#zero research

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Morgana AU Pt 7

All three of them fit comfortably in Morgana's chambers, despite offers of rooms for Kara and Gwen as well. But just as the court seems reluctant to let Morgana have free reign, Gwen and Kara are reluctant to give the court free access to Morgana. Even beyond that, after years spent in each other's company, it would feel unnatural to room alone.

One afternoon, while Gwen is having lunch with her brother, Morgana urges Kara to follow her. They make their way unaccosted through the castle-- they have an escort of two guards, but make no move to restrict their movement-- until Kara detects the scent of hay and manure.

The stables.

Kara slips inside the building after Morgana, her eyes adjusting to the change in light just in time to hear Morgana give a slow sigh of relief.

"So you are here still," Morgana murmurs to a gray horse with a mane as wavy as Morgana's own hair. The mare lifts her head at the sound of Morgana's voice, ears pricked forward. "Do you remember me, girl?"

The horse whinnies, and nudges Morgana's chest with her muzzle as soon as her mistress is in reach. Kara slowly moves closer as Morgana strokes the horse's neck.

"This horse is one of the few things I've missed about this place," Morgana confesses in a low voice. "I helped raise her from a filly, when I was a girl."

Kara keeps her hands in her pockets, until Morgana reaches for her wrist and draws her hand to the horse's jowl. The beast accepts her touch readily, though it's clear her attention is primarily fixed on Morgana.

"I'd hoped Arthur would continue caring for her."

"I have," comes a similarly low voice from the stable doors. Arthur strides towards the stall where they stand, with more confidence around Morgana than he's shown thus far. He leans against the wall, watching them both with the horse, features soft yet otherwise inscrutable.

"After a time," he continues, "she was all I had left of you."

Morgana's gaze flashes towards her brother. "Such sentiments hardly befit a king," she says.

"They befit this king."

Something in Arthur's voice changes, and he straightens to his full height-- not to intimidate, but to lend credence, authority to his words.

"I do not intend to rule as our father did, Morgana. I have sworn it to myself and the table."

Kara knows the legend, and can surmise the table of which he speaks. She doesn't know if Morgana knows. Morgana herself gives nothing away, her eyes distant as she continues to pet her horse.

"In that vein," Arthur continues, "I've come to let you know that I've deliberated your judgement."

Morgana's movements still. Kara sees her shoulders stiffen, bracing for the fall.

"Time served."

Morgana's surprise is impossible to hide. Wide eyes flash to Arthur,

"You'll notice Sarrum has left," Arthur explains, "and without his alliance. Before he did, he explained the... history, between the two of you."

Silently, Kara waits for Morgana to react. When she simply continues to stare, Arthur moves on. "I see no reason to repeat cruelty for cruelty's sake."

"Your court can hardly feel comfortable with that decision--"

"It is not the court's decision."

"Then exile--"

"Is that what you want?" Arthur asks. His words cut through Morgana's without malice. In the quiet that follows, he repeats his question. "Is that what you want?"

Morgana turns back to her horse, letting her forehead rest against the mare's jaw.

"No."

---

Arthur has provided them fresh attire the moment they were freed from Sarrum's chains, but after months of scraping together resources, Kara can't bring herself to dispose of their shifts and dresses. And one night, days after the exchange in the stable, Kara sits herself next to the fire to mend the rips and tears that have found a home in their garments.

Across the room in the bedchamber proper, Morgana and Gwen converse softly. At first Kara is content to work with their voices as a hum in the background, and only focuses in when their talk ceases for a heavy moment.

"Arthur says we're welcome here," Gwen says. Her voice is solemn, serious. Kara looks up and finds Gwen's gaze focused on Morgana. "I believe him."

Morgana doesn't say anything, which Kara has learned is a response in itself. Gwen sees it too.

Her features soften, accepting the truth as easily as she always has.

"You don't want to stay here."

For a moment Morgana's gaze is long and distance, before falling askance with heavy lids.

"No."

---

Kara doesn't ask Morgana about her intentions, but it's clear that Gwen and Arthur both itch to know what comes next. Merlin, for his part, only glares from the periphery, looking for all the world as though he would like nothing more than to sear Morgana with a curse.

He doesn't, though-- where Morgana stands tall in her identity, Merlin cowers behind his secrets.

In the end, when Morgana makes her decision, she does so in grand fashion.

"A tract of land??" Arthur repeats, voice echoing across the throne room. He'd called Morgana to open court to force the issue, when the whispers from the courtiers had grown too mistrustful.

