#as a creative one of life's few joys is getting to inspire others

[mufos-photo-album]

When I first saw this, I thought Reah's hat was styled after a bird nest.

I wanted to draw without correcting too much and I have some more sketches

The idea of ​​dressing my OCs elegantly, enabled by @mufos-photo-album (I wasn't sure if I should tag you) I wanted to make Orion and Serene but Serene always dresses very fine, so I drew those characters that look like they came out of the dumpster and put fine clothes on them I didn't draw Orion's wings because I didn't know how to put them on (I don't know how to draw men, I ask for help) I love how Reah turned out, what can I say

Serene's pet, I'm still deciding on a name

Hearth again, I always draw him at the same angle xD

[readwritealldayallnight]

Learning

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley x Reader

wc: 1k words

warnings/tags: fluff

“Said it would’ve made too much of a mess. Waste o’ his money.” Simon says, slopping another spoonful of pumpkin guts into the large bowl in the middle of the kitchen table. Your usual table cloth has been switched out with an array of this weeks newspaper, the black and white print covered in the sticky remnants of your idea of fun on a Friday before Halloween.

“Not even one?” You attempt to pose the question casually, hoping to disguise the sadness in your tone, concealing the way your heart breaks at the thought of a young Simon Riley having never carved a pumpkin, his father not even allowing him to partake in that simple tradition so many others enjoy.

“S’alright, lovie.” He says, seeing right through you and recognizing the hurt you hold for him, an indication of your longing to only see love and joy in his life. If only you knew that’s everything you give him. “Did watch a mate o’ mine shoot his pellet gun at some pumpkins one year, if that makes you feel any better.”

You roll your eyes at his attempt to make you laugh, digging your spoon a little harder into the sides of your own gourd as if it were the one to have wronged you.

“Well then I’m glad I ignored you and got them anyways.” You declare, giving each pumpkin a loving little pat on its side. Simon had told you outside the grocery store, seeing your eyes land on the bright orange displays outside the shop, that they weren’t necessary.

But the both of you knew he would never deny you anything you wanted, and so he ended up carrying the two large pumpkins under each bicep and to the car himself, not letting you lift a finger.

“How’s the inside of yours looking?” You ask him, coming around to his side of the table, affectionately running a hand through the strands of hair at the base of his skull, glancing into the pumpkin he tilts in your direction for you to see. You can feel a shiver go through him at your touch, a soft sigh leaving his lips.

You’re glad he’s home with you, where he can relax, allow his biggest stresses to be his girlfriend ogling his arms as he carved open the tops of pumpkins and gutted them with efficiency.

“You’d have to tell me, love, but I think that’s as empty as it’s gettin’.” He emphasizes by tapping his spoon on the side of the sphere, listening to the dull, hollow echo it gives.

“Looks perfect. Nice work, Simon.” You tell him, planting a quick kiss to his cheek before hopping back over to your seat, leaving him looking a few shades redder than before. “Know what you’re gonna carve?”

“It’s- it’s just a face, innit?” At your question, Simon finds himself pausing. He might have had a different childhood than most, but he wasn’t daft, he knew what a jack o lantern was supposed to look like. Carved eyes, a wicked grin or large frown, sometimes even a nose in between them both.

He didn’t consider himself to be a crafty person, but he’d been a butcher for crying out loud, he could carve some shapes into a pumpkin until it resembled a face, no problem. So why are you asking him about what he’s going to carve.

“Well yeah, that’s the go to, for sure. A classic.” You reassure him, noticing the slight tension returning to his shoulders. “You can carve a face, my love. Some people just do different, they get creative with it.” Shrugging, you grab the marker you’d set aside, beginning to map out the lines for where you plan on carving your own design. You’re distracted, eyes darting between your sketching and your phone where you’ve got the inspiration photo pulled up for reference.

You don’t notice Simon’s eyes squinting ever so slightly at you before darting to the pumpkin in front of him. ‘Get creative with it’? Is that what you’re doing? Is that what you’re expecting him to do? Hoping he’ll do? He glances over at you again and notices you’ve got a bloody reference photo and everything??

He finds his cheeks beginning to burn for a different reason now, feeling stupid over not realizing you could carve more than the standard jack o lantern faces as a tradition. Obviously, you can carve anything you want into a fuckin’ pumpkin, he just didn’t know, he hasn’t done this before, and now he’s gone from feeling almost confident to worried he’s about to make a fool out of himself over something as childish as this.

“Simon.” You say, always more in tune with him than he realizes. “It’s okay, carve anything you want. I’m excited to see what you make.” You smile warmly at him across the table, a small socked foot going to nudge his ankle as well. “Believe it or not, this is supposed to be fun.”

He scoffs at your joke but doesn’t fight the smile that etches onto his face in return. He accepts your distraction when you ask if you should put on some music in the background, walking towards the record player. As he flips through the stack of vinyls, he thinks about just that, what he could possibly carve into that bloody orange sphere sat on his kitchen table, that would be fun.

Searching through any memories he considers as being ‘fun’, he finds a common factor: you. And there’s one more reoccurring element sewn into the fabric of those treasured memories as well: your laughter.

With that in mind, it’s actually quite easy for Simon to decide on what he’ll do finally. And almost an hour later, after you’ve put your blood, sweat and tears into your own pumpkin carving and deciding that the results ended up being just meh, Simon has decided that he’s undeniably the winner of the evening when he spins his creation around and has you nearly crying with laughter, insisting between wheezed breaths that he’s going to make you pee your pants, only leading to Simon’s own laughter bellowing out.

