#such a lovely surprise! thank you!

[canisalbus]

sometimes i think about natural hair machete

.

[theashenphoenix]

美麗への手紙

A gift from the ever wonderful @refinedstorage ❣️

[gunsatthaphan]

🫡🫡🫡

[luxaofhesperides]

Surprise husbands + "How are you real?" ; requested by @vehan-tikkun-olam-and-stuff!

They may not have planned to get married, or even wanted it all too much at the beginning, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t going to treat each other right. It was rough going, with both of them coming out of relationships and having secret identities, but time had softened the hurt feelings and allowed them to actually get to know each other.

And Danny, Duke has discovered, is a really good husband. 

Neither of them ever saw themselves as married at 20, but sometimes life throws horrible curses at you and the embodiment of balance and life and death swoops in to save your life. Via marriage. 

His life is weird, okay? Duke has made his peace with it.

The thing is, if they had met naturally and started off as friends, Duke could see himself falling for Danny and asking him to marry him in a far off future. Instead, they’re doing everything backwards: married, then going on dates to know each other, and finally feeling close enough to be friends. 

It helps that Danny does his best to communicate and that helps Duke find the words he needs as well. 

He’s sweet, too, so kind and doting and affectionate. Like a really lovable cat, honestly. Duke’s never been cuddled so much in his life and he’s loving every minute of it. 

He… might be falling in love with his husband. What a revelation.

“Duke?” 

He blinks, looking up from his half-empty plate, pulled out of his thoughts suddenly. Tim and Dick stare at him, concerned, and he realizes he’s missed the entire conversation because he was so preoccupied thinking about Danny. In his defense, it was their one year anniversary the night before and Danny had kissed him for the first time after a date night spent playing video games and talking shit about their respective rogues. 

Tim snaps a finger in front of his face, and Duke startles. He got distracted by his Danny Thoughts again.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“You okay? You’ve been out of it all day,” Dick says, clearly concerned.

“Oh, uh, yeah, it’s all good. Just… adjusting.”

“To what? Did something happen?”

Duke shrugs, scooping up another forkful of pasta to shove in his mouth. “Yeah, I… this is going to sound kind of stupid, but I think I’m in love with my husband.”

Tim, taking an ill-timed drink, chokes and spits out his Zesti. Dick springs back, trying to get out of the spray zone but doesn’t move far, shocked still by Duke’s words.

“Oh, yeah,” Duke realizes, “I didn’t tell you guys, did I?”

“You’re married?!” Tim shrieks as Dick clutches at his chest, eyes wide.

“You didn’t tell me?” Dick asks, offended.

“Seriously? That’s what you focus on?”

Duke smiles as they begin to bicker. They do it constantly, but this time it’s halfhearted, as if they’re just going through the motions of something familiar to distract themselves from the bomb he’s dropped on them.

In all fairness, Duke did forget that he didn’t tell them that he’s married to Danny. He’s also only mentioned Danny once or twice and heavily implied that Danny was just a classmate at GCU. And then forgot that he didn’t tell them, assuming that they’d figure it out eventually being Batman trained detectives, after all.

Well. 

Oops.

Clearly that is not the case. Duke hurries to finish his pasta before Tim and Dick finish their joint freak out and get their senses back together enough to interrogate him. He can’t escape it, but he refuses to have this discussion with an empty stomach. 

He just barely manages to scrape the last mouthful off the plate when his fork is being yanked out of his hands. Tim and Dick close in on him, standing to either side of him, trapping him in place, and look at him with knife-sharp smiles.

Here we go, Duke thinks tiredly, and resigns himself to clearing up this misunderstanding.

Somehow, he manages to explain the situation (I got cursed, he saved my life, we ended up married because magic is bullshit, he treats me so well) and Tim and Dick both agree to not hunt down Danny to show him the wrath of older brothers on one condition: Danny has to join them for a family dinner.

“Don’t worry, we’ll catch everyone up on your… situation,” Dick says, pulling on his jacket to head out. Tim is already on his phone, no doubt telling someone already. 

“Great,” Duke says, unenthused. “You’ll also be answering all the questions because I’m not in the mood. So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to figure out a day that works for all of us, and then I’m going to kick my husband’s ass in Mario Cart.”

He walks out the door, grinning as he hears them scramble after him, then twists the ring on his finger (not a wedding ring, but a magic portal making gift) and steps into the portal. It closes quietly behind him, leaving him in Danny’s lair, a comfortable, spacious house with high ceilings and little bits of his personality scattered about. There are soft rugs with geometric patterns on them, star maps on the wall, stained glass windows that throw colors across the floor, and a giant couch and pillow pit in the living room.

