#OSSAS tag

[cboffshore]

this just in. I'm the shittiest Skybound fic writer of all time. going forward I will be adding lots more unjustified Jay angst and general flanderization to my work, including but not limited to:

scooping his eyeball out every one hundred words at minimum (eyeball grows back like Prometheus' liver for maximum angst openings) with various implements (I will begin with a melon baller and slowly work my way up to a slightly smaller melon baller)

utilizing Nadakhan's shapeshifting potential to remove all of his arms and give him eight legs, much like that Neil Cicierega video, and yes the implications of him having eight legs will be the same as the source video. because I need an M rating to get kudos and idc how ridiculous I have to get.

giving everyone two eyepatches and completely white clothing to better display the gallons of blood they will all be losing

turning Nya into an actual therapy dog and Delara into a sexy lamp who is still able to kill people and make out with Nadakhan for several thousand words at a time(we're doing away with the possession plot btw that thing is boring and has no analytical merit)

anywayyyyyyyyy keep an eye out on AO3 for that. effective immediately I'm deleting OSSAS so if you owe me comments you had BETTER get them in now!!!!!!!

[cboffshore]

You're so right!!! I think the crucial bit is it's gotta be her choice on some level - even if someone else talks her into it, I think she's gotta be the one to commit to it, even if it's only her side of the equation.

To be fair, I also think Jay would do this sort of thing, and likely more readily given his chatterbox and spite combo (I didn't write it in my work because it's MY Nya series and I get to assign the Big Character Moments). I don't really get why people have big dramatic sad interventions with him, because frankly I picture him walking into the living room with a coffee and a PowerPoint to spill this EXTREMELY bizarre tea. He'd make a night of it, IMO. He'd be shit-talking Nadakhan from day one, not curled up sobbing incoherently on the couch! Can you IMAGINE the hot goss? I want someone to write THAT.

“Nya and Jay both never say a word to the other ninja about Skybound” are you telling me Nya doesn’t TELL KAI THAT SHE DIED. ARE YOU TELLING ME NYA DOESN’T SEEK OUT HER BIG BROTHER AFTER A NIGHTMARE OR MENTAL BREAKDOWN OR IF HER CHEST IS A LITTLE TOO TIGHT THAT DAY. ARE YOU TELLING ME KAI CAN LOOK AT THE PERSON HE CARES ABOUT MORE THAN ANYONE IN THE WORLD AND NOT INSTANTLY KNOW SOMETHING IS DEEPLY, HORRIBLY WRONG??

THESE TWO RAISED EACH OTHER. NYA WOULD NOT KEEP THIS FROM HIM I AM PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF BELIEVING THAT

[basicallyjaywalker]

Just finished reading Chapter 5 of If I Can Think (Of Something Clever) and I think my brain chemistry has been altered. I also have a strong desire to get back into chess and find some competent animators and VAs. For no particular reason

I know I've reblogged Lila aka @cboffshore's links but consider this me continuing to push the agenda. If you haven't read this fic (or the entire On Sea, Sunlight, and Sky series) you should. Especially if you like:

* Nya causing havoc

* Insanely descriptive and immersive prose

* SYMBOLISM!!!!!

* or any combination thereof

^ Here's the link to IICT(OSC)

^ Here's the link to the entire series, including the past three installments, all are incredible and a must read for any Ninjago fan IMO. I am not kidding

Now if anyone needs me I'm going to go lie down for a long time

[conjuredcrow]

DRAW

PILE

ft that shredded sweater

[organised-disaster]

Aight @baxieblur-turnip and @randosfandos y'all know the drill here it is

SNOWBIRD: CHAPTER IV

I stare at the ceiling. It's quite nice. Wood panels. Inoffensive. I count the scratch marks in it, then the proper holes.

I've just nicked it more than I've actually hit it. I don't especially try when I throw my knife. It used to be Otto's. I feel bad launching it at the ceiling, but it's what I do when I'm bored.

I retrieve it from my drawer. I flick it open and close a few times, running my thumb over the dimpled texture of the green handle while I study the ceiling. I can almost see the shape of a face...

I throw the knife up into a blank spot. It makes a tiny scratch. Not enough force. It sails back down into my hand. I catch it easily, the blunt side of the blade slotting seamlessly between my fingers.

Again. It thuds into the ceiling, between the boards, and I almost think it's going to stay there. It slides out, however, rotating to be blade-first. It pierces the pillow next to my head. How unfortunate.

Again. A thunk can be heard as it stays put. I stand to retrieve it, my bed creaking in protest. The ceilings are not especially low, but Otto's knife is easily within my reach.

It comes away too easily. Not enough force, once again. I stay standing instead of lying down again. I look at the knife in my hand.

I could stop. I could stop damaging the ceiling over and over again, and I could stop blunting the knife. I should stop.

I am only breaking things. No, not even breaking. This is nothing.

This is just more purposeless damage. I am just stabbing the ceiling, the ceiling that can not die, or feel it at all. This is an exercise in futility. I am satisfying nothing.

The sound the knife makes as I personally drive it into the ceiling is very satisfying indeed.

I step off my bed, landing silently on my floor. I allow the knife to say in my ceiling. I don't need it, anyway. I have other, much sharper knives. Better knives.

I pass my empty wall. The spot with four holes in it as if something was once displayed there stares into me, accusing me. I face it, staring back. I blindfold it by displaying Sera's gift. Yumi's warm, grey eyes now bore a hole into my skull, but it's a marginal improvement.

