#this would be the perfect day to write

[starrspice]

I'm stealing @paper-lilypie 's poll idea

I may not finish it until tomorrow but if thats the case maybe I'll make something extra

Top 2 (maybe 3) AUs get Valentine stuff

[vaguely-concerned]

thinking about not only the specific people lucanis pulls in to represent the 'locks' in his psyche, but the storytelling that happens in the structure/order of them. the underlying ideas are presented something like:

the lucanis who went into the ossuary never came back out again; he died down there (the boy caterina raised is gone forever) -> you're putting yourself in danger doing this (by being close to me), you should leave because I can't bear it if you get hurt because of me -> it doesn't matter even if we do try this, it won't work anyway (again because of me) ('you know what he's like, you can open the door but he won't walk through it' :'( oofie doofie) -> what if the real secret is that there was never anything but the monster in here from the beginning. you should leave, there was never anything here worth saving in the first place. (implicitly: what if I deserved what happened, all along.)

it runs pretty cleanly from outward-oriented attachment anxiety ('caterina won't even want me back like this, she won't recognize me (the same way I no longer recognize myself)) and gradually deeper inwards until we reach self-image and self worth. or you know, the harrowing basic lack of it lol.

"careful -- they'll know we're not right," spite says in one of their first scenes... but clearly, some very deep part of lucanis has feared or suspected for much longer than that that there's something inherently not right at the core of him, way before any demon entered the picture. and the voice he gives those lines to is the person who should know him better than anyone in the world, who he has loved more than anyone in the world -- and who deliberately chose to hurt him so horrifically anyway. 'It's better if I'm just a monster and deserved what happened than it is to allow for the idea that the brother I love doesn't really exist and maybe never did'. it's better if he's fundamentally flawed in some way that needed fixing to help him survive, and that's why caterina chose to hurt him again and again -- out of love. (this one I think he might have a very sad wakeup call on one day if he ever ends up with the responsibility and care of a child of his own in some way and realizes just how alien the idea of ever intentionally hurting them for any reason is to him. oh buddy. also interesting that he keeps caterina as the outermost lock -- there IS a distance he keeps there that he hasn't with illario. he doesn't resent her 'anymore' he says, but he also keeps her carefully further away from his deepest self.)

as far as I could tell the only note in the mind prison that's fully hidden and needs to be uncovered is the sad painful helpless stupid little truth that even after all this, even knowing what happened... he still loves his brother. is there anything illario could ever do that would make lucanis completely stop loving him, do you think? sometimes the trouble with unconditional love is that it is, well. unconditional, even when some terms and conditions probably would have been in order haha.

that's the pattern you see there again and again; he would rather destroy and abandon and imprison himself at every turn than let go of love, even when it's just scraps, even when there's only ever enough of it to hurt him. it's only when rook shows up and as it were takes his hand and walks along with him that he can entertain the idea of changing the story of what walking out the door might mean in the end.

[gentlebeard]

If I could hold you for a minute, Darling, I’d go through it again

For @edsbacktattoo & @stedesearring 💕 Show: Our Flag Means Death - Season 1 & 2 Music: Francesca by Hozier YouTube

[icewindandboringhorror]

Pages from trying to keep a little sketchbook-scrapbook type thing going for two weeks lol. I gave myself specific rules in hopes they might all end up more cohesive/consistent seeming, but alas, scribbly chaos reigns, it seems

[myokk]

Eloise is VERY studious but it’s just because she needs to prove herself. She’s very insecure that she started at Hogwarts so late & studies like crazy to catch up & so nobody can ever doubt her😤😤 She HATES some classes though and will do the bare minimum for them and is fine with getting a possible T in her OWLs (Beasts), unless she deems the subject important somehow (Divination), but with subjects she LOVES (Transfiguration and Arithmancy) she does a lot of extra work outside of what’s necessary.

