesso and it's good but despite paying a lot for it I only had enough for a few canvases so for the most part I use the type you can get at craft stores for less than $10, so I say go for whatever is within your budget.

Mediums

I avoid solvents completely in my painting, sacrificing my health any more than I already do by leading the Sedentary Artist Life (tm) isn't worth it in my opinion.

I use Liquin primarily but I also enjoyed using Gamlin's solvent free fluid until I stopped being able to open the cap...

Linseed oil is probably the best medium but you will wait weeks for your painting to dry between layers verses the day, maybe 2 days you will wait using Liquin.

Brushes

There's really no reason to buy super expensive brushes, at least not for me, I paint in a way that's very loose so they don't have the longest life span. I still use brushes that have lost their shape for loose hairs and interesting textures though.

You'll note there's usually "oil painting" brushes in art supply stores, these are good for starting a painting and scrubbing paint onto the canvas when you are trying to work lean over fat (as in layers with more oil on top as they dry slower, this helps the painting to not end up looking cracked).

However, water colour paint brushes serve me well for details as well as acrylic painting brushes.

It's all up to experimentation on you, the artist's part.

As for washing your brushes, as long as you don't leave them lying around with paint on them for so long that it drys completely using a bar of soap will do, or if you can afford it buying some brush cleaner/ restorer is great, solvents like turpentine are not necessary at all.

[chyirly]

So I have a Shellslinger au idea. I thought of it while watching ‘Just A Man’ - -ShadowOfFandoms-animatic, which really does not match this au. I'm probably going to make this text focused and will try to focus on Ronin and 18Mikey, I may include some images.

The pairings included can be seen as Romantic or Platonic.

----------

This au takes place when the majority of the Spidermans have got their own turtles. So take that as you will.

Before Mutant Mayhem.

However, due to circumstances, one that I will not talk about *cough* I have no idea what it is *cough* the turtles have to leave, moving and sealing themselves off from the spider-verse. This includes all turtles, the other half of the pairings, and their siblings/families.

All without explaining or saying goodbye.

Now the reason I want to focus on Ronin is because of Miguel and his reaction, due to the fact that when Ronin leaves, he takes Yi, Uni, Moja, and Odyn along with him. He's a main fighter that is only used in dire situations.

You can tell how Miguel will react to the turtles leaving, and his mental state will decline the longer he continues on without any answers to where or what they left. The same can be said for the other Spiders.

I want to focus on 18Mikey because he's literally the epicenter of everything, including this pairing. He will be one of the main players in getting the turtles out of their dimensions and sealing themselves off. He and his family provide power to the teams that do stuff outside their little space, seeing as they have mystics.

He's also one of the only ones to leave behind a message, that explains literally nothing except that something has come up.

03Mikey is a semi-major character that I will try to focus on. He is also a major player in getting the other turtles out of their dimensions, along with 87 and 12Mikey. With the trio being the ones to grab any turtle left behind.

MirageMikey is important, but won't be a focus, the reason being that I want him and his brothers to be the ones that the others try focusing their protection on. Their death means the others deaths.

There might be a connection with my au ‘TMBU’.

Also, I am aware that it's been a while since I posted anything on that au, I was lazy. But didn't worry I am working on the second part along with character designs for other characters.

Questions Are Welcomed!

Edit - Just realized that this is really similar to ‘Multiverse Of Michelangelo’ - Srae13...

Edit (2) - I now have a name for this, Shellslinger Merge au.

[multiverse-anon]

[Intro: Papyrus & Sans]

Sans! Sans! Wake up!

(What is it, dude?)

A human has fallen from the surface world

(Really? And you got a bone to pick with him?)

Ugh! No time for puns

(Ah, c'mon, that was a real rib-tickler, ay!)

Ugh! Enough!

(Alright, here we go again)

[Verse 1: Papyrus & Sans]

Welcome to the underground

How was the fall?

If you wanna look around

Give us a call

We don't see humans often

We're happy you just dropped in

I'll be so popular when I show all the monsters what I just brought in

[Pre-Chorus: Papyrus & Sans]

Hey! Papyrus, mind your manners

Can it, Sans, no time for banter

Excuse my brother, he's a bit eccentric

You're just lazy and apathetic!

Call me what you want, I got thick skin

Another bad joke and I'm finished with him!

We are monsters, the awfullest kind

To mess with us takes a lot of spine

[Chorus: Papyrus & Sans]

We can relate to your determination

Because we monsters have our motivations

Humans betrayed us and left us burnin'

One day we'll make our way back to the surface

Through all your travels, your sins will follow

Your consequences aren't easy to swallow

Who's the real monster, now you should know

You've cut this story down to the bone

[Interlude: Papyrus & Sans]

Really, Sans?

What?

The last line of the chorus is a pun?

Yup

You imbecile! That was very... clever

Heh. Thanks, buddy

[Verse 2: Papyrus & Sans]

You're stuck in the underground

Thanks to the fall

Good luck ever getting out

Prepare to brawl

You could show mercy to us

Or turn all of us to dust

Is your heart full of evil

Or full of love?

