aofactotum-blog

[fir3lit3]

50+ Follower DTIYS

Please reblog this! I would love for this to reach as many people as possible

Information + Guidelines are under cut

murder ! sans by @ask-dusttale

Deadline: November 20, 2023, 12:00 am PST (Pacific Standard Time.)

+----------------------- ---- -- -

Rules:

Please keep the colors and scenery (It's a pine forest!) similar. It does not have to be exact.

Changing the perspective/viewing point, pose, shading/lighting style, and design of Dust/Murder is fine.

+ Related to the above; Adding things like objects, animals, blood, or other characters is also ok! If you need to ask about this, DM or comment your question.

NO TRACING, USE OF AI, OR STEALING. Violation of this rule will make your entry invalid and result in a block.

Traditional art is ok. I don't see why it wouldn't be.

Tag @fir3lit3 and use the tag #DustByDusk so I can see your entry! (because a friend asked this; Sending it through my ask box/submissions or DMs is ok)

Get creative! Do whatever is best for you.

Don't forget to take breaks, drink actual water, and eat something filling.

Edit: Because 3 people asked this, using scenery brushes or stencils to help draw the leaves is ok. Please put if you did use a brush/stencil in the tags, comments, or in a subtext.

+----------------------- ---- -- -

Prizes:

(Amount may change based off the amount of entries)

First Place: A fully rendered, Full-body drawing with a full background + foreground. 3 people max. I will add props to this if wanted.

Second Place: Fully rendered, Half-body drawing with a simple background. 2 people max. I will also add props to this if wanted.

Third Place: Fully rendered Icon. 1 person max. I will also add props to this if wanted.

+----------------------- ---- -- -

Again, be free to ask any questions. Good Luck!

please reblog this :3

[thescrolls-haveforetold]

and you dared me to crumble.

[gonnabeokaykid]

do you all realize how important this season of heartstopper actually is?

Do you realize how incredible important it is for people to actually see the "loved ones" deal and not just the ill (as important as they are to highlight and embrace. this season really found such a wonderful balance)

do you all realize how many people are sitting alone in their rooms, researching their ass off trying to find ways to support and help the people that they love who are sick? and how many also never find any resources on how it is to take care of yourself WHEN you are trying to take care of someone who is sick?

i can count on multiple fingers where i felt overwhelmed and like the worst person in the world for not being able to fix it, to not get people to eat, to not get people to harm, to not feel selfish if i tried to protect my own peace every once in a while - and feeling so alone because you feel like there are no space for how You are feeling about everything going on.

When i say i Bawled when Nick got a shoulder to cry on this season will be the biggest understatement in the history of the world.

just know - there are so many loved ones, friends, co-workers who see you, love you, want to support you, and that are doing their very best. We do our best to find the balance, and sometimes need the grace and the space to breathe so we can continue to be there for you.

anyway, this is a gold star for all of charlie's loved ones - and everyone else trying their best to care for someone they love.

[dying-suffering-french-stalkers]

hello grick fandom, please accept this, my first drawing in about 8 years

[meplusuhoney]

shes so gorgeous like

[caspiko]

GUH I LOVE MEO. I DRAW HIM MORE THAN THE MAIN CHARACTER OF MY SERIES HELP 😭❤️

[benji-doodles]

joy boy has returned

[moffiiiiaaaa]

watch your head

[emosugardust]

Scenemo Ariana Griande and Manager Mumbo jumbo brain worms

Bonus little interaction i made but didn’t like in the final pic

Currently cooking up more ideas (they’re actively dragging me out of the kitchen)

[krikeymate]

I need an AU where Amber and Richie succeed BUT Amber kills Richie too and doesn’t kill Tara. How would that play out? Would Tara still kill Amber, knowing that she’s literally the only person on earth she still has? Everyone else is dead. Including Mindy, Chad and Sam. Would Amber maybe even manage to get Tara to keep quiet about everything and get the both of them out of there? Would we sort of have like a kidnapping situation where Tara just goes with Amber because she’s too scared to do anything that would displease her, knowing how insanely dangerous that girl is? Do you have any thoughts on this?

Say Sam doesn't let Tara out of the closet, so Amber goes to get her and drags her down to the kitchen to join the rest of them. Sam thought Tara would be safer up there, that she could have taken care of the situation, that she could have kept her safe. Now she's staring into Tara's pain-glazed eyes as she's thrown to the floor, and Sam's trying to keep pressure on her stab wound and those two maniacs are grinning at them. "It's going to be ok," she tries to reassure her little sister, but Richie just laughs, loudly. He mocks her. "Oh, it's not going to be ok, Samantha. It's going to be great."

