#i can post some more this weekend

[superskittles]

So, I went to a thing... 🤭

Glen Powell at the premiere screening of Hit Man in Austin, Texas - May 15, 2024

[spacedoutwitch]

If I had a nickel for every time a virtual pet website held a site-wide item collectathon to try and figure out what's going on with their water god that introduces a character with multiple pronouns and winds up granting the players a new aquatic subcategory of Obtainable Guy during June, well. I'd have two nickels. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it's happened twice.

[hanafubukki]

Happy Three Year Anniversary 🥹💚🌺

It’s my three year anniversary since I first started writing fanfics on tumblr. I think back about the first time I published fanfics on here and everyone I met along the way because of that one moment of time.

When I took that step to allow myself to express/be myself and publish something I wrote. It led to meeting so many wonderful people here and irl and I am forever grateful to myself and to all of you.

I am forever grateful for all the encouragement you all give me and I can’t say it enough. Be it comments, asks, reblogs, likes, tagging or what have you.

Everyday is fun and brings a smile to my face. I look forward to the future because of it.

So really, thank you everyone. I’m so happy to have met and interacted with you and hope to continue to do so ☺️💚🌺

[herebecritters]

Incredible how I have buckets of energy and motivation to draw when I’m at work but none when I get home

Kyle and Bully belong to @technicoloranimalviolence

The squirrel one with the forbidden name belongs to @ickyguts

[2hoothoots]

i was having a chuckle to myself last night about Gristol, and how his plans are basically:

Restore Ford Cruller's memory

Find Maligula

???

Profit

but then... of course they are, right? this is Gristol we're talking about. Fatherland Follies drives home again and again that he's still operating on a child's logic, a warped and reductive version of the world that he never bothered to grow out of. both of his memory vaults center on the images of his childhood, this idealized version of the past that he clings to no matter what. and that's still how he remembers Maligula, too - as this saviour figure, who rushes in to help him when he's in trouble.

[ID: Two slides from Gristol's memory vault, Glory to Grulovia! Left: Gristol clings to Maligula's back as she summons waves to sweep away his assailants. Right: Gristol and Maligula waving from a balcony as the people cheer. Gzar Theodore brandishes a dagger in the background.]

like so much else, Maligula represents a return to this idyllic childhood - to the peace and simplicity of his youth, when he was free from worries and responsibilities. in his mind, he doesn't need to make any further plans - once Maligula's back, everything will go back to normal. Maligula will make everything better.

...is what i thought, but then i remembered this line:

[Screenshot source. ID: Gristol, in Truman's body, bows on his hands and knees in front of the newly-awaked Maligula. The caption reads: "Yes, High Priestess! I am here to correct the mistakes made by my father!"]

and that's kind of interesting, right?

to be clear: this happens directly after Maligula sees Helmut-in-Gristol's-body, and recognises him. her line before this is:

"Little Gzesaravich! Have you come to pay for your father's sins?"

my first thought was that Gristol hadn't expected to still be in Truman's body by the time he managed to find Maligula, and this was him trying to placate her and buy some time until he could explain the situation. but watching the cutscene back, that's clearly not what's happening here. Gristol is answering as himself, and his response of throwing himself to his knees before her is, as far as i can tell, genuine.

so what is going on here?

in Fatherland Follies, there's this line in the ride narration that stuck out to me:

"Why didn't the Gzar help Maligula in her time of need? No one knows, but historians agree - it is Gzar Theodore's biggest failure."

other lines mention Gzar Theodore's "mistake", and it's wording Gristol himself echoes in the screencap above. evidently, he believes that his father abandoned Maligula, leaving her to her fate at the hands of the Psychonauts, and it was that mistake that lead to them being driven out of the country - that mistake which he seeks to correct. maybe he even feels like he has a debt to repay to her for his family turning their backs on her all those years ago.

the 'High Priestess' thing, though - that's kinda weird, and threw me for a loop the first time i played the game. it took me until my second playthrough to connect the dots, and remember how the room in the Lady Luctopus - Gristol's room - was full of Delugionist scribblings and symbols.

