#this is very late

[starrspice]

I'm 2 days late but here's your Cherub AU valentines day art

A couple of cherub boys work some flowers for you

[leoandbeholdclark]

"...And suddenly to my surprise, they did the mash! They did the Monster Mash! The Monster Mash. It was a graveyard smash!"

-Monster Mash by Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt Kickers 

It would seem our ghouls Catty Noir and Casta Fierce were spotted crashing a normie Halloween party. How gauche.

Divider by @saradika-graphics

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

*points* you've been talking a lot about ruju lately so let's do fear, guilt, hunt, and secret for him (for that ask meme) >:)

oc asks: not-so-nice edition

Ty so much for giving me an excuse to talk about The Rat™ even if this is very, VERY late... And long. Whoops. This is going under a cut, I think all of your dashes will thank me for that later.

I'll stick to just his Commander verse for this batch!

fear: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

At his core, what Ruju fears most is feeling helpless.

There aren't a lot of times in the present that he's truly cornered, but in his youth it was a lot more obvious; he learned early on just how cruel his peers could be, and how eager they were to circle even the smallest hint of blood in the water. So he stopped showing the world he was scared. He buried it all deep, deep down and put on the air of confidence and aggression worn by so many Inquest because, well, nobody dares to mess with THEM, right? Better to blend in with the sharks than wind up as chum for the real deal.

But helplessness is more complicated than just being cornered in a fight. He's afraid of so much more than that; that his choices won't matter, that everything he's done will be for nothing, that forces he can't control will steamroll it all no matter what he does, that he just plain isn't enough for the role he's trying to fill. That fear only grew more and more as each dragon fell, the next picking up more and more new powers from each one he's taken down. What if he's just making it worse? What if that monstrous version of himself from the Infinity Ball was right-- what if the future really is unavoidable?

What if the one obstacle he'll never be able to surpass is himself?

Ruju doesn't let anyone see the deeper layers of his motivation, though. He pushes harder, fights fiercer, burns brighter. He won't let anyone see him falter. At its worst, it creates a vicious cycle of intense impulsiveness and aggressive independence, rushing past everyone else to reduce the number of variables and just deal with it. His solutions are direct and violent; as long as it works, he doesn't really care what the consequences are. And more importantly, it gives an outlet to his burning need to do something.

It takes a long time and a lot of work for Ruju to start trusting and leaning on others more instead. Even then, though, his most natural instinct is still to bristle like a cornered animal-- and if you jam your hand where it shouldn't be, he might not pause long enough to consider whether you're a friend or a foe. Watch your fingers, he bites.

guilt: What is your OC guilty about? How do they handle their guilt? Do they try to avoid guilt, or do they accept it?

While there's lots of little things-- rude remarks, losing his temper, impulsive choices, and so on-- those he usually apologizes for shortly after. He hates leaving things to fester. Ruju knows himself well enough to recognize that if he doesn't deal with it right then, he'll default to option 2 which isn't particularly great for anybody.

By far Ruju's heaviest guilt is the knowledge he bears of the future, and what he might become for reasons not even he understands. The only person who knows prior to EoD is Zojja-- and he had no more contact with her than anybody else by that point. While he wants to believe that he's fighting to make the world better, there's always a part of him that's afraid the 'Sovereign' was right and the path he's following is going to doom the entirety of Tyria. Ruju hopes that he's making better choices this time, but how can he know for sure?

What if he's just leading all these people right to their doom?

But he handles that just about as well as he handles his guilt about being a notorious college bully: avoidance. He just tries not to think about it, focusing on the future and keeping himself busy and hoping it never comes up again. It doesn't work particularly well, though, once the void finally shows itself-- and at that point he cracks.

Ruju has something that his other, doomed version didn't, though.

When he falters, he has people who care enough to catch him.

And once everything is out in the open, he does confront it; it's a complicated conversation (and one not even Taimi dares to make more than a single jab about) but it does lead to Ruju becoming much more honest moving forward. After all it's not like he can get any worse than THAT, right? 'Possibly causing the apocalypse' is a bit hard to beat.

hunt: Who or what is your OC hunted by? A person, a feeling, a past mistake? Is your OC able to let their guard down, or are they constantly alert?

The shadow looming over Ruju's shoulder has always been his own-- his past and his future. He never really felt its weight until the Infinity Ball showed him one of his potential futures in all its grisly, self-destructive glory, but knowing what he does now? Ruju is keenly aware of his own impulsiveness and is in a constant fight to choose a better path; in more ways than one he really is his own worst enemy.