[Pre-Chorus: Papyrus & Sans]

I, the great Papyrus, challenge you to try getting by us

Test the human with one of your puzzles

Brilliant, Sans, that will leave him befuddled!

I dare you to try a bite of spaghetti

Smells like the Creepypasta's ready

Stop it, Sans! I'm done with the jokin'!

Sounds like someone's funny bone's broken (ha-ha-ha!)

[Chorus: Papyrus, Sans, Papyrus & Sans]

We can relate to your determination

Because we monsters have our motivations

I am the mastermind, he's my accomplice

You're only still alive because I made a promise

You'll lose your mind when you wander for hours

You might even decide to start talkin' to flowers

Who's the real monster, now you should know

You've cut this story down to the bone

Bridge: Papyrus & Sans]

Someday I'll join the Royal Guard

When I catch this child, can it be that hard?

Look, if I'm being honest

My brother ain't nothin' but harmless

I know you and all that you want

You'll get a lot more from Sans than a font

The deeper you go, the messier it gets

If I had it my way, you'd already be dead

Kidding, if you couldn't tell

I get so bored, I amuse myself (ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!)

[Verse 3: Papyrus & Sans]

Down here in the underground

You're all alone

We wanted to tell you now

You're kinda boned

If you survive this prison

You will know nihilism

Don't mess around with monsters

They're scared of tiny children (Ha!)

[Pre-Chorus: Papyrus & Sans]

You've come far, but soon you'll stumble

When I stump you with some Junior Jumble

Not so sure you'll get him with that

Alas, I'll hit him with my Special Attack

Leave me alone!

You know I've got a knack for the trom-bone

One more pun, and I'll be done

But ain't two skulls better than one?

[Chorus: Sans, Papyrus & Sans]

We can relate to your determination

Because we monsters have our motivations

You know your story's already been told

We can play again if you sell your soul

I've got my eye on you so you just watch it

I'll find any skeletons inside your closet

Who's the real monster now you should know

You've cut this story down to the bone

- Sky anon

This is a wonderful song but why did you send me this?

[compacflt]

hey! seeing your post about iceman and hamilton reminded me of the 1812 au that you had posted about previously - do you mind sharing any of your thoughts on that, specifically Ice & Mav's reactions to the politics of war back then, before the US military and Navy were such huge institutions (in today's standards)? EDTS Ice & Mav are decidedly anti-war (more Ice than Mav I think), but would that same sentiment be true for them back then & how would Ice feel about war hawks like Calhoun & Clay? there's obviously a pretty big role that war plays in forming national identity, especially in early US history, and with external forces like impressment & embargoes & all of the international relations nightmares that came w/ early state building, I'm really interested in how that may have an impact on how Ice and Mav view military service and duty. I would love to read this fic if you're still planning on writing it (really I love to read everything that you write tbh) - also hope you are doing well!! 😊😊

hiya!! i hope you are also doing well!! I am not sure if im ever going to post the 1812 au to be honest—i would really love to but i think it would be so long it would have to be my first priority for a few months, and I’m not sure when I’d have time to do that. but i have it all planned out at least, so maybe we can compare notes.

So here are my notes.

IF i were to complete my 1812 AU… It would not be about Ice at all. Which is how I’d be able to stomach writing about Ice’s death. AND the characters would be very very different from the characters i wrote about in EDTS (i.e. confessed their love for each other way back in the 1770s). And what I want to tackle in this AU is exactly what your ask is about—duty to your fledgling country! Im interested in a version of TGM maverick who had to be away from the love of his life, on his deathbed, to serve the national interests of his country. *questionable* national interests, in TGM’s case, or *forgettable* national interests in the War of 1812’s case. The War of 1812 is sort of America’s forgotten war—its causes were nebulous & hard to rally around/understand today, and there were no real heroes until the end, unless if you count Andrew Jackson as a hero (i really try not to). So this would be a direct attack on the heroism we are presented with in TGM: what is mavericks mission really accomplishing in the grand scheme of things? Using the 1812 war, itself forgotten and largely irrelevant, as a meta backdrop for that question of heroism.

So—this version of Ice & Mav are: actual factual war heroes. Revolutionary war heroes who were genuinely educated & truly believed in the American experiment of representation & freedom from tyranny. Fighting the British 36 years apart. (Something i really really like & will take advantage of… the 36 years between 1776 and 1812 exactly equaling the 36 years between 1986 and 2022… it was meant to be.) They’ve spent their whole lives together in the romantic sense, in a world where they couldn’t live openly together but at a time when sexuality was also understood completely differently. But they have to be apart when Ice is dying because Maverick has been handed a mission, a duty, by the USG that he has to take care of. (Part of the reason I’m stalling on this project is because I don’t really know what that mission would be… something something naval warfare, something something Captain of the “USS Dagger…” but im a better romance writer than an action writer… idk how to come up with those plots at all. And I’m not super well-versed in EARLY naval warfare [I prefer wwii navy stuff] so idk how ships like sailed clippers & schooners etc actually work. That’s a completely different wheelhouse for me & is integral to a story like this, and fundamentally im kind of a lazy person who doesn’t put a lot of effort into research if I don’t have to)