Not too bad for his first time learning.

~~~~~~~~~~

(The kind of pumpkin I’ve decided Ghost would carve 😂)

[erinwantstowrite]

opinions on ai?

This is the perfect time to share something I wrote a few months ago when I was upset about it:

AI is the bane of my existence and I hate it so much. Not only because of the environmental impact that it has, but because of how it gives us absolutely nothing of value in creative spaces and is actually a detriment to our future, rather than being "innovative" like companies want us to believe.

If you're using AI to write notes for you, or to answer questions, to write your essays and your discussion posts, you are hurting yourself. But eventually you will hurt others with your willing ignorance. You are not learning, you are not taking the time to push yourself to new bounds. You are not absorbing the information you need, and for why? Because it's hard? Life is hard. Learning is hard. If learning was easy, you wouldn't be learning anything at all. And one day when you need to use these tools you put down and gave to a program in order to do your job, you are going to get someone hurt in some way. If you're going into teaching and you didn't bother to learn about childhood development because you let an AI take your notes because you couldn't be half-assed to sit through an hour long lecture, you will fail every student that comes your way. If you're an engineer and you had AI do the math for you, something that you make will break and it could kill someone. Because the AI can not even count how many times the letter 'r' is in strawberry, but you're trusting it to make bridges or design buildings?

And in a creative sense, you are not an artist if you use AI. I will scream it from the rooftops if I have to.

You are not an artist if you use AI.

Because to be an artist is to put your very soul into what you create. And an AI has no soul. To be an artist is to lay yourself bare for people to witness and interpret, and it's scary but it's freeing. To be an artist is to make a message with your art, to have people a thousand years from now sit in a museum and feel connected to who you were so far in the past. To think that humanity may be different but we are also inherently the same. To be an artist is to despair over the process of creating your art because it's difficult, and time consuming, and damn does it drive you crazy. But then you get that end result and you realize you learned something about yourself, you got better at something that brings you joy, you created and now you see what you are capable of, and what you will be capable of in the future. To be an artist is to connect with someone because of what you made, and that someone includes yourself.

We keep telling young artists that they need to be better now, they need to quit if they aren't good at it on the first try. We keep acting like we didn't start from somewhere ourselves, like we were born with the fine motor skills and the talent needed to create. It's because our attention spans can't handle over 20 seconds and we need multiple videos playing to drown out our own thoughts. We have to look at comment sections to see the court of public opinion before we make a judgement ourselves. If anything is out of the ordinary or doesn't look the way we expect or want, it must be shamed. And this existence is exhausting because at the end of the day, we have done nothing of value. When coming across a video of a young artist who took the time out of their day to create, we need to encourage them to continue going, tell them that their work is worthy. Because it is. It is worthy because they made it. If we shoot them down before they can go anywhere, we've just killed an artist that could have painted the next Starry Night, or created a sculpture that millions of people would try to visit. We've shot down someone who could teach others how to create one day in their future. We shot them down and killed their inspiration and motivation, and they might turn to someone else to do it for them because they will believe they are not worthy enough or talented enough to make it.

When I was still in school, my favorite part of the year was seeing the projects put up on the wall. The silly displays our teachers put up to show a holiday with slightly wonky paper snowflakes, the posters that the art students made with "too many lightning bolts around the guitar", the signs for school dances, the yearbooks that students spent all year making, the English class posters that depicted scenes from what they were reading and they were made with stick figures or they had someone draw out butterflies. I loved seeing the decorations for Homecoming Week, loved looking ta the booths that everyone made for our career and science fairs. I liked when we put on talent shows still, when we did pep rallies and fashion shows and we saw everyone get together to have fun and not care if it was "perfect." No one there was a professional artist, not yet, but that didn't make it any less entertaining or creative.

We dance because we want to feel how our bodies move and express ourselves in ways words cannot. We paint and we draw and make pottery and quilts and pictures because at one point, all we had were cave paintings of our hands, and we still look at them with reverence for where we started. We sing and we drum and we laugh because music is a universal language that anyone can understand, and isn't that breathtaking? We write so that people in the future can pour themselves over our words and learn from us, so that kids can hide their books underneath their covers with a little flashlight when their parents put them to bed hours ago but they just can't put our story down they have to know what comes next! We cook for our loved ones and have family recipes that mean we've been tasting the same food that our family we never got to meet were eating too.

We create because humans are meant to create. We put our love into the process, we put our dreams and our hopes and our hard earned lessons into these creations.

AI will never have that. AI has none of the process, and therefore, it is not art. We can gripe about how art has different meanings all we want, we can shout that art is only art if it invokes an opinion or a thought, but that is not what makes art. Because there is still effort put into placing a shoe on a pedestal, or painting a yellow square, or painting a mural on a wall, or writing poetry in a tiny notebook at school, or melting crayons together, or anything that requires you putting it together. If AI is doing all the work for you, then you've accomplished nothing. And you stole from the people that actually did accomplish something. You stole not only their effort, but you stole their process, their feelings, their hope and their dreams and their ideas of the future.

AI is nothing and will ultimately become obsolete. Because humans will not stop creating just because companies are pushing for us to stop and hand it over to them. They want us to stop creating, they want us to pay them for it, they want us to put blind trust into what they're doing, they want us to forget that they are stealing from us. I will not forget. I will never forget. Because I was born to sing and dance and write and draw and cook, and when I die, my body will go right back to the Earth and perhaps flowers will grow around my grave. I will still be creating even then. And even if AI is still around and still trying to steal from us, I will die knowing that it could never do the same.

[just-a-ghost00]

A message from a beloved soul 🕊️

Recently, I felt called to ask for advice from passed on artists that have greatly impacted my life. A few months ago, my role model and most beloved artist passed away suddenly. I never thought this day would come. Or rather I didn’t want to think about it. And lately I feel his energy very strongly. I thought that maybe some of you could need some advice from an artist you miss dearly as well. I’m sorry if this triggers anybody. I thank these beautiful souls that have provided us with light and love for all these years for their messages and I hope that wherever they are in the Universe, their soul is at peace. ❤️

Group 1

Letters : B Y I T J S L G K M U A P G D F Words : guys, tails, mask, Sag, just, Jiluka, Atsuki, July, Aug, days, pay, gay, Yumi, Yuki, Bad guy, kid, must play, guita(r), fly, BSK, family, silk, ask my pals if I still must (???), stalk, dumb, Mt Fuji

Tissue box messages : Singer, blue eyes, Scorpio I TRANSFORM Nov 23 to Nov 29, Capricorn I CREATE Jan 20 to Feb 16, 6th house daily life I LOVE, 12th house Spiritual life I DREAM

Their channeled message to you :

Baby the world is yours to take. Fate is yours to create. No matter the pain, no matter the fears, no matter the obstacles, you must live on. Do you hear me? Live. Scream at the top of your lungs. You can cry too. But don’t give up. I am with you every step of the way. My wings will carry you for as long as I can.

Clarifications - 10 of swords, Black Numen, King of cups, King of wands, 10 of pentacles, 10 of cups

This artist that you are asking about knows that you are going through a hard time and that a part of you doesn’t believe in your ability to make it through but they want to reassure you because not only do you have what it takes but the outcome is going to be much more brighter than you could ever imagine. You’re getting there. You’re so close to reaching your goal. I believe that there are actually two artists that are surrounding you with their love. They are both encouraging you to keep moving, though you may not understand where this will lead you, though you may not see the bigger picture. Because after this period of grieving and emotional turmoil, of hardships and uncertainty, awaits a bright and warm future, full of joy and abundance. While one helps you heal your wounds and deal with possible depression/mental health issues, the other is helping you manifest success in all areas of your life by fueling your fire and inspiring you. You may feel like your creativity is boosted and your mind is fuming with new ideas. Both of them are masculine in their energy. One of them may especially connect with you through your dreams while the other would rather put on your way resources and people that are beneficial to your growth. The channeled message you received was from the one you were asking about. But the other artist still wanted to silently show their support. I believe that in their living time this person wasn’t very talkative but would instead show their love through actions. They remained the same in the after life.

🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️

Group 2

Letters : A V U S E I F S V N A U I M K P Words : miss u, veins, pain, pause, Suki, fave, fame, pave, Mana, Aki, naive, invasive, Nivea, niveau (French for level), suave, Kaname, kiss me, five men, fans, vie (life/live), Pisa

Tissue box messages : Gym rat, creative soul, dorky/quirky, Scorpio I TRANSFORM Nov 23 to Nov 29, Ophiuchus I HEAL Nov 29 to Dec 17, 1st house awareness of self I AM

Their message to you :

My Jade ~ You are so beautiful. Your soul is so beautiful it shines all the way to heaven. God and the angels are so pleased with you. Seeing you grow so much has been my biggest joy and pride. I believe that you can light up this world and save so many people from themselves. But first make sure to save yourself, okay?! Love you ❤️

Clarifications - 9 of pentacles, The Lovers, Knight of cups, Judgment, King of cups, 6 of cups

You must prioritize yourself by choosing to give yourself the love you so willingly give to others. That much is clear. When the time is right and balance is restored, a soulmate will be sent to you to pour more love into your cup. They will come to you slowly but surely. You will recognize them by their piercing gaze and their powerful voice. You know them already. Wow that was very specific. There are a lot of water related cards, three of which can be associated with Scorpio. Then there is also Gemini energy and Taurus energy. I believe that in their living time the artist you asked about was a very generous and wise person. They were probably an old soul and had a hard time finding people they could deeply connect with. I get the feeling that you followed this person since you were a child and you looked up to them. They are a soulmate of yours. Their energy feels very balanced. I believe this person was very spiritual and always did their best to do the right choice and be the bigger person. They would always think of their loved ones before anything else and maybe that is one thing that caused this person a lot of sadness. Which is why they urge you to prioritize yourself. They know too well the cost of overgiving to others only to be left with so little.

🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️

Group 3

Letters : C N L C Z E K U V O T B E A V M Words : clean, zen, luck, black, block me, metal, zone, cat, melon, love u, meat, meet u at ten, note, bone, tune, name, bake, cake, Ameba, volcano, Kubo, Kobe,

Tissue box messages : Gym rat, bookworm, unconventional, Leo I SHINE Aug 10 to Sept 16, Taurus I PROTECT May 13 to June 21, Sagittarius I KNOW Dec 17 to Jan 20

Their message :

Dear friend,

I am so glad the universe has sent me to you. I am so proud of you for fighting for your dreams and doing your best every day to be a better person. You have no idea how much this means to me that you are working so hard to walk in my footsteps. My soul is filled with warmth because of you. Thank you so much.❤️ I love you too!

