#professor-maple-art

[shyblacksheep]

[ X ] 🍁

[aniju-aura]

ArtFight @creatively-cosmic

[themissingnumbers]

Huh… That’s…interesting. Sounds suspiciously like a call to action, haha I’m scared-

Well, uh… I guess she wants to meet. Do you mind if I borrow your phone to make a call, Professor? I promise I won’t drop it or anything, and I’ll give it right back once I’m done.

"Of course- this is my work phone, so... Please, feel free to use it as necessary. I hope she's okay..."

Given permission, you dial up Leaf's number- found easily from her messages.

The phone begins to ring.

...

...

Ro-to-to-to-to....

Ro-to-to-to-to....

Ro-to-to-to-to...

Ro-to-to-to-

-click-

"...Hello?"

LEAF AOYAMA IS AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.

BEGINNING | EXPLORATION || PREV

NEXT (ACE)

NEXT (LEAF)

[sweet-beezus]

Professor Maple

A big fan of getting up close and personal with wildlife. Contrary to how he dresses he is actually well groomed.

[uwmspeccoll]

Wood Engraving Wednesday

JAMES TODD

Masters of War is a satirically humorous and somewhat frightening wood engraving on maple printed on kitakata paper by Montana artist James Todd (b.1937). The print was one of 60 selected for the Fifth Triennial Exhibition, 2024-2026 of the Wood Engravers’ Network (WEN), the national organization for American wood engravers.

James Todd is a professor emeritus of Art and Humanities at the University of Montana, where he taught for 30 years. A longtime member of the Wood Engravers' Network, Todd was also elected to two esteemed British art organizations, the venerable Society of Wood Engravers in 1986 and the even more venerable Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 1997.

View other posts from the WEN 5th Triennial Exhibition.

View more engravings by members of the Wood Engraver’s Network.

View more posts with wood engravings!

[silverflqmes]

໒⦂ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐘.

synopsis. in order to meet their graduation requirements, cloud decides to take his arts and humanities course early to share a class with sephiroth, but there are unexpected consequences.

genre. fluff + hurt / comfort

tw. suggestive language, mentioned vomiting ( the act itself doesn't happen dw guys )

inspiration. this artwork! && this one!

sephiroth x cloud strife.

a gentle breeze caressed cloud's cheeks, painting a tiny smile on his lips as he moved closer to the tall male beside him- who seemed to be engaged with the flurry of autumn leaves that caught his silver tresses.

it almost made him laugh, watching as his usually composed and ever graceful boyfriend struggled against something so menial, reminiscent a cat swatting helplessly at a fly.

compelled to assist in some way, partly because he didn't want to display the extent of his current amusement, the blond got on the tips of his toes, prying the leather clad hand away to replace it with his own. "hold still, lemme get it."

a brow quirked before sephiroth gave a slow blink, gradually lowering his hand along with himself for his lover to reach. "i apologize, i hadn't expect it to be this windy today." he sighed out, watching as calloused, yet nimble fingers detangled the crinkling intruders from the delicate mercury that was his hair, smiling exasperatedly. "perhaps i should have tied it before we left this morning." it likely would have saved trouble like this, but little time remained when it boiled down to catching the right train.

the spiky haired male gave a small hum, finally detaching the remaining leaf. "last i checked, today marks the start of autumn," he commented cooly, holding out the physical evidence of his statement. "pretty sure i warned somebody last night that because of that, the weather would be way more intense this week. but i see that information totally sank in real well."

plucking the fallen maple from his fingers, sephiroth wiggled it teasingly before the other's nose, chuckling at the way his features scrunched together, "i suppose. but you also chose to relay that information at the pinnacle of my exhaustion, cloud. all i could think of at that point was holding you close as i rewarded myself with much needed rest after that tedious thesis." while his third year thankfully consisted of less tests and homework, unfortunately that did not discourage professors from throwing an abundance of research-oriented assignments at him. such was the beauty of university.

cloud turned his nose, rolling his eyes. “uh huh, very cheesy excuse, but i remember you being perfectly awake, kissing my neck, even.” the second year grumbled back, pushing the hand away from his face before trekking onwards with a huff. if his lover wanted to be difficult, then so could he, and tenfold!

the man in question couldn’t help but break into a more prominent grin at the act, however, catching up with relative ease and little speed, given his longer legs. “i recall you enjoying it though, did you not?" he mused, tucking a strand of gold behind the other's ear. "this spot here in particular was something you had asked me to kiss, if my memory serves me corre-”

“a-alright already, you made your point!” the second year intercepted, rouge gathering at the tips of his ears and cheeks. “i still warned you though, so you’re just gonna have to deal with it unless you brought a hair tie with you.” he finished in a grumble, sending his partner an annoyed glance that quickly contorted into a blink.

for in between his lithe, gloved fingers had been a black, satin ribbon.

not a hair tie, then.. but an alternative.

a sheen of innocence overtook sephiroth’s countenance. “will this do in its stead, cloud?”

with a twitching brow, the second year shoved down the words he truly wished to convey and allowed a sigh to take their place. “sure, in the seventeenth century.” he muttered, taking the accessory from his grasp before motioning him towards a park bench.

at last, mischief revealed itself through a smirk as the astronomy major took a seat, humming lowly. “such a good student, applying what we learnt from last week’s session.”

“says the guy who brought the ribbon instead of one of the million hair ties he owns.” cloud fired back, gathering the river of moonlight into one palm before sliding the thin, shiny piece underneath.

eventually when it emerged on the other side, the blond grabbed both ends of the satin to tie a knot as tightly as he could manage, looping them into rabbit ears while the excess length fell on either side of the ponytail.

it wasn’t low, but not at the top of his head either. just a little above the middle.

when the bearer of the hairstyle turned around to face him, it became increasingly difficult not to blush. his lips stretched. “by your expression, i believe there was worth after all in keeping you on your toes with something out of the ordinary.” he answered silkily, rising from his place before offering his hand. “shall we, cloud?”

an incoherent profanity left the male in question, but he slipped his fingers between the gaps of sephiroth’s, anyhow. it was near impossible to say no to physical touch, after all. no matter how reluctant he made himself out to be.

the silver haired third year was perfectly aware of that, yet he continued to put out regardless, knowing cloud could never truly resist.

upon their arrival, thankfully not being the last to turn up despite some delaying factors, the tour could at last commence.

cloud lagged behind the group with sephiroth, listening idly to what the historian had to say regarding each piece they came across. it felt little to no different from an average lecture in their art history course, but the in-person experience made it a bit more interesting.

sadly it held minimal relevance to their majors, being stems in mechanical engineering and astronomy, but graduation requirements were graduation requirements.

“-and this painting here is said to represent the lifestream! a pool of glittering jade carrying the memories of the planet and of those that have returned to it.” the tour guide spoke, gesturing behind them to the canvas before turning back to face the group. “unfortunately, due to a lack of information, we can only assume this is how it looks, as nobody has ever quite returned to say.. although,” they paused, stepping forward. “there were two exceptions who were highly linked to the great calamity that once befell our lovely planet. one had been its heir, fated to sail the darkness of the cosmos with gaia as his vessel, while the other had been the hero that prevented such events. both, however, carried the cells of this threat, which in turn, enabled the lifestream to reject them from ever resting peacefully..”

“rumor has it that with each rejection of the planet, they become reincarnated..” the historian finished lowly, an echo of awed noises filling the eerie quiet that followed.

meanwhile cloud found himself raising a blond, skeptical brow. “rejected.. from the lifestream?” he repeated in a mumble, folding his arms. “first i’m hearing of this.” how could someone no longer be of the planet? it was completely unrealistic. “probably just a myth, right sephiroth?”

silence.