the AU would be written in two parts—the warm summer of youth vs cold winter of old age. Confronting my own fear as an author of getting old & dying, tbh. What does it mean to be a hero and die of old age? Shouldn’t you want to die WHILE being a hero? Part one: 1776-1782 is… ice & maverick falling in love and dealing with goose’s death together and cementing their hero status in American naval history (like they do in the original top gun). Then part 2; 1812/1813… ice is retired from being the first USN commodore/secretary, but he’s dying and maverick has to choose between being with his de facto husband in his last days VERSUS being out at sea, serving his country, but for a war that he (a bit metaphysically, to serve my metaphorical aims) knows will be forgotten. He can be a hero or he can be there for the love of his life but he can’t do both. Duty & sacrifice. Ice persuades him it’s time to let go, maverick goes out to sea, and then ice dies while he’s at sea. & the 1812 war was kind of forgotten, and their love will never be known by history because they were two men, so what was that sacrifice really for? Shouldn’t he have been home with ice?

Which leads me to: I am also slightly interested in an interpretation of the TGM mission as a possible su*cide attempt on mav’s part, post-ice’s death. Trying to die a hero. So, there’s that. That would be in it as well.

Some issues: that’s pretty simple & i submitted a 4k short story with this exact premise (1776 war hero has to choose between one last shot at heroism in 1812 vs staying with his male lover at the end of his life) to one of my writing workshops last semester and they loved it. But, by god, does it get 10x more complicated once you add Bradley to the mix. It’s ALWAYS made it more complicated & it’s why I’ve had so much pain trying to edit EDTS over the last 8 months (as you know). Because LETS PLEASE BE REAL TGM did NOT give me much to go on there. Like the emotional turn that is I think SUPPOSED to happen in the scene where ice and mav talk in TGM—I don’t understand it & I think that scene was only written for fanservice because it serves no purpose in the story and I’m not sure what emotion we’re supposed to take away from it. Maverick says “please send me ice, don’t ask me to send someone else to die,” (is he asking ice’s permission??) and ice DOESNT actually answer that request, doesn’t even acknowledge it; he says, in a COMPLETE AND UTTER NON SEQUITUR, “It’s time to let go.” Maverick says, “yeah I know,” so what does that actually mean? Who is he letting go??? Bradley??? Goose??? ice himself??? Is ice giving mav permission to go or not???? It’s so vague it means absolutely nothing, and i have no idea what ice’s emotional/story purpose in TGM is except to bail mav out of sticky situations and nostalgia purposes, and don’t even get me STARTED on how out-of-character it was for MAVERICK (guy who hates having his papers pulled from the Academy) to pull Bradley’s papers from the Academy in TGM, both of which are why ive struggled so much trying to fit Ice into the mav/Bradley narrative of betrayal & loss etc. And in a two-shot piece where all those years in between are kind of skipped over… idk. I feel like I would sort of have to sacrifice the Bradley storyline for the overarching icemav duty-sacrifice-heroism theme. With WWGATTAI, i was KIND of able to do both, but only after MULTIPLE rounds of very very intense editing & like 50k words of rewrites and even then it’s kind of awkward so… idk. For a quick two-shot like this I’d have to pick. I don’t have the energy to write another 50-100k reinterpreting that story all over again lol

So to answer your question it would be way less about the actual weird politics of the 1812 war and more about providing a place for me to get into mav’s emotions dealing with ice’s death and the historical implications of a mission like that, kind of glossed over in the movie … though this ice & mav are veterans of the XYZ affair / battles with the Tripoli pirates, so that probably affects how they see things… but mostly, duty is still duty & orders are still orders, but sometimes following orders means sacrificing what little time left you have with your family… following the TGM timeline where ice only has about 2 weeks left to live from Mach 9.

So, pros of the 1812 au: lots of the purple prose poetic writing i shamefully really like. Icemav open and honest with each other from the very start ❤️. Dealing with the themes and emotional consequences of ice’s death finally. Focusing only on mav instead of only on ice. Penny & sarah in a lesbian relationship. Some discussion of the cyclical nature of queer history (i.e. we’ve always been here making history and we always will be). Mav finding reasons to live after ice is gone.

Cons of the 1812 au and why I’m hesitant to really get invested in writing it: don’t know much about pre-diesel naval warfare so can’t come up with the technical action elements of the plot & too lazy to do that much research. I have a sailing license, so I know like… knots and rigging and mainsail vs jib/genoa/spinnaker and sloop vs schooner etc, but i do NOT know anything about THAT kind of sailing. Warship sailing, tactics, “dogfighting” equivalents, etc. Also: would probably have to sacrifice the whole “getting Bradley kicked out of the academy-equivalent” storyline, just to make the story less complicated. Not sure how much of the original ice and maverick the story would retain as a result. Also: i know wayyy more about the early national period (1776-1800) than anything after about 1808, but even then the last time i was really into this period of history was my freshman year of high school, so i can’t necessarily claim to know what im talking about when it comes to the intricacies of the early American state (as i think is pretty obvious here). Also too lazy to do that much research.

