#I technically have one more but I don't like her as much I don't think her concept is as interesting

[ms-demeanor]

are there really chiropractors out there right now who are claiming they can treat all that stuff?? im really actually asking because ive never seen anything like that at all, but obviously i might just be really lucky. i constantly see people saying chiropractors claim they can treat everything, and its just baffling to me. my chiropractor is pretty young (so maybe she just doesnt have the same attitude as older ones?) and went to med school for physical therapy before becoming a chiropractor, and shes the only doctor out of the dozens ive seen who already knew what hyper-mobile ehlers-danlos syndrome is before meeting me. shes never once said anything about treating anything at all beyond the issues in my back from my muscles going whack, and has actually suggested i see a physical therapist (and referred me to one) to strengthen my back so i dont have to see her very often. i assumed that was the normal experience with chiropractors, but did i just luck out? are the majority of chiropractors really insane and claiming they can cure diabetes and stuff?? thats so crazy to think about...

Just to clarify: your chiropractor is not a doctor. Having a doctorate in physical therapy does not make one an MD, having a DC degree does not make one an MD. People who become physical therapists go to school for physical therapy, but that wouldn't really be called medical school any more than getting a degree in nutrition would be called medical school.

I want to be very firm here because you're using the words "medical school" and "doctor" and that indicates to me that she IS claiming to be more than what she actually is, which is a chiropractor and possibly a physical therapist, both of which have requirements that pale in comparison to the training that MDs (or even nurse practitioners or physician's assistants) go through. But chiropractors really like to let people believe that they're doctors. They're not. They're chiropractors.

It's a very good thing that your chiropractor has told you to seek other care for your back pain; neck and spinal adjustments are potentially life threatening to people who don't have connective tissue disorders and are *extremely* dangerous and an even greater risk for people who DO have hypermobility issues (check out what @thebibliosphere has to say about chiropractic and EDS). A licensed physical therapist will be able to do much, much more for you than a chiropractor, and is a MUCH safer choice.

Now, all of that being said:

Yeah it's super common for chiropractors to claim they can treat all kinds of nonsense and when they're doing so it is probably technically illegal and if they actually treat stuff it's probably technically practicing medicine without a license and can be really fucking dangerous if it convinces people to forgo evidence-based treatment.

Here's a chiropractor in LA claiming to treat a laundry list of ailments:

Here's one also in LA county whose yelp photo is of her doing spinal manipulation on a baby (Literally never ever let a chiropractor treat your child it can no-shit kill them) and offering prenatal and perinatal care

Here's a guy in North Hollywood claiming to treat asthma and allergies with chiropractic:

It's not the majority of chiropractors, but it's more than you'd want.

[antianakin]

I mean. I don't think there IS a "Watsonian" reason that works. I just don't. If I did, this wouldn't bother me as much as it does. If there was one that I thought actually worked, the writing would probably have simply been better. Sometimes, a Watsonian explanation simply DOESN'T WORK and you just need to settle for the explanation that the writers probably entirely forgot about how important it is that the chip DOES NOT CARE about the technicality of a former Jedi because Palpatine wants them all dead without exceptions, especially within that first night. The ones who end up getting captured later to become Inquisitors should theoretically be spared specifically because they AREN'T captured by clones or something (maybe it's stormtroopers, or the Grand Inquisitor himself, who initially brings them in).

This is also just such a small line in the episode that I doubt anybody really thought about it as much as I did. It's a throwaway line, more intended to foreshadow that she's going to be a Jedi again by the next episode than anything else. If they'd just left the line out and we never saw a clone speak to her at all, that would've been one thing, we could've just all come up with our random headcanons as to why Barriss was spared. But they GAVE us a reason and the reason is exceptionally stupid and contradicts information we've been given previously. So now there's no way to headcanon around it, you cannot make a Watsonian explanation that works because it just... doesn't. It doesn't work.

But sure. Let's look at this new headcanon and talk about why it doesn't work, either. Obviously if you like it enough to keep it and it's important to you to have it because you loved TOTE and what it did with Barriss, more power to you, but I hope you don't mind that I'm going to analyze it and break down why it doesn't work on this post about why this line is exceptionally stupid anyway.

Ahsoka ISN'T actually made a general, she's officially a civilian consultant during the Mandalore mission. The only reason she's able to act like a general/commander is because Rex and the 332nd know her and choose to give her that kind of authority over them, but technically, REX is in charge and Ahsoka's only real contribution is that she understands more about the mission at hand. The clones really aren't all that confused about what Ahsoka's actual status is here, they know she's not officially a Jedi, and their loyalty to her presumably does not come from whether she's a Jedi or not.

It also just doesn't work for me that the chip allows for the clones to MAKE their own exceptions like that. If it gives that much leeway, this could be a massive problem for Palpatine. Like if the clones COULD just logic their way out of killing one of them somehow, it opens the door for some of them to survive and escape. And also, the whole point of the TCW scene is to show us that the chip CAN'T be worked around through logic. It should not allow for the clones to be able to even CONSIDER what Barriss did or didn't do and whether this does or does not make her a Jedi anymore. TBB chooses to give the clones a little bit more ability to consider their actions later on, once the chip has begun to wear off more, but in the immediate moment of Order 66 and probably the first few days or weeks afterward, the clones should have next to no autonomy over the choice of whether to kill someone that the chip/Order considers a Jedi or not.

It also seems like that would be a really complicated bit of code to try to make it so that the clones only kill people who a) are officially part of the Jedi Order and b) aren't part of the Jedi Order but ARE Force sensitive and act like Jedi sometimes, but NOT c) aren't part of the Jedi Order and ARE Force sensitive but don't always act like Jedi anymore. It's a lot simpler to just say "all Jedi, past and present."

Personally, I feel like the chip should OVERRIDE whatever the clones would've felt about the Jedi in question, not be BASED on what the clones felt about the Jedi in question. That just leaves way too much to chance and I don't see Palpatine being willing to allow that.