Clarifications - 6 of cups, 6 of swords, King of pentacles, 8 of pentacles, Queen of pentacles, High priestess

This artist is a soulmate of yours. They had to leave for you to thrive. It was part of their journey to pass on to the other side for you to grow and for them to guide you. It was necessary because their departure triggered an awakening in you. Your gifts wouldn’t have woken up the way they are now otherwise. It was their duty to contribute to your accession to your throne. By that I mean that in order to claim your power and rise up to their level, they had to eclipse themselves and now evolve in the « dark » or in other words on the other side of the curtain. You and this artist mirror each other, especially when it comes to your careers. I would even go as far as to say that for some of you they are a divine counterpart. You are the High priestess. And I saw behind her the Magician. They were the spark and you are the torch that will pass on the knowledge. They’ve taught you everything they had to while they were living. Now is your turn to do the same. You can connect with this person through hard work but also by working on your gifts, especially your intuition. When they were living, they were very intuitive too. They were known as a hard worker and a force to be reckoned with. They inspired people to leave behind what didn’t serve them. And they are now trying to help you do the same thing they did : be a mentor and a guide for others, especially younger souls.

[kali-chaotic-neutral]

What others see in you that you don't

Pick a plushie and let me tell you what others see in you that you don't.

Cat Axolotl Bear Cinnamoroll

Disclaimer: This tarot reading is not meant for you to make drastic choices or actions. Take this with a pinch of salt, this is just me giving advice with my sassy decks. Take the advice you want, anything that doesn't resonate, leave it.

Cat:

Others see how hard you work, how much effort and strength and will power you put into even the most mundane of tasks. They see how kind and selfless you are, eager to help others. You're not the kind of person who makes fun or gives funny looks to people who struggle in their studies or work. They see your kindness and they appreciate your effort to help anyone. You bring warmth in their hearts, knowing that they can ask you for help without you judging. They only want you to know that while they rely on you, they wish you could rely on them as well.

They also see how hard you work in trying to keep your family together, often the mediator. You always take the middle ground, alleviating the tensions to the best of your possibilities. I can see few appreciating you for this, some admiring you for your courage to stand up. They look forward to any family event you plan, knowing that whatever you have in store for them— simple or extravagant —they will always have fun. They love you for the joys and easy moments you bring into their life.

They can see how despite you being kicked down to what seems as your lowest moment, you still hold yourself high and get yourself back up with hard work and determination. You are everything they want to be, strong and brave in the face of everything crumbling. You never seem to lose hope, helping others rise along with you.

People also come to you for advice (on any matter) knowing full well that you don't sugarcoat things. You dish the truth out to them, not in a mean way, but because they deserve the truth and to face it. They know no punches will be held coming to you and they appreciate it. You don't seem to be afraid of starting projects being yet another figure of awe to those around you. Flitting from one project to another with focus and a clear vision.

They see how well in tune with your emotions you are, how intuitive. How caring you are to others, being able to be so vulnerable to those around you. Carrying your heart on your sleeve. Your childlike idealism and realism being a breath of fresh air to others. You almost seem naive to others that just meet you, but get pleasantly surprised upon getting to know you.

Axolotl:

You are passionate, you are creative, unafraid of starting a new project when your previous one isn't yet complete. Your utter and absolute confidence that it will work out and go well being an huge inspiration on others. You're not afraid to stand up for what you believe in, maybe unfair treatment of certain coworkers or teachers picking only on certain students. You're ability to stand unflinching has people looking up to you.

They see how you're not afraid to set stern and strict boundaries with everyone. How you put them in their place if they do not only to yours but others boundaries as well. You stand up for others, you're there for others and people admire you and love you for that. They just wish you could soften your walls so they can be there for you as well.

Despite being in a situation that isn't in your favor, they can see how your confident does not leave you. You still hold yourself up in high regards, demanding the same amount of respect despite your situation. The way you dress, the way you speak, anything! Shows how well maintained you are and how you're not really insecure or awkward or afraid to show it.

They can see or interpret or guess that you've had a hard past. A stressful situation after stressful situation before. They commend you as they know that it is because of that you work as hard as you do. Hold yourself as high as you do. They are in awe that you work so hard to prove something, maybe to your past self or to someone who doubted you. And you being the fierce lion that you are, took it as a challenge.

Their admiration is even more so due to the fact that maybe you've just joined a new job or a school and the fact that you're already achieving so much! It has them working harder as well. They approve of your success, your victory in a project/exam, etc. You are getting the recognition you deserve and they cannot find it in themselves to feel jealous. taking you as an example that hard work always brings in sweet fruit.

Bear:

You are emotionally intelligent, how you're able to read people quite easily. You are who they come to if they want help in shedding some light on something they are not sure of. You're also overflowing with creative passions, flitting from one to another a dozen a day. They admire how carefree you are, how unafraid of doing as you please. Seeing how you benefit from your passions.

When you are working on a project or a homework, your passion and hard work is what has others working hard as well. You are a very bright person who cannot be dimmed down by hard moments. You stand optimistic, believing wholeheartedly that things will get better. People are drawn into your orbit, your close friends are already a part of your solar system with no intention of leaving. You bring happiness and joy and light to their lives.

You work decisively to get what you want, using logic and your intuition to walk the right path. You're quick decision making and the way you don't seem to second guess your choice has others believing in you as well. You're hard work is bringing more opportunity and choices and they are happy for you. You deserve the good things in life.

You are the cause of a change in your job or at school, maybe you're changing a few rules at your work area that does not seem to care much for your colleagues or fellow students. Or perhaps you're changing to a better job/school. Either way the people close to you and around you are praising you for where you've gotten (or where you will)

You're relationship with either a lover or a close friend/family member is very deep and meaningful. Your trust in this person and this person's trust in you has created a deep spiritual connection between the two of you. This person is in absolute awe because of you, because of the great impact you have brought on their lives. If this is a romantic relationship, I can see this person thinking of taking the relationship to the next step. And if it is a platonic relationship, I can see the two of you getting even closer.

Cinnamoroll:

You have a very keen mind, you use logic and you're able to see and read between lines. In this manner, you're a very good person to go to for advice. When it comes to more tense advice, like if you have to choose a side or something similar to that, you don't. You firmly stand in the middle ground, refusing to choose when you reach a fork in the path. Despite you having no context to a few choices, you still end up with a good middle ground option. People have good things to say about you because of your perceptive skills and your ability to stand firm and strong.

People admire you because you're a survivor (in a sense). The people close to you know and have seen how hard you have worked/suffered (family issues/past betrayal, anything that really hurt you) and how deserving you are of the good things that come your way. You refuse to give up to prove to yourself that despite what you went through you can get to a better place. And you do. They commend and look up to you because of your strong and fierce, and unwavering personality.

You have taken hold of the threads of your fate and you are leading it to a better and brighter future. But while you take care to cultivate your future, you don't hesitate to help cultivate others' as well. You're friends and family all are grateful to you. You are there for them even when you are busy or stressed.

This awe and admiration they have for you is also because you have just begun. You have just begun a new project and it's already going so well. You are new to this, yet you are still doing SO GOOD! There is no jealousy here, just pure, raw admiration and inspiration.

You are a logical and analytical person, who usually follows your head and not your heart. You do not sugarcoat advice to people, almost blunt to a point it hurts, but you know that telling them the raw truth is better.

[bogkeep]

Would you recommend the SSSS comic? I know little of it beside the very beautiful artstyle and premise

to answer the question of if i would recommend SSSS as a comic: yes, yes i would.

a description for those who don't know: Stand Still Stay Silent is a post-apocalyptic horror + adventure webcomic set in the nordics (norway, sweden, denmark, finland, iceland) that have been isolated from the rest of the world and gone back to their old gods. the the world outside of safe zones is full of trolls and beasts - humans and mammals that got infected by a horrible virus and turned into monsters. the story follows a ragtag crew that ventures into the old world (derelict denmark) on an expedition to collect books.

the comic updated every workday until it concluded in 2022, and consists of two Adventures. the creator had plans for many adventures with these characters in this world, but ended it after two when she wanted to take a new direction with her life.

what i love about it:

- the art is GORGEOUS. it's been a huge source of inspiration for me. open any page and it's a masterpiece, and you will ask yourself "how the FUCK did she update this FIVE DAYS A WEEK"

- the characters are wonderful and endearing. i just, i love them so much. i am so thankful lalli hotakainen exists he is one of my #1 blorbos forever

- the world is so cool. the blend of chunky sci-fi and norse mythology fantasy magic slaps. it goes so hard. i fell so hard for this comic when i got to the big ferry ship with a viking style dragon head prow added to it. it's everything

- it really really gets nordic cultures. it's difficult to explain all the dynamics and nuances but it just gets it. it brings me as a scandinavian a lot of joy to read a story that speaks to my heart this way. the attitudes, the language barriers, the cultural differences... it was so refreshing to me in a media landscape dominated by american stories. when the pandemic hit, i decided to reread the comic because i found such an odd comfort in seeing how it depicted the scandinavian countries reacting to, well, a pandemic.

- there's kittycats

what i don't like about it:

- the most glaring and obvious flaw is that everyone in the comic is white. there's not a single character of color anywhere, not even i background shots or the prologue. there's no mention of the saami people (the indigenous people of northern europe), either. i believe this was done in ignorance more than malicious intent, but the implications are Extremely Bad and it's been bothering me (AND MANY OTHERS) since day 1. that is the number one caveat i will give to anyone wanting to check this comic out. i've been in the discourse trenches and i am not going to excuse this. it's just bad!

- you can tell in the middle of adventure 2 that the creator has kind of lost interest in the work, around the time when she found jesus i guess. like, very few people can keep up work on the same creative project for years and years and years and i think it's fine that she wanted to drop it, but it's a bit sad to see the comic dragged to its end like a limp corpse, and feeling like the creator no longer really cares about the characters.

- minna sundberg has said and done some questionable things, presumably gotten somewhat radicalised over time, and has also converted to hardcore christianity which is what her new works are about. there's nothing about this in SSSS - there is a moment of christianity represented in the story in a sort of mythological sense, just like the other religions, but this was written before minna's conversion. her new works... are a Choice. i have much to say about them, and i have, and im not gonna rehash it now.

