#Dark days

[jeanzoriley-cod]

Jeanz didn't say anything as Boots began to braid her hair, going back to her paperwork. The feeling felt nice though. As Boots continued braiding her hair, the feeling of being stuck in the past was slowly leaving her. She was starting to focus more on the present thanks to Boots. Jeanz blinked when Boots paused for a moment, tilting her head to the side slightly before she righted it. She didn't turn to look at Boots, instead choosing to focus on the paperwork she needed to get done, but the tension was slowly leaving her body.

(OPEN RP)

It had been a couple days since the resident happy redhead had left on her mission. Jeanz was due back today. However, no one was prepared for how she returned. How...unlike herself she would be.

She was told it would be simple, fly out to the location, go in and rescue a captive, young girl around 19. Jeanz didn't realize that it would be the same place. That she would be thrust back into that horrifying month ordeal.

Jeanz had boarded the helo like usual, greeting Nikolai who in turn greeted her, although with a bit of hesitancy. He knew where he was flying her. She was on the mission by herself, because it was supposed to be quick, in and out, take out anyone who was in her way.

She mentally went over what she had to do as they flew, everything in her freezing as she saw where they were flying. A small gasp left her lips as she stared down at that familiar building. The one where she had been tortured. The one where she had let all the rage consume her. Had killed over 20 men when she got free. She hadn't been back since she escaped. Had barely even thought of the place since then, knowing it could trigger her. Her eyes were wide as Nikolai landed, knowing she was about to go back to one of the worst places in her life.

~~~~~~~~~~~ Three days later, Jeanz returned to base. Her mission successful. Jeanz, however, was different. Nikolai hadn't been able to get a word out of her on the trip back.

She didn't speak, just sat in the helo, her face devoid of emotions. When they landed, she got out without another word, making her way inside. She was bruised, her uniform torn in some places. Covered in dirt, her usual happy hazel eyes were empty and dead. Jeanz had some new scratches and cuts on her face and the rest of her body. Soldiers welcomed her back, expecting the normal smile and happy greeting. There was none. She would turn her head and look at who greeted her, but she didn't say anything, almost staring through them.

She made her way through the halls, heading to her room. Her head was heavy, stuck in a loop of her torture at the place she had just come back from. Stuck on the girl she had rescued. Stuck on the blood that had dried on her face, hands and uniform.

Her body was exhausted and her mind haunted. She wasn't Jeanz anymore. She was a shell. Just barely existing, barely there. Even if someone bumped into her, it was as if Jeanz didn't process it, didn't respond to it, didn't care.

She didn't fucking care about anything right now. A brief flash of wishing she hadn't come back from the mission flashing through her mind. She didn't deserve to leave that place twice. Didn't deserve to be walking through these halls. Didn't deserve anything she had right now. She should have died the first time she was in that bunker. She shouldn't have made it out alive and scarred. Marred for the rest of her life, made into this ugly thing. She shouldn't have been there or here.

[weepingwidar]

Alice Brasser (Dutch, 1965) - Dark Days #2 (2024)

[enii]

I will stay with you till it ends💕

[antikate]

I think I’m still, somehow, after so many years on earth? Just so terribly naive about what people want.

I know what I want, and I think it seems very reasonable and achievable? I want is a safe future for my kids (stable climate, reproductive rights, health care, access to education, safety from violence)

I want to walk my dog and tend to my garden and do my crafts and write my silly little stories. I want friends and book clubs and bicycle paths and movies and a just this small life of connection and joy

And I want this for everyone else too like I want the weird old guy who lives on my street and who apparently hates me to also have access to healthcare when he needs it. I want the immigrant families at my kids’ school to have access to that school and for it to be good!I want libraries and pride parades and community gardens

… and instead what other people really seem to want is to punish other people. They want violence and the bootheel and to rid life of variance and colour. They want repression and domination

