#I'll probably change it

[marrowwife]

A WIP INTRO

"Listen. I'm sure it was a good thing, in whatever backwoods village you crawled your way out of, to be kind, and helpful, and friendly. But you matter now, you're Sainted--- we're Sainted. We're the strongest players of the Court. And in the Court, being kind is a weakness. Being kind will get you eaten alive."

His retreat was cut short with a firm grip around his arm and a pair of eyes, brightened almost as gold as they had that terrible day in the great hall. Alaryk wondered if this was the first time Perryn had ever stopped smiling. He wondered, staring at the boy burning with an intensity as fierce as the High Summer sun, if a single smile had been real to begin with.

"Teach me." Perryn said, and he sounded like the roar of a wildfire, like the intimate crackling of a hearth. "You said it yourself, we're Sainted. The same. So teach me how to be like you."

Alaryk wrenched his arm free, and the thing inside him howled and writhed and whispered terrible promises. "You are nothing like me."

ABOUT

Title: Ravenous

Genre: NA Fantasy

Themes: Monstrosity, Queerness, Identity, Trauma, Legacy & Family, The Nature of Good and Evil (Constructed Morality), Nature vs Nurture

Tropes: The Chosen One, The Main Trio, Coming Of Age, Anti-Hero, Moral Greyness, The Boarding School Setting, Medieval Fantasy Setting, Knights vs Monsters, Rivals to Friends to Enemies to Lovers, The Orphaned Hero, Sun and Moon Coded Characters, Child Soldiers (kind of), More TBA

BLURB

Idrismark is a kingdom fractured, the land sequestered between impenetrable mountains and the gnawing, ever creeping monstrosity of the Ravening Wood, the burial place of the Betrayer. What is left of the inhabitable is ruled by the whims of the Noble Houses, originally claiming lineage of the Six Saints, individuals with untold powers who defeated the Betrayer and held back the corrupt magic of the Wood. Now the Houses are the Upper Class of Indrismark's population, all trained in the arts of Knighthood but focused in the games of Court politics.

It is only the Sainted that truly provide safety from the Ravening Wood, those with the strongest blood ties to The Six and a fraction of their power, most often sacrificed in the war against the Wood. Therefore, when two Sainted appear in one generation, a peasant plucked from the masses and a Noble's son, all of Idrismark is watching. The common people in joyous relief, having been subject to the increasing ferocity of the Ravening Wood. And the Noble Houses in rapt, hungry calculation, ready to do anything they can in the mad scramble for power a Sainted is want to inact upon the Court.

Alaryk has known his place since the moment of his birth. Son of the House Lupei. Disappointment to his father. Neither a first son and heir, nor the daughter his father had hoped for in a third child, to be wed in alliance and used as a pawn in the games of the Court. Alaryk used to pray to be Sainted, to become proof of his Father's power, his House's power, to be useful. But the Sainted were rare, and House Lupei had not produced a Sainted in hundreds of years. He should have known that the truth had never been an obstacle for his Father.

The Academy, where all Noble children are sent to learn how to fight the Ravening Wood, was going to be hard enough. Now with the mantle of Sainted balanced precariously on his shoulders, Alaryk must navigate the politics of Nobility, the grueling regimen of squirehood, the baffling intricacies of making friends, all alongside desperately trying to control the power he has been given. Because Alaryk is not Sainted. His magic is not the magic of The Six, it is not pure and good and heroic. Alaryk is a liar and his magic is ravenous.

TAGLIST (ask to be +/-)

@houndmouthed @tragicbackstoryenjoyer @philocalizt @waestlandbaby @andromedatalksaboutstuff @writingmoth @serenanymph @moondust-bard @ashfordlabs @carnocus @real-fragments7

[actaeoncross]

Rose's Thorn (A First Draft)

Lulla Beaumont cautiously crept through the dark house. Holding her breath, she carefully eased the door open to her parents' room. No movement came from the bed, indicating she had awoken her mother. The youngest Beaumont took a slow, deep breath to calm her nerves before crouching and scuttling across the floor. Now came the trickiest part. 

She had caught sight of her father removing items to sell in Raywich days ago. One particular item had caught her eye, and Lulla knew he left it. She just wasn’t exactly sure where it was. Her fingertips lightly grazed the old planks of wood, searching for one that was loose. As a board shifted beneath her touch, Lulla swallowed any noises of excitement and focused on gently lifting the wood. Quickly and quietly, she withdrew the long shape from the space before setting the board back and sneaking from the room. The treasure grasped firmly to her. 

