#also this edit is so unreal its so good

[neuerswaist]

reus2025 (x)

[heybinnie]

im sure it will hit me again later and tomorrow and the next day and the next and the next ones after that, but while i am absolutely heartbroken by his passing, i am endlessly thankful and relieved to have found him and astro when i did, all those years ago. im glad i found him before he left.

ive always wanted to meet him at least once to tell him that it always felt like i was going thru life with a distant friend — but i suppose life works in curious ways, and now that chance is lost. he wont know how much hes helped me all these years, but still:

hey binnie, thank you for everything. i’ll miss you like crazy.

[bmpmp3]

the really beautiful landscape/skyscape animation in makoto shinkai's works tends to be the big thing i see focused on and that is understandable and deserved like the weather and lighting effects are unREAL but i do think we should also appreciate how absolute insane the plotlines of his original movies get. at least two movies with in universe catastrophes with major ecological implications. the guns and explosions. theres that one movie i havent seen yet with the guy who turns into a chair (?)

[secretlotsixam]

24 yr old looking guy who shows up at your party and fully earnestly tells u he was on the set of martin scorsese's 1973 masterpiece "GONCHAROV" (shirt by @simandy)

[illusionofwriting]

a fourth of the way through my camp nano project!! a bit behind but that's okay! had a great writing session just now! wrote an entire day's worth of words for a normal 50k nano so im feeling very accomplished

[notcatherinemorland]

2 skits away from updating my email!au fic.... thank god..

[deluluonmyback]

impulsivity in bpd can be cutting and dyeing your hair, but it’s also frying and destroying your hair to a point where it’s completely ruined and you’re self conscious of it everyday.

impulsivity in bpd can be having an attitude and saying some petty things to people, but it’s also ruining every good friendship and relationship you’ve ever had and you can’t stop yourself from sabotaging everything, so you end up alone in a deep pit.

impulsivity in bpd can be having some drinks, doing dr*gs, or having a lot of meaningless sex. but it’s also relying on drinking and dr*gs so much that you’re completely off your face all time and it ruins your image and every aspect of your life. and it’s also no one wanting a relationship with you because you “sleep around” or “probably have an std”.

impulsivity in bpd can be browsing an fps facebook. but it’s also stalking their every move online and their every step in the real world constantly because you need them so bad. you can’t live without knowing if they’re okay, knowing what they’re doing, knowing if they’re leaving you for someone else, etc.

the list goes on. us borderlines post a lot of shit about bpd, and in my personal case, laughing it off and sharing it to others makes me feel a bit better and i know that it makes others feel less alone knowing that other people are doing the same horrendous shit. but stop romanticising being obsessive, quirky, impulsive, and having an attitude. it’s fucking painful. the emotional aspect is PHYSICALLY painful. watching the world crumble around us because most of us can’t fucking stop ourselves is painful. the withdrawals from substances, s/h, etc because we are so prone to addiction is PAINFUL. i’m all for supporting our fellow borderlines and cluster b peoples, but STOP self diagnosing to be “trendy”. i’m not on about self diagnosing, etc if you’re certain and it means you’re getting the support that you absolutely need. everyone is deserving of help, whether healthcare wants to agree or not, EVERYONE deserves the help they need. but stop trying to make bpd sound fun. being euphoric is fun, the rest of it IS NOT. ITS FUCKING PAINFUL. thank u bye 💕

(ps. i hate making rant posts about this, but seeing people act like bpd is a “fun choice” in life pisses me the fuck off, every day is just pure fucking suffering. the people romanticising and hyping this shit up are the same people who will talk shit about any cluster b who is showing symptoms or having one hell of an episode. but this NEEDS to be out there x)

(edit: the amount of support i’ve had on this is unreal 😭❤️ i tried to word this the best i can but when i have a lot to say it often comes out making no fucking sense at all or something comes off the wrong way. i saw someone reply about the yanderes shit. I KNOW WHAT YOU MEAN. i don’t know why the fuck people fetishise it, it makes me feel disgusting to have an fp even if i’m keeping as far away from them as possible. and also the “euphoric is fun”, i still do a lot of embarrassing and over the top shit when i’m euphoric that i regret. but in the moment, the happiness i feel i just embrace now because it’s not been often that i ever get to feel like that. thank you so much for the likes and reblogs, i really hope this post has helped y’all. I LOVE YOU ALL ❤️)

[fallenclan]

a few people have been wondering about the Skyfrost Surrogate thing so here's a little explanation post! note that I'm using the term Surrogate rather than Sperm Donor (which is technically the correct term) just bc the term sperm donor squicks me out a bit. id rather just say they fucked nasty for the greater good, but surrogate is shorter

so when Cedarberry announced she was expecting kits i was obviously. suspicious. since she is afab and so is Eris, her only mate. I peeked into the code and found out that the father was actually Teddyfluff. which was. odd? they had no romantic relationship at all, or even a friendship. Just a one-night-stand then, which would be fine because. drama. but I thought about it a bit more and decided that of ALL the cats to participate in an affair, Teddyfluff would be. extremely low on the list. just for the fact that he has the Loyal trait, but also because he's probably still mourning Sorrelstem, whom he loved very much. and I couldn't really see Cedarberry cheating on Eris anyway (they're so in love its unreal) so with a little code editing, I came up with a new story.

Cedarberry's best friend (besides Eris) is Skyfrost. Always has been, at least as far as I remember, so after she and Eris adopted Buzzardpaw, and he immediately moved into his apprenticeship, maybe they decided they liked being parents, and wanted to do it again, this time with kits a bit younger, and approached Cedarberry's dear friend Skyfrost to be their surrogate. This has the added benefit of not adding onto Teddyfluff's family tree (he already has five kids and five grandkids), and instead starting an entirely New family tree, with three cats who have no other family.

Will Skyfrost consider himself a father? No, not really. But I do think he'll be involved in the lives of the kit/s, as an uncle/close family friend. Kits in Fallenclan tend to be raised by the whole community anyway, so it works out! Although, if I can ever get him together with Moo, it would be exceptionally funny for the kit/s to have both two moms and two dads, so maybe he considers himself a dad in some nebulous way.

[onmyyan]

I love Caspian, the perfect soft yandere!

If his darling tried to leave would he be the pathetic cry baby who sobs as they try to leave and the guilt makes them stay or the possessive "You can't" and keeps them restrained kind?