So, you know, have your Watsonian explanation if you want it. I'll just still be over here in my corner talking about why TOTE is badly written and makes no sense. I'm not LOOKING for a good explanation, it's not like I WANT to like this show and it's just this one weird line keeping me from enjoying it (honestly if I liked the rest of it and this was the one line I thought was bad, I'd just ignore it or find it amusing probably). I think the show is bad overall and in general anyway, this just happens to be one moment that I thought was particularly stupid. So even if you DID manage to come up with a good enough headcanon to explain it on a Watsonian level, the rest of the show would still be frustrating and upsetting and bad. The stupidity of the line is just an example of the stupidity of the rest of the writing in the show, it's an example of the greater issue with the writing on the show which is that nobody on the writing staff of this show gave a flying shit about writing something that made any sense or was good and meaningful, to the point that they couldn't even do enough homework to know that this kind of exception for Barriss SHOULD NOT HAVE WORKED.

There was an entire major plot element in the Order 66 arc of TCW season 7 about how the chip didn't care that Ahsoka wasn't technically a Jedi anymore and was forcing the clones to want to kill her anyway.

Like.

It's a pretty important part of that whole story that Ahsoka not being in the Jedi Order anymore DOESN'T exempt her from Order 66. It would've been a pretty boring story if that technicality had WORKED.

But somehow the clones guarding Barriss at the prison are totally fine applying that technicality to her.

I guess they just like her better than Rex and the 332nd liked Ahsoka in the end or something. Ironic.

[sylenth-l]

Ok I have a technical question today because I want to understand the media you use more. I’m looking at this fantastic portrait/study you just did of Colovance again and I’ve registered you included color swatches for it. But what got me kind of wondering here is the peripheral images: it’s obvious you used the same palate for them but they’re paler. Is this one of those cases where you have to use bleach for to lighten the pigments, or do they thin out just with water for that faded look?

(As an aside, that green you have for his robes is just SO luscious! Man what a pretty color…!!! 💚)

It's just the same colors diluted with water, yes! The same dark green mixed with bleach is used there too however; but it's in the place you probably don't expect :D I have an expanded palette of color swatches glued to the previous page. The horizontal strokes are done with different amount of water added and vertical lines is bleach (don't mind the drops, I've accidently splashed dirty water all over this OTL):

As you can see, bleach works differently on every ink here - it makes reddish colors almost white and barely works on caramel yellow at all. And this super dark rich green unexpectedly turns blue when subjected to bleach. Depending on mixing proportions, it goes from grayish warm blue to very bright electric blue! And this same bright blue also shows up when you drop the ink wet-on-wet. Here's a clearer demonstration done in my mixing sketchbook:

So actually Timur's shirt is the same green ink, just bleached out :D I think it's very fitting and I'm quite happy with how this mix turned out, I want to use it more. I also used bleach and a tiny brush to draw ornament on the books, especially the black one - it's my favorite black ink that easily turns gold when bleached, and looks almost like it's glowing. Absolutely in love with this thing. Such curious properties are the reason why I love working with inks so much, you can't achieve this with any other media.

Bonus photo of the full spread with a junk-ish mood board (??? Or however you call this 😅 I had no energy to actually draw something here and an empty page looked way too sad, so it's this):

PS: I had a tiny visitor outside my window while taking pictures for this post, so have her too:

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Oh my gosh, your headcannons are so good! It seems like every time I come back to Stardew I find interesting content! So... I saw that your requests are open, so I decided to make a request for a headcanon of the reactions of the bachelors and bachelorettes of SVE (+ Isaac, if possible) when they hold their newborn children in their arms for the first time? Reactions of both children, if possible, but I understand if it's too much, I don't want to impose myself. Anyway, thanks in advance and I apologize if the request was confusing or if I seemed rude, since English is not even remotely a language that I speak, and sometimes I can get confused while translating from Portuguese to English...

*Sobbing* Thank you very much, dear anon. I'm incredibly glad that you and others like my headcanons 🥺 And don't worry, you translated everything perfectly. English is not my native language either, so I feel ya, I also sometimes worry that I will write an ask to someone incorrectly. Anyway, enjoy! ❤️

_____________________________

SVE bachelors + Isaac:

Lance walks slowly around the room holding his son/daughter and smiles softly, rocking gently to keep the baby from crying. "Well hello there, little one. Farmer and I have been waiting a long time for your arrival." Luckily, the Guilds let adventurers off more often and take some of the responsibilities off their shoulders if they became parents until the baby turns 3, and Lance takes this opportunity to be with the baby and Farmer more often. To tell the truth, Lance didn't think about wanting a son more than a daughter, or vice versa. The most important for him - that the child was fed, healthy and happy.

Magnus still couldn't believe his own eyes. He, an old grumpy wizard, twice heartbroken and without particularly high chance of starting a family, held a small child in his arms. His child. The wizard's vision blurred with tears and his voice shook slightly. He was happy, he was so, so happy. Not even Camilla and the other colleagues would ruin his mood to know that the usually reserved wizard was overcome with emotion. Not to say he had any preference on what gender he even wanted the the first child to be (technically, his firstborn is a daughter), the baby is fine and happy - that's good enough for Magnus.

The baby Victor held in his arms was so small... The young father was afraid of dropping the baby, so he stood still, holding his child like a fragile crystal. Rivers of tears ran down his cheeks as he cooed to the baby, saying how happy he is that their new family member finally arrived. When asked by Victor to hand the baby over to his spouse/nurse, the spaghetti lover hesitated slightly, wanting to hold his child a little longer. Until the baby starts crying, because of hunger, then Victor immediately handed the baby over for feeding. He doesn't know why, but he was a little more excited about the girl, though boy or girl, he was basically just glad that the kid was healthy and happy.

It's rare to catch Isaac with a soft smile on his face instead of a wolfish grin or just plain indifference. Farmer, as his beloved partner, sees him smile more often than not (and often they are the reason for the grumpy adventurer's smile). When Isaac held his baby for the first time, his smile was so wide and bright, he shone with happiness like the sun. If it is a boy, the adventurer honestly admits that he wanted a son as his first, to raise him as a good man and the protector of his future siblings (if he and Farmer decided for another one). With the baby girl, Isaac's mindset will not really change, he will be a loving and very gentle father (he will agree to all of his daughter's requests to play tea party).

