#am NOT in fact having a normal day!!

[louthestarspeaker]

hope everyone's out there having a normal day grasping the significance of a black Norman Osborn saying "with great power comes great respect" :)

[sunshinevaldez]

kevin day nation how are we feeling 😃🫠🫩😵‍💫

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Show: NINJAGO Legends: Monstrosity (Kai mini-series)

Song: To Ashes and Blood - WOODKID

So anyone else a changed man after watching this? Because this sure did something to my brain chemistry i MISSED 2D animation SO FREAKING MUCH

[aroaceleovaldez]

apparently pjotv twt was being weird about book!Percy's eyes being green because they don't think the ocean can be green (???) so consider this a sequel to my Grace siblings eye colors post and here is some visual references of green water for all your Percy inspo needs:

And for reference, the water around New York-ish where Percy is usually is somewhere around this color:

or some alternatives:

or here is a nice hazel green if you want his eyes more on the brown side, which is very common in freshwater ponds and streams:

or if you want him to have totally brown eyes - water rich in tannins will appear brown, greenish-brown, or very dark brown - this is sometimes called "blackwater" due to often appearing very dark or having low visibility:

[a-most-beloved-fool]

For the ask prompt game...

Spirk #17 to distract

"Report," Kirk ordered. The word buzzed low against Spock's ear, quiet and audibly tense.

"Less than two minutes until they reach our location, Captain," Spock replied promptly. "Commander Scott will need at least another eight before the transporter is operable again." His voice was equally hush, despite their perceived solitude. He had seen carelessness take far too many lives during his time in Starfleet; he would not allow it to take his captain as well - and, illogically, Spock could not quite dispense of the phantom sensation of eyes on the back of his neck.

"We'll need to bluff it," Kirk decided, looking grim.

His gaze was strangely intense against Spock, full of rioting emotion, and, almost, Spock wished to look away. He did not. Instead, he nodded, holding steady eye contact.

The odds, Spock knew, that Kirk's gambit - whatever it may be - would succeed were... poor. The guards had, after all, seen their faces. But Kirk would keep fighting right until the bitter end, and Spock, of course, would be right beside him.

Solemn, he vowed, "I shall follow your lead," though he knew Kirk would not have doubted it. Still, the unnecessary words were well worth the way the tension around Kirk's eyes melted away, the somber set of his mouth slipping instead into a golden-edged smile.

Almost wonderingly, a soft chuckle fell from those lips, incongruous in their surroundings and entirely treasured. "What would I do without you?" Kirk asked, reaching up to exert gentle pressure on Spock's bicep.

I pray you never need find out, Spock made to say, getting only so far as drawing in breath before the sound of distant footsteps drew them both from their quiet moment, snuffing the words before they could take shape. "Eighteen seconds," he said instead, after rapidly adjusting his calculations. Faster than anticipated.

Kirk nodded, some unreadable emotion hiding in the soft crease between his brows.

"Forgive me, Mr. Spock," Kirk said softly, and Spock did not have time to question what he meant before Kirk was pulling him down by his shirt, dragging their lips together with great urgency.

Quite suddenly, Spock found that his mind was entirely blank. Strange heat flickered through his whole form, and his universe narrowed to only Kirk, all soft and human-warm, who was pressed flush to his chest and kissing him.

One, then two seconds stuttered by in which Spock thought no thoughts at all, struck utterly motionless in the face of such unexpected attentions. He only felt, swept away by the sensation of pliant lips against his own and warm fingers stroking through his hair, gently mussing.

The very first thought to break to the surface was simply, Jim. A wave of emotion flooded in with it, astonishment and affection sweeping over him in such quantities that he felt nearly lightheaded.

The second was, We will be caught, and Spock jolted as something near to panic rose up inside his gullet, urging him to take Jim into his arms and run.

The third, however, was not his own; it was pressed into his katra from the outside by Jim's careful fingers, his clever mind slipping easily past Spock's shields. Play along, he said, projecting deliberate calm through their connection. Still, Jim was unpracticed in telepathic arts, and beneath that false serenity Spock could feel a tangle of guilt and determination, bitter and writhing.

The truth came to Spock in one fell swoop.

Jim's gambit... was this.