A/N: WOOOO I love him n I wont him feedback is always welcomed hope u like🖤 (EDITED 12/16/22)

T/W's: Cis fem reader, Yandere shenanigans, manipulating but the hot kind, cursing

Okay, so the fun thing about Cas is he is charming. Like poured all his points into charisma, any chance to fight or argue is crushed by his silver tongue, people look at him and assume he's all brawn and no brain and he liked it that way, made it easier to crush vermin but I digress, we got a master manipulator on our hands, he'd never use his powers for anything that could cause you harm of course!

It's everyone else who's gotta be worried. He would slowly and meticulously isolate you but you're having such a good time you don't notice until someone else points it out. He's so good in fact before you know it he's the only person outside of work you've spoken to for three weeks. You'd been so wrapped up in Caspian everything else faded away, he had that effect on you a lot, you were so enamored with him that you'd completely forgotten about a brunch date with your girls planned ages ago, so when you're rushing around to get ready to leave he's suddenly behind you, his all-encompassing frame pulls you in from behind as he silently takes his morning kiss, his lips taste like maple, warm hands tilted your chin up for deeper access which he explored immediately. His tongue snaked its way in your mouth to dance against your own, the little moan he let out as he pulled away was downright sinful.

"Where you off to looking that fuckin' good." His words had some bite but no malice, suddenly flipped you around to face him, "Lemme' get a proper look at my girl." His hands trailed down your waist with a heated force. He sucked his teeth, shaking his head with that wicked grin, he leaned down to steal another soul-stealing kiss, "S'it my birthday again?" He always made you laugh, your face hot and cheeks sore from grinning like the fool in love you were.

"Just gonna get something to eat with the girls, you remember them right?" You'd turned once more to finish getting ready and missed the meanest expression curl on his face. He nodded, more to himself than you, with a half-hearted laugh. "Course I do."

It was about three weeks into the relationship when you first brought it up. He knew your partner meeting your friends was socially important but truthfully he couldn't give less of a shit at the idea of sharing you with anyone, he did that enough already in his mind. However, the shy way you pitched the idea to him had his heart melting and he had to physically keep his hands occupied so they didn't squish your cheeks. Naturally, he said yes, hoping he could keep himself in check and not scare you off but your little friends sure made it hard.

He remembers the way they stole your attention the entire night you'd introduced him to your friend group. The two women had made up their minds about him before he had gotten a word out he just knew, the slight widening of their eyes and the rapid way they texted under the table, but what sealed it was when you excused yourself to the bathroom, the two women following after you like lemmings.

He debated his actions for a split second before pulling out his phone and logging into the bug he'd installed on your cell. Now- he trusted you with his life, but he also knew how kind and forgiving you could be which the worst kind of people were attracted to. He trusted you to tell him if something was wrong, this was just an extension of that trust.

He caught the shrill voices of your companions with a wince, "-ly shit (y/n) he's is so fine!!" The giggles that followed belonged to you. "It's been so unreal- I feel like-"

"Is it serious?" One interrupted- he thinks her name is Shea, much to his annoyance.

"What do you mean? I think so- I hope so." His blood began to simmer at the two harpies polluting your thoughts. "It feels serious." You said mostly to yourself as the two women were chittering amongst themselves like teenagers, his hand found his chest at the sound of you reaffirming the truth, while you may not know it for certain yet, he knew you were his person.

"Why'd you ask?" You questioned softly, the silence that followed was thick, "Girl it's nothing. I was just asking if you were exclusive or like seeing other people." He could practically see her lewd expression, her tone made his stomach lurch, to think you thought these people were your friends. "Yeah, again I ask why?" You sounded uncomfortable, the edge in your voice only fueled the fire in his belly. She scoffed a laugh, clearly not ready to be called out, "Oh my god (Y/n) baby you are so tight for nothing- I was just seeing if you guys were legit- come on he's ridiculous you can't blame me for asking."

"Yeah don't get upset she was just kidding-come on our food should be there by now." The second woman dismissed your unease and tried to move past the situation which you chalked up to nothing and silently made your way back to the table where he'd been waiting, his phone tucked securely in his pockets. He watched you try to put on a face, to engage and be present but that wench of a woman across from you had ruined your mood.

He pretended to get a text and pulling out all his training in the theater he gasped, suddenly jumping to his feet, shocking all three of you.

"Ma called the bees are back!" He panted as if stressed, quickly grabbing his coat and throwing enough cash on the table to cover you both, you'd stood as well, the pure confusion on your face nearly made him break character, but he stood strong. "I'm sorry- bees?" You asked in disbelief, slipping on your own coat, his hand grabbed your purse for you, the other wrapped around your waist as he began leading you away, "Uh bye? I'll call you later." You yelled over your shoulder, squeezing his hand, "Is your mom okay? What's going on?"

"Oh she's fine I lied." He squeezed the flesh of your hip gently pulling you closer to his side. You couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. "You lied to get outta there? Why? Did Shea say something to make you uncomfortable-"

"No- you came back looking sad, and I didn't wanna' yell in such a nice restaurant so I made a call." He kissed the side of your head as you two leisurely walked back to the car, he'd spend the rest of the night showing just how much better company he was.

He is the biggest baby in the universe, and the thought of you being alone with those two demons made his skin crawl, so he'll crank up the drama to 11 and begin moping around until you ask him if he's alright, which doesn't take much as he looks like a kicked puppy. He assures you nothing's wrong but he makes it sound unbelievable until you, being the Angel you are say you're not leaving until he tells you what's going on, cue the waterworks as he "looks" for the words to say, you're by his side in a second, and as soon as you're within reach he's clinging to your middle, the hot tears streaming down his face left a growing stain on the nice dress you'd put on, he'd let himself be consoled by you, let himself be silently rocked and babied until he's "ready" to talk.

"I'm so sorry Honey- I'm keeping you from your brunch, don't worry I'm fine I'm just having a bad day. Go, have fun, I'll be here when you get back." He didn't need to look up to see you shake your head.

"Shut your beautiful face, I'm ordering from your favorite and we're having a self-care day okay baby?" He would nod into the flesh of your stomach, his grip tightening. "Thank you Sugar, you always take care of me, I love you." He's a whiney blubbering mess anytime you try to do anything without him but you're so focused on cheering him up that you don't notice the pattern until it's too late.

[anguishedlurker]

Sorry, our hands are tied about this!

