#I love these two so much it's not okay

[forestofforever]

Artair brings Crow a small gift. It isn't for any particular reason, but the crow has given him several things, including the brooch now pinned to his bag. He has the pearl as well, tucked safely at home amongst his collection of stones and other natural trinkets. Which is what gave him the idea.

So he approaches the Crow with a small box, one made of paper and folded into shape with origami, hardly the size of his palm. The material is a plain, and he's chosen this paper because it is made of natural materials and will degrade and provide for the woods even if discarded. He's too excited, and his good arm is already held out, already, so that the Crow can take it and undo the ribbon tied around it, made with jute braided with a little geometric diamond pattern.

Once it is undone and the lid is lifted, inside is a spiral shell that seems to be made of stone. On one side, it is solid with a white and brown and coppery leaf-like pattern on the smooth surface. The other is hollowed in small chambers, smaller and smaller further down the spiral, each one glinting with opalized colors.

"It's...not special. Or magic." Artair shrugs. But.... it's an ammonite. A fossil? Which is like.... a creature that lived a long time ago and it's pretty and shiny, so I thought you might like it. It's cut in half so you can see the septa-- those chambers on this side-- pretty clear. Those patterns on the other side are called sutures. It looks like leaves because of the type of ammonite. They're related to octopi and squids as creatures-- if you know about those I guess hahah....."

Artair rubs at his neck. "A-anyways. It's not magic or anything. But...it's from my collection? I collect rocks and stones and stuff like this. And I thought you might like it too. And..... I thought it'd be nice, to give you something. Something from my collection. So it's like.... a part of something special to me is with you? I hope you like it, but it's really okay if you don't."

The Crow is rather surprised to be receiving another gift. He's done nothing to deserve it, and he could never begin to repay the kindness of the previous gift... so then why? Why is Artair giving him anything at all? He has already done so much for the Crow...

The Crow hesitantly reaches out and takes the small package in his hands. He rolls it over a few times, glancing over at Artair for confirmation that he is allowed to open it, before carefully pulling onto the ribbon to open it up. Artair is wrong, it is special. It is to the Crow, anyway. He produces a soft clicking noise in appreciation as he holds the object, his gaze focused solely on the shiny spiral as Artair explains. It's a fossil, an ammonite. A creature that lived long ago and that has now become...well, this. It's pretty and quite interesting, and the Crow is positively thrilled to have received something like this.

"Squids...and Octopi." He repeats softly, still staring at the ammonite. "They have tentacles, yes? Live in the...sea? A big lake...but salty?" He finally manages to move his eyes back to Artair, and he seems to look his way to make sure that what he's saying is accurate. He isn't really sure how he knows these things, he's never been anywhere near the sea, but the information freely flows into his mind. "There was a group of people that traveled through the forest once. They had fish with them. And squid. They gave me some. It was odd. Difficult to eat. Hard to chew."

He tilts his head as he looks at Artair, furrowing his brows a little. "Why would I not like it? It means something to you and you gave it to me." He considers that reason enough to like it. "I do not just like it, I love it. Very much." He wraps his arms around Artair. Then, in a barely audible whisper:

"And you too."

[egophiliac]

So.... what are your thoughts on Ace's UM, if you haven't been asked this already?

sneaky magic for the sneakiest boy

no but really, I think it fits him really well! I had thought his UM would probably involve something kinda sleight-of-handy or pickpockety! and I looooved that it made such a nice loop-around back to episode 1. ❤️ I was. kind of half-expecting him to just run out and punch Riddle in the nose again. but instead this time 'twas he who offed the queen's head! it was great! and he did it while stone-cold terrified out of his mind! because Ace is the only remotely normal or well-adjusted person at NRC and therefore the only one who is like "we're going to literally die, this is super effed up". but he did it anyway!!!! I AM SO PROUD

[nipuni]

Timelock 🕰️

A speedpaint video of this will be available at my Patreon on december 1st!

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji goes to Lotus Pier (No relation to the AU of the same name)

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[shih-coulda-had-it]

it's not even a curse word

[wherethesaladthingsare]

two of them in there!