But, here are some notes/snippets etc if you would like. they’re solidly 6 months old now & unedited & largely unresearched, just throwing words on the wall in writing phase one, but whatever

[crocheting-cupio]

"Quickly" Reviewing Four Nine Inch Nails Albums

A few months ago Germs by Weird Al and Closer were stuck in my head for several days. On a gut intuition I said "Well, I obviously like this music, why not check out more Nine Inch Nails?"

Currently I am attempting to steal Trent Reznor's gender and haven't listened to much non-NIN music last few months. So I'd say I might be a big fan. Possibly.

I'd like to thank my new friend Gray for giving a very helpful recommendations on what albums to start with. <3

For this I'll start with the few negatives, then move on to the many positives. Because I like ending on a positive note. :) We'll also be going in the order I listened to them as opposed to order of release.

Pretty Hate Machine: 8/10

Negative: I find because nearly all the instruments are fairly simple synths and MIDI soundfonts, the sound can get kind of monotonous when you listen to the entire album in one sitting. A lot of it sounds like video game music from 1990-1995 to me, which is oddly distracting. On first listen I kept asking "Why does this sound like DOOM music?" To be honest, I found Down In It the weakest track. Rap is just not Trent's thing and I'm glad he didn't pursue it.

Positive: Despite the limitations, these are really well put together tracks! I think this a very solid album, especially considering at the time no one was using synths this way. The melodies also feel very unique and are usually why these songs get stuck in my head. I found myself liking the lyrics way more than I anticipated. Even though they are dripping with teenage or young adult angst, which I typically don't like. The emotions on display are so raw and pure it's hard to not feel empathetic. It's hard to choose, but I'd say Terrible Lie and Sin are the strongest tracks to me. Just generally really good tracks that are addicting to listen to.

The Downward Spiral: 10/10

Negative: It's not an album I can listen to just anytime. I kinda have to be in a bit of a bad mood. Sometimes I find myself skipping songs that are very emotionally intense, like Big Man With A Gun and Hurt, because I'm so worn out and just want to enjoy some music. This album does not have a weakest track in my opinion. Any "lazy" writing lyrically or musically feels very intentional.

Positive: The positives on this one are really endless for me. Good lyric after good lyric. Amazing melodies and harmonies one after the other. Auditory assaults and walls of noise that are fun to listen to. Sound design that makes it feel like a soundscape of the mind. And I love that there's a story on top of all that. I could make a whole post about each individual track. This album takes you on a roller coaster that only goes down. Strongest track is extremely hard to choose, but I always come back to The Becoming. The odd time signatures, long verses, the increasing intensity of the vocals, and the theme of becoming something cold, emotionless, robotic, and other is a perfect combination to me.

With Teeth: 9.5/10

Negative: Not a lot of negatives here. Kinda has a similar problem to Pretty Hate Machine with the instruments sounding similar, although not nearly so much so. Sometimes I wish there were more songs that lead into each other. Weakest track is very hard to choose, they're all very good. But I'll go with Beside You In Time for no reason other than the throbbing synths legitimately give me a headache. Wish I could enjoy this song. </3

Positive: I really love the prominence of piano in this album, as well as the vocal layering and distortion effects. I also like the usage of guitars across this album, often I can almost feel the air vibrating with the strings. The sparing usage of swear words also means I can play nearly the whole album at work without issue. Generally I like this album a lot. It feels like something simultaneously from the future and the past. Strongest track for me boils down to personal preference. So I'll go with either All The Love In The World or The Line Begins To Blur, in my opinion two of Trent's most beautiful songs. They need to be put in a museum of some sort forever.

The Fragile: 20/10

Negative: Not much to speak of here. Sometimes the intense layering of sound plus high volume makes it feel like my ear drums are going to explode, but that is to be expected with NIN so I'm used to it. Can't name a weakest track. I look forward to all of them. It's 20/10 for a reason.

Positive: This may be one of the best albums I've listened to in my entire life. Every track has something memorable and creative. All feel meticulously designed to convey not an emotion, but Trent's exact state of mind at that moment. The lyrics are sparser than usual, but oh so much more impactful when they do arrive. It feels painfully real and deeply personal. It's not just a story of what-ifs anymore, it's reality. This album is a lengthy, beautiful mess of ideas and emotions and I wouldn't have it any other way. It is the most human a piece of art can be. Strongest track I think is almost forced to be La Mer. It impacted me emotionally so greatly I wrote a whole post about it before writing this section. Realistically I could make a post about each track if I wanted to, there's so much to talk about for each one.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

[coolcattime]

.🧩🍦🐇.

🧩 What will make you click away from a fanfic immediately?

Not having paragraphs or not having grammar - especially when the description did.