[Screenshot source. ID: left, the walls of the hidden backroom in Gristol's hotel suite, covered in scrawlings of eyeballs and Maligula's name. Right, the pinboard from the hidden backroom. On its surface are photographs and newspaper clippings connected by pieces of string.]

i mean, look at this stuff! he had a whole conspiracy board and everything!

we learn very little about the Delugionists and their beliefs as a whole during the game, but i think drawing the connection here suggests two important things. one: that Gristol was in deep with this stuff. i don't know how he linked up with them - maybe via old family connections, or just good old-fashioned digging (we know he's skilled at worming his way into peoples' good graces, after all) - but it seems likely that he's begun to internalise their ideas, maybe even warping his own memories of events. and two: the Delugionists themselves are, if you'll pardon the pun, pretty far off the deep end.

like... i understand why PN2 didn't go heavy on the "mass-murderer cult worship" aspect of things, in the end, but man this is such a tantalising glimpse into the wider mythos around Maligula. Gristol is proud and haughty and thinks himself above everyone else; the fact that his first reaction seeing Maligula is to throw himself to the ground at her feet says so much about the way he's come to see her. he's not just trying to bring back Maligula, his childhood bodyguard. he's trying to bring back Maligula, the High Priestess of the deluge, the semi-mythical figure whose supporters believe even death couldn't stop. he doesn't even flinch at the way she confronts him, and maybe it's because he's bought in so completely to this deified figurehead, this idea of Maligula; more a living force of nature than a person. and it all comes back to the same place: an abdication of responsibility, not just to the person who protected him when he was little but to this avatar of floods and destruction. Maligula will make everything better.

i'd write more about my thoughts on the Delugionists but that'd be taking a hard turn into speculation, and this is already kind of long and rambling so i'd better end it here. but what an unexpected and evocative line, right? it's some of the only stuff we have to go off of regarding the Delugionists as a whole, but i think it does such a good job of hinting at the wider story - at teasing another layer to the mythos surrounding Maligula, one whose ripples we see throughout the game but which never quite breaches the surface.

[orykorioart]

Cleaned up another BikersAU sketch from Oct2022.

(Click for better quality bc tumblr’s been nuking the resolution lately)

[teddybearsims]

save up all the days a routine malaise just like yesterday x

[plusultraetc]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESENT MIC, I got you (super)villainy <3

[plumdale]

Everyone says liking someone is fun but it’s not for me. Even when 95% of me is sure this person likes me back. But everything in me rejects the idea of being liked back and the possibility of a relationship

[you-have-made-a-fatal-error]

once upon a time, in about 2016, someone wrote HeR to find out where they sourced the images used to decorate Abby's room in MHM and were told that the art came from the Corel library.

this... was not true. obvs I don't think the HeR employee who answered that email was intentionally misleading/lying to this person, but it's bad info nevertheless. basically all the in game art from MHM/the early games came from the Mary Evans/Pictures Now collection, which I know because I've spent a buttload of time trying to id all the irl art used in the games.

so why bring up the Corel thing? because as it turns out that there is an ND game that almost exclusively* used art from Corel, but it's not MHM, or any of the early games. that game is in fact Warnings at Waverly Academy. seriously. easiest time I've ever had tracking down in-game art. (the corel art collection is waaay smaller than the mary evans/pictures now collection. like two orders of magnitude smaller. like 500 images vs 60,000 images. you get the picture.)

*and by almost exclusively I mean there is seriously one painting in wac that isn't on any of the corel art disks. and that painting? pictures now collection. why? why not any of the 450+ corel paintings that didn't make it into wac? the mind boggles.

[gumnut-logic]

“I don’t want Virgil there, Dad.”

Virgil froze just outside the entrance to the comms room.

“Scott, you will need him and Thunderbird Two for this.”

“No. I’ll take Gordon.”

“Scott-“

“I don’t want him there!”

“Scott, this is a delicate operation. Virgil has the skills required. I would prefer-“

“No. He can’t do it.”

