#jk no it doesnt

[blood-red-ocean]

Concept: Pinocchio except it's Donna as Geppetto and Angie is dressed in the lil outfit with the lil hat

[browneyesandhair]

Deep Library Cuts

Summary:

If you asked Alex’s high school teachers, they’d be shocked to learn that she was regarded as an extremely detail-oriented and historically accurate author. (Or the one where Alex is an author and Harper is her librarian best friend)

Alex beat out her siblings for the role of the family wizard. When it came time to take the title, she couldn’t do it. It wasn’t a question of who deserved it. It wasn’t even a question of who wanted it. To Alex, it was a question of who needed it. The only answer was Justin.

She could never take that part of his identity away from him. It was an intrinsic part of Justin - built into the very fabric of who he was as a person. Some people were born to do certain things, and Justin was born to be a wizard.

On the other hand, Alex still needed to find out what she wanted. Despite her love for fashion, she wasn’t sure that corrupting that love by turning it into a career was the right move.

Plus, with Justin in the wizarding world, Alex could be the first Russo to go to college. Wouldn’t that be just desserts? Also, if she can clear a path for Max to follow, that would be a pretty cool legacy.

Sitting down with her parents at the beginning of her senior year of high school, Alex learned about the SUNY system and how to make it affordable with loans (and starting at a Community College for her gen-eds). Her mom was essential in helping her map out a path. (Her mom had considered pursuing night classes to secure a business degree, but ended up not moving forward with it yet.)

In Alex’s first year at community college, she learned to apply herself to her studies. It was one thing to slack off when you were required to go to school. It was something altogether different when you spent a significant portion of your time working to afford to go to school. She had plenty of motivation to stay on top of her schoolwork. Eat your heart out, Justin.

It wasn’t easy. As Justin jumped into the wizarding world without looking back, Alex was proud of him. But she missed him. Harper chose to go to college in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest. Thank goodness for Alex’s parents. That’s a sentence she never thought she’d use.

After fighting tooth and nail for her education, Alex graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in English, a job at a publishing house, and several book ideas in her head. It took some time, but once her financial situation was more stable, Alex moved out of her family home. And, immediately into an apartment with four other women (New York rent was no joke). There was a little bit of a culture shock, moving from a home with her family’s idiosyncrasies as opposed to these strangers’ lifestyles. Alex adjusted.

By this point, Max was taking business night classes alongside her mom. He was interested in taking over the family Sub Shop. Alex was more than happy for him to have it. She spent her time working on her first manuscript. She got so sucked into it that she almost missed when Harper returned to the city.

Returning with her Master’s in librarian studies, Harper secured a coveted job in the New York Public Library system - a highly competitive spot. Alex (jokingly, mostly) asked who she had to kill to get it. When Harper refused to answer, Alex burst out laughing.

With Harper back in the city, Alex spent all her time with her. Even when Harper was working. Harper became Alex’s go-to for help researching her novel. As Alex put the finishing touches on her manuscript, she started shopping it around.

Thankfully, Alex got a bite! From there, it was like the floodgates opened. She rode the wave of this book and even started writing a second book while the publishing process started.

A few years later, she had four historical murder mysteries on the New York Times Best Sellers List. If you asked Alex’s high school teachers, they’d be shocked to learn that she was regarded as an extremely detail-oriented and historically accurate author.

“You should consider publishing your work,” Harper said one day out of the blue.

“I have?”

“No, silly.” Harper lightly slapped Alex on the shoulder. “You know what I mean.”

[irunaki]

i watched the 1997 Odyssey movie

Circe drawing cuz shes so pretty

this is the scene in the Circe island with eurylochus n polites (or piglites, if u will) that i redrew with the epic designs

also Calypso is stunning too

dunno i just love pretty women

also Aeolus is a silly old man here AND I LOVE HIM HES SO HAPPY AND GIGGLY AND SILLY

ok now to the real thing

how did they make Hermes even frutier

hes so zesty i cant i was literally dying while watching this

this frame had me crying LOOK AT THIS

overall 10/10

the cgi and special effects had me rolling on the floor i cant tell if its bc they are good or too bad but either way very good

extra points for extra pretty women, i think i fell in love with Circe and Calypso twice now so good job on that

Also I love Athena so much specially when shes mesing around with Ody and then Telemachus, they're so cute

[ajthecrocodile]

IT’S A RAINBOW OF BILLS! A BILLBOW! RGBILL!!!

