#finally managed to write something

[blackrosesandwhump]

June of Doom Day 11

“We’re out of time.” | Bleeding Out | Collapse | Flatline

CW: royal/fae whumpee, bleeding out, collapsed lung, open ending

“…out of time…going to die if we can’t heal him…”

The healers’ whispers filter briefly through the haze of agony surrounding the elf prince’s mind. He knows he’s dying. His body is screaming it to him.

“…so much blood…bleeding out quickly…barely alive—”

Can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. His back arches as he struggles for air. Help me. I can’t die here.

He can see himself lying on the bare ground, feel himself slipping as his blood flows from numerous lacerations marring his skin. The healers are doing all they can, their magic surrounding their prince in a faint golden glow, but it’s not enough. It’s not enough to reverse the destruction that the monster inflicted on him.

“Highness, please…stay with us…” The magic intensifies, and the healer’s hands start to shake.

Don’t let me die here. Outside his body, fighting for breath and soaked in his own blood, the elf prince pleads into the void, his voice silent.

I must live…to save my people…save them from—

His mind is swallowed in darkness as, finally, the bleeding stops.

[pullakori]

Cherik week 2023

Day 4. Protective Erik

It’s been a year since Charles followed Erik to Genosha and started living in there. The change wasn’t an easy one, but slowly the island started to feel like a home and its residents like a family. Old sorrow and guilt still followed him, but they were not as consuming as they had been right after… Well, a year ago.

Charles sipped his tea, enjoying the morning sun on his face. It seemed like it was going to be another beautiful day in the paradise, no need to ruin the otherwise beautiful day with such gloomy thoughts.

“What would you like to do today?” Erik asked him from the other side of the table. Most days he would already be working on some project on the island, but today he had decided to take a day off and that meant that they could spend the whole day together.

“We could visit the beach, return through the market and make dinner together.” Charles mused, turning to look at Erik, who was smiling at him.

“How domestic.” He teased, but continued before Charles had an opportunity to quip anything back. “Chess after dinner?”

“Naturally.” Charles replied.

Domestic. That was possibly the best way to describe their situation. They lived together and there was certainly something more between them, but neither of them had had the courage to approach it, too cautious of what it could do to the serenity they had managed to find.

As it turned out, the faith of their found peace was not in their hands at all.

It started with a knock on the door and a concerned mind on the other side of it.

“Magneto! Magneto there is a helicopter flying towards the island!” The voice was clear, as it carried through the open window and after a quick shared glance with Charles, Erik stood up and hurried to open the door. On the other side was distressed looking Corina, who was clearly trying to catch her breath.

“Where?” Erik asked, straight to the point while Charles wheeled himself to the door too.

“From the North-West.” Corina panted and pointed towards the right direction. “I saw them while I was practising my flying. I don’t think it will take long for them to reach us.”

“Were you able to identify it?”

“Nothing specific, but it looked military.”

“We’ll be ready. Find Panic so he can sound the alarm. There might be only one, but I rather not take any risks.” Erik ordered and with a nod, Corina took few running steps and jumped, flapping her seagull like wings and flew away.

“Charles, are you able to reach their minds?” Erik turned to Charles.

“I should be, if they are not that far away.” Charles said and closed his eyes, so he could focus his powers, sending tendrils of it out to scan the ocean area. He tried to find sparks of any kind of minds, but he found strange voids instead. They were familiar, reminding him of Erik’s old helmet. They were closing in on the island fast. “They are blocking me somehow.” Charles said aloud, and the grim look on Erik’s face mirrored his own thoughts. This wasn’t good.

The sound of Panic’s warning scream echoed through the air, telling everyone on the island to be prepared and soon after, the sound of helicopter propellers grew louder and louder.

“You should stay inside, Charles.” Erik told him as he stepped out himself, turning to look from the sky to Charles. But the telepath was having none of that.

“I’ll just stay near you.” He said, following Erik outside and meeting his eyes, making it clear, that he would not be hiding away.

Not that he would have time for that, as the helicopter appeared over them, landing on the clearing in front of Erik’s home. Other mutants had gathered around too, waiting for what was going to happen.

‘Do you think they know where you live, or was this just a coincidence?’

