#(<-castor in the corner)

[lolipoptheclown]

Was gonna be a normal doodle page then Vampire Bob

Doodles by themselves:

[iminyourwallschaosvalor]

@vampirel00rd is soooooo fineeeee

[alaina-starling]

“Brother of mine, do not leave.”

[Pollux x Reader]

summary: Castor’s dead and you’re Pollux and Castor’s best-friend.

genre: angst

notes: sorry this is short, i honestly just want to get back to writing after the long hiatus—sorry!! this has been in my drafts since last year… so glad to have it out now (p.s. new-ish format for my posts)

You watch Pollux as he closes his eyes, silent as you scoot closer to him in the tall grass. The sun’s in his face and it kind of looks like he’s about to cry again. You block the sun with your head, gazing down at his figure.

He opens his eyes, glossy violet, a familiar sight except he’s trying his best not to cry so his eyes are brimming with tears. He stares up at you. “Hey,” he mutters, breath ragged as he tries not to fall apart in front of you.

“Don’t hold it in,“ you tell him, a hand finding his hair. You can’t help it, you’ve always had a soft spot for the two of them, liked them best in camp. “Cry, no one is here.”

His lip trembles, eyes closing shut when you say that. Pollux’s chest rises and falls heavily.

“I miss him,” he admits with a tone you’ve never heard before. His voice sounds so wrecked, so broken that you’re unable to stop yourself from hugging him.

He tenses for a moment, shocked you’d do that, but after a second he eases and holds you close, sitting up with you.

“I do too,” you manage sadly, exhaling against his skin. “I’m sorry, I wish I could do something… anything.”

Pollux shakes his head, burying his face deeper into your hair and inhaling shakily. Like each breath takes his all, as if swords are piercing his lungs as it fills with air.

“Just… just you being here, it hel-helps.”

The way his voice is small and wavering makes your heart ache with sorrow.

You can’t even imagine it. Losing the only person you’ve had since birth. Your twin, your brother. But you suppose you don’t have to, because you neither have a brother nor a twin.

The son of Dionysus cries silently against you, his chest rumbling with small whimpers and whines. And all you can do is rub his back and act as if you can’t hear his sharp breaths of air.

He’s grateful for that, because if you spoke, he’d probably have exploded and everything in a thirty meter radius would be covered in vines or mad.

And as the sun blares angrily at the two of you, you feel Pollux’s body sink into you. Asleep. He’s dozed off in exhaustion, muttering, “don’t leave me.”

Which you don’t. Because how could you deny him of anything right now?

[spookie-bitch]

Perfect To Me

Pairings: Lady Lesso x Fem!Reader Contains: Comfort, fluff TW: Age gap (legal ofc), perfectionism AN: Requests are open <3

You would've never considered yourself a perfectionist, or even an overachiever. You knew that nothing was perfect and that people made mistakes. Despite this, your subconscious seems to exclude you from said people, and your school work from said nothing.

Staring at the bird pecking in rankings, you’d usually be surprised that you went down a rank. However, today was different. You absolutely flunked the challenge in Professor Castor's class. You were so tired you couldn’t bring yourself to do anything but stare in despair.

Your name next to the 2 felt like a punch to the gut. The first to lose. The longer you stared at the rank, the more it sunk in, and the worse you started to feel. Anxiety started to wrack its way through your mind.

“Did everyone know?” “They probably thought I was pathetic.”

You ran your fingers through your messy hair, your hands shaking. The sleepless nights spent studying are shown in your disheveled appearance. You might have normally cared, but right now, you had bigger problems.

As you walk to your dorm room, every hushed voice and whisper felt personal. They were talking about you. They thought you were a failure. You felt like a failure.

Closing the wooden door behind yourself, you feel tears of shame and irritation build in your eyes. You refused to let them fall—crying wouldn't fix it.You leaned your back against the door, sliding down until you were sitting on the cold floor. The room was silent, but your mind was anything but. A million thoughts raced through your head, each one louder than the last.

You buried your face in your hands, trying to steady your breathing. You couldn’t let this break you. You had to get up, keep going, prove that you weren’t a failure.

Pushing yourself up and off the floor, you grab one of the textbooks on your bedside dresser. As you plop down on the bed, you open the textbook to the page marked by your notes. You spend the whole night going over them. Hours tick by and the pages start to blur together into a heap of meaningless words. Despite your best efforts, you can't seem to retain a single thing you've read.

Your eyes grow heavy and begin to burn as the first rays of morning light shine through the window. You hear the soft hum of activity outside your dorm room as the campus starts to wake up. You shut your eyes tightly, rubbing your forehead in a worthless attempt to soothe your oncoming headache.

You get up with a groan, putting your books back into your bag. You change into a fresh pair of clothes, not bothering to brush your hair or really do anything else. You were so drained that you didn't care how disheveled you looked.

“At least now I look how I feel,” you thought to yourself, glancing into the mirror.

A few minutes later, you make your way to your first class of the day, your mood only worsening by the looks cast in your direction. The day only got worse from there, if that was even possible at this point. By your fourth class, you were ready to quit.

“Let them turn me into a tea kettle,” you thought, “at least nobody would expect anything of me.”

You found the corner of the dimly lit hallway, your shoes clicking on the stone of the floor. You did not want to deal with Lesso today. You always felt weird around her and you didn't like it.

Sitting in your seat near the front of the class, you were almost sure she would comment on your appearance. She was blunt, and spoke her mind, but to your surprise, she said nothing. She merely glanced at you, something you couldn't recognize flickering behind her emotionless eyes.

“Probably disgust,” you thought to yourself, your eyes lingering on her for a moment longer.

Five minutes into the lesson you zoned out so hard you could no longer hear the clicking of Lesso’s cane as she paced around the front of the room. What you did hear, was the loud thwack of the cane hitting your desk, pulling you out of your daze.

“Pay attention, Miss y/n,” scolded Lesso, the only noticeable emotion detectable in her voice being mild annoyance. And then she went on with the lesson. You’d expected her to send you to the doom room or something, but you were let off with a gentle scolding.

You zoned out again, wondering why you hadn't gotten in more trouble. Lesso wasn't exactly known to be nice, or even lenient. You were more than sure she saw that you still weren't paying any attention, but she didn't acknowledge it.

You didn't hear when the wolves howled, signaling the start of your trek to your next class, too busy in your own head.

A quiet voice broke through the fog. “Shouldn’t you be heading to your next class?” You looked up, blinking as Professor Lesso stood before you, her gaze sharp yet strangely soft.

“Oh, I’m- I'm sorry professor, I-”

“Are you okay?” She cut your stuttered out sentence off with three words you never thought you'd hear from her lips. You could hear something alien in her voice—concern. It was faint, but it was there. You started to feel weird, her presence starting to fully register.

