#with a solemn happiness

[tutumydear]

A secret santa piece I gifted! 🤍

Prompt was: a light/more white swan-esque version of Kraehe 🦢

[ghostflowerhotpotch]

I am the only one who still thinks how when Miles went away on the train this was Gwen's face?

Despite everything that happened there, she is looking at him flying away as if she has lost her breath.

I utterly adore how down bad she is.

[a-hazbin-reader]

i love angst when im in the mood for it BUT I LOVE ANGST EVEN MORE WHEN THERES A HAPPY ENDING AND YOU GAVE ME THAT THANK YOUUUU

I WILL NEVER NOT GIVE YOU GUYS A HAPPY ENDING

[good-beanswrites]

Hello hello! It's me again! (That one Anon who requested Lies with Kazui & Yuno, but I've set up my account now so no need to ask anonymously again lol) Thank you for satisfying my previous request, it was such a delight to read. I keep rereading it every now and then and I'm still always left in awe with it like jesus christ you didn't have to go all in on that im sobbing with the 0207 friendship dynamic.

I've also seen your latest post and drabble asks. I'd like to request from the Drabble List#1 - #5 “Idiots. They are all idiots.” with Es themselves!

Let the prisoners have fun and Es just stares at them nonchalantly, silently judging their idiocy from afar, hell, maybe even let Yuno/Mikoto convince them to join. You can do anything as long as you think it'll fit, they're all just a little silly (minus the fact they're in prison lol).

With all that said, take your time and no rush! I can always wait. Thanks a lot! ...now back to rereading my previous request for the nth time,, i love it so much,, thankyouagain

Ah thank you so much, that means so much!! I'm so glad you liked it, that one was really nice to write :'D And yesss thank you for the request -- this was such a blast to do as well! (though I also made myself emotional over Es' lost childhood, that was less fun ;___;) I debated on several activities within the prison but thought this was plausible and fun for some mid-T1 shenanigans

Es had a job to do. They had many eyes watching them. They had several lives in their hands. They had heavy responsibilities. They didn’t have time for something as silly as ‘video game night’, regardless of the laughter that bubbled up from the common room as they passed by. They were not way tempted to join, regardless of how much fun the group seemed to be having when they peered their head in.

Fuuta had whined that Es had replaced all his requests with completely outdated consoles and games, confirming they had been successful in choosing things without any access to the internet or outside world. Plus, they thought, this gave the older prisoners a fighting chance with some of the games.

Not that they cared whether or not the prisoners had a good time. That wasn’t any concern of theirs. Even in these long periods of rest between their more eventful duties, they must remain focused.

The laughter crescendoed into delighted screaming.

Es figured one more look inside wouldn’t hurt. They were supposed to be keeping an eye on everyone, after all. 

The prisoners had gathered various chairs and bedding material, creating makeshift couches. Some piled onto the new seating, some splayed out on the ground, others stood in excitement. The television was so small, the two players needed to lean all the way forward to see. 

Mahiru bounced in her seat as Yuno whipped around her remote. Fuuta was demanding Kazui play better, gesturing wildly at the screen. Shidou chucked to himself as the others grew more intense. Haruka kept asking questions about the game, receiving an answer only about half the time. 

As the match got closer, Yuno leapt to her feet. She tried to shimmy in front of Kazui and block his view. He stood to prod her out of the way. Muu called foul play, though she said it with a thrill rather than accusation. Fuuta repeated it -- with quite a lot of accusation -- and tried to push Yuno out of the way. Mikoto tried to hold him back, voicing his support of Yuno’s methods. 

The others got caught up in the yelling. Amane’s eyes were wide in anticipation. Kotoko pumped her fist as the battle got even closer. The room erupted in movement and shoving and tripping and remote pulling -- until they yanked the tiny television forward. 

The thick cord came free, and the screen went black just before a winner was announced. Ten voices chorused their outrage.

Es shook their head. “Idiots. They are all idiots.”

They turned away as the prisoners hurried to set everything up again. They were just about to turn the corner into the panopticon when Yuno’s voice called from behind.

“Hey!” She ran up, taking advantage of their brief pause. “I saw you passing by. Why don’t you come join us?”

Not for the first time, Es wished they had enough height to look down on all the prisoners. “I’m your warden. I’m not some child here to play games with you all.”

She pursed her lips. “I’m not a kid either. But I’m still down for a night to unwind.”

“You’re lucky to have the luxury to relax. I, on the other hand, am busy right now.”  

Yuno made a show of looking left, then right, across the empty hallway. “And what exactly are you doing right now?”

“I’m working.”

She frowned. “Uh-huh…”

“I am!” They fumbled for more, coming up blank. They should have known the moment she came skipping over to them that it would be impossible to fool her. There was no need for this routine check of the prison; everyone was gathered in the common room except them. Yuno had known this before uttering a single word.

Her hands fluttered in a dismissive gesture. “Too much work is never good for you. It doesn’t matter how mature you are -- if you get too caught up in your job it’ll drive you to some crazy things.” She smirked. “Just look at Shidou. Or Mikoto!”

“I could look at you…”

Though surprise flickered across her face, she kept grinning. “Exactly! So let’s get you in here.” She tugged on their arm. Prisoners couldn’t physically move Es against their will. 

They huffed as they found themselves inching closer and closer to the entryway.

“I suppose I can come and watch,” they muttered, “and still keep an eye on you all.”

“No! No more working!” She managed to get them into the room. “Here, you can take my spot in the next round.”

Kazui looked over. “Who said you were getting the next spot?”

“Oh come on, I was clearly going to win that one.”

“Clearly? I'm pretty sure was seconds away from beating you.”

“Well then, I guess Es can take your spot.”

“Es is playing?” Haruka looked up excitedly. 

“I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”

It was as if they hadn’t said anything at all. The others launched into a discussion of who would give their remote to Es? Who would they’d face off against? Were they resetting the bracket they’d begun? Which game would they return to? The ten argued in circles for a while. For a group of murderers, they were insistent on a fair tournament. After breaking up some bickering that could have become physical, Es once again wondered how they ended up watching over a mess like this. 

At length the game was chosen, and a rematch was slated for Yuno and Kazui later in the night. To save themself time and sanity, Es went ahead and picked their opponent.

“I’ll play Fuuta.” 

He had been the obvious choice: he could supply enough chatter for the both of them, so Es could remain silent. Also, he was guaranteed to win and free them from an obligation to play more than one round. They flashed a look at some of the more observant prisoners, hoping they didn’t tip them off.

However, no one was really watching them too keenly. Mahiru clapped in joy. Yuno beamed. Mikoto shoved a remote into their hands. Haruka started rapidly explaining the rules to them. Shidou directed Es to their seat in the center. Kotoko gave them an encouraging nod. As expected, Fuuta was already deep into trash talk as he sat next to them.

They really were simple-minded people, more focused on this silly game than the fact their warden had just sat amongst them. It was dangerous to let one’s guard down in a place like this, Es reminded themself. 

With a little jingle, the match began. 

Their fingers flew across the controls. Though they had a rocky start, some sort of muscle memory kicked in. Surely this game had come out before they were born, and there was no way they’d played it regularly. None of that mattered much. Their little avatar was obviously gaining the lead.

Their eyes stayed fixed on the screen as they received slaps on the back and nudges. Their guard's cap was knocked off in the shuffling, but they couldn't risk picking it up. Voices called all around them.

“Aw, don’t just let the kid win!” Mikoto said.

“I’m not!” Fuuta was desperate. “They fucking tricked me! They’re a pro!”

Es felt energy run through their entire body. Their original plan already slipping away, they wondered if they could actually beat Fuuta. It would be fun to see… They leaned forward, holding their breath. The audience continued cheering the pair on. Once again, the room was swept up in shouts.

The match ended. A little banner flashed across the screen to name Es victorious. They jumped up, a small whoop escaping them. 

They would’ve melted in shame right then and there, if the sound weren’t already drowned out by the surrounding chaos. The others laughed and shook Es in amazement. Fuuta let out a string of colorful language.

“That was incredible!”

“Holy shit!”

“How’d you do that?”

Es placed the cap back on their head, pulling it over their eyes. “I don’t know. And it doesn’t matter. I’m done for the night.” They tried to pass off the remote, but Mikoto pushed it back into their hands. 

“Nuh-uh. I want to see this for myself.” He grabbed the other one from a dejected Fuuta. “Same game. Same characters. Lemme see what you’ve got.”

Es wasn’t meant to play one round, much less get caught up in their ridiculous tournament.

Don’t be an idiot, they told themself.

“Bring it on,” they told Mikoto.

[wasabi-beeeeatz]

Let me talk about how full of emotions ORDER and WAR are and how each song has a story.

So we all know about the two out of three Prime bosses in Ultrakill yes? And their stories? If not, let me summarize each story.

