#when she needs to distract them

[kindaasrikal]

Do you think Cole used to help Nya with feeling comfortable in her own skin again and feeling flesh and bones, as well as acting alive again, whilst also helping her keep her form and be more conscious and sure of it after merging with the sea, simply because he gets it?

Ghost Cole you will not be forgotten.

[saturnniidae]

I think Astrid Hofferson has a bad case of the 'my childhood was wasted, I grew up too fast for something ultimately proven pointless.' Syndrome and that she deserves to get to do silly things she missed out on and take up new hobbies, even if she's not particularly good at them–it's purely for the experience yknow, and learn to finally breathe no longer needing to be on constant high alert and get to be truly happy

[dykedvonte]

I think it’s so ironic that the Pony Express escapes a lot if not all blame in discussion. I can’t even say I am excused from it but it’s just how hard people circle back to the characters alone without considering the environment they were made to be in.

Why would they design a ship where only two of the rooms lock? Not the bathroom? Not the sleeping quarters? We assume that all the companies in the universe are this shallow and careless to their workers but we explicitly know the Pony Express in extra vile. They are fed processed slop pack they can’t even really cook and the ration of those pack is meager at best. They hired and made people with a plethora of conflicting demeanors and beliefs work together on a mission where cohesion is important if not an outright necessity and punish them for not being happy about it. There’s no social protocols, not chain of command other than Captain’s word/choice and the only way to enforce that is with a literal firearm. They don’t allow them to celebrate freely and even took away leisure activities that would make them less stir crazy. They are only allowed a few hours of sleep despite their being no other real responsibilities or work on the ship, no matter the position or its importance. With any crew, with any level of synergy, this was a powder keg waiting for a spark.

I’m not saying characters that made mistakes didn’t make huge ones, but I think part of the horror is that at least for some (this is targeting Jimathan) those mistakes are partly made by a force of the hand. There’s a running theme of lack of choice and being forced into something and the very nature of how The Pony Express expected them to function plays a big part.

[danwhobrowses]

For anyone else who is gonna struggle surviving the next 3 weeks with the angsty and tense situation of Callowmoore here's a few things from the last 2 episodes that I feel were underrated and will assist in trying to keep me sane/emotionally stable: - Matching messed up hands built for holding - Fearne nervously playing with her hair as she approaches Ashton - Ashton wanted Fearne to be either the last thing they saw if they died or the first thing they saw when they succeeded - Fearne's admittance corroborates Ashley's 4SD revelation that Fearne is in love with someone in the party but doesn't know how to process the emotions - Fearne wanted Ashton to be happy, while Ashton wanted to feel whole so they would be worthy of the Hells - Ashton twice tried to lead a search for Fearne, and instantly clocking onto Chetney saying he followed Fearne - Fearne making herself look as radiant as possible before giving Ashton the cold shoulder - Ashton only rose to Chetney's provocations until he said 'You hurt Fearne' Use how you will

[sezja]

FLUFF-uary 2025 Day 1: First Meeting

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV Relationship: OC & OC (Tajna Ratyasch & Lytora Envers) (Particularly for @morocosmos, who once requested a glimpse into Lyte and Tajna's shared childhoods.)

She snuck out.

She snuck out!

Hunkering deeper into the fuzzy collar of her coat, Tajna creeps cautiously around the corner of the house, scarcely daring even to breathe. Every little sound - a bird chirping overhead, the wind rustling the grass, even the distant muttering of voices - makes her jump; each noise threatens to send her scurrying back to the safety of her bedroom.

If her grandmother finds out she's snuck out - when she's meant to be napping... ohhhh, she'll be grounded for weeks.

But no one would ever dare imagine that shy, flinching Tajna would ever break the rules; no, she's a good girl. All her tutors say so, and so do her parents, and yes, even her grandmother, strict as she is. No one would ever dream Tajna might be capable of disobedience. No one will even think to check in on her, to make sure she's sound asleep in her bed...

But no.

No, she's creeping her way along the walkways that wind through her neighborhood, trying to - all at once! - avoid being seen, remember where she's going, and look casual while she's at it.

She's got a secret.

It's not a very big secret, of course. Not the kind of secret that would, on its own, get her in trouble. Probably. Maybe. She's not testing it, and that - that little act of rebellion, not reporting what she's doing to her parents - lights a little fire of exhilaration in her core. Maybe she feels brave, a little. Maybe she likes feeling brave. A little.

Heart thumping against her ribs every step of the way, she at last reaches her destination: a little house at the far end of her street, nestled in among some sleepy trees. She knows the man who lives there is a retired gleaner - his wife was a professor at the Studium, and their daughter is one of Tajna's tutors, specializing in botany. Plants. Flowers. Her studies are rudimentary - she's only seven years old, after all - but she does like to flip through her tutor's books, gazing with quiet delight at the diagrams of the various plants and trees from around the world... or at least Eorzea, where the bulk of the research was done, evidently.