You swallowed, feeling the weight of the question press down on you. Your chest tightened.

“I'm- I'm fine,” You finally said, your voice barely a whisper. It didn't sound believable, not even to your own ears.

“You don’t look fine.” Her tone wasn't harsh, but it was firm. You could tell by the way she said it that she wasn't looking at you, but rather in you. It made your face flush, suddenly feeling extremely vulnerable.

“I just…” you started, your voice wavering as you tried to find the right words. “I’m tired. I messed up. She knelt slightly, bringing herself closer to your level, her posture uncharacteristically open.

“You push yourself so hard, y/n. Too hard,” she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. The way she spoke your name made your breath hitch. There was an unexpected protective edge in her tone that made your heart skip a beat.

She reached out, her fingers brushing lightly against your cheek. You found yourself wanting to lean into the touch, but you resisted the urge. Lesso’s thumb grazed your skin, and you could feel your pulse quicken. She was so close, closer than she’d ever been, and you could feel the tension between you, thick and electric.

Her touch was gentle, almost hesitant, as though she was unsure if you’d let her in. The contact was soft, but charged with something unspoken.

“You don't have to be perfect,” she murmured, her thumb tracing gentle patterns along your cheek. You found yourself learning closer, pulled in by the intoxicating blend of strength and gentleness that made you feel both safe and unsteady all at once.

Her breath fanned softly against your skin, your heart pounding.

“Lesso…” you whispered. You weren't exactly sure what you were asking for, but the way she looked at you—like you were something precious and fragile—made you want it more. She didn't respond with words. Instead, she closed the distance between you, her lips meeting yours in a gentle kiss.

You melted into her, your hands finding their way to her collar, pulling her closer. With her hand still on your cheek, she cups your jaw and tilts your head back ever so slightly, deepening the kiss. Her touch was gentle and soothing, so much so it brought tears to your eyes.

As Lesso's lips left yours, the warmth of the kiss still lingering on your lips, you felt a tear trickle down your face. Then another, and another. Lesso gently wiped the tears with her thumb, her face softening. With her other hand, she gently grabs your wrist and tenderly tugs you out of your seat, standing up straight.

She wrapped her arms around you, pulling you into her chest.

“It’s okay,” she whispered into your hair, her voice gentle and reassuring. You let your tears fall, silently sobbing into her chest. After what felt like forever, but you were sure it was no longer than five minutes You sniffled, trying to regain some semblance of composure.

“You’re perfect to me,” Lesso whispered, her thumb grazing your cheek again. Her arms tightened around you, as if trying to shield you from everything. “You're enough, sweet girl.”

[azsazz]

Strips and Sutures

Daddy!Cassian x Reader

Summary: Cassian helps stitch up his daughters doll.

Warnings: None, fluff!

Word Count: 1,208

_________________________________________

“Daddy! Daddy!” The screams for him are ones he hopes he never has to familiarize himself with. Choked cries for help through shaky breaths on lungs too little to sound so loud.

Cassian’s heart screeches to a halt in his chest. His fingers clench around the utensils he’s using to swipe jam onto a slice of bread for his daughter’s lunch. The blunt butterknife isn’t his first choice of a weapon but he could make it work, has made less work. He knows there’s no intruder in his home, you had taken Gideon and Castor to school today and were running some errands in town, leaving Cassian and your youngest daughter, Sif, to some time alone.

The metal clangs loudly against the countertop as he darts from his station, the snack splattering on the stone with a squelch by the time he’s through the doorway, on his way to find his daughter. He can hear her little feet pattering his way and he slows his pace so he doesn’t go barreling into her.

He’d only left her alone for hardly a minute, how could something have gone so wrong already?

“Sif?” He calls out, halting with warrior-like quickness as his daughter rounds the corner, stumbling right into his legs. She buries her face into his shin, wrapping her arms around his calf with surprising strength for a four-year-old.

She has fat tears rolling down her ruddy cheeks and it takes some effort to pluck her from his pants to cradle her in his arms, the doll she’s clasping to sweeping up with her. A quick scan proves nothing wrong; no cuts or bruises to be seen, and Cassian brushes away her unruly hair sticking to her cheeks.

“What’s wrong, baby? Are you hurt?” He asks because he doesn’t know what else to do. She’s full on sobbing now, hugging the doll tightly to her chest like a lifeline. The sight makes his heart ache, he’ll do anything to see her happy.

He’s a split second away from calling out to Rhys or alerting you through the bond because of the absolute pain rushing through his veins. Cassian’s become accustomed to the accidents and cries of his children, but it never gets easier.

“No,” Sif sniffles, blinking the tears from her big, beautiful hazel eyes. She holds up her doll but it’s much too close to his face to be able to see what she’s pointing out. “But Ms. Genavieve is!”

Cassian leans away, uncrossing his eyes to see the slight tear in the little doll, right where her arm and body meet. He lets loose a breath, shoulders melting in relief because Sif is perfectly in one piece, even if her toy isn’t.

“My poor baby,” Cassian coos, brushing her hot cheeks, wet with tears, once more. He rocks her against his chest, soothing the upset babe in his arms, pressing kisses to her forehead. “Daddy can fix her, don’t you worry.”

Tears line her eyes as she looks from the doll to him, and Cassian wants to cry at the way her little lip juts out in a pout, wobbling as she questions him. “You can?”

“Of course, pretty girl,” he soothes, “Let’s find mommy’s sewing kit and then I’ll finish your lunch. You can eat while I sew up Ms. Genavieve.”

“Okay,” she nods, fingering the threads hanging loose from her doll.

Cassian carries her throughout the house, beelining for the closet he knows you keep all of the miscellaneous supplies within the home. Sewing kit, medical box, art supplies, and games line the shelves, overwhelming in itself. 

He lets loose a sigh, beginning his search.

“Come on mommy, come on mommy,” he mutters, scanning the shelves, shoving things out of the way. “Where is it? Ah-ha!”

Sif giggles at his excitement, pulling the kit from the shelf. Cassian kicks the door shut, cringing when he hears something clatter to the ground on the other side.

He’ll blame it on Gideon when he gets home.

They make their way back to the kitchen where Cassian sets Sif in her seat, pulling it up to the counter. He rounds the counter, grimacing at the half of the sandwich that landed face down on the counter. Sif giggles, still holding her doll tightly to her chest as Cassian shrugs, folding the bread in half and stuffing it in his mouth as he reaches for a fresh slice for his daughter.

“Can’t let that go to waste now, right Siffy?” he mumbles through the mouthful.

She wrinkles her nose in response, “Don’t talk with your mouth full, daddy.”

Yep. Definitely her mother’s daughter.

