#dont count on me for anything else

[ivyglow]

It’s been forever, I miss hockeyblr and tumblr in general 🥺

[eleccy]

c'mere for a second, i need for you to look at this.

Yes, there he be. But I want you to notice something about this cell.

There's no bed. Y'know? No room for one.

But that table, the one the roses are on? That looks like it could be a night table. It's got flowers and a photo frame on it. That's almost certainly a nightstand. I don't see how it could be anything else.

He has to have a bed in there, right?

We're seeing this image from Phoenix's perspective.

So in case you haven't noticed it yet, let me spell it out for you.

Phoenix is sitting on Kristoph's bed.

Is that not the only possible place it could be in this cell? Do you want to tell me I'm wrong about this? Think it over first.

[galacticlamps]

ok I have A Lot of thoughts about the staircase confession (well really about Edwin's whole character arc, but all roads lead to rome) but for now I just wanna say that, yes, I was bracing myself for something to go terribly wrong when I first watched it, and yes, part of me was initially worried its placement might be an uncharacteristically foolish choice made in the name of Drama or Pacing or Making a Compelling Episode of Television but at the expense of narrative sense--

But I wanna say that having taken all that into account, and watched it play out, and sat with it - and honestly become rather transfixed by it - I really think it's a beautifully crafted moment and truly the only way that arc could've arrived at such a satisfying conclusion.

And if I had to pinpoint why I not only buy it but also have come to really treasure it, I'd have to put it down to the fact that it genuinely is a confession, and nothing else.

That moment is an announcement of what Edwin has come to understand about himself, but because it takes the form of a character admitting romantic feelings for such a close friend, I think it can be very easy, when writing that kind of thing, to imbue it with other elements like a plea or a request or even the start of a new relationship that, intentionally or not, would change the shape of the moment and can quickly overshadow what a huge deal the telling is all on its own. But that's not the case here. Since it is only a confession, unaccompanied by anything else, and since we see afterward how it was enough, evidently, to fix the strangeness that had grown between him & Charles, we're forced to understand that it was never Edwin's feelings that were actually making things difficult for him - it was not being able to tell Charles about them. 'Terrified' as he's been of this, Edwin learns that his feelings don't need to either disappear completely or be totally reciprocated in order for him to be able to return to the peace, stability, and security of the relationship with which he defines his existence - and the scale of that relief a) tells us a hell of a lot about Edwin as a character and b) totally justifies the way his declaration just bursts out of him at what would otherwise be such a poorly chosen moment, in my opinion.

Whether or not they are or ever could be reciprocated, Edwin's feelings are definitively proven not to be the problem here - only his potential choice to bottle it up - his repression - is. And where that repression had once been mainly involuntary, a product of what he'd been through, now that he's got this new awareness of himself, if he still fails to admit what he's found either to himself or to the one person he's so unambiguously close with, then that repression will be by his own choice and actions.

And he won't do that. Among other things, he's coming into this scene having just (unknowingly) absolved the soul of his own school bully and accidental killer by pointing out a fact that is every bit as central to his self-discovery as anything about his sexuality or his attraction to Charles is: the idea that "If you punish yourself, everywhere becomes Hell"

So narratively speaking, of course it makes sense that Edwin literally cannot get out of Hell until he stops punishing himself - and right now, the thing that's torturing him is something he has control over. It's not who he is or what he feels, but what he chooses to do with those feelings that's hurting him, and he's even already made the conscious choice to tell Charles about them, he was just interrupted. But now that they're back together and he's literally in the middle of an attempt to escape Hell, there is absolutely no way he can so much as stop for breath without telling Charles the truth. Even the stopping for breath is so loaded - because they're ghosts, they don't need to breathe, but also they're in Hell, so the one thing they can feel is pain, however nonsensical. And Edwin certainly is in pain. But whether he knows what he's about to do or not when he says he 'just needs a tick,' a breather is absolutely not what's gonna give him enough relief to keep climbing - it's fixing that other hurt, though, that will.

Like everything else in that scene, there's a lot of layers to him promising Charles "You don't have to feel the same way, I just needed you to know" - but I don't think that means it isn't also true on a surface level. It's the act of telling Charles that matters so much more than whatever follows it, and while that might have gone unnoticed if anything else major had happened in the same conversation, now we're forced to acknowledge its staggering and singular importance for what it is. The moment is well-earned and properly built up to, but until we see it happen in all its wonderful simplicity, and we see the aftermath (or lack thereof, even), we couldn't properly anticipate how much of a weight off Edwin's shoulders merely getting to share the truth with Charles was going to be, why he couldn't wait for a better, safer opportunity before giving in to that desire, or how badly he needed to say it and nothing else - and I really, really love the weight that act of just being honest, seen, and known is given in their story/relationship.

