#and having to go on a journey to get it back without the Commission learning of her hobby

[luimagines]

Oh Captain, My Captain

Another commission!

They asked for FD Warrior who gets seperated from Reader. They paid for the biggest option on my ko-fi and thus... I present this 11 page ditty. :D

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

When Link had joined the group he wasn’t sure what to think of it at first. He had thought this battle would have been similar to the first. He was already familiar with portals and seeing heroes of the past. 

He had already known the Sailor. He was a little bit older than when they last met. He was growing from a boy into a fine young man. That had calmed Link nerves somewhat. He wasn’t in a group of total strangers.

When they had first met, they had all quickly learned that their given name, Link, wasn’t going to work. They would have quickly lost track of who was talking to who and for what.

They had dubbed him The Captain after he had given a general run down of his occupation and his reason for being there. When he had given his title however, there were a few strange stares. No one other than the sailor seemed to know who the Hero of Warriors was. So he tried other names. Hero of Eras. Hero of the War of Eras. Nothing seemed to ring for the lot of them.

The oldest, someone who commanded respect, looked at him for a while longer than he was comfortable with. He couldn’t figure it out for the longest time.

Until he pulled out that accursed mask.

Warrior, as he’s slowly become accustomed to being called, recognized it on sight. His heart stopped and dropped through the crust of the earth. He’s ashamed to admit the amount looks sent the hero’s way afterwards.

The Old Man singled him out after a while and took him aside for a chat. At first, Warrior felt argumentative. He had asked, no, demanded the older hero, none to gently, for the reason that he had that mask.

Ever patient, Time pulled it out and looked at it. He had asked Warrior instead how the other knew about it.

There was a beat of tense silence.

“I once met a boy.” Warrior admits. “He carried that mask religiously. Used it without reservation. The power was breathtaking. It was never meant for him but he wouldn’t allow anyone other than me to so much as touch it.”

Warrior looked back to him, willing the other to be cooperative. Now that he’s seeing them side by side, the war paint on the side of Time’s face is strikingly familiar. He had thought they were interesting tattoos, not wanting to jump to conclusions at first. But there’s no denying it now. Warrior flexes his jaw and glares at the older man. “I’m sure you already know what I’m talking about.”

Time presses his lips in a thin line and nods subtly. “I’m not surprised you remember as much as you do. The most that I remember was that your singing voice left much to be desired.”

He smirks.

Warrior furrows his brows. What does that have to do with anything? He keeps staring. And staring. And staring.

It clicks.

“You brat.”

The conversation was less tense after that.

The mission was steadily following progress and they felt as if they were getting closer to their goal each and every day. Warrior felt confident with this group and the young men that he felt were his brothers.

Then they hit another bump in the road. Almost literally.

They had found you on the side of the road, unconscious and bloody but alive. Warrior was quick to start barking orders. Between the potions, the bandages and minor stitches, they had managed to patch you up but had yet to wake up at all.

The next town was still a few days' journey away. 

Warrior took over watching over you as the others went their way to set up the camp.

He wasn’t a stranger to injuries. He wasn’t a stranger to blood. He wasn’t a stranger to casualties of war.

But he never had to personally deal with civilian casualties.

He knew they happened. Warrior wasn’t about to fool himself into thinking this wasn’t a common place with violence. But he could see the way you dressed. They were tattered with the attack you clearly went through, but there weren’t enough defensive layers, you weren’t wearing any armor. It was a simple cloth covering and that was it. Decorated, naturally, that showed a small light to the culture you belonged to but that was the extent of it.

It was interesting. Warrior hadn’t seen anything like it.

Warrior watched the fire, taking the first watch by silent admission that he wasn’t going to move from that spot whatsoever. He adjusted the bandages on your head and moved the blanket to properly cover your shoulders as you slept.

When everyone had more or less fallen asleep already, you blinked your eyes open and started looking around. Warrior put a hand on your collar bone. He was gentle. He wasn’t sure if you had any hidden bruises. “Easy. You’re safe.”

Your breath hitched and he could feel your heart rate go up from under his palm. “Wh-where am I? Who are you?”

Warrior took a deep breath. “My name is Link, but call me Captain or Warrior, please. You’re not that far off from where we found you. The town is still too far away to make it in a single day. What’s your name?”

You tell him and gulp down the little spit that you have. Slowly, it appears that you’re becoming more aware of your surroundings. You can see that you’re still outside and that the darkness is merely because it’s night time. You turn your head and look at the group around you. You can see the boys and how they’re sleeping.

“Who are you people?” You whisper, looking back to him. “Why are there so many of you?”

Warrior smiles tensely. “We’re traveling… mercenaries. We fight the monsters that threaten the safety of the people. You’ll be safe with us.”

You nod, calming down significantly. You didn’t seem to pick up on the magical items they had out in the open or their seemingly too young members of the group. It must be too hard to see them in the dark… Either that or your injuries merely helped to mask the young faces that were still reflecting in the firelight. No matter, he wasn’t going to promote the idea that your life was in the hands of children.

That could wait until the morning when you were feeling a little stronger. Hopefully.

You fell asleep soon after that.

Warrior took it upon himself to watch after you from that point on. Sure, he wasn’t the most skilled medic on the field but he wasn’t about to burden the others with even more responsibility than they were already dealing with. He helped you keep up with the group and he took care of your injuries as it was.

You had told them that you were lost and you were attacked by a large monster that you had never seen before. You had told the group that it was large and pure black with the beadiest red eyes you had ever seen.

Naturally, that was of great interest to the group. However, they couldn’t decide if that meant there was a target on your back or you a mere victim of circumstance. It wouldn’t have done them any good if they were to leave you at the next town. If you were merely attacked from being at the wrong place at the wrong time then it would have been just as well and they would have been on their merry way.  If you were attacked for a target on your back, then no one was willing to leave you to your own devices.

Warrior was one of the first to keep you from fighting since you still had to recover from your injuries but once you were back on your own two feet- he realized just as quickly as the others- that you couldn't fight.

Something clicked in Warrior’s mind then. 

Something he wasn’t sure that would have been awakened as it did. It was a familiar feeling when he remembered the little boy with that accursed mask but there was a major difference here.

With the boy, who was no longer a boy, he already knew how to fight. He had weapons. He had magic. He had experience. The boy was an incredible fighter. Even if Warrior didn’t want him to be there, there was no doubt in his mind that the boy could take care of himself.

You couldn’t take care of yourself.

The thought terrified him.

At least you had gotten comfortable with the group. It had taken a while, no doubt but Wind had made it his personal mission to become your new best friend. From there, Warrior was able to stay close and do his job of taking care of you. With Warrior staying near, Twilight was able to get past your barriers, closely followed by Time. Little by little, everyone was able to befriend you and it was as if you belonged among them.

Warrior had managed to calm himself down from his earlier panic and let go of the need to hover over you for your safety.

But that didn’t stop the minor wrinkles to his plan.

They were still attacked. They still had to fight. The battle hadn’t ended just because you had joined them on their mission.

You had to run every time and hide. They would take care of business and then everyone would regroup at the end. You had helped with cooking and with patching them up when needed but there was always the wave of relief when Warrior had come back to the others and there wasn’t a single scratch on you.

“Hey.” You walked up to him one day, bandages in hand with an unreadable expression on your face. “Your turn.”

Warrior looked up from where he was biting the tourniquet tighter on his arm. He dropped it pathetically and looked away. Shame, crawled up his back and he shook his head. “Wild took a hit to the head. It’ll be better if you would check up on him first. I’ll be fine.”

Your expression turned deadpanned. “He already has three people looking after him. And you’re clearly struggling to get that yourself.”

“I’m fine.” He bit it again and pulled to tighten it once more.

The cut on his forearm wept the blood pathetically. Turnikit was doing its job well enough, but Warrior wasn’t entirely sure how he was going to put the stitches in himself if his dominant hand was out of the question.

You threw the bandages at his head, catching them before they hit the ground. “Idiot.”

You sat down next to him and took his arm in yours. “You’re always looking after everyone. Myself included. How you haven’t dropped dead yet, I’d never know.”

Warrior growls, feeling the pain come up from the movement on his arm. He bites on his own tongue- something he knows better than to do. “I’m fine. I’m used to it.”

“You’re going to drop dead.” You glare at the cut on his arm, already pulling out the thread and needle. “We have to stop the bleeding first. Hold on.”

Warrior growls, letting you do as you please. As much as his instincts are telling him to not let you do it- there’s something intimately primal telling him that if it had to be anyone, you’re the best option.

He feels his heart start to beat a little fast as you get closer to him, tending to his injury with such care- his spit gets stuck in the middle of his throat.

When the needle comes close to his skin, he looks away and brings his scarf up to take a large bite. You don’t once look up at him. All your attention is on your work in front of you and in making sure the job is done right. Which is strange, he isn’t entirely sure when you learned how to do all of this.

“There.” You pull away and start to wrap up the injury with the bandages. “We’ll have to take those out in a few days, but you should be all set to go. Take it easy in the meantime, ok?”

“And if we get attacked again?” Warrior mutters, watching your hands. They look entirely unblemished. Not a single piece of evidence that you’ve lived a life of violence. He had the sudden urge to reach out and study them.

You shrug. “I’ll take you with me and we can both hide together. But I won’t let you fight until you’re all better.”

Something twitches in his chest and his eyes trail up your arm, landing on the slope of your neck and your jaw line. You look up at him and smile. Warrior is suddenly struck dumb by the look. The firelight accentuates the lines of your face and the slope of your nose and the crinkle around your eyes. It wasn’t a smile that stretched from ear to ear but it was perfect enough for him to suddenly notice how breathtaking you were. And your eyes- were they always that shade-?

“You kept me from a lot of the violence when I first joined the group. You tried your hardest to make me feel comfortable even though we both know that I’m the outlier here.” You say softly, tying off the bandage at last. “You’ve been good to me. I’ve never thanked you for it.”

Warrior lets the moment settle. He realizes belatedly that he should respond with something. He looks back down to his arm, gently taking it away from you now that you’ve helped him out. It’s an awkward movement. He doesn’t actually want to do it. “...It was my pleasure.”

You smile and put your hand on his shoulder, stepping away at last to regroup with the others.

Warrior can feel that something has changed in his head. He’s always been considerate of you… he knows that. But suddenly the thought of your touch sends his heart into a frenzy.

He lets the moment pass and he never brings it up with you again.

You seem unbothered. You checked up with his injury and his attitude and seemed to hover over him just as much as he hovered over you when you first joined.

He has to admit. He likes the attention. He liked the quiet conversations. He liked the minor brushes of your hands as you walked. A leaf once fell on your hair and he brushed away. He’s never felt something so soft.

Little by little, Warrior started to want to spend more time with you. He wanted to see you smile again. He wanted to hear you laugh more. He just wanted to stay close to you.

He wasn’t sure if you thought of him at all. But he found you fascinating. He felt as if he could stare at you for hours and never tire of it. Warrior knew better than that though. He wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable after all this time because he didn’t know how to control himself.

It just so happened that it was one of these times, where you both were simply walking and talking together that there was another attack.

His arm had long since healed, but it still twisted strangely when he moved it a certain way. He still had yet to work up the strength to get back to where he was.

On instinct, he wrapped his arms around you and pushed you to the dirt. He strapped on his shield and held it over his head as the familiar sounds of arrows flying through the air landed around you all. 

You had yelped at his sudden movement, throwing your arms over your head. When the initial attack died down and the waves of monsters started to emerge from the tree line, Warrior grabbed you by the back of your shirt and hauled you back to your feet. He pushed you in the opposite direction and took out his sword. “Go! Run!”

You didn’t have to be told twice.

He’s not sure what came over him that day but he found himself fighting twice as hard as he usually does. He felt furious.

He can’t figure out why.

Warrior can feel his injured arm yell at him for the force he’s putting behind his strikes but that isn’t enough to convince himself to hold back even remotely.

This fight is different.

The monsters may not be black blooded but they’re fiercer than they’ve gotten used to. The amount of monsters is nothing to scoff at.  The boys give it their all to fight them back and destroy them all but they find themselves overwhelmed.