He makes quick work of making her sandwich, humming and making silly faces to keep her happy while he does so. Sliding the plate across the counter to her makes Sif giggle and his heart soar. He fills a cup with milk for her to sip on and clears his station before setting it all up for Ms. Genavieve’s procedure.

Cassian matches the strand to the color of the fabric, and threads the needle and sets the doll before him, all of the supplies he needs are ready by the kit should he need them.

He takes a deep breath, glancing up to his daughter who has her sandwich occupying both hands, a tiny bite taken from the middle of it. Sif chews while she watches intensely, waiting for him to make his first move and it makes him more nervous than it should. He doesn’t want to disappoint his little girl.

Cassian stares at the tear. It’s not big by any means, and Mother be damned if he’s going to wait for you to get home or ask one of the wraiths to help him. He’s sewed up injuries plenty of times, when he’d been on missions or in wars and needed to quickly close a wound so he wouldn’t bleed out before getting to a healer. He’d even patched up Az once, back when they were teens and the shadowsinger was much too nervous to go to the medical tent because of the pretty girl that he couldn’t seem to stay away from. 

The shadowsinger wouldn’t let him near with a needle since. 

“Right,” he mutters, lowering the needle, “Nice and easy now.”

The first stitch is the worst, but Sif doesn’t make any noises to tell him he’s doing it wrong so he keeps going, keeping focused on the task at hand. He makes the suture as straight as possible, taking his time to align them perfectly, not skipping over any areas and pulling the thread tight before tying it off with perfection. 

“Well, little Miss Sif, I think Ms. Genavieve is very happy to once again have her arm at full capacity,” Cassian boasts, holding up her doll like a trophy. Sif cheers from her seat, making grabby hands for the toy and he hands it over before realizing with a start that she’s probably a mess from her lunch.

Indeed, she smiles, hugging the doll tightly to her chest and rubbing her jam-smeared face against the cloth toy. He cringes, sighing as he packs away the sewing kit.

“I suppose we should get Ms. Genavieve in the bath now, right, Siffy?”

[castaway-achlys]

*he giggled and leaned closer to hug him gently, just being innocent and affectionate.*

i'm excited to go to the pride prom with you. i've been really excited... but... you're not afraid of me... and that makes me so unbelievably happy.

hi atamai :3

u said next time i found berries to brung them to u so i dont die so im here :D

(the berries totally arent an excuse to talk to u i totally know how to socialize like a normal person)

-@nrcbookclub

These are blackberries. They're fine. Just wash them.

[lilacargent]

Here we go again,

Puzzles/ jigsaws would confuse Aliens so much

Set on the serpentine, beginning of the humans tenure

Important crew:

Primoz, captain -Limoyh a four armed species-Krag, second in command (brother of Primoz)

Kit, dokter -avian, bird like, she has feathers like a swallow-

Ortez, ASR (all species resources, human resources in space) -kiltak, insectoid species, think ants but exoskeleton-

Lugea, helmsperson (does the steering) -rock like alien-

Artex, engineer/mechanic 1 -also Kiltak-

And then our humans:

Kamari, navigator -Eritrean woman- (has cat named Sidra)

Markus, weapons expert (knows how to use them and upkeep, also shields) -Swedish man-

Petrus, mechanic/engineer 2 - Italian man-

Lilly, administrator/note keeper (learns languages for fun)-english woman-

~~~~~~~

Puzzles

The serpentine is on route between trading posts, this is currently the furthest route without proper jump point because of the static energy surrounding the dual planets castor and pollux.

Primoz is getting worried. The humans are becoming increasingly more jittery and Kamari looks like she a pinch away from punch someone, Markus has been ‘humming’ a song that annoys her greatly. Honestly the noises the tall man is making don’t seem that bad but every few minutes her eyebrows twitch which Ortez told him is a sign of frustration.

Before the captain can figure out how to keep them from doing something deathworld worthy, Lilly comes in with precariously stacked carton boxes and Petrus carrying a table. Setting the pile down the smallest human straightens out “look what i brought! Old earth puzzles! This one has a deer and this one has the old world wonders” immediately the humming stops and Markus is at the table with Petrus “oh yes Lilly you are the best! I wanna do the deer one, that is gonna be a challenge”

With the table in the corner of the bridge the tension among crew is nearly gone, as all species try to put the cut apart pictures together, Lilly brought 9 puzzles and at a certain point a competition was forming: after one of the human unit had finished a puzzle the other crew try to make it in less time. They have yet to win.

Looking at his relaxed crew Primoz grins at his brother who is trying to use all his four arms to put pieces together without much succes. Turning away from the competition he taps Lilly on her shoulder “how do you guys do it? Also why did you think to take these things with you.” Lilly looks up from her drawing (the crew bent over the table making the puzzle) “well i knew it was going to be a long trip, Kamari thinks Markus will be ‘professional’ but he can’t help himself” her soft smile when she puts air punctuation around professional makes her look much younger than she is “puzzles are something many humans enjoy, not everyone is as good at them as Markus, but he does this thing where he uses the shape of them more than colours. While he isn’t colour blind, he has real trouble with telling differences in shades. No idea why it works this well but it does, Petrus has already won three nights of free drinking on Castor from betting.” All of a sudden looking bashful Lilly ducks her head “ah eh yes sorry forget i said that we don’t bet on this at all!” Primoz just grins “nobody has broken anything this whole trip, im not going to disrupt the flow you and your unit created. Don’t worry.”

At arrival Petrus has won the whole human crew free drinks for the foreseeable future, and the crew in its entirety hooked on puzzles. While not all species see the colours the same way or understand the patterning in the pieces the feeling of putting in the correct pieces makes it such an enjoyable activity that Lilly brings new puzzles after every holiday back home.

~~~~~~~~~

This one was born out of the confusion my family had when we were making puzzles (jigsaws?) the pictures in pieces… this is where it becomes super clear English is not my first language. Anyway, we had two puzzles out and they were so surprised i could differentiate the positions the pieces needed to be in without context. I had to tell them that the pattern otherwise won’t make sense,

I have the same thing as Markus that colours are fine unless you put several of the same colours next to each other and call them different. This is why the deer one is super hard,

The two puzzles that were described:

[celestial-encounters]

Hello? Who's there?

This is an ask blog for Celestial Encounters, an AU made by @sainteclectic that you can find extra information about here. Basically, HMS and all the other albums are deities, while Whole (Harmonia) is just some guy who works at a corner store. HMS (or Pathos, Logos, and Psyche) are the primary gods, and they created or formed the other gods as offshoots of themselves, representing aspects of their power or performing duties for them.

Asks are preferably directed at someone specific, but you can also just shout into the void and see who answers. blog rules and further information about the characters are below the cut, but here's the short list:

Pathos (he/she/they) is the god of the moon, emotions, and justice. Under her are Castor (CiD; he/him), the god and entropy and injustice, and Thalia (Fine I'm Fine; any), god of celebration and euphoria.