And if not that, there's his unstable magic to worry about, too. His fiery disposition isn't just in personality; Ruju's power is destructive, and at times it can be a genuine challenge to keep it in check.

But as time progressed and he gained meaningful bonds of trust, learning to lean on his friends and allies... He's gradually come to realize that the best way to keep himself in check is to rely on people who can catch him when he stumbles. Ruju has found exactly the support network that his doomed timeline never had-- and together they ensure that the future he witnessed will never come to pass.

The Doomed Sovereign was wrong; there may be no delaying the future, but that doesn't mean you can't choose how it goes.

By the time the Dragon Cycle ends, he finally knows they've won.

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

There's actually a reason Ruju's magic is so potent and unstable.

His parents worked at the Crucible of Eternity, with his mother being a high-ranking researcher working directly under Kudu. As a refresher crash course: Kudu's whole deal was controlling and weaponizing dragon corruption, with him even applying Branded corruption to HIMSELF so that he could control powerful dragon minions.

His mother wanted to be home more, but her position also required long hours-- so she took to bringing some research materials to her home lab, continuing her studies right under their roof. While she was out, Ruju got into her lab and tried to 'assist' with her research; after all, if all her work was done then she'd have more time to spend with her family, right? But, well, he didn't exactly know what any of this stuff was, or just how dangerous it could be.

The ensuing lab accident destroyed basically all the records they had so far, along with making him deathly ill from exposure to multiple heavily altered strains of dragon corruption. They didn't expect him to survive, let alone make a full recovery seemingly unscathed.

But when he did recover, while Ruju didn't show any obviously visible signs of dragon corruption... He did develop some extremely unusual qualities that they couldn't quite explain. A lot of the top secret research that the asura kept under wraps about dragon minions? They confirmed it from secretly studying him. The biggest breakthroughs were confirmations of dragon minions absorbing magic-- something they directly observed from him accidentally draining nearby power sources and reacting to ambient magic-- and being able to stabilize strains enough for Kudu to weaponize.

Ruju never knew about this until he got into the records at the Crucible of Eternity, though. Zojja saw it too, but they never really talked about it; after all, what was there to say?

And after seeing how the world felt about the sylvari... He decided that there was no way he could EVER tell anyone what he was.

If they couldn't even handle the comparatively stable liberated minions of a dragon, they definitely wouldn't be able to handle a medically inexplicable volatile freak like him. Most running theories in the present are that it has to do with being the Champion of Aurene, and he's certainly not about to tell them otherwise.

[honeyjars-sims]

1.47 I Won't Be Home for Christmas

Lexie: So I guess this is Christmastime in Del Sol Valley.

Johnny: Yeah, it’s no winter wonderland. I bet it’s more festive in Brindleton Bay. Are you going there for Winter Break?

Lexie: Well, I was supposed to, but my mom just told me that she and my dad are going skiing on Mt. Komorebi this year. 

Johnny: Oh, that sounds nice. Are you going with them?

Lexie: Nope. It was pretty last minute and they won’t be getting back until after the new semester starts.

Johnny: You sound disappointed.

Lexie: I am. I didn’t get to see them on my birthday, and now this. I’ve never not spent Christmas with my parents. It’s extra hard because I’ve been feeling a little homesick lately. I’ve never been away from my family this long.

Johnny: I’m sorry, baby. You’re welcome to spend Christmas with me and my family if you want.

Lexie: Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to intrude.

Johnny: Yeah, my parents would love to have you over! They’ve been hounding me to bring you around.

Lexie: Well, in that case, I’d love to come! I have a feeling your family knows how to entertain.

Johnny: Oh, for sure! There’s never a dull moment when we get together. I know it doesn’t make up for you missing out on time with your family, but I’m glad we’ll get to spend the holiday together.

Lexie: Me too. Christmas has always been a big holiday in my family. I was just thinking about my favorite Christmas memory. When I was 6, my parents surprised me with my favorite stuffed animal. You remember that little white dog from the dog food commercials?

Johnny: Yeah, he was so cute!

Lexie: I was obsessed with that dog. Apparently they made him into a stuffed animal and that’s what my parents gave me that year. I named him Snowflake and I took him everywhere. After a while he was more of a dingy gray.