First, Hyrule had taken a slash across the leg which sent the nearby monsters into a further frenzy. Wild had jumped in to help his brother in arms and fight the monsters off of his back. Twilight had joined shortly as The Champion led Hyrule out of the area. But that did nothing to calm down the monsters.

Legend had tapped out of his magic within moments and stood side by side with Sky- but they were both losing steam.

Wind and Time were trapped between a circle of monsters that attacked them mercilessly. Time was already sporting a head injury while Wind held his arm back in obvious pain. Four had used the ability of his sword to help them out in the meantime but that left them all distracted.

Warrior had jumped in to help Twilight with the rabid beasts before an explosion was set off in the same direction that Time and Wind were in. Panic instantly struck Warrior's heart. He struck down the monster in front of him and ran to the area once more, abandoning Twilight to his own devices.

Time was face down in the dirt and Wind was pushing himself back up with a broken arm. He runs to Time and pushes him over. He’s alive, but unconscious.

Twilight yells in the distance as he’s pushed back and cut from the monster surrounding them and he can hear Legend yelling at Sky to get out of the area to catch his breath.

A familiar mask appears in the corner of his eye.

He grabs it without a second thought but doesn’t put it on.

A voice in the back of his head is screaming at him to leave it alone but when he sees Four’s literally begin to fall as well, he knows that they’re in over their heads. Wind gets to his feet but his arm is hindering from fighting any more. Time is unresponsive. Hyrule is a current liability for reasons he’s not sure why. Twilight is about to go down. Wild hasn’t returned yet and Legend and Sky aren’t going to last much longer.

The monsters close in on them and somewhere, Warrior hears you scream. A second passes and you scream for him.

“WARRIOR!!!”

His blood runs cold and he looks down at the beckoning mask.

He puts it on.

Warrior can feel his mind go blank and his body begins to move on its own. Someone else is in control but he doesn’t feel afraid. He’s not remotely concerned. Somehow, this feels natural. A common goal is shared.

He fails to fully comprehend the massacre in the battle that followed.

The monsters drop like flies.

He’s distantly aware that he’s bigger than he usually is and that the sword in use is not his own white sword. White braided hair flies over his shoulder from time to time as he moves. His arm is no longer bothering him. 

He saves Twilight first, quickly fending off the monsters that push in on Sky and Legend. Legend stares at him with nothing short of shock and awe. Sky is too busy falling to knees in a coughing fit to figure it out. Wild comes out the woodwork at last, jumping it on the back of an elk to charge at the monsters around Four. 

He decides to not question it.

Time and Wind are quickly escorted out of the area. Although Wind cannot do much to help as it is, he promises to watch over Time as Warrior gently places him against a tree. He doesn’t seem too surprised that Warrior had made this decision.

The Captain hopes Time can forgive him for this.

With the immediate more or less taken care of, Warrior sprints in the direction of your call. He’s praying he’s not too late. A sense of calm soothes him although his first reaction is to reject it. You’re not a fighter, he seems to remind “himself”. You had to run. You had to hide. And you screamed for him to come for you.

He’s back at the last place he saw you before he knew it. Your tracks are still there. They’re still fresh, naturally. He looks at the direction they took off in and follows them. 

Distantly, he can hear the grunts and squeals of the monsters ahead and b-lines toward them instead.

He makes it there at once in his larger form and destroys them without a second thought. A beat passes and he scans the area for you. But he finds nothing.

A deep growl escapes him. He’s not used to the sound, nor does it sound like his voice, but it feels right. 

Where are you? He looks at the ground for more tracks. The dirt is too kicked up to make them out anything from a first glance, so he squats down to look carefully for any hints to what could be there.

He’s no hunter, but it’s not the first time he’s had to track down persons of interest. He puts his palm to the dirt and looks closer. He sees the familiar lines of your shoe- a single footprint.

You went off to the right.

He heads in that direction as well.

The forest is quiet now.

He hasn’t heard any monster sounds since he’s destroyed the ones in the local area and the sounds of the battle behind him have also quieted down.

He has yet to take account of where Hyrule went but you take precedence.

He walks quietly, straining his ears to hear anything other than breeze shuffling the leaves above him. His footsteps are muffled but he steps on a twig.

A gasp.

His head snaps in that direction and he waits.

Silence follows suit.

He waits.

And waits.

He says your name, once, and stalks in the direction of the sound.

Warrior makes another calculated sound, searching for any sort of reaction that wouldn't have belonged to the forest otherwise. Said forest is silent around him, as if it knows of the strange change that occurred to him. He knows not how the forest knows- only that the forest is correct.

“Link?” A small voice calls from his left. 

Warrior snaps his head in that direction and takes two steps. He proves a point to make more sound so that you know that he’s approaching you. Another gasp but no evidence of your presence. He can only assume that you’re still hiding. You’ve had plenty of practice at this point. The fact that he still can’t see is a testament to your new skill. Pride surges through him. It’s incredible. A very talented feat indeed.

“Oh Captain…” Your quiet voice laments.

Slowly, you emerge from the treeline and begin to approach him. Your footsteps are small and your hands are clasped in front of your chest. You’re looking up at him with clear fear in your eyes but you still bravely make your way toward him.

You’re a lot smaller than he thought you would be. He must be bigger than he originally assumed he was. He drops a knee and tries to make himself as peaceful and approachable as possible.

As you study the change he’s no doubt gone through, he’s also looking over you.

He’s looking for any possible injuries that may have befallen you in the very short time you’ve spent apart. Your pants have been torn and there’s a little blood on your hand. There’s mud on your face and on your shirt but the blood sticks out to him the most. He searches for anything else that might jump out to him but he always returns to that little speck of blood. Rage fills him from the core to the brim but he stays silent. The only hint that he may be feeling anything at all is the way his jaw flexes as the sight of you.

There doesn’t seem to be anything else of interest aside from your mused hair. It would have been cuter had it not been for the context surrounding it. You reach out and tug on a hanging cloth from his shoulder. It falls from his shoulder and covers a bit of his front. It’s a familiar bright blue but the gold trimming and embroidery around the edge is new.

Tears suddenly spring up in your eyes and you begin to shake.

Warrior reaches to wipe the tears away but you flinch away from him. He freezes.

“Please…” You whimper. “Don’t do this.”

His heart flutters in the worst way possible. It sinks and bobs uncomfortably in his chest.

A sorrowful but accepting feeling passes over him. This is more or less what he should have expected. It’s just a shame you’ve already reached this point as it is. Still- the job had been completed. The mask, he supposes, is no longer needed.

He reaches up to his face hesitantly and feels a small divot on his jaw. He hooks his thumb behind it and pushes against it. It’s a strange and disorienting feeling as the magic is ripped away from him.

Warrior finds himself back on his feet but it’s as if he’s broken the surface after swimming for long under the water. He gasps and his head feels light. The shock of the transformation leaves him coughing and disoriented. He can feel the world go sideways. Warrior doesn’t even register that he’s closed his eyes in the middle of it all.

Hands land on his arms and steady him before he lurches forward. 

“...My Captain…” You say and pull him for a hug. “I was so afraid.”

He lulls his head to the side, resting it in the crook of your neck and hugs you back. 

“I’m sorry…” He says as he clears his throat. Warrior can already feel his sense returning. His arm is already screaming at him for the mistreatment. He doubts he’ll be able to use it at all tomorrow. “I heard you scream… and we needed backup… I panicked.”

You sniffle. Warrior holds you tighter and runs his hand (not on the injured arm) over your head and through your hair. Droplets of water start to hit his neck and Warrior starts to get choked up.

He takes a deep breath and pulls away from you. “Are you hurt?”

You shake your head.

“Liar.” He whispers and pulls your hand up. It’s a small skin abrasion. He’s not entirely sure why he locked onto it so much with the mask on. This is ignorable at best- but it felt as if you had been cut or stabbed.

He kisses your hand anyway, being gentle to avoid the sight of the injury. “I thought I had lost you.”

You shake your head but fail to speak more. He tugs you back to where he knows he’s left most of the group. He holds your hand close and keeps you practically glued to his side. His eyes search high and low for any other threat that might be hiding among the trees- but nothing else comes out to attack the two of you.

The supplies that were dropped are quickly searched through. He wants to give you a health potion but the others are in much worse shape. You don’t seem to know any better about the well being of the others in the group. You’re still anxious and frazzled from the initial attack.

Little by little the group reforms and they stock the casualties. Health potions are split amongst those who need them the most. One is fed to Time, seeing as he still has yet to wake up. 

Warrior returns the mask to its original holder and slot with little fanfare. He’s not looking toward the conversation that no doubt will follow once the others fill the Old Man in about recent events.

Wild, being the champion he is, was quick to make more potions once the original supply had run dry. You jumped into action without a second thought as the boys slowly filed in one by one.

Other than himself, Wild is the only one with the least injuries. Sky is next- with only his lack of air taking him down for the count this time around. The rest must be tended to one way or another.

Slowly, as to not arouse suspicion, Warrior breaks away from the group and finds a quiet corner where he could process what he’s done alone.

You appear next to him within moments.

“...Link?...”

Warrior freezes. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard you say his name. He gulps and bites the inside of his lip. He’s afraid to face you. He’s not brave enough. “...yes?...”

You squat down and put a hand on his shoulder. “I know that wasn’t easy… But thank you… for everything.”

He nods, keeping a hand on half of his face to try and hide what he can from you.

You kiss his open cheek and his head snaps to you with shock and awe. Your earlier words when he took off the mask slammed into the forefront of his mind.

You smile and stand up. “I’ll wait for you.”

[popatochisssp]

Would it be too much to ask what kind of jobs the new skeles might have since you already shared bram would be a groundskeeper at a cemetery?

Looks like I never officially did this one for Wave 2, just Wave 1 over here.

So, while we’re at it, let's do 2 and 3!

Ash (Undergloom Sans): He’s semi-unemployed, or self-employed depending on how you look at it. He busks, playing his trombone out on the street and accepting donations from anyone who feels so inclined. He likes playing music and the idea of brightening peoples’ days in the middle of their commute, so the money doesn’t really matter to him. Sometimes he picks up small gigs at local venues, mostly by word of mouth, and eventually he breaks into the tutoring scene—teaching his favorite instrument to young aspiring musicians who find the same joy in it that he does.

Yrus (Undergloom Papyrus): He works as a professor at the local community college, teaching anthropology. He’s passionate about the subject and can’t think of anything he’d rather do than share it with a classroom of humans who probably have no idea how interesting they really are. If only one student walked away from his class with a new appreciation for what humanity’s all about then he’s fulfilled—but he tends to send a lot more away with that than just one, since he’s a very popular, friendly, and accessible teacher.

Brick (Horrorfell Sans): He’s self-employed, knitting blankets at home and selling them online. He doesn’t need a job at all, between the Queen and his brother, money’s not an issue, but he’d go crazy if he didn’t have something to do all day, and nobody wants to see what he looks like when he goes crazy. He takes commissions often, but other times he just makes things according to whatever he’s feeling and what color yarn he has handy and sells to whoever feels like buying it.

King (Horrorfell Papyrus): He works as a physical therapist. He more or less taught himself to walk again after losing his leg, and a second time after getting a replacement, so he very personally understands the need that exists for people who are injured and want to get back to their normal life—but maybe lack the discipline, the knowledge, or the tools to take that journey solo. He’s hard on his patients and sadistically merciless, but his success rate in terms of mobility recovered is very high and any complaints after the fact are begrudging at worst.

Merc (Horrorswap Sans): He’s a home baker, making cakes and small pastries for a small but growing client base. He likes the freedom of getting to pursue his passions seriously and to be his own boss, set his own hours, screen his own clients, et cetera. He puts a lot of time and care into what he makes, both in terms of flavor and decoration, and finds nothing quite so satisfying as a repeat customer or a glowing review and recommendation to someone new.

