#my darling snail

[writingmysanity]

Tipsy Ask Game:

Congratulations on the wine, I would be drinking right there with you if it wasn't 12pm on a Thursday for me 💃!

First question: what wine are you drinking, hon 👀

Second question: if you were to drink wine with any of the OP characters, who are you drinking this wine with?

Happy wine Wednesday! 😘

It's a cheap-o! It's a strawberry wine and perfect to get tipsy on something sweet!

My first thought would be Mihawk because God of wines. But then, it's mihawk God of wines and this is a cheap-o.

I do believe I would share it with Sanji! I paired it with spaghetti for dinner tonight 🤌🤗💜 and it's YUM so I think a tipsy night with good food with our wonderous chef would be SUBLIME.

I do wish you could get tipsy with my darling. Mayne later. 😈🤌 I have more wine. 2 whole bottles.

[eggsistential-breakdown]

Reincarnation Bluesverse + Will Wood lyrics

1.1 & 1.2 (couldn't decide which I liked better so have two of them) & 2

Fic: @reblogincarnation-blues's The Mirrored Heart chapter 1

Song: ... well, better than the alternative

3

Fic: @marypsue's What Friends Are For

Song: BlackBoxWarrior - OKULTRA

4 & 5

Fic: @marypsue's Something Borrowed, Something Blues chapter 17

Song: Mr. Capgras Encounters a Secondhand Vanity: Tulpamancer's Prosopagnosia/Pareidolia (As Direct Result of Trauma to the Fusiform Gyrus)

Kept these very fast and loose to try to break out of a creative slump. Based more off of vibes than silly trivial things like canon and facts and anatomy. None of these should be taken literally or metaphorically or physiologically or radiologically. Twice divorced gray eyesed Ian still lives rent free in my head sorry

[eliphante123]

IM GOING INSANE

[sunshineram]

look at this stamp i got at goodwill a bit ago

[missholoska]

Alphys, how is Catty and Bratty doing? And what exactly did they do in the underground beforehand?

[nedhugar]

[foolsdecksys]

henno!! im sunny, i’ll be posting artwork here! nice to meet yall!

[emuwarum]

oh so baby pond snails are bastards on purpose

[trainingdummyrabbit]

☕️ favorite bug? (being unreasonably broad with the word "bug" here, anything small and invertebrate)

asian longhorned beetles!!!!!!!!!!!!! they are so small and silly and i love their dorky lil antennae so much :] partially because of research for Bugifying The Blorbos(tm) but mostly because they showed up in an episode of wildkratts and i thought they were really cool (even if they were being framed solely from the invasive species angle)

like! it makes sense, because in north america they Are invasive, and thats where they were, but also they still treated th thangs with respect and that made me happy. iloveyou funy animal shows :]

but um um. i like their colors, how theyre kinda bluish where the black smears to white, they have cute little faces... and and and ! i learned they have little patches on their legs specifically for cleaning their antennae :] they are so neat. i love them dearly. i want to know more about them just on th principle of getting to know them.

im also deeply fond of fireflies and cicadas!!! again, partially for blorbo reasons, but mostly because i grew up with them. fireflies are such lil sweethearts, some of my most cherished memories are of running after them on summer nights... im lucky i still have em around even after the move :] maybe therell be more since our yard is more wildlife friendly..

and cicadas.. i dont ever actually see em, but i hear them. its so very peaceful hearing their lil wavy whispers. like a little choir ! i dont think we have em here which makes me sad, but i remember them fondly :]

[ratstuckinamarble]

the rat is SICK? :( poor poor rat.....

stay snuggly and stay warm <3

Oh my goodness how are you this adorable T-T I don't even know what to say...

I want to glue this to my heart. May not help me get well sooner but it sure is making me so happy ๑ï

Thank you, truly.

I'll try my best to stay snuggly and warm, though I could never reach the comfort of your drawing. In the meantime, you stay cozy and safe too <3

[geraskier]

read all about it! very shy snail hides all day, contemplates and declines to take outdoor expedition next day

[image description: a white mystery snail with a brown striped shell in a pineapple house aquarium decoration. in the first image, the snail hangs upside down in the doorway with its long antennae curled up by its eyestalks. in the second, the snail has moved further into the decoration. in the third image, one of the snail's antenna is sticking out of an upper window of the house.]

[m1d-45]

this has been haunting me and i need to get these thoughts out of my brain so i’m dumping them here like an exorcism! anyways shining nikki and sagau. there is something to be done there. (shining nikki gets to be pink bc pink is nikki’s color and i love her.)