‘Oh, I’m sure they know.’ The distaste in Erik’s thoughts was clear. From the helicopter, soldiers hurried down a ramp, helmets on their heads and guns in hands. ‘Plastic.’ Erik’s mind stated.

‘That might become a problem.’ This whole thing seemed to become more concerning every second.

‘Luckily the copter isn’t.’ Charles did his best to suppress his smirk, but didn’t quite manage.

The tension in the air grew as the last person came out of the copter, better dressed, clearly in charge. Erik took a step forward and Charles followed him, staying by his friend’s side.

“Why have you come here?” Erik asked the man with an authoritative tone, speaking loudly so his voice carried through the whole clearing.

“We are not here because of you Magneto. No need to stir any trouble.” The man answered, stopping in front of his men.

“You are the ones who barged to my home with guns.” Erik stated, not impressed by the man’s attempt to be pleasant. “So I ask again, why are you here?” The man shook his head, before his gaze turned to Charles.

“Mr. Charles Xavier.” It wasn’t a question, he knew exactly who Charles was.

“Yes?” The helmet made it impossible for the telepath to get a reading from the man, but even though his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, his attention made Charles feel unnerved. Like he was a fly trapped in the spider’s web, about to be killed. The man’s next words only made the feeling stronger.

“You have been found guilty for treason and we are here to take you back to the Stares.”

Charles was certain that the time froze for a few minutes, no one moved, no one said anything, even the noises of the island nature seemed to fade away.

“Excuse me?” Charles was proud how steady his voice came out, even though he felt shaken to his core. Treason? What the hell were they talking about? But the man wasn’t about to explain himself.

“This doesn’t need to be difficult. Just come with us, and there will be no reason for use to use any force.” He gave a small hand signal, and the soldiers raised their weapons. Not only at Charles and Erik, but the other mutants as well. Charles could see the bloodshed that would follow, if he didn’t do as the man wanted. And too much blood had already been spilled because of him.

He was about to move forward, but Erik beat him to it, stepping in front of him.

“You are not taking him anywhere.” Erik stood there arms crossed, unmoving and shielding Charles from the soldiers.

‘Erik…’ Charles felt frozen, he wanted to move, to tell Erik to stand down, but he couldn’t.

“What a shame.” The man said, his voice barely reaching Charles’ ears.

It was over in a matter of seconds. There was the sound of gunfire, shouting, groaning of metal and chaos of fighting, before suddenly, it was quiet again. The man and his soldiers were lying on the ground, blood staining the ground. Few mutants had been hurt too, three dead. Because of him.

“They’ll be back.” Charles managed to find his voice all the while his mind was running wild. He had to get away from Genosha, away from anyone who could be hurt because of this.

“And we will be ready.” Erik’s words snapped Charles back from his thoughts. Erik was still standing in front of him and was examining Charles for any injuries. There were none, at least Charles didn’t think so. Erik on the other hand had gotten a shallow wound to his cheek, but otherwise seemed to have escaped without further injury. Against all the odds. The thought chilled Charles from the inside. Erik could have died.

“I can’t ask you to risk your life for me.” Charles told Erik, taking a hold of his arm. The last thing he wanted was to put the lives of the Genoshans in danger, least of all Erik’s.

Erik held his gaze, and for a moment it felt like he was the telepath instead of Charles, like he could see through all Charles’ masks right in to his heart. But maybe that had been the case through all their relationship. Erik moved down so they were looking eye to eye, before he took hold of Charles’ shoulders, his left hand resting where shoulder met the neck, stroking the spot there with his thumb.

“You don’t have to ask.”

[mumblesplash]

heartbreaking: this viral post is saying things you completely agree with in the most irritating way possible

[lovealwayssay]

It would have been so beautifully poetic if Dean had rescued Cas from the empty paralleling Cas rescuing Dean from hell.

[valictini]

Anyway congrats to sansmaeda, see you all on sunday for the most wedding ever

Bonus: collective mental breakdown below

You just never know what to expect with this funny little guy!

[hxhhasmysoul]

Hey so i have been seeing this sukuna hates yuji thing very often and i feel like sukuna is still indifferent to him very much as I don't see difference in his behavior even after chp 248 .

Did I miss something?

I think we see Sukuna’s attitude towards Yuuji quite differently. To me, between the two of them, the person who’s been showing indifference, has been Yuuji. 

