#? i guess? vaguely? in a way?

[buggachat]

I felt. compelled. to draw this. and I don't..... I don't have any more explanation than that. sorry

[botanyshitposts]

flowers blooming in such heft and numbers they bend the plant over and plants bearing fruit so hard they shower everything under it in fruits or make the very branches bend…. creatures are just experiencing vast bounty and good fortune out there fr fr

[demacianpuppet]

Kabru’s behavior in Dungeon meshi is absolute bonkers if you look from a logical standpoint.

Kabru really wants to get know Laois, which keeps on ignoring him on the surface at every turn.

Then, in the dungeon, he finally gets the chance to talk to him, while Laois gets into fight with his former colleague and then half their party gets wiped out by Laois’ transformed sister. And after that Laois unintentionally brushes into Kabru’s trauma by making a dish out of a monster, Laois’ special interest and Kabru’s trauma.

And despite everything, Kabru does everything to help and protect Laois and his party from now on.

For a person who at this point theatrically should still fall into the “crush” category.

While Kabru’s past and his dislike of the canaries and elves generally plays a role for his behavior as well, Laois is the biggest motivation for his action.

No matter that, even if a wrong decision could cost so many lives, some he had sworn to never allow to repeat itself, he still does everything to help Laois and keep him from harm.

Absolute insane behavior from him.

[codacheetah]

Which one will you vote for?

[whamss]

honestly it’s such a generic trope but i do genuinely love the concept of rose and kanaya flirting a lot with each other prior to dating, but never picking up on each others advances. both as an expansion of their pre-meteor/act 5 dynamic (lots of banter, slight mental warfare, two girls trying to see how long it takes the other to pick up what they’re putting down, flighty broads and their snarky horseshit, yadda yadda) and in the context of their miscommunication on their first date.

rose leaning on kanaya’s shoulder as she reads over a book about quadrants, and rose tells her that’s sooo interesting, she wonders if humans can engage in this stuff, and kanaya shuts her down with a vague Im Sure You Will Find Out Someday. kanaya making rose dozens of outfits, all lovingly designed, adjusting rose’s outfit when she puts it on and telling her that she wishes she could dress her like this all of the time, she’s never had a model quite like her, and rose is just like Well of course, if you ever have anything you’d like me to wear you’re welcome to invite me over. both of them die over these encounters later

something about rose and kanaya being confident enough to flirt w each other but too stupid to fully pick up on the Implications. always trying to tip the scale in their favor to force the others hand, never quite having the strength to outright admit that they like each other (until rose is shitfaced and stumbling). i think it’s a fun means to escalate their early banter as they become more acclimated to each other and develop Feelings.

[rulersre4chf4n]

My personal biggest pet peeve regarding analyses of Belos (obviously aside from “he’s just evil and analyzing him at all means you support his actions” and “he deserves redemption actually”) is that so many people take his hatred of witches completely at face value--as simply being the result of his indoctrination into witch-hunting as a child in Gravesfield, that these are just the beliefs he was raised with and that he never grew to see past his prejudice like Caleb did. But that is such an oversimplification of his character, and it also ignores what is in my opinion the main driving force behind all of his actions: Caleb himself.

Belos doesn’t think all witches are evil because he was raised to be a witch-hunter. He HAS to keep himself convinced that they are, because if the witches are not evil, then he has two realities to face: 

Caleb left him of his own free will, not because he was under a spell or led astray by the devil.

Belos murdered his own brother, the only person he ever loved, for nothing.

And these CANNOT be true.

Belos’s need to be the hero who saves humanity from witches is not the reason he killed his brother, it’s the result of it.

