#and btw in case anyone was wondering

[darkthare]

For your own safety, maintain a 10 ft distance from the German shepherd

[grayskiesandink]

This is the reference sheet I totallytyyyy 100% drew for Prism (Far from the Sun!Ink)

Sol can be found here

(Far from the Sun co-owned with @azurem)

(OG Ink owned by Comyet)

post explaining the basics of the AU here

[balimaria]

Salmon slammin! He wears those waders for a reason, right?

[deerdogs]

bad: i saw that outfit you wore yesterday- i saw that outfit! (implying the suit tempted pangi) lukey: -and you saw his dress? (implying pangi's dress tempted. him)

[hmsthunderchild]

There's something moving under the ice. Trying to get out of the cold water.

It's me.

[byleahgracie]

“My GF is the [Literal] Devil” launching soon! A little art today of my girls, as a treat, for me 😌

Set in a small New England town in the late 2000’s, Clara, pictured on the right, tries summoning a demon, which she thinks fails. The next day, however, a beautiful transfer student arrives at her school, and everything about this new girl seems too good and perfect to be true. Clara starts suspecting that something sinister might be lurking behind this New Girl Lucy’s perfect face. She might just be… the very demon that Clara tried summoning!!! Clara now has to contend with her growing feelings for Lucy, as well as being caught up in the battle between heaven vs hell…

[corviiids]

i get the lines blur but there IS a big difference between media which doesn't explicitly tell/show you precisely what happens in the end but does point pretty clearly down the intended road vs legitimate open endings where you're supposed to decide what happens completely on your own and multiple interpretations would be supported

[paulmccartneyexplodingonstage]

Voormann-inspired sketches

fucking or fighting? is there any difference in hamburg?

[ssparksflyy]

thinking of jason grace falling in love with you, who just so happens to be dating percy while he's at chb

"if you were a teacher, i would fail your class, take it over and over until you notice me"

but its the way his favorite time of day would be having a one-on-one training session with you, letting you win most of the time just to see the prideful smile on your face, and to hear the occasional compliment you'd give him when he actually tried and won

"if you were a waiting room, i would never see a doctor i would sit there with my first aid kit and bleed"

but its the way that he knows he's only hurting himself being with you, and that you dont feel the same. he tells himself this everyday but still refuses to do himself the favor and try to let go of his feeling for you, he'd rather go through the pain of your unrequited feelings if it meant he got to spend time with you

"who am i to ask for more, more, more?"

but its the way hes very cautious with you. terrified that one lingering touch will ruin the friendship he built with you. he takes whatever you'll give him, whether it be time, attention, words, anything because he knows he cant ask for anymore of it

"youre the gun in my lips that will blow my brains out"

but its the way he knows whats coming. he knows that one day you'll reunite with your boyfriend, leaving him alone once again. technically, he wouldnt be alone, not really. he'd have piper and leo there with him at very least, but they didnt know him the way you do. he tells you things hes never told anyone else, they just wont be able to fill the hole in the heart he's currently helping you dig. he knows that all of this it true, but hes already thrown another pile of dirt behind his shoulder, now digging even further into his own heart.

"know its for the better, know its for the better, know its for the better"

is what he repeats to himself over and over when that day does come. its what he says to himself as he watches you leap into percy's arms, attaching your lips to his. it's what he'll continue to say to himself as he watches you two make up for the time you lost together, walking around camp jupiter, what once was his home, hand in hand, close enough to set jason's whole body ablaze in jealousy and hurt. he only starts to say it to himself more once you're all on the argo ii together. he'll say it before he gets up in the morning and then again before he goes to sleep, then again when he gets a moment alone after seeing you looking out onto the sea with the son of poseidon himself - remembering the time you watched a thunderstorm outside with him, eyes glues to the sky. it's what he'll say to himself years later before his final breath when he's still thinking of you, and knows that maybe you'll care, maybe even cry, but you'll have percy by your side, the way it should be.

[wormonastriing-moving]

Hey gamers, long time no see!

Despite how much has happened in my life this year, I've come out okay and I'm happy to say I survived! Now that I'm in a better place, I do miss this account very much ;_;

I think I want to rejoin the t-community but I want to start fresh! Partly because I really like bluesky and I want to make something there too?

I'll keep everyone updated but! Yeah!

ALSO for those who commissioned me: I've been going through everyone to give refunds bc I frankly wasn't able to draw for a whiiiile and the time was much too long! If you didn't receive a refund, PLEASE let me know!

[marlynnofmany]

Clues

Even though it was mid-afternoon on our spaceship, the local time for this part of the planet was early morning. Zhee and I strolled over from the spaceport to the store where a package was waiting for pickup, expecting to arrive right when it opened, but nope: we were early. Most of the stores on this city street were still closed and dark, lit by the vivid pink sunrise and ignored by passing hovercars. Window cleaners soaped up the big front windows of our destination: a good-sized jewelry/accessory store.

