#i don't know how but fantastic

[linusbenjamin]

hannibal trending number 1 every day is so real and iconic

[lesbianredhoodedmercenary]

project moon is getting me with the girldads double whammy

ryoshu spider bud ego.... ryoshu getting the ego for the abnormality that's so fiercely protective of it's children to the point of murder... combined with how protective the artist is of his daughter in hell screen... she's the best dad on the bus

[batfossil-fr]

wanted to share maybe my favorite thing I've ever commissioned, this wonderful skin by Yelloweye! they are so incredibly talented and amazing to work with, I could not have asked for a more perfect skin for this guy.

Xun

[eight-pointed-star]

[ghastlyaffairs]

for something as trivial and simple those feelings sure are hard to get rid of

also made a gif a version for fun + alt version with no tears under the cut

the gif is in very low resolution...this is a feature (i could make it bigger but that would require saving each frame individually and than glueing it all together. also i feel like low resolution suits it better. aesthetically and fits the mood)

[possamble]

What are your headcanons about Marcille's mom if you have any? It's interesting that what drew Donato to her was cause she lived the history he studied, or that was said somewhere at least. She must've had an interesting life.

so this was going to be just a normal answer but then I realized I have a Lot of Things To Say. so here goes, a compilation of what we know for a fact from the canon, what I've extrapolated from the visual cues and details, and my theories based on all of that.

Things we know for a fact about Marcille's mother because they were explicitly stated in the manga and supplemental materials:

She was a court mage for a Tall-man kingdom at the southern part of the Northern Continent

Donato, a court historian, fell in love with her because she had lived through the history he was studying, and he courted her for 17 years (age 15 to 32) before getting married

She was a cheerful person who rarely showed extreme emotion and took things as they came

She always cooked a huge meal for Marcille on her birthdays

She remarried a gnome after Donato's death and a short distance away from Marcille's childhood home

Pipi, Marcille's pet bird, was actually older than Marcille and originally belonged to her mother (bird died at 62)

She was extremely heartbroken when Donato died and ultimately ended up instilling a deep fear of mortality in Marcille with her words

the only time she showed extreme emotion in front of her family was when Donato could no longer eat his favourite dish near the end of his life.

She scolded Marcille for being cruel to ants (implying she can have a stern side when needed)

Things that are explicitly shown but mostly through visual cues

She has a very distinctive style of dress always involving a ribbon choker (mirroring Marcille's habit of always wearing a matching choker with any of her outfits that don't cover her neck)

She was almost stereotypically good at housekeeping and traditionally "wifely" things (very frequently depicted wearing an apron or doing some domestic chore when not at work, seems to have been an avid cook).

She knits? (also, note the affectionate smile as she's looking at Donato and Marcille reading a book together in the full panel)

She was as excited for Marcille's milestones as Donato was.

She didn't tell Marcille much about elven food

(there are a couple things that this panel in particular implies:

She lived a good deal of her life (if not being born and raised) in a mainly elven country in the West, implied by her knowing enough of an elven region's cuisine to prefer Tall-man food over it

seems to have a pretty carefree and casual demeanour overall, if this is how she replied to Marcille asking her about it (sounds like she never gave her culinary preferences that much thought to begin with)

slightly related to number 2, it seems like she and Marcille had a fairly casual parent-child dynamic (especially in comparison to the Toudens' memory of their father)

(local elf tastes Italian food once and never goes back))

However, she seems a lot more... serious in most of the other times we see her? Almost like the very stereotypical archetype of a graceful elf.

Subsequent conclusions about her personality:

Usually pretty carefree and cheerful at home, has been a loving and attentive parent throughout Marcille's childhood (while not being so doting that she didn't discipline Marcille).

Slightly more conjectural theories on her personality:

Had a much more graceful and professional personality at work, which would explain the more serious portraits we see of her.

Given that both she and Donato had positions at the royal court, it seems a little odd that she'd go out of her way to do all the housework herself, so maybe she just enjoyed doing it?

Now taping all the evidence together and toeing the line between analysis and fanfiction:

It's clear that she loved Donato very much and was utterly devastated by losing him. But there's one thing that really stuck out to me in what little we see of her:

Doesn't she seem... angry? The way she's gritting her teeth, clutching the tablecloth, and how this is the first and only time we see her eyes opened that wide. In the following panel, you see her being quiet and dejected after her initial outburst. She's still crying very intensely, but her brows are furrowed, and she's not really responding to Donato's affection in her body language.

