#a: hollow point

[what-the-stark]

@zemothethirteenth | Continuing from x

Shit. Tony reflexively caught the stranger's hands as he shut down the combat subroutines that requested authorization at the ineffectual assault. And this, this was what he'd feared when Ultron had made its stand here, what he'd known would happen, even as they fought and bled and died for these people who were innocent of everything but being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The guilt he felt now was an old friend, a familiar ache that flared up at every opportunity, and its return was more than merited today.

Before Afghanistan, he hadn't seen what he truly was before he'd ended up with a hole punched in his chest by the literal labors of his own two hands. The real losses he'd suffered before then hadn't seemed like losses at all. They had been incremental, invisible, each one so small and dark and sharp that they'd lessened him for years, for as long as he'd accepted what he'd thought had been his legacy.

For the people who'd suffered for that apathy, for that ignorance, every injury had been heavy, immediate. Permanent. Tony hadn't noticed his soul was being stolen away until he was forced to against his will, until taking responsibility was no longer a figurative concept.

These people had paid the same price as the others, and nothing he could do would repair the damage, there was no scenario he could envision, no tech he could create, nothing that money could buy to make any of this okay for them.

Part of himself had been left behind in a cave years ago, and today he'd lost an indefinable measure more, hidden among the fragments of earth and stone and flesh that still sifted down from the sky.

"Hey, c'mon. Stop that. Please." Shifting his grip as gently as he could, Tony scanned him — he looked military — and took note of several possible injuries that flared an angry red on his HUD overlay. "I'm so sorry, man. I really am. But you're gonna hurt yourself." Pausing a moment, he retracted his helm, his expression entreating. The guy was clearly in a dark place, and Tony couldn't lose another one if he could help it. "I will totally carry you bridal style over to the camp if you won't come with me. Not even kidding."

[lilybug-02]

City of Tears. But Mini.

I wanted to make an atmospheric art piece with Dewi. And the City of Tears is one of the most sorrowing, beautiful, and grand places to do that. This is a lot of firsts for me regarding the architecture and lighting. The shadows cover a lot, and it may have been too much. I'm happy with how it turned out tho.

No idea how Dewi found his way into the City. Probably magic. Probably plot too :) But oh boy, he is experiencing childlike wonder in his raincoat!

This is a better show of the line detail I needlessly covered up in the final lol

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Lan Wangji goes to Lotus Pier (No relation to the AU of the same name)

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[pyersiki]

Sadieeeeee….

[sharliexth]

to me it is so, so important that the Pale King loves. That the Pale King loved. That we don’t forget that it wasn’t just the Hollow Knight that turned to look to him, but the Pale King who turned to look to the Hollow Knight. His one surviving child.

it is so important to me that he has canonical powers of foresight. Meaning the Hollow Knight’s downfall was at best inevitable and at worst the result of constant denial. Or perhaps, his powers weren’t all that far in the future at all, which begs the question: how late was it until he realized all his efforts were futile?

A universe where the Pale King did not care for his children I find dull. Uninteresting. The story becomes a heartless king who does heartless things. Bland. Expected. I find it so much more compelling to imagine that the Pale King did care. After all, how much could it really mean that there’s “no cost too great” if what he committed cost nothing to him?

I think the guilt of his sealed children ate away at him, much as he tried to keep his mind off of them.

I think he loved the Hollow Knight, much as he tried to make his heart hollow and likewise theirs.

I think as much as he tried, when even the Hollow Knight failed, he fled. The guilt of his children, of the Hollow Knight, of failing his subjects was too great.

The Pale King is noble, wise, selfless. The Pale King is prideful, in denial, cowardly. He is many things but he definitely loved. At least I choose to believe so

[queruloustea]

he's got two hats now (ghost is very impressed that he's not been explode-ified yet) :)

[bunabi]

I'm just frustrated

Running a clone of the 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign, alienating pro-Palestine voters, adopting conservative policies on immigration, doing virtually nothing to distinguish her platform from Biden's despite his unpopularity, what the fuck were they thinking

All of that in tandem with Americans becoming more and more conservative overall & Trump recruiting Kick streamers, Joe Rogan heads, and Elon fans man it just kills me

Posts about her losing primarily because she's a Black woman are so unserious 😭 we cant chalk this one up to misogynoir I fear it was a bad campaign made worse by the sheer momentum of fascism

[dykedvonte]

Curly's little blurb on his steam trading card just keeps reminding me he is a much more miserable person than people realize.