Prompt "Nocturne fucked up BIG TIME and now needs help from the ghost kid." from kadziduo on ao3/ @duchi-nesten on tumblr! Get phic phought :) Edit: Functioning Ao3 link now that I have a working brain tonight

~

“Fix it. Before I do” Was all Clockwork said before vanishing.

Fix what? Nocturne didn’t know, but nonetheless knew that Clockwork was presently threatening its non-life into vanishment.

Many types of accidents could be arranged.

Fix it before Clockwork does, and left to do its own research to boot. How droll.

Creeping, trawling through random dreams for a hint. Its purpose, if not its goal in its non-life. Delightful nonsense and soft desires clashing against horrid possibilities and terrible unrealities.

Fix it, before Clockwork does. How unhelpful.

Fix it, fix it, fix it… What a dreadful chant to have been produced by the English language.

Finally, Nocturne conceded that it would have to either be very lucky, or open its eyes to the waking realm to find anything out.

If pressed for honesty, it would not call this a dreadful task. The waking realm is, afterall, the source of the realm of sleep. It pays to understand what one is reflecting.

But ah, so many dull details to mull over...

Fix it. Fix what? It wasn’t obvious until it was all that could be seen.

Magical items with magical properties are objects largely outside of Nocturne's purview.

Unless it has to do with sleep.

And unless it’s the one that made the cursed things, which were now its problem to solve.

In more ways than one, even.

Clockwork has simply sped the timeline up on this being its problem.

The objects were older than English, but could be generously translated to ‘Ribbons of Night’. Each of the six operated slightly differently from the other five when active.

Which makes it sound as if one ribbon could be depended on to be the same ribbon when activated.

Absolutely not. Even with a ribbon permanently attached to oneself between activations, there was no predicting which one you had at any given moment. They were the unholy fusion of dream logic and schrodingers box principals.

It was more complicated than that, granted. There were in fact signs that could point you towards which you had at any given moment, and thus could be leveraged to accomplish whatever ones goal was reliably if you were willing to wait.

No matter what, they were usually weak enough to not be a bother to much more than the fool who thought they could control the mind, and whatever half dozen idiots they saw fit to terrorize.

Usually.

It greatly depended on the energy willfully put into them, see...

More energy, more chaos and for even longer. What’s not to love?

Adorable little things, so long as a weird cult of both ghosts and humans don’t get all six and strategically place them around both realms and dump a small nations worth of power into each of them.

You know, because who would ever do that? Truly, such a thing would take a ridiculous series of logical leaps (to think it was a good idea) and logistical nightmares (to make real) that it would be immediately branded a fever dream and disregarded.

Nocturne would typically be inclined to not be involved with the whole debacle, its not as if it could reabsorbed the partitioned fragments itself, but there’s a small problem with the ribbons and how they operate.

The issue is slightly two-fold, and also just the same problem twice over. What can Nocturne say, its things like to be complicated like that.

The ribbons are small fragments of Nocturne, modified for usage by the average ghost. Living need not apply, but if they can work around it then power too them. Nocturne's power is a scary thing to have loose in any realm, particularly at small-nation’s-electrical-grid scale.

And also, the dreams are fragments of Nocturne, that turning off requires either patience for their power to run dry or for a test of power and will to succeed.

Backlash from such a test is usually not of Nocturne's concern- if a fool decided to power a ribbon beyond their control and had to pay to turn it off, Nocturne's side would sting for ten seconds and then stop. Whether the fool was dead or not didn’t matter to Nocturne.

But if the ribbons were powered to the point they’d take years to stop, and also all six of them were going strong at once, meaning that everyone would be forced to contest them, win or lose, in the name of everyone’s continued existence…

Nocturne has finite durability, and that’s a lot of damage.

Even if the inflictors will die with Nocturne, it will be done because nothing has a choice right now..

The whole mess did clarify to Nocturne why Clockwork would care to harass it, though. It gave two reasons, even.

World balance… not Nocturne's domain, though certainly one of Clockworks. Accidents could be arranged, but these ribbons were older than most living nations.

Accidents could be arranged, but Clockworks chain was rather short. A plan like this would’ve been decades in the making, if not centuries, and the observants would be none too pleased if Clockwork were to do real work outside their supervision. Meaning for real work and not silly lessons with effects quickly undone, Clockwork’s self initiative had chain of about six weeks in either direction, with one arranged accident per inconvenience before they were pressed about activity.

An accident could be arranged, but unless that accident extended across two dimensions and obliterated somewhere around four hundred to two thousand beings in one go Clockwork was stuck explaining themself to the council. And to papercut a decades long plan to death? That work would be noticed too.

Accidents plural could be arranged, but no accidents Clockwork could justify to a council of the most belligerent asshats Nocturne had ever had the displeasure of meeting would also arrange a solution without sending everyone years back, something the council would not do.

The decorative bow atop the rest of Clockworks restraints was that accidents could be arranged, but even if Nocturne's spot were to be taken the successor would simply have the same problem because the process would make them into the ‘same’ being and they would inherit the ribbons, and killing Nocturne (or otherwise) in such a violent manner would have massive world shaking blowout. Potentially worse than the ribbons were doing and would do over the years.

The final answer was to destroy decades worth of timeline to fix this, and no ghost in the world would agree on how or why to do that. Could the council stop debating themselves to obliteration before their time to solve this was up?

Clockwork didn’t seem to think so.

Getting to Long Now was such a nuisance on average, but Nocturne (correctly) presumed that one it’d gotten to the bottom of its new task then Clockwork would humor it with a more thorough conversation.

This time, it didn’t even have to break the front doors. How unusual!

Clockwork refused to turn from the mirrors before them, and Nocturne had to force down the indignation as it took its place high above.

Dreams are much weaker than the irrevocable force of Time, and killing Nocturne here would be messy and bad, but make the new problems straight forward.

“I will elect not to lecture if you turn to speak on equal terms. I will call this fair, given you’ve decided you’re in a corner. Enough to reach out.”

Ahhh to not lose touch with scathing statements, drenched in politics. Nocturne never misses them much, but such words have use.

Passively, Clockwork flickered and reappeared facing Nocturne.

“Better.” Nocturne hummed, electing to drip onto the floor from the ceiling. “Now-”

“Do not pretend you’ve power over this mess any more than I.”

“Never claimed anything of the sort! But you could do to acknowledge your partner in crime before you bark commands down the chain.”