Amber grabs Gale's hair, pulling her head back, while Richie points the gun at Sidney. "You'd think we would leave the originals for last," he quips, "that's what would make the most sense for the series, right?" He gets all up in her face. "Sidney Prescott, the final girl, the final victim. But oh no, not in our movie. We're making something new, something different."

He steps back, eyes never leaving hers.

"So goodbye Sidney, it really was an honour meeting you."

He shoots her in the head, and turns to nod at Amber.

As Gale screams for Sidney, Amber wraps an arm around her neck from behind and stabs. Once, twice, thrice. She just keeps stabbing, until the gurgling stops, and the body topples to the floor.

They stare at the two bodies for a moment, breathing heavily through their excitement at the scene. Their eyes meet.

"Now for the pièce de résistance," Richie says, feral grin wide across his face, as he looks over and down at Tara, now lying across Sam's lap with her arms around her.

"No, no nonononono, please don't, please just let her go," Sam begs, arms tightening around her sister. "I'll do anything, I won't fight, just let her go." The desperation in her voice is sweet to Richie's ears.

"You know what, sure," he says, waving his arm out and the gun with it. "Tara can go. All she has to do is get up and walk right out the door."

He leers down at the trembling girl as Amber side-eyes him. "Go on then."

Sam begs her sister, pushes at her shoulders. "Please Tara, please you have to get up." But she can't. It hurts so much, her leg, her back, her hand, her chest... it all throbs in time with every heartbeat. She's going to die here.

Richie can't stop laughing. He reaches out and grabs Tara's injured leg. and pulls her across the floor and out of Sam's arms, the girl screaming in pain all the while. Sam tries to lurch forward after her, but a gun pressed against Tara's head stops her.

He drags it down her face, digging it under her chin and watching her cry. He thinks for a moment, before stepping back. "It's personal," he mutters, and turns to Amber. "Sam wouldn't use a gun, not for her baby sister, no. It's personal. This is the little brat who ruined her life, it's going to hurt. She wants her to suffer."

He swaps weapons with Amber and straddles Tara's sobbing body. He makes the mistake of hesitating, of taking a moment too long to stare at Sam as the knife hovers over Tara's chest.

Amber shoots him in the head, and kicks his body off of hers. She takes his place, a hand stroking down Tara's cheek. She hushes her, wiping away her tears.

"It's ok darling, he's gone now. He can't hurt you anymore."

"You're the one who's been hurting her," Sam snarls, crawling closer. "Get the fuck away from her!"

"Ah-ah," Amber tuts, pointing the gun at her. "The movie's not finished yet."

"ENOUGH of this fucking movie bullshit," Sam screams, "this isn't a movie! This is real life!"

"For you, maybe," Amber replies, voice distracted.

"Are you going to be a good girl for me, Tara? I did all of this for you."

Amber tries to ignore Sam's begging in the background, the way she's asking her to stop, to please stop this now. "We won't tell anyone, please... just stop." She's trying to focus on Tara.

Irritated, she snaps her head up to her. "You're going to die here, Sam. It's no less than you deserve for what you've done."

She monologues, reminds Sam of how much pain Tara's been in, how it's all her fault. How she deserves to die.

"And Tara?" Sam whispers, terrified to know the answer.

"Tara doesn't have to die," Amber replies with a smile. She knows how to make sure Tara obeys. "She just has to keep her mouth shut. She will, won't she?" she asks Sam, maintaining eye contact with the older girl.

Sam swallows. "She will," she whispers back.

Satisfied, Amber gets up, stepping back and nodding at the girl on the floor. Sam throws herself forward, wrapping her arms around her sister.

"Sam," the girl cries. She can barely understand what's happening through the pain.

Sam cups her sister's face, taking it in for the last time, her own tears falling. "Tara, I need you to promise me something, ok?"

Tara shakes her head.

"Tara please," Sam sobs, bringing her forehead down to meet hers. "I need you to promise. Promise me you won't tell anyone. You'll be safe, she won't hurt you if you don't tell anyone. Tell them it was all me, ok? I did this. I hurt you, I killed them all, just please, I need you to be safe."

"I can't-" "You can. You can. You have to."

"I need you to live, Tara. Please. I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please, live."

Tara closes her eyes and nods, burying her face in Sam's neck.

She doesn't see the way Amber grins at the scene, but Sam does. She watches as Amber steps forward, gun in one hand, knife in the other. The way she steps behind her.