Morgana lifts her chin in assent-- her gaze is defiant, and something about it makes Arthur relax, instead of rankle. Kara wonders if she's being treated to a glimpse of who Morgana might have been before Morgause.

"You claim to want a new future," Morgana declares. "Prove it." Exposing Arthur's sentiments to the court is a bold move. Kara holds her breath-- if Arthur denies it to ease the suspicions of the court, he loses Morgana forever.

To his credit, Arthur doesn't seem inclined to take the bait. His lips part to respond, but another voice cuts in.

"She undermines you, your majesty," Merlin warns. "Her intentions--"

"Do not presume to school me on matters of my own family," Arthur responds smoothly. He turns slightly in his chair to stare his advisor down. "I daresay that since my sister has returned to us, you have behaved more suspiciously than she."

"Arthur--"

"Enough, Merlin. I've made my decision," he announces, turning back to face Morgana and the rest of the court. "With some conditions, of course."

"Of course," Morgana echoes with a smirk.

"I choose which tract of land."

"You have one in mind then?"

"Tol, on the edge of the king's forest."

"Crown land?"

"Bequeathed to you, to do with as you please. You would pay no more tax than anyother landowner."

Morgana pauses, taking stock of her brother. "And should I welcome druids?"

At that, shocked whispers rustle throughout the courtroom. Merlin leans in to whisper in Arthur's ear, only to be halted by the king lifting his hand to stay his advance.

"Then as you say-- druids shall be welcome."

Even Morgana seems shocked at that. She has no wit with which to respond, no banter to further their repartee.

Arthur leans forward intently.

"You are the last High Priestess of the old religion," he delivers, voice even and steady. "I would see our peoples become one once more, Morgana."

Morgana stares at him, studying him for any hint of insincerity.

"It has to start somewhere," the king reminds her.

Locking eyes with Arthur, Morgana takes a breath.

"Then let it start here," she returns. Then she smirks. "Your terms are acceptable."

"I have one more," Arthur counters.

Morgana's eyebrows twitch upwards.

"This tract of land, along with anything and anyone on it, shall remain under the protection of the crown."

Morgana's jaw tightens. "I will not have soldiers tramping about--"

"No," Arthur agrees. "But should anyone be foolish enough to make a target of a settlement built by a high priestess-- then they will answer to me."

Kara and the rest of the court wait as Morgana stands in silent regard, weighing her decision in her mind. It will not be easy, what Morgana is planning. But Arthur is offering what he can to pave the way for her.

After another moment, Morgana's head tilts with a wry smile.

"So mote it be."

[littleeyesofpallas]

Thankfully I don't have to deal with shit on youtube 99% of the time but every so often I open the front page on incognito/private at work or something and I'm reminded what a shitscape popular youtube videos are. But other than the usual mill of adult cocomelon tier clickbait, I'm really off put by this apparent trend in fake "scam buster" type videos where some wannabe hbomberguy, or some C string programmer, or some loser who grew out of doing prank videos churns out frequent and regular videos of what are blatantly fake ""takedowns"" of scam companies. And it's always this uncited hearsay """"research"""" followed by either randomly harassing slave wage workers at like a call center somewhere or actually literally nothing. And somehow people are dumb enough to fall for this garbage?? On like a weekly basis????

A little rule of thumb. If a person's channel relies on the incredibly unlikely event that they can both locate and effectively address these kinds of scams or other problems, with time to script and edit videos on the events once a week or even just once a month, AND remain competitive with a dozen other channels doing the exact same shit, and have never dropped the ball or run out of stories to tell? They're full of shit. They are "my uncle works at Nintendo" kids running the same school yard grift for meaningless clout a decade+ after the fact.

[repmet]

[insp] [Alex]

Prince Henry of Edinburgh is accurate to the movie don't @ me

[msmimundo]

Day 29: Water~~

Ofc I had to draw the boy. And also Doofapus who I haven't draw in a hot minute (I draw him more than my own ocs) Here Perry is teaching him how platypuses swim :) Had like 3 sketches before I settled on this one lol

@howtonerdoutovereverything

[iceagebaby]

obsessed with @mudpuddless king halt au, ive been thinking a lot

crowley is in denyal, he is just hibernian RIGHT?

i also have some skeches of halt in regal clothing, but im not a fan of them, and i cant find accurate irish royal clothing to use as reference, what i drew was just making it up as i go

[fake-words-of-brandon]

Brandon Sanderson

I know people have remarked on my language seeming a bit more modern in book 5 at points. I actually did quite a few editing passes to try and make it seem more natural. As an example, here's a snippet from the very first draft of Wind and Truth:

"This mission is a good idea," said Syl. "You get to practice cognitive behavioral therapy and you don't have to unalive anyone? Poggers."