Clockwork’s hand twitched, tightening around their staff, and Nocturne was sure they were mentally calculating if it was worth trying the conversation again.

“Now, I know the goal is peace, but pray tell if you’ve got a spare thought for how that is going to happen?”

Nocturne would genuinely like to know; Its continued existence was on the line the moment an idiot got martyr-y about it.

“Handling the ribbons is a monumental task at this scale, with few qualified to stop the ribbons and fewer still capable of surviving the job.”

“Yes, very much so. But if you’ll kindly direct some concern to the rest of the issue…”

Clockwork sighed, and turned to mirrors.

With a grand gesture designed to piss it off, the ribbon of… translation pending, appeared before them on the mirrors.

In the realm of volcanoes and fire was a crack, and in this crack was madness, and in this madness was a shard of Nocturne's body.

It was difficult to articulate the appearance of ‘void, but with sharp edges and hatred’, but thankfully Nocturne didn’t need to speak aloud about such a thing. Just stare at it as Clockwork warmed up to their point.

And then they didn’t progress the conversation in an action likely designed to piss Nocturne off even more.

Good thing Nocturne did not have teeth to grind.

“Yes, yes, the ribbon of… pleasure?”

“Close enough.”

Nocturne was sure Clockwork was smiling underneath that hood over its noise of disgust.

“The ribbon of pleasure, in the infinite zone of volcanoes and fire, and at the center my fragment ripe for the challenge. I am waiting to die from these miserable little mistakes, and await your suggestion to the contrary.”

“Now, who said anything about challenges?”

“Me.” Nocturne huffed, shuffling forward to examine the fragment.

“Why?”

Oh Nocturne could just...

“Because the fools who started this will have no further options. Because anyone fit to rise to solve this will not get further options.”

“Wrong.”

Nocturne refused to squirm in the following silence, immediately deciding it would out wait Clockwork of it was the last thing it ever did.

Clockwork seemed to catch on immediately at least, though it was difficult to tell if such a catch on was in fact after two hours of Nocturne commuting to suicide by any other name.

“Petulance will not serve you well in this instance. Regardless, if an appropriately powered being can approach with an appropriately malleable skillset, most fragments of this nature can be absorbed as opposed to destroyed.”

Ah. They’d gone mad, it sees this now.

“A fascinating theory. But see, there’s a lot of ifs you’re not articulating.” Nocturne hissed, jerking back from the mirrors to refocus on Clockwork.

“You first.” Clockwork hummed.

Of modest annoyances, this one failed to land. The predictability was more annoying, really.

“If we can find an appropriate candidate then they’d have to have the theoretical potential of at least me, and if we can find that someone they would have to be a child- still moldable in all ways including accepting my power-, and if we could find that child then even beyond its capacity to change it must have the separate capacity to walk two worlds, and if we find that child then we must hide it for long enough to get to keep it from the observants’ machinations and purify it of my influence. Provided we even can purify it.”

The final two were the truest sticking points of all; Nocturne, just as Clockwork, would never be permitted to keep a child. Nocturne wouldn’t even be allowed to keep a willing adult, but that was beyond the point.

“Not easy enough to hide, but I have my ways in keeping the observants eyes off me to get real work done.” Clockwork allowed.

Nocturne didn’t get chills easily, but it finally clicked to it that maybe, just maybe...

Nocturne was already in some deeply illegal shit just by being here, this time.

“You didn’t. Not already.”

“Oh, but I have. Did you think you’d get to say no to me? The moment the observants understand they have a blank spot in time, you will be found and interrogated as the missing piece.”

Nocturne was forced to pause.

It really, truly had to physically wrench itself back. The wild temperament of Dreams would lead to disaster.

“Fascinating. Would you like to know your odds of sense, in this instance?”

“No. I’d like to know who you have in mind, since you’re so smart as to kill us both.”

Clockwork hummed, pleased with themself as they waved at the mirrors again.

No chills, but…

“You’re joking, right?”

The young boy that had foiled its romp in Amity, desperately trying not to wilt into the wallpaper as his parents ranted and raved.

“Why would I?”

“To lure me into false hope. Your pet child is non negotiable to you, and you’ve missed the part where we’ll need to strip it of everything it gains. You wouldn’t.”

Clockworks hand tightened again, and Nocturne could hear the staff creak ever so slightly as the pressure became far greater than any mortal material could dream of handling.

“My child… I am pleased to know you regard it as such, but no. Young Danny is not mine to keep.”

“In formalities alone, no. But he’s yours, and you’re rather fond of the boy. Unless I’ve been seeing some other ghostling visit you every Sunday.”

Clockwork wasn’t looking directly at Nocturne, which was not technically a good sign.

“Not to keep.” Clockwork growled. Cracks spread along a mirror or possibly three, Nocturne was suddenly much too fixated on every errant twitch to care about the mirrors.

Nocturne did its best to not flinch away- despite the obviously in-equal status, Nocturne was a GOD in its own right. It couldn’t afford to flinch.

“That doesn’t matter, Clockwork. And if you would deign to clarify how we’re going to purify it...”

Clockwork didn’t relax as they shook their head no.

“The fuck you mean no, I’m helping dig your ass out this mess too. You wouldn’t be knocking on my door if you had other choices.”

“Two fold issue, a long story hardly of relevance.” Clockwork huffed, turning back towards their mirrors. With a wave and a suspiciously loud tick noise, the mirrors in question returned to an undamaged state. Phantom’s family resumed arguing on them, the boy left to awkwardly shuffle towards the stairs.

“Kroonoooooossss.” Nocturne elected to drawl after a pause.

Don’t get it wrong, it knew its risks. But it had a very bad hand before it, and would like to know if the pot cards made a difference.

The noise of total contempt Clockwork gave in response made it all worth it.

“There’s no world where you don’t know my problems with this. It’s lunacy at its finest. You’re sending me in blind to lead the meek and blind, the observants would rather I die and they play cleanup than let us do this anyhow, and somehow I think I and the observants have the fewest issues with these events. Forgive the acquisition of slang, there’s too many plot holes with this plan!”

“No, there isn’t. But you don’t have room for negotiation, do you?”

No, but that’s not stopping it.

“You have me verbally hostage, if not physically. I think me demanding a real answer as to why you care is the least amount of detail you can give me.”

“Wrong. Conversation over, go home and decide if you’d like to live.”