Johnny: Aw, that’s cute! Do you still have him? Don’t tell anyone, but I still have my favorite stuffed cat from when I was a kid and I still sleep with it every night.

Lexie: I think that's sweet! Unfortunately our dog mistook Snowflake for a chew toy. My mom tried her best to salvage it, but it was a lost cause. I wish I still had him, though. Maybe having Snowflake to cuddle up with would help me feel less homesick.

Johnny: I’m sorry you’re missing home so much. I know I can’t replace Snowflake, but if you ever need a cuddle buddy, you know I’m here.

Lexie: Hmm, well, you’re not as soft and fluffy, but you’re still pretty cuddly. What’s your favorite Christmas memory? 

Johnny: Well, Christmas growing up was pretty rough. We didn’t have much money and my mom usually had to work so it was never much of a thing in my house.

Lexie: Oh, I’m sorry. I keep forgetting you didn’t grow up like I did.

Johnny: That’s ok, I haven’t really talked about it much. Maybe I’ll tell you more about it someday. But things were much better once I moved in with my dads. 

Lexie: That’s good. What do they do for the holidays?

Johnny: Well, Dad is Jewish and Pops grew up Protestant so we do a secular “Chrismakkuh” thing where we combine traditions from Hanukkah and Christmas. On Christmas Eve we make cookies and popcorn and hunker down in the living room for the night to watch cheesy holiday movies. We get our sleeping bags and make snarky comments about the movies. 

Lexie: Oh, like those movies where a woman goes back to her hometown and discovers the true meaning of the holiday season, which always involves a guy?

Johnny: Yep. Our first Chrismakkuh together, my parents kept trying to get me hyped up, but I wasn’t having it. I was just being a typical 14-year-old who was too cool to hang out with his family. But I ended up having a great time. That’s probably my favorite memory. 

Lexie: It sounds like a lovely one.

Johnny: It was. I remember waking up the next morning with the TV still going and seeing the rest of my family still snoring away in their sleeping bags. That was the first time I really felt like I was home.

Lexie: I’m glad you finally got to make some positive holiday memories. That must have meant the world to you.

Johnny: It did. And it means the world to me that I’ll be making memories with you this year.

Previous | Beginning of story | Beginning of chapter | Next

[silent-creed]

WTW PLANET PROMPTS - JUPITER: RELIGION

Of Laughter & Flame

Fetuna is worshiped as the goddess of fire and laughter in the islands of Farosek. As the daughter of Belir, the god of celebrations, she is most often sighted at feasts and festivals, dancing around the bonfire and drinking the night away. When walking among mortals she takes the form of a young, red-haired woman crowned with a circlet wildflowers. Scholars believe that she was once the child of a mortal who took her godly father's hand and ascended to become the deity she is today.

Taglist under the cut (ask to added or removed): 

@flower-reads

Image Credits:

1 // 2 // 3

[hunni-hive]

builds a pillow fort in your ask box :D

Is it's a mean ass pillow fort at least

[dearlyfictitious2]

Modes of Surface Entertainment

"Perseus, I thought you said these games of yours were stress relieving?"

"They are." he grunted.

Triton raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow at his (frankly) vicious finger smashing, "You're exuding the exact opposite of tranquilness."

"Trust me. I am calm, cool, collected, and having so much fun right now." he replied in a borderline unhinged tone, "Very relaxing."

"...Indeed."

Prince Triton had very little to base on whether that statement was true or not, but he was almost certain his brother was trying to convince himself.

He stared at the flat screen tv and tried to make sense of what exactly he was looking at, but try as he may, he couldn't grasp the novelty and settled for leaning on his brother instead.

He positively loathed being on land and made it a point to surface only when deemed absolutely necessary, he would much rather spend his time in their Lord Father's beautiful realm in the oceans, but his demigod brother practically dragged him up here when he was made aware that he, Prince Triton, had never played a video game during the entirety of his immortal existence.

And yes, the game room in Atlantis had plenty of dazzling arcade games to choose from, amongst other choices, but they didn't entice him in any way to play them at all. He could have gone the rest of his said immortal existence rather content having never known about the 'joys' of video games. Thank you very much.

But alas, here he was. Sat in their Father’s newly refurbished cabin and experiencing a mild case of dry eye of all things.

What a nuisance.

Triton summoned water between his fingers and swept them across his eyes, "How can you stand looking at these screens for so long without proper hydration?" He studied his brother closely and noticed something concerning, "Perseus, when was the last time you blinked?" the younger Prince’s expression had assumed a disturbing blank faced, wide-eyed, thousand yard stare.