Lulla left the door partially cracked, afraid that fully closing it would wake her mother and ruin her plans. The young woman didn’t pause to celebrate until she was across the family’s field. Excitedly, she pushed heavy brown curls from her freckled face. Her green eyes glowed with a mischievous twinkle as she set a quick pace to her destination. The overgrown path she used to travel deeper into the woods was one she shared with only animals. Years ago, her mother’s parents used the path to travel to town. The path was already abandoned when the Beaumonts arrived to inherit the property. The cause of its disuse? A stone bridge. 

The small, pristine bridge looked out of place among the wilderness. Lulla had never seen any animal brave enough to cross the stone. As she approached the bridge, birdsong and the rustles of life in the brush ceased. The stream’s babbling was the only noise accompanying her as she began to cross. Halfway across the bridge, the stones rumbled beneath her feet. Lulla gritted her teeth and redistributed her center of gravity. She would not fall this time. Her chin lifted in defiance as a voice boomed through the woods. 

“You must pay the toll should you wish to cross!” 

A massive creature rose from beneath the bridge. Though the troll slouched, it easily towered over Lulla. As its beady eyes blinked at her from the folds of its craggy and mossy stone skin, a disgusted sigh slipped from its lips. The young woman grinned in greeting. 

“Good morning, Malak. Have you collected a lot?” 

“Lulla, you have to stop coming,” his voice rumbled like a cascade of rocks. Malak sat across from her on the stones, bringing his face even with hers. “I’ve told you I’ll leave for the queen’s palace soon. The next troll will squash you into a pulp if you do this.” 

“But you haven’t left yet!” she ignored his rumbling to continue, “And besides that, I’ll be leaving soon myself!” 

The youngest Beaumont proudly ripped the nondescript fabric from her treasure to reveal it. A jewel-encrusted hilt topped the ornate scabbard Lulla firmly held. With a grin, she wrapped a hand around the hilt to draw the blade. The metal gleamed in the sunlight as she turned her hand to admire the sword. Seeing that her father had done something for the blade beyond keeping it hidden beneath the floorboards was a relief. Lulla giddily rocked on the balls of her feet before grinning at her friend. 

“What do you think? I’m going to use it and join the Hunt! Sir Gilles de Gris is in town, and I’ll show him my skills. I’ll probably be gone by nightfall to lead an exciting life adventuring across the land, slaying beasts.” Malak’s usual frown appeared etched deeper into his face than usual at the sight of the sword. Lulla rolled her eyes and snapped a question, “What’s that look for?”  

“Have you thought this plan out fully?” 

“Of course!” 

“Really?” a mossy brow rose. “So, you intend to slay me?” 

“No! I’m only going to kill the bad ones. You’re not bad.” 

“How do you plan to identify the bad ones?” 

“I don’t know; I’m sure it's part of the training.” Lulla sidestepped a shower of falling moss as Malak snorted in response. Her face tinged red in anger and embarrassment as she retorted, “Oh, and how are your dreams going? Going to guard your queen’s castle doesn’t sound like it's helping.” 

Malak grasped the parapet at her back, crumbling the stone to dust as he heaved himself back to his feet. Despite her jumping at the sound, Lulla refused to be intimidated and stared back at him. The troll trembled before jumping over the side into the stream, sending water cascading into the air. Lulla hurriedly sheathed the sword and wiped the water from her face as she scrambled from the bridge and down the embankment. Her boots slipped from the slope into the stream as it attempted to reestablish itself. Malak sat squeezed beneath the too-small overpass. His bulk impeded the water’s path as his teardrops splashed to feed it further.  

“I’m sorry, Malak.” Lulla dropped the sword before wrapping as much of her arms as she could around his rough exterior. “I know you’re worried and don’t want to leave. I shouldn’t have lashed out, but this is my dream. I want adventure in the great wide somewhere, far away from Panossa and its farms. This sword is my chance to obtain that.” 

“It’s too dangerous. What if we cross paths? I’d have to kill you,” Malak stuttered between sobs. 

From Malak’s size, it was easy for Lulla to forget the troll wasn’t much older than her. He was infinitely younger among the long lifespan of his kind. They had played together, splashing in the small stream when she was a child, and Malak was the size of her father. She had shared her fairy tale books with him, the only ones she claimed to be worth reading. The stories made her long for adventure. But poor, gentle Malak longed to read and study nestled beneath his bridge now, as new adults, their paths were finally splitting. Malak’s path leads to mandatory service to the troll queen, where reading and friendship with a human would earn him banishment at best. Hers toward a marriage and more of the mundane life she wished to escape. 

