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florallylly · 3 months

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i've seen model steve harrington aus. i've seen child steve harrington aus. i present: child model steve harrington

note: this came from my own desperate need to see this conceptualized and i SWEAR i've searched, i just can't find any content with child model steve so. :(

bc little steve harrington was remarkably cherub-like. his large brown eyes and soft pout ensured endless cooing and fussing from his mom's friends. and when he blushed and ducked his head in shyness, they only complimented him more. when he got home that day, his mom smiled at him.

so steve decided that he would put up with the cheek pinching and the squealing. he sat upright in his chair, sitting on his hands so he wouldn't fidget and ruin the image. because he'd do anything to keep his mom smiling at him. if he was being particularly good that day, she'd let him lay his head on her lap on the drive back home.

but everything changed at his father's birthday gala. a nearly eight year old steve harrington sat prim and proper in his seat, but a smile lit up his face--his cheeks round and his dimples showing up. he raised his hand up to cover his giggle, but he couldn't help but laugh at some silly old man with a loose toupee. then he sees his mom approaching, and his face quickly smooths over, going back to the more polite smile he usually adopted when it came to these events.

he'd ruined it. he hadn't continued being the sweet boy his mom wanted. but then, she smiles at him. and introduces him to the man behind her, who says he's a designer. the man holds out his hand, but when steve puts his hand into his palm, he doesn't shake it. the man simply holds his hand, his eyes scanning steve's face. steve tries not to squirm under the attention. but the man nods and smiles at his mom, and he gives two brief cheek kisses to steve, whispering in his ear "you're going to be a star, darling." steve looks at his mom, confused, but she waves him off to continue talking to the man.

a few months later, steve's mom whisks him off on a trip to france. and steve is so excited to go, nearly vibrating in his seat as the airplane prepares to take off. but instead of the eiffel tower and the seine, steve is taken to a studio. he's posed and changed. once again, he's being fussed over, but instead of wealthy socialites, gossiping make-up artists squeal over him. he's "perfect for the shoot" and "the most darling little boy." steve doesn't understand, but his mom is still smiling, so he lets the nice ladies brush powder over his face.

and he looks in the mirror. his hair is a little more tousled and his lips have a slight tint to them and his eyes seem to take up much of his face. he's put into new clothes, and he feels like a doll in their hands. and when he's put in front of the camera, he simply follows the photographer's directions. afterwards, he's bundled into the car and his mom can't stop gushing about how good he was.

apparently, he's a natural. and then she goes back to fussing over him, focusing more on appearance than his behavior now. but she takes him out shopping and they eat at an upscale restaurant along the champs-elysses. and steve is happy.

and then they go back home, and his mom is so much stricter than before. she has him try out all kinds of different hair products, determined to find the best combination to keep it looking shiny and soft. she controls his food intake and what he wears and makes him use weird creams and serums on his face. but this is what makes his mom happy, so he's happy to let her.

his mom is also on the phone a lot more lately, whispering harshly about the quality of brands and steve just assumes she's being picky about the clothes she buys. later, his mom picks him up and holds him, and asks if he'd like to move to italy. she looks at him intently and it's obvious what answer she wants, so steve nods. she smiles and holds him close, and it's the most loved steve has felt in a while.

so they move to italy, and suddenly steve is a lot more busy. he's put in front of more cameras for more people he doesn't know. but he's smiling and pouting and doing whatever they want him to do. his compliant attitude and polite nature have photographers and designers alike singing his praises, and steve always looks to his mom for approval. but she's been arguing with his dad a lot lately, so she's upset more often than not. but that's okay, the make-up artists are always kind to him.

but then one day, his mom takes a phone call in the middle of the shoot. and when it finishes, she's gone. steve goes back in, close to tears, but the make-up artists still hanging around look after him until a car is sent to pick him up. this becomes a trend. and eventually, steve goes alone to his shoots. he's always taken care of by the crew and someone is always there to pick him up, but it's not fun without his mom there.

but he knows that she's always enjoyed him taking pictures, so he continues to do so, hoping that she'll come watch him again sometime soon. and he busies himself with befriending the chatty make-up artists and the bossy photographers and the eccentric designers. and he's such a cute little thing that they can't help but dote on him.

steve is never catapulted into child stardom, as his mom is picky with his jobs, only choosing luxury brands and well known designers for him. but within the industry, they call him the "little prince."

