#stunning originals

[shellshooked]

to bury a goddess

[pearlore]

@eydilily 's gempearl designs r so gorgeous i had to draw........ also a swap?? ft. some nzsl bc i was briefly possessed by the spirit of. hands.

[varian-ross-horror-author]

"Disabled people should be allowed to be as independent as we can be" and "disabled people should not be pressured to be hyper-independent in order to not wind up in nursing homes against our will" are two thoughts that can, and should, exist at the same time.

[heysweetbee]

[arcxus-of-altihex]

Ruan ref!! Or well, I wanted to revamp his design for 2024 so here he is.

[lacebird]

SHALOM HARLOW Versace spring/summer 1995

[wingheadshellhead]

TONY STARK in I AM IRON MAN (2023) art by Dotun Akande

[geekgirles]

Loking good Ankama, looking good.

[trappedinafantasy37]

Since Minthara presents an exterior shell made of steel, and she's sometimes mean, and is an absolute badass in battle, she is often treated and perceived as someone who feels no emotions. And this often occurs to individuals who do put on such a tough exterior. It also does not help that many people perceive evil characters as incapable of doing or feeling anything other than evil. That love and evil are innately incompatible.

But Minthara is not emotionless, she does feel things. Sadness, grief, fear, loneliness, anger, anxiety, paranoia, vengeance, love. She can laugh, she can tell jokes, she can cry, she can smile, and she does get upset at things. If anything, she is emotionally repressed and emotionally guarded and the times where she does really express her more negative and vulnerable emotions is when it becomes too much to hold back and it comes out a little over the top. We have to remember she comes from a society in which such outward emotional expression would be rewarded with social punishment, religious scorn, or even death. So she really doesn't have the healthiest mechanisms to express her emotions.

She hides what she feels all the time as a means of keeping herself safe from punishment. She keeps it to herself cause she does not want you to see her as weak, as she would have been in the past. And she certainly does not want you or anyone else to punish her for it either. She hides behind little pet names and even using words from languages she knows you don't understand as that is the only way she feels safe being vulnerable with you. In her past, her love was rewarded with new wounds and new scars. She is terrified to open up to you, fearing that you will hurt her because she loves you. That her love for you won't actually be enough to stop you from hurting her. And she will only ever admit she loves you in contexts that have a high risk of death because there's really not much for her to lose at that point so she may as well tell you.

She also has a habit of intellectualizing what she feels and experiences so that they appear as "rational" and "logical" rather than emotional and to distance herself from her emotions. She says it takes a sharp mind to have sympathy for someone who suffers unnecessarily. She is trying to make it appear that emotions like sympathy is a matter of the mind, not the heart. That it is a mark of intelligence, because otherwise it would be the mark of weakness.

She blames herself for her own torments, like she deserved the awful things that happened to her. She frames the situation like she is more at fault and more deserving of blame, than the people who hurt her. It is the only way she can find any reason in what happened to her and any reason in her tormentors actions. That she did something wrong and induced someone's wrath upon her, rather than acknowledging that the person who hurt her is just a bad person.

She deserved what Ketheric and Orin did to her because she was "weak, passive, proud". That her emotional state had blinded her from the trap that was set, giving Ketheric and Orin ample opportunity to attack her. That if she hadn't felt those exact emotions, then it wouldn't have happened. She could have seen the trap coming, or she could have fought back.

Or if you attempt to tell her that her childhood was rough and her mother abused her, she immediately deflects by saying, "it could have been worse" and therefore, what she did actually experience wasn't really that bad. And yeah, sure, maybe she needed certain lessons given that she lived in a cruel and dangerous society like Menzoberranzan where she had to be prepared for violence at all times. But trauma is not born of love, it is born of fear, of pain, of agony, and her mother still tried to kill her. Regardless of her mother's intent, it was the first broken bond of trust and it left a mark on Minthara. Where she began to believe that her mother would torment her for torments sake, and she had doubts on whether or not her mother actually loved her.

When you encounter the first Orin imposter, it's pretty damn obvious she is terrified. And you kinda gotta squeeze it out of her to admit that she's afraid. Where it's "I'm afraid of Orin because she is capable of this, this, and this, and you should be too" rather than "I am afraid of Orin because she hurt me." And she begs you, BEGS, to keep her safe because she knows her fear makes her vulnerable to Orin.