[bmpmp3]

finding out ur coworker is way older than you thought and having to very quickly reorient how you talk to them

[puppyeared]

its so hard to watch time pass when things like careers and assignments exist. what do you mean im supposed to take that seriously

[a-whole-lot-of-things]

i love dead boy detectives to death, and hope with all my being that we can Somehow pull off getting it back (through netflix or otherwise)

but honestly if we cant? if we get stuck at where we are now forever? i honestly think ill miss the potential s2 soundtrack the most

[politemagic]

cannot express to you how badly i need iii to wear this. specifically with The Red Shirt™

[writernopal]

Writing Share Tag

Thank you to @noblebs (here) and @mysticstarlightduck (here) for tagging me on these!

Tagging (gently): @daisywalletchains @tabswrites @void-botanist @noblebs @sarahlizziewrites

@commander-krios

Alright so this sneep is gonna be a little different from my usual because uh, I need to remind myself from time to time that AASOAF is a romance 😅 So here, have some Mariel and Axtapor ✨spice ✨

But how could we pretend after that? We knew one another, in ways we could never hope to conceal. So we didn’t. He came near, expression robed with lust, but still, I begged him closer. Closer until there was hardly enough room to breathe and none to think. Our hands, with enduring memories and invisible will, found buttons, clasps, and ties, liberating us of the clothes that long felt unwanted. 

Skin to scale, we gathered one another close, he, pushing my thighs apart, and I, whimpering as his claws tickled my skin. A soft swear escaped him as he scooped my hips toward his and drove into me as he’d done many times before. I exhaled a shallow breath, dropping my head back into the pillows and digging my nails into his scaled chest. He was maddening. Intoxicating. Smoldering tobacco stuffed in a pipe whose stem my lips yearned for. His claws tore at the blankets beneath us, a hushed syllable of pleasure forming itself in his throat, further stoking a dangerous feeling alive in my chest.

It burned wonderfully. 

I surrendered myself to it, singing that quiet lover’s hymn to him. Lurid lyrics melted between us, dying a sweet death between our lips, as our hips moved to the rhythm of the waves lapping against the shore. And at the interlude of that most beautiful composition, I lay my cheek against his and confessed, in the softest of voices, those three words. He, my reliable echo, filled that inches warm space between us with the same sentiment.

And so we rose and fell, rose and fell, intoxicated by the mastery of one over the other.

AASOAF 3 Taglist: @outpost51 @thelivingdeceased @faelanvance @captain-kraken @illjustpretend

@elshells @full-on-sam @the-mindless @zestymimblo @tabswrites

@void-botanist

Join/leave the taglist using this Google Form.

[typicalcommondandelion]

Shitty photo I know. Request done for @edens-garden

Ft. Player 2, generic nightgown, and skylight blush concept courtesy of @/8o8o8o8o8

Oh also bush btw that's bush. I know it looks like strange crotch darkness. It's bush.

[mellotronmkll]

I need to stop having one weird reaction with someone and then letting the anxiety decide in my head that the friendship is doomed because I ruined it like it's my absolute worst trait and I just have to move past it but it's hard

[mwagneto]

i think what's really been getting to me the past few months is the realisation that i dont relate to literally any of the mental health stuff i see anywhere. like whenever there's some affirmation or motivation or just relatable-sounding posts in general they all seem like such common problems and it's like, damn i literally dont experience any of that. and yet im still crumpling. something uniquely wrong with me

[deus-ex-mona]

such is the tale of a ✨chronically online hypocrite✨

[anxiously-sidequesting]

I know we as a fandom all love to shit on Duncan whenever we get the chance (see: me posting Duncan GruncanWuncan) especially since the like, two times we ever see him he's shitting on us for being ourselves then tries to kill us because of his own delusions of grandeur but I thought about it and I was like, "......man that's kinda Sad actually"

BECAUSE seeing this from Duncan's perspective; he's The Best, he always has been the best, but reality constantly shows him that isn't true (Malorn, The Wizard, anyone else)

Like imagine how painful that can be when you think something that you truly deserved and something that you've fought for, maybe for your entire life, is seemingly handed to others who aren't nearly as deserving as you

And yeah WE know that Duncan has neither worked (very hard, at least) for his perceived greatness NOR does he truly """deserve""" it (Duncan has been shown to be shirking his duties off to us and possibly others for his own gain), but DUNCAN doesn't know this. Like in his mind he truly, honestly, genuinely believes with his whole fragile heart that he is just above everyone else and puts more effort in trying to convince others of that rather than literally just trying to work towards that himself

And then there's the extra added insult that even in his own class he's pretty mediocre. Duncan INSISTS that he was Malistaire's best student and that he praised Duncan maybe once and that all other Death students only wish they could be like him, but... Malorn. And I bet deep down Duncan KNOWS that in fact Malorn was Malistaire's best and most talented. And Duncan can't even really twist that in his mind because it was made solid when Malorn took over Malistaire's duties instead of him. It was proven as a hard fact that Malorn was more suited to the job than Duncan was and is widely recognized as being The Best Death student (if the YW isn't a Necromancer)

Okay so fine. Whatever it's just Death right? At least Duncan can be the best at ANYTHING ELSE, maybe he's not the most talented Necromancer but there's 6 more types of magic to excel in!!!