His lips and his hands, which pressed themselves so tenderly to Spock's skin, were not for him.

It was not love which had drawn his captain into his arms, but mere utility. Jim had realized what Spock had not: though they could not hide themselves, they could, perhaps, distract from themselves.

Two men attempting to look inconspicuous would only draw suspicion. Two men locked in a romantic embrace, however, may be overlooked - or even deliberately ignored. Few were comfortable with looking closely at the private passions of strangers, and fewer still would see reason to. Those searching for them, Spock hoped, would not. There would be no logic in halting an escape attempt solely for a kiss, after all.

Therefore, in order to escape unnoticed, they must be convincing.

They must seem, to any observers, to be completely and entirely immersed in one another, with no care for anything going on in their surroundings, and no fear of discovery.

Two lives, purchased with a kiss.

It was entirely logical, then, for Spock to part his lips, inviting Jim's tongue to dip inside of the wet cave of his mouth and meeting it with his own. If a groan rumbled deep within his chest, it could surely only help their cause; there was no need to swallow it down.

This disguise would, Spock observed as Jim's tongue flicked gently at his mouth, be far easier to maintain than it had any right to be.

It was a terribly simple matter for a man in love to behave as though he were a man in love.

The difficult part, then, would be remembering that it was a ruse. Already, heat bubbled deep within Spock, aching want suffusing his every neuron. Every faint brush of flesh sent golden tendrils of telepathic energy sparking across his skin, and it was all Spock could manage to hold himself back from pressing hungry fingers to Jim's meldpoints and sinking into that wonderfully enticing mind.

Instead, Spock slipped a hand beneath the hem of Jim's shirt, rucking up the cloth until he was tracing patterns across a smooth expanse of golden skin. He flexed his hand, allowing his nails to scratch carefully along Jim's spine, and did not permit himself to consider reaching upwards, to Jim's face - or worse: downwards, beyond the waistband of his pants.

He wondered if Jim would have chosen this, had he known how very much Spock wanted.

Perhaps it was selfish of Spock to allow it.

Still, he could not force himself away - not when Jim's life was at stake. The kiss was his lifeline, and so the kiss must remain.

The touch of their minds, however, did nothing to aid Jim. It was solely for Spock's benefit, taken from Jim without his knowledge or intent.

That, Spock could end.

If Jim was to unknowingly place himself into the hands of someone who wanted more than he would wish to give, then Spock would take it upon himself to be his protector - even if the one he must protect against was himself.

And so, Spock opened himself to every offered touch, and girded his mind against every stray thought, until not a single wisp of golden energy could find its way past his defenses.

When Jim's thigh nudged its way between Spock's legs, Spock spread his stance wider, allowing him to press closer, and did not let himself feel. His hands grasped and squeezed at the soft flesh beneath them, drawing quiet gasps from a pink-flushed throat, and no pleasant hum buzzed against his fingertips, carrying with it the flavor of human emotion. Jim nipped at his lips and pet at his hair, and Spock pressed every scrap of yearning deep down within himself to where they couldn't emerge.

Eyes closed and spirit aching, Spock kissed him.

_____________

from this ask game

[shadow-lycanthrope]

Oh, just a reminder to the creatures out there who feel bad for needing to take meds, theriform/bio animals sometimes need to take medications too!

My cat has to have his thyroid pill every day, twice a day. He doesn't like it, but understands that I won't ever hurt him on purpose, so he lets me give it to him by mouth with an oral syringe. He needs it to stay at a healthy weight, otherwise his body processes his food too fast and he gets really skinny.

So it's ok if you need to take a pill or gel or liquid medicine every so often for any reason. Even a mighty lion needs to have his medicine if he isn't feeling well.

[babygirlkaeya]

To put it in terms that purist ragbros enjoyers will understand:

If you hate on kaeluc shippers who ship them through the chinese context of sworn brothers, you're racist.