“sephiroth?” he tried again, peering up to see if his lover was paying attention, only to have found him.. clutching the side of his head, as though in agony.

concerned, cloud placed a hand on his back, knitting his brows together. “hey- you okay?” he called out softly, drowning out the distant rambling to properly address the other. “i didn’t tie the ribbon too tight, did i?” a poor attempt at lightening the sphere, though sadly ineffective, as the fifth semester did not quite lower his hand or laugh.

instead, he shut his eyes, shaking his head slowly. “i’m fine.. must be a dizzy spell of some sorts.” if it could even be called that.

a frown overtook the blond’s lips as he lowered his hand into his free one, tugging him along. “let’s.. sit down for a bit, we can join up with the group later.” he offered, letting out a meek laugh.. “good thing you packed us water and lunch from the night before, right?”

sephiroth willed himself to nod after being brought to a bench — which was too low for comfort, but tolerable. “everything is in my bag, but it’s okay, i can manage. you should catch up to the group so at least one of us is informed..” not that they would be tested on the tour, but it saved study time.

cloud wasn’t buying it one bit, though. “not happening.” as if he would bail on his partner to suffer in silence and discomfort. “i’m not leaving you here for something stupid to happen while i’m gone.” he grumbled back, fishing out what appeared to be a thermos.. and container of strawberries. “so here. eat a little and have some water. hydration is good to combat dizziness.”

the older blinked once, then twice before letting out a noise of amusement. “you worry far too much, cloud.” he answered tenderly, but took the offered snack and beverage anyway, unscrewing the metal cap. “it is rather touching though, seeing you care so much for me.” he smiled tiredly, taking a sip before leaning his head atop the nest of fluffy spikes.

for once, the sapphire eyed male allowed the weight without complaint, only letting out a soft huff. "try not playing off your suffering and i'll worry less." he snarked back, though the usual bite was not quite present as he shifted closer, leaning his own head against the curve of sephiroth's shoulder. "seriously, though, if you're not okay, of course i'm gonna stay with you."

a sigh tumbled past sephiroth's lips, though he couldn't help the warmth he felt at cloud's sincerity. "i appreciate it, but in that case.. we should not remain too long and at least attend some of the tour." he urged, shutting his slitted jade orbs before refocusing them on the canvas before them.

it wasn't anything out of the ordinary, it appeared to be a forest amidst a great storm by the darker shades and lines to indicate the rain. underneath was the artist's name, written in wutaian, which gave a general idea of what the painting might have been depicting.

cloud followed his line of vision, observing how intently his boyfriend gazed upon it, almost as though he could set the artwork ablaze with his mind alone.

it was.. worrying.

"well, when you're ready, we can get going." he suggested quietly, nudging his arm in hopes of swaying his attention. "think the next room has sculptures and displays. should be a change of pace, yeah?”

ignoring the sharpness in his temples, the taller allowed himself to nod, if only to lower his head from the image before him.

just what in gaia’s name was going on? he felt perfectly fine when they left the apartment early that morning; the train ride was decent for a change — well.. outside of cloud’s motion sickness, though sephiroth welcomed the head that landed on his lap.

so then, what went wrong? or better yet, what triggered these headaches?

at his silence, the spiky haired male opted to help with cleaning up the untouched strawberries and thermos, frowning a little to himself. there was still an entire day’s worth of a tour left to go.. would sephiroth, be okay enough to handle that?

after zipping his backpack, he shook his head. his boyfriend would be okay, he had to trust that he would be.

with that in mind, cloud rose from his seat, extending his hand. “ready?”

sephiroth lowered the leather clad palm grasping his forehead, easing it into the one offered before him as he let out a quiet hum of agreement.

not long after had the group reappeared in sight, the trail of historic rambles leading the pair to exactly where they needed to be.

throughout the walk, cloud made sure to remain close in case of anything, keeping their hands intertwined for a change ( he wasn't exactly one for pda ), though he couldn't help but glance up every now and again in worry.

if sephiroth was still not doing so hot, he hid it annoyingly well.

when their steps came to a halt behind the group, the blond tried to weave between the taller figures obscuring his view of the display, mentally cursing his lack of height. there should be an unspoken rule of going to the back of a crowd if you had a few more inches on you. alas, it was but wishful thinking.

"this here is the uniform of a first class SOLIDER! founded deep within the underground levels of the old shinra ruins. looking at it now.. it doesn't look like your typically soldier outfit, now does it?" the guide chuckled, scratching their nape. "maybe during their golden days, the uniform might have served a greater purpose.. but now, it's nothing more than outdated fashion."

the taller spared his beloved a small glance, raising a curious brow at his poor attempts at rubbernecking before allowing his lips to break into a tiny smile. "are you perhaps in need of a boost, cloud dearest?"

"fuck no." was the latter's immediate answer, still grunting through his little hops and neck craning. "i can see just.. fine-!" he could not, but sephiroth didn't need to know that.

only, he did. however, cloud.. was a frequent passenger of the denial train. he might as well have permanent first class and a special badge to pair with it. the sight was anything but foreign to sephiroth, but he couldn't complain. it was always entertaining to see him try to refute the truth, flushing a bright pink that complimented his features so sweetly as he helplessly attempts to reject defeat.

normally he would give the blond a few minutes to try things his way, savoring the spectacle before him that he would definitely commit to memory for future use, and would then lend his assistance. although the lightheadedness just.. wasn't quite allowing that out of him today.

"suit yourself~" he mused instead, wincing a little at the lingering pang at the back of his skull, but he held firm. the trip would be over soon and they could return to the comfort of their shared apartment.

at last when cloud stopped his futile efforts at peering over the students before him, the chaperone ushered the crowd over to the next display a few paces down the corridor.

a symphony of profanity rested within the confines of his throat, itching to be expressed, but he reminded himself that there were children and elderly around. that and, he didn't want to get his participation grade tanked for obscenities.

"ah, it seems the display is now within your view."

"shut up." the shorter grumbled, wordlessly reclaiming sephiroth's hand as he tugged him toward the mannequin encased in glass.

and it was.. an odd uniform, indeed. a sleeveless turtleneck, shoulder armor, suspenders, a.. was that a corset?

cloud grimaced at the idea of wearing such an outfit. it looked highly uncomfortable to be wearing for combat; well, at least the top half did. the pants and boots appeared quite mobile. breathable too. maybe if it was reduced to one pauldron-

"ex-SOLDIER. i quit."

the slightest hue of seafoam flickered in the otherwise sapphire pools that were his eyes, blond brows furrowing together the longer he stared. what.. was that voice? and why did it.. "why did it sound like me?"

he willed his gaze to fall elsewhere, anything that would prevent that strange crawl he was beginning to feel up his skin, settling his vision on what appeared to be two blades.

broadswords, to be precise.

sephiroth followed his line of view when his focus seemed to have diverted elsewhere, humming quietly. "those were said to be of the unnamed hero of the planet." he spoke up softly, lingering on the sword that looked to be made up of.. multiple swords? it reminded him of a puzzle, or perhaps even those bricks children often played with; legos, were they? that sounded like the name.

"hero.." cloud repeated numbly, the word sitting like poison on his tongue. it nauseated him, somehow, shrouded him with a wave of sickness that made him wish to pour out last night's dinner and the light breakfast from earlier this morning.

without thinking, he staggered forward, hand slipping free from the leather that encased it as he stopped before the case.

flashes of memories that did not belong yet belonged all at the same time scintillated his vision, as he closed in on the barrier separating him from the unnamed warrior's weapons.

"that's right.. i am your living legacy."

daringly, the palm that previously held his partner's rose to meet the surface, a flicker of jade appearing in the shimmering blade before he was suddenly pulled back a few steps. as though being hoisted out of a deep, raging sea that was ever still and silent beneath the tempest above. and now brought back to the land above, grounded by the firm, yet cushioning chest that collided with his back.

sephiroth.

"cloud, the sign says not to touch the glass.." the male in question muttered warningly, frowning slightly at the quiet that met them once more, excluding several murmurs from any onlookers. "the group seems to have strayed off toward another direction.. it would be wise to catch up with them if we're to actually learn something from this expedition." he added softly, loosening his grasp so the blond didn't feel constricted in any way.

looking at him, something seemed.. off. definitely different from how he appeared before the crowd cleared and gave way for him to view that SOLDIER uniform.

then again, sephiroth wasn't fairing the best either. maybe they had both eaten something off? or caught an infamous case found only through midterms-

"do not be deceived."

as though reawakened, the piercing sensation from before returned to assault his skull, pulsing in the way that tremors did when threatening to split open the terrain above.

