#The Flowers That Grow in Darkness

[chaospenelope]

Trick r treats

Roxanne: “Okay, Trick! Do a trick for us and then you can have a treat!”

GlamFred: “She jests! Do not worry, you can have all the treats you like.”

GlamChica: “If I do a trick can I finally get some?”

GF: “Chica, there’s plenty of sweets and snacks in the party, what do you need this candy for?”

GC: “Because I’m allowed to eat that. It’s not as tasty!”

[chaoskissymissy]

Bubba may not forget anything but he can definitely get distracted…

[chaospenelope]

KSKSJSLSKSKLASIIS OKAY GENOS-

I'D NEVER SAY NO TO U 🤚

Tagging: @kingkyoujurou @presidentmonica @laudthingcat @kampfkuchen85 @cherrykamado @bxbycake @happygoluckyalexis @tonaken + anyone who wants to <3

[nobeerreviews]

Flowers grow out of dark moments.

-- Corita Kent

[orphic-academia]

[anonyanonymouse]

snowdrops are an officially certified Silver Flower, to me, btw

[prince-liest]

Some of my current blooming orchids! The white one with two flower spikes was a gift from my mom a few years ago and this is its third bloom cycle (and fourth if you count the stalks twice). The yellow one stayed in bloom for nine whole months last time I had it, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

[helenofblackthorns]

Mark calling Julian "my dreamer" & Julian calling Dru "the dreamer" :(

[desultory-novice]

[Trimming for length...!]

...Mechalor Anon, how dare you take my attempts to give them a vaguely implied happy ending and convince me (challenge level: super easy) to turn this into something Truly Horrific... ANYWAY!

Snowflake!Noir and Adeleine, aka...**** ****...

Adeleine, as always, takes up art. She's more unsure of herself, so she's been experimenting with different crafts, trying to find the one that fits...whoever she is now. Noir waits tables at Kawasaki's while learning how to cook from him. He's stuck with his collar but the encroachment seemingly stopped with 02's defeat so...that's good.

[This timeline MUST have a Happy Ending. See? They're even smiling!]

They have a home at Castle Dedede when they're not out...enjo... sorry ENJOYING!! Dream Land; the soft cuddle bear penguin king unable to NOT care about these two in every reality, apparently ^^

Overall, they're not fine. All that shock and trauma in rapid succession, followed by being in communion with a dark power, letting it gently infuse their souls for decades to help escape their awful waking life, only to be very psychically available as it was destroyed and then waking up in a perfectly ALIEN situation that only pushes the two of them closer together is totally not fine though!

Today was another good day...

[Warning: horror, body horror, original attempt at biblically accurate Kirby last boss, semi-realistic eyes, no salvation, character death]

-

:Adeleine smiles wide, hopping onto the large bed where Noir sits:

Adeleine: "Ready?"

Noir: "Only if you're ready to lose two bucks."

Adeleine: "No way! Today was a good day! It's going to work!"

:Adeleine gears up to pry at Noir's collar, trying to break or otherwise remove it from him. It still refuses to budge:

Adeleine: "...Nghhhhhhh!"

:Noir wryly shakes his head:

Noir: "Ready to call it quits?"

Adeleine: "...Noir, are you sure you didn't accidentally glue this thing to you and you've been too embarrassed to tell me the truth?"

Noir: "Says the girl who sewed the shirt she was wearing TO my apron when I asked you to fix the ties on it for me. I didn't know you hated being apart from me that much, Adeleine!"

Adeleine: "No~ir!!"

Noir: "Anyway, no, I didn't and that's two bucks you owe me."

Adeleine: "...I don't have any money. They don't even use it here. Why do you keep betting me? What would you buy, anyway?"

:Noir replies with mock seriousness:

Noir: "...Chiropractic work for all the neck damage you've given me trying this thing every single day."

:She pouts before finally letting a little laugh slip through:

"...Adeleine, listen, it's okay. You don't need to worry about me..."

Adeleine: "It's not okay though! Dark Matter's supposed to be all gone now. Everyone said so. So...why aren't you better, Noir...?"

:A faltering smile to match her growing sadness:

:Keep lying to your sister, boy. You're an expert by now:

Noir: "...I am better. We're both better. Right...?"

"I mean, isn't this place a lot better than home? You're out there painting and sculpting and sewing and building and who knows what else and I'm...making less guests sick at Kawasaki's every day!"

:He laughs a hollow laugh. She doesn't laugh with this time:

"...Just cause this stupid thing is still stuck to me doesn't actually MEAN anything. It's just a boring hunk of metal. Nothing more."

:It doesn't still whisper to him. A thousand lost souls crying out to be one again:

:She crawls into his lap:

Adeleine: "Still...I'm...scared, Noir. I'm scared for us. Nothing feels right anymore... What if, the next time I go to sleep...I wake up someplace new again? What if...it's someplace without you...?"

