#so ty for the inspiration!

[theroseempress]

happy worldbuilding wednesday (or if you don’t do those, just take this as an ordinary curious ask instead)! what are some common superstitions in your universe?

@rydykg

Happy worldbuilding technically-not-wednesday-anymore!

I might add more to these in the future, but here's a handful of superstitions in the various countries from The Golden City. (my main WIP)

~

Solace- It’s common to trace a cross in the air with a finger if nervous.

(oddly enough considering this is the most relevant country in TGC, I don't have much written down for it. I should remedy that)

Ketra- If you break your word of honour, back luck is believed to follow you around. The more times this happens the worst luck, etc. It’s also a common tradition among warriors to touch their weapons to their forehead before going into tense/wary situations for luck. It’s also commonly believed that demons have the most power during the Second Solstice, hence the large feasts that take place inside. (driving the demons away)

Andha- As a whole, Amorians are quite down-to-earth and skeptical of superstitions. Most Amorians do believe in luck though, and have several things they do to sway the universe in their favour. Common gestures include; tracing a circle in the dirt/on a nearby surface, touching the tip of each finger with the thumb, whistling/humming, and resting a hand against a nearby surface with the fingers spread out. It’s also a habit for most Amorians to tap the top or side of a doorframe as they enter a building.

Even if they do believe there’s bad luck in something, they are unlikely to change their mind because of it. They are also regarded as part-spirit by basically all the nations, with varying degrees of seriousness. (they find this deeply amusing)

Shyi- A common supersious activity tied into Unism is leaving food out for friendly spirits. It must be as fresh and high quality as possible, otherwise they will be offended. There’s also specific foods and specific places to put the food in, and if you do it incorrectly you may attract bad spirits instead. Further on that, there’s various types of crystals/rocks that are supposed to carry bad or good luck. Typically these talismans are infused by priests with good vibes or cleansed of bad vibes also by priests.

the Talin- Killing an animal or person with no just reason is very very bad luck. Same as destroying plant life without provocation. Howling dogs are also considered a sign of bad luck, as are snakes and several types of plant life, largely poisonous types. The Talin are probably the most superstitious out of the various cultures.

~

Thanks for the ask, this was fun :)

[greenlaut]

bitter tea & oranges

[riceballoon]

a fool or a clown⁉️ persona 4 doodles from 2 years ago

the misogyny entering my body whenever i draw adachi 😔

[frijjfan]

[kyoshi-lesbians]

Ty Lee | all-american bitch

I know my place and this is it

[video description: an amv centered on Ty Lee set to “all-american bitch” by Olivia Rodrigo. The video focuses on Ty Lee's dynamic with Azula throughout the years, and juxtaposes Ty Lee's bubbly flirty persona with her extremely efficient chi-blocking fighting style and shrewd observations. end description.]

cw for flashing. extended video description under the cut

First verse contrasts scenes of Ty Lee, Azula, and Mai as children with scenes of Azula threatening Ty Lee in Return to Omashu, and from then on being a weapon for Azula in her mission. Scenes mainly pull from the trio’s early book 2 action as they chase Aang. 

First chorus: on “Forgive and I forget”: Ty Lee mid-air doing a flip cuts to young Ty Lee landing a flip. young Azula pushes young Ty Lee to the ground and laughs. Ty Lee chi-blocks a kyoshi warrior on "And I act like it. She flirts with Sokka on “Got what you can’t resist” and chi-blocks Katara on “perfect all-american”

Second verse features mainly scenes from the end of book 2 when Ty Lee, Azula, and Mai are in Ba Sing Se disguised as Kyoshi warriors. Many of the scenes show Ty Lee being undignified, contrasting with the lyrics (but fitting the ironic tone of the song). These scenes include Ty Lee jumping into the sludge during The Drill, her covered in mud, and flying through the air with Mai after Appa flaps his tail at them. 

Second chorus: “Forgive and forget”: Ty Lee after her circus performance agreeing to join Azula. Other clips juxtapose Ty Lee during The Beach with Ty Lee fighting during The Boiling Rock. 

“I know my place”: Rapid cuts of Ty Lee and Mai beside Azula, cut to Ty Lee anxiously looking side to side during The Boiling Rock confrontation. On the second “I know my place”: Rapid cuts of Ty Lee hugging Mai, and Mai and Azula preparing to fight. 

“And this is it”: Ty Lee chi-blocks Azula. 

Bridge: Scenes from the fallout of Ty Lee betraying Azula - Mai and Ty Lee being arrested −  cut together with Ty Lee’s emotional outburst during The Beach campfire scenes. During the screaming and fast-paced music, there are rapid cuts of Ty Lee fighting and moments beside Azula, in between cuts shots of Ty Lee crying. 

Outro: Ty Lee bowing to Azula during Return to Omashu. Then Ty Lee crying during The Beach party, and Azula apologizing to her. 

[cactuslester]

phil lester: then ⤐ now

happy 37th birthday @amazingphil!!!

[ohno-the-sun]

Some more thoughts about the farm au by @oobbbear

It’s been so wet lately

[ickyguts]

>:) wanted to try my hand at the flippy flaky swap au MUAHAHA!

[parasocialpixlriffs]

feminine trans guy gripping the edge of his counter, staring in the mirror with bloodshot eyes, muttering “if finn5ter can do it, i can do it” over and over again to himself

[5516-minutes]

hm fuck it. charlos feb 1 timeloop AU where charles does everything he can possibly do to stop lewis from announcing he's joining ferrari in 2025. tries talking to lewis, coercing him none of it works. over multiple loops charles learns all the politics involved and tries to use insider knowledge to change the outcome and it still isn't enough. he is so desperate to stop the heartbreak, to avoid shattering carlos' future at ferrari and what was going to be their future together that he runs himself ragged reliving the loop in days-- weeks-- over and over again-- and it's never enough

but eventually charles comes to understand, this is it. this loop of time is the last i'll see carlos before he will never look at me the same way again. everything will change from feb 1 onwards, everything that was and now won't ever be. so charles goes fuck it. and he restarts that time loop again but to live it for them. he visits carlos on his ski trip to the dolomites and has carlos visit him. they take pictures in that gorgeous infinity pool that will only exist in charles' memories. he texts carlos every day even though he can tell carlos is getting annoyed because they're supposed to be commited to pre-season training because this year is going to be THE year for them and ferrari and the tifosi and everyone who's believed in them for the past three. he even lies to carlos about how he thinks the contract talks are going so that carlos can believe, even for a little while, that his future at ferrari is secured; the loops where charles lies he always forces the reset just as carlos confronts him with the truth.

charles could loop their lives like this forever, if only to remain in denial that come feb 1 he's going to start losing his teammate until carlos finally leaves him for good at the end of the year. but living in a time loop has its physical and mental and emotional costs: charles is tired. bone deep exhaustion that neither he nor the makeup artists can hide for c2's first (last) ferrari photoshoot of the year. both of them know this is the beginning of the end but don't want to say it out loud.

but charles has had many, many chances to learn to live with it. so when carlos holds the camera and tells him to smile, he does.

[celestialwrites]

“if i did love her?”

“then you’re as damned as the rest of them.”

[cobblestone-butch]

jus saw ur post ab sculptor etho muse joel, ik u got forcibly ejected from the writers room but if i make another writers room will u write it /hj

hey tysm! I ended up writing a little something so it will be below <3 this is mostly just Cleo helping Etho realise what might be going on with his struggles to sculpt. I hope people like and mostly that anyone who knows anything about art would write for it too (I know nothing!)

"So, first things first! Why do you want to learn to pose armour stands, Etho? Have you got a specific project in mind?"

There's an awkward pause.

"I only ask so I can get a good idea of what to focus on. It's just good if we start our work with something you're already interested in, right?"

She's never seen Etho look so... Nervous. Learning can be a vulnerable thing, sure, but Etho has never been shy with questions and comments and the unknown the way some people are. It feels wrong to turn to insults, light as they may be, to ease the attention - they're at a complete loss on what to do other than let him work through whatever he's feeling.

"Nothing, there's nothing... Specific I had in mind. It's... I tried sculpting."

"Okay that's good. That's great! What did you like about sculpting?"

"I didn't like sculpting."

Cleo laughs, a mix of confusion and genuine amusement, "Alright! So why do you want to learn 'armorstandography' then?"

Etho is still looking down, picking what she now suspects to be dried clay or quartz from his clothes. His shoulders drop a little from their previously hunched state though, which is a good sign.

"I just figured that maybe it would be easier. N-not that what you do is easy, I mean, you're clearly very skilled, and that's why I've asked you-"

"Etho, slow down, it's okay. I am perfectly assured in what I do and how much effort it takes. But still, I appreciate it."

"I thought maybe something with color would be more, familiar? I like vibrant colors and how they go together, and sculpting out of quartz is so... Lifeless."

Cleo shakes her head, "I won't teach you, Etho."

Etho snaps his head upwards, looking for some sign that it's some dry British humor he's missed. Cleo's face is even more stony than his recent attempts at sculpting.

"I won't teach you", they repeat, "Not for that reason. Color won't inject life into what you make, Etho. I won't teach you something that isn't true."

"Uh huh..."

"And besides, I don't think I believe you. I bet your sculptures have plenty of life in them." Cleo sees a frown pull on Etho's features, "Go on, prove me wrong."

---

Etho puts his hand on the door leading to his storage area. It's a big enough space for art projects, and it's nice to hear items sort themselves as he works, frustrated as he's been with the outcome of his endeavours recently. Cleo reads his hesitance immediately, and knows that Etho won't find comfort in their reassuring words. Here, at the doorway, she pushes past him.

She's drawn to her own face first. Sat on a block is her own head, looking back at her. She sees her own soft features, big eyes and strong nose. A dozen other faces around the room, and she can just about identify them as their friends. There's one off to the side, hidden enough to not drawn attention but not hidden too much, as if he's given himself plausible deniability for doing it. Etho's problem is not that his sculptures look lifeless. Etho's problem is denial.

It takes Cleo seconds to spot and minutes to confirm - there's only one sculpture amongst the collection that properly resembles the person it's modelled after. Every other head or bust has been affected by it, flawed in different ways but for the exact same reason. They all look a bit too much like Joel. It's in the furrow of her brow, the fierceness of Scar's smile, the curl of Doc's hair. Their eyes are all bright, smiles meeting them in genuine warmth, and Cleo can see even with just quartz how skilled Etho is at what he does.

Cleo isn't sure how aware Etho is that he's making them all in Joel's image, so they opt for asking something less direct, "What do you think the problem is? With these sculptures?"

"They're all... Wrong. I just can't get anyone right, and I'm not exactly going for artistic liberty."

Cleo laughs kindly, "That's not exactly true, is it? I can see one that's particularly uncanny."

"Uncanny valley?" Etho makes the joke before she can, but it's not what she was pitching for.

She walks over to and stands behind the sculpture of Joel. "I like this one. I've definitely seen this face before I've died a few times."

Etho laughs, and it stops the ever-shifting of his feet and the picking at his hands. He runs a hand through his hair, letting it rest at his neck as he rubs at it in slight shame. "He's, ah, a vicious one, Joel. He does this little huff thing, and it sounds like a tiger- he's always in some kind of mood and it's always so big, he can't do anything calmly or slowly, you've seen how quickly he builds, and, I just thought what's the most 'Joel' face I can think of? I remembered how he looked building that TNT cannon..."

Cleo lets him talk. It's nice, after all the awkward, to see him talk to openly about all the thoughts that went into the Joel sculpture. She can almost see what he means when he says the other attempts are lifeless; the animation in his voice when he talks about Joel makes everything else pale in comparison. She doesn't think he realises.

"Do you know what a muse is?" They ask after Etho has run himself out of steam, or perhaps noticed a conspicuous lack of interjection from Cleo, a usually very active listener.

"You mean like an inspiration?"

"Yeah! Well, sort of. In Greek mythology, the Muses were goddesses, and their domains included art of all kinds. And we've sort of derived meaning from that, so plenty of artists say they have muses that inspire them. And it helps them make art even if it's not always about them."

"Uh huh. So you think that I need to find my muse?"

"I think you already have, Etho." She looks down at the head between them, and Etho follows her gaze. Joel's eyes look back at him, intense and alive and challenging. He averts his gaze, something complicated settling over him - what they shared was so long ago, in a time and place so far from here. To feel the pull of that, it feels cosmic and mythical in a way Etho naturally rejects.

It's like Cleo can see through him, always. "It doesn't have to be complicated. It can be as simple as knowing someone well enough to capture a second of their likeness. That's what a lot of my armour stands do, they're just snapshots in time. Maybe you should just talk to Joel."

"Oh, I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"He'll be insufferable about it."

Cleo actually snorts at that. "Fine then, don't talk to him. Just make more excuses to send him mail and wait for an extrovert to bring you to his base to talk, or whatever it is that you guys do."

"You're not far off, Cleo."

"Oh, I know. I have to hear all about it."

"What?! The next time I see Scar..."

---

Joel stares back into his own eyes. The head was left at the gate to his base, like something the mafia might do as a threat. There was a single sign next to it: Feel free to alter or remove - Etho. It's incredible, seeing his likeness through someone else's eyes. He didn't know his hair was so fluffy, his smile so sharp. He picks up the head with a grunt (Bloomin' heck, is this thing solid quartz?!) and moves it somewhere it can be seen, before pulling a book from the chest under his mailbox and penning his sculptor a message.

[cordiallyfuturedwight]

땡 ! (vocal line ver.) 🔥 for @hopeinthebox

[emilylprentiss]

Emily Prentiss in Criminal Minds 5.10 Olivia Benson in Law & Order: SVU 7.03

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

Where’s a supercut of Sousuke eating when i need it? He’s so funny!

And some other versions and stills:

[hargr00vy]

some baby close ups for my own peace of mind cos i didnt do all those tiny details for them to be lost on mobile