#in case the symbolism wasn’t obvious

[fireyocean92]

In these doomed times, what we need most is the drive to push forward.

Quote directly taken from this tweet the official Sonic Twitter posted last time that orange fuck became president.

[floralstorms]

doodles

[bloobydabloob]

Holy shit I love your Dirk interpretations, it's so true and I could talk about this shit forever. I feel like another part of his character that people seem to forget (along with Roxy for some reason) is that he's from the future in solitude in an apocalyptic wasteland. I just see that part of his character always removed which is disappointing because I feel like that's a pretty big part, especially regarding his themes around technology, his brother's theme of Time, his own isolation, and how he plays in the vastness of the universe and spacetime.

Art I drew related to the subject because I like to respond to asks with art.

But absolutely. I certainly understand where the lack of discussion over his isolation + upbringing comes from, considering a majority of the fanbase that I have seen builds their ideas based on their own version of postcanon. I’m not entirely sure how that would be fixed, but certainly even in the somewhat recent past I would see a lot more content regarding his upbringing both literally and symbolically. I don’t have much to add regarding the things you’ve mentioned, because they just are what they are. Dirk being confined to a singular room left to him by a father figure he never met, in a future where the only other person left on the planet is someone he cannot pursue a relationship of because of himself, with purely 3 robots to keep him companion, one being an exact replica of his own brain who is *also* trapped inside a pair of glasses, is about as literal as it gets to me.

The contrast to me involving the flooded, organic world in comparison to the little speckle of Dirk’s apartment packed with the dude and his technics is not only a representation of his isolation and entrapment within himself, but also of his lack of control. I think his obsession with & themes of control are a direct product in the case of Dirk specifically *of* this kind of upbringing. His themes of technology are also related to his themes around control. So much of his character is actually revolved around this to me like so much. Dirk is so deeply disconnected from humanity in every way and so much of his character + symbolism is based around that.

It doesn’t even have to be about the symbolism or anything though. It’s just pretty *interesting* in the literal sense that he lives in the middle of the ocean in the future. There’s not only a lot to theorise on to do with his young life there, but on how it might affect him in the way he acts for the rest of his life. The latter part is probably what I see mentioned the most by people talking about Dirk regarding this, I’m surprised I don’t see more discussion on the former too though. I really ought to actually talk more about Homestuck stuff on here. I will do it myself.

Roxy & Dirk’s relationship is largely ignored though because there is a narrative a certain demographic spreads that Dirk resented and blamed Roxy for her interest in him, and thus too many people believe that their relationship was or would continue to be an abusive one. Realistically, I believe it’s important to acknowledge that the way Roxy treated Dirk regarding his homosexuality wasn’t right while still acknowledging the obvious amount of respect and admiration Dirk had for Roxy. I mean we have a huge piece of dialogue from their post trickster mode conversations on the quest beds from Dirk purely stating how he feels about Roxy that people completely ignore somehow. I think this usually happens to characters that are women though. I know everyone says it, but it is true. Jane gets the exact same treatment of boiling her down to solely her negative aspects. The things I see completely mischaracterising both of them are horrific.

I mean how much more explicit can it get that their relationship is obviously very important to Dirk? But I digress. I think the best or I should say “most interesting” interpretations of their relationship usually come from DirkRoxy shippers actually.

I would be interested to hear about Dirk’s relation to his brother’s theme of time though. I don’t have any thoughts on this and I don’t recall ever hearing anyone talk about it before. If you or anyone else would be willing to enlighten me I’d be thrilled.

[incognit0slut]

Much Ado About Nothing (Act I, Scene I: The Silent Agreement)

Ever since that night, you and Spencer have always been at odds, but there is one thing you both agree on.

Part warning: just two idiots bickering nonstop Words: 1,6k A/n: so nervous about starting this but welcome to the first part! It's a short introduction though I'm trying to make longer chapters in the future

SERIES MASTERLIST | MAIN MASTERLIST

Hate was too strong of a word, too intense and dramatic for the subtler, more nuanced disdain you felt toward him. It was more like a persistent itch you couldn’t scratch, a pebble in your shoe, or a fly that wouldn’t leave you alone.

You didn’t hate him. You didn’t even dislike him all the time. But there were moments when you wanted to shake him, or yank his tie hard enough to shut his smart mouth. Because every time he started throwing around statistics and facts, he made it sound like you couldn’t possibly understand, as if you weren’t on the same intellectual level as him.

And right now was one of those times you wanted to wipe that smug look off his face.

“You’re wrong,” you argued, not breaking eye contact as you leaned across the cluttered map with pins and photos of various crime scenes. “The Unsub doesn’t fit the profile of someone who strikes randomly. Look at the pattern, the meticulous planning in each location—it’s obvious they selected victims based on specific criteria, not opportunity.”

Spencer scoffed, his eyes narrowing slightly. “The victims have nothing in common. Different ages, different backgrounds, different cities. How do you explain the randomness of the victims if it was planned?”

“It’s the chaos that’s planned, the seeming randomness, each victim is at a pivotal point. The Unsub is not just killing; they’re sending a message through the timing.”

“A message? Or is that just what you want to see?”

You frowned, not liking the condescending tone in his voice. “Reid, not everything has to fit into your neat little boxes of logic. Sometimes, you have to look beyond the obvious.”

“You mean baseless assumptions?”

“How about intuition?” you snapped back. “How about pattern recognition that isn’t immediately visible but becomes clear when you consider the psychological aspects?”

“You mean your hunches?

You gritted your teeth. “It’s not about my hunches. It’s about understanding the Unsub’s mind. They’re choosing victims who are at turning points in their lives for a reason. Maybe it’s symbolic, maybe it’s personal."

“Or maybe you’re just reading too much into this.”

Your frustration bubbled over. You knew if he weren’t talking to you, he might actually agree—No, he would definitely agree. You had enough experience working with him to understand his analytical style and to know that he valued well-reasoned arguments. Yet now it felt like he was purposely dismissing your perspective.

He wasn’t being fair.

“You know what? Sometimes I think you’d argue with a freaking wall if it meant you could prove a point.” To me at least. "Not everything is a textbook case, and not every answer is in your precious statistics.”

You saw him raise an eyebrow. “And you’d dismiss all logical analysis if it meant you could rely solely on intuition. How is that any more valid?”

“It’s not about relying solely on intuition,” you defended. “It’s about seeing the connections, the human behavior that your statistics can’t always explain.”

“But you’re assigning meaning where there might be none.” He gave you a pointed look. “Not only is that dangerous, you’re being reckless.”

Red. You were seeing red. Your retort was on the tip of your tongue when a sharp clearing of a throat suddenly interrupted. You both turned to see Hotch standing at the corner of the room.

"Let's redirect this energy towards something productive," Hotch interrupted, you could almost feel the weight of his stare. "Both of your insights are pointless if you keep arguing like this.”

“I wasn’t arguing.”

You rolled your eyes. “Sure, you weren’t.”

Your boss sighed, the kind of deep, exasperated sigh that seemed to pull the oxygen out of the room. “Just... work together. Please.”

The plea was simple, filled with the tiredness of having had this conversation more times than anyone cared to count. He then turned to leave and the room suddenly felt too big, the silence too loud.

You glanced over at Spencer the same time his eyes fell on you. But before either of you could say anthing, the door jerked open, and you watched as Derek sauntered into the room.

“Did you two fight again? Because Hotch asked me to babysit you.”

You scoffed. “Really? Those were his exact words?”

“Of course not, he asked me you needed supervision because you can’t stop sniping at each other.”

“Supervision,” you muttered under your breath, the word sounding ridiculous because it was the last thing you needed. “We don’t need supervision.”

“Exactly. What you both need is a babysitter.”

“We’re also not kids.”

Derek chuckled, leaning against the doorframe. “Could’ve fooled me. Given how loud you were, I half-expected someone to start throwing toys.”

Spencer was quick to defend himself. “We were having a professional disagreement.”

“A professional disagreement?” Derek mocked, pretending to be deep in thought. “That’s what they’re calling it these days?”

You huffed, crossing your arms. “Yes, Morgan, some of us prefer to call it that instead of ‘arguing like toddlers’.”

The grin spreading across his face was so annoying that you wondered whether you should’ve put your frustration on him instead. Derek pushed himself off the doorframe and walkes over to Spencer, casually draping an arm around his shoulders.

“Alright, Pretty Boy, let’s hear your side of this professional disagreement.”

Spencer shifted uncomfortably under his arm but managed to maintain his composure. “We were discussing the Unsub’s choice of victims. I believe the randomness is genuine, while someone,” he glanced pointedly at you, “Thinks there’s a pattern.”

Derek raised an eyebrow. “What pattern?”

You stepped forward, determined to explain. “Look at the victims’ timelines. They were all at critical junctures—new jobs, big moves, major life changes. The Unsub isn’t picking them randomly; they’re choosing people going through something significant.”

Derek nodded thoughtfully, removing his arm from Spencer’s shoulders. “Alright, I see where you’re coming from. And you, Reid, think it’s just a coincidence?”

“I think the Unsub might be targeting randomly to avoid detection. Patterns can be dangerous for them.”

You sighed. “Can we at least agree to look at both possibilities? If we cross-reference the victims’ life changes with significant dates in the Unsub’s background, we might find a connection.”

You held his gaze as he studied you. You were right, you both knew you were, but you could tell admitting he was wrong was the last thing he wanted to do. There was a tense silence as he considered your suggestion, his eyes flicking between the evidence board and you.

Finally, he nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Fine. We can analyze both angles and see if there’s any overlap.”

“See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Derek chimed in with a smirk, clearly enjoying the moment. “You know, you could’ve gotten more work done if you two still got along.”

Derek’s words hit harder than you expected, a bittersweet reminder of a time when things were simpler. He was right, of course. There was a time when you and Spencer were more than just colleagues locked in constant debate. You were friends—good friends, even. You could almost hear the echoes of shared laughter that had once come so easily.

