#heres a random drawing from new years eve

[humans-are-tasty]

caught

[ppnuggie]

　　　　　　MTMTE x gn reader

　　　　『　rodimus ,, ultra magnus ,, chromedome ,, rewind ,, megatron ,, whirl ,, tailgate ,, swerve ,, cyclonus ,, first aid ,, ratchet ,, drift ,, gender neutral reader 』

　　-> christmas on the lost light

　　— fluff ,, sfw ,, crack

　　— sorry i havent been uploading as much 😭💔 ive been busy with work and school ,, but im on christmas break so hopefully ill be able to get through the few requests i have sitting in my inbox rn and reopen requests :(( ima try to start uploading more now as much as i can ❤️ heres a little something for christmas though ! hope you all enjoy christmas this year <3

• it was natural for the bots aboard to be interested in human customs ,, having lived in a war most their life . death and violence were something they were quite used to experiencing ,, never really having the time to experience anything outside of the horrors of war itself .

• swerve was one of the few main bots that pestered you often about human holidays . cybertronians didn't celebrate much ,, unless they were a group of autobots who just gave some decepticons a what-for .

• then again ,, swerve usually asked many questions regarding things on earth and what humans do . sometimes you humored him ,, sometimes you told little lies ,, like if you clapped three times in a mall it would be a sign that a tiger was loose . it was quite fun to put silly nonsense in that processor of his at times .

• though when it came to christmas he would not leave you alone . whether you celebrated it or not ,, you still explained the custom in general to him . how old saint nicholas would mosey on down the chimney ,, eat the cookies and drink the milk left out for him ,, and leave presents under the tree lit well and adorned with ornaments .

• you even pulled up the santa tracker for swerve ,, showing him where santa would go and be ,, how on christmas eve he would be flying around with his reindeer and leave presents

• hearing all of this intrigued chromedome and rewind ,, as well as tailgate and whirl . cyclonus didn't understand the hype and belief of having an old random man leave gifts in your house and eat your food even if left out specifically him . tailgate was thrilled though ,, a funny little old man leaving him gifts seemed so heavenly to him . chromedome and rewind ,, however ,, had different opinions . rewind was interested in this human holiday ,, whilst chromedome shared the same opinion as cyclonus . how were you sure this 'santa' guy wasnt gonna rob you ? and when you were sleeping nonetheless .

• rodimus already knew of this tradition ,, as did ratchet and ultra magnus . rodimus was quite ecstatic at the idea of having a christmas party ,, watching christmas movies and sipping on energon . maybe he could even have you sit on his lap ,, all cozy in those soft blankets and sippin on your own mug of hot chocolate .

• ratchet couldnt care less ,, grumbling something about how 'you humans and your holidays and customs' . though he definitely didnt deny the offer of going to this christmas party ,, it was nice to spend some time that didn't involve life threatening situations for once .

• ultra magnus ,, on the other hand ,, was quite picky about how the christmas party should be set up . he even tried to ban home alone ,, saying he didnt want rodimus to get any ideas from the traps in the movie . the last thing he needed was to end up in one the next day . though ,, the many outweigh the few ,, and so home alone was allowed in the movie marathon .

• now when you told him about the grinch ,, he wasnt sure if you were mocking him by saying it was an actual movie or if he should be concerned for what this dr.seuss guy was drawing . i mean ,, have you seen how hairy the grinch is ? or how the whos in whoville are shaped ? pointy noses and all ,, it was quite new to magnus .

• megatron ,, who overheard everything ,, already knew he wasnt going to be wanted at the party . it made sense ,, his past and everything he's done to earth and its people . though when you asked him to come ,, that you personally wanted him there ,, he swore he felt his spark stop for a second . he only gave a nod ,, whilst ravage bickered to him that night in his habsuite .

• whirl ,, to say the least ,, was prepared to fight santa . he was watching the santa tracker ,, waiting for the jolly fellow to pop up so whirl could fly down and bring out the big guns ( that brainstorm recently made ,, not yet tested out or put through a test trial so lord knows what may go wrong) . magnus almost had to throw him in the brig if he couldnt contain his sudden rage and fury for the old man .

• first aid was somewhat interested ,, never having celebrated a holiday before . it would be nice ,, getting together and doing nothing but watching movies all day . he hadnt seen movies from earth that much either ,, besides a few fast n furious ones here and there . needless to say ,, he was somewhat concerned for humans need to trash cars . he cringed a little on the inside ,, watching those perfectly good cars blow up . it was like a horror movie but for cybertronians .

• during the movie marathon ,, whirl tried to sneak violent night and black christmas in ,, saying they were also christmas movies and that they should watch them . magnus ended up throwing them out ,, saying no one really felt like seeing dying people during this one time of peace .

• drift enjoyed the nightmare before christmas ,, the claymation alone was enough to captivate him . then the designs of the characters ,, the music and songs ,, even jack's childlike wonder for christmas matched his own (in a few ways) . during that movie you sat with him ,, sharing a few facts about the movie itself . how long it took to make and how hard it is to do claymation movies .

• during the polar express you stayed with rewind and chromedome ,, snuggling in between the two and sippin on your hot chocolate . rewind enjoyed watching the train on the ice whilst chromedome puffed about how he coulda easily done that himself and saved everyone . you only rolled your eyes ,, muttering out a sure as you fought back a smile .

• during a break in between the movies you noticed megatron ,, standing awkwardly in the corner with his own cube of fools energon in servo . you smiled at the bot ,, walking up to him and having a small conversation with him . you didnt honestly think he’d show up ,, but youre glad he did . he let you sit with him during one of the movies ,, bonding well with the giant bot .

• he was quite warm ,, heat coming from off his body as you huddled close to him . he tucked his servo around you ,, worried you may fall off . for a few moments during the movie you swore you saw him smile at some of the corniest parts ,, or chuckle softly at some of the dumbest jokes .

• you took turns ,, switching between bots during different movies . you would sit in their laps ,, explain little things you liked about the movie playing and share a few things of your own childhood during this time of the year .

• it was nice ,, to say the least . having time to the bots ,, doing things that reminded you of home . it wasnt the same ,, but it was the thought that counted . spending time with them peacefully was more than enough for you ,, and definitely more than you could ask for this christmas .

[vanfleeter]

Home For Christmas

Summary: When the band gets stuck in St. Louis on Christmas Eve, Jake goes to extreme measures to make it home for Christmas. Characters: Jake Kiszka x Fem!Reader x Tommy x Lily Warnings: Extreme Dad!Jake fluff. Slight angst.

__________________________________________________________

Jake stares out the window of the airport at the fluffy white snowflakes as they float down from the clouds above. He used to have such a love for snow, and it only intensified when he had kids. Watching them run around in the snow, laughing and smiling as they chased each other and rolling up snow balls to launch at each other. At this moment, however, he absolutely despises it. His jaw clenched as he watches it constantly falling with seemingly no end in sight.

The flight home to Nashville from Seattle was grounded in St. Louis due to a heavy blizzard in Nashville preventing any incoming flights from landing. Now only did he curse the snow for potentially ruining Christmas, but he also cursed the band’s management for scheduling shows so close to Christmas. They’ve never done this before, all of their shows have always come to end at least three weeks before Christmas, with a small break for Thanksgiving.

So in the airport he still stands with his jaw clenched and his fists balled up tightly in the pockets of his coat. He feels his phone vibrate within the small inside pocket of his coat. Pulling out he flips it over to see your contact staring right back at him.

How does he tell you that he’s not making it home for Christmas?

And the kids.

He sighs, closing his eyes to brace himself for the disappointment that will lace your voice when he breaks the news.

“Hey baby,” He answers, trying to sound as cheerful as he can, despite his own disappointment fighting for dominance.

“Hey honey,” You say, sounding quite chipper. He feels a pang in his heart at the sound of it, making it even harder for him to have to tell you. “The kids were wondering if you were almost home?”

“And what about you?” He ponders, trying to keep the mood light.

“Well of course I am too,” You say with a giggle. He chuckles before inhaling sharply and releasing it. He knew you sensed it because the next words out of your mouth only made him feel worse. “You’re not coming home in time, are you?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” He says. “I’m sorry.. We left Seattle on time, but the blizzard in Nashville, our flight got grounded in St. Louis.”

“Crap…”

“Is that daddy?!” He hears Lily call out in the background.

“Yeah baby, it is.”

“Ooo! I want to talk to him! I have a very important question to ask him!”

“Sure baby..”

He hears the rustling over the phone before he hears Lily start talking again, “Daddy, when you get home, can we watch The Grinch first? Tommy wants to watch The Santa Clause first, but I really want to watch The Grinch. Please, please, please?”