I shut the door quietly behind me. I don't care about the noise I make, but I don't need to be loud. It would feel too small.

My footsteps echo in the empty hallway. There used to be photos in this house. Filling the walls. There also used to be laughter.

The one photo left sits alone on the mantle. I know what it looks like, of course. I wasted many days staring at it.

Yumi is approximately seven. My mother is desperately trying to keep a hold of her, obviously tired but still smiling. Yumi is wearing a large grin, several teeth missing, as she seems to yell and reach toward the photographer.

One of her hands is pushing my mother's face to the side, slightly squishing her smile. My father is holding me, smiling at my mother and Yumi rather than the camera. I look grumpy.

It was taken in winter, so we are all wearing warm clothing. I look adequately cared for, with a knit beanie and fluffy green jumpsuit covering all of me but my face. My father's puffy jacket is an equal green. Yumi's brown sweater matches the one our mother is wearing. Yumi had to be wrestled into that sweater.

It's a lovely, lively photo, full of warmth and happiness. It reflects nothing of what we are now, though. It's almost like looking into a broken mirror.

You know what's supposed to be there, what it's supposed to look like, and it just doesn't. You can tell what it was. You can tell what it did. And it will never be what it was again, even if you fix it.

It's far more complicated than a broken mirror, though. We've lost all but two of the pieces, and one is so dirty and scratched that it's functionally worthless. We don't even have the glue to put those two pieces back together.

I hate the year-old girl in that photo. I hate her dissatisfied frown and barely visible black hair. I hate her chubby, tiny, tightly balled fists. I hate her innocence. I hate her ignorance.

I'm not looking at the photo now, though, so there is nothing immediately in front of me to hate. At least until I reach the mirror. But I already know what I look like. I will just ignore myself, like always.

I wash my face for the third time today. I should apologise to Sera. I should also never speak to Sera again. I should also lie down in the sand and wait for the ocean to claim me.

It's unclear what order I should take those actions in. Logic states that the ocean will take up far more of my time than begging for Sera's forgiveness and exit from my life.

I do not like logic. It is normally against me. I don't really want to talk to Sera right now, either. I don't want to talk to her, full stop. She'll come to me, talk to me, convince me to talk to her. She always does.

Of course, the Reaping is soon. I have several hours to kill. Normally, I'd spend this time with Sera. It would be tense, and there would be something inherently sad about it, but we would have each other. And that would be how we held each other together.

But not today. I won't lose this. I don't lose. It isn't something I do. I don't need Sera. I need her like I need a gaping head wound. I need her like I need the knife in my ceiling. Gods, I hate that knife.

I hated Otto's urgency as she pressed it into Yumi's hands before pressing an equal kiss to her lips. I hated my father's soulless eyes as he dropped a box of Yumi's things on my lap. I hated the message at the bottom of that box.

I hate that message.

I twist the tap violently enough that it must have bruised my hand. What a shame. The tap drips for a moment, then realises it's done with its job and ceases. The ensuing silence is decidedly agitating. It is broken by the sound of the door creaking open.

I will not look in the mirror. I will not acknowledge who is staring back at me, and I especially will not acknowledge who is behind me. I bring my hands behind my head, gathering my hair into one area.

I make sure to keep my eyes closed. I slide my hairband off my wrist and wrap it once, twice, three times around my ponytail until it is tight and stays in its place just behind where my head curves. I drag the towel across my face, mildly hoping it'll miraculously turn into steel wool.

I push past the man with the unshaved face and uncombed hair. I do not speak to him. He has missed his chance. He lays a hand on my shoulder.

The father makes some semblance of an attempt to speak to his daughter. The daughter coldly brushes away her father's hand.

My gait is not hurried, but most would fall behind. I don't know where I'm going. I suppose I'll find out when I get there. More people are around now. Most of them are Peacekeepers.

Preparing for the yearly slaughter, of course. It's a miracle Annie won the last. The poor girl snapped like a twig the minute Moor was beheaded. I don't blame her.

We were... not friends. Never friends. I knew her. It wouldn't be right to say that I know her. But we interacted, and I didn't hate her. She's how I knew him.

I remember how she trembled in the chair she looked too small in when her other friends rushed in to wish her luck and comfort her. He would have loved to, but mentors aren't allowed to.

I don't envy her. Or him. Nothing good came of their victories, aside from the food parcels for District Four. He's off in the Capitol being treated like an object, and Annie is... hopefully still breathing.

Perhaps I should visit her. There was far too much screaming coming from her house in Victor's Village for a woman who lives alone the last time I tried to check on her, though. It's best that I stay away.

Seth is about her age, I believe. They've never once held a conversation, but Seth has a way of speaking without his voice. He is very regular with his visits to her.

He looks almost identical to his sister. Messy blonde curls that spill easily into his eyes and tie themselves into knots around his ears, dulled-gold irises, a constellation of freckles across his nose and cheeks, a solid, strong build. One of their very few physical differences is his facial hair, which isn't much more than some thicker patches of fuzz at the moment.

I'm told he's very handsome by his many fans. I don't see it. He's just a male version of Sera, so feasibly I should be able to see it, but it just doesn't appear to me. Perhaps it's his lack of everything that I find sweet about her. Sera's face in my vision every day for almost two decades could have warped my perception of what "good-looking" is...

