#go beyond my capabilities

[tokkimins]

twenty six

[blackwaves]

the part of 55 minutes where akutagawa claws himself into moving forward and attempting to live because he's not done yet, because he's still striving for dazai's approval, lives in my head in perpetual motion— raw with pain, character who as per heartless cur doesn't see a purpose to life, character on the horrible half-broken liferaft of living for wanting dazai's approval and who narratively requires a better and newer reason to live. character who is actively dying and who won't let himself rest into death just yet because he has something he wants too much before he can let himself die; repeated again in the fight with fukuchi.

dazai's hands on a piano, saying, you fought so hard; the acknowledgement of it. akutagawa thinking, i did, as he sinks into death.

[the-broken-pen]

“You’re going to blow out your arms,” the villain observed. They watched as the hero merely grit their teeth, shoving themself through another pull-up. It looked painful, and if the sweat slicking the hero’s brow was any indication, it was.

They waited for the hero to let themself drop from the bar and accept the villain was stronger. But they didn’t.

Three more pull-ups, and the villain stepped in.

“Hero,” they said slowly. “You’re about to tear the ligaments in your arms. You need to stop.”

The hero blew out a shuddering breath. Struggled for purchase, fighting gravity—and let themself drop.

The hero’s hands were bleeding, calluses torn open by the bar. The hero didn’t seem bothered when their own hands shook so much that their blood began to splatter on the gym floor.

For a moment, the villain could only stare at them.

Shit.

They didn’t know how to handle this. They knew the hero was dedicated. They knew the hero was strong, and perpetually trying to be stronger, but they hadn’t thought…

They hadn’t thought the hero would be so willing to tear apart their own body for success.

It was supposed to be fun, the villain thought. They felt a little sick as the hero pressed their palms together to soothe the bleeding, an action that was practiced and familiar. As if they had done this before.

The hero reached for something in their bag, smearing blood on the side, and pulled out a roll of blue electrical tape. The villain didn’t understand why, until the hero tore a strip off and made to wrap their hands with it.

The hero would be the death of them.

They crouched in front of the hero, plucking the electrical tape out of their hands.

“What are you doing with this?”

The hero blinked at the villain like they were the strange one in this situation.

“Wrapping my hands?”

The villain hissed in a breath.

“With electrical tape?”

The hero flushed slightly, looking down at their bloody hands. They looked close to tears.

“It…sticks to skin, really well. And it doesn’t move, either, when you move your hands or wherever else, even if you’re fighting. Plus, blood doesn’t make it come off, at least, not for a while.”

The villain blinked at them.”

“Blood doesn’t make it come off,” the villain repeated, processing. The hero nodded, reaching for the electrical tape. The villain settled it out of reach.

“Not if you wrap it right.”

Dimly, the villain realized that meant the hero had done this enough times to have it down to a science.

“And you couldn’t use a bandaid?” The villain asked incredulously. The hero shrugged a shoulder, then winced at the motion.

Yeah, the hero had absolutely blown out their arms.

“Bandaids move—“

The villain hushed them.

“Be quiet for a second.”

The hero, wisely, went quiet.

The villain rubbed a hand over their face, then studied the hero for a moment. They took one of the hero’s hands into their own, studying the damage.

“Why did you do this to yourself,” the villain murmured.

“What do you mean, why,” the hero snapped. “It’s my job.”

“Your job is to save people,” the villain corrected. “Not destroy yourself.”

“I’m not destroying myself—“

“You are.”

“Shut up—“

“Hero.”

“I need to be better,” the hero snapped. Their voice rang out across the gym, echoing into the rafters, and they both froze. After a moment, the hero spoke again, voice soft. “I need to be better.”

They said it like they needed the villain to understand. The villain wondered who they were really saying it to—the villain, or themself.

“Better than who?”

“Everyone.” It was hushed, like a secret.

The villain watched them, waiting.

The hero took a shaky breath

“My whole thing is being the best. I have always been the best. That’s the only reason I matter. If I’m not strong enough, then I am nothing, so I need. to be. better.”

The hero had started crying, very quietly, like they were afraid to take up too much space.

The villain was not equipped to handle gifted kid burnout.

“There’s more to you than just being a good athlete,” the villain said hesitantly, and the hero shook their head.

“No. There isn’t.”

“Hero.”

“Can you give me back my electrical tape?” They hiccuped to contain a sob.

“No,” the villain said firmly, and then the hero really was sobbing.

“You don’t understand—“

The villain didn’t. Not really. They had never been the kind of talented that the hero was.

They wondered now if maybe that was a blessing.

“I don’t,” the villain agreed. “But I do understand that you’ve saved half the city, and you give everything you have to give, and you always do your best.”

“But I-“

“No.” The villain stopped them. “You are doing your best.” They tipped the hero’s chin up until they met the villain’s eyes. “And it is enough.”