The clip of Bill saying YELLOW was all over my FYP and it inspired me…

[cryptidjeepers]

okay im not british and i admit my understanding of british politics is not great but i found out that david tennant's speech when he accepted the lgbt celebrity ally award made british politicans BIG mad. the way conservative transphobic politicans will weaponize any part of their identity to silence criticism agaisnt them is so disingenious and shitty.

THIS is what he said. okay

and this was the reaction of badenoch and sunak

literally weaponizing her identity as a woman and a woman of colour to distract from how dangerously transphobic she is. like what the fuck. anyways i just wanted to bring this up because it's something that terfs do constantly. especially to shut up trans woman and cis male allies. not to mention david tennant is a father of a non-binary child and i believe one of other kids is queer. he's not just being a performative ally, trans rights are important to him and his family. anyways fuck sunak fuck badenoch.

[clouvu]

Save me french yuri... Save me

[trans-jon-rights]

Honestly at this point I'd really like to know the fucking salary at the O.I.A.R.

Because while in Archives, it is stated at some point that there was a pay upgrade to work in the Archives, which incitated people to take the position to later be stuck unable to quit, on the Protocol side we have the O.I.A.R, which is civil service.

It doesn't pay well. Even though the Institute in TMA is technically a non-profit organisation, I'm still pretty sure any position there pays better than a civil service job. So why did Alice stay ?

She isn't stupid, and maybe has a degree -- and even if she didn't, there are still jobs that doesn't need a degree out there. And she knows that working there is dangerous, which is why she turns a blind eye and pretend not to care.

But here's the thing : many of her lines suggest that at some point she did care. She probably was exactly like Jon, looking for answers and trying to know what was behind those cases, why were there recurring names, places, everything !

But she stopped, she decided to shut it down and turn a blind eye. My question is : why ? Why not quit ? She knows it's dangerous, she knows there are things that could get her killed, so why stay when the safest option is to quit and leave it behind ? And why tell Sam to come work there ? I mean, I get that he needed help, but if I knew my job was dangerous and that my friend was overly curious, I wouldn't recommend them to come here.

So I'm really asking how my the government pays her to stay.

[patchiko]

jason todd’s the type of boyfriend to tell you,

“I want all of you. All of the parts you can’t bear the world to see, all of the parts you dont want, give them to me. Bless me with the parts of yourself you don’t want, especially the parts you hate the most.”

he’d promise to care for them better then anything else, he’d tell you how much THESE parts mean to him, he’d promise to show you the beauty of it.

he’d tell you that he’s already blessed with the parts of you that you love. he’d tell you that in your imperfections it is objectively perfect.

he’d tell you to give him every part of yourself that you don’t want so he can show you how to love them too.

this all happens while he’s drunk btw, drops down on his knees and everything.

sorry. jason todd is so

mentally disturbed angel!reader who is extremely empathic x human wee-little-man!jason todd coded (metaphorically but literally would be cool too) ((im gonna write this))

[luxaofhesperides]

I'm not sure if you're still taking Ghostlights requests, but if you are: Dick asking Duke to take Haley to the dog park for him in order to set up a meet-cute for him with the guy with the weird green rottweiler

And if you aren't, just know that you're doing great and I appreciate the hell out of you

“Oh, shoot!” 

Hearing Dick rush around as a frantic mess is not uncommon while he’s in Gotham. There’s too many people wanting to spend time with him that he ends up pulled in a bunch of different directions. Dick’s always in a rush, always busy, always making time for people because he has more love than Duke has ever seen in a person.

Dick’s also got pretty good time management skills after years of doing this. He’s only cutting out a few minutes early for their designated three hour catch-up session. 

That doesn’t mean he’s going to do it gracefully, though.

“Almost lost track of the time!” he says, moving to the couch to pick up his jacket. “Hey, Duke, can do you me a favor while I’m out?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Can you take Haley to the dog park? I usually take her twice a week around this time, but I totally forgot to include that in my calendar this week so I’ve got plans with the Titans just outside the city, and no time to take her out.”