Most people assume Seth is mute or deaf or both, but he turns when someone talks to him, and he responds with a mumble or vague noise if I ask him something.

Seth is... strange. He's oddly fascinated by seaweed and the like, wasting all his free time poking at samples of it pulled up of fishing trips. He doesn't feel anything until it's applied tenfold, and even then, it doesn't appear to bother him. He'll just stare at people if they talk to him.

He talks to his friends the most. They adore him. It's understandable, with his inexplicable odd charm. It was easy to assume at first that they were just acting like they liked him because they found it funny.

They're genuine, though. They gather, the five or so of them, without him occasionally. I once walked past them as they were talking, and he was mentioned many times.

They talked about how odd it was that he knew so much about seaweed, but changed it immediately by talking about what he knew and how interesting it was. They discussed if they should bring Seth along to an event, mainly debating if he would enjoy it. One of them mentioned a rock Seth had given him, holding it out and praising it.

I don't consider myself jealous. It made me wonder for a moment if that was how the people who knew me talked about me when I wasn't present. I felt relieved for a moment. I am not one to try to deny facts, however.

I'm not blind. I saw the glares Seth's friends gave me.

One of them was Otto's younger brother, Oswald. She had two, him and a boy named Fayrouz, who's now about thirteen. He hates me now, but I would sometimes see him when Otto came over to talk to Yumi.

I remember her fairly well, although I didn't know her as greatly.

Otto loved green and wore a lot of it. Mainly deep sages, but I'd occasionally see her wearing an almost blindingly lime shirt. She was one of the fishers and had the build to match. Her burnt umber skin was lined with scars, especially her hands, and her whole body rippled when she flexed.

She had distinctly sharp features, much like the Esthel twins. Unlike them, though, her caramel-colour gaze could easily cut diamond. Her face was also more square, drawing attention to her high, ever-bruised cheekbones. She would always wear her black, curling hair in a low ponytail.

Oswald and I talked a little then, while our sisters were busy with their schoolwork and their gossip. He's a nice enough guy. Or, he used to be, anyway. He has a lot of friends. Sera is one of them.

He's very fond of her. She's ushered me out of her house so she can talk to him before. It makes sense. He detests me, and Sera likes him for some reason, so she keeps us separate.

Mechi sometimes brings up how Ozzie being alone with Sera doesn't bother me, but them being alone does. I don't really have anything to address that. I can't really take him seriously, I guess. I know I'll never have to worry about Sera preferring him to me.

He looks just like Otto. His hair is curlier than hers, and he keeps it cut short, but very similar. His eyes used to have her same piercing quality, but now they smoulder when I look at him. He didn't use to try to look like her.

It's for the opposite of the reason I keep my hair long, I'd imagine.

When Yumi died, it was like his older sister had died all over again. But at least there was someone he could rightfully blame. He likes it when we're partnered together in training. Especially when weapons get involved. He never wins, but he doesn't care.

Yumi's swap was considered "a shock" and "a display of friendship." Mine was called "a tragedy" and "unjust" and "stealing."

Otto loved Yumi deeply. And then Yumi was called, and Otto couldn't imagine life without her. So Otto took Yumi's place without a moment's hesitation. Yumi was comforted and consoled, and Otto was mourned as a dead woman.

Yumi cared for me. And then I was called, and Yumi felt that I was her responsibility. So Yumi took my place without a moment's hesitation. I was scowled at and disregarded, and Yumi was mourned as a loss.

It's not unfair, not exactly. Yumi was all kinds of excellent, but Otto was different. Colder, but still as caring. Less patient, but still as willing to listen. She gave solutions when presented with problems.

I remember her voice being smooth and warm. Much like someone else's. I didn't cry at her funeral, either. Rumi Erudite doesn't cry.

There was so something so utterly tragic about Otto.

It doesn't matter, not anymore. She's dead.

Ah. So my destination was the beach. Logical. It's nice this time of year. Victors will often stop here on their tours.

I don't feel anything when I sit down in the sand, just ahead of where the waves lap at my feet. I don't want to get saltwater on these shoes. And I don't like the way the waves move. I don't like the way they're getting closer to me.

Some part of me laughs at that. They're waves. They can't be malicious. They can't be cunning. They can't be evil. They can't... hate...

I shake that away and shuffle further up the beach.

It would be nice if I could feel what I felt three hours or so ago. It would also be nice if I could describe that feeling. It's childish that all I know is that I feel it with Sera, childish that I know nothing of my own emotions.

I wish my appreciation of the sunsets and sunrises wasn't linked to Sera. I wish my best memories didn't involve her. I wish that I didn't feel short of breath when she laughs.

I wish, I wish, I wish...

How childish. How naïve. How old am I, really? That I'm stuck wishing and hoping and whining? I hate that. I hate it all. I hate Sera.

I stare out into the ocean. I normally try to identify the boats on the water, but it's all been put on hold for the Reaping. The ocean surface is empty. It's slightly odd. It's very much non-standard, but it isn't alien.

It's sort of like when the birds all fall silent and leave the skies when a storm is brewing. It's not like it isn't normal. It's just not a good sign.

No boats means a child of District Four dies.

I remember when Sera would come home from storms. If she was caught in one, it'd be because they blew in before they could react. I'd wrap a blanket around her shoulders as she laughed about how she had been thrown overboard and hauled back on more than once.