“Can’t?”

“Dad-“

“Are you doubting your brother?”

“No!”

“Then take him.”

“No!”

“I don’t understand. You two have always been a pair. Gordon could do the job, but this is Virgil’s speciality. Why take the risk?”

“I’m not taking Virgil into a warzone!”

“You don’t think he can handle it.” It wasn’t a question.

Scott didn’t answer immediately. “I don’t want him to have to handle it. Gordon has the experience. I trust him.”

Virgil swallowed hard, his heart sinking. The rough rock wall scraped across his fingertips as he clenched his hands against it.

“Very well. Though I’m going to leave it to you to explain to your brother why you need his ‘bird, but not him.”

Scott’s grunt was frustrated.

Virgil’s shoulders dropped and he turned back to the stairs and began climbing back up to his studio.

Obviously, he wasn’t needed.

-o-o-o-

Scott found it unusually hard to locate Virgil. The man was not in his usual haunts. His studio door was locked, his rooms empty. Two’s hangar was empty except for Gordon who was finishing a final prep of Two for the mission.

It was going to be a fast in/fast out escorted by the GDF. He was hoping to keep the risk minimal. The target was a group of refugees trapped in a cave system at the edge of disputed territory. The stories coming out of the area were not good, but John had intercepted a distress call that could only be actioned by International Rescue, so they were up to bat.

Now Scott just needed to explain to Virgil why Gordon was going and he wasn’t.

Scott was not looking forward to this conversation. Virgil would not like it in the slightest. The argument was liable to be pyrotechnic.

If he could just find the man.

“Scott!”

Scott cursed under his breath as his father approached. “We have a go. Colonel Casey reports a window. She’ll meet you and Gordon in Auckland. Launch in fifteen.”

Scott straightened. “FAB.”

Then he was moving, more commander than big brother.

His heart ached though, because obviously something obviously wasn’t right and leaving without speaking to Virgil was just wrong.

But duty was duty.

Fifteen minutes and both Thunderbirds One and Two launched from the Island.

Still no sign of Virgil.

-o-o-o-

Standing on a cliff at the edge of the Island, Virgil watched the two Thunderbirds launch. It was a spectacular sight. One he rarely saw from this perspective.

It felt so wrong to let his brother go without saying goodbye. But his heart was hurting and he didn’t want Scott to see that and if he saw Scott right now, Scott would see right through him.

His brother did not need the distraction.

“John?”

“Virgil, I don’t like this. You should speak to Scott.”

“Later.”

“He’s been looking for you for the last half an hour. He’s left without saying goodbye. You know how he hates that.”

“I’ll make it up to him.”

“You know his thoughts on that, too.”

Virgil sighed. Of course, he did. They were never guaranteed a ‘later’ so the unspoken rule was to attend to family matters now.

“I just needed some time. Two is fully equipped. Gordon is fully capable.”

John sighed. “You know this isn’t a reflection on your capabilities. You know Scott-“

“I know, John.” He did. He knew the decision process behind it. Both of his military brothers’ training, the skill set that was needed that he knew he didn’t have. It was all logical and correct.

It still felt like failure.

Virgil was supposed to be Scott’s support, his second-in-command, his right-hand man, the one who was always there to help him.

But there was obviously some situations that he couldn’t be there.

Times where he wasn’t wanted.

Times where he wasn’t enough.

“Virgil-“

“I’m fine, John. Don’t worry. You’re needed elsewhere. Talk later.” And he killed the connection.

Virgil sat down on a rock and stared out at the ocean.

He sat there for a very long time.

-o-o-o-

Scott had never been so thankful for a decision in his life.

The ‘refugees’ had turned out to be revolutionary forces caught in a snare by their dictator government. By calling in International Rescue, they had galvanised IR’s position on a matter they had nothing to do with.

Scott and Gordon had barely gotten out alive. Two was sporting damage down one side that could have grounded her if the explosive had landed any closer to her tail.