Like, sorry that you just can't grasp the fact that a ship that exists through the context of clear and cut cultural history because you can't pull off the westernized lens that it's been filtered through for your understanding, but to claim that an entire group in a fandom that is separated by race, region, and language must be wrong about the game that is from their country and natively in their language is racist.

ragbros enjoyers who dgaf are real ones. People who are uncomfortable kaeluc because it's not their preference are valid, but we really gotta stop with the whole kaeluc dni when it's really just a thinly veiled movement to ostracize people based on a long passed misunderstanding. If you don't like the ship, just ignore it and move on. People will spin romantic context out of any non-romantic pairing, but for some reason people find the most issue with it for kaeluc and find the need to blast 'kaeluc dni' everywhere instead of curating their own space correctly???

What are you classifying as an interaction; do people think kaeluc shippers are inherently evil and liking your posts is a terrible thing to do?? Sure, people coming into your space and spinning romantic context on something you didn't Intend to be romantic sucks, but trust me, those people are not checking your bio to see if you asked for them to dni with you; use the damn mute feature/block button if they make you uncomfortable.

And kaeluc shippers who Do ship them incestuously are in the same boat with sworn brothers shippers either way, outsiders view you all the same.

Fandom people have got to learn how to come to terms with people disagreeing with their views without being assholes about it, and doing some proper fucking research if they want to make a point.

"But I'm Chinese/my Chinese friend/significant other/family said--" Being a certain race doesn't make you an expert on its culture, especially considering the nuance of pre-existing prejudices (and let's not get into ABCs with their flawed judgements right now), but there are stories dating hundreds of years past the existence of the United States on what the sworn brothers trope is, what characters are used for it, what it means, and there's plenty of information out there to explain it.

It is unmistakable what their relationship is currently, based on existing canon content in Chinese. English mis-translation is a bane upon us all.

实在受不了这个情况。

YESSS YESS EXACTLY

and to add on; i think the only reason hoyo hasnt "fixed" the mistranslation yet is because, within the sworn brothers trope, it was used for censorship, it was used to Censor Gay Relationships, so i think the "oh its just adopted haha!" bit on hoyo's part is continuing to just censor it further so they don't get in trouble

^and thats really all the discourse boils down to.

[hopeswriting]

imagine you're luce, and you're born the heir to a mafia family. you're mafia-born, and so of course also mafia-raised, and then also a donna-to-be. you're raised to be able to take on the role, to be good and capable at it, are taught to make one of your core beliefs about how the many must come before the few, because the family must always come first. you're going to be the donna, of course you must always prioritize the family above all else, it's your foremost and most important duty.

if caring about the few too comes at the price of the many, comes at the price of the family, is it even worth it? if the happiness gained from it comes at the price of a greater suffering for others, is there even any meaning to it, even if it's your happiness we're talking about? you understand, don't you?

you're not sure if you do, but you care about your family, love it, want to do right by it once you become their donna, so you nod, listen and learn.

(you don't have to be taught the pain and loss and guilt and anger and bitterness is a fair price to pay for the pain you decide has to be inflicted and the sacrifices you decide must be made, including by yourself. it's the least you could do, even.)

imagine you're luce, and the gift of foresight runs through your blood.

you would not call it a gift. you did not ask for it either. and you'll never come to see it as something wanted by you.

you can see the future, and it happened exactly as you saw it would, so of course it's exactly the way you wanted it to go. you can see the future, and it happened exactly as you saw it would, so of course you didn't care to try hard enough to change it. you saw the future before the shape of it had yet to be breathed into existence, and who's to say it didn't come into existence only because you saw it happen? you saw the future, and it happened worse than it had to for it.

you can see the future, but you still can't make it anything else than what it was always going to be. you can even make the visions happen at your will, but you still have no say on what you see or how much you see. you still can only be the witness of it before anyone else can.

it does mean double and longer the happiness sometimes, means relief and gratefulness and hope beyond words, and it'd be cruel of you to voice out loud your feelings for others to hear the many more times it means something else.

you can see the future, and it doesn't make it any kinder on you than on anyone else, does not give you any more power or control over it than anyone else, but at least you can see the future. you're given the time to make peace with it, to brace yourself for it, to bargain with it, to plead and beg and fight against it however desperately and hopelessly, even if in the end it still happens exactly as you saw it would.