It was a fairly new tradition they had begun when Tommy turned four. He loved watching The Santa Clause with Jake on Christmas Eve, and then Lily grew older and decided she loved The Grinch so they would end up watching both movies on Christmas Eve, just whoever got to go first was the always the hardest to choose because no matter who got picked in a random draw, the loser always pouted and got upset.

This year, with him being stuck in St. Louis, he can’t do the random draw to determine who goes first.

“You know we always do a draw, Lily.”

She huffs and he just knows she’s rolling her eyes. “When are you going to be home so we can pick?” She asks. “Because we also have to put out the cookies that we baked over the weekend before you left for your shows.”

“Why don’t you put them out anyways?” He says.

“Only you know where the special plate is, Daddy.”

“I could tell you.”

“Daddy..”

“Tommy can help you.”

“Help her do what?” Tommy says in the background. “Why do I need to help her when you’ll be here?” Jake stayed quiet, chewing on the inside of his lip as he tried to find a good way of telling them. “You are going to be here… Right?”

“Well, I-”

“You’re not coming, are you?”

“Bud, I tried.. But our flight–”

“I knew it..”

“Tommy, I’m sorry, I-” The line goes and he pulls his phone away from his ear to see the call ending and disappearing from the screen.

In the window, he sees his reflection as well as Josh’s as he walks up to stand beside his twin. “I take it the phone call didn't well?” He asks.

“Tommy’s upset.. Rightfully so.. I’m sure Lily’s the same way.. Y/N is disappointed.”

“I’m sorry,” He says. “Maybe we’ll get a Christmas miracle and the snow will lighten up and we can go home.”

Jake huffs and turns away from the window. Now he officially hates the snow. Truding back over to the seats, he slumps down in a chair and rests his head in his hand.

“We’re so damn close,” Sam grumbles beside him. “Heck, I bet we could drive home.. It’s only what–five hours?”

“We can’t drive in this weather,” Danny says. “That’s a suicide mission.”

The idea swims Jake’s head. He ponders it over and over again until he’s sitting up in his chair and slowly turning to face Josh. Josh’s eyebrows are pulled inwards as he stares at his brother. The realization soon hits him and he’s shaking his head. “Oh no.. No, no, no. Did you not listen to a single word Danny said?”

“Come on,” Jake says as he stands to his feet. “We rent a car and drive home.”

“This is risky,” Josh says, looking up at him. “Jake, I know you want to get home and I know it sucks not being able to be there with your family but risking your life to get home in this weather is just absolutely nuts.”

“Then you can stay here and I’ll drive home alone.” Jake grabs his bags off of the ground and starts heading off through the airport and towards the car rental company. “Is it possible to rent a car?” He asks the gentleman behind the counter.

“We do have a car available,” The man says. “But I would say that it is quite treacherous out.”

“Yeah well, I have disappointed kids at home that I need to get to.”

“Jake..” Josh walks up beside Jake and rests his hand on the counter.

“Josh, I have to get home.”

“I know,” He says. “But you’re not going alone.”

“Thought you weren’t coming?”

“Just get the damn car before I change my mind,” Josh says.

And within the hour, all four of them were packed into an SUV with all of their luggage and on their way home to Nashville. The snow was denser than Jake had anticipated so he crawled at a slow rate, which means that five hours will turn into seven hours. But he’s determined to make it home.

He could still hear the disappointment in Tommy’s voice when he learned Jake won’t make it home for Christmas. He’s determined to prove him wrong as well. His phone starts ringing and he looks at it on the dashboard stand. Your contact shows on the screen and he reaches forward to swipe his thumb across the screen to answer the call.

“Hey I’m glad you called, can I speak with Tommy?” He asks. “I need to talk to him.”

“It’s me..” Tommy speaks. “I wanted to call to apologize.. You can’t control the weather so I know I can’t be mad at you.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Jake says. “But I have good news. I’m coming home.”

“What? How? You said-”

“We’re driving home.” Jake says. “Slowly.. But we’re coming.”

“Really?!”

“Yes, but you have to keep it a surprise, okay?”

“Aye aye captain.”

“Good. Now go help your sister set out the cookies and I’ll be home before bedtime.” Jake ends the call and continues the steady crawl down the freeway.

–

Six hours and thirty minutes later, they’re finally reaching the city limits of Nashville. There’s still quite a few cars out on the road but the majority of the city looks like a ghost town. He makes it to Danny’s place and they bid their goodbyes before he makes the trek to Sam’s. One by one he drops them off before he makes his way to his own home.

Down the street he can spot the twinkling lights that decorate their home and he sighs in relief. Those damn lights he had to hang up on Thanksgiving the second dinner was over. For once he appreciates them despite the anger they’ve given him trying to hang them around the trimming of the house. The front yard is decorated with a few inflatables, a flamingo, a snowman, and a gingerbread man.

He was also relieved to see the driveway somewhat shoveled so he forced the vehicle up the slight incline and put it in park. Ditching his bags for the time being, he shuts off the car and gets out, being mindful of the ice and balancing himself as he carefully walks up to the front door. He can see through the front window the tree in the corner. The couch is in slight view and he can see Lily asleep, curled into your body as you too are asleep. He smiles to himself before sticking his key in the lock and twisting it.

Quietly he opens the door and steps inside the house, instantly feeling the warmth through his coat and his clothes. Shaking off the stray snowflakes that clung to him from outside, he starts to pull his coat when he sees Tommy step out of the kitchen. He quickly signals for him to be quiet as the still small boy rushes through the living room and tackles his father against the wall.

“I take it you’re happy,” He chuckles as he wraps his arms around Tommy.

“You have no idea.” Tommy says before tilting his head backwards and flipping his hair off of his forehead.

“Time for a haircut?”

“No way.” Tommy says.

In the midst of their hugs, Jake hadn’t noticed the littlest Kiszka waking up to find her father home. “Daddy!” She exclaims as she crawls off the couch and runs across the floor to throw her arms around his legs.

“Hey Lilypad,” He laughs as he sinks to the floor and lets her crawl onto his lap. “Did you put out the cookies?”

Lily nods her head, “And the milk!”

Hearing you groan, Jake looks to see you opening your eyes. You blink a few times and stretch out your body before looking over at the scene on the floor by the door. “When did you get here?”

“Just now,” He says. “Want to come join the cuddle party?”

“After you get in your pajamas,” You say. “You look a little out of place right now.”

After prying the kids off of him, he quickly brings his things in from the car and rushes to get dressed in the pajamas that match the rest of his family. Once he was good to go, he joined them back downstairs on the floor of the living room on the made up bed of blankets and pillows. Lily immediately takes her place on his lap and rests her head against his chest while you snuggle up to his side and Tommy rests on his other.

Lily groans when the opening sequence of The Santa Clause begins to play on the tv. “The draw was fair and square,” Jake reminds her with a soft tickle to her side. It wasn’t long before both kids were passed out on the blankets halfway through The Grinch playing.

Jake feels your hand rest against his cheek before turning his head so he’s looking at you. “Stop risking your life to make it home,” You say. “But thank you for making the effort.”

“I would do anything to be home with my family on Christmas,” He says as he gently kisses you. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” He gently pats Tommy’s back who simply snuggles closer to him. “I mean, come on. This is so much better than cuddling a pillow in an airport.”

You can’t help but to giggle. “Who doesn’t love children laying all over them?”

“Whoever doesn’t is crazy..” He chuckles before kissing you again. “Merry Christmas..”

“Merry Christmas.”

_________________________________________________________

@losfacedevil @writingcold @edgingthedarkness @i-love-gvf @katuschka @josh-iamyour-mama @sammysstolenbirks @asendingtothestarsasone @hollyco @musicislove3389 @its-interesting-van-kleep @katiegvf @tinydancer40 @gretavangroupie @lizzys-sunflower @fleetingjake @takenbythemadness @godly-sinsx @psychedelectable @dancingcarbon @cheersdannyx2 @piratejtk @katuschka @musicislove3389 @takenbythemadness @wildbluesorbit

add yourself to the tag list in my master list!

[meganslife]

Pen pals - p. parker

TASM! Peter Parker x Fem! reader

summary: peter parker is your pen pal.

warnings: none so far!!!

hello helloooo!!! i had this idea because i myself have a pen pal, and it’s honestly really fun and reminds me of peter. this will be multiple parts!! anyhoo, happy reading!