I've noticed a pattern with Sera. Every time something bad happens to her, she just... starts joking. It's like she can't take it seriously. She refuses to acknowledge her own injuries. I'll usually have to drag her over to Cod. The only time she's taken herself there was when she accidentally cut off part of her ring finger while chopping carrots, and even then, she still tried to deflect it as okay for about thirty seconds. She worries me sometimes.

One night after a storm, Sera didn't laugh. She knocked on my door and waited where she would normally just let herself in. Even when I answered, she just stood in front of the door, dripping wet from the pouring rain with her head hanging. I could barely hear her when she asked to come inside.

I wonder if it's possible to purge memories. The ones after Yumi's death are all blurred. Those aren't gone, though. I want them gone entirely, so I wouldn't even know that I was remembering them strangely.

Alas.

The ocean's calm, at least.

"Rumi." I jump slightly. The newcomer's soft voice surprised me, somehow so much louder than everything else. I glance at the sky instead of her. The light's changed. I have no idea how long I was staring out at the mostly-flat ocean.

I identify her by the stitching at the hem of her shirt as I turn to watch the ocean again.

"Figured I'd find you here," Mechi says vaguely.

"Yes, well..." I respond, equally non-specific.

There is more silence. I assume Mechi is admiring the sea.

"You made her cry, you know," she says after a few minutes.

"Okay." Mechi sighs.

"Showed up on our doorstep," she furthers.

"Okay." Mechi shifts next to me.

"She was bawling her eyes out about how she upset you. She blames herself for every little thing you do, you know."

"That seems like her problem."

"Gods, Rumi, don't you care? You're her best friend," Mechi says, irritated. I finally turn to her so I can glare at her.

She's exactly as she always is. Blank. Mechi does not show her emotions much. It's not deliberate, I don't think.

"Why should I care about what Sera blames herself for? Why should her issues be mine, too? When did I agree to that?" Mechi flexes her hands.

"When you became her friend, that's when," she says, maintaining her composure. I turn away from her. Mechi sighs again. "It's sort of difficult to calm her down when she gets like that, you know." I do know. I've known Sera for longer than she has. I hate it when people act like they know her better than me.

"She loves contact, yeah?" Mechi continues. "Likes having her hair fixed, likes being hugged, likes being held. She loves to have somebody wrap their arms around her." Mechi pauses for a moment. "Affection. From someone she trusts. That's all she really needs."

There's another long pause between the two of us.

"To make her feel safe again. You know how it is."

She's saying all that like she did it. That's all oddly intimate for someone who's just her friend. Mechi's not close to her like I am. I'm the only one who's allowed to do things like that. That's what I do with Sera, not her. That's ours, not hers. And I don't like what she's implying with that snarky little last comment. The sand crunches in my clenched fists.

"You're too cruel to her. You're on a good path to lose her, you realise." She really thinks she knows what she's talking about, doesn't she? "I can tell when she's upset. I can tell when she's scared. I know how she gets when you get angry."

Oh, of course. Because Mechi knows everything, apparently. She acts like this sometimes, like she's the smartest person in all of Panem. She acts like she's so much better than me.

Sera doesn't "get" anything when I'm angry. She knows it's not really her fault. It's not even directed at her most of the time. I always apologise to her afterwards, too. I hate to see her upset. Which I recognise better than Mechi.

Mechi doesn't have any right to assume things about me and Sera. She knows far less than I do. And she's making me angry. I bet she's doing it on purpose so she can lie some more and say that I'm always like this. Fine then. If she wants me to be angry, I'll get angry.

"Really?!" I snap at her. She doesn't flinch. "You really have the audacity to say that?! I've known Sera for fifteen years! You've known her for - for not even a third of that! Do you think you're even remotely capable of knowing her like I do?! Do you really think that you - "

"She says you scare her sometimes," Mechi says levelly, cutting me off. "She says you aren't really yourself."

I don't scare Sera. We're friends. She's not scared of me. She knows me. Maybe... maybe once, years ago, I did scare her, but we talked about that! And besides, she'd tell me if she was afraid of me. She wouldn't tell Mechi instead. She wouldn't hide her feelings from me. She wouldn't betray me like that.

I know Mechi's lying. She's doing it to make me angry. Sera would never betray me. Sera would never say that I'm not myself. She knows me. She knows who I am. She's the only one who does.

Mechi is a liar.

"You've got an excellent tactic right now, actually," she says, still daring to speak. "You're absolutely awful to her, then you tell her you care about her and act so sweet about it." How dare she. How dare she. I'm not. I'm not anything she says I am. I'm nothing she says I am. She's everything she says I am, if anything! She's the -

"What, are you just going to sit there and get redder?" Mechi prods. She's waiting for me to come to any kind of a conclusion on my own. I have a conclusion for her. I have so many conclusions for her, and right now, a lot of them end in her blood decorating the sand.

"You don't know anything about us!" I shout, going in the least violent direction. "I care about Sera! More than you ever could! And I -"

"You're doing such a great job manipulating Sera, Rumi."

She's so pretentious. She's so smug. She's so proud of herself. She thinks she knows me. She thinks she knows Sera. Sera is my friend, not hers. Sera spends the most time with me. Sera is mine.

She's mine, all mine. Mechi should give in. She's mine. She's not Mechi's, she's not Tyra's, she's not any of those stupid boys', she's definitely not Ozzie's. She's mine.