The cleaners were a pair of Strongarms, which made this a fascinating career choice. I’d seen Mimi climb all over the engine parts on our ship. I knew his tentacles had good enough suction for this sort of thing. But these two were small and particularly athletic, and they had climbed to the top of the window, cleaning from the top down, erasing their suction cup marks as they went. If their cleaning tools had been the messy old-fashioned kind, there probably would have been too much dripping to make that possible, but these professionals were cleaning fast with nary a slip.

Zhee didn’t care. “How inconsiderate of the proprietor to not be here early to meet us,” he said with an irritated click of his pincher arms. The pink sunrise reflected off his purple exoskeleton, making him more colorful than usual. He probably would have been proud of that if he wasn’t busy being annoyed. “Waiting here is boring. Let’s see if that shop has anything worth looking at.” He flicked an antenna at the storefront two doors over, which had just turned on its light.

“Sure,” I agreed, “We can at least look through the window if they’re not open yet.”

Zhee grumbled something that made me suspect he might badger them into letting us in even if they weren’t.

Luckily I didn’t have to talk him out of being rude; the store was open after all. It was a little shop full of miscellaneous knickknacks and multi-species food items. Plenty of things to look at. The Frillian shopkeep was delighted to sell us both snacks: gummy intestine candy for Zhee (ew) and mixed nuts for me. I’d had that brand before, and was sure that it didn’t hold anything alien that would give me unexpected allergies.

(I haven’t been allergic to any food yet that was rated for human consumption, but I wasn’t about to take chances.)

I also picked up a packet of the heat stickers that Paint and the others liked, since they were on sale and the shopkeep was excited about this new item.

“Do you get a lot of Heatseekers here?” I asked.

“Oh no, but these have many uses,” she told me, typing in the price. “Other species like to be warm as well, especially if they are headed in a cold direction. And my cousin uses them to warm food! I expect these will be very popular.”

“I expect so,” I agreed.

Zhee was at the door, looking toward the other shop, and he made a little “aha” noise. I finished my purchase, thanked the shopkeep, then joined him in heading back toward the place we’d meant to visit.

I carried my purchases in a nifty Waterwill bag; the shopkeep hadn’t been as excited about that as the heat stickers, so maybe they were old hat here. But I still found the concept of hard water fascinating. It occurred to me that the waterbag and the heat stickers could probably make an awful lot of steam together, especially if handled improperly. I’d be back on the ship soon, though, and the bag could melt into regular water safely in the sink.

The window cleaners were just packing up as we arrived, and the angle of the sun made their work shine. Not a suction cup mark to be seen. I gave them a polite nod while Zhee tried the doors. Still locked, but lights were on inside, as well as the morning sun. Someone moved near the counter. When Zhee rapped on the door and waved a pincher, they hurried forward. It looked like another Mesmer.

The door opened. “Are you the couriers?” snapped a blue-white bug man who was slightly shorter than Zhee. I was a terrible judge of Mesmer ages, but he sounded older. He spoke directly to Zhee.

“Yes,” Zhee said. “From the good ship Slap the Stars.”

“Great. Come with me.” He ushered us inside and re-locked the door, not so much as batting an antenna at our excellent ship name. No sense of fun, this guy.

As we walked between the aisles of shiny merchandise — bracelets and bangles and exoskeleton accents — distant shouting filtered through the closed door in the back. Somebody sounded mad.

“Wait here,” said the Mesmer, gesturing toward the front counter. Then he disappeared into the back room.

Somebody was definitely mad. When the door opened, I caught something about professionalism, in a tone that suggested this was a boss dressing down employees.

A glance at Zhee told me he had no idea either.

When the Mesmer came back — who never did introduce himself, I realized — he was carrying a high-end stasis case for shipping, and he walked quickly. I still caught a few words that sounded like a demand for someone to fess up.

“Everything okay back there?” I asked.

He ignored me. “This must arrive in pristine condition,” he told Zhee, setting the case on the counter.

“Of course,” Zhee said.

I had the tablet for him to sign for the pickup, and I held it out wordlessly. The guy snatched it out of my hands, holding it with one pincher arm and typing with the little wrist fingers on his other. His antennae were scowling.

Zhee gestured to the back room. “Is someone being disappointing?”

“Yes!” he snapped. “One of the night workers has been coming out to the storefront, and leaving display items on the floor! And they refuse to admit who!” He shove the tablet back at me, waving at one of the aisles. Now that he mentioned it, there was an empty display case at the top, with the glass door swung wide.

