#they're pretty rough

[mollysunder]

This is the worst lie Jinx has ever told herself.

Felicia's literally just Vi with a braid.

Now young Silco, that's just male Jinx with less baby fat, but we all know Jinx's face is only getting sharper.

Forget the Felicia, it's like the artists decided Silco was literally Jinx's only parent. The resemblance is still there even when Silco gets older.

You think anyone who knew Silco when he was young looked at Jinx and went, "yh that's Silco in blue".

[cobaltfluff]

a few more heartsteel crossover doodles.. this time of the Oh They're Boyfriends variety :3c

[zosonils-art]

those fruits from the gameses boy [for an end of year gift art swap!]

[spirk-trek]

McCoy Fanzine | Sherry Veltkamp, Uncredited, Sandra Maudlin, Fanti, Lynn Campion (1980-91)

[scissorcraft]

so. rescuing kittens, huh.

[audliminal]

It's Just a Game, Right? Pt 9

Masterpost

"Well, it certainly looks like your suspicions were correct." Tim says, staring at the decoded response, as Bernard posts the plain text.

"Yeah, it definitely looks like it, huh? This is practically an entire clue drop in and of itself."

"I mean, it kind of is. If they wanted to encourage us, al they really would've needed is to parrot themselves with the 'dig deeper' thing you said you kept finding."

"Ha, yeah that would've been a little more succinct." Bernard laughs, and turns back towards Tim as he finishes typing. "So what else is it meant to do, then?"

"Well, on one level it shows us how the clues are supposed to be solved." Tim says, pointing to the steps they'd gone through. "In the future, we should be looking for the keys to each step in the solution of the prior step."

"They can't just do that every time, though. It'd get too predictable.

"Maybe not every time, but it definitely gives us a better idea of where to start."

"Yeah, I guess it can't hurt to look. Anything else, Mr. Genius?"

"I'm not a genius."

"You totally are, but whatever. Tell me more of your mad science thinking."

"Not a mad scientist either. I think we need to start looking at whether individual details are intended to be taken literally or metaphorically."

"Oh." Bernard blinks, then glances over at his computer.

"Did you think of something?" Tim asks. The implications of the response are sprawling by itself, but if the contents are referencing something Bernard's already seen...

"Well, it's just. The first video was pictures, right? And people take photos of stuff they wanna remember so, like. To be seen is to be remembered?"

"That... Makes sense." Tim murmurs.

"Yeah, but it doesn't explain what the rest is about."

"One step at a time. If the people in the first video are our messengers, and they're concerned with being remembered, then I think we should be looking for more information on who they are."

"Right. So I should pull out the clues that reference them, and we can go over those next?

"Sounds like a plan."

[vulcanautus]

original dragon sprite edit

[mars-ipan]

i have other things to draw but these new kmhn fits from the merch drop have enamored me

(my comms are open, btw!)

[gloochi]

Something I didn't expect that I've noticed since I started reading SAO is that Kawahara is constantly trying to actually say something when writing this series and that he's a lot more left-leaning than I would've thought before I actually started diving into any of this. Like, look at this incredibly important bit from the Alicization epilogue.

Or this bit from Moon Cradle.

When I was showing my girlfriend these bits, her reaction was rather succinct and kinda mirrors my general thoughts.

Like, when I started this series, I kinda expected it to be some kinda okay VR isekai slop, and that's definitely how it started, but the deeper in I've gone, the more I've found that this series wants to say. I've already posted about the scene at the end of The Safe Haven Incident where Kirito and Asuna literally turn to the camera and say "women aren't your fucking property," but there's also stuff like the surprisingly genuine attempt at depicting Kirito's and Sinon's PTSD in Phantom Bullet, the attempt to show how Yuuki still deserves to live a fulfilling life despite her terminal illness in Mother's Rosario (and the fact that it's specifically AIDS in particular feels rather bold), literally saying outright that unjust laws shouldn't be followed in the first half of Alicization, literally depicting a straight up tyrannical fascist cult in that same arc (and really feeling like it hits what makes cults so fucking sinister), even going so far as to dismantle the fucked up concept of a truly "evil" race in the back half of Alicization, and I haven't even started Unital Ring yet. There's also probably more that's slipping my mind. Even the sexual assaults, as uncomfortable and excessive and truly unnecessary as they are, are depicted as horrifically as they should be. There's no lingering on anything for pleasure or attempts to play it for comedy, and the perpetrator always gets their fucking shit kicked in afterwards, sometimes even To Death (with the exception of Yanai, who initially gets away with it until karma catches up in Alicization). Kawahara may be clumsy, heavy-handed, and still a little more misogynistic than I think he realizes (though he's clearly been improving there over the years), but he seems to almost always be sincere and well-meaning in the things he writes. It honestly kinda makes me sad that this series has the reputation it does.