"you know the truth."

taking a step back, the taller let out a strained exhale, releasing the other in the process to clutch his forehead as he had earlier.

something was terribly off.

"you feel it, too?" he asked despite the discomfort, shaking his head. "don't you.. cloud?"

finally snapped from his trance upon hearing his name, the spiky haired second year looked up with eyes that were half lidded, widening gradually at the state he had found his beloved in.

how did he.. when did he?

"i.." cloud paused, heart practically lodged in his throat by not only the sight that beheld him, but the very occurrence.

did he feel it, whatever that was, as well?

with half a mind left, the shorter fought back the dizziness that was beginning to envelop him alongside the nausea, reaching out for the hand that drew away earlier from him to lead them both out of the room, if only to evade the shit show that was bound to unfold at any given moment. "i don't know- but we should leave this room.. c'mon." he urged, mustering the strength to tug sephiroth along with him.

where to, he did not quite know as yet, but anywhere excluding their current location would be much preferable.

sapphire flitted from hall to hall in search, eventually settling upon the one where the least amount of people had been heading towards.

wordlessly, he led his lover down the corridor and into the showroom, nearly heaving out in relief at the lack of onlookers. good. while they weren't alone, which would have been more ideal, this crowd was manageable.

throughout the walk, sephiroth hung his head low, propping it up by his hand while the other had been tugged along by cloud's.

unfortunately, the pain simply did not wish to let up. earlier it had subdued a pinch, to a degree where he was able to interact and move about. now, however, everything seemed to feel both out of touch to him, and impossibly more agonizing than before.

hell, he hadn't even noticed, let alone acknowledged the fact that he was in a new area of the museum. it may very well have been like any other room had been; indistinguishable.

"good, another bench.." cloud sighed out, sitting the third year down before taking up the space beside him.

the queasiness was still clawing at his gut, threatening to leave him hunched over a nearby restroom, tossing his cookies out, but he held firm. there was still an excursion to be had; as for sephiroth..

the ocean eyed male stole a glance from the man in question, frowning at the deja vu that washed over him. they were basically in the same position as before, only worse.

where did the unease really begin?

the painting of the lifestream was where it began for sephiroth, and for him.. it was when he saw those two swords on display.

what did they mean? what did any of this mean?

as he peeled his eyes away from his lover, cloud hung his head low, a million different thoughts swarming his brain, which all but paused at the loud click that went off a few paces away. a camera, more than likely.

he prayed it wasn't a photo of him and sephiroth- which thankfully, by the looks of where the person stood and where the lens had been aimed, was not. but it was of a.. rather intriguing sight.

when his eyes rose from the photographer to look up at what he had been capturing, it all but stole what little air resided within his chest.

"is this the pain you felt before.. cloud?"

and filled that space with something cold- something sharp that was there, but was not all at the same time. a phantom blade, slotted into the depths of his hollowed sternum, mirroring the sight that currently beheld him.

"let me remind you.."

sculpted of the finest marble, stood a statue of two figures that were horrifyingly beautiful enough to solely be found in myths and folklore. hovering above was a long haired, winged one, and below, tipped back, was a spiky haired one, who was notably being speared by the odachi within the other's hand.

"this time you won't forget."

the more he stared, the realer the image became; instilling itself within the very depths of his mind, solidifying it, materializing into the reality that had been seated at his side, now holding his gaze.

no longer had a leather clad palm cradled his head, and the hand that rested within his seemed to tighten as slitted jades bore into his teal ringed sapphires. an unspoken dawning- an epiphany come true.

"it's.." no, it couldn't be. what were the odds of the rumored exceptions being them? it was nothing but folklore, outdated history that no longer held up credibility, let alone names and explicit figures to define the gossip. cloud refused to believe any of it.

and yet.. "it is, cloud." sephiroth chimed in, leaning in closer. "our former selves, from a life so distant ago now."

a life where they..

the blond shook his head, pursing his lips together. "exactly that- former. so it's.. it's not us anymore, sephiroth." he tried reasoning, squeezing his hand back. "we don't have to do that again- not in this life.. this is ours to have. we.." he paused, azure hues glinting. "we deserve it- after everything."

silence befell the silver haired male before he let out a low chuckle. "do you believe the planet will allow that, cloud?" he questioned softly, glancing toward the sculpture for a moment and then back to him. "would it truly be so generous to us?"

would it be? after being doomed to a life where they would jump endlessly between the cycle of death and rebirth? it was hardly generosity.

it was cruel in every way possible, but..

"it's gonna have to be." cloud affirmed, taking a breath before dispelling it. "the cycle of unrest ends with us. i might have denied you in the past, but this time.. things will be different." he continued steadily, bringing his free hand up to hold the back of the other’s head. "we'll.. get to have our happy ending." the one they’d been waiting for.

sephiroth was still for a moment, taking in his lover's sincerity — the twinkle of truth in his ocean pools as his palm warmed the coldness of his cheek.

once upon a time ago, they may not have held hands as they do so casually now. once upon a time ago, these fleeting touches might not at all have been welcomed, only harmful ones.

in this day and age, however, born into a life in which one accepted the other.. there had been opportunity for the path that could not have been taken back then.

a path sephiroth never thought he’d ever see come to fruition. "mm.. perhaps we will, then, if that is what you believe, cloud." he answered softly, placing a hand over the one that cradled his cheek before pressing a kiss against it. "for the moment, however,” he smiled, the usual lilt returning to his voice. “i believe we still have an excursion on our hands, no?"

notes. oh it feels so good to write after being cockblocked by midterms. anyway, i offer you sefikura food that nobody asked for.. i was very inspired by some fanart for this and uh, being in uni lol. hope it was good! i will be uploading sfkr works to ao3 alongside tumblr now, so you can read there instead under the same user ( silverflqmes ) 🫶 ALSO LISTEN TO THE ALCHEMY!

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[jus-a-lil-mouse]

Growing Pains

an EctoImplosion2023 fic! Check out @this-is-z-art-blog's incredible associated art here!

Valerie is still seething when she leaves campus, anger burning warm in her chest. The fall chill soothes, but it burns nonetheless, and other pedestrians move from her path as she makes her way to the bus stop. It’s half a block away; then she has a ten minute ride back home. Fifteen if the intersection near the Starbucks is backed up. 

The bus stop is crowded, and Val has to push past a group of freshmen in order to sit on the cold metal bench. Her knee aches when she stretches it out, but it relaxes once it’s straight, and Val lets out a deep breath. Her breath billows out in clouds in front of her, and she focuses on the pattern instead of lingering on her frustration. Her midterm presentation was good, informative and entertaining and she was going to ace it, frat boys in the third row be damned. They could try to trip her up and talk over her all they wanted. Val could yell, and she did, until finally her professor did something.

She digs her phone out of her pocket, putting one of her old earbuds in her ear. It takes a couple tries to get the plug in at just the right angle, but soon enough music is blocking out the chatter of the people around her. Val grins at the eleven messages waiting for her in the group chat. Sam, Danny, and Jazz had all wished her luck; Tucker had sent her a truly incomprehensible meme that she assumed was a show of support. Elle had sent her a kissing emoji. The remaining messages were Sam and Tucker admonishing Elle for being so risqué. 

(At the end of freshman year of high school, Danny had approached her. He said, “Val, I need your help.” 

She said, “With what? We took the chem final already,” because she had always been better at chemistry than him. 

He shook his head, looking more like forty than fourteen, and said “Val, come on. I know you know what this is about.” 

Icy panic gripped her, squeezing the breath from her lungs. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Danny,” she pleaded. 

“Yes you do,” he said, and he told her about a ghost hunting team and where he wanted the headquarters to be. And he said “You know I’m Phantom,” and she shook her head silently, because of course he was but he couldn’t be, because he was here in front of her. “There was an accident with my parent’s portal,” he explains. “It didn’t hurt much.”

