#and then the words just kept coming lol

[youngroyals-hc]

Wille gets a call from the royal court at stupid o'clock in the morning, which he promptly ignores, but the 5th time they call back he groans and realises they're not going to go away. He begrudgingly answers the call, slipping on tracksuit pants and a hoodie and blowing a kiss to Simon who watches his boyfriend go regretfully.

A few hours later and he still hasn't returned; Simon is sitting at breakfast making small talk with the Forest Ridge boys but continually glancing up at the door whenever anyone walked in, hoping it would be him. 10 minutes before breakfast closes he decides that the prince won't be coming, so he gets up and makes him a sandwich and heads to class.

Wille arrives at class 20 minutes late looking cranky and tired. He slips into his seat next to his boyfriend and drops his head to Simon's shoulder for the briefest moment before getting his books out and staring blank-eyed at the teacher. Simon reaches out and puts his hand on Wille's thigh, rubbing lightly with his thumb to comfort his boyfriend. Wille's grimace turns into a tiny smile as he traces the lengths of Simon's fingers with his own under the desk.

A few minutes later the teacher instructs them to get into small discussion groups and find somewhere to work. Wille turns and looks at Felice and Fredrika, gesturing with his head as he stands up, holding Simon's hand for just a moment and giving it a gentle tug. The four of them head towards the library and sit down at the desks. Simon takes the opportunity to reach into his bag and place the sandwich on the table in front of Wille, quickly kissing his cheek and smoothing back his (rapidly growing) hair behind his ear. Wille looks for a second like he is about to cry, before quietly whispering "Tack, Simme" and gently unwrapping the green paper.

As the four friends sit and discuss the structure of the Riksdag, Wille nibbles on his food, and his mood slowly starts to rise. He still sits quietly for the most part (years of being told not to share his political opinions is not an easy habit to break), but he nods along to what Simon says and gives him encouraging smiles, especially when Fredrika says something misguided and Simon tries to hold in his annoyance as he explains his point of view.

The class ends and the boys gather up their belongings and walk down the corridors of Hillerska.

"So what did they want this time?" Simon says gently.

"They're still trying to convince me to do Military service like Erik did. I just can't Simon, I can't imagine spending 12 months learning how to hurt other people, even if it is just for show. Why can't they just let me take alternative service and let me actually do something good instead?" Wille's voice rises in panic as he speaks, and Simon pulls him aside and into a nook in the hallway.

"Wille, they can't make you do anything. If you object publicly, what could they do about it?"

"Make my life more hell than it already is" Wille replies miserably.

"Maybe... Or maybe, you could put a spin on this. Think about it. Showing alternative service as a valid option to those who view it just as an excuse. We could do some really public acts during it, invite the press. Surely the court will see that as a positive impact on your image?" Simon says, taking his boyfriend's hand with his while circling his other over Wille's shoulder and chest to calm him.

"I couldn't ask you to do that Simon, I know how much you hate the press." Wille says sadly, but less dejectedly than before.

"You're not asking me, I'm offering älskling. Plus, it gets me out of the conversation too; I'm certain they were warming up to that."

Wille huffs out a breath and leans in closer to Simon.

"Will you ask them, mi amor? Next time they call, be super positive and tell them all the things you will do and why it's a good idea. I'm sure you can win them round."

"What would I do without you, my Simon?" Wille says, finally circling his arms around his boyfriend's waist and hugging him tightly.

"Well, for a start, not eat breakfast I suppose" Simon teases back, and it earns a laugh from Wille.

"Come on Wille, military service can wait but I don't think Mr Englund can" Simon says, breaking away and leading Wille back into the hall as the other boy groans and starts spewing complaints about their teacher instead.

[sentientsky]

a tiny little ficlet based on this lovely comment from @queer4cryptids on this post! (i accidentally made it angsty, i’m so sorry!! but there’s comfort and gay yearning in there, i swear!) when the night falls low and settles against the side of the Earth; when the the dark begins to carry a certain weight, he shifts his stance. he lets himself breathe air he doesn't really need into lungs that exist simply by virtue of his inclination to breath. it's the same pattern Crowley's watched unfold a hundred million times times over—the stretching of a thread until it frays, three women, a set of blades; a wicked inevitability carried in the lines of time-weathered hands.

and still it never changes, never lessens the welling of grief that builds and breaks in his chest, that stagnates and stratifies like layers of sand upon gravel upon so many eons since he first fell from the sky and lost the right to mourn a woman hungry only for bread and a little kindness.

he leans back against a headstone, swallowing down a familiar hollowness. the sparrows have all taken root in the knots of tree trunks. the moon blinks back at him, clouds swaying like an eyelid closing to sleep.