Amber grabs Tara's hand, wrapping her fingers around the hilt of the knife, and stabs.

[sunnybugz]

university is so crazy sometimes you get so stressed parts of your body start dying

[fumitori-forced-me]

I finally drew our favorite emperor, FUMIKADO!!

[seventh-district]

Could've left me just the way you found me, but you came and put your wings around me. You went out of your way, to fix what you didn't break.

This song is so incredibly Sam & Darlin' coded and no one can tell me otherwise.

[lots of lyrical analysis below the cut] [there's also a short little fanfic blurb of them stargazing down there too (this post got really out of hand lmao)]

For those not fully caught up, note that the following commentary contains various spoilers for Sam and Darlin's stories.

Note: Unfortunately this song is gendered, using the word 'girl' several times. Which sucks a little bit for immersion purposes, not only for keeping Darlin' gender-neutral, but also because I see this song as a duet between them, and Darlin' obviously wouldn't be addressing Sam with the word 'girl' either. So! As with most songs on their playlist, we're just gonna mentally omit any gendered terms we come across.

Side note: Frustratingly, this is one of those songs that didn't really even need to gender the subject in the first place. No part of the story or message is lost without it. But alas, many songs are like that, and so the playlist-makers of the world shall continue to suffer. [/lh]

Anyways, preamble's over. It's lyric time now yay!

Sam's Part

I was a ten-year train wreck

Technically for Sam I suppose it was 13 years, but ten is close enough (and 'ten' admittedly flows a lot better in the rhythm of the song than 'thirteen' would.) Anyways, we're not here to split hairs, (I have to remind myself), we're just here to point out similarities.

In Sam's Dec. '22 HBW, he says "For the last 13 years or so I haven't had to care too much about how I look. Seemed a little redundant after turnin', considerin' I didn't wanna be around much'a anybody anyway."

I think he's mentioned or alluded to that roughly 13 year period of time more than once, but that's the one I remember best so it's the example I'm using. There's still about 4 Sam audios I've yet to listen to as of making this post, so if I'm missing some Key Lore I'll edit this later. But for now, I don't think Sam has given many specifics on exactly how bad things got during that time. Luckily, 'train wreck' is a pretty broad and subjective term, so it easily covers any degree to which he may have fallen apart during those years.

It also feels like a very 'him' way of quickly brushing over the details of his past/his hurt, as he seems to tend to do with Darlin', (not all the time ofc but it's still something I've noticed) putting his own hurt on the backburner to prioritize and attend to theirs. Even outside of his dynamic with them, I think as a healer, it's something he learned to do. And now he does it with everyone. Put on a brave face, compartmentalize things and unpack them later, etc. I could go on and on but there'll be time for that in other posts I'm sure. For now, lets get back to the song at hand.

With a last-call longneck

Due to personal reasons, I've yet to decide if I want to HC him as having used alcohol as a coping mechanism during that time. I don't recall him having mentioned alcohol much, if at all, (maybe one mention of whiskey that I don't have time to find right now) so I don't think it's necessarily canon that he did, but it's certainly possible. My personal preferences aside, I'll admit it makes for some good additional angst. (And- self-indulgently- it makes some other songs on my playlist for them more fitting.) So, for the sake of this song, let's imagine that he did.

I was searchin', I'd been hurt real bad

This one feels pretty self-explanatory given what Alexis did, (and, if you wanna get even angstier with it, whatever his family did earlier on in his life) so there isn't much commentary to add on my end.

I HC that in spite of 'not wanting to be around anybody', he- like Darlin- still had a tiny part of himself buried deep down that was, in a way, 'searching' for someone to find solace in. (No this isn't me projecting onto them both haha what are you talking about-)

Movin' on, gettin' sidetracked One step forward and five back

This is generally applicable enough that I don't feel the need to give too much of a specific example. Anyone who's recovered or is recovering from trauma knows this non-linear, back-and-forth struggle well already, and I'm sure he was no stranger to it.

If I were to give some examples though, I could point to Darlin's (and subsequently, Sam's) encounter with Alexis at the summit, or the shit that Quinn dredged up about Fredrick and threw at Sam in the interrogation room. Those are both more recent examples and I imagine these lines of the song to be coming from a place of him prior to meeting Darlin', but still, they're some instances where I'm sure he felt like the past was pulling him back in. I'm sure that there's been many throughout those 13 years that we were never witness to.