[zenscrypt]

I just finished my rewatch so forgive me if I don’t make sense, but something I hold onto every time I watch this show is how winry is so integral to the elric brothers

like. god. the scene where she learns scar killed her parents and she’s holding the gun, about to pull the trigger? and ed stops her and tells her that her hands aren’t meant to kill? that her hands brought life in the form of helping a mother give birth? and that she made his automail? the scene where ed admits she’s the reason he’s still standing?????

the first conflict we see in fma:b is the liore conflict which ends with rose on her knees, begging ed to tell her what she needs to do with all of this grief and turmoil she’s faced with, and ed responding that she gets up. she has two perfectly good legs to walk with, so stand up and walk. adding onto this, winry and pinako immediately began working on ed’s automail once he found a purpose from roy, and then much later in the series, pinako says she no longer feels comfortable working on ed’s automail because it’s all winry.

al was ed’s purpose, but winry gave ed the legs to stand on. winry is the reason ed can still keep walking to bring al’s body back. winry is somebody he can depend on, somebody he can come home to, somebody that is home because she’s been there for him every time he’s needed her. no matter how you like to interpret their relationship, winry is so integral to the brothers’ ability to keep moving through their grief. she is their home. their legs. their reason to live.

[orb-weaving]

Recognition

[gummi-ships]

[cryptidinlaw]

[carouselunique]

They had a bit of a chance encounter on a day where Blueblood was dealing with something that was very difficult and was so caught up in his emotions he didn’t even care that he was in the garden getting grass stans on his coat and Ditzy, with her natural impulse to cheer ponies up, didn’t even notice or care that she was flying into the palace gardens when she saw someone sat in the rain.

At first he was definitely going to call the castle guards to come apprehend this strange filly with the odd eyes who was intruding when this was the last moment he’d want to entertain any desperate debutantes, however she surprised him by not fawning or anything, not even caring about his status, just putting one of her fluffy wings up and asking if he needed somepony to lend an ear.

“Don’t let my eyes fool you, my ears work just fine!”

She was incredibly disarming and while he didn’t reveal everything about why he was upset, he found himself talking about his feelings to her. And she made such cheerful remarks, and was very comforting. In the end, he felt better and she came to check on him the next day, even sharing a blueberry muffin with him. He remarked that he’d never seen her around before, and that he wouldn’t mind terribly seeing her more often.

The rest, as they say, is history.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

LUO BINGHE CASUAL SENSHI COSPLAYER

OH, ABSOLUTELY.

(context)

[soratsuart]

Martlet's Attack

Martlet throwing random stuff at you caught me completely off-guard, so I had to make an artistic rendition of what happened. Bonus:

Judgemental Flowey my beloved

[sciderman]

avenging spider-man #13

[ultravioletbrit]

“purple” - Jegulus microfic - @into-the-jeggyverse - 292 words

Regulus is sitting on the couch leaning with his back pressed against the armrest and James pressed on top of him.

James is leaving a trail of open mouth kisses along Regulus’ jaw, moving down to his neck. Regulus tilts his head to give James more access and he immediately takes advantage of it; nibbling, sucking, biting. He finds that one spot that he knows Regulus loves—the soft spot right below his ear—and he presses his lips to it before he sinks his teeth in, pulling an obscene moan out of Regulus. James circles the spot with his tongue to soothe it then presses more kisses there before he lightly sucks making Regulus whimper.

Regulus knows it will leave the most beautiful mark; light teeth marks surrounded by the perfect shade of purple and red. It might as well say ‘mine’ across Regulus’ neck. Regulus moans again just thinking about it. Thinking about seeing that mark every time he looks in the mirror. Thinking about everyone else seeing that mark and knowing who Regulus belongs to.

He loves that he belongs to James. Because James belongs to him too. It might be a little possessive but it’s also pure and passionate. Regulus loves the way they love each other. Loves that James knows he can put as many marks on Regulus as he wants and Regulus will wear them with pride.

The thoughts racing through Regulus’ mind make him groan and he quickly pushes James up so he can straddle his lap. He instantly attaches his mouth to James’ neck to give him a matching mark.

“Mine.” Regulus practically growls against James’ favorite spot—the soft skin where his neck meets his shoulder.

“Always.” James answers as he grips Regulus’ hips hard enough to bruise. More lovely marks for Regulus to cherish.

[silverwhittlingknife]

So you're a go to source for all things Dick&Tim bros and you tend to write primarily from Dick's POV. So, odd question, but if you were to summarize their relationship from his POV in FIVE panels which panels would you pick? Keeping in mind that one specific aspect of their relationship that you love needs to be clearly represented by each panel (loyalty, trust etc). I hope this is a fun challenge and not an annoying question so if you don't want to answer that's cool! Have a wonderful day!

