#sequel to the hand

[4h13min]

Melt.

[hinamie]

mwah

[idolomantises]

I was replaying BOTW for the third time to play the DLC but I got bored halfway and decided to boot up Skyward Sword and play it for the first time…

I didn’t know Link was this expressive 😭

[verawhisk]

mommy astarion inspired by the cute awesome @fire-shadow-dragon-god :’)

[seeleybooth]

"Don't get up on your high horse with me, Anne Shirley."

"Marilla pessimistically expected more trouble since Anne had again begun to go to school. But none developed. Perhaps Anne caught something of the “model” spirit from Minnie Andrews; at least she got on very well with Mr. Phillips thenceforth. She flung herself into her studies heart and soul, determined not to be outdone in any class by Gilbert Blythe. The rivalry between them was soon apparent; it was entirely good-natured on Gilbert’s side; but it is much to be feared that the same thing cannot be said of Anne, who had certainly an unpraiseworthy tenacity for holding grudges. She was as intense in her hatreds as in her loves. She would not stoop to admit that she meant to rival Gilbert in schoolwork, because that would have been to acknowledge his existence which Anne persistently ignored; but the rivalry was there and honors fluctuated between them. Now Gilbert was head of the spelling class; now Anne, with a toss of her long red braids, spelled him down. One morning Gilbert had all his sums done correctly and had his name written on the blackboard on the roll of honor; the next morning Anne, having wrestled wildly with decimals the entire evening before, would be first. One awful day they were ties and their names were written up together. It was almost as bad as a take-notice and Anne’s mortification was as evident as Gilbert’s satisfaction. When the written examinations at the end of each month were held the suspense was terrible. The first month Gilbert came out three marks ahead. The second Anne beat him by five. But her triumph was marred by the fact that Gilbert congratulated her heartily before the whole school. It would have been ever so much sweeter to her if he had felt the sting of his defeat.

Mr. Phillips might not be a very good teacher; but a pupil so inflexibly determined on learning as Anne was could hardly escape making progress under any kind of teacher. By the end of the term Anne and Gilbert were both promoted into the fifth class and allowed to begin studying the elements of “the branches”—by which Latin, geometry, French, and algebra were meant. In geometry Anne met her Waterloo.

“It’s perfectly awful stuff, Marilla,” she groaned. “I’m sure I’ll never be able to make head or tail of it. There is no scope for imagination in it at all. Mr. Phillips says I’m the worst dunce he ever saw at it. And Gil—I mean some of the others are so smart at it. It is extremely mortifying, Marilla.

“Even Diana gets along better than I do. But I don’t mind being beaten by Diana. Even although we meet as strangers now I still love her with an inextinguishable love. It makes me very sad at times to think about her. But really, Marilla, one can’t stay sad very long in such an interesting world, can one?”

Anne of Green Gabes (1908) by L.M. Montgomery - CHAPTER XVII - A New Interest in Life

[pranpats]

firstprince + other kisses

[miikpal]

played death mark recently. hook line and sinker with the glasses wearing amnesiac 44 year old protag

[metaphorical-goblin]

I’ve been thinking about narumitsu coming up with excuses to hold hands lately

Babies holding hands as they cross the street because it’s dangerous, or grabbing onto each other so they don’t get separated on a field trip, or one of them (probably Phoenix, sorry baby) forgets his gloves inside and it’s freezing but they don’t want to lose a single second of recess going back inside to get them!

And then as they get older, Phoenix and Miles shaking hands after getting the verdict for DL-6, and maybe they’re both holding on for a little too long, staring a little too long, and breaking away with an awkward cough

or Phoenix pushing his way through the crowd after Matt Engarde’s verdict, carrying Pearl in one arm and holding Miles’ hand in the other because he can’t risk them getting separated and Miles is the one with a car and a tendency to speed so he’s the one—

or Miles clasping Phoenix’s hand between his own in the hospital because lord, he’s freezing, trembling uncontrollably and really, it’s only because Phoenix is trying to give him something so of course he has to take his hand—

and gently pulling Phoenix’s hand away from his spiky hair, on the verge of tearing it out, coaching him to regulate his breathing. Holding Miles’ hand through a particularly rough patch of turbulence. Taking Miles’ hand while they walk on the streets of whatever country he’s flown them out to, because he’s holding Trucy’s hand on the other side and they need to be balanced, can’t get separated,

quietly, quietly, joining pinkies in the front row of one of Trucy’s shows. quietly, quietly, tugging on sleeves just to ask to slip around a corner for close whispered words and warm cheeks that almost touch. quietly, quietly, letting their hands rest just beside each other as they both hold on to the grocery store cart, and it’s awkward because they weren’t made for two men of their stature to push it at once, but it really doesn’t matter all that much.