And that was after they had managed to escape the government’s clutches. Scott had a rib that wasn’t very happy and Gordon was sporting a black eye. It had taken some serious cover supplied by the GDF and some rather grizzly scenes to make their escape.

Aunt Val knew the value of the Thunderbirds themselves and would never let the vehicles into the hands of such a corrupt group.

But there had been innocents there as well, caught in the crossfire.

Scott swallowed. It had been a long time since he had faced a situation where the options were that poor.

Gordon knew the deal. Knew the tough decisions had to be made.

Virgil…he trusted his brother with his life, but his heart was gentle…

Scott pressed his lips together as they approached Tracy Island. Okay, if he was honest with himself, Virgil would make the right decisions. His brother was too smart not to. But Scott didn’t want him to have to make those decisions. He did enough on rescues. He didn’t need to be directly responsible for what their sole purpose was to prevent.

Scott didn’t want to see him go through that.

He shouldn’t have to.

He shoved One into vertical flight above the Island and his side complained. The rib was likely only bruised or possibly cracked. He had refused attention from the GDF doctors. He had scanned himself and Gordon at the first opportunity and they had decided to go home.

Virgil was foremost on his mind.

There was guilt regarding exposing Gordon to this situation as well. Every big brother cell in his body hated it. But Gordon was qualified. He had seen action. He had the mental defences. He knew the deal. The two of them, along with Kayo and Penny, were the backbone of IR’s tactical skill set. Virgil and John had strengths in other areas. Alan…Scott shuddered…no…just no.

It was Scott’s job to protect them and he would fight until his last breath to do so.

Even if he hurt them a little in the process.

One lowered through the pool into her gantry and he finally began to relax a little as she trundled back into her hangar.

He let out a breath as she finally came to a halt.

A red shirted figure stood in front of his elevator, arms folded across his chest and a frown on his face.

Virgil.

His heart lifted at the sight. Something lifted off his shoulders as everything wrong suddenly felt right again.

But at the same time, there was dread.

Regardless, he triggered the pilot retrieval system and climbed out of his chair onto the platform.

The brown eyes that followed his every movement spoke volumes.

Aunt Val had dobbed him in.

He sighed as the platform reached his brother and Virgil held out a hand to help him off.

“How serious?”

“It’s minor, Virg.”

“Fortunately, I don’t need to rely on your diagnosis.” With that his brother dragged him away from the edge and pulled out a medscanner. Within moments, the yellow light was flickering all over his dirty uniform.

“Gordon-“

“Grandma’s got Gordon. I’ve got you.” Virgil glared at the readout enough to laser it out of existence. “And a hairline fracture of the fifth rib on your left side. You’re off rescues for six weeks.”

“Virg-“

“Minimum.”

That shut him up. Virgil knew what he was doing.

Virgil’s skill set lay right here, front and centre.

Scott Tracy wasn’t one to apologise for his command decisions. They were command decisions, after all. They had to be made, but there was something in the way that Virgil just wasn’t looking at him, some kind of…sorrow…emanating off his brother that just had the word ‘sorry’ aching to be said. To make things better.

He didn’t say it.

As Virgil bundled him off to the infirmary with a handful of short words, Scott found himself watching the man, reading those familiar lines, the shift of those heavy lifting shoulders, the flicker of a glance that darted away as they left the elevator for the corridor.

It was obvious Virgil knew he had been left behind. Knew the reason why.

And hated it.

Nothing was said as Virgil nudged him into the infirmary…which was strangely empty of a fish brother, a grandmother and the expected worried father. Scott frowned as he sat down on one of the beds.

“Where’s Gordon?”

“I asked Grandma to use Two’s infirmary.”

Scott blinked. “Why?”

“Because I want to talk to you.”

Scott’s heart sank. “About what?”

“Take your uniform off. Try not to get mud…or ash…on the bed.” Virgil was fussing in a cabinet, apparently looking for something.

He did as he was asked and dirt flaked to the floor. It hurt and Virgil was suddenly there, easing his baldric over his head and, with a quick flick of a laser cutter, removing the top of his uniform.

The smell of burning fabric made his nose itch as his undershirt fell to the floor.