Danny’s asleep in it, curled up and looking completely at peace. Duke toes off his shoes and carefully makes his way over, footsteps silent so he doesn’t wake him up, all plans of Mario Cart fading away instantly.

Danny doesn’t get much sleep, with the stress of school and an internship and ghost fights to worry about. It’s why his lair is so quiet and comfortable; it’s what he needs, and he doesn’t let anyone else in without invitation, rare as it is.

Duke is allowed to waltz right in thanks to the ring Danny gave him. It never stops making him feel overwhelmed by how much trust Danny puts in him to allow him unlimited access to what is his only true sanctuary, letting his lair be a place of safety and respite for Duke as well. 

He crawls into the pillow pit, There’s no way to do this without waking Danny up since he can’t fly, so he isn’t surprised to see Danny blink his eyes open, still looking soft and content. He smiles when he sees Duke, reaching a hand out to him that Duke gladly takes, bringing it up to his mouth to kiss his palm.

Sitting up, Danny tilts his head up in a silent request. Duke happily obliges, still reeling over the fact that he’s allowed to do this! He can kiss his husband whenever he wants! 

Yeah, he’s going to be riding that high for a while.

“Hey,” Danny murmurs, sleepy and quietly pleased to see him.

“Hi honey,” Duke returns fondly, “Have a nice nap?”

Danny nods, leaning into Duke and closing his eyes again. “Mhm. How long are you staying? I wanna cuddle.”

“I got nothing going on today. I’m all yours, baby.”

“C’mon,” Danny tries to tug him down. Duke goes slowly, covering Danny’s body with his own, but holds himself with one hand before he blankets his husband completely.

“Wait. There’s something we need to talk about.”

Immediately, the sleepy haze is fading from Danny’s eyes, leaving him alert. “What’s up? Is something wrong?”

“Not really? You know how we agreed to keep our marriage a secret until we weren’t in danger anymore and all those cultists and sorcerers were taken care of?”

“...Yes?”

“Well.” Duke sucks in a breath and offers a bashful smile. “Guess who forgot to tell people we were married after that whole mess was dealt with?”

The nervousness clears from Danny’s gaze as he stares up at Duke with incredulous amusement. “No. No way.”

“Yeah. Kinda dropped a bomb on them and they started freaking out over me being married. Anyways, they want you to come to dinner?”

“When?”

Duke leans back, sitting on his heels. “Let me check.” He pulls out his phone and sends a quick text to the group chat asking for a day they could have a family meal to meet his husband.

His phone is bombarded with texts and calls immediately until Barbara, bless her entire soul, forcibly mutes all of them and puts in a poll with a few dates, setting the poll to close in 24 hours.

“Okay, well, they’re deciding now, but probably soon.”

Danny nods. “Alright. I know these aren’t normal circumstances at all, but I’m so excited to meet the Bats.”

“You do not mean that after hearing all my stories about them.”

“No, I do!” Danny laughs, surging up to wrap his arms around Duke and pull him back down to lay among the giant pillows with him. “They sound nice!”

“The Bats sound nice?!” Duke repeats in horror. “Did you hit your head?”

“They do sound nice! You talk about them so fondly, and yeah they have problems and are dysfunctional, but they’re heroes. Of course they have problems. Even with all their baggage, they’re kind. And you clearly love them, so I do too.”

It’s hard to resist the urge to hug Danny tight enough to make him squeak while peppering his face with kisses, so Duke doesn’t. He just goes and does it, because he’s allowed to shower his husband (!) with affection (!!!) as much as he pleases.

“How are you real?” he says against the corner of Danny’s lips. “How are you so perfect! To me specifically! Honey, if we weren’t already married, I’d be going down on one knee right now.”

“I mean, you still can. We never got a proper wedding either. Think if we offer them a chance to help plan our wedding, they’ll forgive us for secretly being married for so long?”

“Oh, absolutely,” Duke says. He’s already giddy, just imagining what their wedding will look like, what song they’ll play for their first dance, where they’ll have the ceremony… He should create a Pinterest account to start putting ideas together. 

Later, though. He wants to woo Danny properly and take him on so many dates.

Dates which include dinner with the Waynes and Wayne-adjacents, apparently.

“You sure you’re okay with meeting them over dinner?” he asks, just to be sure. He knows how intense they can be, even when pretending to be normal civilians. It took him years to get used to them, himself, and he doesn’t want to push Danny into doing something he’s not ready to do.