“Yeah, man, of course I can take her to the dog park. The one attached to Robinson Park, right?”

Dick nods, shoving his shoes onto his feet. “That’s the one! Her treats are also in the bag hanging next to her leash. Oh, and she has a friend at the dog park! Don’t be scared when you see him, he’s just green.”

“Oh…kay?”

“Great, thanks! Bye, Duke, I’ll see you later!”

And with that, Dick is gone, closing the door to his safehouse as he dashes into the hall. 

Duke is left alone in Dick’s Gotham safehouse, blinking dazedly at the empty space where he once was. He’s certainly a whirlwind of activity when he realizes he’s going to be late. He’s also skilled in just saying things and leaving before any questions can be answered.

Haly jumps up onto the couch next to Duke. They share a look, then Duke shakes his head. “You have to deal with that every day, huh?”

Haly, the good girl that she is, doesn’t say anything bad against her owner and just puts a paw on Duke’s thigh, her tail wagging. 

“I hear ya, girl. Let’s go to the dog park to meet your green friend,  I guess.”

He has no idea what that means, honestly. Is Dick just talking about a dog that got its fur dyed green? Or is Haly’s friend like… a mutant dog? 

Well, he’s not going to find out by stalling. 

Duke pets Haly, then stands up and walks to the door. Her head perks up as soon as she hears the jangle of her leash being moved, and then she’s running to the door, looking up at him expectantly. Smiling, Duke slips the harness onto her, then attached it to the leash. He gives her another quick pet before shoving on his shoes and grabbing her bag of treats and waste disposal bags. 

He double checks that he has his phone, then takes hold of Dick’s spare safehouse key and steps out into the hallway with Haly. She waits patiently as he locks the door, checks that the lock holds, then runs down the hallway, ripping the leash right out of his hands.

“Haly! Wait! Stop, girl!”

She happily ignores him and goes straight for the elevator, leaving him to run after her and quickly scoop up the leash as soon as he’s close enough.

“Of course you’re a little escape artists,” he says to her, “Just like your owner.”

Haly woofs softly, then stands up and scratches at the doors of the elevator. Shaking his head, amused, Duke pushes the button to call the elevator and wonders if Dick has to deal with this every time they go to the dog park. 

On one hand, it wouldn’t surprise him since Dick is absolutely the kind of guy to give in to his dog’s every whims and spoil her rotten. On the other hand, Duke fully believes that Haly is smart enough and cute enough to misbehave only when Dick isn’t around so he never believes people when they try to tell him about all the mischief she’s caused. 

Dogs and their owners really do reflect one another. The internet was right about that.

Duke makes sure to keep a tight grip on Haly’s leash once they leave the apartment building. The streets are busy, as they tend to be on weekends, and the sight of Haly straining against her leash, ready to run, brings a smile to more than one face. 

He plots the route to the dog park in his mind, then starts up a light jog, tugging lightly on the leash to prompt Haly to follow him. 

It’s nice to run just for the sake of it. Haly makes a good running partner as well. 

How long has it been since Duke had time to relax and not be prepared for the worst? All the running he usually does these days is to catch up with criminals or run for his life. Being out during the day, moving through the city, without any lives in danger? Genuinely nice and relaxing. 

Maybe he can offer to take Haly to the dog park from now on. Join Dick whenever he goes. Create a set few hours where he doesn’t do anything but enjoy being outside in one of the few places where the smog of pollution and chemical toxins isn’t so thick in the air. 

He’ll just have to make sure Dick doesn’t agree to something else during those days. It’s still strange to think that Dick could forget to do something involving Haly when he’s such a good dog owner and a pro at juggling various responsibilities and a busy schedule. 

Well, they all have off days. This must be one of Dick’s.

The sidewalks get wider once they reach the street that leads to the park. Families fill up the space, walking with strollers in front of them or lined up at a food cart. The vivid green of spring fills the grassy fields that lead to the large patches of trees, marking the edge of Poison Ivy’s territory. Clovers decorate the ground, bees moving from flower to flower. 

