#pirate-owl

[waltwhitmansbeard]

"I'm here. I've got you. You're safe now." For Vaxleth

7. "I'm here. I've got you. You're safe now."

Vax is no stranger to all manner of horrors. His body is a symphony of scars, the bars to the score of his attempts at survival, at protecting those he cares about, at making the world a better place. He has seen things no mortal should see, stood witness to atrocities that have shaken his understanding of the world to its core. And yet mostly, he's okay. He's lucky, all things considered, because the people he has surrounded himself with cast such wonderful light into his dark corners, making it impossible to languish in the darkness for too long.

But there's just this one thing. When compared to the rest of the shit he's seen—dragon attacks and bodies swinging from trees and friends sliced in half and his sister, cold and lifeless on the floor—it's nothing. Barely worth discussing. Just one more thing on the pile.

And yet sometimes, in the darkest hours of night, when his dreams turn strange and terrifying, he sees it: the glint of teeth in the moonlight, a beloved face twisting into something monstrous, hands turned the wrong way, sickening, slashing. Terror grips his throat in its massive paw, and this is it. This is how he dies.

He startles awake, sweating and wild-eyed. The room is too dark to see. Something shifts beside him, and the dagger that never leaves its spot beneath his pillow is instantly in his hands.

"Vax?"

Not a tower, but a bedroom. Not Whitestone, but Zephrah. Not the rakshasa, but Keyleth. She rubbing her eye with the heel of her palm, her hair a rat's nest from sleep. "Are you okay?"

He hopes she can't see the dagger shake as he lowers it into his lap. "Yeah. Sorry. Go back to sleep."

The sting of embarrassment whisks the breath from his lungs. Too wise, his Tempest, too good at seeing past his cracked foundation. Slowly, she slides the dagger from him, twists around to set it on her nightstand. Then her hand comes up to card through his hair, which he imagines must be a rat's nest in its own right. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Foolish. Dramatic. He shakes his head, smiles the smile he knows she won't believe. "I'm fine."

A moment later, a scattering of fireflies dance around their heads, and now there really is no hiding from her. Her face is impassable, patient, knowing. She waits for him, must see the way the color rises in his cheeks as it all becomes too much, too quickly. She catches him when he falls, keeps his face in the crook of her neck as he cries for—well, he's not sure what for, if he's being honest. He just cries.

"I'm here," she whispers, her breath warm against his ear. "I've got you. You're safe now."

And he is, which may be the most overwhelming bit of it. He is in their bed, in the home they share, in the town that welcomed him in like a native son. They traveled to the Hells and back and left the rakshasa destroyed, incapable of ever returning to exact his revenge once more, and he will never again need to look into Shaun's face and question what he sees there—but he can't stop fucking crying anyway.

But she doesn't seem to mind. She holds him, lets her fingers play with the ends of his hair as she sways back and forth like a feather on the breeze. Her collar of her nightdress is soaked now, but she doesn't let him pull away, doesn't let him curl in on himself like he wants to. She presses kisses into the shell of his ear, and fuck, Vax can't remember the last time being alive felt like this.

After a few minutes, he gets a hand up to rub at his face, the embarrassed heat still tickling at the base of his throat, and croaks out, "Thank you. Sorry."

The fireflies press in closer, so he can't avoid the sincerity in her eyes when she says, "This is what loving you means, and I choose it every time."

Fuck, fuck. He lets her pull him back down to his pillow, curl into his side as if she were the one who needed to be held together. The fireflies drift off, up and out, until they disperse into darkness. Vax closes his eyes, listens to her breath against his skin, and when he's ready, lets sleep come and claim him once more.

[essayofthoughts]

📓

#4 - So! This is a fun one. I had this idea ages back because I'm one of those people who thinks that Vesper II may well be planetouched but I don't think she's necessarily a full aasimar.

Now I admit that I mostly think this because I think, so soon after Vax's passing and everything with Vecna, that both Percy and Vex would have a strong and likely (especially in Percy's case) bad reaction to their firstborn child being born an aasimar. Aasimar get angel guides - from infancy they are being told some kind of ruling on good or bad and by someone the parents don't know, don't get to meet and get no say in - and we know that Percy especially has cause to be deeply sceptical of random voices in one's head telling one what to do. I think Vex would have an easier time with it than Percy - perhaps hoping that the voice that guides Vesper is Vax's - but I think it'd still be very very rough for them, especially given, you know, Orthax!