ALSO idk if anyone cares but this will have spoilers for shining nikki so proceed with caution ig!!

anyways so basically quick shining nikki summary: you and nikki, the main character and love of my life, are sent to a world called miraland to prevent its apocalypse by using styling power aka fashion magic! in part two (this is the spoiler part) the player gets revealed as the deity of styling which essentially also makes them the god of miraland! it is sagau but real basically. almost there’s no cult though. well there is a cult but that has nothing to do with the player it’s a whole other thing.

and now here is my thought: so like, reader is the deity of styling, they didn’t create miraland, and they’re not the oldest god either, just one of the strongest thanks to their connection to styling power. and with how strong styling power is, maybe reader goes off and decides to try creating their own world? a world that uses elemental power instead of styling, just as an experiment to see what the limit of their styling power is. the answer? strong enough to create teyvat, apparently!

so reader goes between teyvat and miraland through the ocean of memories (it’s. an ocean of memories. also Shit happens there sometimes) until mumble mumble some events leave them stranded on earth with no memories oh no!!! normal shit happens and then the plot of shining nikki where you like merge consciousness with nikki and essentially experience the world thru her etc. etc. we go through the first part of the story normal until we hit part 2 and get to the whole “deity of styling” revelation. i could be more specific and explain the details but god there’s so many details. i will save that for later if there’s ever a later.

now, reader is only aware that they’re the deity of styling, they still haven’t regained their memories, meaning that they don’t remember making teyvat. BUT. there is a chapter that takes place in an underground shrine that all of the characters fall into….. said shrine is connected to the ocean of memories, which can be used to travel through worlds as we’ve established, and muscle memory is a pretty strong thing… it would be very easy for reader to panic at the sight of their friends falling and call upon the ocean of memories to bring them somewhere safe.. they end up in teyvat. yeag. it makes perfect sense in my head but i am having trouble wording it so you just have to trust me on this one.

so reader’s in teyvat with nikki (main character of shining nikki, love of my life and best girl Ever) and momo (he’s a cat in denial about being a cat and also he gets to be orange bc he’s yellow but there’s no yellow text option sad) with no memories of what this place is or why they were able to bring everyone there! it could be imposter au or not honestly the stakes are already pretty high with the whole “oh no miraland is going to be destroyed AGAIN if we don’t get back!!!”

anyways. those are my thoughts. they have now been exorcised out of my brain. do with that as you will i guess??? - teddy anon

warning i don’t know jack shit about shining nikki other than this ask and that it’s a dress up game. with this in mind:

what.

there’s. there’s so much to unpack here it’s. unreal.

how do you save a nation with the power of good taste? what cult? why doesn’t it involve the player? what shit happens at the oCEAN OF MEMORIES??? HELLO? W- why and how does such a thing operate i’m so- is it like just?? a buffet??? you go “oh i want a memory of brutal slaughter today :)” an-??? is it like an exchange system??? what’s the worldbuilding of shining nikki i both need to know and loathe to find out

“reader is only aware they’re the deity of styling, they still haven’t regained their memories” so either. either they just didn’t go to the literal OCEAN of memories (keep in mind idk any of the lore btw) or they? just? accepted that they’re a god w/o any memory of this??? shit ok—

“which can be used to travel between worlds as we’ve established” im so- the memory ocean is an interdimensional portal now? i- fuck it man we ball-

“he’s a cat in denial about being a cat” what the fuck kind of dress up games are they selling to kids where a cat has a crisis over his species despite every sign pointing to him being a fuckin cat i’m?-

and why?? is miraland going to be destroyed again????? im-? i’m so?-??

brother i am doing something with this information but only god knows what

.

[snail-draws]

I caved and drew the silly!

[heartfullofleeches]

[A cultist smacks a piece of candy out of another's hand]

Cultist A: Dude! What are you doing?

Cultist B: Trying to enjoy my Taffy before you knocked it out of my hand....

Cultist A: Saltwater Taffy. We can't have salt in the compound anymore because of you-know-who's partner!

Cultist B: Oh.... Are they ill?

-

[Bugman walks in the garden behind their home with their Darling following their first date together. Reader goes into to kiss Bug only for their eyes to flare up in horror as if they've just taken a bite out of a spicy.]

Snail Hybrid Reader: !!!!

Bugman: Is something the matter?

Snail Hybrid Reader: W...was there salt on that pretzel you had earlier?

Bugman: I believe so.... Oh.... please forgive me.

Snail Hybrid Reader: It's okay, Bug. You forgot.

Bugman: Forgiveness with words is not enough. I must experience the same pain I have inflected upon the one I hold dear. Will slicing my tongue and rubbing salt into the wounds do?

Snail Hybrid Reader: Really, it's okay, Bug-.... W-where'd you get that knife?.... Please put it down. Please?.. Bugman!!

[darlingillustrations]

PRIDE is timeless

New images for 2024. See previous years here.

sources for photographs:

Axolotls - Photograph from Trent Kelley’s Flickr stream “Hidden in the Open: Photographic Essay of Afro American Male Affections.” Source for image.

Bears - Bearded men together. Source for image.

Chipmunks - Unknown photographer, Wikimedia commons. Source for image.

Dogs - Aunty Mary and her “friend” Ruth (1910) by imgur user izgs. Source for Image.

