#a good place to end?

[turtleblogatlast]

Leo learns something about himself 🏳️‍⚧️

Based roughly on this old post.

Bonus:

[Leo is taking the fact that he was born biologically female simultaneously very well and also not so well but overall he’s mostly coping with the fact that it was Draxum that just essentially gave him the turtle equivalent of ‘The Talk’.]

[gotstabbedbyapen]

It's always "Hades isn't bad or cruel, his deeds are just metaphors of the inevitable death" or "Hades kidnapping Persephone represent the premature death".

But when the argument "Zeus has numerous affairs and many children because he represent the fertile rain" is brought up, all nuance is suddenly out of the window and Zeus is just a womanizer who can't keep it in his pants.

[never-surrender]

Taking a deep breath to steady herself and gather her courage, Aurelia looks to the hand extended to her at first before she hesitantly reaches forward. This was it... there was no turning back now. Settling her fingers delicately upon his palm, Aurelia squares her shoulders and lifts her head high as she looks to Strahd...

The words spoken were unfamiliar to her, but the power they held sent chills down her spine, her mind opening to the possibilities that lay in the power... and as he spoke, she could feel a part of her mind sealing away as power flowed into her. Energy crackled at her fingertips as the bond formed completely, her hair crackling with the same energy at the tips in an almost comical manner.

"Thank you," she smiles a bright, brilliant smile, entirely unaware of just what sort of monster she had just bound herself to. And she would remain unaware until his ire turned unto her... or she spoke with another of his servants.

Following Rahadin, her steps were lighter, her heart alight with joy at what she had accomplished...

She was a new woman...

And she couldn't wait to see what she could accomplish next.

The bird willingly walked herself into the cage and shut the door behind her. It amused him. Watching as another entrapped themselves to him. The quill taken between his fingers he applies his own binding them in a pact. The ink dried. The parchment handed off to Rahadin.

Under the guise of his most loyal servant, no contract of his had ever been taken away. Strahd regarded Aurelia with a courteous smile. His hand extended towards her in a lackadaisical, but confident manner. "Give me your hand, little vampling."

He waited for her to grace her palm into his own. The baron's temperature just as frigid as her own. His eyes never once wavered from hers as he spoke the words. An older dialect that the practitioners of magic in the world outside the Dread Realms.

Between them a bond form. A part of his essence leeched into hers. A tie where she might borrow from his immense wealth of power fractions at a time. He released her hand when it was all said and done. "My end of our agreement fulfilled. Rahadin will show you to your accommodations until I have need to send you out."

[akanemnon]

That's two jailbreaks in one day!

FIRST - PREVIOUS - NEXT

MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[bluerosefox]

Her Astrophel and Sterling

hmmm

Hmmmmmmmm

You know what.

You know those AU's where the Batfam finds or learns about either hidden or thought to be dead Al Ghul Danny! with a deaged/daughter Dani (Ellie) (I should know, I created a few of those storylines) but what if, now hear me out, what if instead of them finding Danny first its Talia.

Do I want Talia discovering her thought to be dead son to be alive? Yes. Do I want her to find him while investigating Amity Park when the League gets reports of 'Lazarus creatures/water'? Yes.

DO I WANT HER TO KNOCK ON THE FENTON'S DOOR, fully ready to pretend/honey talk her way into the house to uncover what the Fenton's know, ONLY TO MEET A LITTLE ELLIE?!

YES.

Ellie whose eyes and hair look like a copy of her Beloved but she can see bits and pieces of herself as well. Talia knows the child in front of her was not fully her's though but everything makes sense when she hears a voice, a voice she hasn't heard in ages but as a mother just knows, speak out.

"Ellie! I thought I said do not answer the door my Sterling."

"But Daddy, yous was busy fighting the hotdoggys!"

Talia's eyes widen when she finally catches sight of familiar black hair and blue eyes.

and she could only lightly whisper a old nickname she hasn't dared uttered in ages, a name she secretly gave her son due to his love of the stars "Astrophel..."

[cy-lindric]

Hi! So, while scroling through Pinterest, i came across this art:

which was credited to you. i cannot find the complet artwork in your profile, so i wanted to ask if youre the artist responsible for this piece.

