#we-will-begin-again

[wexarethewalkingxdead]

@we-will-begin-again (from Lucille for Rick's 🎂🎉)

Lucille had had the holster hidden in her trailer since... well, she'd lost fucking count of how long it had been since she'd seen it among the things Jesus brought back to Hilltop from one of his trips out, and taken it because the first thing that had crossed her mind upon seeing the somehow unscathed in this apocalypse, dark leather colt python holster with a fern-like design carved on it, was "This would look fuckin' amazing attached to Rick's hip."

Then Carl, whose second favorite thing to do right after sneaking out and sending everyone's stress levels through the roof seemed to be playing matchmaker for his dad, told her that he believed Rick's birthday was coming up, and they'd checked and confirmed: his birthday was coming up. It sent Lucille on a scavenging trip of her own, both to find something to clean and polish leather with, and something to present the gift in. The first turned out to be easier than the second, because shoe polishing supplies didn't break apart as easily as gift bags and boxes did when exposed to the elements and, well, to the undead apocalypse that was their new normal.

But gift wrap proved the superior material to use on birthday presents, as she was able to find just enough of it —christmas patterned, but whatever, it was going to get ripped off anyway— to present Rick with the gift when the day finally came.

She didn't known how to go about it, so she just knocked on his door, told him to close his eyes and hold his hands out as soon as Rick opened it, and dropped the gift on his hands.

"Carl told me your birthday was coming up, so... happy birthday! Judith helped," Lucille told him, even if Judith had been more interested in trying to eat the resin when she'd been polishing the leather holster than in helping.

Send my muse(s) birthday messages! - @we-will-begin-again

Rick had been enjoying his trips to Hilltop more and more, and he'd been taken them more often. He'd be lying if he said it wasn't because of Lucille because it absolutely was. He enjoyed her company, and he liked the fact that she wasn't afraid to call him out when she absolutely needed to. He'd also be lying if he said it didn't turn him on, too.

But this trip had been different. He'd brought both Carl and Judith on this trip. Judith had taken up with Lucille rather quickly the first time they had met so when she saw her, she was super excited and ran to her. He couldn't stop smiling at the memory. He loved seeing his children happy.

It was a little past eight o'clock at night when there was a knock on his door. He'd just put Judith to bed so he was curious as to who it could be, but then he heard her voice through the darkened oak. He smirked when she instructed him to close his eyes but did as he was told.

He opened the door and held out his hands. He felt the crinkle of wrapping paper. Curious, he opened his eyes and saw the Christmas design on the paper. He couldn't stop the smile that tugged at his lips as he quickly opened it and let the paper fall to the floor. He inspected the holster carefully, almost as if he was in complete awe of it. The smell of leather and polish gave him a bit of a thrill. He could tell that she’d taken great care to get it ready for him. "It's beautiful." He chuckled softly hearing that Carl had spilled the beans about his birthday. "I'd almost forgotten it this year," he admitted.

He gestured for her to step into the room, putting his finger to his lips as he pointed toward the bed where Judith was sleeping. He reached for his worn out holster and Colt and slipped the weapon gently from it before sliding it into the new holster and promptly strapped it to his hips. "It's perfect." He moved toward her, hand on her hip as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. "Thank you."

He then slipped a finger under her chin, lifting it so that he could give her a proper thank you with a kiss to her soft lips. As the kiss ended, he licked his lips. "Now I just need to know when you're birthday is." He didn't give her time to respond as he kissed her again.