he turns his face away from the light, sucks in breath for which he still has no need. the rough-hewn granite is going to scuff his coat; he knows this with the certainty of having lived in a world full of serrated edges for so many years. and yet he doesn't care. Crowley can't find it in him to give a damn because finally, finally he's there. he's there and he's real and tangible and it's been eleven months, two weeks, and four days since he's last felt the warmth of angelic skin so close to his own. not that he's been keeping count, of course. and Aziraphale's got that faraway look again. the one pressed into the lines of his face in the aftermath of a flood that tilted against the sky; the same one Crowley saw in the stark daylight of a death warrant unfurled and stamped with the name of the holy Mother herself. it's the same, hollow, teeth-gritted look Crowley himself wore as he stood on a hillside reeking of freshly-cut wood, bearing witness to yet another child of the Almighty thrown to the wolves. Aziraphale turns, then, and blue eyes meet black lenses meet amber-gold. "Crowley—" Aziraphale manages, choking it out in a half-whisper, like it hurts—like it scrapes his throat with bits of barbed wire. and, just like that, something in him is breaking and the oak trees are all whispering dangerous things and still, still he can't find a version of this story in which he doesn't lean closer, doesn't press himself forward into air that smells of earl grey tea and old books and something celestial and hallowed and holy underneath it all. and as though he's drowning—as though the moon doesn't watch them with a flickering gaze and the trees can't hear the brush of skin meeting skin—Aziraphale presses his fingertips to the side of Crowley's wrist. he moves no further. the air holds still, time seeming to freeze around them. it's intentional, he realizes; it's fire and it's heat and it's utterly fucking terrifying. even now, so far above ground, Crowley can nearly feel the weight of hellish eyes on his back. a shudder runs the length of his body. and yet. in the atomic space of that hungry, desperate, throat-baring yet, he turns his hand, trembling, to the side. he finds the angel's touch like a bird bearing North—like a compass forever calibrated to a single, fixed point.

"I know—" he rasps. “Angel, I know.” he twines his fingers with Aziraphale's, and it's positively electric. every cell in his tragically, wonderfully human body has turned pure gold, conducted and galvanized and sparking. a sharp, stilted inhale; a quiet anticipation carved out in the space between their pressed hands (and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss...). the graveyard is still. the grief is there, still. the grief might always be there. but the sharp edges dull, the welling in his chest grows steady and slow and gentle. and the world becomes a little less difficult to bear with the two of them holding it up.

[yanderespamton78]

the current state of the arg

sorry guys the art isnt arting D:

(btw if youre confused on why i drew turnip like that i was referencing the picrew he did ages ago bc idk it looked fun to draw anddd i dont like taking reference off real life images)

[indiegame]

this week was so long

[spidey-bie]

hobie w a artist partner/friend that's also punk

he's constantly asking you to make pins and patches and clothes and shit with him

if ur selling ur art for a living he's def supporting your business bc he understands how capitalism forces ppl to work to survive

he's also constantly getting (read: stealing) art supplies for you from like hobby lobby, ross, etc

and ur obvs making signs for his shows and protests and stuff together (sometimes it even becomes a group activity w the rest of the comic/movie spider gang)

all in all, i think hobie w an artist is perf

OMG YES. I love thinking up different concepts. He definitely brags about them too. Probably promotes their art at his shows too. I don't draw myself but he'd definitely make for an interesting model especially with his hair.

Also once Hobie introduces them to Miles they both hit it off immediately and start exchanging tips and ideas. All three of them definitely go off to spray a lovely mural on some billboards as an act of protest.

If they crochet or knit they've definitely made a lil plushie for each of the spider teens. (Which everyone loved. Hobie was smug and proudly showing it off.)

Now I'm thinking of lazy Sundays where his partner/friend is crafting away knitting or sketching something while Hobie is strumming a soft tune as they both sit outside on a balcony or something. Or if they're a fellow spider instead of a balcony somewhere on the roof of a tall building.

OH WAIT THERE'S MORE.

What if they met back when Hobie was still a runway model? What if he wore mostly their pieces? What if Hobie was their inspiration for most of their designs?

Stop me now. Someone take the phone away from me.

[bangcakes]

.