Having a pen pal was fun. It gave you something to look forward to whenever you needed to open the mailbox. It was nice, although your lovely pen pal, Peter, was on the other side of the country. You were in Seattle. He was in Queens, New York. It was a nice arrangement that you two had. No phone numbers, just handwritten letters, and cute little pictures.

When you opened your apartment mailbox and saw that you had a letter from Peter, your heart felt warm. It was the warmest you’ve felt in a while.

Y/N,

My apologies for not writing you back sooner. School is kicking my butt recently, and I moved back in with May (hence why a new address is on the envelope). My old roommate went BALLISTIC on me for little things, so I decided I needed to leave. May is a better person to have around, anyway.

The fall semester ended last week, and I wish I could say that I passed my finals. My professors are just mean, I think. I’ve been super stressed out lately, and writing this letter is helping me. You’re my savior. Also, the pictures you sent me of you in Tennessee are amazing. You should be a model! I’m sure you hear that a lot because of how pretty you are;)

I hope it’s not too cold in Seattle. I took some pictures of random things I thought you’d like, maybe that’ll distract you from how cold it is. I know how much you hate the cold. (You chose the wrong place to live!)

Anyhoo, I’m sorry this letter is short. My wrist is cramping up and May needs help with dinner. Write back as soon as you can.

Much love,

Peter ♥

Photo one: Peter in an obnoxiously large New Year’s Eve hat, grinning from ear to ear with his friend(?)

Photo two: A Polaroid of stray cats bonding in what you assume is Peter’s front yard.

Photo three: A Polaroid of Peter that was clearly taken by May. Peter is holding a tray of muffins, and he looks really stupid in his apron.

You get to writing him a letter right away.

Dear Peter,

I love the pictures. I’ll add them to my growing collection on my wall:)

My day has been so shitty. I wish you were here. It gets lonely, sometimes. I have friends, I’ve told you very little about them. They’re great, don’t get me wrong, but living alone is just lonely. Maybe I should get a cat or something. I need something to come home to. (Sorry for making this portion of the letter sad. I just needed someone to talk to.)

The weather in Queens looks nice. You’re awfully lucky, Peter. It’s cold and slushy here. I’m cold to the bone. Like, nothing will warm me up. It’s annoying. I just want it to be summer again. I hate being pale and cold.

I don’t have any pictures as of right now, so I’m sorry about that. I have some drawings I could give you.

My letter is short too, so I guess we’re even. I need to nap the sadness away.

Cold and loving,

Y/N ♥

~

The next letter you receive from Peter is about a week later.

My dearest Y/N,

I’m so sorry you aren’t feeling well.

I know we said we wouldn’t exchange phone numbers, and I respect that, but I just need to give you mine. I need to. Just in case. I don’t want you to be sad and lonely and have to wait for my letters to come. I like you. I like you A LOT– And I honestly want to meet you in person but that’s a conversation for another day. I’ve been saving up for it. Maybe you should come during the spring? You’d love it here, I know it. Or I could come to you? Whatever, we can talk about it more over the phone.

My phone number:

(718)-XXX-XXXX

Call me;)

Love always,

Peter ♥

You immediately spring up to your feet and grab your phone. Your hands were shaking as you dialed the number and called it, praying he wouldn’t think it was a spam call.

“Pete?” You ask, voice higher than you meant it to be.

Boyish laughter erupts on the other end of the line, and you already know that it’s Peter. Of course, his laugh would sound so sweet.

“Hi, lovie.”

[aijamisespava]

BREAKING: Start Voting Now!

Well, the biggest voting event of the year has finally arrived! The ESC250 is open for you to cast your vote for your top 10 favorite Eurovision songs of all time! Of course, since I'm writing this, I have already cast my vote! My ballot is below! You can cast your vote here (you will need to login with an account that can be made in 5 seconds with a Facebook, Google, or Twitter account), and then wait until New Year's Eve to hear the top 250! But remember: you have 4 weeks to cast your vote, so RUNNNN!

This year, I went for a different method for selecting my songs, especially having ranked back to 2002. Switzerland 2021 is my favorite of all time, so it gets my 12 points. Belgium 2015 is another favorite (plus the artist's discography slaps) so that song gets my 10 points. As Aijamisespava, it would be borderline sacrilege to not include Latvia and Serbia's 2023 entries, so they're my 8 and 7 points. My top 2 of Eurovision 2024 got my 6 and 5 point vote (but really Belgium 2024 is gonna be a favorite and Serbia 2024 is an entry that's very personal to me). I gave Norway 2024 my underrated vote as I will stand on the hill that that song is so underrated, giving it my 4 points. Getting 2000s representation is Moldova 2007 in my 3 point vote. Estonia 2007 has been on my mind so I gave it my 2 points. The difference in my method is a random draw for my 1 point vote. From now on, I will randomly pick a song to get my 1 point of the songs I ranked. This year, Bosnia & Herzegovina's 2005 entry won the draw, so maybe keep your eyes open for a deep dive on that song in the future? Maybe?

[bookreadingpsycopath]

To people on this silly website:

As midnight draws closer and closer (or already happened for people in different time zones) I just wanted to say thank you to my mutuals and the people I’ve seen on my dash. Whether we’ve ever had a conversation or not I hope things turn out ok for you.

I haven’t been on this website for a very long time but thank you for posting Art, thank you for posting silly little ramble about topics you like, thank you’d to bringing awareness to different topics, thank you for posting snippets of your WIP’s, thank you for sharing what’s you’re thinking about, thank you for all your shitposts, thank you for your rants, thank you for all of your posts whether they’re goofy, serious, happy, depressing, or just there, thank you for existing because it sucks but we’re all in this silly little website together and I think that’s quite nice, thank you for all the poetry on here, thank you for the song lyrics on here, thank you to all of my mutuals who have put up with me posting random ass stuff at the most random hours the days, thank you for all the fun tag games, thank you for the picrew tag chains, thank you for interacting with me, that has meant so much to me even if you’ve just liked a post of mine or if you tagged me in something or talked with me, thank you from the depths of my being it truly meant so much to me. Thank you all for so much.

I hope to interact with more of you little shits (affectionate) within this coming year. If you ever need someone to talk to feel free to send me an ask or something like that I’ll be glad to listen. If 2024 doesn’t treat you well we can all beat it up together at the end of it. I hope you get to enjoy yourself more in 2024.

And thank you too all my mutuals again for putting up with all my shit lmao @smol-sorrows @sunnandclouds @keinechteslaecheln @justaproblem-17 @wolfstaridiot08 @demigoddess-of-ghosts @dzikiemaslo @moonysversion @lifewaster-imdanger98 @kevinhayrle

And a special message to @wolfstaridiot08! You are amazing and so loved by me (in a platonic way) I’m pretty sure we’re platonic soulmates and I’m excited to go on a book splurge with you this weekend. You have gotten me through so much and thank you so fucking much for that. You helped me figure a lot of my shit out and have put up with a lot of my shit too. You listened when no one else would and I’m sorry for when I brushed things off and didn’t tell you stuff. Thank you for shoving (firmly but kindly pushing) me into a slightly healthier lifestyle and making sure I am actually getting adequate amount of rest, thank you for being there for me, thank you for showing me its ok to not be “perfect” all the time and that it was ok to be myself, thank you for consistently talking to me and even if you didn’t realize it that meant so much to me, thank you for showing me what a healthy friendship actually looked like, thank you for letting me ramble on and on about all of my new obsessions, thank you for supporting me, thank you for all the late night texts, thank you teaching me the wonders of flipping people off, thank for being my obsession buddy, thank you for giving me space when I asked for it, thank you for for sharing your writing with me, thank you for staying with me and not just pulling away or something, thank you for being you, thank you for everything and more, and WE MADE IT, we made it to New Year’s Eve, we did it. I love you ❤️.

(also sorry if this sounds cheesy, I’m a sappy bitch)

[elmaestrostan]

Just a little personal note (you can tell I’m not doing much for New Year’s Eve ha) as I wanted to say thanks to all you lovely folks that I’ve ‘met’ on here the past few months thanks to this lovely little Emery fandom. This isn’t my first rodeo (or first Tumblr account), but the joy I’ve felt finding others posting on here about Unai (and the wider cinematic universe that is Premier League Manager Tumblr) has been a genuine highlight of my year.

Talking of which… I’m a bit of an odd fish, I struggle mentally with a lot of stuff I won’t bore you with on here and don’t really ever tend to fancy anyone I actually come into contact with IRL (luckily for them). Instead I end up crushing on a random actor for a few years until another takes their place. Except I haven’t now for a few years. In fact I haven’t felt much of anything since 2020 and genuinely figured something had died off inside me.