Nocturne wouldn’t have been able to take the belligerence anymore, lurching itself forward to assault Clockwork.

But it was already awake in one of its caves, three days before Nocturne figured out its task, one day before Clockwork had even informed it that it had a task, and a full sixteen hours after the cultists had completed the rituals.

Nocturne had fucked up in many ways, big and small.

For one, it had risen to Clockworks bait at all. Talk about taking one step forward and having your shins shattered for the effort…

Impossible to say if the mess could’ve gone differently, though. Clockwork clearly had a plan that Nocturne was but a vehicle for.

For two, Nocturne had no doubt Clockwork had already spent their one cosmic accident budget to make Nocturne look even worse out of this- all the better to force it to their whims. It had an educated guess about where that accident went, but what did it matter? Clockwork didn’t do anything by halves, Nocturne was fucked. Which went back to point one.

There were more fuck ups of course, some of them older than the swears it was muttering. A specific six of them, in fact.

One in the land of Volcanoes, one in the land of Atlanta Georgia, one in the land of The jungle, one in the land of Dallas Texas, one in the largest functioning cyber-network in the zone (now if Nocturne could get a clear answer about what that was, this would be nice), and one in the land of Shenghai China.

And apparently at the center of it all, a not-dead child to save them all! Joy!

Lunacy, lunacy, lunacy… What would the point be, in the end? Making the boy suffer like that for the world, once again?

Provided Clockworks pet could live, anyhow…

Maybe that was the point. A dramatic exit for what the observants already had their laser sights on, anyhow. A heroes death at it’s finest.

Whatever. It had its path and task, and despite everything Clockwork wasn’t self destructive. The situation would be solved if Nocturne obeyed.

Nocturne refused to trust any other detail of the situation, not that it changed its new goal.

It had to move fast. Find the portal, enter the house, spot the boy. Shuffling to the stairs as his parents bellowed away over something stupid.

Punctuated by everyone but him collapsing to the ground like all pathetic mortals in The Final Rest’s presence.

Form of stars, voice of satin, dripping like slime from cracks at the edge of the child’s vision.

Nocturne was sure it had made its entrance clear.

The white rings traveled up the child's body, revealing his powered form even as he dropped into an aggressive stance.

“Halt. Despite my entrance, this is more an offer of peace. Nice and quiet now, wouldn’t you agree?”

The boy couldn’t hide the shaky breath he took.

“Knocking people out isn’t peaceful.” He hissed, turning to glare at one of Nocturne’s larger blobs.

“I thought I kicked you out already. Back for another round?” He attempted to taunt, false confidence rising by the second.

“Please, child. Booting me out of one of my more vicious play fights is not a point of pride.”

The boy flushed a deeper green in barely concealed rage, backing away from the bulk of Nocturne’s form as it pooled in the center of the room.

“You have to have seen the news already. Three human locations under mysterious effects. It hasn’t been long, but it’s been profound, no?” It asked bluntly, rising as an owl this time. Rams were so last week, afterall.

The boys eyes flicked to the middle distance, contemplating.

“Maybe. Or maybe I don’t follow politics. Who knows, really?” He huffed.

“Stupidity gets you nowhere. Cultists have stolen artifacts of mine and used them for terrorism in its truest definition, in both the human realm and the infinite realm. It will spread if unmanaged.” Nocturne sighed, glooping its way towards the boy and stretching to far taller.

That certainly elicited a reaction, but who could say what was going on in the boy’s skull?

“And you’re sooo altruistic you wanna solve this yourself, I take it?” He prodded, backing away to the wall. If it occurred to him that he could phase through the wall and simply leave, it didn’t show.

Perhaps the child could’ve been a politician with that tonal bite. Alas...

“I have plenty to lose of they’re dealt with by traditional means. And you have much to lose if this spreads too far. The amount of people who die regardless if traditionally dealt with is uncountable. You, and the world with it, are in just as dire of straits as I with this mess.”

The boy paused, looking Nocturne up and down.

“And why should I take your word for it?”

Hmm… maybe if..

Nocturne made a sound like a shuddering breath and sank its form to only slightly taller than the boy.

“Because it’s not my word, it’s Clockworks.”

Another strong reaction. Nocturne was getting somewhere.

“And if you’re lying?”

Nocturne bowed forward slightly to imply consideration.

The child wasn’t wrong to distrust it, dreams were tricky things afterall. And personal experience gave a firm indication as to Nocturne’s temperament, be that true or false.

But the awake were always so predictable…

“We can visit them to ask, if you like. But permanence will take within days. It needs to be you, and we need to go. Now.”

The boy closed his eyes, considering.

“Clockwork, first. No confirmation, no help.” He ordered, eyes snapping open ans he crossed his arms.

“Of course.” Nocturne muttered, carefully eyeing how the child prepped to fly along with it.

He didn’t get the chance to fly on his own, already plucked away by Nocturne as it swooped down to the portal.

No time to waste, its non-life was on the line. And if the screaming was funny, then that was a bonus.

[arabidfangirl]

Thoughts on Mile and Apo after the KinnPorsche World Tour Manila show:

First, let's talk about their looks...

Apo is the human personification of this meme:

He's so pretty in real life. Like, I know he's already so good-looking in photos and videos but nothing compares to him in person. I literally gasped when I saw him. His beauty is unreal.

Excuse my shitty mobile's camera (I also had to zoom in for this) but I just had to share this man's face.

Mile's physique is so... He's broad. He might not be as broad as he was pre-KP but I finally understood why he looks bigger than Apo even though they're practically the same height. His waist is tiny, too. Kudos to whoever's styling him because his pants do his ass and legs so much justice.

Also, he's really pale. It's funny because he looks like Edward Cullen in my videos because the spotlight on him just created a glare for my camera.

Trust me when I say I made so many attempts at trying to get him to look less glare-y in this video.

Second, let's talk about their stage presence...

Apo was truly born to be a star. The charisma just oozes out of him. I can't pinpoint how exactly, but I just know there was a point during the show where I just had to stop recording to stare at him in awe. I've met celebrities up close and personal before but this was one of the few times I was truly starstruck.

It makes KinnPorsche the Series even more special because the world would've lost this presence from its screens.

Mile, on the other hand, reminds me of that quote about Marilyn Monroe being able to switch her persona on and off. By that I mean, Mile knows when to turn on the charm so all eyes are on him and he knows when to dim it so he doesn't steal the spotlight from others. Like, I don't know how else to say it. I mean, obviously you'd still see him on the stage but it's like he's giving you permission to look away from him for a bit.