:He hugs her tight, their shivering bodies fitting together perfectly:

:Why do you shiver, children? It is not cold here. It is too warm:

Noir: "C'mon, snowflake girl. That's not gonna happen anymore. We've stuck together so far and we're going to keep sticking. Right?"

"...And anyway, today was a good day. You said it yourself."

Adeleine: "Yeah..."

Noir: "We just have to keep having good days. Don't let the little things get to us. We've still got each other. ...We can do this..."

:Back to sleep. In sleep, we are safe. Only in sleep. Though... ...They ask us to wake up here They worry when we do not wake up:

--

:Outside the door to their room:

Meta: "...Your majesty."

Dedede: "Whaa?! It's not what it looks like!!"

Meta: "I have no idea what you're implying."

Dedede: "So, uh, what brings ya here, Meta Knight?"

Meta: "The same reason as you, I would suspect. To check on the status of our guests from Shiver Star. How are they?"

:Dedede points inside, where the two siblings sleep cradled in each other's arms, akin to how they were found. Though, it's a little uncanny to see them continue to sleep that way:

Dedede: "See for yourself. Sleepin' peacefully. At least, I hope so..."

:A bit of worry makes its way onto his face:

"...Adeleine's right, Meta. We beat Dark Matter. Twice. Hell, maybe more! Sure, we've had a host of problems since then but Noir's..."

Meta: "Do you believe that, my liege? That we have defeated it?"

Dedede: "What do you mean by that?"

Meta: "...When you look at those siblings, what do you see?"

:Dedede looks back inside the room:

Dedede: "I see two kids. Quiet. Respectful. Scared of trouble but they don't cause any. They mostly stick to each other but I seem 'em out there slowly trying to make friends with the others..."

Meta: "...You are a good man, my liege."

:Dedede balks and puffs up his chest:

Dedede: "That's 'Great' and get it right!"

Meta: "......Then I take it back."

Dedede: "Hey!"

:Meta fixes him with a fierce, burning gaze:

Meta: "Look at them again, sire. Not with your eyes."

Dedede: "......"

:Dedede can see it, their matter is locked in a twisted spiral, Soul and Dark feeding each other, tightly intertwined, and growing still:

Meta: "Do you see it?"

Dedede: "...No. I don't see nuthin'."

:Dedede turns away:

"And before you ask me to look again, I don't WANT to see it. They're just two kids, Meta! Just two small kids! They haven't hurt nobody!"

Meta: "...In the beginning, it was just the boy. He was sick with Dark Matter. I didn't know how he was still alive. He could have easily been a threat to the kingdom and not just because of that sword."

:Meta shuts his eyes, regretting his lapse:

"I...had hoped the presence of his sister could alleviate that some. But Dark Matter is not so easily tamed. It has grown fast, feeding off the two of them. It is already more than twice what a normal member of their species should be able to handle without being consumed."

Dedede: "...Right. That doesn't sound good. How do we stop it?"

:He sees Meta Knight's expression and rephrases:

"...How do we save 'em, Meta?"

Meta: "I believe, my liege..."

:His lowered eyes go to Galaxia's handle:

"...the answer will depend on your definition of 'save'..."

...

Meta Knight's words hung heavy on him.

King Dedede shut his eyes and decided to continue along as if it was nothing. Just...keep making the place as comfortable for the two as he could. Maybe the knight was wrong? Maybe it wasn't too late?

It wasn't long after that. The trigger was something forgettably small, as simple as a thoughtless suggestion or an accident; one of them gets hurt, bleeds a little, maybe. It only needs to be one of them, so inextricably are they linked that the resonance of the other's echoed pain races across Popstar like a sonic boom. Dark clouds swirl in, covering the whole planet, blocking out the star's brilliant light.

King Dedede rushes out. He doesn't want to know-without-question what is the cause this time. He wants it to be something unknown. A new invader; not his familiar tormentor, the foe he knows so well.

But he knows exactly what it is because he is already mouthing the words to a waiting Meta Knight. "The kids! Where are they...?!"

"Look up..."

It is a cruel joke to him. Always, Dark Matter had a way of getting inside him. But every time, it had been his body. Never had it succeeded at invading his heart.

He wishes this one would take his body.

...Take me instead...

But the two violet eyes are not looking at him. They arc laterally with rapid movements, back and forth, back and forth, stretching to the edge of their vision, looking for their other half they know to be there, felt through the comforting grip of tightly twined fingers and hinted at in the reflection of wings like the points of a snowflake...

...

......

-ZERO THREE-

" " yI at kH Ou er Bt ls lN 'o ti Ir " " | " " Dt ol nu ta LF ey aM vl el MA es Ai ls oi nh eT " " | " "It Ji um sm ta WD ad no tG Tp oU Ds rU ee ak ma FW ou ro FY od ri eD vy eh rW" " | " "Hr ee lH pe Hv ia mS" "

"...Give them back..."

"GIVE THEM BACK!!"

" " ...eK di en dg eD De gd ne id Ke... " "

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

...He will not get them back...