Within a couple months, they were like superheroes. Val and Danny and Elle were on the front lines; Sam and Tucker and Jazz were their women and man in the chair. It was easier when they worked together. Everyone got enough sleep. Nobody got too beat up. Elle was there. It was good.)

The bus comes to an abrupt stop in front of her. Val stands and takes a last deep breath in. She lets the fire leave with it when she breathes out. She settles on the bus between an older woman with a small dog and two gentlemen deep in conversation in a language she doesn’t recognize. The street passes by the window; the coffee shop she goes to on Wednesdays, the Thai place Dani took her last year for her birthday, the diner with the good bacon and real maple syrup.

Val watches them pass, and the embers of her frustration flare. Deep breaths. She’d wanted to go back to them so many times, run her fingers along the menu and order what she got last time anyway, sit in the same spot. Be a regular. Become part of the community, know the servers’ names. Be the person she’d appreciated at the Nasty Burger. Dani always wanted to go somewhere new instead, and Val humored her. She was a regular at her Wednesday morning coffee shop, anyway, since Dani wasn’t with her between her classes.

The bus jerks to halt at the next stop, sighing as the doors open. Val breathes her anger out into the cold drafts. She has a paper to write for sociology, a lab report for chemistry, and ten questions out of her calculus textbook. She needs to study for her biology midterm. Thursday she has therapy and dinner with her Dad. Friday is laundry day and she’ll need more quarters. 

She’s one stop from home when it happens. It’s a crow, high up, diving down towards a building. But Valerie is standing, backpack on the ground, heart pounding. Icy panic clutches her heart. She grabs her bag, practically falls out of the bus in her desperation to get off. She takes deep breaths. In, out. She sits on a cold metal bench and watches her breath billow out in front of her.

(At the end of junior year, Vlad had fucked it all up. He always did. Part of her was still glad he hadn’t picked prom night.

They’d managed to stop the world from imploding. Partway through the process, Danny had left, chasing Vlad away from them. Buying them time. Yelling a stupid quip as he flew away. Valerie had to trust him to handle it, because she was in the Fentons’ basement, doing everything she could to get the portal to stabilize. To get Elle back on this side of it.

Danny wasn’t back when the world returned to normal. Elle promised to take care of the last part of the process, as long as they went after Danny, didn’t let Vlad beat him too badly, took care of him. She trusted them to do that, so they better deliver, she yelled, and Val beat Tucker and Sam up the stairs. 

She beat them outside. That’s why she saw it happen. A well-placed hit. Hard enough to hurt.

Hard enough to start Danny hurtling out of the sky, human before he hit the ground. She’d caught him before he became a corpse on the concrete, landing awkwardly with his weight. Tucker was beside her when she landed, collapsing onto the road with Danny in his arms. He was screaming. She couldn’t hear him past the ringing in her ears, because Vlad wasn’t the only threat here. Jack and Maddie were standing in the doorway, eyes wide and full of fear. Val faced them. Vlad was doing a fucking villain monologue in the sky, and the Fentons weren’t taking their eyes off of their son. Sam rose from where she had knelt next to Tucker. Her hand was cold in Val’s, but Valerie was glad for it. She could do this on her own, but she didn’t want to. She could take on both Fentons easily; she didn’t want to hurt Danny’s parents.

In the end, she didn’t have to. Maddie reached for her blaster and Val tensed for the attack, but Maddie shot Vlad out of the sky, and nobody reached for him as he fell.)

Valerie stands. She has to get home. It’s been a long day, and she wants to watch Elle make them dinner, see her grin and laugh from the couch. She dreams of it on the walk to her apartment, as a cold drizzle starts up and her coat begins soaking through. She will go inside and it will be warm and dry, and Dani will be at the stove as she so often is this time of day. Music will be blasting, and Dani will be dancing, and Valerie will call to her as she takes off her shoes. Dani will turn the music down but not off, and meet her at the door. It was a near-daily routine, and Val couldn’t wait.

She gets the mail from their mailbox, exchanges pleasantries with Doug from downstairs, and then stands outside the apartment, listening to Dani moving around inside. Val opens the door, greeted first by Dani’s loud music. She closes the door and begins unbundling, setting her hat and scarf down on the table they keep by the door.

She tries to, anyway. The table is gone, and as she looks around, she realizes that the entire living room has been rearranged, including the pictures and paintings they had hanging up on the wall. A container of caulk sits forgotten on the coffee table, which is across the room from where it was this morning, and the couch is facing the wrong direction. 

Dani’s head appears from behind the tall wooden bookshelf they’d gotten from the secondhand store nearby. Her eyes brighten when they reach Val. “Great, you’re home!” Val doesn’t respond, trying to focus on getting her shoes off. “I redecorated, hope you don’t mind. Totally lost track of time, sorry about not having dinner ready! Could you help me with some stuff? I gotta move the bookshelf over there, and finish sealing up the old nail holes.”

Valerie takes a deep breath in, then lets it out. She wasn’t prepared for their space to be in disarray, and to have to help clean it all up. She wanted a relaxing evening after a long day. She was tired. “Val?” Dani asks, eyebrows pinched up in concern. 

Val takes a deep breath in. She lets it out. “I just- our house is different,” Val says. “I had such a long day and now I have to help with a remodel because you can’t just let things stay! You’re always changing things and our home is never the same for more than a month and we can’t ever go anywhere twice and I’m so sick of it!”

Dani’s eyes are wide, hurt clear on her face. “What are you talking about? You’re always fine with me changing around the furniture.” Dani moves closer to Val, stepping out from behind the bookshelf. “Where is this coming from? You’re always excited to go to new places with me!”

“Well maybe if you paid more attention to me, you’d know. I always just go along with what you want and you never try to do the same for me! I always have to be the one giving things up!”

“You have always said you want to do those things, why are you yelling at me for listening to you! Am I supposed to stop believing you when you tell me things? I’m supposed to read your mind and magically know you’re upset but not upset enough to tell me?”

“I’m not- I can’t- I can’t do this right now,” Val says. “I don’t want to do this.” She hears Dani protesting, but moves towards their bedroom anyway. She doesn’t want to fight; she doesn’t have the energy for it. She’s so tired, and that’s why she isn’t paying enough attention to the new layout of the room. That’s why she trips on the corner of their rug and starts to fall, slamming into the coffee table and landing on her bad knee, the old rug scraping her through her jeans.

Dani is with her in an instant, lifting her up off the floor. Val feels hot tears on her cheeks, and lets herself be held. Dani brings her to their bedroom, setting her gently on their bed. Val reaches for the tissues, and focuses on getting her breathing back under control. Dani returns to their room with the first aid kit in hand, and sits on the bed next to her. Val leans into Dani, and they sit together in silence, both searching for something to say.

Dani starts first. “I’m sorry that I upset you,” she says into Val’s shoulder. “I never want to upset you. I just wish you’d talk to me about what’s upsetting instead of shoving it down. Even at my best I won’t know everything you’re thinking. I want you to feel like you can talk to me.”

“I know I should but… How could you not have noticed that we never do what I want to do? It feels like you don’t pay any attention to how I’m feeling beyond me just saying it. And what is up with you and moving the furniture? I feel like you’re constantly changing our space without talking to me about it.”

“I never realized I don’t tell you first, I always just get the impulse to change it up and refresh the area. It gets boring if it’s the same for too long. It’s the - what does Maddie call it? - the Ghost Obsession or whatever. I love to go new places and do new things. I want adventure and change and excitement! Keep it different, change it up.”

“What, so you’re obsessed with change and I just have to deal with it?”

Dani turns to look at her, brows furrowed. “That’s not what I said at all.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry. I don’t get it though,” Val replies, stretching her good leg out and crossing it over Danielle’s. 

“I’m not obsessed with change,” Dani starts. She speaks slowly and thoughtfully, placing down each word with care. “It’s more like… salmon.”

“Salmon?” Val repeats.

“I’m not obsessed with change any more than a salmon is obsessed with swimming. That’s just what it does. Is a salmon swimming upstream because it wants to? It’s compelled to? Is it just instincts? Does a bird fly south for the winter because it’s run the math on survival or because something deep inside it tells it to go? Obsession isn’t a good word for it. It’s something I need and something I am. It’s hard to explain, but does that make any sense?”