SO YEAH hopefully this will help you take an Informed Choice! i got into this comic in 2015 and was deep in the fandom and it's for better or for worse part of my soul foundation now.

i also recommend A Redtail's Dream, minna's "practice comic" before SSSS, based on finnish mythology and the kalevala.

[copper-16]

Chapter 8 has been posted - but before everyone goes to read, a little bit of an announcement on my end:

This is going to be my last longer Mapi/Ingrid story, and probably the end of me being super active/posting on ao3 and tumblr. I might write the occasional story here and there, but writing is not bringing me the same joy it once was and I want to dedicate my time to other things. I’ll still be around reading on ao3 and somewhat on Tumblr, but I just won’t be posting a whole ton on either. I’ve been so incredibly lucky to get to know all of you guys on here, and to receive so much love for my work. It means the absolute world to me - and thank you all so much for welcoming me into this little community so wonderfully! I hope the stories I wrote were able to bring just a little bit of happiness when you guys needed it (even if I constantly left everyone on cliffhangers - I truly am sorry about that).

The rest of this is long, and you don't have to read it if you don't want to, you can just go ahead to the story now if you would like. I'm not known for my ability to keep concise, that is for certain. If brevity is the soul of wit - perhaps we know why my stories aren't very funny!

I’ve especially enjoyed joining tumblr and really finding a little community here. Getting to interact with so many people, both those who read my works and those who don’t, has been such a joy for me. I love getting to hear when people like the things I've written, even if it touches them in a small way. I love getting to interact with so many brilliant minds and am forever in awe of how much amazing talent there is in this little corner of the internet! I've made some incredible friends from getting to be on here, and it makes me so happy to have a little community of people I love. Thank you guys for letting me have space here even if I don’t write reader works or know how this app works most of the time.

I started writing seriously in September 2022 and I can't tell you how much joy it has brought me in the last two years. As someone who doesn't enjoy the college degree they are currently getting, this was such a fun creative outlet for me. It was so cool to have this blank canvas to work with, to weave things together, especially as I began to write longer stories. Writing was a place to destress for me and interact with other people who loved football as I was coming to love it. Every single kudos, comment, and bookmark meant so much to me. Even when it was something silly like someone dubbing the 'Copper Monologue,' it made me feel so seen. Someone cared enough to read enough of my works to pick out the fact that I do that? Absolutely mind blowing to me. It's crazy to hear that people cared about the silly little stories I wrote. When someone told me that I was one of the things to help inspire them to write their own stuff - I think I properly sobbed. It meant more to me than anything has in this entire world, and it still does! Writing has helped me to process, it's helped me to grow, it's helped me learn to identify my emotions and struggles and think through my own thought processes. I hope that maybe for someone out there, it could help them do that as well. It's a little strange for me not to want to do that anymore. Writing this last story solidified to me that for the most part it was time to be done, and HDITA was more of a goodbye than anything else. But even with that, it feels strange not to be thinking of my next idea, thinking of how I am going to create characters and relationships and plot lines.

I think for me right now, I'm just excited to be myself. Maybe this vessel of writing was what I needed to get myself through the last two years. I wrote la princesa when I was at my absolute worst in life, and as I've grown and matured as a person, I like to think that my writing has. I no longer find myself in a place where it fills a huge void in my own life that I once needed.

I've grown a lot as a writer these few years (those who read my earlier works will understand), and I'm excited to one day come back to it, maybe in a different sphere. I love the idea now of writing a real book. It always terrified me before - I didn't know where I would start or if I would be horrible at it. But you all have given me the confidence that maybe at least one person would like it, and maybe that's enough of a reason to try. So thank you all for holding my hand and encouraging me. I hope that if nothing else, everyone remembers that a little bit of kindness on here or ao3 or anywhere on the internet costs nothing, and yet can go a long way.

It did for me.

But enough of my sappy rambling, please enjoy this last chapter of mine. I hope it brings you as much joy as it brought me when I was writing it. Love you all so so much!

Chapter 8 of How Do I Trust Again?

[deathclaw-for-cutie]

Earlier this year (2024), I found this video while idly scrolling through YouTube. I watched it over and over, fascinated. I finally decided to look on AO3, a site I knew about but had never visited.

I discovered "para bellum" by @lilacretrograde. I discovered "Wrong Kind of Preacher, Wrong Kind of Church" and "Call Me Angel Again" by @odd-ball-out. "White Lies and Fireflies" by @aviatorfics. So many more, but these are the first ones, the ones I remember the best, the ones that made me finally understand the phrase "reading this changed my brain chemistry."

After a childhood spent writing and drawing (original things as well as what would now be called fanfiction and fanart), I hadn't done any writing at all in years. I hadn't drawn anything in years. Decades.

I started writing "Cat in a Hot Tin Suit". I came back to Tumblr, and found @hpysprkl and @lordsammichsilas and @hancocksbestgirl and so, so many others.

After literal decades of nothing, I've been writing almost every single day since late June. At least a few hundred words, sometimes thousands. I've started drawing again.

I started posting my silly, self-indulgent, self-insert fanfic, and to my complete and utter shock, other people actually liked it. Knowing that people have bookmarked it, have subscribed to it, is terrifying, humbling, and invigorating.

Your stories, your art, inspired me to get back to who I was before I shut myself away years ago. Rediscovering my creativity has brought me so much joy, so much pride in my own accomplishments, and brought people into my life that I never would have met otherwise (okay also the Halloween Boop Wars of 2024, but mostly the art).

So...yeah. Fallout brought me back to life. You all brought me back to life. Thank you. Love you.

xoxo

Izzie

[thelanternsglow]

🌕✨Full Moon in Leo-February 12th 2025✨🌕

🔥 Full Moon in Leo – February 12, 2025: The Cosmic Spotlight Is On You 🔥

Right, if you’ve been waiting for a sign to step into your power, this is it. The Full Moon in Leo on February 12th is turning the cosmic spotlight your way, whether you’re ready or not. Leo doesn’t do things quietly—it’s all about confidence, self-expression, and standing in your truth.

But before you start planning your victory lap, there’s a twist. Uranus is in the mix, and that means surprises, shake-ups, and a few reality checks along the way. This isn’t just about shining—it’s about shedding anything that’s kept you dimming your own light.

So, what’s coming up under this Full Moon? Let’s get into it.

🌕 Full Moon in Leo: A Fire in Your Heart

Leo is ruled by the Sun, so when a Full Moon lands here, it’s big, bold, and impossible to ignore. This lunation is about:

• Authenticity – Where have you been playing small? Where have you been holding back out of fear or self-doubt?

• Creativity – Whether you’re an artist, a musician, a writer, or just someone who wants to bring more joy into life, this is your time to create.

• Recognition – The things you’ve been working on behind the scenes? They might finally get the attention they deserve.

• Courage – Leo energy doesn’t wait for permission. It’s about owning your space and showing up fully as yourself.

This Full Moon is the culmination of whatever you’ve been building since the New Moon in Leo six months ago (August 2024). If you set intentions back then around confidence, passion, or creativity, you might be seeing results—or realising what’s been holding you back.

But here’s the thing: Leo energy isn’t just about the external world. Yes, it’s about being seen, but more importantly, it’s about seeing yourself fully—and owning who you are.

⚡ Uranus is Crashing the Party: Expect the Unexpected

Now, let’s talk about Uranus in Taurus squaring this Full Moon. If you thought this was going to be a smooth ride, think again. Uranus doesn’t care about your plans—it’s here to shake things up.

This means:

• Sudden revelations – You might realise something about yourself, your relationships, or your career that changes everything.

• Emotional shake-ups – If you’ve been bottling things up, expect them to burst out—and possibly in a way you weren’t expecting.

• Unpredictable events – Plans might change last-minute, or you might get hit with a bit of shocking news. The best thing to do? Stay flexible.

Uranus in Taurus has been challenging comfort zones, money, stability, and security for a while now. This Full Moon could highlight areas where you’ve been resisting change—or push you to take a leap you weren’t expecting to take.

So if things feel shaky around this time, trust that the disruption is clearing the way for something better.

💡 The Leo-Aquarius Axis: Individuality vs. The Collective

Every Full Moon sits across from the Sun, which means we’re dealing with two energies that need to be balanced.

• Leo (the Moon) says: Be bold, express yourself, stand in your power.

• Aquarius (the Sun) says: Think about the bigger picture. What’s your role in the collective?

This is where the tension kicks in. Are you doing things because they truly light you up, or are you trying to fit into someone else’s expectations?

Leo teaches us that self-expression isn’t selfish. You can be part of a community while still being unapologetically yourself. In fact, when you shine in your truth, you inspire others to do the same.

So ask yourself: Am I living for myself, or am I waiting for external validation?

🦁 Who Will Feel This the Most?

Everyone will feel this Full Moon’s energy, but if you’ve got planets around 23°–25° of Leo, Aquarius, Taurus, or Scorpio, this one’s hitting close to home.

🔥 Fire signs (Aries, Leo, Sagittarius) – You might feel energised, motivated, and ready to take action—but try not to let impatience get the best of you.

🌍 Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) – You’re feeling the pressure the most. Let go of what’s not working instead of clinging to control.

🌬 Air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius) – You might get a burst of inspiration—or an unexpected opportunity that changes your direction.

💧 Water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) – Your emotions could be all over the place, but that’s because something deep is being illuminated. Don’t ignore it.

Check where 23°–25° Leo falls in your birth chart—that’s where the Full Moon is asking you to step up.

🔥 Full Moon Rituals: Own Your Light

This Full Moon is about reclaiming your power and celebrating yourself. Here’s how to work with its energy:

🌟 Confidence Candle Ritual – Light a gold, yellow, or orange candle. Write down everything amazing about yourself—yes, everything. Read it aloud like a spell. Let the candle burn as a reminder that you deserve to shine.

🖊 Write Your Own Spotlight Story – What would your life look like if you fully embraced your power? Write it down as if it’s already happening. Speak it into existence.

🎭 Inner Child Joy Work – Leo rules play. Do something purely for joy—paint, dance, sing, dress up, watch an old favourite film. Reconnect with what made you happy before the world told you to be serious.

💖 Heart Chakra Meditation – Leo rules the heart. Sit in a quiet space, place your hands over your chest, and breathe golden light into your heart space. Feel it expand with love, confidence, and self-acceptance.

✨ Are You Ready to Step Into the Light?

This Full Moon isn’t about waiting for someone to give you permission to shine. It’s about owning your power and taking up space.

But remember—Leo’s confidence isn’t about ego. It’s about leading with heart. It’s about standing tall in who you are, not because you need applause, but because you deserve to live fully and unapologetically.

So, under this Full Moon:

🌕 Let go of the fear of being seen.

🔥 Claim your space.

💡 Trust that what’s shifting is happening for a reason.

Because you were never meant to stay small.

Now’s your time.

Follow The Lantern’s

Glow

[freesia-writes]

Behind the Scenes of a Writer's Mind

I noticed something tonight that I thought might be helpful to share. You [hopefully] often hear fanfic writers urging interaction and support. It may seem selfish or prideful at first glance, but there's a lot more to it. Have a seat. 😉