Is it because eggs cost more or they saw a trans person once? Is it because there are black people on tv now? I don’t know. I don’t know anything

I want schools and healthcare clinics and busses and parks. I want everyone in the world to go to sleep at night without worrying their children will die in the dark from falling bombs

And more and more I realise that its a fantasy that very few other people actually share

[sadiegurl]

LANA X SKIMS

[cogumellow]

moody donegal seascapes // bundoran, ireland // 2009 // ©

[adventuresofalgy]

It was a cold, dark, dismal sort of monochrome day, with a bitterly chilling, battering wind, and Algy felt that not only was it not a fit day out "for man nor beast", but even a fluffy bird would be hard put to find anything to commend in it…

Seeking shelter from the biting, icy blasts that cut right through his fluffy feathers, Algy flew into a nearby patch of woodland where the hill sloped away from the prevailing wind, and tucked himself under the upturned stump of a tree which had fallen some years ago in a winter storm.

Although he could hardly say that he felt warm, Algy found that he was a great deal more comfortable in this wee refuge, and he soon began to relax. Observing a sheep looking rather miserable in the croft close by, he started to recite to it:

Of fret, of dark, of thorn, of chill, Complain no more; for these, O heart, Direct the random of the will As rhymes direct the rage of art. The lute's fixt fret, that runs athwart The strain and purpose of the string, For governance and nice consort Doth bar his wilful wavering. The dark hath many dear avails; The dark distils divinest dews; The dark is rich with nightingales, With dreams, and with the heavenly Muse. Bleeding with thorns of petty strife, I'll ease (as lovers do) my smart With sonnets to my lady Life Writ red in issues from the heart. What grace may lie within the chill Of favor frozen fast in scorn! When Good's a-freeze, we call it Ill! This rosy Time is glacier-born. Of fret, of dark, of thorn, of chill, Complain thou not, O heart; for these Bank-in the current of the will To uses, arts, and charities.

[Algy is reciting the poem Opposition by the 19th century American poet Sidney Lanier.]

[yesloulou]

Daniel trains in the sim with McLaren | July 13, 2022

[i-put-the-hyper-in-hyperfixated]

hey so rant about val and fletcher’s relationship in phase 1

Fletcher was born in 1992. Valkyrie was born in 1995. they met in Faceless Ones, when Fletcher was 17 and Val was 14.

fast forward a year and suddenly they’re back at Aranmore Farm about to rescue Skul because he’s trapped in the alternate dimension with the Faceless Ones. Fletcher is 18, and Valkyrie is 15. so what does Fletcher do? he kisses her. an eighteen year old. he is a legal adult. kissing a fifteen year old girl. she’s not even old enough to legally consent to having sex yet. Fletcher Renn what the actual fuck?

i just. i reread that part last night and i was actually sickened like how does anyone think this is okay??? i know Val hangs out with wildly irresponsible adults but did no one at any point not even Tanith or Ghastly stop and think “hey i know sorcerers live for a long time but Valkyrie’s still a minor and dating a legal adult, maybe this shouldn’t be allowed.” ?????????

this whole situation makes me so mad because Derek what the FUCK.

let’s not normalise this please.

[nicstylus]

Skulduggery Pleasant Book Cover Redesign ✩ Master Post ✩

Here are all my covers in one place, all the thoughts and notes about each one and a link to the original post :] I had so much fun making these. Out of every project I've done, this is the one that wins 'most time spent' for sure. I'm so stoked with how they turned out!

Please read, I spent so long on this post... It's interesting I swear :]

Book One - Sceptre of the Ancients

Completed: ~ May 27th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post (Ver 1.0) - Tumblr (Ver 1.0) (Ver 2.0) Changes made (besides character design/expressions):

Added the Book of Names to fill the empty space in the background

Repositioned Skulduggery and Serpine

Redesigned the Sceptre and changed it's lighting from white to black/purple

Changed the outfits of China and Serpine

Enlarged background flames

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Grey suit, white shirt, black tie

Skulduggery is snapping with his right hand- summoning fire instead of already holding it

"Ghastly Black???" Yes, I draw Ghastly as a POC with asymmetrical scars. Yes, I'm aware he is not described as such