"That's why she's afraid," Mechi says, so quietly. I must have said all that out loud. I don't care. It's true. She knows it's true. And she knows she's lying.

Something breaks. Some restraint I was keeping, it's gone. She thinks she can say all that. All that without consequence. She thinks that because she's just oh so important, she can do whatever she wants.

I wasn't raised to take disrespect like that. I wasn't trained to tolerate attitude like hers. And I won't.

I strike her, hard. It knocks her over, and she cries out. I stand. She rubs the side of her face. She looks up at me. Where have I seen that expression before..?

I don't care. I don't care.

"Stand up," I snarl. She's afraid. She's cowering at my feet. She didn't expect to be hit.

Something tugs at me, at the back of my mind. I ignore it. I demand that Mechi stands up again. This time, she obeys. I hit her again. It doesn't... do as much this time.

I hit her with just as much force. I think.

I punch out at her again, but she brings her guard up and blocks it. I am abruptly reminded that Mechi has had nearly identical training to me. She sends a violent blow into my cheekbone, causing me to tear up.

I punch her in the teeth on my rebound. Her hand instinctively flies to her mouth. I take my opportunity and kick her knee, knocking her down.

I bring my own knee violently into her face.

It doesn't occur. So I bring my own knee violently into her face.

Don't I? She's at the perfect angle for it. It would probably break her nose. So I bring my own knee violently into her face.

But I don't. I stand. Useless. Mechi looks up at me. She swipes the back of her hand across her mouth, stepping up and away from me. Her face softens.

"I can tell you aren't trying," she says quietly. She doesn't even have a lisp. "You don't really want to hurt me. You're just angry."

"Shut up," I hiss. There's a good, cold fury in my voice. Mechi's expression is one of pity.

"You only did that because you hate that what I said was true."

How many times do I have to tell her? How many times do I need to bruise her? How many times do I need to split her lip?

She is a liar. I love Sera. I don't hurt her. I hate hurting her. I don't mean to. I mean it every time, and I regret it so much more every time. Something in me always whispers that she deserves it. Something in me is wrong. Some part of me is broken.

I must be doing something stupid with my face.

"You need to go talk to her. She loves you, Rumi. And you keep on breaking her heart," Mechi says, her voice weak and wavering. I mishear what she says next. I must've.

Because otherwise, Mechi just said that Sera is going to die.

Mechi wipes one of her eyes.

"I tried to talk her out of it. She said she didn't have a choice." Something icy spreads in my chest.

"She's rigged the Reaping, Rumi. For you. It's going to be her. I don't know why. She could have done anything else." Mechi is lying. Again. She must be lying. She must be. The ice creeps up my spine.

"Does she have a death wish?" I demand, although it's more desperate and pathetic and on the verge of tears than actually demanding. Mechi laughs, cold and hollow.

"Same thing I asked her," she mutters. "She didn't tell me. She just gave me this sad smile." I grab her, seizing her by the collar. The ice reaches my arms. I will not let go of her until she tells me the truth. Mechi reaches up to try to free herself, her hands landing on my wrists.

"I don't believe you," I hiss, more strangled than I would have liked it to be. It's true. I don't believe her. I won't believe her. I don't want to. Mechi shakes her head.

"It's what she told me, Rumi," she says, voice low.

My veins freeze over.

"It's my fault that she knew," Mechi says, shame colouring her face. "I overheard a guy we know, I forgot his name, bribing Papa to rig it to be you." Mechi squeezes my arms tighter.

"He accepted. Because he's shameless," she mutters angrily. "So I told Sera, because what else was I supposed to do? Let her watch you die?" she spits. Her words boil with anger and resentment.

"She got him to make it all her name," she says, some of the hate leaving her voice to make room for defeat. "He wouldn't listen to me when I asked him to just drop the whole thing."

Tears drip down her face as her posture weakens.

"He hates the Kaishurrs. He was basically being paid to kill one of them," she says. "I don't know what she's planning to stop you from volunteering, but Sera's smart. She's going to be in the Games." I release her, staggering back. I am cold. I am unnaturally cold, on this nice, warm morning.

The ocean laughs at me.

The ice does not release its horrible grip as my body starts to move. Mechi moves out of the way as the beach rushes past, the sand giving way to earth and the earth giving way to concrete.

My chest tightens. I can't breathe.

My feet carry me forward. I can't see. All I can hear is my heart hammering in my ears. And Mechi's awful words, echoing over and over again.

She's going to die. She's going to die. She's going to die. She's going to die, and it's my fault.

I can't go fast enough. My top speed is not fast enough. I am not strong enough. I can't save her. We're both going to drown.

Blood is spreading through the water like a grim plume. Rain is cutting into us like knives. I can't save her. I can't save her. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can't. I can'tIcan't. Ican'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan'tIcan't.

WhyisnobodyherewhyisnobodyhelpinguswhyisshenotbreathingwhyamIuselesswhyamIworthlesswhycan'tIsaveherwhywhywhywhywhypleasepleasepleaseI'msorryI'msosorrypleaseopenyoureyespleaseplease -

A scream tears at my throat, but it comes out as a stream of bubbles, and comes back in as suffocating, surrounding water. Every desperate, sprinted step hurts. Everything hurts. My clothes feel heavy. Seawater burns my eyes and nose.

We will drown. We will drown, and it is my fault. She hadn't insisted. I had a choice. We will die. I am drowning. I am drowning. I am drowning.