Not your fault, I was scared to fall

This line reminds me of their 'Cuddles and Confessions' audio. I don't think he ever explicitly said he was 'scared' per se, so afaik there's no specific line I can quote, but in that and every audio prior, he was obviously hesitant to admit, perhaps even to himself, that he was gradually falling for them. Even after the initial confession, there's certain limits of his (e.g. biting) that he carries for far longer, and some that I (and others) HC that he'll carry forever. So this line feels to me like him reassuring Darlin' that his reluctance isn't the fault of them, but his past.

Darlin's Part

You were the star in the pitch black Shine the way on the way back

We don't have any canon instances of them comparing Sam to a star, but I can see it being something they'd say (perhaps less poetically, but the sentiment would be there) one night while laying up on their roof watching the stars with him. Maybe they're dead-tired, talking nonsense with lidded eyes at the end of a long day, fighting sleep in favor of more time spent with him.

"What- what're you pointin' at Darlin'?"

Their hazy focus is trained on the brightest star visible in their line of sight, arm stretched out to the sky above them. "That really bright one, to the... to the left."

Sam does his best to follow their less-than-specific directions of 'to the left', their pointed finger doing little to help given the difference in perspective. Luckily, after all these years, he knows this stretch of night sky like the back of his hand, so it isn't hard to locate the brightest one. Ghosting his fingers up along their arm, he takes their hand in his and brings it back down to earth. "Okay, yeah, I see it now. What about it though?"

"That's you." They say, matter-of-factly.

"That's me?" He questions, humor in his tone.

"Mhm." They nod with finality, blinking slow.

Sam considers the odd statement for a moment before gently correcting them. "I'm uh, I'm pretty sure that's Sirius, actually."

They scoff. "I am being serious."

Sam stifles a laugh into their hair. "No- no I mean- like... what's another name for it... Oh! It's also called the Dog Star."

"C'mon Sam, at least call it the Wolf Star if you're trying to turn this around on me..."

He shakes his head and readies himself to explain further, but they cut him off before he can start. "But no- no, this one isn't about me. That's you."

He decides to play along, finding something endearing in their overtired nonsense. "Okay... then would'ja be so kind as to explain to this confused old man just how, or why that star is me?"

Their frown is audible in their voice as they latch onto the wrong part of his sentence. "You're not old, Sam. ...Do I need to tell Asher to kick the jokes down a notch?"

He smiles at their over-protectivity. "There'll be no need for that, now. Was just a joke, darlin', I promise."

They huff, but thankfully shift focus back to the prior topic. "It's... I dunno. It's just you, Sam. It's... bright. Light. Something warm, out there in the cold dark. Standing out amongst all the rest. Calling to me, stealing my attention. I... I didn't come out here looking for it, but there it is. ...There you were. In the dark. The only bright thing I'd seen in... fuck, in years. Years of chasing fleeting warmth, tripping over myself in the pitch black, falling into... places 'n people I shouldn't have. You were the light in that darkness. Even there, surrounded by the ghost of him. You outshone it. Your warmth didn't hurt. I didn't have to squint when I looked at you. You weren't the blinding sun. You were the brightest star I'd ever seen. You guided me back home."

In the back of their mind, they recall something they once heard, something about light, and time, and distance. Space. Something about... how you can see a star that's already burnt out, because it's light hasn't reached earth yet. The ghost of a star that's already died. Only still perceptible thanks to time, and distance.

They remember Sam's words, once whispered to them on this very roof.

"Whatever your choice is... I'm not gonna live forever. I made that decision a long time ago."

They think about dead stars.

They think about time.

"...-lin'? Darlin'?" Sam's calloused hand slides up their forearm, pulling them out of their thoughts. "There you are. Think I lost ya' for a minute there... you good?"

They look up at Sam, concern creasing his features, shadows cast across his face from the light of the dying stars above him.

They reach out, pulling him down into them. Burying their face into his collar, Sam's concern grows when he feels it saturate with tears. A human might struggle to hear their words, muffled against the thick fabric, but his hearing catches it just fine.

"Don't burn out too quick. Please. I still need you here. I don't- I don't wanna be left in the dark again. Please, please Sam. Don't leave me here. I'm not selfish enough to ask you for forever, but please. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet."

.......Whoopsies! Really, genuinely didn't mean to improv an entire scene there, good god. Also didn't mean to swerve hard into angst at the end but uh. that's what came out! so I'm rolling with it lmao. Aaanyways let's move on, it's getting late and this is a song analysis post, not a fic.