No more talk. The same thoughts run through two minds... (SotB 29) / You're my equal. My closest ally. (RR 1) / I can't stop thinking how much I rely on him. (GoG 3)

25 Feelings Dick Has About Tim

This was such a kind ask & a cool challenge which I totally failed; here are TWENTY-five panels of Dick's POV on Tim sdfdsfds Look, I got carried away! Marcia and Cindy! The boys!!

OKAY SO BEFORE I GET TO THE PANELS A FEW NOTES:

WARNING THAT THERE ARE SOME NEGATIVE EMOTIONS IN HERE because I love conflict but but but you gotta remember those are not the final word!! They are complicated people and sometimes they get mad at each other BUT ultimately their relationship is so hugely important in both their lives & they love each other and rely on each other so much -!!! <3

Also I have CONCLUDING THOUGHTS at the end about what Dick's POV leaves out (mostly: a lot of Dick defending & protecting & supporting Tim, which Dick does instinctively but isn't very self-aware about most of the time)

I have loosely organized my list into 5^5 format (5 categories with 5 examples each!), so if you want to skip to a relevant one, here are the categories!!

Below the cut:

I hate him and find him infuriating (#1-5)

On second thought, he's endearing & fun (#6-10)

Grief is complicated & he's all tangled up in mine (#11-15)

I love him & think highly of him (#16-20)

I rely on him & though it's hard for me, I trust him (#21-25)

I hate him and find him infuriating (#1 - 5)

1) He thinks he’s so smart and can psychoanalyze me and Bruce, but he doesn’t know me at all, he should get lost (New Titans 61)

2) He thinks he’s so smart and can psychoanalyze Bruce but he doesn’t know Bruce at all, he should get lost (Gotham Knights 26)

3) He is so nosy about stuff that is MY business (Robin 0)

4) He sounds like an insincere suck-up half the time... but okay, fine, if you push him he's got a sense of humor about it (New Titans 65)

5) I'm sure he's a better vigilante than me. It's my fault for being a failure, but I resent him anyway. (Nightwing 9 - Dick's having a nightmare)

On second thought, he's kinda endearing (#6-10)

6) He worries too much and gets anxious so easily, but it makes him fun to tease (Robin 67)

7) I'm not that competitive - okay, so maybe I'm a little competitive, I gotta make sure he doesn't get a swelled head (Prodigal)

8) I'm supposed to be his favorite! It is not cool for him to be fanboying over my not-girlfriend's not-boyfriend!! (Birds of Prey 19)

9) We have fun together. I can kick back and relax when it's just the two of us. Plus I get to boss him around a bit. (Prodigal)

10) He’s always trying to reassure me, and I guess it's a little comforting, but also he doesn’t really get it. Or me. He makes excuses that he shouldn't, because he doesn't understand that I suck. (Nightwing 64)

Grief is complicated and he's all tangled up in mine (#11 - 15)

11) He reminds me of everything I try not to think about. Sometimes the memories are so strong it hurts to look at him. (Batman 441)

12) WHY IS HE BEING IMPOSSIBLE ALL OF A SUDDEN??? THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING (Nightwing 139)

13) We're the same. He says all the things I don't let myself think about. It's like arguing with myself. (Nightwing 139)

14) He thinks he gets to tell me what to do but he doesn’t, fuck him (Battle for the Cowl)

15) Life sucks, so what. I sucked it up so he should too (RR 1)

I love him and think highly of him (#16 - 20)

16) He’s the closest thing to a brother I’ll ever have.  If someone hurts him I will hurt them harder. (Nightwing 6)

17) I can't handle the idea of losing him. (Nightwing 97)

17) He’s so good and I’m not. I'm afraid I’m bad for him. (Nightwing 110)

18) He’s better than me, and it’s kind of a relief because I know no matter what he’ll be okay. (Gates of Gotham 3)

19) In my head he’s the responsible one.  (Gotham Knights 10)

I rely on him, and though it's hard for me, I trust him (#20-25)

20) I know I have to trust him but I'm afraid he'll make the wrong choices and get hurt (Nightwing 139)

21) I'm sure I know what he should do because I see myself in him - not that I can take my own advice, but he should (Blackest Night 3)

22) I trust him.  When I’m losing my grip on things, he pulls me back. (Gotham Knights 10)

23) I want him to trust me (Red Robin 12)

24) He can tell when I'm lying. Sometimes he sees my weaknesses better than I wish he did. (Detective Comics 874)

25) He’s always there when I need him. (Teen Titans / Outsiders Secret Files)

Final rambling thoughts:

TIM: Uhh, okay, so I'm just skimming this list - do you really trust me? you're not just saying that? - but anyway, I'm confused because you left some stuff out? Like some stuff that's kinda important? DICK: No? I think I got everything? TIM (starts counting on his fingers): The time I was having a bad day but then I called you. The time I got captured by Two-Face but then you saved me. The time I fell off a train but then you saved me. The time I fell off a building but then you saved me. The time I fell off a different building - DICK: I feel like you're trying to make some kind of point but I'm not sure what it could be.