She’s never been able to stay awake longer than 2 minutes in History of Magic🥲 she swears Professor Binns infuses his voice with some sort of somnolence charm…

Her two best friends are Imelda and Anne😇🙏they drag her along EVERYWHERE with them

[purplecatghostposts]

*Holds up Félix and Chloé* It’s not obvious because it’s all WIPs and very little has been posted but I care them so much. I love putting them in a room together and locking the door to see what happens. They’re two somewhat territorial cats who are fighting one minute, then totally chill the next. They’re judging each other. They like to hang out and judge other people. They’re mocking each other one minute and then planning each other’s parents’ (Andre and Audrey’s/Colt’s) murders. Amélie invites Chloé over and treats her like a daughter. Chloé is breaking down crying in Amélie’s arms because she feels loved one moment, then smirking at Félix because she’s stealing his mom five minutes later. Sabrina knows Félix by his full government name due to Chloé’s ranting but has never formally met him. They both love Adrien so much but they’re not the greatest at remembering to tell him. They both have so many issues. They complain about each other. They have blackmail material for days. They would kill for one another if it came down to it. Do you feel me. Do you get me. Did any of that make sense. I know I’m taking a five second interaction and allusions to what their relationship was before and blowing it up out of proportion but they interest me so MUCH and I WILL make headcanons about it.

[pa-pa-plasma]

hey i feel like we're really sleeping on that time Danny possessed Vlad & framed him for assaulting a minor

Editing with the clip because people don't believe me. Episode is 41: Eye for an Eye.

[jannacalendar]

I understand why it wasn't possible, but it's such a shame we couldn't get Jenny back for The Wish. She and Giles fighting a losing battle side by side and being hardened from it, but remaining each other's solace. Them piecing together the puzzle Cordelia presents to them and having faith in a world better than this, only for Anyanka to try and throw them by hinting at Jenny's death should they return. Giles faltering at the thought of losing her and Jenny, once again, sacrificing herself and destroying the necklace. The way she sees it: she'll either be dead by The Master's hand or by her own, and only one of those inevitabilities gives the man she loves a chance of survival. She kisses him as she plunges herself into the abyss, wanting the last thing she experiences to be his love.

Giles waking up the following morning, the pang in his heart he always feels whenever he remembers Jenny accompanied by a newfound feeling of emptiness, and he's not quite sure why.

[lazzarella]

Boom Tharatorn as Warich in Ep 15 of Perfect 10 Liners

Warich's panic and anguish is palpable here, especially in that first gif—this was an incredibly fine piece of acting from Boom imho

[aria-greenhoodie]

You asked and ye shall receive. Aria,why do you use birds to symbolize Abigale's inner turmoil?. Besides the obvious surname thing. Also you apparently have more thoughts on the Muse art? 👀,explain?.

So obviously yeah, “Blackwing” is such a bird surname. BUT THATS ONLY THE SURFACE!

Birds are so often used as symbols of freedom, creatures untethered by laws of the land due to their ability to fly. In the same way, I imagine Abigale as being similar; free, not having to abide by the laws of her land as much as others did. In order to explain I think I have to dive into my version of Abigale’s backstory a bit…

(Warning: I’m going off what I know about 1800-1900s American Society. I’m no historian, but I’ve tried to keep things as believable as possible. I will say I’m pretty confident in that believability thanks to my feminist history class I been taking this semester.)

Born in the early 1880s, the Blackwing family was wealthy, yet fairly unknown. Calling it a “family” before Abigale’s birth would be a stretch in many’s opinion, being made up of just Mr. Atticus Blackwing and Mrs. Chastity Blackwing. Chastity tragically passed in childbirth, leaving Atticus to raise Abigale all on his own. He became fiercely protective and supportive of the young Abigale, a tiny spitting image of his late wife.

Abigale was always an insatiably curious child. At first, Atticus tried to teach her how to be a lady, to be domestic, to cook and clean and dote on her future husband, but quickly realized he was woefully unequipped for teaching a subject he knew nothing about. What’s more: Abigale HATED her womanly lessons. Instead, Atticus decided to let her learn something she actually was interested in; inventing.

Abigale loved to tinker, to create. The mechanical was a fascination of hers from the moment she saw it. Atticus as an architect had some mechanical knowledge, but not to the level Abigale’s insatiable desire to learn needed. But what engineering school would allow a woman in? At this point in the late 1800s, women were nearly always snubbed in inventing spaces, most universities not even offering engineering degrees for female students.

