#really should make a separate af post

[herman-draws]

GUYS I'M NOT DEAD! i don't have much but there's artfight pfps for them and a little bit of the other stuff!!

[requiemforthepoets]

you say good morning, when its midnight ⟢ OP81 (part 3)

main masterlist | fic playlist | series masterlist

PAIRINGS: oscar piastri x female!reader

SUMMARY: you and oscar grew up together, and despite being neighbors and best friends with her sister, hattie, you never really talked or had a conversation with him. until one day, where he randomly texted you out of nowhere.

REMINDERS: this is purely fiction, the way how the character is portrayed in my story does not reflect the person that is portraying my character in real life. always separate fiction from reality, and do not repost or copy my work in any way.

WARNINGS: use of y/n, photos are all taken from pinterest, no consistent face claims, fluff, humor-ish, kind of a slow burn fic, inaccurate information, time and date stamps are not relevant, and minor typographical errors

WORD COUNT: none

AUTHOR'S NOTE: part 3! i'm really happy that you like this socmed au for oscar! 🥺 i hope that i'll be able to deliver updates that are up to standards. I'll try to incorporate everything, since tumblr has a limit of 30 photos only per post. taglist for this series is open. enjoy!

hattiepiastri posted in their story!

liked by oscarpiastri, nicolepiastri, yourmom, and others

oscarpiastri take good care of her

hattiepiastri ?????????

hattiepiastri isn't it supposed to be the other way around?????

oscarpiastri we both know that she's too soft for the chaos you bring

hattiepiastri excuse you???? fyi, remind me or not, i'm always gonna be protecting her

oscarpiastri 👍🏻

nicolepiastri oh my goodness, look at her! she's all grown up. i still remember when you two used to dress up and she would braid your hair

hattiepiastri i shed a little tear when i saw her again in person after so many years

nicolepiastri tell her i said hi, that i miss seeing her around and that she looks beautiful

nicolepiastri i'm so happy that you two are together again!

hattiepiastri will do mum. she says hi back.

hattiepiastri we're now in our bestie singapore honeymoon

yourmom oh my heart! she really made that sign? thank you for posting this, hattie. i might be crying in the kitchen now! 🤣

hattiepiastri she was literally bouncing the moment she saw me!

yourmom please tell her to call me when she settles you in

yourmom and while you're there, please make sure that she eats actual food and not just noodles and bubble teas

hattiepiastri promise!

𓆉𓆝𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓇼

hattiepiastri

📍Haji Lane, Singapore

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tagged: yn.jpg

hattiepiastri week into the bestie singapore honeymoon 🤩

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yn.jpg look at us, maximizing our joint slay 😮‍💨💖

hattiepiastri indeed 🤩

nicolepiastri you both look so wonderful! enjoy and take good care of her

oscarpiastri like i said hattiepiastri

hattiepiastri no need to tag me???? bc i can literally see the reply???????

yn.jpg 🔒

liked by oscarpiastri, yourmom, yourbrother, nicolepiastri, hattiepiastri, and 256 others

tagged: hattiepiastri

yn.jpg all the love, from singapore ♡

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yourmom why is it that you never smile? but the photos look very stunning, and you are stunning!

yn.jpg 🥺🥺🥺🥺

hattiepiastri i stand by my photography skills, should've watermarked these 😔💔

yn.jpg exquisite photography skills indeed! been staring at how good it is 🥹🤚🏻

nicolepiastri so gorgeous!

yn.jpg auntie! thank you so much, i miss you!

yourbrother ok, gotta admit that this photo of you looks cool af. but i miss the gremlin that i used to chase around the house with a nerf gun. bring her back 💔

yn.jpg you and your dramatic ass! 😭

oscarpiastri you do look different

oscarpiastri in a good way. (sorry, clicked the enter button accidentally)

oscarpiastri the not-smiling thing suits you more than it should

hattiepiastri mate, u good?????

oscarpiastri what? am i not allowed to say that she looks nice?

yourbrother i will die on this hill

yn.jpg okay wow 😭 was not expecting a full family panel in the replies. love u all, but can u all pls calm down? 😭

nathanleong these were worth the wait 😮‍💨

yn.jpg 😂😂😂😂

𓆉𓆝𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓇼

𓆉𓆝𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓇼

𓆉𓆝𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓇼

𓆉𓆝𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓇼

hattiepiastri posted in their story!

liked by yn.jpg, oscarpiastri, nicolepiastri, and 23 others

𓆉𓆝𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓇼

𓆉𓆝𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓇼

hattiepiastri

liked by yn.jpg, oscarpiastri, yourmom, nicolepiastri, and 457 others

tagged: yn.jpg

hattiepiastri singaporean nightlife. i'm in love 💖

taglist: @uuoozzii , @freyathehuntress , @littlemisskavities , @elieanana , @rexit-mo , @imagine-it-was-us , @satorinnie , @pessismisticpotato , @milkysoop , @random-movie , @supersanelyromantic , @greantii , @chirpchirp69 , @purplephantomwolf , @mimisweetz , @frogiemushr0om , @angxedxtz , @hevzo8 , @pandora108 , @ms-darcy23 , @sluttybitch , @proudshinsoukinnie , @pinklemonade34 , @gemi-boi , @elizamoe133 , @sideboobrry11 , @mrrayjay , @curlylando , @soleilgrec , @nothingjustaninchidentt , @suns3treading , @dramallama9 , @1-queenofpotatoes-1 , @suibianupyourass , @armystay89 , @verstappen-leclerc-inchident , @landossainz , @martygraciesversion381 , @larkkyoris

[biancasaidstfu]

I haven't seen the yungblood pics you guys are talking about and I know a lot of us are getting tired of this. Everything. Or maybe it was me kinda expecting A's repeated appearances but also it made me realized something.

If there is one thing Luke is really consistent with his appearances with A is that, he cannot act like an actual boyfriend in love with his girlfriend, and he cannot act like he is genuinely enjoying her company. And we cannot see Luke's smiling whenever he is making physical contanct with A.

And the consistent Luke's off body language.

I'm so glad I have a relative who studies Kinesics and I showed her Luke's all public appearances with A. And she pointed out really interesting things.

● If there is a repeated physical signs of discomfort or like a monotonous facial expression, something massively is WRONG behind the scenes. (She was talking about how off putting Luke's facial expression is. And I haven't told her about them being alleged couple.)

● I know a lot of people misinterpret body language, but if you want to know how comfortable someone is with other people, just see how much of distance their body is with others. If the distance between is like, not even a tiny insect or an air can separate them, not even a single gap, that's when you can tell the level of comfort two people have. (I showed my relative the vid of Luke and A at the water in Italy and she was gagged by how much of that screams stress all over.)

● Look how his body is always, like always facing away from her. That's a clear sign of someone being forced to keep somebody who is he not comfortable with. (She's talking about the BOSS event here)

● The nervous energy he was exhibiting in all events(that I showed my relative) is not normal when he is with her company.

And then I told her they are apparently a couple and this is her response.

My relative also said, "You don't need to be an expert to know if someone is genuinely feeling discomfort at the company of someone they don't want to be around. Say, I can tell from the things you showed me, it seems like the guy(Luke) was really trying his best to keep that uneasiness under wraps whenever he was with her. And it starting to show, because his body is start to fidget whenever it can now. And the forced posture, and the distance is loud. He is leaning his body away from her, through pics or vids you can see it. Even while they are walking despite the attempt to conceal it via physical contact. He may be holding her hand but the distance between their interlock hands and his body is so visible. Whoever is this people may be, people needs to realize that his facial expression is like a cry for help. And I'm not even kidding. That vid of them sitting in a table? The silence and the reduced participation with each other? That's a clear sign of a forced. That alone should tell you that something is incredibly wrong, despite you telling me they are couple. In my truest opinion, they are not."

I tried to asked somebody to know if we are just being delusional or not. And I'm glad to know at least I am not the only one seeing that consistent uneasiness with Luke's face whenever he is with Antonia.

Let me know your thoughts B. Thanks!

First off, I love posts like this with opinions from outsiders. It's refreshing and helpful to get a temp check for what most of us (on this blog at least) are currently thinking.

I agree with all of this, too. This is what most of us have picked up on and why we're all tired af right now 🤣

But it's nice to see it from the perspective of someone who studies this because it shows how damn noticeable it is.

It's VERY easy to glance at pics of them and believe them to be a couple. That's fine if that's the case and all people choose to do. However, when you take the time to look back at all these appearances just this year alone? It really doesn't speak to two people in a relationship at all. Add in everything since June 2024 and it paints a really different picture than what the current surface level view provides.