SVE bachelorettes:

When Sophia held her baby in her arms for the first time, she began to sob with happiness almost uncontrollably. Her precious child, her treasure. She and Farmer had waited so long for the arrival of their son/daughter, and now this moment had come. Sophia promised the baby that she would be the best mother in the world, that she would love and protect them, that she and Farmer would give the baby the best life. And although because of the tears and emotions the pink-haired girl's speech was an incomprehensible set of words, Farmer understood her, so that's the main thing. She will love both children equally, but I think Sophia will be a little more excited about the girl first, thinking about the future mother/daughter relationship.

When Olivia held her baby for the first time, she felt the same way when she held little Victor - an almost overwhelming feeling of love and affection, and a strong desire to care for and protect them at all costs. She would be overwhelmed with emotions of joy and happiness, and she wouldn't give a damn about the make-up that smudged. For Olivia, her family is the most important thing, everything else doesn't bother her too much. The former accountant is pretty excited if it's a girl (she's always wanted a son and a daughter in family), but she's incredibly excited about a son too, already imagining the bond the baby will have with his older brother.

Claire held her baby close to her heart and refused to let go. She gently rocked her baby to sleep, crying quietly from the overwhelming happiness. When the cashier calms down a little, she starts cooing, promising to be the best mother in the world to her precious child, helping and protecting them. Claire loves her and Farmer's baby anyway, though she will honestly say that she used to dream specifically of a daughter, dreaming of a mother/daughter bonding, of teaching her how to dance and how they would grow sunflowers in the backyard.

[the-thieves-gambit]

"No.” She scoffed but with a smile. “ I get not recently but what about in high school? College? You're going to tell me you never dated and fallen in love before? Never had to do the meeting of parents or had to the what are your intensions with my child, talk?" While she had never had done these personally herself there were plenty she had to pretend through. It wasn't as if she was trying to fish some sort of sordid affair from him, it was just her trying to know more about the man he loved.

At his story though she looked at his hand. She had pretended a lot of things to get out of various situations but stabbing herself with a utensil never crossed her mind before. "That seems rather extreme." The next words that came from him though, had her hazel eyes gleam with tears, adoration. Love. There was never going to be enough words, gestures, anything in the world that could ever say how much she loved him. So for now, she settled on a small kiss, leaning over and placed it on his cheek.

"You got that all wrong," her tone serious as she settled her head on his shoulder. "I have no idea who Elizabeth Bordeaux is or could be. It sounds all wrong." Watching more people come and go. She had never thought about marriage, even considered it a part of her future one day, but here she was. Like a school girl thinking about her having the same last name as her crush. Though they might not marry, the reason for this trip was at the forefront of him. There was no one else she would ever do this with, consider doing this with. Releasing a small sigh she spoke again. "Elizabeth Sóley Bordeaux, now that one rolls off the tongue a bit better. If I do say so myself."

Sitting up, she shook her head, it was no surprise that she was excited and ready to read the new novel in her possession now. The distractions that Wally provided though, were very tempting and she did enjoy them. "That sounds highly unlikely." Raised eyebrow. "What if I wanted you on your worst behavior?" It was a tease, not like they could do much on the plane full of people anyway.

"Ghost adventures?!" Elizabeth despised that man. Having accidentally seen an episode when she was channel surfing once, she absolutely hated him. Could see past the facade the man put up about being able to channel the other side or other beings. "That fake wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a marmennill, selkie or a mermaid! Anyway," a slight roll of her eyes. "On the island elves are believed to go home from home offering gifts but if you accept them, it causes madness. So its best not to. So technically they are all dicky."

The thought of them going to the museum had her smiling like a fool. "The musuem gets some thing wagging. We can go as long as you don't feel...," she thought over the right word to say but could only giggle when she continued. "Inadequate after, we can consider it. Men don't tend to like to see how they size up to others. There's also lots of museums and we can always go back to see them all."

Hearing another overhead call for another flight boarding, she nudging his shoulder playfully. "Is that us?" She was slightly anxious, ready to embark on this adventure to find that 'right moment.'

"Yes," without hesitation he answered. Then he chuckled not because she said something funny, just because he hadn't realized she didn't know he didn't really get this far in the dating scene before. "Don't laugh but I didn't really get too far in the dating scene. If you want the truth I didn't date. Not like I had a chance. Karina made sure to keep me busy at work so social life like that, never really happened. I was always best on my own and bringing in a relationship where I had to explain being a hundred different people at one time. Not many would understand that. Meli made me go on one date when I was twenty three. It was lunch at a tiki shop. She was so boring I literally stabbed my hand with a spork to get out of it. Meeting parents deal never did that before. Ma knew that I wasn't easy to impress so to speak so having to hear about you made her realize you weren't just someone. She knew you spoke to me in more than just words." He smiled and that let her know he understood the nervous aspect. "Maybe not in dating but I do understand the nerves. The want to be liked for who you are. Putting your best foot forward is terrifying. I understand where you're coming from but I also know that beautiful albeit bruised heart of yours and have seen how much love and care you put into getting to know people and really try to shed what you had known all your life. And that my darling, is one of your best qualities. Not letting the shit you went through harden you as a person now." He grabbed her hand and kissed her palm and smiled at her.

"Not really if you're asked. It's like I'm willingly giving you my last name." Though he knew her teasing ways he couldn't help but be funny and answer truthfully. "Elizabeth Bordeaux. Watch out fancy pants. Mnm rolls off the tongue there don't you think?" His grin was soft as his eyes twinkled at the mere prospect of her taking his last name and being married to her.

He raised his eyebrows being surprisingly intrigued by this book. "You can't wait to read it now can you?" The amusement danced in his tone of voice as he kept rubbing her knuckles. "You gotta tell me how it ends though. I promise to behave and let you read it on our flight without or mild interruptions."

He offered up a mhmm for to continue. A part of him wondered what it was that her father wasn't lying about. "Okay, that I learned or saw in that episode of ghost adventures." Was he a fan? No but he was also sometimes in need of a distraction rummaging through paperwork at his desk. "Imagine being trapped in their world. What if you get a dicky one and every word they say it just makes you more trapped." He followed her movement and nodded. "I wouldn't feed my curiosity if I didn't ask about witchcraft on the island.' His heart made a dance at the sound of her laughter and stared at her like she was a gleaming star shining right back at him. Then he heard her and started to laugh making his eyes crinkle at the sides. "Impressive huh? Is this your way of saying we are heading down there first? Feel like we gotta see this ever growing impressive collection that has got tongues wagging."