“I guess it makes sense,” Val replies. She sets her next words down gently. Carefully. “It still seems like you’re wanting me to just do what you want all the time. Like, because you can’t control it I just have to deal with it.”

“I get why you feel that way, but that’s not what I meant. I just wanted you to understand where I’m coming from, I guess.”

“Okay. That makes me feel better.” Val pauses, gathering her thoughts. She stands and changes into loose pajama pants, Dani hovering anxiously as she moves on an unsteady leg. She sits back down gingerly, thoughts collected and voice steady. “I’m frustrated because it feels like you aren’t paying enough attention to me to know I’m upset. I know that it’s silly, that I should just tell you I’m upset, but I want you to be able to know without me telling you. So that I know you care enough to notice little things about me.”

“Are you sure that’s all it is?” Dani asks quietly. “I always thought we were good at talking about stuff, so it just feels weird that you don’t want to talk to me about what you’re feeling.”

“It’s just hard,” Val says. She takes a deep breath. “My Mom died and everything changed. And then later, when my Dad lost his job… They all just dropped me, like I was nothing and we weren’t ever friends, like they never even cared. And my Dad did his best but I had to get a job so we had enough to eat. We didn’t know if we’d be able to make rent or if Dad’s car would die and we’d be fucked. I just never knew if we’d be alright day to day and month to month and now I just - I have to know,” Val said, choking on a sob. “I have to know what’s happening when, because if I don’t know then it could all be gone.” 

Dani goes quiet for a while, starting to patch up Val’s knee. “That makes a lot of sense,” she says. “I’m sorry I didn’t see it before, Val. I promise I’ll do my best to notice any hesitancy you may have, and pay more attention to how you’re feeling. But I need you to try and be honest with me about how you’re feeling and what you want. I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I’ll always be here. I just need you to talk to me.”

Val nods. “I can do that. But can we also… make more solid plans? Maybe you could text me before you rearrange the whole apartment. Or maybe we could do it together? Make a weekend of it next time?”

Dani grins. “I would love that,” she replies. “What about the not going places? If you want to go back to places more often, maybe we could alternate? Either we alternate choosing where we go or maybe we could alternate new places and old places?”

“Something like that would be nice,” Val sighs. “I’m hungry now.”

“I bet you are, you had a long day.” Val nods, a little shaken by the realization that this has all been just one very long day. “Val? I love you so much. You know that, right?”

Val grins at her tiredly. “Of course I do. I love you too.”

“Good,” Dani says, standing up and beginning to pack up the first aid kit. “Surgery’s done, your knee’s all set. What do you want for dinner? We could try that new Chinese place up the street.”

“No,” Val says. “I want to get pizza from that place with the really good garlic knots.”

“Absolutely,” Dani says, warmth bleeding from her voice. Val takes a breath, in and out, to ground herself in this moment.

“It was easier when we were kids,” Val says. “We just had ghosts to worry about. We could just punch our problems and they’d go away.”

Dani laughs. “It wasn’t easier at all. I have a shit shoulder and your knee bothers you all the time. We were constantly fighting for our lives. It was good, though.”

Val smiles with her. “It was good.”

Dani rests their foreheads together. “It was us.”

[sillygoblinantics]

I just went through to number each page of Bonnie day out and we have:

56 pages! (Technically 53-54)

I think… it’s time for a treat! For reaching this many pages so far! And that is some rough concept art that comes much later!

˚✧₊*•✧₊⁎⁺˳✧༚⁎•˳✧༚˚✧⁎⁺˳✧.｡⁎⁺˳✧༚•

Oh? A future love interest for G? (He’s got that cowboy-tegrity and gummi goo sweet charm)

———————————

A Gothitelle hybrid! (Sawk/Ceruledge + Gothitelle/Grimmsnarl)

———————————

“Doctor ponytail” the antagonist from the og madhouse and my new version of her 🤫 meet professor Sugar Maple from up-region unova! She studies genealogy and biology/zoology of Pokémon!

———————————

Lastly have a grown up Bonnie and another lad! :0

[tamelee]

Big fan of your arts!!!! 🤩 i wondered if you have a favorite youtube channels or which are watching most? I’m bored so they dont have to be art related 😊

Thankyou so much!! 💕 And ooh~ what I watch changes all the time, but a few that I've been binging lately;

MrBallen - strange dark and mysterious story time video's. This man is an AMAZING storyteller! (Careful if you already feel down, topics can be pretty graphic/heavy)

Luxeria - fun reality tv, beauty, makeup commentary + science

Cinema Therapy - movie analyses focussed on mental health

Dylan is in trouble - funny movie commentaries

3D Sound studio - the best 3D audio, even in story format!

Abbie Emmons - all about writing

8-BitRyan - Gameplays

Marion's Kitchen - recipe's to die for, m' not kidding

StudioBinder - video production and education

RoomieOfficial - Music (analyses)

Mohammed Agbadi - Art (community) commentary

Ethan Becker - good, brutally honest art advice

Whyt Manga - tips for manga

Blowout Professor - all about hair

Rijk Hofman - dutch YouTuber, mostly reality tv commentary/mockery

Cody Ko - awkward dating show commentary

ZZAVID - funny movie commentary

ur internet mom ash - funny movie commentary

Ryan Trahan - a guy trying out new stuff in a funny way

Zac Alsop - another guy trying out new stuff in a funny way

Max Fosh - and yet another guy trying out new stuff in a funny way

Mia Maples - fashion and lifestyle (her mom is adorable I can't)

And definitely some more but these should at least help you fight boredom 😆 (Oh! if anyone has recs for me, I'd love to know!)

[raenegade-accio]

Birthday: February 28th ♓

Height: 165cm [5'5ft]

Wand: Laurel wood with a unicorn hair, 13 ¼ inches and slightly springy flexibility

Favourite beast(s): Hippogriffs, Kneazles, Mooncalves & Thestrals

Amortentia scent: air after a rainstorm, cinnamon and maple wood

Favoured extra-curriculars: Apparition, Magical Theory, Alchemy, Music & Art

Distinguishing features: a pale birthmark on her left eye iris, unkempt hair strands, fingerless gloves, small freckles across the bridge of her nose.

Has a knack for: languages, defensive magic, playing the violin, rescue and breeding or handling of magical creatures and all animals, potion-making & baking (?)

Animagus form (if she becomes one): Clouded Leopard 🐆

Quidditch position: If Black hadn't cancelled it, she’d have loved to tryout for Chaser

Boggart(s): wildfires, or specifically, a man burning half to death (one which she unfortunately ran into once as a child)

Riddikulus: transformed into a heap of rubber ducks, collectively quacking as they hit the floor

Friends: Natsai Onai, Poppy Sweeting, Highwing, Imelda Reyes (GF ♥️), Amit Thakkar, Deek, Samantha Dale, Leander Prewett, Everett Clopton, Ominis Gaunt and Anne Sallow

⚘ Background

Wren comes from a small modest family in Dublin and was born to non-magical immigrant parents from East Asia, their families a long line of revered scholars and musicians. One day, her family decided to migrate to Belfast, in hopes of passing on their literary and artistic knowledge to their friends and colleagues, in an otherwise industrial city. Wren has had an idyllic childhood in Northern Ireland; nurtured and filled with great kindness, albeit she’s still conflicted by how little she knows about her own parents' heritage and upbringing since they do everything they can to remain ambiguous regarding this matter.

Wren and her parents encountered misfortune when large numbers of riots began breaking out in the city one summer in 1886, mere months before she could finish primary school. Tension reached a peak when arsons were taking place near their residence, and many of their friends had perished in the blaze. Belfast was deemed no longer safe for Wren. Her parents then made the abrupt decision of having their daughter attend a faraway boarding school in Brighton instead, with hopes Wren will be much safer there. Unfortunately the years that followed Wren spent friendless and isolated; there was harsh discipline and little learning.