(you can see the future, and it still doesn't hurt you any less than anyone else when it happens, but you don't expect anymore for anyone to hold you any less responsible for it anyway. it would be nice for someone to do it one day, but you understand.)

you can see the future, and you decide it's a kindness to both yourself and others to keep it for yourself as much as possible whenever you can.

imagine you're luce, and your family has this set of rings they've looked after and protected for as long as your family has existed. they're one set of three of the most important artifacts in the world, ones that help in safeguarding its existence and balance. they're duty, the very first one and the most important one your family was created for.

the pacifier around your mother's neck is duty too, and the most important and powerful artifact among twenty-one in safeguarding the world and its balance. it's been passed down in your family too, from mother to daughter. it's duty, but less tied to your family and much more to the blood running through your veins. it's a curse, in fact, as it demands heavy sacrifices the rings don't, and one that can only be tied to the blood running through your veins.

(your mother looks at you as if expecting some kind of reaction from you, and you can only wonder at which point you weren't supposed to see it as a given. duty and sacrifices have been one and the same for you for a long time now. is it even duty if it doesn't require any sacrifices from you?)

imagine you're luce, and your mother dies for duty. she's the donna, and so she dies for your family. she's the sky arcobaleno, and so she dies for the world. she's your mother, but she dies anyway, doesn't fight it either, even knowing she will leave you behind, even knowing she won't ever get to see what you look like all grown-up.

everywhere you look, duty stares back at you, from your mother and the pacifier around her neck, her love for your family and the life she gives up for it, her love for you and how she dies anyway while you're still only a child. duty, from your family members and how they die for you and kill for you, how they do both at your command, how their lives are in the palms of your hands and how they weigh only as much as you allow them to at a time. duty, from the knowledge your foresight gives you and the shackles tied to the blood running through your veins.

your mother's only duty while she lives too. she loves you, but she'd have had to give birth to you anyway even if she didn't. she loves you, but she still gave birth to you even knowing the kind of life you'd have to live, the kind of hands you'd inevitably end up with, the burdens she'd have to lay on your shoulders, passing them down from her own. because she loves you, she finds the resolve to raise you to be able to face all of it head-on and come out on top, but she'd have had to raise you much the same way anyway even if she didn't.

(she doesn't die for you, doesn't fight to be able to keep living with you, and this, too, is your mother surrendering to duty one last time.)

(you're so sick of it, so angry at it, so hateful and resentful against it. you're so stifled by it to the point you've stopped being able to breathe for a long time now. or you would have been if they had taught you how to face duty in this way too.

it's for the better they didn't. a silver lining, sparing you pain that isn't necessary for you to go through. everyone you turn to only teaches you how to keep holding your breath longer, and you listen and learn, obedient and dutiful as you've ever been.

you're grateful for it too. really, you are.)

everywhere you look, there's no room for you to so much as question any of it, let alone anything more. duty is commendable, something you ought to look up to and strive towards, strive to achieve. duty is the right thing to do. of course it is.

(you exhale a breath of relief that shakes you down to your very core.

thank god, it's at least the right thing to do.

you're grateful for it beyond words. really, you are.)

imagine you're luce, and before it even happens, you know the choice you'll make when climbing that mountain, when standing on top of it, when waiting for a bright light to shine down on you from above. you know the choice you'll make then, even when pregnant with your daughter.

it doesn't matter since how long you knew, be it years, months, days, hours or minutes before. all that matters is that before you can even contemplate the idea of making another choice and all its implications and possible consequences, before the thought can even come alive in your mind, you already know the choice you'll make.

(you can see the future, but just because you already saw it, it doesn't mean it's now set in stone.

you can see the future, but just because you're given the chance to fight to change it, it doesn't mean it still won't happen every bit like you saw it.

it doesn't mean it can't still happen even worse than how you first saw it happen because you fought to change it, no matter how already dreadful it originally was.)

imagine you're luce, and before it even happens, you know they'll be others with you standing on top of that mountain. you're the only one who'll know it before it happens.