[3gremlins]

is this the best sword in the game? idk, but it's pretty fucking good.

do i also not care and will probably wield it to the end of the game b/c ZEVRAN? yes

(my rook is rolling a poison and lightning stagger build, it's extremely fun)

[mkstrigidae]

APWH preview snippet!

Since I'm actively trying to work on getting the next few chapters out, I thought I'd share a little future scene with some hints of Jonsa with all you lovely people! This bit is from like, a few chapters in the future bc it's the in-between that's giving me fits right now :) (Fair warning: this is unedited and subject to change! That being said, it's such a fun scene that I can't imagine ever nixing it :D)

“Does he even know that they have to avoid the press?”

“For the last time-“ Sam sighed, sounding completely exasperated, “Dickon knows what they can and can’t do- he’s got enough practice not being photographed from when our dad was the secretary. Not to mention spending time around you when that exposé on your crazy grandfather came out two years ago.”

“I just-“ Jon sighed, blowing a stray curl out of his face. “You didn’t see how freaked out she was when the press caught us at that performance in White Harbor. I thought she was going to have a full-blown panic attack.”

He was immediately derailed by Gilly plopping little Sam down in his lap and shoving a bottle into his hands.

“What’s this all about?” he raised a brow, adjusting the baby on his lap, allowing him to latch onto the cuff of his flannel shirt and start gnawing at the fabric. “You going somewhere?”

Gilly shot him a withering look, but he saw the amusement in her eyes.

“I-“ she gestured, imperiously, “Have not had time by myself to shower all week-“

“Sorry, love.” Sam winced, looking up from his pile of paperwork. “I can take a break from these-“

“Not your fault, Sam.” she waved him off. “You warned me about this conference at the beginning of the summer.” a grin played at the corners of her mouth. “Besides, it works out well- Jon needs a distraction right now from the fact that Sansa’s on a date with your extremely hot and conventionally attractive brother.”

“Hey!” Sam looked wounded, and Gilly rolled her eyes, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“You know you’re my favorite Tarly.” she wrinkled her nose. “How long have you been working on this presentation? You smell like the baby spit up on you.”

“Guess I’m next in line for showers.” Sam said, mournfully. “Unless-“

“Nope- I need my own time right now, Samwell. Did you even hear what I said about why Jon’s bent out of shape?”

Jon had known Gilly since Sam and she had met up north while the two of them were in college. Sometimes, it was hard to reconcile the timid, scared girl she had been with the woman who was currently devoting all of her remaining energy to busting his balls.

“Don’t tell me you’re worried about Sansa with my brother.” Sam snorted, shotgunning another cup of coffee next to him the way Jon was used to seeing undergrads do with jaeger shots. “I mean, this is Dickon we’re talking about. Used to bring wounded animals home to take care of them Dickon? The same guy who cried when we had movie night and Gilly and Rhae wanted to go see ‘Love, Simon’?” He shook his head. “Look, as far as guys she could be out on a date with right now go, Dickon’s kind of the best case scenario. She’ll have a nice time, and he’ll be a perfect gentleman.”

Jon blinked at him, silently turning to look up at Gilly, who rolled her eyes and sighed.

“You’re hopeless, sweetie.” she kissed him on the forehead again, wrinkling her nose. “He’s not worried that things will go wrong- he’s worried they’ll go a little too well.”

“You’ve been spending way too much time around my sister.” Jon muttered, narrowly avoiding little Sam’s grasping reach for his glasses, managing to get the baby to latch onto the bottle before he destroyed any more of Jon’s eyewear. “You even sounded like her just then.”

Sam blinked for a second, his head whipping between Jon and Gilly.“You’re jealous?” He asked, incredulously. “Of Dickon? Wait- you like Sansa?”

“Got there in the end.” Gilly sighed, affectionately patting him on the shoulder before going to shower, leaving Jon and Sam behind with four cups of coffee, one baby, and approximately five brain cells total between the two of them.

“You like her.” Sam repeated, like it was a giant revelation.

“What are we- in middle school?” Jon hissed, immediately turning his head down to smile and make faces at little Sam while he fed him, before glaring up at big Sam again. “I don’t- I mean-“

Sam was just shaking his head.“Of course you do.” he laughed. “Should have guessed- red hair and a damsel in distress? You were doomed from the outset.”

“Shut up.” Jon muttered, flushing. “It’s not like that.”

“Then why are you worrying about Dickon for fu-“ Sam glanced nervously at the baby, “-god’s sake? When Gill was meeting my family for the first time, I remember you told her not to worry- that my brother was ‘one of the best guys you know’ and ‘practically a golden retriever’.”

Jon could tell that Sam, who could not raise one eyebrow without the other, was desperately trying to do just that.

“I don’t know.” He muttered, moving little Sam to his shoulder to start burping him. “Look- I’m attracted to her, alright? It’s a fu- er, a giant disaster that I’m gonna ignore for the rest of my life.”

“Seriously?”

