#free heap

[horizonlandscape]

Free Heap

[septimus-heap]

List of things that would fix merrin meredith:

Electric guitar

Shampoo

Becoming transgender

Job at an aquarium

My chemical romance

Therapy i guess

One of those bins of shiny rocks u get a little bag of

Food with spices in it

A gun with which to shoot domdaniel

Black nail polish

Monster energy drink

[prettyflyshyguy]

You ever just forget you got turned into a vampire, wake up from a really weird dream and immediately flashbang yourself with the hotel lamp?

[nattikay]

It had all happened so fast.

Sitting cross-legged in the tsahìk’s freshly-woven marui, Neytiri found it difficult to believe how different her life had been hardly four months prior. Engaged to her late sister’s beloved. Struggling to fill the role of tsakarem in said sister’s place. Filled with bitterness toward the sky people who had killed her just a few years before…

She’d wanted nothing more to do with those aliens. Nothing more to do with that school. She’d known Grace Augustine since she was very young, almost as long as she could remember, and she’d always been kind, but not even Grace could protect Sylwanin from those nasty metal weapons. Not Sylwanin, not Neytep, not Anuk…

No. She’d been so angry at the sky people, at all of them, even Grace and her scientists, that she’d been ready to shoot that one clumsy dreamwalker on sight the moment she first saw him stumbling through the underbrush.

And yet…so much had happened since then. 

Bringing that dreamwalker back to Hometree, at Eywa’s insistence. Her mother forcing her to become his teacher. Teaching him the ways of the Omatikaya, and those of the Na'vi more broadly…annoyed at first, but gradually softening as he actually seemed to take her instruction to heart. He’d been a quick learner, surprisingly humble, endlessly curious like a small child, and about as coordinated as one too, at first. Without even realizing it, as his understanding and abilities grew, so did her affection for him…an affection that must have been mutual, because before she knew it they were mating in the soft glow of Utraya Mokri, unabashedly sealing their bond before Eywa, commiting to each other for life. Neytiri’s face tinged the slightest purple at the memory. It certainly hadn’t come with all the bells and whistles of a normal mating ceremony, but she couldn’t bring herself to regret it.

…but then…the sky people ruined that too, the great metal claws of their crass machines ripping down the sacred trees with careless abandon. They came for Hometree soon after, decimating the village Neytiri had grown up in, and taking several lives with it. Including her father. She’d watched him die there in the rubble. Just like Sylwanin. 

She’d been so angry at Jake. He had known about the impending arrival of the sky people and their fire-spitting beasts the whole time. Why hadn’t he told them? Why hadn’t he told her? But…he was a dreamwalker, after all. A sky person’s mind riding a false body. Just like Grace, who couldn’t save Sylwanin. They were all the same. They were always the same—

…yet then he returned to the clan as Toruk Makto, and in that moment Neytiri understood with startling certainty that despite any poor decisions he may have made in the past, he really was on the clan’s side now, he was ready to risk everything for them and for Pandora, and he had the endorsement of Eywa herself.

The relief was enough to make her head spin.

Then came the death of Grace, despite the clan’s valiant effort to save her. Then the great battle in the mountains. Seze’s death. Tsu'tey’s. So many other allies…the survivors saved only by Eywa’s miraculous intervention.

Killing the sky people’s olo'eyktan in his beastly metal machine. Saving Jake’s sky person body, which could not breath the natural air (and, she discovered that day, could not even walk on its own). Sending the surviving sky people back to their own world, save for a few who had sided with the Na'vi.

Recuperating the clans. Building a new village. Tending to battle wounds. Grieving the fallen. 

So much had happened.

It had been barely more than four months since Neytiri first aimed her bow at that strange dreamwalker.

It had all been so fast. Like a dream.

And now…

Now…

Neytiri’s trembling fingertips traced a light, shaky pattern across her own abdomen.

A baby.

She was going to have a baby. She and her mate. Her husband, the former dreamwalker.

Maybe I’m still dreaming.

Continue reading on Ao3→

[syncrovoid-presents]

Alastor's Deal (Thoughts, Theories, and some Predictions)

This won't answer the who, but aims to dig into the why, and plausibly narrow down the terms of the deal. Long post ahead!

Evidence

First off, the finale was incredible! But what Alastor's song showed was that his ""death"" against Adam wasn't entirely a surprise, but rather planned. Alastor's song revealed that he was looking for a loop in the contract, a way to slip past the deal without having to directly break it. He already made a deal with Charlie for a favour, but that might have been a safety net of sorts, something to guarantee himself a fighting chance if his "dying for the hotel" plan failed.

