#this isn't technically research

[hadesdancehall]

it's not wip wednesday but it is merry birthmas and i've been cackling for the past couple of days over this au and things for barok's chunk are finally starting to come together so have a wip anyway

once again phantom au courtesy of @lemon-wedges (whom i will tag accordingly this time around)

[nelithic]

　𝐚𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚 ,　𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 　/　drabble ₊

"if imitation is required, then so be it. nil's safety is all that concerns me."

we would never be human, my brother and i. we could never hope to pass. even as i said these words to the divine dragon, i recognized that it was concession only. we needed somewhere to stay, a place to rest our weary forms, and regain our strength to continue on. i would make any placations and reassurances necessary to ensure this, so long as we needed it, and leave them behind when it was no longer of use. such simple falsehoods were common, a quotidian tool to dull the fangs of the prowling and jealous until another day. they would still come, of course. just as we would still depart.

　　　　——— ⟢　

we would never come close to human, my twin and i. their faces made this clear. the divine dragon was hopeful and naive, and believed baselessly in our ability to make ourselves at home because, they assured us, they had been able to do the same.

on many occasions, i said to them: "that success is owed in part to your nature as a divine dragon. you underestimate the strength of a systematic distrust."

always, they would reply that my ' systematic distrust ' could only be dismantled by time and visibility, that given enough show of good intent, the others would have no choice but to accept us. i expressed that nil and i were not here to give shows of our intent, nor was it vital to us to earn the humans' trust. we had no interest in becoming the ' good ' fell dragons for others to praise.

always, they frowned. and i was unable to tell if my words had disappointed or saddened them.

　　　　——— ⟢　

"so, why the lance?"

a curious voice broke through the haze of sweat, exertion, and the punishing summer heat. i looked down to my bruised hands, to chastened palms rough and raw from the abrasion of wood, and planted the training weapon point-down in the ground between us to rest. it was as much an acknowledgement of their question as it was a wordless statement to come no closer, and in this single gesture simultaneously provided answer.

"i thought you said you wouldn't fit in."

"i have not."

and this was not untrue. seasons had passed, and nil and i had still not found a more remote, more willing sanctuary. and the faces had not changed. still we undertook tasks together and together only, at times with the divine one for company and otherwise a solemn and happy pair. for though there were those in the army who may stomach us one or the other, both at a time set them ill at ease. i did not fault them, for it did likewise for me. and i would not let nil alone, whose blood was too gentle still to wield steel against soft humanity should they strike first.

"my brother has made some progress with his axe. with a spear, i possess another means with which to protect him."

"ah," the divine one said, as though this was expected, though there appeared to me a distinct hope that there was more to be revealed. i sensed a certain expectation — that it had been a natural decision to complement the preferences of those around me: my brother's hatchets; the divine dragon's sword.

but i would disappoint. the consideration had never occurred to me; only that, of the options available, the spear proved most versatile. to slash, to pierce, to strike bluntly, close or at distance; to be thrown, and lighter weight than an axe.

and above all, to keep the enemy at bay, and nil behind me.

i turned the human weapon on the divine one now to demonstrate this. their startled blue eyes shone wide beneath the sun. "facing your sword will assist me in improving quickly. three seconds and i will attack."

　　　　——— ⟢　

we could never have been human, my other half and i. after all, the humans had all taken their leave, what few remained of them, splintered and swept away like shards of glass.

and now it was quieter than it had ever been — in gradlon or amid the army camps.

regardless of what we intended, we had become the ' good ' fell dragons in the end. some of their faces had eventually changed because of this; others had not. i wondered whether seeing this had satisfied the divine one, had made them believe we had indeed managed to fit in with time and visibility; i had never had the chance to ask. regarding the fresh grave now, the spotless stone, the clean engraving, i felt that so long as this may have perhaps been true, my own intentions ceased to matter. and the praise and judgment of others ceased to matter.

my hands were once again bruised, raw from battle though the old callouses had long faded, and i tried to summon the memory of them again through vision too clear to be appropriate. i willed my eyes to weep, and it did not come. i gave that to nil instead, asked him to weep for both of us.

the spear drove point-down in the grass between the two of us once more, beside the pedestal's simple tomb, as though the iron sought the one who rested beneath it like a compass needle.

i could not reach. my hands could not reach. my tears could not reach.

yet with this lance, i may . . .