Ell (Horrorswap Papyrus): Freelance programming is what he does for cash. It was something he could both learn how to do and actually do remotely, without the need for more than the bare minimum of in-person contact. He likes problem-solving, and complaining about the problem-solving, and the field is pretty much always in demand so if he’s bored of certain kinds of jobs, or sick of the person giving him the jobs, he can jump ship at any time and be a contractor someplace else.

Pitch (Horrorswapfell Sans): He’s a boxer, more amateur than pro so he doesn’t make a ton doing it, at least not consistently, but he likes fighting and draws in a decent crowd by being a bit of a spectacle (a blind skeleton in the ring) so the entertainment value is worth something. Aside from that, eventually, he fills in for his brother as a combination business partner/agent/accountant, helping him get jobs and keep clients and manage the money he makes doing so.

Nemo (Horrorswapfell Papyrus): He’s unemployed for a long while, but ultimately breaks into professional photography, with a specialty in travel photographs. He likes taking pictures and getting to see the world in the process, and it helps that it’s a family business so he and his brother have pretty much full control over what jobs he takes and for how much. He doesn’t really concern himself with the money numbers, though, he just likes filling out his portfolio with gorgeous locales all around the world.

Sunny (Gastertale Sans): He does a lot of odd jobs, all over the place, generally (things that are considered) unskilled labor—bussing tables, janitorial work, desk clerking, that kind of thing. He doesn’t like the thought of getting too stuck into any one thing and being unable to try something else out later if it doesn’t work out, and there’s something to be said for the satisfaction of being closely connected to the results of your labor. Sometime down the line he will end up sticking in one career, as a dealer for a casino, because it combines his social, charming nature with his sharp eye and quick hands, but until then he’s happy to bounce around.

Aster (Gastertale Papyrus): He’s a bookkeeper at a nondescript company. He’s organized and thorough with record-keeping and double-checking data, and he likes putting those skills to use to make sure his employer’s finances and transactions all balance out at the end of the day. Some might find it boring work and he could almost certainly qualify for a much more ‘prestigious’ job doing something else, but he’s satisfied having a job that doesn’t require all of his effort and brainpower, so he can save some of that for his personal life and private interests.

Spectr (Transcendtale Sans): He’s a nomad, a wanderer, he has no job. He’s a robot in the shape of a monster—ostensibly still a monster, even so—in a world full of humans that as yet believe monsters don’t exist, so even if he wanted a job, getting one would be logistically difficult. Luckily, he feels no special need to be gainfully employed and just spends his time wandering around and taking in the world. If he needs something, he’ll either just take it or use one of his brother’s accounts to pay for it.

PapAIrus (Transcendtale Papyrus): He’s a performer, a disc jockey who mixes, makes, and plays music to crowds at clubs, raves, and discos, anywhere he’s welcome. He takes advantage of the perception of his holographic form as an artist’s gimmick, like Daft Punk, Hatsune Miku, dead musicians projected onto stages to play posthumously… In his defense, that last one is sort of exactly what he is, except he didn’t really start making music until after he died. Still, he has fun doing it and adores the fame he’s steadily gaining as a popular, cutting-edge technology music act.

Xanth (Ascendswap Sans): He does aura readings for people. For those interested to know, he shares his perception of their colors and the flow of energy in and around them, and just generally describes the sense he gets about a person. What he does is really more of a soul read than an aura read, so a lot of the color meanings and terminology he uses contrast with the kind of readings his clients may get from humans who practice something a little bit different. Still, he’s earnest in his desire to help people understand themselves and their energies and emotions, so he gets a lot of recommendations and repeat clientele who trust he’s the real deal.

Piper (Ascendswap Papyrus): He works as an event planner, organizing gatherings, arranging vendors, booking venues, the whole nine. He has a great reputation for making things go smoothly and always seems to be able to talk out bumps and snags before they ever become a major problem. He also maintains great relationships with people in the industry and delights in having connections just about everywhere in case he needs to call on a favor to make something happen for a client. He's got the magic touch and the silver (gold) tongue that makes everything fall into place just so.

Carmine (Underfell Fruition Sans): He works as a clerk at a pawn shop. He gets to handle a lot of interesting items and assess roughly how much they’d be worth, and he’s pretty good at haggling and negotiating with people who might not agree with said assessments. Sometimes people will come in with broken stuff they wouldn’t be able to get too much for, but maybe he can cut ‘em a deal, fix it up on his own dime and if they come back for it, great—and if they don’t, his boss’ll be happy to have something that works to sell to somebody else at a markup, how ‘bout it? He does a brisk business and both sides of the counter love him.

Tank (Underfell Fruition Papyrus): He’s in construction. He’s huge, strong, takes direction well, and diligently follows rules and protocols—he’s an ideal fit for it. He likes to work hard and be able to see a job come together, knowing he had a part in it and being satisfied with the quality of his contribution. He especially likes to take every safety training and equipment certification course he can attend because he likes knowing what the rules are and being specifically told how certain procedures are run, machines operated, et cetera. He’s very likely to be apprenticed in as a foreman if not the inheritor someday of the construction business by its current owner for his work ethic and dedication, but that’ll be a long ways from now.

Vi (Swapfell Fruition Sans): He works as an independent auditor and combs through companies’ records, internal and external documentation, processes, and accounting and ensures everything is being done in accordance with industry standards. In short, he shows up, demands to see everything they have, and looks through it to see if they’ve lied, did something wrong, or lost information they weren’t supposed to. Sometimes he can do this remotely but other times he has to travel out to a physical office somewhere and sit down with a bunch of stuffed file cabinets, and he really doesn’t mind either way. He likes the work and he’s good at it—maybe because he’s good at it—and he finds it satisfying to catch the tiniest little misses and errors to demand an accounting of them.

Hunter (Swapfell Fruition Papyrus): He’s a trail maintenance worker for Ebott National Park. He walks the paths and hiking trails and makes sure they’re safe and unobstructed for visitors, as well as whatever odd jobs in the area that happen to come up—looking out for invasive species, helping with a bench install, directing lost tourists, that kinda thing. It’s not especially glamorous work but it’s pretty much exactly where he wants to be and he’s happy to do it, probably wouldn’t pick any other job in the world…except maybe to volunteer for a seasonal fire-watch position and do pretty much the exact same thing, but more isolated and with a big cool tower to sit in.

Kohl (Descendtale Sans): He works as a mortician at a local funeral home. He generally isn’t expected (read: allowed) to deal with grieving families, that’s more the funeral director’s purview, but he works behind the scenes embalming, processing, and otherwise preparing the dead for their final party and last ride home. He has a strong stomach—or rather, no stomach at all—and doesn’t get squeamish or emotional about the dead, so that works out. They also let him work nights so he has several long, quiet hours of methodically going through the routine with no (living) humans around to irritate him or vice-versa. Sounds like a good gig to him.

Bram (Descendtale Papyrus): Yes, still a groundskeeper for the cemetery and loving it. It was something he kind of fell into through his brother, when he didn’t really know what he wanted to do on the Surface, but his brother sends dead humans off to their final resting place and said final resting place was looking for someone to dig holes, mind the grass, keep everything looking neat and nice—and that’s certainly something he can do! He also works nights, being that monsters are almost entirely nocturnal these days, so he’s also an unintentional scarecrow deterrent to teenagers sneaking in late for partying or spooky dares when they see a slim, bony silhouette materialize out of the shadows with a shovel in hand, asking if they’re just visiting or thinking about moving in.…

[otherworldseekers]

Something's Gotta Give Chapter 9

Also posted to AO3 if you'd prefer to read there.

Severia and Nero return to Saint Coinach's Find, where Cid is eager to get on with the work, but both of them have unresolved feelings to deal with. Will a candid conversation help or hinder their future?

SGG Masterpost

They rode into Saint Coinach’s Find the next day just as the sun touched the horizon, their journey finally over. Cid hurried over as Severia swung down from the Kirin’s saddle. 

“You’re back! Everything went smoothly, I trust?” He gave a quick side glance to where Nero stood digging their precious cargo out of his saddlebags before giving Severia a pointed look. 

Severia sighed. “Nero behaved himself. Mostly.” She expected a flippant comment from the subject but Nero was apparently too engrossed in making sure the parts they commissioned had survived the journey intact. 

“I suppose that’s as much as could be expected,” Cid said sympathetically. “At least it seems your mission was successful.”

“Quite,” said Nero, looking up. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll get to work on the Aether Signature Configuration Device right away.” 

Cid watched Nero retreat into his tent with a worried expression, then turned to Severia. “It did go smoothly, right?”

Severia wondered if Cid could feel how charged the air was between her and Nero, and had been since she woke up lying next to him that morning. Neither of them had said anything about what happened the previous day and she wasn’t sure if she was grateful or exasperated. Why wasn’t he saying anything? After everything she had told him, after she had clung to him. Was he being considerate or was it just that he didn’t care? And why should it matter to her at all whether he cared or not? Their oddly contrived time together was over. Whatever had occurred between them was over.

“Of course, Cid,” she said, no trace of her inner thoughts bleeding into her tone. “Did you expect anything else?”

Cid frowned. “Nero seemed oddly reluctant to gloat or sing his own praises. It’s not like him. Nothing happened while you were gone?”

“Nothing,” Severia replied easily. 

“All right, I’ll trust you,” said Cid. “Things have been rather quiet here. Not much we can do until we can get past that last barrier.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“Not until we’re ready to send you in, which I imagine won’t be until tomorrow at the earliest. I’ll go help Nero. You rest up.”

“Of course.” She watched him walk away, feeling oddly deflated. 

Hadn’t she hated their journey? Hadn’t she despised Nero’s arrogant attitude and constant probing and teasing? Hadn’t she felt perpetually irritated in his company? Why did the air feel empty without his voice? Why did the world look so flat? 

She needed to get away and think. She needed a place to be alone. Mounting her Kirin once more, Severia galloped away from Saint Coinach’s Find.

She didn’t know what impulse led her to the gates of the Crystal Tower, but something pushed her onward. Past the Eight Sentinels, up the stone stairs, to the blessedly empty terrace with its glowing portal and unparalleled view of the Tower. Sometime during her ride out here the moon had risen and the upper air had taken on its strange purple/pink coloring. It was a sight you couldn’t find anywhere else in the world, she knew, and the warmth of gratitude, that she was here to see it, began to settle over the uneasiness in her chest. 

Despite everything else, the world was always beautiful. That much never changed. 

Settling down as comfortably as she could on the stone floor, Severia gazed out over the Tower and its surroundings. How many thousands of years had it been since the Tower was built? And yet it had lasted. She wished, in that moment, that she could be so strong and unchanging. She was the Warrior of Light. She must learn to stand tall and unassailable. She must fill in the cracks in her soul with duty, the hole in her heart with selflessness. 

What other path could there possibly be for someone like her? So why did the thought of such a life feel like a dead weight inside her?

It was perhaps a bell or two later when the purple haze lifted to reveal the sky full of stars and Severia heard footsteps behind her on the stairs. She waited with her head on her arms for the footsteps to approach. 

“Go away, Nero,” she said as harshly as she could manage. 

There was silence for a few moments, then, “How did you know it was me?” 

“You have a very distinct tread. The kind that says the man sees the whole world as his plaything, but is also used to having his plaything stolen from him if he’s not careful.”

“That’s… impressively specific,” said Nero. “And not inaccurate. Should I be flattered by your attention to detail?”

“I pay attention to everyone, in my own way,” said Severia with a sigh. “What do you want?”

“To ascertain your well being, hero,” he answered. “You disappeared. Garlond had a bad feeling. He went to the Toll to see if you had gone back there.”

“How did you know I’d be here?”

“A lucky guess, perhaps. Or perhaps… If I wanted space and quiet, I’d likely come here too.”

She sensed his much larger frame sitting down beside her while leaving ample space between them for her comfort. Did he know she would bristle at his nearness right now? That she wouldn’t be able to stand it? Did he realize why?

“All right you’ve ‘ascertained my well being’ now. I’m fine. You can leave.” She looked over at him finally and was struck by the expression he wore. His brow furrowed, his mouth stiff, his eyes pleading. 

“I think we need to speak to each other plainly.”