Logos (she/her) is the god of the sun, logic, and progress. Under her are Pollux (The Before; she/her), god of apathy and downward spirals, and Theseus (...you know; he/they), god of perseverance and change.

Psyche (it/they/rarely she) is the god of the stars, the soul, and the underworld. Under it are Charon (Handsome Devil; he/they/it), god of judgement and passing on, and Lethe (Forest for the Trees; he/it), god of mania and overgrowth.

Aaand Harmonia (he/she), a normal mortal who doesn't know what he's doing here either.

Rules

I honestly don't really have anything except for being generally respectful of the blog owner and not getting too rowdy. {suggestive stuff is fine, use your best judgement on that kind of thing} go wild go crazy

Longer bios

pathos is the god of the moon, emotion, and justice. she gives humans their feelings, compassion, and drive to do what they feel is just. he has a strong sense of justice himself, though that sense might seem intense and destructive at times. despite his seemingly righteous goals, he's often blinded by them and is reckless as a result. she's driven purely by emotions, being a conduit for the feelings of humanity, and often doesn't think things through. logos despises their perceived immaturity, believing her to be too rash and emotional to know what's best for mortals.

logos is the god of the sun, logic, and progress. she grants humanity reasoning skills and technological advancements. she enjoys seeing them develop, but she's grown to dislike mortals for all their flaws and failures. still, she's devoted to giving humanity a flawless future - but she doesn't take their feelings about that into account, only what's "objectively" best for them. she approaches things from a purely practical perspective, not caring much for the emotions of the mortals who will be affected. this constantly puts her at odds with pathos, who thinks her methods are ruthless and cruel.

psyche is the god of the stars, the soul, and the underworld. they represent the spark of life in all things, the driving force that makes them unique. in return for giving humanity their sentience, it sacrificed its own personal identity, instead becoming a vessel for the wayward and damned souls that stay trapped behind their mask. it's exhausted from its duties of managing living and dead souls, as well as keeping logos and pathos from destroying humanity with their constant bickering. they like to go and watch the humans when it gets stressed out. it makes them happy to see mortals living their lives, using the gift of free will they granted them.

harmonia is a normal human living in a semi modern setting. the setting is sort of mixed with a bit of fantasy, because they still know gods exist and worship them and all that, which basically just means there's temples to them instead of churches. he's a minimum wage worker, painfully average, depressed, and barely presentable. she doesn't interact with many people outside of coworkers and customers, and she's certainly never interacted with literal deities before... until now.

thalia is a god of celebration and euphoria, especially after hard times. she represents the kind of overjoyed catharsis you get when you're finally free from your problems. he's worshipped in dances and song, and though they're more of an underground worship god than mainstream one these days (and she prefers it that way), many celebrations like graduations or weddings still include a toast to thalia as part of their tradition.

theseus is an interesting case. he was a human who strived to attain godhood by replacing his body with animal parts, hoping to be inhuman enough to ascend to godhood. logos respected the grind but hubris is still a crime, so they should probably punish his soul post death. pathos got into a debate over the fact logos is the most hubris person ever, of course she'd say that, and psyche allowed him to be a minor god of persistence and change as a compromise. he's more like a patron saint than a god in his own right, people pray to him for minor things these days, like personal growth or doing good on a test.

castor is the god of entropy and injustice. despite this, he's not generally a misanthropic god. instead, he's the god you turn to when you need strength in the face of an uncaring universe. fighting an oppressive system, getting vengeance for your suffering, seeing the beauty in decay, that kind of thing. he's representative of pathos' domain in justice and the cruel world that requires it! the emotional motivation to do better is nothing without the logical understanding of how to do it, though.

his twin pollux is the misanthropic one, representing apathy and downward spirals. she's the embodiment of the kind of nothingness you feel while trapped in depression. despite this seeming like an emotional thing, it's instead symbolic for the pit you can fall into when you can't feel emotions healthily. so she serves under logos because, while logos represents progress, that doesn't mean anything without the emotional drive to move forward.

charon is a chthonic god, specifically of judgment and passage into the underworld! charon is under psyche, who's The god of the underworld {taking care of souls and all that}, and he's basically a collector of souls that try to escape them - think thanatos trying to take sisyphus, who refused to die naturally. but it often gets into trouble with psyche because it likes to "play with his food" before taking them to it. they appreciate a good game of cat and mouse, and they respect those particularly crafty mortals that successfully elude them. meanwhile psyche just wants him to do his fucking job.

lethe is a nature god, but in the same way early nature deities like pan also represented madness. he's a god of doomed journeys, mania, and overgrowth. he's the voice in your head that tells you to leave the well-trod path and lose yourself in the gnarled branches and twisted pathways. legend says you might enter his domain if you get lost in the woods, and if you do, you might never escape... used as a cautionary tale to keep kids from wandering off, but people also make offerings to it before going traveling or hiking as a way to avoid their journey ending poorly.

[gemini-castor-and-pollux]

He's calling you an assholic bitch for even dare suggesting that shouldn't be able to own any books

WHERE THE FUCK DID MY BOOKMARK GO? IT DOESN'T JUST GROW LEGS AND LEAVE MY BOOK SERIOUSLY WHERE THE FUCK DID IT GO

[theoutcastrogue]

"A frenzy of absolute disclosure": what post-WWII Europe needed and never got

Naples, Italy, 1955 [x]

Then Lila, drying her tears with the back of her hand, asked “Who are the Nazi Fascists, Pascà? Who are the monarchists? What’s the black market?”

It’s hard to say what Pasquale’s answers did to Lila. I’m in danger of getting it wrong, partly because on me, at the time, they had no concrete effect. But she, in her usual way, was moved and altered by them, so that for the entire summer she tormented me with a single concept that I found quite unbearable. I’ll try to summarize it, using the language of today, like this: there are no gestures, words, or sighs that do not contain the sum of all the crimes that human beings have committed and commit.

Naturally she said it in another way. But what matters is that she was gripped by a frenzy of absolute disclosure. She pointed to people, things, streets, and said, “That man fought in the war and killed people, that one beat people with a stick and poured castor oil down their throat, that one starved his own mother, in that house they tortured and killed, on these stones they marched giving the Fascist salute, on this corner they beat people up, these people's money comes from the hunger of others, this car was bought by selling rotten meat and flour laced with marble dust on the black market, that butcher shop came from stolen copper and vandalized freight trains, behind that bar is the Camorra, smuggling, loan-sharking.”

— Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend

Note: I was gonna quote the official English translation and get done with it, but it was BAD. It had vocabulary like "administered castor oil", "inflicted beatings", "adulterated with marble dust", and I couldn't stand it. This is formal register, not how a teenager would casually talk to her friend. It's maybe how she'd write an essay for school, but that's the whole fucking point: school doesn't cover this, formal register is not applicable. We're in Italy in the 1950s, and the establishment pretends all this doesn't exist, and in turn the girls' families and neighbours pretend it doesn't exist, everyone shuts their eyes and mouth because they don't want any trouble. That's the point. Lila has read the entire school library, and she still wouldn't know what a Nazi is if the communist kid hadn't told her.

Post-war Italy – like most of post-war Europe and especially countries that had fascist movements and/or were under occupation, and ended up on the NATO side – forged a comforting narrative where everything bad that happened was of external origin or in the past. When the war ends and the dust settles, the people involved are still around if not more or less in power, everything's still in shambles, no rights have been wronged, with a handful of exceptions fascists and collaborators have kept the fortunes they made on other people's misery and walk around unbothered, and no one talks about it.

[lolipoptheclown]

Old monster Castor doodle (he's actually able to control himself in this one and not hurt anybody lmao) 🔥🔥

[danikamariewrites]

Loved ‘My North Star’ so much!! Now I can’t stop thinking about Cassian with a mate who can wipe the floor with him in combat and he’s like wtf? I have met my match (or superior in this case). If you write a part 2 (which I hope you do!) could you include that? Or write a seperate story?

When The Nightmare Feels Real

Cassian x reader

A/n: So I wanted to write this as the part two originally but I thought adding Cassian’s view of how strong reader is would be good to. Again, thank you for all the love on My North Star! It’s definitely one of my favorite fics I’ve written. I’m very proud of that one.

Warnings: nightmares, worries, and some fluff

Ever since you landed in Velaris Cassian has been amazed by you. He has met his match yet his equal with you. You are everything he has ever wanted in partner. The last year with you has been amazing.

You’re adventurous and strong. But there are times when you haven’t loved your new home. Adjusting to Velaris was hard. As much as you hated your life and siblings, you did miss your home.

Lately you’ve been going through one of those phases where your nightmares were too much. Sleep was impossible once you woke up. Too many times Cassian has found you on the roof staring at the stars. A longing look in your eyes.

He was too scared to do anything but sit there with you. Cassian yearned to pick you up, holding you to his chest as he brought you as close to the stars as possible.

Tonight was one of those nights. Except tonight you weren’t on the roof. Cassian had sensed you up in the training ring. When he pushed open on the door he spotted you fully dressed in your Illyrian leathers that you fixed some of your armor to.

Making as much noise as he could Cassian came to lay down next to you. Your jaw was clenched so tight Cassian could hear your teeth grinding together. You were gripping your hands so tight your knuckles were stark white. It broke Cassian’s heart to see you like this. To see his girl, so strong and sure of herself, become unsure and question herself and abilities.

“What if they come true one day?” Your voice barely above a whisper. “What if he does find this place that I love so much like in my nightmares? And what if I can’t do anything to save you? Or the rest of the family.” A tear slid from the corner of your eye into your hairline.

Cassian sat up, smoothly pulling you on to his lap, smoothing down your hair. “That won’t happen y/n. I’d never let him or anyone hurt you Angel. And no one. No. One. Is taking me from you. That’s a promise.”

You feel his rough fingers gently caress your chin, pulling you to look up at him. “I can fight. Our family can fight. You, my fearless warrior, can fight like I have never seen before. There isn’t a doubt in my mind you couldn’t protect me.” Another silent tear falls down your face.

Cassian wipes them from the apples of your cheeks. He stands, holding out his hand for you. “Get up,” he said softly. You gently place your hand in his calloused one.

As soon as you stand Cassian pulls away getting into a ready fighting position. You shoot him a questioning look. “You wanna do this now?” “Yeah! I’m trying to prove a point babe. Let’s go!” He starts bouncing on the balls of his feet, punching the air.

You shake your head at him getting in your own ready stance. Cassian nods and you nod back signaling the start of your sparring session.

You felt alive and alert. Sparring with Cassian always made you feel better. He knows all the ways to push you to be the best fighter.

Once you had Cassian pinned your scowl turned into a smirk. His point finally hitting home. If you could take down the General of the Night Court you could surely you could take down Castor. With Cassian and the rest of your family standing with you nothing would harm you.

[ym-loreposting]

Exploring the Zelda Merchandise Map

The above is something I have been curious about for a while: a map of Hyrule that is included with many pieces of merchandise. Despite this, this map of Hyrule does not correspond to any game and many oddities can be observed if it is examined in closer detail, which is what I want to do here.

To start with, it appears this map appeared about a decade ago as a licensed puzzle. Since then it has cropped up in all kinds of places, such as the background of the Japanese Zelda Portal, page 14 of The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia or even just on packaging for stuff like keychains.

But what does the map actually depict if not something from the games? For clarification, it is first handy to look at the Hylian text on the map and translate it. This was already done in the Reddit post linked above and I have my own version of this below.

Of note is that there are various Hylian ciphers throughout the Zelda series. The one used on this map is the one introduced in A Link Between Worlds, which came out around the time the map was made in 2013. This Hylian cipher has gone on to become the standard cipher used in the series, making an appearance in every new Zelda title released since A Link Between Worlds.

This text makes somewhat clearer what landmarks we are actually looking at. It also becomes fairly clear that the middle of the map is based on Ocarina of Time's incarnation of Hyrule: Hyrule Castle sits north of Hyrule Field, with Lon Lon Ranch in the middle. Kakariko Village is east of Hyrule Castle and sits at the foot of Death Mountain, both of them sporting their designs from Ocarina of Time. To the southeast of the field is Kokiri Forest, complete with the Great Deku Tree and Link. Finally, we also have a lake that appears to be Lake Hylia from Ocarina of Time to the sourthwest of Hyrule Field.

Moving further out, things get a tad stranger however. Let's start in the southwest and move around the map clockwise from there. In that corner of the map, a rendition of Gerudo Desert can be found.

This is consistent with the placement of the desert in top-down Zelda games that were out at the time like A Link to the Past, Four Swords Adventures and A Link Between Worlds. In the 3D games out at the time, the desert instead extended across the entire western portion of the map (Skyward Sword) or the northwest (Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess).

As for the landmarks on this portion of the map, they are a strange mix. The broken down ship mast may be a reference to the Sandship from Skyward Sword, which was broken after that dungeon is finished. The structure to the bottom of the map appears to be a reference to the Ancient Castle of Ikana from Majora's Mask, given the similarity and the presence of Redeads and a Gibdo (enemies that can be found in and near the castle). This is strange given that the Castle of Ikana is not located in Hyrule, but in Termina, which is a parallel world. The third structure on the top right appears to be an original of the map, but vaguely resembles Hyrule Castle from Twilight Princess. There is also a fourth structure tucked in the mountains on the northeastern border of the desert, perhaps referencing Gerudo’s Fortress from Ocarina of Time.