Virgil didn’t say anything as he examined Scott’s chest. The bloom of bruising was becoming very apparent. The fact there was nothing that could be done for a broken rib other than painkillers and rest made it very obvious that Virgil’s fussing was little more than procrastination.

“Virg?”

His brother grabbed his hand and gave him a tiny plastic cup with two pills in it. He shoved a glass of water in the other. “Swallow. For the pain.”

Scott eyed the medication, noting the strength, but the dark eyes staring him down made him gulp them as fast as possible.

The glass and cup were taken from his fingers and placed on the sink.

Virgil didn’t turn back to face him. He leant heavily on the basin, his shoulders slumping. “I know why you did what you did.”

“Virg-“

His brother’s hand shot up and brought him to a halt.

“I know why…and…” Virgil sighed, closing his eyes. “I agree with it.”

Scott blinked and stared. That was…unexpected.

Virgil pushed off the sink and straightened, turning to face him. “I agree with it, but I don’t have to like it.” There was a sudden vulnerability in those brown eyes Scott hadn’t seen since they were children. “I’m glad you have Gordon to back you up.” His brother’s lips clamped tight and he reached down to pick Scott’s shirt off the floor. “I just wanted you to know that.”

There was something missing. Virgil’s body language was desperately trying to convey his support, but his brother couldn’t lie to save himself. Never could. It was something Scott loved about the man, something he so wanted to protect. “And?”

“And you should go to bed and rest. Make sure to take a deep breath every now and again, and regular pain medication. You know the drill.”

Did he ever.

But still Virgil was hiding something. It was there. Call it his sixth sense where his brother was concerned. He knew the man. Knew how he thought, could predict how he would act. Knew…

No.

“Virgil, you are exactly what I need you to be.”

His brother froze in the middle of the floor.

Bingo.

“You are everything and more. I could never ask for more. Could never WANT more.”

Virgil turned to face him, eyes ever so sad. “Except in that situation. I’m not enough to have your back.” He swallowed and turned away. “And I hate it.”

Scott let out a frustrated breath. “My god, Virg, what the hell do you expect of yourself. Your skillset is-“

But Virgil spun around. “I expect to be there for you in whatever capacity you need me to be. But I can’t. Not there. Not today. Not next time. Because there will be a next time. God, I hope there isn’t, but there will be. And I will have to stand by and let you go without me and…and… damnit, that’s not the way it is supposed to be!” He stopped as if he had run out of words to express how he felt. But Virgil’s eyes said everything.

Scott reached out and grabbed him by his shoulders, flinching as the action pulled at his ribs. “Virg, you were there! If you hadn’t prepped Two the way you had, we wouldn’t have been able to lift off as fast as we did. You had our backs! Ask Gordon. You know Two better than any of us. You know what she needs for her to fly her best. You were there, Virgil, exactly where we needed you to be. Do you hear me? You are more than enough. You are my brother, Thunderbird Two more than that flying green brick could ever be.”

Virgil stared at him, eyes wide for a solid moment, shock in his expression. Then…

“Flying green brick?”

Scott deflated, one hand climbing up Virgil’s shoulder to his neck pulling him forward so Scott could touch his forehead to his own. “You idiot.”

Virgil let out a frustrated breath. “I just wish…”

“I don’t. I want you here.”

“You don’t have to watch.”

“Yes, I do. Every damned day and I hate it just as much as you do.”

Virgil’s groan was more a frustrated whine.

With a sigh, Scott pulled him in closer, dragging him into the hug Scott probably needed more than Virgil did.

His brother didn’t return the gesture with any of his usual gusto, obviously cautious of Scott’s injury, but he did wrap his arms around him ever so gently and rest his head on Scott’s shoulder.

Scott held him like that for some time, at least until he winced enough for Virgil to notice and back off in a hurry.

He was subjected to another brief flicker of the scanner for his efforts.

“You need rest.”

He needed to know Virgil was okay. “I’ll live.” As if to prove the fact, he pushed himself off the bed ever so carefully onto his feet. “What I do need is a shower.” And to check on Gordon.