Eorzea. Her parents say the word like it's some faraway fantasy land; as though Tajna herself wasn't born in the Dravanian colony just across the way.

Her tutor has been to Eorzea, though.

Tajna's secret is a greenhouse: a glass haven where it's springtime year-round, stocked full of plants from distant Eorzea. Lilies from the depths of the Shroud, roses from the gardens of wealthy Ul'dah monetarists. Bellflowers from La Noscea. Some of them even came from floating islands in the sky, gifts from Ishgardians. Tajna doesn't even know what any of those places are, not really, but her tutor does, and she tells the most wonderful stories...

It tugs at her, a little. A little pull under her heart; a little whisper she can't quite hear just yet.

She settles into the grass just outside the greenhouse, just as she has the last few times she's dared to attempt this escape. She'd worn her boy clothes again today - they almost don't fit anymore, but she hadn't wanted to explain grass stains on the knees of her skirts, and she's grateful for it now; the ground is a little muddy. If her tutor was home, she could've just knocked at the greenhouse door and been let in-

"What are you looking at?"

The voice startles Tajna so badly, she yelps, biting her tongue in the process. No! She couldn't have been seen, she couldn't have been caught-

It's a girl.

A little hyuran girl, more or less her own age, with dark blue-violet hair pinned up in a neat braid, and eyes the color of stormclouds, standing there with her hands fisted at her hips. Tajna's mouth goes dry: she knows this girl, sort of. One of the bossy, brassy, popular girls, always with a gaggle of friends surrounding her... but she's alone for the moment. Or at least she seems to be. Who knows how many other girls might be lurking in the shadows, ready to mock Tajna for being quiet and odd...

"F... flowers," she manages, after too long a pause. She'd hoped the girl might wander off, bored.

Instead, much to Tajna's dismay, the interloper delicately pads her way over across the grass, lifting the hem of her long skirt ever-so-slightly. She stands a moment by the hrothgar's side, peering through the misty glass. Tajna feels cold all over, and it owes nothing to the chilly Sharlayan air: this girl could ruin everything! If she tattles, if she decides to mock and tease, if she just... just knows about Tajna's secret, then-

"Flowers," the girl repeats, a little bemused. "So there are. I wonder how they keep them from freezing?"

"It... it's a greenhouse..."

"Yes, but," the girl gestures impatiently at the air around them. "Is it kept warm with fire shards, do you know? Or magic?"

"I..." She shakes her head, feeling stupid. "I don't know. I just... I just like to look at the f-flowers."

The girl looks at her then, really looks at her, looking a touch surprised - as though it only just occurred to her that Tajna was there. She blinks. And then she grins, a little dimple appearing at the corner of her lips.

"And so you should," she declares. "They're lovely, aren't they?" And then, heedless of grass stains or mud or even Tajna's flinch, the girl takes herself a seat at the other girl's side, and together they gaze at the flowers in amiable silence.

And just like that - whether she likes it or not - Tajna has a best friend.

[steampunk-raven]

do you ever think about the fact that han mi was *at most* 13 when her mom was killed?

do you ever think about the fact that there's a non-zero chance han got her first period while hiding with her parents, given her general age range was the average time people first start menstruating?

do you ever think about the fact that, if she did get her first period, her parents likely wouldn't have enough resources to help her through it? They wouldn't have been expecting her to get it, not like how han's mother would have (probably) prepared enough supplies for herself.

do you ever think about the fact han mi's mother died buying tampons?

do you think she blames herself?

[worstloki]

The comedy of brodinsons dragging random cultural biases with them from Asgard is so fun. They should be sexist to people's faces and roll their eyes when anyone says anything about it

[thedrotter]

not-yet-dead-person

silly comic of a conversation in-game i thought was too funny not to make something proper for instead of a doodle ww

(timelapse + wip images (thus silly process commentary in read more if you like artist commentary :3)

i think the sketch looks silly and goofy and funny so i find it important to share with you the mere presence of the faces i drew on it. i drew it on top of the boxes without staying inside its borders because i find my proportions can get wonky if i draw them cropped in a restricted space. and I feel trapped otherwise and i will draw BAD!!! give me spaceeeee to go wild!!!!

the head circles are there for emotional support

very low res speedpaint because truth is the canvas was much bigger than the space where my comic was placed. i didnt account when exporting my timelapse in 720px that that tiny space would look so pixelated ... but it's able to be percieved, so its okay.