Moving to the northwest, we find Castor Wilds, a swampy area from The Minish Cap that was also located in Hyrule's west. Interesting to note is that Castor Wild is only the region's name in the English version of The Minish Cap. In Japanese, it is called タバンタ秘境 (Tabantha Wilderness), a name that would be reused in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. This may indicate this map was put together in the west instead of Japan or that the original artist took from the localized games for some reason.

The depiction of Castor Wilds above has more in common with the appearance of the Southern Swamp from Majora's Mask, given the presence of bayou trees, a Big Octo and disconnected bridges made of logs. This poses the same problems as the seeming Ikana Castle in Gerudo Desert, as the Southern Swamp is in a parallel world.

There is also a mountain with a dragon on top in this area, east of Castor Wilds. It brings to mind Dragon Roost Island from The Wind Waker, a tall mountaintop upon which rests the dragon Valoo. That place is found in the northeast of Hyrule however and not the northwest. The dragon on the map also does not particularly look like Valoo, nor does the mountain particularly resemble Dragon Roost Island.

Other than this, there are few notable things in this quadrant. Depictions of a Wolfos, a Deku Baba and Stalchild can be seen, but most of the actual landscape is barren mountains or obscured by the compass. Perhaps the region is supposed to represent Snowpeak, a snowy mountain range in the northwest of Hyrule in Twilight Princess. There appears to be a tower in these mountains surrounded by Guays, but this does not correspond to any known location in the games.

In the direct north of the map are two more structures not in the games: two pointy mountains connected by a rope bridge and a spiral quarry of some kind. A Goron can be seen at this quarry.

The northwestern quadrant is home to Zora's Fountain, corresponding roughly with its location in Ocarina of Time (south of Death Mountain and Kakariko Village and north of Kokiri Forest). It is far more to the west however, but it is still on top of a mountainous plateau behind a waterfall like in Ocarina of Time. The design of the fountain does not match any depiction found in the games however, albei a Zora can be seen bathing inside it.

Other than this, this quadrant of the map is home to many more structures where it is hard to pin down what they are. There is a village northwest of death mountain, a snowy village in the far northwest of the map and a pond surrounded by ruins that feeds into Zora's Founain. This last structure also somewhat resembles the Fairy Fountains from Ocarina of Time, except that those are found underground. There are also a couple of floating islands, but once again they do not correspond to anything in particular like the City in the Sky or Skyloft.

More to the south of this quadrant we also find a small stone building, a gate guarded by two statues with crossed arms and a cave with a treasure chest. This last structure is likely a reference to grottos from throughout the series wherein treasures can often be found. Finally, a Skulltula is depicted in this quadrant of the map.

The final quadrant of the map, the southeast, is mostly made up of featureless ocean. There is a nondescript ship in that ocean, also what appears to be Gyorg, a boss from Majora's Mask. Other enemies we can find on land here are a Chuchu as first depicted in The Wind Waker and a Peahat. A Gossip Stone is also present in the northeast of the image.

The final names location on the map is Faron Woods, and the art seems to pull from Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess. There is the Great Tree from Skyward Sword's version of Faron Woods and buildings that resemlbe Ordon Village, which is found in the forests south of Faron in Twilight Princess. The general location of Faron Woods on this map also matches that of Ordon, being found in the far south of Hyrule, beyond lake Hylia and many of the woods.

Finally, in this quadrant there are two more nondescript villages that do not correspond to the games.

And that is everything I could find on this map. I seems to depict Ocarina of Time Hyrule, with its borders expanded with miscellaneous locations from other 3D Zelda games that were out in 2015. A lot of original locations are also mixed in. The origins of the map still remain a bit vague, but given how much it pops up in Zelda merch, it does appear to be official in some capacity. If anyone has more information about this topic, I'd be happy to know.

Addendum: As pointed out by @lady-sophie-17, it seems the structure at the north of the map with the Goron is actually Goron City, as it appears more or less he same as it is depicted as on the map of Ocarina of Time.

[ladamedusoif]

Starry Night (Joel Miller x Stargazer f!reader)

A Merry Fic-Mas - December 1

Part of A Merry Fic-Mas: A Holiday Fic Calendar - click for masterlist.

Pairing: Jackson!Joel Miller x Stargazer F!Reader

Rating: Teen

Word count: ~1500

Warnings: Strong language (Ellie is involved); canon doesn’t go here; alcohol references; fluff; almost certainly some stargazing errors please forgive me

Summary: There are a lot of wonderful things about making it to the safety of Jackson, but the darkness of the night sky makes it a perfect home for a stargazer like you - and you’re only too happy to share your knowledge with a space-mad teenager. Oh, and her grumpy dad.

Every time you set up your telescope, you remembered the look Maria had given you the day you returned from a scavenging mission with it strapped to your back, still in its packaging.

“Seriously?”

You shrugged as you got off your horse. “Seriously. Got plenty of other stuff too, so let me have this, please?”

She looked dubious, but threw up her arms in resignation. “If we need it for lookout - it’s ours, okay?”

You nodded, hugging the telescope close to your chest, and raced home to set it up. 

Space was your dad’s thing, and he’d made it yours, too. Nights in the backyard with his very basic kit trained on the skies, stargazing maps in front of you, climbing on his lap to look through the viewfinder.

He taught you the major constellations, how to find planets visible in the night sky, explained how stars helped people navigate, long ago. 

Little did you know then how that information would come in handy years later, finding your way to the safety of the Jackson settlement with nothing else to guide you. 

Stargazing in the suburbs wasn’t ideal. Too much light pollution. In Jackson, though? Wide, open dark skies, far as the eye could see. 

Every time you watched the night sky, you looked out for your dad.

Cold, crisp, clear winter nights were your favourite time for stargazing. Bundled up in your warmest coat, hat, and blankets, you sat on your porch, telescope in front of you and an old Atlas of the Night Sky on your lap. Out of the corner of your eye, you became conscious of two people walking along the sidewalk past your home. Recent arrivals, you guessed, seeing as they weren’t familiar; a young girl, an older man. Father and daughter, probably.

“Whoa, dude. She’s got a fuckin’ real telescope!”

The girl had stopped to stare at you, eyes wide in astonishment. You offered a shy smile and a little wave, and were about to speak when the man interjected, beckoning the girl on with a frustrated tilt of his head.

“Mind your manners, Ellie. Sorry, ma’am. Didn’t mean to disturb you. You have a good night.” He nods and you return the gesture, touched by his somewhat old-fashioned manners, and they walk on as you go back to seeking out Castor and Pollux.