Danny cups Duke’s face in his hands and gives him a quick, reassuring kiss. “I’m sure. If nothing else, it’ll be fun to see how long it takes for them to realize I’m not fully human.”

“I really am glad it’s you.”

“Yeah, me too. I’d choose you all over again if given the choice.”

“Took the words right out of my mouth,” Duke laughs, wrapping an arm around Danny’s waist.

“Can we nap now? Now that you’re here and holding me, it’s taking everything I’ve got to stay awake.”

“Yeah, we can nap now.” Duke settles into the pillows, Danny cradled in his arms and closes his eyes to bask in the quiet easiness of it all. 

He really couldn’t ask for a better husband, unexpected as he was. The others will see that too, once they meet him. It’s impossible to not love Danny once you meet him; Duke knows this all too well.

He loves his husband.

And his husband loves him back.

Duke is fully prepared to keep making that choice for the rest of his life.

[puppyeared]

The garment, worn by those in good standing with Hyrule royalty, has been reworked with the latest improvements, such as a new shoulder guard.

[factual-fantasy]

I know who you are and why you’re here.

[inkskinned]

hey it's nanowrimo. i have tips bc i've done it about 34 times.

Don't edit. Ever. Stop it. If you just decide to start a new project half thru this one with all new characters, no problem. pick up and keep writing as if you'd already written the first half of that.

"but i spelled it wrong" whatever. "but the grammar" whatever. make it exist first. no time for sense. think like you're working on a typewriter. no backspace. only forward go.

Don't re-read further than a paragraph or two backwards. "did i mention the gun before?" listen - it doesn't matter. if you need there to be a gun there, the gun is there. put it back in once you finish the book.

"i forgot the specifics of X thing i already wrote" whatever. change it, make a note/comment to figure it out later, and just write what makes sense for the moment. "no raquel it's legit the characters name and origin" idc that character is now reborn as Claudius from Elsewhere. it's fine.

only you see your mistakes. nobody else knows. one of the ways writing and dance overlap - only you know the choreography. nobody else will know if you miss a step, so just keep dancing and pretend you meant to do it like that.

it's an illusion that you need to write linearly - from point A to point B to point C. Nah; that's just timeline propaganda. I've written a LOT of books out of order and just reordered them once i've finished. if you have a scene you'd LOVE to write but can't get there yet because of plot, just fuckin write the scene. I've always found its easier to establish "point F" "point J" and "Point A" and then wiggle my way between those scenes.

write what you WANT to write. 230 pages of smut? of well-researched discussion on bread? whatever. the point is to strengthen muscles however you can.

if you miss a day, a week, whatever. not the end of the world. we all have dry days. also time is a myth so u can do this challenge whenever u want.

as soon as you try to write for a specific audience, you kill your voice. you are writing for yourself. stop thinking about how people will take ur book. it don't matter. what matter is u, enjoying writing. i luv u.

play to your strengths. i have characters talk so much because i don't know how to write a plot if it kills me but i'm really good at dialogue so.

i love a flight of fancy. write a poem in there. shift tactics and write in code. keep it fun for yourself.

see what happens if you shift something major about ur main characters - gender, wealth, superpowers. or if you change point-of-view. or if you kill everyone in a big explosion. do NOT edit anything before this or after it. often these little weird one-off exercises teach me what interests me about what i'm working on. it is never what i thought. plus it is a fun way to add like 1k words.

stretch.

it's for fun and for practice. stop doing that project if it's giving you anxiety. once my nano was literally 50k words of half-started stories. just things i tried and tried and tried and wasn't able to flesh out. oops. but i am now 50k words of a better writer.

add dragons?

read books/listen to books on tape/etc. people often make the mistake of "buckling down" to just write. you need inspiration. you need to like. fill up on words. you need to remember how it feels to lose yourself in a story.

i don't have the time or space to really talk about this in this post but a lot of creative people turn to drugs/alcohol because it can help you be more creative. this is harmful, and walking a blade that only cuts deep. if you notice you and your loved ones are turning more to substances, please know i love you and i hope you are able to get help soon. i feel like this almost never gets mentioned because it's kind of a hazy underbelly to art. you are always more important than the work.

on that note. drink your fukin. water.

don't talk about a story until you've finished it. once you tell the story, it exists already, and isn't about discovery. i usually have a very canned "haha we'll see" response.

grapes :) tasty snack.

i love you be free.

[lacecap]

happy birthday to this song :") here's the beepbox link!