As if his thoughts had summoned his brother, there was a knock on the door. “Hey, Scotty, has Virg finished skinning you alive yet?”

Virgil answered for him. “Why, are you volunteering to be next?”

“Hey, no fair! It wasn’t my fault. They’re the one’s who tried to blow up Two, not me.”

Virgil froze. “What?!”

The door was still shut, but Scott could read Gordon’s sudden terror in his silence. “Hey, Virgil, it wasn’t his fault.”

Brown eyes pinned Scott where he stood. “What wasn’t his fault?”

“Umm…”

“Scott? What did he do to my ‘bird?”

“The brick’s fine!”

“She’s not a brick!”

“Flies like one.”

“She’s stable, unlike One, which so high strung a gust of wind in the wrong direction could slam her into a mountain.”

“She’s agile.”

“She’s suicidal.”

“Only under the wrong hands.”

“Same could be said for Two.”

“Maybe.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

They glared at each other a moment longer, enough for Scott to curl his lips just a little to break the moment.

A sigh and Virgil’s shoulders dropped. “You asshole.”

“What’s a big brother for?”

He received a grunt for that. “Go to bed while I inspect my ‘bird.”

“It wasn’t his fault.”

Another sigh. “I know. Go to bed, you need it.”

It was Scott’s turn to grunt.

Virgil yanked the door open for him, only to have Gordon almost fall flat on his face. “What the hell?”

“Hey, Virg.” Gordon’s smile was weak and a little terrified. But it was Virgil’s eyes settling on his little brother’s eye injury that nearly broke Scott.

Gordon apparently wasn’t any happier. “Hey, don’t worry. I’m fine. Certified by none other than Grandma. Certificate of healthiness is in the mail if you need one.”

There was always a spark in Gordon.

“Go to bed. Both of you.”

“Virg…” His name was a whine.

“Now. While I go and inspect what you’ve done to my ‘bird.”

Gordon gulped. “Ah, yeah.”

“It’s fine, Gordon. Virgil isn’t going to kill you, are you Virgil?”

“Still up for debate. If both of you don’t move your asses into bed, the decision will likely not be in your favour.”

Gordon didn’t have to be told a third time. He darted out the door and down the hall without another word.

Scott smiled. Walking past Virgil, he slipped a hand onto his brother’s shoulder and squeezed gently. “Thank you.”

“Go and get some rest. I have work to do.”

Scott smiled at him.

“Get. Now.”

The smile only got wider and Scott ducked his head as he left.

Yes, Virgil was what and where he needed to be.

And more than Scott could ever ask for

-o-o-o-

[stardestroyer81]

I've been entertaining the idea of creating a Pizza Tower 'AU' wherein I star as the main character and all references to pizza are instead lovingly replaced by games of old, and while I initially wanted to make a set of Toppins based off of my go-to pizza toppings, I had another idea... what if I made a set of Toppins based off of the Bonus Fruit from the Pac-Man franchise?

Enter The Fruitins, a cross between choice selections of Pac-Man's greatest Bonus Fruit and the Toppins! 🍒🍊🍈🥨🍌🔑

[snickerdoodlles]

there's a lot of things people blame for why fandoms feel like ghost towns these days, but no one's really talked about the way discord's contributing to it

[djsadbean]

"we did it joe. crime is no more."

[sootonthecarpet]

Byron @heyfagbutt and I need to get a small run of groceries and we're not going to have our budget for the month until at best the middle of next week. We can't walk to the store right now (he fucked up his knee doing errands earlier in the week), but if we can get 40-80 dollars in addition to the ten we still have, we can place a small grocery order. (paypal, venmo, both his.) if not, I might be able to make it down to the store tomorrow or monday for some pantry goods, and anything extra would help with that. (right now we basically just have spices and a few days' worth of plain pasta.)

[kira-light0]

Sixth redraw: Hawkeye and Trapper (again)

Prev. Next.

(Reference and closeups due to the blurriness under the cut)