[piltover-sharpshooter]

Arcane and Character's Breaking Point.

One of the complaints I've seen floating around regarding season 2 of Arcane is that a lot of the characters act in a way they shouldn't. That acording to their characteristics they wouldn't react or do certain actions and they are instead dictated by the plot, and while I don't want to completly disregard that opinion, I think people are forgetting that the show wants you to see the characters as more than just archetypes and instead as real people.

And people have their breaking points, people never act the way they should in stressful situations, even if with the benefit of hindsight or a 3rd person perspective we can opine how they should have handled it, it's only because we are divorced from the moment, away from the emotions and conflicts.

Let's talk Vi. Vi is a great example of this because I'd say she has 3 breaking points.

If you were to describe Vi or look her up in a wiki one of the things you'd find out is that 'Vi is a protector, Vi cares for her family'. And that is factually true, above all else she fights for and to protect her loved ones, and the show highlights this repeatedly, to the point that it's very often detrimental to her. But she's more than just the words 'Protector' tattooed onto her forehead, she is a real human (in the story terms) and so, when pushed to her limit, she snaps, and interestingly in the three different ways.

The most famous one is when she lashes out in anger at Powder, where 75% of her family had been accidentaly killed by the other 25%, and in that moment of just sheer anger pain she commits the worst mistake of her life, and inflicts that pain onto a loved one. Would Vi normally do this? No, absolutely not. But the situation is not normal. And the show points this out, as she regrets it almost inmediately and for the entire rest of the series, and likely much much later. Vi understands, as we understand, that she fucked up, that she failed to protect her family then.

Then there's the second one, where after the attack on the council Vi puts on the enforcer uniform and goes to hunt Jinx. 'She'd never do that', yes she would, because Jinx pushed her away (like she did to her years ago), and in a moment of desperation Vi tries to find a new family in Caitlyn and justifies 'Jinx' as having killed Powder, and the only thing Vi cares about is protecting her family, even if it means doing something she hates, like putting an enforcer uniform and hunt her sister. Vi decides to hold back Caitlyn's worst decisions, and stop Jinx from ruining her sister's memory, she'll protect them from themselves, at the expense of her own desires.

And the final breaking point is when Caitlyn pushes her away, and left with nothing and noone to protect, Vi enters a self-destructing cycle, despite the fact that technically she still has her family out there somewhere to protect. But she can't, she's been pushed to her limit and the protector can no longer find in herself the power to protect. So...she just fights, and drinks, and waits for either to kill her.

These are not out of character, this are completly in character, accepting that she's been strained to her limit in these cases.

And this happens a lot in Arcane:

Why does Caitlyn, who is kind and respects justice, enforce martial law?

Why does Jayce, who tends to let himself be influenced easily, become so focused in his own goal?

Why does Mel, who is so in control most of the time, act so confused and scared?

Why did Vander, who loves his family and friends, tried to drown Silco?

Why does Viktor, who intially put such high importance on human choice, eventually disregarded it?

Why does Ambessa , who puts such value in sacrifice, refuse to sacrifice her daughter?

There's even a point to be made that some characters are in a constant state of being pushed to their limits, compare how Jinx acts normally to her childhood as Powder, the alternative Powder, or hell even Jinx with Isha and away from Silco. Compare Silco from the flashback or alternative universe to the Silco we knew.

What I'm trying to say is that it's better to look at these characters as beyond just the small phrases to describe them normally, and instead try to see them as living breathing people, and ask yourself, would you in a situation where you've been pushed to your limits act as you normally do? Would you, for lack of a better term, 'Remain in character'?

(Thank you so much to @restrainedhungr who proof read and gave feedback to this, helping to iron out some of the points)

[writingdevil]

Tongues and Teeth PT.4 (STP)

(Fair warning-Cold is one of the two voices that I'm probably going to have trouble writing,so I apologize if I butcher his character)

*

Paranoid jumped off the rock,spinning around to try and spot the newcomer,useless wings wrapped around him for protection.He did a full rotation without seeing anyone,and he stopped,brows furrowed in confusion as he stared at the trees around him,until the stranger spoke up,"On your right."

He twisted his head to the right,the dimming of the sun making it hard to see anything,but when he squinted his eyes,he managed to catch a flash of movement.A blink.

That was when he realised that there was one of them here,leaning against a tree with his arms crossed,dark feathers blending perfectly into the growing darkness.

The bird tilted his head to the side as he said,"Hello there,"with frost exhaling from his mouth.There was only one voice that could be.

"Cold."

"Paranoid."

"How long have you been there?"Cold shrugged, and Paranoid asked,"Have you seen any of the others?"Cold took a second to think,then said,"I don't remember how long ago it was,but I did see Hero at some point."

Paranoid stepped forward in shock and longing, wringing his hands together,the ache in his heart growing bigger.Cold noticed,and only raised a brow at his reaction,but he couldn't help it.

He would only feel truly safe and okay once he found Hero.He couldn't explain it,but Hero just felt like safety,like nothing was beyond repair if he was there.It might have to do with the fact that Hero seemed closer to the Decider than the rest of them.

"Was he alright?Did you see where he went?"Cold shrugged,looking away."Not sure.He seemed to be in a hurry,but I decided that seeing what this new form could do was more interesting."Paranoid swallowed his scream of frustration,because this was just how Cold behaved.

He took a deep breath in."How are you enjoying your new form?"

"How are you enjoying yours?"

"It's awful,"he tucked his wings behind his back, hoping Cold didn't care enough to pay attention to it,"Now I have to actually worry about me,and the rest of you reckless idiots."

"I noticed Opportunist drop you here.You've been busy,haven't you?"He could've sworn that Cold's eyes darkened."Has he already tried one of his schemes on you?"

Paranoid clenched his fists,feeling Cold's eyes freezing him to the spot."We're just trying to gather everyone.There's me,Opportunist and Contrarian-and now you,technically."