[awakenthebeing]

3 words

pizzano and piepoe

WHOOOO BOY when I got this randomly asked I fr did a double take bc JUST RECENTLY I DOODLED THEM DUE TO A DREAM I HAD!!! So the timing of this message was very coincidental...!!!

BUT since you asked for em i decided to doodle some more things for the two!! There is other art as well, but it's on my other socials and not here hehe

The basis of their relationship is very similar to how Piepoe feels about the Noise. Except she is simply just way more uncomfortable. They just don't like how unpredictable Pizzano can be!!!

I WILL leave these ones that are older tho bc theyre quite silly. These were from after the dream and they were just me sketching out their interactions based off of it😭😭‼️

[wheretheresawyll]

still boggles my mind that in the year 2024 most players still ignore anora's character just to reduce her to a lying backstabber, when she only goes against you if:

you reveal her identity to ser cautherine and howe's soldiers, defeating the entire purpose of her disguise and also ignoring what she told you literally one minute before about how they can't know she's escaping with you - thereby betraying her first

you ignore her completely in denerim after she asks you to come talk to her, and only show up to the landsmeet

you bring up loghain's fate, and when she tells you that she would rather him be spared if possible, you tell her to her face that her father has to die

[star-sparkler]

Your dream comes true

oH MY GOOOSH!!!! LOOK AT HEEEERRRR!!!!

[skrrtscree]

I really need to draw her more, she has a great design 🥲💗

[firebound-press]

Just finished my first fic for @renegadepublishing’s binderary!!! Today on the chopping block, this is about a stuffed bird, by @theminecraftbee!! I’ll be honest I started this project completely on a whim while waiting for paper to arrive, but I’m so so proud of the results.

This fic was a present for my wonderful roommate, @majestic-ruiqing, since I know it’s one of her favorites and wanted to do something nice for her!

The cover art was done by my friend @tea-with-veth, who sent me some art that she drew a while back so that I could use it.

For the technical side, I actually leaned how to chisel a textblock correctly!! So this book has some of the nicest edges I’ve ever done. Not to mention, this was my first time doing splattered edges, which turned out very nice. Also my first time making paperless bookcloth!

You can read the original work here:

[pretty-dead-weight]

[mothwingwritings]

Pls G and O for *ahem* the man who shall not be named ( yuujirou)🙏

I decided to do all the Yujiro asks in one fell swoop, so we can all suffer together as a family. :)

Warnings: I should only have to mention Yujiro Hanma at this point for you guys to know what you are getting into TBH but-mentions of abuse, noncon, reader being demeaned, beaten, and generally treated like garbage.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

The way Yujiro sees it, everything on this planet is for his amusement, and your existence is not exempt from that. In fact, you are arguably one of his favorite amusements, though he’d never tell you that himself.

That being said, that is all you will ever really amount to with the ogre-an enjoyable distraction to be used for his own pleasure. Everything he does to you, every way he tortures and fucks with you, is very much a fun little game to him. His affection for you only goes as far as you can keep his interest, and once/if you’ve lost all your charm, from that point on you are dead to him.

Yujiro is kind of a special case when it comes to ‘escaping’ him because he lets you roam free, so it’s not like there is any actual physical confinement you would need to break free from. The imprisonment comes from his overwhelming power and the fact that there is no place on earth that is safe from his reach, nowhere where his influence hasn’t extended. He can get through any security measure, travel easily to any country, and gain access to any information through his vast network of contacts. You have no way of competing against that, no way of taking security measures against someone so impossibly strong who has the world at their fingertips.  You are a sitting duck, biding your time till he inevitably strikes again.

And yes, Yujiro does enjoy watching all the precautionary measures you take and safeguards you try to set up to protect yourself from him. It’s hilarious seeing the look on your face when he easily plows through each and every one of them to come and claim you.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

Honestly, none of them. One of the absolute worst things about Yujiro is that you have no clue when or how he will strike next. The man comes and goes as he pleases and does whatever tickles his fancy at any given time. It’s one of the perks of being the most powerful being on the planet, no one has the power to stop him from doing anything he sets his mind too.

Those whims translate over to you as well. You could go months or even years with nary a peep from Yujiro Hanma and then the next thing you know you’re being pulled off the street into some back alley to be brutally assaulted by the man himself. It may end there and you won’t see him for another long stretch of time (if ever again), or he may keep you by his side for several days to sate his boredom. You are constantly at his mercy. There is no way to protect yourself, no way of knowing when to even prepare for his arrival. Your entire life revolves around living in a constant state of dread, never truly knowing when, where, or how this man will come for you.

