#survive by noping

[missjesselsgh0st]

This is exactly what I got from Alice as well!!

with the caveat that its only ep 4 and characters are still being developed;

im surprised at how cautious alice is

from ep 1 and 2, she comes across as a jokester, as lackadaisical, self-described as 'your cool older sister'- so i didn't expect her to be the one telling Sam to stop poking his nose into things

its not so much a respect for authority (calling lena an 'emotionally distant mother' in ep 1 was just as disrespectful as anything gwen said imo) but there is a fierce undercurrent to all her actions to Stay Out Of Trouble

she is delighted Lena hasn't said more than ten words to her in a year bc it means she is flying under the radar

she wants central IT to look at FR3-d1 but tries to outsource actually asking for it to avoid Colin getting upset with her

she compartmentalises all the weird, spooky and awful things she reads about, she walks away from the cases that are spoken out loud, she does everything in her power to not engage with the work while still doing her job

we don't know (yet) how long Alice has been working in the OIAR, but it is long enough that she knew the 'old guard', it is long enough that she has seen people 'go weird'

either Alice has witnessed or actively been a part of something going wrong or someone digging too deep and being punished for it

ALICE This is not something you go poking around in. Not if you want to keep your job… or your neck.

and now the stakes are even higher for her because the person who could get in trouble here isn't just another co-worker, it's Sam- it's her friend that she got into this job in the first place, and she wants him to stay safe

[yuuchama]

Sometime during the VDC training camp, when everyone on team Night Raven is sleeping over at Ramshackle Dorm:

Ramshackle Dorm has no shortage of spare rooms, but their condition is another story. You've managed to get enough of them decently clean. They're not as nice as your room, which has had far more time invested in it and is well lived in, but your groupmates should be able to spend a few days at the dorm without issue and are more than free to tidy up rooms as they please.

Yet on one of the first nights, you hear the door of your room creak open. It's dark and you can't see the intruder, though you know it's not one of the ghosts. The approaching footsteps aren't as heavy as Grim's, even after he's cleared out the entire fridge in one sitting. You're also pretty confident Grim is fast asleep beside you.

"Hello?" You groggily lift your head and call out to the intruder. If it's anything malicious, you hope the ensuing scuffle will cause enough noise to wake everyone else up.

A weight pushes the edge of your mattress down and there's a gentle touch at your shoulder. "Prefect, do you mind if I spend the rest of the night here?"

"Jamil?"

You almost don't recognize him in the dark with his hair down. You feel around for a bedside light. Grim groans in his sleep when it clicks on and turns over, shielding his eyes with tiny arms.

Jamil looks exhausted. "Please, I'd really appreciate if you could let me sleep here tonight."

"Yeah, sure. Of course." Maybe it's the sleep addling your brain or your trust in Jamil. You see no reason to turn down his request and didn't question why he was coming to you instead of Kalim. You nudge Grim over to make room for one more on the bed.

The vice housewarden does his best to fit in the cramped sleeping conditions, assuring "I'll pay you back for this. Thank you."

He's turned towards the wall, back touching your side so that he doesn't fall. You wait to make sure he's fully secure in bed before turning off the light. In the calm that follows, you notice he's almost imperceptibly shaking. Sure, the dorm is cold, but not that cold. Especially with three in one bed.

"Jamil, are you okay?" The longer you spend awake, the more concerning this whole situation feels.

"I'm fine. Goodnight, Prefect." Jamil already has his eyes shut and seems adamant about not discussing things further.

"Okay... Goodnight."

You lay down and silence settles over the room once more. It's really warm between your two friends. Sleep is quick to catch up to you, you find yourself nodding off within minutes of your head touching the pillow.

Before you fully drift off, Jamil turns to face you. His hair drapes over the side of the bed and he places a hand on your pillow, lightly grazing your cheek.

"Thanks again," he whispers. "I feel a lot better with you here. Your room doesn't have bugs on the wall."

[oifaaa]

Bridgerton is one of my comfort shows mostly bc I think its so funny that the Bridgerton family is just the worst they're all deeply unlikeable insufferable people and watching each of them find love despite how utterly horrible they all are gives me hope

[satans-knitwear]

From the drafts ✨🎀

Treat me ~ Tip Me ~ More of me

Any tips or treats would be massively appreciated right now, one less thing to stress about

[fancygremlin]

I don’t like how Warren’s place of birth is called Gravesend:

And then his cryogenic pod is shaped as a coffin:

Only to have season 2 start off with this:

Lots to think about…

[fivedollarfred]

I had issues with keeping myself on track with writing, and because I've been on a better drawing spree, I thought drawing something quick about/inspired by my main fic series would help. I think it did! :D