To say Wren’s Hogwarts acceptance letter came as a shock is an understatement, when an exuberant Professor Fig arrived on their doorstep one stormy evening. In spite of witnessing signs of magic weeks prior, Mr and Mrs Zhang, albeit polite enough, were less than eager at an overflow of new knowledge regarding an alleged existence of a Wizarding World; each word coming from the strange man sounded more unorthodox than the last. Ultimately a proper demonstration of Wingardium Leviosa and Reparo, as well as the promise of a thorough and more importantly, safe, educational environment, were enough to sway their resolve. They finally came to an agreement in which Wren will decide if she is ready to be registered for Hogwarts, if Professor Fig is to tutor her everything there is to know about rudimentary magic for the remaining summer holidays under their supervision.

⚘ Personality

At first glance, one wouldn’t think Wren is able to thrive as well as she does in Ravenclaw of all houses, given she’s a bit of a klutz and seemingly not a fast learner, but she’s proven to be in fact quick-witted and intuitive; she sees no benefit in rushing her schoolwork therefore would rather take her time making sure the tasks are done properly. That’s not to say she won’t be quick to rise to new challenges, especially practical ones, and will excel almost immediately as long as there are demonstrations.

Those Wren is close with would know her as fun-loving and a sensitive soul, but isn’t above some good back and forth cutting banter or even initiating a heated duel when warranted. Despite giving the impression of an idle dreamer, Wren moves through life with a clear sense of values. At times, however, she may focus so intently on the tasks at hand - whether it’s burning the midnight oil to finish extra assignments or straining to stay awake rescuing Mooncalves - that she often forgets to take adequate care of herself, driving herself to absolute burnout before she can reach her goals.

While not particularly reserved or withdrawn, the schooling years Wren’s endured in Brighton made her wary of most adults, slow to trust her classmates and unfamiliar with the simple concept of reaching out. Nothing makes her blood curdle more than the thought of inserting herself in situations where she’s not wanted. All the more reason why she considers herself extremely fortunate with the social circle she has now. That isn’t to say she’s prone to self isolation. Naturally she’s perfectly content engaging in meaningful conversations with just about anyone if they make the first move. If able, she’s always willing to lend a helping hand, whether it’s a first year struggling schoolwork or an errand a broom ride away.

Nothing makes her happy quite like helping others, men or beasts. She doesn’t care if the given tasks are tedious or gargantuan, Wren is simply happy knowing there are folks who trust her to be patient, thorough and get certain things done. Yet despite her compassionate nature, Wren isn't one to believe in second chances. If she feels betrayed, deceived or belittled, she becomes uncharacteristically cold-hearted and unforgiving; while it isn't impossible to earn back her trust, she'll never forget. Wren is always actively looking for a sense of security and stability. She is committed to the relationships with her friends and loved ones but will not hesitate to cut ties if she feels like she can no longer trust a person.

⚘ Other trivia

She’s the only member in her family with freckles; they’re not as sun-kissed as those of her classmates, and in truth very faint, hardly visible especially during the winter. Amit nevertheless noticed them fairly quickly and mentioned they remind him of the constellations he’d come across when he’s out studying in the Astronomy Tower, till this day she still isn’t quite sure what to say to that.

She gets asked about her (Northern Irish) accent all the time, but has learned to make a game out of it though - every time someone asks about it, she changes her answer.

Wren actively wants to become an Animagus, but in spite of the extensive research and preparations made beforehand, she is unsuccessful at every attempt, having to repeatedly start over each time she accidentally swallows her Mandrake leaf.

She’d never admit this out loud but she really gets a kick out of other students’ Howlers, surprised just how informative the screechings of enraged parents prove to be and can only imagine amusedly the amount of Howlers she’d receive if her parents know of just a fraction of her misadventures.

Before her longtime burgeoning and pent up attraction for Imelda, Wren took pride of her immunity to Sebastian Sallow's charming magnetism, unlike many of the others. However she had a massive crush on Garreth, Amit and even Professor Garlick. Afterwards, Wren was deeply infatuated with Poppy in her sixth year for a long time.

Wren is particularly passionate about animals, even before she was showing signs of magic. After learning to wield her newfound abilities (including Ancient Magic), she finds herself slowly able to empathise and even communicate with almost any beast or creature - though it often leads to instances where a trail of critters follow her into school grounds while on an errand in Hogsmeade or walking in between classes.

It's not a common practice, as far as she knows, but she enjoys decorating her broom, adorning it with clever trinkets and mementos, such as Moondews, a pendant given by her Ma and the phoenix feather from Deek.

Wren unfortunately struggles with her severe pyrophobia, that stems from her early childhood on account of the numbers of fireburnings and arsons she witnessed from the tumultuous political climate at the time. She's learned to tolerate minor things such as smoke or slight scorchings, but still has to keep a distance from most fireplaces, refrain from using certain spells to do with fire.

She’s a huge foodie, simple as that. She finds snacking as enjoyable a pastime as a jaunt in Hogsmeade. If she’s lounging in the common room, you’ll likely see her munching on an apple. When waiting for classes to start, she’d be having pumpkin pasties in the corridor. One morning she's even spotted aloft on her broom, not flying, just nibbling on a cauldron cake midair while overlooking the Highlands.

When offered to learn all three Unforgivables, she's repulsed by how very tempted she is. Now knowing how to cast them, she dreads finding out if she's truly capable of using them. She tells herself she learned simply out of deep appreciation and respect for all forms of magic, but part of her, out of morbid curiosity, wonders what it'd feel like to be proficient with the Dark Arts.

Wren is ambivalent, at best, towards her connection to Ancient Magic. The notion of wielding one of the most formidable and arcane forms of magic should sound enticing… There were nights she spent wishing someone else could worry about Ranrok, Rookwood, those damned repositories and their ridiculous trials in her stead, that Ranrok and his loyalists would just go home, the poachers could jump off a cliff. She finds the Keepers priggish and infuriating. What she wouldn’t give to seal away the Map Chamber and never have to look into the jeering gazes of those towering portraits again.

⚘ Career & Aspirations

Healer - trained and became a Healer via the work experience programmes at St. Mungo's after her 7th year

Curse Breaker - applied months post graduation via multiple remedial exams on one of her worst subjects: Ancient Runes

⚘ Likes

Sunrises, sketching, Highwing, Pumpkin Pasties, speeding across the Black Lake on her broom, Cauldron Cakes, playing her violin, Butterbeer, kissing her girlfriend pestering Imelda Reyes, and the bird's-eye view when soaring above Hogwarts on her broom - she also has a nasty habit of launching herself off the highest cliff or the tallest tower when summoning her broom.

⚘ Dislikes

Spiders, raw eggs, people randomly petting her hair (happens more than most think), “Puffskein Dunkein” and trolls, though nothing gets to her quite like being micromanaged - the more overbearing the person is, the more likely she'd do the complete opposite of what's expected of her, wholly out of petty spite

- - - - - - - - RP friends:

Nosy the Niffler (@kiwiplaetzchen),

Hellendil Melinae (@theravenchild),

William Abbott and Elland de Strontium (@ask-elland-n-will),

Sienna Lee (@ask-sienna),

Allegra Fenwick and Clementine the Golden Retriever (@adallegra),

Theodora Devlin (@theodoradevlin),

Andrew Montrose (@ask-andrew-montrose),

Demetrius Haggarty (@demetrius-haggarty),

Felix Åberg (@ask-felix-aberg)

[eleonoraalbright]

Evil of the Thriller

Pairing: Peter Maximoff x fem!reader

Excerpt: You heard the door slam and realized it was too late. There was nowhere left to run or even hide. A cold hand clutched you shoulder, and you wondered if you'd ever feel the warm sun against your cheeks and enjoy the sweet, summertime air with you friends. Would you ever see them again? Would you ever see Peter again?

A/N: The gif below doesn't really have anything to do with the story. I just found it sorta halloweeny and funny. Also, there's a little bit of mild gore.

Something moved in the bushes behind you. Spinning around to see the source of the sound, you saw nothing. You took a deep breath to calm your rattled nerves. Maybe walking in the dark by yourself wasn't a good idea.