And (taking a page out of Rendevok’s book, love you) one of them (probably Phoenix, sorry baby) forgets his gloves again, and Miles carefully taking his hand, pulling him close, and warming his hands up as best as he can

and taking Phoenix’s hand, trying to steady it (which doesn’t help at all because they’re both shaking), glancing up at him and he’s got this wobbly excited smile on his face and Miles can’t help but snort, which doesn’t help the shaking hands but someone clears their throat and they both take a steadying breath, and Miles gently coaxes the ring onto Phoenix’s finger, and they smile

[captainkirkk]

I'm normally a very slow reader of published novels, but I devoured The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard and now I can NOT stop thinking about it.

Everyone who has read my Fire Lord Zuko content knows how much I love 1) people of power working tirelessly to make the world a better place for all; and b) kings, slowly being crushed under the weight of their crown and duty, finding love and care in their loyal servants and staff

Except this story is more. The Emperor is worshiped and treated as a god, bound by extreme taboos and protocols that he can't break. It's about his staff (his found family) looking BEYOND the exterior of godhood and finding the human being underneath - who is dying under the weight of being the Emperor - and deciding to reach out, even if by acknowledging his humanity they are technically breaking many laws.

God this book is about so many things, including:

Found family can be the Last Emperor and his senior members of staff

The Emperor learning how to be human again with the help of his friends

There's no romance in this book. The deep friendships are the beating heart of this story, and they very much Love each other.

Breaking down a previously corrupt imperial empire through hard work and radial reforms, leading to sweeping changes including UNIVERSAL INCOME

Embracing cultural heritage, even in the heart of the imperial palace. Our main character is both one of the highest ranking members of government and from an islander culture, and he dedicates himself to both

The struggle for your family (who have a case of tall poppy syndrome, and live far far away from the capital and palace) to see you as a respected adult and understand all of your (many, MANY) achievements, even when you're very literally brought the Emperor home with you.

This book has some BEAUTIFUL confrontations, take-downs, and revelations based on the past two points (and more). If you underestimate or insult our main character, You Will Regret It. Watching him lose his temper is a glorious thing to behold.

Anyway I'm pretty sure this just became my all-time favourite book, because it's beautifully written and touches on all of my favourite tropes.

[melonalemonade]

good night

[gothic-btch]

Kaeya tries too hard with getting Albedo to like him, overly flirting, touching, seeking him out, obsessing over him and trying to always be around him

Albedo tries hard to distance himself from Kaeya bc he doesn't know what the hell this feeling inside of him is but he's pretty sure literal butterflies have found their way into his stomach to torture him and somehow Kaeya's the one who did it to him

Diluc is pissed bc he thinks that Albedo is leading his brother on, and who does he think he is? So like the good big brother he is he goes to give Albedo the shovel talk and Albedo is all like "what's a crush" and Diluc realizes that he isn't a jerk, just dumb

Kaeya ends up giving up bc he's like, Albedo clearly doesn't like me, I don't wanna harass this dude plus I look desperate.

Diluc helps Albedo start reciprocating Kaeya's feelings, then they realize that he gave up so now they need a new plan. Except Diluc doesn't talk to his brother so he tries to hangout with him to get to know him better and Kaeya's all suspicious

Kaeya thinks that Albedo and Diluc have joined forces bc they both hate him and now feels super shitty and sad about it. Every time the two try to interact with him he thinks it's a plan to humiliate or hurt him and gets super depressed

Albedo and Diluc don't understand what they're doing wrong and amp it up 10× (now also trying to get Diluc and Kae to fix their relationship) and they just make everything worse

Klee is basically the go to vent person in all of this (not venting all their feelings ofc, but Klee is super helpful regardless) and through the power of Klee everything ends up perfect in the end

Diluc and Kaeya are brothers again, Kaeya and Albedo are dating, and Diluc and Albedo each earned a new friend

[pioussoup]

Today's valentines are old women

Doodles

Orions coming at last :))))))

Alt text to read the little notes

Uncropped and first sketch below

Thank you Optimus laptop desktop for lighting a perfect background gradient at 4 am

[eldritch-ace]

I wish Luke was in Bloodline, they would be so dramatic together

[forbiddentaako]

Fall out boy putting me in a fallenwings mood again

Lute's version:

[krys-does-art-stuff]

Former Belle declares her love for her king in front of the neighboring nobility. It's super effective!

I speeded through Nokto's sequel a few days ago and I had fun time with it! Nokto has a way of surprising you with how much depth he has and his sequel definitely delivered on that.

March 2025

[clockwrkpendrxgon]

I CAN’T STOP WATCHING THIS