The hero froze, eyes darting over the villain’s face. They wondered if anyone had ever said that to the hero, if whatever mentor they had was giving them anything other than orders to be stronger. Be better. Be more.

The villain had some new targets to take care of, it would seem.

For now, though, they had to take care of hero.

“We’re going to go wrap your hands,” they said softly. “And then we’re going to take care of your arms, and you’re going to take a nap.”

The hero nodded, watching them like they were some kind of good, selfless person.

“And if I ever catch you using electrical tape again, so help me, I will put you six feet under.”

That startled a laugh out of the hero, and they let the villain guide them to their feet.

“Fine.”

The villain turned to them. “Okay?”

Are you going to be alright?

The hero seemed to understand.

“Okay,” the hero agreed.

Yes.

And so, it was.

[brodyfoxxsmassivetits]

Day three asking you to draw Matt .

I used to dislike Matt but i was wrong

fool! I've baited you into asking for matt MWAHHAHA

I SECRETLY already had the purple doodles drawn yesterday.....needed excuse to post him...and then doodled matt more because I like..him...

Matt's always been a fave of mine! I don't get how people could dislike whole characters but that might just be me finding ways to like them all(not tord) on account of the eternal fixation giving me too much time to think abt em

I almost feel like bad because I don't think my characterization is PARTICULARLY interesting but Idk I like em :3

sillier stuff

[nattikay]

was trying to explain to my dad why a Na'vi character wouldn’t be considered a fursona, here’s how I think of the distinction for anyone who cares lol

A fursona is a furry character used to represent oneself in some way shape or form. Furry, in this context, is an umbrella term to describe anthropomorphized animal characters (and/or people who enjoy the concept of such characters).

Anthropomorphism exists on a scale of course, it can be as simple as giving a regular animal more humanized thoughts and feelings, or it can go all the way up to “this is basically a human, walking talking wearing clothes having a job etc, but with fur”.

But anyways, a furry character is an animal that has been given human characteristics that its species does not usually have (in other words, anthropomorphized). A talking cat, a wolf that walks on two legs, a lizard with a day job, etc. Granted, I suppose this line can get a bit blurred with fictional species—for example, are dragons innately sapient? idk it depends on the setting—but generally if the species is considered an animal by default, then it can qualify as furry.

The Na'vi—like other fantasy humanoids such as elves, dwarves, trolls, etc.—are not animals. They speak and walk upright and wear clothes etc. not because we’ve anthropomorphized/humanized them, but because that’s just how their species innately is. There is no regular “feral” version of the Na'vi who walk on four paws, can’t use language, aren’t sapient*, etc. like there would be with a regular cat or wolf. Therefore a Na'vi is not a furry, and therefore cannot be a fursona. There’s certainly an argument to consider them furry-adjacent given their feline-esque features, but they don’t fall under the direct category of furry.

Now, you can absolutely have a Na'vi character that represents you of course!! A Na'vi-sona, if you will. I have one! It just wouldn’t be a “fursona” by definition.

*reminder before someone objects here that sapience is not the same thing as sentience. Sentience is simply an awareness of oneself; most animals are sentient. Sapience, on the other hand, is human-level intelligence and, with it, the capacity for morality. Humans are the only known real-world sapient species; in fiction there are of course several more

[cosmogyros]

That moment when you have to let people be wrong about you because correcting them would make you seem like an unbearable show-off

I was at a bookstore with a friend the other day and I was looking at a book in German that I was interested in buying, but then I saw that it was a translation and had originally been written in French

I commented idly to my friend "Sometimes I don't buy a book because it's a translation and I always prefer to read in the original language when possible" and she said in an agreeing-with-me way, "Yeah it would make more sense to read it in English"

and I realized she assumed I meant English when I said "original language"

but I couldn't bring myself to say "Yeah, or French or Dutch or Spanish or Italian or Portuguese or one of the other languages I read..." because like. who says that kind of thing.

[cluescorner]

I gave myself a writing challenge and I am fascinated by it

So basically I put the robins in a randomizer to give them a new order/role (because I just...kinda wanted to see what would happen + I like role-reversal AUs) and got results that are giving me a fucking brain blast.

Stephanie, the first sidekick who defines the role

Tim, the sidekick who dies and comes back wrong

Dick, the sidekick who saves Batman from himself

Damian, the sidekick who was never supposed to be a sidekick but would go on to prove everyone wrong

Jason, the youngest sidekick who is still the Kid Wonder

...So this is fucking wild. I've got some ideas and several of these fit perfectly (Dick's role is pretty similar to his one in canon), but some of these are fucking INCREDIBLE to explore (Steph being the first Robin is something I never even considered but tbh I kinda love it).

I probably won't write a fic or anything because tbh I don't like publishing my writing that much, but I might expand this into a full AU and post about it. I might randomize other stuff too (ie, stuff that I cannot change vs stuff that I cannot keep the same) but this fucking rules as a starting point.