This isn't really something that's meant to be an actual scene, but I did use chapter 16 as the inspiration so... I guess spoilers??? If you think you'd like to check it out, here's a link

[novirp13]

Calasmos is the definition of "The risk I took was calculated. But man...am I bad at math' meme lol

Here's another DRAGON QUEST 11 FANART

BONUS:

Seriously. Why is he not the main character? :'D

[fromtheseventhhell]

I ignore about 95% of the conversations surrounding Arya having killed people because, outside of Arya stans, people refuse to include the context of the very violent circumstances she experiences + her trauma which influences her actions. She wasn't destined to be a killer and her being forced on the run, having to survive during a war (at times on her own), having to witness countless people being tortured and murdered, being enslaved as a prisoner of war, having to witness the deaths of her family, etc. are all hugely important factors. Not to mention the times when her life is literally on the line and she has to make tough decisions to ensure her survival. The only time her trauma is acknowledged is when people are using it to prove she's "too far gone", otherwise it's essays on how she hasn't suffered that much. It's so boring how people ignore well-developed characters just to reduce them to one or two aspects of their story. And this treatment is only for certain characters; let someone mention Sansa being part of the plot to poison Sweetrobin and all of a sudden, people can understand being forced to make questionable decisions under difficult circumstances.

[lepusrufus]

Doing a Shadowheart run and romancing Lae'zel is fun and games until I get to act two and Lae beats the everloving shit out of me

[haru-chi]

I really love this one part in this story so much and the implication it holds within it that I always wanted to hear how other interpret it :)

for Seiji I guess almost all the people who would get closer to him and strike up a conversation would be those who wanna win the favor of the Matoba. or those who wanna crush him down, so I guess in short for someone to actually listen or care about whatever he says with no ultra motive is pretty hard for him.

Natsume was very upset and wary of him in this story, yet he was listening earnestly to him talking with no ultra motive whatsoever that Seiji without realizing found himself talking about himself naturally which's also in itself a rare case for him.

Seiji's pausing felt like " wait!! he actually cares and listen to what I'm saying even though I think he hate me so much, yet he earnestly listening to me .. and why am I talking about myself and my problems something I never did before to this kid so naturally ??"

it just for him to find someone listening to him without judging him or to actually care is something new for him, I guess.

also, this other part ...

I guess he also never had anyone worry for his wellbeing like this that he reflexively lied here as to not worry Natsume more than that.

Seiji is just bad at dealing with people who face him earnestly and actually show they care about him.

I find it amusing in a tragic kind of way.

that's why I said that Seiji developing a soft spot for Natsume little by little and that Natsume despite all his issues with Seiji that won't stop him from actually trying to seeing him past all their differences. our boy Natsume is just too kind for his own good T^T

if only that idiot learns a little from Natsume, or wait he actually learned something :)

[pumpkin-patch-cat]

The only appropriate response to being chased by a mummy LMFAO I felt that in my soul.

[i3utterflyeffect]

been researching selkies for the past 3 days for something else not really related to this, but something i learned that made me think about selkie au:

a lot of sources describe the coats as actual seal skins.

so now i'm thinking seeing a stick with a coat is the same as seeing a random dude in the flesh of a god.

-@stickthinks

YEAP! i initially called the coats skins when i was first making the au. it's why i picture selkies as very very seclusive, and why i think so many myths around them are like, very much from the perspective of 'holy shit what the fuck'. anyone who knows their stuff on cursor selkies is pretty scared of them for obvious reasons! vic is pretty much the only person who isn't intimidated by selkies.

[brutermonger]

Yeeeeeaaaaahhh... 🤔

[elucubrare]

tor.com published an 'article' that took about 500 words to say "I don't like ice world settings....but maybe i should be a little more open-minded" & i'll take all the ice worlds he doesn't want

[mkstrigidae]

Winter's Child Preview Snippet

This one is Jon's arrival and first day at the wall, and a conversation with a LOT of subtext. It's a pretty important one for beginning to unpack the mythology/lore driving the story, and I'm curious to hear what you guys think of it! This one is wildly unedited, so pardon the possible capitalization errors/clunky sentences.

Jon reached out, placing a trembling hand on the great wall. immediately, he began to feel his knees buckling, taking a gasping breath to try and center himself again.

He had always known that Bran the Builder had constructed the wall, had used magics beyond any house’s gifts today, to create the towering monolith.

What he hadn’t realized was just how much magic was humming in the layers of ice and- he blinked, unsure.

He’d always thought the wall was ice and rock, but something nagged at the back of his mind.

“Uncle-“ he asked, later, quietly, as they stood atop the structure, “what is the wall made of?”

Benjen was quiet for a moment, turning eyes on him that had always been more perceptive than Jon cared for. Twyla didn’t blink as she stood behind her bonded, her golden eyes piercing him.