(i will now comment on my process and it is not brief sorry)

usually i would try to clean up my sketches and figure out what goes on top before jumping into linework, but since there are multiple panels and drawings i chose to jump into inking right away for the sake of brevity. i just went in with a brush that uses pen pressure and drew what was needed. i added extra line thickness and contrast in areas around the face because it helps direct your eyes there more easily that way.

according to her equipment rei has a chain belt but i only remembered it existed once I was going to color, and i did not like that discovery... I chose to ignore it to maintain my peace. i already have the color palettes for these characters figured out, and i didnt really want to think about a new element at the moment www I tend to overthink those things a lot so i skipped it

the rest is rather straightforward! not that anything else wasn't, but in here i could turn my brain off and sing. linework and sketching require mumbling so i cannot turn my brain off. just block in the characters with a solid color so i can have a mask (something along those lines,) where the color can stay inside. then just color in !!!

Base colors just had slight cell shading on the skin, and for the hair i airbrush a bit of the skincolor in low opacity near the forehead... I'm not sure what it means, but i can look at the faces easier with it somehow. i like the gentle subtlety it adds even if you cant really tell. it makes things look nice.

background was just me blocking in the color of the wall and floor, shade the wall a bit, then slap a noise and free use wood texture on top. work smarter not harder ! yet it took a bit to make it look stylistically fitting with the characters, and even now i think bottom middle panel looks odd. whatever!!!

for the middle panel i thought itd be funny if the background was a solid silly and colorful one to contrast the next panel's sketchy black one. a contrast to how the word widow is seen. on that note my handwritting is not pointy. i gaslighted my hand into thinking that it was indeed pointy in that moment so i could write "not-yet dead person" in letters that didn't seem cute. my hand did not fall for it but it complied anyway

that's basically it! I'm not sure what else i could say that doesn't feel barebones because it really is that straightforward. if you're curious I used clip studio paint for this. only special brush used was for linework (a brush named Lemon Brush), the rest used were just the default. my computer gets the least credit. it was trying to convince me a 20mb file was going to nuke it all the time and hardly let me save multiple times so i do not appreciate it

[borealing]

cant get over how thin and unwell ariana looks atm.... i lowkey dont want to watch wicked because ive seen parts and her shoulders look like she hasnt eaten a real meal in weeks... it takes me out of it completely i just start wondering about her health

[alpacacare-archive]

If i think about noelle deltarune too hard i just crumple and die a little. I just want to give her her sister back and never replay the game again

[cuteniaarts]

@katkastrofa, circa 40-ish hours ago: Hey, what if our newest bunch of OCs adopted a baby from one of the other brothel girls who knew she couldn’t afford to raise one? That would make for some fun shenanigans :D

Me, with a notoriously non existent sleep schedule, instinct of self preservation or concern for my poor wrist: Alright, bet. Watch how fast I can make you fall in love with this hypothetical baby >:)

Daneli as a gentle and loving caretaker-turned-adoptive-mother is something that can be So Personal, actually, and originally I was going to leave it at this quick sketch, but then I got carried away thinking about what this child will grow up to be like raised by this little gang of misfits, so…

Here she is!! A little older and so, so beautiful, I need more of her in my life immediately, she’s way too precious

And, because I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t also add a sapphic element to this absolute cinnamon roll, a small crack ship that I’m only half serious about for when she’s a little older still:

All in all, we may be getting impossibly far from canon, but I for one already cannot get enough of sweet darling Kumisai <3

(I fully drew three pieces from scratch in 9 hours I cannot feel my brain or my hands anymore send help)

[autisticlee]

sometimes I think about how when I went to college for a year before I dropped out (basically failed out,) the counselors/dean told me they can't help me at all or give any accommodations unless I have an official autism/adhd diagnosis. that might sound logical at first, but when you think about it more, it's actually quite fucked up. if someone is struggling really bad, what's the harm in helping them? why do they require a paper to get even the smallest amount of help? people who don't need help aren't going to be failing miserably without help! even NTs could benefit from some adjustments to the horrible school system! (but changing the entire system is a whole other conversation that the school system isnt ready for)

but even if you do agree to jump through their hoops, you realize it's even more fucked up that the diagnosis process requires YEARS in most cases (in my case it took 4 or 5 years, can't recall exactly now, for autism/adhd diagnosis, which would have meant i finished school before getting it if i managed to mot fail out, or i wait that long before going back, which is a whole struggle itself) and they also tried billing me for THOUSANDS of dollars because of insurance issues!!

so you put a ton of time and money into this, and then get told the only accommodation they are willing to give you for autism and adhd is "a little extra time on tests"

....

my test scores were the best part of my whole class experience. that was NOT what I struggled with!!!!! those tests were all online and could be done in the comfort of your home where you can accommodate yourself and have plenty of time left over when you finish them because you are comfy in your own space, (and also, no one was stopping you from having your notes/books/google open to find the answers,) and you don't even need a time consuming, expensive diagnosis for that!