In the beginning Yuuji had tried to establish some rapport with Sukuna. He even approached him with some dose of sense of humour right after Sukuna ripped his heart out. 

But the moment he realised Sukuna can’t be reasoned with, when Sukuna refused to help Junpei and mocked Yuuji for asking, Yuuji crossed over to cold hatred. He repeatedly doesn’t let Sukuna bait him. Not when Sukuna blames Yuuji for people’s death in chapter 63, not when Sukuna tries to get Yuuji to keep quiet when they meet Angel. Yuuji just dismisses him. Even Yuuji’s reaction to Shibuya isn’t directed at Sukuna. It’s directed inward. He hates Sukuna but in a passive way, he prioritises other things. Trying to do at least something good after Shibuya, getting Gojou out, saving Megumi. Sukuna is an obstacle, but Yuuji tries to engage with him as little as possible.

The opposite is true for Sukuna. He talks to Yuuji, he tries to actively torment Yuuji and constantly questions Yuuji and his worldview. Tries to mock Yuuji.

I personally don’t like the word hate, when it comes to Sukuna’s attitude towards Yuuji. I think Yuuji unsettles him, causes him discomfort, irks him. Yuuji’s existence and especially perseverance go against what Sukuna believes to be true. He believes that only power matters and those who can’t go toe to toe with the strong are insignificant. He deems their lives to be pointless misery. Yuuji on the other hand cherishes human life, it matters to him on a very personal level. 

And even though Yuuji seems weak to Sukuna, someone not on par with him. Still Yuuji has power over Sukuna, he might be the only one apart from maybe Kenjaku and possibly Tengen that has ever had true power over him. Anyone else he can kill and keep his independence from, but Yuuji. He needed a plan, he needed to trick Yuuji into a binding vow to get out. 

When Sukuna was inside, Yuuji unsettled and irked him. But now Sukuna is slightly drifting towards fascination. He’s been introspecting a bunch after he got out from Yuuji, he asked Yuuji directly why he keeps going. He is trying to understand, while he never does that for Yorozu, Gojou or Kashimo. The groupies don’t interest him because they represent the status quo he’s always believed in. Yuuji is its contradiction, a glitch in the system Sukuna’d lived by before they cohabited a body. Sukuna ignores everyone else who’s jumping him. The only other person who’s sparked his curiosity is Maki. Though with her it’s more of a jujutsu nerd kind of curiosity. Yuuji interests him on a far more personal level. 

Of course he’s trying to put on a dismissive front, he constantly insults and diminishes Yuuji, but he’s also constantly thinking about Yuuji. It’s kinda “the babygirl doth protest too much, methinks”.  Especially that Yuuji is still not giving a rat’s ass about Sukuna. It’s kinda like notice me at this point. Like: I can’t get you out of my head, react to my crude cries for attention.

[imtrashraccoon]

Hmm... golden boys 💪

So, with Dream Sans, perhaps a reader who has snuck in a small puppy and is currently giving it a bath-

The only reason how Dream found the two is the strangely Reader-shaped footprints of mud tracked along the floor and into the bathroom... and the squeaky barking.

(For added effect, Reader is a muddy MESS from wrestling the puppy to stay in the bath 🤭)

I thought because you originally sent a similar ask for Lord Nightmare, I would do this in a similar style? So, enjoy a special Don't Imagine, just for you my friend...

Don't Imagine finding a small lost puppy behind the barn covered in mud. How it's big sad eyes instantly melt your heart and how you can't possibly leave it there. How you look around to see if anyone is watching but thankfully find no one.

Don't Imagine scooping the poor thing up into your arms when you realize it really is by itself. How you don't even care that now you're all muddy too. How it whimpers and whines, trying to break free from your grasp. How you wonder if it's had bad experiences with people to be this afraid of you.

Don't Imagine tucking the pup into your coat and slipping back to the cottage. How you open the door a crack and listen intently before stepping inside, just in case your master returned early. How you heave a sigh of relief when it seems that he's still out.

Don't Imagine heading straight for the bathroom. How you draw a warm bath and search the cabinets for a soap that would be safe for the puppy's fur. How you are forced to give up when its squirming proves to be too much to handle. How you nearly have to wrestle it into the tub.