The oldest stories we have speak of it being Bran the Builder’s creation.” Benjen murmured, his voice pitched so that only Jon could hear it under the whistle of the wind atop the wall. “Ice created of magic wilder than you or I could dream of.”

Ghost gave a snort beside him, his breath clouding the chilled air. Jon agreed.

“And what do you believe?” he asked his uncle, grateful for the fire that flowed through his veins as the temperature dropped.

“I believe that no stark- not even a winter-blooded one has ever been able to do anything-“ Benjen gestured around him, “Like this. Not Torrhen, not Brandon the Breaker, not even-“ he swallowed, looking down into Jon’s eyes with something that looked oddly like guilt. He turned away the next second, continuing. “If the Stark gift before Torrhen was really that powerful-“ he sighed, looking down over the frosted landscape, “Then why did the gods take the winter-blood gift from us when we needed it the most? Why, if Bran the builder could use our gift to protect the entire north with something as massive as the wall, did it not protect us from the clutches- the claws- of dragons?”

Jon felt a hot rush of shame in his veins as he thought of the Targaryen conquers bringing the north to heel 300 years ago. Would that his blood was only Stark. His uncle’s hand on his shoulder cut him off the next minute, though, and Jon realized that his expression was affectionate, and held no blame.

“You are a Stark.” Benjen reminded him, softly. “Not what blood the man who sired you gave you. The old gods granted you the gift of skinchanging- no Southerner has ever been able to do that.” Jon nodded, his throat tight as his uncle squeezed his shoulder. The flames leapt up his throat, flickering against his insides, but he held them down.

“The winter-blood gift was… harsh.” Benjen continued, looking Northward with a distant expression on his face. “Skinchanging- warging- is akin to communing with the old gods through the creatures they brought forth in the first days. It brings out the truth of a man-“

“Or woman.” Jon said, thinking of Arya’s ferocity and the ease in which she slipped in and out of various creatures.

“Or woman.” Benjen chuckled in agreement. “it allows us to connect to the old gods in a way the winter-blooded never could.”

Jon frowned.

You have heard tales of our ancestors, Jon.” Benjen sighed, his shoulders dropping. “Harsh, cold men- many of whom held a powerful ambition and the gift to make it truth. All of whom were winter-blooded. It’s a magic that can easily corrupt- turning hearts to ice as the self is lost. It doesn’t feel akin to greensight or skinchanging- but rather something other. Something older and harsher. Winter was never meant to be a gift.”

“But it’s been gone for 300 years.” Jon’s brows drew together.

Benjen was quiet for a second, and something prodded at the back of Jon’s mind.

“What testimonials we have written of it are telling.” he answered, finally. “And the feel of it can be found in the crypts among the oldest of the tombs. Magic harsh and alien enough that, at times, not even the weirwood will draw on it for nourishment.” they were silent for a moment.

“Do you think it will ever come back?” Jon asked, feeling the bite of the wind on his skin. “The winter-blood gift?”

“We are better stewards of the north- better men- as skinchangers.” Benjen told him, with some finality, his face darkening. “The greatest stories of the winter-blood gift speak of impossibilities like the wall, or of power that twisted the minds of men and made them something less than human. Less than alive.” He smiled at Jon, but something about it was strained. “As skinchangers, we can see through the eyes of others- we can hold a sacred bond with the guardians of the weirwood.” He buried a steadying hand in Twyla’s thick fur. Though still massive, she was a leaner creature than most of the direwolves, though Jon knew it only lent her a speed that none of them had. “If the winter-blood gift ever was returned to us, I would pray it was given to someone who could tame it. Who could temper the danger. and not be swallowed whole by it.”

Jon frowned, searching his uncle’s face. It felt as though they were having two separate conversations.

“But to be able to create something as magnificent as the wall-“

“No man could ever create something as powerful as the wall.” Benjen shut him down. “Not alone, and not instantly. Magic undoubtedly helped build the wall, but no man could ever hold onto a power that absolute. It would destroy them.” He twisted his face. “Regardless of whatever magics built the wall, you have to decide soon if you’ll devote yourself to guarding and protecting it. There’s little room for questioning once you’ve chosen, and it makes men uneasy to speak of the wall’s origins, Jon.” he sighed. “The wall is a strange and not well understood marvel. such things can inspire awe, or they can inspire suspicion. To discuss it is… not done.”

Jon nodded, his tongue heavy in his mouth with more questions, but he remained quiet, thinking of all his uncle had spoken of as they watched the night fall over the far north.

[barbieaemond]

Very noble of HBO to hold back all the Aemond content given how we totally lose our shit with literally two frames. They care about our wellbeing aww