I don't know, man... But it does make me curious how'd things would have gone if he decided to pursue his rockstar dreams.

Lastly, let's talk about MileApo...

I'm gonna be real. When I went into this (the concert), I didn't expect to feel the same level of kilig (or giddiness) I experienced watching the show. I figured a lot of those feelings came from the post-prod additions, like background music and romantic editing. Yes, Mile and Apo have chemistry. But that can translate differently when you see them in real life.

(Lemme just give a quick example. I have been a TayNew fan for years. I think they have great chemistry, specifically romantic chemistry. But when I saw them earlier this year, I realized that their "real life" chemistry was very bro-coded. Like, they're really good friends who are very comfortable with each other.)

So imagine my surprise when I realized that Mile and Apo's chemistry off-screen is just as striking. There's a fondness in their interactions with each other that I would posit as something akin to domesticity. There's something so wholesome about it, something so safe and secure... It's hard to put into words but it was like looking at a warm hug shared between two people who've found comfort in each other.

Again, I don't know... This was just my observation. I mean, I'm also a firm believer in the concept of a soulmate doesn't have to be a romantic partner, just someone who makes you whole. It looked like that to me. But hey, you don't have to take my word for it.

[kashilascorner]

New entry for @queer-ragnelle's May Day Parade!

May 6-10: Queenly Month of May {May Queen Guinevere}

This post has been haunting my mind ever since I read it, so here goes another angsty short story from yours truly ❤️

cw for death mentions and (implied) drowning

Edit: you can also read it here ^^

It's May again and I wonder what she's doing. Did she raise the maypole? Does she make her maids run around it until, dizzily, they stumble one over the other, all dressed in white, like drops of falling snow? Does she make her knights play games, like a living chessboard? Is she dancing? No, not now, it's the middle of the night. She must be braiding her hair. Does she do it herself? Perhaps Brangaine is doing it. She will dance in the morning.

I brush my hair over and over and over again because my hands have nothing else to do, and I think of those hands, his hands, that have steadied me, cherished me, so many other times. Where are they now? They are gone. They are ready for another woman to fall, they are eager to assist someone else.

This game of mirrors sickens me.

I used to have a mirror, a wedding gift, made of pure silver, so polished that it reflected everything with astonishing precision. Some treatment, or perhaps an enchantment, kept it from darkening and rusting. It's the best mirror I've ever known, so little deformation and loss of color in its image that I have come to know well what I look like. I spent a lot of time in front of that mirror, looking at every single inch of my skin, worrying when I felt my flesh coming down as years passed, pleased when my face looked good and unblemished, happy to see my braided hair. I loved that mirror. Or perhaps I just loved myself. Perhaps my biggest sin was vanity, and this is my punishment for it.

She is perfect. She is just like me, and yet more perfect than I could ever be. Her skin is softer, her eyes brighter, her arms firmer, her frame slightly lovelier. She's a me I lost in that mirror many years ago, when I was still young, and beautiful, and more hopeful. More hopeful. When everything was possible, and nothing was denied.

I think of my aching skin, my cold bed. I wake up with the feeling of a brush of his lips, the scratch of his beard on my cheek, the weight of his hands on my waist, only to find myself alone. Only to remember that he is touching her. I don't have the strength to feel tortured by it anymore. All I can feel is a void, a sense of unreality. I live in a dream, wake up in a nightmare, fall asleep in a trance. I'm not real. I am real. She's not me, but she has what I have. She has all that was ever mine. What is someone, if not their possessions? There is still the self. But what is someone who cannot be seen? What am I if I am not perceived, not recognized as myself? I'm thin air, I'm nothing.

I'm absence, an abundance of silence: nothing.

Is she really so much like me? Does she have my same cursed womb, all my wasted useless love, all the secret longings that live under my skin? Does she hate like I do, love like I do? Does she try to love her enemies only to find herself failing? Does she keep it all in order, the dogs and the garden, and the maids, and the bookkeepers, and the dresses organized by color? Did she remember to request the butter pastries for his birthday, the ones that he loves so much, with dried plums on top of them? His favorites... I ate dried plums on his birthday, just to remember the taste of his smile. The smile I still adore. The smile I hope to not forget.

Lancelot has come today. He has looked at me and talked to me.

He reminds me that I have a voice. It's been so long since I last spoke that my lips hurt when I open my mouth. He has worry in his eyes and wears his desperation like a mask. My brave, brave, Lancelot, you do remember me, right? You do see me, don't you? I'm not a shadow, so don't look at me this way. Am I this pitiful? Or is it that you don't love me anymore? Have you fallen for her too? Where do you go, where does life lead you, so far away from me that you can't guard my nights, that you can watch over my sleep? Maybe I am a ghost and you are the only one who can see me, and my dead face scares you. When I get close to you, you take a step back. Do you hate me so, for all the things I've made you do? For all the love that festers in your heart, the heavy burden of our unspoken desires rotting within you like this flesh I live in rots by the moment?

I would beg you to hold me, but I have no strength for begging. Not when you look at me this way. These walls will be the death of me, and now I know how that girl felt, the girl who died for you, the girl who died because her love was bigger than her life, your absence harsher than death itself. What was her name? I don't remember.

I don't remember so many things.

I wonder what she is doing today, at the party. My May Day Party. I picture her dancing. I used to love dancing. And then I think of Lancelot's girl, floating in the water, her body moved by the waves seems to me a lot like dancing. What was her name?

If I can make it through another day, I hope I can be blinder than I am today. I hope I can't make sense of the light, or the flowers. I hope I can't see so I can't remember. I hope you do not come and remind me that I'm still myself, but not myself, never myself; never again.

You have brought me berries today, black berries and I eat them, but I can't taste them. She must be tasting them, the one that looks like me.

I don't think I will stay awake tonight, I'm so tired from this walk, so tired from this talk, but I don't know what you are saying. I can't hear you very well, your closeness is as remote as your distance. Nothing feels real until you hold my arm. The touch reawakens me, makes me dizzy. I could crumble in your arms, become dust, fly away. Dust you are, and dust you shall become, and my time is due to fly.

The girl, what was her name? I keep thinking, it feels crucial to remember. I try to find her name deep within me, among all this decay –the ruins of my mind.