Minos -

Former Judge of Hell and former King of Lust. Gabriel sentenced him to the Lust Layer and took over the job of the judge. Minos created an utopian city in the Lust Layer to protect his people from the heavy winds only to get STRUCK down by Gabriel and get his large corpse overrun by Parasites, said corpse gets controlled by said Parasites and destroys EVERYTHING he worked hard on building. His soul gets trapped into the Flesh Prison and he becomes Minos Prime.

Sisyphus -

Was a king, cheated death twice and his punishment is to roll a boulder up a hill for all eternity up until the Heavens went silent. He used this downtime to form an army and wage war on the Angels of Heaven, knowing that he'll fail in the end. His head gets sliced off by no other than Gabriel, causing the army to quiver and lose the army now that their beacon of hope got slain. He formed into a Prime soul rather quickly so the Council trapped him into the Flesh Panopticon in fear that he'll break out once he wakes up.

NOW let me talk about their themes, starting with Minos Prime and ORDER.

Minos was a pacifist and still is. He only fights V1 because of the crimes against humanity it had caused up until this point in P - 1. When confronted with Gabriel he didn't fight, he tried to reason with the Archangel only to get his body brutally broken in the end. He didn't watch over his Kingdom of Lust for the fame and glory, he watched over it to give the sinners there a peaceful afterlife as he thought the act of lust was not a sin worth getting punished for. His Prime soul reflects this by having a hole for a face. His story is solemn, depressing and hopeful AND his theme, ORDER, reflects that by having the intro to it have like a violin like instrument playing. The Requim leitmotif that plays in the middle of the track is LOUD and IN YOUR FACE but yet it still has that violin like instrument playing. The song is more quiet and melancholy than WAR, which is VERY loud but we'll get to that very soon, but it still has that anger to it. He is angry at you, V1, and he is going to give YOU judgement for the sins you have done. When defeated, he will apologize for not saving his children from this cruel, dark world that is now run by Machines. He is at fault for not being able to save his people from being thrown into disarray after getting slain by Gabriel.

Now let's talk about Mr. One must imagine aka King Sisyphus, a tyrannical king that cheated not once but twice in his life time.

Sisyphus was no pacifist. He was a tyrant who deserved his punishment. He fights V1 as if it was a game or warmup for the real deal of crushing the Heavens. He quite literally has the power of the sun as his absence of a head gets replaced by a glowing orb that resembles the bright star. He decided to wage war on the people of Heaven, fully knowing that he'll just fail but he still did it. He was frustrated, angry, FULL of RAGE that he got punished but he enjoys it. He enjoys his punishment and his theme, WAR, reflects that. WAR is loud, abrasive, and in your face, with a guitar like instrument playing in the intro. It is showing how ANGRY Sisyphus is. The Sands of Tide leitmotif in the middle of the track is LOUD and IN YOUR FACE, much like the Requim leitmotif in ORDER but it has the feeling of enraged to it. The leitmotif is NOT quiet, it is LOUD. IMPATIENT. ENRAGED. It shows how he cheated, lied, and got his way in his life time and afterlife time. He fights V1 as if the machine was just an appetizer. When defeated, he will ramble on how the times of King Sisyphus has now ended, that he never regretted a single second of it and died laughing.

TL:DR;

I love these two old men and I hope whatever the third Prime boss is gets a theme that is equal to ORDER and WAR and gets recognizable as well.

[randomthunk]

A Tom to go with the earlier Crow, and a line I use way too often. It’s been fifteen years since I first drew the ‘bots and they are still mysterious creatures to me. Also, happy Tom Servo Tuesday!

[givemewallywestorgivemedeath]

I will say: you know a run was good when the new writer's announcement reads like an obituary.

The understanding that this is a tragedy. The respectful and reserved tone. The promise to preserve the legacy.

We all know that this is not a cause for celebration.

[aphidoideart]

#052: Astroleon

Rumored to exist in the darkest depths of space, this massive creature preys on stars that wander too close to its gravity well, once you've fallen into its pitfall there is no going back, as not even light escapes its grasp

Inspired by Antlions and Black Holes!!

[simayeeet]

Was reminded about the drawings Kubo does in between manga chapters where he does some calligraphy behind a character posing and wanted to try to make one of those for someone in DW

Turns out it's Xun Yu's day at some point today and tomorrow so haha i gift myself him

[cyberpunkandanimejunk]

There’s beauty in solitude.

[fated-normal-767]

AU where everything’s the exact same except Asphodel just gets to live a happy life . She’s like my Ares to me . She may want to die but I will do everything in my power to help her survive until life is worthwhile for her once more .

this is brilliant. taking her out of the horrors and letting her have a happy and chill time. truly honourable . I've noticed a theme with watching a real tragedy where even if it was established all the way through that there would be no good ending, when its over you can still find yourself thinking "maybe if id loved them more or payed more attention to the story i could have changed things". even reading a book or watching a play. anyway I just felt this train of thought was relevant.

[ladyimaginarium]

Manifestation Moodboard: Interfaith Christmas, Hannukah & Yule!!

[ave-immaculata]

Can you tell us 5 facts about you? If it's okay for you 🥰

I mean sure it's okay!!

- not sure if y'all know but I wear glasses, I'm very blind without them and have had them since I was 4 (+ I can't wear contacts)

- I'm discerning the Discalced Carmelite Secular Order (prayers appreciated for their discernment as well as mine!)

- St. Veronica is my confirmation Saint

- I have 2 middle names

- I used to bite my nails really really badly (over about 20 years) but stopped!! now I have fairly long well kept nails

[one-winged-dreams]

:')

[miraniel]

I don’t normally post much about my life here but… I really need to get this off my chest (like some other things lol):

So, someone at my church got the bright idea to hold a book group read and discussion of a book about transgender people and Christian faith in honor of Transgender Day of Remembrance. (It’s a positive book, written by a trans person.) And as the Resident Visibly Nonbinary Person, I got approached to ask if I’d come. And I said yes.

Reading the book was … weird. I really have never been one of those people who reads books about Christian faith? I’m low key about being Christian: I know too much history and current events about the detrimental effect Christianity has had on other groups and it’s own people over the centuries to be particularly, for lack of a better word, patriotic about my faith. I’m not even sure I believe in Christianity really, but I do believe in the importance of ritual and community and being periodically reminded to try to live a good life and so I am a regular member of this local church that has been quietly LGBTQ affirming. But whatever, I read the book. It was fine.

This morning is the discussion.

I woke up to the headlines about the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Thirty-two trans people have been killed this year and that number is probably about to rise.

It’s gonna be a bad day.

And I’m feeling… just kinda done with this whole thing. Of being trans and a person of faith and an activist. Like, I know what I’m going to do: I’m going to go in there and tell people a bit about what being nonbinary means. I’m going to tell them about walking out of the church I was raised in after the priest told me that God wouldn’t allow someone like me to exist. I’m going to talk about the rejection letter I got from my aunt after I came out, in which she (poorly) cited the Bible multiple times as the reason she would never acknowledge me as anything but my deadname. I’ll talk about my theological justifications for being nonbinary (the implied nonbinary aspect of God inherent in the genesis story, etc.). I might even talk about how coming out as trans has made me more introspective and spiritual, and therefore closer to God.

I have all these arguments to prove my right to exist in this culture that I grew up in using it’s own language—but I don’t really believe in any of them. My being trans and nonbinary has fuck all to do with christianity. I don’t need a fucking theological justification to exist. And I’m tired of being a poster child, of smiling and educating and letting people who forget my pronouns slide, while all the while transphobic laws are being passed and hate crimes are rising.

I’m so sick of it, and it also feels like the only thing I can do that has made any sort of concrete difference, and I know I’ll just feel useless and guilty if I stop. And there’s that Catholic upbringing again, in what we have done and what we have failed to do…. It’s a damn cycle.

Anyway. Happy Transgender Day of Remembrance y’all. Hang in there.

[pastafossa]

omg happy (late) beltane! was there also a celebration for walpurgis night? and was there a maypole the next day? feel free to ignore my questions, i've only celebrated things like this on my own and hear about other, larger celebrations secondhand, so i'm very very curious lol share only as much as you're comfortable

blessed be, and wishing your creative juices never run dry!

Happy late beltane to you, too, and I don't mind the questions at all! I didn't quite get to a walpurgis night celebration although there were a bunch around the city! And we made tiny little maypoles at our beltane celebration since it was snowing outside, they were so cute! 😭

I'm like you, I'd only ever done solitary celebrations until I moved here last year (I joined another group's celebration last year and we did a big maypole and even jumped over FIRE, that was so fun!). I wasn't sure what to expect at this one last night, but it was really cheerful and bright even with the snow outside, maybe 20 of us and lots of laughing and dancing and music as we went through it all, and they made a point of keeping the language of the lines LGBT friendly. There's just an energy to what you're doing when it's in a positive group like this that I haven't quite managed to achieve solo, it left me feeling so energized! I swear my hands (what I was focusing on since writing + carving) were tingling like crazy by the time we were done. I absolutely needed to come home and write, inspiration just flowed, it was awesome, and I've got my fingers crossed that carries forward!

Blessed be to you, too! May you never hunger, never thirst, and may your own endeavors be just as fruitful!