But. Let's go against my usual tendency and assume that Vesper is actually an aasimar - you cannot tell me Percy would not be the most paranoid bastard about it. He'd probably try to use every means available to him to assess if this guardian, guiding angel meets with his approval and wilfully encourage Vesper to ignore it if not.

Now. Let's take a step sideways and back.

There's this historical thing that you see especially in early Victorian occultism and the like of "Ghost photography". Now most usually this was a case of accidental or even intentional double exposure, creating a ghostly image behind the intended one. It's extremely cool. But for a while people believed these might be real - that one could see lingering ghosts and spirits via the medium of photography.

Percy said he'd never make another gun. Taliesin has backed this up. But... he knows about chemical salts. He knows about sodium and presumably other fiery metals to create a flash. He knows Tiberius used magic to create, what was in essence, a selfie-stick. Percy hates magic and has the scientific knowledge to figure out photography.

I imagine it's chance, at first, that reveals the ghostly angel that sits at Vesper's shoulder, eyes burning with Pelor's flames but hands soft as sunlight, wings like dustmotes caught in beams of light. I think Percy just wanted to make something new.

I think once he realises it reveals active extra-planar connections he starts experimenting.

Aasimar angel guides are one thing - but also a lack, when the aasimar has Fallen, perhaps? Could it reveal warlock patrons? Could it reveal a devil's contract or a demon one has dealt with?

Percy is paranoid after all. How long before photography spreads across Exandria, used to verify what influences someone has before they take public office? (How many devil contracts does Percy get to stall, and does it help him with his guilt for accepting Orthax and Ipkesh?)

send in “📓” and I’ll roll a d10 and ramble some worldbuilding thoughts

[hedgehogoftime]

these Four in a room together. Who's leaving with the cash?

[catboy-miku]

Here, take this

Thousands and thousands of animated shows, subbed anime and dubbed anime. All for free. I've never gotten a pop-up ad. Think of any animated show you want to watch and it'll probably be one there.

For example I watched .hack//sign over a decade ago and I want to rewatch it soon. They have the dub for every .hack// anime on there!

[goblinsatchel]

More from my pirate..mermaid..princess Au.. Yeah I have a lot goin on in my brain it’s fine

[melonpaya]

I am back with more sketchbook doodles of @lollytea 's neverland au 🫡

[cozylittleartblog]

if i went one more day without drawing timeskip amity i was going to explode

[justanie]

I'm very obsessed with Disney cartoons, so why not draw some of my favorites??

I need to get out of my comfort zone a little bit, you must from time to time :3

[awakefor48hours]

I hate you streaming services. I hate you anti password methods. I hate you sudden cancellation of good shows to mass produce low quality shows.

[pomegranate-nyx]

So excited to finally post my piece for the raeda exchange on twitter!!! I love pirate aus this was so fun to work on 🤍

[leftabit-leftabit]

I'm having too much fun with this concept...

[rockymountainqueen2]

Pitch Bibles for Ducktales 2017, Hailey’s On It!, 101 Dalmatian Street, Alice’s Wonderland Bakery, Amphibia, Big City Greens, Big Hero 6: The Series, Brandy and Mr. Whiskers, the Darkwing Duck reboot, Gravity Falls, Tron: Uprising, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, Katbot, Kim Possible, Motorcity, The Buzz on Maggie, Milo Murphy’s Law, Fish Hooks, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!, Sofia the First, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, Jake and the Never Land Pirates, The Emperor’s New School, The Owl House, The Replacements, American Dragon: Jake Long, Wonder Over Yonder, and Ying Yang Yo!

[sinnamonbun-in-purgatory]

Owl Laffitte lives rent free in my head…

That's his baby

[sparklingsora]

new animatic weee

[jojojooo33]

Lilith's palisman is a white raven but it is ALSO a parrot. Which, reflects some of her desires- both ravens and parrots are very intelligent + social animals. Parrots in particular need a lot of attention, something that Lilith wants after (presumably?) not receiving enough as a child, and they can be pretty destructive if they're not getting that.

[goblinsatchel]

What type of fish you think Evelyn would be? It must be something that bites.