We're not told the details of how she felt about losing Donato other than that it upset her. But this, to me, implies that she was angry and resented that he was aging, that the end of his life was approaching. An "it's not fair" type of preemptive grief. And if this was the first and last time she cried like this in front of her family, she was either very good at coping in private... or very bad at letting herself feel unpleasant emotions until they become unavoidable and end up overwhelming her.

It's not too remarkable a detail on the surface. It's even reminiscent of what the audience has seen of Marcille. But... when it comes to the big picture, you'd think an elf who voluntarily chose to marry a tall-man and have a half-elf child would have been better prepared for this.

It kind of recontextualizes her cheerfulness to me.

"I'm sure everything's gonna be okay!" (or some variation thereof, depending on what translation you have).

And this is stated to contrast her extreme grief when finally confronting Donato's failing body and eventual death. But I'm wondering if... maybe this optimism was why she was so upset. What if she went into all of it thinking "everything's gonna be okay"? What if she was a little young by elven standards, and just followed her heart thinking that her own resilience would get her through anything?

Of course, only to get completely overwhelmed when she actually loses Donato. She turns into a completely different person. And that's heartbreaking on its own-- but what the audience sees is the effect it had on Marcille. Can you imagine being her, watching your invincible and upbeat mother suddenly lose all the light in her eyes in one go?

I've already made a huge post about how I think Marcille models her "work persona" off her mother, but another thing that stuck with me as I was looking for more details in the manga was this:

copy pasting from the other post i made about it lmao it's like... the second she resigns herself to lifelong pain and terror, there's another portrait of her mother facing her like this. with their heads bowed, in mirrored body language of resignation and despair and sorrow. Except it's posed like Marcille is still looking at her mother but her mother is looking away.

It took me a second to realize, but I think that it's a visual metaphor for the fact that Marcille's mother was the only long-lived role model she had-- and she failed to model healthy grief for her daughter. I don't say this as an accusation or to disparage her as a character, but just as a matter of fact. In her, Marcille was seeing herself older and losing a short-lived spouse or loved one of her own, and all she saw was hopelessness.

But her mother didn't mean to instill hopelessness and terror in her. She wasn't really thinking of how it would truly affect Marcille at all (at least, that's how I'm interpreting her looking down and away from Marcille in the metaphor), she was just sad. And she, in her own way, was trying to protect her daughter and help her prepare for future losses.

What she meant was "loss is inevitable, and you have to learn how to be in pain but live on anyway." What Marcille heard was "loss is inevitable, and you will be scared and hurt for the rest of your life."

Again. Marcille's mother doesn't feature explicitly in the story the way her father does -- but in so many ways, her shadow, her silhouette, her reflection is always hanging over Marcille.

All that to say... headcanon-wise (everything from here on is 100% without evidence lmao), I'd like to think that she matured and realized that she failed Marcille. I imagine her being regretful about it, wanting a chance to fix it but never finding a way to insert herself back into Marcille's life when Marcille is so so so busy becoming the most accomplished mage possible. I imagine her being herself again, now, so many years after her loss and after remarrying -- but with her cheerfulness tempered with a lot more wisdom and the pain of having gone through loss like that. I think the second Marcille actually tells her what happened in the dungeon, she'd want to go running to her daughter again -- if Marcille tells her the full truth instead of just being embarrassed she let things get that far. (oh, the tragedy of her wanting to be more like her mother and an accomplished adult who doesn't need to be babied... being embarrassed to actually tell her mother how much she fucked up...)