You remembered late nights at the office, the two of you working over case files and tossing ideas back and forth. Back then, your debates had been lively, yes, but never tinged with the frustration and competition that seemed to color your interactions now.

And to make matters worse, Derek suddenly voiced out the question neither of you dared to ask out loud.

“You guys used to be inseparable,” he mused, glancing at the two of you with an amused smile. “Wonder where it went wrong.”

You knew he was joking, but his words carried an uncomfortable truth that you couldn’t ignore. You could also tell it affected Spencer because his eyes met yours silently.

You both were thinking the same thing. You were sure of it, because everything had changed after that night, that one night you wished to forget. That one night when you thought your friendship would change for the better, but instead, it turned into a moment of clarity, a freaking slap to the face.

The change was immediate, like the abrupt silence that follows a sudden, jarring noise. What had once been effortless and natural now felt forced and awkward. The distance between you grew. The ease with which you once communicated had been replaced by a strained formality, as if both of you were trying too hard to pretend that nothing had changed.

It was as if you had made a silent pact to never speak of that night, an unspoken agreement to bury it deep and carry on as best you could. Both of you were too proud, too scared to address the elephant in the room.

You looked away, unable to hold his gaze any longer. The weight of the unspoken words pressed heavily on your chest, and sure, it seemed childish to harbor such disdain at your big age, but you couldn’t help it. It wasn't just the loss of a friendship that stung; it was the betrayal of knowing someone so close could cause you such pain.

Because Spencer Reid had hurt you deeply that night, so much so that a small, spiteful part of you wanted to hurt him too.

[shorthaltsjester]

i could talk a lot about the reasons that i think vox machina as pcs is actually a perfect insertion into the c3 narrative right now but the one that’s really sticking out to me is the diversity in the opinions on the gods that the party has and the lack of influence their individual opinions have on their commitment to save the world. because with bh they’re all pretty ambivalent or anti-god with fcg and now braius being outliers, but both of those cases are still very unique and particular ones: fcg had his cleric powers prior to his religiosity and so it was largely just about the personal meaning he found in the changebringer but he still ended up having divine exchanges with her and braius is in the fjord stone school of being a willing child of god divorce. and with those of bh who dislike the gods it’s for completely valid reasons with completely invalid application of their personal woes to a universal scale. but in vox machina we see the way that experience with people that the gods matter to beyond just the magical exchange and experience with the weight that denying the rise of a new betrayer left on the shoulders of the gods they aided. i have to say that beyond the fact that i am just fond of vox machina as a party, it is also incredibly refreshing to see people who have diverse opinions about the gods but also actually engaged with opinions (a word which here refers to taking seriously, and not using confirmation bias) beyond those of their insular party.

a while ago ashton with his insistently short sight said he’d like to see the gods pray to mortals — something they’ve always been doing and is in fact a definitive part of their established metaphysical status in exandria — and vox machina is taking on the role in the c3 narrative of proving (once again) that has been the case, but they differ from bh because where bh (as a group) tends to deny the pleas from the gods unless it already serves or proves what they’ve assumed to be true about the world and the gods, vm (as a gorup) took seriously that the gods might have something new to introduce to them. i mean that’s obvious in scanlan and vex, both of whom became champions of gods they hadn’t really even considered in a serious vein prior to speaking to them. and scanlan very much takes on the label of ioun’s champion as a job to be fulfilled in the specific battle, but with vex being pelor’s champion has more significant weight tied to whitestone becoming her home and the fact that she belongs to a community that does, very much, take seriously the symbolic and literal power of the dawn, and she admits she hadn’t really realized the people-ness of the gods themselves until she met the everlight and the dawnfather.

but from the very same community, with a more historical basis in it, we get percy, who is very much uninterested in gods, until of course he might find value in an exchange with them. or, in one of my favourite moments from percy, until he is given hope that his family still exists somewhere beyond his memory of them, even if bound in the divine books of a god that calls him out on his selfish habits. vox machina also has keyleth who is pretty anti-god, not to the degree of ‘let’s kill them’ that we’ve seen in bh, but even when facing them directly, she wasn’t subtle about how little she cares for them, especially when offset by the people that matter much more to her. vm has pike who is the spearhead of the everlight’s return to power, they have grog who fucks with the stormlord’s teachings even if he doesn’t deal with the god part all that much. there’s a multiplicity of god-to-mortal relationships in vox machina that is diverse in a way that bh certainly isn’t, and i think that allows a really interesting deepening of what’s at stake. because, of course, their focus is getting vax out of the orb, but there’s a weight they all carry regarding what happens to the world if it loses the gods, especially if the way they go is through the machinations of a ancient elven jackass.

and i mean it’s a jokey moment but i think an exchange that’s really illustrative of why it’s so nice to get vm who are certain about their stances about the gods and who don’t have to discuss the philosophical implications of their actual lived and material reality is the one between vex and keyleth where they’re discussing stopping predathos and vex jokes that ‘hey maybe predathos gets out and just eats the matron, surely that’d be fine’ and keyleth laughs with her but then they both kind of step out of that and are still committed to fighting predathos. because as keyleth emphasizes in her speech, exandria belongs to a collective, one made up of people who both hate and love the gods and though vex and keyleth both hate one god in particular, they have the awareness to treat that as their own issue, not one worth risking exandria to solve. anyway. this isn’t super well put and maybe i’ll elaborate some other time but i’ve seen a lot of people being bitter about vox machina showing up (which is their right!) but saying they’re only there in ways that detract from the narrative (i obviously disagree) so i just wanted to put into words why i think that’s wrong (though to be clear i don’t doubt that the fact that vm is cr’s personal blorbos plays a significant hand in the fact that vm showed up, they just also are succeeding (to me) at having a narrative purpose as well)

[lothcat-lothcat-lothwolf-run]

Hey guys! Remember this page in journal 3?

So I actually tried to replicate the reading! While the first two cards don’t match anything in my deck (the rider waite smith version, as that’s what matches the 3rd card best), I was able to get the next two.

We have the two of swords (the third card), usually representing indecision and protection while right, and manipulation and blocked intuition while reversed. Her view is obscured and she is posed as if to defend herself against the unknown.

Now, in this context, even though all cards are shown as upright in the journal, I have to say that in the reading, it would be most likely reversed. Ford has to make a decision soon, and while his past pain and fear of the future blind him, he is also being manipulated into something he isn’t.

We can also assume that the skull (the 4th card) represents death. Death, as a part of the major arcana, is a very misunderstood card. In most cases, it represents the ability to change. In the frack we can assume the palm reader is using, the skeleton is yellow(!!!) a color associated with holiness (!!!). It represents not only the cycle of change, but time.

We can safely say that this card is upright in ford’s reading, for multiple changes are to happen in next few pages of the book.

Now, the first two cards are harder. The use of the snake in tarot often represents the development, so that’s the card I’ve chosen to be the second one in the draw. The devil, while upright, represents addiction and manipulation., as well as sabotage. It is also very connected to “the lovers”, another card in the major arcana.

In a reading, the devil represents self-destruction and toxic relationships, especially controlling partners (sound familiar?). For these reasons, we can assume that the devil is facing upright.

The first card was the hardest for me to find a match to. Instead, I selected a card that I feel would match the current situation and the page in the journal best: the nine of swords. This card, reversed or not, symbolizes anxiety and terror. The act of journaling (!!!) as a coping mechanism is tied closely to this card. Additionally, it represents emotional solitude and anxiety creating a decline on your physical health. This card portrays a man sitting awake in bed, with the objects of his worry scatted around him.

This is very ford vibes to me, for obvious reasons. While it wasn’t the card portrayed (as I can find no matching one), I feel it is the one that completes the reading best.

Overall, the reading says that Ford is overwhelmed with fear of his past mirroring his future, and that, along with the manipulation and toxic relationships, is causing him to loose his sense of self.

The tarot carda recommend: journaling, taking with loved ones, a better sleep schedule, and also breaking up with the evil Dorito man.

[malaierba]

Thoughts on Toshiro’s eating behavior, restrictive ed/disordered eating habits, and ARFID (obvious warnings apply).

Been thinking about how Toshiro’s eating is described in the manga. Especially when you consider the context within which he snaps — which is jokingly referred to as “he has hangry”. Interestingly enough, emotional deregulation IS a common symptom of EDs. That, alongside all the symptoms that Ryoko Koi chooses to illustrate in him… it’s done too accurately for it to be dismissed as him simply choosing not to eat and starve, as if it were that easy.

Basically, I think Toshiro’s inability to eat is ARFID-coded, and that’s symbolism in itself. I also think food is one of the few areas in his life where he exerts control effectively.

Assuming that he was under the influence of the dungeon (not necessary for this analysis to work tbh), his behavior is a quite accurate depiction of how desire works for people who are chronic ascetics in general, and ED'd in particular:

According to Maizuru, he’s a person who's denied themselves all their life (“saving Falyn was his first selfish request“),

Who seems to only experience a sort of self-agency when it's linked to deprivation (not really eating food from anyone who wasn’t Maizuru as a child, turning down her food as an adult even though he’s otherwise easy to pull around),

Who's actively reaching towards something for the first time in their lives (so he doesn’t know how to work towards it without burning himself out).

A common trigger (perhaps the main one) in EDs is the desire for control. The logic often goes, what's easier to control than what you eat? what do you own more fully than your body? It tracks in Toshiro’s case: when he is picky that's one thing he can fully control, no one could force him to eat not when he was a child nor as an adult. Toshiro's “whims” are most indulged when he restricts or rejects food, rather than when he reaches for it.