There are other dogs on walks as well, making circuits around the park or running after toys. Duke spots a cat in a walking harness as well and wonders if he can convince Damian to get one for Alfred the cat. 

The dog park is on the other end of the park, as far away from Ivy’s territory as possible. The fenced off areas are separated into big dogs and small dogs, with a helpful guide as to which dogs go where posted at the entrance. 

Duke slows to a walk, breathing deeply to help settle his heart rate back down to something normal. Haly walks by his side, tail wagging, as she watches the other dogs run back and forth behind the fence. 

She’s still small, just growing out of puppy size, so Duke leads her into the small dog area, carefully making sure the gate doesn’t open enough for any quick dogs to make a break for it. He walks over to a bench and sits down before undoing the harness on her, setting her loose. 

Haly licks his hand once, then darts away, barking lightly as she joins the other dogs tumbling around each other. 

Amused, Duke leans back at watches as the other dogs sniff her, then do their funny little bowing stomps, moving back and forth before running off so she can give chase. 

He figures staying for an hour will be good enough. That should get the most of her energy out, and then they can make the long trek back to Dick’s safehouse so he can pick her up before he heads back to Bludhaven. Pulling out his phone, Duke settles in to wait, keeping half his attention on Haly just in case any of the other dogs decide to get a little too rough.

The first twenty minutes pass peacefully. Haly runs around and the owners of the other dogs give her pets when she runs up to them. One even went over to Duke to offer him a pack of fruit gummies. 

Then a loud bark fills the air and Duke jerks upright, watching with wide eyes as a colossally large dog, green and glowing and slightly transparent, comes barrelling down the street, headed right towards them. 

He doesn’t have time to yell Haly’s name before the dog is in the fence. None of the other dog owners look alarmed, though, so he watches carefully, prepared to jump up and save Haly at a moment’s notice.

“Cujo!” someone yells from down the street. A guy with dark hair comes running up and smoothly jumps over the fence. “Cujo, how many times do I have to tell you not to run off like that?”

The green dog, apparently Cujo, barks happily.

“And you’re too big for this park right now, buddy. Shrink, boy. It’s time to be small.”

And then Cujo… obeys? The dog shrinks, and instead of being the size of a bus, it’s now small enough to be carried in someone’s arms. 

Green dog is not enough warning for all of that. Dick owes him so much for this.

Actually, he’s kind of shocked that Dick never mentioned this to anyone. Surely a giant green dog would get people’s attention. Why is this the first time he’s heard about it?

“You new around here?” someone asks, and Duke turns to see the person who gave him the fruit gummies.

“Kinda? It’s my first time coming to the dog park. I’m looking after Haly, that one right over there.” He points out Haly, who is running in circles around Cujo.

“Ah, I see. Dick mentioned someone new would be coming today.”

Duke narrows his eyes. He’s starting to get the feeling that he’s been set up for something, but he’s not sure what. 

“I’ll give you the spiel we tell all newcomers, in that case,” they continue. “Cujo is a ghost dog. Poor thing died during some animal testing, far as we know. Danny looks after him, since Cujo got attached to the kid years ago before he moved to Gotham. He’s a kind one, but very nervous, and we’ve all got an agreement to keep quiet about him and Cujo round this parts. You better be holding your tongue, as well, ya hear me?”

“Sure thing,” Duke nods. “My lips are sealed.”

He’ll just ask Dick about the ghost dog situation and do his own investigation if needed. But Cujo is just a dog, and his owner is just a guy. Nothing threatening, nothing requiring a Bat’s attention.

“Good,” they nod. “I’ll get out of your hair now.” They’re gone before Duke can reply, adjusting the hat on their head as they head back to their group in the back left corner of the dog park. 

Satisfied that things are under control, Duke relaxes back into the bench, watching Haly and Cujo tumble around with the other dogs, barking happily. Haly’s still growing into her paws, so she trips and falls often, but gets up without a moments pause, ready to keep playing.

From the corner of his eyes, Duke catches sight of someone walking towards him. 

He looks over and finds Cujo’s owner—Danny, wasn’t it?—approaching. Their eyes meet, and Danny offers him a sheepish smile and a wave. His eyes are a dark blue that seem to glow with some otherworldly light, and Duke can swear he sees something shifting around him, as if the air has turned visible and twists around his body like wisps of smoke. 