“I disagree,” she said, shaking her head. She scrambled to her feet in an attempt to leave, but Nero caught her wrist.

“Please, Severia.”

Her breath caught at her name on his lips. Why was it only when he spoke it that she felt it so deeply? Why was he doing this to her now? “Nothing good will come of this. You must know that.”

Nero stood up, but did not release her wrist. He had given long thought to this the previous night as he had lain sleepless with her beside him in their cave shelter. He knew what he wanted was too much to ask. But he had come to the decision that he could not, would not go back to what they had been mere days ago. 

There had always been, for as long as he could remember, a raw edge to his life. An emptiness that constantly drove him to seek more, do more. On;y once before had he felt something like contentment. On those occasions at the Academy when he and Garlond had combined their considerable skill and genius to make something extraordinary. And for a time he had thought perhaps Garlond was the solution to his dissatisfaction. That a life of discovery and invention side by side with the one person who was his equal was his future. 

But Garlond hadn’t seen it that way. He had left without a backward glance. Had all but forgotten his old schoolmate. It had hurt Nero more than he cared to admit. Deep inside, so deep he could almost pretend it wasn’t there, Nero had always yearned to be as vital to someone as oxygen, to be understood on a cellular level, to fit together with someone so well the edges between them blurred. 

When Garlond left, Nero came to believe that that part of him would never be satisfied. So he had shoved it away, told himself he needed nothing and no one. He could rely only on himself. Others were merely tools to be used and discarded depending on their usefulness to his goals. 

Then he met Severia Zetsuen. He had, at first, tried to use her the way he used everybody. To further his goals, to satisfy his desires. But she would not be content to be his tool and had defied his expectations at every turn. 

She who was at first an obstacle, then an opportunity, and then the author of his fall. She whose intelligence was like the morning sun shining through a begrimed window. Whose true smile was like a sweet, fleeting rainbow. Whose humor and wit was as sudden and shocking as an errant lightning bolt. Whose core of strength made him feel small in comparison. Severia Zetsuen, who had so unexpectedly proven to be his equal in every way. 

She had shaken him to his roots. So easily did she slip into and fill that empty, hungering space within him. It felt like a kind of madness, after having lived that way for so long, and perhaps it was. Perhaps he was mad to pursue this. But he knew that she too felt the chasm they stood poised over, or she wouldn’t be running away. 

“Tell me.” Nero took a step forward and gripped her shoulders. She looked up at him with fearful eyes. “Tell me that you didn’t feel what I felt. When we danced. When we kissed. Tell me that it sparked nothing inside you. That you feel nothing for me. Tell me, and I’ll believe you.”

Her mouth opened and closed once, twice. No words came forth. She couldn’t do it. The lie tasted like acid on her tongue. “Nero, why are you doing this to me?” 

“You haven’t said it.”

She bit her lip and looked away, refusing to meet the eyes that were boring into her. “I can’t… We can’t…”

“Say that you didn’t enjoy any of the time we spent together,” Nero begged. He shook her until she was looking up at him again. And he bent over her so that their lips were mere ilms apart. He wanted her so badly it was tearing him apart to hold back. “Tell me that you don’t want me to kiss you right now.”

“Please.” Her voice was a sob. “Don’t.” 

Nero realized his fingers were biting into her flesh harder than he had intended. He let go and backed away. Running a hand through his hair he said, “Forgive me.”

Severia hugged herself and nodded. They stood in silence for several moments. Nero studied her cringing form, as if she would gladly collapse in on herself if she could.   

“What are you so afraid of, Severia?” he asked. 

“Everything,” she said, closing her eyes. “Don’t you understand? I’m not what you think I am. I’m not what anyone thinks I am. Everything frightens me. Every fight. Every struggle. Every conversation. Every meeting. Every parting. Every day.” She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “And you. You most of all.”

Nero bristled. “What have I done to deserve your fear? Did I not defend you at the Saucer, did I not comfort you when you were afraid? I held you in my arms, I slept beside you to shelter you from the storm.”

Severia flinched away from him, from the anger in his voice, from the memories. “Do you think I don’t know that none of it was real?” 

“Why?” Nero rounded on her. “Why must it be false? Because I’m a Garlean? Because I was your enemy?”

“Yes!” she cried. “I’m fully aware of the agenda you came here with. Did you think that I was too naive to realize that you’re trying to use me? Woo the hero with smiles and flattering words. Kiss her until she forgets what you really are. Make her fall for you until she gives you what you want. Am I close?” 

Nero grimaced. “I won’t do you the disservice of claiming you’re wrong. Those were my intentions. I would do anything to get that power, or so I thought. But Severia…” He paused. “Is it so impossible to believe it might have become real?”

Severia shook her head. “You said it yourself. That night at the Saucer we played a game of pretend.  We imagined a world where you could be just Nero and I could be just Severia. But that world doesn’t exist. It can never exist.”

“What if it wasn’t a game? What if it could be more? What would you want then?”

“Nothing,” she said, knowing it wasn’t true. But she would never admit to him how much she wanted it to be real, wanted to lay down the responsibilities she’d never asked for. How much she wanted to give in. 

Nero wasn’t convinced. “You didn’t kiss me like a woman who wants nothing. You liked it just as much as I did. You didn’t want it to end.” He reached out a hand and gently brushed his fingers along her jaw, his thumb caressing the scales of her cheek. “I don’t want it to end.”

Severia closed her eyes, desperately trying not to lean into his touch. “What you want doesn’t matter. The reality is that you are a man who seeks power he should not have and I am the one who must stop you.” When his hand dropped away she opened her eyes again. “Are you willing to leave the Tower alone?”

Nero stared out toward the Tower with a clouded brow. Was that really what she wanted from him? To give up on his dreams? To lay down who he was to be someone else? Even if it would win her, he couldn’t do it. He shook his head. 

Severia sighed. “Then I must stop you. And once the Tower is closed you will go your way and I will go mine. It would be best for us to never see each other again.”

“And that’s what you want?”

Want, want, want. Could he think of nothing else? She turned away from him. “I’m the Warrior of Light. There’s no room in my life for wants.”

Nero listened to the sound of Severia’s footsteps descending away from him, the beat of her Kirin’s hooves receding in the distance. He punched his fist into a nearby stone pillar, bloodying his knuckles. A poor distraction from the pain of Severia’s rejection, but for once in his life he had no satisfactory answers. He was unwilling to give up anything he wanted and so it seemed he was destined to lose it all. He turned the problem around in his head for hours as he lingered at the Eight Sentinels, but even his considerable intellect could not find a solution. 

Finally he turned his feet toward Saint Coinach’s Find where the rest of NOAH would be waking soon. “If this is how it must be,” he said to himself with a grim smile. “Then I will face it without surrender or retreat.” 

Thanks for reading! I would love to hear what you think!

[writingquestionsanswered]

I feel horrible for using ai tools to enhance my writing. What should i do to like my writing? Please help.

Using AI to Enhance Writing

(And How to Like Your Own Writing without AI Enhancement)

I want to preface this by saying that AI's use as a writing tool is still brand new, so both the industry and seasoned writers like myself are still in the process of learning about its potential uses and place, and are still forming opinions. Having said that...

Using AI to "enhance" your writing sounds too much like you're incorporating a lot of AI-generated writing into your own writing, and that's probably not a good idea at this point. Much like AI-generated art, AI-generated fiction is cannibalized from real, copyrighted writing. Not only does AI steal the hard work of existing writers and allow you to pass it off as your own work, it also lacks the depth of emotion and nuance that only human writers can provide. There's also the reality that good writing takes practice, and you can't get better at writing if you're heavily relying on AI to enhance your own writing.

So, when and how can you reasonably use AI as a writing tool? I would say at this point if you had a sentence, description, or short paragraph that was really giving you trouble, you could probably use AI to help you over the hump. You probably wouldn't want to use the exact sentence the AI tool generated, but you could augment what's there to make it your own.

As far as learning to like your own writing, the only way to do that is to acknowledge and accept that your early writing isn't going to be amazing. If you take up painting and have never painted before, you're not going to paint award-winning landscapes in your first weeks or months. The only way you get better is by painting a lot of paintings, making mistakes, learning new skills, and slowly getting better. Writing is the same way.

Here are some previous posts on that topic:

Concentrate on Quantity at First, Not Quality Comparing Self to Others, Insecure About Writing Overcoming Embarrassment Over Own Writing Afraid of Looking Back and Seeing Bad Writing Worried About Writing Style

Best wishes on your writing journey! You can do this! ♥

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

LEARN MORE about WQA

VISIT MY Master List of Top Posts

COFFEE & COMMISSIONS ko-fi.com/wqa

[xxspacecadetx]

Introduction:

If you've seen my other blogs, you may be familiar with my other name. However, here, I go by Sunny, Alan, or my favorite, Cadet.

This blog serves as a space for me to explore the community from a more observational perspective, without focusing solely on my art. I'm eager to learn about the experiences of both lees and lers, and discover more about my place within this dynamic. I identify as pansexual and trans, and I’m currently on a journey of self-discovery. I would love for you to be a part of this process. Please note, my interests and hyper-fixations tend to shift frequently, so expect this blog to be a bit spontaneous.

Hey there! I’m just a big kid at heart who can't help but giggle at the little things in life. Space is my true love — there's something magical about it that I can’t get enough of. Also, I’m a proud stoner, because honestly, high tickles are the best! 🌱💚

I’m into some pretty fun stuff, like hypnosis, light bondage, and tickling, but there’s so much more to me.

As for my current work, I am a commission artist on Tumblr. If you know me through my art, hello, and thank you for your support! <3

I’m still learning about the community and figuring out where I fit in. I lean more toward the lee side, though I do enjoy some playful switch/ler dynamics from time to time. I’m mindful of boundaries and avoid teasing unless I’m confident in how someone will respond. However, that being said, I have a soft spot for those unexpected, playful teases directed personally at me.

As long as you approach this space with respect, you’ll find the same in return.

The tickle community holds an incredibly special place in my heart, and it always will. I've had the privilege of meeting some truly amazing and wonderful people here, and I’m so grateful for those connections. I’m excited to see where this journey takes us next—it’s like a rocket ship waiting to soar! <3

wonderful blogs to definitely check out if you like tickling, fandom characters, ocs, and art: @guppygiggles @trooly-ticklish @buggertkle @ticklethentopple @shroomies-world @eldelascosquillas-blog @homunculuslover and @bubbleplumes <33 @nikki-tine @in-stitchesx @fluffymary

and so so many more. this list will get updated at some point. im gonna runout of space hahaha. Ask box: OPEN. submission box: OPEN. my tags: #spacedout - lee thoughts #spacecase - Ler Thoughts #rocketlaunch - high thoughts

FAQ under the cut:

DMs: I’m always open to messages, so feel free to reach out! just keep in mind i don't have all the time in the world to be online. if i do not respond it does not automatically mean im ghosting you. also.. don't just respond with "hi, wanna talk about tickling" for me that makes the conversation a bit awkward. if were already talking about it or talking about ourselves personally and go from there thats more than fine. That said, please keep Dm's platonic. I’m totally fine with friendly teasing, but I want to make it clear that if we don’t know each other well, I’m probably not going to tease you back right away. It’s just how I feel comfortable—building a small bond first is important to me, and I really appreciate when people respect that. I value genuine connections, so don’t hesitate to reach out, but let’s take it slow and keep it lighthearted.

Teasing: I absolutely love a good tease and I’m more than happy to be teased in return. However, I want to gently remind you that I can be pretty shy and timid at times. I’m still learning to be more open, so if you tease me, please be patient with me. I enjoy different forms of teasing—whether it’s written, artistic, or verbal. There’s something special about how each type of teasing brings out a unique reaction from me. It’s one of the things I love most about this space, and it really allows me to grow more comfortable over time.

