#you take what you can get

[skygemspeaks]

what's the pettiest reason you've ever dropped a fic?

i'll go first: i was really enjoying this fic for the martian and then about halfway through the author wrote elon musk into the fic and started kissing his ass and i immediately got the ick

[greater-than-the-sword]

.

[vaard]

More ark shenanigans with a friend playing The Hunted mod, which is brutally hard and we can only hatch level 1 babies by snitching guarded eggs or taming guarded babies (parents are level 250). Adults are not tameable. It’s making for a lot of art-worthy scribbles, so here’s a few that I’ve done after play sessions.

Almaeth belongs to @pridemother-scribbles

[saccharine-suffering]

Naomi & Issac - 1

Remember these guys? Well I fleshed those suckers out. Prepare for suffering y'all.

CW: Pet whump, vampires, death mention, a lot of blood mentions, whumpee thinks caretaker is their new master

1.3k (though the first ~500 words are just me talking about my modern vampire lore)

~~~~~~

Naomi had been pacing for hours trying to rationalize what she did. ‘This is the best option,’ They told themself, “At least this way, I can make sure I’m getting blood ethically. No one has to die.’ They knew they had to drink something. When she first turned, she was quick to dress like the vampire she was and cut their hair to show off their bite. She loved the idea of being dark and mysterious, living as a cryptid- a beast. It sounds strange, but a part of her was excited to start living a vampiric life- well, maybe “life” isn’t quite right. 

Then came the fading from mirrors and nausea from eating anything at all. Having to blow eighteen-hundred bucks on a casket was a bit of a gut punch. As were the several blackout curtains they needed to avoid third-degree sunburns. It was annoying to have to sell her silver jewelry and even more so to break out in hives when even slightly near a single fucking garlic clove–

But they could deal with all that. They could bite the bullet in exchange for immortality. 

No one told Naomi that blood cravings were the very last step in turning. 

Just when they had gotten used to waking up a 8pm in a box, right as they had grown accustomed to guessing what their hair and makeup might look like, exactly when the worst of it seemed to be over, there was this pit in their stomach. They were so thirsty. Before resorting to humans, they tried draining raw meat. Nothing. Then a live pig. It didn’t do much. They knew this would happen, of course it would, but they hadn’t expected it to be this painful, and they definitely didn’t know the blood had to be human. 

So, they researched how to get human blood. And sure, you can buy a little legally from donors, but it was so far outside their budget that is was barely even an option. But the cheaper alternatives, aimed at vampires specifically, seemed so needlessly cruel. For every new company she could find, she asked how they supplied their blood. The response was always the same. Humans would be hooked up to IVs, blood coming out of one, and saline coming in from the other. Sometimes they ere given solid food, but at most places, they used a feeding tube. Naomi almost quit, residing themself to finding and extra $700 for 100 tiny milliliters- but then they saw one more hyperlink. 

“Stop paying for subscriptions! Buy a living Bloodbag today!” Exactly as she thought, they were selling humans. She was disgusted at first, but, then she thought about it more. These people were being drained of their blood anyway, so if she buys one, at least they’ll be treated humanely? Maybe it was the thirst talking for them, but they decided to purchase a person. 

They couldn’t afford another massive dent in their bank account, so they scrolled all the way down to the cheapest one. A twenty-seven year old man named Issac Rivera, blood type O+. That, and his picture, was the only information available. He was pale and sickly with blue eyes and tangled brown hair. He had blue eyes and it looked like he had finished crying moments before the photo was taken. Naomi hoped they were making the right choice. 

Which is what landed them here. Waiting for the poor boy to be delivered straight to their door. She had tried to make herself look nonthreatening. She didn’t want to scare him. They wore the mast casual and normal clothes in their dresser and pulled their hair into a little baby ponytail. 

A knock on the door.

It was an older looking man dressed in all black and carrying a parasol in one hand and a rolling suitcase in the other. Oh gods. 

“Naomi Castillo?” He asked. 