Don't Imagine the poor pup absolutely wailing as you attempt to scrub the mud out of it's fur. How it struggles to get away but you manage to pull it back into the tub every time it gets remotely close to escaping. How you realize this would actually be sort of funny if you weren't in a bit of a rush to finish.

Don't Imagine nearly jumping out of your skin at the sound of a soft knock on the door that you had carelessly left ajar. How you can feel the affects of his presence and how you know that you've been caught. How your mind scrambles to think of any reasonable excuse but comes up short. How you know he would see through any lie you could make anyways.

Don't Imagine how Dream waits for you to turn around. How your heart sinks when he meets your gaze with an unreadable look. How you quickly look away and suddenly realize how big of a mess you've made. How you apologize profusely and promise to clean up the muddy footprints and the bathroom. How you wish he'd say something, anything, and not just stare at you like that.

Don't Imagine how he sighs and reassures you that he's not upset. How you tentatively look up, not fully believing him. How his expression takes on a pained look for a moment before he quickly hides it behind his usual smile. How he reiterates that you've done nothing wrong and how he actually praises you for helping the puppy.

Don't Imagine how he chuckles and kneels next to you. Definitely don't imagine how he carefully wipes some mud from your cheek. How he quietly compliments your kindness. How his touch lingers a moment longer than it probably should.

Don't Imagine how all the uncertainty seems to disappear. How your vision narrows until all you can focus on is his face. How you wonder why you were ever worried about him finding out in the first place. How he comments that the sanctuary could use a good guard dog and suggests that he doesn't mind if you want to keep the puppy. How quick you are to thank him, promising to take good care of it.

[deoidesign]

.

[halfelven]

Celebrían falls asleep in Elrond’s arms, and it is not a dream. It is just a field of heather, just purple flowers underneath a blue sky. There is a slight wind that carries the scent of birch trees, and the sun is high and white above them. It is not another lifetime; it is just a field and the wind and the sky. Everything real, everything here—her hair falling silver across her face, her hand resting on his knee. There is a rock sharp beneath his leg, and he is glad, for in a dream it would not hurt.

[hergrandplan]

Little snippet from an upcoming fic

Neither of them spared Simon a glance as they passed by, which would have Simon rolling his eyes usually if he wasn’t still so taken with Wilhelm.

He shook his head to get himself out of his stupor – focus, Simon. You have a job to do, and turned his attention to the next guest, all the while thinking about how gorgeous the stupid ex-prince had looked in his stupidly gorgeous suit.

[puppyeared]

Jitterbug

[lesbianalanwake]

Scratch is still a distinct entity from Alan. I think the Dark Presence has just found too good of a host and has itself gotten stuck - it tries to use Alan to escape, tries to leap into Casey, but Alan is able to draw it back in, and its temporary escape is colored by Alan's life and perspective, its own will wrenched into a different form by Alan's, even more pronounced than the fight over the narrative was in the first game.

It tries to escape, and Alan reels it back it. Alan tries to escape, and the Dark Presence reels him back in. Ad infinitum.

The entity called Scratch is Alan and the Dark Presence both, where they collide and get lost in and overwhelm each other. He's not just Alan's "dark side" - I think that's too literal and simplistic an interpretation, after Control very much established that beings and forces exist beyond us and beyond our reality, and when these games tend to put layers upon layers into any one thing.

I was struck by just how much of himself Alan has retained in the second game, despite everything. Even as he and the Dark Presence draw closer and closer together, taking on the appearance of the other, there's a stark difference between them still. And that difference illuminates (hah) the thread of similarity between them that has bound them together so tightly - the sheer, visceral desperation to escape, which the Dark Presence has been trying to do before Alan, before Zane, before Jagger.

The first game implies that the Dark Presence has existed for an unknown amount of time and has been trapped within the Dark Place for a very long time. Maybe it wasn't always a rageful, hateful being - isolation in the dark will do funny things to one's head, and desperation will do a number on you. (Which we see in Alan. Which is mirrored in Scratch, in the Dark Presence.)