“Stop trying to do that with your eyebrows.” Jon complained. “It’s giving me motion sickness. And yes, seriously. I’m not even going to consider that- it’s just a stupid crush. Besides,” he sighed, rubbing little Sam’s back comfortingly, “Robb’s already dealing with enough right now with this whole Sansa situation- can’t imagine telling him I think his sister’s attractive while he’s being forced to suddenly confront all of his guilt and self loathing every time he looks at her.”

“That whole bro code thing of never dating your friend’s sisters never really made sense to me.” Sam shook his head, gulping down more coffee. “I mean, I’d be thrilled if you decided to date Talla, because I know you’d be good to her.”

“Yeah, don't think she'd quite go for that, mate.” Jon snorted, standing to bounce little Sam around gently. He was just grateful Sam hadn’t said anything else about Robb.

“Eh, wouldn’t count you out completely.” Sam shrugged, smirking. “With that hair, you’re pretty enough to be a girl- maybe that’d be enough for her.”

“You are so lucky i’m holding the baby.” Jon muttered, still bouncing little Sam, who picked that moment to spit up spectacularly down Jon’s back.

“Well, that’s three of us who’re gonna need showers now.” Sam grinned, looking thrilled as all get out that it hadn’t been him. “Wow- his aim is getting better.”

“I’m going to remind him of this when he’s a sulky teenager.” Jon grumbled, wiping spit-up off his shoulder as best he could. “Look- no gossiping with Rhae about this, please. She thinks she’s such a good clandestine agent that she doesn’t always realize that Robb is better at sniffing out her plots than she thinks.”

“Alright-“ Sam sighed, looking back down at the massive stack of paperwork in front of him. “I make no promises for Gill, though.”

“Gilly could give some of my Uncle’s colleagues at the WIA a run for their money when it comes to withstanding interrogation.” Jon snorted.

“Probably true.”

“Where did your brother take Sansa?” Still holding onto a now much happier baby with one hand, he reached down the other to take a gulp of his own coffee.

“He said something about going out towards the Tyrell Estate.” Sam shrugged. “They probably drove out there to see the gardens- he’s said it’s a good road to take his bike out on.”

Jon promptly spat out his entire sip of coffee, staining the front of his shirt as well as the back, and frightening little Sam enough that he started to cry.

“He took her on his motorcycle?”

Gilly picked that moment to reappear, completely clean and with wet hair, blinking at the scene in front of her.

Sam, who couldn’t seem to stop laughing, was desperately trying to calm down the baby, who had started wailing, while Jon’s entire front was covered in coffee and his entire back was covered in baby vomit. Not that he seemed to notice, as his face was white and he was making a series of angry looking hand gestures at her husband.

“I really can’t leave you three alone for five minutes, can I?” she sighed. “Do I even want to know?”

[vyuntspakhkite-l-darling]

Some sketches! Top is btb characters (L->R Arsioly, Visralion, Sibatol, Virava) and bottom is tpwtbam characters (Rasiel, Pio, Ezikiel)

[galadae]

kinda tempted to put my smut snippets on ao3 🧍‍♂️simply bc I'm not really writing anything else atm

[xviruserrorx]

I'll wait for you another night / As you like / Dressed in Himalayan white / I'll wait for you some other night / Dressed as you like / Dressed in Himalayan white - Snow Cats by AFI

For Day 4 of @merlinrarepairfest

[maudiemoods]

I knew the nurse on the helpline was gonna tell me to stop drinking coffee but once she actually said it it became real and now I'm sad

[queen-scribbles]

⁜ Tala Mountainsward ⁜

Half-Orc (Life) Cleric, Acolyte of Lathander

Quick & Dirty Bio: Tala was raised in a temple orphanage, secluded at the base of a mountain range. She dealt with mixed levels of acceptance from the other orphans, due to her heritage but was still a genial and curious child who wanted to know everything (and everyone). She quickly attached herself to a couple of the priests who were kindest, asking near-endless questions about their faith, the gods in general, and Lathander in particular. One took it upon himself to mentor her and she's developed a familial bond with him, seeing him as the closest she has to a father.

The answers she was given and the patience and kindness she was shown were enough to convince Tala to enter studies as an acolyte. It surprised no one when she devoted herself to it fully, with the same insatiable curiosity. Much as she loves her home, it wasn't terribly surprising when she got a yearning to travel the world and learn abut more than her small corner of it. She carries the light of Lathander in her heart, ready to help any she meets in his name. (Provided they aren't scared off by her appearance, which has been a problem once or twice.)

Tidbits: History/Religion nerd, loves flowers and herbs, has and makes sachets as crafts for anyone she considers friends, customized for them. All her clothes smell lovely from the sachet in her pack. Proficient in Religion, History, Intimidation, Persuasion.... and something else I can't remember. 😅"Mountainsward" is a shared surname with all the other orphans raised in the temple, she doesn't know or remember anything about her parents. Any time anyone asks if she knows about them, she just shrugs and dodges with "I know how half-orcs usually happen, and have no reason to think I'm any different" (She is. But that's a surprise for later :3)