I can't breathe. I can hear the ocean. Crashing waves. Dragging me down with no remorse. No mercy. No care.

Water roars in my ears. It hates me. It's always hated me. It let me feel safe for a long time, so I'd let my guard down. So it could kill me. It's docile when I see it, when the sun shines.

It shows me its true nature when it storms. It shouts at me, comes for me, hungers for me.

I fear it. Not when I am not alone. It doesn't dare touch me when I am not alone. But I know how cruel it truly is. It hates.

It consumes me. It swallows me whole and does not notice. It does not care what it is doing to me. It does not care how it seeps the life from me.

I can't move fast enough.

She comes into focus. Her face. Her head. Her mouth. The blood around her. The blood on the docks.

She turns to face me. I see her eyes widen. Through my pain and my rain and my desperation, I see her.

My arms come around her body. We fall to the ground. The solid, dry ground. I fall into blood-spoiled blonde curls and the forever poisoned scent of petrichor and saltwater and rotting wood and blood and exposed bone and desperate screaming and tear stained cheeks and regret and pain and lasting injuries and warm nights and happy embraces and death and love and loss.

I'm sorry, I tell her. I'm so sorry.

[cboffshore]

ooooh we got a bingo here!!

open tag! if you see this post, it's fair game!!!

Thank you for the tag @theblueeyedfirebender (any FMA-blog followers, check out this blog!)

I mainly write for LoZ (ao3), but on an older AO3 account (no I will not be linking it) I've written for Supernatural and Sherlock (mostly trash one-shots when I used to take commissions).

@snail-studios, @hero-of-the-wolf, and @gracieelinn, I put a clean bingo sheet below so fill one out if you'd like! ❤️

[lady-iizsil]

Wip Wednesday

I shall tag some of my beloved mutuals and follows: @average-crazy-fangirl @vanilleeistee @skyrim-forever @arnaerr @c4your-blog @blackmetalsnake @lucien-lachance @ctrl-altmer-del

This is my first Wip Wednesday! I've been viewing and enjoying a lot of others' and I thought it was about time I tried to join.

I'm on a string of doing redraws of my old pieces from 2018-2021, when I was primarily drawing on ibisPaint X on my phone, and posting for Amino. This time my sights were on my Priestess of Azura/Champion, Vermotha Ossa.

I have so much fun drawing her, like she's a shard of the night sky itself. I'm liking the setup of this piece so far and trying to expand a *tiny bit* past simple portraits and include more body. I could probably dump more about her on another post but for now, I'll leave it there and try to be proud of my progress.

Ty for your time everyone 💜

[cboffshore]

guess what time of year it is? like, for realsies?

That's right. Once the leaves hit the sidewalk... OSSAS work hits the Google doc. (yes, this is Witness. No, the Witness c1 opener prologue thing from July was a special case and doesn't qualify for OSSAS open season.)

[kon-igi]

SE TRENTA MI DÀ TANTO

Ieri sera in privato ho avuto un bel scambio di punti di vista con @nusta (che taggo non per questo ma perché geograficamente interessata dall'argomento di questo post... quando ci arrivo!) fondamentalmente vertenti sulla mia frase 'una ragazza che ha terminato la transizione FtM' (N.d.A - Female To Male, da femmina a maschio).

Giustamente, lei mi ha fatto notare (in modo non polemico ma riflessivo) che la mia frase - sintetica per necessità di 'colpo di scena' - era scorretta perché la persona 'era ragazza già prima a prescindere dalla transizione che ha solo "esplicitato" la sostanza' e che purtroppo in alcuni ambiti digitali non cis questo errore mi avrebbe potuto valere un'aspra reprimenda se non addirittura un attacco diretto.

Non conosco tutte le sfumature espressive del movimento trans e per le mie limitate esperienze devo dire che ho trovato persone molto accondiscendenti verso gli inevitabili errori da parte del sottoscritto ma non dubito che come in ogni ambito si sviluppi una frangia molto agguerrita che per inclinazione o principio si possa triggerare a prescindere (gradito spiegone dalle persone trans che mi leggono).

Il punto del post è che adesso tratterò in modo leggero e simpatico un argomento molto importante che per il suo impatto sulla vita di tutti noi credo sarà inevitabile scateni una polarizzazione tra i vari diversi attori della questione...

LE CAZZO DI ZONE URBANE CON IL LIMITE DEI 30 KM ALL'ORA PER I VEICOLI A MOTORE

Bologna li ha già resi operativi (da cui il tag per Nusta)

e qua comincia la polarizzazione con schieramento in trincea tra:

AUTOMOBILISTI

MOTICICLISTI

CICLISTI

PEDONI

Io per natura animale e istintiva appartengo al primo gruppo perché per il secondo conosco la traumatologia clinica ortopedica, per il terzo non ho sufficiente energia e per il quarto mi pesa il culo e/o odio aspettare i mezzi.

In un mondo ideale fatto di amore per il prossimo e di oculata scelta dei propri ritmi di vita, questo post non avrebbe ragione di esistere perché un ambiente urbano dove i mezzi non superano i 30 km/h è salutare per le ossa di chi non sta dentro la macchina e per la salvaguardia mentale e polmonare di tutti

MA

qualche mese fa sono andato alla discarica di paesello a portare alcune cose e mi sono accorto che la polizia municipale stava allestendo il telelaser sulla curva di una strada dove c'era il limite di 30 km/h... ovviamente sapevo che al ritorno li avrei trovati lì, tutti frementi e puntanti, quindi prima del cartello di divieto ho frenato e ho cominciato a tenere quella velocità.