Then what do you know… Unai rocks up at Villa Park last November, and a little something stirred in my chest at this handsome, polite stranger (well I did vaguely remember him from his time with Arsenal, but I wasn’t so fussed about football anymore back then). It didn’t all fully hit me until earlier this year though once I started down the interview rabbit hole… and damn if it hasn’t been nice to actually genuinely feel something again.

So thank you, Unai (as I’m sure we all know you spend your free time perusing tumblr), thank you not just for turning my beloved Villa around, not just for drawing me back into football fully again, but thank you and your loveliness for making me realise I’m not actually shrivelled up inside. You’re wonderful ❤️

Oh and Happy New Year to you all 🎊

Up the Villa!

[saintsenara]

estuary

read from the beginning here

masterpost here

severus snape/lord voldemort explicit graphic depictions of violence | major character death

in our first chapter, we've seen the story begin with lucius malfoy, a train, and the romantic hiss of power.

more notes under the cut.

our story begins on new year’s eve, 1976.

it is set, then, in a period when muggle great britain and northern ireland were not having a great time. the seventies saw the country beset by blackouts, strikes, out-of-control inflation, mass job losses, infrastructure collapse [snape’s miserable experience on british rail was the standard - it is depressing, then, that contemporary britain’s privatised rail companies manage to be worse], the grinding threat of sectarian terrorism, and truly horrible fashion and design choices [snape’s bell bottoms! my heart!]. 

a common refrain in political commentary at this time was that britain was the ‘sick man of europe’, and cokeworth - an industrial town whose heyday was the victorian era and which has been declining ever since - is a typical lesion on the sick man’s face. the description of it in half-blood prince - with its grimy canal and crumbling mill - is familiar to british readers as a common image of the post-industrial britain of the 1970s and - especially - 1980s. the industrial collapse during this period which non-british readers are likely to be most familiar with is the coal mining industry, owing to the major wave of miners’ strikes in 1984-1985, during the tenure of prime minister margaret thatcher; but the cokeworth of this story is a cotton town - which means that its decline during this period is calamitous. by 1980, a british textile mill was closing every week.

and this economic situation led to specific youth subcultures which will exist on the fringes of scylla and charybdis - above all, the skinhead movement, some adherents of which snape encounters in this first chapter. while the skinhead movement was not automatically right-wing or white-supremacist [and while many british skinheads were inspired by black british movements such as rude boy subculture], the skinheads snape meets are neo-nazis - aligned with far-right movements such as the national front [which reached its highest ever vote share in british elections between 1974 and 1977]. the fascist movement in britain was particularly politically visible during the 1970s and 1980s, clashing with anti-fascist protestors in often violent circumstances, and cokeworth - which, like other towns of its type, is likely to have gained a substantial immigrant population from britain’s colonies and former colonies during the 1950s and 1960s - would fit the profile of somewhere where state inaction was exacerbating decline and driving up violence.

this muggle social context will be prominent in scylla and charybdis - even though it is, primarily, a magical narrative. in particular, this story will examine the parallels which the canon series draws out between 1970s muggle britain and its magical cousin.

above all, it will examine a reading of the first war which is very close to my heart: that the best historical analogy for the first war is the troubles. i think this primarily because i am northern irish [and, specifically, northern irish, catholic, and from a family whose political sympathies could be accurately described as irish nationalist], but also because so many of the references to the first war in canon allude to things which happened during this conflict. the voldemort of the first war is a paramilitary leader, rather than a politician; his organisation primarily operates in terms of assassinations targeted against state actors, especially civil servants and those connected to the wizarding world’s equivalent of the police and army, with periodic random attacks on civilians; he appears to issue pre-warnings for these attacks; and he is not allowed to use his real name on the airwaves. [this - the broadcast ban to which republican organisations were subjected - is an innovation of the 1990s, but i am absolutely convinced that all the you-know-who stuff in canon is a reference to it.]

the ministry of magic’s response, too, echoes the response of the british state to violence in northern ireland. the show trials of prominent death eaters - and the fact that many suspected death eaters, sirius black prominent among them, seem to have been imprisoned without trial at all - alludes to the internment campaign operation demetrius; the brutality of azkaban echoes prisons such as the maze and portlaoise; the increasingly hard-line wizarding politicians of the period have muggle counterparts; the aurors are ordered to shoot to kill and appear to do so with absolute impunity, much like the british army.

i am not, of course, saying that i think the death eaters are right [i’m also not saying that i think the ira were - at least not unambiguously], but i am saying that the social and political context around voldemort’s rise to prominence in the 1970s can be reasonably understood as sectarian, and that it should be understood as considerably more complex than the canon narrative of good versus evil allows it to be.

in particular, scylla and charybdis will examine the multifaceted ways in which prejudice lives alongside poverty, hopelessness, and resentment, and how disaffected young men are easy to radicalise into violent movements of all stripes - from far-right muggle skinheads, to loyalist or republican paramilitary groups, to the death eaters - by the potent combination of a persuasive ideology, a cause which is perceived to be righteous, and a sense that they belong somewhere and are being listened to. this chapter gives a sense of how.

because it is undeniable that severus snape’s background - and the ways in which his childhood poverty affects him in both the muggle and magical worlds - is absolutely central to why he becomes a death eater.

scylla and charybdis will examine social class in the wizarding world - and how this interacts with blood supremacy - in considerable detail throughout the narrative which is to come, and this chapter is no exception. snape finds himself exactly as unwelcome in the lestranges’ family home because he is poor and has a regional accent as because he’s a half-blood. he finds himself unwelcome in hogwarts for the same reason; the james and sirius of canon do not target him because he’s a half-blood, but nor do they target him because of some righteous desire to stamp out blood-supremacist sentiment. they target him because he’s poor. and this is why he draws a parallel between james and sirius and rodolphus and rabastan lestrange - to him, they’re both pairs of posh bullies. that their ideologies have a vast gulf between them is not something which snape has [at this point, at least] the capacity to understand.

something i have been recently wondering about is whether working class wizards usually attend hogwarts - after all, it’s not compulsory to do so before deathly hallows. the average hogwarts student is extremely well-heeled, and people like mundungus fletcher and stan shunpike who are coded as working class give off a vibe in canon which suggests that they exist outside of the old-school-ties system which binds most of the primary and secondary characters together. if this is the case - and i personally suspect that it is - it would explain why someone like snape was such a visible target for classist bullying. he’s going to be perceived by the posh as a bit of an upstart, coming into a space which is not primarily intended for someone like him and refusing to perform its conventions to its arbiters’ likings.

because, while i don’t think hogwarts is a fee-paying school, it is the primary maintainer of the wizarding world’s incredibly restrictive class system. everything depends - for hogwarts’ students - on the relationships they make while within the castle’s walls, which evidence of insider-status, such as name and background, helps enormously with establishing. snape - with his muggle name and his accent and his poverty and his lack of interest in playing the game - has no chance of fulfilling his enormous ambitions.

unless a patron takes him on.

snape’s reasons for becoming a death eater aren’t fully fleshed out in canon. jkr has said since the conclusion of the series that he was attracted by the opportunity to accrue power, which voldemort obviously has in spades, and also that he felt the death eaters would offer him somewhere to belong.

i think it’s worth examining the class implications of this. becoming a death eater allows snape access to a social circle which would otherwise exclude him, therefore giving him a privileged position in the wizarding economic, political, and legal system [tell me that the reason he gets off on the charges of being a death eater aren’t connected to dumbledore gaming the old boys’ network of the wizengamot…]. but - crucially - it also allows him to transcend the restrictions placed upon him by his class background, and achieve power - pure and simple.

and he is offered this because lord voldemort’s relationship with class is incredibly interesting. in canon, he clearly rejects the patron-client relationship offered to him by horace slughorn, when he refuses his attempts to set him up with a career in the ministry and, instead, chooses a job he gets himself [that this never occurs to either dumbledore or harry - with their pureblood surnames - should not surprise us…]. but he also takes a muggle aristocratic title, and clearly delights in making his wealthy cronies address him by it.

that element of vindictiveness is clear in how he plays with class in order to undermine lucius malfoy in deathly hallows - ‘carelessly’ piling up his expensive furniture and emasculating him in front of his peers - and it is also hinted at here, as voldemort instals himself in the servants’ quarters and makes the lord-of-the-manor - who is absolutely aware of his real name and background, i have never understood why dumbledore is so certain nobody else is - bring his guests to him there.