There's also the tension of her having remarried -- I know that there's at least a little bit of resentment that Marcille harbours about that, because she's childish like that at heart even if she makes an effort not to externalize it. I think that her mother would be aware of that, potentially adding to her sense of guilt and apprehension at trying to reappear/intrude on Marcille's life. I honestly don't think Marcille has met her stepfather -- or even considers him a stepfather rather than "mama's new husband" and kind of a total stranger. I think she and her mother actively don't talk about it in their correspondence, like an elephant in the room.

but, ultimately, I think her mother is on her side no matter what. Ancient magic? Dark necromancy? Sure, she'll feel guilty and like she was partially responsible for setting Marcille down such a painful path, but she wouldn't care. that's her daughter!! she would've moved back west and been petitioning for her at the court, buying a house right next to the Canaries barracks and visiting her every day that she wasn't on a mission. And if her husband had opinions on Marcille becoming a "dark arts user," he either gets over it or it's divorce with him. Yes, she might have had her optimism completely humbled by losing Donato like that -- but she's still headstrong and self-assured and she doesn't care what people think of her. It's her way or the highway and she's always going to be in Marcille's corner.

(She also needs a name lol. I went with Juno, just to be cute about "Marcille"s closest real life equivalent being Marcella, which is the female version of Marcellus, which in turn is a diminutive of Marcus, which was derived from Mars. Absolutely in love with Marcille potentially being named after Ares/Mars the fucking god of war btw)

[unopenablebox]

i admit that i find it a little bit frustrating how Wildly Astonished other antizionist jews act when i tell them my israeli jewish family have lived in the region since [some unknown length of time before 1800 when there start being records about it]

[camellcat]

some doctor who cyanotypes I made for my photography class that I just realized I never shared

[americankimchi]

god i wish they hadn't retconned maul's death. i get wanting to explore more of his character because he was, objectively, one of the coolest star wars characters to ever hit the big screen and didn't get much screentime prior to his death, but also his role was fulfilled perfectly within those constraints so i wasn't too upset by it.

but by retconning it and making it so he never died it's like. okay. what now? the whole point (well, to me, ymmv of course) of the theed generator fight was that it was the first ever fight between the jedi and the sith in thousands of years, and that in the end even though the jedi (obi-wan) won the fight, a jedi (qui-gon) and a sith (maul) still died. a master and an apprentice dying together to herald the start of a new age/the return of the sith. perfectly paralleling the way in rotj a master (palps) and an apprentice (anakin/vader) died together to herald the return of the jedi. in both instances, a father figure (qui-gon/vader) dies in the arms of their son (obi-wan/luke) as a sith (palps/maul) is cast down into the abyss to their deaths. (palps being alive in the ST and retconning his death in rotj is also annoying for this reason)

i mean i like maul. don't get me wrong. he's an incredibly compelling character and i enjoy seeing more of him... but there's always the thought hovering in my mind like "he should be dead though. he should 100% be dead. this wouldn't be happening if he was dead, but i honestly would rather it not if it meant that maul was dead."

like the tpm fight just doesn't hit the same knowing that canonically he's just. going to become a robot octopus at some point. (shoutout to palps becoming sith glados in the ST) it cheapens the moment for me. it was supposed to be a moment of triumph marred by the deep and soul-crushing loss of a loved one and it's just... not, anymore. or at least not to the same extent. AUGH i'm just. frustrated. wish star wars as a whole wasn't constantly reframing/retconning what's been established. just puts a bad taste in my mouth.

[sugar-grigri]

I just saw someone name me as their favorite CSM artist? How about I cry in front of you?

[crossdressingdeath]

Going back to the thought of Durge in their pod in the mind flayer colony breaking enough to beg Gortash to find and save them: AU where by sheer luck Gortash happens to be in the colony at the time, hears them, and comes running. Somehow this ends in the two of them travelling with the party, which is extremely awkward even before the "Oh yes this entire situation is our fault" thing what with Karlach being there.

[hee-blee-art]

bath time for the knights....... 👀

[image ID: eight greyscale drawings featuring six knight characters undressed to bathe in a lake or river. the first shows all of them, and the following seven are crops on each drawing. the crops in order show:

1. sir raon, a fat man with like skin and a dark undercut washing his side.

2. sir goodwill, a slightly fat man with light medium skin, curly dark hair, and a goatee, scooping water in his hands.

3. sir drustan, a thin pale man with straight shoulder length dark hair and a scruffy beard with a patch of white, washing his hair.

4. sir henrik, a thin man with medium skin, shaggy dark hair, a moustache, and pronounced cheekbones, washing his arm.

5. captain beorn, a buff fat man with medium light skin, a greying beard, and curly hair, washing his face.