You did a complete three-sixty to see anything suspicious, but the grounds of Xavier's Institute were silent, except for the occasional hoot of an owl and the slight breeze that rustled the leaves.

Ten minutes ago, it seemed the perfect opportunity to take a peaceful midnight stroll. Now you were regretting the decision. You stood still and peered into the shadows of the trees in the distance.

Was someone or something lurking in the darkness? That was absurd though. The school was protected by state-of-the-art equipment and regularly tested, and who would attack the mansion with the X-Men ready to defend it? Managing a small smirk, you stepped forward to saunter among the maples and oaks of the forest under the beautiful moonlight.

You froze, however, when the shadows shifted in an unnatural way and emerged a sight which almost stopped your heart. You were paralyzed as a monstrous horror, fixated on your figure, stalked closer.

No help was to be found, there was only yourself. Raising your hand, you sent an explosive shock wave concentrated at it. The hideous creature crashed into a thicket of black spruces, but it rolled sideways and continued toward you.

You blasted it repeatedly until your hands were aching. The beast was nearly upon you when you began to run faster than any Olympic runner has or ever will. In just mere seconds, you reached the door and flung it open. You bolted it shut and shouted into the empty foyer.

The others needed to be alerted to the beast clawing at the entrance. Professor X could freeze it with his mind, Ororo could strike it with lighting, Peter could race it to the ends of the earth. They could succeed where you had failed.

Sprinting up the stairs and down the hall, you banged on doors and shrieked for the students to wake up and kill the monster waiting for them outside. No one came. The rooms were vacant and the beds deserted. You were alone.

You heard the front door crash and realized it was too late. The horror was already inside. There was nowhere left to run or hide. A cold hand clutched your shoulder, and you wondered if you'd ever feel the warm sun against your cheeks and enjoy the sweet, summertime air with your friends.

Would you ever see them again? Would you ever see Peter again? Tears fell from your face and onto the floor for the heinous fate that awaited you.

Closing your eyes, you hoped this beast was only a figment of your imagination. Yet hallucinations don't creak floorboards or hold you in a death grip. You were out of time. This was how you died, no last-minute escape, no daring rescue, no second chance to live.

You turned your head to see the thing that was your death and let out another scream of terror. Forty, huge eyes leered back at you with each eyeball oozing blood that gushed over to its sharpened fangs.

You attempted to use your powers and struggled to get as far as you were able to from the monster, but to no avail. There was no escaping the blood-soaked jaws that meant the end of your life. Demons appeared and joined in feasting on your body.

Teeth plunged into your neck, stomach, and arms. You unleashed hellish screams and wails that signaled your demise. You wished it could be over and that death would release you from this earth-shattering pain.

You were awakened by someone shaking your shoulders.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Your eyes fluttered open. Peter knelt next to you, looking scared. Bolting upward, you wacked your arms to rid yourself of the devils eating them. You touched your neck, making sure it was attached to your head.

Peter secured your arms to your sides and said, "Woah, are you okay? What happened? You've been screaming in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare? What's wrong?"

You fought against him while sobbing that a beast was here, and it was devouring you. Then his words echoed in your ears. You've been screaming in your sleep. Did you have a nightmare? What's wrong? A TV was playing a horror movie.

On a table was a bowl of half-eaten popcorn, the wrappings of multiple candy bars, and two empty giant-sized bottles of soda. Pillows and blankets were piled on the couch where you were sitting.

It dawned on you that Peter and you were having your annual Halloween movie marathon. Did that mean the gruesome occurrence that you experienced was nothing more than a nightmare? Was it all fake?

You clutched Peter as if he was the last anchor to your sanity and broke into a fresh set of tears. They were tears of relief. The monster was not real and never would be. Your limbs hadn't been torn apart for demons' dinner, and Peter hadn't abandoned you.

He rubbed your back. "I don't think we should watch anymore tonight," he murmured and clicked the TV off.

You pulled away from his embrace, placed your hands on either side of his confused face, and kissed him flat on the lips. It was a wonderful, tingling sensation that forced you to completely accept reality. You stopped as soon as you started, not wanting to make Peter uncomfortable with your sudden action. "Sorry, I-"

"Hey, I didn't say I wasn't enjoying it." He smiled and resumed the impassioned kiss.

Afterwards, you asked him to stay, and he gladly obliged. When he heard about your nightmare in nauseating detail, he offered to fetch anything to make you feel better.

You rejected this because all you didn't want him to leave your side even for a split second; all you needed was him. Peter comforted you the entire night and promised to protect you from the evil of the thriller.

[shyblacksheep]

• All the art I done so far together of my Pokémon Trainer OC, who eventually becomes a Professor that specializes in shiny/alt-colored pokémon, Alistair(/Prof. Maple) and some of his pokemon~

[ X ]🍁

[pokemon--masters]

(Read this before ya follow.) || (Blinkie credit)

We're the pokemon and pokepasta fictives in the Starry System. We reblog drawings of ourselves and shit that reminds us of ourselves.

Body's 20 and all of us (except Loneliness) are adults. Might reblog suggestive content so watch out.

We'll TRY TO tag posts with our proxies. Text posts are tagged [proxy].txt. Our art (rbed from our art blog) is tagged "Starry [proxy]." Pokemon are tagged "[proxy] pkmn." For guys who don't have a proxy, we just use their name until they're given one.

Names, sources, intros and shit under the cut.

MISSING NUMBERS

Blue (🔪) (canon/blue tears/abandoned loneliness). I'm one of the system's hosts so I'm usually the most active and the one reblogging shit.

"Glitchy" Red (❗) (gen1 canon/glitchy red)

"Fire" Red (🔥) (gen2 onwards canon/glitchy red/snow on mount silver)

Leaf (🥀) (canon/abandoned loneliness/fallen leaf)

Steven (♟) and Mike (⏮) (strangled red)

Professor Ace Maple (original)

FivEs (↗️) (prevention of evolution)

Loneliness (🐾) (abandoned loneliness)

OTHERS

Gold/Ethan (⚠️) and Silver/Aisling (🔇) (Lost Silver)

Rei (🟥) (Hypno's Lullaby - glitchy red)

Lullaby (Hypno's Lullaby - hypno)

Blake and Frostbite (snow on mount silver)

Ethan (lost silver) (a different one. this is a kid)

Emmet, Ingo, Volo, Lysandre, Guzma (canon)

While there are more, they're much less likely to be active for one reason or another, and will only be added if they do end up posting here.

[themissingnumbers]

Professor, if I may…?

Who’s the sleepy little guy in the corner? Are they your Pokémon? They’re very cute…

"Oh! Well, that sweet little angel is Cotton. And yes, she's my Pokemon... One of my only ones, actually."

Ace sighs wistfully, looking down at the sleeping Eevee.

"I know she's a bit of a runt, and her coat is a bit odd, but I can assure you, she's well cared for- maybe a bit spoiled, if I'm honest. She's good company, though... She means the world to me."

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[smileymoth]

We were making an ai classifier toda which was pretty interesting, like you get a bunch of photos for multiple things (i did it on moths so, one class is rosy maple moth, second is atlas moth, third is herculese moth etc etc) and train it to recognize the patterns and if you show it a moth it will try to guess what moth it is (regarding the classes you made for it). We made a quizz off it after.

However because we scraped the web for images to train it on, most of us used google. And it just proved the point of how useless google's image search actually is. We used an image downloading extention called "imageye" which basically scrapes all the images from the website you have open and downloads them, this also means it downloads absolutely all favicons and random icons that nobody wants so you have to filter them.

And oh my god it was garbage. ~10% of your results depending on what moth you searched were AI sludge. Then it shows you shop listings (obviously), then it shows you a completely different moth. It was impossible to get photos for the rosy maple moth because 50% were plushie/etsy listings. Like I get it its a popular moth thats really cute but jesus christ. I had to go to flickr to get pictures of that thing because after sorting the images i was left with like. 15 files. Which is Not enough for a classifier.

I think the saddest part beside the fact of youre just downloading random images with no permission is that there was barely any art in the search results. Like there were a couple of moth drawings, and some "buff moths" (bc i was looking up buff tip moth lol) but the rest was just... online listings, ai sludge, or some other thing you didnt need.