The reason why I’m getting ARFID vibes from him is Maizuru’s wording. On the screenshot I shared, she said “he never ate much, but he ate plenty of what I made”, making it sound like he’d try stuff made by other people, but in the end, Maizuru was the only one who could tailor it to his tastes the best (and made it with love). Rather than fighting him or forcing him, he worked with him, which is the best course of action for parents with kids who are being picky eaters.

There’s also the wording used by Maizuru: I think he's ARFID and perhaps ortho coded, or some other restrictive ED. Here we have to note that EDs aren't exclusively or even always about weight, weight is often a secondary effect of the behaviors that are motivated by the ED. In layman terms, they're eating disorders not weight disorders.

With the established, I do see a narrative relevance to giving Toshiro this type of relationship with food:

It sets him in obvious opposition to Laios: You need to eat and take care of yourself to succeed, neglecting yourself equals not taking your goals seriously vs. I’ll sacrifice everything recklessly, myself included, in the pursuit of my goals.

Tangentially related but lol, can’t help but think of Laios getting SO mad when Toshiro’s reaction to his plan (admittedly thought of on the spot) to get back Falyn is “you aren’t even EATING” which, SO fair, you can strategize and make detailed long term plans all you want, but as they say the secret to your future lies within your daily habits.

It makes him a mirror of Falyn, her passiveness reflecting Toshiro’s own. Falyn explicitly says at the end of her adventure, while she’s turning down Toshiro’s marriage proposal, “I’ve always wanted to travel; I’ve always just done what my bother and Marcille want, I want to try doing what I want now”, which is reminiscent of Maizuru saying “He was always such a well-behaved, reasonable boy, so much so that it worried me sometimes. The only time he ever made a personal request was for this task” <- person disconnected from their desires. (More on this idea here, I love it as a narrative choice).

And then (here’s where I get suppositional). It could be an extrapolation of the way his upbringing has permeated so deep within himself that he overtly controls what he eats even under normal circumstances. This extreme exertion of self-control, this constant self-monitoring, would be unsurprising in the guy who’s a little too good at following social scripts and masking (fun fact, did you know that ARFID is often co-morbid with autism?).

I often think of him in this scene, where he seems to be telling Senshi that he’s had enough / he doesn’t want something (featuring the other Weird With Food character, my beloved Kabru, maybe trying to help him? or maybe hassling him too lol):

Looks like some habits are hard to break. But, Laios does get through to him when he kicks his ass, and Falyn seems to have reached him too with his words, so perhaps there’s hope.

Look at him forcing himself to eat a burger while holding so much distaste in his heart. Did he and Laios order for each other? At least Laios seems to like his meal.

[cloveroctobers]

MONOPOLY — Armando Aretas [September Prompts] 🩶

A/N: I guess I’m remaining in my Armando writing bag but this was a request from: @dasaniswrlddd & this is mostly a Drabble small work that was also inspired by my boys who’s EP you should check the rest out after reading. It’s only fitting 😉 & you’re welcome!

S/N: the request included Armando dating an older woman, he’s twenty-eight so maybe the reader is thirty-eight? Forty’s? or as old as you are if you’re a older reader lol + mentions of a certain character from the film, “Rebel Ridge,” IYKYK 😉 + a little 🌶️ in there somewhere!

PROMPT IS FROM HERE & I’m using: ¹³⁾ frozen peas pressed against a fresh bruise + ²⁰⁾ rich vanilla perfume.

SYNOPSIS: Armando’s not as good at hiding his feelings for you.

<- read my previous September anthology prompt here.

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ ⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ ⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ ⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻

when Armando was informed that you got hurt out in Italy, he made it his mission to get on the next flight. AMMO was working on a case that would require them to fly out there by the end of the week so he just went earlier, despite the knowing look detective Mike sent his way.

He knows his son became fond of you quickly once they worked with your team, although Armando tried to hide it, it became obvious to Mike. Watching Armando analyze every move you made with admiration and how you commanded orders within your own team. When your team got involved that meant it was more than serious and Secada always made your team the last option if AMMO needed back up. Things tended to get reckless in the moment but you always made sure to clean up well.

Over the last few years you haven’t been getting your hands as dirty, something Armando overheard you sharing with Secada and Detective Lowrey, having your team do most of the work while you supervised but that didn’t mean you forgot everything that you’ve learned. Which is why you have a dagger jammed up right against Armando’s throat, bag of frozen peas dropped to both of your feet as you had Armando pressed up against the wall of the villa out in Collesano.

“Armando,” you stated, “did you really think it was the best idea to sneak up on me?”

He lowers his raised hands, “that wasn’t really my intent.”

“Find that hard to believe.”

“…so you don’t trust me now?” He questioned while peering at you underneath his eyelashes and brimmed hat.

“I don’t trust anyone.”

Armando exhales at this. He doesn’t take it personal since it was someone on your team that ended up being a rat in the first place. Setting you up to be killed while also murdering one of your members you were closest to in cold blood and the way the rest of your team was ambushed, was the ultimate betrayal so he understood where this was coming from.

“Then why am I not dead yet?” His low voice inquires.

You smirked as you lowered the dagger, “the night is still young.”

Armando can’t help but to roll his eyes as you step back from him but he can’t help but to reach forward and pinch your chin, turning your face to the side as he viewed the damage done to your face first. He feels his jaw tighten at the long scar that traveled from the bottom of your ear to the curve of your jaw. It was the beginning of the symbol of an Italian gang here, blade pulled just right to begin the markings of an, “X,” in cursive but they didn’t get to finish the job.

Yet this would scar in more ways than one.

“Be a doll and grab those peas for me?” Your attempt to bring Armando’s attention elsewhere was noted as his eyes flicked back to yours for a moment, silently telling you that he wanted details and he was going to get them from your mouth instead of Secada’s and Mike’s.

He lowers himself, eyes locked on yours still as he reaches for the frozen bag, “where?”

You take the peas and place them underneath your shirt, where Armando gets a peek of your ribcage wrapped in a white bandage. He exhaled at that, relieved that you actually went to the hospital to get checked out. He knew how much you dreaded those visits.

You’re leaning against the island for support, as you take most of the pressure from standing upright and shift to your right—where there’s no bruising on that side of your ribs. “So…what brings you to Collesano? Did you finally decide that you needed a change of scenery from Miami and Mexico City?”

Armando gives you a deadpan glance as he fires back, “I never would have pictured Italy as a place to live low for you. Tell me, when did you buy this property?”

You scoff, stiffly shifting to grab that hard liquor that’s waiting in the square glass for you. Throwing it back with clenched eyes you respond, “Maybe I’m borrowing it.”

“From who?” Armando crossed his arms, “Terry?” He almost spits out the man’s name, which makes you quirk up a brow.

You start, “I’m not…doing this with you tonight so if you came here to brood or whatever—I’m not here for it.”

Armando stepped to you then, “I came here to be with you, no bullshit. Got here as fast as I could. Something the other guy isn’t even here doing.”

Sighing you dip your head as Armando has his heated stare locked only on you, “…while I appreciate that…I can take care of myself, thank you. I’m grown.”

“That you are,” Armando unapologetically scans his eyes over your frame before settling comfortably back on your face, “but there’s nothing wrong with letting someone in from time to time.”

“You should take your own advice, Aretas.” You huffed, as you searched his eyes, making him blink his own stare away as he rubbed at his beard in annoyance.

He was aware of what you were getting at. You’ve been around to see his interactions with Detective Mike Lowrey, even worked with him and Marcus previously when you first got your team together. Mike was certainly a ladies man and was damn good at his job…a little sloppy at times but as well as you knew Mike, you genuinely believed if he knew about Armando, he would have made an effort to be there even if it was painfully awkward. That was a conversation that was just as old as Armando’s opinion on “the other guy,” you were legally married to.

That’s right, you were technically spoken for.

To keep it simple it was a MACP thing really and a story for a different time!

“Yeah well clearly the both of us have the patience.” He states, his gaze going back to the scar on your face, “I’ll be back.”

Sarcastically you say, “aw but you just got here!”

Armando snorts as he starts backing away, “don’t worry mami, I’m not goin’ too far but try not to miss me too much.”

He winks.

“Oh, Please.” You scoff, turning to pour yourself another shot.

When Armando returns, it really wasn’t that long as you just managed to sit yourself up at the high chair by the island counter. That was a a job within itself thanks to your bruised ribs and you knew you could have easily picked one of the many couches in this villa, preferably the two seat sofa that’s right by the open window next to the kitchen but of course you liked to be difficult.

The hairs on the back of your neck stand up as you feel Armando’s hands dig into your tense shoulders from behind. He gets a light whiff of your vanilla perfume, it’s usually potent—rich—enough that it lingers in the air whenever you’re near. Right now it’s faint but it still makes him want to trail his nose up the slope of your neck.

“Hey,” he begins, “let’s get you cleaned up.”

Looking over your shoulder, the exhaustion has settled on your face and in that moment it almost shocks Armando that you don’t put up a fight. He holds onto your hand as you take your time getting down from the chair, a firm but gentle hold goes around your waist as he leads the way to the full bath he managed to find on the first level of the home.

The water is steaming and just what you needed. Armando was always onto you and knew the moment he caught sight of you tonight, he no problem providing. You manage to peel your clothes off and Armando’s concern is all over his face once he gets to see the black, blue, and purple bruises with your back turned to him. Those weren’t the only ones on your beautiful body but the ones on your ribs were the most upsetting.

He regains his composure, springing forward to help lower you into the water, head going right back against the pillow along the tub. Your eyes are closed and he almost coached you to sleep, running the pad of his thumb against the apple of your cheek. He was falling deep and he only had himself to blame if you ever broke his heart.

Part of him believes you won’t.

This has been going on long enough for Armando to have faith in whatever this was. Even when he was locked up, your connection never seemed to falter. Call him a fool but Armando was certain he’s never felt this kind of a way about anybody before you.

