#im on chapter 6 i think

[starlightparks]

i started reading faebound and i have to say i am OBSESSED

i love the writing of this book so much - im stuck between wanting to read it all in one day and not wanting it to end!!!! AHHHH

[starkspi]

"You okay?"

Another one from "Managerial Liberties" by the talented @miribalis (in which Adam is accidentally the best wingman ever - what a pun!).

[wickjump]

im gonna start posting fanfic recs btw whenever i find good ones. both here and my (awfully barren) 18+ account. because there are so many good fics out there with so few hits and fewer kudos and sometimes no comments period and it SUCKS because i REALLY LIKE THEM A LOT.. and i hope that by linking them here and yelling at everyone to COMMENT DAMMIT they might actually do it

seriously though any comment means a lot. most people who read a fic don’t even give a kudos. even if the fic wasn’t top tier, if you didn’t dislike it, hand over some kudos!! and if you liked it, comment!!!! even if the comment is one singular heart emoji it will be appreciated. if the comment just says “great fic!” the author will be happy. your comment doesn’t have to be this long winded gushing or analysis.

so many authors quit writing or lose motivation because the comments are few and far in between or just sometimes nonexistent. trust me when i say authors don’t care about how long or cool or smart sounding your comment is i promise!!!

i hope that mmmaybe recommending fics and telling people to comment might help fics i really like get more support maybe. and i, points at you reading this, hope that you will listen!!!at least a little….at least sum kudos….

[torantuga]

rendering practice + fake cover for my fic

[youkaigakkou-tl]

Chapter 115 - Full Speed Ahead!! Youkai Highway!!

HAPPY ANIME NEWS MONTH!!! also HAPPY EXTREMELY SEXY HARUAKI GFANTASY COVER MONTH!!! (see my earlier post or the mangadex upload for the cleaned version of this cover)

Kashima appearance in the main story finally!! I love my cringe deer son!!!

(Also on mangadex)

[fishareglorious]

this image fucks. gangsta isolde.

[hjemne]

I could go on for years and years about Knives in Trimax, but THIS makes me physically unwell. Knives was the one who was constantly worrying that humans weren't going to accept him or Vash, and he was the one who first raised the question of becoming friends with humans, not Vash. When he asks Conrad (the second human he's ever met) what he thinks of him and Vash, there is a genuine fear of being rejected and is so relieved by Conrad's answer he cries. Knives is the sensitive, emotional child who needs the support of Vash, Rem and other humans to feel like he has a place in the world.

Conrad says if they can love someone with their whole heart, they'll be able to work and live together, but then what happens immediately after?

Knives and Vash discover Tesla. She is the only other Independent like them, and humans treated her like a science specimen and experimented on her body fell apart and she died horribly. Knives is 1 year old, and he's having to process THIS, knowing he can no longer trust any adult around him. Knives - again, remember he's the sensitive one - faints and Vash says he wishes he had also been able to cut himself off from the agony of the realisation too.

I absolutely adore that bottom panel of Knives' hope that they can coexist being stripped away. The boy he was just is not compatible with the world he finds himself in and this is the foundation of his adult self we see throughout the rest of Trimax.

With Knives unconscious, the focus then shifts to Vash who has the chance to confront Rem. It's incredibly significant that Knives is not part of that conversation and never lets himself be emotionally vulnerable around Rem again to have a similar talk with her where he might have been able to process his feelings like Vash did.

Vash actually tries to stab himself with a knife (and there's metaphors in that for someone else to unpack) and Rem prevents him, injuring herself in the process. Vash then turns against Rem and tries to kill her, severely wounding her and saying he won't shed a single tear for her before suddenly becoming overwhelmed by remorse and rushing to save her. Vash, who had been refusing food, then finally starts to eat as Rem tells him he's got a blank ticket to the future and not to throw his life away because there are good people out there. Only after Rem and Vash have come to this truce / understanding does Knives wake up.

He has realised that Rem not only knew about Tesla, not only kept her a secret, but was also involved in her abuse. He goes from having a heart absolutely bursting with love and hope, to learning that even the person he loved was capable of unspeakable violence against his kind. His childhood, his dreams, his support is all taken from him, and when Vash seems to forgive and forget, he's also cut off from the one person who could fully understand him. He either genuinely forgets or (what I think is more likely) pretends to have no memory of the discovery. This is where Knives is separated from both Vash and humans, and this is the point where he starts on his path of no return.