Guinevere, I hear you say from afar. Your lips brush my forehead and I think “Guinevere: such pretty name for such pretty girl.”

[alex-multiverse]

Kh Worldbuilding headcanons: Destiny Islands Edition

No one ever talks about the original worlds in kh and i find that a travesty because these places are a really, REALLY good mine to play around with. (u can also use them or expand on them if you really like)

So im gonna share some HCs i have about the original kh worlds, starting with Destiny islands..... but before that some basics: also this is kinda long so under the read more it goes

In general:

Kh "worlds" arent really floating in space. the stylized icons we see in game are more akin to dimensional rifts rather than actual planets (seriously who thinks this is how the world looks fr)

Following on with the dimensional rift: as the "worlds" arent really pieces of the original world, they are something more akin as parallel dimensions or something along the lines of something like ff14 (mostly because i would rather die first than live in a world with 5 different versions of britain existing at the same time)

As much as dark road is cool, the explanation for the empty worlds is dumb and for the purposes of this exercise, instead ofthe worlds filling the people gradually after it is created, i consider that the worlds as they exist are the result of the surviving children of the war making their stories real in the fractured reality of the original world (it also follows the weird theme of reality/unreality that kh4 seems to go for) and it turning into a different version of earth as we know it, with some exceptions, such as monstropolis (which exists independently as a parallel land to earth in its canon) and Deep space (which is straight up NOT earth and was more like, the rift of lilo and stitch's world pointing at the high counselor's fleet BEFORE the actual movie started) and also the OG worlds who dont have something to be based on for reasons to be explained later.

the only world that exists in the ocean between as it is, is the Keyblade graveyard. because it was so majorly fucked up by the war it both shattered in the physical and dimensional way after it happened.

Now that that rant is out of the way, LETS GO TO THE MOST UNDERRATED WORLD IN THE SERIES:

Destiny islands is in fact, more than 2 islands, being a big archipelago with a bigger "main island" where our three protagonists live at. this one we have seen before in kh2

Destiny islands, is, by far, not the only chain of islands in the world. in fact, theres way more islands beyond the horizon.

We know the islands have a mayor, thus we know that they must have cordial diplomatic ties with different islands near them.

Due to FF characters existing here, i am very tempted to assure that some of the races from ff8 and ffX exist in this world (you are now imagining kimahri playing with a tiny kairi after diplomacy stuff with her dad just ended)

Due to DI being an original world, it is actually a shard of the original world that didnt really changed much compared to the other original ones. its major difference is that it is an ocean world like Wind waker hyrule or the Grand line from One piece

Magic is a real thing in the original worlds populace, you just really need to get good at it, learn it, be magical by default, or cheat and get a keyblade somehow

Religion in the og worlds strike me as something akin to the way people prayed to the aeons of yevon in ffx or the astrals of FF15. with people praying to the ff summons on a case by case basis and depending on their preference for patron gods. Ie: Leviathan being a goddess of the ocean and water who is prayed to by sailors or fishermen, while scholars prefer ifrit using an interpretation of the fire of knowledge. (you know. like a furry prometheus that doesnt get eaten by an eagle daily)

I'll probably go on more detail later, but for now, the summons that get prayed to the most in DI is probably Leviathan for the aforementioned reasons, Ramuh for nature and agriculture reasons, shiva for tradition and combat reasons (related to riku in my particular headcanon) And Titan for economical reasons, wow alex making the rock man into the economy guy i wonder where you have heard it before

Speaking of economy, DI currency totally has tiny paopu fruit symbols in its coins and bills, and its a legal course currency in its neighboring islands because they too dig the paopu fruit symbolism

Munny looks like malleable diamonds because it probably just morphs into the appropate currency depending on the world we're in, moogles only use them as they are because they are both the people doing synthing and also shady as hell. do not trust the pompom people.

Going back to the Paopu fruit: its quite a common tree fruit in the islands and in fact is industrially harvested in some islands both as an export and in-island use.

The paopu folk story is actually mostly just a misconception for an older tale. originally involving sailors and a promise to return home safe. it eventually turned into "sharing one will entwine your fates forever"

Paopu pastries are a common dessert, and paopu wine is used often in weddings.

Monsters ARE real in the islands and roam the most inhabited places. These are often hunt for game and for safety reasons

THAT MEANS, chocobos are also a thing people use in the most rural parts of the islands for fieldwork, transportation and sometimes food.

Blitzball is MAD popular and they Often do tournaments involving several islands. DI itself was almost a perpetual champion up until jecht retired, then they win every so often instead of always

Boating licenses are a thing, but kids can still use their little boats because they have to row them. think like, the difference between a bicicle and a motorbike.

There are bridges for tram systems between islands that are close to each other, usually reinforced for sea and storm reasons.

Legally speaking, equal marriage is a thing and even polyamorous ones because why being an ass about it.

Healthcare is mostly public, but there are Specialty care stuff in the main islands that costs money because of course it is

Because sora and riku are japanese names, i prefer the island to be something like a tropical japan, so most of the people in DI have japanese names.

That would be all for now. tune in next time when i tackle on Twilight town, who may or not be in perpetual twilight (is not)

[sixteenstrikes]

PLEASE talk more about DurgeWyll and Hozier, PLEASE... I am rotating the songs you posted and the vision is so good

thank you for asking me :) (the doors close sealing you in the crypt)

i joke. ok first of all i need to cite ten @bladesmitten as a resident durgewyll expert and direct you to his blog... she's written some incredible fic & analysis of the durgewyll romance and made a lot of gorgeous wyll edits and art in general, can't rec his blog enough.

i have sadly never played through the durgewyll romance & only watched it so there are undoubtedly story details i am unaware of. alas i have only played the tav version of his romance so far

some spoilers for durge beneath the cut. i tried to be vague but a warning there. also i didnt stick my oar into unreal unearth or any of the adjacent eps for that album .. sorry

all that being said here are my 2 cents

i think the main draw for picking hozier songs for durgewyll is that incredibly sexy dynamic they have of being each other's foil as well as each other's love interest. both wyll and durge are bound to an inescapable doom within the story: to pay with their body and soul for the fate of baldur's gate. durge must destroy it to please their father, wyll must save it. (wyll's saved it already, at the cost of his soul, and durge has to sacrifice their soul to destroy it as (redacted), but i wont go further on that tangent lol. its fascinating though.)