(btw, your renditions of medieval clothing are beautiful!)

Hello ! I did make this a long time ago and the reason you didn't find it is probably because it's almost a decade old (and also very badly tagged). You can find the original post here. I think back then I had no idea what actual medieval clothing might look like, lol. How far we've come.

[eventheodds]

His brief explanation of a Vash and Wolfwood being inside the Cube is…well, it will take time for her to process that. She’s not entirely certain how that could even work, but if they were able to rescue her in the knick of time before the rope had gone taught, then Meryl is inclined to believe anything can happen.

And, perhaps, for her own sake, the conversation takes a turn that has her both flustered and eager to tell. For whatever reason, it feels easy to talk to Nick. 

He’s given her bait she can hardly refuse.

“I did, actually. He looked very different with his hair slicked back like that, and without his sunglasses.” The gala was an interesting affair to say the least—the entire point of that night had been to follow a lead that would bring her closer to the ones responsible who killed her family. She tells him as much.

“I had done some scouting a few days before the party and heard that a Bernardelli agent would be present that night, so we worked on a plan that would give us a way in while blending in with the others in attendance.”

She remembers that gown from that evening and the jeweled brooch and hair clips, matching in colour with the tule of her gown. 

A pang of pain clenches at her heart knowing she’s lost them, that they were taken from her and whatever else she had been carrying on her person that day was likely confiscated by the Eye of Michael, perhaps discarded the moment she had been thrown into that prison cell.

“I uh,” at this part, she visibly flushes but does not pull herself away from Nick’s side. “I had the idea of him kissing me during the party and it got people talking, paying attention to us. Turns out that little stunt got people interested in other things besides what the gala was for. One man in particular, I don’t even remember his name, ogled Wolfwood like he was a piece of meat and I sort of…went off and we marched out of there. 

“Mission was a complete bust because the agent in question never showed up, but by then I was so worked up I, uh…well, we returned to our room and we…yeah.”

She’s ducking her head, trying to use the cover of her long hair to conceal her face but she knows Nick knows. There is no denying how that night is playing out inside her mind like some kind of film reel; she’s got all the details while she’s only giving him bits and pieces but he looks as though he can fill in those blanks.

He must really love you, huh?

“He was willing to do things for me, sometimes no questions asked and sometimes we fought tooth and nail, but he always let me have my way. It was like he knew I needed to be on that journey to better understand why I couldn’t go through with what I had initially planned. He knew I couldn’t live with myself if I had blood on my hands, and Vash knew this from the start when he—well, he wasn’t with us, but he found ways to make his presence known.”

One of those particular moments was when she had accidentally kneed Wolfwood in the face when Vash suddenly appeared while they were…occupied.

His promise to find them, to help her find them, washes over her like a warm blanket on a cold night. It gives her comfort, the kind she is familiar with and the kind she seeks out when she needs safety.

There is safety in their numbers. Three Wolfwoods, one of which is inside a Cube; three Vash’s, also one inside a Cube; and two Meryls. 

“What you said earlier, how this could be pulling us all together—however that works—maybe when you all came for me, maybe you needed to so that we could all go back and save them.”

Maybe save all of them.

She nods, her eyes getting heavy in knowing that she’s secured a way to go back and rescue Wolfwood and Vash from her world. “Yeah, think I can. You’re joining us, right? Wouldn’t want you to be left out of the cuddle pile.”

Even as Meryl begins to tear up, Wolfwood can't help but chuckle fondly. He raises a hand to palm the top of her head, which is easy considering the large size of his hands compared to Meryl's... everything. When she finishes her thought, Nick ruffles her hair—it can't get worse than how it was earlier, right?

"Hey, maybe it is something larger than humanity that pulls us all together," his hand stills, simply resting for now, "I can tell you that when we travel, we usually end up by one of us from that world—if there is one. Sometimes there isn't one. Though..."

His brow furrows and he chews on his cheek in thought, as though what he's thinking about frustrates him—because it does.

"Princess has mentioned her 'boys' being in there. Dunno how that's possible, but if so, the 'me' that's in there is a total jackass," Wolfwood grumbles. What kind of Wolfwood hands another Wolfwood right to the Eye for torturing again? Seriously—that's just sadistic. Masochistic??? Fucking hell.