And so, Abigale’s “twin brother” Abraham Blackwing was created. A pseudonym for Abigale, under which she would don Atticus’s old clothes from his boyhood and attend a prestigious engineering school. Her father even falsified documents like Abraham’s birth certificate to make him appear like a legitimate person. It was risky, as crossdressing was a punishable offense by law back then, but Abigale was willing to take that risk if it meant she could learn.

Between her rich father supporting her every decision and passion, and her alter-ego, Abraham, to fall back on, Abigale had a lot of freedom growing up. When her father died of an illness just before she graduated, he left “Abraham” everything, which of course meant that Abigale could “live with her brother” and hold a bank account under his name. She was truly given every opportunity for freedom, more than any woman of her time.

And then, Bill Cipher enters her life.

She’s plagued by the triangular demon ip every night in her dreams, but she refuses to succumb to the shape’s demands. As tempting as building a machine like an inter-dimensional portal was, she knew better than to trust a man who wouldn’t explain his motives. When Abigale asked why Bill wanted this portal built, he couldn’t give her a straight answer, and that was enough proof to know he was no good.

After weeks of restless nights and aggravation, Abigale finds a peculiar ad in the paper, written by a certain Thurburt Mudget Waxstaff III…

On some level, she has to thank Bill for entering her life as much as she has to curse him for it. If he had never decided to torment her specifically, she never would have met the rest of the Anti-Cipher Society. Abigale THRIVED in the society, delighted in inventing new ways to ward off Cipher, collaborating with her dear Jessamine to create specialized weaponry, learning self defense from Horace, gossiping with O’Pimm, spending night after night explaining the mechanics of how her inventions worked to Thurburt so he could whip up a stellar sales pitch… she had never felt more alive! She was flying high, much like a bird on the wind.

And then the conference happened.

Thurburt was institutionalized, right then and there. Abigale watched the asylum workers from backstage with mounting horror. Worst case scenario for Thurburt, he’d be locked in a cell or sent out west at some work camp, but for Abigale? If the asylum workers got ahold of her, she knew they’d think her hysterical. Treatments for “insane” men were often much kinder than treatments for women in those times. Deeming Thurburt insane would send him to a locked cell, but he would at least be allowed to remain himself. Abigale had heard of women like her, eccentric unmarried women, “frivolous women” as they were often called, being scooped up by doctors and spat back onto the street with their entire personalities wiped. A hammer and a well placed nail up the inside of one’s nose could do heinous things. Abigale would sooner die then let them take what made her HER away.

So she ran. She tried to take Jessamine with her, but she refused to leave Thurburt. For six days Abigale hid in the society’s underground bunker, terrified of venturing outside, not knowing what happened to her companions besides Thurburt. She only ventured out on the seventh day because she had run out of food.

She couldn’t go back to her house, when she tried to scope it out, she saw the asylum workers already knocking at her door. She couldn’t stay in the bunker, it was only a matter of time before it was found. She was desperate for a way out, to keep herself free.

And here comes Mr. Northwest.

See, the thing about birds is that while they make excellent symbols of freedom, they also make excellent symbols of being trapped. Birds can be put into cages, forced to sing or speak for meager treats, and lets not forget that at that time most birdcages were anything but spacious and comfortable. Most captive birds of the time were expected to die quickly, only purchased in order to sing prettily for a short while before their tiny little hearts stopped beating. Birds are as much a symbol of freedom as they are of captivity, of being trapped, of the LOSS of freedom.

Abigale never wanted to be a wife, but what choice did she have? Mr. Northwest offered her a way out if she married him. Her choice was thus: escape the state with Mr. Northwest as her husband, or stay in town and eventually be found and promptly lobotomized, erased of any trace of her real personality.

She chose the former.

Better to live in a gilded cage, twittering for scraps, then to be gutted and stuffed on som taxidermist’s wall…

Right?

As for the muse stuff most of my trout process I already told you in the notes of the original piece lol

[luckyartdrawer]

100 Follower Milestone!!! Royal AU!!!

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Technically the PT 2 for celebrating due to a tie in the poll. PT 1 here <3

✨🎉✨🎉✨🎉✨🎉✨🎉✨

Here ye, here ye! The newly crowned King Eclipse finally comes down to greet his people!