So all that said he doesn’t really take any rights away from you simply because he doesn’t need to. He’ll have you when he wants you, and when you’re with him your only concern and purpose is to please him in whatever way he desires. All the other side shit you have going on is inconsequential to him.

(The only time I think he may impose any kind of iron clad law on you is when you are with him, if you let your mind wander from him he WILL get pissed off and WILL punish you by keeping you quite literally locked by his side. How dare you be in his company and not show him complete reverence and respect? All your freedoms will be taken away the moment you lose focus, you won’t even be able to feed yourself or go to the bathroom without his consent/assistance. It’s horrific and demeaning, humiliating in ways unimaginable. Every moment of your life will be under Yujirou’s scrutiny for however long it takes until he’s satisfied. But even when his tyrannical presence is long gone, the mortification will linger indefinitely).

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

Every waking moment of everyday with Yujiro is the worst experience. If he’s not physically hurting you, he’s mentally abusing you. If he’s not touching or handling you inappropriately, he’s full on sexually assaulting you. Even when he is showing moments of ‘kindness’ it’s all just a ruse, another way to mess with you before he inevitably fucks you up in some way. The mental gymnastics this man puts you through on top of the physical duress he keeps your body under is horrendous and unbearable, he is a literal nightmare 24/7.

Never trust any praise, compliments, or benevolence he awards you-he’ll ultimately turn it against you and make you regret ever being so stupid to believe he could and would show you kindness.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

He’s almost always condescending and pompous. Yujiro is superior to you in every way and is not shy about reminding you of that.  He expects you to do what he says when he says it, and doesn’t tolerate any lip or complaining about it (though he will sometimes find it humorous if you give a little back talk, depending on his mood). You feel like you are under some sort of regime when you are in his presence, his dominant presence leaving no room for debate. You are on constant alert, riddled with worry that you may say or do something that will set him off and begin the pattern of abuse all over again.

In certain rare instances he may open up to you or have a normal conversation where he isn’t being a smug jerk, but those are few and far between. He holds little to no respect for you and it’s painfully apparent in his mannerisms and way of speaking to you. You are his forced companion, glorified sex toy/punching bag, and your opinions and feelings don’t really matter. Just serve your purpose, know your place, and he will leave a satisfied man and you will (possibly) leave unscathed.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

I honestly don’t think Yujiro has the capacity to truly or selflessly love somebody, and as such he doesn’t experience affection in any normal sense of the word. At best he would have a warped sort of infatuation with you, any ‘affection’ he may direct your way a result of his twisted attraction to you (which is on par with most yanderes, but it’s a whole other level with Yujiro).

How he presents these feelings to you depends entirely on his mood. If he is feeling gracious he may take you out somewhere nice, like a classy restaurant or a high end hotel. He may even take you on a vacation somewhere exotic and exciting. While this may come off as a selfless act of benevolence, don’t get it twisted-Yujiro isn’t doing this as an act of charity. The only reason he’s letting you tag along on these outings is because he either expects something in return from you or he’s just bored and thinks having you around may help alleviate that. Either way, don’t expect smooth sailing when he shows these rare glimpses of goodwill, he will lord them over you and get payback for gifting your something so nice.  

Most of the time though he’ll just show up out of the blue to terrorize you, have his way with you, and then leave. In his mind, that is a form of affection. He’s making time for you, isn’t he? He’s going out of his way to see you and give you his undivided attention, if anything you should feel grateful for that. It’s not his problem if you decide to be a little bitch and not appreciate that.

(I will say this though-I feel like if you proved yourself to Yujiro and he did grow to truly respect you, he would treat you much better. He wouldn’t be ‘nice’ by any stretch of the term, but he would take your opinions into account and speak to you on more equal footing. He would still do what he wants with you, but he would be much more willing to work with you and possibly even take into account some of your boundaries (though that is an incredibly large maybe). Your relationship would not get to this point quickly or easily, it would take years of abuse, torture, and anguish to get there. And I think half his new found respect would come from the fact that you survived all of his bs and made it that far. Congrats! You get the tiniest amount of appreciation as a reward for all your suffering. :) )

[daily-odile]

Saw this blog on my dash and IMMEDIATELY followed and subscribed. I love Odile and I love your art style! Thank you for blessing us with your art, and I hope you have a lovely day!

Aaaa right back at you!! Thank you for checking my silly little blog where I draw the same old woman 20 times. The tags fuel me throughout the entire day

Here's a few bonus (ooc) sketches for today