Although, Meryl didn't end up any better off. Maybe it was an accident after all. Maybe.

Dick.

Anyway—

Nick can't help but smirk knowingly at the way Meryl trails off and the light pink of her cheeks under the moonlight. He knows exactly how that night went, if that Wolfwood had a pair of eyes. Even right now, wearing his Meryl's clothing, Outlaw is quite beautiful. She's slightly more rugged than his; she's definitely more subdued than his Meryl. Perhaps more emotional too—that could just be due to the circumstances at hand, though.

"How the hell did you make me—him—wear a tie? Don't tell me you messed with his hair too," Wolfwood's tone switches to something more familiar, like when he'd tease Meryl in the van about her taste in coffee or her driving, "Bet you took away his sunglasses too. He must really love you, huh? Even took on the role of doting husband—do you know how hard it is for me to act like a husband? I forget I'm engaged like... at least every other day."

The hand on her head slides down to her shoulder, then he pulls Meryl into a side hug. He lets a soft silence hang as they watch the horizon turn dark blue with approaching sunlight.

"We will find them. Both of 'em," Nick's voice is gentle and kind; it's a feat he somehow managed to practice well enough to comfort others, "For now though... Y'got us. And I'm sure Shortie wouldn't mind another addition to the, uh, cuddle pile. I can ask for you if you want me to."

He knows that the hour Nicholas usually wakes up is coming soon, and they should really head back before he stirs and expects the worst.

"Think you can sleep now?"

[w1f1n1ghtm4r3]

got really in the mood to draw a room so i drew one

[timethehobo]

Nothing’s sad until it’s over, and then everything is.

[cobaltfluff]

goro picks up a clingy nyakiren

[time-woods]

would you believe me if i said this was based off of a minecraft interaction

[antifainternational]

[eg515]

don't you just love it when a series has a good ending that takes care of all of its characters, shows how their futures will look like, ties up all loose ends, reminisces about old times, references important moments from before, and brings back elements of the very first episode, giving a nice frame to the whole series?

[astrowarr]

i honestly don't think grian betrayed scar in the finale at all, even by final killing lizzie and jimmy

grian was abundantly clear from the start who his alliance was with: scar, and scar alone. he outright told scar on multiple occasions not only that his friendship didn't extend to scar's allies, but even that he still intended on killing jimmy as revenge. scar knew full well where grian stood with his teammates; if he didn't know, it was because he was being intentionally ignorant about it.

grian kept his promises. the closest he gets to a betrayal is when he first sets up the trap and says "we could get a triple kill," but even then, he doesn't. he goes to great lengths not to kill scar; after scar has lost his final life, he laments as to how the bloodlust made it so so tempting to just kill scar, but he couldn't because their alliance was "too strong." grian avoids using the bambunker trap until after scar is dead, and says "my only issue with this trap was that i was going to kill scar."

grian didn't betray scar. he went out of his way not to. he lived up to every single promise he made, and he didn't even force scar to feel it. because he knows how badly it hurts to watch everyone you love die in front of you. so he made his intentions clear, and in the end, he even managed to spare scar the survivor's guilt that clings to his hands like blood and gunpowder. a small mercy that was, perhaps

[daphnalia]

and they were galpals

[creekfiend]

Something I've learned recently is that there's multiple ways you can respond when you identify hypocrisy in yourself.... like, supposing you notice that you have treated someone in a way that is not in line with your values. You COULD beat yourself up about it and be like "ugh you hypocrite, you SAY you have x values but then you treated these people in this other way"

Or, and I think this qualifies much better as "taking responsibility for your actions": you can go "huh. I definitely do have x values and believe people should be treated in these ways... and much of the time I am able to behave in ways that are in line with those values... and yet under these specific circumstances I was for some reason not able to do that. Let's look at those situations and people and try to find some patterns there so I can identify what types of scenarios make it hard for me to behave according to my values"

And then when you identify situations like that in the future, you can try and give yourself the time and space to really process stuff and try to remind yourself "this is a situation where behaving according to my values has been difficult in the past" which will help you be more intentional and careful in how you proceed.

Anyway. That's hard but it's a big relief to do because it really feels like being armed with magical knowledge lolol