#but you gotta keep trying

[dr-lizortecho]

the thing is Kyle always struggled with fear of the unknown and wanting to demonize what he -at the time- didn’t understand, and that’s what’s so real and raw about him, and the way two of those people are depicted as having the strongest ties to him later in life, like obviously his high school career was colored by his fear of sexuality and inclusion which made him target Alex, and towards the end of the series they’re not only close friends but Kyle’s smiling at his wedding, and Max he colors in the blanks with the fear and propaganda Jesse gives him for the first four episodes, fear of the unknown and alien, until he’s reminded of the ideals he spent so long learning to implement, to be kind and understanding, not to react out of fear, and towards the end of the series Max isn’t his rival but his lover

[separatist-apologist]

Genuinely, and I mean this kindly, but learning to recognize bait and not engaging with it will change your fandom experience.

[greyskyflowers]

I'm just such a big fan of Edwin having some permanent issues after a second trip to hell and the final run in with Esther.

I like the idea that he actually has to sleep now. Nowhere near what a living human needs but more then he ever needed before. Maybe sleeping for several hours every few weeks.

Iron wounds take longer to heal, even though Edwin has always had a higher pain tolerance due to his experiences in hell.

When he's really tired, things start to hurt. Tender pain along all his joints, the spots where the demon spider found it was the easiest to tear him apart.

He get bruises under his eyes, headaches, occasionally a little chill, stiffness, and just a general aching all over his body.

It's hard for Edwin to sleep, for several reasons. Nightmares, anxiety, restlessness, and just being stubborn.

The vulnerability of sleep is terrifying.

The idea of leaving Edwin alone somewhere to sleep, even in their office, has Charles skin pickling. Especially knowing Edwin is also reluctant to sleep without him there.

So, Edwin does not sleep alone. Ever. Occasionally he gets left with Niko, and sometimes Crystal, but it's for very brief amounts of time before he's back with Charles.

It should be embarrassing to have these issues now, and it is, but they're even closer after Port Townsend and it's not something Edwin can avoid. He has to sleep now.

Really, it comes down to does he wants to keep it to himself and nap when no one else is around to avoid feeling weak? Or does he want to sleep with the comfort of knowing someone is with him and hell won't take him before he even gets a chance to wake up?

It comes down to how fearful is he of something dragging him off into hell again and the answer is apparently incredibly so.

Also, if he's going to look vulnerable and weak then it might as well be with Charles, who's seen him at his worst.

He tries not to overthink how pleased Charles is each time Edwin seeks him out for a nap or how good it feels to be held, the safest place he can think of is in Charles arms or under his sharp watch.

Charles hovers, and he's aware of it. He can't convince himself to stray too far from Edwin. Part of it's because he's protective, reluctant to leave Edwin in anyone else's hands when he's more vulnerable then before.

Part of it is selfish, he's a little possessive. A sleeping Edwin is not something anyone else needs to see. Edwin in pain is not something anyone else needs to see.

Crystal had recently demanded they have a bed available in the office for when her and Niko stayed over, even though they rarely use it. It's soft, covered in pillows and blankets, and Edwin has taken to hiding away in it when he sleeps. Crystal looks incredibly pleased when it slips that Edwin uses it and Charles is hit with a intense wave of fondness for her.

No one needs to see Edwin like this. Especially not when he loses a lot of his layers and curls up in something more comfortable. It leaves him vulnerable, his throat and wrists bare, and looking smaller without all extra clothing.

Nobody needs to see how he only really lets himself sleep when Charles is in bed with him or close enough in the room to reach out for if needed. He watches Charles do whatever it is he's doing with half lidded eyes, a strip of green that stubbornly stays visible until Charles is closer.

In the beginning they thought it was something temporary. Ghost don't need to sleep, Charles never sleeps. Sometimes he can get himself to relax enough that it's almost like sleeping but it's not anywhere near actual sleep.

They think it's just him trying to make up what Esther took.

But it keeps happening. Again and again.