[doubly-dateable]

guys. the editorial company is called “Muse Nine Publishing.” In Greek mythology, the ninth muse was named Calliope. I’m about to flip tf out-

[10piecechickenmcnugget]

these two are really fueling my agenda

[skrunksthatwunk]

actually i'm still thinking about the moral orel finale.

he has a cross on his wall. do you know how much i think about that bc it's a lot.

a lot of stories ((auto)biographical or fictional) centering escape from abusive/fundamentalist christianity result in the lead characters leaving behind christianity entirely. and that makes complete sense! people often grow disillusioned with the associated systems and beliefs, and when it was something used to hurt them or something so inseparable from their abuse that they can't engage with it without hurting, it makes total sense that they would disengage entirely. and sometimes they just figure out that they don't really believe in god/a christian god/etc. a healthy deconstruction process can sometimes look like becoming an atheist or converting to another religion. it's all case by case. (note: i'm sure this happens with other religions as well, i'm just most familiar with christian versions of this phenomenon).

but in orel's case, his faith was one of the few things that actually brought him comfort and joy. he loved god, y'know? genuinely. and he felt loved by god and supported by him when he had no one else. and the abuses he faced were in how the people in his life twisted religion to control others, to run away from themselves, to shield them from others, etc. and often, orel's conflicts with how they acted out christianity come as a direct result of his purer understanding of god/jesus/whatever ("aren't we supposed to be like this/do that?" met with an adult's excuse for their own behavior or the fastest way they could think of to get orel to leave them alone (i.e. orel saying i thought we weren't supposed to lie? and clay saying uhhh it doesn't count if you're lying to yourself)). the little guy played catch with god instead of his dad, like.. his faith was real, and his love was real. and i think it's a good choice to have orel maintain something that was so important to him and such a grounding, comforting force in the midst of. All That Stuff Moralton Was Up To/Put Him Through. being all about jesus was not the problem, in orel's case.

and i know i'm mostly assuming that orel ended up in a healthier, less rigid version of christianity, but i feel like that's something that was hinted at a lot through the series, that that's the direction he'd go. when he meditates during the prayer bee and accepts stephanie's different way to communicate, incorporating elements of buddhism into his faith; when he has his I AM A CHURCH breakdown (removing himself from the institution and realizing he can be like,, the center of his own faith? taking a more individualistic approach? but Truly Going Through It at the same time), his acceptance (...sometimes) of those who are different from him and condemned by the adults of moralton (stephanie (lesbian icon stephanie my beloved), christina (who's like. just a slightly different form of fundie protestant from him), dr chosenberg (the jewish doctor from otherton in holy visage)). his track record on this isn't perfect, but it gets better as orel starts maturing and picking up on what an absolute shitfest moralton is. it's all ways of questioning the things he's been taught, and it makes sense that it would lead to a bigger questioning as he puts those pieces together more. anyway i think part of his growth is weeding out all the lost commandments of his upbringing and focusing on what faith means to him, and what he thinks it should mean. how he wants to see the world and how he wants to treat people and what he thinks is okay and right, and looking to religion for guidance in that, not as like. a way to justify hurting those he's afraid or resentful of, as his role models did.

he's coming to his own conclusions rather than obediently, unquestioningly taking in what others say. but he's still listening to pick out the parts that make sense to him. (edit/note: and it's his compassion and his faith that are the primary motivations for this questioning and revisal process, both of individual cases and, eventually, the final boss that is christianity.) it makes perfect sense as the conclusion to his character arc and it fits the overall approach of the show far better. it's good is what i'm saying.

and i think it's important to show that kind of ending, because that's a pretty common and equally valid result of deconstruction. and i think it cements the show's treatment of christianity as something that's often (and maybe even easily) exploited, but not something inherently bad. something that can be very positive, even. guys he even has a dog he's not afraid of loving anymore. he's not afraid of loving anyone more than jesus and i don't think it's because he loves this dog less than bartholomew (though he was probably far more desperate for healthy affection and companionship when he was younger). i think it's because he figures god would want him to love that dog. he's choosing to believe that god would want him to love and to be happy and to be kind. he's not afraid of loving in the wrong way do you know how cool that is he's taking back control he's taking back something he loves from his abusers im so normal

[jnoll]

cad

[askblueandviolet]

[fulgurbugs]

Was doodling them again and ended up scribbling out some notes/thoughts lol

[sincerely-sofie]