"I've been working on this level for two and a half hours and I refuse to blink until I beat this one part."

Goodness, what a mess this godling of his was.

He sighed through his nose in resignation and put an arm around his brother's back, smiling fondly, "Your surface habits are very strange, but quite charming."

This amazing art piece was actually finished since Aug 2022 and my DUMBASS forgot to post it 🤡 This was originally going to be a standalone post, but since it took so damn long for me to remember I decided to write up a quick drabble to accompany it.

Permission to post the image was given to me by the incredibly talented artist on Twitter @/Lakes_DownSouth, who is an absolute GODDESS with putting up with my 2am nonsense. Please support her work here

She's also an animator! And well...let's just say I'm more than a little excited about the possibilities!

[littledoodles187]

About this blog

Ok I realise I have not done a blog intro at all, so this is a very late- Hello! I am Chester, though I also go by Forest! I am an autistic DID system that draws a ton, and this is the blog that I share my artwork on! My other blogs that I am active on:

@forests-creatures (more related to non-human alters on our system) Warning, the little doodles blog may become inactive time to time due to my horrific memory

[writingonleaves]

if i see another fuck ass drop pass from luke hughes this game im gonna go and yell at him myself

[1dksm1le]

This is also another picture/drawing that I also finished last year or kinda on New Years but was a little late but here you go

[clownboybebop]

if you’re ever in the position to choose between giving up and accepting defeat, and actually trying to fight the ancient unkillable god that is about to peel apart reality like a string cheese, remember this: scientifically speaking, you might as well give it a shot!

1.there were trees at the beginning of the world! there were trees so long ago that they predate bacteria that causes wood to decay. when a tree fell, it would lie there in stasis and there wasn’t any way of breaking down wood xylem on a molecular level in that way.

2. it seems obvious to say, but wood eating bacteria are literally incapable of comprehending what they’re breaking down. It’s just not information conciously available to a microorganism. they don’t know what they’re deconstructing, where it came from, bacteria have no way to even fathom the existence of a tree as a concept.

3. Regardless of the facts above, the world we live in today is a world where wood inevitably decomposes

it is worth fighting the unkillable god no matter how pointless it seems. it is worth taking the risk even though youre trying to accomplish something impossible. the reality in which you live was also once reality in which trees didn’t rot. You live in a reality that allows for existence before the possibility of destruction. you live in a reality where uncomprehending microbes break down matter that is so far beyond the scope of their comprehension that it feels comical to specify something so obvious. you live in a reality that occasionally allows unshakeable physical truths to be altered with no warning.

It is worth fighting the unkillable god because trees are so old they predate the source of their destruction, and it still did not spare them. It is worth fighting the unkillable god because bacteria rots unthinkingly, because there is room in our cosmos for destruction without comprehension on the part of the destroyer. It is worth fighting the unkillable god because now and then reality retracts the promise of immortality without fanfare, and when that happens there is no mercy for the ancient. the unmaking is not softer for the desecrators ignorance. for all things, existence is endless until the exact point where it ends.

so you might as well try to kill the unkillable god. it doesn’t seem likely, but at the beginning of the world, trees didn’t rot. so you never know! you never know

[pencildragons]

bro i LOVE indigenous fusion music i love it when indigenous people take traditional practices and language and apply them in new cool ways i love the slow decay and decolonisation of the modern music industry

[bacchuschucklefuck]

couldnt draw my thang for mid-autumn so treated myself to a calne redesign instead

[chloesimaginationthings]

Happy 10th anniversary to FNAF!!

[avengernomore]

Hinata was blushing but she worked up the courage to present Sasuke with his birthday gift. It was a cake roll sliced up nicely.

"H-Happy Birthday Sasuke."

Sasuke had to think very quickly.

He wasn't overly fond of sweet things. That was something quite a few people knew about him, but apparently Hinata did not know that.

And while it was probably important to let her know that at some point... Now did not seem like the right time. It'd just seem ungrateful.

"Thank you very much, Hinata..." He took the cake roll from her, smiling, and leaning in to place a kiss upon her cheek. "It looks delicious."

A white lie, but the important part was that Hinata had thought about him rather than the gift itself.

He could let her know that he didn't like sweet things at another time.

[nonebinary-leftbeef]

DEVASTATING the lyric you've been mishearing is better than the real one