And it makes them both anxious. Charles is worried about why Edwin suddenly needs to sleep but Edwin is worried about the actual sleeping part.

He does not want to sleep. Sleep means dreaming and nothing good will come from his dreams, he's sure of it.

It's also scary. Sleep is a weakness, it leaves him vulnerable and unaware. He doesn't want to sleep.

In those first few weeks where they all still thought this would pass, exhaustion caught up to him one evening as they were finishing up a long case. Charles was out and he couldn't even think about how wonderful it would be to go to go lay down because Charles was not there.

The office was too quiet. It made him restless and he would have paced but he was feeling especially sore that day. His hands had ached while he was writing and he had to stop frequently to flex them.

He was weak, alone, and rapidly sliding into a decreased mental awareness due to exhaustion. It's not a situation he liked.

They weren't apart for long those days, and still aren't, so Charles is back pretty quickly but it's long enough that Edwin was struggling. He blinked sleepily at Charles, with eyes that itched when they shouldn't have, and he must have looked terrible because Charles straightened up a little bit and his eyes jumped around the room before he relaxed.

He said something, dropped his bag and walked forward until he could put his hands on Edwin and that's it. Edwin leaned forward until he was relying on Charles to hold him up, turned his face into his neck and passed out still standing up.

It doesn't get that bad again. Charles is good about noticing when Edwin starts to slow down, and when it takes him a little longer to string his words together or explain himself. He picks up the way he carries himself different on day where things hurt a little more or how he rubs his temple when he feels a headache coming on.

He herds Edwin to bed like a sheep dog and makes sure everything is locked up so they won't be bothered. Edwin had managed to find a spell that would keep anyone else, living and none, out of their office when activated. It's perfect for extra privacy and security.

Charles hates that Edwin was hurt enough that he needs this now, and he hates seeing him wore down and exhausted... but part of him loves these days.

Edwin sleepy and soft, usually pulling Charles down with him until they're under all the blankets and pillows, tucked on their own little world.

He clings when he sleeps. He buries his face in Charles throat and under his chin like he's trying to hide, presses in as close as he can until they're completely tangled together. Not that Charles has any problem with that. He runs his fingers over skin in soothing gestures and pulls him in close if he starts to show any signs of a nightmare.

He wakes up with hair sticking up and clothes rumpled, blinking at Charles a few times as he tries to wake up enough to remember what's happening. Sometimes, Charles gets lucky and Edwin will stretch out like a cat before readjusting himself to be close again and doze off for a little longer.

It knocks the breath he doesn't need out of his lungs and love sits in his throat until it threatens to choke him.

Sometimes there are nightmares and Edwin shoves himself away desperately with a pained and fearful noise that has Charles cringing. Edwin stares at him from the other side of the bed, eyes big but unfocused in a way that shows he's not actually seeing Charles. He's tight, tense and completely locked up. He couldn't move even if he wanted to. They're both still laying down, and Charles doesn't move even though he wants to. He starts talking, low and soft, keeps doing that until Edwin starts to relax again. It's a slow process and it takes a while before Edwin is relaxed enough that Charles can reach out and coax him back closer. He's exhausted after those little episodes, too tired and his body too sore from being so tense to put up much of a fight as Charles tucks him in close again. Sometimes he's asleep before they're even settled back in, limp with sleep as Charles rearranges him in a way that won't have him aching when he wakes up.

Sometimes Charles is too wired to lay down, even if cuddling is great motivation, and he keeps himself busy while Edwin rests. Sometimes they're in the middle of a case and there's still work that needs to be done, so he does what can while until Edwin is back up and functional.

It's a powerful feeling, having Edwin trust him so much and so openly. Sometimes Charles has to check on him, the quiet and unmoving lump on the bed making him nervous until he looks him over, just to make sure everything is okay. It's hard to tell sometimes since they don't breathe like the living, and Edwin sleeps so quiet. He doesn't even flinch at Charles getting close, nothing triggering those survival instincts gained in hell that would have him awake and moving if it was anyone else this close.