[namelessprince]

ok all the characters i have figured out for dsmpd au below the cut:

ranboo as the wisperer

tubbo, quackity, and fundy as the rest of the pd

sam as the mentor

tommy as ashe

techno as mark

phil as Dead Wife(best friend in this au lol)

the egg as overlord (B.A.D. militia more like bad's militia)

dream as mal

ok now random characters ive thrown in different places:

schlatt as david bell (seriously considered making him origami)

purpled as cantrip

sapnap as doug

karl as professor cross

wilbur as lightspeed but with wordsmiths powers

puffy, foolish, eret, and callahan as the rest of watch (callahan is like their bacon man. in a way <3)

connor as le frog but hes literally just c!connor. that guy is always in situations

george as clarence bcus lol

and ofcourse. slime as fartbo

[moregraceful]

many things i have been keeping under wraps at work, such as pronouns, but also, very critically, age. bc i got that ageless mixed race asian swag where i am very clearly not an undergrad but also??? they just don't know. and it WHIPS and it is so funny to ME because all the managers and shift supervisors are like damn this girl in her mid-twenties is so easy to talk to, it's like talking to a peer. surprise bitch i'm older than you. and maybe this means i'm performing psychological experiments on cis men, but i am ngl if i hand you a two page resume that you don't read, it is simply none of MY business if you think i am in my mid-20s. they are going to be so mad when they find out lmao

[windblume-violet]

Do... do I go with the username for the running gag of "worst kept secret" or do I say fuck it and say magister Merlin for giggles to see his reaction

[depmode]

i think it's so so sexy when a character is turned into an empty puppet killing machine that takes orders from the person that ruined their mind in the first place, and they are stronger/faster/way more kickass than they already were when normal. they are also probably an empty puppet sex doll but that's a bonus to the Ruthless Killing.

[raven-master]

When you figure out have to characterise Gale Dekarios without getting a headache lmk

honestly soothing to know this is a Universal Experience

[lanternlightss]

nameless bard …

[izloveshorses]

bruh it's been so long since i've gotten this lost in the sauce of an illustration 😭💖 nature is healing

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

What if I was insane again about the first thing Alpha Grim Sonic hearing when Nine creates him is his purpose—that he is Nine's friend?

Friendship as a concept in Prime is handled interestingly among its main characters. As Sonic (who thinks he knows a lot about friendship) comes to deepen his understanding of what it means to have a home/be home, I think it's safe to say his definition of friendship develops along with it. Compare this to Nine, who's learned everything he knows about "friendship" and personal relationships in general through his relationship with Sonic (at least, after his childhood of bullying).

So of course I think about Nine, who never wants to be hurt again, yet can no longer bear feeling alone (not after feeling that sense of companionship and belonging with someone else), which results in him creating a warped version of friendship for himself (one where he is surrounded by people, but people who only do whatever he wants, who have no opinions and thoughts of their own, who can't backstab him). And so I think about Alpha Grim Sonic, who is the very first robot Nine creates under this idea of frienship and companionship.

Nine is his master, and Alpha Grim Sonic is his protector, his bodyguard, his weapon

But he's also his friend.

Alpha Grim Sonic doesn’t talk back (can't even if he wanted to), but his purpose has always been clear to him: be Nine's friend. That's what he was created to be.

So I imagine Alpha Grim Sonic performing his purpose to the T at first under Nine's framework. He's Nine's friend, so he does whatever Nine commands, he never talks back or challenges authority, he protects Nine at all cost. And then, perhaps unbeknownst to Nine, he begins to shift ever so gradually. Sure, he's never insubordinate, he never offers up opinions, he still can't speak, but the lines of devotion begin to blur.

Is it in his code? Is out of a real sense of feeling?

Alpha Grim Sonic does not understand friendship, no matter whether it believes it does or not. But it's ironic to me if, despite being created under Nine's warped idea of it, the robot slowly grows their own soul, witnesses other displays of frienship and care, and drifts outside the bounds of that idea (a carefully crafted painting begins to leak out of its frame, expanding the masterpiece). They protect Nine, they do only what he commands, and yet they hate to see Nine in pain, they wish to bring Nine comfort (and so it feels good to him when Nine commands him to do such things that might bring his master comfort).

Does this make any sense? To believe that friendship means to hold one person on a pedestal, to protect them, to only listen to them, to never talk back, to never have opinions, and yet, despite believing what your creator tells you of friendship with them (your very purpose in this existence), to slowly fall further into those feelings that true care and love for another person brings, to wish to comfort someone the way one might describe a true friend would, despite not realizing any of this.

[stunie]

Oops sorry for staring at you 😞

Am eating lunch rn—a hodgepodge of fried rice, fried sunny side up, taco seasoning, cucumber vinegar, and oyster sauce (delish 😋), while thinking of 101 ways to kill suo (with love) 🫢🤭 hbu? How's your day?

is that me being pet.