Created to be the perfect ruler, a nation's answer to repeated corrupt leadership, Eclipse is meant to be the best combination of both logic and care. It seems today True Eclipse graces us today, how wonderful! Though one cannot help but be curious about individually meeting with the nurturing Sun or the analytical Moon protocols...

(vvv Extras and AU lore/Yapping below! vvv)

Without the bright lighting <3

I apologize about the long wait lovelies, life and some art struggles had kept me from completing this lovely fella. Said art struggles being that I just couldn't get this piece to how it looks in my head and I was becoming frustrated with it 😔

So, instead of grinding myself down with stubbornness, I decided to get things as presentable as possible and releasing this silly to the world. I hope in the end this is still satisfying for y'all to see! <3

I had so much I wanted to do but the art was not arting and this has been sitting for too long on the wayside uaghhh-

But that's enough of that! For those of you interested in AU ideas/lore/plot, here's what I cooked up :3

This world takes place in a time where humans and animatronics are both commonplace and recognized as sentient - though it is still a somewhat recent development (around 100 years) for AI sentience to be widely accepted. Tensions between them were dwindling, but at the appearance of the Animatronic King, whispers of worrying conspiracies started floating around the human population...

Eclipse was built by a team of humans and animatronics to solely to rule over the nation. (I have yet to come up with a kingdom name bc I am terrible at them) The kingdom was not exactly failing under its previous rulers, but crime was rampant and outrage was plentiful at how the previous leaders seemed to turn a blind eye to the citizen's pains as long as they had a reason to benefit from it. With a staggering show of community and a great growth in companionship, both humans and Animatronics worked together and overthrew the kingdom, but with no single person able to agree on who will take over, eventually a tense agreement came about building a new ruler...

Eclipse has multiple modes that can be willingly switched out at any time:

True Eclipse mode is when both the Sun and Moon protocols are active, neither taking priority over the other -- see it as if both Sun and Moon are controlling a body at the same time! In this state, their thoughts intermingle rapidly and slight disagreements between the protocols won't be an issue as in this state mitigation is at its easiest, both sides understanding what the other is thinking and feeling to the fullest. They seem to form almost a new personality together, but hints of both sides' quirks peek out, like Sun's habit of rambling and Moon's fidgeting and chewing habits when focused or stressed.

The Sun mode is when the more empathetic AI protocol has taken the lead. This will happen in different ways, such as when the situation calls for a more caring and delicate approach to things, when the Moon AI protocol doesn't wish to be present or allows the singularity, and when the AI itself fights/forces it's way into the front if it absolutely feels as necessary, much like how emotions do.

The Moon mode is when the more calm and calculating AI protocol has taken the lead. This will happen in different ways, such as when the situation calls for a logical and cold approach to things, when the Sun AI protocol doesn't wish to be present or allows the singularity, and when the AI itself overrides its way to the front if absolutely necessary for the betterment of the nation, as sometimes drastic measures must be taken no matter what.

(AKA, Sun, Moon, Eclipse are all one AI, but Sun and Moon are their own protocols, and they combine protocols to make Eclipse!)

Their appearance does not change much between modes! Only their eye colors change, and the only other way to tell if they have switched modes is by their physical and vocal mannerisms:

Sun has a fast voice that's typically upbeat and cheery! He occasionally stumbles over himself as he tends to think faster than he speaks.

Moon has a slow voice that doesn't usually show much emotion and can tend to mumble. There are usually small to long pauses when having a conversation with him, as he tends to calculate what the best plausible response would be.

Eclipse is the most calm sounding, able to project or lower his voice if necessary but otherwise talks at an even speaking volume. His smooth and ready responses make him come across as charming and well put together, no matter how many times he admits otherwise.

Don't let their coded dispositions and stagnant smile fool you! All the modes still can hold the wide array emotions, though some are harder to upset or phase than others. :3

(They like to cover their smile when upset or thinking. Only their eyes/eyelids can move--and I suppose their nightcap too-- to show expression!)

Is there any plans for a y/n or x reader?

Sure, eventually I'll make a fic for it! This was an idea I had for a while but never decided to officially cook up. It'll probably be a while since I have so many fics rn to take care of...

I've had 2 ideas for y/ns butttt I'm leaning more towards one over the other... I have great story ideas for both though!