[rosicheeks]

I hope your days aren't as heavy and dark, I am sending all the positive thoughts your way. You deserve the best, fairy princess. <3

😭

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

i go insane for oblivious romance but only if it's written properly. if not i go crazy

[sheathnknife]

the vampire diaries 8.16 // louise gluck, crossroads

“and damon, like the voiceover tell us, he was worried he would never see stefan again. it was just elena assuring him that there would be peace. that we’ve dealt with this other side of darkness for several seasons, but there’s also light out there and there’s peace, and damon will find it. if you search for it, you will find it. and we wanted to get that last moment to see that [...] damon found it too, and it looked just like his brother.” — kevin williamson

[elegyofthemoon]

While reading the relic story for Fleet of the Ageless, I ran into some mention of the "Three Sufferings":

Yet, just like the shifting of the sun and moon, what once prospered was fated to decline and what once brought elation must eventually induce agony. It was not until the arrival of the Three Sufferings, when people were tormented to near extinction, that the Xianzhou people finally came to understand the true nature of this so-called miracle, which was nothing but harrowing calamity. (The Xianzhou Luofu's Celestial Ark)

And I'm not really sure if they mention it elsewhere on the Luofu (I'm very slowly going through everything. Except I keep getting sucked into reading Belobog stuff >_>), but what it did make me think about however is that in Buddhism, there is something called the "three marks of existence", which refers to the three sources of suffering in the world. So I wanted to mostly write this up as a comparison between what's going on in the Luofu vs. Buddhist belief! (And a very big warning: I might be skimming over important details about the religion. I was born into a culture that is very heavily influenced by Buddhism and have grown up with some understanding of it while having to study it on my own, so I'm sure I'll get a lot of details wrong. So if I get anything wrong, you're always welcome to chime in!)

At least in my memory, I remembered that there was a suffering because of attachment to objects, to self, and to others -- all with the concept that all things do not last, so I had to search up these names properly.

anicca (impermanence): This is the core concept in which nothing lasts in this world. The inability to recognize the impermanence of life will then lead to grief -- suffering -- that humans face, as a result. You can actually see this with the Sanctus Medicus's desire for eternal life with Dan Shu who grieved the loss of her friend Yufei via the diaries that you could pick up

It's this idea of attachment to something bound to end some way or another that will inevitably lead to suffering/pain when that loss comes.

dukkha (suffering): The idea behind this mark is that the truth is that life cannot be satisfied. If there isn't suffering, there are moments of joy, but as all things in life, even the joy is brief.

I wouldn't exactly be able to pinpoint how this gets carried out on the Luofu. I would have said something about how the Luofu had once sought out eternal life which then led to the implanting of the Ambrosial Arbor by Yaoshi, but now are unsatisfied by their gift of eternal life to them. I could also say that at least with the longer lives that the Xianzhou natives have, they eventually lose interest in life itself because they've had the chance to sought out anything they could with their many years, which is better described in Yukong's third character story:

and for the final mark of existence: anatta (not self): If suffering comes from attachment, then an attachment to an image of one's self too can lead to a source of suffering. With time, everyone is bound to change and grow, so any attempts in trying to hold onto one specific image could lead to a source of pain.

I think the best way to display this concept is actually through Yaoshi's acts and why the Alliance condemns them and their "abominations" (themselves included :'D). To rid of the suffering that comes with death, Yaoshi hopes to grant the gift of eternal life, but it seems that coming back from the dead doesn't mean returning to one's old self, which I feel can be seen at least with Blade's case with his revival and no longer being Yingxing. These undead are what the Alliance hopes to get rid of. I think it can also be seen through Bailu's story quest with the girl who slowly becomes marastruck who panics the moment the armor and her skin becomes melded into each other, no longer able to retain her former image before meeting and reuniting with her lover, in which case the idea of "self" is an attachment to a physical form rather than something more abstract instead, and that leading to her own suffering in the end.

I'm sure that a lot of Hoyo's writing with weaving in Buddhism with the Luofu lore isn't coincidental (looks at Dan Heng) , and I'm sure that there's bound to be better show of each of these principles, but I think this is what Hoyo might be referring to when they write about the "Three Sufferings" in the relic. Maybe I'll come back to this post later if I find better evidence BUT I thought worth noting at least for now :) ty for reading if you made it this far

[allylikethecat]

hi omg i love ur work so much (especially make way for ducklings and u know where the city is - the new chapter was soo amazing 🥹). idk if u still accept prompts ever but i was reading ur post about head canons and thought that the one about Fictional!Matty + cars could go so well w any of the cuddle prompts. anyway i so look forward to all of ur upcoming work including the holiday fics!!