She doesn't even truly acknowledge that she wasn't at fault for what Orin did to her until Orin is dead. She doesn't start putting the blame on Orin until Orin is dead. She doesn't go through the emotional process of sympathizing with herself until Orin is dead. And she doesn't admit that she undoubtedly has trauma, until Orin is dead. She gets so wrapped up, and so lost in her own fear and paranoia that she never has the room to properly process the things that happen to her. That her primary concern right now is keeping you, the others, and herself safe and her emotions can wait because wallowing in them will only make her weak. Only does the distance of death give her the room to start healing. Only problem is that there have always been threats and they never end, they never stop. So it is rare for Minthara to ever have a moment of peace and safety to work through what she feels and they just get backed up. Ignoring your problems does not make them go away.

So you wanna know what will happen when an embrace Durge betrays her? She will fall to her death, a knife in her belly, blaming herself for your betrayal. All her worst fears have come to pass and you were indeed a lover who hurt her because she loved you, and that she was a fool to ever trust you at all. That if she didn't love you, maybe you wouldn't have hurt her. She doesn't understand your reasoning, she can't make sense of it, she doesn't know why you'd betray her, so it must have been her fault for thinking you'd be different. That if she hadn't been so loyal, so devoted, that she could have been spared. That her belief that you would rule together is what damned her. She will die blaming herself for her own murder before she ever gets a chance to start blaming you.

[sir-fenris]

Can I please make a request? What about a living weapon (since that seems to be your speciality) who’s sent in for “training” by another trainer since apparently they’ve been acting defiant. And the trainers expecting a feral snarling weapon like they usually get, they aren’t expecting this quiet meek weapon who’s act of defiance was having PTSD or something else that’s either small or not in their control?

Sorry for the little wait! Hope you don't mind me doing your request with the event, and hope you enjoy the drabble :)

(Also, I'm glad you consider lw my specialty :D thank you)

Year of Whump Tropes - Day 18

January 2025 - Week 3, Day 4

"Don't make me repeat myself"

(Drabbles' masterlist)

Content: living weapon whumpee, medic whumpee, multiple whumpers, dehumanization, electrocution (stun bat), institutionalized whump, military whump, physical disability, swearing.

Trainer didn't know what happened in the last months of the year. Perhaps the handlers were already too tired from the year, so impatient for their winter break that they just didn't want to handle their unruly charges anymore.

Perhaps the weapons were also tired from years without a proper break, and that's why they acted out so much. Got too violent, too unstable, too snappy, too volatile.

But like clockwork, every time the winter break was close, at the time of his lunch break, there was a handler asking if he could recalibrate the weapons. Trainer got them quiet and obedient and sent them back to their handlers before the week was done.

By now, he doesn't even bother going to his office first thing in the morning. He will always get a call in less than 30 minutes about one of his new charges doing too much noise.

So he goes straight to the training wing and starts to read the records about the new weapons dumped to him.

On the first handler's name, a familiar one, it's an effort to not roll his eyes. Their superiors had to be notified of the irresponsible habit of this idiot. Every month, this guy brings in another one for extra training. There's no way he's always getting the worst weapons, he's just too lazy to break in the ones that don't behave after the first correction.

Trainer used the peephole to see a slim, curled form on the corner. It probably had been starved as punishment, by the looks of it. He opens the silent door with the stun bat already in hand.

"Asset. Stand and report designation." Not too loud yet, giving it the time to obey, a simple and easy question. The weapon doesn't even move its face away from the wall.

Starting off with punishment, classic. That shitty handler trained his weapons so badly they disobey even to just report. Trainer takes two steps forward and shocks its leg.

With a startled scream, the weapon turns around, trying to kick the bat away. He punishes the attempt with a harsh hit to the kicking leg.

This time, it chokes on a pained groan and just curls further into the corner. And... oh. There are tears in its eyes. Well, that's new.

"Asset. Stand up and report designation." Trainer repeats in the same tone as before. The weapon's eyes snap up middle sentence, and its eyebrows knit slightly. He took only a second to see it as confusion instead of defiance.

"... Asset code 2284. Previous front line medic, reassigned to camp medic." It says, still curled in the corner. It doesn't seem defiant, just tense, but it still refused to stand up.

... Something wasn't adding up.

Trainer still brought the bat down and gave the weapon time to flinch and cower before shocking their leg again. No resisting attempt, different from the first time, for some reason. No startled kicking. "Don't make me repeat myself, asset!"

"I'm sorry, sir," It mutters out in a resigned voice, one that told him those words have been said way too much lately. Its eyes look up for a second, at the bat.

Trainer gave it time to correct their behavior and obey, but the weapon just curled more into itself. This is unfamiliar. He's used to the tough ones, that are strong and hard to crack, even if it's just due to their temper and defiance.