He’ll cater to you and sure you’ll give him a hard time, initially finding it all fun and dangerous games at first but that all shifted pretty quickly although in Armando’s mind, it felt like forever for you to admit your truth.

That you were feeling him more than you wanted to too. Which is why you allowed him to stay with you, help you bathe and briefly come to terms with what all transpired, even if you tried to block it out.

Even when you laid on top of him afterwards in one of the foreign bedrooms, he didn’t let go of you as you listened to the thud of his heartbeat and he took on the weight of you, all of it because he loved you—even if you didn’t want to hear him say it.

You felt it then and even more now that he came all this way for you.

The both of you wouldn’t be getting any sleep due to past traumas but that was left in the dark of the room. There’s buzzing that fills the heavy silence, you reach out clicking on the phone to silence it before flipping it back over.

“That could be important.” Armando mumbled.

‘Could be your husband,’ He thinks to himself.

You sniff, shifting to rest your chin onto the back of your hand, “Nothing else is important right now.”

“Yeah?” Armando quizzes, tucking his own chin to look at you, heart beating even harder now underneath your hands.

Wincing you lean forward, lips hovering over his, “Yeah.”

That was all the confirmation Armando needed as he moves to cradle your head and quickly places his lips right on yours. There’s a sigh of relief that escaped your lips as you both go into a battle trying to take the lead, which makes you laugh and a usual faint dimple appear on one side of Armando’s cheek. It’s when his tongue touches yours and he gets a nice grip on your ass with both hands that the humor fizzles away.

Armando’s attentive as you slowly take your place on top, hands gripping your hips against the silk night slip that you’re in now. “You sure you should be—

He starts but one move, has his hold digging into your hips, his head thrown back while biting down on his bottom lip. A laugh escapes your lips and Armando has to peek at you while he soaks in the real feel of you, your hair is a curtain around your face shape and the smirk on your face picks at his ego but he can’t complain and say he isn’t fond of this position.

“What was that?” You tease, “Don’t worry about me baby, I got you.”

Armando has to remind himself to breathe and you haven’t moved yet. His suddenly damp hands slip against the material of your nightwear, but he had to watch as he slides it back. That image alone makes a grunt spill from his lips and that’s enough to let you continue but Armando is always ready for your games.

When you separate just enough, he gains leverage himself, angling his own hips upwards while choosing to guide your hips downwards this time, erupting a pretty noise from your mouth. It’s his turn to smirk up at you, when you snap your attention back to his eyes while you fall over. Your elbows are beside his head now since sitting upright wouldn’t work at this time and especially with Armando’s own move he just pulled.

“Hi.” He smiles at you.

You scowl, “pendejo.”

That scowl releases when he places a lingering kiss right above where your new scar is. Gently he flips you both over and gazed at you so lovingly that some might say it was too much to bear.

It’s a pecking fight between your lips while Armando is on his knees but you can fight dirty when you want to and that gets him to move against you. Rocking you into the bed and loving you properly just like you knew he could.

⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ ⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ ⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆ ⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻

Continue with my September anthology prompts here.

[zoobiefish]

So, I nearly missed out on Auctober again, whoops! I am now 9 days behind, woohoo 😂😅 I’m an Autistic university student, so I may not always have the spoons to commit to this daily challenge, or at the very least I may not be able to draw something for each prompt…I may have to just write a little blurb about what that day’s prompt means to me lol But ideally I would like to contribute as many pieces of art to this challenge as I can! For now though, to catch up on all I’ve missed, I’m going to make individual short blurbs for the prompts I’ve missed thus far:

Day 1: Autism Plus

For myself, in addition to being Autistic, I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, EDNOS, and generalized anxiety. I also suspect I may have hEDS (hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome). Fun stuff!

Day 2: Infinite

The most popular symbol for Autism Spectrum Disorder to my knowledge is a golden infinity ♾ symbol (sometimes I see a rainbow-coloured one in use as well, though my understanding is that the rainbow infinity symbol is used for neurodiversity as a whole). For a long time, the infamous puzzle piece 🧩 symbol was used to represent ASD—but most Autistics HATE this symbol!! I recognize that I don’t speak for all Autistic people, but this is the common opinion on the puzzle piece symbol and the one I share as well: The puzzle piece symbol is problematic because it suggests that Autistic people are inherently “missing a piece” or that we are “a puzzle to be solved.” Plus, this symbol is used by the evil corporation Autism Speaks. I would prefer not to go on a rant right now about why they’re evil; if anyone is curious, I would recommend doing research on why Autistic people HATE Autism Speaks. But the short version is that they support eugenicist policies around Autism and seek to eradicate us from existence. They treat us as non-humans under the guise of doing “charity work”—they are absolutely NOT a charity. Do NOT support Autism Speaks under any circumstances—any supporter of Autism Speaks (or as most of us spell it, “Autism $peaks”), is NO friend of mine!

Day 3: AuDHD

This is a fun little term I’ve seen in the Autism and ADHD communities! It’s a portmanteau of “Autism” and “ADHD” in case it wasn’t obvious heh! I myself do have AuDHD; it’s a very common comorbidity! It’s certainly…an interesting experience because the two often conflict with each other, as if I have 2 wolves fighting within my brain 🤪

Day 4: Music

Music is one of my favourite coping mechanisms. If I’m understimulated or need inspiration (especially for art or writing), I’ll put on some fun, energetic music to get the juices flowing and will dance and/or pace around the room to get the energy out of my system! If I’m overstimulated, relaxing videogame soundtracks are often my go-to—especially music from The Legend of Zelda, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing etc. Another aspect of my being on the spectrum is that my thoughts are very vivid and visual. Often times when I hear music, I can’t help but see colours, shapes, images, and even stories with characters and whatnot going along to the music. It gives me great ideas for animatics and artwork! I love this fun little bonus feature in my brain haha 😛

Day 5: Verbose

This one is rather interesting for me. I find when I feel safe around a person or I have just TOO much energy to control myself, I WILL talk—and talk—and talk—etc. I feel so bad for those who fall victim to my “infodump sessions”—but just know that if I do that to you, it’s my way of showing affection. If I talk and never seem to shut up around you…I probably really like you (platonically) 😁 Other times however, I am dead silent. This is usually around people I’m uncertain of, don’t know well enough, or I may just be burntout/too tired to talk 😅

Day 6: Individuals

As the saying goes: If you’ve met ONE (1) Autistic person, then you’ve met ONE (1) Autistic person! We are NOT a hivemind, people!! Just because I’m not like your “friend’s cousin’s aunt’s 3-year-old stepson” doesn’t mean I’m “not Autistic.” The stereotype with Autism is a white cishet dude—but we are just as diverse a population as any other demographic. We all have our differences and similarities, but we are unified in our shared diagnosis—and that’s it!

Day 7: Neuroscope

Ah yes, the “superpower” Autistic people seem to have in which we can all “sense each other” 😂😂😂 I find this to be scarily accurate actually—the majority of the people I’ve become friends with at uni turned out to be Autistic, and long before they mentioned they were on the spectrum I was able to tell. The funniest part though is that they all the said same thing about me! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

Day 8: Non-Speaking

So of course Autism is a spectrum, and among the ways in which Autistic people can differ from one another is whether we possess the ability to verbally speak or not. I do not want to talk in length about what being “non-speaking” means as I am not non-speaking myself and don’t wish to talk over those who are. What I do know though is that some of us are unable to verbally speak and may use alternative methods to communicate (whether through the use of sign language, AAC devices, or other means), which are equally valid methods of communication that deserve to be respected. Once again, I must iterate that I am fully capable of verbal speech and I am in no way non-speaking myself. That being said, sometimes I do have a reduced capacity to speak or feel it takes far more physical effort to speak when I am tired, stressed, overwhelmed, in sensory overload, or in the midst of a shutdown. This does NOT mean I am non-speaking—that label is exclusively for Autistic individuals who cannot verbally speak at all. I’m not sure what the proper terminology is for my specific situation (if anyone knows of it, I’d appreciate if you let me know in the comments!) but because of these situations, I am currently trying to learn ASL so I can still communicate in some way during these episodes.

And that’s it for now! I am hoping to have a drawing done by the end of today for Day 9, but we shall see! In the meantime, check out @autiebiographical on Tumblr! They are the one who started Auctober in the first place to my knowledge and they create amazing comics and other content that educates people on Autism Spectrum Disorder! Happy Auctober y’all!

[coyotefang1987]

Flower Symbolism in Trigun

Okay so I've been going insane in the last few hours since the new episode of Stampede and I needed to share my very incoherent thoughts.

So here we go: (please excuse my grammar, I'm typing this up in an absolute craze)

Please note, there are major spoilers here

[Plant in context to Trigun will be capitalized btw]

I want to start off by pointing out the whole idea with calling the creatures that Vash and Knives are as 'Plants' and 'seeds' in the first place--that in itself is so much. Not to mention Noman's Land is a desert plant with little to no flora at all.

The idea and symbolism of life and rebirth presented with the idea of plants. Like how flora are usually the first type of lifeform to come back post mass extinction events. How plants are primary producers in the food chain, how life couldn't be sustained without plants giving up oxygen, food, and converting the sunlight into energy/sugar. Despite being giant moth flower humanoid creatures, the Plants in Trigun are doing essentially the same thing. Except they aren't renewable and they might also be sentient.

In addition to that, in media, seeds are usually a representation of hope. And in this case, a seed pod carrying the hope of humanity. I've been likening it to dandelion seeds. I don't think our group of guys were the only space-fairing fleet that was sent out from Earth.

I don't know how much of this symbolism is intentional and how much of it is completely accidental, but boy howdy is it there and am I going to eat it up.

Geraniums!

First off, the most obvious one is geraniums. The flower is very much thrown into our faces. What does it mean?

