#(for being sort of in response)

[ciderjacks]

She’s the most like me

[wackywatchdotcom]

im so mad were never gonna get to see the characters doing horrifically boring things i want to see what 24 hours in the circus is like bc yeah theres the adventure but once caine leaves how DO you occupy that time. it cant all be fun i need to see them have an extremely uninteresting activity or no activity at all it makes me nauseous

[lilithofpenandbook]

Sometimes Severus comes up to Minerva. Right up behind her when she's busy. He'll stand there for a good minute as she works on marking assignments and cursing the boy's youthful energy and brilliant eyes- both of which directly responsible for his finishing his work in half the time it takes her.

"What is it, Severus?" Minerva sighs. Might as well get the obligatory nonsense over and done with, she was due a dose of Severus's antics by now (Merlin forbid he go more than three days without bothering her with nonsensical questions or infuriating wit).

"Am I ugly, Minerva?" he asked. Never there was a being with such innocence in their voice.

Minerva took a moment to take in a breath and silently call on all her patience and all her strength. "Yes, very." Her tone was blunter than the knives used to decorate at Halloween- an incident with some particularly idiotic third years had them ban anything sharper than the corners of a book during the Halloween celebrations.

Severus gasped as if stabbed. "What? Minerva, I thought we were friends!"

Minerva snorted. "Any time we interact, it's completely against my will."

"Minerva! you lie so shamelessly it shocks me." Severus made as if to swoon, a hand clutching the right of his chest.

"You must be shocked; your heart isn't where it should be."

Honestly, Minerva had to admire the fact that the insolent little kitten did not falter in his dramatics with her pointing out the key flaw in his act. If anything, he seemed to be encouraged.

"Ay! The pain of the shock, it has spread throughout my chest! Ah, I cannot breathe!" Severus swayed on his feet, leaning against the chair that Minerva was sitting in. "Oh, how your lie shocks me!"

"Well, then, you had better tell me what exactly I lied about," Minerva said briskly, "before you gasp all the air out of your skinny little lungs, laddie."

"You said," the boy said, a sudden glint in his eye and none of the apparent weakness, standing to face her and one of those long, delicate fingers pointed straight at her, "you said, that our interactions are without your will."

"That is no lie, what part of this looks like it's my will?" Minerva replied, knowing full well she wasn't going to appreciate the cheeky answer Severus had prepared for her.

"Why, the part where you remain for my company, mother," Severus replied, his voice light. "Surely, if you didn't want this, you would have, in your infinite wisdom, simply have employed your great power and assumed your famous feline form and just walked away from me."

Minerva fought her smile. His cheek was infuriating while his logic impeccable. "Perhaps I am simply conversing my energy, you arrogant wee rascal."

"You? Too lazy to avoid a nuisance?" Severus scoffed. "Minerva, you wound me. Don't you know how I know you? You've done much more to avoid the mildest of annoyances, do you truly think I believe that you are here against your will merely to converse your energy?"

Minerva let him see the flicker of a smile disgusted as a smirk, letting the bothersome raven have a little treat for his cleverness, hinting to him that he had essentially won this particular argument. "At my age you no longer have the patience to waste on annoyances. You learn to value your peace. You will understand that some day, I hope, little one."

"And if I die, my hair still black and my skin still smooth?"

Merlin, did the child have a turn towards the morbid. Minerva ignored the voice in her that told her that this would have been a retort of her own had she been in a similar conversation.

"Then you'll die a fool."

"A fool, perhaps, but my funeral will be the biggest," he replied, moving to sit on her desk and grabbing the biscuit jar. Minerva intercepted, lifting it from his grip and replacing it with a towel. His protests died in his confusion at the towel, and Minerva huffed and began to wipe his hands as if he was a child. She did not trust him to correctly clean his hands after handling goodness knows what when experimenting with his potions and she didn't care if he knew it.

"Aye, and how did you figure that?" she asked.

"Surely if I die young, I shall be the first. Therefore you all will be part of the funeral-"

"What makes you think I would want to attend your funeral, you little rascal?" She let go of his hands, almost satisfied that they weren't contaminated.