6. sir konstantine, a tall buff guy with light skin, long medium coloured hair, a short beard, and facial scars, standing with his back to the viewer and looking over his shoulder.

7. sirs drustan and goodwill lounging in the water together by some rocks, goodwill with his arms spread wide and drustan with everything below his chin under the water. end ID]

[zensations35]

It's A Secret To Everyone (LoZ Ficlett)

@aliasnz I got you for my secret santa! Your prompt list had Link and I could NOT pass up that chance! This fic is set a bit after Skyward Sword (I wanted to age Link up somehow bc even 'adult' Link's age is so fuzzy in canon) and I also wanted to play with Ghirahim being an ass, SO THIS WORKED OUT WELL. (I may have grabbed a couple snzarios from your page to use for your enjoyment) I hope you like it!

Ghirahim reclined upon a lopsided boulder carpeted with moss. He had grown accustomed to this clearing--this small piece of land not yet discovered by the new denizens of his former stomping grounds. 

It had taken him months to recover from his injuries during the Great Demon Battle and years later, he is still sporting diamond shaped scars splashed across his torso. 

Damn Demise for manhandling him so. 

Sunbeams shred through the canopy of trees that camouflage his patch of forest. He shimmies down the broad expanse of rock and ducks away from the piercing rays. Sunlight may not harm him but he doesn’t particularly like it. 

A threshing sound startles Ghirahim and his white hair flares as he spins toward the noise. His obsidian sword appears in his hand with a shimmer of diamond light. 

Thresh. Thresh. Thresh.

What the devils is that? Are animals finally--

A figure bursts through the veil of hanging leafage that protects the entrance to his sanctuary and Ghirahim hisses.

The figure is clad in green. 

Anger flares in Ghirahim’s chest. No. Not him. Anyone but--

Another noise croons not far behind the Hylian and they both look wide-eyed from each other to the curtain of vines now concealing the entrance.

Kwee-koo!

…Kikwi?? Oh devils. Ghirahim was wrong. That is definitely the worse of the two intruders encroaching on his beloved space. 

Link’s eyes dart back to Ghirahim. He is standing stock still, arms fanning out near his hips. 

Ghirahim lifts a long gray finger to his white lips. The hero nods. 

Rustling continues. Small mewls confirm the Kikwi are indeed searching for something. Likely the dashing intruder before Ghirahim. Yet, if they remain quiet…

“Hhh…”

Ghirahim’s muscles stiffen at the sight of Link’s clenched chest. His face is scrunching, nose pink with need.

Ah, devils alive. He’s about to ruin everything. 

Cover your damn nose!

Of all the powers the hero has, mind reading is not one of them. Link remains still as a statue, save for his flaring nostrils, his quivering lip. 

In an instant, Ghirahim is behind Link, a shower of multicolored diamonds sparkling the air around him. He wraps arms around Link, fingers clamping over his nose and mouth until he feels the dewy hitches of breath.

“Hmn!” the muffled groan jerks at their flushed bodies and Link snaps forward, only Ghirahim’s hold keeping him from stumbling forward. “Szch!”

It’s a wet, kittenish sound and it spritzes Ghirahim’s palm, making him curl a lip in derision. Ghirahim tightens his hold on Link’s nose and mouth until he fears the hero might have stopped breathing. Perhaps that would solve his problems altogether.

In moments, the rustling fades and the Kikwis meander far enough away for Ghirahim to comfortably release Link. 

When his fingers relax, Link drinks in a sniffle and doubles over fast into his own tented hands. “Szch! Z’SK-ieh! K’tSZ!” 

Ghirahim rolls his eyes and wipes his damp fingers on a mossy trunk as Link tends his colorful nose. 

“Salutations, hero,” Ghirahim snorts, sarcasm dripping like venom. “Isn’t that what they call you now?” He props a fist on his creamy hip and swats the air. “Hero of Hyrule, they say. Nice of you foreigners to give a name to a place that already had one.”

Link snuffles and glares at Ghirahim. Ghirahim laughs like popping bubbles in his throat. 

“Oh, have I offended you? Or are you wondering why I am here? Alive?”

Link’s lips twitch as he just stares.

Ghirahim flutters fingers through his chopped hair, “I am a demon Lord. Did you think Demise’s…demise…would kill me? Disintegrate my body to ash at his corpse?”