“You won’t! Give me just a year or two, and I will rescue you,” Lulla promised. “I’ll have you housed beneath the loveliest bridge on a river with more books than you could wish for.” 

She would do it, too. Lulla Beaumont firmly believed she could make both of their dreams come true. It started with her becoming a knight. The brunette had no doubts after playing the role of a knight for years with a troll; she could easily impress the traveling squadron passing through Panossa.

[evgar]

decided to redraw and improve this silly thing i did two years ago

here's the two compared like damn the colors on the first what was that 😭

[professorcalculusstanaccount]

An AU where Tintin is a crime lord, inspired by @jerseyhobby 's post here!

Detective Rastapopoulus is one of the most brilliant minds in his department. His talent has been long overlooked due to his status as an immigrant, but when a new teenage menace starts to stir up the streets, Rastapopoulus's knack for digging into the murky depths of the criminal underworld is called upon.

His target is only known by his alias, Tintin. At just seventeen he already has a few bank heists, smuggling operations and a chain of illegal clubs under his belt. He operates like a phantom, making himself hardly known. Those who have had business with him never recall him raising his voice, as he simply does not need to. Manners go a long way, and manners are an effective mask for the brutality required to maintain such an operation.

Few are confirmed to know him personally. He has his beloved dog, Snowy, who has a taste for expensive jewelry, and his right hand man, a pickpocket-turned jewel thief he met in Shanghai. Together they are unstoppable, nothing is outside their reach - and when the Karaboudjan, a large shipping vessel goes missing, along with its crew and captain, Rastapopoulus just knows they are involved. If only he can keep his temper and ego in check, he might just be able to finally put an end to Tintin's reign of chaos, and perhaps earn the recognition he so desperately craves.

I think an AU where Tintin uses his abilities for crime would be an interesting way to see how he's impacted people he's met, so for this take I have only inverted Tintin and Rastapopoulos - Haddock is still an honest man, but his vulnerability leaves him open to being manipulated. He becomes Tintin's equivalent to Allan Thompson, only this time motivated by fear for his life rather than money. Alcohol, threats and his rock-bottom self esteem keep him in line.

Calculus is scammed by Tintin for his inventions, leaving him feeling deeply betrayed as he is someone with strong morals. He vows revenge, his tunnel vision leading him down incredibly destructive paths. He was initially targeted by Tintin because he just seemed naive and easy to exploit, but Tintin severly underestimates him, despite Chang's warnings. Not only does Tintin have the law on his tail, but a mad scientist with nothing left to lose, who has access to devastating explosives.

Chang simply wants somewhere he belongs. Canonically he's stolen from cops before, so there's no doubt that if Tintin dragged him into crime he would follow along - but he may start to doubt if their bond is built more on what he can do for him rather than his value as a person.

Rastapopoulos this time gets to use his cunning to catch a slippery crime lord, but he still has the same shortcomings as his canon counterpart. He sorely craves attention and praise. He has a terrible short temper. He craves power and influence. He starts to use increasingly questionable methods for his investigation, as his higher ups breathe down his neck for being incapable of catching a couple of queer teenage hoodlums.

Tintin himself isn't motivated by money or power, he's looking for thrills and control over his life. Canonically he's rather emotionally shut off, and he's no different here. He doesn't let himself get too attached to anyone else. Unlike canon Rastapopoulos, I can imagine a crime lord Tintin pouring money and resources into communities in need, and opening up spaces for marginalised groups like bars for queer people. He still wants to do good deep down, but just doesn't quite believe he is a good person.

[paintedcrows]

Some Fords! (and Martin K Blackwood is also there)

[skeletonlesbian]

just started listening to the silt verses and i like carpenter a normal amount

[ameliathornromance]

A part of you was unsure how your Orc Boyfriend would react. As you pruned the bouquet of flowers in your hands, you were starting to regret your idea. It was only a few paces from the camp now, surely you could just turn back around and throw it away, right?

Flowers were something that women received typically. Maybe he would think you were insinuating something about him, or that maybe he was weaker than you thought he was-

“Love! You’re back!”

Too late for take backs now. Hiding the bouquet behind your back, you watched as your Orc Boyfriend dropped a wood chopping axe and rushed over to you. “How was your walk? Did you get what you needed?”

