#This was a fun exercise for the day!

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

I'm so sorry to hear you were in an accident im glad you are alive and feeling okay again <3<3

I'd love to send you a lotura prompt, hopefully it lifts your spirits to be back on that sweet ship.

How about Lotor and Allura talking about weapons? (i.e. Like how Allura prefers a staff and Lotors sword designs (like the one he was first shown with) )

Hey, good to hear from you and thanks for your super kind note!! I'm doing a little better each day and am excited to get back to regular routines! While I was on hold over the phone about paperwork today, I managed to exercise my brain with the prompt you gave me! <3

Staff vs. Sword

Emperor Lotor leans against a wall, crossing his arms and quirking a slim, white eyebrow at the princess before him. “Surely, you jest with me,” he murmurs. “A staff again?”

Princess Allura beams, and she grabs her favorite staff from the blunted practice weapons with a solid grip, fingers tight. With a quick flick of her wrist, she spins it and sets the end solidly on the ground. “My bayard for Blue Lion also turns into a whip,” she says nonchalantly, “but that seems entirely unfair to use against you, as it produces an electric shock.”

“Ah, yes.” His eyes crinkle, his slit pupils dilating with softness. He adds dryly, “Because we do not already create enough sparks on the courts.”

She brushes back her long, thick braid and waggles her eyebrows. “You said it, not me.” And then she pokes his chest plate with the end of her staff. “Do tell me you’re not afraid of a second round after I defeated you.”

“And nearly caused an intergalactic incident,” he says, voice halted. “The training grounds are intended for practicing the art of combat—not the art of catching one’s opponent off-guard with a kiss.”  

With a giggle, Allura pulls the staff back, her Altean markings glowing a bright pink. “Yes, well, we Alteans have a saying that all’s fair in love and war. Now, pick your weapon, dear emperor, so that I may defeat you once more. And do choose something other than a sword this time—at least mix it up for me?”

Lotor eyes her before grabbing a blunted sword from the wall, inspecting its balance. His long fingers grip the hilt tightly. “A sword is the best extension of a warrior’s will,” he declares, raising his chin with a petulant chin. “It is simple. It is efficient. It is my favorite weapon.”

Allura sighs dramatically at him. “It does not have quite the—” she waves her hand—“the impact of a staff, though.”

He raises the silver sword to her. “The staff is an impact weapon,” he says dryly. “You simply seek to showcase your Altean strength to the Galra who prowl these courts, and that is why you prefer it as of late."

“Tish tosh,” she says, planting her feet properly on the training mat and eyeing him with an increased wariness. She knows Lotor likes to strike unexpectedly. “I also happen to like the way training robots crumple to bits beneath a staff. It relieves the stress I feel after a large conference with intergalactic leaders.”

A tick of silence stretches between them.

And then in a blur, Lotor races toward her, slashing down.

She blocks with the staff and swings, and he ducks smoothly before stepping back, flipping the sword in his hand.

He paces the mat, the overhead lights capturing the glow of his eyes like a predator in the dark wilderness. “Poor Princess Allura,” he teases. “All the power in the universe, and yet you fear the peace we have wrought together, instead longing for means of violence. Are you certain you are not of Galran blood somewhere in that long ancestry of yours?”

Alura’s voice strains as she circles him as well, resetting her staff. “I can’t think of a single species that doesn’t enjoy a rough tumble now and again, in a safe, non-war environment. Why, the humans even have something called, um—” Her concentration breaks as she pauses, snapping her fingers. “Um, wrestling. And something called rugby. And then they have a very large, worldwide competition for their various violent sports, called the Olympics.”

Lotor pauses.

His slit pupils widen in curiosity of other cultures. “Olympics? Is that similar to a Kral Zera?”

“Somewhat,” she nods, “but instead of choosing a world leader by, um, killing everyone, these tournaments are for medals that they wear around their necks and then bite in front of cameras. And no one dies generally.”

He lunges again, and in a blur, wrenches the staff away from her hands and presses her up against a wall.

Allura squeaks, eyes wide.

His nose is inches from her own, his breath a hot puff against her face. “How very curious.”  

Her breath stalls as her cheeks heat hard enough to radiate to him. “Um, y-yes.”

Lotor’s wide mouth splits as he whispers against her mouth, “Fortunately for you, princess, I’ve no intent to fight you truly, or you would already be dead with your silly staff. And if it were these Olympics, you would have no medal to bite.”

Face flushed, her eyes narrow to slits, and before Lotor can avoid it, she hooks her ankle against his and unbalances him. Surprised claws protract from his hands, gripping into her practice armor and his eyes widen.

And the two royals fall in a pile of limbs upon the mat, with Allura sprawled on top of a stunned Lotor, his sword clattering to the mat beside them.  

“Oh, no,” she says with a triumphant giggle, hands planted over his chest plate. Her curly flyaways are an angelic halo around her face. “You lowered your weapon but did not fully secure me, so I still win.”

Lotor grumps beneath her, his lavender cheeks flushing as he grips her forearms.

And despite Galra leadership watching the courts and murmuring with gossip in the far distance, Lotor softens. His rough, calloused thumbs stroke a pink marking along her bare forearm. “Best two out of three, then? I promise to secure you fully next time and cause another scandal for it.”

Allura leans forward, eyes sparkling. “Very well, Emperor Lotor. You’re on.”

[marbleboa]

I think I get it now.