[ministarfruit]

day 1: if only ♡

(femslashfeb prompt list)

[your-local-asylum-escapee]

ok so i've been trying to read a bunch of 'arthur returns' fic and i belatedly realized that Merlin probably suffered from 𝘴𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦 ptsd and now im crying cuz i just visualized Merlin going through his ptsd like i did and now it just makes the fics 10× sadder

(spoiler: a lot of yapping)

like i can see Merlin watching Arthur sleep, checking if he's still breathing, checking his pulse and everything but then Arthur doesn't breath for 15 seconds and now Merlin's panicking, overthinking if he should nudge Arthur to stir him a bit to check if he's alive still then Arthur inhales and then Merlin breathes in sinc with Arthur. and then Arthur doesn't breath in what Merlin feels like a long minute (but in reality its probably just been less than 30 seconds) and decides to check his pulse to see if its still there but he's too impatient so he couldn't even wait 5 more seconds to find his pulse and just wakes Arthur up, this happens very often (every day) and Arthur's confused at first but when it keeps on happening he becomes irritated. he gets annoyed one night and was about to get mad but then he sees Merlin in the brink of tears looking straight at him, Arthur's hand is being held by Merlin like it's the only thing keeping him alive. Arthur tries to make Merlin sleep (he's seen the state Merlin was in and even a blind man can see that he wasn't healthy) but Merlin refuses to. Arthur decides to not sleep at all and stay up with Merlin.

they don't sleep the entire night and Arthur thinks this was just a one time thing but then he realizes that he's never seen Merlin sleep ever since he came back. he decides to stay awake and pretend to sleep until Merlin sleeps. when Arthur realizes that Merlin wasn't going to even lay down and 𝘵𝘳𝘺 to sleep he starts to get worried. hours past by and Merlin's fingers check for Arthur's pulse every now and then. Arthur's awake with Merlin the entire night and until dawn.

he still denies the thought that this was how Merlin spends his night ever since Arthur arrived but he still wanna check so he pretends to sleep that night again. the same thing happens again and Merlin doesn't sleep. when a few moments go by and Merlin doesn't check his pulse again Arthur thinks that Merlin finally slept out of exhaustion. but he could still feel Merlin's eyes on him so he decides to hold his breath for one minute.

not even 30 seconds go by and now he can feel Merlin's trembling hands on his wrists. Arthur still holds his breath and then Merlin tries to nudge his shoulder to stir him a little bit. Arthur 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 holds his breath until he feels Merlin nudging him a bit more aggressively than before. Arthur takes pity on him so tries to act as if he just got woken up. Merlin apologizes for waking him up. Arthur was about to insult him to make it seem natural but then he sees Merlin's teary eyes and he suddenly hugs Merlin. both he and Merlin are a little shocked by this but none of them move. Arthur 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘢𝘥𝘦s Merlin to sleep by telling him that he wont sleep until he does. Merlin's stubborn at first but the days of not being asleep finally catches up to him and he 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 sleeps. Arthur decides not to sleep until Merlin does and he does this every night since.

ok wow, that was a lot of monloguing, even for me. anyways see you later after I finished reading 'and like the cycle of the year, we begin again'

[kaltacore]

isn't it wild that warden-commander invoked the right of conscription on anders with direct permission of the queen/king of ferelden and templars still didn't leave him be. isn't it wild that some of them were willing to drink darkspawn blood and bound themselves to another order just to get to him even though he was proven to be under warden-commander's protection. isn't it wild that the wardens had always been a golden ticket for mages who tried to get away from the circle and it was working perfectly fine for everyone else and then in his case it just didn't

[alan-without-the-an]

unfortunately i reinstalled obey me! so here's a drawing of my husband to celebrate my downfall </3

i drew this in krita rather than ibispaint, but i think i managed to replicate the look well enough

version w/o the extra effects:

[moran-with-a-g]

Do the antisemites that invaded the pro-palestinian movement know the origin of the word Palestine is from the Hebrew root פ.ל.ש, the root for the word invaders? Do they know it's based on Philistia, the name given to the region that's based after the Philistines? Do they know we don't actually know the actual name the Philistines called themselves, and that we called them that as an insult, because it's from the same root as invaders?

Like do you realise all this time the name of this land was "invaded" while we weren't here? When you try to claim Jews have no connection to the Levant do you realise what you're claiming? This is driving me insane.