His surprise was at how fast it happened, not that he nearly died. Alastor craves control, he wears his smile for control, he makes deals for control, his magic highly influenced by controlling others too. His Modus Operandi is control, and he faced the battle it started with him being in control. He was outwitting Adam, he was faster, sneakier, even kept his hands behind his back while dodging just to show how little effort it took. But Adam's weapon sending an angelic beam of power? That wasn't in his plan, that wasn't in his control.

Control is something Alastor seeks over everything, which is why the deal is so brutal for him. The deal takes control from him, and his constant smiling and jokes and contained urges for violence is him trying to have some sort of freedom. It's highly implied that, unless it's for the hotel, he hasn't used his magic for his own reasons. He hasn't eaten or killed anyone unless it is for the hotel, and even that was implied to happen only during the Mimzy incident. He hasn't gotten to make any deals either, at least no real deals, no deals for souls.

I'm far from the first one to say that his deal is forcing him to help the hotel, but it's only now that we see the true extent. Alastor's entire personality, goals, and being has been changed against his will. He is now a tool for the hotel, the sword and shield, the magical provider, bringing them whatever they need to succeed despite the odds. Without him, it would just be Charlie, Vaggie, and Angel Dust. Sir Pentious wouldn't have joined, repairs would've taken far longer, the staff would've been just Charlie and Vaggie, et cetera. Even his deals are just him trying to gain something out of helping the hotel.

Alastor is bound to the hotel and his powers are also bound to the hotel. He cannot be selfish, he cannot do anything unless it's for the hotel no matter how desperately he wants to do otherwise. And yet it seems like his powers are limited too.

Alastor has immense levels of powers, so much that he was taking down a large portion of the angel army single handedly. Had Adam not been there, it's not outlandish to claim that Alastor could have taken down the angel army by himself. This is why he was feared. This is why "no one crosses the radio demon". If these are his powers when their limited, imagine just how powerful he truly is?

The last evidence I'll state before moving on is that Alastor didn't return back to the hotel until it was rebuilt, yet still didn't use his magic to cause chaos.

To simplify, on his end the deal forces him to use his immense power for the benefit of the hotel. He cannot actively do anything to bring harm to it, and he cannot use his magic unless it's for the good of the hotel. And he cannot escape from the deal if the hotel is destroyed, so the deal isn't about the physical hotel, but rather the concept of it. As long as the hazbin hotel exists in the heart of those involved, Alastor is bound to help.

Why?

Now the why? I believe that, whoever he made the deal with him was, they want the hotel to succeed. Not only that, I believe that by forcing Alastor to stay there and help while limiting his capability for violence, they are also trying to rehabilitate Alastor.

Wherever Alastor was before the hotel opened, it was somewhere where he couldn't interact with anyone. He was forced to be gone, only until the hotel opened. If the theories of Alastor making a deal with Lilith is true, then Lilith's character is important to consider. From what we know she is powerful and worked to bring dekonkind together. And that she too disappeared 7 years ago.

It's confirmed that Alastor destroyed many of the worse evils that existed in hell, the only ancient overlords that remain are civil and take part of overlord meetings. They are controlled, contained. There's more structure, and the only truly out of control, dangerous demon to remain would have been Alastor. It's possible that Lilith realized that she could use him to "clean up hell", waiting her time until Alastor was the last remaining biggest threat. That was when she pounced, seven years ago to capture him in a deal. We don't know why he would accept such a limiting deal, but I'd wager that it could have been for his life (either she was threatening him, or he nearly died and made a deal for his life).

Now that the deal is made, Alastor can't bring mindless chaos. If anything he is doing the most to help demons be saved from the extermination either through redemption or protection (we also didn't see him prior to the last, so perhaps he's also bound to protect during the extermination too?).

All while Alastor is handling and ensuring the success of the largest and most helpful demon-centered support system, Lilith is on vacation. Almost like Alastor is acting in her role, a mimicry of a spiritual successor of sorts. He's helping rally the demons together, helping shape Charlie into a better leader, helping prove demons can be redeemed. All while Alastor is either witness, participant, or manager of the strategies used to redeem sinners. Alastor is only a few steps away from taking part of the redemption program himself.

If Alastor's deal was with Lilith, then she's getting everything she could want. All the uncontrollable evils/overlords destroyed, a muzzle on (one of the most) powerful sadistic demons, someone to help guide her daughter, help demons redeem themselves, protection for her citizens from being killed or further tortured, and she finally gets a vacation. She'd be getting everything she could want, with the bonus of possibly rehabilitating Alastor in the process.