Also, villainizing characters for no good reason, but this one is harder for me to define. Like it seems to depend on my mood so I think it's more of my “She would not fucking sat that” thing that disliking villainizing. I've like got better things to do than read fics making my favourites into pricks and not tagging them as either villains or the fic as salt fics (you tag it, go nuts because then I know what to expect).

🍦 Name three name things about a character you hate

Typically I'll try to make these questions about Mianite, but I don't actually hate any Mianite characters - if I hate a character I'm not going to write fanfiction with them in it. So here's three nice things about Chris from Until Dawn - a character that went through a similar journey in my years of interacting with the character as Jordan (I ship this straight ship -> this man is a dick to his “girlfriend” and she gets to be gay now as a treat), but didn't have the redeeming qualities for me to not want to explode him with my mind.

It is genuinely very nice how much Chris cares for Josh, even post the reveal of the prank. He can die trying to bring him to safety and if that isn't being a good best friend I don't know what is

Regardless of my feelings about them as a couple “Every second I spent with you was the only thing I ever wanted to do with my time” is a genuinely really sweet line

I really like his interactions with the Flamethrower Man. Just the whole little walk to the shed with him. I stood around to hear more dialogue from the two. And the fact that he will always defend him in the police interviews if he survives is nice.

🐇 Do you prefer writing original characters, reader inserts, or both?

Original characters, without a shadow of a doubt.

I have a very unfortunate problem that whether I see my name in a piece of media, I am then unable to take it seriously. In fact, my name was originally used in a good number of fics for Capsize, back when giving her a normal name was popular, and god did I spend so much time giggling because “tehehe that's me”. No, I can't read reader inserts with (y/n) stuff because of that - so I definitely couldn't write one.

Originally characters though, I have so many and I write and them all the time. I understand this question is likely about them being put into universe with canon characters which I don't tend to do but a) I do have an idea for a crossover with my OC verse and Mianite I'm just too lazy to write something that would require a ton of character description and world explanation right now and b) one of my OCs has a canonical crush on Leon Kennedy (and Claire Redfield and probably Ada Wong) and I'm above making them kiss (did this crush start off as a joke that she'd find RE4 relatable because she is a rich girl body guarded by a powerful person named Leon(tine) YES but I'd like her meet and kiss Leon to make her happy).

[hazbinsandweirdos]

PSA/Rules

I'm not mutuals only over here but I am selective. The main focus on this blog is Pierre.

None of my OCs are single ship and none were made with a character in mind to ship with. I want that to be clear because I do draw my OCs with their partners and don't want that to deter anyone. (I do draw them with their partners but I am lazy so if the other muse is hard to draw I won't draw them)

Please tag all mentions of babies, pregnancy, children etc I will take a blanket term just as long as it's tagged and I can block it

Asks, anons and threads are always welcome!

I post a lot of art here and you are always welcome to reblog it as long as it isn't clearly part of a reply to someone! (Please don't reblog my replies to people that are not you and we'll get along fine.)

This blog is 18+ as mun is 30+ (I understand you are comfortable with it but I am not so, please minors, respect my boundaries.)

I do not rp smut but I am down to talk it out in the DMs if our muses are at that point, just so we're on the same page about what went down. If they are getting to that in a thread specifically! I don't want unsolicited DMs about smut with my muses

I do not do MAs or interact with child muses/fan children of any kind. Also adding that I am Hellaverse only (though Pierre has a Lackadaisy verse as well if you would like that and are a Lackadaisyverse muse)

I do not write/interact in mentions of r*pe/noncon or suic*de and I will immediately stop interacting with your muse if it is brought up. (I used to but I was not in the right headspace for it the one day and it fucked me up so I have to stop now)

Will update as I go!

--Pierre--

French, flea, died in 1872, 4', Intersex Male, Gay

Pierre is a theif/cat burglar/conman (best way to describe his work is Catwoman lol) he was born poor and orphaned and became a theif to get ahead in life. He died by falling out a window from a house he was robbing. He has a blood phobia and lots of baggage He does not like guns and will do anything he can not to use one. You know it's bad if he has to.

Works with a giant 9' tall bull sinner named Giovanni that keeps him in line and takes care of his bounties. If you need anything Pierre will get his hands on it for a price.

He does not like being called a woman but will dress like one if he is working. He does not like sleeves he finds them restrictive. He can hide so many things in his fluff!

He has a bag of holding he uses to rob places and uses Velvettes Love Potion to drug people. He will dump it in a man's drink to get out of sleeping with him and when guy's out cold he will take off with all his stuff.