But then another person ruins that. The Young Wizard poofs in from another world and suddenly, Duncan is overshadowed once more because a literal child prodigy and Local Hero arrives and literally saves their world and then, the universe. Multiple times in fact

Like bro I can imagine that could be at least a little bit painful for anyone, but imagine with Duncan's already low self-esteem and his fragile, large ego, he literally and genuinely took that personally and a hit to your pride is devastating for anyone, no matter who you are. That was like, Strike Three for Duncan and it was so very personal and important to him that it left him in a deep and vulnerable state

But I think the absolute saddest part of Duncan's downfall is that near the end, he was ultimately manipulated by an adult. A grown ass adult noticed and acknowledged his insecurities and purposely struck where it hurts the most, in his weakest state. Duncan already wasn't thinking clearly from the start but when everything went to shit for him and he was clinging, Gretta DarkKettle approached him and completely broke him down to make him into something else entirely for the Schism's benefit.

Of course Duncan was a piece of shit from the start but he truly didn't have any malicious intentions until Gretta messed with his mind. Like, he went from a pretty much harmless bully to an actual criminal of the state and a threat to the literal universe. Duncan was CORRUPTED and all of his worst fears and delusions were solidified the moment Gretta """validated""" those feelings Duncan had.

Is Duncan completely blameless? Fuck no he did some fucked up shit actually and I'm glad he was held accountable for it by the narrative and the fandom!!! But I think it's something to be said that at the end of the day, Duncan was still a child that was suffering from many type of issues before being recruited and manipulated by a powerful literal cult. Wizard101 does have a theme of malicious intending and less than responsible adults using children to get what they want (Malistaire, Morganthe's brother, GF Spider, GM Raven, coughcoughAmbrose) but unlike the Young Wizard who successfully stays true to themselves despite that, Duncan had a more Morganthe-like route and ultimately succumbed to it. Of course their situations are a lot different since the YW wasn't brought in by a cult, but you can't help but feel bad for someone so young being preyed on by older people who are supposed to look out for them and protect them from something just LIKE that.

I will always shit on Duncan because it's funny and hold him accountable for his actions because he should, but I also feel bad for him and I hope he had a better ending after he was defeated

[sketchy-tour]

OH! As we were on topic of commissions, I have a lil question to ask!

How would you feel if anyone commissioned someone else to draw your Welcome Home oc with theirs? Are there any rules you’d like to imply? Do they have to show you what was commissioned? Should they show you any and every message that was used during commission process?

Gah! I have so many more questions but these are the main ones! My friend (you might know them 🤭) wants to commission someone and they wanted to use your oc but they though it would be better to ask before proceeding if you’d like for them to not use your oc!

SOMEONE WANTS TO COMMISSION ANOTHER ARTIST???? TO DRAW MY OC???????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWAAAAH

OH OH UM UH- Hmmm well! This is something a little new for me but ohhh I'm so absolutely flattered and honored and giddy and BOUNCING AND SPINNING! Some things I suppose I could think of um-

Overall I do not mind if someone wanted to commission their oc interacting with Dandy! It sounds so sweet and cute and I would LOVE to see it!!! Would love a tag or to be shown! As long as you're also okay with me grabbing said piece with my grubby lil hands and saving it and stashing it with my other Dandy arts!

I would like to say that I would prefer it not be, like, ship art unless you're someone that I know who I have an established ship with! 100% okay with silly little interactions tho!

Please don't...commission anything weird! Keep it SFW! I don't mind horror or anything but you know what I mean! 👍(This and the lil tid bit above would apply for fanart too of course of course)

If you're ever unsure on what you're wanting to commission is okay with me, always feel free to ask!

Other than that, yea! I caaant think of anything else rn! I don't really think I'd need to see, like, the messages or anything! And again I am!!!!! AA!!! Oh but hello if its someone I know I wonder why they didn't message me! I promise I'm not scary! (oh unless its a surprise! Teehee silly)

[eclaire-went-bam]

morals are so confusing sometimes. it's not like i'm trying to do anything malicious, it just doesn't occur to me that most people see these things as bad — to me, some things are just kind of a means to an end and if nobody gets genuinely hurt idrc ??

if i let someone borrow something and they're not giving it back, i don't really see anything wrong with telling a lie about the importance of that item to guilt trip someone into giving it back (eg, so & so gave this to me before they died & it's rlly important to me so i really would appreciate it if i got this back soon ...). not because i want to go outta my way to make someone feel bad, but that's just how i view the world. they are probably maliciously keeping my stuff, so just talking to them wouldn't be enough. so why shouldn't i?

i don't see an issue in hacking into my parents email so i can get the verification code for a family streaming service, it takes me a really long time for it to click that actually People Don't Like Someone Going Thru Their Private Stuff even though i'm not trying to find anything but the verification email

type of things that i don't really realise could genuinely upset someone until i think about it a lot and ask someone for their opinion. i could realistically just ask and communicate better, but i often fall into the pit on never relying on anybody to do something when i put a task in their hands. that will only end up hurting or disappointing me.

oftentimes in trying to watch my own back and keep myself safe from nonexistent problems, i somehow create them

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...