It's no wonder Alastor is so desperate to break out of the deal, to find a backdoor in the contract. This goes against everything he stands for. The stories of him broadcasting screams? Of killing overloards and owning soul after soul after soul? That is the real him, and it isn't exaggerated. If Alastor wasn't chained, he'd have the power and strength to destroy large swaths of hell himself. If he decided to do his own extermination with angelic weapons? He could kill as many demons as the angels do and more, because he wouldn't be limited by a single day period.

If his deal is with someone else? We simply don't have enough information yet to name them then. Whoever it is, they would have to believe in demonkind's potential for improvement, and possibly fear what Alastor is able to do.

Predictions

The last thing I want to touch upon is how Alastor might be able to escape the deal. First is what he tried, which is "dying" for the hotel. Or, more precisely, for everyone involved in the hotel, it was as if he died, so why would they still depend on him?

Next would be for the hotel to be destroyed, and considering that we don't know if Alastor was briefly free while he recovered or if he was just hiding out somewhere new because he couldn't stay in the hotel because it didn't exist, this one is still iffy. If part of his deal is staying at the hotel to actively protect it, the he was temporarily freed from that condition. Yet once it was rebuilt Alastor returned, proving that the destruction of the hotel building wouldn't free him.

The next possible way could be the death of the hazbin hotel spirit. If Alastor (or outside forces) were able to destroy Charlie's hope for the hotel just like Lucifer's dreams were crushed, perhaps Alastor would be freed. Considering how the finale went, it would take a lot for this to happen.

My final idea, and the one I predict will happen, is that Alastor outfits the person he made the deal with. He doesn't find a true "out", but rather will manipulate them into giving his power back. And this? I believe that Alastor's deal with Charlie was made for this reason.

If indeed the deal was with Lilith, and part of the deal seems to be ensuring Charlie's dreams come true, then Charlie is a delightful way for Alastor to manipulate the situation. How? Who knows, but I think that this will be a large part of the conflict of season 2.

[miodiodavinci]

THANK FUCKING GOD I CAN FINALLY TAKE A BREAK AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[rad-roche]

What kind of brushes do you use for your sketches? I love the multicolored look of em and want to use em in my own drawings!!

i flit from brush to brush typically, especially for sketching since (usually) i end up merging everything down and painting over it. right now i'm using a chunky mechanical pencil i found for free. but my secret... i typically work in black and white! sketches, paintings, most of it. i can work and paint in colour, but it's not my go-to.

you get the look through gradient maps. in csp it's under layer -> correction layer -> gradient map. pick one and and set the blending mode to what you like. i typically do 'colour' and bump the opacity down if it's overwhelming. looks really great with pictures with a lot of opacity variation, like sketches

it can look really digital and artifacted, but i like that. hope that helps!

[spaghett-onaplate]

i wasn't that sick but I took a couple days off and I am so frustrated with myself for doing absolutely nothing productive whenever I'm home. does that frustration lead me to change those behaviours, however? no!

[sugarsnappeases]

Hello, can i rate your micro fics

only if you give them all five stars and absolutely no notes cxxxx

[redvelvetwishtree]

Hope everyone who was putting up a show about boycotting the FIFA World Cup in Qatar is also boycotting Eurovision.

[astranauticus]

the rwd season 4 qna inspired me to start thinking about college au headcanons except a lot of these are gonna be really specific to my school and y'all are just gonna have to deal with that <3

Kyana feeds some of the school cats. she would feed all of them if she could

Dani smuggled Plug (the scrawniest black cat you've ever seen) into her dorm room illegally and somehow management hasn't caught her yet (based on a true story) (Kyana visits to see Plug all the time)

Finbar keeps an updated tier list of every canteen in the school with breakdowns of the best stalls/dishes for each

A senior from the school of engineering once said to me 'all the engineering people dress like rats cuz our classrooms don't have aircon' (context: tropics) anyway that's Dani

Kyana would probably be involved in a lot of freshman orientation events from second year onwards. she just likes talking to the new kids and giving them advice like she would be the kind of orientation group leader who'd get messages from her freshies asking about all kinds of random nonsense because she's made sure they know they can always contact her with questions

VR-LA is The Guy you go to for textbook pirating resources

(this is more of a 'wouldn't that be funny' but VR-LA is just Veerle's discord handle)

Docent is the name of VR-LA's old laptop that broke down so he gave it to Cassimere (computer engineering major he met once at a networking event) to fix except Cassimere got everything off the hard drive and then somehow managed to fuck it up Even More so he had to get a new laptop (and named it Emi)