Link opens his mouth and Ghirahim thinks the silent hero might actually speak. But instead…

“Hc’SH! Eh-Ksh! KSZ!” 

An amused smirk spreads Ghirahim’s lips wide. His teeth flash serpentlike, “Oh, seems the hero is not accustomed to the flora quite yet. Miss your clean sky air, bird rider?”

Link shoots a poison look at him above the arm he’s using to scrub the itch from his face. Ghirahim pops his wrist, index finger leveled toward the long suffering hero. 

“Your sneeze does not become you, hero. So soft and delicate. Like butterfly wings.”

Link grumbles and straightens his shirt, cheeks flushing a pink that might be embarrassment. 

“What, pray tell, are you dong here?” Ghirahim finally asks.

Link’s eyes slide back to the vines where the Kikwis almost penetrated, clearly as put off by them as Ghirahim himself. 

‘I see. More chores for the chosen one,” Ghirahim sways his head left and right. His sulfurous eyes fall on the wooden handle protruding from Link’s back and his nose scrunches in a sneer. “Oh my.” He slithers toward Link, his body folding and bending closer to get a better look.

Link backpedals, grunting incomprehensibly. Ghirahim’s eyes shimmer. “Where, hero of the sky, is that lovely goddess sword of yours?”

Link’s face falls, his shoulders visibly slumping as his gaze drops to the grass at his feet. 

Ghirahim folds his arms and sticks out his lower lip, pouting theatrically. “Such sadness. I suppose it is just you and I here then? No wonder I have not heard that shrill voice of hers.”

Anger feathers Link’s cheek and his hand darts up to grasp the sword handle, a cute little snarl on his face. 

Ghirahim just laughs. “Going to fight me? Like that?” he drizzles his fingers around Link’s shivering form. “You look as if a harsh wind might knock you down.”

Link’s snarl creeps higher, flaring his left nostril. His teeth chatter and he uses his free hand to catch a gusty, “HEx’TSzH!” It’s harsher than the ones before it. Forcibly so. Obviously so.

Ghirahim barks a laugh that dislodges his arms so they swing at his sides. “Was that for my benefit? Did I hit a nerve and now you must prove that you can sneeze like a brave soldier?”

Link’s fingers peel from his sword to join his other hand, cupping them together as if to catch water from a spout. “I-AX’SZH! Ieh-SZHhh-Hieh!” 

“Are you quite done?” A limber finger taps Ghirahim’s teeth, the nail clacking against enamel. He watches the hero as Link begins to hitch and shiver. His pink nose climbs higher and higher with each hum of breath, his entire body wracked with tremors as his nerves light up. 

“Ieh-hih-ih-HIH--!” his eyes flood and he is barely able to see his foe through the saline lens of his allergic tears. His teeth clench and he hisses air as his hands push against his nose.

Ghirahim lets out a vexed huff, “Are you going to sneeze, or are you just going to stand there gasping like an idiot?”

Link pinches his hands together, lids squeezing shut as he curls his spine forward, “Hyh..Ehhn…” 

In another shower of diamond sparks, Ghirahim is there, once again laced against Link’s body, shoving the hero backward into the rocky edge of the clearing. His teeth flash as he grins wickedly. 

“Allow me to help~”

Ghirahim dances his clawed fingers toward Link’s vulnerable nostrils, mouth stretched in what could be malice. Link pulls back but his head scrapes the rock behind him, dislodging his iconic green hat and revealing ruffles of sun-kissed hair. 

His breaths are still ragged and demanding. 

“H-Ngh!” his eyes flit open, a flash of blue, then close, lashes severing tears from their glassy perch. His head bobs, *snff* another ”Hi-ih!” 

His throat closes over a cough when Ghirahim languidly strokes the side of his scrunched nose. “You’re so close,” Ghirahim coos giddily, pushing down his giggle of mischief for later, but the gust from the escaped air sends hot breath caressing Link’s cheek. 

Ghirahim’s features narrow, as if there is nothing more important than teasing his enemy. “You merely…need…a nudge…” with each prod of Ghirahim’s black nail against the wall of his rounded nostril, Link heaves a breath. “Hgk-hh-” the loose hitches grow more defiant. “Hgk-hgk - HhhIEH--” Link scoops in air and he hisses as the black nails trail the bridge of his wrinkling nose.