"Oh?"Cold said,and finally pushed himself off the tree,strolling up to him in a relaxed manner,walking into the light so that Paranoid could see him better.He noticed that Cold's feathers were slightly on the thinner side,but not as bad as Paranoid's, and in the light,he noticed that the hue of his feathers actually looked a little lighter compared to everyone else so far.

He kept his arms behind his back,making Paranoid feel smaller than an ant as he said,"What makes you think I want to come with you?"Paranoid gulped, because he knew that convincing Cold to do something he had no interest in was an impossible task,especially now that they weren't simply voices fighting for control anymore.Cold could quite literally wander off to do whatever he wanted.

Paranoid chuckled,trying to come off as self-assured,but it only sounded anxious.He gestured around them."What?Is some dirt and trees enough to keep you in one place for this long?"

"Maybe."What?

Now he was really confused,because that didn't sound like Cold at all.There was no way that he was fascinated with the forest that much. Experimenting with his new body?Yes.Standing in a forest that they've seen plenty of times?No way.

Paranoid lowered his wings,trying to come up with a way to talk to Cold and get him to join them.But Cold had always been an enigma to Paranoid-their whole argument about pain was clear evidence of that.But Paranoid refused to give up-the thought of dying at the hands of her, was enough to send him snapping at anyone trying to make dumb and impulsive decisions.

But...none of that mattered anymore,did it?He could never successfully get the Decider to avoid all the horror that He went through,all the pain and trauma.Paranoid couldn't even escape from a monster without help now!

He wasn't as useful as he once was.Or had he ever been useful,considering all the agony they suffered?

"Oh,"Cold said,bringing Paranoid back to reality, "there's that look again.How odd.I don't think I've ever seen you look like that before."

Paranoid sighed,ignoring the comment."So you don't want to join us,I take it?"Cold hummed,then said,"Not right now."

"Why?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why?Tell me what's more interesting than watching us fumble around and try to get used to this new situation.I'd have thought that would've been perfect entertainment for you."

Cold blinked,silent for a moment,then let a heavy sigh out,cold air disappearing into the dying light. "Preferably,I would keep going until I found something that made me feel-something more,but it appears that solid bodies have...limits."

"Oh?So you're just tired?"

"I guess you could call it that."Cold backed away, until he was leaning against the tree again."For now, I'm happy to wait,until I get too bored again.Then I'll see what this place has to offer."

Paranoid made sure to not mention the creature he just encountered.

So Cold was just tired?He was just waiting for the energy to go out and try and feel something again?That was more understandable to him,but something in the back of his head was whispering doubts.Was Cold really someone to care about limits?He didn't even care about being killed by the Princess that much!

Paranoid took a step forward,and Cold didn't react. But he took another step forward,almost closing the distance between them,and then Cold asked, "What are you doing?"in that sharp yet soft voice of his,turning his head to look away from him.

But why ask?Why not see what Paranoid would do?Why was Cold-holding back,in a way?

Paranoid sighed in frustration,and that was when he noticed Cold's breath,thanks to the frost.He would've thought that Cold would be taking long, relaxed breaths,just waiting for the time to move again.But his breaths were coming out in quick, short bursts,as if he was trying to get to heart under control.But why would-oh.

That was when he realised-Cold wasn't bored and just waiting for something interesting to happen.He was overwhelmed,a feeling Paranoid was quite familiar with.

He once thought that Cold would love all these new things he got to explore-but perhaps he was wrong, and he wasn't as numb as he'd like to be anymore.

But the realisation must have shown on Paranoid's face,because Cold furrowed his brows,and without taking his gaze away from him,slammed his elbow into the tree behind him,causing an owl to cry out and fly away,and for Paranoid to yell out.

"Fucking hell!"he exclaimed,hands coming up to clutch at the feathers near his head,jumping back a good ten feet from Cold,who's smugness Paranoid could feel.

His body shook,and he placed his hands over his pounding heart,softly muttering to himself,"Heart, lungs,liver,nerves,"over and over again until he got his body under control and he no longer felt in danger.

At least his chant,despite everything else,seemed to be normal.

When he came to,Cold was giving him a curious look,and ignored Paranoid's glare as he said,"Tell me how you do that."

Paranoid sighed,but opened his mouth to explain it, a habit from teaching Hero,until an idea popped into his head.

Opportunist got Contrarian on board by poking at his ego,to make him want to be with them.Maybe Paranoid can do the same here.

So he looked Cold in his dark,unreadable eyes and said,"No."

For a brief moment,a look of genuine surprise came over Cold's features,before falling back into his usual blank mask.

"No?"Cold repeated,intrigue in his tone now."No," Paranoid said,crossing his arms and looking away, in the hopes that Cold didn't see the anxiety in his eyes."I don't think I feel like it."Then he shrugged, feigning indifference."You probably wouldn't get it anyways."

He held that position for a few seconds,until he felt footsteps approach him,and he took a deep breath, willing his worries to go away,and he turned just as Cold walked up to him.

He unfortunately towered over Paranoid.It was eerily quiet as they stared each other down, Paranoid having to crane his neck back to even properly look at him-so close that their chest feathers were touching

They held each other's gazes,and Cold didn't seem to blink,an intensity in his stare that had Paranoid's knees wobbling,but he held firm.

This should've been the moment that Paranoid turned around and left him wanting more,like with Contrarian.The longer he stayed there though,the quicker Cold would call his bluff,or give up entirely.

But at this proximity,Paranoid could clearly see the slight tremor in the other's body,the clouded, almost unfocused look in his eyes.Cold hid it well, but Paranoid knew when someone was overstimulated,from his own experiences and with helping Hero through his own struggles.

He couldn't look away,pretend to not care.He did care,even if Cold acted like he didn't,and he wouldn't feel right leaving him all alone in these woods.The thought made his stomach turn.

Cold may act numb,but a body doesn't lie.

"You're not as untouchable as you think you are," Paranoid said,clenching his fists tight to keep him on the spot.Cold merely leaned closer,and asked in a teasing manner,"What are you going to do about it?"

Neither of them said anything for a few seconds-until Paranoid sighed.

"Sit down,"he instructed,lowering himself to the ground.Cold looked at him for a second or two,then shrugged and sat down across from him.