Roy has gotten food poisoning from his dorm meal plan at least once (based on at least one true story)

The heap trio + Mandy would be those friends constantly playing majong in the dorm lounge and if all the majong tables are taken they just play in one of their dorm rooms on a towel to dampen the tile shuffling noises (it was Mandy's idea)

Every morning Dani goes to the drinks stall at her faculty and orders one iced coffee to the point where the stall owner starts preparing an iced coffee whenever they see her approach (based on my true story)

Roy would be one of those people who goes clubbing every other week and every time he tries to drag the rest of the heap trio and Egan almost always goes and Dani would go if she didn't have a good excuse but always begrudgingly. anyway Roy would always be the only one having a good time until Egan gets drunk enough to start having fun

Finbar actually uses the dorm kitchens instead of just buying canteen food and it always makes the hallways smell really good

Vhas also uses the dorm kitchen sometimes but like. one time i walked into the pantry on my floor and someone had left cut sweet potatoes and 2 eggs in an inch of water in a pan on the stove. that's Vhas

Kyana's constantly applying for overseas exchanges and international summer/winter school programmes. the world is large and she wants to see it!

Maxim's the definition of a hall phantom. you know he lives on your dorm floor because you pass him by in the hallways sometimes and literally nowhere else. sometimes you're not convinced that he actually exists

VR-LA and Maxim's friendship stems from them being from wildly different faculties (VR-LA's in STEM, Maxim's doing anthropology so arts/social sciences) but also having lots of weird interests they cant really bug anyone in their home faculties about

Elyse is in student government and every once in a while Finbar receives a series of angry texts about the newest idiocy she's had to put up with

MR-SN and AS-TR start a stargazing club together. other notable members include AS-TR's girlfriend E-DN, MR-SN's friend C-RA (the one who always volunteers to carry the heavy ass telescopes) and MR-SN's friend K-LB who he pestered into coming to fix one of the wonky scopes even though K-LB's actually in electrical engineering but he's the only engineering person MR-SN (an arts student) knows

oh and of course VR-LA joins because he genuinely just likes space (developing a crush on his club chairperson was not on his bingo card)

Kyana and E-DN were MMA sparring buddies at one point which is how she found out about the stargazing and joined immediately

honestly i can probably think of more but this post is fuckin long LMAO

[riddlemefuckingthis]

Comforting music artists to listen to when feeling overwhelmed:

Mehro

Aurora

Agnes Obel

Meimuna

CLANN

Evgeny Grinko

How Great Were the Robins

Novo Amor

MreeMusic

Alice In Winter

Equador

Imogen Heap

Jan Kalter

PHILDEL

Andrew Belle

Portair

Cosmo Sheldrake

Enya

Thaehan

Hazlett

Add more if you want!

[nerenda]

Sometimes I remember that Jamil is 17 years old and has had a job looking after Kalim basically 24/7 for years, his childhood spent making sure this other child stays alive and safe from assassination attemps while also managing their mundane things. And while I refuse to believe there weren't adults involved while Kalim lived in the Asim household, that is still absolutely an undue pressure to place onto a child - not to mention the whole child labor aspect of it.

And every time I dwell on it I'm just all

But also I want to punch every single adult involved who decided that this was a totally good and a normal idea and there's nothing wrong whatsoever with this arrangement.

[agenderduck]

the definitive dhmis playlist for your listening pleasure

[emo--chanel]

using one of my favourite songs ever in the end credits of the disappointing, mediocre at best, final season of one of my favourite shows ever is an evil evil crime actually.

[septimus-heap]

this is gonna sound so silly but over the last year I've been doing a reread of all the books on my shelves. I hit my "childhood favorites" section around December and am chugging through, and will be rereading the Septimus Heap series again once I finish the Magnus Chase series. I had the first book memorized as a kid (I could still probably pull up the first chapter in my memory if I wanted to) but I only read books 5-7 like twice before putting the series down for a few years. I'm so glad I follow you bc I know once I read those SH books again in a couple weeks I'm gonna be insufferable since they were definitely my favorite as a kid and I'm so so so so excited to read them again and to have an active fandom to see again when I do 💕💕💕 (I see your polls and recognize like 3/4 the characters but wanna read books 5-7 to get a refresh before I start voting on them lol)

Anyway this was long and rambly but I guess at the bottom: I love SH, I'm excited to read it again, I'm excited to know someone else loves it like I did and it feels like I'm gonna have someone to talk about it with for the first time in my life (never had a friend who'd read it and could geek out about it) so thank you and I'm excited to hop back in the fandom 💕 thank you for reading!!

:D