He turns the shock down one notch for safety before bringing it down again. The first tears leak out of the weapon's eyes when they scream. Once the shock is done, they choke out another apology, looking up at them this time.

"Sorry doesn't change anything, asset. We'll keep this going until you stop this cute act. Stand up and report designation. If I repeat myself one more time..." Trainer threatens, firmer.

To his surprise, the weapon did obey immediately this time, almost hurriedly. "Asset code 2284. Previous front line medic, reassigned to camp medic." Its posture was perfect, voice respectful, almost eager to comply all of a sudden.

Nothing like the sarcastic, dramatic, and disobedient weapon his handler painted him to be. Trainer couldn't ignore this any longer, something was wrong here.

"Why didn't you obey the first three times, asset?" Trainer asks, playing with the bat and watching as the weapon's eyes follow the movements as it tries to focus on his face. His mouth, not eyes. His handler indeed had said it was in a rebellious streak of not wanting to look him in the eye.

"I didn't hear your orders, sir. I'm sorry, sir..." It says meekly, flinching slightly in anticipation for each move of the bat, though it's not close to him.

Trainer had been warned about that, too. But its words sounded way too meek to be the taunting stunt its handler said he pulled all the time.

His brain works back to each information he got of the weapon, each denial to obey reported. A weapon reassigned from front line medic to camp medic after it suffered severe injuries on a grenade explosion. Obedient before, turned sarcastic and rebellious with new handler, pretending to not hear orders, not looking his handlers in the eyes, ignoring name calls, ignoring morning alarms...

Trainer stops his movement with the bat once it clicks. Severe injury due to closeness of a explosion, and all behavioral issues had been about it not listening.

God, he hopes he's wrong, because if that stupid handler let that slide, Trainer will personally make sure a demission paper is sent.

"Will you be obedient without the need of drugs to settle you down, asset?" He asks without needing an answer before opening the door and motioning the weapon to get out.

"...sir?" It asks in a quiet voice, almost fearful. With him turned around, it couldn't read his lips.

"We'll go to the medical, get you checked. Move, asset." He uses a harsh tone as a test, but the weapon doesn't seem to really pick up on it, it just hurries to obey after staring at his lips moving while he speaks.

In less than 30 minutes, the check-up is done, with the weapon behaving exceptionally if given visual guidance.

Trainer has a paper in his hand. "Severe hearing loss due to explosion." Not completely deaf, but close to be.

The weapon started tearing up silently when it saw the words, and as soon as they left the medical wing, it knelt to the ground. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, sir. I promise I can still be useful, even without hearing much- I-... I don't need to hear to tend wounds! I can take care of the patients, I swear I can-"

He started the day thinking he would have to deal with a feral, snarling weapon, and... he was given a meek, pitiful young asset. Trainer never hated its handler more than he did now. That useless son of a bitch would let a valuable asset be decommissioned for nothing more than irresponsibility.

Trainer crouched down and waited for visual contact before saying, in a tone it can hear better, "By the end of the week, you will be able to do everything you did before, even if the hearing loss is untreatable. I won't decommission a weapon when all it needs is recalibrating."

He ruffles its short hair when it chokes out "thank you" over and over. Trainer can see loud and clear how much its handler messed up his mind for it to be so unstable, but he's dealt with worse. He can correct that emotional outburst in due time and send it back into the field. With a better handler, this time.

The weapon leans into the touch, and Trainer huffs before getting up and waiting for it to follow him.

"Rebellious, worthless asset," his ass. His last "fuck you" to that empty-headed idiot before he gets fired will be making this one the best asset in the medic camp.

With the way it follows him as an eager puppy, although still on edge, that won't be hard.

-

[just-an-enby-lemon]

I know Wicked is not going to make Dorothy a young kid like in the books but I really like when dark versions of childrem literature do keep them as kids.

Not in "it's more fucked up" light but in this is also a metaphor for kids growing up in a weird scary world while most adults never actually explain anything and either expect them to already know or to be forever oblivious. And so the kids have to figure it out. To make themselfs the decision to remain kind, to learn to love the new world or at least the people in it.

And I do think being a kid is part of the reason Dorothy reacts to Oz so diferently than the Wizard. Yes, it is also because she is a good person. But Dorothy is a kid she is used to things that make no sense. So she goes to an insane new world and her first instinct is to learn. She is quicky to accept that animals talk and scracrows walk and tin man have life. Because she is open minded yes, but also because kids know they don't know everything in a way most adults don't.