"Give me your hand,"he softly ordered,holding his own hand out expectedly,palm facing up.Cold didn't tear his eyes away from Paranoid,yet still gently placed his hand in his.

"Are you teaching me your chant?"

"No."Paranoid closed his fingers around Cold's hands,immediately noticing how thin and bony they were,and he felt how they shook slightly in his grip.He was also freezing,but he figured that that was normal for the other bird.

"Close your eyes,"he said,and he waited until Cold obliged,before doing the same himself.For once, Paranoid actually felt sure of what he was doing as he said,"Take a deep breath in,hold it for four seconds,then breathe out for five seconds."He did it as well,and was pleasantly surprised to hear Cold copy him.

He rubbed a thumb over Cold's knuckles and whispered,"Now do it again."They breathed in sync, letting nothing but the sounds of the forest consume them,and Paranoid,even though this was for Cold,felt his own muscles relax and his wings lower to the ground.A part of him wanted to stay in this little bubble of peace forever.

But still,at some point,Cold's hand stopped shaking,and Paranoid whispered,"Open your eyes."

What he saw,was still Cold's blank face,but there was now a lightness in his eyes that hadn't been there before.He gave the other a small smile and said,"One day,I'll show you the chant,but right now you needed something else."

Cold said nothing,and Paranoid was about to let go, but before he could,Cold suddenly yanked him forward,and Paranoid yelped as their faces were now inches away from each other,and he couldn't bring himself to look away from Cold's intense stare.

Paranoid didn't dare speak-and then he felt a gentle squeeze from Cold.

A thank you.

Paranoid was too stunned to speak,as Cold let go of his hand and leaned back,content to sit there in silence.

However,Paranoid had too many strong emotions to speak right now.He thought that he was worthless in this new form now,no longer able to perform the way he used to,no longer able to protect the way he used to.But he was wrong.

He may be in an entirely new and unpredictable situation,and dealing with things that he never had to before,but he was still him.Just because he couldn't do certain things,doesn't mean that he can't do other things that are extremely valuable to his flock.The skills he has still matter,now more than ever.

A warmth spread through him at the realisation,and a soft smile was beginning to grow on his face when-

"Look out!"

Suddenly,a dark figure burst through the foliage, and Paranoid yelled out in fright,but still scrambled to his feet,with Cold in tow-although not as frantically.

The figure ran on all fours,running in circles around the area,until it stopped and pressed its back against a tree,and then Paranoid realised that it was Hunted.

His whole body was shaking violently,claws digging into the bark of the tree as his eyes darted around, never lingering on one place for too long,with his feathers sticking out in all directions.

Paranoid looked back to where he had emerged from,to find Contrarian had pushed Oppy to the ground,presumably to avoid Hunted,and a Stubborn looming above them just brimming with energy and aggression.

Stubborn looked to be as tall as Cold was,but where Cold was skinny,Stubborn was bulky,with sharp claws just itching to fight something.He was twisting his head around madly,a feral grin on his face as he said,"Where is he?!Where is that little pipsqueak?!"

"What is going on here?"Paranoid demanded,and Stubborn's attention immediately shifted to him, but his face twisted in disappointment."I'm looking for that little rat!Have you seen him?"

Paranoid knew he was talking about Hunted,but he didn't dare look over and give away his place in the shadows,the moon high in the air at this point.

"Why?Has something happened?"

"Yeah,and it's the fact that we haven't fought yet!"

"You want to fight Hunted?"Oppy asked in confusion,being pulled to his feet by an equally confused Contrarian.

Stubborn just gave them all a hungry grin full of teeth."Yeah!Now that I've got this body all to myself,I can really challenge it,and since the Princesses are gone and I haven't seen Hero boy around,that pipsqueak is the only worthy opponent left!"

"Did he want to fight you?"Oppy asked,and Stubborn sighed sharply."No!All he cared about was finding you lot!He wouldn't fight me all!"

Contrarian snorted."So you decided to just chase him around?Him?Hunted?"

"Well what other choice did I have?"

"Leave him alone,maybe!"Paranoid snapped,and Stubborn just glared at him."Why?What else is there to do other than to fight to see what we can take?"

"So you just want to punch things again?How unoriginal,"Cold commented with a roll of his eyes, and Stubborn let out a snarl at him."Well I'm sure as hell not gonna sit around and do nothing with this freedom,am I?"Before Paranoid could speak,he waved them all away."Whatever.I'm off to find the little runt.Don't bother me until I've fought and beaten him."With that,Stubborn stomped away.

Everyone was too shocked to speak,but then Paranoid heard a small sound coming from Hunted, and when he brought his attention back to him, dread filled his chest and made him rush over to him,as he realized Hunted was having a panic attack.

"Hunted,"he softly called,kneeling in front of him, but Hunted wouldn't respond,his eyes staring into nothing as his breathing came out in short,painful looking bursts.

There was no way he could calm him down like he had with Cold.But there was one thing he could do.

Paranoid took a deep breath in,placing one of his hands over Hunted's rapidly beating heart,and directing Hunted's hand over Paranoid's own,and with that,everything else fell to black.

"Heart.Lungs.Liver.Nerves."

His head tipped back,and there was only the feeling of blood rushing and a heart full of fear,but not of his own.Hunted's fear was like the whipping of wind,crashing and flinging about everywhere, twisting and turning,but with nowhere to go.

"Heart.Lungs.Liver.Nerves."His voice was firm yet calm as he spoke,willing the fear to leave Hunted,to see that he was safe,his flock was here and they were going to protect each other now.

It felt like hours had passed,but with one last whisper of his chant,and a promise that the danger had passed,Paranoid felt Hunted calm down.

He sighed in relief,letting their hands fall to their laps.It felt good-in a weird way-to do his chant again,despite the tense predicaments that it's needed for.

He slowly lowered his head to face Hunted,to find him staring at Paranoid with an animalistic intensity,but he knew he wasn't in danger.

Especially when Hunted gently cupped his face,and pressed their foreheads together.