Severus ignored her and instead took a biscuit from the jar. "You will all be there, therefore I will have the biggest funeral. If I die old, you all shall be gone, so my funeral will be the smallest."

Minerva tried not to think of how depressing that sounded, how lonely it seemed. For a brief moment she felt guilty for being so old and he so young. She involuntarily could see him in her mind's eye, going through their funerals until he stood alone. She and the others- Rolanda, Pomona, Poppy, even Fillus and Hagrid- they were all of an age, weren't they? They could expect their lives to reach the end around the same time, surely? Severus was but a child next to them, he'd stand alone one day.

Minerva tried to ignore the ache in her chest at the thought of him standing alone. Merlin, no. He was far too young. No.

"You truly are besotted with the morbid and the miserable, you melanchonic masochist," she said, her tone just a trifle too sharp to be a simple retort.

Severus paused, swallowing the biscuit. Then he answered. "Ah, but the morbid is much more fascinating, the forbidden has a certain thrill, dear mother." His voice was a little softer, and his fingers, slightly coated in crumbs, were gentle when he tapped her forehead. He was sorry he upset her.

"You and your thrills," Minerva scolded, "yet you cannot even eat a biscuit without making a mess of yourself." Yet even as she spoke, the hand that she used to swipe the crumbs away, was gentle, almost tender, in its movement. She had quite forgiven him.

How could she remain angry? At this boy who looked at her with a scowl of indignation yet whose deep, dark eyes twinkled with mischief and cleverness and brilliance, who stood taller than her, yes, yet was far more delicate in his build than she had ever been, whose hair was as dark as hers had been in her youth, carelessly falling across his forehead. No, she could not remain angry.

If only he had been in Gryffindor, perhaps then she would have noticed him sooner. Or rather, if only her eyes didn't only open for her Gryffindors. How this boy could ever look at her without resentment and anger, she didn't know. Then again, he had been so incredibly isolated and lonely, was it any wonder he let go of his rightful grudges and instead accepted her friendship?

Minerva blinked as if soot from the fireplace got in her eyes. She didn't want him to notice the tears that almost inevitably formed whenever she thought about him. Who would have thought that she'd cry so much for the little devil?

"I'll leave you to your work, dear mother," Severus said cheerfully, hopping off her desk.

"Aye, after you've cleared out my biscuit jar, you villain" Minerva grumbled, looking into the empty jar. Severus shrugged.

"You ought to see it as a compliment towards your taste, really," Severus said. "But I see I have taken the last of your patience"- for indeed, Minerva looked ready to strangle him- "so I shall take my leave. Good night, my good Headmistress, and may you have peace in the silver embrace of the moon!"

And with a laughing twinkle in his eye and a boyish bow, Severus Snape left the room.

Minerva sighed. She wasn't sure if it was out of relief, or because she may have felt some sorrow at his departure.

The door opened again, and a rather meek Severus poked his head in.

"Er, Minerva?" he asked.

"Yes, Severus?"

"Er." Severus stepped in, looking away from her, walking with the awkward gait of a newborn foal, and the nervousness of a deer. "Er, Minerva?"

"Yes, Severus?"

"Am I really ugly, mother?" His voice was a whisper. His raven hair curtained his face, hiding his shame at asking such a pathetic question, and his fingers picked at one of the cuticles of a nail.

Minerva smiled, and walked to him. Softly she brushed the boy's hair out of his face and gently tucked it behind his ear.

"Only as long as you let yourself believe it, dear heart."

[sforzesco]

Antony, Trebonius, conversations years apart. Dolabella and Caesar are here too. kind of.

Roman Siege Warfare, John Levithan

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / insta

[burquillos]

I've got quite a few people telling me about reposts of my art this week.

While I've loooong given up on telling people "no reposts" the LEAST you could do is credit and link back to me. That's all I ask.

[coern-art-very-cool-and-nice]

the boy in the spotlight versus the girl in the mirror

unshaded version

[superbat-lmao]

Jason Todd gets blown up, resurrected, and after regaining his skills and control from Talia, goes back to Gotham and goes back to school. He leaves vigilantism entirely.