SO THE THING IS, I put 25 panels in here and not a single one has Dick catching Tim when he’s falling!!! But I think that's a central motif of their relationship from Tim’s POV, not Dick’s. I love Dick, but in some ways I think he is spectacularly un-self-aware.

And I think he especially has a lot of blind spots about Tim. He kinda intermittently gets that Tim admires him, and he enjoys it in a playful I-get-to-boss-you-around way. But Dick tends to consistently underestimate all of his own good qualities & skills, and he meets Tim at a point in his life when he's especially down on himself & his abilities. And so he's unable to see his own influence on Tim, & therefore unable to fully understand a lot of Tim's priorities and loyalties and motivations, because you can't actually understand Tim without understanding Dick's impact on him. There's a fascinating moment in Bruce Wayne: Murderer when Dick's completely blindsided & upset to discover that Tim doesn't entirely trust Bruce, even though this has been a definitive fact of Tim's whole thing ever since he showed up with his Batman needs Robin theory, and Barbara has to actively remind Dick of the obvious-to-everyone-except-Dick fact that a lot of Tim's loyalty is to Dick, and Tim loves Bruce but feels free to be more wary of him. (And to give Bruce credit: this is not something he ever begrudges.) But anyway Babs points this out, and Dick manages to sorta process it for about five seconds, but he cannot actually accept it into his worldview so instead he discards it at the speed of light and goes off and has an argument with Tim instead sdfsfdsf

All of Dick's virtues - Dick's kindness at the circus and Dick's determination to fight through grief and Dick's rigid sense of morals and Dick's vigilante skills and every time Dick has ever backed Tim up or listened to him or protected him or saved him from something or just been casually kind to a stranger in Tim's presence etc etc etc - all these things loom really large in Tim's mental story of Who Dick Is, and What Dick And Tim's Relationship Is. Tim meets Dick before he meets Bruce, trusts Dick more than Bruce, aspires to be Robin instead of Batman. And so in Tim's default version of the story, Dick is the super-special and admirable hero and Tim is... nobody in particular, a tagalong outsider who's barely managing to be a hero, not part of Dick and Bruce's family and not part of their story, who, if he's VERY LUCKY and tries REALLY HARD, might be able to fight his way to proving himself and offering something to Dick that Dick will value, if Dick doesn't get fed up with him first.

But that's not Dick's version of the story!!!

Dick's version of the story is almost the exact opposite, a story where Dick's an outcast failure black sheep who's screwing up everything he tries, and meanwhile Tim is The Sudden New Perfect Robin Who's Better Than Me And Probably Bruce Loves Him More And Probably They Gossip About What A Loser I Am, mixed with a complicated edge of Tim Thinks He's So Smart But He Doesn't Know Me/Us At All. Dick gets much more attached to Tim over time, and Tim gets unnervingly better at the know-it-all psychoanalysis so then Dick gets to have complicated feelings about him being right instead of just annoyance at him for being wrong, plus Dick's relationship with Bruce improves a lot, so Tim stops feeling so threatening. But Dick never fundamentally changes his basic theory of their relationship in which Tim is highly impressive and capable, and Dick is not so much.

And so asking Dick about Tim is kinda like if you asked George Bailey to tell you about Harry Bailey in It's A Wonderful Life; like, you'll be there for five hours while he tells you how great Harry is, and how accomplished Harry is, and how he doesn't really get how or why Harry does the things he does, and maybe George does feel a little resentful or jealous sometimes, but that pales in comparison to all his admiration and trust for Harry who he loves so much, who's better than him in so many ways, and he's not gonna openly gripe but secretly he can't help but feel sometimes like he's such a failure in comparison to Harry, a perfect person who emerged fully formed from Zeus's head with all the virtues and also all the accomplishments, etc. etc. etc. --

-- and he will not actually remember the part where he changed and saved Harry's whole entire life unless you literally send him to an alternate timeline in order to force him to remember it. <3