“Mind if I sit with you?” Danny asks, and Duke moves to the side a bit.

“Go ahead,” he says.

“You’re Duke, right? Dick told me about you last week.”

It’s looking more and more like Dick is up to something, and Duke will need to get his revenge. “Did he? All good things, I hope.”

“Aha, yeah, all good things. Um, actually I think I should apologize? I maybe said you sounded like my type so Dick promised that he’d get you here somehow. Sorry if this is messing up your plans for the day.”

Oh. Oh! 

Well. That’s interesting. 

Duke quietly shelves his plans for revenge against Dick and takes a proper look at Danny. He’s shy, but with a bright smile, glowing eyes and strange smoke curling around him still, and messy black hair windswept from chasing after Cujo. There’s a flush in his cheeks and his long fingers fiddle with the string of his dark red hoodie. 

“Don’t worry, I didn’t have any plans today. This is way better than just sleeping all day.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Danny laughs, “There’s nothing I like more than being able to sleep all day. That would fix me for sure.”

There’s a loud bark, and Danny’s eyes snap back to Cujo, who is growing bigger. “Cujo!” Danny yells, voice sharp. “Shrink down, or we go home.”

Cujo grumbles, whines, then goes back to being little. The green dog only has a moment to look sad before Haly is tackling him, sending them back into another chase around the park. 

“Sorry about that,” Danny says, slouching against the bench. 

“It’s all good,” Duke replies. “So. I’m your type, huh?”

Danny’s cheeks turn a deep, charming red. He looks away, then nods and ducks his head down. 

“And that hasn’t changed after meeting me?”

Danny shakes his head, then peeks over at Duke, gaze slowly moving up his body until he meets Duke’s eyes. “Definitely hasn’t changed,” he says.

Now it’s Duke’s turn to feel his cheeks burn, flustered and pleasantly surprised by Danny’s boldness. It doesn’t help that Danny is cute, someone he can see himself falling for. 

“Good,” he says, then knocks his knee against Danny’s. “I wouldn’t mind getting to know you more. On one condition.”

“Oh? And what would that be?”

“Tell me what Dick told you about me. I wanna make sure he wasn’t sharing an embarrassing stories about me. If I’m gonna make a fool of myself, then I’ll do it myself with no outside help.”

Danny’s laugh is bright and warm and sends butterflies dancing in Duke’s stomach. “Fair enough!” he says. “And you know what? I’ll trade you for embarrassing stories. Trust me, I have so many. Nothing you’ve done can be worse that the dumb shit I do on a regular basis.”

“Woah, woah, woah, confident, aren’t we? Don’t say that until you’ve heard about some of the stupid situation I choose to throw myself into.”

“Please, I’m an younger brother. If anyone knows how to be stupid, it’s me.”

“I’m part of the disaster that is the Wayne family. I think that has you beat.”

“My parents are mad scientists and my dog is a ghost. Try again.” The teasing smile on Danny’s lips makes him want to be reckless, to keep pushing, to go down this path as far as he can.  Duke can’t remember the last time he clicked with someone so instantly, to be so comfortable with them so soon. 

Damn. He’s gonna have to thank Dick for this, isn’t he?

As if on cue, his phone buzzes in his pocket. Duke pulls it out with an apologetic smile to Danny, who leans back a bit to give him some privacy.

The text that pops up is from Dick. It’s a photo of him and Danny from the side, heads bent close together as they talk with bright smiles. He can just make out the wild red curls of Kori’s hair. 

“I’m gonna put jello in his socks,” Duke says cheerfully, already looking around to find where Dick is hiding. 

He probably already moved locations, the ass. 

“What’s up?” 

He holds out his phone so Danny can see the screen. Danny stares at it, then looks around, then stares at the screen again. 

“...Is he watching us?”

“Yep.”

“...Should we do something about it?”

Duke shrugs. “I mean, I’m up for hunting him down and tackling him if you are.”

“I can do you one better,” Danny says with a sharp grin. He whistles, and Cujo comes running over, Haly at his heels, and he skids to a stop to sit before Danny. “Cujo. You remember Dick?” Cujo barks, as if answering. “Fetch! Go fetch Dick!”