[11/02/24] HAPPY BIRTHDAY KOYAMA!!!! I like to think he started up that ramen shop eventually :]

[bacchuschucklefuck]

class swap design masterpost for convenience (from top to bottom: bard!riz, cleric!gorgug, sorcerer!kristen, barbarian!fig, artificer!adaine, and rogue!fabian)

[deerspherestudios]

If anyone's wondering how the new VN for the Monstrous Desires jam is going,,

[fuckyeahchinesefashion]

is this considered lazy or passionate about sports by 小亮啊小亮

[ashipikaur]

HARUGUMI 🌸 ashi style!

haru / natsu / aki / fuyu

[mumblesplash]

started actually lifting weights for the first time a little over 3 weeks ago and my biceps are already getting in the way of how i normally wash my hair chat am i some kind of freak be honest

[autisticaradiamegido]

what if you were evil and drew tall thin rose and short chubby kanaya? just a glimpse into my twisted mind.

way ahead of you anon

day 289

but a concept worth revisiting i think!

[buildoblivion]

i actually can’t get over the genius of thunderbolts act one cos what do you mean the way to sell this random bunch of marvel side characters as a superhero crew was to make them do an escape room together

[indigoipsum]

I wanted to try to start a rumor on here that there’s a s2 reboot but I did that w some friends and then felt bad. Here’s Alois in the Cloverworks style for shiggles (and maybe an animation I want to work on later)

[guardevoir]

Why is it that I, haver of no patience, endurance, object permanence, or general good sense, am also so terminally attracted to gigantic mammoth projects that nobody with two braincells to rub together would want to attempt?

(also, why is that project I'm rotating in my mind like a well-done blorbo never the stuff I'm supposed to be working on? I literally have a whole fucking masters thesis to write, about a topic I actually like (and which I will talk about at length if anyone asks, hint hint))

Anyway.

I can spin, crochet, knit (badly) and weave (in three, soon to be four, different flavors). I've sewn things before. I've been severely eyeing nålbinding for a while and actually do have a needle for it.

I am mightily tempted, positively entranced, by the idea of making a whole outfit by hand. Spinning, potentially dyeing, making it into clothes, the whole deal. Bottoms, top, layering for warmth, accessories, all handmade completely from scratch. It would be the project of a lifetime. It would take a lifetime.

The only thing keeping me safe right now is that wool directly on the skin doesn't sound like a great time because even if it ain't itchy, it would be kind of a pain to wash, I don't trust myself to spin a cotton or linen yarn that's both fine and sturdy enough to weave with, and I think a crocheted base layer would be too bulky.

(Also I'd probably have to deal with the Vague Dysphoria of skirt, because I am *not* sewing pants, but I'd do it for the aesthetic. Also, Secret Pants might be a fun third option)

But dear fucking lord, the lure of the "Strange Temporally Displaced Pasture Gremlin"-Core outfit is strong.

[meliake]

HW Link pose practice

[jorenilee]

sore winners and sore losers

[arson-09]

Day one: Change🍀

Baby Tamlin doodle vs post acowar Tamlin I did. The longer he lets his hair grow, the less curl he has. Further distancing himself from the child he used to be. I wonder if his mom would recognize him now?

@tamlinweek 💚

[puckpocketed]

Early experiments indicated flerovium might behave somewhat like a noble gas, but more recent data indicates it is a volatile metal. x | y

Elemental Haiku by Mary Soon Lee - Flerovium Mirage? Mistake? Truth? Would further neutrons lend you a doubled magic?

NHL Periodic Table Poems organised by @simmyfrobby

(1) image - archived || (2) image - archived || (3) image - archived / video || (4) main image - archived / dubois (wpg) - archived / dubois (cbj) - archived || (5) main image - archived / dubois - archived || (6) image - archived

[libraryspectre]

I'm of the belief that horror for children doesn't need to be (and often isn't) less scary than horror for adults. Like any other genre, it's more about handling topics in a child-appropriate way, and maybe addressing fears that are more relevant to children than they are to adults. Horror for children can often hit just as hard as an adult, especially if you're an adult that strongly remembers what it was like to be a kid.

Take The Nest by Kenneth Oppel as an example (spoilers ahead). The main character is a young boy who has a newborn brother. There's something unspecified wrong with the baby - all he knows is that the house is tense, his parents are crying a lot, and making a lot of trips to the hospital. He's visited in his dreams by angels who offer to "fix' the baby, and he accepts, only to learn that these angels are actually wasps who are planning to eat the baby and replace him with a replica they're building in their nest. He tries to take back the offer, but the wasps don't understand why he wouldn't want a new, perfect brother to replace his sick one. In the climatic scene he's huddled in the bathroom with his baby brother as millions of wasps swarm the house.

That book is TERRIFYING. I read it at 25 and felt like my throat was closing up at some parts. Despite this, its intended audience is 8-12 year olds. Many of the fears are more relevant to children - feeling helpless in an adult world, adults not giving you complete information, a sibling taking up all of your parents' attention and energy. But this is also a book about eugenics, even if it never says so explicitly. It's a good introduction to the concept in a way kids can relate to and understand, but it's not any less horrifying as an adult. It features other things that are scary at any age, like swarms of insects, someone you love being replaced by a copy, and the extremely creepy idea that a human child could be born from a wasp nest.

That's why I love reading middle-grade horror in particular! It's a chance to reconnect with childhood fear, and the balancing act of handling serious topics in a child-appropriate way is fascinating to me. Oftentimes horror for this age group is very inventive, because there are common tropes and content that's off-limits. And every once in awhile I find something that is genuinely scary at any age. I love that.