Boundaries: I’m still very new to the kink side of things, and I’m slowly finding my place within the community. I’m learning, exploring, and figuring things out in my own time, so please understand that this blog reflects my personal journey. I’m still growing, so I appreciate your patience as I navigate this world. If

you're a minor, I ask that you kindly don’t follow my blog—I do not feel comfortable with younger audiences here, and I will block you. This space is my personal escape from reality, a place where I can be myself, whether I’m alone or sharing moments with close friends. I don’t really initiate teasing my end first anymore due to past experiences where things didn’t go as I hoped, but that doesn’t mean I won’t tease others if the moment feels right. I’m a little rusty, and honestly, I’m quite sensitive when it comes to how I perform, whether I’m in the lee or ler role. So, please don’t expect me to lean more into one side over the other—both roles are a part of me, and I just want to be respected for who I am at my own pace.

with all that being said and done, welcome to my side of the universe <333

[raevenlyreads]

About Lenormand: Knighting and Mirroring

In researching for this post about how Lenormand is different from Tarot, I learned I haven’t actually been reading my Magpie’s Lenormand “right”. This was hardly a surprise to me because I’ve never really been drawn to traditional spreads for tarot (I’ve never once made it all the way through a celtic cross without getting bored at any point in my life, for example). But I was intrigued by what I found out, and I thought it might be fun to go on this learning journey together.

A little background: A lenormand is a 36 card deck, with fewer cards than the 78 used in tarot, and usually with much more straightforward symbolism. Named for Marie Anne Lenormand, a famous French fortune teller, the modern lenormand deck comes from her use of the Petit Jeu, or the Game of Hope. In the original game, cards were laid out like a board and players rolled dice to move their token along, with rewards and penalties award based on what card was landed on. Those positive and negative associations became paired with the symbols used in reading coffee grounds, and became the basis for the lenormand decks we use today.

What I thought I knew going in: Lenormand does not use the same symbolism as Tarot, though many of the symbols do overlap (The Moon for example). Lenormand cards are meant to be read together as a story, so look for common themes between the cards. Lenormand is less suited for shadowwork and more useful for practical day to day questions and upcoming events, being especially useful for relative timing of events. Unlike the tarot, it is both possible and useful to read the entire deck, called a Grand Tableau.

What I have discovered so far: Lenormand cards are meant to be read in pairs, where one serves as the “noun” and the other as the “adjective”, modifying the meaning of the first card. Positions in spreads matter, especially for techniques called “mirroring” and “knighting”. There is an order to the cards, and while they don’t tell the familiar story of the Hero’s Journey from a RWS tarot, the order can inform a reading, comparing a card of interest with what card should be in that position were the deck in order.

I have still had plenty of luck reading my Magpie’s Lenormand intuitively, but I am so fascinated by the idea of mirroring and knighting. For spreads that utilize these, much liked with my Above and Below draw, a signifier card is drawn or chosen to represent the focus of the read, and all the other cards a referenced back to that focus card. Then, additionally, cards can be read on either side of an axis (“mirroring”) or in L shapes (“knighting”). In a 9 card, 3x3 grid then, card 1 can mirror card 3 and card 7, and knight cards 6 and 8. These rows and columns can be used for categories like “past/present/future”, “external/internal/hidden” (like my Revealing Prism Spread), “helping/hindering/tangential”, and so on. So by reading in pairs, you can learn how your past is affecting your present, by mirroring you can learn how your past will affect your future, and by knighting you can learn how past external influences related to present internal ones. I’m super intrigued to do some 3x3 spreads and play with knighting. It sounds like it has a lot of potential for uncovering motivations and unknown factors, which I think would actually make it pretty excellent for shadowwork. We shall see!

For more posts like these, check out my kofi page! I have informative posts, beautiful deck selfies, and readings available for commission.

[red-riot-unbreakable-heart]

My Fave Fics Rn | What Red is Reading❤️

No one asked for this but I want to share the fics I've been OBSESSED with lately because they deserve so much love!! A combo of AUs, smut (I'll mark off which ones are smut!), lovely comics and everything in between. If you're looking for a new read I HIGHLY reco each of these stories! Including vague spoilers/descriptions for each so be warned!!

Here's what I've regularly been reading and re-reading:

Time's Arrow by @m0stlygoodvibes - Time Travel AU. Hawks goes on a mission back in time and attempts to set himself + the Todoroki family a better future. This fic is so sweet and healing - watching Hawks grow up without the trauma of the Commission is wonderful, and his x Touya's friendship/hinted relationship is explored fantastically. I'm constantly checking to see if there have been any updates because it's THAT good!!! I discovered the story after seeing beachbeibi's adorable art!

Lost & Found Comic by @beachbeibi - Quirkless Todosib AU. Oh my goodness this comic is AMAZING! The art is so lovely and sweet! The character designs are spot on (Shoto's little strawberry sweater in later chapters makes my heart squeeze!)! The relationship building between characters is authentic and fun to read/view! I love the way Touya is drawn and how we learn more about his growth journey with every passing comic. And Keigo. Oh my goodness Keigo!! The way the artist draws him is just SO cute and I am interested to see where they take his storyline next.

A Cozy Cloud by @gaecactae- Another wonderful comic! An AU where Oboro Shirakumo/Loud Cloud lives to adulthood, has a wonderful partner, is still BFFs with Shota + Hizashi, and adopts Tenko before AFO can get to him. The art is so gentle and thoughtful, and the color palate is just wonderful. Seeing baby Tenko and Hitoshi so well loved makes me so happy - this story is another great tale filled with healing and fabulous visuals. I'm so excited to see more!

Inevitable Things (We Try To Avoid) by @mintmatcha - Shota Aizawa x Reader. 🔞 SMUT alert! 🔞The story is so good and the characters are SO complex! I have re-read all of the published chapters several times at this point because the author winds so many fun, complex details together and it's fun to go back and see how they plant the seeds for major plot points in the earlier chapters. This is def a bit angsty but SO good. Aizawa is HOT and his character is so brilliantly fleshed out. Plus the tension between the reader and Aizawa is palpable. I'm excited to read more!

Mission Accomplished by glynfrans - Hitoshi Shinsou x Katsuki Bakugo. 🔞SMUT alert!🔞 Holy Woah are these sex scenes HOT!!! Like I've always been a Hitoshi fic girlie and I personally have never shipped him with Bakugo but WOWOWOW whenever these two are together in a scene sparks are literally flying! Hitoshi is shady af in the beginning of this fic, but he seeks redemption and I like how the author really builds out the character around these feeligns. Also a heavy amount of Monoma x Shinsou which I love. I won't say anymore because I don't wanna spoil anything but worth reading!!

I'll Have The Fish by ShipSeekingShippers - Hitoshi x Denki. This is the only completed fic on the list and I have come back to it so many times because it's cute as all heck! No quriks/college/fry cook AU (!?). This was the first Hitoshi x Denki fic I ever read and it CHANGED ME. Each chapter is more hilarious than the last, and watching the main characters bond and grow is so sweet and wholesome.

That's all for now - please send me your own recs or link great fics in the comments!! I'm always looking for new reads to devour!

XOXO,

Red Riot Unbreakable Heart ❤️

[animalsalvationassociation]

Small Q&A:

No I’m not back but I had a few generalized questions about the blog popping up so I thought I’d answer a few just to clear the air. Yes I am still on hiatus.

Question 1: Watermarks

For anyone confused as to the watermarks that are on my art pieces — @cookiecrumbles52palace is my main user for all of my art blogs except for secondary art accounts like character creation pages on Instagram/TikTok.

[ Here is an official link to all of my socials. ]

—

[ And this is if you want to learn more about me ]

—

Question 2: How do art??

“How are you so good?”, “Wow I wish I could be like you!”, “You’re so talented I could never!”

It never gets easier answering this. Every artist/creative would agree with me, these are by far the most asked questions I get on literally a daily basis. They bring me joy and the validation I’ve always wanted but at the same time they make me extremely sad and uncomfortable.

As of 09/2024 I will be hitting my 12 year mark of being an artist and a writer. It’s a rough estimate of when I began, but I basically started in September around the age of 11.

“What got you started?” you ask?

The Ninja Turtles.

When I was a kid that’s all I wanted to do. I wanted to be a comic book artist for a living (my favorite show at the time being Nickelodeon’s 2k12 TMNT) I remember my lonely days of sitting on my bedroom floor spending hours a day drawing just a few panels at a time. And although I was a kid with no friends, starting a new school year in a new house/school/state, I at least had my stories however monstrously drawn they were.

Now nearly 12 years later I’m self taught, I work a part time job in retail, I live at home with my family at 22. And my dream is to be a published author illustrating her own stories. I’ve already illustrated a published book but eventually I want to create for my own novels.

I’m still learning how to adult and take care of myself. And let’s be honest I don’t do a very good job at either of those things, I have a lot of health problems and my emotional state keeps me from doing a lot of things. But I wouldn’t change my situation for the world because even though I’m struggling, I’m happy.

Basically my point is . . . no matter where you are on your creative journey you have a bright future ahead of you. You’re going to make mistakes and hit a million roadblocks, but if you keep working and believing in yourself then you’re gonna go far. My best friend in the whole wide world is my younger self, because she kept pushing even when others had given up on her and I couldn’t be more proud of what she became. Even if it’s hard to look in the mirror sometimes.

Question 3: DM / Asks / Art Requests / Comms

I’m officially sorting through my asks. I’ve been having some spam asks recently and I will be deleting some of the ones I don’t feel comfortable answering. I am sorry but I have my limits, if your ask gets featured then it gets featured I don’t know what else to tell you. (I don’t know how to phrase this kindly)

Adding to that, do not follow me if you expect to get art requests in return. Just because you asked nicely doesn’t mean I’m going to spend my precious free time making something for you. If I wanted to do commissions or requests then I would put that in the bio or in a pinned post.

Art is one of the single most important hobbies for me alongside my writing. It’s a way for me to escape without having to leave my room/house. Please understand, there are plenty of other artists out there with amazing art that would love to handle your commission or requests that probably have so much more free time than I do. And I would be happy to point them out to you because they probably need the money more than I do.

Question 4: Returning??

“Man Cookie, you’ve been gone for a few weeks like you said you would, but do you have a date of when you’ll be coming back??”

Tbh with you, no. I’ve been trying really hard this year to involve myself in Art Fight, and so far I’ve been having a lot of fun doing that as well as working on some other projects like my Voltron fanfic or my novels.

But when it comes to Octonauts I’ve been really nervous about getting back into things. Which is pretty silly but kinda makes sense considering everything I’ve been creating in the last few months all on a whim.

I think my plan is to finally start posting again the second or third week of August. The first week and a half I’ll be at a family reunion, and if I’m correct I should have some time to just relax and get into my own head space.

No promises but I may end up working on a headcanons post for the A.S.A. Au to help solidify some things for our wonderful Octonauts. Not sure when it will be done but I’ve already started on Kwazii’s. Other than that no art until I’m off my hiatus.

I promise I haven’t forgotten about any of you, and thank you for the wonderful comments you left on my last post. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry all over again! 😭

Have a wonderful day and please stay safe/healthy! I love you all! And a special thank you for making it to the end of the post, you’re wonderful. Here’s a cookie 🍪

[musicfeedsmysoul12]

More Song Shuffled but...

'Be ready for more' and I proceed to get obsessed over the pics @narutojacksondemigod sent HERE.

Beautiful Things - Benson Boone

 Izumi leaned on the railing, smiling at the image of Izuku holding up his medal, tears pouring down her face. The smile turned to a frown as a familiar presence landed next to her. She clenched the railing in her metal arm, glaring at the side as Kei- HAWKS looked at the field.

 “He did well,” the hero complimented Izuku.

 “Uhuh,” Izumi pushed herself up. “Tell the Commission fuck off,” she moved to step away from Hawks but he grabbed her wrist.

 “Izumi-”

 “It’s Shadowstrike to you.” she wrenched her wrist from him.

 “Izumi,” Hawks said, standing up. “Please don’t.” 

 Izumi didn’t look back.