This is actually Version 2 of SOTA. I had to redo Serpine and Skul because I hated how they turned out the first time the more I looked at them.

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Book Two - Playing with Fire

Completed: April 20th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post - Tumblr Post Changes made:

Redesigned the Grotesquery and repositioned it's... arm? Tentacles? whatever.

Swapped Tanith's Katana for a straight sword*

Changed outfits of Vengeous and Tanith (and Skulduggery's tie)

Added orangey light and sparks to fill the background

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Black suit, blue shirt and black tie

This is the first time I've drawn the Grotesquery, and I still have to google the spelling every time I try to type it...

*I know that Tanith uses a katana, but 1) I think thats stupid purely out of spite (and reasons that make sense) and 2) I absolutely despise trying to draw curved blades

Worth noting again that I don't actually see Tanith like this in my head- but this version of her is more fun to draw imo. Here is how I see her.

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Book Three - The Faceless Ones

Completed: April 26th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post - Tumblr Post Changes made:

Repositioned Skulduggery and fixed his anatomy

Swapped Valkyrie's black jacket for the jacket with red sleeves

Fixed Fletcher*

Added water reflections on the undersides of the Sea Hag and the Cleaver

Added more water splashes near the title

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Navy suit, white shirt, ??? tie

I dont know that I ever want to draw the Sea Hag again- Tom definitely captured 'ugly creature' better than I did

*Fletcher done with Zero (!!) tracing :D (I mean all of it was but... It's a bad joke ok)

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Book Four - Dark Days

Completed: April 28th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post - Tumblr Post Changes made:

Added the Faceless Ones portal to fill the background

Added Scapegrace and Thrasher to the zombie hoard

Brightened and added more detail to the zombies

Changed outfits of Sanguine and China

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Black suit, white shirt, red tie

China <3 Billy Ray :] ...Jack :/

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Book Five - Mortal Coil

Completed: May 5th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post - Tumblr Post Changes made:

Repositioned Skulduggery and fixed his anatomy

Added the Remnants flying/swirling around to fill the background

Replaced The Torment (?) with Kenspeckle Grouse*

Repositioned the headless horses

Redesigned Tesseract's mask

Swapped Valkyrie's black jacket for the jacket with red sleeves

Swapped the strange light in Valkyrie's hand for Necromancy and Fire

Fixed the lighting (esp on Tesseract) to favour the Dullahan's lantern

Changed the outfits of Tesseract, Dr Nye, and the Dullahan

Added hands reaching out of the Dullahan's carriage

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Black suit, seafoam shirt, blue tie

*I'm aware its 'officially' the Torment on the Percival cover, but Kenspeckle won the 'who would you put here?' vote by a landslide on both reddit and tumblr so here he is in all his glory

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Book Six - Death Bringer

Completed: May 6th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post - Tumblr Post Changes made:

Increased the purple lighting to fill empty space*

Redesigned Lord Vile

Redesigned Wreath's cane**

Changed Skulduggery's outfit

Made Valkyrie throw shadows instead of.. point at nothing?

Added the carved scars onto Melancholia

Increased shadows

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Black suit, purple shirt, purple tie

*The official DB cover has suuuuper pretty flames on it, with the pink and purple lighting- I tried to replicate that as best I could, and actually liked how it turned out more purpley

**Solomon's cane turned into more of a staff/sceptre because I forgot was a cane oops- it would hurt to lean on :D

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Book Seven - Kingdom of the Wicked

Completed: May 12th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post - Tumblr Post Changes made:

Enlarged the Universe background to fill empty space

Repositioned Skulduggery

Redesigned Mevolent's armour and exposed his face

Redesigned the Godkiller Sword

Redesigned Argeddion (added hair!)*

Put Kitana in Valkyrie's jacket as she takes it in the book