Li vedevo piccoli laggiù in fondo al rettiline prima della curva...

Li vedevo piccoli...

Li vedevo piccoli e non si ingrandivano...

Piccoli ma mi puntavano addosso il cannone laser della Morte Nera...

Piccoli ma quasi vedevo i loro occhi cattivi e desiderosi che mi scappasse il piede sull'acceleratore... accelleratore che stavo premendo con la punta dell'alluce, delicato come se stessi disattivando 50 chili di plastico su un biplano senza carburante in picchiata dentro a un vulcano in eruzione.

A un certo punto ho pensato 'Vabbe'... adesso metto in folle, scendo e la spingo!'

Dopo un intervallo di tempo pari a quello di una vecchia che cerca gli spiccioli alla cassa del supermercato, finalmente li supero e penso 'Credo che oggi i conti del mio comune non solo andranno in pari ma si compreranno pure il Manchester City dagli arabi...' perché qua ve lo dico con il succitato amore di prima

A LIVELLO NEUROANATOMICO È FISICAMENTE IMPOSSIBILE RIUSCIRE A TENERE UNA VELOCITÀ SIMILE SENZA FARSI VENIRE UNA NECROSI AL TIBIALE ANTERIORE, SENZA STACCARE GLI OCCHI DAL TACHIMETRO O - E QUA PARLO PER ME - BESTEMMIARE TUTTO IL CALENDARIO FACENDO IL GIRO DELL'ANNO IN 10 SECONDI.

Ora lascio la parola a tutti i pedoni e i biruote, che amo in modo indistinto e che vorrei sempre protetti dalle paure delle ipocondrie, dai turbamenti che da oggi incontreranno per la loro via, dalle ingiustizie e dagli inganni del loro tempo e dai fallimenti che per loro natura normalmente attireranno...

Però nessuno mi toglierà l'impressione che i 30 km/h vengano usati per far abbassare la velocità media dai 90 perlomeno ai 50, visto che qua in Italia i numeri dentro ai cartelli tondi col bordo rosso sono solo un suggerimento. E sempre per gli altri.

P.S.

Prevengo chi mi dirà che nell'impatto a 30 km/h con un autoveicolo il pedone avrà il 90% di probabilità di non avere lesioni mortali, contro il 60% dei 50 km/h e il 20% dei 70 km/h. Lo so bene perché ne ho curati parecchi.

[cboffshore]

pal I think we're on the same frequency here

Meme for @cboffshore 's OSSAS

[lyntergalactic]

things i'm screaming about as i do achievements in gw2 soto:

- we pick up arina's dog tag in a pile of bones but don't get to tell frode???

- the dude lyhr is talking about during the skywatch archipelago meta is the same dude who gave lyhr the waylit lantern and is apparently looking for him now???

- turai ossa was a wayfinder??

there are so many little story threads they're setting up for themselves and i am so excited to see where they go

[poetryvamp]

Dark academia book tag

i found this tag years ago, i dont remember where. I wrote and answered questions in my journal, I thought it would be nice to do it here too.

Whats your favourite Dark academia book?

absolutely If We Were Villains and The Queen's Gambit

2. What dead poest would you like to have a drink with ?

I think i would like to join a coffe with Edgar allan poe, and talk about life.

3. Whats your favourite painting or sculpture

Probably all caravaggio arts and Cupid and Psyche by Antonio Canova

4. Whats your favourite architectural marvel

I am very fascinated by the monuments found in Scotland, especially in Edinburgh. But also the church of San Bernardino alle ossa in Milan.

5. What Schekespere play would you want to be the lead in?

onestly i dont know, im not a huge fan of William Shekespeare, i prefere other authors

6. What language would you most like to learn?

Russian

restudy French

japanese

german

7. whats your favourite quote ?

"She lives in poetry she cannot write " by Oscar Wilde

[sleepyburito]

Rating: Mature

Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M, Multi

Fandom: 崩坏：星穹铁道 | Honkai: Star Rail (Video Game)

Relationships: Dr. Ratio (Honkai: Star Rail) & Original Character(s), Aventurine/Dr. Ratio (Honkai: Star Rail), Boothill (Honkai: Star Rail)/Original Character(s)

Characters: Dr. Ratio (Honkai: Star Rail), Original Honkai: Star Rail Characters, Background & Cameo Characters, Aventurine (Honkai: Star Rail), Boothill (Honkai: Star Rail)

Additional Tags: Bathing/Washing, Platonic Relationships, Platonic Soulmates, Gossip, Kink Negotiation, kind of, Implied Sexual Content, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Dialogue Heavy, Banter, Comfort No Hurt, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Humour , Attempt at Humor, Drabble

Language: English

Pheme (Greek: Φήμη, Phēmē; Roman equivalent: Fama), also known as Ossa in Homeric sources, was the personification of fame and renown, her favour being notability, her wrath being scandalous rumours

A good bath with some interesting conversations.

[cboffshore]

Are we taking self-promo here? I'll toss my Nya-centric Skybound gap filler series into the ring and be on my way (you'll need to log in to read it, btw) before you can give me an answer.