Idea 1: Y/n is hired to be a Royal Advisor for the king! But wait... This isn't even close to what they signed up for..? They were going to be a simple kitchen hand! How did this happen?! They're too afraid to speak up to the king about it, fearful of getting tossed back into poverty or worse, especially right after being welcomed in and treated to all the lavish living within the castle -- they even have their own room here! Hopefully the king will be merciful as they learn as they work... It's not like they're the only one helping around here, right?

Idea 2: Y/n is hired to be the Royal Jester! They honestly hadn't meant to, but they consider themselves grateful for the position. Free room and free meals? Just by making jokes all the time? A total win!!! It all happened during the celebration towards the crowning of the new King, and said king meandered around town late into the day to enjoy the festivities. He eventually got tired of the constant eyes from his creators that he momentarily slipped into a pub to enjoy being with his people unabashedly. Long story short, a drunk y/n jokingly harassed and goofed around so hard that the King was so annoyingly impressed and tickled that he just had to keep them. They had some guilt about how they acted, but its water under the bridge. Hey, don't blame y/n, they just do what they do best! Jest! And what's a king without a Jester?

DONE... oh my goodness that's so much info... hope that feeds y'all hehe <3

Once again THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I really appreciate y'all and I hope this was worth the wait. :3

🎉🎉🎉

I got a few art things I simply MUST do, so expect those sometimes within the next few weeks, but as always my schedule will be wonky and I keep wanting to start 50 million projects, soooo I stay as the wild card. I do have a lot of life stuff besides college popping up recently and I'm making an effort to be a little less online, but trust that even if there's bouts of silence from me, I will be back hehe >:3

Until next time lovelies! ✨✨✨

[chiarrara]

who up happying they new year rn

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Chapter 110 is 13 pages long welcome to hell!!! so in a lot of ways this is just more fuel for a theory that I've had for a few weeks now, that's only gotten stronger with each recent season 5 episode, which is that the last episode of the season is gonna end on 110, and that Asagiri/Harukawa and Bones have been collaborating to make this happen, specifically because it's a major turning point that would be the only good place to end the season on.

When we started getting especially long chapters again (like from 25-35ish pages, with the exception of 107.5, the last two being some of the longest we've ever had), at first I just assumed that Asagiri/Harukawa got freed up from some other obligations they'd been having to cause the extremely short/half chapters, like promotional stuff for the anime/Beast movie, or working on light novels. But then 109 happened, with the "supposed" death of Dazai, and heavy emphasis at the end on how literally everyone is at their lowest point right now, and I got to thinking. 11 episodes is a strangely specific number for an anime season -- why not 12, or 13, or even 10, like you'd usually see? Why have we gotten suddenly gotten two 35 page chapters out of nowhere, that's almost unheard of at this point? They're both beautiful chapters, don't get me wrong (as always), and maybe A/H simply just didn't want to cut them in halves because they felt like the full emotional impact wouldn't hit/that there were no good cutoff points in them, but you can't deny that it's surprising, after all the shorter chapters we've been getting. Why has the anime been going at such insanely breakneck pacing for the most part ever since around the Sunday Tragedy chapters, even more so than it has in the past? So much so that it feels dangerously close to overtaking the manga?

Well, maybe, just maybe, it's because..... Asagiri decided a long time ago that whatever happens in 110 is the only point that feels "season finale"-worthy enough, in an arc that still isn't anywhere close to being completely wrapped up, and so both the manga and the anime have been specifically coordinated to reach that part within 2 and a half weeks of each other?

I've seen a lot of people now think season 5 will end with 109, and as much as my sadistic side would find that hilarious, I honestly don't think they'd do that and realistically don't want it to happen; it'd be so cruel to cliffhanger the anime for years like that, and just doesn't feel like a season cliffhanger BSD would do, a series that is ultimately hopeful and uplifting. Seasons 2 and 3 had a positive, conclusive ending; the only reasons seasons 1 and 4 didn't was because they're technically not really full seasons of their own, and are more like the first cour of another "season" that also came out that same year (seasons 1 and 2 both aired in 2016, so they're more like one big season, and seasons 4 and 5 have both aired this year, so they're also more like one big season, again taking into account how episodes 12 and 50 are not satisfying finales like episodes 24, 37, and hypothetically, 61, are). I really can't see season 5 ending with Dazai and Fukuzawa's supposed deaths, Sigma being unconscious and maybe close to death, Atsushi being vulnerable and limbless again, everyone we love still vampires, and the entire world being basically doomed; that's just too depressing and not like BSD at all. However, having said that, if it doesn't end there, there really isn't any good place to end the season before that, either, that feels in any way satisfying or like a finale at all. And so, to me, that only leaves after 109: chapter 110.