SO WHAT'S THE POINT!!!!!!!

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

based on your asks responses & characterization of yuuta this is what i’ve gathered — yuuta is like that one high school senior who looked at the new coming freshman’s & just adopted them on the spot. there’s no out. now his friends sees the kid & adopted them too. it’s a family now. a very young, close in age family. (i was yuuta in this situation 😔 i was use to be megumi in this situation but i carried the tradition out. as i should. high school & middle school was wild.)

YUUJI THOUGH. we will probably never see him in your sea glass garden au but your asks is killing me. like his one sided beef with yuuta? he’s just like me fr. i too would fight over megumi if it comes down to it.

i just know yuuji thought that yuuta & megumi was a thing at first cause of the whole “his boy thing”. i know he screamed into a pillow about it. i know he went to gojo to ask for permission to court megumi & gojo was flabbergasted at such a medieval act so he had yuuji do the dumbest shit to get his blessing (ha).

i just know nanami is sighing at the idea of his son yuuji being a jealous little brat because of his other son yuuta. i just know yuuta was so confused until he witnessed yuuji & megumi awkward ass flirting. i know he acts like a little shit to get on yuuji (& sukuna) nerves.

you know what. this is my jujutsu kaisen. this is my sorcery fight. gege who? i only know you. PLS TAKE THE PEN FROM GEGE.

Yuuta is absolutely that senior who adopted that new student and made a little family. That is His Kohai now okay megumi is their collectively raised flour sack baby and they will kill for him.

Yuuji came back to life finally met the second years had just leveled up with his cursed energy and gained a new dad got his old friends back he was so so ready to go live his best life and then his new self appointed brother opened his mouth and started rhapsodizing about some impossibly beautiful and perfect man named okkotsu yuuta and yuuji is absolutely whacked in the face a la rubber squeaky hammer that there’s some gorgeous son of a bitch out there already living his best life.

His death sentence was overturned. He’s so powerful that he can save everyone if he wants. He is the legally adopted child of Nanami Kento. The curse attached to him 1) actually liked him and 2) moved the fuck on which some people (Sukuna) could take a few notes on.

Fushiguro Megumi is his boy.

This could not have devastated him more thoroughly. Even his newly acquired self appointed brother thinks okkotsu yuuta is the perfect man, which he manages to express at length in between warnings from the second years that Yuuta’s going to fly back from Africa purely for the sake of kicking his fucking ass for touching His Boy, which yuuji simply cannot handle.

Yuuji lowkey had a new lease on life and thought “hey! Fushiguro tried to kill someone with an elephant for me! Maybe I have a shot and he’ll let me hold his hand!” and then there’s god’s perfect man off in Africa who’s enticing megumi away from movie marathons with his fucking FaceTime calls right when yuujis almost hyped himself up enough to try the yawning arm stretch thing.

He spends at least three weeks trying to figure out if Megumi’s His Boy because they’re in a long distance relationship and it only ends because maki starts finding it more annoying than funny and establishes that it is not in fact a romantic arrangement. She thinks. (Okay it’s still kind of funny.)

Yuuji resorted to a terrible wikihow on how to get someone to date you and it insisted “get their parents approval” was his in and gojo could NOT have been more of an asshole about it. Nanami had to intervene to get it to stop. He is very tired and very confused. Why are you so upset about okkotsu he’s a lovely young man why is this making you more upset

Of course if yuuji ever found out that megumi became Yuuta’s boy after Yuuta personally restarted his heart he’d instantly understand why everyone acts like Yuuta’s the best thing since sliced bread. He is that amazing.

Yuuta and Megumi are completely oblivious to all of this.

Gege pls call me I just want to help gege pls

[itspileofgoodthings]

tags continued from prev post.

[rustycottoncandy]

I somehow made it through the school day running on one hour of sleep

[seventh-district]

sometimes it’s late at night and you’re cleaning your room and you come across a few old black and white photos of a young girl and you stare at them for a long minute wondering how on earth they got lost in an old Kroger shopping bag with an unopened pack of cigarettes and a receipt dated 2017.

and you look at the girl in the pictures sat on the floor of someone’s home you don’t recognize, smiling and playing with a set of keys and a tiny part of you feels like it recognizes her but you aren’t sure.

and you flip the pictures over hoping to find some sort of annotation that would give you context and all you find is the year 1964 stamped in tiny font along the edge.

and you flip them back over and time stands still as you realize that the recognition you feel is because she looks so much like you once did and next thing you know your hands are sweating and shaking and you have to sit on the floor because you’re crying so hard because it hits you all at once that you’re looking at your mother.