Why is it so hard to find Nya fanfics on ao3😭😭 I've been searching and its just the others, do I have a skill issue or something🥲 If anyone has any good Nya fics pls share 🙏

[sasdavvero]

San Valentino 2022

[italiano: Ao3/EFP - English: Ao3]

OC FlashFic

Pairing: Salvatore/Niccolò

Tags: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Grief, Implied Character Death, Cemetery, Conversation with a Tomb

-

Il freddo di febbraio gli ghiacciava le ossa.

Non faceva troppo freddo, ma Salvatore l'aveva sempre sentito molto, il freddo, sempre, sempre, e anche ora non riusciva a sopportarlo, si strinse nel misero giacchetto di pelle che indossava, tirò su a coprire il naso la sciarpa blu a scacchiera che gli avvolgeva il collo, continuò a camminare.

Non che ci fosse molto da camminare, il Cimitero Monumentale di Milano era giusto fuori la fermata della metro viola, lì, si salivano le scale e si entrava nella grande piazza vuota, negozietti di fiori sparsi al suo confine, poca gente circolava a piedi, il traffico era sempre lo stesso.

Tutto era sempre uguale.

Salvatore sospirò, camminando verso l’entrata, il mazzo di fiori che aveva in mano pesava in un modo impossibile, sette rose rosse, aveva letto online che serviva un numero dispari in un giorno come quello, lui non se ne intendeva, ma il sette era un bel numero.

Chissà.

Il Cimitero era vuoto, poche, poche persone, lui si muoveva in automatico, come se fosse andato lì chissà quante volte.

Una sola prima di quella, eppure, la strada alla sua tomba gli era rimasta impressa da quel momento.

C’erano dei bei fiori gialli, alcuni rosa, non li conosceva, gli dispiaceva toglierli.

Le rose ci sarebbero state bene, lì.

Si chinò a poggiare il suo mazzo vicino a questi, rimase chinato davanti alla tomba.

Niccolò Gentile.

Sorrise.

“Ciao,” parlò al vento che soffiava, al silenzio dei morti, “mi sei mancato.”

“Io tutto bene, so… non lo so, tutto un casino, ma tutto bene, le cose si sono calmate, credo, non mi ricordo il tempo, eppure, va tutto bene, o andrà tutto bene, non lo so.”

“Non so bene a cosa credere, tu che mi dici? Dici che riuscirò mai a far passare tutto?”

“Non lo so.”

“Mi manchi, mi manchi non sai quanto, ho paura di dimenticarti, così tanta paura che non lo so nemmeno io, sai? Ascolto quelle canzoni che mi hai fatto sentire e ti penso di continuo.”

“Non penso che sia passato un giorno senza piangere pensando a te, magari oggi è quello buono.”

Dal bruciore dei suoi occhi, dal tremore della sua voce, Salvatore non pensava davvero che quello sarebbe stato il giorno.

“Ho già detto che mi manchi? Perché mi manchi.”

“Penso di averti amato, o almeno mi piacevi, o almeno… almeno avrei voluto provare con te, no? Provare ad avere qualcosa di vero, no?”

“Tu invece?”

Sorrise. “Mi sa che non lo saprò mai davvero.”

Premette i palmi delle mani agli occhi, tirò su col naso, e scostò le lacrime dal suo viso. 

Si alzò in piedi. “Ti amo, credo, forse no, ma mi piace pensarlo, mi aiuta a stare meglio e peggio, sai? Buon San Valentino, ci vediamo… la prossima volta che avrò coraggio.”

[weirdesplinder]

Ecco la mia recensione del libro fantasy utopico/distopico BLOOD OVER BRIGHT HAVEN, di M. L. Wang (inedito in italiano)

 Romanzo singolo non facente parte di nessuna serie.

 Link affiliato: https://amzn.to/47q0Mxu

 Trama: The first woman ever admitted to a prestigious order of mages unravels a secret conspiracy that could change the practice of magic forever. For twenty years, Sciona has devoted every waking moment to the study of magic, fuelled by a mad desire to achieve the impossible: to become the first woman ever admitted to the High Magistry at the University of Magics and Industry. When Sciona finally achieves her ambition and becomes a highmage, she finds her challenges have just begun. Her new colleagues are determined to make her feel unwelcome – and, instead of a qualified lab assistant, they give her a janitor. What neither Sciona nor her peers realise is that her taciturn assistant was not always a janitor. Ten years ago, he was a nomadic hunter who lost his family on their perilous journey from the wild plains to the city. But now he sees the opportunity to understand the forces that decimated his tribe, drove him from his homeland, and keep the privileged in power. At first, mage and outsider have a fractious relationship. But working together, they uncover an ancient secret that could change the course of magic forever – if it doesn’t get them killed first.

 Se questo video vi è piaciuto vi piacerà anche:

 Shadow and Bone: nuova serie di Netflix, vi dico cosa penso dei libri da cui è tratta SENZA SPOILER: https://youtu.be/nr0M0NPZbmA

 La mia recensione della serie tv Tenebre e Ossa di Netflix: https://youtu.be/YhiTlq9S8A0

 Recensione a caldo: IL FAMIGLIO di Leigh Bardugo: https://youtu.be/DaCeeSqHsEk

 Vi parlo di Leigh Bardugo sul mio blog: https://weirdesplinder.tumblr.com/tagged/leigh-Bardugo

 Anche io ho scritto un romanzo fantasy: La fiamma del destino https://amzn.to/3pqasAX