Over the next couple of weeks, you learned that the man was Tommy’s older brother, Joel. His exact relationship to Ellie, the teenage girl, was not clear: she wasn’t his biological daughter, you suspected but Tommy tended to refer to her as “Joel’s kid”.

They tended to keep to themselves, for the most part. But she would peek in your direction if she spotted you at social events in the community, as if she was weighing up whether she should go and talk to you. No amount of friendly waves and smiles from you could ever convince her, it seemed.

You took matters into your own hands at the holiday tree lighting ceremony. You picked them out easily: Joel, big and broad in a sheepskin-lined winter coat, greying hair curling over the collar; Ellie, ponytail bobbing from side to side as she looked at the illuminated tree in absolute awe and wonder. 

“Joel and Ellie, right?” 

They turned to appraise you, still wary of new people. You held out the mugs of eggnog you’d grabbed for them on your way across the room. 

“Thought you might like some eggnog, and I wanted to introduce myself. I’m the telescope lady.”

Ellie’s eyes widened. “So cool,” she murmured, as if to herself.

Joel nodded and accepted the eggnog gratefully, the mug suddenly appearing doll-sized in his large hands. “Ellie’s got a thing for space, don’t you? Loves hearing about the space programs, the astronauts, all that.”

The teenager looked down at her shoes and blushed a little as she nodded. Apocalypse or not, teenage girls will always be embarrassed by their dads. 

Ellie took a sip of her eggnog. “How’d you get a fuckin’ telescope, anyway?” 

Joel scolded her, but you chuckled. “I found it in an old hobby store on a scavenging mission one time. I wasn’t gonna leave that behind, now was I?” She grinned at your conspiratorial wink, and Joel seemed to relax a little.

“Come over whenever you want, and I’ll give you a guided tour of the sky. We’ve got perfect conditions here for it.”

She beamed and turned to Joel, who shook his head softly. “We don’t want to be disturbing you, ma’am.” You corrected him with your name, and he repeated it, low and slow, in that warm, dark voice of his.

“I mean it, Joel. You are both very welcome to do some stargazing with me, whenever you’d like.”

“No fuckin’ WAY!”

Ellie tears into the kitchen on the morning of December 21, excitedly brandishing a piece of paper under Joel’s nose as he sips - or tries to sip - his morning coffee.

“Whatever it is, El, it’s far too early for this kind of excitement.”

“Look at it, dude!”

He rolls his eyes, puts down his mug, and looks at the piece of paper. It’s a handwritten invitation, decorated with drawings of celestial bodies and, at the bottom, a bright red telescope. He can’t help but chuckle as he reads the words aloud.

“Ellie (and Joel) are invited to a special winter solstice stargazing party tonight, December 21, at 6pm. Wrap up warm and be ready to see stars.” Underneath, you’ve carefully written your name and address in neat print.

By now, Ellie is positively bouncing with excitement. “The fuckin’ telescope! I’m gonna look through a fuckin’ telescope! At fuckin' SPACE!”

Joel’s heart swells as he takes in her sheer joy at the prospect of looking up into the heavens, knowing how hard everything has been for her, how much he has wanted to make her smile again. 

“Alright, but there’ll be no telescope if you don’t eat and get dressed for school. Go on, now.”

The telescope is already set up on your porch when they arrive later that evening, Joel carrying a flask of hot coffee and Ellie a tin with a few cookies - the best they could rustle up at short notice. 

“I’m so glad you came!” You beam at them as you open your front door, beckoning them inside. “I’ve got some snacks ready, and some hot punch.”

A smile creeps over Joel’s face as he realises you’re somehow playing a compilation of holiday music. Brenda Lee is singing about rocking around the Christmas tree, Ellie is nodding her head in time to the song as she makes a beeline for the bowls of snacks you’d set out, and he is struck by just how long it’s been since he’s experienced anything akin to “holiday cheer”.

“What the fuck does ‘rockin’ around a Christmas tree’ mean, anyways?”

Joel tuts and rolls his eyes. “Ellie. Language.”

You giggle as you hand Ellie a cup of non-alcoholic hot punch. “It’s fine, Joel. I think she means people are dancing around a Christmas tree, Ellie.”

Ellie looks sceptical. “Fuckin’ weird. Hey, when can we look at the stars?”

Joel lets you take the lead, as Jackson’s resident stargazer. He sits on one of your kitchen chairs, sipping from a mug of punch, watching you show Ellie how to navigate the night sky. 

The punch is warming in more ways than one. As Ellie bounded out to the porch earlier, you’d subtly held up a bottle of liquor at him and raised your eyebrows in a silent question, before adding a little to your and his mugs of punch once he’d nodded his assent. 

“See that really bright, orangey one there? That’s Betelgeuse. It’s a red supergiant.”

Ellie’s mouth hangs open as she squints through the telescope’s eyepiece. “Red supergiant,” she repeats. 

“See if you can find Orion’s Belt for yourself. It’s not too far away.”

You turn to Joel, checked blanket wrapped around your shoulders, and raise your mug towards him with a warm smile. “Happy holidays, Joel.”

He reciprocates the gesture, dark, warm eyes crinkling as a gentle, genuine smile spreads across his face. It might be the first time you’ve ever really seen him smile.

He looks to the heavens, taking in the perfect, pitch-dark blue-black carpet of a night sky embroidered with millions of twinkling stars. For an instant, he finds comfort in remembering that we all - everyone who is, who has ever been, and who will ever be - gaze up at the same firmament. 

General fic taglist: @agentjackdaniels, @julesonrecord , @tessa-quayle, @vermillionwinter , @iamskyereads , @tieronecrush , @perennialdoll247 , @love-the-abyss , @imaswellkid , @intheorangebedroom , @fuckyeahdindjarin , @littlemisspascal , @khindahra , @pedrostories , @readingiskeepingmegoing , @rhoorl , @red-red-rogue , @princessanglophile , @katareyoudrilling @survivingandenduring , @trulybetty @fictionismyreality @sunnywithachanceofjavi , @joeldjarin , @lahoozaherr, @s-u-t, @its-nebuleuse, @veryprairieberry (let me know if you'd rather not be tagged!)