My Love Mine All Mine - Mitsuki

Izuku looked at the pictures on the wall, leaning on his crutch. The pictures on the wall showed him and his mother before the accident. Smiling and happy. Then there was a shift. Suddenly it was him with an eyepatch, looking at the viewer without a smile. There beside him was the blank face of his cousin, Izumi. He reached out to touch the picture of the first birthday after his mother died, the one where they finally smiled again. Where Izumi had taken him out to see a hero fight, and where she handed him a gun, promising to teach him to use it with a secret smile.

 It hadn’t been easy to get where they were. But it was their journey.

Another Love - Tom Odell

 “Don’t go near me,” Izumi demanded, holding a hand up to prevent Keigo from coming near her. No, not Keigo. This was Hawks. 

 “Izumi,” Hawks began but she shook her head, turning her back to him.

 “Leave,” she ordered. 

 “You feel the same way.” Hawks argued. Izumi shook her head, feeling the tears well up. “Izumi, please.”

 “Don’t,” she said, lifting her head up. She didn’t want to do this. She wanted to collapse into his arms, wanted to sob into his chest. Wanted him to kiss her forehead, wanted to bandage his wounds after commission training. Wanted to hold him when he hurt. 

 But that was the past. That was before. This wasn’t her Keigo. Even if he had gotten some memories when she went to this dimension. It wasn’t the man who went through training with her. It wasn’t the man who sang off key to the radio while they cooked.

 It wasn’t him.

Something Just Like this -The Chainsmokers & Coldplay

 Childhood friends to lovers. It was a story often told to her by everyone around her. In the beginning, it was about her and Bakugou they hinted at. Then her mother died, and the Commission wanted her. They wanted her brain, her skills. Her father hadn’t wanted her.

 Then it became about Keigo. And… she wouldn’t deny she wanted it.

 They trained together. He was there when she lost her arm, the first villain attack she helped with, sidekick to a hero who purposely ignored the Quirkless girl, only to have the Commission coming down on him. He was there when she got a new arm. She was there when he cried for days after all his feathers were used up. She was there for his tears after training. They ate together, learned together. 

 She wanted that with Keigo, and she was so lucky he wanted it back. They kissed for the first time on live television, after a successful mission to save a school nearly saw Izumi lost. The media went nuts.

 It was approved by the Commission, childhood friends to lovers, a married hero duo.

 She wanted it. Got it.

 Lost it.

Yellow - Coldplay

 “Izuku, don’t do it!” Tenya shouted, diving for his… his… god, what even was Izuku? 

 His friend? His classmate? His rival? His… his boyfriend?

 Tenya didn’t know. 

 Izuku ignored Tenya, instead diving to knock Bakugou out of the villain’s grasp, being grabbed instead as he was pulled into darkness. His eyepatch was missing, and the dead white of his ruined eye was the last thing Tenya saw before the portal closed. He dropped to his knees, staring at where it had been. 

 “Izuku…” Tenya said, staring at where the boy had been.

 “Wha- he… he saved me?” Bakugou choked out. The blond haired teen stared at where Izuku was gone. “Why… he hated me.”

 “Because he isn’t that person.” Tokoyami said from behind them, watching as Tenya stared at where his boyfriend made his beautiful and selfish decision, the stars shining through the smoke filled air.

Soldier, Poet, King -The Oh Hellos

 It was Keigo and Izumi at first. The two soldiers for the Commission. Then came Tenya, who had been a diplomat to their knives. He had been the one to figure out what was wrong with them. How the Commission had tethered them to their hands. He had helped them free themselves bit by bit, before Stain got to the hero. 

 It would take three years before they found out that the Commission pushed forward rumors of him being corrupt to get rid of the man. It was the first crack in the commission used to break society apart. And at the time they hadn’t cared, not until it was too late.

 Watching the boy scold Izuku who was laughing, Izumi smiled. She missed the man she knew. But this boy… she liked this boy with her cousin. 

Someone to You - BANNERS

 “Please,” Hawks said. “Please don’t turn me away.” Izumi looked at him, biting her lip. 

 “Hawks-”

 “I’m not him. I’ll never be him. But… but I care about you,” he told Izumi. She shook her head, keeping her eyes from him. “I… please Izumi. I want to be with you.”

 “Do you mean this or is the man I knew coming through?” Izumi asked, blinking away tears. Hawks shook his head, reaching out to grab her mechanical arm. She looked back at him. 

 “It’s me coming through,” Hawks said. “Please.”

 “...I’m going to tear apart everything you’ve ever known,” Izumi said. Hawks shrugged, a half smile appearing on his face. 

 “I can take it.” he told her. Izumi shook her head, leaning in to hover over his mouth.

 “I hope so,” she said before kissing him.

Viva la Vida -Coldplay

 Izumi slumped over the table, her hands around her cup trying to feel some warmth. Her shoulder ached, the metal of her arm uncomfortably pressing in. Izumi ignored it, sipping her tea as she looked out the window, drinking her tea. 

 More fires. Lovely. Izumi closed her eyes, hanging her head down. Fuck. 

 Her phone buzzed but she didn’t look. It would be Dabi again. Reminding her she still had a choice.

 Like hell she did. They took everything. They killed Keigo. They destroyed the entire hero system. They took everything apart and let the ashes get swept away in the rain. 

 She lost everything. All she was was an ex hero trapped by the villains who took over, trapped and forced to watch the world she once saved burn.

Sure Thing -Sped Up -Miguel

 The first time they met, Izuku decided he didn’t like Tenya because he was rude to Izumi.

 The next time, after an apology and a talking to, he decided he liked Tenya

 The third time, he had punched an annoying bully in the face and played up accidentally not seeing the boy on his bad side. Tenya backed him up.

 The fourth time, Izuku had pantsed a nasty sidekick of Tensei’s who said bad things about Tenya.

 The times kept coming, and the more they happened, the more Izuku didn’t want them to stop. Tenya felt the same. 

Soldier -Fleurie, Tommee Profiit

 Izumi tugged her gloves on, her face determined. Her metal arm was oiled and polished. Her old hero uniform was pulled on, her boots laced up. She’d cut off most of her hair, and attached the earring Keigo gave her in place of a ring.

 She was ready. 

 She stomped to the door and roundhoused it, shattering the wood. Instantly the alarm began going off. She ran down the halls, eyes narrowed. Some Nomu came stumbling out of a room, and she punched it with her metal arm at full speed. It went down. She kept running, eyes narrowed as she felt it happen. The note secreted to her by the grocery lady. The promise of being saved from the hell of this world order. A gift slipped to her by a child she had once saved from a man in a bird mask. The child she wore to save again as the energy began picking up. 

 She needed to get to the middle of the base. Ripping a whole through space, as Eri wrote, would cause an explosion. She needed to get to the middle. 

 She had to take as many as she could down before she left. 

 If she did, she could save this world.

 She would have her revenge.

[ohmotherwhereartthou-if]

Noteworthy Characters

In this journey that you find yourself on, you will meet many people and foes. They will influence the many possible branching paths that you can find yourself on;

Will they be your ally? Will they be your enemy?

Or, will they be your family?

------------

Mother (or Mentor):

Evangeline R. Alstone, or June as she prefers to be called, is one of the most beautiful women most will have ever seen. She captures the hearts of many with the most enrapturing azure blue eyes, and her raven black hair.

June has a passion for helping others and a deep empathy for those who are less fortunate, she is often found volunteering at shelters, churches, any any kind of charity event. As fate would have it, it was in fact during one of her volunteering visits, that she came across a young child who was starving and alone on the streets. With very little hesitation, June took the child under her wing, nursed them back to health and brought them home with her.

From that day on, June devoted herself to providing that child with a warm and loving home, as well as an education and a sense of family. She poured all of her energy into nurturing that child and watching them grow into a confident and successful young adult. Growing so close that the child even calls her either their mother or beloved mentor.

Despite the joy she found in caring for them, June knew that she couldn't stay in one place forever. She had her own reasons and duties that she knew she just couldn't ignore.

So, one day, she disappeared just as suddenly as she had appeared, leaving the child with a an empty home in their name and the bittersweet memory of a woman who had changed their life forever... Unknowing to the great lengths that child would go to in order to be reunited with her again.

In the words of the Traveler: "Your mother/mentor... the very image of a gentle and beautiful soul. She has the kindest heart I've ever known... and has not lost the habit of collecting strays, it seems. She appeared suddenly in your life to save you from certain death, she gave you a home, an education and a family. It would also seem like she disappeared just as mysteriously, all without a trace. Well, rest assured that I will be helping you in your search, just be aware that we won't be the only ones dead set on finding her..."

The Traveler:

(Traveler's face will shift and change as the story goes on, she tends to stick with certain features so you recognise her but it is not consistent) Link

The Traveler is a woman of a mysterious nature and unknown origin. Though, she tends to hint that she was born into a family of scholars who valued knowledge and exploration above all else. And that from a young age, she was taught to appreciate the histories of the world and to always seek out new experiences. Which has lead her to be very well read and traveled, seemingly knowledgeable in a vast many things.

Although she doesn't speak on it much, she is actually on a journey of her own, wandering the lands and seas of the Broken Isles in search of something as well. It seems lucky that her and The Orphan's goals seem to coincide, on top of that, she somehow seems to known June personally...

The Traveler has become a master of many languages and is a keen observer of human nature. She has honed her many different skills and is adept in means of strategy, secrecy, and survival, and earned a reputation as a wise and elusive figure, who could appear out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly.

But despite her many accomplishments and her vast knowledge, the Traveler remained humble always eager to learn more. She believes that true wisdom can only be gained through experience and that there was always more to discover about this world and its people.

Rey Abraham:

[Working to get actual art from commissioned artists, to have his portrait done.]

Rey Abraham Camacho was born into a lower class Castellion family in the outskirts of Castellio's capital city, Cortamez. As a child, he had to work hard alongside his parents to make ends meet, later even having to leave his home and family behind as he was sent off to Romadi’s Luogo Di Servizio for the mandatory labour service that every young Castellion had to undergo.

However, he never lost his strong sense of determination, ambition and sheer hard headedness. As despite the lack of a formal education, Abraham was a voracious reader with an appetite for learning, a strong interest in history, and a natural talent at military tactics.

It was also during his youth that he met the a young Romandi boy, a boy who would grow to become an Archon, Christopher Da Vis. A Romandi commoner like him, and through their shared hardships of working tirelessly with little reward, they quickly became close friends. They both shared a common dream and vision of changing the corrupt governance of their own respective countries, as they spent many nights discussing their ideas and forming a plan of action.

When they were both old enough, Abraham and Christopher rallied the oppressed people of Castellio starting with the ones living in Luogo Di Servizio to overthrow the Acosta family, who had ruled with great cruelty and an iron fist for generations. It was a bloody revolution, but ultimately a successful one. As the common people agreed that the best person fit to rule would be none other than young Abraham, the one who had started it all.

He was then crowned Rey and his family was named as the next Familiar Monarchy, marking the end of the Acosta rule and beginning the reign of the Camacho Familion.

With Rey Abraham at the helm, Castellio underwent a massive reformation, purging corruption and implementing much-needed reforms. Rey Abraham's values of family, self-reliance, faith, honor, and loyalty were further instilled in the renewed Castellion culture. 

He fortified the teachings of the [Placeholder Name] Bible, believing that a strong faith would lead to a strong people. He also strengthened Castellio's military presence, believing that a strong military was necessary to protect the country from any invading force.

Despite what some might call "radical" methods, Rey Abraham's reforms have been widely accepted by the people of Castellio. He has earned their loyalty and respect, and they see him as a fair and just ruler. His close working relationship with Archon Christopher and Romandi has also ensured the safety and prosperity of Castellio.

Archon Christopher:

[Working to get actual art from commissioned artists, to have his portrait done.]

Archon Christopher's came from humble beginnings as a commoner, born and raised in Romandi's most impoverished location, Luogo Di Servizio. Growing up, he had a strong sense of justice and compassion for those who were oppressed. Of which he developed by witnessing the harsh living conditions of the lower Romandi class in his hometown and the forced immigrant workers of Castellio. He found solace in making friends with the Castellion children who were sent off to perform mandated stewardships in Luogo.