You weren’t sure why you thought you could hide the flowers from him. He was at least two or three feet taller than you.

He peered over your shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “What’re those for? You’ve never brought flowers back before.”

Well, now or never, you thought. Meekly, you pulled them out from behind your back and held them out to him.

Your Orc stared at you for a minute, looking you up and down in confusion. “I… Um…” Where did you even begin with this? You must look insane.

Sighing, you lowered the bouquet and looked down at the different blooms. “When humans really like each other, sometimes they give flowers. So, I picked some flowers for you.”

There was silence for a moment and you felt your face burning. You knew it, this was a stupid idea.

“You picked these… for me?” His green hand came into view, wrapping around your interlocked fingers.

You nodded, still not looking at him.

Before you could stop him, he had snatched up the bouquet and held it high above his head. He bellowed to his others in the camp: “Look here! My lovely lady brought me flowers! What have you suckers got?!”

Orcs from their various work stations looked up, growled, snarled and swatted their hands at your Orc, “get stuffed you lug!”

Your jaw hung open at your Orc's audacity, before he looked back down at you and gave you the widest grin. “I didn’t know humans did such a thing,” he admired the flowers in his hand, seemingly as big as daisies in his huge hand. “You picked these yourself?”

“Wait, you like them?”

“Why wouldn’t I like them love?” Your Orc kissed you on the forehead. “You went out of your way to get them for me.”

“It’s just… I thought… Human men don’t normally get flowers, so I thought that…”

Your Orc let out a bark of laughter, “but I’m not human, am I love?” He pulled you into his arms and squeezed you tightly. His arms were the most reassuring and calming thing at that moment.

Hugging him back, you realised that there had been nothing to be afraid of. How could you have assumed that he would have been insulted by your gift?

“Anything from you is something to be treasured.” He mumbled to you, giving you another kiss on your lips.

Patreon

[pixelatedtaken]

Blitzø's Name In The End Credits

A while ago, I saw someone point out that Blitzø's name on recent episodes (in the credits) had an X over the O and went to check it out. It turned out to be true and decided to keep track of it until it'll change again.

I wasn't going to search deeper than that, mostly waiting on how it'll go but I decided to check if it was any different than the ø that we're supposed to know. So...

When I saw this in season 1 episode 1, my jaw was on the floor.

I'm sure people have pointed this out before, I've only seen about the recent X over the O but I'm sure this ain't new. Part of me had noticed but when months pass between episodes and you don't actually pay attention to the credits, the change is so minor that it kind of never happened in my mind.

But the fact of the matter is-

all of season 1 had Blitzø's name written with the o. No "silent O", just Blitzo. Until...

Queen Bee.

If people were around, they know Queen Bee did not release after Ozzie's but we're pretty certain it was done way before season 2 began (even though it released in the middle of it). Anyway.

Maybe the change from the o without a line and the ø with the line wasn't so weird when it happened, especially since season 2 was out and the change had already been implemented, as seen below ↓

But it only lasts up until Western Energy. After that...

The X appears.

This is definitely on purpose, I simply can't figure out the purpose. My only theory is that it's supposed to represent Blitzø's declining mental health and severe self-hatred/low self-image taking a hold. I do not know. I can only point out the events on the previous episodes before the changes were done.

Ozzie's/Finale: Blitzø was faced with his past in the most disastrous way, ending with the start of his relationship with Stolas falling apart. His self image crumbled further.

Western Energy: Blitzø was faced with the fact that Stolas can get/be hurt. His view of the immortal/untouchable Stolas crumbled. Assumption, he might blame himself for not being there.

I don't know, I'm just thinking and I'll probably be obsessed with this until we see what else they do.

[cnth-rb]

Sleeping like the princess that he is

[mustlovesteve]

thanks so much to @toktopus-art for this awesome commission that she drew! based on a scene from my vamp!eddie steddie fic.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Thank you all for an incredible 500 days of love and support. I offer you: answers to questions that no one has asked.

(As always, more can be found in the tags <3)

[buggachat]

eh. fuck it. *claw noirs my icon*

[floccinaucinihilipilificationa]

[ineed-to-sleep]

Some sketches I did to try to get a feel for what I want my Rook to look like 🤔

[cheesomancer]

What are you waiting for? I'm totally ready, I tell you.

Full art (with close up!) is here!

[qarameiio]

im in love with an eeeeemo boyyyyeeee