Okay so there's like 400 types of geraniums out there, they're not like a specific species- and when people say 'geraniums' it usually also includes pelargoniums which are a different genus. But you're not here for me to monologue about flower classification-

Well, operating under the assumption they're using the most common type of red geranium, which, funnily enough is not a geranium but rather a pelargonium. Pelargonium x hortorum. Commonly known as zonal geraniums or garden geraniums. I don’t know if I even need to expand on the idea that Vash and his story (and the Plants in general) are represented by geraniums. If the red coat wasn’t already a giveaway, I think the newest episode definitely makes it very clear. Well, first off I think it's interesting that they’re not ‘true geraniums’ (different genus, same family). Like how Vash and Knives look human but aren’t ‘true humans’.  

(Did you know geraniums can reproduce asexually via their roots by just…sprouting a new plant? It’s called clonality. Anyways yeah, I’m too lazy to expand on it but there it is. You can probably see the connection I'm trying to draw here)

Furthermore, let’s look a little bit into what geraniums represent. So according to the vast knowledge of the interwebs (I will put the links I used at the bottom.) geraniums are “attributed the powers of love, peace, healing, elegance and spirituality. They mostly have desirable symbolizing meanings, including fertility, health, joy, protection, frustrations passing away, and true friendship.” Red geraniums in particular are attributed to protection and ward against evil., spiritual beings and saints. “The geranium flower was a symbol of prosperity in Egypt, longevity in Japan, and immortality in China”. *Stares at Vash and Knives*. Gods…immortality…saints. Alright Nightow, I see you.

Look, I’m not done here. DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA geranium took on a slightly more negative meaning. Envy, deceit, folly, foolishness and stupidity. Although they were also seen “as ‘horticultural bourgeoisie’ and a sign of ‘crudeness and thoughtlessness of taste’. Geranium became a symbol of industrial mass culture.” This was probably unintentional (and if it is intentional, holy fuck.) but the idea that Earth in Trigun was destroyed by the folly of humans because if mass industrialization? Hello???? OKAY.

There’s just so much history with geraniums. I’m STILL not done. Let’s talk a little about geraniums and Christianity, yeah? You know, the thing that Trigun is chock full of symbolism of.

So first off, tradition. (I am not Christian, nor do I know much about Christianity, I just did some research on the topic so feel free to correct me.) I do believe there is a tradition to buy and gift red geranium on Good Friday? (I can’t find a very credible source about this, just some blog posts so idk) And the red is to represent the blood that Jesus sacrificed for the people. How he was beaten and bloodied because of his love for the people. How…he was given a purple cloak that turned dark with blood while he was mocked. 

Sound familiar?

Do we want to talk about Vash’s red coat turning black in the latest episode? Or maybe how traditionally dying Plants are red and healthy ones are blue? But Vash keeps himself covered in red?

Now, here’s an interesting fact. Did you know, wild geraniums look very different from the ones people like to commonly grow in their gardens? This is the spotted cranesbill (Geranium maculatum), the most common wild geranium. Look, maybe I’m stretching it here, but cultivated Plants vs independent Plants, anybody?

Anywho, not the point I was trying to make. Did you know another common wild geranium is called the Saint Robert’s Geranium? Robert’s? While no one really knows who the ‘Saint Robert’ the flower is named after, it has a very fun symbolism. Check this. The seed pod of this flower supposedly looks like the beak of a stork, which had people believe that they could help a couple who wish for children with fertility when used as an amulet and placed under the bed. cough Ep 11 pregnancy scene cough. Apparently, medicinally they’re also used to staunch blood flow from wounds. Despite that, in certain regions, it was seen as an ill-omen plant associated with death because snakes would often hide in its leaves. Snakes? Like…in Adam and Eve? Like as in temptation? As in Knives and Vash?

Okay last bit on geraniums. Just a little on the colors. In episode 11 of Stampede we see the giant plant root monster thing blooming flowers. I have assumed that they are black geraniums, aka Geranium Phaeum 

aka mourning widows. Of course, I could be wildly wrong but the meaning of this is fun so hear me out. While there doesn’t seem to be a direct meaning for black geraniums, we can clearly draw some conclusions on the common name for this flower. Like seriously, mourning widow? They’re also known as dusky cranesbill and black widow. Obviously associated with death (and grief?) and apparently maybe marriage??? Doesn’t help that geraniums can be considered a traditional bridal flower too. I think they’re also associated with melancholy. Anyways, on the other hand, blue blooms usually symbolize calm and peace while purple blooms symbolize royalty, accomplishments and admiration. 

So in context to the blooms we see at the end of ep 11, grieving for the loss of someone (Rem, his memories), rising to his Plant roots (haha get it?) and being ‘at peace’. 

HEY LET'S TALK ABOUT DOGWOOD

So I remember reading somewhere that he’s named after a singer or band or something but– His name is so close to dogwood that I could not pass it up.

Dogwood is a blooming tree that seems to have a representation in Christianity. There’s a legend about the tree and Easter. So apparently, the cross that Jesus was crucified on was made from Dogwood, because of such it was cursed and blessed. Cursed to be small so it can’t be used to make another cross but blessed to bloom beautiful flowers at Easter time.

The flowers of the Dogwood trees always bloom with four petals, like a cross, the center like a crown of thorns. Each tip of the petal is indented like it's been pierced with a nail and discolored like it was stained with blood. So goes the story. 

I think it's interesting that Wolfwood’s name is so likened to this flower/plant and I don’t believe this is unintentional. LIke it’s right there. Cursed by the Eye of Michael to grow too fast, blessed to be strong and hard to kill. Is/bears the cross that brings Vash to Knives in the end. 

Lilies (and other Flowers)

So, I personally think the plants look a lot like lilies. And lilies are commonly attributed to the virgin Mary. They typically represent purity, innocence and rebirth. They are often gifted at mourning flowers as well and are one of the most popular flowers at funerals.

Either that or the blue-eyed Mary flower, which has less meaning attributed to it other than its name.

Anyways, that's all my thoughts for today. Thank you for reading all the way down here if you make it hehe

If people find more flower symbolism or have thoughts please let me know, I want to hear them!!!<3

Geranium history and meaning: https://www.pansymaiden.com/flowers/meaning/geranium/

Geranium and Christianity: http://www.whispersofhismovement.com/2012/04/05/geraniums/

Mourning Widows: https://gardenersapprentice.com/gardeningtips/mourning-widow/

Dogwood story: https://www.plantmegreen.com/blogs/news/easter-and-the-legend-of-the-dogwood-tree#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20story%2C%20it,cursed%20and%20blessed%20the%20tree.

Lily meaning: https://www.townandcountrymag.com/style/home-decor/a39982524/lily-flower-meaning/

[thatcatsalem]

lily of the autumn equinox; the web of curses

Pairing: Sukuna x OFC (Yuri)

Disclaimer: This particular piece is AU, where Sukuna is a sorcerer, Yuji’s older half-brother, and gotten his cursed energy from his mother.

Warning: Spiders, Strong Language, Canon Violence.

Summary: Sukuna calls her Higanbana which is Japanese flower of dark symbolism, and it means “flower of the autumn equinox”; Spider lily.

On a rainy day in Tokyo, when the world was busy condemning Russia for invading seaside city of Crimea in the power grab, Sukuna Itadori was having a coffee. It was a drip coffee, served in a dark black mug, and he begrudgingly had to admit that overpaying for this was somewhat worth it.

“Coffee here is sufficient,” noted Kento Nanami, finishing his sandwich, and Sukuna attempts to not roll his eyes. Sufficient either meant mediocre or truly phenomenal in Nanami’s case. Even though Nanami was often doing exasperated him, Sukuna could not complain - on his list of shittiest sorcerers, Nanami was not scoring too high. Leadership board right now belonged exclusively to Satoru.

He fucking deserved it.

Cup of coffee clutched in hand, Sukuna takes a tentative sip before glancing out the window. It’s a cold day. Thankfully, inside the small shop is warm from all the people and steam.

Yet Sukuna stills abruptly, shoulders tensing in agitation. He knows that he’s is being watched before turning his head around. Can feel the weight of sharp eyes, and how the space between him and danger grows smaller, and he notices a woman gliding towards them.

“Morning gentlemen,” she acknowledges them politely, hands clasped behind her back, “Nanami, you looking sharp,” she beds over and leaves a kiss on sorcerer cheek. Sukuna cannot explain why he felt a flare of genuine envy but one look at his senpai makes him take that thought back. Nanami is always stoic and rarely shows any sign of fear or discomfort, but for a section of a second it was clear that he was unnerved by the presence of the woman.

She looks directly at Sukuna, unblinking and unnerving. At the moment in time, stars have aligned perfectly, creating an absolute point.

Under no circumstances was Sukuna Itadori to be considered soft. He is intimidating, mean and outright bully, unless, of course, you ask his younger brother who would die on the hill of “he just needs warning up to!”. He is incredibly powerful for someone quite young, and prides himself to be a master of combat. And for someone so terrifying, he is absolutely embarrassed to admit that for the first time since his puberty he is speechless at the sight of girl.

She is stood by the table, tight black dress hugging her pale body as a glove, sleeves almost covering dark nails, sharp like claws. She definitely was not purebred Japanese, as it was obvious by her porcelain features that she was most likely a foreigner if not a migrant.

“Kumo-san,” Nanami stands and bows in greeting, yet she doesn’t reciprocate, only sits down on the vacant chair, picking up dust from her dress. She is wearing heels and she has metal spiders hanging from her ears. Now to think about it, she had impressive amount of rigs on her fingers, most of which resembled some form of a skull, spider or something equally creepy.

Sukuna never felt remorse for killing a spider, but something told him that kind of behaviour won’t fly past her.

“This is Sukuna Itadori, semi-grade 1 sorcerer; he is accompanying me on this mission today,” introduces him Nanami, and Sukuna makes no movement towards shaking hands or bowing, only staring the woman down. She is not an easy person to intimidate, and he finds that incredibly annoying.