(because you can see the future.

and oh, you did not ask for it.)

they're strangers, people you don't owe anything to. adults who choose to show up at the first meeting, and to show up to every following mission after that. the chosen seven, whose ambitions and prides lead them to walk the path of the seven strongest too once laid down in front of them.

you don't force their hands in making any of those choices for them. you're not responsible for any of them.

you become coworkers then, accomplices, your hands stained in blood to various extent, but now dipping in the same pool of blood as you strive towards the same goal together. you have each other's backs, learn each other's strengths and weaknesses, learn each other's personalities, likes and dislikes. you keep having to spend more time together as the missions keep coming your way.

inevitably, you come to care about them. even more damning, they come to care about you in return. enough so they'll look after your daughter even after what'll happen on top of that mountain. enough so they'll look after your granddaughter too, warmly and fondly enough she'll call one of them uncle.

you're still the only one who knows they'll stand together with you on top of that mountain, not knowing what'll happen on it like you do.

and you do care about them, you swear you do. really, you do.

(you care about them the same way your mother cared about you, and how she still raised you to have steel in you and be made of sharp edges you know how to use. you care about them the same way you care about your family, and how you still send them to their deaths as needed so the rest of your family you care about just the same can keep on living longer and safely. this is the only way you've had the chance to learn how to care and love.

duty and sacrifices have been one and the same for you for as long as you can remember. it doesn't matter at which point sacrifices came to mean love to you too.

and most of all, you love your daughter more than anything else in the world.)

imagine you're luce, and this is who you are. this is who you've been raised to be, the only way you've been given room to grow up to be. this is the life you've lived and the kind of life that has shaped you as the person you are now. this is what you've been taught and told is the best version of yourself you could have grown up to be. this is who you ended up being by what you've been taught and told are all the right choices to make.

you're still the only one who knows what is about to happen on top of that mountain. it hasn't happened yet. the fate of the world hangs on what'll happen on top of that mountain, the same world you'll have to give birth to your daughter in. the same daughter you're currently pregnant with.

now imagine you're luce, look me in the eye and tell me you'd know how to even form the thought of the possibility of there being any other choice to make. look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't look at the only choice in front of you, and know deep in your bones it's the only right choice to make. that it is right of you to make it. because it simply has to be.

(imagine you're luce, and you're not doomed by the narrative. of course, you're not.

why would you need to be when the narrative has painstakingly shaped you all your life to become its perfect, faithful and dutiful sacrificial lamb?

and then, imagine you're luce, and you're even grateful for it, so, so very grateful it held up its end of the bargain too.

truly, you are.)

[nguyenfinity]

Switch is back after their Valentine's event for White Day to bring you Magic for your special someone(s)! Show your friends and fans a little appreciation in return, whether you're sailing for a Romancing Cruise or just for lifting their spirits A little bit UP!!

art-only below the cut!

[toca144]

It can be really embarrassing to have a special interest in something deemed for children. I have a special interest in puppetry/henson creations and I’m really passionate about early childhood entertainment and education (specifically public broadcasting tv for kids. I think it’s incredibly important that children have that) and me and my best friend (who also loves this stuff) are planning a trip to Sesame Place park because hell yeah we love amusement parks and we love Sesame Street. I am so excited for this trip. And I cannot express that because I am a grown ass adult excited to go to the Elmo park. I can’t even express that I love it and it’s my career goal to create stuff like Sesame Street because then people are like lmfao you want to be a puppeteer? Can a girl not want to see Elmo without shame can I not get really excited to see Big Bird?? This world is a prison.

[buttercup-barf]

Red is the colour of willpower, energy, warmth, enthusiasm, leadership, strength, determination, passion, and, of course... Love. And children's hospital floors. /ref

Happy Valentine's Day, @peachypizzicato, @toasty-self-shipping, @dingdongitmustbelove, and @askthelovenest! I hope I did your beautiful S/I's, and your malewifebabygirlboyfriends justice!

[thatfriendlyanon]

your friendship is a beam of sunlight in a cold room.

[copia]

Cool Cat 🔞 — 3.5k, copia/aurora, temperature play, blowjobs, copia's eternally overheating balls — more tags on ao3

She’d made her excuses to the concerned Ghouls—some of whom knew the plan, all of whom would hear the full tale later that night—and left to fetch the last few ice cubes the building had to offer. The rest, of course, had gone down her Papa’s pants.  Copia pulls his signature move. Aurora decides she can do one better.

for ghostober by @kroas-adtam — day 3: temperature play

[danieyells]

before I went to bed I popped open the game and was reminded that it was, in fact, my birthday lmao

("Maeve" is my PC's name btw, not mine if it was somehow unclear.)