-

ZERO THREE's dialogue reads:

"It Hurts Noir / It'll Be Okay" | "Don't Leave Me Alone / This Is All My Fault" | "I Just Want To Dream For Forever / Why Did You Wake Us Up Godammit" | "Help Him / Save Her"

...The last one you can probably guess...

-

Mechalor Anon's full post below. Sorry I took the worst possible ending choice you offered and SOMEHOW MADE IT WORSE!

Noirs Saved: 2 (Gijinka, AU AU) Noirs Failed: 1 (Snowflakes)

[gensokyogarden]

@imperishable-prayers

The bakaneko dodges out of her way but Rumia keeps going. Sickening cracks echo as she dives through the wall of bone sending splinters flying in every direction. She flies a good hundred feet out before starting to turn. Trajectory curving into a parabola as she turns herself around, crashing through a set of trees in the process. The youkai just keeps going like a sort of juggernaut. For a brief moment the sphere opens up. Giving Rumia a brief opportunity to see.

"The earth must not be broken!"

Her gaze narrows on Kaori, target located. The sphere closes again as she begins crashing through the bone projectiles thrown her way. They're barely even slowing her down as she barrels through the air at the cat. As she nears, Rumia blindly curves to the left. An attempt to catch Kaori dodging. She rides the momentum as she spins through the air, forming a spiral pattern in the air as she spirals further and further out.

[stephjacq]

Poppies ✨

[chaospenelope]

My favorite Critters! The Good Boi and the Silly Kitty.

[chaoskissymissy]

Today on my Birthday I will post my favorite Blue Buddy! I would say favorite Poppy PlayTime character but Kissy Missy exists so he’ll have to settle for a draw.

Pictured is the height references between Him and Kissy then below that is him and his dad BlackJack. (Yes in my AUs Huggy is not an orphan.)

[shaakyhaands]

Hear me out:

An Akedian student who knows all the gossip at the academy because they’re always “sleeping” while others are talking.

They’re like, “oh, it’s that Akedian student— they’re always napping in wackass locations, don’t mind them. Anyways, you’ll never believe which S rank I saw in town…”

But that’s the thing: that Akedian student? They’re never actually sleeping. They’re just closing their eyes.

Honestly, it started completely by accident. They were resting their eyes one day, about to genuinely take a nap, when a group of students started talking about their “special spot” in town where they got the best desserts. Not sure what to do, and not really wanting to interrupt them, the Akedian froze. After a few moments, they decided to just roll with it, and faked sleeping.

This happens a few more times, with different groups of students and townies. Soon, the Akedian realizes the interesting opportunity their reputation has inadvertently granted them. Now, what will they do with it?

Overtime, keeping with their scheme, they amass a massive, expansive library of information. Dirt on nearly every student, professor, people in town. S ranks and their valets, nobles, even some kings and queens. It really is amazing, what people are willing to say when they think no one is listening.

Then, an S rank fangirl pisses them off one day. That’s fine enough, happens more often than not. But when then woman starts harassing their familiar, the Akedian sees red. Within a few weeks, the fan girl’s deepest, most secret betrayal is circulating around the campus like wildfire. Her reputation is a wreck, her friendships are broken. How did anyone find out? She never told anyone, only her closest friend…

NGL, I think this student would be a more successful informant than J*sper. Spoilers for J*sper’s route, but that man has a whole ass disguise he has to maintain, plus whatever conversations and situations he finds himself in. He has to extract the information from the target. Meanwhile this Akedian closes their eyes, and the targets start just giving the information willingly.

Some students catch on, but know better than to expose the Akedian. Mainly because for a small fee, they can get whatever information they want.

“Yawwn. Study levitation magic if you want to pass the next exam.”

“Toa’s favourite candy is caramels. He’ll let you sneak out after curfew if you slide him a few, goodnight.”

“Sherry Invidia is growing a marijuana garden with Aquia Avari. Buy from Fenn, he’ll give you a discount.”

Tell me this wouldn’t be a fun character for a story Event??

[wizardofvamp]

Four Seven photos that capture your OCs vibe - Anatol Stamatin

Tagged by: @hlozt! tyty for your patience!!!

Once again running late to the party but lets gooooooo

[angelofsmalldeath-codeine]

So it seems that that text comprehension is a massive challenge these days.

@theywhowriteandknowthings and I have written the most detestable character for our “The Princess and The Duke” series. By the standards of the people who can’t differentiate fictional characters from real people, Vi and I must be vile because we come up with the bad things that character does. The existence of that character is pivotal for the story, for the conflict and we also wanted to reflect that emotional neglect and parental abuse can occur well into adulthood. Do we condone it? NO! Do we want there to be awareness around it? YES!

Morally ambiguous characters, right out evil characters, phoney characters, backstabbing friend characters are all needed for good stories. A protagonist needs an equally strong antagonist. The sanitisation of fiction (and the world in general) through a puritanical filter of censorship is taking us back hundreds of years.

Source: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGeSJXD1G/