The slidescape from which Hedron, Polaris, and the Hiss come, that Jesse calls "Hand," is desolate and empty, nothing but red sand and five pillars that Darling describes as being like outstretched fingers. I think Dark-Presence-as-Jagger is just one of those fingers reaching up from the lake, a crude imitation wearing a long-gone face to pull at the strings of Zane's grief. I think Scratch in American Nightmare is another one of those fingers, living darkness once again trying to breach reality but never quite managing to break the surface, an exaggerated parody wearing dark rumors made flesh for a skinsuit. And Scratch in AW2 is all of those fingers, the Dark Presence wearing Alan like a glove, only to find that when it breaches the surface at last, it can't take that glove off anymore.

The "Drowning" video in the Writer's Journey is one of the most brutal things to listen to in the game, and one of the clearest representations of the game as a whole, despite how incoherent it is. Thanks to some lovely voice work by Matthew Porretta, you can hear the switch from Alan to Scratch. You can hear them mirroring each other, and you can hear where the Dark Presence sounds just as despairing as Alan, even though the last several lines of the monologue don't actually leave Scratch's perspective. When it takes over, it's speaking to Alan, speaking from his perspective, speaking from it's own perspective, and Alan is speaking through it, all at once, and it gradually gets more unhinged and incoherent and despairing. I will highlight it with some thematic coloring.

I'm lost. I'm lost in the dark. Drowning. I'm drowning. I'm drowning. No way out. There's no way out. Sinking deeper. Deeper and deeper. This is hell. I'm in hell. I died. I wish I was dead. Let me die. I just want to sleep. Please let me sleep. I'm so tired. I just want to go home. I've written so much. I write and I write. There's nothing left. It's all gone. I don't know how to write. All the words are gone. There's no more words. Where did they go? Did I eat the words? I don't recognize these words anymore. Are the words moving? This is familiar. Why is this familiar? I've been here before. Have I said this before? I've read this somewhere. Where am I? Who am I? Alan Wake? Wake? That's a strange name. A. Wake. That sounds like a character's name. Did I write the name up, did I make that name up? I don't want to be a character. I don't want to be in this story. Just write me out of this story. Ram these words down your throat. Make you choke on these words. I know the words. Secret words. You can't take the words. I eat the words. These are my words! Stop using the words! The words! Cult of the Word! This isn't your story. It never was your story. The story is a monster. The story will eat you alive. The darkness is coming! The darkness inside. This is my story! You're in my story! Get out of my story! You are a character in my story! You can't stop the story. This story will go on forever. There's no escape! You will never escape! You will drown here. You're stuck in a loop. You don't have a clue. You're lost. You lost the plot. I'll show you.

The Dark Presence is stuck. It's been stuck, been drowning, for a very long time, and now it's irrevocably tied itself to Alan. It can't get away from him, anymore than he can get away from it.

The end of the loop that we play through is a recognition of that, so perhaps later steps in the spiral will be steps to reintegrate Alan with pieces of himself that have gotten scattered - the pieces in Scratch, the pieces in whatever the hell "Zane" is. Maybe even steps to reintegrate the Dark Presence with its own lost pieces - the pieces in Scratch, the pieces scattered within and corrupting the Dark Place, the pieces in the light? I don't think either of them will be able to truly breach the surface and escape a neverending death by drowning without that.

While playing AW2, part of my brain became fully convinced that the "dark" and the "light" used to be a whole being that shattered and split at some point, and the "fight" alluded to in the first game and in American Nightmare was simply failed reintegration, over and over again. Because we see the Dark Presence splinter (into itself and Jagger and and Scratch and Alan), and we see the light / the "Bright Presence" splinter into almost nothing of itself anymore ("until nothing remains," into Zane and Alan), and we see that there's still a unity in that fracturing and dissolving (Alan and Scratch and "Zane" all having the same face).

We see that there's a light in Alice now - a photographer capturing light on a canvas, delivering a light switch through a shoebox, speaking cryptically across videos and phone lines. She's slipped into the role that light plays in the story, that Zane used to play, illuminating and guiding Alan up and down a spiraling path.

So maybe reintegration and unification is waiting somewhere down the road - Scratch and Alan, Alan and Alice, the memories and pieces of self that Alan and Alice have lost in the darkness, the "Dark" and "Bright" Presence, the dark and the light, constantly circling and never quite reaching each other until at last the branching spiral path reaches its end.