(this is NOT saying palestinians aren't natives and don't deserve a country of their own, and I will block anyone who reblogs this trying to claim that)

[bleeding-ambrosia]

and like the cycle of the year, we begin again ~ @katherynefromphilly

AAAAA i’ve been having merlin on my timeline again we’re so back! reread this fic again sobbing crying and now you can too 💪🥲⚔️

[moonyplatt]

And like the cycle of the year, we begin again ~ Mini comic (part 1)

Hi !! I finally come with the promised comic 😁 I started it several months ago, and although there have been days when I haven't known how to move forward, I have had a lot of support from @ineffablesbooks GRACIAS AMIGA!! We are both big fans of Merlin and especially of the INCREDIBLE fanfic that @katherynefromphilly wrote. I don't know what I would have done after finishing s5 without this story, so thank you so much, I love how you write Merlin and Arthur. Anyway, I hope you like this comic as much as I liked doing it. Stay tone, because this is only the first part!! So in a few days there will be part 2, I also don't rule out making more mini comics of other scenes in the future, so wait for it, I hope you like it and enjoy it!!

[good-wine-and-cheese]

Science- Ashbury Heights

My magnum opus of Tenma amvs

[smultronviol]

Ppl going "waaahh unpopular opinion but Alice is kind of annoying and obnoxious and I don't think I'd like be her friend irl" is so funny to me bc like.

God forbid a cast of characters be multifaceted and have actual flaws and unpleasant aspects other than "grr angsty hero" and "whoops i'm so clumsy". Sometimes character dynamics and arcs need to be prioritized above "who would i personally be niceys with irl"

2. bro just WAIT until you hear about season 1 jon lol

[wexarethewalkingxdead]

Rick & Michonne || @we-will-begin-again 

I was fine before you walked right through that door And now I'm something more than I ever imagined I was so sure I knew exactly who you were But you were something more than I ever imagined

In your arms, I'm safe and sound You turn my world right upside down But all the hell we've been through had a purpose Together we are chaos and it's perfect Always thought those feelings, they were stories not made for me It's terrifying, but I'm pretty certain it's worth it

[finelinens]

you be the moon, i'll be the earth

[beaulesbian]

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

So we're just supposed to let people die because some algorithm says that that's supposed to happen? You realize how messed up that sounds, right?

[petit-papillion]

Twitch Quartet + Pierre + Zhou

Lando: "…but I had the red flag in FP1 on my lap and then the second lap was just shit, then I went off in turn 9 in FP3…"

Drivers' Parade | Japanese Grand Prix | 7 April 2024

📸 ln4norris

[rui-drawsbox]

(almost) first-time

Based off that one fanfic that i can't really find but it's about how he stops himself everytime things got spicy ("he pulled his hand like he got a burn" or smth like that and it's been living in my head rent free ever since)

+DOODLES! BC MY ELECTRICITY MAY BE CUT AGAIN BUT THE BRAIN NEVER TURNS OFF

[hedgehog-moss]

Inspired by your last ask! What are the best French books you’ve read that have no English translation yet? I read Play Boy and Qui a tué mon père (really loved the latter) last year and it feels so fun to read something that other Americans can’t access yet

I'm too nervous to make any list of the Best XYZ Books because I don't want to raise your expectations too high! But okay, here's my No English Translation-themed list of books I've enjoyed in recent years. I tried to make it eclectic in terms of genre as I don't know what you prefer :)

Biographies

• Le dernier inventeur, Héloïse Guay de Bellissen: I just love prehistory and unusual narrators so I enjoyed this one; it's about the kids who discovered the cave of Lascaux, and some of the narration is written from the perspective of the cave <3 I posted a little excerpt here (in English).

• Ces femmes du Grand Siècle, Juliette Benzoni: Just a fun collection of portraits of notable noblewomen during the reign of Louis XIV, I really liked it. For people who like the 17th century. I think it was Emil Cioran who said his favourite historical periods were the Stone Age and the 17th century but tragically the age of salons led to the Reign of Terror and Prehistory led to History.

• La Comtesse Greffulhe, Laure Hillerin: I've mentioned this one before, it's about the fascinating Belle Époque French socialite who was (among other things) the inspiration for Proust's Duchess of Guermantes. I initially picked it up because I will read anything that's even vaguely about Proust but it was also a nice aperçu of the Belle Époque which I didn't know much about.