But Dorothy also killed (she didn't but you get it) someone and was praised for it. And she is scared and she wants to go home. And everyone keeps teeling her she did the right thing and that all she needs to do to go home is meet this amazing all powerfull guy and kill the horrible mean witch. And every fairy tale has evil witches. So maybe it's okay. And she takes it. Because she is a child and she is new and they are adults.

But she is kind. She befriends all this traumatized adults with backstories and connections she does not know (just like real kids don't know the past of the adults they trust) and she just wants to help them. And she notices that the Tin Man already has a heart and the Scarecrow has a brain (Fiyero was likely lying from the start but Dorothy does not know that) and that the Lion does have courage. And she decides it also means she has to do the right thing so (and I'm going Wicked books here) when she meets Elphie all she wants is to apologize. She knows what is like to lose family and also she knows the witch protects the animals and Toto is her best friend, so anyone that protects animals cannot be that evil specially when the animals here are really just people but different shaped. She doesn't know if she will ever be forgiven but she wants Elphaba to know it was an accident, to know she is sorry, to know someone else is mourning her sister, to know that it is scary and unfair. To give her the shoes back if she can finally just take them off.

She is brave and when she discovers the Wizard is a farse she shows it to everyone. And it's not planned in any way because she is a kid. She doesn't have the maturity, the trauma nor the context Galinda has. Hell she must have noticed Glinda loves the witch and it might be the one reason she does not call Glinda out as well, not any strategy just thinking love can fix all cause she's a young kid.

[I also just think baby Dorothy would make everything funnier. And of course I have the personal fix it that Glinda and Elphie make amends post cannon as them (and Fiyero) find about Tip and raise Ozma as the polycule they should've always been (and also try to fix Oz from very different angles). Only as the Oz books go Dorothy and Toto come back (with Uncle Henry and Aunt Em this time) and she and Ozma fall in love (homoerotic best friends and co-princess wich is the same). And I think Ozma going to present Dorothy to her low key parents only to learn Dorothy has very diferent forms of history with them is golden.]

P.S: This was edited so I will add that in the original I made the point that I consider the three girls that best follow this lost child in a world of horror and wonder having to figure it out by themselfs with a but of an allegory for growing up and the expectations unfairy placed upon them as queer and neurodivergent even if unintented so (it's also accidentaly about gender in my head). The girls being of course Dorothy, Alice and Wendy.

P.S2: I know in the books they just die and in the musical they run for our world but it's my fix it and let's be honest Oz is in shambles and a very traumatized Glinda will not fix it all by herself and she deserves some support.

[heysweetbee]

[intuitive-revelations]

I don't know if I'm excited or frustrated at the 'future children' angle for Susan's origin. On one hand... I'm very interested in the possible links to the likes of Miranda, the Other etc.

On the other hand... ok confession time: This may make me a minority in the fandom, but I actually really dislike the 80s-90s retcons of Susan's origin. (Birth of a Renegade, Lungbarrow etc.)

I kinda just like her and the Doctor being some of the last surviving members of what was once a family on Gallifrey. I find the mystery and tragedy of what happened on Gallifrey, with implied student uprisings and political assassinations, far more intriguing than any twists saying "actually she's not really his granddaughter". Fortunately, some things can be canonwelded into that (eg. Susan really could be also related to the president / descended from Rassilon), but stuff that actually gives her an origin elsewhere is always a pain.

Idk. I just see once being a parent (and losing it all tragically) as such a crucial part of the Doctor's background and Susan fits very well into that as far as I'm concerned. Anything disconnecting her from that, or worse erasing it completely, ultimately damages what I find to be one of the most compelling things about the Doctor and Susan. :/

The few posts I've already seen talking about this suggests this is an unpopular opinion, but I'd be interested to know what people think, and if they agree or disagree...

[occasionallyinlovewithmovies]

Ripley (2024) dir. by Steven Zaillian

If there was any sensation he hated, it was that of being followed, by anybody. And lately he had it all the time. Patricia Highsmith, The Talented Mr. Ripley

[johbeil]

The road and the sky

Stunning sky seen while driving on a country road in Lazio, Italy, yesterday. Photo taken with a 2011 Sony Xperia and subjected to some digital cross processing.

[authenticity2025]

Be alone. Eat alone, take yourself on dates, sleep alone. In the midst of this you will learn about yourself. You will grow, you will learn what inspires you. You will cultivate your own dreams, your own beliefs, your own stunning clarity. And when you do meet the right person who makes your cells dance, you will be sure of it because you are sure of yourself. Bianca Sparacino