“Foolish thing to do,” Zhee said.

“Extremely! There is no reason for it, and we are going to find out who!”

Since he was ranting at Zhee and not me, I stepped over to where I could see better. A half-dozen glittery arm cuffs were arranged in a circle on the floor. Weird.

He kept going. “I’m sure it was a human, because of those filthy little marks they leave on everything they touch. The only reason we employ them in the crafting sector is because all the items are cleaned before they’re presented to paying customers. The only one who works up front is under strict orders to wear gloves at all times. But now one of them is sneaking out here and fondling the merchandise! And leaving it on the floor!”

I took a closer look at the door to the display case. Yeah, those looked like human fingerprints, lit up guiltily by the morning sun.

Zhee asked, “Any clues about which human it is?”

“No. I’m not even ruling out the one with the gloves, because this behavior makes no sense, and gloves can be taken off. I swear, I’m this close to firing the lot of them.”

I walked back over to join them. “You know every human’s fingerprint is different, right?”

They both looked at me in silence, which was answer enough.

I said, “If you have your employees all leave prints on something else, you should be able to just match them up.”

The shopkeep’s antennae and mandibles flared into a complicated shape. “WHAT.”

“Sure.” I looked at my own fingers. “Mine are a kind of oval loop, though some people have perfect spirals or a gentle wave.”

He clacked both pinchers. “And you would be able to say which one matches those marks?”

“I should be,” I said, hurrying back over for a closer look. “At the very least, I can narrow it down for you. These are nice and clear. We just need to get a clean set from everybody else that’s not smudged.”

“Yes.” He looked around the storefront full of shiny, valuable things. He frowned. “We’ll have to let them touch something.”

I looked too. “Oh! What about the window?”

He stared at it for a moment. “Acceptable.”

Zhee was skeptical. “Will the culprit deliberately smear their marks?”

“Then that will be a sign of guilt,” the shopkeep hissed.

“What if there are multiple smudges from clumsiness? You might want to prepare for more than one round of dirtying your window.”

He hissed again. “I will make them do it right the first time.”

I had an idea. “What if you told them they were touching the window for a different reason?”

Both sets of bug eye turned toward me. “Such as?”

I fished the pack of heat stickers out of my bag. “Do you think they know what these are?”

The shopkeep leaned his head forward. “What are they?”

“Heat stickers. But! We could pretend they’re lie detectors.”

We could, and we did. It was a silly way to get fingerprints, but I’d read about fictional detectives who’d gone to more elaborate lengths to solve a mystery than this. And it might even work.

The big front windows had a row of shelves under them that meant our suspects would have to lean forward slightly in order to whisper their statements of innocence. They would need to press their hands against the window for balance.

I let Zhee pretend to be the visiting expert while I stuck heat stickers to the window. He did a good job of acting mysterious and aloof while he explained things to the gaggle of employees that the other Mesmer herded out.

As promised, only some were humans. The others were Strongarms with a couple Waterwills. No Heatseekers ready to ask awkward questions about the suspiciously familiar looking “lie detectors made for banks.”

(They had to be mounted somewhere stable, you see, and the suspect had to be close enough to breathe on them. They were normally warm, and would change colors and turn cold when they detected lies. Totally believable.)

Really, it didn’t matter if they believed it or not. They all lined up, looking baffled, and did as their two hissing bosses commanded. The Mesmer from the back room, a large green-and-brown lady who would have been great at hide and seek in the forests of my home, told the humans to go first.

Then when they had all left prints on the window, she told the rest not to bother. While they looked even more confused, she waved me forward with the door to the display case. It had detached neatly, perfect for carrying around and comparing fingerprints.

I held it by the corners and took a close look at the first set. “Not this one,” I announced. “Too triangular.”

Behind me, a human woman asked incredulously, “Are you checking fingerprints?”

“Yup!” I told her, moving on to the next.

The other humans had a variety of reactions to that. An older guy laughed, a younger woman was worried that her hands might be dirty with crafting materials, and others made indistinct noises. Some of the non-human employees asked for an explanation of what was happening.

I kept up my sleuthing, hoping that the prints were all as different as the first couple. I didn’t want to look like I didn’t actually know what I was doing.

“OH MY GOD,” a guy burst out. “It was a marriage proposal, okay? I thought Sierra would be the one to find it.”

I turned around at that, and found one of the humans spilling the beans.

“I’m sorry I didn’t just ask you,” he said to the woman next to him. “I wanted it to be special, like the rock circles we used to leave each other under the tree. I put a note at the top of the earring display, because it looks like a tree.”

I looked at the display he pointed at. I couldn’t see a note from here, but it was distinctly tree-shaped.