Hi, I was the anon who had the idea of Skunktank running into Merit and Constance and idk if my ask made it through. I hope it didn’t, because I was not finished typing lmao-

But I imagine Skunktank doesn’t know much about Ruby’s past. She doesn’t want to talk about it. He does remember there was a period of time where Opal looked devastated, and that she wouldn’t explain what happened. Ruby showed up in Twig’s and Ark’s care not too long after. It’s only a little later he just happens to catch Ruby’s illusion waver a little, and he sees these . . . Scars. Scars that shouldn’t ever be on a child. He thinks that maybe, just maybe, that he saw it wrong, but he gnaws at the back of his head until he pulls Twig aside and tells her that maybe Ruby should be taken to the doctor, because he thinks he saw some scarring. Twig takes a deep inhale, pausing to find the words, and the longer she takes, the more dread Skunktank feels.

Eventually Twig tells him that they know about the scars, and that Ruby is recovering. She’s safe, so it’s best not to ask either of the girls about it. When Skunktank presses — out of concern, a rare sight from him — Twig tells him it’s not her story to tell. After another brief pause, she continues and says that she would appreciate it if he kept an eye out for two Hisuian Zoroarks — one normal, one shiny — always together with matching burn scars. She doesn’t want Skunktank to do anything other than tell her and Ark where they are and if they’re coming anywhere close to the village. That’s it. Do NOT do anything else. If he won’t listen for Twig, listen for Ruby and Opal.

Skunktank can’t get anymore information, so he lets it go for now. Ruby is safe and healthy, so that’s all that matters. If anyone can keep her safe, it’s legendary battler Twig and nightmare bringer Ark. It’s put in the back of his mind. Some time later, when he’s away from the village, he bumps into two Pokémon with burn scars all over their hands. When they fall, their illusions drop and reveal two Hisuian Zoroarks, their burn scars still remaining. Skunktank sees their claws, and his mind flashes back to the shape of Ruby’s scars and Twig’s warning. He knows who they are now. He looks at them, and he can’t help but feel sick. He’s nauseated. He wonders if he’s staring at another imagine of himself — a version that went too far. A version that would have just shrugged their shoulders at the thought of those little Azurill and Marill kids going into the Amp Plains to get their treasure back, uncaring if they got hurt. A version of themselves that got two kids in the form of a Mudkip and Charmander hurt.

These two are attempted murderers, free to go due to lack of evidence, leaving their baby sister with scars from a wound that it was a miracle that she survived from.

It’s no wonder Twig hates him. He’s looking into some distorted mirror — one that’s not entirely accurate, but still displays a general image — and he hates what he’s looking at too.

ANON I’M LOSING MY MIND

I did get the ask, actually! I’ve just been slowing down answering asks in general because I’m (yet again) sick as a dog, and I wanted to give that ask a more extensive, drawn response!

Here’s an incomplete teaser where Twig and Ark ask Skuntank to take Ruby out on a walk for her physical therapy while they’re stuck dealing with legal stuff. They encounter Merit and Constance while out and about.

For some bonus context, despite Ruby’s strong preference to hide her bandages (and later her scars) using illusions, she’s been instructed to avoid using illusions whatsoever. However, she’s still keeping her form of a unovan zorua secret, so she’s still using that illusion:

[priceofreedom]

Cissnei misses Zack 🥺

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Forbidden Book

YA historical fantasy

the daughter of a wealthy businessman in a small shtel under Russian rule is about to be married off, so she runs away and pretends to be a boy - but the name she chose turns out to be the name of a real boy, who’s missing and wanted dead

along with some other teens, they try to unravel the mystery of what happened to him and where he might be, and are drawn into the underbelly of forgery, illegal political pamplets, dybbuks, and angels

genderqueer lesbian MC

arc from netgalley, out oct 1

[ireallyneedaintrestinglife]

Ok but the fact that we all drew and thought that eclipse would be this either horrifying absolutely terrifying monster or a weird amalgamation that had all of Suns and Moons insecurities and they made him the exact opposite is just *chefs kiss* absolutely perfect