Out of nowhere, answered all my prayers

'Out of nowhere' reminds me of Sam's words from the same HBW video I referenced earlier. "You came into my life like a damn wreckin' ball. There was no preparing for that, clothing or otherwise." While those were Sam's words, not Darlin's, I still feel like they feel similarly to how suddenly Sam came into their life as well. (Not in a bad way, mind you!)

[the significance of 'answered all my prayers' edges into my own personal more headcanon-y/personal/OC-ified Darlin' territory, so we can just gloss over this one for the sake of at least attempting to keep this more universally applicable]

Picked up the towel that I threw in Took in a heart that was ruined

Again, largely self-explanatory I feel. (*proceeds to explain anyways*) I imagine that Darlin' was at the point of throwing in the towel, hellbent on a solo-mission to find Quinn regardless of the danger it posed to them. I doubt they were looking toward the future anymore, (to reference Sam,) fully willing to throw themself at their problems until they really did break.

The specific use of 'ruined' hits hard here, because after everything they went through with Quinn, and especially after he recounted it all to Sam in that interrogation room, I imagine that they really, truly did feel ruined.

Showed me the past ain't a tattoo Loved me even when you didn't have to

These lines in particular make me sick with emotion every time I hear this song, because I feel like they hit the nail on the head for how Darlin' feels.

I'll be here citing various quotes all night that I feel showcase that sentiment, but we don't have time for that! So instead I'm just pointing to the entirety of 'Quinn's Aftermath' video, and leaving you with this single quote from it.

"Everything that he said reflects nothin' on you, and everything on him."

Equally Applicable Lines

And I don't know why Why you saw something in me, baby But you saw right through All the pain, and you came and saved me Yeah, I know you didn't leave me lonely Weren't the one that put the heartbreak on me Picked up the pieces It wasn't the mess that you made Could've left me just the way you found me But you came and put your wings around me You went out of your way To fix what you didn't break

Again, I think these lines are all pretty self-explanatory, and are just as accurate coming from either one of them. To me, at least, their entire dynamic is that they saved each other, in their own ways.

(But I will admit, the final verses about 'going out of your way to fix what you didn't break' are definitely conjuring up memories of Sam in the early days, literally going out of his way to visit and heal Darlin' after their fight with the two vamps. In general, his continued/repeated healing of them after they once again hurt themselves is the very literal definition of fixing what he didn't break.

But! While we may have more blatant examples of Sam being 'the fixer' so to speak, I think he'd argue that Darlin' has done plenty fixing of their own. Physical wounds aren't the only things that need healing, after all.)

-------

[shameless self-promo of my Sam & Darlin' playlist for those few of u interested enough to make it to the very end of this wall of text. if u liked this then u might like some of the other songs on there soooo maybe go check it out and maybe perhaps give it a follow so i can get a little serotonin boost or dopamine or whatever the chemical is that's released when Number Go Up. ...okay that's it i hope u enjoyed my fixation-induced ramblings! thank u and goodnight]

[mirmidones]

3.40 i woke up bc i was cold and needed to pee and now i can't fall back asleep i keep thinking of the people i accidentally ghosted. is it ghosted if there was no intent to ghost? i feel so bad and it's not even like i don't think about them i often do think "i should really reply to them... once this is over ill properly sit down and write them... " and then i don't bc something else happens and im dealing with that and the longer i leave it unanswered the more difficult it becomes because i feel so guilty and therefore want to do things properly not half assed but bc i feel so guilty a part of me also tends to avoid it even more. if i do this to you just know i'm really sorry and ill get back to you i swear

[chanyoungies]

김준서 (KIM JUN SEO) 1st Mini Album [ECHOES of love] 2022.11.20 6PM (KST)

[surreal-duck]

hi!! i just wanted to say that ive liked midoyuzu since i was like 14 and its been a few years since then (obviously) but seeing your midoyuzu art now is so!!! its so fulfilling to my past self who had like NO art to go off of, i guess? anyway! your art is super good and i love it so much <3

im glad omg? extremely late to the party but by god i am bringing snacks in here or die trying o7 was pretty baffled the first time finding out more abt their dynamic and looking them up on here to find maybe like two more recent posts and the rest from no sooner than 2017 or so askjdghsjkgdhjks but really THANK YOU!!!!!!!! happy to be of service to your inner 14yo somewhat ;v;

yknow what though the really funny thing is that i wasnt even that into them initially. just remembered that cute interaction at the end of xmas live and thought "huh these two r kinda sweet actually" and that curiosity is always a slippery slope into genuine investment and by god is tripping into it a favorite pastime of mine