KNIVES was the one who loved humans, who was deeply deeply upset at the thought of not being accepted by them. When he finds Tesla, he realises he and Vash can never be fully accepted or fully safe, and his actions are driven from this (justified) fear of what people will do to him if they find him. But he knows he is stronger and smarter than humans, he knows that he has the power and ability to protect himself, Vash and future Independents from suffering Tesla's fate. Knives was and is right about humans posing an existential threat to Plants, both dependent and independent, and his decision to crash the ships was not done out of malice but terror. Knives NEVER took the first shot. If Tesla hadn't been murdered, I really, really doubt he would have turned out the way he did.

[cherryys]

i saw somewhere i can't remember someone talking about a Buddha bathing ritual that happens on the fourth lunar month (typically falling on May). In Japan during the Hana Mitsuri festival, they bathe the Buddha with amacha, a tea made of hydrangea fermented leaves. This ritual is done so that everyone has a chance to introspect themselves so that they will reduce bad seeds, increase good seeds, open their minds, raise the seeds of enlightenment, make life more meaningful and bring happiness to all sentient beings in this universe.

Funny coincidence 🤔 /j

[loafbud]

I HAVEN'T DRAWN THIS SILLY WORM IN A HOT MINUTE 🔥💀💙

[deus-ex-mona]

oh mona ft. lxl shikishi how i miss you so…

[queen0fm0nsterz]

How do you think the lady statuettes were distributed?

Who were entrusted with them, do you think they knew they were more than just porcelain (or whatever the shadow that escapes them is). All guests presumably die over the year (I loved the lady referring to them as rations in seafarers btw I love her so much) so I don't think any brought them to the city as a souvenir.

Is it possible she gave one to a former employee? Hoping to spread her influence or senses?

Because if they're just packed lunches, I'm not sure why there would be one in the pale city. It would be cool if they make it even easier for her to spread her senses out and "see" what's happening around the figurines. Maybe she was testing how far her senses could extend.

HAH, you fool! /j you should know better than to give me a chance to talk about Seafarers...

Alright SO. Since you mentioned it, I'll give you my personal headcanon of how these little statues came to be and their usage in Seafarers, since it's actually one of those small pieces of the canon that really intrigues me.

Starting off strong, I think the idea of having statues of the figure of the Lady was always something that was part of the Maw. The three statuettes with the offering plate look old, abandoned to the seas of time... but still considerably important when it comes to constructing a timeline, because their existence implies (to me) that the tradition existed before the current Lady rose to the title.

I think what Rascal did was popularize this tradition and turn the thing into an additional marketing strategy for the Maw. And while I agree with you that the Guests are not allowed to leave the Maw all year round, I'm fairly certains letters can be sent from the Maw to the mainland: that's because in LN II there are letters between the ones in the Post Office that should have a picture of the Maw between them, and the person in the apartment with the statuette you are referring had received a letter that was titled in the files as being a "brochure". Maybe someone they knew sent them a statuette as well, who knows. Notably, this one specific statuette didn't hold any magic within it, since it only breaks without any mist when it's thrown. This had me believing that while they look the same, the ones on the Maw have a different purpose rather than being just merchandise - something containing a spell, as you said.

What I DO know is that the Maw is popular enough to have at least one book written about it (seen in VLN), several adds inviting people to visit it and having its head as being worshiped in a manner that seems almost religious. As such, Rascal made a smart choice by making the statues faceless, because it makes them timeless. It doesn't matter who the acting Lady is, the point is the image they're selling.

And about that... there is sentimental value to the four statuettes of the previous Ladies, even though Rascal does her best to keep them out of sight - especially Teapot's. I guess an item can hold value even if the sentiment isn't good... My idea for how those four came to be is that Teapot had originally commissioned the first three, the ones of Fox and the sisters, and hers was later added by Rascal.

The one unspoken rule of the statues is that Fox never leaves her pillar. She's the matriarch. You can't hide her away if you try, and you don't want to try.

While I think Six wouldn't be a follower of this tradition (I am very convinced the statuettes creep her out), I have imagined the Lady's version of her statuette when she takes her place on the eventual fifth pillar would have a hole in her face. But if she didn't, she'd probably look like the one on her music box:

[funnyrobot]

ok. so what. so i want it? want it bad? ?bbig fuckig deal. leave me alone.

[agalychnisspranneusroseus]

What if I say possesion storylines are secretly about domination and colonialism and the way in which the whims of the capital dictates every single aspect of social relations, and SA, which in turn is also about colonialism

[armed-saphire]

Nick and Matt both left their games in chapter 6 to go hang out together for the remaining 4

[epickiya722]

Okay, but did he have to eat 6 just to unlock Blood Manipulation?

[flythesail]

It's the way I know I'm going to end up mourning the acolyte for a second time when I finish my fic