Cujo jumps to his feet, grows from the size of a pug to a bear, and takes off for the art instillation farther into Robinson Park. Moments later, they hear a yell followed by loud laughter, and Cujo and running back, Dick hanging from his mouth, with Kori, Donna, and Roy following after him at a leisurely stroll. 

“I think we’re gonna get along great,” Duke says. “He’s gonna wish he never set us up.”

“That’s the way to do it,” Danny agrees.

“Say, wanna grab lunch together tomorrow?”

Danny blinks, then blushes again. “What, like a date?”

“Yeah, as a date. You up for it?”

“How could I say no? I was promised embarrassing stories.”

He watches as Cujo drops a rumpled looking Dick to the ground, half his shirt soaked with saliva. He dramatically mimes being shot in the heart when he sees them both looking at him, and goes limp when Kori picks him up and tries to set him on his feet. 

Then he tries to act very calm and cool as Danny leans against him. “Think he’s gonna follow up on our date?” Danny asks in a low voice.

Duke closes his eyes and tries not to despair. He didn’t even think of that. “Worse. He’s going to tell everyone else, then we’ll have every available Wayne kid stalking us on our date.”

“Guess I’ll have to rely on you to chase them off, huh?”

“Or we can sic Cujo on them again.”

“Or that,” Danny nods. “It’s always effective.”

He’s really going to have to bring his best to the date tomorrow, just to stay a step ahead of everyone else. Maybe he’ll ask Barbara for a favor and get her to lead them off? And if Bruce gets involved, then Duke is fully prepared to flashbang him, grab Danny, and run. 

It’s going to be a disaster.

It’s going to be fun.

He’s already looking forward to it, and from the mischievous smile on Danny’s face, he’s not the only one.

[theloveinc]

I feel like, yall and Katsuki have a kid, it's going good, first day of school is tomorrow hell yeah right?

You spend hours convincing Katsuki that it's gonna be okay, nothing is gonna happen to baby, it's fine.

Then baby cries as soon as you both go to leave and Katsuki breaks hard.

He spends the day parked outside the kindergarten some days making sure his baby is okay 😭

You know how sometimes the parent has to stay for a little bit once class time actually starts just because the kid won't calm down? There's Kat with your weepy baby in his lap during opening ceremony, see; days of the week song and counting to ten, red faced n trying to hold back his own tears LMFAO because he honestly doesn't want to leave either.

(You ask him about it later, and he's defending himself with: what if something goes wrong? They don't like the lunch that's provided, or trip and fall in the unfamiliar hallways? Or god forbid, the teacher's an asshole and takes it out on the students???

Not that he hadn't already went overboard when you were looking at schools, vetting the program and reaching out to all the teachers to make sure they were exactly what he was looking for before even thinking about enrolling baby)

It's only when activity time actually starts that baby finally, finally pulls away from him when some kids ask yours to play with them, giving dad one last hug before shyly joining their circle and picking up a block.

AND there Bakugo is, crying on the way to the car and then low? high? key sobbing once you're in because your kid chose some "lil extras" to play with instead of continuing to cling onto him, which you have to remind him is actually a good thing, that other kids wanted to play with your child LMFAO.

He's such a freak LMFAO and it absolutely gets worse with your next baby, too jsdkafjkasdfjk BYE (he absolutely does hang out outside the kindergarten, sometimes even "forgetting" to give them their lunch ON PURPOSE, just so he has an excuse to drop it off and see them in the middle of the day).

[ceruleanblueshells]

The urge to write a scorbus fic with time travelling trauma, ansty slow burn, reverent pining and intense family dynamics just because the line, " Albus Potter was not born angry. But he was taught anger, and taught well " and "Scorpius Malfoy did not slam doors. His rage was a silent thing that festered " was sent to me in a fever dream.