The best metaphor I've heard is someone who loves cooking for others. Yes, they do it because they like it, but there's a deep gratification in sharing that work and talent with others and getting to hear how much it was loved and enjoyed. Same with writing.

I asked my favorite author @dystopicjumpsuit about her works -- which had the most emotional impact, which was the tastiest smut, which is her best piece, etc -- and was delighted to hear her answers because there were elements that I hadn't known or noticed, and it made me so excited to read them again (and a few for the first time, haha). It gave a new appreciation, a neat back story, and a richer experience to the fics. (READ THE ASK/ANSWER HERE)

She turned the ask back on me, and while I hadn't expected that, I was surprised at the process as I tried to answer. I had taken a good half a year off from writing after finishing the Hunter longfic. I had poured my heart and soul into it, and when it was done posting, it was kinda... empty. Life also was fairly crazy, so this side of me kinda went away for a while. I still wanted to write. I missed being here. But there was just no inspiration or motivation, and you can't force that.

But something neat happened when DJ gave me the chance to consider my own work. I reread some oldies. I smiled at things I'd forgotten about. The questions forced me to look at the good parts, my favorite parts, the best parts that I'm most proud of.

As a writer, it's easy to forget that. You get used to writing, you get used to your style and approach and voice, and sometimes it just gets to a point of "why bother"? ESPECIALLY if there's no feedback from readers. But it was awesome to be reminded of how my writing brings me joy, and that it's a particular area of gifting but also something that's honed and developed and refined over the years.

Considering the beautiful elements of what I've been able to create breathed fresh life into me. It brought confidence where there had been indifference. It reminded me of the fun of writing and the unpredictable nature of how it all goes down. It rekindled some of that joy of bringing delight to others with my time and effort. It rejuvenated the creative part of me that loves the process as well as the product.

So WRITERS -- if you're in a pit, perhaps read some of your own stuff. Enjoy it. Read works by other authors you love and ask them about it -- it'll likely remind you of some experiences of your own. But also, if the motivation isn't there, don't sweat it. Enjoy what you can and, if the fickle mistress of inspiration returns, bang that thang til fics fall out. (I'll see myself out, thank you.)

And READERS -- you enjoy what we create, yeah? Do you know that you'd likely enjoy it wayyy more if you had a lil behind-the-scenes knowledge? It truly enriches the experience all around, AND it's so encouraging to authors to be able to share not only the finished product but some of the joy of the process. So don't be afraid -- drop some asks, leave questions in reblogs, engage!!

If you've read this far (without skipping, you weasels), please consider this a free ticket for a fic request. ;) Drop one in my inbox and we shall see if the gods smile upon my mushy brain and clumsy fingers. But also, thank you for reading, and I hope that both writers and readers are encouraged to enjoy this space more fully!

FREESIA OUT 😘

[agronzky]

⠀⠀⠀𝐏𝐋𝐎𝐓𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘 𝐀𝐁𝐁𝐀 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐒. ♡

Below you’ll find five plots created inspired by the songs of the swedish group ABBA. These can be used in romantic plots, but also adapted for other types of narrative.

ONE OF US. ( 1981, The Visitors )

Muse a and muse b had a relationship for a few years, but broke up for having very opposite visions of life. Muse a is an artist, sees the world in color and dreams of knowing more about everything, being an enthusiast of all things creative and artistic. Meanwhile, muse b is a businessperson who comes from a traditional family and has always dreamed of becoming the best in their field and living a peaceful life. A few years after breaking up, they meet again, having achieved some of their dreams. Muse a is a recognized artist, travels the world and can live life according to their own wishes, while muse b has achieved a high position in a global company, is recognized and lectures on business and how to achieve objectives. However, they both feel there is something missing in their lives and cannot feel truly fulfilled. The reunion therefore causes mixed feelings, mainly fights about the past, about how muse a cried for months or how muse b felt too small and useless. But something inside them still shines through and maybe there's still a chance. Or will someone get hurt in this story once again?

WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME? ( 1976, Arrival )

In a charming seaside village lives muse a, a talented young violinist whose passion for music sets them apart from the rest. Cheerful as ever, their contagious joy and love of life has always attracted curious eyes, especially those of muse b, an introspective painter who finds beauty in the little things. Their lives take an unexpected turn when a summer festival is announced in the town, promising a talent contest. Muse a and muse b end up getting involved in the planning of the contest, causing them to suddenly grow closer and start spending a lot of time together, whether naturally or not. Because muse a is very authentic and distracted, they get into a lot of trouble to make the contest happen, which forces muse b out of their comfort zone. Feelings begin to emerge naturally, making them think "Why did it have to be me?" and deciding, unaware of the other's decision, to perform in the show as a way of expressing their feelings.

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY. ( 1976, Arrival )

In the busy alleys of a bustling city, muse a is trapped in a routine of debt and financial difficulties. Working tirelessly at a job that barely pays the bills, they dream of a life of luxury and comfort. In a twist of fate, muse a meets muse b, a charismatic businessperson who has always lived in a world where money has never been a problem. When they notice muse a's situation, muse b decides to hide their lifestyle for fear of being attracted to them for that reason alone. Muse a begins to get closer to muse b, having someone to talk to who seems to understand everything. However, muse b's lies start to cause a lot of confusion for both of them and they have to choose whether they really want muse a to live in a lie forever or to tell the truth.

LAY ALL YOUR LOVE ON ME. ( 1980, Supertrouper )

In the picturesque setting of a coastal island lives muse a, a lonely sculptor whose heart was closed after a traumatic relationship. Everything changes when they meet muse b, a mysterious person who arrives on the island in search of a fresh start. As they grow closer, muse a discovers the painful secrets that muse b hides, making their time together a way to begin to heal past wounds. Discovering they've both been through toxic relationships and a series of betrayals, muse a and muse b contemplate the possibility of love no longer existing and have to deal with this situation. But when muse b's former partner turns up on the island looking for reconciliation, muse a realizes that their hearts are no longer closed to love. They're completely won over by muse b and will do whatever to have them.

WATERLOO. ( 1974, Waterloo )

Muse a is a determined and charismatic person who works as a tour guide in a historic town. Their lives change when they meet muse b, a charming and enigmatic historian. Their attraction is immediate, but they soon discover sharing a rivalry in the search for information about an ancient secret of the city. As muse a and muse b compete to unravel the centuries-old mystery in an almost real war of espionage and tactics, they discover how they'll need to combine the information they've collected individually if they really want to uncover the secret. As time goes by, they discover more in common than previously thought, find it much easier to work together and start to having a lot of fun with everything discovering more of the town and themselfs.

[theblasianwitch]

新年快乐!! Happy Year of the Wood Snake!! 🌳 🐍

This is the year of growth, creativity and introspection, with the snake, however, it is also a year of cataclysmic events and revolutions including self revolutions where you take action to better yourself.

Now, let's see what the year has for each group.

Elements:

Metal: Birth years ending in 0 or 1

Water: Birth years ending in 2 or 3

Wood: Birth years ending in 4 or 5

Fire: Birth years ending in 6 or 7

Earth: Birth years ending in 8 or 9

**This was written after completing all the predictions

Lucky Zodiacs this year: Fire Rats, Earth Tiger, Water Snake, Fire Horse, Wood Rooster Unlucky Zodiacs this year: Metal Rabbit, Water Horse, Earth Goat

Continue Reading for Predictions for 2025

Rat:

Metal: Four of Pentacles, Four of Cups, Nine of Cups. This is the year to save and guard what you have and not spend on every little thing your heart desires. It is a time to sit with yourself and explore some emotions that you may have been hiding or holding back, not doing so will lead you into a sense of overwhelm and make you apathetic towards life. There will be those that leave you and those that help you. The ones that help and stay during your emotional exploration will become your closest allies and help you to ascend. Water: Wheel of Fortune, Seven of Wands, Nine of Pentacles. There will be a lot of ups and downs this year and quite a few times you will have to defend yourself and your beliefs. Rivalries may show itself anywhere, but it only serves to make you learn and get stronger. Throughout the year, embrace all the gifts and blessings that will come to you as you get recognized. Wood: Ace of Pentacles, Eight of Wands, Four of Swords. New circumstances and life changes will cause you to be constantly on the move. This movement will cause a lot of positive changes in your life, but remember to take time to rest. Rest and recharge is essential to perform at your best and keep the mind sharp. Fire: Nine of Cups, Ten of Cups, Ace of Wands. A year of profound happiness and contentment, appreciating the love around you and realizing all the support you truly have. This support will cause a surge in inspiration Earth: Ten of Pentacles, Six of Cups, Three of Swords, Seven of Cups. You may expect gifts from your family, chosen or blood, and these will bring back some painful memories that will require some inner child healing. Bare in mind, inner child is any form of our younger selves, so it may not necessarily be from a time you were a child. You will have moments of heartbreak and depression if you let this linger too long, leading you to searching for a new meaning to life and having to make a lot of decisions.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Ox/Cow:

Metal: The Magician, Four of Swords, Nine of Swords, Six of Wands, Seven of Wands. "You have all you need" should be your mantra this year, because you truly do. Everything you need is within you. You desperately need time to yourself and to retreat inward. There are wounds within that cause great mental stress that needs to be healed. Succeeding in this will allow you to be more prepared against whatever the world throws at you. Water: Page of Pentacles, The Fool, Queen of Cups. Patience and nurturing are the theme of the year. Whether it's to yourself or others, just be patient and kind. You will be starting a completely new journey, whether within or without, and not everyone is on that journey with you. Deep breathes. Love yourself, and love others. Wood: Wheel of Fortune, Strength, The Sun. Fate, inner strength and joy. Three major arcana that can mean practically anything. The Wheel of Fortune could mean karma coming to get you or figuring out your own destiny. Strength is sometimes found in being perceived as weak, as the card of strength is one of showing compassion and forgiveness and having the inner strength to do what's right. The Sun is for finding joy and success in every day life. Unfortunately, I know not what the three all together could mean for you, but I do know that kindness and strength do get rewarded by life. Fire: Three of Swords, Eight of Pentacles, Five of Cups, Two of Swords. A lot of grief and heartbreak this year. Perhaps you're recovering from a break up or one is coming, or maybe it's just a big case of homesickness as you have now lost contact with everyone you every knew and loved. Regardless, it seems to be a sacrifice in order to get the life you dreamed, a career longed for, and making a living doing what you love. You will be making a lot of new decisions and finding that this new life is the compromise made, and the separation is the loss. Earth: White Numen, Five of Pentacles, Black Numen. You have quite the year ahead of you. You will be going through some rather drastic changes that will change your whole perspective of the world, a belief, or society as a whole. Everything you think you know about it, will all be proven wrong. At first you will find this new truth hard to take and will go through a period of despair and much needed rest. You will either have to rise with this new truth and become a trail blazer, or sink with your old beliefs.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Tiger:

Metal: King of Pentacles, Knight of Cups, Eight of Wands, King of Swords, Queen of Pentacles. With wisdom, experience, and hard work, things start to happen quickly and you soon find yourself in a leadership position as you are now seen as someone people can rely and depend on. Water: Strength, The Hierophant, Three of Pentacles. The time has come to forge your own traditions and break away from the family norms and maybe even form a new family, a chosen family either by deep bonds of friendship or a pact of love. This is the year you figure things out together. Wood: Page of Swords, Seven of Wands, Queen of Swords, The Hermit, Ten of Pentacles, King of Wands. Many are curious and even jealous of you, the evil eye is one thing that surrounds you, learn to protect your energy and maintain control of your situation. Being clear of mind and completely honest is key to the survival, as is taking time for yourself and realizing your value. Words said in hate are said out of jealousy. Think of your goals and the big picture, stay strong and you shall overcome. Fire: King of Cups, Six of Cups, The Empress, The Hierophant. Your heart and your mind are at ends with each other, you must maintain emotional control. Nurture yourself, as your inner child needs it. It is time to move forward from your past and start your own traditions. Break the cycle. Earth: Nine of Pentacles, Seven of Cups, Five of Pentacles. Blessings and good fortune are in the cards for you this year. It will be a year where you seem to become different from all the rest. You will go through a grieving stage at some point of people or a lifestyle lost as these blessings make you change from who you use to be to those around you.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Rabbit/Hare:

Metal: Page of Swords, Two of Pentacles. A deep truth will be uncovered this year, one that will put great strain on your psyche. You will have to make a difficult choice while trying to keep yourself together. Water: Two of Swords, Queen of Wands, Six of Cups. With great confidence and self preservation, a decision you made out of compromise will prove beneficial in the long run. It shall bring about healing and even some special reunions. Old friends and familiar faces will bring you joy. Wood: Eight of Wands, Nine of Wands, Five of Cups. This is the year you stand up for yourself. You quickly set up boundaries and enacting change sets a wave of events, particularly ones that make you feel no longer wanted or loved. Stand your ground. It is better to find ones that appreciate and love you for you and respect your boundaries than to tolerate those that constantly break them. Time heals all wounds and gains new friendships. Fire: Queen of Swords, The Hierophant, Knight of Swords. You always tell it like it is, sometimes impulsively. Your words will catch up to you as there is no filter between your thoughts and your words. This will cause some people to abandon you. You tend to be unbothered, but this year you will lose someone you truly cared about and thought was different. Earth: Knight of Pentacles, Seven of Pentacles, Three of Cups, Two of Swords, Seven of Swords, Two of Pentacles. Your hard work is paying off as you receive your much awaited reward from all your success. You have a lot of support around you that celebrate with you as you have a new decision to make for moving forward in life. Someone who was working close to you however does not take the news well and instead abandons their post, which leads you to have to develop a new strategy and learn to multitask more so than you already were. Success comes at a price.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Dragon:

Metal: Four of Wands, The Chariot, The Lovers. When The Lovers and The Chariot come together in a reading, it can indicate that you will succeed in matters of the heart, but only if you remain focused and determined. However, you have a disconnection to your heart and have been having an apathetic approach to life. A need for change in that aspect is required before any success can happen. You are not a robot, you are human, and every emotion is telling you something. Listen to your heart to guide your journey. Water: The Fool, Page of Swords, Four of Swords. Get ready for a new life, one in which you may not know anything or anybody. It will take some time to get used to and requires a lot of mental energy, remember to take time for yourself and relax whenever you can. Wood: King of Wands, Three of Swords, Ace of Pentacles, Black Numen, The Fool. You are recovering from overcoming a lot of challenges. New opportunities to change your life around will present itself, but you may not notice as you feel the world is falling apart around you. You will overcome this though. New opportunities will keep showing, and eventually you will notice and they will lift you out from your dark slump. Fire: The Devil, Ten of Swords, Four of Wands. It is time to break free from something that is harming you and causing great pain. Whatever it is, it has to stop now before it is too late. It is time to start over and return to your family for assistance. They will welcome you with open arms and help you recover. Earth: Ten of Wands, White Numen, Knight of Swords, King of Wands. You have taken on a lot of responsibility and are overwhelmed with stress. A return to the spiritual and divine calls to you as you need a lifestyle change and to take control of your life, making efforts towards the life you truly want. The divine calling to you wants to help, all you have to do is ask.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Snake:

Metal: Ten of Cups, Ten of Pentacles, Ace of Pentacles, Eight of Cups, Page of Swords, Page of Wands, The Hanged Man, Strength. A lot of ends and beginnings surrounds you this year, as well as periods of learning. You will have what you need to survive at your fingertips and be able to comfortably explore all that your heart, mind and spirit wants to explore. In the process you will find a lot of things that are the opposite of what you use to know and you take it well. You transcend beyond your previous limitations and become someone better in the long run. You share this new knowledge with others, but not many will take what you have to say, but it's fine, because you're at peace with just letting them know what you know. Water: Three of Cups, Queen of Cups, Ace of Pentacles, Ace of Swords. You find love and support all around you due to your forgiving and healing nature. As you stumble upon new opportunities that change your life in a positive way, you may find new people approaching you. Your emotions will tell you who is true to you. Listen to it. Wood: The Magician, Eight of Wands, The Hierophant, Nine of Swords, Page of Wands, The Devil. Despite having everything you could possibly need, you are completely overwhelmed and bored with your situation which urges you to forge your own path and find new ways to break away from family, tradition, and the mundane. Whether or not this desire is beneficial or just ravid temptation is unclear. Fire: The High Priestess, Two of Pentacles, Ace of Pentacles, Nine of Cups. Intuition will be your main way to guide you through life this year, as you will be faced with difficult choices and have to learn a delicate balance. A surge of new opportunities will present itself to you this year and will cause some great satisfaction. From these opportunities are the choices you will have to make in order see what direction your life will take. Don't worry, they all lead to something good. Earth: Page of Swords, Four of Pentacles, Justice, Four of Swords. Life has been going good for you and people have taken notice to the point of wanting to take whatever they can from you. From wasting your time to wasting your resources any way they can. A need to protect what you have as well as your mental energy will rise from this. You can only let people get to you if you let them in. Eventually they will get what is coming to them, for now just keep your guard up.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Horse:

Metal: Queen of Swords, Two of Pentacles, Three of Pentacles, Eight of Pentacles, Six of Pentacles. You have a good head on your shoulders and always have. Your mental acuity does not go unnoticed as more and more people come to you for advice and the ones who greatly appreciate it find ways to make it up to you and make your life much more fulfilling. Enjoy the rewards you gain from your natural gifts. You are not being used if they show their appreciation. Water: Black Numen, The Star, Ten of Pentacles, Three of Pentacles. Your world has fallen apart and you feel as though you have been sinking for a long time with no hope in sight, but your faith has always been strong and your spirit team/deity has never abandoned you. You will be cared for and have all you need to survive this time. You will find those who are truly there for you and find ways to make something beautiful out of the ashes of your life. Keep your head up. You are not alone. Wood: The Emperor, Ace of Cups, King of Swords, Six of Cups. You are full of ambition and purpose, your goals are in sight and you know how to get there. There is no doubt in your mind that you will, but as you work towards your goals, untouched emotions will surface as things begin to trigger you. Know that this has been coming for a long time as you have been suppressing things for most of your life. It is time to release, heal and handle these emotions before they get in the way of your goals. Fire: Six of Cups, Page of Wands, The Lovers, Six of Pentacles, King of Pentacles. Your emotions will lead you into new forms of expression as creativity starts to give you inspiration for ways to turn your experience into a shared experience. You will spark others to seek help while healing yourself in the process as you become a strong symbol for others to look up to. Earth: Seven of Wands, The Devil, Five of Swords, Wheel of Fortune, Eight of Cups. It is time you learned to defend yourself in order to regain control of your life. No don't give in to some of your more violent urges and don't just be amiable for sake of lessening the impact. You need to set boundaries and show that you have some backbone in order for others to stop taking advantage of you and see you as an easy target. Eventually they will get what they deserve, your job now is to learn to defend yourself so that you are no longer a target. From this you can learn to move on and heal. Eventually you may even feel like you miss that wrong form of attention, but that is not for you and is not who you are meant to be.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Goat/Ram:

Metal: Three of Wands. REVERSED: Three of Swords, The Emperor, Ace of Cups, Ten of Cups, Strength, Seven of Swords. It is time to get out of your comfort zone and learn something new. This could be a new place, new school, new career, or just a completely new subject of hobby that has interested you for a while. It is necessary in the process of moving on and moving forward. You have suffered under the rule of another for too long and must now relearn who you are without them and what you can be. A lot of emotions will happen, confusing ones that make you think you should return to the familiar life of abuse and misuse. You feel that your dreams are now shattered as you have lost what you believed to be the only thing you wanted in life. You need to change your way of thinking and focus on what is best for you and learn what your heart truly desires as you recover from the life you left behind. Water: The Fool, Ace of Cups, Ten of Cups, Strength, The High Priestess. A new life is flourishing for you. This marks the beginning of a whole new chapter in your life, one that you may not feel equipped and ready for, but you have total support in. Stay strong and follow your heart this year as it will lead you to where you're supposed to be, who you can trust, and much more. You are stronger than you know. Wood: The Emperor, Six of Pentacles, Ace of Wands, Two of Swords, Six of Cups. It is time to take control of your life, learn to accept help when you need it and offer your own whenever you can in what means you can. You will find a new sense of purpose that inspires you to make the life you want. Perhaps it's one that you recall from you past. A brief moment in time when things seemed right for you. Let's work to bring moments like that back. Fire: Three of Pentacles, The Magician, The Hanged Man. It is time to learn how to work well with others, even those you don't necessarily want to. Everyone offers a perspective in life that you may not know. Open your ears to learn from them. You need to let go of old ways of thinking and embrace a new perspective in order to pursue your goals with a new confidence as now all the pieces will be in in your hand, it is now your job to put the pieces together. Perhaps now you've had the lost piece you've needed for a long time, you were just too closed minded before against a particular person in order to see it. Earth: Ten of Swords, Strength. There's no sugar coating it, you've reached rock bottom. You have fucked up in ways that cannot be fixed anytime soon and have reached a point in life where you have lost practically everything that means anything to you. The recovery from this will require great inner strength and a lot of kindness towards yourself. Learn to love yourself and heal now. You won't be at the bottom forever