Swapped Mevolent's empty hand in favour of him holding Darquesse's head by her hair

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Brown suit, cream shirt, ??? tie

This is my least favourite Phase 1 cover (and P1 book if I'm being honest) so I wasnt excited to work on this one- But! I think it turned out really well.

*I can't actually remember if Argeddion had hair or not in the story, but he looks bald on the cover and it looked strange to me

I really like how the stars and such turned out here :]

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Book Eight - Last Stand of Dead Men

Completed: May 26th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post - Tumblr Post Changes made:

Added the Pyramid of the Brides of Blood Tears to fill empty space

Repositioned Ravel to face away*

Changed outfits of Ghastly, Saracen and Ravel

Added golden skull cufflinks to Skulduggery

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Blue pinstripe suit, white shirt, ??? tie (and the golden skull cufflinks!)

*I decided to have Ravel facing away for two reasons: 1) To hide his eyes and 2) Because he's a BACKSTABBING BIT- yeah

Is the Yellow mist: Sand from the Brides? The Golden Eyes effect? You decide!

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Book Nine - The Dying of the Light

Completed: July 20th 2024 Links: Tom's Cover - Reddit Post - Tumblr Post Changes made:

Darkened and enlarged clouds to fill empty space

Added Devastation Day imagery behind Darquesse

Repositioned China and Valkyrie to show the red daggers and Meryyn Sigil tattoo respectively

Repositioned Sanguine raise his sunglasses to expose lack of eyes

Enlarged Tanith to fill space

Changed the outfits of Skulduggery, Tanith, and Valkyrie

Swapped Tanith's Katana for a straight sword

Turned the plain/random blue light near China into glowing sigils

Notes:

Skulduggery's outfit: Black suit, dark grey shirt shirt, black tie

You can see the bones in Valkyrie's right hand because her lightning is so bright.

The sigil tattoos under China's eyes and on her left wrist are glowing, because she is actively wielding her magic red daggers.

This is my favourite one. Part of that is probably because it turned out the best (I had 8 9 other ones to practice on haha)

I love how the Title looks like smoldering embers. Really gives that apocalyptic feel that most of the book gives imo

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Overall notes and thoughts:

I struggle with drawing kids/ young teenagers, but I think I did a good job of making Val look like shes growing up

Her eyebags get bigger/darker with each new cover lol

Skulduggery is wearing a different outfit in each cover! It starts with just the shirt, then the tie, then by Mortal Coil he's wearing a completely different suit each time (I really like this detail)

The Dying of the Light was definitely the cover that changed the most as I worked on it, and it also turned out to be my favourite

The Dark Days changed the least (although Playing with Fire and Last Stand of Dead Men both stayed relatively the same as well) On to Phase Two (after a break but they'll happen at some point) :D

All 9 Lines

All 9 Covers (SoonTM)

Reddit Master Post

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[dykemcqueen]

back for a moment to say that valdug has me acting tf up. i cant stop thinking about them they consume my every other waking moment. what do you mean she "misses him, misses his warm arrogance," and she stands barefoot in the wet grass thinking that if skulduggery was here he would have offered her his coat by now, and he said "i'm too clever to die and you're too pretty" but now he may be dead, and now she's running herself into the ground trying to find the last cursed piece of him on this earth, betraying her friends' faith in her by plunging into necromancy just to find him, only eating and sleeping so she can get back to finding him, fantasizing about how she'll run into his arms, about what she'll say, about how she'll act like it didn't faze her for a second, idk i'm fucking sick

[huariqueje]

The gate to the forest of silence -   Lars Elling , 2023.

Norwegian, b.1966 -

Egg , oil , tempera on canvas , 170 x 150 cm.

[enii]

I know you are hurting as much as I do but I can't let you stay.

[makethiscanon]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, OJIRO!

Warning: Swearing in song lyrics.

Song: Dark Days - Point North

I've never seen a full length Ojiro AMV so for his birthday I had to change that.

WE LOVE OUR TOUGH, RESILIENT L'IL TAILBEAN.

[tobiasforms]