[magicluckystars]

hii id like to request a matchup as i see you’re doing them! id prefer characters from twisted wonderland or enstars, i dont really play obey me. umm for my personality i feel like i’m an ambivert, more on the introvert side! i’m very reserved for the first few months of meeting but i can really open up fast depends on my mood or the environment! i dont talk much and am not a sappy person either mainly due to not being very great with words. i like to think that i’m funny but i laugh at almost everything i’m starting to doubt it…i enjoy helping others with tasks and such! i’m indecisive so having someone who can make quick decisions for me in those moments r great if i really like u i will be a little mean at first but after a while i think im very nice and will even take initiative which i dont do often. i think an important thing too about me is if i don’t really have anything in common with a person it’s very difficult for me to talk to them. i dislike small talk because i feel like i’m too awkward for that. despite me being more of an introvert, i get lots of energy being around people but also lose the energy a bit fast too.

a few things i like are bats, lamps, fashion, music, games, art, plants and learning about space. I also enjoy watching movies and baking. also, i’d like someone the opposite of me, someone who uses their words. i’m the type of person to overthink things if they’re not told to me. or if i’m told to do something i need detailed and specific steps also bc communication is #1 in my book. Also i really enjoy learning about people. If i’m interested in someone i will try to learn every single little fact about you. Especially if they’re a closed off person at first like me it makes me all the more interested in knowing more.

umm i really don’t know what else to add so that’s all i have to say i hope i didnt put too much! idk if you reply w/ the request or use anon names/emojis so if do use names my names lin. do take your time and i hope u have a great dayyy

First of all, I'm sorry this is so late! I don't have any excuses, I was just lazy 🥲 I'm gonna match you with a twst character if that's okay!

lin, I match you with...

TREY!

He finds it cute how you laugh at almost everything. You help him in the kitchen for Heartslabyul's unbirthday parties so that the freshmen don't offer to help...if you've read Trey's dorm uniform card, you know...

Pretty sure Heartslabyul students have to be well-versed in gardening to be able to take care of roses, so he would be open to talking about gardening too. Trey finds it kind of weird how you ask him so many questions, but after you explain he's glad you opened up and want to know more about him.

Trey has younger siblings, so he understands your energy levels around people. He can read body language well cough* riddle *cough cough* so he quickly finds a way to excuse both of you from the situation.

I also get the feeling that Trey's good at making decisions, so you don't have to worry about that.

He will prank you. 100% guaranteed. If you believe the oyster sauce thing, I am confident he will bake two pastries and ask you to guess which one's sweet.

👏NETFLIX👏AND👏CHILL. That's your ideal date together. Please stop this man from putting Riddle's needs ahead of his.

Overall, a very soft, very cute relationship. Riddle doesn't mind you, you're not as rowdy as the Adeuce duo (aka you don't give him a headache), Cater will DEFINITELY take lots of pictures if you've announced you two are dating (even if you didn't, he'd still ship you).

Sorry, this was a little short. Hope you enjoyed it!

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Receiving Grace In Vain 

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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+ Psalm 66:19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer."

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VERSE OF THE DAY

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+ 2 Corinthians 6:1 As God’s co-workers, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain.

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM NOT OVERUSING GRACE

I AM GRATEFUL FOR MY GRACE

I AM LOVED BY MY FATHER

I AM ACCEPTING MY FAULTS

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THOUGHTS:

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  So, it's this grace that God gives each of us, and the Holy Spirit revealed some things to me and took me to our key verse. When we don’t allow him to change us and we don’t allow him to mold us, we are rejecting his grace. We are receiving it in vain because we aren’t trying to allow ourselves to be close to him. A lot of times, we feel we are okay without reading the word and meditating, but honestly, those things are placed in our walk to help us become closer to him because the more we read our word and the more we pray, it helps change us and as it change us, we allows the Holy Spirit to become one with us and walk with us more and talk with us more .

  That’s why the bible says don’t be just doers or hearers of the word, because we can do both. Still, some feel that I read my word, and I’m done, but no, my friends, we must take the word of God and apply it to our lives. When we deny this, we deny that and we stop denying God. Like Peter from our last devotionals, when we don’t let him cleanse us, we deny and reject his grace.

   2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

   Every day, grace is given, but if we are just going to ask forgiveness and never change, what is the point? We can't be lazy in our walk with Christ; we must start being persistent and spending time with him. And yes, I know we all are tired, and yeah, we could be .Still, if we continue this path of being okay with our relationship with God being mediocre, we will forever have just less in our relationship with God.

  I'm not saying you don’t have love in your heart, and nor am I saying I do everything out of routine, but what I am saying is allow God in and tell him, God, I feel that my heart isn’t in the right place right now, or that you feel off. He will show you what’s happening , because sometimes our sins can make us pull away because that’s what the enemy wants us to do; he wants us where we deny him, and we soon reject his love, and when we do this, we reject the salvation he gave us.

    Titus 1:16 They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

    Sometimes, our lives can be so filled with so much that we disconnect, but these are the moments when we must connect on a deeper level with God by being honest; we can't build anything with anyone if our hearts are so heavy with frustration. God's word says to cast your cares on me because I will see you through; we must let him see us through everything, not just the big stuff but in everything because he's waiting to help. He's waiting to pull us from the lust, the pain, and the sorrows, but we must be willing to allow him in to help us through.

    Grace is the most important gift we can have, and some of us overuse it because we don’t understand what we have; we certainly don’t see we can abuse it , if we don’t learn how to allow the change and flow of God’s presence in our lives WE WONT EVER CHANGE , the word tells us our hearts and actions must change, and we can’t get into heaven with the same heart and intentions.