We don't get a lot of his thoughts, inner confliction that aren't bogged down by what Jimmy says or does. Even in the The Last One and Then Another, his dialogue is reflective, not the Curly before the crash but the result of everything. Parts of the him he was are there of course, but also disfigured and warped beyond recognition just like he is physically.

Curly really doesn't think much of himself and desires. He clearly chases fleeting moments of happiness. He doesn't really have prospects for himself, assumes in a similar way to Swansea, that if it should make it happy then he is happy. Though, he hasn't reached the point Swansea did to admit it doesn't. He neither sees the glass half full or empty, it's just water, something he needs and he'll take it from any perspective.

He wasn't running from anything but he's never really been going towards something either. He's listless. I've been using the term complacent to describe how he feels about his life and the closest people (really just Jimmy) in it, but now that word feels too neutral, too nice. Happier than Curly really was. There isn't just one word for it, he's unfulfilled, uncertain, uninspired. There are no active problems he faces and that's the issue, why should he be upset?

I believe he really is a person who doesn't know who he is or wants to be. He follows a structure. I don't think he's suicidal, but he clearly doesn't think about what makes him happy. He's numb. I suppose that is a better word than complacent, used to the feeling even if he hates it. It doesn't hurt so why stop it?

[the-woman-upstairs]

It is driving me…cuckoo bananas that Daniel uses his job as a socially acceptable way to chase the high he used to get from drugs and Armand not only is fully aware of this, but he himself then PROVIDES that very high when Daniel beats him and exposes his lies to Louis.

[littlebittyhollowbugs]

observation of the day~

Each boss in the hall of Gods has a plaque to let you know where they are in the game.

They are all written in first person, even broken vessel/lost kins~

All of them except pure vessel's~

so yeah just a small detail. (that makes me very sad in a way I can't put into words.)

[raptorrobot]

i feel like i'm fighting for my fucking life here

[what-the-stark]

And he was absolutely allowing the baron to wind him up, but maybe he was in the mood for it. The dark urge to indulge in that self-flagellation was something like pressing at a bruise that he just couldn't allow to heal. Saying he wasn't over those events was a vast understatement, and Tony's baseline awareness of who he was since he'd woken up to what horrors had been endorsed by his name told him that he never would be.

"Misguided," he repeated, chuckling, but there wasn't any humor in the sound. "That's one way of putting it. I once thought there wasn't much left of me but guilt. Just a suit, filled to the visor with regrets. After the Accords, I learned better. I still had room enough for hope, apparently. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so disappointed."

Glancing away, the afternoon sun briefly flaring against the lens of his sunglasses, Tony sighed, abruptly feeling the weight of his exhaustion. "So now that we've concluded the soul-searching portion of the competition, I don't suppose you'd care to tell me what you're actually doing here? In a helpfully unambiguous way? I know that's not your usual M.O., but I'm on the clock, and honestly this table is starting to look pretty comfortable."

Tapping his finger against his cup, Zemo raised his eyebrows at Tony's outburst with slight amusement. "I believe you may be projecting your feelings onto my statements rather than stopping to consider what I'm saying, Stark. But as you will."

Taking a sip of his drink, he shook his head. "I'm not implying you don't see yourself clearly. There may have been a time when you didn't, but your experiences forced you to confront that failing in yourself. And I agree, everyone should question your motives. Their questioning of your motives holds you accountable for your actions."

Releasing his cup, he folded his hands together. "But it's very curious that you would wonder why I care about holding people accountable for their actions. Why indeed. After all, who was the one who took responsibility for what happened in Sokovia? Whose name went onto the Accords, faulty as they were? Who was the face of recompense when my home was dealt its death blow?" He tilted his head. "Your actions were misguided, but at least you made an effort, and not only because society lit a fire beneath you, but because your own guilt stoked the flames."

[lilybug-02]

In short- the bugs of Hallownest did not take it well. Lots of screaming about "The end of the world" and "past sins coming back to haunt them". Elderbug almost had his second heart attack and basically every bug, other than the Pale King children and Quirrel, hid for several hours. (Zote likes to claim he was the first to make contact)

As for why Dewi's Dad is in Dirtmouth? Well, he wasn't very happy when his 11 year old son told him about going into a 'mysterious cave' to see his bug friends. Adult supervision and all that.

[headmaster-merle-ambrose]

I shed a tear for my fallen friends.

[thornycanary]

web

[mebis-art-dump]

Attempted as best as I could to clean up Pure Vessel's collar

Also, while we're at it, have some "Pure Vessel's long cape is actually its natural cloak, which simply gets "trimmed" when violently tearing apart its harness"