I think things are really gonna turn around next chapter. Like I said, everyone is at their lowest point right now, it cannot possibly get any worse, the framing of Dazai, Fukuzawa, and sskk at the end of 109 is telling us that; this is the time for the heroes to finally start winning again, with Aya being so close to pulling out the sword, and for all the thematic reasons other people have talked about to death that I don't need to go into here again. This upcoming chapter being so short again makes a part of me wary of 110 being "the one", so to speak, I won't lie, but at the same time, it's very possible that it needs to be that short because that's all the final episode of the season will be able to reasonably fit in, since it's already gonna be VERY close if they do make it all the way to 109. And at the end of the day, I don't doubt at all that Asagiri and Harukawa can make these the most monumental and game-changing mere 13 pages ever if they wanted to; a chapter does not at all need to be extremely long in order to be an important and impactful one, even if short ones we've gotten in the past haven't felt the most important.

An additional thought I've had, though this is much more crack territory than all this already is, is that since we know from Anime Expo that a Stormbringer movie at some point is highly likely (judging from Asagiri's reaction when someone brought it up), it's possible that chapter 110 and thus the final episode will involve the long-anticipated return of Verlaine and/or Adam, or at least some other major reference to Stormbringer, that would naturally and smoothly lead into a Stormbringer movie to explain things to people who haven't read the novel. It would make a lot of sense, especially since the s4 OP has the Old World sign behind Chuuya, which might be a hint that this has been in the works ever since seasons 4/5 were first in planning with Asagiri. We also know that Dazai and Chuuya's voice actors apparently struggled to record their lines together this season, which probably relates to 101 and possibly 109, but it could be 110 too.... I could be very wrong, as I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but I kinda doubt they would bring Chuuya's actor in for just the vampire growls, and Asagiri placing heavy emphasis on Chuuya's importance this season in that one interview gives me the impression that he's talking about much more than just 101/109. But that's the least solid evidence I have, that's just mostly based on vibes I get.

So basically, I think a lot of factors -- the unusual episode count, how close the anime is to catching up to the manga with three whole episodes left, the seemingly arbitrary recent chapter lengths, and the climactic events of 109 -- can tell us that 110 might be a very, VERY big deal. Again, there's of course no way this arc is anywhere near close to being finished, with so much left to address and resolve, but since it is currently incomplete in the manga, unlike the previously adapted arcs, if the anime was going to adapt it at all, they'd have to find a place that feels satisfying enough to end this season, knowing there won't be more anime for a long time after this, and so I think they specifically planned for that, from both Bones' and A/H's sides. 10 episodes might not have been enough to reach that point, but 12 or 13 might have been too many it wouldn't have been if Bones actually decided to slow down and let the story breathe the way it needs to, but this post isn't meant to criticize the anime, so maybe 11 was just right. And maybe Asagiri and Harukawa specifically pushed to make recent chapters longer than usual, in order to make sure that the manga reached the story content in 110 the monthly release right before season 5 was to end.

Is this just copium? Absolutely. Am I going to look like an absolute clown in two days when this post ages like milk? Probably. But the evidence is There, so let me just enjoy my delusions until Sunday, okay 🥂🫡

[pwurrz]

being obsessed with yakumo is a job and baby i’ve never called in a sick day!!!!!

[my-fancy-hat]

I LOVE SILENT HILL 2 I LOVE THE PSYCHOLOGICAL HORROR OF CONFRONTING YOUR TRAUMA AND MISTAKES

[wildsaltair]

I would rise from the dead, dig my way out of a grave, and travel for decades over miles of earth and sea to get to this man

(I think I might have screencapped these from @losthavenmine’s amazing gifs awhile back, but lmk if I am incorrect because I can’t remember)