i think a core concept of wyll to focus on here as well is his faith. in his act 2 dance scene, in response to one of the dialogue options, wyll replies that he 'still keeps faith in the old tales of true love'- this is crucial. wyll is the man to whom the gods gave a cold shoulder. he has no love or faith for them. but he keeps faith in the old tales- he keeps faith, specifically, in durge.. 'his greatest adventure'.. and if durge chooses to resist their father's authority, they spurn a god for wyll's sake. there's an incredible amount of mutual devotion there.

there is also the monster hunter/monster dynamic. i haven't delved into it much here bc i am more interested in how eerily wyll and durge parallel each other as twin mirrors and exiles from the gate, the light and dark sides, sharing almost a common doom, trapped in the long shadows of their fathers.... man. but the monster dynamic should absolutely be examined and explored, it's fascinating. i think it's another compelling aspect of wyll's character. he's a man with a lot of resonant contradictions. a monster hunter who refuses to hunt the monster of baldur's gate and instead severs them from the one who made them .... a monster hunter who holds out his hand to the monster he is supposed to kill... wyll's love of the mysterious and strange and his kindness, i think, predispose him to see durge as an ally and a friend. not from naivete, but from an open heart

my hozier picks for durgewyll overall:

it will come back - i love the way the view shifts in this. one of my top durgewyll picks for the way it evokes a lot of the horror & tragedy that wyll looks into and doesnt flinch away from & the hunger durge has toward wyll extending his own lonely & friendly hand

shrike - i see this as primarily from durge's view. picked for the devotion & regret

NFWMB - applies beautifully to both of them. theeeee durgewyll song to me from andy's works... consider the lyrics from both person's perspective to feel the world open beneath your feet lol

as it was - ditto, i think it encompasses both perspectives. also one of my favorite songs he wrote so im biased lmao. i think this is another very resonant choice for the durgewyll dynamic

like real people do - feels an overly obvious pick but it could work especially well for a resist durge

no plan - could be an intriguing choice. i can't quite swing it but some of the lines in this for durgewyll... i like them...

you could definitely make a case for from eden for another from durge's view. gives me a feeling of a durge who's not resisting but idk

[sirfrogsworth]

I'm still slumping 2 weeks after my last movie outing.

I've been reconsidering going to movies as my way to escape the house.

It requires about 40 minutes of driving plus 2.5 hours at the theater. It's just too much time upright for me. And I feel the consequences are only worth maybe once a month. Once a week was too much. Though I feel like I still need to get out of the house more than once a month to keep sane.

My other idea was to take little photography trips. I could find a location that might make for some cool photos. I can limit myself to 30 minutes or something. And then I head home.

It's possible I might be getting some backpay if my disability increase is approved. I'm probably going to save most of it. But I am considering getting myself something that I normally wouldn't be able to. I miss photography almost more than regularly making comedy. So maybe I'll get a nice camera and a lens.

I've always had to get mid level APS-C cameras. They were the best I could afford. Which were great and I was able to get professional results. Some people think if you get a better camera your photos will magically be better. But better cameras do not automatically give you better image quality. They make it *easier* to get better image quality, especially in challenging circumstances.

For instance, on a fancy camera with really good sensor stabilization, you can take photos in dark environments without a tripod. That is a huge convenience, especially for a disabled photographer.

Or eye-tracking autofocus can assure you get perfect focus on every shot. I used to have to take dozens of extra photos for safety because it was difficult to check focus on that tiny screen. That added a lot of time to my sessions. Now I could take fewer pictures which helps save time while photographing but also at home when I am editing.

A bigger sensor makes it easier to get background blur and you can be closer to your subject in cramped spaces. And you don't need expensive prime lenses to get the same blur as an f/2.8 or whatever. So I can have smaller, lighter, and more affordable lenses that achieve similar quality.

So a better camera doesn't make you a better photographer. It is more like changing a video game's difficulty from hard to medium.

The only bummer is that I loved working with artificial lighting. That was an art form on its own. Shaping light was so fascinating and the resulting images just looked unreal. But it requires a ton of extra time and energy. So I will probably have to become a natural light photographer. But that presents a lot of fun challenges too. There is no photography I don't love, so I'll be okay. I just miss my lights.

I may not be able to afford a new fun thing at all. So I am not getting my hopes up or anything. But if I could do photography again and improve my mental health, I think that might be a worthy investment.

[lizardsarecute]

Your Korsica model looks really good, and the outlines are great! I was wondering how you did her outlines since the models don’t come with them when you download them into blender.

While there are methods to outline models in blender, I found out that unreal engine actually uses a whole separate mesh that is the outlines of the character. I personally haven’t figured out how to make an outline through making a whole new mesh like the unreal engine, but your model looks so good!

I just had to ask if you made a new mesh over the model for the outlines or used another method like geometry nodes or the inverted hull method.

Also, if you did figure it out by making a whole new mesh, could you share that secret? I’ve been trying to find out how to replicate the outlines by making another mesh, but the closest I’ve got was a vague and unhelpful post about it years ago. And even if you didn’t use a new mesh, I’d still like to hear how you went about making the outlines.

good news: the outlines do come with the models

I have tried everything you've described initially but I got lucky and figured this one out one day after a really good nap (ngl i've been pretty happy about it ever since).

The outlines are already here.

Select the mesh and go into Edit mode.

Go to the materials, click the material with 'outline' in its name and press Select, down at the bottom circled in red. It should select the corresponding mesh that is meant for the character/object's outline.

Right-click on the mesh, select Separate > Selection. Do that for all the materials with outline in its name.

I rename the separated meshes for cleanliness.

Then at this point you can add either a geonode or a Solidify for each of those objects. I do prefer geonodes but they both work. I use the one from Komikaze's shader pack because it's an easy drag and drop, then tweak settings like flipping normals, increasing the thickness and whatnot.

There you go :) I kept the outline on my Korsica model thin because they were a little distracting while I was doing my rigging lmao. But when I start learning 3D animation and rendering things, it's good to be able to adjust the outline thickness to whatever your needs are. Maybe even make a driver for the outline thickness to adjust based on camera location?

It's not a perfect solution. When you zoom into the character, there may be areas where the outline leaves gaps when thickness is set high, or there's an unwanted stray line (particularly in the face but I've also seen it in hair). But it's a great start. If you find anything about it to clean it up some more, feel free to dm me.