I think the classifier itself is a more useful tool than an image generator since you can train it to recognize plants and animals, like those mushroom identifier books but automated. The professor showed us a classifier that sb had made for shooing away foxes and raccoons from their garden, so if it detected it it would make a noise and scare them away. Lol

[abookishdreamer]

Character Intro: Ascalaphus (Kingdom of Ichor)

Nicknames- My boy by Acheron

Darling by Orphne

Age- 17 (immortal)

Location- The Underworld

Personality- He's a broody yet eccentric young god who loves intellectual pursuits, gothic aesthetics, & a deep appreciation for classic literature and art. He's currently single.

He has the standard abilities of a god. His other powers/abilities include limited chlorokinesis (as it pertains to plants & flowers native to the Underworld), limited necromancy, being able to communicate with/shapeshift into a screech owl, limited umbrakinesis (shadow manipulation), and limited hydrokinesis (as it pertains to the waters of his father's river).

Ascalaphus is the only child of his parents- Acheron (Titan god of pain) & Orphne, a lampade.

He lives with his parents at their mansion in the Underworld. Ascalaphus' room is on the third floor. The bedroom door is built out of blackwood & there's also a terrace where he can overlook his father's river. The flooring is black marble while the walls are brimstone- covered in posters of his favorite bands, singers, movies, and deities. Instead of a laptop, there's an antique typewriter. In his room there's a simple trundle bed covered in dark blue satin pillows & black quilts, white onyx shelves for his book collection, as well as his blue-black iCHOR Tech wireless speaker that's automatically connected to Musify.

Ascalaphus is his father's twin with their olive skin, brown-black eyes, and facial features with the only difference being their frames. Acheron has a lean muscular build while his son has a bit more muscle. He feels like his mother feels left out because she doesn't look like them with her brilliant dark blue eyes, dark obsidian skin, and thick curly hair.

He's fluent in Latin.

He keeps his ink black hair short & shaggy.

Ascalaphus has a few tattoos- large owl wings on his back, a pair of dark blue eyes (dedicated to his mom) on the inside of his left wrist, a skull surrounded by black dahlias on his right arm, and the quote "What nourishes me destroys me" written in latin on his left pec. His good friend Achlys (goddess of the death mist, poison, misery, & sadness) did the tattoos.

A go-to drink for him is beer. He also likes red wine, pomegranate brandy, his dad's jallab, his mom's homemade blackberry iced tea, ginger ale, hot chocolate, black tea, mineral water, and cola.

Ascalaphus primarily writes in cursive.

For breakfast he'll typically go to a corner store to get a sausage, egg, & cheese on a hero on toasted rye bread. If he's gonna be on time for school, he'll have a bowl of steel cut oats topped with dark chocolate chips and maple syrup, a bowl of Earthly Harvest raisin crunch cereal, or his mom's omelette- added with black olives, mushrooms, & ghost peppers.

Ascalaphus loves listening to classical, synth pop, folk, rock, heavy metal, rap, and death metal music. His favorite musical artists to listen to are Moros (god of doom), O, & the death metal rap band Death Theater- comprising of Hades, Charon (Ferryman of the Underworld), his friend Hypnos (god of sleep), and Thanatos (god of death). He also thinks that Pale Blu isn't too bad either.

He's currently a freshman at Polydegmon University, the most prestigious college in the Underworld. Ascalaphus has a full ride- a four year scholarship, thanks in part to his father as well as the king. He doesn't live on campus, an agreed compromise with his parents. Even though it's too early to declare a major, Ascalaphus is thinking about majoring in botany or art history.

Thus far his favorite class has been his gothic literature class taught by his professor- a lampade named Ms. Whiteveil. The sound of her velvet smooth voice while she reads poems and short passages automatically calms him.

He loves snacking on ash plum flavored gummy spiders. He also likes spicy mushroom flavored kettle cooked potato chips & black anise licorice twists.

Ascalaphus has a job of sorts. He tends to the garden of the king of the Underworld, Hades (god of the dead). The orchard is primarily filled with black dahlias, frost orchids, black thorned roses, and shadow blossoms. He actually likes working in the garden. It's one of the few moments where Ascalaphus is alone with his thoughts for self-reflection. He also doesn't mind the company of the king. Hades will bring him a small cup of dark roast coffee or will lend Ascalaphus a book from his extensive library.

He also earns extra money by picking up groceries for Geras (god of old age) & by dog-sitting Cerberus sometimes.

There's a small restaurant downtown in Plouton Square that makes the best jjajangmyeon (noodles & diced pork in black bean sauce). It's a frequent takeout order for him.

All though Ascalaphus loves his parents, he feels like they're keeping him on a tight leash, especially his father. They didn't even want him to live on campus in a dorm and they especially don't want him to leave or travel out of the Underworld to any of the other realms- Olympius in particular. The Realm of Darkness is all he ever knows and Ascalaphus just wants the chance to experience something new, something different.

At school his social circle consists of cyclopes named Osric, Sybil, & Quintessa (Tessa for short), a harpy named Xerxes, a lampade named Azura (a botany major), as well as mortals named Caspian (a art history major), Rosalind, and Venetia.

Ascalaphus in undecided about whether or not to join the University's fraternity. Osric is a member.

Outside of school he's real good friends with Theodon (god of reality, uncertainty, & fate). They hang out together all the time. They smoke weed sometimes (through use of a Stygian Iron bong) & Ascalaphus will invite Theo to play basketball with him, Osric, Xerxes, and Caspian every weekend at Shadowstone Park. Theodon even tagged along to Ascalaphus' first college party!

He really liked going to the film premier of Blooddancer with Theodon. Ascalaphus even got to briefly meet the director of the film Keres (goddess of violent death). The photo of them meeting is framed & on his dresser. He also saved the ticket stubs!

In the pantheon he's also friends with Despoina (goddess of the arcadian mysteries, frost, winter, & shadows).

Also in the pantheon Ascalaphus respects and admires Nyx (goddess of the night) Erebus (god of darkness), as well as his "honorary" aunts & uncles, the other Underworld river deities- Phlegethon (Titan god of fire), Lethe (Titaness of forgetfulness, oblivion, & concealment), Styx (Titaness of hatred), and his godfather Cocytus (Titan god of wailing & lamentation).

He also admires Favian (god of philosophy) & is a fan of his steampunk historical fantasy book series The Machinery of Alchemists.

The iCHOR Tech soundproof headphones are great when Ascalaphus is working on an assignment or blocking out the sounds of his parents' lovemaking.

Sometimes (without his parents knowing), Ascalaphus will travel out-of-realm to Olympius to pick up Theodon from school. He pretends not to care as Theo drones on and on about a fellow schoolmate Heimarmene (Marnie) (goddess of shared fate). One day while Ascalaphus was waiting for Theo where he noticed him walking down the school's steps with Marnie and another girl. He thought she looked like winter's light with her flawless pale skin and shimmery silver eyeshadow on her eyelids. Her smile was just as bright as she tucked away strands of her short bouncy golden light brown hair behind her hair. When Ascalaphus asked Theo about her when he got in the car, he said that she was Marnie's best friend Eiresione (Ren) (goddess of offerings).

His favorite frozen treat is dark chocolate ice cream topped with pomegranate syrup, dark chocolate chips, and whipped cream.

His favorite dessert is his mom's black rum cake. She makes it every year for his birthday and on the Winter Solstice.

Ascalaphus is not ashamed about the fact that he's still a virgin. He wants to wait until he's emotionally connected with someone to have sex. He did make out with an empousa named Elidi at the college party.

His all time favorite meal is his dad's hearty lamb stew with saffron rice and his mom's scorched chicken.

In his free time Ascalaphus enjoys playing video games, reading, skateboarding, writing, snowboarding, gardening, skiing, ice hockey, cooking (with his parents), ink painting, going to museums, chess, listening to music, and going to the cinema. He's also been getting into photography.

"Owls inspire us to see beyond the darkness and find our own light."