  The Holy Spirit wants us to know how deeply he cares for us and how much we need him, but he won't make us accept the true way. The true way is letting go of what we think and accepting this new mind and new heart of flesh he's trying to give us. Still, he will give us space to do what we want if we keep rejecting. God loves us so much that every day he gives us new grace again and again, but if you notice you're not winning at a particular battle, ask God how you can win at this or how you can conquer this part of your life-giving him all of you he's waiting for every version of you.

  Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

  No, our simple works won’t win us a place in heaven being the nicest person, and even winning souls won’t help us, but what will help us is our heart changing , our minds changing, and accepting God's grace not in vain but as the precious gift it is, and we take every opportunity and every day to change who we are not in our strength but in HIS. The more we continue on this road, the more we will find ourselves in a stubborn place. God wants us to have every opportunity to change, and he’s given us the tools to do it, but if we aren’t going to use and we aren’t going to change, don’t wear out the gift of grace because God will not be mocked, he knows our intentions and the content of our heart. Surrender today to God so he can help you.

  *** Today, we learned that we can’t take the grace we are given and use it in vain. We learned that not receiving it and continuing in the way we are is us using it in vain, and this can happen by allowing false teachers or false doctrine to stay in our lives; we are human. Every person wants to feel that what they are doing is okay, so we listen to people who tell us it’s okay to live this way. It’s okay to love this person, but friends, it isn’t.

   We will be living the same way the Corinthians lived, allowing every person to whisper in their ears and tell them it’s okay to live in a legalistic way. Neither, okay, my friends, nothing we will ever do will win us into heaven, and no matter how good we think we are, it will NOT get us there, but what will get us there is us accepting the gift of grace and r most importantly RELYING on God? Today, if you feel you are living the wrong way, let God know I need you, and I need to change, and he will help you.  ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, thank you for the grace you have given us. Forgive us for anything we have done today; we learned about grace, and this week, we learned we need you to cleanse us. Please cleanse us of our sins, lord; help us to be with you and to give you everything; help us to change our ways, lord; we say this every day, but with our whole hearts, we do ask you to help us to have the strength to deny our sins. Lord, we ask that you continue to be our savior and give us the grace and mercy we need to survive. Lord, we thank you and praise your name in Jesus' Name Amen

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REFERENCES

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 + Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

+ John 1:16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.

+ 2 Corinthians 9:8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

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FURTHER READINGS

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 PROVERBS 27

Exodus 12

John 14

James 1

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[royalarms]

➤ MISCELLANEOUS INFO .

i thought i had typed some of these up on my other blog , but i can't find them anywhere , so i figure i may have scrapped it or forgot ? that being said ! here is a compilation of little headcanons , and if you've seen them before ... i'm sorry .

noctis does take advice , but it doesn't hit immediately . he's definitely the type of person who , when listening , will become defensive and reject unwelcome criticism of his actions , but after a few hours , usually when he lays down to rest at night , he will dwell on what people have said to him , constantly thinking of what is better , and what will work for him . i see this especially in his relationships with his father , gladiolus , and ignis . he heeds their words , but more in his silent alone time . whereas in the midst of a heated discussion , he would argue back or shut down entirely .

his right leg is the one that was injured , but due to over extended use during the healing process , his left leg has a slight limp . he deals with chronic pain ( particularly in his lower back and legs ) and headaches ( which are chronic but like. y'know , astral talk doesn't help ) , and struggles greatly with insomnia . it's part of the reason he's so sleepy during the day and prefers to sleep in . because he didn't get much sleep in the first place .

he gets oversensitive and emotionally overwhelmed relatively frequently and it comes across in his shortness toward other people . his emotional overwhelm is hard to keep maintained and he either enters a state of shutting down or becomes prone to emotional outbursts . most times it's a mix of the two simultaneously . this is absolutely the result of childhood trauma that i will eventually write its own post about .

his relationship with regis is ultimately loving , but also strained . he resents his father at times for not being there enough for him as a child and is part of the reason he rejects wanting to be king so wholeheartedly . if being king means neglecting those you love , he doesn't want any part of it . of course , his feelings on regis and the subject of his destiny change as time progresses , but during his teenage years and early game content , i stand by that thought .

he's all talk . he'll hype himself up hard to do something ( usually in regard to some social situation ) until faced with the actual real life situation , then he becomes awkward and closes in on himself .

i have so many thoughts on the decade in the crystal , and i will be writing its own post on that as well , but tl;dr noctis was able to mature greatly through feeling the feelings and seeing glimpses of the memories of every person who has sacrificed a piece of their life for him . bahamut humbled him completely and when he emerged in angelgard , it doesn't click with him that he's different until he meets up with his retainers . after meeting with them again , he decides to model himself as king and uses his late father as his role model . he acts in front of others as they might his father to . eventually , he'll find his own way in his kingship , but for now , he's truly winging it .

on a lighter note , when driving , he has a lead foot and always ends up speeding even if he doesn't mean to ( though sometimes he does ) and he takes the wildest u - turns known to mankind and freaks everyone out .

i have verses without all the boys/luna in them and they made me realize how much noctis relies on gladio , ignis , prompto , and the idea of luna ( another hc post for another day ) . without them , he's such a lonely soul , and i think he depends so so much on other people to take care of him , and without them , he can learn to be independent , but it does not come naturally to him . especially considering the way he was raised .

i will have more food eventually . i'm just so lazy .