[arthur-side]

@lee1504 don't pretend you didn't just make a masterpiece and didn't think a certain someone would make another one as well using the same prompt you used because they saw you/aff

@primalmagic hi Isa I went insane

A Surprise

A Benlor Coffee Shop AU where the Clark cousins are in the middle of making the new building

~~~

Hopping down the stone steps was Taylor, happily humming to herself as she held a piece of paper tightly, grinning ear to ear. Her eyes brightened further when she spotted Ashlyn and Logan, speeding up to get to them before they got to the other side of the street and the traffic light separated them. It happened before, and she will not let it happen again.

“Lo! Ash!” She called, jogging at the siblings. Logan jumped and almost lost balance while Ashlyn casually turned to her, giving her a small smile.

Logan’s grandparents had been struggling with their health lately and were now resting in a hospital, so during that, the Banners technically adopted Logan as their own, legally even if his grandparents finally let them gain full custody over him. Taylor was sympathizing at the fact that Logan’s relatives were going to leave him for good again, but she was glad Ashlyn and her parents were kind enough to accept him as their own.

“Taylor!” Logan huffed, hitting Ashlyn’s leg with his own as she snickered. Ashlyn reciprocated. Logan's pouting wasn’t what Taylor expected, but at least he was more likely to express himself proudly.

“Taylor.” Ashlyn echoed, raising an eyebrow at her, “You look happier than usual, what happened?”

Oh, she can’t wait to tell them what happened.

“Well, I got accepted to collaborate with a company that I’ve always idolized! Can’t you believe that?!” She twisted and hopped around, beaming so brightly she might have just been the sun.

“Oh~?” Logan tilted his head, hair flinging as a few cars passed by, almost getting smacked in the face by Ashlyn’s braid. “Damn it-” Taylor snorted.

“Anyways,” Ashlyn looked between Taylor and Logan, “Care to tell the story at the coffee shop the Clark cousin started?”

Taylor blinked, huh.

She hadn’t heard much from the two cousins these past few days, their hangout week got canceled a lot in between those, so realizing they’d been using their time to build a coffee shop together really caught her off guard. Also, why wasn’t she informed of this?

“Why wasn’t I…?” Taylor’s smile slightly falter, pointed at herself as she gripped on the paper tighter. Logan and Ashlyn looked at each other, smirked, and chuckled. Taylor’s gaze went back and forth between the two, confused.

“Because Ben wanted to surprise you,” Logan explained, “You lovebirds really need to do your own thing and not drag the entire gang with it, girl.” Taylor blushed at the comment.

“Well okay now-” “I’m going.” Ashlyn turns a full 160 degrees and started walking at the pavement. Logan and Taylor stopped bickering as they quickly followed suit.

It became a tradition, really. Ashlyn usually walks away in a conversation if she realizes they were wasting time affectionately, and the others just follow her, even Tyler! She really is the leader, after all.

Well, now that she thought about it, does Tyler know-?

“Oh, and Tyler knows about the coffee shop, by the way.” Ashlyn interrupted her train of thoughts. The girl’s not only a badass leader, she’s also a mind reader! Ah!

“So am I the only one who doesn’t know of this?” Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The siblings said in sync. Taylor deflated.

“Buuuuuut,” Logan started again, “It’s because we were doing a little special thing for you!” He turned around to face them as he threw his left hand out towards the sign behind him, reading “Adrenaline Junkie”. That sounds so Aiden.

“C’mon,” Logan grabbed Taylor’s wrist, re balanced the boxes he’s holding with one hand, and dragged her into the work-in-progress building. “Something’s waiting for ya!”

“Logan-!” Taylor almost fell out of balance as the abruptly stopped. She hits over someone, making her yelp.

She quickly backed away, embarrassed. “I’m sorry sir-”

“Hi Taylor!” She perks up from the familiar voice of her brother, turning her head to him who’s currently holding a hammer his free hand on his hips. “You bumped into Ben, by the way.”

Taylor snapped her head back in front of her, now recognizing the familiar gray shirt. “Oh-!”

“[Congrats?]” An AI, monotone voice suddenly erupted, Taylor looked at his phone, blinking a few times, then got swallowed in confusion.

Why is everyone here? What is this place? Why did they all not tell her?

“I’ve told them about your proposal of volunteering to collaborate with that company, they only wanted to support you, Taylor.”

Oh.

Well…That was quite unexpected, Taylor’s questions have been mostly answered, but the question regarding why they’re making a coffee shop is still lingering to her.

Tyler placed a hand on her shoulder, “So, were you accepted?” He asked softly. Taylor stiffled a laugh and a sob.

“Yes. Yes I did.”

The room erupted with cheers, all from her friends, her family. Aiden handed out coffees to everyone then held his own high. “Cheers to Taylor!” He announced, and Taylor laughed.

It’s…So comforting, so warm, this really made her entire week. She then held her own coffee high, and the rest followed.

Her eye captured a glimpse of a certain karaoke machine at one of the counters.

The karaoke machine she fixed for Ben even when he couldn’t use it.

[mordredpendragon]

Cain! Hope I'm not too late for the Arthuriana Ask Game BUT: 📜 📖 🖼️ 😇 😈 Okay, bye!!!!!!

never too late! thank u for the ask!!!

📜- What was your favorite Medieval story you read this year?

PERLESVAUS HANDS DOWN. EVERYONE PLEASEEEE READ PERLESVAUS ITS SO GOOD. it's something i've been eyeing for ages now but i was finally able to read it thanks to nigel bryant's translation! (the one i vastly prefer imo + his translations are just great in general)

admittedly, it's a bit of a hefty read because it's loaded and filled to the brim with religious undertones and references (similar to vulgate except i think vulgate is easier to parse if you don't have a catholic background considering anonymous monk pretty much explains what so-and-so means to you lol) but it's so worth it. percival is the titular knight in this yes and it follows events that take place after he failed the grail question, so the land is in havoc and basically fucked thanks to his mistakes. there's actually 4 main POV's in it. other than percival, it follows arthur (who goes on his own series of quests) gawain, and then lancelot. i'm in awe of perlesvaus just of the amount of sheer depth and characterization they have for these 4 characters. plus it's got a lot of badass crazy moments. pretty much everything percival does is worthy enough of its own post