and this, i think, offers an understandable insight into one of the key aspects of snape which this story will explore: that he is so dismissive of lily’s concerns about the death eaters because he sincerely thinks that voldemort, one of the few people in wizarding britain who doesn’t think the patronage system is a good thing, will help her too. after all, we are told in canon that the dark lord did try and recruit james and lily - which i am certain was at snape’s request - and my personal view is that, despite what canon suggests, there must be some muggleborns somewhere in voldemort’s organisation.

that there would be is due entirely to voldemort’s capacity to attract. this is underplayed in canon, particularly in the second war, when voldemort’s physical appearance becomes straightforwardly horrifying and his purpose in the text becomes primarily mystical - although canon also implies that his charm is superficial - but i have always thought its omission from the main narrative naive. the voldemort of scylla and charybdis is extremely and genuinely charismatic, and this charisma is making him a political threat that the ministry looks increasingly unlikely to contain.

he is also attractive in another sense.

this voldemort is less horrifying-looking than he is described in half-blood prince as appearing in the 1960s - although some of his canonical physical changes are present already. this is not just a choice for shipping reasons - although snape has been happily seduced by the fact that this voldemort still has a nose - but because i think it’s important that voldemort looks like a politician, and that his charm is backed up by his physical appearance.

and snape is very much sexually attracted to him. [so, too, is dumbledore - the idea that he fancies the adult voldemort is something i’m wedded to, not least because so much of their relationship is based in the fact that dumbledore thinks he’s like grindelwald.] although the man on snape’s mind is - without a doubt - sirius black. yes, all the hints that snape has a major thing for him are intentional. [and i think they’d make a great couple!]

snape’s struggle with his sexuality will be a key theme in this story. so, too, will the way that his relationship with his sexuality interacts with his relationship to his gender, and how this in turn interacts with his class. the canonical snape is something of a feminine-coded character, and i wanted to explore the idea that his embrace of this as an adult is a conscious choice - after all, the canonical voldemort is also rather feminine, and the version in scylla and charybdis, with his florid handwriting and habit of collecting pretty trinkets [the shells, seaglass, and paperweights will be worth keeping an eye on], is no different. that voldemort’s gender performance - and the fact that all pureblood men are somewhat effete - is such a change from the working class masculinity snape has grown up around is yet another reason he is hooked.

for now, though, snape is still the ultimate fish-out-of-water in the world of the posher death eaters. even lucius malfoy, isn’t entirely sure what to do with him.

[snape and malfoy’s friendship will be explored more in later chapters, but i do think that his grumbling in this chapter about malfoy is good-natured - whereas he’s genuinely afraid of rodolphus lestrange.]

it’s suggested in canon that malfoy was one of voldemort’s key recruiters during the first war, and that he was the reason several characters - snape among them - became death eaters. there are two other disaffected young men who will feature in this story whom malfoy will be responsible for: barty crouch jr. and regulus black.

but they have not yet been recruited. snape has.

as sirius says in order of the phoenix, voldemort doesn’t just march up to people’s houses, bang on their front doors, and ask them if they’d like to become a death eater. this chapter shows what the recruitment process looked like for snape, as someone who was recommended to the dark lord rather than someone who applied outright through his family’s connections.

in particular, it looks at how voldemort makes use of the muggle world to cover his activities, something i think is really underutilised in fan-fiction. we are told in canon that both of voldemort’s wars had a colossal impact on muggle society, but the narrative never really explains how. in scylla and charybdis, we will see a vast network of squib and magical agents embedded across the british state and within the muggle world. the various old men who sit in pubs and vet new recruits are just the start.

[wumysyp]

Remember when I said that I would not post things from my other accounts but more random things? I lied💀

As my last publication was good for you, I also want to show more copies so that you can see how I do my drawings here, I like to take photographs especially related to my au although they are older and I notice the errors in the drawing but, hey! the effects were good for me

My au is located according to, volumes? Being that it is a comic, in progress. The first drawing is located in volume two and the second would be before the comic started. I will describe them so that my children can be located.

The first image is located in the aftons' house, who appear is William and Henry, below Jhon and Charlie (Sammy disappears instead of Charlotte) Michael and an oc (whose name is Alisson) Norman in a hidden corner and Elizabeth in the middle showing off the dress that he made her dad. The photo would be all of them posing their dresses ready to go to a New Year's Eve party like good independent pubescents (help).

The second image is older than ever, in this would appear Henrique (Henry's real name) Lara Henry's wife and little Charlie in her dad's TWISTED arm :3

It is a photo to show off that it is a family that is just beginning its joys and apart from that, it can be seen that Lara is expecting her second child, which was Sammy, it looks very cute until you remember that Lara dies giving birth to her son and Henry migrates to the United States but hey, things from Latin America 😊

That's it, I already gave enough Lore of my thing au de fnaf bye ctm

[dyouevendraw]

About me

So, I thought I’d probably be best to just make a pinned post with some info so I’m not just a void who throws art a a wall. (I’m probably gonna edit as things change) But here we go:

My tiktok is dyoueven

My instagram is dyouevendraw

My name is D, sometimes people still call me Fay, I don’t mind that either

I’m 22 years old

I use they/them pronouns, I’m fine with he/him too. I’d call myself nonbinary or even agender, leaning towards the masc side. It’s a struggle

Additionally to that, I am ace and my romantic attraction is 🤷🏼. I like androgyny and femininity if that says anything lmao

I have a hypermobilty condition, thus, my physical health is very inconsistent. Sometimes I feel fine for weeks, sometimes I can barely move my arms. Luckily, I don’t dislocate easily, I mostly get joint pain, pinched nerves, random bruises and badly healing wounds. Additionally, I seem to have a mild variant of long covid, which is making my lungs weak, so sometimes physical activities winds me badly even though it’s not hard work.

I am autistic and only found out around 2 years ago, thus, school burned me out! I was bullied by my teachers and they ignored all the signs of a struggling student, so I developed bad social anxiety (added by other events with former friends and general genetics probably). I took a year off of art to focus on getting a better mindset, and I guess I’ve been back since this year.

I am a clumsy and unlucky person, that’s why I say I am like Xie Lian a lot (send me a Hua Cheng)

I like k-pop. Currently, I like BTS, TXT, SKZ, LE SSERAFIM, New Jeans, Red Velvet and SHINee.

Other artists I like are: Tatsuya Kitani, Eve, The Oral Cigarettes, Vaundy, King Gnu, Queen Bee and MCR (what a mix)

Fandoms I’m in include(I’m sure I’ll add more danmei when I’m done reading them):

TGCF (I have beef with it but I’m deeply in love)

MDZS

SVSSS (still reading, on volume 2)

JJK

AOT

Sometimes I like Marvel. I only care about Spider-Man and Loki

TLOZ

Pokémon

(Always open to suggestions for more things, especially when they’re queer🤠👍🏻)

I write my own stories and am working on an AU that includes many fantastical being, though I am not entirely sure if that’s ever gonna see the light of day bc I don’t see anyone caring about my writing lol (it already has 137.000 words I’m not even joking it’s not funny, why am I writing this)

I’m sure I’ll post more of my OC’s when I find the time. My favorite is Harumi, he’s the main character in the fantastic beings AU, as a werewolf

I am so sorry my humor is super trauma based, bare with me it’s okay to laugh at my pain, it’s how I process, I swear

My favorite food is anything indian (especially aloo mutter, I bathe in that), pizza (only the one I make), and (red) thai curry.

That’s the only thing that sets me apart from Xie Lian, I eventually did learn how to cook and apparently people like my food!! (I add cinnamon and chili to everything, maybe that’s the key?)

I love building lego and organizing things by category (why I didn’t get diagnosed with asd is beyond me, I’ve always been like that)

I mostly draw on an Ipad with procreate, but I wanna get into watercolor and copics too, I just feel like I’m wasting the suff when things don’t turn out how I wanted them to be

I am horrible at texting and get anxious over it

I had another account here I was running for years, but I was in a pretty icky fandom and didn’t want to associate with the reputation that came with it, thus, I left. I am not the stupid, hurt and depressed teenager I was anymore, and that’s great!

I am german, though, I speak English so much I might as well be a native speaker

That’s it for now, you can always feel free to ask my questions, my (anonymous) asks, submissions and reblogs are always open, I just won’t answer if you’re rude🤠✌🏻

[photogrivy]

Ivy wasn’t the most fashionable person around – most of the time, she found that looking hot in New York also meant having money – but she had long since perfected the perfect cat eye. Her hair spilled down around her shoulders in their natural waves, eyeliner sharp, and eyeshadow blended perfectly to match, she couldn’t help but think she looked pretty hot. Her top of choice for the day was low-cut – she was making a point to show off all her best assets – and she was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged her ass so perfectly, you’d need to be registered legally blind not to notice it. 