Thank you so much for sharing anon ♥️

[ominous-faechild]

Hey how do you do the color gradient thing for your dialog tags?

Assuming you mean these things, I've actually been meaning to make a guide of my own for a while lol.

For one, you can only do this on computer/the website of Tumblr! There's no option to select this stuff on the app.

STEP 1: CREATE A NEW DOC / GO TO SETTINGS

It opens a dropdown menu/whole screen full of options!

From there, select the "text editor" dropdown, which starts as displaying "rich text".

Select "HTML"

And it should change how the entire post looks!

STEP TWO: CHEAT

Yeeeeeaaaaah, so I use a website for this lol

I inserted my colors for faeries (#30853C) and Cloud (#6DC1B4) for my example of "these things" earlier. To make this easier, I most often have two windows open at a time while working on uploading my scripts to Tumblr.

To get colours to insert into the Text Colorizer website, you can use any kind of hex color picker or even this one website I've used to yoink "thematic" colors from photos!

Personally, I've developed a massive library of colors over time for this exact purpose lol. Using my old colors as a "base", I can change it accordingly to the kind of "new color" that I want for a specific character or thing!

(I'll use the website to also make gradients for "in-between" colors lol)

STEP 3: INSERT TEXT / DESIRED COLORS

To make Nova's gradient, I start with #A600D9, my color for Magic, and end with #F56745—their individual color. However, being as it's short, I'll use a quote from them instead lol.

Once you've inserted your text and colors, you will click in the text box I highlighted in red, ctrl+a and ctrl+c to copy it all, and go back over to your new tumblr post tab!

From there, you'll ctrl+v to paste the entirety into the HTML area, which pastes the code into your post!

AND VOILA!

You have gorgeous gradient text!

However, I want to give a fair warning and a bit of advice! If you didn't notice wayyyyyyy back when...

Tumblr warns that this all can break your formatting!

It doesn't do it too often, but take it from someone who does an obscene amount of formatting... it's 100% true.

STEP 4: CHEAT SOME MORE!

For this reason, I personally have a whole separate draft post full of my characters' colors (and names lol) that I use to copy-paste them in from rather than using the "html" text editor on every post!

I mentioned earlier I often have multiple windows open while editing? Here's what that looks like!

Additionally, I'll use a separate tab off on the left (my "current wip post" side) with the "html editor" enabled for me to copy-paste stuff!

(Also here's yet another example of how many colors I have)

Once again, you can ctrl+c these things to paste them into another tumblr post with the correct colors!

And it's ONLY possible to do on the website!!!

EXTRA INFO!

WARNING:

Tumblr will only allow each "paragraph's html to be so many characters long, so you can't have too big of anything in a gradient!

And by "anything"... I mean you really can't have that big of a gradient in general. RIP lol.

It straight-up won't save the post so long as you have that "overflow" in the character block! MAKE SURE YOU'VE FIXED IT, OR YOU CAN AND WILL LOSE ALL PROGRESS ON YOUR POST!

SINGLE-COLOR TIP:

You don't need the website for a single color! If you'd like, you can just change the "color code" within the html editor to change specific colors!

MAKE SURE COLORS CAN WORK ON DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS!

On desktop, you can use shift+p while not on any sort of textbox to change the color pallet! I always do tests to see which colors work best before settling on any!

(Tho, the blue background SPECIFICALLY is nightmarish to work around. So if that's the ONLY thing I can't make work, I often ignore it and let you guys who use it suffer lmao)

(Hopefully this'll give you guys some respect for me and how much I do to make my posts aesthetic af lol)

Also hopefully this all helps???

divider by @cafekitsune

[illamda-spaminations]

I find it so interesting that during the Twisted Hearts OP, when the song goes "I feel you sins all the time", they showed Mycroft and Albert respectively. While Mycroft does not understand/know everything that's going on with the LOC and Moriarty & co., I do believe he understands how Albert feels, especially about taking the punishment on himself.

For example: This scene in MTP, post-Final problem

He understands because he knows Albert and, more importantly, he has been there, it's just the circumstances and the consequences of the decision is very different. The reason he dedicated his life to working for the government was because of his father's involvement in the French Revolution. He wanted to repent on behalf of him, so he decided to take on that punishment, protecting Sherlock in the process. Albert does something very similar, he takes on the atonement so Louis doesn't have to. He believes Louis deserves so much more than punishment; he deserves a fulfilling life, a happy one, or at least as happy as it can get, and above all, the one who should reap the crops William sown [I should REALLY make a separate post on Louis ye gods-].

Mycroft could've let the Moriarty brothers do what they saw fit, as long as he was spared from the brutality, but instead he threatens them. If they don't put the country's future and prosperity first, Mycroft will personally "annihilate" him [his words not mine].

This scene really goes to show that Mycroft is genuinely dedicated to the Empire, he is very intent to serve for the country's future, but it's not blind loyalty, it's him being bound to it, it's the least he could do to make up for his father's sins [sins of the father am I right?] and it's the same for Albert. He and Mycroft love their younger brothers, to the point of sacrificing themselves in order to protect them, to make sure they live as they please, free of guilt. The difference is that Mycroft changed over time, he started to loosen up. The first time we see him outside of his office for non-work related matters was with meeting everyone in the dinner party. And for Albert? Time stopped turning entirely. The moment he entered the tower was the moment he couldn't go back. It was him, his thoughts and the messages from Mycroft to distract him. The only person who could convince him to come out of his prison and start living was William; because William's actions, sins, guilt and will to die was the very reason why Albert chose his punishment.

In comparison, Mycroft's self enforced punishment was lighter to Albert's. While Mycroft has to deal with constant stress [this is not really canon, but considering that he's referred to as the government, yeaaaaa I think he's gonna be stressed af] and grief, Albert had to deal with a spiral towards insanity, grief, religious guilt for the Moriarty plan and his compulsive thoughts. And he's sure as hell isn't going to stand on his own for a while after that.

Another thing [this time it's actually related to my point :0] is exactly when the two show up. Mycroft shows up around the lyrics "I feel your sins" while albert shows up around "all the time", which further proves my point. Since Sherlock and William showing up around the point of "I can't feel your love but I can give you love" basically describes Sherlock's goal of saving William and their relationship in a nutshell.

"I don't know if you see me as a friend but I'll see you like that anyway, and save you, just like what I would do to another friend."

What's not to say the same can be true to Mycroft and Albert?

"I can never truly understand what you are going through, but I will always understand how you feel."

[zirobitches]

One Piece Domestic Fluff

I'll crawl home to her - Sir Crocodile x GN!Reader

Note: Not related to soulmate AU i just love croc

Summary: Devil fruit users are weakened by seawater, and I'm convinced some of them really hate all water as a result. Anyways reader comes back from a trip to find their partner Croc greasy af.

Tags: domestic fluff, takes place during cross guild era, slight angst? just taking care of ur mans, just domestic things. also implied/mentioned nudity bc yall take a bath together, also Buggy mention (i kind of insult him but i swear i love him i just dont find clowns hot)

Words: 3100+

AN: I'm usually an angst/slow-burn writer but I needed some fluff. this has not been beta-ed and i'm posting as soon as i get done writing. it is currently 2am. lmk if there's big errors. thanks ily bye

There was a knock at your cabin door.

“Come in,” you call across the room. The door swings open and one of the crew of your ship peeks his head in.

“The island is finally in sight, we should be arriving by 5.” He reports.

“Thank you, go ahead and make sure the rest of the crew makes preparations.” He nods in reply and the door shuts behind him. You sigh, and lean back in your chair, staring at the ceiling.

It had been almost three months since you had last seen Crocodile. You two have had longer separations, courtesy of Strawhat and the Marines, but that did not make it easier. You weren’t supposed to go this long originally, but certain encounters with some old Whitebeard crew on your end had incurred some delays. That was then followed by the official disbandment of the Seven Warlords, and Crocodile had to extend your reunion date to take advantage of the situation.

Now that the Cross Guild has been established, and no one was chasing you or Crocodile, you could finally find each other again.

Stepping onto land had never felt so good. Everyone that you passed or tried to speak to you was blurred due to your tunnel vision. You scanned the small crowd that had come to the dock to greet you, looking for the familiar tall figure.

Instead, you are stopped by a clown.

“Y/N, right?” You froze at the brightly colored monstrosity in front of you. He seemed familiar for some reason.

“Sir Croc sent me to get you, he and Mihawk had some business to wrap up before you arrived.” The clown continued to talk to you, but you were distracted by his large red nose. You recognized him from the posters - he was Buggy the Clown, the pirate who originally began Buggy’s Delivery Service, now known as Cross Guild. But you were just wondering why the red nose looked so realistic. Surely it’s not real?

“Y/N? I’ll show you to his room, it’s where he told me to bring you.” The nose was real, but you now had more important things to think about.

“His room should be fine, thank you.” You finally replied, making eye contact. Just to be met with freaky pale blue eyes. This man did not win the genetics lottery.

Buggy continued to ramble as he showed you around. Your mind however was not retaining any of it. After three months of not seeing Crocodile, the person you held most dear in the world, you were itching to see him again, and being closer to your goal did not put you at ease. Instead, you were even more anxious. Even this slight delay due to Mihawk had you peeved.

Finally, you arrived at a large gilded door. It was very Crocodile - a  golden gilded frame for a large black door, granted all doors had to be large to allow someone like Croc through. You reached for the matching golden handle on the door and walked into his - no, your room.

Buggy wished you well and ran off before you could say goodbye. You didn’t listen to him much, but it was easy to tell that he was terrified of Crocodile.

You chuckled and closed the door behind you. A quick sweep of the room told you you had beaten Crocodile to the room. You sighed and tossed a backpack you had brought on a nearby couch.

The room was massive - it was easily the size of a small apartment. The first half of the room was a lounge; a large fireplace to your right with the couch and coffee table in front of it, and a Crocodile-sized armchair in the corner. To your left was a desk, already drowned in papers - why being a pirate created so much paperwork, you would never know. The second half was the bedroom. At the center of the back wall was a massive 4 post-bed - absurdly large, even for Crocodile. Both of you could lay in bed at the same time and never accidentally touch. But the fancy, if not gaudy decor that covered the entire room was not surprising to you.

Sir Crocodile had always been partial to the baroque style.

You made your way to the bed and climbed onto it. You may have to ask for some steps to be installed if you are supposed to sleep here every night. You sunk into the bed and let out a long sigh. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be much longer till he arrived.

Then, as if summoned by your thoughts, the door opened again and Crocodile stepped in. You immediately sat up on the bed and looked at him.

The purple vest wasn’t your favorite look on Crocodile, but right now just having him in sight brought a grin to your face.

As soon as he saw you he vanished into sand and then reappeared on the bed in front of you. You inadvertently sucked in a breath - you were used to seeing him use his devil fruit powers, but having him so near - his face now less than a foot away from yours - well, you weren’t prepared for it.

“Hello my love,” Croc’s voice swept over you, the deep rasp of it driving straight into your chest.

Before you could get a reply out he leaned in and pressed his lips against yours. You melted into him, all the tension of your separation vanishing with his presence. He was kneeling in front of you on the bed, and his hand came up to the back of your head to gently press you against his lips, his weight now resting on his hook to your right.

You pressed forward, your hands finding support on his chest - warm and solid, he was finally there with you - and hand one traveled up to cup his face. He hummed against you, then finally pulled back. The kiss could not have been that long but you were still at a loss for breath, but smiled at him.

A soft smile appeared across his face as well, his massive hands still cupping your face.

“Gods I missed you,” You finally responded and he chuckled. As you two just looked at each other you noticed a strand of hair fall in front of his face, his normally slicked-back style beginning to fall apart.

You moved your hand from his jaw and began to sweep the hair back into place, but then paused your hand atop his head. Your fingers briefly carded through his hair, and then you grabbed a portion between your fingers.

“Croc, darling, when was the last time you washed your hair?” Now that you looked at him, Crocodile did not look. Well. His deep-set eyes now seemed darker due to the bags underneath, his face paler than you were familiar with, and his hair….

At first glance, you thought it was a healthy shine that covered it, but now realize it was oil. His hair had clearly not been washed in days, maybe even weeks from the look of it, and stayed slicked back on his head from the build-up. The last time you had seen him in a similar state was shortly after he escaped from Impel Down.

Crocodile heaved a sigh, his eyes closing and shoulders slumped. He mumbled something towards the bed, but with his deep voice and his face not facing yours, you didn’t quite catch it.

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” You tried to use a gentle tone with him - you were now concerned for him, confused as to how he got in this state.

“I haven’t been comfortable enough to bathe, not since the Warlords were dissolved,” Crocodile spoke up, but still not making eye contact.

You felt yourself slightly lean back in surprise. It made sense you suppose - not only were devil fruit users slightly weakened by any body of water, sea water or not, but Crocodile’s powers were rendered completely useless when he got wet. If he had been chased by Marines for the past few weeks and then untrusting of his new business partners, he was going to avoid putting himself at risk of being vulnerable.

You briefly considered having Daz acting as guard at the door when Croc was bathing, but not only would that indicate he was at his weakest, but it was sure to somehow make him embarrassed. For a man with such a large ego, he really could not handle any bruises to his pride.

Instead of prying into his discomfort, you brought your hand under his chin and lifted his face to look at him.

“I need to bathe as well after all the bullshit that’s happened. Would you care to accompany me?” Your offer of an act of intimacy like this was sure to distract from whatever negative feelings he may have.

Sure enough, a smirk spread across his face, his eyes already seeming to undress you before you two had even made a move towards the bathroom.

You move your hand from his chin to his face, covering his eyes. “Cut that out, I’m too tired for anything like that.” It was true; whatever adrenaline had kept you going during your time apart was now gone, swept away and replaced by exhaustion. You wanted nothing more than to get clean and crawl into bed with this man and sleep for the next 16 hours.

Crocodile merely laughed at your indignation and brought his arms underneath your hips. He easily lifted you into his grasp and carried you off the bed and into the bathroom.

You had noticed the door to the left when you walked in but hadn’t made it that far. While it may have been fair to assume it was large, you were still taken aback by the size.

It was practically a small spa. The shower could easily have both of you in there and even more, people if the occasion required it. But what stole the show was the bath.

It was less like a bath and more like a large hot tub. Or a private hot spring. It was already filled with water and steam rolled off the top.

“I had someone prepare the bath for us.” You looked up at Crocodile, finally dragging your eyes away from the bathroom. “I figured you wouldn’t be pleased by the state I was in and I thought you would enjoy relaxing in a bath.” He was looking down at you, his signature shit-eating smirk sitting on his face.

You just sighed in response and leaned into his embrace, resting your head below his chin.

“It’s perfect, thank you.” You closed your eyes as you felt him press a soft kiss on your head.

He eventually let you go and you both undressed, piling all your clothes together. You stepped into the water first, standing on a wide step as you looked at Croc. Several steps went down into the bath, which was really just a small hot pool you decided. It allowed you and Crocodile to be submerged at your preferred depth in the water, a convenience you were grateful for.

Crocodile was a vision. Still as well built as the first time you meant, now slightly softened by age and covered with more scars. You tried your best to keep your eyesight above the waist but couldn’t help some appreciative glances at what was below.

Crocodile also stared back at you, his eyes devouring the sight of you naked in the bath before him. Any apprehension he may have had vanished when you reached out to him, beckoning him to the water. He walked down the steps and went past you, deeper into the water, till he was only a foot taller than you rather than his usual height difference.

You now felt too drained for words, the warm water relaxing you into a state of drowsiness. You gestured towards Crocodile to sit down on one of the higher steps. He gave you a questioning look but listened to your commands. He was used to the occasions you decided to go nonverbal.

After he sat down in the water you noticed it - there was a detachable shower head that was attached to the edge so you could wash your hair in the pool. That would make this process much easier.

Grabbing the shower head you found the knob at the base and turned on the water. The sound of running water made Crocodile turn his head and look at what you were up to. You just smiled back at him and gestured for him to lean his head back so you could rinse. He dutifully closed his eyes and leaned back as you rinsed the water through his hair.

After you had prepared his head you then went back to the edge of the pool and looked at some soaps that had been provided. They were thankfully labeled in little dishes - a bar of shampoo, a bar of conditioner, and body wash. You grabbed the bar of shampoo and thoroughly lathered it in your hands.

You then walked back to the large man who sat there and began to work the shampoo into his hair. As your nails gently dragged against his scalp, Crocodile leaned back towards your touch, a deep sigh escaping him as he fully relaxed into you.

Your heart ached at his softness. When was the last time he let himself relax? The last time you were together? If so, you couldn’t imagine how amazing it may feel for him to finally be at ease after months of staying on guard.

Before you let yourself get emotional by this, you focus back on the task at hand. You were now determined to get this man as relaxed as possible. You had loved Crocodile for a long time and took pleasure in doing mundane daily things such as this with him. The fact that he seemed to not only enjoy it but often only did these mundane tasks with you, made them into something special.

Lather, rinse. Lather, rinse. Condition and while you let it sit in his hair you began to wash your own.

Eventually, you both emerged from the now almost cool pool, completely clean and perfectly exhausted.

Robes had been prepared along with everything else, and after you dried off you slipped yours on. It was normal person-sized, definitely not something you could mistake for Croc’s robe that was so long it would have engulfed you.

Before you could begin to walk, Crocodile leaned down and picked you up again in a bridal carry.

You made a small noise in surprise but then leaned into his chest, the robe soft and warm against your cheek.

Crocodile carried you back into the bedroom and carefully placed you into the bed. You pulled back the blankets and arranged the pillows as your partner went around and sat on the edge of the bed and lit his final cigar of the day. As he puffed the cigar he went about dismantling his hook.

Crocodile was quite adept with his chosen prosthetic, you never feared he would accidentally hurt you with it, but at night was a different story. It had taken a while to convince him you would both be better off if he didn’t wear it at night and he had relented. Now it was a nightly ritual for him to take it off before going to sleep.

You leaned back into the bed and turned to face Crocodile. Your partner was occupied reading some documents he must have grabbed from his desk at some point - being able to turn into sand had its perks - but turned to meet your gaze.

The cigar was quickly put out and discarded to the nightstand on his side of the bed. He then leaned and turned off the last lamp and the entire room went dark. Your eyes quickly adjusted to the moonlight coming from the windows of the room and you could just barely make out Crocodile.

He finally leaned back into the bed and then you felt more than saw as he reached out and pulled you to him, the large bed not large enough to keep you away from your love.

Crocodile was always so warm. For someone with his namesake, you had assumed that he would be cold-blooded, but for you, he burned. His hand, wide and warm and no longer covered in rings, made its way to your face.

Leaning across the pillows, Crocodile kissed you again. Your hands reached out to pull him closer, and soon both of you had your arms and legs wrapped tight around each other. Part of you wished neither of you would ever have to let go, that maybe you could just drown in him, be buried alive in the sand and smoke.

You separated the kiss to breathe again and tucked your head into the curve of his neck.

“I can’t do that again. Being away from you for so long was horrible.” You finally spoke up, your voice hoarse with exhaustion and emotion.

Crocodile’s grip around you only tightened, his face leaning down to bury it in your hair. He took a deep breath and exhaled before responding.

“I have forgotten what it was like to live before knowing you.” His voice shook through you, the vibrations of it coming from his chest. “I’ve found out I am no longer capable of finding joy without you.”

You felt like you might cry - from happiness or sadness, you were unsure. Instead, you blinked back the tears and backed from his chest to look at him again.

Crocodile had never looked so tired before. He looked at you with such longing, maybe even grief in his gaze, that you knew without a doubt that he spoke the truth. He didn’t look like he would cry, and you have never seen him shed a single tear. But this was probably the closest you have gotten to him doing so.

“So I guess we'll just have to stay together from now on, hm?” You murmured to him, your hands coming up to brush some stray hairs from his face.

Crocodile just smiled at you and agreed. “I do hope you realize I wouldn’t let you leave me even if you wanted to.” He spoke so softly that it sounded sweet rather than obsessive. But you were so obsessed with him in return you didn’t even care.

“Sounds perfect to me.” You whispered as you leaned in to kiss him again.

Eventually, the two of you began to drift off, finally safe and sound in each other. As you fell asleep that night, surrounded by Crocodile’s warm embrace, you had never felt so loved.

[goatgoesmbe]

Hi! Ex(? Haven’t really decided yet) Muslim here, just wanted to let you know that coming across your blog helped heal a bit of religious trauma I carry w me

I’ve always felt ostracised, now I found some place where I feel I can belong and relate to. So thank you so much for being you and creating what I consider my comfort blog!!

Hope you have an amazing day/night!! <33

Hellooooo ^O^)/ omg this is so cool- im like.. islamic wolfy (?) qkdjsjdhdjjxf

I'm so happy to hear that my blog could be a safe place for someone 🙂‍↕️ because it is also a safe place of mine ❤️

So I'm gonna make more porn

below this is not porn fkshdhh its me yapping..

I'm very religious myself, but i think I've said it before- I could understand anti-theist because i grew up with people that could make me hate any religion tbh. Not just islam. Whether it's people from school.. familly.. work.. etc

Which is why i put #cw: religion for people who wanted to filter my posts because for some the topic might be triggering

Even at lectures, which is supposed to be a safe place to learn, ain't safe either. Some often made it clear that they're anti LGBTQ+, being mysoginistic, etc. But idk how- i learned to filter out the bad and just take whatever useful

And from my experience. Finding a safe community, online or offline, is VERY FUCKING HARD. I've just been very fortunate to have at least 5 friends who are open to any beliefs, being religious, but also queer af

As of online.. i only have this blog as comfort space sksksksk. So once again, i want to thank everyone ❤️ for being so lovely

and when i said i've met people who made every religion looks bad.. i mean, every each of them XD

Ig Indonesia is so diverse that every possible extremist group existed. You go to the very west- there'd be al qatala. Java.. is the safest tbh but.. not really. You go to the east a bit, there'd be buddhist extrimist- i think they still ban hijab in some places (last time i heard, its not allowed at school/university, idk now tho, i heard that from a friend years ago in Bali)

Went to Maluku once for research and i was surprised that people are so.. separated by groups? Unlike java where everyone just mixed in one place. As in, each region is strictly for muslim, jews, christians.. and usually have beef.

I went to this village and got stopped coz they tought i was their neighborhood terrorist. For context, i was travelling so ofc i had a big ass bag. And i legit thought they were joking coz i couldn't believe this country has people like that, so i said YEAH ITS A BOMB :D (i got escorted to head of village and interrogated, stuff got searched, but turned out they realized im cool and we laughed it off)

..look, yall should know by now i'm a very unserious person

And then.. you go to the far east there would be what the gov called 'extrimist separatist group' of Christians. Some regions there also banned mosques to be built. (Tbf, Some places in Java also banned churches, so uh- ig everyone hates each other)

So.. yea.. I kind of had to re-learn religion by myself with no guidance. Just google, some scholars, and Faith ig.. somehow i got here and ig i'm quite happy with where i am rn..

And i found out some people use religion as a 'shield' to be an ass. Using it to justify them being an ass etc. When the teaching usually isn't abt allat..

So Whichever way of life/path you choose later, i hope you'd be happy with it either

I hope you have an amazing life anon 🙂‍↕️ ❤️

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

I'm sure I talked about this at various points over the last year, but since I'm walking down memory lane on this celebration of my one year Eras cake, here are some of the stranger non-Taylor things I remember from my first (and what I thought would be my only) show:

As mentioned, the security guard giving me the gears about trying to bring in my film camera, even though the website clearly said they were allowed as long as it was a fixed lens, then making it seem like they were doing me a favour letting me "sneak" it in. (And then I was too chicken to use it anyway lmao)

(and before anyone asks it wasn't a language barrier, I'm fluent in French lmao... maybe I should have played dumb instead)

Massive lineups at the doors that didn't move for ages

Tons of staff going around making sure things were going smoothly... Until an hour before doors opened and they disappeared

Zero communication about what was going on in the queues

People getting antsy/annoyed/angry in the lines because of said lack of communication or staff and then cutting in lines/moving in opposite directions/generally causing growing chaos the closer we got to doors opening

Having to play translator in a game of telephone between a random British fan who "heard" from further up the line about the queue moving and a French fan behind me who couldn't understand what they said (thank you 🇨🇦 lmao)

(that didn't help the queue at all)

A fight breaking out between a bunch of people around us because they ignored the lineups and kept cutting between the ropes to sneak in further

At a certain point the masses said "fuck the queue" and effectively stampeded the door once it opened and my friends and I had to lock arms not to get separated because we all got shoved forward

Again, there was ZERO stadium staff around during any of this

Except for the one guy picking up trash 🤷🏻‍♀️

FINALLY GETTING INTO THE STADIUM!!!!

... And immediately being surrounded by a group of giant tall men in the pit 😂 (and given that one of my friends is 5'1 that was not what she bargained for lol)

So much smoking. Why are people allowed to smoke in stadiums in the year of our lord two thousand and twenty four 😩 I think the last time I was at a concert where smoking was permitted was a Weezer concert I went to in high school lol

EXITING THE STADIUM. This was such a shit show and honestly a huge security issue. Again: zero communication, massive hordes of people, most people not really knowing where to go so everyone just sort of following along. Lining up for the trams was a complete gong show. Again, no real direction or queuing until like, an hour into it, and at then mostly only on the platforms. And once we finally got onto a platform, getting ONTO the tram was another thing-- people literally pushing each other (including my friends and I) into the trains. One girl kept pushing me and I literally told her to relax because we were all going to the same place. (It seriously seemed like no one had ever taken transit in their lives before.) All in all, I think it took us over three hours from the time the concert ended until the time we got back to our hotel.

(Wembley Stadium my beloved you were an orderly gem compared to all this and you are my gold standard for mass events)

Getting back to our hotel at close to 2am and realizing we were starving af but obviously nothing was open but luckily my friend had a stray bag of chips so we had a feast 😂

Post-show debriefing in the room with friends ❤️

And throughout being set on the floor in the pit, squished in the crowd exiting the stadium and then on the tram, and getting thrown about in my backpack in the next four cities I visited, my Eras poster survived without getting (too) trampled and is now hanging in a place of honour in my home office!

And of course the post-concert bug that whacked me three days later (I don't think it was Covid and I'm usually extremely cautious about it but I'll never know and in any case it wrecked me for the next week oops)

And it was all totally worth it 😩😂😂😂😂

(Although if given the choice I don't know if I'd go back to that stadium, though Lyon itself was lovely!)

[lingulaca]

Daemond is such a lame ship. Why should Dameon get romantically involved with Aemond, who's a stupid, cowardly creep, in addition ugly and stupid af?

i feel kinda the same way abt daemond that i do abt daegon (is that what it's called? daemon and aegon?) in that it's only #fun and stuff when aemond and aegon are acting as their FANON selves. that's the very important component. i guess i don't hate it that much, cause i won't pass up a daemond fic bc like i said aemond is usually acting as his fanon self cause yk. it's fanfiction. i truly hate rhaenicent though, that's a ship that idc how good the fic is, alicent is ew and she can die along with her fugly ass kids lmfao.

so i suppose i view aemond WAY differently than the aemond who, in daemond fics, exists only to kinda exemplify daemon's character ?? idk how to really explain it. it's like aemond in those fics brings out what i like abt daemon cause he's/he can be sort of mentorish to aegon and aemond in like,,, i don't wanna say in a sexual way but ykwim 🤷🏾‍♀️

i wanna make a separate post abt tb x tg ships bc i have a lot to say

if we're talking about canon daemon x canon aemond then... 🤮🤮🤮🤮 MY daemon would never !! so i agree with you

[dootznbootz]

i’m so glad i found someone else disliking the odydio ship because i thought i was going insane. i’ve seen people who prefer the ship over odypen and it’s crazy to see that because odydio is based on almost nothing and just disregards how much odysseus loves and values penelope 😕

Ngl, there's a lot more who dislike OdyDio than you'd think O_O I got two dear friends @cygniavenue and @thehelplessmortals who also aren't fans, so if you want more safe havens away from the crackship there's a few other folks lol. It's just that honestly a LOT of OdyDio fans are sometimes aggressive AF and just in general wanna be in everything for some reason sometimes, so a lot of people wanna be more quiet about disliking it. Which in a way, that's good because I was there for the Tumblr 2016 ship wars constantly era and that wasn't good but also, like... Idk. Just as others are allowed to like something, they're also allowed to dislike something. And I deeply dislike OdyDio 🤷 I tag my rants as #anti odydio for the very reason of having a place to let out steam and yet let others have fun.

And honestly I'm a bit angry tonight so Ima rant. I don't wanna be quiet right now and it's been a while since I went off about how much I dislike this ship, I deserve my "every 3 months anti-OdyDio rant". Thanks dear Anon for the chance to release lol :3 I love homophrosyne too much, and Homophrosyne, and Penelope tbh, means nothing to the hardcore OdyDio shippers, I'm sorry but I'll say that. I've yet to be proven otherwise honestly. It makes me sad that I'm often hesitant in this fandom sometimes because I just don't wanna deal with this lol. I hate when I make a Water Wife post and it'll get the tags of "This but with Diomedes". It makes me wanna eat glass, don't shittalk beloved Water Wife.

The fact that it's popular makes me feel like I'm talking to insane conspiracy theorists. And I find it so so funny that people will be so adamant about how "Odysseus didn't cheat" (correct, he canonically didn't) and then have him blatantly cheat for a crackship. Some folks I've seen literally call Diomedes "Penelope's replacement" and Penelope being called "OdyDio's surrogate". Love how people will call Ancient Greece so so sexist who only saw women as baby makers when certain folks clearly still think that way if Penelope is just Penelope's surrogate. I'm sorry but if you really love someone they should not be "replaceable". Penelope should get a lover too if her husband gets to have one. Where is my Penelope Yuri?!?!

What about Penelope's feelings about Odysseus taking on a lover who he has apparently fallen in love with? Clytemnestra is (rightfully in many ways) upset about Agamemnon with Cassandra, y'all don't think Penelope wouldn't be?? Or is she some docile, demure, little wife who looks the other way when the love of her life apparently has another lover who was her "replacement" while separated? Why is it always about OdyDio's feelings? Why doesn't Penelope matter to this relationship with her own fucking husband? OdyDio shippers never wanna think or delve into her feelings about it, and I'm sorry but I don't think she'd be "completely fine" with it. She loves Odysseus so so much and she knows that he loves her so so much in return. For him to come back and spit on that love that he had promised her is fucking awful. Where is that fanfic? Penelope understands that the goddesses were against his will but for OdyDio shippers, Diomedes was apparently consensual and on purpose?? You think she'd be delighted about it?? It's giving huge "The Woman™ is in the way of my Yaoi but she's not evil enough to outright hate so I'll just make her fine with the affair."

"It was okay for men to have multiple lovers back then-" Slavery and child marriage and multiple other horrible things were seen as "okay" too, that doesn't mean it was fucking okay. Cheating isn't okay. And where Odysseus' guilt for having fallen in love with another when the one he shares his mind and heart with is waiting for him back home with their son???

Penelope wouldn't have waited 20 years for a man that she thought would replace her or cheat on her. Odysseus' big character trait is that his loyalties are sketchy for everyone except for Penelope, Telemachus, and his parents.

It's honestly the fact that folks will act like it's unquestionably canon that blows my mind, like it's not. It never will be either. It honestly just feels incredibly like, fetish-y with how people get with it (which hell yeah, have fun with that!) It's the fact that people act like that makes it canon that pisses me off. You can simply like a crackship, you don't have to jump through hoops and bend reality to make it "real". Just have fun.

I've already spoken about it so many times before (like just look through my "#anti odydio" tag) but I just am still bamboozled about it's existence. Why is it so damn popular? Why are people so shitty about Penelope with it?

Honestly I don't think Odysseus would be attracted to Diomedes either. Like I've already mentioned how I think MenOdy is a lot more fun of a crackship to think about in a few other posts. but it's still a crackship.

Idk I'm sad, mad, and tired and I'm gonna think about my darling Water Wife to feel better. I'm gonna imagine her angrily shittalking somebody who pissed her off while carding wool aggressively and Odysseus is nodding in solidarity. Or her eating a raw fish savagely. Or her going nuts in a boxing match. Idk. Save me, Water Wife.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV Musings - Claudia & Books

I need to say something wrt how books & Claudia are similarly treated by Louis, Lestat & Armand--weaponized by Louis and against Louis. I wanted to post this separately from the larger topic that was raised here considering to what degree Lestat & Armand should be either praised or censured for their attitudes towards Louis' book-reading.

My argument is that regardless of how Les let Lou read (even at the detriment of their relationship & intimacy when Lou was too depressed to pay attention to Les), his passive/micro-/macro-aggressive behavior towards Lou was still just as disrespectful of Lou's agency & autonomy as Armand's was by keeping the bookshelves out of reach.

What good is being allowed to read, if the very act of reading is constantly ridiculed & derided & judged & insulted? Les calls Lou a "pompous Sorbonne student" who lets scholars "fog his mind." With a husband like that, who needs enemies?

So I just wanted to point out that both books AND Claudia are a means to an end, for all parties involved.

Louis reads books to be respected in society as a man of means.

Black people hadn't even been allowed to read during slavery (x x), but 1-2 generations later, Louis is an extremely literate Black man. His mind is quick & sharp and he's treated as a credit to his race by white pigs who're stunned that Lou's smarter than & can outpace them, and offended when he dodges around their racist AF red tape.

A savvy businessman, Lou's desperate to get ahead in the world; his prime motivation is to be FREE--not have The Man's "boot on my neck;" or treated as a 2nd class citizen to be taken advantage of; or hated for who he is (and the things/people he loves).

The sad irony's that it's Lou's gifts that doom him in the end. Lou's too smart for his own good, and attracts the wrong kind of attention (just like Les was too talented for his own good & attracted Magnus). His avid book-reading further impacts him negatively when books start coming between his relationship with Lestat.

Miserable with being a serial-killing vampire, Louis stops drinking human blood. Weak & starved, he distracts himself from his hunger by reading books--his one comfort as he felt more & more depressed--

--and esp. as Les started cheating on him. Despite Les' promise to accept an unapologetic Louis, Les made Lou feel unaccepted, "a botched vampire;" "Am I not enough?" Where alcoholic Louis used to run to the bottle to escape his pain, now he escaped in his books.

Lou's literacy & libido/vampirism are CONSTANTLY brought into contrast--Louis' choice to stay home reading rather than go out & hunt or have sex--thus rejecting (the lifestyle) Lestat (gave him). We know what that triggers for Lestat (whose negligent & emotionally absent mother Gabrielle also retreated into her books when she was depressed). Louis' books are in the way. But we see Louis read the least in 1x4, once he has Claudia & Loustat's marriage improves.

Louis wanted a child to feel like his life was finally worth something to someone.

Claudia's function is best described by Daniel in S1 ("a band-aid for a sh!tty marriage"); and especially by Armand in S2:

Lou wanted someone to make him feel needed & worthy & valued & good--that he wasn't a failure, literal "dead-weight," an undead vampire whose life & purpose/meaning was over--an ambitious Black man whose business was shut/burned down by the white racists; a gay son/brother whose homophobic family hated him & didn't want him around; and a spouse whose husband refused to respect him by staying around (faithful & at home).

Claudia mistakenly assumed Louis wanted her to replace Grace as Lou's new sister, when really, it was never about Grace (or Claudia), but Louis' dwindling self-worth--esp. since her death/Turning happened the night of the race riots Louis blamed himself for. Claudia was his way of "doing right" by the last remnant of Storyville; But Claudia's just another exploited Black girl of Storyville; treated like a doll Loustat babied & infantalized; the "throw-pillow" making their house a home with light & warmth, a distraction from the emptiness/loneliness Loustat felt. Lestat turned Claudia to make Louis happy & keep Louis with him, and Louis wanted a child so he could have "a family of MY own." Thus: The Unholy Family.

Unfortunately, Claudia increasingly got "in-between" Louis and BOTH of his husbands--she was in the way.

Claudia & Books: In the Way, and Out of the Way

Lestat and Armand treat handle Louis' obsession/preoccupation with books & Claudia in very particular ways.

Les didn't stop Louis from reading his books & hoarding newspapers, or spiraling into depression over Claudia being gone. In a way, he felt powerless, too scared to spook Louis (into leaving/suicide) by doing or saying the wrong thing. Lestat steps back, and lets the dominoes inevitably fall how they may, so he can sit back and say "I told you so; father knows best;" "who was it that she takes after?," always with the last word. Lestat said the books Louis was reading had "fogged" his mind, and wouldn't be enough to help Lou's struggles as a vegan vamp. (Allegedly, he warned Lou before he turned Claudia that she'd be defective.) He stood back and let Louis suffer & learn on his own.

When Claudia ran away, Les stood back & didn't try to stop her (unless that's a S3 scene they'll gotcha! us with). Lou kept insisting that she'd come back, but Les kept insisting that she wouldn't.

Les was incredibly nasty towards Lou's bookreading, and towards Claudia (and her own book-reading). Les didn't want Lou reading books, he wanted Lou to pay attention to him ("light yourself on fire, see if he would notice!"); hunting & killing & orgies. He disrespects Lou's grief as a parent worried about their runaway daughter, more concerned with getting his "considerable considerables" wet than understanding Lou's need to track Claudia down. Even at the effing Trial Les makes it all about him not being allowed to have sex with a mentally ill person nowhere NEAR in the right headspace to be effing around, like wtF?

(At least S3 can't Gotcha! itself out of Les' callous behavior, cuz it was written in the script that both Armand had & that Sam gave the Talamasca.)

Les loved that Lou was smart & interesting & knew a bunch about the world cuz he read so many books--until those books became an inconvenient impediment to Les' relationship with Lou.

Les loved that Claudia was "a consummate killer, a congenial companion" to BOTH himself AND Louis--until her bond with Lou became an inconvenient impediment to Les' relationship with Lou, ("I can see where this is going!").

(Les' problem is that he doesn't appreciate what he had with Louis & Claudia until they're gone--he insults Lou's avid bookreading while they're together; only to become the most prolific vampire author in the entire TVC, consuming books when he has no one around to teach him about the New World anymore after Lou & Claudia are gone. He treats Claudia like trash, terrorizing her to no end, and then cries that he never treated her like a proper father should've when he had the chance; which further pushed Louis away when his daughter was disrespected, mistreated, and abused--a la Ep5.)

Armand, on the other hand, was NOT gonna be ignored cuz of Louis' books or feel threatened/replaced by Claudia. He'd have it ALL, or NOTHING.

In the script, Armand (rightly) said Lou had "extreme hoarding." The penthouse, however, is very carefully curated, so that it's impossible for Lou to hoard anything without a team of servants cleaning up after him. All the books are neatly stacked & perched far out of reach, so that Louis HAS to ask Armand's permission to read anything--a couple books on the bedside table and that's it--and Armand has the final say on what he reads, just like he did with Claudia's diaries.

Once dead (by Armand & the coven), Claudia is relegated to Lou's memory, and her diaries--another book Lou's not allowed to read (unless he asks nicely), or remember (unless he & Daniel work behind Armand's back). It's unclear what memories Louis allegedly asked Armand to erase, but Armand is busted having inserted false memories/convos/words in Lou's head, and he admits to removing some of Claudia's pages without Louis' awareness & consent; thoroughly abusing Lou's trust & disrespecting the personhood of Lou, Claudia, Lestat, & Daniel.

And this is before he's busted again, having been the one who organized Claudia's murder & instructed Santiago to pass Claudia's diaries around to the audience, violating the privacy of her body of work (a possible parallel for the Frankenstein violation he performs on her physical body in the book).

The ONE person Lou was truly closest to, whose memory was most precious to him ("I had a daughter!"), Louis could not properly remember ("I walked into the sun!")--hence why Lou got so emotional when he remembered that Claudia had dreams/nightmares, and that his memories of her were slowly coming back to him--that Claudia's diaries (i.e.: his most precious books) weren't the only comfort he had left, if he could carry her memory in him.

Just like the IWTV book/"memoir" he'd wanted to publish wasn't the real embodiment of his time with Lestat, but actually an Armand-shaped effigy he'd been manipulated into believing was the truth.

[holylesbo]

hi yall. made this blog to yap about lesbianism as i am a lesbian and i find all the blogs on here fun and they helped me a lot so. LOOKING FOR LESBIAN, LESBIAN!!!! moots <2

FOR SOME INFO !!! I am 18, from Europe and not really looking for friends (or more?) just people I can interact with who can interact with me back. Also I will accept aroaces and follow yall back cause I’m aspec and the aroace community has a special place in my heart cause it helped me figure out sm about myself ;)))

FANDOMS !!! I have three separate blogs for CM, MCU & BTVS. As for my fav wlw media: First Kill (cheesy af but i love it i wish we got s2), Am I OK? (gosh i should make a separate post about this movie), Happiest Season!

DNI !!! Men, Bi-Lesbians, Lesbians who think they’re better cause they’ve never been with a man (go fuck urself, i havent either but what purity ass like logic is this), Racists, Bigots, Trump Supporters, Homophobes, Pro-Izrael/Not Pro-Palestine… Idk if you’re an asshole get out 😝

[persistentplums]

i love love your venture bros posts. youre really attentive to the vibes

a character dynamic i think was underexplored but had potential was billy and gary. what do you make of it?

Omg thank you so so much!! I’m really glad you think so! my post are mostly me spitballing hoping I’m getting the vibes right!

I actually made a post about this here! I should tag my posts tbh but I always got more thoughts I just think that post is a better summary of my thoughts. But here’s some more it’s VERY long:

They agree on most things except for the core idea of their livelihood. Which is wild because out of many characters I think Billy and Gary get along VERY well. They speak the same language and love the “game”. (I call it a game but the entire cape business) I don’t think they agree though on everything outside of nerd stuff.

I have this thought in my head maybe it’s a scale or a graph or something but it’s basically Believers, Nonbelievers, middlemen when it comes to this hero stuff and Gary and Billy are definitely Believers. But I think after Gary whole journey as a henchman, now a second/arch himself I think the idea of what makes something “Heroic” very firm in scale for him vs Billy who’s still sorta new at the whole thing but flexible.

I hope this makes sense but despite appearances Gary is rigid and Billy is flexible. I think while the morpho arc was sick (def loved the entire plot unfolding) Gary definitely had a hard time being on a grey area. He is either a hero (Sphinx!) or an arch. He feels haunted by killing all his fellow arches. He’s loyal af but doesn’t like the middle ground (his relationship with shelia, being a hit man, even 21 death you can say)

Billy is “flexible” in that sense that good is no small or big act. I’m forgetting the episode but the one where they fight Cloud over the ball, Monstroso surgery, especially Pete White as a person. Billy like superman genuinely would do good, it’s an oath it doesn’t matter to who he would. That comic run where Lex Luther is dying and gets superman to help him find a cure is VERY Billy. To Billy he is so firm to that one thing (two technically, hippocratic oath?whatever ykwim) it makes him apply it to literally everyone regardless of where he is. While Gary is very set on the us vs them side, that’s why he made such a good henchman leader.

I think when they interact it’s that trope of people in a mineshaft on their carts having a great time then an abrupt turn separating them, then they meet up again. Which I think deeply defines both characters despite being incredibly similar.

If I was summoned to a universe where I was told by Doc and Jackson that I could write a VB season but only when Billy and Gary interact aside from writing a Bromance for the ages that would get avid 21/24 fans mad at me (I think Gary and Billy would become like really REALLY into each other big “oh wow how come we never hanged out before?” “Idk!” Vibes) i would like to write them fighting a little because I think their small disagreements would be very telling about who they are as characters because they are the most genuine fan part of either side.

Gary is for every person who LOVES a hater ass villain (I cheered when green goblin killed aunt May in NWH I think Gary would, but still have issues with NWH ik I did anyways!) and Billy is for someone who LOVES a good wins no matter what (voltron, power rangers, he-man etc)

To me it’s not how Billy and Gary agree that’s interesting (big 2 nerds just in a mind meld moment, they’re also too similar ik why they were written to NEVER interact now, too alike) it’s when they don’t that is fun and I think it would happen the most at their dnd nights and when they watch shows together. Which pisses off everyone else (Malcom, shelia, white) bc they can’t hear anything as an argument is happening.

Also Billy wins most of the trivia stuff they do because he’s a bit older than Gary, this is Billy rodeo. I think Gary having someone as a friend who gets him is good for him honestly, he’s a third? Sorta? To his bosses/not boss anymore and I think he needs friends that he can really nerd out with.

Other fun things they do:

Hang out at each other places so often others remember the dates they see each other due to arching schedules

Follow each other blogs/have a podcast (movies, tv, and shows of influence throughout the ages guest star Pete white is on for music. Malcom calls in also surprisingly about music) either in podcast format or blog format doesn’t matter which but they work on it together

Have a show they follow together/watch together

Try to get Dean and Hank into stuff not intentionally their energy is infectious

ESPN announcers when on the field (when it’s not about them they’re doing commentary on the arch/protag tactics or at least commentary about Rusty and Malcom)

Wave/greet each other when they aren’t “on” in an arch or enjoy it too much when they’re “on”

Small acts of arching did happen between them. Cloud felt cheated on, Pete got freaked out, Billy and Gary settled on being friends instead. Malcolm thought it was Billy flirting with Gary, (confused but that’s his boy! Who wouldn’t flirt with Gary!) and Rusty thought Billy was going through a rough patch with White again but this time he really lost Billy (Awkward 1on1 where Rusty talks about cherishing and appreciating people while White gets so freaked out he runs to Billy)

They had a vibe, I feel like they would’ve hooked up or something once maybe bc I’m gay but I want to believe that. But in general they got a vibe together!

That’s all I got for now, if you read all this again thank you for your ask and I’m gonna tag all my VB thoughts once I think of a good tag!

[frevandrest]

Hiii, I read your post about Olympe de Gouges and It opened me a world since everything I was told in school was basically what you say is wrong. Why was she actually executed? Do you know anything I could read to know more about the metter and her figure in general?

Okay, so de Gouges is not my expertise - if anyone knows good sources on her, please let us know.

But I do know she was executed for her political writings about the how the revolution should continue, organization of government, etc. and not for her feminist writings (yes, feminist writings are political, but I will separate them for clarity). She was targeted for things that were deemed royalist sympathizing - disagreeing with the execution of Louis XVI, supporting constitutional monarchy and I believe some things that were deemed pro-Marie Antoinette. We can say bullshit (or if true, does someone deserves to die for that?) - but it opens up wider questions about frev trials in general and political in-fighting (not just Montagnard vs Girondin). But the point is, Girondin men also died for the same reasons as de Gouges.

So, it was not about her "Declaration of the Woman and the Citizeness" or any other specifically proto-feminist writing. She was tried as a Girondin sympathizer (ironically, though morbidly, in an equal way with men)* - this was a push against Girondins, and it mostly targeted men. *She did warn about the inequality of that - a woman can be tried and executed as a man even though she doesn't have his political rights (as in, if a woman doesn't have political rights, then she shouldn't be held responsible and executed for political things).

So it wasn't about feminism (let alone abolitionism). But! - it's not like the whole thing was devoid of general 18c sexism (or, well, timeless sexism that's not just 18c). The way she was talked about or criticized, often had a sexist dimension, because she was a woman and was attacked as a woman. This speaks about general sexism in the society more than her writing or feminism (or even innocence). Marie Antoinette was often ridiculed in sexist (and homophobic) ways, which does not make her a feminist (and she was also guilty af of counter-revolutionary things). But this is something that should be said about de Gouges or, generally, about women at the time - they were subjected to sexism and sometimes dismissed in sexist ways. Madame Roland understood that really well, and she tried defending herself as a proper woman who never deviated from her domestic roles, despite of the fact that she was super influential politically (more than any other woman of the time, and more than de Gouges - Mme Roland participated in high politics even though women did not formally had equal political rights - but she participated informally, and was very influential, more than many men). Sexism, was, sadly, a convenient excuse to use whenever possible, and definitely not something that only Montagnards employed (see Condorcet - generally one of the most pro-gender equality men at the time - criticizing working class women who supported Robespierre in sexist + classist terms).

(Another example is the closure of the women's clubs, namely "The Society of Revolutionary Republican Women" - it's often said it happened because revolutionaries were sexists and did not want to allow women to participate in politics. This is not the reason: they closed the clubs because they were deemed politically dangerous at the time (and often more radical than Jacobins lol). But the explanation was, among other things, "well, women should stay at home" - which is not a true reason, but it was easy to use as an excuse, because the culture of 18c was sexist in general).

tl;dr: De Gouges was executed for royalist sympathizing (not that she necessarily was - I don't know enough about her opinions) and for associating herself with Girondins. She was not executed for being a feminist or abolitionist. (She was both, but she was not the only one - especially when it comes to abolitionism; her enemies were too. I would also say that Montagnards also fought for women's' rights although not in the same way, but that's another topic). The point is, feminism (let alone abolitionism) is not why she was put on trial and executed.

[mysticsparklewings]

Obscutober 2024 Day 3: Horology 🕰️

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Horology (n.)

the science of measuring time

the art of making instruments for indicating time; clockmaking

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I assume real clock-making is rather time-consuming 😉 Making a clock-making-inspired mandala sure was!

...It took more time than I care to admit to come up with that joke. At least the art turned out nice? 😅 Bad puns aside: Click the "Keep Reading" and we'll talk more about my thoughts/process for this piece ✨

⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

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I'm a little bit conflicted with this one, Sparklers. (But hey, at least I should be getting this one posted a little bit earlier! 🤷‍♀️ ) I am happy with how it came out, and I was pretty excited to see what I could do with the ideas of gears and metal that immediately sprang to mind for this word, however...The act of making said metal and gears ended up being a lot more trouble than I anticipated. 😅 Those emotions are so equally matched it's hard to separate them. The biggest hurdle was the fact that in order to look "right," I had to be more careful about getting curves looking circular-ish and uniform with each other. For full circles, that's generally not so bad. For semi-circles and arcs, it tends to be a big pain. 🙃

It also didn't help that I chose to make the outer ring of gear teeth a size that was really "too small" for Procreate's symmetry tool to help me out as much as I needed it too. So I also had to be more careful with those as I worked me way across what area the symmetry tool wouldn't fill in for me. The background was a bit more challenge than I expected, too. If anyone remembers how I mentioned yesterday I had decided some spot color "within" the mandala lines is okay but I still want to keep things loose: This one definitely pushed the boundaries on that. I tried leaving things more abstract, but I kept going back and re-defining certain color areas because it felt wrong otherwise.

I think that's a conflict between the general clockmaking concept and the abstract nature of how I'm approaching these prompts; Clockmaking, or at least the physical components needed to do it, is so very rigid and precise. Although, on the other hand, there's a kind of irony in that, isn't there? Since the way we humans measure time is something we made up—it's pretty arbitrary as far as nature is concerned.

...I seem to be wandering away from talking about the art and into higher concepts I am really not an expert in. 😅 Let me try to get this derailed train of thought back on track...

My point was that it felt like I needed more color, placed more carefully, to help with the definition between the different gear and cog pieces. This was not helped by how a lot of the images I kept seeing when I looked up clock/watch insides did usually have pieces that stood out because they were differently colored metal. Two related asides: 1. I apologize to anyone that does work with watch/clock components and may be getting a headache from my lack of proper vocabulary to describe said parts...Or the general lack of sense the "clock parts" I tried to draw here make compared to the actually insides of a time-telling machine. Many, many artistic liberties were taken! 2. I do actually kind of recommend looking up watch/clock insides sometime when you get a chance if you're not familiar with what that looks like; I found a lot of the pictures oddly soothing for reasons I don't fully understand. But even so—A lot of them are pretty even though I don't think they're trying to be. The screws on this one make me think of tiny gemstones! [I did consider adding some spots of color to background to mimic that jewel-like feel I just mentioned, but ultimately I didn't want to over-complicate the color palette.]

Anyway, going back to the lines/mandala portion for a moment: I knew going in that the fact I'm taking up the center for the word definitions would make a time/clock-themed one more difficult. After all, one of the primary things you think of with those concepts are the clock hands in the center of a clock face. Usually, even if you don't read analogue clocks that often that's still true!

For that reason, while I normally make the mandalas from the inside-out (aside from adjustments/tweaks that happen later), this time I started more on the outer edge. The clock hands hanging out there were still one of the very last things, but the gear teeth and general round "clock border" were the first and I more or less worked my way inward.

And at a certain point I realized so far I really just had a "gears" or industrial-themed mandala that showed no hints of being tied to clocks specifically. 😅 You can see from that, I ended up opting to put roman numerals in the 4 primary "clock" positions—12, 3, 6, 9. If I'd had room, I might have gone for the full set of 12, but by that time (ha-ha) I'd spent way too long making those four "gear spoke" semi-circle things that hang over right where most of the other numerals would go and I was not of a mind to either re-do or erase them. 😵‍💫 I then spent way too long trying to figure out how to "compensate" and fill the "clock face" just a little bit more because the big 4 numerals weren't quite enough for me. It's not very exciting but I landed on just some small lines—Tick marks, you might say. 😃 You may also notice that, true to something else I said yesterday, this is now the first example of one of the Obscutober mandalas in black rather than white. I did start out with it in white, but as I was moving into work on the background I thought the white was coming off a little too "soft" or too much like the mandala was glowing. Black felt like a better fit for the illusion of depth and the more "rigid" feel overall.

Although while I was in the process of changing the lines from white to black, I was very tempted to leave it in a half-state where some of the uppers layers were in black and the lower ones were still white. That got vetoed for consistency's sake, but it did cause me to go back and play with some of the contrast in the background a little more to kind of echo the idea.

I was also very tempted to try dark brown or sepia lines for this one, but, say it with me: I decided not to to keep things simple and consistent.

The final product doesn't necessarily look that much like what I originally had in mind...But to be fair, my original vision was pretty fuzzy. At least unlike yesterday, there isn't too much I feel like I'd change or do all that differently if I had to do it over.

I do hope I can say at least that much about tomorrow's piece—Tomorrow is shaping up to be a busy day in my offline life, so I'm a little bit concerned about how I'm going to fit Obscutober in...But that's a key point of the challenge, right? 😅

There's definitely a joke in here somewhere about "use your time wisely," but I can't quite put it together, so you Sparklers will have to think on it and let me know if you can figure one out. 😉 Until tomorrow, Sparklers... 🤗

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See the Prompt List

Artwork  © me, MysticSparklewings

Obscutober Concept Inspired by nikolas_tower

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⭐️ Like My Art and Want to see more of it? Here's All My Links! ⭐️

[inkdragon1900]

I’m rewatching TDP all the way up to S5’s release. So as I’m watching the credits for S2 ep 4 (because why would I skip them) this shows up.

I remember thinking this one was funny and a cute reference to The Great Gatsby when I first watched it. But since then I’ve read and watched Gatsby more times than I can count. Genuinely my favorite classic.

And it got me thinking. Why??? Why would they specifically reference this?

We all know they’ll throw in stuff in the credits we get to see or understand in the future (Ethari, Queen Aditi, etc)

So why this?

Time to combine two of my hyperfixations.

Most of this will be in reference to the 2013 adaptation of The Great Gatsby directed by Baz Luhrmann since that’s where the scene of Gatsby toasting in front of the fireworks comes from.

So how does Gatsby’s story work with Aaravos’s?

Well after mulling it over I can actually think of quite a few.

So in S2 episode 4 we get basically our first actual introduction to Aaravos sure he’s got no actual dialogue yet and we did see a flash of him in the episode prior. But this is narratively our first actual introduction.

Now interesting enough we as viewers find out we have seen him before. Multiple times with the intro we see his hands, and in the first episodes backstory we see him in the background and he’s the narrator.

So if it’s not necessarily our first introduction to Aaravos then who’s is it?

Viren.

Viren I’m going to insert in Nicks role in TGG just cause it makes sense narratively.

Now in TGG this scene:

Happens directly during Nick’s first actual interaction with Gatsby.

Now it should be mentioned this is not the first time they’ve seen each other. In fact it’s stated that Nick was being watched by his neighbor Gatsby for…idk a while.

And like Nick knew it he’d catch a glimpse of his hand in the window from time to time he just didn’t know it was Gatsby.

But anyway once again this fits with the fact we know Aaravos has been watching Viren from the other side probably the entire time.

So!!! Why does this matter.

Because in TGG no one knows shit about Gatsby. The mother fucker is elusive.

Literally at the party Nick is trying to track him down to thank him and LITERALLY no one knows what he looks like they just showed up to the party. Nick is literally the only person to have been invited because Gatsby just thought he’d show up like the rest of New York.

So while Nicks looking for Gatsby we get introduced to the most WILD theories about this man.

So anyway after getting shitface Nick and this woman Jordan (who’s a friend of his cousin Daisy) jokingly go exploring the house “looking” for Gatsby. (They’re not they’re just drunk af and having fun)

Anyways while exploring they end up in the mansion’s library. As they’re goofing around this older guy browsing the stacks starts telling them that they won’t find him and how the house and everything in it is an elaborate facade. (He’s right of course) so Jordan says she’s met him. And the guy asks them which version? The prince? The spy? The murderer? And goes on to say that he can’t find anyone who knows anything real about Mr. Gatsby.

And like if that’s not true for Aaravos, I don’t know what is.

Because all we know about Aaravos narratively has been told to us. We haven’t seen anything. Not really.

So who is he really?

Plus Gatsby’s main flaw is his attachment to the past his absolute refusal to move on.

And idk Aaravos more or less can’t actually move on since he’s imprisoned. But even narratively he stuck mentally where he was before imprisonment.

And that’s just another one of the many parallels I can draw.

Hell we don’t even get Gatsby’s backstory until the end of the movie pretty much and we barely know anything about Aaravos and we’re already headed into season 5.

Anyways I have a ton more thoughts on the comparison to Aaravos and Gatsby. I don’t want to spoil the ending of TGG for anyone who hasn’t read/watched it. GO READ OR WATCH IT. So I might eventually make a separate post.

Oh one other thing. The new money vs old money narrative in TGG could easily be reworked to fit Human’s learning magic (dark magic or not) and being born into an arcanum. And like Gatsby is new money which fits with Aaravos managing to connect to all the arcanum’s