His chest inflates beneath Ghirahim’s splayed palm and, with a flick like a feather, Ghirahim traces the rim of Link’s upturned nostrils. As if they’re inviting him in! And enter he does. He cannot help his curiosity at this point. Finally! Something exciting!

As soon as Ghirahim hits the sweet spot, Link whines, harsh and pitched. 

“Haii!!” Ghirahim pins Link’s arms to his sides. “H-Ih-” each hitch climbs higher and higher, until Link’s rosy nose is in the air, like a beacon for pollen to flock to.

A new sound snarls in his throat and Ghirahim takes his cue. He whips away in a shower of diamond sparks, suddenly releasing Link to crumple into himself with the roughest, “EIXGST!! AIKxs!!” The sneezes rip from his throat, graceless and unrestrained. “ETSH! Ih’TZSHH!! EIHSHieuu!!”

Link rockets forward into the curtain of diamond sparkles, stumbling so hard he barely catches himself.He smashes a fist to his nose with a congested groan, followed by a loud, liquid sniff. 

Ghirahim leans against his mossy boulder, elbow propped on the rock,sporting an amused smirk. 

If the hero deigned to speak, he’d likely curse the demon Lord. 

Ghirahim throws back his head like a jackknife, maniacal laughter bursting from him.

“Oh, aren’t you fun to pick on~” He flutters his hand in a shooing motion. “Go. Before you drive back those damn Kikwis with your,” his dark eyes glitter, “boisterous expulsions.”

Link looks like he’d love nothing more than to test his new sword on Ghirahim, but that would mean having to deal with the prick for even longer. 

Decision made, the hero slowly backs out of the refuge, letting the vines trail over his shoulders until he is completely out of view.

Ghirahim sighs and reclines back on his moss. 

Crisis averted.

[ghostofashina]

seducing gale by being a total brat just to see him mad at you it's the best way to play baldurs gate 3

[feline-evil]

Dick or no dick confirmation Pickles was always going to be trans to me anyways; if he's swingin' somethin that's phallo babes, if he's not then his t-dick fat. What's not to get.

[ctl-yuejie]

ramblings on Li Ming (and Heart) and homosexuality

moonlight chicken has so many things to offer in terms of technical beauty and interesting themes but what i cannot stop thinking about is the different ways they approach homosexuality in the story.

we have Wen who has a rainbow flag on his desk and pictures of him and Alan on the wall. Wen, who openly flirts with Jim and has no qualms talking openly about his one night stand. Wen, whose step father knows about his sexuality and is close enough with him to discuss his love life.

Kaipa we don’t know too much about. But his mom knows and is supportive and some of the vendors and the chicken family seem to know. But if anyone was questioning in what reality this show is set with all the class discussion and corona featuring, his part of the story shows that homophobia exists and he is worried about how he fits in with his own family, the expectations of his mother and possible the awareness that he makes the family he has “different”.

Jim is arguably even more visibly gay than Wen in terms of what we see throughout the show. He opened the shop with his ex, they prayed at the temple together and even though he objected due to proprities sake eventually they loudly declared their love to each other and the whole neighbourhood knows. Wen somehow feels like he is living in the remnants of a bubble: his circle of friends seems very queer, his closest friend and the whole gym seem to be all part of that as well. This only might change now with him questioning his work and breaking up with Alan: some gatherings he won’t attend anymore apparently.

And finally, we have Li Ming. At school he doesn’t seem to open up to his classmates on most things and additionally is in the closet. While there wasn’t anything alluding to homophobic rethoric being spread at school we can see how the heteronormativity gets to him and feel that there must be good reason as to why no one knows. And it could just be how Li Ming is judging the situation based on vibes, we don’t know. His mother is or at least was homophobic but at the same time he is raised by his gay uncle who is surrounded by other gay people. And I love how it feels like this might have given him enough security to be comfortable with his own sexuality but how it also isn’t enough to shield him from the world at large.

With so many great shows coming out of Thailand and most of them getting more and more political it just feels so real and 2023 to me that Li Ming is part of a generation that knows who they are but still have to battle with the shadow that homophobia has cast way before they were born.