God help anyone stupid enough to try something when they're like this. He'd fight anyone who disturbed them, anyone who woke Edwin up from his much needed rest or threaten to cause them harm. It burns under his skin and it makes his teeth itch.

Nothing would separate them. Nothing could take them away from each other.

[gigizetz]

🫡

OMG THAT`S GENUINELY SO BEAUTIFUL

o7 for dead X eye guy he shall never be forgotten

[crimescrimson]

Leon S. Kennedy in Resident Evil 6 (2012)

[bluestation]

W7/EL sketchbook spreads

[puppetmaster13u]

Prompt 338

So the GIW is the Ghost Investigation Ward and not the Ghost Extermination Ward, yes? Hear me out, hm? 

See, it’s really hard to study ecto-entities when they’re going all over in and out of the world. Really hard! And of course they aren’t like, sentient, studies for years before the boom in this one town showed this! But, the overgrown not-birds (they’re still debating that) are really hard to watch doing their natural thing when they naturally mimic people around them! 

So! They got this idea, right? Their operatives can capture some! They’ve even made enclosures based off of what they currently know! It’s like containing crows, down to the mimicry & puzzle solving just er, with opposable thumbs and intangibility. 

And they don’t succeed first tries of course (Wow were said operatives frustrated and maybe cursing a bit that might be a bit violently) but then they get some assistance from the Fentons! Trying to hit an ecto-entities’ wings in a way to not permanently injure them is hard, but the new net canons that a ghost can’t pass through? Perfect! 

They have so many specimens now! They even released a few that were very much uncontainable- they rely on technology a bit and that entity kept unlocking all the doors. So catch and release with that one it is!  

They even managed to catch the white-haired ghost! In double! Which might not seem that important, but! As they realize during intake & initial examination (wow are they bitey) the two appear to be young! Something their ectobiologists only theorized about but oh are they excited! (Now if only the two would stop trying to escape their enclosure that’d be swell! Look, toys! Foo- oh dear God that baby ecto-entity is melting- Oh few, okay note taken to raise ambient ecto levels in that room dear god that was horrifying and stressful. … Maybe get some feelers out for feeding unstable energy entities…) 

[lylethewaterguy]

Slides my crack ship across the table for your approval

[trypoed]

go for it, STRAHM❗ (⸝⸝⸝>﹏<⸝⸝⸝)

[phoenixcatch7]

It's always funny to me when in an lu fic the chain is offered bananas and don't accept them. Like, you're offering these high energy adventures free food?? Fruit they'll have never even heard of before??? A ridiculously expensive imported good at best?? AND it boosts your attack?

Not ONE of these idiots would ever turn down something new and interesting to eat at least once. They'd be all over those bananas and immediately get dubbed yiga and I'm honestly surprised no one has used it in a fic yet 🤭

[canonkiller]

more art fighting thangs

for gamedweeber, @blackghostm2oart , @arcex and @sunnycluster !

[kathaynesart]

Ngl it's super relieving to hear you're 40 cause a lot of time on the internet it's like "if you don't make it when you're 20 then you're a failure" and I am in that 20's range and still haven't "made it". So having an artist I really love turning out to be like double my age is like a breath of fresh air

idk if it makes sense

For sure. If it’s any consolation, I didn’t feel like I had really “made it” until the last few years of my life. Even then everyone’s idea of success is different. I worked for big companies in the past, but it lead to a horrible work life balance where I was overworked and did not have the time to be creative for myself.

Now I finally have a creative job where I feel appreciated, paid well, and allows me the time and energy to work on my own projects when I get home. For the longest time I was following this vague dream of what I thought success was and wanting to leave my “mark” on the world. Projects like Replica helped me realize I don’t have to chase that feeling through work alone. Sometimes the greatest marks we leave are the ones that happen when we’re just having fun and being ourselves!