SO MANY BIRTHDAY WISHES. I think Yuri's is my favorite simply because he's like "your birthday present is that you get to be my lab rat for the day now come on" lolol and Taiga's because he says you can take any one thing from his room and

my guy just has a loose pile of gold coins in his room can i say "a stack of gold coins" is one thing and pocket a few of them or. . . .

I also love that Haku is like "hey. c'mere." like he's trying to sell you drugs in a back alley. like why do you have to be so subtle about this? who is hunting you down?

also Jiro who just DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO so he's like. I'll spend time with you I guess? Is that good? LIKE YES BBY YOU'RE DOING GREAT SWEETIE. . .and Leo who's either going to use you to spy in on something or actually give you some kind of cool present. Or give you a birthday livestream.

JUST. GOOD SHIT ALL AROUND. I was really startled when I got the birthday message because my brain had not processed that it was Friday yet lol

[sidesteppostinghours]

WIP wednesday

tagged by @thecryptidenthusiast! this is on wednesday! dont. dont look at which wednesday it is. its on wednesday thats whats important here.

uni projects were absolutely kicking my Ass this past week so i havent been able to do much, but i do have these:

Ortega stares at the file in front of him. The new villain stares back.

Puppeteer.

Not Heartbreak. Not anymore, at least. He rubs his hands against his face, sighing. It doesn't make sense. He still remembers the jolt that went through him the first time he heard that name. Had the decncy to introduce themeself before they started breaking his bones, but in hindsight, he wishes they hadn't. His blood ran cold, and maybe his reactions did, too. Yeah, that's it. The name was a distraction; that fits with the way Puppeteer operates. That has to be the reason he lost that fight. Heartbreak: 2, Ortega: 0. But if they're looking for a reaction, why change it? Go so far as to mess with people's memories of what their name used to be? He's only grateful that the rest of the Rangers seem to remember everything the same he does. If it got bad enough to affect the team, he'd have to call in Cyrus, and he'd probably swear at him again.

was having thoughts about the "there are some perks to being a telepathic body snatcher, after all" line in the sewers when you consider potentially disliking the name picked out, and how ortega would feel about that.

"Thank you for showing me it doesn't have to be horrible." Mirlene's chest muffles your words, but you can feel her mind lighting up at them anyway.

"What?" she asks, but she is already adding up the dots. At least you can't see her face with your eyes shut and you curled in on her. "Mon couer..." "It's fine. It was a long time ago," you lie. You can feel her consider her next move, a slow, deliberate process at odds with how she normally thinks. It's no surprise when she reaches a hand out to you, and only slightly one when she leaves it hovering an inch or two above yours. Asking permission. That was always the difference between her and the scientists at the Farm. Treating this simple touch as if it's just as important as the places she put her hands on a few moments ago. You take her hand and squeeze it gratefully. "I'm sorry, mon couer," she whispers. "You should never have had to..." She can't quite finish the sentence, trailing off at the end. "I did, though." This time, you look up. There's a furrow in her brow. Too worried for something that's already passed. The kiss she places on your knuckles is gentle enough to nearly break you, though her thoughts are anything but. You can feel her fury, bubbling in the background of her mind in a muted flurry of [righteous anger and] protectiveness, but it's a feeling she puts to the side because they are secondary. Secondary to you. You are what's important to her. You are her first priority. Will the novelty ever wear off? You don't think so.

got brainblasted when i realized that theres likely eventually going to be a "thank you for showing me it doesnt have to be horrible" scene with mortum and took so much psychological damage i had to make my own take on it. MCBODY MORTUMSTEP PLEASEEEEE IM WAITING FOR YOU LIKE A LOVER LOST TO WAR

tagging uhhhhh @hyper-pixels @firststrikerr @reapersmarch andddd @glass-warehouse if yall are up for it?

[wackywatchdotcom]

actually honestly yeah theres def some sort of rotation system my brain has for discussing tadc characters.... pomnis always in the middle of the circle but whatever character i am drawing a lot is is arranged nin a circle and i just loop thru them. that or its more like a spinning wheel and it randomly selecte a character every 1-3 days for me to draw a bunch and then draw someone else