Kaladin sighed. "I'm already going. You don't have to keep rizzing me up."

Dargonsteel Nexus 2024 (December 7, 2024)

[luvuomi]

“On the 𝔀ings of a small, simple 𝓶elody

Words take 𝐟light and 𝐬oar

They carry me

A 𝒘orld we'll see . . . ”

a single verse that faintly echoes throughout an empty auditorium; written on delicate parchment, it’s penmanship elegant yet faded with time. though an enchanted being meant to be revered by the awe-like gaze of many, this enigmatic dove has chosen to soar beyond the cosmos where it remains out of sight. once upon a time, miss amélie had once taken to the spotlight, dazzling the citizens of penacony with her soft charm that many likened to the moonlight’s glow. but the amélie of today has since retired from the stage—the details of which she did not enlighten me with nor did i push for after seeing that wistful look in her eyes—and now continues her journey as but a humble songwriter for others.

“i wish to lend my voice to others.. for those who wish to be seen, heard, and remembered. there was a time in which i once felt forgotten by the world, overlooked as a dimly-lit star amongst a sky of countless others who’s light burns brightly. in order to be saved, i too must burn.. or so i thought. this song was created at a time in which i wanted to be heard, and i was. in that sense, i suppose you could say i sympathize with them.”

this was the response the halovian had given me when asked to explain what she believes her purpose as a songwriter is. when i asked miss amélie about whether or not she would ever consider returning to the life of stardom, the young lady merely smiled as she folded up the parchment in her hand, before deftly tucking it away in her old song-writing book.

“my story has been told. i have nothing else to share that i feel needs to be acknowledged. in any case, i’m quite certain we’ll bare witness to many more fascinating stories in the coming years.” a pause. “… i’ll make sure of it.”

— an excerpt from moonlight’s silent voice: an exclusive interview from penacony’s hidden star, amélie.

🎨 →⠀﹐⠀╱⠀hsr! amélie was brought to life by the amazing @charlikesalmon !! AAAAA THEY DID SUCH AN INCREDIBLE JOB this is my second time working with char and to say i’m satisfied would be such an understatement🥹🤍they truly captured what i had envisioned and made it a reality AND IT CAME OUT SO CUTE AND LOVELY OH MY GOODNESS.. i would recommend anyone interested to please check them out and support!

[tending-the-hearth]

watched "the lightning thief" movie for the first time in forever tonight and i think i've finally figured out the main reason the movie rubs me the wrong way.

percabeth.

they completely misunderstood percy and annabeth's relationship.

the movie shows them as an enemies to lovers, with a romantic tension and shoving them towards a romantic plot within literally five seconds of them meeting.

part of it's probably because they picked older actors, but it's just completely wrong.

the wonderful thing about percy and annabeth is their friendship. the friendship that's built from the very start of their meeting, where they dislike each other for all of three seconds before becoming best friends.

a friendship that we don't see any real romance blossoming from until percy's thoughts about annabeth in "sea of monsters" at cc's island, and a friendship we really don't see any real progress in until their kiss in "battle of the labyrinth" at the volcano. (you could definitely argue everything about percy's thoughts in "titan's curse", which is what i view as percy's real turning point towards seeing annabeth in a romantic light)

percabeth doesn't work if they're just automatically pushed into a romantic plot together. it's their friendship that makes us root for them, the way that we know how much they care about each other, but also know that they wouldn't feel so strongly about each other if they didn't start off as such strong friends

anyone who paints percabeth as enemies to lovers and not childhood best friends to lovers i'm sorry but it's just not them

[blueskittlesart]

link & zelda regency era fashion please i’m on my hands and knees begging

this might be the best ask ive ever recieved

[maxdibert]

The most surreal thing about the Harry Potter universe is that J.K. Rowling said that Beauxbatons was the magical school where wizards from not only France but also Spain and Portugal attended. So, Spanish kids going to a school in France where the classes are in French???? HAHAHAHAHA I CAN’T BREATHE

Honestly, I think there’d be an uprising in the Spanish magical congress with banners like “You won’t turn us into GABACHOS” before they’d agree to send all the kids to learn French in the Pyrenees. I mean, literally no normal spanish would ever, under any circumstances, go along with that. Zero cultural knowledge, Joanne, sorry.