“That’s me.” They smiled. Their eyes wouldn’t leave the suitcase, since they were fairly certain that there was a person in there. He handed it over and she felt him kick. 

“If you ever need training or extraction tools, they are available on our site.” It keeps getting worse. 

“Of course, thank you.” Naomi hoped their smile looked real. The man walked away and she quickly unzipped the case. 

~

Issac had been sold. He never thought it would happen. He had occasionally been compared to cheap box wine. Perhaps the vampire that bought him wanted something quick and inexpensive. The conversation between his captor and his new owner was muffled, but he felt the case he was in change hands. He instinctively covered the arteries on his neck. She was saying something, but he wasn’t listening. He knew exactly what would happen- she would rip his hand from him neck and drain what little he had left. 

A hand touched his, and he braced for impact. But, he was being led away. Before he could question it, he was sat down on something soft. He hadn’t opened his eyes yet and he wasn’t planning on it. Next thing he knew, something cold was against his lips. Taking just a small peek, it was a water bottle. He shouldn’t trust it, but his mouth was so dry that he just let it go down his throat. 

After the bottle pulled away, he waited for the pain of the bite. He waited and waited, but nothing came. Eventually, he opened his eyes and looked at the vampire next to him, as if he was asking her what she was waiting for. But they just smiled at him. 

“Can you speak?” That wasn’t expected. He used to get told off for talking to himself. 

“Yeah…” His voice was raspy. They handed him back the bottle. 

“Okay, great, um, I’m Naomi!” They gestured to themself. Issac was going to introduce himself, but they already would have known. “Are you hungry?” Naomi arose from the sofa when he nodded, “I don’t have much, I got rid of most of the perishable stuff when I turned. Do you want… dry cereal? I can maybe put it in water- no that sounds gross.” Issac accidentally gave her a look. She was different from the other vampires he had the displeasure of knowing. A bit more dazed and certainly less elegant. 

“Just… dry is fine.” He said. He had no reason to trust them, but he hadn’t had real, solid food in such a long time that if she was planning on drugging him, then he could live with that. He ate in completely awkward silence as Naomi tired not to make eye contact. Internally, Issac was panicking. Yes, he had been trained just in case he was sold, but he hadn’t been for such a long time that he barely even remembered it. Hopefully it would come rushing back to him when he was properly fed and rested. 

“Uh, I put a mattress in a spare room. Do you wanna go to bed?” It’s like they read his mind. Can vampires read minds? He didn’t know. He was tired. He nodded. 

She led him away gently, and closed the door, leaving him alone in the makeshift bedroom. He didn’t have the energy to consider what was going to happen to him. Naomi was weird. Maybe it wasn’t even real. He’s had these kind of dreams before. Maybe when he wakes up he’ll be back in the facility with needles in his arms and a tube down his nose. Or maybe he’ll wake up here and she’ll peirce him with her fangs. He always wondered what a real bite would feel like. It would probably hurt worse than the needle. 

Whatever. He could worry about that when he can keep his eyes open. 

[thegoblinwitch]

look look look, but coming out of the shower (in today's case anyway) and finding you (specifically you) have blown up my tumblr notifications, is kinda like the best serotonin injection ever. 💜

my day didn't start on a very good foot, and yeah sure, the shower helped, but that, that right there, i was smiling all of a sudden. slightly lunatic of me, maybe, but i'll take it. 👻

[seyaryminamoto]

This might be a bit late, concerning Zuko’s name topic: in TV show it looks like Zuko was named after Sozin, if we examined the Chinese characters for both names: 蘇科 (Suko) as written in the Tales of Ba Sing Se episode with the same 蘇 in 蘇进 (Sozin) as shown in Book 3 in The Avatar and the Fire Lord episode.

In The Search retcones, however, Ozai wanted to discard Zuko since he was born if not for Ursa's begging, so it makes sense he wouldn't care enough name him either, which leave Ursa to name her son herself after her father Jinzuk (according to your HC, at least).

P.S things could be complicated or inconsistent though since the language the characters talk with is English but they write in Chinese.