like percival fighting the dragon knight, dindrane getting kidnapped and percival literally venturing off to find her captive, beheading him, then PRESENTING it to her.

lancelot going through the beheading game (tbh everything he does in this drives me insane. its also just my favorite lancelot in general imo like more than vulgate lancelot) + gawain finding the sword that beheaded john the baptist. it's also got some crazy horror fuel that i would love to make art of one day just because of how much i want to see it visualized, like lancelot finding that one house full of corpses and the pit. i mean THE PIT.

LIKE ITS MY FAVORITE EVER. i could go on forever but fr just read it its so good. like not just if you love percival, but also if you love gawain arthur and lancelot they're amaaazing in this

📖 - What was your favorite Modern retelling you read this year? (Single book)

technically it's henry newbolt's mordred, a tragedy but it's a play and i already plan to make a post on it. (which was also my contribution to L's long af retellings list so if you like it you're welcome i was the one who showed it to her lmao)

so i'm going to say john steinbeck's acts of king arthur. ITS SO GOOD. can everyone pleae read steinbeck. peak lancelot peak morgan peak yvain.

this is one of the arthurian books that genuinely made me cry i fr felt like a husk at the ending. steinbeck's favorite character is lancelot and it really shows bc of the amount of depth and complexity he writes in his character, and it's got some of my favorite quotes of all time

SERIOUSLY its the best i love it so much. i've been recommending it to everyone ever since

🖼️ What was your favorite Arthurian art piece made by someone else this year? (Any medium)

all of @tboymordred's mordred art sorry i'm gay

especially this one

😇 Who is a character you discovered this year? (Positive, blorbo)

agravaine. i mean i always knew he existed obviously except i found newfound love for him this year. doubtly @queer-ragnelle's influence lol

also he's sick as FUCK in vulgate i think everyone should read agravaine vs druas the cruel genuinely one of my favorite story arcs in vulgate ever

😈 Who is a character you discovered this year? (Negative, beloathed)

geraint idk fuck that guy

aside from him there really isn't a lot of characters i hate. it depends on the depiction and portrayal really. you could make me like someone as heinous as uther if you cook hard enough lol

[mollysunder]

The pacing in s2 really distracted us all from really inspecting how funny and genuinely fascinating Jinx and Viktor's one and only direct interaction was. I don't mean the snark, I mean Viktor had to have known Jinx fired the rocket, either from gossip in Zaun or being literally in a bunch of Zaunites (and Salo's head).

There's no way that Viktor didn't know practically killed him and irrevocably altered the trajectory of his life. In fact, he's likely gotten all kinds of angles on who Jinx is from everyone in the commune. Viktor really could seen from the periphery if his followers' minds the Jinx's growth from Vander's black sheep to Silco's darling terror. And after seeing all the things she's done, he invites her live at his commune!!!!!!

Insanity.

[outlying-hyppocrate]

i have officially returned. ask me anything.

[bitegore]

if your ocs were bosses in a video game, what do you think their boss fight would be like?

[kens-puku]

Y'all are gonna think I'm so weird.

But I'm running with this idea I've had for a while for my mcl ocs. Well, other than the actual other mcl ocs I've made.

It's part lazy, part bizarre.

Clones.

Yep, clones.

My MCL NG oc is a clone of the original Puku, but different. I haven't figured out the details yet, but it's like what I did with Pukun, Puku's male clone. It has the idea of a type of clone theory idea of nature vs nurture. The DNA and nature of the puku clones is the same, but the nurture is always a bit different depending on circumstances. Puku "prime" is the parent of all the clones made, but Puku "prime" had a different parentage and upbringing than the clones. Not to mention, the events of each mcl game has different outcomes for clone Puku.

This Puku has -teal- hair and is a zoomer, I guess. Raised by Puku "prime" and has the existential grappling of dealing with being a clone in general.

There's... still a lot of ironing out to do. Like... Where does Kentin fit into all this? How should I incorporate the family given to Puku 2.0 in New Generation?

Why am I giving this plot to an MCL OC!??

lol

[tardis--dreams]

Me panicking because i have 9 missed calls and 5 emails talking about my absence and how "a colleague could take over for me" vs. Me knowing it's really not that important no matter how pushy a client is and that on top of it I'm underpaid and have way to much overtime so i shouldn't even care

[gynaiko]

ㅤㅤㅤSTELLA   IS   NOT   A   GOOD   MOTHER,   AT   ALL;   QUITE   NEGLECTFUL,   ACTUALLY.   THE   KIND   TO   SAY   ‘THAT’S   NICE,   DEAR’   WHILE   NOT   EVEN   LOOKING   AT   VIA.   HOWEVER,   I   DON’T   SUBSCRIBE   TO   FANON’S   GENERAL   INTERPRETATION   WHERE   SHE’S   APPARENTLY   WILLING   TO   KILL   HER   JUST   TO   SPITE   STOLAS.   WE   STILL   HAVEN’T   SEEN   HER   INTERACT   WITH   OCTAVIA   BUT   IF   SHE   TRULY   HATED   HER,   SHE   WOULD   HAVE   THROWN   A   FIT   WHEN   ANDRE   POINTED   OUT   VIA   WOULD   GET   EVERYTHING,

ㅤㅤㅤ&   WHEN   SHE   WAS   SCREECHING   AT   STOLAS,   ASKING   IF   HE   WAS   ‘TURNING   HER   ( VIA )   AGAINST   HER   ( STELLA )’   —   CLEARLY,   SHE   CARES   FOR   VIA.   AGAIN,   SHE’S   NOT   A   GOOD   MOTHER,   PERHAPS   NOT   CODDLING   OR   ‘MOTHERLY’   BUT   ENOUGH   THAT   VIA   HAS   GOOD   MEMORIES   OF   HER   ( PER   THE   LOO   LOO   LAND   EPISODE ),

ㅤㅤㅤREAD   THE   TAGS   FOR   MY   TINFOIL   HAT   RAMBLINGS ,

[toasted-buguette]

Back in my Amino days I got big into this open species called Haviks, they were like little demon things I think??? The community died pretty quick but I still love my haviks and look back on that time with a lot of fondness, so I figured I'd touch up their designs.

Old designs under the cut cause I like looking at my old art in juxtaposition with my new art: