#please check the cut!!!!

[yasmeensh]

A Master Study featuring Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. In which Link hangs out with the two Zeldas post-game (Who do you think became the Queen of Hyrule?)

This was a difficult piece, but I'm happy with it!

Based on 'The Chess Players' by Jacques-Clément Wagrez (1902)

Information on inspiration and process under the cut!

Original piece: "The Chess Players" by Jacques-Clément Wagrez (1846-1908).

The moment I saw this artwork I immediately thought of Zelda II. One of the women is wearing a medieval-esque red velvet dress, and she looks a lot like the design I made for the cursed princess Zelda!

I thought it would be very fitting to reimagine this artwork in a Zelda II context, so I went ahead with it! doubles as a master study and LoZ fanart.

I learnt a LOT from making this piece! Since I worked on it digitally, I got and made brushes that acted as close to traditional brushes, and I also worked on the entire piece in one layer. So whenever I made a mistake, I'd have to paint over. No return. But it was a big learning experience! Learnt more about rendering silk and velvet by observing how they are painted and blended in the original.

Here are some WIP shots! It took a long time to get to where it is now xD It was difficult to finally pen down the right proportions and placement. I probably should've done a grid copy, but I opted to just eyeing it out all the way through. It was... hard. (lesson learnt?)

I read that in a lot of older pieces, they are made in greyscale, then flat colours are overlaid on top. makes rendering much easier. and it truly has! I probably should’ve rendered the greyscale version even more. Since there were still a lot of mistakes that I had to rework and adjust while colouring.

Very fruitful experience overall, and I’m just happy to make a grand-scale Zelda II artwork xD I’ve never seen one so I made it!!!

[luminarai]

you’re on your own kid / yeah you can face this

I started this Parse comic almost a year ago (!) but I’ve only just managed to put it together now. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about Kent and how he mostly exists in bits and pieces as seen through the eyes of other characters.

There’s just something about being haunted and defined by your past (mistakes) but also finding strength on your own. (And how there can still a hopeful ending despite it all.)

[messiahzzz]

Hello! I love your meta-analysis of BG3 and share many of the same opinions concerning our boy, Gale. I have an interesting question for you concerning the orbs "volatility" in relation to intimacy (both physical and non-physical). I used to believe it was cannon that Gale couldn't engage in physical intimacy because the Orb may detonate, but when I played as Gale I was able to sleep with Astarion. This is in contrast to when I played as Karlach and couldn't touch anyone.

So, all of this is to ask whether Gale's dialogue at the tiefling party was him protecting himself emotionally or if he truly thought that any excitement would trigger the Orb (ironic given they are fighting for their lives daily)? Additionally is this why the Weave scene only features an imagined kiss rather than a physical one?

thank you so much for the questions!! i’m very glad you enjoy reading my posts 💕

gale: with my condition being as volatile as it is, i fear any undue, er, excitement, may tip it over the edge. so to speak.

i do believe that gale was being honest in regards to avoiding physical/emotional excitement concerning the orb. his first and foremost priority is to make sure to avoid as many potential triggers as possible, being fully aware of the catastrophe that will occur if he doesn’t keep an eye on his condition at all times. fighting is inevitable given the situation the group found themselves in. on top of that, every single day for the past year alone has quite literally been a life or death situation for him, wondering how much longer he can hold on until the orb inevitably takes over. i also think that he has experienced his fair share of horrors and tough fights in his past, considering his status as an archmage, as well as him being mystra’s chosen. even with his now diminished powers & the tadpole in his head he still remains in his element. magic is his life, it comes as easy to him as breathing.

gale: i'm what one might call a wizard prodigy, who from an early age could not only control the weave, but compose it, much like a musician or a poet.

more importantly, the devnotes also proof that the orb is indeed the reason for his deflection during the tiefling party:

gale: i see. then perhaps we see each other in the same light after all. a resplendent one, flush with warmth and anticipation, but one which i must shy away from, for now. node context: still flustered, but pleased to learn you like him romantically. then getting to the point - he can't do anything until the orb is dealt with.

if tav directly tells him to cease the perceived flirting, he will reveal that he considered their relationship to be a "budding romance" at this stage.

player: if this is an attempt at flirting, you should stop. i'm not interested. gale: right. understood. you shall hear no more on the subject from me. gale: consider this budding romance thoroughly nipped. though i hope our friendship need not come to such an abrupt end.

yet at the same time, he is also completely flustered if tav is the one who initiates the flirting:

player: do you like having your belly rubbed? gale: the pleasures i experienced in mystra's embrace go far beyond the pleasures of having one's tummy tickled. i remember once, she took the smallest piece of the weave and made it into- gale: wait. are you saying... nodecontext: taking the question seriously, missing the flirtatious side of it. nodecontext: realizing that the player was flirting, getting flustered

regardless of which flirt option tav chooses to pick, the outcome remains the same:

gale: you know what, i think i've clearly had far too much wine. and you've had nowhere near enough. i think this is a conversation best held back on - for now. nodecontext: flustered, hesitating to explicitly say what he thinks you were offering, then backtracking altogether

while battle naturally is always accompanied by the unpredictable, (as well as the dread of facing a yet unknown enemy) i don’t think he experiences quite the same amount of trepidation as where matters of the heart are concerned. or perhaps it would be more accurate to say it’s an altogether different kind.

the budding relationship with tav is once again unfamiliar territory for him after all those years he went without mortal intimacy, years that have been spent with mystra instead. it’s understandable that he exercises caution at all times, knowing what’s at stake if he lets go for but merely a moment. i also believe gale to be a character who generally goes “all out” once he chooses to be intimate with someone. we know that he doesn’t do casual trysts, friends-with-benefits arrangements, or anything of the sort. instead he wants to build a deep connection first. gale is a romantic through and through, he only feels comfortable being intimate once it has been explicitly established that the emotions he feels for tav are indeed wholly reciprocated. gale puts his whole heart into everything he does, he would’ve felt that it was a disservice to tav if he was only able to give them (according to him) even less than the remaining fragments of a broken man he has to offer — once he decides to give himself, he gives himself fully.

another added factor, however, is that the tiefling party simply wasn’t the right time for him yet, even if he already felt some attraction to them. part of him perhaps would’ve liked to go a bit further, be more direct about his growing fondness for them. spending a night together, just enjoying each other's company, talking until the sun rises, perhaps even sharing their first kiss if he felt that the timing was right — but i don’t think he would’ve considered this to be the appropriate stage in their relationship to sleep with tav either way. orb or no.

gale also tells us this much during the Last Night Alive scene, as well as during the conversation after you just met tara. in an ideal situation he would’ve taken his time, courted tav properly, said it all better.

gale: if things were different, if we were home, i'd have taken the time to do things properly. to say it all better. but time is short.

gale: i always imagined what it would be like when you finally got to meet her. this wasn't quite what i had pictured. gale: i thought we'd be in waterdeep. you, curled up before a crackling hearth while i prepared us a ridiculously extravagant meal, served with a batch of my homemade hundur sauce.

time is short.

i always headcanoned gale to be on the demi spectrum. that he needs to build a close bond before sexual intimacy is something that even remotely occurs to him. tav is an anomaly in this regard — he knows he deeply cares for them, emotions that developed even in the short, few months they've known each other, and that he doesn’t have the luxury of time to let their relationship unfold in all the many ways he dreamed of. all he knows is that he loves tav, wholly and truly. and that, by the gods, he has to make the most out of the few extra heartbeats he’s been given. even if his death is inevitable, he will at least be able to show them the depths of his affection. leave them with shared memories of pure tenderness, a knowledge of a love so profound that it might perhaps even prevail way beyond his passing.

player: what about all we shared together? are you just going to give up? gale: this isn't giving up it's securing victory, at a price i am willing to pay. and everything we shared can live on - with you.

i wouldn’t necessarily say that gale was trying to “protect himself emotionally” during the tiefling party, but rather acted accordingly to the horrifying circumstances the tadpole gang (and especially he himself) find themselves in. i don’t think gale ever really considers a romanced!tav as someone he needs to be guarded around. evident in the way he immediately throws all doors open without any sign of hesitation once he has their assurance that their love is indeed mutual. gale pours his heart out to them regardless, not knowing whether his feelings are truly returned. he is not a character who shies away from being vulnerable by any means. he is an open book, that tav is free to peruse in as they see fit. a slither of trust is all he needs.

during the weave scene the connection abruptly fades once tav either imagines passionately kissing him or holding his hand during a romantic walk. a scene that again shows that he is genuinely stunned by what he’s being shown. after all, it doesn't happen often that gale of waterdeep is at a loss for words.

gale: i... i didn't think... narrator: *you perceive quick-fire gusts of embarrassment, trepidation, and finally... elation.* gale: sorry, i wasn't expecting... but it is a pleasant image to be sure! gale: most pleasant, in fact. most welcome. nodecontext: warm, with real affection

i do believe the weave scene in particular to be a turning point for him. sort of an epiphany. the first moment in which he realizes that he actually might like the idea of eventually being with tav as perhaps more than a friend. that he is filled with fondness whenever they’re near and that he is excited to see where their joined travels lead them next.

player: when i said we could be more than friends, you answered 'perhaps'. what does that really mean? gale: if i recall correctly, the waterdhavian dictionary of the common tongue of faerun defines it as an adverb that conveys the meaning of 'it may be that', or 'possibly'. gale: you see, i'm not a big believer in fate, but i do believe in serendipity. gale: life is a tempest of events that sometimes we brace against and sometimes embrace. gale: you're one such event that, one day soon perhaps, i'd like to embrace.

given my personal hc of gale being demisexual, i genuinely don’t believe that he entertained the thought before that. he was way too preoccupied with other more pressing concerns. his overall condition, the tadpole, mourning the loss of his powers, still dealing with a lingering sense of loneliness and melancholy. a yearning for better times, as well as disillusionment of being cast out and left behind, even if he has already worked through his romantic feelings for mystra and their unilaterally ended relationship by then.

gale: i'm hardly pining. it's been a year or more since mystra cast me aside.

tav’s advances genuinely catch him off guard, which is, according to my interpretation, also the reason why their shared connection abruptly faded. a general loss of focus. gale immediately bidding tav goodnight to reflect on the situation and sort through his thoughts again shows that this wasn’t how he expected this moment of teaching to unfold. it seems rather uncharacteristic of him to initiate a kiss in this specific scenario. tav was testing the waters, whether it happened intentionally or not, and gale found himself pleasantly surprised by the turn of events.

i also believe that we generally shouldn’t use origin playthroughs as a cross-reference for the actual canon. larian approached each story with more or less detail and there are already so many inconsistencies present that have been pointed out by other players. instead we should see origin pts as an oc kind of scenario — larian handing us the reigns of each origin character, a way for us to have fun and figure out all the atrocities we could possibly come up with. sort of like playing with our own set of barbies. (“go nuts, show nuts” as tunglr staff put it back in the day) for example, playing as w*ll doesn’t lock you out of raiding the grove and spending a steamy night with m*nth*ra right after either. which is something that contradicts everything he stands for/something he wouldn't naturally do. even if you try to play an origin character as close to their canon portrayal as possible, you will still encounter several contradictions and discrepancies during the duration of your game. larian sadly also has a chronic pattern of overlooking gale in terms of content, fixes, and overall responsiveness. so it’s easy to conclude that his origin story simply hasn’t been fleshed out to the same extent & treated with the same amount of care and consideration that certain other characters received. (which is awfully ironic considering he’s been proven to be the most popular origin character, but i digress)

basically, this has been my very long-winded way of saying: the reason why gale refuses to be intimate with tav pre-orb stabilization is indeed because he is afraid of the orb accidentally detonating during a moment of carelessness and/or indulgence, as well as because of gale’s own preferences when sex & romance are concerned.

[bepoucorp]

batjokes collab with my friend @jasonsmillions !!

original image ^^

[vynnyal]

This is likely the hardest I've laughed in rain world yet. Basically, you can glitch a spear into a quantum state using a dead bat body, allowing stabbed enemies to follow you through tunnels. So I tried bringing a leviathan to Moon. And the game really, really didn't like that

[elftwink]

one thing thats so interesting about being a vegetarian is you get to hear all about everyones hypothetical activism that they care about very deeply when talking specifically about your diet and why it's stupid, but literally will never bring up ever again in any other context

[leave-your-body]

sorry im still thinking abt dreams new smp like what the actual hell. what is going on. how is thsi man so pathetic that he cant let someone (whos supposed to be his FRIEND) have his own moment without trying to steal the spotlight. what on earth is Language Ranking. what language will everything be "live translated" into. how lame does this guy have to be to do this i cant wrap my head around just how pathetic this is

[twig-tea]

Cooking Crush Finale: I'm Going to Miss This Show

Honestly tl;dr on this post is that this show is great, it ended leaving me the way the show has felt for me week to week, which is a good thing. I've said it too many times in tags and posts but let's say it once more: This show is fundamentally kind, it felt like it was giving me a hug every week, and I'm going to miss that a lot.

In my post after ep10 I mentioned that the writing on this show was making me so happy by having the conflicts converge on this one contest, and that did come to fruition in a way that I found very satisfying. The one nitpick I will say is the bullying storyline did feel dropped. Theoretically, from a thematic read, I actually love that, because these bullies had the best possible comeuppance by becoming completely irrelevant to Prem, Dy, and Samsee's lives and utterly forgotten. They failed at getting them kicked out of the contest, failed at eroding their self-esteem, and failed at preventing them from succeeding. The victory over the bullies is really how these three left that contest still feeling proud of themselves, good about what they accomplished, and optimistic about their futures. The show focusing on their group hug rather than the "winners" of the contest underscores that for me. And I love that we get the timeskip to see Prem's chef's table restauraunt, and that all of them are there as the first customers (including Metha, so glad this MVP stayed part of the group!). However, without the show telling me explicitly that should be my takeaway, I hesitate to assume that's what it meant to do (rather than the show just running out of time). It's satisfying enough for me, but I acknowledge that I had to fill in that detail on my own to be satisfied. And I am willing to do that for this show because it did such a good job with the other threads.

The conflict with Ten's dad was so satisfyingly tied up in Prem wanting to win the contest--not just to prove that he was worthy of Ten, but to be able to pay Ten's father back for the money he'd gotten--and I appreciated how Ten's resolution with his father was nuanced and not perfect. His father showed his support and gave verbal acknowledgment of Prem as a suitable partner but remained distant, and that visual contrast of him sitting at the restaurant table alone in the same spot he used to sit with Ten and his mother was telling. He doesn't apologize, but he doesn't get an easy redemption either; it felt very in character that he'd only accept Prem in Ten's life after Prem proved himself over time (and only after Ten continued to prove that he was still going to live up to his father's expectations while dating Prem).

I referenced in my Fire & Dynamite hype post that one of the things their relationship does for Dy is give him confidence that someone will be there in his corner. When he came out of the room having lost and was the only one without someone to hug, my heart dropped. But his did too, and it's because he knew, in that moment, that something was wrong. He had learned to expect and rely on Fire's presence, and that growth is something I loved to see. The way he went searching for Fire rather than internalizing that Fire wasn't there for him, and then was able to be there for Fire in the confrontation with Fire's mom--that meant so much to me. It was subtle, but compare it with the scene in ep10 when Fire shows up at the contest and Dy is surprised to even see him. My boy has grown so much! That confrontation with the mom was also really well done; I loved that Fire made it clear his sexuality was not Dy's 'fault' but was something he'd hidden from his mother and tied all of that up in his dynamic with her overall: that he's afraid to share his true self with her because he's afraid of disappointing her. This was such a huge moment for Fire, and I was so proud of him! And I love that it took her time to go away with that, sit with it, and decide to take it in and to change. And I also love that she still doesn't really like Dy, and that their relationship is antagonistic tolerance lol that was a satisfyingly realistic place for those relationships to land, and I really appreciated that none of that was easy. The look on Dynamite's face when he sees Fire's mother accepting him was so complicated; I absolutely loved Aungpao in that scene. Seeing someone you love being accepted for something you weren't by your own parent is so complicated a feeling--I don't doubt for a second that he was so happy for Fire, but there's a moment where I'm sure he was also feeling sorry for himself (rightly so). And Aungpao was able to communciate that complexity of emotion. I'm really looking forward to seeing more from him in future.

And the way they retained the Ten and Prem communication dynamics all the way through was so satisfying for me! I wrote a really long post about this halfway through the series here, and I haven't felt the need to do anything as thorough for the back half because the show really just kept doing more of the same (and I loved it every time). But, just to highlight this moment in the finale, when Ten asks Prem to say he loves him, and Prem kisses him and asks if Ten can hear him--for once, Ten doesn't ask him to use his words, he just asks Prem to say it louder (i.e. kiss him more), because Prem is now using his words more regularly and Ten finally understands what he means with his gestures, he no longer has uncertainty requiring the reassurance of explicit communication. It was a really cute nod to their continued pattern through this show, and to the deepening of the understanding between them.

Tying this moment from the finale to one of the broader things I found so comforting about this show: The relationship between Ten and Prem took work, which they showed on-screen, both the initial formation and the maintenance. And in that work, we got to see a couple stay together through difficult times, decide together how to handle problems as they come up, support one another through hardships, comfort one another, give one another strength, and ultimately make one another better at the things they were trying to achieve. Even though there was very little fighting in a literal sense, these two are my ultimate battle couple to date. I wanted to hug this show back every week as these characters made choices I'd been yelling at my screen for protagonists to make for literally years. And there was still conflict, and the characters still had growing to do, and they weren't perfect. But they let one another not be perfect, they let one another be hurt, and then work through that together. This relationship has skyrocketed to one of my favourites in any BL.

And as much as I love this core relationship, as well as the incredibly nuanced queerness of Dynamite and Fire's dynamic, which was so satisfying to see depicted on my screen every week too, and which I will absolutely love forever--the way Dy gave Fire space to figure out how and when to come out even to the point of risking his own precarious housing situation, and then supporting him by being honest about what to expect (and what he will be risking) is something I will also hold this close to my heart as one of my favourite BL moments--the best thing about this show was the core friendships. I will be forever thankful for a show that treated its core queer friendships with the same or even higher priority to the romantic relationships. I've written previously about how exciting it was to me that one of the major conflicts in this show was between the friend group, and I want to call that out again because it was so rare and so satisfying as an arc. And that moment in episode 10 when Ten delays asking Prem to be his boyfriend in order to allow Prem his emotional reunion with his friends was such an important gesture--not just for Ten and Prem, but for the Cooking Crush audience. It was so rare and satisfying to see a show prioritize friendship first.

Alright I've ranted enough. If you weren't sure about this show for whatever reason (too much else to watch; heard rumblings about some of the early episodes; didn't want to trust GMMTV again), I am happy to tell you that if you like good character arcs, solid writing, class dynamics, queer representation, found family dynamics, good communication, couples that stay together and persevere as a team, and lovable dorks, this show was wonderful and it holds up.

AND IT LET TEN KEEP HIS GLASSES ON THE WHOLE WAY THROUGH!!

I'd recommend the uncut version, which is available for free with a Thai VPN on WeTV or grey, but the cut version is available on YouTube and a couple of very cool tumblr folks have summarized and provided clips of the cut bits so nobody has to miss out: @respectthepetty (here) and @keepthetension (here). Thank you both for your hard work every week!

[front-facing-pokemon]

[spikes-got-anger-issues]

⭐️ 1 ⭐️ [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]

[pettyprocrastination]

im gonna be honest after the initial shock and hours long conversation that would happen, Jeff Morales would absolutely force miles to put on his suit and film informational videos about stranger danger and self-defense after learning he’s spiderman

[kusakichan15]

Lets see how this "Bad Romance" unfolds on @/sliplocked's story for the TF Big Bang 🤭🤭🤭

AO3 Fic link here 🔞

[edwardscissorfeet]

good morning its a holiday

cato in utica

"I would have them all leave," Cato announces quietly, but his soft cadence is heard over the din of the crowd.

"Excuse me? Are you insane?" his son asks disbelievingly.

"You should leave," Cato continues, as if he hadn't heard him. "We will not find victory against Caesar in strength of arms." He fixes his gaze sternly on the incredulous face of his only son. "I will not have anyone needlessly martyring themselves. The cause is lost."

"Father," Marcus pleads. "Please."

"Make arrangements for those that wish to leave by land or sea," Cato instructs with terrible gentleness. "And for any who wish to stay to entreat Caesar. Prepare reserves for those that face trouble in their journey." He stands up from his perch, ignoring the stricken faces of his companions. "I am inclined to rest now. Be safe."

"And what about you?" Demetrius demands.

"What about me?" Cato answers without turning to look at him. "I will see the people under my protection to safety, and then I will make for it myself."

-

He retreats to his room, and a cursory glance reveals a prominent missing object. He is torn between leaving it for another day, or demanding for its immediate delivery to him, but the roiling in his gut intensifies at the thought of Caesar finding him conscious for clemency.

A terse jerk of his chin has a slave hurrying over to him.

"Where is my blade?"

The boy twists his fingers behind his back. He winces preparatorily. "Ah," he stutters, high and meek. Cato loses his patience and rounds on the slave, clutching a tight grip around the soft, vulnerable skin of his neck. The slave whimpers, and all too suddenly he notices that the slave is not a boy but a girl after all, young and quivering, cropped hair curling loosely around the nape of her neck where it brushes against his fingertips.

He lets go of her. "Bring me my blade," he orders coolly, no inflexion within. "Now."

She manages a bow and scurries out of the room. He sinks onto his bed and places his head in his hands.

-

He waits quietly for an hour, and then two, and suddenly he has finished his book from where he has been lounging unbothered on his cot, and his sword has still not been delivered. He slips silently off the bed to the entrance of his room, where another slave - a boy, this time, he squints to confirm - stands with his head lowered.

"Where's the girl?" he asks hoarsely, and the boy visibly startles.

"Sir?" the boy asks hesitantly, voice similar thin and child-like.

"The girl," Cato waves his hand. "She was here. I asked her to bring my sword."

The boy twitches, shuffling his bare feet, as if hiding something. Cato considers him. "You," he decides. "Go and bring me my sword. Check up on your friend."

The boy's hands tremble. "I can't..." he whispers frailly.

There is a single moment when Cato considers his years of stoic silence. He hadn't had an outburst quite as big as the one he had when Caepio died, not when he and his son-in-law had been bullied out of the senate, not even when reports of Caesar entering the city had come from hurried messengers and the threat of war had hung like a sword above his neck. It all seems like a lifetime ago. The edge of a dangerous precipice between stoic martyrdom and the undignified, but undoubtedly mannish, outburst he feels building in his chest. He teeters. He picks his side.

"Bring me my fucking sword!" he bellows, uncommonly loud. He allows his voice to echo unrestrained. He hears the clatter of dishes from the front of the house and an unnatural cessation of the chatter he had not even noticed. The slave boy jolts violently and cowers against the wall. "Do none of you respect your master's wishes?" Cato demands.

"Sir -" the boy pleads, but Cato slaps him across the mouth. "Bring me my fucking sword, or I will have your head brought to me on a platter," he hisses. The boy nods jerkily and stumbles on thin legs into a man as he runs out of the room. Cato straightens furiously. It is his son. "Father," he begins, dressed in a simple tunic, cheeks flushed with drink. "Father, be calm," he entreats. "You will frighten our friends."

Cato curls his lip at him. "Filial piety, Marcus," he spits scornfully. "Do not believe I am blind to your machinations. Have a thought for your poor father's wishes."

His son turns redder, this time ruddy with emotion. "I cannot let you harm yourself!" he exclaims. "It is my piety that brings us here."

"Do you believe I need a sharp blade to kill myself?" Cato inquires dangerously. "I could bash my head on the wall. I could tie sacks to my feet and drown myself. Do you believe you can stop me by confiscating a sword?"

Marcus' lips tremble and he sniffs just once before stalking, with a straight back and his dignity intact, out of the room.

-

His companions enter meekly to entreat him as his son had done, but he berates them just the same. Finally, the first slave girl enters with his sword wrapped in a woollen cloak.

"What is your name?" he says, drawing the sword out of its sheath and pressing the tip of his finger to its point.

"Aulia," the girl mumbles.

"Roman," he says. She nods warily.

"Thank you, Aulia," he says kindly, allowing himself to glance at the pale fingerprints on her neck. He had placed those there. He slips his sword back into its sheath and dismisses her, ensuring she sees him hide the weapon under his cot.

She bends at the waist and retreats slowly backwards, a much-preferred view compared to the hasty departures of his previous guests.

-

A few more reports of the citizens preparing to leave by sea make their way to his room. His son enters once to discuss the wind conditions, and Cato is not oblivious to his satisfaction at seeing his father whole and hale, leafing through his book, sword stowed away.

However, as the sun rises, the residence hears a wounded gasp, the distinct sound of the blade of a sword clattering on the floor, as well as an indistinct rattle.

Marcus Cato runs from his room and holds his breath at the sight of his father, prone on the floor. His father's toga is still on, sliding out of their careful folds with each belaboured breath. A maroon stain spreads from the center of his abdomen. Marcus falls to his knees by his father's side, kicking the bloodied sword away, knocking into the abacus that had fallen from the stool beside the bed.

"Cleanthes," he calls panickedly. "Cleanthes, get the fuck over here now!"

"No," his father mumbles. Marcus lifts the hem of the toga off the wound and nearly vomits at the sight of exposed guts.

"Cleanthes," he shouts again.

"Marcus," his father groans. "No."

"This is not your only choice," Marcus Cato insists fiercely. "Caesar forgave Marcus Brutus. He will let you leave with your life."

His father blinks blearily and slides his unfocused gaze to Marcus' face. He thinks his father might be staring at his chin. A clammy hand lifts to grip his wrist tightly. "I would rather die," his father whispers heavily, solemn as sin. "Than live in a world with Caesar as my master." His tears roll down the sides of his face as he blinks rapidly.

Cleanthes hurries in with supplies and instructs Marcus to press the fabric of the toga to the wound. Marcus allows his arm to slip out of his father's slackened grip.

"I would rather die," his father gasps.

-

He wakes to the singing of birds. There is an indiscriminate pain pressing his body flat, but he manages to bring trembling fingers to fold down the hem of the wool blanket covering his torso.

He can't quite manage to lift his head to look at where the pain is radiating from, lying on his back as he is, but he presses gentle fingers around where he assumes the edges of the wound are, and bites his cheek to keep from making a sound.

After having satisfied himself with putting pressure on the inflamed wound and feeling blood slide and drip off his body to seep onto his bed, he lets his hands fall back to his sides.

-

In the night, it is not quite the spectacle Alexander had inspired in Babylon, but the people of Utica mourn and offer their tears as libations, watering the unbloodied soil.

[topsyturvy-turtely]

When Sherlock came home from his trip through the city, he found an envelope. He had been out alone, because John has had daddy-duties with Rosie at home. Now the envelope immediately caught his eye. John had written his name on it. His husband had obviously tried his best to write it in a nice manner. Long, precise letters. No flourish – that wouldn’t be John.