“Nice to meet you,” she says in perfect Japanese, but she does have a slight accent that hinted that it was not her first language. She has piercing in her nose that she was able to hide masterfully, and Sukuna could see outline of a tattoo on her collarbones and was immediately intrigued. It wasn’t such a big deal for a foreigner to have tattoos but it still was rare sight in Japan.

“I have heard of you, Sukuna Itadori,” she says with slight tilt of her head, “Rumours say that you have been on the streets killing curses since you were barely twelve.”

She does not break the eye contact.

“I expected a more menacing presence, I confess.”

“I can show you menacing.”

She irks an eyebrow, malicious mirth in her face.

“Oh yeah?”

He doesn’t respond. Jaw setting, he glares at her. She returns the frigid stare with burning dark eyes. Nanami pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

“Itadori-san,” there is underlaying warning in his tone, “please show Kumo-san your outmost respect. She is a powerful sorceress, and is also semi-grade 1.”

“No need for flattery,” scolds him Kumo-san, finding her coffee more interesting than either of the men, “but it’s now grade one sorceress, if you must.”

Sukuna thinks that he would like nothing more than to see that smirk disappearing off her face.

[dreamerinthemoonlight]

Notice Me (Kaeya, Ayato, Tartaglia)

The alternative title to this is “Notice Me, Senpai”, in which three of our favorite little shits try and get your attention. I may do another one for twisted wonderland, Maybe.

Reader is part of the adventurer’s guild.

Genre: Fluff

Fem!Reader, very few third person pronouns used

Asks and Requests are OPEN

Kaeya

Let’s be honest, he has his work cut out for him

His first tactic is to lay the flirting on heavy. Which doesn’t work very well. You just think he’s being extra obnoxious or trying to get you to do some of the tedious jobs for him and so, you just ignore it

Cue several days of drinking with Rosaria while he wonders what he’s doing wrong. Eventually she smacks him over the head with the obvious and he gets down to thinking about how to win your attention and maybe score a date in the process

It takes him awhile. He never thought he’d actually be dating someone. His secrets make it less than feasible, but you’re a special case. And special cases take special effort

He ends up going to Lisa for advice. Of everyone in Mondstadt, he figured she’d be the best help. She ropes him into enabling her laziness for a few weeks only to hit him with some super simple advice, “quit hinting and say it to her face, you idiot. Flowers are good too”

He doesn’t show it, but in his mind he makes a funny face. Directness? Upfrontness? Honesty? Kaeya? I love him, but he’s a roundabout kind of person. Never the less, he really, really wants to to notice him, so he listens. 

He gets Flora to for up a rather large bouquet of flowers (he may have looked up flower symbolism just to make sure he gets the point across) before having Katheryn direct you to his office for a “specially requested commission”

When you get there he presents you with the bouquet and a well-rehearsed confession that he still manages to stumble over

He’s the happiest knight ever when you agree to go on a date with him

Ayato

He goes the secret admirer route, at least to start with

Sweet letters, flowers, he’s rich and he uses it to his advantage lol

When he has the time, he’s always offering to help you with your commissions in one way or another or just as often having Katheryn giving you special commissions that involve helping Thoma and thus reporting back to him

You get teased a lot about your secret admirer, Everyone in the guild has their own theories. One of the most popular ones is that it’s Thoma trying to court you from a far

Anyone Ayato falls for is bound to be intelligent, so you’re quick to dismiss that idea. Instead, you’re pretty sure it’s his boss that’s behind it all. The flowers are too nice and the paper too expensive. The beautiful handwriting doesn’t match Thoma’-- you know full well that Kamisato Ayato enjoys calligraphy, not to mention the sheer number of times you’ve stood in his office recently. It wasn’t the hardest connection to make.

 After you took a peak at the paper on his desk, unsurprised to find that the penmanship matched perfectly--almost perfectly, he seems to have put extra effort into the letters he sends you--you spent some time thinking about what to do about this information

In the end you decide to let things continue as they have been

You’re familiar enough with him to know that he has a sense of mischief and enjoys having the upper hand. Letting him continue to think that he has it, while starting to think of how you’re going to use the information seems like a fun idea

He doesn’t know it, but you turn it into a game. One where you have the advantage

After several weeks of basking in the attention--and knowing he doesn't know you know--you request to see Ayaka, who you’ve also come to know fairly well

At your behest, Ayaka starts to leave flowers on Ayato’s desk. One here, one there. These are of a far lesser quality than the ones he sends but so sue you, you’re not a pretty rich boy, thank you very much

It doesn’t take long for him to catch on. That kind of subtle affection and communication isn’t Ayaka’s style, Thoma keeps a very professional relationship (and is directly involved in helping Ayato woo you), and no one else would dare do something like that. Seriously. 

At that point, he decides to end the game

Like Kaeya, he choses a private sort of place, only he has class about it

He sends you another anonymous letter, inviting you to the estate at midnight on a full moon. (Moonlight rendezvous? Super romantic, definitely private, totally awesome)

Of course, knowing the game that is being played, you’re happy to go

When you meet him you don’t even bother acting surprised (though the full dinner, candles and all, wasn’t totally expected). Instead you happily sit and eat with him, dropping the formality that you usually use when dealing with him

It’s the first of many games between you, this time the result is certainly a win for both of you

Tartaglia

uhhhh

I think he takes a three pronged attack method when it comes to catching your attention

The first is some fairly subtle flirting. Just because his preferred method of diplomacy involves fighting to the death, doesn’t mean he can’t smooth talk when he feels like it

And he feels like it. He thinks you’re pretty and likes to make sure you know it. It’s a huge confidence boost for you

It definitely makes you suspicious because unlike a certain Mondstadt cryo user, hard-core flirting is not his default. 

Second, instead of offering deadly bouts of violence he decides to train you up. You’re not the most proficient swordsman, specializing in less violent commissions (Baizhu bubu pharmacy loves you very much)

“I want her to be my girl and I want to make sure she can protect herself”

Also, it gives him a valid excuse to touch you without being pervy. Any other time, he keeps his hands to himself, but when training you, if he has to adjust an arm or shift your form, well, that’s just part of training (uh huh, sure.)

His third method of catching your attention is showing off his martial skills

He loves showing you how strong he his, how fast he is, and how many different weapons he can use

Honestly, he’s so obvious about all of it that it only takes you a couple months to catch on and confront him about it

He doesn’t bother denying it and instead takes the initiative to ask you out

It turns out you liked the flirting, the little touches, and found his showing off to be amusing, so you happily accepted

[the-bitter-ocean]

@mikaila-orchard Haha I’m glad you liked my ramble aha idk i just get kind of annoyed sometimes at certain interpretations? Idk i just tend to mute certain tags or people just to save the headache lol

"Oooohhhh! Sun Wukong totally killed Macaque!!!"

I wish it stuck. Jesus.

[sepublic]

Hooty, the Titan, and the Archivists?

(Skip to The Timeline heading down below if you just want the backstory I put together.)

All right, so I think Hooty was the one who built the temple, or “Collector’s lair” we see inside of the Titan’s skull. Going off of the assumption that the Titan’s tapeworm is indeed our Hooty and not another of his kind...

Anyone remember these weird demons from Hooty’s Moving Hassle? Probably not; It’s a case of a little demon living in the right eye socket of a bigger demon. Right after giving Eda directions, the bigger demon ensnares his little guy with his tongue to eat him. But what if he wasn’t actually eating him; Just transporting his friend to another part of his body?

If you think of it, these two could be a metaphor for how the Boiling Isles as a whole work; A bunch of smaller little guys, living on a bigger guy’s body and occasionally interacting with him. The main difference being that the Titan is mostly dead, and can’t physically interact with people, just watch and show them glyphs. Hooty’s relationship with the Titan could’ve been similar to these two... And we see this pair in Hooty’s Moving Hassle, an episode that implied deeper lore to Hooty, such as the living legs underneath the Owl House, his reaction to the Moonlight Conjuring, etc.

Then there’s that mural I showed earlier, depicting a tower at the Collector’s lair, with a circular symbol that as @fermented-writers-block (and/or someone else idk) suggested, bears a resemblance to Hooty... So could this be where Hooty emerged from, all the way within the Titan’s eye socket? Did he build this living space while the Titan was alive, or afterwards? 

Likewise, this eye motif becomes even more interesting when we remember Dell’s tower, which the Owl House was built from;

It has the same giant eye window, repurposed... And at the end of the first episode, it even blinks.

Could be a case of early-installment weirdness, but what if this alludes to the window having once been alive? We know the Owl House itself has breathing walls, revealed in, you guessed it, Hooty’s Moving Hassle! If Hooty was a part of the Owl House, who’s to say he wasn’t part of Dell’s tower, before it got converted by Eda? Likewise...

We know Dell visited the ‘mandible’, so presumably the Titan’s jaws. This next bit is more speculative, but if Hooty was left behind in the Titan’s skull, then maybe he scavenged around the area; And teeth are known to have lots of leftover food bits, wonderful for such a voracious creature like Hooty! So maybe Dell found Hooty there, and essentially adopted him; Bringing Hooty with him back to the right arm, where he eventually created a new structure for Hooty to house himself in. Possibly taking the Titan’s right eye and repurposing it as a window...

I mean, if you think about it... Both King and Eda have a dad who’s missing an eye. And Dell would’ve presumably made this trip after losing his eye... Assuming it’s not a return trip, possibly to meet up with his old pal Hooty, or search Hooty’s old home for strange things that might help? So maybe the window is the Titan’s left eye, transformed. 

Continuing onwards, Hooty may seem too small, given his scale relative to the Titan; But so does the Titan’s heart, as is the proposed eye the window would’ve come from. What I think happened is that over time, these leftover bits of the Titan shrank due to a lack of nutrition, for obvious reasons; And Hooty is indeed a very gluttonous creature. Of course, his eating tendencies may have originated prior to the Titan’s death...