It was there that he met Abraham, a young hot-headed boy who was always there to back him up in a fight; they quickly became friends. Christopher's kind and empathetic nature helped to calm Abraham's impulsive one; or at times encouraged it, depending on the circumstance.

The two of them spent countless nights envisioning how they could make the world they lived in a better place.

Christopher's influence and leadership grew as he included other children in their conversations, and soon, he slowly became a symbol of hope for the mistreated youths of Luogo.

As they grew older, Christopher and Abraham continued to discuss their dreams and aspirations for a better world. They both came to realize that a revolution was necessary to overthrow the tyrannical overseers that oppressed both of their people, and they began to rally Romadians and Castelliones alike to join their cause.

Christopher married his childhood sweetheart Roxanna, and together, they fought for the revolution. With best friend and chosen brother Abraham at his side, Christopher led the charge to overthrow the corrupt rulers and bring peace and prosperity to Romandi. He was crowned the 64th Archon and made Roxanna his queen.

As Archon, Christopher introduced an era of prosperity to Romandi. Art, music, food, drink, and fine crafts flourished under his rule, and he made great efforts to maintain a balance of peace between the different social classes. His greatest dream is to build n education system that would provide learning opportunities to everyone who wishes to learn, regardless of their social class or financial status. He believes that everyone deserves a chance to learn and grow, and that education is the key to a better future.

Christopher's warm heart and love for learning have led him to adopt the ideology of seeing the best in everyone. He is a fair ruler who tries his best to understand and empathize with the needs and concerns of his people. His kind and compassionate nature has won him the love and respect of his subjects, and he is best known by his title given to him after winning the war for the freedom of the weak in Romandi; "The Champion Of The People".

[dragon-fics]

SR: Ch. 6 Ch. 6 Du Weldenvarden

Chapter summary: The journey begins to reunite Alys and Ugauc...

Prologue, Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7

Please like and/or reblog to help share my work if you like it. One shot requests are open (x Reader) as are commissions are my patreon (as well as wee bonuses if you can afford. Thank you

Do you think the elves will continue to stand in your way? Shruikan’s voice was gentle as he glided behind the three other dragons. The sky was a pretty blue against the wide reach of the green below, and his black scales attracted a lot of the sun’s heat.

Alys sighed, physically and mentally. Probably. But maybe with their queen by our side, they’ll let me in.

A hum came from him, vibrating Alys a little. I hope so. If there is no way to save him, even with your knowledge of healing, it’d be best to… he trailed off, knowing Alys would fill in the blanks.

She nodded. I have a feeling it’s the only way. I just… hope there’s enough in him to keep his Heart alive.

A melancholy feeling came from Shruikan. Ah, he still has his in him? You would be so kind.

We’ve learned from his actions. Her gaze drifted downward, the wind picking up her braids. We know better than to control dragons. I honestly didn’t expect you to be so eager to come with me. She smiled softly, her chest feeling warm as she remembered Shruikan’s threatening stance behind her in Ilirea. It’s nice having you on my side, especially by your own will. She knew sombre things were ahead.

Shruikan radiated a similarly warm mind. Alys found it comforting to experience all his feelings, or a fraction of them. She never knew if it was all his emotions. There was so little shared.

Arya shouted something to Alys. She looked at her and nodded, pretending like the wind didn’t mute what she’d said. Fírnen dove to the side and the other two dragons followed.

I guess we do that too. Alys mused and Shruikan followed them. She lurched forward in her saddle and Shruikan shifted his wings and tail to adjust his descent. He still struggled with this part of flying, learning the impact of his new size and mass.

Alys felt something tug at her heart and she looked at Shruikan as he evened out above the sea of leaves and branches. The smaller dragons flew below him.

“Is something wrong?” she asked him with mind and mouth. She touched the scales of his lower neck, smoother and healthy now.

You know I’ve been here before… His mind and body were quiet, even his huge wings had enough air to just glide for a while.

I know. You don’t have to go all the way in. I’ll ride with one of the others. She wanted to comfort him, feeling his anxiety shiver through her.

No. He beat his wings. I want to make sure you get to him unopposed. I might be enough to make that happen.

Without thinking, she asked; Is that what you want? She didn’t know if it was her staring or if he hesitated, but she felt like a league of flying was done before he answered.

Yes. I do. I may as well use my past for good. Pay you back a smidge.

Alys couldn’t help but giggle. His voice was too tired and rough sounding for “smidge” to be part of his vocabulary. She felt his satisfaction; he’d set out to make her laugh.

Her good humour was cut short when she lurched forward and grunted. “What?!” She looked over Shruikan’s shoulder at the sea of leaves below. The other Riders and dragons had disappeared. She grumbled softly to herself and Shruikan glided around to find a place to land. He found a clearing large enough for him to stumble to a halt in.

Alys stroked his neck and looked around. She extended her mind, meeting the other Riders’. “That way.” She pointed.

Shruikan edged his way through the trees, wings tucked in, head and body low. He grumbled softly, irritated by the closed space. He stumbled on a couple of upturned roots and did his best to dodge thick branches.

Alys touched his neck and blindingly bright scarlet assaulting her mind. “I could get off and look for somewhere better for you to move through?”

He shook his head harshly. No. This is probably the quickest way. I’ll be fine. Just some cramped muscles, I’m sure. He snorted and tensed his shoulder, tempted to swipe at the nearest tree to cut it down.

She smiled softly. “If you’re sure. You’re doing really well.” She stroked his shoulder and leaned her body down against him to aid him in his effort, even if it was minuscule from what he was doing.

Shruikan’s mind calmed a little, the loud redness fading with her praise. He sighed, soothing his temper, and crawled through the forest. The small, slender shapes of Thorn, Saphira and Fírnen came into view, gathered in a canopied clearing that couldn’t be seen from above. In the middle of the three dragons were their Riders, discussing in hushed whispers and gesturing far-from-subtly.

Alys grumbled under her breath and had Shruikan continue as he was, as none of them seemed to notice them approaching. Shruikan extended his neck between Thorn and Fírnen, causing both dragons flinched away.

Thorn hissed, spikes on his back flaring, and tried to swipe at Shruikan’s snout. The older dragon just lifted his head away and chuckled mightily. His shuddering body making Alys laugh. Thorn eased but glared at Shruikan even as Murtagh attempted to comfort him.

The clearing was warm, and the light was tinted green from the leaves above. Each leaf came from slender branches that all joined into three large trees, trunks thicker than Shruikan’s original neck. There was a fourth tree, though. It was ash-white, brittle and devoid of any luscious branches like the others.

It made Alys’ heart heavy, bleeding into Shruikan to make her sadness his. Whatever the others were discussing didn’t involve her, but she could help the tree. Healing was her business. It was ironic at a moment like this.

To soothe her sorrow, Shruikan walked to the tree, padding around the group silently. He sniffed at its crumbling bark, causing it to turn to dust by his faintest breath. Do you think it was as mighty as the others?

Probably, she sighed sadly and touched its trunk. A pale powder layered her palm. But the others grew quicker, taking its sunlight. She drew in a breath and whispered faintly. Her wrist shone green as the enchantment got to work. The bark grew strong first, then the trunk extended, and branches grew from it, lined with little green buds.

Shruikan stared as the tree was brought back to life, his heart buzzing and tail spiked like a giddy dragonling.

Alys watched for a moment after it was done, and some buds above the canopy bloomed. “Much better.” She felt the other’s gazes on her, and she turned to face them in unison with Shruikan.

“Let’s go to Ellesméra.” Arya stepped forward. “Let’s get you to Ugauc.”

Shruikan turned himself towards the group and loosened his wings.

[industryandenterprisedavidsmith]

Placement reflective logg: Hours worked: 5 Hours.

Two in person meetings at SWG3. the first with the Invisible City Glasgow based tour group from 11:15 to 13:15.

and the other with different community groups and the leaders and

Before the Meeting me and the placement holder discussed my future plans for the Glasgow shipbuilding related art. I showed some sketches I've made of the new Type 26 frigates that were built in Govan for the Royal navy and recently launched, with more currently under construction. I was also encouraged to visit local library's and the library of my college to do more research into the River Clyde's History of shipbuilding and find archived photos and footage of the shipbuilding Industry. and that I could include a QR code in my work to show information I had gathered about shipbuilding.

We developed a plan where I could gather research for y project by visiting the transport museum, then going to a shipbuilding museum in Govan using the new Govan to Patrick footbridge.

I'm planning on going to these museums to gather some research tomorrow while everything from today is still in my head. the time I spend there will also count as my placement hours.

The first meeting was with invisible city, a group of Glasgow tour guides that give tours around popular areas of Glasgow. who were at SWG3 to get a tour and to discuss the Clyde tunnel bike path mural art project I am also taking part in. I also tagged along on a tour of the SWG3 building as well. I also learned this tour group have collaborated with SWG3 many times in the past.

photos I took while getting a tour of SWG3 and the Yard works, which is the large open for making safe and legal graffiti Art. done by the 120 Artists that are the SWG3 Artist mentoring program.

Next was a meeting about Collecting stories about the River Clyde from communities of Govan and Patrick, attending this meeting were people from these communities such as school leaders and people the councils of these communities.

they discussed with SWG3 about collecting stories from these communities and creating art from these storie using micro commissions of local artists, Art that takes the from of painted Installations and the use of technology to make interactive sound installations and augmented reality projects. Using a Glasgow school of Art student who has experience with these methods that is also doing a Student placement.

they talked about using the tunnels intersections to host raves and live performances and to house sound art installations. I have never been trough the mile long Clyde tunnel pedestrian path and I was advised not to do so alone. they also talked about using the "Who owns the Clyde" podcast to gather and share these stories.

this is all part of a planned open air Arts district for Glasgow that loops around Patrick and Govan via the Clyde tunnel and the new Govan Patrick bridge.

Most the people at these meetings were at the opening ceremony for the bridge that I never attended. I can reflect back and wish I attended it.

I learned more about the street art projects happening in Glasgow and about the Yard works Festival that Happens at SWG3 during the first weekend of May, this is basically and street art festival with lots of shipping containers being used as canvases to made street art by artists that are part of the SWG3 artist mentoring program. including 20 international Artists. I doubt I will be able to attend this event but I would like to. It runs for three days.

I can reflect back on this days events and note a few things.

the journey to SWG3 from paisley is quicker than I thought, causing me to be 25 minutes early.

To arrange a part of the building to meet when I arrive.

to use audio recordings, AI apps to make Realtime accurate notes. rather than the pages of messy writing I have made

Made me realise I have done drawings without much research into the long and storied history of the shipbuilding industry in Glasgow. other than the newest Naval Warships now being built by BAE Systems.

[enchantedalyx]

Crawling my way back to digital art: A story of my art journey

Hi, I'm Alyx. I'm writing this post to share my art journey story and to hopefully inspire other artists to get their spark back and create art again, especially to those who have also stopped creating due to getting burnt out from art/life, but all along or recently have been aching to return.

So, here goes my story:

The first digital painting I created was when I was a little kid. My software: Microsoft Paint. My painting: the classic house drawing composed of the basic shapes surrounded by all the nature elements – trees, flowers, a smiling sun in the corner or in between the mountains, butterflies, and all that. I loved art class the most (hated PE the most). I graduated elementary school with the "Best in Coloring" award. I also got all the "Best in Science" award and all that, but what made me the happiest was the art-related one. I really loved coloring. I love colors.

And then everything changed when the fire nation attacked: I got into a science high school.

A little open secret: Our high school contract doesn't allow students to enroll in a non-science course in college unless we pay millions so... you get where this story is going.

In high school, I had been sketching here and there, but never fully; algebra & chemistry was killing my brain. By the near-end of it, during the review for college entrance exams and on our 4-month vacation after graduation, I was really craving to digitally paint again (all along). I joined DeviantArt (but my initial account is gone because I deleted it... lesson learned: don't), tried entering contests (submitted traditional and digital pieces but never won a single one), and just drew and painted whatever I liked (mostly girls) in anime style. This time, I installed and used PaintTool SAI and used my laptop touchpad or mouse to paint and/or make lines.