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Monkey:

Metal: Eight of Wands, Three of Swords, Ten of Cups, Six of Cups. You won't see it coming, but those around you did and they will love and support you when someone you loved and trusted betrays you and/or breaks away from you. The comfort and love you feel from your friends and family will be just what you need to heal. Water: The Hierophant, Six of Wands, Three of Wands, Ace of Pentacles, White Numen, The Star, The Lovers. You've been a sucker for family traditions and beliefs for a long time and it's served you well... in terms of your family anyway. New circumstances will lead you to questioning things in terms of your spiritual beliefs and test your faith. Perhaps some beliefs can be combined? Or perhaps some old beliefs already did and now you are learning the other when you've predominantly known one... Wood: The Empress, Queen of Cups, The Moon. It is time to dive deep within, deep into concepts of inner feminine. Everyone has a mixture of feminine and masculine. In terms of femininity, the feminine concepts trying to call out to you are the ones that rule over the spiritual unconscious, the concept of beauty, the nurturing side, and finding joy in the things you love. Perhaps these are concepts you forgot in the hustle and bustle of the world. Your inner self wants you to be happy and realize the beauty in all things in order for you to regain the ability to care for things of the world you have been neglecting. Fire: The Emperor, King of Swords, Nine of Cups. Your mind has been figuring out everything for you for a long time, and for good reason, it is a strong and powerful mind, one with wisdom for the ages and a strong command. Those around you see that in you and respect your opinion to a point where they value what you say above all others. This causes a great satisfaction and contentment with life. You have reached an emotional plateau. It's not good or bad, but you also won't try to ruin a good thing Earth: Two of Swords, Two of Wands, The Hierophant, Ace of Wands, Two of Cups. Decisions surround you. Decisions in life, love, and the home. You've reached a point where you seem to breaking away from everything you know and love and living life for yourself. You will be forging your own path and don't care what others think, because in the end it is your life and your choice.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Rooster:

Metal: Nine of Pentacles. REVERSED: King of Wands. You're a spoiled brat. There's no other way to put it. You have had everything you could possibly need in life and yet you want to rock the boat and risk losing it all for something that, to everyone around you, seems impossible. There is no indication of success or failure in the cards for you this year, just that you will risk it all anyway just for your own personal beliefs. Water: Seven of Cups, Nine of Cups, Ten of Swords. You are surrounded and maybe even overloaded by the amount of things that run through your mind. You aim to have a life that exists in your mind with no clear path to get to it. You will be running around with your head cut off until you crash and burn if you don't figure out a plan or at least a path in your mind. You have a destination, how do you get there? Wood: The Emperor, Page of Cups, Eight of Pentacles, Two of Swords. Through utter determination you have been studying and working for the life you want and it's all coming together for you this year. Your efforts have been noticed and it will lead you to make a life changing decision at the end of the year. Fire: The Hermit, Four of Cups, Four of Pentacles. You are for yourself and by yourself. You are guarded in every way against the world. You have nothing to offer the world and don't think anyone in the world deserves it anyway. Not your time, attention, love, support, or money. Everything you care about is within you and around you. You are truly alone. Are you happy? Earth: Wheel of Fortune, Three of Swords, Ten of Cups, Three of Pentacles. REVERSED: The Fool. Life has a way of throwing things at us when we least expect it, and in this case it may be a sudden diagnoses or accident as you may find yourself in the hospital this year. You won't lose your life, but you will find out who truly cares about you during this time, and those same people will help you in your time of recovery. Such vulnerability may lead you to thinking you are being taken advantage of. Focus on your physical healing and be vigilant. Just cause you are weakened doesn't mean you'll be utterly useless and easily used.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Dog:

Metal: REVERSED: Wheel of Fortune, Knight of Wands. Learn to let go. Release those you are so desperately clinging to. Being desperate only pushes them away further. Your clinginess and impulsiveness will only lead them further and further away to a point of no return. Water: Three of Pentacles, Three of Swords, Temperance. REVERSED: The Hanged Man. A change of perspective is needed as those you work with lead to disappointing you. There's not much you can do about this other than stay calm and wait out the storm. It won't affect you if you don't let it. Wood: Two of Cups, Three of Wands, Page of Cups. Life will change fast this year as you and your partner get some surprising news. Fire: Eight of Pentacles. REVERSED: Four of Cups. You choose your own happiness this year as you devote yourself to what you love to do and it works in your favor. This is your year. Earth: Ace of Swords, Nine of Cups, Ace of Cups, King of Wands. A new relationship will cause a new perspective on life and spark confidence within you to take on the world. All in all, you're getting a life most dream only dream of.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

Boar/Pig:

Metal: Nine of Pentacles, The Devil, The Lovers. Oh the things you do for love. You won't waste any expanse to make your partner happy. Your desire to please doesn't filter out anything, instead as soon as you think of something for them, you're already three steps ahead in making it happen. These desires to please are still temptations that if not reeled back to sensible means will lead you to bankruptcy. If you truly want to make your partner happy, find new ways to show your love every now and then that won't take too much out of your bank account. Water: Queen of Wands, The Hierophant, The Emperor. With great confidence and a bold passion, you take life by the horns and tame it to your desires, paving a way into a new life that is different from anything you knew before. Nothing can stop you, your mind is made up. Wood: Seven of Pentacles, Ten of Swords, Ten of Cups, Five of Pentacles. You've been a patient, good hard worker, but one without appreciation. A turn for the worse will lead you into a downward spiral where you will completely rely on your family once again, but at the same time you will find the time to work towards what you truly want in life and find your inner happiness. Fire: Six of Cups, The Emperor, White Numen, Two of Pentacles, Two of Swords. You've been the spiritual center of your family for a long time. They remember your words of wisdom over anything else and see you as a symbol of authority. This year, all those memories forged with your family will lead you to becoming the multitasker and decision maker for most of their problems as they bring them all to you for your counsel, advice and prayer. Earth: Ace of Cups, The Hierophant, Four of Pentacles, Three of Pentacles, Page of Cups, Queen of Wands, Wheel of Fortune, Six of Wands. REVERSED: The Sun. New emotions arise as you question how things have been done for this long. You debate if things should continue this way or if it's time for a change. Finances become more guarded as you lean on those around you for whatever assistance you can get. This is only temporary and a frequent cycle of your life, but you will find hope and meaning in doing things for others. This will bring back positive memories where you may even find the answers you need. Depression will be prominent this year, but this is just another temporary stage of life.

For a more in depth and personalized reading, please order here.

[soisaidfine]

'dying young', by Bruce Springsteen / Ethel Cain: I think I’m going to die soon

@mothercain: "I think I’m going to die soon"

It was so painful to listen to Ethel Cain today on NTS Live. I thought of this text by Bruce Springsteen from his memoir.

"so assumption number one is you are going to keep breathing. In my business, the above case studies prove, no matter who you are, that's not as easy as it sounds."

Bruce Springsteen: “The heart of rock will always remain a primal world of action. The music revives itself over and over again in that form, primitive rockabilly, punk, hard soul and early rap. Integrating the world of thought and reflection with the world of primitive action is not a necessary skill for making great rock 'n' roll. Many of the music's most glorious moments feel as though they were birthed in an explosion of raw talent and creative instinct (some of them even were!). But … if you want to burn bright, hard and long, you will need to depend on more than your initial instincts. You will need to develop some craft and a creative intelligence that will lead you farther when things get dicey. That's what'll help you make crucial sense and powerful music as time passes, giving you the skills that may also keep you alive, creatively and physically. The failure of so many of rock's artists to outlive their expiration date of a few years, make more than a few great albums and avoid treading water, or worse, I felt was due to the misfit nature of those drawn to the profession. These were strong, addictive personalities, fired by compulsion, narcissism, license, passion and an inbred entitlement, all slammed over a world of fear, hunger and insecurity. That's a Molotov cocktail of confusion that can leave you unable to make, or resistant to making, the lead of consciousness a life in the field demands. After first contact knocks you on your ass, you'd better have a plan, for some preparedness and personal development will be required if you expect to hang around any longer than your fifteen minutes.

Now, some guys' five minutes are worth other guys' fifty years, and while burning out in one brilliant supernova will send record sales through the roof, leave you living fast, dying young, leaving a beautiful corpse, there is something to be said for living. Personally, I like my gods old, grizzled and here. I'll take Dylan; the pirate raiding party of the Stones; the hope-I-get-very-old-before-I-die, present live power of the Who; a fat, still-mesmerizing-until-his-death Brando—they all suit me over the alternative. I would've liked to have seen that last Michael Jackson show, a seventy-year-old Elvis reinventing and relishing in his talents, where Jimi Hendrix might've next taken the electric guitar, Keith Moon, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain and all the others whose untimely deaths and lost talents stole something from the music I love, living on, enjoying the blessings of their gifts and their audience's regard. Aging is scary but fascinating, and great talent morphs in strange and often enlightening ways. Plus, to those you've received so much from, so much joy, knowledge and inspiration, you wish life, happiness and peace. These aren't easy to come by.

Youth and death have always been an intoxicating combination for the myth makers left amongst the living. And dangerous, even violent, self-loathing has long been an essential ingredient in the fires of transformation. When the "new self" burns to life, the twins of great control and recklessness are immutably linked. It's what makes life interesting. The high tension between those two forces often makes a performer fascinating and fun to watch, but also a white-cross highway marker. Here, many who've come this way have burned out hard or died. The rock death cult is well loved and chronicled in literature and music, but in practice, there ain't much in it for the singer and his song, except a good life unlived, lovers and children left behind, and a six-foot-deep hole in the ground. The exit in a blaze of glory is bullshit.

Now, if you're not one of the handful of music revolutionaries—and I was not—you naturally set your sights on something different. In a transient field, I was suited for the long haul. I had years of study behind me; I was physically built to endure and by disposition was not an edge dweller. I was interested in what I might accomplish over a lifetime of music making, so assumption number one is you are going to keep breathing. In my business, the above case studies prove, no matter who you are, that's not as easy as it sounds."

― Bruce Springsteen, Born to Run

[redphlox]

No matter how bnha ends, I'm grateful that I became invested because it brought me joy, and it gifted me the euphoric experience of getting to know one of my favorite characters ever: Touya Todoroki, Dabi. I will always love him, and he will always have a special place in my heart. Nothing can change that or take that away from me. Shouto, too. The soba brothers are eternal to me.