[queenharumiura]

META + Ravein

*         send   META   +   a   word   ,   a   name   ,   or   phrase   and   i   will   write   a   head  canon   based   off   of   this   !!!  ||Accepting|| @dyingresolve

Readmore for length, mostly

Let's see... it actually depends on the various verses that I have for Haru. Ravein is an OC who I kinda just do whatever with in terms of timeline, so his age is always in flux for what I want from him. The great thing of an OC.

So originally he was set to be someone who is an ex-assassin who escaped from a mafia who were forcing him to work for them in order to release his parents. Were his parents alive to begin with? Welp. What you know of me, I'm sure we know the answer to that.

Long story short he escapes and comes across a distant relative of his who helps him move to a peaceful country, and ofc for KHR related things, he then will have moved to Japan because of the 10th generation Vongola. Who would dare to make a big ruckus in Japan amirite?

He comes across Haru. It was never written on dash (bc ... cough LAZY) but he does actually end up hurting Haru. It was... how to say, an involuntary reflex from his trauma? Haru being who she is, she'd forgive him knowing he didn't mean to hurt her. It did take some time though, don't get me wrong. There is still some wariness involved, but she forgives him. In retrospect, a good number of people she knows has some kind of trauma, so she's just like 'mmn okay add another to the list'. So she tries to be patient with him. They end up having something like a adoptive sister-brother kinda relationship?

They have the dynamic where she teaches him things about how to behave in social situations, and he secretly keeps her safe. Knowing his situation, Haru talked to Reborn for advice and he would've dealt with it by ensuring that the mafia family doesn't get involved with Ravein henceforth, lest they wish to get on the Vongola's bad side.

Just like with there being various parallel universes I don't have them know each other in each verse I write, but I do in a few. In the ones that they do know each other, he actually helps her train how to use her flames and teaches her ways to protect herself on the off chance she needs to.

-

Now, for the Varia verse (that I write with you), Ravein had escaped on his own a bit earlier than he did in his usual setting, and he came across the Varia and applied and got in. He got paired off with 'Sentai-san' and when the latter took in Haru, Ravein was asked to look after Haru when Sentai-san was off on missions. So again, a brother-sister kinda dynamic of sorts.

The reason why Ravein was entrusted with Haru is for a few reasons:

Sentai-san understood Ravein's backstory and his personality well enough to know that Ravein will not speak on something that he himself had decided not to disclose to Haru. So any personal information about him would be safe. Ravein is not weak to someone badgering him or giving puppy eyes or what. A child can cry and he still won't say anything.

He knew that Ravein has a soft spot for kids and knowing the traumatic experience that Haru went through being abducted away from her parents and her parents-- you know, he can relate as he lost his parents to the mafia as well. So that connection makes it so that he'd treat her well.

He figured that Haru may be a good influence on him to make him open up more and be willing to make real connections with others.

Out of everyone else? Please, he'd probably be the best with kids.

And the other thing was that he was still young, and Haru probably wouldn't have feared him as much.

So, he is that other person that Haru would tolerate the touch of and would not punch. Let's see a HC with this Ravein---

She's managed to get it so that he feels okay with speaking to her when they're alone and he won't just use 1-3 word responses.

-

NOW- there is also the Varia verse that I write with Blaise for instance. Here, they're the same age, give or take a few years perhaps. Different set up bc I felt like it. Again, I LOVE writing variances across verses to make things interesting and FUN (for me).

In this one, it's because she's around a lot more people who are closer to her age (give or take a few years) bc Blaise has more than one OC in the Varia, so Haru was able to get more used to being around people. She has a lot more friends to be comfortable with, so she's actually more or less okay with touch in this verse. She will punch out anyone who she doesn't know, however. She's generally more friendly and a bit more--- calm in this verse? She doesn't have a Bel that is often getting on her nerves LOL

So in this verse, they're just friends and her motivations for joining the Varia is simply because Sentai-san was there and she wanted to be there with him. He fought against her on this for a while until she eventually won and joined. He dies on a mission AFTER she joined the Varia and what not. I love to play around with timelines as you can tell.

Haru is honestly more or less the 'I will watch over dumber and dumber. Ravein and Blaise's Luca are just-- they're quite the pair. They drive Haru mad sometimes with their chaotic stupidity they get into, sometimes. She regards the both of them as friends, so in this verse there is no sister-brother vibes between Ravein and Haru.

Wild how I keep them all separate, hm?

A HC for this Ravein--- He secretly looked into Haru's past and he uncovered some of the information that Sentai-san had also uncovered. Sentai-san passed away before he could relay any information to Haru, but Ravein filled in the slot for this verse and let her know.