• Nous les filles, Marie Rouanet: I've also recommended this one before but it's such a sweet little viennoiserie of a book. The author talks about her 1950s childhood in a town in the South of France in the most detailed, colourful, earnest way—she mentions everything, describes all the daft little games children invent like she wants ageless aliens to grasp the concept of human childhood, it's great.

I'll add Trésors d'enfance by Christian SIgnol and La Maison by Madeleine Chapsal which are slightly less great but also sweet short nostalgic books about childhood that I enjoyed.

Fantasy

• Mers mortes, Aurélie Wellenstein: I read this one last year and I found the characters a bit underwhelming / underexplored but I always enjoy SFF books that do interesting things with oceans (like Solaris with its sentient ocean-planet), so I liked the atmosphere here, with the characters trying to navigate a ghost ship in ghost seas...

• Janua Vera, Jean-Philippe Jaworski: Not much to say about it other than they're short stories set in a mediaeval fantasy world and no part of this description is usually my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed this read!

Essays / literary criticism / philosophy

• Eloge du temps perdu, Frank Lanot: I thought this was going to be about idleness, as the title suggests, and I love books about idleness. But it's actually a collection of short essays about (French) literature and some of them made me appreciate new things about authors and books I thought I knew by heart, so I enjoyed it

• Le Pont flottant des rêves, Corinne Atlan: Poetic musings about translation <3 that's all

• Sisyphe est une femme, Geneviève Brisac: Reflections about the works of female writers (Natalia Ginzburg, Virginia Woolf, Sylvia Townsend Warner, etc) that systematically made me want to go read the author in question, even when I'd already read & disliked said author. That's how you know it's good literary criticism

Let's add L'Esprit de solitude by Jacqueline Kelen which as the title suggests, ponders the notion of solitude, and Le Roman du monde by Henri Peña-Ruiz which was so lovely to read in terms of literary style I don't even care what it was about (it's philosophy of foundational myths & stories) (probably difficult to read if you're not fully fluent in French though)

Did not fit in the above categories:

• Entre deux mondes by Olivier Norek—it's been translated in half a dozen languages, I was surprised to find no English translation! It's a crime novel and a pretty bleak read on account of the setting (the Calais migrant camp) but I'd recommend it

• Saga, Tonino Benacquista: Also seems to have been translated in a whole bunch of languages but not English? :( I read it ages ago but I remember it as a really fun read. It's a group of loser screenwriters who get hired to write a TV series, their budget is 15 francs and a stale croissant and it's going to air at 4am so they can do whatever they want seeing as no one will watch it. So they start writing this intentionally ridiculous unhinged show, and of course it acquires Devoted Fans

Books that I didn't think existed in English translation but they do! but you can still read them in French if you want

• Scrabble: A Chadian Childhood, Michaël Ferrier: What it says on the tin! It's a short and well-written account of the author's childhood in Chad just before the civil war. I read it a few days ago and it was a good read, but then again I just love bittersweet stories of childhood

• On the Line, Joseph Ponthus: A short diary-like account of the author's assembly line work in a fish factory. I liked the contrast between the robotic aspect of the job and the poetic nature of the text; how the author used free verse / repetition / scansion to give a very immediate sense of the monotony and rhythm of his work (I don't know if it's good in English)

• The End of Eddy, Edouard Louis: The memoir of a gay man growing up in a poor industrial town in Northern France—pretty brutal but really good

• And There Was Light, Jacques Lusseyran: Yet another memoir sorry, I love people's lives! Jacques Lusseyran lost his sight as a child, and was in the Resistance during WWII despite being blind. It's a great story, both for the historical aspects and for the descriptions of how the author experiences his blindness

• The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception, Emmanuel Carrère: an account of the Jean-Claude Romand case—a French man who murdered his whole family to avoid being discovered as a fraud, after spending his entire adult life pretending to be a doctor working at the WHO and fooling everyone he knew. Just morbidly fascinating, if you like true crime stuff