Thank you all of you for helping me discover that. <3

[mccromy]

TGCF/SVSSS crossover in which Jun Wu transmigrates into the former CQM sect leader (let's pretend they look alike too) who died by botching a Heavenly Calamity and now Jun Wu wakes up in his body in the aftermath.

He realizes this world is very different from his own and then while he tries to figure out what actually happened, takes over sect leader duties. Which is very easy with his experience as Heavenly Emperor. Also, this sect has a peak filled with Ling Wens! :D (An Ding Peak) easy peasy.

He assists the disciple trials and takes notice of a malnourished boy, just at the age limit for starting cultivation, working diligently with the barest hint of desperation under an otherwise determined face. He invites him to Qiong Ding Peak, and while they perform the acceptance ceremony he asks his favorite question (2 men 1 cup.... lost in the desert)

And the boy instead of answering asks:

"Who are these men?"

Jun Wu hums.

"Does it matter?"

"Yes."

Jun Wu stares at him but the boy doesn't squirm or look away. The desperation suddenly stark.

"Would their identity change your answer?" The boy nods. "Very well, let's say you don't know either of them. You can't tell if they're rich or poor, neither is ugly, neither is handsome. You stand in front of them holding a cup filled with fresh water and the knowledge that if they don't drink from your cup they'll die. How would you fix this problem?" He smiles placidly as the boy thinks.

He doesn't think too long.

"I drink the cup."

Jun Wu is surprised, even the most selfish and entitled try to at least give the appearance of caring.

"Even if they died?"

"As long as I don't."

Jun Wu realized his mistake, this boy, dirty and thin as he was, was probably used to fighting for his food. Survival of the fittest and all that.

"Even if you knew one of them, what if they had a family? What would you do then?"

"I drink the cup."

"I see... Is there any scenario in which you don't drink the cup?" Jun Wu is amused enough he starts preparing the tea himself. He's already decided he'd take the boy in. He could do with someone unapologetically ruthless.

"If my brother is with me, I'd give him the cup."

Suddenly, Jun Wu doesn't like the boy anymore.

"I see. If one of the men in the desert is your brother, you'll give the cup to him, even if you die." Typical. Idealistic boys, who think they'll still know themselves at their worst.

"Yes, but I meant, if it's my brother, me, and two men in the desert, the cup goes to my brother."

"Hm."

He lets the tea steep, he's angry. He realized he might kill this boy if they keep talking. As he's about to dismiss him, acceptance ceremony be damned, the boy speaks again.

"And if there were a cup for each of us, then all would go to my brother."

Jun Wu stills. Then places a cup in front of the boy, pours tea, sits back.

"And why is that? only one cup would be enough to survive."

"To survive, yes, but he might still be thirsty after. Maybe he'd want to wash off some sweat, he's very fussy."

Ah, like Shi Wudu then. Jun Wu might have an useful piece in his hands after all.

The wicked always think that as long as they're acting on behalf of the truly virtuous, every action is justified and therefore merit no punishment. Everything goes, if it's to let the innocent remain ignorant.

It might've been fun had he not met this type before.

"Is he older or younger?"

"Younger."

"I see. And, if your brother wouldn't die from thirst, and you had five cups in your hand."

"Four would go to him, and one for me."

A bit more selfless than Shi Wudu. Which makes him a bit more boring. This boy probably wouldn't even try to strangle his brother before he was killed.

"And let the other two die?" The boy nods again, though now there's something his mannerisms are coated in embarrassment.

Well, since he already went down memory lane, Jun Wu simply must ask: "And if the price was to let a kingdom burn for getting that brother a cup of water even if he wouldn't die without it. Or let a kingdom thrive, while your brother stays as he is. What would you do?"

"Is my brother thirsty?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll give him the cup."

"He would not die."

"He would be thirsty."

Disappointing, this new disciple of his, but the boy might just live.

"Is your brother so righteous and kind that his life is worth more than the lives of the people of this kingdom?"

"My brother's life is worth two cups of rice, and as of late, a gold coin."