The two Mesmer bosses loomed over the guy. “This was courtship?” asked the tall one. “Not a deliberate effort to let our valuables get stepped on or stolen?”

“No!” the guy said. “I’d never do that! I really thought she’d be the only one to see it in the morning, and she’d just put them back and find my note.”

The woman, Sierra, shook her head. “I got moved to the adhesives section. I haven’t been over here all week.”

The man put his hands over his face while the bosses conferred.

“If you promise to never tamper with the displays again, you may keep your job,” the tall one told him.

“I’ll never do it again,” he said. “I don’t have to — I think?” That last was aimed at Sierra.

Her answer was a dramatic kiss that made the rest of the humans applaud and the Mesmers step back in distaste.

“If you are quite done eating each other’s faces,” said the smaller Mesmer, “You are both assigned to cleaning the window and the display of all traces of human filth. Do not leave more.”

“Yes sir,” they chorused.

The other humans gave them congratulatory pats on the back, and exclamations of relief that the whole mess was over. The non-humans seemed mostly relieved. A couple still looked confused, but clearly didn’t want to ask for details.

I handed over the display case door, then peeled a heat sticker off the window. “Guess we won’t need these anymore.”

Everybody went back to what they were supposed to be doing. The night shift got their things together to go home, while the day shift took over the crafting section and opened the store for business. More lights came on. Someone unlocked the front door. Zhee convinced the bosses to reimburse us for the heat stickers. That was nice; I still had more in the pack. And these would be warm for a while still.

I peeled off the last one and decided against putting them in the waterbag. No good making the thing evaporate on the way back to the ship. Instead, I stuck a finger between each and got a fistful of stickers held by their edges. My hand was only a little hot, and it would be a short walk. Speaking of which…

“Let’s go,” Zhee said, pincher arms full of the shipping case.

I opened the door and held it while he passed. Taking up my position at the window was the happy couple, equipped with their own window-cleaning supplies. Luckily they wouldn’t have to reach as far up as the Strongarms had.

They were talking quietly about finding new jobs where they could have the same sleep schedule. And hopefully bosses that didn’t mind a fingerprint or two.

I smiled and let the door shut, leaving fingerprints only on the handle.

~~~

These are the ongoing backstory adventures of the main character from this book.

Shared early on Patreon! There’s even a free tier to get them on the same day as the rest of the world.

The sequel novel is in progress (and will include characters from these stories. I hadn’t thought all of them up when I wrote the first book, but they’re too much fun to leave out of the second).

[lavernius]

Never forget that Lopez is canonically a socialist.

[vibesoda]

basically iterum: chapter 7

[is-this-fascism]

my dad is a boomer born in the 60s. he had a preacher father, served in the vietnam war, then spent the rest of his working life in a cushy office position for a good company. he was middle class, and it showed in his spending habits as well as his values and what he tried to teach me.

i always, always considered him out of touch, even from a young age. i could always see that he didn't know what he was doing with me, so his parenting often rolled off my back and i sort of raised myself. i could never meet his expectations of becoming a Good American Citizen with a Degree and a Career. he didnt understand how hard it is to get a job. he told me multiple times to just walk into a warehouse and ask for a job, to which i always replied 'that's tresspassing and they'd just tell me to go to their website and apply.'

now my dad is retired, and now he's poor. i can't imagine how much of a disappointing shock it is to get to his age thinking you're gonna retire into a nice RV and travel the country with your wife, only to be bogged down by unreasonable medical bills and abandoned by the company you worked decades for. not to mention TWO of his kids are homeless. he's having a hard time.

and part of me really wants to rub it in his face and go 'i told you it aint easy out here! i told you your spending habits were horrible! i told you im not terrible with money. i TOLD YOU things are fucked!'

but honestly, he gets it. it didnt take him very long at all to understand my position and start praising me for my survival skills and resilience. that kind of praise isn't something i'm used to hearing from him.

even though he's never really going to be liberal (not that he was ever really all that conservative) he understands now that things are fucked in this country. poverty does that to people. it doesn't matter who you are, or what you believe. you are always at risk of being a victim to the system, and once it happens you can never trust that system again.

[xray-vex]

hey remember when the OFMD s2 teaser video dropped and there were people who were somehow CONVINCED that Stede was referring to Izzy when he said "I don't care what any of you say, he's actually a good guy" and not, y'know, Ed, whom they were literally just talking about in this scene?

like what the hell was that about

[schmeap]

never let me play games i WILL waste my own time

btw my final score was

and I discovered some pretty interesting fun facts about score, such as "you're really not supposed to have more than 9999 but it's a true value and 90% of interactions just add to (or subtract from) a true number so there's nothing actually stopping you from going higher"

im super rich now. thanks for the converter, IDIOT