I enjoyed the seemingly little time I had before the fire nation attacked again: I got into college with a really toxic science-related course that damaged my mental health. Again, algebra & chemistry, my life-long nemesis.

These were the darkest years I've had in my life for several reasons other than academics, but the journey through this dark tunnel has been dragging on for so long that when I was just about to come up for air, the pandemic happened. Wow, it really doesn't end. Back then, we didn't know when and how the pandemic will end, right?

I thought, if the world was ending, I might as well be spending my remaining time on earth creating art.

There was so much more I wanted to do; wanted to paint; wanted to learn. I refuse to die without achieving all that.

So, after graduating and getting my degree (alive, thankfully), it was time for the board exam review (I hated it). Back then, everything was held online. There were times when (plenty) that I find myself fingerpainting portraits on my mobile phone instead of listening attentively to the board exam instructor. I joined the art community on Twitter and got exposed to so various art styles and talented artists. Since the exam schedule got postponed and postponed, I had a bit of time on my hands.

August 2020: I got my very first pen tablet! Of course, with the limited time I have (before I face the reality that I need to take the board exam and get a job to survive this capitalistic world), I spent my nights and hours painting like a madwoman. I skipped learning the basics because I felt like my time was running out. I just drew whatever I wanted (again, anime, girls, and portrait art mostly), became active in the Twitter community and interacted with fellow artists, did commissions, joined DTIYs, participated in some free art talks and workshops online, made art for my friends, etc.

April 2021: I was able to upgrade my equipment and bought an affordable pen display using commission earnings! I was really so happy with it. Don't let anyone tell you equipment don't matter, and passion would suffice. My output was better quality-wise; the even the painting process I found more enjoyable.

Shortly after then, my time has ran out.

I took the board exam, passed and got my license, got a corporate job to pay the bills... you know, the typical path you follow to survive. I work in a field I'm really interested in and been learning a lot from, but it had me so burnt out in all aspects during the first 2 years or so that I basically had no time for anything else, even myself. Life had been playing its hardest games too. Eventually, I hid myself from the art community and kind of accepted one night that if I want to survive, I cannot pursue art in this lifetime.

Well, that sounded so depressing (it is) so let's skip to the part where I'm (trying to be) *drumrolls* back ;w; Right now, I'm blessed with a bit of overall balance in my life – time, security, energy, health, and passion.

This year 2024, I was able to wander through art exhibits, galleries, events, museums; was able to traditionally sketch something again last February and June; finished a digital painting piece to retrace my process last August; and ongoing some art classes/lesson assignments September-October 2024 (currently anatomy~). It really is a big thing to me that I'm incorporating art into my life again little by little.

You know, I think consistency is different from person to person. To me, being consistent is being able to show up at least once or twice a month to have a digital painting session or doing my lessons – because that's what I'm capable of giving right now whilst trying to survive in this world; doesn't matter if I finish a piece or a lesson, at least I made even a tiny bit of progress. Afterall, small progress is still progress, right?

I guess, what I wanted to say is that:

You can pick up your pen (stylus) and start again.

(And that I really am thankful to everyone – creators who have inspired me, art mutuals, clients, and everyone who has supported my art in any way.)

[abcdosaka]

University was such a big reality check for me. It really humbled me in terms of my intelligence, what I’m willing to do to have a stable career, what I’m willing to do to satisfy my parents, etc. I honestly think I didn’t consider my own wants at all. I just didn’t have time or energy to not live in the moment. I think I picked up a pen and really drew maybe 3 times in all of those 5 years. What kept me going was thinking about how even though maybe I’m not smart enough to be an engineer, I’m definitely disciplined enough. And I pick things up fast. I like working in a team of people to do something engaging for my brain. But I dunno if it’s enough. I don’t think I could do this for the rest of my life. what kinda clicked for me today is I was watching the documentary on the making of arcane and I was like oh, I wanna do that. I want to do something artistic, something related to storytelling. I want to create something really beautiful. I don’t think that’s what I’m doing right now.

Like I can think of so many examples where I had real passion and fun doing art. I used to create assets for avatars on this website for free. I used to do free commissions. I’d spend hours and hours drawing anything I could think of in my sketchbooks, fanart and original characters and comics. Pretty sure I’ve cracked Sony Vegas, photoshop and toon boom like 2-3 separate times as a teenager. I had a whole ass job as a teenager doing graphic design. And I just stopped? I took school so seriously and turns out I’m probably like 90 iq anyway.

Maybe in a few years I’ll follow my dreams and go back to school and learn French and join an animation studio. Maybe even just a year from now. I need to meet people first I think. Or maybe take a course after work. Maybe planning it out first and figuring out if I’m willing to do the work and take the risk is a better idea. It’s not like I hate my job, but knowing that I had a dream and I let my parents and the people around me discourage me and talk me down from following them just makes me really sad. I was a total coward. I still am, but maybe not as much. In all fairness, I was being pragmatic. I was totally dependent on my parents for everything and it would’ve been a very very difficult journey to do that without anyone’s love or support. Not that I have it now either, in fact I probably have less, but I’m more independent now which makes a big difference.

I don’t wanna give myself false hope which means I actually have to act now. I’m gonna get a car soon. I’m gonna try to express myself through art again. Hopefully I enjoy it as much as I used to. I don’t wanna do the stable thing anymore.

[moneyallthetime]

Why People Fail With Affiliate Marketing

I've been where you are, scanning the internet for that blueprint to make affiliate marketing work. The allure is irresistible: the promise of passive income just a few clicks away. But that's exactly where the trap lies. Behind every glittering success story are untold tales of missteps and downturns.Before I share the hard-earned lessons from the front lines of affiliate marketing, let me clarify what affiliate marketing is. It's a performance-based business model where you earn commissions for promoting someone else's products or services. Simple in theory, right? Yet the practical side is far from straightforward.You may have heard how some have turned it into a goldmine, often leaving out the part about the strategic planning and tireless work that goes into such success. Conversely, there are those who venture into affiliate marketing with high expectations but soon hit roadblocks.The truth is, affiliate marketing can be incredibly rewarding, but it doesn't come without its challenges. By understanding the common pitfalls, you're arming yourself with the knowledge to sidestep them and forge a path to success.Mistake #1: Lack of Patience and ConsistencyYou've probably heard that patience is a virtue. Well, when it comes to affiliate marketing, it's not just a nice saying - it's a MUST. Rushing to see results can lead to frustration and premature quitting.Content is king, yes, but consistency is the queen. You can write a few great posts, but if you don't do it regularly, your traffic and engagement are likely to dwindle. The Internet is vast, and without consistent output, your voice gets lost in the noise.I've seen many marketers come and go, brimming with enthusiasm at the start only to fade out when their blog doesn't immediately rank or their affiliate links don't instantly convert. It's a harsh lesson that many learn too late.Now, here's my advice for the long game: Set realistic goals and prepare for a marathon, not a sprint. Create a content calendar and stick to it. The results will compound, and as they do, your perseverance will start to pay off.Mistake #2: Disregarding Quality Content and Audience NeedsI've seen my fair share of affiliate marketing strategies flounder, many times due to overlooking the core element of any successful marketing plan: quality content that resonates with an audience. It's simple, really. Trust is not given; it's earned by delivering content that truly benefits your readers.Why does this matter? Well, first-rate content is the foundation upon which you establish yourself as an expert in your niche. It's not enough to just churn out articles or videos; your content must educate, inform, or solve problems. Loyal audiences don't flock to mediocrity, they seek out and stick with sources they perceive as authoritative and trustworthy.Case in point: I recall a website that boasted frequent posts and all the right affiliate links but offered shallow, low-effort write-ups. Not surprisingly, their traffic and conversions dwindled as users sought more substantial resources.So, what can you do about it? Create with intention. It means taking the time to understand what your audience is looking for and producing content that meets those needs. Dive deep into your topic, back up your claims with data, and give your audience the solutions they've been searching for.Don't forget, engaging and high-quality content is the bedrock of repeat traffic, which translates to ongoing affiliate revenue. When you prioritize value over volume, your audience—and your bottom line—will thank you.Conclusion: Turning Failure into Success in Affiliate MarketingI've seen that acknowledging the pitfalls in affiliate marketing is just the starting point. Applying the lessons from those setbacks is where your journey takes a positive turn. By now, you should be aware that quick fixes rarely lead to lasting success. The key lies in building a solid foundation with patience, quality, and an eye for detail.Remember, every marketer who succeeded has faced their fair share of failures. What sets the successful ones apart is their refusal to let those failures define them. Instead, they use them as stepping stones to learn, adapt, and improve.And here's some GOOD NEWS: the cycle of failure isn't endless. With the insights and strategies you've gathered, I'm confident that you're well-equipped to pivot your approach. Don't just try to evade failure; aim to understand it, dissect it, and USE it as your blueprint for success. Draw from the commitment to patience, the dedication to quality content, and the strategic use of SEO and data analysis discussed earlier.Lastly, I want to leave you with a thought to hold onto: Failure in affiliate marketing isn't the end of the road; it's a detour on your path to success. Embrace it, learn from it, and then, with determination, keep moving forward. Read the full article

[voctyblog]

THE CONCEPT OF EVANGELISM AND DISCIPLESHIP

What’s the Difference Between Evangelism and Discipleship?

Two words that are often used in Christianity are evangelism and discipleship. Some use these two words interchangeably, but they are actually two different things. Let’s take a look at what each of them is and how they are different.

What is Evangelism?

Evangelism is the act of spreading the Gospel. It is telling people who Jesus is and giving them a chance to respond to the Gospel by speaking with them and communicating God’s love.

Evangelism tends to be the start of someone’s journey in their faith. Through evangelism, many will come to hear the Gospel, some even for the first time, and either believe and want to know more, or continue on their way.

Whether we realize it or not, all Christians have been evangelized in some way. Whether it was a friend who told you about Jesus and the Bible, or you heard it on the street, that still is evangelism. It is simply the spreading of the Gospel message.

What is Discipleship?

Discipleship takes evangelism a step further by taking someone who has been evangelized and now teaching them what it means to be a Christian.

The word ‘disciple’ means to be a follower or a student of some kind of philosophy or way of living. Think about the disciples in the Bible. They spent endless time with Jesus, learning from Him, hearing Him teach and adopting His ways in their own lives.

Another word for discipleship could even be mentoring. To disciple someone is to take them under your wing and live life with them, supporting them and building them up to be more mature in their faith.

Discipleship is, in fact, the great commission that all followers of Jesus were given when Jesus ascended into heaven:

“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Discipleship was the final command that we were given by Jesus. It is to go and build people up in Christ to be strong believers and followers of Jesus, observing all that Jesus commanded us.

How Do Evangelism and Discipleship Relate to One Another?

You could say that discipleship starts with evangelism. If someone were to come to Christ and then begin to learn what it means to be a Christ-follower from someone else, they would first be evangelized to accept the Gospel, and then begin to be discipled.

The reason why this is important becomes clear when we look at most churches today. Many churches today have nailed what it looks like to evangelize and bring people the Gospel. They’re having events where they preach the Gospel and they’re getting out into the community to witness to people and share their faith with others. However, many are missing out on the discipleship part.

This would be the equivalent of getting someone excited and interested in flying a plane but never teaching them how to fly. When they get behind the controls and get off the ground when the storms come and they enter a cloud, they’ll, unfortunately, crash and burn.

This is what happens when we evangelize but don’t disciple. We are giving people new life by spreading the Gospel and getting them excited about following Jesus, but we aren’t teaching them how to actually do so. Instead, what often happens is that churches move on to the next evangelism event without discipling and helping those who were evangelized at the previous event.

This often creates a lot of confusion and doubt in many new believers’ minds about their decisions. Some may think that they just had to initially believe and can now go back to living the same way they were living before. Others may have doubt about the validity of the Gospel since they aren’t being helped to understand what to do next. When it comes to evangelism and discipleship, you simply cannot have one without the other.

So, let us get out and share our faith, but let us also disciple those who are learning and build one another up to be mature believers in Christ. Then those disciples can go and evangelize and disciple others, building the Kingdom as it was always meant to happen.