We see how Hooty has a tendency to swallow a bunch of stuff to spit out at a later time, when needed. And if he guards the temple where the Collector’s disc was found, perhaps Hooty simply... swallowed it, in order to transport the disc within? He could’ve been used as a way for the Titan to store things inside of her skull, of all places, and then vomit back up afterwards when required.

We know there are multiple Collector discs, there’s one with the Titan Trappers, a second one I theorize was eaten by Hooty, and what appear to be remains of at least one more hovering around the Collector’s prison in the in-between;

However! We must recall that on the doors leading to the skull’s temple (or ‘The Collector’s lair’ as Philip calls it), there are five circular indentations. They may be other places for Hooty to have emerged from, but people speculated they were actually meant for five Collector discs we’ve seen. And, well...

It appears there were five Collectors (or more specifically, one Collector and four Archivists). The fate of the Archivists is not specified; The Collector says ‘They’re not here’ in response to Luz’s death... But keep in mind, this is them just now realizing that death is a thing. So just as they believe and were likely told the Archivists ‘took away’ people who died (not unlike how the living were preserved in scrolls, per their title)... It’s possible they believed the Archivists had simply left, when in reality, they had been wiped out by the Titans in their war, a mutual genocide.

After all, we know Titan magic is able to cancel out that of the Archivists’, so it’s not a stretch to imagine they had a fighting chance; The Archivists did rely on the Titan Trappers for help, so they were clearly aware of their shortcomings. And just as one side made trophies out of remnants of the other...

What if these discs are basically Archivist corpses? That upon death, their bodies reverted into these tiny, glass-like artifacts; And the Titan, OUR Titan, stored them inside of his skull, relying on Hooty to organize the discs for him. Five discs... For five Collectors.

But as we know, the Titan didn’t kill OUR Collector; She spared him. Although she does frame this as an act of passion, committed out of vengeance; So did she want revenge, but still had enough sense to not kill this kid? 

Anyhow, we have this theorized precedent for living things becoming glass discs after death. Perhaps like the Titan’s eye, which Hooty held onto, and later brought with him when Dell invited him into the Owl Tower? Likewise, if these discs are crystallized Archivist corpses, that might explain their connection to the Collector, given they are kin, and there’s still some leftover magic.

This does raise the implications of the Titan Trappers’ disc being shattered. And to be honest... I think it was just broken. There are reasons why Belos wrapped the Collector’s disc in his old cloak; It was him getting rid of a wretched part of his past, and silencing the kid. But the way the Collector’s disc lands, caught on the cloak and not hitting the ground... It makes me wonder if the animators showed it this way, to suggest that if it weren’t for the cloak catching it, the disc would’ve hit the ground and shattered upon impact.

That could be the very simple explanation behind Bill’s disc being broken; Nothing to do with an Archivist being freed, I hope... But if they are alive and out there, perhaps they all escaped their prisons and fled into the cosmos, abandoning the Collector.

So to put things together into a general timeline...!

The Timeline

The Archivists seek to preserve life, converting them into scrolls you can read, hence their name. They travel from planet to planet, with the policy that if the natives resist preservation, they’ve essentially embraced the alternative that is death; So may as well help them get it over with! Hence the genocide as retaliation.

The Archivists eventually spot the Demon Realm, and send in their little kid, the Collector, as a Trojan Horse; Someone who can scout out the place for them, provide intel, and make the Titans think the rest of his kind are trustworthy. The Collector plays with the fellow kids, expresses interest in one egg still waiting to hatch, but isn’t allowed to play just yet. Eventually, the Archivists strike... Only to discover their magic is countered by the Titans’.

Still, they don’t give up; They enlist the help of puny mortal witches (among them Bill), creating the first generation of Titan Trappers to help them. The alliance between Archivists and Titan Trappers succeeds in commencing a brutal genocide; And at some point during this war, one Archivist targets the Owl Beast, and turns it into a scroll. However, they lose the scroll, which ends up in the boiling ocean, drifting for millennia until an unsuspecting trash-cleaner picks it up...

The Archivists use their viscous forms, resembling the darkness of space, to restrain the Titans, so their Titan Trapper allies can land the mortal blow. In response, OUR Titan fights back alongside the others, and one by one, the Archivists fall; Upon death, their magic fades and leaves behind only a little crystalline disc. Our Titan’s parasite, Hooty, swallows and stores them inside of his skull, which has a decorated living quarters he carved out himself! We know from Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door that he built an entire underground love tunnel for Luz and Amity... Storing the discs causes Hooty to form a connection with the moon (one that can be invoked during a Moonlight Conjuring), just as the Archivists once had.

As for the Collector, our Titan feels resentful and blames him for the genocide of her people, but doesn’t commit to killing them, despite having five slots, for five Archivists; Instead, she imprisons him in the in-between. Likewise, her egg is kept safe in a hidden Titan nursery, using a glyph (possibly an undiscovered combo, or the glyph of another Titan entirely) to hide it from the Archivists; Jean-Luc is placed as a guardian. 

The war continues, until our Titan is the last one left, but has successfully killed the last Archivist in battle. However, their Titan Trapper allies collect the disc left behind in their death, forcing a wounded Titan to flee, but not before she blows out Bill’s ear drums. She succumbs to her injuries, lying down and mourning the child she left behind; And upon death, her spirit lingers in the in-between, for her heart still beats. Unable to interact with the world of the living, she relies on cubes to see what is going on there, and eventually regrets imprisoning the Collector; But despite her search across millennia, she cannot find the Collector’s prison in this infinite chasm.

Poor Hooty is left behind, and like the Bat Queen, loses his memories over time; Possibly the result of physical trauma like her, and/or time taking a toll on his psychology (Amity states House Demons go crazy after a while). At one point, he captures a Stonesleeper during the Hektaceous period to keep as a pet, hoping to soothe his loneliness; And eventually, leaves the Titan’s eye socket, bored and without purpose. With the Titan’s crystallized eye stored in his stomach, Hooty heads down to the mandible, where some leftover food is there for him to scavenge upon...

Meanwhile, Bill uses the disc the Titan Trappers found to communicate with the Collector. Bill worships the Collector as the Grand Huntsman, recognizing them as kin of the Archivists. The Collector explains only a Titan can free them and expresses interest in the egg they wanted to play with, and Bill interprets the mission to find the Titan’s egg as a continuation of the genocide the Archivists ordered. However, the disc he has is broken, cutting contact with Bill and the Collector. Undeterred, the Titan Trappers eventually locate the Titan’s corpse, but are unable to find her egg and give up, returning home. Every now and then, a Titan Trapper visits the isles for clues.

Even more time passes, witches evolve and spread across the Boiling Isles, etc. Others visit the skull and find the other three discs, but only two are taken away; The witches who find these discs discover they can communicate with an enigmatic entity known as the Collector through them, but ultimately get sick of the kid and shatter their discs. Nevertheless, someone makes note of the Collector’s existence, and their connection to the discs, of which only one is known to be left intact in the skull; Philip Wittebane comes across these notes, which also record how the Collector taught this witch powerful magic.

Inspired, he heads to the skull, only to come across the Stonesleeper that Hooty left behind; Not wanting to risk his own skin, Philip relies on other witches, including Blue Fang, as bait to distract the Stonesleeper, but to no avail. He eventually enlists Luz and Lilith, and they manage to survive long enough for Philip to escape with the final disc. He also kills Hooty’s pet, using its lungs to make the first Grimwalker of Caleb...

Flash forward a few centuries, and Dell visits the mandible, meeting Hooty. He befriends the primordial parasite, who has shrunken over time due to a lack of nutrition; The Titan’s body has decayed quite a bit. Hooty explains how he lives in the area, and found some pretty weird things there that he shows off. Dell takes him back to his home in the right arm, building a tower for Hooty to inhabit, a new house for him to guard, and he places the Titan’s eye as a window. When his daughter Eda is cursed, Dell decides to head back to the mandible, in case there’s something in the area that could help... Until his eye is clawed out by the Owl Beast, that is; Coming back after all this millennia!

Feeling guilt over Dell’s injuries as well as shame by her mother over the curse, Eda moves out of the house, since Lilith has already left for the Emperor’s Coven, so there’s nobody left for her there. She finds Dell’s old tower, meets Hooty, and rebuilds the structure into our titular Owl House... And the rest is history!

[dyns33]

The basement

Happy new year with a little Morpheus x reader story. 

Everyone had heard of the demon locked in the basement of the Burgess mansion.

Some said it was Death, but it seemed impossible, as people had still been dying for over a century. It was rather obvious that the Magnus had tried to capture Death, that he had failed, and that he had kept what he had managed to catch, for fun and glory.

Anyway, those were the rumours.

No one had ever actually seen the creature, and those who had gained access to the mansion were now all dead, proving once again that the grim reaper had nothing to do with this story.

After the death of his dear companion Paul, Alex Burgess had slowly lost his mind, becoming sad and reclusive, quickly joining him without having any descendants.

The mansion was put up for sale, but because of all the stories surrounding it, no one dared to buy it.

There were curious people who broke inside without permission to check if the rumours were true, but no one ever found the basement. Either it had never existed or Alex had given the order to hide the entrance before his death.

Of all of this, Y/N didn't care at all.

If she wanted to visit the place, it was for its historical value and nothing else. She didn't believe in stories about ghosts and demons at all, so it was just an old abandoned house for her, which contained many treasures, statues, books, paintings, that she wanted to take pictures of, to keep track of them.

Y/N knew she had been lucky. In her entourage, she had been one of the few not to be affected by the sleeping sickness. According to her mother, it was probably because she was a true dreamer.

Being closer to the realm of dreams than most people, she had no trouble falling asleep, but being also full of life, she always managed to come back from it just as easily.