Aw! Thank you so much oh my gosh! I'm so happy that you're enjoying my work! Thank you so much for taking the time to reach out! I know I keep saying it, but I'm so happy people are still willing to read You Know Where the City Is after the weirdness that was May! I just want to make it clear (for the hundredth time I'm sure lol) that *I* started this fic before whatever that relationship situation was lol Get excited we are only mere *chapters* away from Fictional!Taylor and Fictional!George meeting and starting what will end up being a remainder of the fic long pissing match. (Poor Fictional!Matty has no idea they don't get along, let alone that he is the toy they are fighting over.)

Also!! Make Way for Ducklings! I was so worried people were going to be weirded out by that as well and instead people, yourself included have been so absolutely lovely and I am so grateful! It might be a little bit before I have an update finished - I've been prioritizing those Holiday fics at the moment, and also Make Way for Ducklings Fictional!Matty is in a metaphorical time out for trying to make bad decisions that I did *not* approve of lol. He needs some time to think about his actions and their consequences lol

I am ALWAYS accepting prompts even if they are taking me twenty thousand millions years to finish. The list of cuddle prompts (I hope this is the list you were talking about!) can be found here let me know which one you are interested in making a car sick situation and I will add it to my list! Hopefully the holiday fics will be finished before Christmas lol

Thank you so much for reading, your support and your kind message! I apologize for writing you a tiny novel in response! I hope you have a lovely rest of your night!

❤️Ally

[teamhawkeye]

you wish your squad was us

okay, so Fortnite is actually kinda fun, i get it now lmao

[tardis--dreams]

For the first time ever, i failed a term paper. The lecturer opened the conversation with the words "you handed in an excellent term paper. Really, A+!" And then continued to point out to me what she liked most. And then told me that that one bitch that was tormenting me last semester had copied all of the notes i shared with her for our presentation. Which is why she can't let me pass because while she Knows it's not my fault she couldn't prove it to anyone if questioned about it. So we both fail. But luckily for me, i get another chance. The 15 minutes i talked to her were truly refreshing

[pearblossommina]

My boss: why do you want this job?

Me: starts pouring my heart out about my boyfriend and my relationship struggles and how I want to work on day shift so that we can spend more time together

Her: well you should certainly apply for the position! And tell him you already have a maid of honor

[queermarzipan]

Ooooooo!!

Teams of people are sent periodically to collect the moltings, both to keep tabs on the skin balloons currently floating and to make sure they aren't just wandering aimlessly, getting in the way of both man-made aircrafts and the sky whales themselves.

There are different conventions for skin balloon versus sky whale travel. Firstly, the skies are the whales' domain: Everyone else is a visitor. Therefore, unmanned sky whales have right of way over manned sky whales, and manned sky whales have right of way over skin balloons. You are also always polite to the sky whales. Tamed, wild, yours, others'—doesn't matter. Sky whales are perfectly aware both of what the little peopke are doing and of the fact that they could make them stop doing it very, very easily.

...People talk about 'taming', and on a practical level that is what it is, but also what you're really doing is building up enough of a rapport with this one specific whale that it doesn't mind you basically moving in. You'll hardly have a problem convincing your whale to come stock up on food, and you can go on journeys, long and short, with it, sure—but it will be with your whale. If the whale is not interested, the journey isn't happening.

If your whale sees its friend, it greets it, and so do you—and in the event that said friend is also 'occupied', you are very likely to become friends with its occupiers. There is a thriving community of whale-tamers and their descendants—sky whales have much longer lifespans than mostly everyone, after all. Except the faeries. And the Dubhain. But they're already the exception to everything, that's nothing new.

every so often I remember that whales molt

I’m not sure why I feel this way, but imo this is the most cursed marine mammal fact I have ever heard

[pyritize]

There's not many things that make me happier than sharing knowledge about nature or having it shared with me. My boyfriend's mother told us that she didn't notice birdcalls when she was out on hikes before we pointed them out while we were out together, and now she sends us photos of raptors to help identify. I told my own parents about how cool it was that I'm living in an urban environment that dark-eyed juncos (typically a mountain bird) have established a colony in, and that researchers at a local university had found that these birds have genetically adapted to have higher-pitched voices (to be heard over traffic) and a higher heavy metal tolerance, and then my mom sent me a picture of a junco she noticed out and about. I can identify more and more types of succulents every month because my mother is teaching me about them. A coworker taught me that the "three sisters" (squash, corn, beans) aren't called that because they're served together in food like I initially assumed, but because they help each other grow when planted together.

Idk I know not everyone is interested in the same things but I really don't understand people like the ones in my grad school cohort who heard me exclaiming that there was a woodpecker outside the window and who just didn't give a shit. Obviously other things are at stake in the direction the country and the world is going but there's so much to be learned about the ecosystems around us and I keep on being brought to tears by how much is being destroyed and how little so many people care.