[hood-ex]

Ughhh just want it to be January already so we can see Dick and Damian interact. Although, Damian is going to be... a cat... but... I'll overlook what I gotta overlook, mkay?

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 28: The Sparks Brothers

I'm not a movie person... So when I do actually rewatch a movie (I mean, even watch it, at ALL, haha) it must really mean that something is up. I mean, well, it also IS a thorough, highly enjoyable and visually appealing movie about a band that I've been so incredibly invested in for the past several months. So maybe it's a surprise that I don't watch it more often actually. Because one beautiful side-effect of seeing it each time was getting an unexpected and very strong surge of motivation to keep on going towards the things that matter to me the most, despite any and all obstacles that could appear on the way. Another side-effect of it is being happy and joyfull and being filled with warm feelings and thoughts for the whole following day at least. Usually up to 3 days afterwards actually.

But ok, of course, what I'm getting at is that the Maels' story is so incredibly inspirational. Seeing how they persevered through all those years and NEVER lost their spirit or their vision, never gave up... is not only moving but also something that reminds me that wow, so much *really* is possible. I spent so many years fully convinced that there are things that I'll never be able to achieve. And sure, some of them are indeed pretty unlikely to happen. But if you told me from even one year ago that I'd be making art daily and not dreading being so much as perceived anywhere in the great world (so, including the internet)... well, I would have not believed it at all. I really mean it when I say that I used to believe that there are things that I'll just never be able to do. It's like it was simply not meant for me to be able do it and have those experiences. And yet...!

There's a lot I owe Sparks and this is one of the biggest things I'll always be grateful for. They really changed my life for the better. Truly nothing else before them reaches the same degree of how much it helped me. And well, I'm saying this on TSB day because this is where this feeling of gratitude and feeling SO lucky becomes the strongest. And the beautiful thing about it all is that they were always just themselves. They had their vision, they knew what they wanted to do and didn't care about how it would be received. Which is such an important and meaningful message to me, I can't even express how huge it is to me to see these two people who only really had themselves and their endurance and got exactly where they wanted to be.

Alright, some less grandiose observations now. Well, let's start with the fact that this was by no means my introduction to Sparks but it still really cemented my love for them even more. I loved being reminded of their whole journey and learning more about it, and even moreso I loved being able to see more of their beautiful brotherly bond and their wonderful personalities. Truly no other people in this whole world make me as happy as them currently. And the brothers' sense of humour hits super close to mine, so this is also a time filled with genuine laughs (I die laughing at the absolutely true Sparks facts at the end EVERY TIME). And since I'm a huge fan of animation and mixed media art and such things, this was simply a joy to view for my more artistically-inclined side too.

And damn, those two hours and 15 minutes really fly by so fast. When I have to arrange a huge timeslot to watch it all in one go, because that's the only way to do it for me, and then it feels like no time has passed anyway. And even with so much being said there, it feels like there's still so much more to get to. But it's still enough to lift my spirits completely for a pretty long time. And to make me cry a lot of the time too... Absolutely impossible to not shed a tear by the end of it all. It's moving, it's funny as heck, it's super fun and it's absolutely beautiful and truly lifechanging. 💖

[mercurialskiies]

Alright everyone, I have finally delivered, and honestly? I think Lila may have cooked so hard that I might have to redesign Kell. But today, I present to you all: Lila Bard in dragon form

Lila's concept as a whole was essentially a sharper, leaner, longer design than Kell. Her entire design is meant to be sharp edges and spikes, so I tried incorporating that into her design as best I could. She's supposed to be small and nimble, befitting of Lila who relies on that as a thief. You'll also notice she has black-ish brindle markings along her back and face, because I wanted something else that could make her design less flat (that might get changed to a stone gray later, but who knows).

Her horns come from her mask worn in the Essen Tasch, which is significantly longer than the rest of her face, it feels like.

And because I made the rest of her pointed and sharp, I didn't think I needed to include any knives on her (seeing as the spikes on her body could pass for sharp weapons), but I did decide to attach a knife to her tail, giving her an offensive weapon to wield. It would have felt wrong to not give her at least one.

I also included her beside Kell as a reference, which I will probably use myself if I ever make art of them this way.

[theloveinc]

Yes I do think there is something in the idea of former boy band star!bakugo and reuniting with his old band --