Perhaps it was because of this, her instinct and her imagination, that she had the idea to ask herself if it was normal for a shelf to be in the middle of a hallway, stuck to the wall. She could have stopped at that thought, considering it was just an eccentric wish of the previous owners, but something made her take a good look at the strange shelf, finding what looked like a button, and when she pressed it, the cabinet moved, revealing a hidden door.

Y/N had just found the entrance to the basement that everyone had been looking for. The basement where a demon had been locked up over a hundred years ago.

She wondered if it was a good idea to go downstairs. It could be dangerous, even if there was nothing. And there was certainly nothing, because demons did not exist.

But she plunged all the same in darkness, arriving in a huge room, and in the middle of it, she found a glass ball in which a man was seated.

           "It's not true, I'm dreaming." she whispered to herself, which caught the prisoner's attention.

There was something in his eyes that told her he wasn't human. He couldn't be human, since he was standing in a sphere without oxygen, naked, looking perfectly still.

Maybe demons really existed.

There was also the possibility that he wasn't a demon. In any case, no one deserved to be locked up like this, for so many years, so without thinking Y/N quickly went upstairs to grab the metal poker, and she came back to the cage.

           "Step aside, please."

The request seemed to startle the man, who watched her bang on the glass, over and over, until it started to crack. The globe finally broke after several minutes, and Y/N took out her jacket to put it on the ground, so that the man wouldn't hurt himself by going out barefoot.

But as she reached out her hand to help him, he didn't move.

           "You can go out. It's fine, no one is going to hurt you."

He didn't answer, watching her for a long time, before looking down at the circle that surrounded the sphere. There were several symbols that Y/N had never seen, but she guessed that they were some kind of pentacle that prevented him from moving.

It looked absurd, a man who was clearly not a man, chained by magic drawn on the floor. Maybe she was dreaming.

Even in her dreams, Y/N remained good, and she rubbed the circle with her foot, until part of it faded.

           "And there you go !" she exclaimed proudly, raising her head to the man. Except he wasn't there anymore.

After going around the basement several times, then the manor, Y/N couldn't find him. He had simply disappeared, as if he had never been there. She decided to finish her exploration quickly, before returning home.

In the following days, the sleeping sickness intensified. More and more people couldn't sleep, or didn't wake up. The situation was very worrying, with the whole world wondering if this was the end.

However, Y/N had never slept so well, a sweet sleep, with beautiful dreams, which allowed her to feel rested, light and happy when she opened her eyes the next morning.

It might have seemed insignificant to her, she was just lucky, but she wondered if there was a connection between the man she had freed and what was happening.

After some research, the date of the so-called capture of the demon by the Magnus corresponded to the beginning of the sickness. The changes had arrived after the man who was not a man was released. It couldn't just be a coincidence.

If he was a demon, or some other supernatural creature, he was bound to dreams.

Y/N therefore decided that the best way to find him, and to discuss with him, was during her sleep.

While she was in bed, ready to join the world of dreams, she thought very strongly of him, begging him to grant her an audience, in order to save humanity.

           "Save humanity ? Why would I want to do such a thing ?"

Y/N found herself in a huge palace in ruins. The stained glass windows were broken, the walls were cracking, several dusty books juggled the floor, and in the middle of it all stood the so called man, dressed in black.

           "Lord Morpheus, maybe you should listen to her, she..."

           "Leave us, Lucienne. Go see if Mervyn needs help rebuilding. Tell Matthew to continue his rounds."

            "But..."

           "Now."

           Yes, my Lord." said the woman with the pointy ears, bowing and leaving them alone.

Y/N hadn't been afraid when she was in the basement. She had seen a man, or what looked like a man, in a bad position and she had considered it necessary to help him. Now, seeing him standing before her, this Lord Morpheus, menacing and cold, she wondered if she had made the right decision.

           "What do you have against humanity ?" she dared to ask.

           “It was humans who imprisoned me, then forgot me, for over a century. They sealed their fate, causing terrible harm to their world, and even if I wanted to, there is much damage I could never fix. But why fix them ? They don't deserve it. They are selfish, and mean, and evil."

           "That's wrong, we're not all like that."

           "No ? You are telling the truth." he sighed, tilting his head, suddenly looking sad as he stared at her. "You freed me, without knowing who I was, without asking me for anything in return, without the slightest hesitation. A ray of hope, in this torrent of filth. I want to reward you for that. But the others ? They all wanted to find the demon out of curiosity, for laughs, for money, fame, to ask favours. Not once did they feel pity for me. Nobody ever thought of coming sooner in order to help me. The only one who did before you was killed."

           "They didn't know. They were stories, just stories ! I didn't expect to find anyone at all by going to the mansion, I was lucky, I don't deserve a reward either !"

           "On the contrary, sweet Y/N. Only selfless action deserves a reward."

           "So I would like you to forgive us, and for the sleeping sickness to finally end. Please."

           "I suggest you ask what you want, anything you want, and you ask me to offer my services again to your fellows ?"

           "Yes." she sobbed. "Yes, that's what I want."

           "Sweet Y/N. You really are a light in the dark. They really don't deserve it, and I hate them. I've hated them for decades, locked in this circle, but for you, and only for you, I accept."

Through the holes that had formed in the walls, Y/N had the impression of seeing the sun rising, on a land that had not seen it for a long time. Everything suddenly seemed clearer, more peaceful.

Morpheus approached her as she admired these new colours, colours that didn't exist in the real world, bringing her attention back to him when he stroked her cheek.

           "You are a child close to my kingdom. In addition to your request, I offer you calm and charming nights, without the slightest disturbance."

           "I don't understand. You mean without nightmares ?"

           "Exactly, sweet Y/N."

           "Oh, no."

           "No ?" he wondered, his eyes suddenly shining, making him look like a startled human for a few moments.

           "I like nightmares. Well, not really, not all the time, but... They're also important dreams. It would be a shame if I didn't have them any more."

           "You... You're a real miracle, and you don't even know it, do you ? We'll meet again, Y/N. I think I could use your advice, your young wisdom, and all your hope, to guide me in this unknown new world. I... I must rebuild, recover my tools, regain my powers, recall my subjects and deal with the dreamers. So much has changed. I was blinded by hate and revenge. I'm still upset, I won't lie. But I do not wish to hurt you, I owe you my freedom, so fine, bright Y/N, you'll have dreams and nightmares, and you can ensure that those of others are going well, by assisting me."

Y/N couldn't remember if she had accepted this offer, or if Morpheus had considered that she didn't really have a choice, sealing their collaboration with a kiss, before she woke up, but the next day she was able to found that he had kept his word.

People were able to fall asleep again, and they normally woke up a few hours later, as if this nightmarish century had never happened.

That didn't mean it was over, and as soon as evening came, Y/N returned to the realm of dreams to join their master, who was trying to relearn to be free, merciful, and to love humanity. And every time he saw her, it seemed to help him a bit.

[confusedraven1]

i know everyone is ripping on ed’s dramatic ass for this back piece (fair), but there’s a lot happening here & it’s incredibly clever of whoever designed this!

just a forewarning, im not a tattoo artist nor an expert on the history of tattoos, just an enthusiast with google. also, “meanings” behind tattoos, even traditional ones, are kind of muddied in the internet, not to mention the variety of cultures that have different meanings attached to different imagery, so a lot of what i find is through a white western lens, but i found what i could.

“Trust No One” — yes, that is the bit everyone is laughing at, but it’s a very common tattoo! (probably why everyone’s laughing but i digress) usually i see it paired with a biting snake handshake, but the sentiment is pretty obvious, and a clear lesson learned.

the skull is pretty self explanatory: could be the fearlessness of death, rebirth, remembrance, or a reminder. i think in ed’s case, this could be all of these things, but also to remind himself of the things he’s done and the one man he’s killed.

the spiderwebs!! i wasn’t sure if there was much meaning behind those, but i checked anyway and apparently they represent struggles that have been overcome! we can imagine there’s quite a few in ed’s life, but we also know he has some deep rooted issues to face still.

the snake is where i got hung up. a two-headed snake symbolizes transformation, rebirth, and renewal or indecision, while a traditional snake tattoo can represent potency/power, but also wisdom or rebirth. this snake (the bottom head) isn’t coiled or baring it’s teeth so that end at least isn’t on the defensive. it’s so hard to tell with the top head, but it appears that one’s jaw is closed as well. here’s where it gets interesting: i looked and looked, but i couldn’t find ANYTHING about a CRYING snake! (the closest was a crying medusa)

the snake and skull combined usually represent the cycle of life and death, but it could also show as a warning of mortality. this is also fairly self explanatory, but i figured it was worth mentioning it.

SO. i think that the snake/skull bit of the tattoo is a visual representation of how ed sees himself, or at least how he did whenever he got it (it’s much too faded to be a breakup tat. plus i’m sure he has lots of reasons to not trust ppl. stede ain’t *that* special lmao).

its a reminder of his father’s murder and how heavily it weighs on his back, permanently, despite the other things in life he overcomes. the two heads of the snake represent the two sides of himself: edward and blackbeard. in a way, he was “reborn” as blackbeard, but now he’s stuck with two identities he can’t balance. i THINK the snakes are crying because of that lack of control and mourning the way they aren’t able to continue the rebirth cycle.

and, just for funsies, the snake slithers through both eye sockets cause ed is blinded by indecision and his past actions. he doesn’t know what he wants yet, but he KNOWS that he wants something different.

AND, despite ALL OF THAT, he ironically knows that the only person he can truly rely on is himself. after all, what kind of a pirate has friends? they’re all just in various stages of fucking each other over 🏴‍☠️

MAYBE IM WRONG ABOUT THIS. maybe i’m just trying to find meaning where there is none and taika just thought that looked cool as fuck so that’s what he chose lmao

anyway, thanks for reading, i love tattoos and their history 🥰🏴‍☠️🖤