Jun Wu paused in confusion. What a horrible thing to say. Stated as a fact, hard as a stone. Is his brother's life not worth other's? How can he be so certain of the needed currency to bargain his brother's soul.

"And would he be happy? All those lives lost just for temporary comfort?"

"He wouldn't be happy."

With strong morals yet not worth enough to buy more than a few meals. At some point worth only two meals? What sort of contradictory creature is this boy related to?

"He would hate you for it."

"No, he wouldn't be happy either way. But if I did give him the water, he would not be sad. Just upset."

"Upset at the deaths?"

"Upset at all the smoke."

Jun Wu bursts out laughing. He laughs and laughs so hard he starts crying. The boy remains still as a statue, confused, scared.

And Jun Wu laughs, laughs as he wipes tears, laughs as he pours himself a cup and drinks, tea spilling on his robes. The boy quickly copies him, studies him as if to decide whether he's a threat or not.

Jun Wu forces himself to stop, his smile uncontrollably pulling at his skin.

Oh what a nasty, selfish child must this mysterious brother be. And yet, this soft spoken boy would doom hundreds for his ephemeral comfort.

"Where is that brother of yours? Was he at the disciple selection trial?"

The boy looks away for the first time, shakes his head.

"No... He's in a bad place. I need to go get him, this is why I need to become a cultivator, so I can help him."

"How noble, he needs rescue, hm?"

"Yes."

Jun Wu smiles, eyes gleaming.

"Then you're in the right place to achieve the power to do so. Welcome, Disciple Yue, to Qiong Ding. From now on you will refer to me as Shizun, and you'll work hard to do our sect proud."

The boy perked up, shoulders sagging in relief.

"Yes, Shizun."

"I see great promise in you, Yue Qi, and a good heart."

"Thank you, Shizun."

"It would be nothing less than tragic to see it break. Because of that, when you're ready, I'll go with you to retrieve your brother, and we'll find a place for him in our sect."

The boy's face illuminated, eyes wet and hopeful. His lower lip trembled, but he did not cry. Yue Qi took a deep breath, and then let it go. He regarded Jun Wu as if he knew the true identity of the man he was facing, as if he had been given the most marvellous of blessings.

"Shizun will help me save Xiao Jiu?"

Jun Wu nodded with a serene smile as the seed of worship was planted in the soul of such an unlucky boy.

Worship would not do it, not anymore. Worship was conditional to what miracles he could perform, and Jun Wu was no longer a god.

Love though. Love could bring down empires, change fates. Worship could never compare to love. Being worshipped wasn't enough.

"This Shizun swears. We'll rescue Xiao Jiu, Yue Qi."

Not likely, but who knows what the future holds.

"It all depends on you, my disciple. I have put all my faith in your hands. I know you won't disappoint your brother, and you won't disappoint me."

Yue Qi bowed as tears finally started pouring down his sweet, dirty face.

"Thank you, Shizun. This disciple promises to exceed Shizun's expectations." His voice wobbled but his speech was clear. Jun Wu rested a reassuring hand on the poor child's shoulder.

"I'm certain. I have been waiting a long time for a disciple like you,"

Jun Wu made the mistake of trying to mould Xie Lian to his image, and it ended with that boy proving Jun Wu rotten and weak.

Jun Wu would not try the same with Yue Qi. That was not what he truly wanted, what he actually needed.

He needed a ruthless, devout, unlucky, little tragedy of a boy who would never, ever leave.

Someone who could love nasty, rotten, selfish, creatures who only get upset at the smell of the bodies at their feet.

[cutter-kirby]

he’s a babygirl he’s a failwife he’s a losercore dumbass and he’s the most love-filled man to ever exist

[aworsening]

Why is life so hard 😭😭😭

i. The Scientist, Coldplay / ii. @archbudzar / iii. @choodraws / iv. Vultures, John Mayer

[fablecore]

went on benn beckman's wiki page. gasped. had the urge to draw something silly. under those grey waves and broad shoulders is a scoundrel...