He’s taking literature and philosophy classes and just about anything to do with writing.

He makes friends, he’s on his way to normalcy.

And then he sees an opening for an opinion writer for the school newspaper.

Clark Kent gets sent the same newspaper article to read in both his civilian and superhero personas. If that’s not concerning, he doesn’t know what it.

It’s an opinion article on the state of vigilantism and hero work by a student in the next town over. And it’s a problem.

Because it’s good, too good. It feels like someone had sat in the watchtower during those first few months where everyone had been trying to work out how to function with so many different stances on morality and ethics. Should any of them really be doing this? What were the lines they couldn’t cross? If we’re working outside the law, what moral credibility do we have otherwise to justify our actions?

And sure, Clark’s written more than a few pieces criticizing Superman, but there’s a point to that. He has his own reasons. This kid, well, Clark isn’t sure of their reasons exactly. Because his gut reaction is thinking this kid is just making heroes and vigilantes look bad.

And there’s a reason that all of his and Bruce’s debates on ethics happen behind closed doors. Because to be self critical is to try and prevent hubris, but to allow public criticism at this level is to lose the faith of the public.

So Clark is torn. Because if he responds, he gives credibility to what could remain a largely unknown article. And if he doesn’t, he can’t control the reaction of other people start responding to it.

He’ll have to talk to Bruce.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

There is a cyclic tragedy inherent to Mori's character wherein he's actually a deeply lonely man, but it's mostly because his resolve to do morally reprehensible things and think of people as pieces on the game board is something he prioritizes over his relations with those very same people, and this inevitably pushes them away (for very understandable reasons). And it kind of sucks honestly because the most frustrating thing about Mori is that he 100% has the potential to be a fantastic teacher and mentor, and more than that, I think he loves it! Just look at Beast! But for as long as he decides he needs to be the one to make "the hard calls" to "preserve peace", then Mori will inevitably continue in this cycle of alienating all the people he has a fondness for.

I do feel as though Mori's loneliness is something he views as a necessary sacrifice that he is making for the greater good (and if he is so willing to sacrifice, then Dazai's unwillingness to do the same comes out of left field because - "what do you mean? you're supposed to be just like me!").

Anyways.

Mori voice: "I'm so alone"

Also Mori: *continues to prioritize pure logic over the emotions of his people and himself*

The people: *get rightly angry and/or become extremely traumatized and leave him*

Mori voice: "I did what needed to be done"

Mori: "..."

Mori: "..."

Mori: "I'm so alone"

Sir. You are doing this to yourself.

[utilitycaster]

re: the top 5 books ask, here's what I didn't include but all of this could go on this list.

Math and Physics: Wonders of Numbers (Clifford Pickover)/Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman (Richard Feynman)/The Elegant Universe (Brian Greene) were all awards or graduation presents in middle and high school; one is a bunch of wild math puzzles, one is a (very funny) memoir of a legendary physicist; and one is an exploration of a then very hot theoretical physics theory, and it's interesting to consider how all of them shaped me.

why I as a math/physics person am also an avid meta writer:Hyperspace (Michio Kaku) and How To Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Orson Scott Card) - Kaku is a physicist as well but writes for the layman, and Hyperspace is about extradimensional physics but also provides a huge list of fictional explorations, which is why I'm pairing it with How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy. Look I cannot vouch for Card as a person given the Mormon Homophobia but this book was absolutely formative, I read it very young (not long after Ender's Game, actually), and I do recommend pirating it because I inherited a great deal of my understanding of narratology and good writing from it, and it introduced me to some of my favorite less problematic writers. These books also serve as "introduction to a billion fucked up sf short stories I read in high school"; just copy down every fictional work they mention and read as many as you can.

Medicine, healthcare, neuroscience, and the human element: The works of Oliver Sacks/The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down (Anne Fadiman)/The Checklist Manifesto (Atul Gawande) - I think I would not have been as happy as a physician, but I also think had a few things gone slightly differently in my life (notably, having a high school bio teacher who was competent and whom I did not detest) I might have been pushed in that direction, and as I'm in other more peripheral spaces in healthcare, these are still very important books in terms of how I think.

