#no matter how hard he tries

[candle-scm]

not thinking things through

[nessa007]

a man using sexist jokes to try to be funny at an award show

[moonflwer-gutz]

God's Face

"Who told you?"

"God."

And God wasn't a winged Angel.

It wasn't the thing that echoed in his mind telling him to come home, join the flock, YOU'RE ONE OF US, ADAM.

Nor was it the thing in the television; the man who stole the child from his crib, cradling him in his arms, crooning, "My sweet boy…"

God was a static face. One of shock. One of terror. One of knowledge.

And It told him everything.

What he would become. What he would do. Who he would lose. Who he would gain.

His life. His purpose. His answers.

He learned it all that night. From that face, that shocked face. That sunken eyed, elongated jawed, black, white, and dread-inducing face.

God's face.

Ever the fool, he didn't listen. Too arrogant and caught up in his meaningless struggles to even understand.

He didn't understand.

But God knew this would happen.

This happened every time. No matter how hard It tried.

And so, the cycle would repeat. The Catalyst would awaken, the fate of the Jester would unfold, and God would come from that.

And God would try again.

For, God's face was his own, and his face was God's.

"Who told you?"

"God."

[iusedtohavesixtoes]

Waking up.

[class1akids]

Shoto being an outsider in his family and the neglected step-child of the Origin Trio too feelings hit particularly hard today...😭😭

[tresdem]

Half Shell

The thing is, Stede makes people happy. No, scratch that. Stede pisses people off most of the time like a grain of sand somewhere in your sheets you just can't find, but you can fucking feel it. He's fucking mental, and wild, and cheerful and desperate and, at times, yeah, too stupid to live, but he keeps on going somehow. So, really, Stede makes a space for other people to find their happiness. His grain of sand self is what makes a pearl inside an oyster. Ed's seen it. He's been amazed by it. Not just Fang who was always a sneeze away from being a teddy bear, but Izzy- fucksake- Izzy was singing. Ed hadn't heard his voice in ages, years, decades, and had forgotten just how beautiful it was.

So Stede makes a space for people to be happy, truly happy, happier than Ed thought any pirate could be. It's not just a party on deck, not just a break from the madness, but a party to celebrate the life they already had. A life they already lived.

But... Stede doesn't make Ed happy. Well he does sometimes, in fits and starts, when he's not being a dick. And when Ed is happy, he feels like he's the happiest he's ever been. But he can't fucking keep it. He can't fucking sustain it. It's because he's fucked, he knows this. Fucked in the head, fucked in life, he feels like sometimes he started off born in rage in blood and it went all downhill from there.

And now Stede is on his way to something great, something he's always wanted, something that's coming true far faster than even Ed would have expected and it's fucking genius and Ed is happy for him, but Ed just...isn't happy. He should be. He wants to be. He tries to be. He tries to shake the emptiness inside him, the questions of what is he? Who is he? Really? Who has he ever been? Who is this Edward then who is not Blackbeard or the Kraken but some secret third thing he's never had the chance to find out because it was always one fucking thing after another? And with those thoughts come the rain, come the gloom, come the ever present mist that clogs up his veins and fills his head and makes him want to curl up in the darkness of his bedroom and not come out. A time which had always frustrated Izzy to no end and Ed can't blame him. A time which Stede has never seen, not really, and would really cut into his whimsy. He would be concerned maybe at first and then irritated and then sad wondering why he's not enough. It would be shit. It would be an absolute misery. And Ed would want to do everything he could to keep being normal, whatever the fuck that was, until he snapped- which wouldn't be good.

And he could tell it to him, he could try to explain it to him, to talk it through as a crew, but sometimes he wonders if Stede would ever really listen if it's something he doesn't want to hear. And being ignored would be worse. Would cut him down to flakes of bone. And Stede could never understand Ed wanting to find himself. Hadn't fucking understood before, couldn't understand now. But then Stede had always been more himself than Ed has ever known. But as he stands on the dock, watching the fish glassy eyed, resting in the basket, ready to be sold and eaten- he can't help but yearn for it, that simplicity, a place where he could just be for a moment, a breath, where no one would care if there was mist in him or not. Where he could find out who this Edward Teach was and if he even wanted to be him at all. If he was even worth being.

And, in the end, he doesn't know if he'll be happy. He doubts he'll ever find that for himself. But he knows that Stede will be in his new brilliant life, bright as the sunshine, changing the world and the very fucking definition of piracy- and even if Ed isn't sure if he'll ever be able to sustain that spark, but he can be happy for Stede, and maybe that will just have to be enough.

Fin~ (if you like this, check out Never Shall We Die)

[rainbowcarousels]

Heyoo^^

Just wanted to let you know I absolutely LOVE your Nicki-finds-Armand-after-his-suicide-attempt AU. Their interactions are hilariously macabre and your Nicki voice is one of the best I have ever red. Yeah, just wanted you to know:)

Thank you so much for saying so!

Nicolas was one of the characters that I very much latched onto when I very first read the books - in fact, Lestat/Nicki was my first ship before I read QOTD and I always found the lack of utilisation of him in fandom really disheartening. I even got my hopes up when Lestat couldn't find him in Memnoch but so sad that he's one of the only constants to remain dead. I understand that's part of the tragedy of him, but I guess I thought if the others from the era get their shot at a life after, he ought to as well.