[dark-elf-writes]

So we’ve established that Dionysus being locked out of his most famous domain had effects on him and that’s why he’s Like That and now I’m thinking

Mr D, centuries into his penalty, locked away from wine and revelry practically rotting away wakes up one day feeling a little less like shit and a little more like how he used to with the whisper of a young boy in his ears and the taste of grapes on his tongue

It becomes a reoccurring thing

Every week, there’s a prayer towards one of his lesser known domains and the taste of grapes (one time even the taste of wine when the boy declared his name and oh how he missed tasting wine even if he couldn’t drink it)

He starts getting a bit better

Not a lot, the campers don’t notice, but Chiron does and so do his sons and wife when he is actually allowed to speak to them

It’s nice

He eventually meets the boy, and they don’t get along despite everything that remains unspoken between them. They’re too different and too similar at the same time to ever truly get along

But Dionysus keeps getting prayers and offerings, even more frequently and he keeps leaving anonymous gifts for the boy even as he threatens to turn him into a dolphin

Eventually, even if just for a short moment when the boy invokes his true name, he is able to actually look like himself again

(Ariadne, Castor and Pollux and feel some fondness for Percy because of the effect his prayers had on Mr D, the twins even become good friends with Percy)

Castor and Pollux being able to feel something of their dad around Percy from the moment he arrived at camp but not understanding why. At first they had assumed he would be claimed as their brother which would have been… weird as their dad never mentioned seeing any mortal mother than their mother recently but then he’s claimed by Poseidon and it’s even weirder.

They decide while Percy is gone that it doesn’t matter why he feels like their dad, the two of them are going to reach out when he comes back. They can’t just leave him alone and ignored. Not when their dad’s power seems to surround him at all times.

(Even if their dad looked more than a little pinch faced when they asked about it late at night when it was only the three of them tucked in a forgotten corner of the Big House. He claimed not to like Perseus Johnson but it didn’t escape either of the twins that their dad had gotten Percy’s first name right at least.

It also doesn’t escape their notice that their dad looks almost relieved when Percy returns to camp. Or that the feeling of their dad becomes more intense around Percy like he had been blessed or given something with their dad’s power.)

So they approach Percy with matching smiles and offers to train with him. They’re both small cabins. It only made sense for them to combine so they didn’t have to lose their slots to bigger cabins.

And it turns out they like Percy. He’s a good guy and seems to be the only person at camp that realizes they aren’t just there to make strawberries grow. He doesn’t flinch when they confide that Castor got some of their father’s skill in controlling madness. He walks with them through the strawberry fields and pushes them to become better fighters if only to keep up with him.

They are the ones who find him stumbling out of the woods and half dead when Luke betrays him and take turns sitting at his bedside until Percy is strong enough to go home for the school year.

He gave them their father back however unknowingly and more than that he is their best friend other than each other.

[mscostac]

How obsessed and hyper-fixated are you with your characters?

Me:

FANFIC BOOKBINDING!

Ominis and Phineas now sit on my shelf along with my other books ♡

This was my first time binding fanfic, and no better choice than my own, "Take Me To The Lakes" (AO3 / Wattpad)

More photos and the step-by-step after the cut! (+ the appendix with Taylor Swift songs in a stylised lyric book)

I'm all about my crafty hobbies. I've been eyeing bookbinding for a while, and the algorithm finally convinced me to dive into it so I'd have a reason to procrastinate on writing

Having written a shorter fic ("Lakes" is roughly 35k words) gave me the perfect opportunity to start with something simpler.

The main tutorial used is the one by NeatFreakGeek on Tiktok.

Step 1: The typeset

I used the base template file by NeatFreakGeek, which already had the settings for printing in formatted book signatures.

With the basic body of the document formatted and ready, I started the personalization: choosing the fonts, spacing, sizing etc.

For the quote at the beginning, I chose one of the lines I wrote for Ominis + the wisteria.

For chapter headers, I chose the Gemini constellation. (In the story, Ominis and Phineas got their middle names from the stars in the same constellation, Castor and Pollux.)

I also made the chapter titles with the HTV to give it an extra glow.

Sight is overrated. Phineas makes all my senses the very essence of life itself.

Since the story was rather "short", in order to have a thicker spine, I added an appendix with the stylised "lyric book". This was probably my favourite part of typesetting!

Step 2: The textblock

With a little lot of trial and error and more mathematics than expected, I printed each signature at a time, then folded each at a time, making sure it didn't get mixed up across the signatures. My printer does front/back automatically, but to print the commissioned arts as borderless, I gave myself a headache, printing it separately and manually. This step could have been done considerably faster with a laser printer and b&w content only :)

Next, it was sewing and glueing. I won't go into detail here because the video tutorials are way better at explaining. All in all, with the right tools, this was done rather easily and with barely any mistakes, so I didn't have to print anything again, thankfully.

Step 3: The endpapers

I got a scrapbook 12x12in block in this abstract colours. I had many different ideas on how to match the theme, but I ended up choosing these colourful patterns that align with how Ominis perceives the world. Then, I added the quotes from the story.

The endpaper of the front got this sky-like print to go with the dialogue Ominis and Phineas have when they are children.

P: How would you know what blue skies look like? O: I don't know. And I don't mind not knowing.

The endpaper of the back is in green x blue shades, colours that are also a big part of the story. For the quote, I chose one of their last lines when their relationship is established.

P: Ominis, you always care too much about the others... but who takes care of you? O: No one ever did. P: Let me care for you. Please. Let me love you, Ominis Gaunt. O: Will it make any difference if I say no? P: Absolutely not. O: Will it make any difference if I love you back? P: Fucking absolutely yes.

Step 4: The cover! (Yes, the most interesting part!)

This was the most challenging step in both the conception of the design (too many ideas to choose from) and the execution (I've never hated box cutters so much.)

With the basic cardboard casing cut and glued, I chose a faux leather material as a book cloth. This might be the choice I regret the most, because the glue it comes with is not that strong, so it would often unstick easily, and also, it's a bit too thick, leaving the corners a bit weird. But the final result was a bit worth it.

For the cover design, I printed the art with fabric HTV and ironed it on. The main image has the two boys (Disclaimer: that image was AI-generated. While I am not proud at all of this choice, I wanted the theme to match the other binds I did with classical art. However, to no one's surprise, there aren't really classical art pieces depicting two men in love.) On top of it, I threw in some wisteria petals (a reference to the song "the lakes", by Taylor Swift), and another quote of the story at the back.

I didn't have a cricut machine back then for the vynil pieces, so I ordered it online. This part was harder than I thought, once again because of the faux leather choice: as I ironed the HTV, some parts of the material melted lol.

Lastly, I decided last minute to create a clear dust jacket because the combination of the faux leather + printed HTV seemed tro fragile to be handled. I liked the final result, but ironing the HTV on the acetate was a pain lol.

In summary, this was so much fun and not as hard as I expected, craft-wise. The designing of it all took the most time just because I wanted every little detail to have a meaning :)

I made two copies to gift one to a friend, so it gave me the opportunity to make the first one and mess it up, then, for the second one, I had already learned from my mistakes.

There are many things I'd do differently for my next binds, but that's the most fun part: experimenting with materials, themes, and processes.