[ovcii-doodles]

The Director always said it was important to have ambition, Captain Tucker. We are the Meta, and together we will be strong enough to save your friends.

meta tucker gang we've waited almost 10 years for this (I made the quote up btw)

[roobiedo]

🎉🚲 THE POPSICLE BIKE IS HERE 🚲🎉

and its featuring all sorts of fun, fruity flavors! freshly picked from the food forests, blended and frozen into a familiar shape, then paired with a fancy floral cone. and all for free? F-YEAH

all the vendor asks for in return is to leave a nice message in the tags for him (or for his pet plant Pothony). so go ahead, choose your favourite!

————————————————

loooong exposition ahead, bear with me ok

when i was a primary school kid (like 7), there was a row of bushes lining the garden outside our classroom. and on them were clusters and clusters of tiny red flowers, bunched together like pre-made bouquets. they're called ixora, locally known as jejarum (needle).

somehow, mini me discovered that if you look real close at the center of each flower, you'll find a little tab in the shape of a sprout (that's the stigma). and if you gently tug on that tab, you'll pull out a flimsy, needle-like stick (that's the style). and at the end of that stick...... was a dollop of liquid gold (it's nectar).

at that age? it felt like hitting the jackpot! my friends and i we were SET. gluttony Gripped us as we descended upon those poor little flowers, sucking up every drop of nectar we could find, leaving a trail of bright red petals in our wake. yet it was never enough. of course it wasn't.

yeah i'm exaggerating but it really did feel like i committed a massacre ok 😭 i don't know that child anymore i've grown!! left their insatiable little shell behind!!!

anyway turns out that secret childhood hack wasn't much of a secret after all. my mum confessed to doing the exact same thing decades ago when she was younger, and a quick internet search shows that apparently its a pretty common bad habit/funny memory shared among people here. rite of passage. doesn't lessen my guilt though!

so here i am, exposing my baby crimes to the world, and holding myself accountable by making ixora-inspired concept art lol. sorry to these cultural icons my bad queens

————————————————

speaking of school, here's another nostalgic memory: the ice cream uncle.

this wasn't just a singular guy, but rather a League of Guys, with one common goal: make a quick buck from oblivious kids who, once again, were enthralled by the power of gluttony's grasp, and would pay anything for a taste of the nectarous after-school treat.

no guilt here though, was worth every cent.

they always had a diverse selection of goods: ice cream in cones, ice cream in cups, classic ice pops on a stick... but once in a while, we get what is essentially the local version of freezer pops. we call them 'ais krim malaysia', and under the burning sun they were a MESS to deal with. if you weren't devouring your icicle within 5 minutes of purchase, you'd be going home with a sticky bag of juice and a stained school uniform. and yet, i've never seen a kid walk away from an ice cream uncle without a smile on their face.

nowadays, ice cream uncles are an endangered species. big name brands and their store empires are chasing local vendors out of their niche. not to mention the hardships they face under increasingly abnormal weather patterns. plus, even if they did make a comeback, there's the issue of all that plastic waste. which brings me to...

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this concept art i made! (yeah we're finally getting to it!)

once again, i'm partnering 2 very loosely related pieces of my cultural backstory, with a sustainable twist. in my ideal solarpunk city, we're bringing street-side popsicles back into style, and packaging them in biodegradable membranes. in fact, our local favourite seaweed gelatin — agar-agar (the name originated here!) — is already being used for this sort of technology.

the pops also come with a reusable cone in the shape of an ixora flower. this way, we can still keep the tradition of getting a sugar rush from within its petals, without. y'know. stealing the primary food source away from native bugs who depend on it 💀

the umbrella could serve a function too... maybe the buds that make up the ends of its wire frame could glow in the dark? that'd look cool. oh and i did draw a classic motorbike here for the nostalgia factor, but let's pretend its an old model that got modded to run on renewable energy instead!

in terms of fashion... i highlighted parts of the outfits that are ixora inspired, including the shirt and bandana made from batik, a dyeing technique invented in our region. some other solarpunk aspects include a photovoltaic wide-brimmed hat, a layered frankenstein dress, and that... apron-skort thing that i made up on the spot. and that weird shirt. people in this city just like chopping up and swapping fabrics i guess!

so do u guys like pothony c:

[francy-sketches]

world's evilest middle schooler

[piedpiperart]

Part eleven of Ghost hero!

Part ten

Update coming soon…

[avengedbiologist]

Scottwarren moment 😇