[starcurtain]

I don't have time to give this thought the full discussion it deserves, but lord help me, I'm begging people to be able to grasp the concept of context when engaging with takes they find in the wilds of fandom spaces.

Just had to block someone I followed for a long time on twitter because I was forced to see "Yaoi can never be heteronormative because it's always two men" on my timeline, and honestly this is such a perfect encapsulation of fandom spaces' complete inability to handle nuance and keep issues inside their actual contexts that it just triggered my fight or flight response. 😂

"Masculinity [itself nothing more than a social construct] isn't inherently required for queer men or mlm relationships" and "Yaoi developed as a genre catering primarily to heterosexual women's fantasies, thus has a long history of projecting heteronormative expectations onto queer men's relationships" are both statements that can and should coexist, just like statements such as "Dismissing female characters as nothing more than fanservice undermines their narrative contributions" can and should coexist with "The designs of female characters rarely allow women the freedom to exist outside of sexual appeal to men."

If you can't consider an issue from within the full scope of its social context, you're not ready to participate in the discourse!

Please... be quiet...

[katabay]

hi katabay!! this is prob a wack question lowkey but i was just wondering how you read/know so much?? i love reading the descriptions on ur art bc they’re so interesting and i Wish i could do that LOL

tbh a lot of why I read so much is because growing up, money was tight and the library was free. and now I'm broke as an adult, but the library is still free & also I spend a lot of time on public transit which is also is "free" reading time

a large chunk of what I read for fun is actually non fiction- it reads like poetry to me, and I like seeing if I can apply stuff I read when I was going through public domain stuff from the lancet to. uh. borderlands or something. it's kinda fun for me!

usually the process is: I'll have A Question about something while I'm reading and after, I'll see if there's An Answer somewhere & there's no real limit to what I'll read until I satisfy the curiosity, I will chase that thread down until I've run out of thread and hit a wall lol (and ofc the time honored tradition of watching a cool movie/show/comic and then going to see if the writers/producers/artists have their own favorites and check all of those things out)

anyway, my thoughts jump around a lot so I keep track of things in a commonplace style notebook; while I'm reading I'll take some quick notes abt anything I thought was interesting or really banger turns of phrase I want to remember for inspiration and list any questions or themes I want to explore later in a dedicated margin. I'll come back later & either answer my own questions in a different color (so it's easier for me to find), make a book list of additional things to follow up on, or just circle back with additional thoughts I had since then (or comic scene ideas)

lmao you can tell I have trouble wrangling my thoughts in order, I forgot to say: tldr; if you'd like to give my approach to whatever this is a shot, I'd recommend getting a notebook you wont mind carrying around and just write down shit you think is cool when you come across it & why bc the 'why' is the fun part to explore

[reality-detective]

Hutchison Effect

What if Zero-Point Energy already existed? 🤔

[xxgoldie]

Imagine being all hurt and upset, feeling poopy because of your period (LIKE I FEEL RN .... 😢) and you see him and all the pain goes away because you see him and all the butterflies erupt in your tummy and it doesn't hurt anymore yippee.... but if he asks you how you do or whatever you feel a bit sad because you're moody, so he goes next break to buy you some chocolate or whatever he thinks you might like... I don't know man... I just need college Lighter in my life... 😭😭😭😭 just normal stuff like catching the metro together, out for a snack in between courses... studying together, even though you might have different majors, doesn't matter... and he's like big and strong and sgsngdngsnfwnwf

...sorry for that... I'll just go, hide in a corner 😭😭

-🐇 anon

ur so right ur so right like he's such an absolute sweetheart in every universe but as a uni student good God. I need uni Lighter in my life. like he'd be the slightly intimidating campus crush at first, true oomf material, but then u get paired in a project w him or talk to him at some party or find out you have friends in common and suddenly you're friends and figuring out he's actually so nice, just genuine and thoughtful and funny and kind, and it's kinda hard to not fall in love with him a little bit.

and ughhhh daily uni life with him would be so fun. getting groceries together, study dates at a café, movie marathons and late-night walks and stressing over deadlines and sharing gossip, like it'd all just be so Perfect with him. he's always up for shenanigans, he'll go to the random events like pottery painting and house plant sales that your uni organises with you every time just to keep you company because he knows you don't like going to them alone. ideal man.

[iceycloversart]

based on this post by @mortalkcmbat

[fallencl0udz]

Some real old sketches I had from last year.