Trying to balance Nicki's difficulties - Lestat saying joy was hard for him is such a sucker punch because of how frequently in TVL Lestat draws lines between Nicki running his mouth or making a show compared to genuine feeling and how he can see the difference in his face - while showing that I suspect some of the worst of his early vampire mania came from the absolute trauma conga line that preceeded his being made into one is not the easiest, but I hope I'm managing.

I think once he got past his own sense of betrayal and managed to settle himself with the trauma if not deal with it, it wouldn't be all that different to Armand which makes their interactions fascinating to me. They are both dealing with a percieved sense of betrayal and their world view being thrust upside down at the same time and I think Armand did the best he could given the state he was in, but they deserved a chance to rebuild. Especially given Nicki's known for being acerbic and not holding back when I think Armand needs a sense of harshness because the softness, the pity, the compassion of the others is just not something he can deal with at that point. He's too raw.

I do have parts of the next bit written but I want to get it right because Nicki meeting Louis has been something I've wanted to do a for a long time.

This is also a reminder that I really need to give that AU a name now there's a few things in it.

[willowser]

hey, wait a minute but what about like. exiled prince touya, that fled his kingdom and joined up with some ragtag group of vagrants. and at first they were all, "yeah, we spit on the king's name, hope he falls dead in the privy, someone should really off that guy" and the next thing everyone knows, there's a loose assassination plan in place for enji.

that falls flat, of course.

but during the whole ordeal, dabi's identity gets leaked because he can't help but to proudly announce to the entire castle that the crown-prince has returned for revenge, and when everything goes to hell and the gang — the league — is left running back home to regroup — no one is dropping this thing about dabi being prince touya, and why were they even trying to assassinate enji, anyway; why don't they just go for the gold, the whole kingdom ?

so suddenly touya is back inside himself, a royal yet again, and what is an heirless usurper gonna do in the event that he dies ? well, he's gonna need a little wife, won't he ? couple of brats to make sure his legacy — his dream, of burning the king to the ground — lives on, right ?

[chickencowcow]

Do you think Overwrite takes the form of Hudson?

I mean, whenever they manifest physically.

Their voice was described like Sandbox but...not. not quite. Sandbox but. Wrong.

Except the fun thing is is that Sandbox is the wrong one. Not that he realizes it. Hudson was who he was -- who he used to be before Overwrite took his daughter and ruined his life. Do you think Overwrite took his face, too? To taunt him? Do you think Overwrite, when taking his memories, began to wear the twinkle in his eye and the way his lips twisted into a smile? Do you think they took his laugh? The gestures he used to make with his hands? Do you think that Overwrite is using it? Do you think they cobbled it together -- took away the mannerisms he'd learned throughout all of his years of being on this earth? Do you think they wanted to learn what it was like to be human? Do you think they took his personality and stretched it to fit them? Do you think that's who Overwrite is now? Do you think that's who Hudson is now?

Do you think Sandbox can ever go back to being Hudson?

Do you think his daughter will recognize him?

[littlespoonevan]

consider: eddie holds it together by the skin of his teeth while buck is being shocked (he is Focused, he needs to get them out of there, he Cannot Afford To Break When Buck Needs Him) and then the moment jonah is down and buck crawls over to him it's just. sudden full-on sobbing clinging breakdown

ok ok i see you. like the way he was in 5x06 but dialed up to 100, right???? like we can clearly see he's barely hanging onto the last thread of his control but then of course once buck is actually safe and the reality hits him he just completely breaks? ........that would certainly make me feel Emotions askdjhf

[lepidopteragirl]

i feel like he's become chaotic neutral? still seeking their own ideal world via following their heart but a little more inclined to extreme methods than other neutral alignments

mm yeah i could totally see this!! maybe im just blinded by my intense and all consuming love for him, but i can't ever see him moving fully into evil, even as he does move into committing worse and worse crimes. i think im stuck between lawful neutral and neutral neutral for him rn tho bc i think even though he has a really strong capacity and desire for unpredictability and being something new, he really is forged by a solid set of morals/rules to live by that we see him laying out in the lessons w slime and simple desires (need to be loved and all that entails, seek successful revenge, trust no one, leave a legacy), and his entire arc rn is him reckoning out with the validity and rightness of these strongly help beliefs

[chakiryshka]

— Mystra would consider...forgiveness?

— She would consider what she considers to be forgiveness.

[bethegaycowboy]

And for the Fool it’s always been Fitz. Like all his life has always revolved around Fitz. But DESPITE THIS he leaves Fitz alone when he asks him too. Imagine being in love with your best friend but your presence in his life is too painful for him because of everything you represent. Because of the things that have happened to him because of what you represent. So you leave and try to forget about him but you can’t because you’re in love with him. So what’s left for you to do if not immortalise his face on the figurehead of one the most important ships in the world. DO YOU GET IT!!

[withdenim]

How sad to watch him grow

[bookshopbentley]

crowley’s love for humanity has got be my favorite thing . he’s seen it all . he’s seen the absolute worst side of it , and he loves it anyways . crowley , you beautiful soul . what a terrible punishment it must be to have a heart that bleeds as much as yours .

[struwberrie]

theyre like those couples kissing in the middle of the hallway