‘Happy Birthday, Sherlock’,

it simply said.

Too intrigued to walk over to the hook, he threw his belstaff over a stool and took the envelope in his hands. Sherlock carefully bent it. Not a card – which would make sense, since John always insisted on getting him a present for his birthday; No, it was paper. Did John print something out? He brought it to his nose. It smelled clean, almost sanitary, a hint of John and… was that Mycroft’s smell? Sherlock frowned – why would birthday wishes from his husband smell like his brother? It was obvious, this envelope had to be important – John even had made the effort to put a paperweight on it, far away from Rosie’s stool, so she couldn’t get food on it.

Too curious what was inside, Sherlock finally did open the envelope – with the laid out ready paperknife. (So much preparation for a simple Happy Birthday letter? No, this was something else entirely, but what?)

Not in the mood for more deductions, Sherlock pulled the papers out of the envelope. And stared. For a long time. When he remembered to blink again, he did so exactly seven times, rapidly and consecutively. His hands started shaking. Sherlock almost couldn’t believe it, but his eyes actually filled with tears.

Suddenly he felt arms wrap around his waist from behind. "Happy Birthday, Love.", John whispered into his back.

“John I-“

John hummed.

“I-” Sherlock fought for words through that knot of emotion in his throat. Before him, in his hands, he held adoption papers for Rosamund Watson-Holmes.

John squeezed him tighter. “Are you okay?”

Sherlock nodded, trying to hold back the treacherous sentiment. Then it won him over and he sobbed. The great detective turned in John’s arms and wrapped his husband in the tightest embrace, he had ever given.

“I- I am Watson’s father?”, Sherlock needed to hear it from John’s mouth. He wasn’t sure why the documents in his hands were not enough, but he needed to hear it from John.

“Officially, as of today. Congratulations, Sherlock.”, John’s voice was so soft and full of love and Sherlock knew: He would protect his Watsons with his life and more.

“I don’t know what to say, John. Thank you. I love you.”

“That’s all I need to hear, Sherlock. I love you too. How about you go upstairs and say goodnight to your daughter?”, John loosened the hug and looked up at Sherlock. His eyes the softest color of blue. Sherlock saw so much love, trust, and pride in them, his own teared up again.

"Come with me?”, Sherlock asked softly, grabbing John’s hand.

“I’ll always be with you, Love.”

They shared a soft, emotional kiss. Then the proud fathers finally walked up to their daughter’s room.

a fluffly little parentlock ficlet in celebration of the birthday of the one and only William Sherlock Scott Holmes *bows dramatically, pointing at the him*

page dividers kindly provided by @musingsofmyown - thank you lovely turtle 💚

i hope you enjoyed!!! tag list! (tell me if you wanna be added or removed💚) @justanobsessedpan @helloliriels @fluffbyday-smutbynight @inevitably-johnlocked @hisfavouritejumper @rhasima @forfucksakejohn @ohlooktheresabee @turbulenttrouble @7arantellgrrl @ssmeowl123 @so-youre-unattached-like-me @totallysilvergirl @peanitbear @train-mossman @loki-lock @smulderscobie @timberva @grace-in-the-wilderness @chinike @pansherlock @the-smol-bean-libby-blog @jawnn-watson @whatnext2020 @escapingthereality @missdeliadili @kettykika78 @musingsofmyown @7-percent @speedymoviesbyscience @astudyin221b @francj15 @almosttinycowboy @ladylindaaa @we-r-loonies @mxster-jocale @sherlockcorner @noahspector @our-stars-graveside @jobooksncoffee @baker-street-blog and also @safedistancefrombeingsmart (lol adding you to my tag list no idea if you actually want that but i am sure you will have no qualms telling me if you don't want it so yeah xD)

[crayonurchin]

I am such a good employee and this company is better off with me in it and I am giving my employer absolutely 0% of my free time and emotional labour. I go to bookings, I get good reviews, I go home and I don't do shit beyond that