. . .

　 【　nel has mastered halberdier　】

　

　┃┃┃　

▀▀ 　BOTANICAL HEADCANONS　₊　|　abatina : is there anything in life your muse has changed their mind about over time ( due to becoming more educated on the topic , certain experiences , etc .) , or that they would change their mind about under certain circumstances ?　|　asked by @heriteur

[chlorinewriter]

Tagged by @erinyra for the fanfiction writer bingo! I haven't done anything like this in ages, but thanks for tagging me! It's fun to think about (and to read through your tags). Tagging @ditttiii and @giurochedadomani in case either of you'd like to participate ^^ Clean template can be found here.

[morporkian-cryptid]

🎴Hanafuda Pt. 3 progress

What time is it? It's time to get a tattoo done by your crush to cope with your unrequited feelings!

Ie, I'm finally getting to the tattooing scene and I get to describe Goemon's tattoo ^^

On the printed paper, a stylized river was lazily flowing along the shape of a shoulder. Its current was dotted with red maple leaves and yellow chrysanthemums, in bright counterpoints to the cool water. The petals were stretching into the stream, as if hugging the waves. As the water moved down the arm, its current strengthened, curling into white foam and making the flowers and leaves dance.

[aparticularbandit]

memo to self: remember that actually mikan is very good at reading faces. very, very good at reading faces.

[celinamarniss]

[dazzelmethat]

Satyr idea WIPs. Trying to put my finger on what I like about satyr folklore that I don't ever see in other satyr designs.

I know they are nature spirits in folklore and I usually see them depicted as such. But I like the 'base temptation' and unkempt kind of satyr.

[swordsonnet]

note to body: one chronic illness is more than enough. we don't need more

[giantkillerjack]

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO IS BLACK.

HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE BLACK. 10 MINUTES OF RESEARCH WILL TELL YOU HE IS WRITTEN BY A BLACK MAN AND BASED ON THAT MAN'S BLACK FATHER.

SO HOW IS THERE NOT EVEN ONE SCREEN ADAPTATION WITH A BLACK COUNT?!?!?

IT IS 2023. THE MEDIUM OF FILM IS 128 YEARS OLD. I HOPE THE NEXT PERSON TO GREENLIGHT A WHITE EDMOND DANTES IS FRAMED FOR TREASON

[vermillioncrown]

pretty sure your snare trap has math for cheese

you'd think so. i thought so, too--but no one talks to me about the actual math from my fanfic (me getting hurt feelings from everyone fixating on 'bruce wayne batman dating' rather than chasing the 'data regression' -> 'fast fourier transform' -> 'dick grayson is a former mathlete about to read korvin to filth', but i fucking did it to myself and know it)

actual math/stem people more knowledgeable than me take one look and go "lmao poser" and ignore it

laymen read my fic and don't care beyond the spectacle

i think the math acts like a filter. you either vibe w my processes (which cannot be separated from how i write) or you [x] immediately

[phoenixcatch7]

Why aren't there more shazam x Percy Jackson crossovers. They slap incredibly.

[fantasy-costco]

I think if a tumblr user says anything about history they should include Chicago style citations in the post. This is also true for other areas of study but I don't really know much about those so I only get filled with a blind rage when history posts are wrong. So that's what we need to fix first. For me.

[see-arcane]

Is there a way to get the Penclosa teaser as a pdf or something I can read whenever? 👁️👁️

I really do mean to look into downloadable versions of all my original stuff--pro authors do it all the time!--but a lot of real world junk and my own skittishness about setting them up (and worse, eventually putting together an author site) has it all on a back burner right now.

[himemeika]

Definitely gonna get to drawing that oc tomorrow. I'll have some free time in art class

[moosebeans]

I choose a simple topic for my 5 minute presentation assignment thinking it'll make the assignment painless. I immediately get frustrated by how little there is to say about it because the topic is simple and straightforward and I feel like I'm not doing good enough research. why am I like this.

[sparrowsfallingfromthesky]

watched a couple trent crimm videos because I wanted to hear his voice, but I had to turn the volume up, so then when I finished that and pressed play on my music it just BLASTED me