It wasn’t that Ivy thought that she needed to dress up to go and hang out with Chess – and even now, she was still keeping it fairly casual – but she knew the other girl was nervous to see her today. With Hazel at school and spending the afternoon with Joey and Micah, Chess had announced that her schedule was free all day today, leaving it open for Ivy to stop by if she wished. With Kian looking to pick up some extra shifts, and Max too busy with Louis to be hitting the ice with Ivy, it meant she had no work responsibilities to worry about, and all the time in the world for a pretty Australian. 

Being perceived as desperate or slutty wasn’t something Ivy tended to worry herself with anymore, truth be told. She liked sex and she didn’t think there was any shame in the fact, so long as it was healthy and consensual, and nobody was getting hurt. That said, her offer to Chess had come from a place of good intentions. While she’d never personally say no to sleeping with someone as hot as Chess, she wasn’t putting herself out there to scratch any particular itch, but moreso because she genuinely liked the other girl and appreciated her friendship. While Ivy had harbored her own suspicions about Chess’ sexuality before their kiss, it had grown increasingly more obvious after New Year’s Eve that the woman was struggling to wrap her head around what had happen. Knowing yourself and understanding what you wanted in life came a lot easier to some people, and it didn’t seem fair to laugh at Chess or make her feel small for feeling a little lost now that she was experiencing something a little different. 

It had been about 15 minutes since she’d arrived at the other girl’s apartment, with Chess welcoming her in with a warm, pretty smile and an awkward hug. Now, perched on the edge of her sofa, Ivy watched as she busied herself aimlessly with random chores that she had no doubt the single mother had just fabricated out of nowhere. Amused, she observed as Chess picked up a heap of paperwork that had been resting on the coffee table, straightened it out, and then simply moved it to the dining table instead. 

“Okay, alright, babe? Calm down,” Ivy called out to her, hoping to draw her back to the present. “I can practically hear your inner monologue right now.” 

She knew that Chess was panicking, but she hadn’t come here to freak the other girl out. It didn't matter to Ivy if the two of them spent the entire day fooling around and making each other come, or if they watched New Girl reruns while eating two-day old takeout. 

“You know, we can just hang out? Like, if you’re nervous, or if you’ve changed your mind,” Ivy told her, desperate to reassure the other girl. She gently patted the space next to her on the sofa, gesturing for Chess to join her. “Just come sit down, please?” 

[dogmadiary]

Tightening Up a Story

So I’m sick again. Big surprise there! I couldn’t sleep for the life of me last night and I felt the moment it happened—my throat got a little dry out of nowhere and I was done for. I’ll be honest I saw this coming but I’m still mad about it.

As the new year has begun and I’ve spent more time alone drawing and thinking, I’ve considered picking up Anaphora 2 (title pending lol) again—I haven’t worked on it since before starting AKN, which was over a year ago 😵‍💫!!

My reluctance towards picking it back up comes partially from burnout, as well as some hesitation surrounding a certain reunion scene coming up fast..I worry I have a tendency to be a little too self indulgent with the more sentimental scenes (especially when it’s Martyn and Abraham :3). Certain current scene placements have me reconsidering a lot, which means much of the first draft for part 1 will have to change. This is both necessary and anticipated, but I suppose the concrete realization has come on a little quicker than I thought it would? Or maybe I was thinking I would get out of it easier.

Instead of denying myself opportunity and recognition to try and remain as humble and grounded as possible, I’ve tried to be a bit more self-congratulatory about A Killing Name in front of other people. I go to school with quite a few very talented and accomplished people, which I think has made me a little more eager to prove that I too am talented and accomplished—except I am making this decree to others without being 100% sure of it myself. All of this is to say that people are reading my book which is incredibly flattering and also existentially terrifying.

Knowing that those same talented and accomplished people were reading (examining? analyzing??? Criticizing!?!?) my work had me up at night unable to sleep—Christmas Eve and I am awake terrified because I probably should have cut Bijou and the sister subplot entirely because they amounted to essentially nothing and now people are reading the book and making their own conclusions about that.

Could I go and tighten up AKN right now? Yes I could. It would probably be easy, but like I said, I’m burnt out (which is also why you never see me drawing those guys. sorry everyone) and a little traumatized from repeatedly having to re-indent 70 pages worth of paragraphs after docs fucked me up the ass.

So what does this have to do with Anaphora?

After six years of on-and-off writing and constantly on-not-off thinking I am still not done with it or ready to be done with it like I am with AKN. I had a little bit of an epiphany regarding my favorite girl’s bg, and have started actively rewriting and rewiring certain things that will effect draft 2 of part one pretty significantly. I have learned my lesson! We need to get tight butthole here.

I would like to discuss some of these changes below, as they are not spoiling anything on a purely surface level.

So first and foremost, I am working on a soft redesign of the Heatherbeast. Most of the important things about it are remaining the same—still big and red like evil Clifford and still with the skinned face. Overall, I want their design to resemble a brown hyena more that the sort of large amalgamous (?) dog thing that they were.

Why? I think I remember describing it somewhere as looking like a bunch of random animal parts slapped together, which I think is exemplified more in this design than the previous, which looked too cohesive in the opposite direction. The brown hyena looks cohesive because of the fact that it does not. I much prefer basing the designs of mythical creatures upon real ones—I like tying it back to medieval bestiaries. Like you’re looking at something from far away. I think it fits in with the themes of monsters as evolution that comes up with the Bordeaux family, and it works as a nice parallel to Martyn’s hyena form, which is somewhat out of place with most of her ability drawing from/inspired by North American wildlife (and of course that parallel runs a little deeper than I will share here—just know that it is intentional). I also just Love the skinny striped legs..it feels very reminiscent of my design for Mordred (I would love to unpack my rationale behind all my dark tower designs and redesigns here one day cuz oh boy—but I digress).

Next…the ever present issue of Martyn’s custody arrangement. At least it has been very present to me—I love a good custody arrangement but I’m not sure how much of this I have actually ever discussed with people. This is because the custody arrangement—specifically between the ages of 13-18–had this weird sort of problem where I was balancing out the most formative years of Martyn’s life with characters who were, in the grand scheme of things, incredibly inconsequential and unimportant. This is, as I have only recently truly come to understand, a huge problem, because the characters who are responsible for Martyn’s Big Issue (iykyk) in part 2–characters who had custody over her during this period of 13-18–was an undeveloped, static couple who never actually appeared in the actual story.

The point of Anaphora to me is the interconnectedness of all of the characters. It is meant to be incredibly insular—and it pretty much is in all other areas. What I’m saying is that I have decided to cut out the couple (whose names I never even really solidified lmao). Now, after she is taken away from Abraham at age 13, Martyn is returned to her mother, Diana.

To the one maybe two people out there who are more intimately familiar with the lore, this is a huge change and raises some pretty intense implications surrounding Diana and Rose specifically (Rose plays a significantly large part in removing Martyn from Abraham’s custody)—but these are complications that I think fit their characters and conflicts very well.

This also, in my opinion, frames this period of Martyn’s life as being much darker than previously thought. Once again, I think it more appropriately matches the ensuing fallout around Martyn’s Big Issue a lot better—I don’t think it ever made much sense for two characters who Martyn was never emotionally connected to to have such a lasting effect on her. She strikes me as someone who only values others’ opinions of hers self when the others in question are people she cares about or feels connected to in some way. Idk, I feel like this rounds out Martyn’s conflict with Diana very nicely—it’s like full circle, which is very Anaphora.

Those more intimately aware of the Anaphora lore might also recall that Martyn was originally sent up north by her wards after they’d finally had enough of her. This occurs the summer before she is meant to start HS, at age 15. This still happens, at Diana’s will this time, but my plans around exactly where she is sent/what she is doing there are changing a bit. I have a good idea of what it is, but I’m hesitant to discuss it further as it is very grounded in some Real Life things and I want to make sure I am doing everything right and respectfully before I jump in.

Overall, I am attempting to make the entire story more grounded so to balance out the more fantastical elements. Don’t worry, the shapeshifters and reincarnation and weird dreamwalking is here to stay.

I’m sure a lot of this came off as gibberish—I am hoping to continue discussing my creative endeavors here so people can get a better idea of what the hell im talking about all the time.

If you read this far I’m kissing you. Thanks!!

[paperanddice]

This is a special Christmas update, which unlike most of my stat blocks is going up on all my accounts on the same day. For those of you who don't back my Patreon, the week leading up to Christmas I released a series of Christmas related stat blocks I made for a Christmas one shot adventure. These stat blocks aren't intended to face off against players, instead being the stat blocks I was giving to the players to use, as a team of Christmas based heroes teaming up to fight against an attempt to conjure up an eldritch abomination to devour the entire world. As such, these stat blocks aren't really balanced as monsters except very vaguely, and instead are simply designed to be fun and to face off against incredibly dangerous threats.

Santa is nominally the leader of this team, though amusingly in my case since two players for the one shot couldn't make it we had unused characters, and Santa was one who went unused. He's got less tanking potential than Frosty, less powerful spellcasting that Jack Frost, less stealth and surprise tactics than Krampus, and lacks the novelty of the last stat blocks, that of his entire team of reindeer (one at a time, swap in a new when the previous dies or retreats), and ELF team six (elf special forces, same sort of deal as the reindeer). His focus is instead on exceptional versatility, with a good mix of options available and most importantly, his sack of toys. Within it is just about any random useful items the party might want, with the option to craft several that he didn't think to pack ahead of time. In game, this was represented by the player being able to draw out nearly unlimited mundane gear, and making Intelligence ability checks to see if he thought to pack more unusual items. Magic items, unusual gear, possibly even custom stuff. Santa had the most off paper potential for shenanigans, but sadly it went unexplored in the session I ran. That being said, I still really enjoy the fun ideas put into it, like being able to drink a glass of milk to heal.

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates, and a happy holidays to everyone! Thanks for a wonderful year, I hope you all have had a fantastic time. This coming week between Christmas and New Year's Eve will see the other Christmas stat blocks going public on Patreon and getting posted up here, and then the first week of January will have no updates as I'm using this week as a break from my regular Patreon posts. The Patreon will be updating right from the first week of January, so you'll start seeing the cross posts going up the week after that.

Santa Claus Medium fey, neutral good Armor Class 19 (magical fur coat) Hit Points 170 (20d8 + 80) Speed 30 ft., climb 20 ft. Str 20 (+5) Dex 16 (+3) Con 18 (+4) Int 16 (+3) Wis 20 (+5) Cha 18 (+4) Saving Throws Con +9, Wis +10, Cha +9 Skills Animal Handling +10, Athletics +10, Perception +10, Sleight of Hand +8, Stealth +8 Senses darkvision 120 ft., passive Perception 20 Languages all Challenge 14 (11500 XP) Down The Chimney. Santa can move through any chimney or air vent without squeezing. Milk And Cookies. Santa treats any glass of milk he drinks as a potion of healing. Santa's Bag Of Toys. Santa’s bag contains an extra-planar space which is considerably larger than the outside of the bag, roughly 4 feet in diameter at the mouth and six feet deep. The bag can hold up to 2,500 pounds, not exceeding 3,000 cubic feet. The bag weighs 5 pounds, regardless of its contents. Retrieving an item from the bag requires an action. The bag is indestructible short of a wish spell or similar magic. Breathing creatures inside the bag can survive for a number of days equal to 10 divided by the number of creatures in the bag, after which time they begin to suffocate. Additionally, the bag can be used to cast fabricate as an action, using material stored in Santa’s storeroom in the North Pole as material. The created object must be able to fit through the opening of the bag. This effect of the bag can be used 5 times, with expended uses recharging at midnight. Sneak Attack (1/Turn). Santa Claus deals an extra 14 (4d6) damage when he hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of his that isn't incapacitated and Santa doesn't have disadvantage on the attack roll. Spirit Of Christmas. If Santa Claus dies, he returns to life at full hit points in the North Pole at the strike of midnight on the next Christmas Eve. Actions Multiattack. Santa makes two weapon attacks. +3 Candy Cane Sword. Melee Weapon Attack: +13 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d8+8) bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing damage. Throwing Cookie. Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 7 (1d4+5) slashing damage. Spellcasting. Santa casts one of the following spells, using his sack of toys to replace any material components and using Wisdom as the spellcasting ability (spell save DC 18): At will: dancing lights (red and green lights only), knock, mending, sleet storm 3/day each: animate objects, arcane eye, cone of cold, gaseous form, true seeing 1/day each: control weather, Otto's irresistible dance, scrying (children automatically fail their save against this spell), time stop

[globalworship]

Orthodox Easter Icons by Khrystyna Kvyk, Ukraine

Радісних і спокійних Великодніх свят!

Happy and peaceful Easter holidays!

This is a new icon for Easter by Khrystyna Kvyk, an acclaimed artist of Ukraine.

It is titled "Descent Into Hell" (Holy Saturday). Зішестя в Ад

The figures on the bottom left are Eve and Adam, as Christ leads them from death into a new type of resurrection life.

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Some close-ups of the icon, from her FB page:

and

and

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From her bio page:

For me, the icon has become not just a prayer or a bridge between human and God but a path to a profound rethinking of the Christian faith and spirituality in general. I mostly turn to traditional iconographic narratives at this stage of my work, giving them their own rethinking and authorial solution. I draw inspiration from various sources - it can be highly cultivated works of art and very unexpected things.

I was born in 1994 in Drohobych, Lviv region, Ukraine. In 2020 I graduated from Lviv National Academy of Arts, Sacred Art Department. Based in Lviv. I work mainly in the technique of acrylic and egg tempera painting. My works are in private collections in Ukraine, Poland, and USA. https://iconart-gallery.com/en/artists/khrystyna-kvyk/

Follow her icons at https://www.facebook.com/khrystyna.kvyk and https://iconart-gallery.com/en/catalogue/#!/Khrystyna-Kvyk/c/53601490

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She is raising funds for Ukraine and writes:

You can make a donation to my PayPal khristina.kvyk@gmail.com

Please indicate in the comments to the transaction that this is a donation in support of Ukraine.

The money will go for drones for the Asgard unit defending Ukraine.

For a donation of $5 or more, you have a chance to win a gift from me - a print of one of my icons. The winner will be chosen using a randomizer.

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Here are two more of her Easter-themed icons:

'Resurrection'

Size: 45х90 cm Material: acrylic on gessoed wood Year: 2018 https://iconart-gallery.com/en/catalogue/#!/Khrystyna-Kvyk-Resurrection/p/238719313/category=53601490

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'Appearance of the Resurrected Christ'

Material: acrylic on gessoed wood Year: 2017 https://iconart-gallery.com/en/catalogue/#!/Khrystyna-Kvyk-Appearance-of-the-Resurrected-Christ/p/238730411/category=53601490

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The Archbishop of Canterbury wrote this:

Christos anesti, Alleluia!  Today we wish our Orthodox sisters and brothers a blessed Easter. I’m thankful for their witness to the victory of Jesus Christ over death.

Today, may they know Easter hope and a renewed vision of the transforming power of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – for them and for the whole world: even when surrounded by war and the fear of war.

As they gather for worship in Ukraine, Gaza, the West Bank, Armenia and elsewhere, may they be filled afresh with the power of the risen Christ.

And may His light guide us all into the way of peace. 

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Some photos of the artist:

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In her studio:

[tonispencerart]

I was looking for more photos of people to draw, still looking at the theme of Human Form, and bored of searching Google Images for something, I turned to my Facebook people and asked them if they wouldn't mind sending me any images of themselves - the more expressive and interesting, the better! I'd already tried some drawing with my non-dominant hand and the results were fun. They were distorted for one thing, which was a big part of what I was doing at the time, so I explained that the likelihood of anyone recognising them wasn't huge... That's when an old school friend of mine told me about a whole album of photos she had from a showcase she took part in when she was taking Burlesque classes and that I could use whatever was in it if I wanted to. Burlesque is something that has always kind of fascinated me as an art form. If you know me in the real world, you'll already know about the annual Bucket List I make every New Year's Eve. Again, if you actually know me in the real world, you'll know exactly how I feel about NYE, but that's another story... It's not an actual Bucket List, it's essentially a list of random stuff that I'd quite like to do before the end of the year. I've made this list every year since 2012. On it is some really quite random stuff, usually. Learning how to hula hoop, reading a whole book series, finishing a sketchbook, figure out a fool-proof recipe for cookies that are both crunchy and chewy... and since 2013, I had Learn Burlesque on it for no other reason, really, than it looked like a fun thing to do. But I didn't know anyone involved in it - certainly not in Glasgow at the time, anyway - so it always ended up Never Done even though it's been on the list every year since then. That's the thing with the Annual Bucket List, though (I should probably come up with a new name for it, really). It doesn't matter if you only manage one thing on the list - or none of them. They're not Resolutions, just things I'd like to do at some point but there's no pressure and no target. Some things get put on the list every year and sometimes there are new things on it. Part of the fun is coming up with random stuff to do, actually. Anyway, when my friend said I could use this photo album, I had a look through it and was positively vibrating at the thought of being able to use the images for something. I could potentially do some pretty awesome stuff! So I started with her - my friend. The images shown here are actually of the same image, just at different stages. The one on the left is the drawing I made initially, using my left hand (non-dominant hand). What was interesting was that the proportions were more accurate without even trying very hard - which is something I struggle with normally with my right hand (dominant hand) - not that I was actually trying because I was aiming for distortion! it turned out better than I expected. The image on the right is the same drawing but finished with a blending stump/tortillon, and my trusty Tombow stick eraser. I love that thing. It looks like a 'clicky' pen and is great for fine detail erasing and mark making - or rather lifting out pencil marks. It also works on chalk pastel and charcoal (the powdered stuff) although a soft/putty eraser is best for that if you wanted to try it. This was also done with my non-dominant hand to add to the shaky, distorted quality I was going for in the first place. I actually really like this piece. So did my friend, actually...