Cookbooks: How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (Mark Bittman) and Salt Fat Acid Heat (Samin Nosrat) - I'm a pretty good cook and Bittman's is the first cookbook I owned as an adult (I am not vegetarian but I was in my first ever apartment, as I keep kosher and therefore having two sets of dishes and buying kosher meat was prohibitively expensive as a grad student, at least if I also wanted to like, go out for drinks or pizza on occasion). Salt Fat Acid Heat is much more recent but I think that's what really freed me from needing cookbooks and instead thinking about cooking more by experience.

Childhood formative books, especially in fantasy: A Barrel of Laughs, A Vale of Tears (Jules Pfeiffer)/The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster)/the general works of Diana Wynne Jones, Ellen Raskin, and Elizabeth Enright. A taste for the weird/mythical/fractured fairy tales.

Teen/Adult formative books in sf: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell (Susana Clarke)/The Belgariad (David Eddings)/Wild Seed (Octavia Butler)/Old Kingdom series (Garth Nix)/I, Robot (Isaac Aasimov)/The City and the City (China Mieville) - teens and adulthood formative books in sf and fantasy. The lessons learned here, in order, respectively: find the intersection of mythology and academia and if you're doing pastiche do it impeccably; if you're not original, be funny and kind to your characters (still throw rocks at them but treat them as people); with that said be original and as weird as you fucking want; write a woman who is incredibly good at what she does and build a deeply compelling world around her; no really write a woman who is incredibly good at what she does and build a deeply compelling world around her and also stupid puns are okay; get weird, play with genre, and don't hold your audience's hand.

[autumnoakes]

okay but going back to zagreus and melinoë for a second... i think when they meet they're going to have a LOT to work on with each other if they're going to get along. zagreus likes to push boundaries and he doesn't like leaving things unresolved if there's something he can do about it and melinoë is a LOT like hades in so many ways (temperment and sometimes her tone in particular). they're going to get on each others' nerves. they're going to drive each other up the wall. they're going to need time to get to know each other and understand each other and they might not get the chance to during hades 2 (what with mel's task seeming pretty nonstop. i know she's a goddess but girl don't you get tired???).

[benevolenterrancy]

Leong Lili, a Huan Hua disciple OC by @fixation-central

[showtimepast2500]

i can be reborn as someone meaningful with this reincarnation apple. 🍏

[curufiin]

“The origin of the Orcs is a matter of debate. Some have called them the Melkorohini, the Children of Melkor; but the wiser say: nay, the slaves of Melkor, but not his children; for Melkor had no children.(1)”

So obsessed with this line about Melkor bc it perfectly fits how I envision him. He “creates” (if you can call it that) things but he is not attached to them. I see a lot of people making Melkor a dragon dad like a dog dad and that’s perfectly fine and very cute! Just not how I like to portray him normally. I think he treats dragons the way a kid would when they discover some shiny new toy, plays with them for a few days, and then completely disregards them once he’s bored. In this case he keeps them around because they serve his higher purpose of wreaking havoc on Arda, but I don’t think he considers dragons his children, and he certainly isn’t attached to their existence.

[egophiliac]

I hear you on brave but I think Mr. CEO man could be woz

Which I’m all here for tbh

anon you sent this over 9 hours before the reveal, h...HOW DID YOU KNOW

(I am also all here for it honestly) (I kind of hope they lean really hard into the overworked-CEO bit...how is he supposed to fight evil when there's all this paperwork that he has to get in by Friday, ugh)

[francy-sketches]

asoiaf twitter is so cool you can say 'I think the way you guys talk about gnc women is kinda weird can you maybe stop that' and you'll get people calling you a freak and a bitch

[arcandoria]

My friend @themumblingmouse has been doing these for Dragon Age, thought I'd bring it over to Rogue Trader!

(There was no space for the Secret Companions, so we are talking main retinue only)