Ducks - Photograph by David Deitcher, from his book “Dear Friends, American Photographs of Men, 1840–1918.” Source for image.

Mice - Lily Elise and Adrienne Augarde (1907). Source for image.

Snails - Nana & Jacky, Métro Blanche (1961), by Swedish photographer Christer Strömholm. Source for image.

Unicorns - Two African American women, three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing each other (1900). From the African American Photographs Assembled for 1900 Paris Exposition. Source for image.

The Affectionate Animal series is a project I have worked on for years, illustrating vintage photographs as queer couples. All paintings are by me, Erin Darling. Here is a link to the series on my site.

[mochinomnoms]

How would ptm jade react if Yuu told him about marine mushrooms?

I only know what wikipedia knows about marine mushrooms...unfortunately for yuu mind reading doesn't give them sudden infinite knowledge!

“You know, with as much as you...like mushrooms and stuff, I'm surprised you haven't mentioned anything about marine fungi.”

You felt a chill run down your spine and Jade's bi-colored eyes on you.

“Pardon?” Does my darling also love fungi? How could I have not known this?

You shifted in your seat, staring down at your notebook as you doodles between the margins. A small button mushroom that you'd absentmindedly drawn minded you of Jade.

And you just happened to be doing research with him for your group project in the library this day.

“Sorry, I just was thinking about it, and it's just surprising to me that you never had, like an aquarium type terrarium or something with them.”

You let out a nervous laugh, after all, it was just you two by yourselves. Riddle and Yev were busy with their dorms due to the Spelldrive Tournament, and your dorm still didn't technically qualify, since all your freshmen were officially in other dorms.

Such a wonderful laugh, I'd like to hear it more...

“Well, to my knowledge, they don't exist.” Jade leaned in, his eyes wide and full of excitement. “By chance, do such mushrooms exist in your world?”

Please tell me more! Tell me lies for all I care, so I may hear your voice...though you wouldn't lie about such things, would you?

You perked up. It was rare that you knew something Jade, or anyone at NRC, had no clue about. It probably wasn't intentional, but the way people would look at you when you had no clue about something make you feel dumb, even though you logically had no way of knowing even the most basic things of this world.

It was kinda nice to be the one to share knowledge with another person.

“Well, I don't know a lot, but they mostly exist in marine environments. I think a few hundred?” You leaned in closer, moving your notebook towards Jade as you started drawing again.

“I can't remember their names very well, but I've always been a more visual person anyways.” You drew a piece of driftwood, a snail, and a rock covered in lichen.

“This one grows in mangroves, usually on the places. But this one grows around the shell of a snail, who eats it. And sometimes lichen will grow with fungi, but I don't know a whole lot about them.”

You paused, pursing your lips in disappointment.

“Sorry, I don't know enough to tell you about them, I know how much you...”

Your words trailed off as you looked back up at Jade, who was resting his check against his palm. He was staring at you with faint smile, and soft, half lidded eyes and pink cheeks.

So beautiful...

Cheeks and chest going hot, you stared back, opening and closing your mouth as you tried to figure out how to respond.

“Uh, Jade, you're, uh, staring...”

Jade stiffened, straightening up and covering his mouth in embarrassment.

“My apologies. I was just....enraptured by your descriptions.” And you. “I don't mind that you aren't familiar, but I would like to heard more from you about marine fungi. Perhaps you can tell me all about your world's plant life? It never occurred to me that your world would evolve differently, but saying that now, it seems obvious.”

He smiled at you again, his teeth showing a bit more as he excitedly leaned in.

“You struggle in musicology, yes? Perhaps in exchange for your knowledge, I can help you with practice?”

Please say yes!

You paused. Various suggestive scenarios that seem more apt for a risqué site or story flashed through Jade's mind in giddy anticipation.

You know better. You know what Jade's hoping for. You shouldn't string him along, you're going to get embarrassed. You're going to get uncomfortable, you're...

Another daydream, one of you two curled over a book, as you leaned into Jade's side while his arm pulled you closer, invaded your mind like a parasite in your brain. He had a tender smile as you laughed at something he said, your free hand reached up to cradle his cheek.

Maybe parasite is a harsh word. When the thoughts Jade had were so sweet and soft, it almost made you want to give in.

Almost.

“It's okay, I'm just a choir member, so there's not much for me to improve on.” You could hear your more logical voice sigh in the back of your mind. “But I'm happy to share...if you help me figure out if the mushrooms growing behind Ramshackle are edible.”

I'm weak…

Jade blinked, processing what you said.

Really? “Really?” Even Jade seemed like he was anticipating your rejection.

“Yeah, why not.” You shrugged, Jade's internal excitement flooding into your subconscious and influencing your own emotions. “Means less money to spend on food, and I'm sure you know plenty of yummy recipes we can use if they do end up good!”

Jade rarely smiled, at least not genuine, bare-teethed smiles. Despite the sharpness of them, you weren't put off by them, or him, at all.

“I would be honored.”