Oh wow! Thanks for the info! This slipped my mind entirely, ngl x'D but I don't think it fully invalidates my headcanon anyway. We don't exactly know how Jinzuk's name is spelled? So, ignorant as I may be for thinking it could have that same ideogram, I'll let myself think as much x'D I've heard a lot about Chinese and Japanese names having multiple possible ways of being read, so I'll assume boldly that it's possible in Jinzuk's case.

So... updating the concept a little bit, Ozai could just go for the Zuk-Sozin connection to "appease" Azulon, because "no, it's not for Jinzuk of course it is, Ursa, I am your whipped husband, it's for SOZIN, Dad, OBVIOUSLY!" And Azulon of course doesn't buy it and is still offended because he'd always be offended anyway x'D and so, the headcanon can survive! xD Anyway, thanks for bringing this to my attention! :D

[just-a-hsmtmts-fan]

Corbin slowly hating Channing was everything.

[fish-the-conqueror]

I have seen a shooting star every day for 7 days now. If I count any "maybe shooting stars", ones in the corner of your eye that last mere moments. And any extras I saw in a night. I have seen 13 shooting stars total. I am simply built different, and the stars love me

[uncanny-tranny]

I think so many people are so deeply alienated from themselves that they have no clue how to exercise their free will and autonomy. For some, this alienation runs so deep that they are afraid of their own autonomy and humanity. It is completely understandable why one would have those feelings, but it can be worrisome.

I want to help others who feel this way, so here are small things I have done to exercise my free will:

Add "guilty pleasure" songs to playlists and actually listen to them (I have a ton of late 1990s-early 2000s music I listen to now proudly that I never listened to in the past out of shame)

Getting the décor item, bath set, bed spread, ect. in the patterns you like, even if it's "childish" (I got a dinosaur-themed wastebasket from the kids' décor section and I adore it)

Taking a new route to get to a place you go to often

Eat dessert first

Celebrate well, and often

Collect things that are "odd" or don't seem like an "acceptable" thing to collect (somebody on my "for you" page collects dandelion crayola crayons and it was so cool!!!!!!)

Incorporate one new piece in an outfit you wear frequently (e.g., a new chain, a necklace, ribbons, bracelets, ect.). Challenge yourself to add onto the outfits if you feel up for it.

Sing along to songs without worrying that you sound "good" or your intonation is completely accurate

Read a book from a genre you weren't allowed to read as a kid (comics, thrillers, mysteries, anything!)

Walk without having a specific destination or goal

Pick up a new craft without expecting yourself to master it or to ever be "good" enough. Get your hands messy.

I don't want to shame anybody for not feeling as though they have free will or that they are exempt from exercising it. However, I wanted to give ideas so that you might read this list and find your own ways to express your intrinsic autonomy and will. You deserve to be a person, to feel alive, not just living. That is what our lives are for.

[thecornerofegg]

At about lunch yesterday i sat down with a canvas and some paints at my desk and thought to myself "learning to paint acrylic in december for a christmas gift might not be my best idea, but BY GOD (excuse my french) AM I DOING IT"

(For reference, i have some prior experience with the acctual paints, but not much. And none with canvases.)

Six hours and now one nights sleep later and

I think I might have fricking done it

[theoldkyokodied]

The Allegiance of the Ascended Vampire and the New God of Magic

[taffywabbit]

reminding myself there are no truly "bad days", because every single day, someone somewhere in the world has taken a photo of an extremely tiny animal and shown it to someone else, and that's very good actually

[minotaurmutual]

can't believe I'm saying this but angel is starting to grow on me I think

[egophiliac]

IT WAS ERIC AFTER ALL!!!! I'm so glad we got to meet him (before Vil snaps him away with those Infinity Gauntlets) (can't wait to see what happens when we get the matching Infinity Tiara to go with them, there will be no survivors)

(sorry to be so slow/rough lately, just got a lot of stuff on the ol' brain at the moment! alas, if only I could spend all my time drawing incredibly stupid characters I mean I do but)

[mipexch]

I WAS MADE FOR YOU // YOU WERE MADE FOR ME

[daddieslittlescrewup]

so we all know your relationship with Will was complicated, but does that mean you actually enjoyed having sex with him?

I dunno if 'enjoyed' is how I'd describe it... But it wasn't always awful, no...