[liriostigre]

hey! I wanted to ask what your favorite poetry books are? I have a few but I want to read new and interesting stuff, and I trust your taste :D

hiii ♡

tbh i only started reading poetry collections like,, last year. i'm subscribed to poetryfoundation's newsletter (poem of the day) so i usually just read random poems

anyway, i'm not sure my recs could be considered new (cause i'm gonna start with Mary Oliver ♡) but feel free to message me if you want to know the themes, style, feeling (vibes, if you will) or anything you want to know about these collections. for now, i'm linking my favorite poems in each collection, i hope this helps you choose! ♡

here you go:

Dream Work —Mary Oliver (“Wild Geese.” “Dogfish.”)

Red Bird —Mary Oliver (“Summer Morning.” “Love Sorrow.”)

Blue Horses —Mary Oliver (“To Be Human Is to Sing Your Own Song.” “Loneliness.” “Little Crazy Love Song.”)

The Wild Iris —Louise Glück (“Sunset.” “Retreating Light.”)

Haruko/Love Poems —June Jordan (“On a New Year’s Eve.” “Mendocino Memory.” “Toward a City That Sings.” *under the cut)

Extracting the Stone of Madness —Alejandra Pizarnik (“Primitive Eyes.” “Summer Goodbyes.” *under the cut)

Ariel —Sylvia Plath (“Tulips.” “The Rival.”)

Prelude to Bruise —Saeed Jones (“Postapocalyptic Heartbeat.” *under the cut)

Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth —Alice Walker (“Coming Back from Seeing Your People.” *under the cut)

I Must Be Living Twice —Eileen Myles (“Edward the Confessor.” *under the cut)

Teaching My Mother How To Give Birth —Warsan Shire (“Conversations About Home (at the Deportation Centre.”)

The Black Unicorn —Audre Lorde (“Hanging Fire.” “Sister Outsider.”)

Bright Dead Things —Ada Limón (“The Riveter.” “Glow.”)

Night Sky With Exit Wounds —Ocean Vuong (“Thanksgiving 2006.” “Logophobia.”)

Postcolonial Love Poem —Natalie Diaz (“Manhattan Is a Lenape Word.”)

Crush —Richard Siken (“Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out.”)

Once —Alice Walker (“So We've Come at Last to Freud.”)

“Toward a City That Sings” by June Jordan

Into the topaz the crystalline signals of Manhattan the nightplane lowers my body scintillate with longing to lie positive beside the electric waters of your flesh and I will never tell you the meaning of this poem: Just say, ‘She wrote it and I recognize the reference.’ Please let it go at that. Although it is all the willingness you lend the world as when you picked it up the garbage scattering the cool formalities of Madison Avenue after midnight (where we walked for miles as though we knew the woods well enough to ignore the darkness) although it is all the willingness you lend the world that makes me want to clean up everything in sight (myself included)

for your possible discovery

“Primitive Eyes” by Alejandra Pizarnik

Where fear neither speaks in stories or poems, nor gives shape to terrors or triumphs.

My name, my pronoun — a grey void.

I’m familiar with the full range of fear. I know what it’s like to start singing and to set off slowly through the narrow mountain pass that leads back to the stranger in me, to my own emigrant.

I write to ward off fear and the clawing wind that lodges in my throat.

And in the morning, when you are afraid of finding yourself dead (of there being no more images): the silence of compression, the silence of existence itself. This is how the years fly by. This is how we lost that beautiful animal happiness.

“Summer Goodbyes” by Alejandra Pizarnik

The soft rumor of spreading weeds. The sound of things ruined by the wind. They come to me as if I were the heart of all that exists. I would like to be dead, and also to go inside another heart.

“Postapocalyptic Heartbeat” by Saeed Jones

I. Drugged, I dreamed you a plume of ash, great rush of wrecked air through the towns of my stupor. And when the ocean in your blood went toxic, I thought fire was what we needed: serrated light through the skin, grenade in the chest—pulled linchpin. I saw us breathing on the other side of after. But a blackout is not night; orange-bottled dreams are not sleep. II. I was a cross-legged boy in the third lifetime, empire of blocks in my lap while you walked through the door of your silence, hunting knife in one hand, flask in the other. I waited for you until I forgot to breathe, my want turning me colors only tongues of amaryllis could answer for. It owned me, that hunger, tendriled its way into my name for you. III. In a city made of rain each door, a silence; each lock, a mouth, I walked daily through the spit-slick streets, harbingers on my hands in henna: there will be no after Black-and-blue-garbed strangers, they called me Cassandra. (I had such a body then.) Umbrellas in hand, they listened while they unlistened. there will be no no. after

the world will end no.

you are the reason it no. ends

you no. IV. I didn’t exactly mean to survive myself. Half this life I’ve spent falling out of fourth-story windows. Pigeons for hair, wind for feet. Sometimes I sing “Stormy Weather” on the way down. Today, “Strange Fruit.” Each time, strangers find me drawing my own chalk outline on the sidewalk, cursing with a mouth full of iron, furious at my pulse. V. After ruin, after shards of glass like misplaced stars, after dredge, after the black bite of frost:        you are the after, you are the first hour in a life without clocks; the name of whatever falls from the clouds now is you (it is not rain), a song in a dead language, an unlit earth, a coast broken— how was I to know every word was your name?

“Coming Back from Seeing Your People” by Alice Walker

Coming back From seeing your people You were So wonderfully Full Of yourself.

But now You have supped With vampires They have fed Feasted On you.

They arise Bright-eyed Fit.

You alone have lost Not only Your sleep But also Your glow The luster of Affection Heart welcome Your people Sent home With you.

Beloved You must learn To walk alone To hold The precious Silence To bring home And keep the precious Little That is left Of yourself.

“Edward the Confessor” by Eileen Myles

I have a confession to make I wish there were some role in society I could fulfill I could be a confessor I have a confession to make I have this way when I step into the bakery on 2nd Ave. of wanting to be the only really nice person in the store so the harried sales woman with several toned hair will like me. I do this in all kinds of stores, coffee shops xerox shops, everywhere I go. And invariably I leave my keys, xeroxing, my coffee from the last place I am being so nice. I try so hard to make a great impression on these neutral strangers right down to the perfect warm smile I get entirely lost and stagger back out onto the street, bereft of something major. It’s really leaning too hard on the everyday. My mother was the kind of woman who dragging us into stores always seemed to charm the pants off the cashier. She was such a great person, so human though at home she was such a bitch, I mean really distant. I imitate her and I don’t do it well. She didn’t leave her wallet or us in a store. I’m just a pale imitation it is simply not my style to open the hearts of strangers to my true personhood. I hope you accept this tiny confession of what I am currently going through. And if you are experiencing something of a similar nature tell someone, not me, but tell someone. It’s the new human program to be in. It would be nice for at least these final moments if we could sigh with the relief of being in the same program with all the other humans whispering in school. I can’t quite locate the terror, but I am trying to be my mother or Edward the Confessor smiling down on you with up-praying hands. I am looking down at the tips of my boots as I step across the balcony of the church excited to be allowed to say these things. Outside my church is a relationship. On 11th street this guy and this woman are selling the woman so they can get more dope. All their things are there, rags and loaves of bread and make-up. And there was— this was incredible. Two men lying by the door of the church giving each other blow-jobs. They were sort of street guys, one black one white. I said hey you can’t do that here. They jumped up, one spit come out of his mouth. If you don’t get out of here I’ll call the cops. Don’t call the cops we’ll go, we’ll leave. That was a shock. That was more than I expected to see in a day. Something about seeing the guy spit come out of his mouth. He didn’t have to do that. I guess I scared him. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was scared too.