It's so typical of me to be drawn to the mysterious, cold, brooding characters, haha. Shouto and Dabi immediately captured my attention when I first watched/read bnha with @fox-conscious. I took a break from following the series for a few years until November 2020, when I casually logged into Tumblr after months of not checking and saw chapter 290 Dabi's Dance leaks. It must have been fate. Suddenly, I was fully immersed in the manga again, excited that the obvious familial connection between my two favorites was officially confirmed. This reveal reignited my excitement and gave me something to focus on and look forward to during a challenging first semester in grad school, when I was on the cusp of realizing I needed professional help for my eating disorder.

To deal with the stress and have fun, I turned to reading and writing meta, and trying to make friends to share the experience with. That's the most important thing that has come from following this series... I've met so many incredible people who mean a lot to me:

@haleigh-sloth has become a really dear and close friend of mine. We met because of this manga and bonded over crepes, breakfast foods, pasta or ramen dinners, shopping at the mall, swimming in the river, walking her dogs, sleepovers, traveling, and road trips because of our shared love of the characters and story. We are basically the same person and constantly say the same things at the same time. Through the ups and downs of school, work, moving, and even now, we've always had each other's backs and shared countless moments of laughter and ugly cackling because we can't take shit seriously, ever. She's one of my best friends for life and I can't imagine NOT having her around!

@todomitoukei was one of the first friends I made in this fandom. I can always count on her to make the funniest jokes I've ever heard, especially during a completely serious conversation, and I'm astounded how smart, quick-witted, and talented she is. Truly an inspiration. I always look forward to seeing notifications that she messaged me because she brightens my day <3

I've had the great pleasure of meeting and hugging @hamliet TWICE! She has a generous heart and an inviting, calm aura. Her kindness and intelligence are remarkable. I genuinely enjoy discussing all sorts of topics with her, both silly and serious: life, hopes and dreams, fears and daily struggles, funny memes, reading and writing. I also love seeing her pet photos and can't wait to meet them in the future.

@transhawks is truly my most insane friend, and I say that lovingly and in the most ironic way because he's level-headed, creative, articulate, and self-aware. I'm always learning from him. I can talk to him for hours and never run out of things to say, and I always look forward to his insightful commentary about anything and everything.

And of course, I'm grateful for all the discord shenanigans with my friends: watching the anime together, voice calls, memes, sharing ideas, etc. @chocolate-biscuit who always pops into the chat with funny one-liners that leave me cackling for days when they flash in my head randomly, @bootlickerhawks who is the bestest horse person ever and I get excited to see on my dash, @helga-grinduil who is the saltiest and funniest person on this hellsite and also happens to make the best bnhaedits in this entire fandom, @jecook who is one of the sweetest people I've ever met and can't wait to read fix-it fics from, @mettywiththenotes who sends cute dog pictures and makes the most hilarious memes. Together we are all unhinged, and I love it. Despite living in different time zones, different counties, we've all create a fun space to cohabitate, and I think that's really cool and beautiful.

Hmm. Looks like the real treasure was the friends I made along the way, and the shared trauma of having our favorite characters mishandled by their creator was worth it. Can't wait to keep writing fics, making memes, and making new friends like @shortstrawberryshake because of this manga. And, I can't wait to keep loving Touya and Shouto Todoroki, of course <3

[strawdrerry]

• The missing puzzle piece •

Just something about about shin really gets my creative juice going..

Anyway, i got inspired by @multifandom-nerds-blog 's fan fiction titled "Then and Now" to make this comic. But somehow while explaining it to my friends, i ended up writing a whole fic to go with it.. sooo-

Enjoy!

• Only a fool would expecting the arrival of someone not invited •

Tarou Sakamoto's wedding with aoi is simply the best day of his life. He did it. He completely left the underworld, retired from the assassin life, and won the affections of the most beautiful girl he has ever met. He couldn't truly ask for anything better.

He smiled and looked at the guest aoi's has invited. Those people are important to her. So as her husband, they're important to him too. These people are the people who had probably been always there for her, through the bad and the good times. No matter what..

In the back of his mind, shin is also here. Shin. The boy who he had taken care of when no one else would, The young man who had worked with him, The esper who was always there watching his back. His partner. His shadow. Shin..

Tarou Sakamoto feels guilt creeping up on him. It's different from what he was used too. It wasn't the guilt of taking away someone's life. It was somehow worse..

It was the guilt of leaving him behind. Too focused on himself to not reveal anything on his mind, he didn't really see shin that time, for the last time. Yelling slurs and throwing surrounding items at him. (If only he had payed enough attention, he would've seen the tears and see that it was only the fear of yet another abandonment behind that fire of rage) Yeah, that was the last time they have seen eachother. The time he had finally cut every ties he had to the underworld.

Shin must hate him now. After all they've been through, this is how it ended with shin..

(He sometime wonders if he could've just took shin with him) (He later realised he really could, yet it was too late)(And it's the biggest regret he ever had)

It was the best day of his life, but Tarou Sakamoto can only feel bittersweet that day..

• If only i responded to your shining smile differently, then maybe i could've pulled you out of the dark •

Hana is the light of his life, his daughter, and the brightest girl in his world. The joy she is, turned every sacrifice he and aoi made absolutely worth it.

One day, she approached him full of excitement. Each day, her steps keeps getting bigger and bigger with how tall she's growing. He worries for the day she might be taller than him, the day she wouldn't be needing him for help anymore.

Not today though, today she is showing him a drawing she made. Her smile brightens the room as she explains to him that it was a portrait of him. It might just a childish scribble to some other people, but to him? It was the most beautiful portrait of himself he had ever been shown. With the sun big in the corner, and the birds flying together in the distance, How could it not be the most beautiful drawing in the world?

In the back of his mind, he finds that smile familiar. In a dark alleyway, a young blonde teen smiled in a similar way after knocking out three guys that was behind his back. He still remembers the cheeky wink and thumbs up shin gave him. And he remembers, that he barely gave it an acknowledgement.

Not that he could fix the past, he focuses on the present. Nodding at the young girl and telling her it's deserved compliments.

Later that afternoon, he tried to call shin again. Maybe this time he might answer, maybe this time he can convince shin to leave that life like he did, he can feed shin the actual nutrition he needs, and finally give him the affection he deserves.

And if not, then he'll try again tomorrow.

• My true peaceful life would never be truly complete without you •

The bell rings as the door to the shop opened. It's his wife and daughter, coming in to check on how the store is going.

It's been only a few days since shin had moved in to the empty room in their space, and it's been only a month since he had officially became an employee at his store.

"The Sakamoto's", the store he created together with his dear aoi to create a safe space for their little family. Since no one would've like to hire someone with a suspicious background like him.

It hasn't been that long since the sight of the esper is suddenly in his view again, when he was finally close enough to shin and finally reach him again. And Shin is fitting quite nicely to this safe space.

Hana's endless brightness bringing his guard down, and cheerfully declaring him as her older brother. Aoi's calm smile convincing him to drop the honorifics. Shin is adapting quite nicely here.

Tarou's head turned to the laughter he heard came from his children. It seemed hana had convinced shin to give her another piggy back ride from him. Hana's childish laugh echoes in the shop as shin playfully swings his body to give her a stubble. His laugher is more low than hers, yet it's still clear that he's having just as much fun as she is.

Despite of how much older shin is now, his face now looks much more youthful than when he was thirteen. His truly free laughter compared to the frown he once wore on the daily basis, his now bright eyes compared to the once glaring dark ones, the now relaxed cheerful behaviour compared to the child who was always on the defense. Almost everything about shin has changed since then, and yet.. this feels like more like him than ever.

It's been many years, since he has met hana, met aoi, and met shin..

Tarou Sakamoto's now retired life may not be as interesting as his past life. But he would be lying if he said it wasn't the most fulfilling one.

•

Hope you enjoyed that!! I had soo much fun making it (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠)

And if you like this, but somehow haven't read "Then and Now" yet.. You SHOULD!! it's really good!

Anyways, thank you for reading!!

[obsessivecelestial]

Ahem ahem,,, I supposed I need to make a lil appreciation end of the year post :3

Imma try to get to as many people as I can, and if I forget you, it’s because I’m fighting off a sickness so I’m a lil out of it!

@stormbreaker-290 I don’t really know where to start, but you’ve genuinely brightened my year! You’re very funny and sweet and I always find myself smiling and literally kicking my legs whenever you post anything! You’re an amazing friend and I’m happy to have somebody to share my interests with!! Your art is also amazing and I adore it so much! I love when you show me little doodles you make :3

@bumble-the-sun-bee if it weren’t for you, I never would’ve ever met Storm of any of the people I now know! You’ve played the biggest part in this and I couldn’t be more grateful for you. You were one of the reasons I started experimenting with my art and why I’ve improved because of your silly little virus guy! You’re also just enjoyable to talk to and I love seeing all the art you make. It’s motivating and inspiring every time you post and I can’t thank you enough for introducing me to all of the people I know. You’re also very kind to me and I appreciate that!

@eternal-soup SOUP! You’re, again, so amazing! I really really love playing Roblox with you, and I really appreciate how you put up with my shenanigans and constant talking. You’re also so sweet towards me and others! Your voice is soothing to listen to as well and I thought you should know! :3c thank you for drawing things for me and being my friend for the months you have! And I hope we continue to be friends! You’re silly and sweet, and I find that you make me happy a lot!

@multifandomcutie13 we don’t talk a lot or interact to much, but when we do, you’re very kind! You seem like you’re a sweet person and I hope to grow our friendship through time!

@escapetheslaughters we also don’t talk a lot, but you’re still my friend! Your roleplaying is so entertaining to read and I can’t wait to interact and roleplay with you more! Your random posts also get giggles out of me, and I find joy in being apart of your blogs!!

@purplelordstudios hii!!! We actually haven’t properly spoken since Pinterest a few years ago! And I also have to thank you for being my friend back then and I hope we can maybe become good friends again now! You helped me through art and gave me some motivation for it back then, and now I enjoy seeing how you’ve grown and how your art has changed over the years! I hope to draw our OC’s together again! It’s been a while since they’ve last seen each other!

@jackamaryllis you know who you are to me, and I love you so so so much. You’re been with me my whole life, you’ve been my longest standing friend and I cannot thank you enough for that. You’re hilarious, you’re creative, you support and help me just as I do you. You’re one of the closest people in my life and I don’t ever want that to change. You mean the world to me, and I physically cannot imagine one without! I can’t wait to see you again and I can’t wait to cosplay with you again! You’re kind and you’re smart and you’re just the most amazing person I can ever ask to be in my life!

@compulsiveimpairment @bipolar-sad-and-ready-to-cry @bittyfromquotev @wonders-sunlight @pinkieglitterheart @redvelvetstars22 @animatronic-assistant @upsidedownapple @achickennamedcheese @kibblenoodlesnail

^

All of you are also so amazing, and I can’t thank you all enough for being in my life and being my mutuals! Some of you we don’t talk, but I still think about you and care for you all deeply!

I hope the new years treats every single one of you well and it’s a good year! You’ve all impacted my life in a good way and I thank you all for that. I love you all dearly /p

Happy new years (eve)!! 🫂🫂🫂