and then steve is catapulted into puberty, but his intense skin regimen prevents him from getting acne, save for the occasional zit. and his diet and religious exercise schedule help maintain his look. and he's still doing remarkably well, especially now that he's fully aware that he is a Model.

and steve has truly grown into his looks. with time, he's grown more comfortable in front of the camera and made numerous friends. nearly all of them are older than him, but they're fun and loud and it fills up the space that normally surrounds him. and they're the ones who get him hooked on american movies. steve remembers living in america, but he's been in milan so long that everything he recalls is vague.

but he watches them and falls in love with the american high school experience. so when he finally catches his mom off the phone and actually in the house, steve asks if he can go to school in america. and his mom laughs. but steve keeps asking, which devolves into begging. and his mother snaps, slapping him across the face and calling him ungrateful. she cries and begs for forgiveness, cowed into shame by steve's desperate attempt to hold back tears.

and so she lets him go to school in hawkins, indiana. an odd choice, but his parents just so happened to own a property there. (in truth, both of his parents expected him to change his mind within the year). but steve finds his place at hawkins high, because even though nobody in hawkins has ever heard of versace, steve is pretty. he's pretty and charming and he knows the right thing to say. after all, he's spent his whole life perfecting his mask.

and even if his mom ended up moving back home with his dad, leaving steve all alone in that big empty house, steve is happy. he's finally hanging out with people his age and high school is so far removed from the glitz and glam of the fashion industry. and he's settled and content with tommy and carol by his side. while he misses his friends back in milan, steve finds himself longing for the clothes more often. hawkins was certainly the opposite of milan, what with the nearest mall being two hours away and only equipped with a macy's and jcpenny.

through it all, steve is determined to be normal. he laughs along with jokes he doesn't quite get and rolls his eyes at carol's cue, and he joins the swim team. and he joins the basketball team. and he goes to parties and kisses girls and wears dumb little polos with his letterman jacket and does everything that he saw in the movies.

but nancy wheeler is different. steve can't forget his time in italy and who he is and was, and he's reminded of his old life in everyone and everything in hawkins. but not nancy wheeler. she's all hawkins and all his. and then the upside down happens.

and then nancy wheeler breaks his heart.

even after three years, his parents continue to ask when he'll go back to modeling, but he's different now. the upside down and billy hargrove beat that starry eyed little kid who thrived in the spotlight. and nancy wheeler proved that adoration and love is fleeting, so what would even be the point of trying anymore? his dad was a little more approving of steve's retirement/hiatus, saying that steve must want to go to college so he can take over the family business.

but when steve doesn't get into college, he's once again badgered by his mom to go back. but he's grown and changed and he's not sure that he can pretend anymore, so he says no. and they cut him off. enter: scoops era.

the measly scoops salary is not nearly enough to cover all of the new bills and expenses steve has, but he's not willing to leave hawkins. so he reaches out to his friends back in italy, and they refer him to their american connections. steve doesn't model at the same level as before, but he poses for a couple of zines and one artist who got a little too handsy at his exhibition. but he's able to make it through until the mall blows up.

this routine continues and he starts working at family video with robin at his side, but he keeps his side job a secret from the kids, using the excuse of visiting his parents to leave town for his shoots. he's not ashamed, but he knows he wouldn't "be normal" anymore if they found out.

but how does he explain his near mental breakdown at the sight of his healing demobat scars. they're raised and ugly, ruining what should have been a perfect body. and even though he uses scar cream everyday, they refuse to fade away completely. and how could anyone stand to be near such an ugly thing when all his life, steve was meant to be pretty? after all, love and adoration is fleeting.

#steve harrington #give me grace i literally do not know how to verbalize all of my thoughts about this #child model au #imagining them finding out bc jonathan or will was interested in some photography art exhibition and steve is literally the centerpiece #everyone FREAKING OUT #robin knew bc OFC robin knew #steve feeling too self conscious to keep his old ads but he knows his mom keeps a record in her office #dustin screaming crying punching the wall YOUVE BEEN FAMOUS THIS WHOLE TIME... AND DIDNT TELL ME....#mike wheeler feeling ill bc is steve actually kind of cool....#italian steve harrington #because OF COURSE italian steve harrington #eddie munson asking steve if he'd ever consider doing playboy #steve going into a very serious answer about his career projection and actually that's an insult eddie. do u know who i am #and eddie is like yeah ur the centerfold in my heart baby #and then steve gets it #to be so clear. steve's mom DOES love him but she's also extremely selfish #that's why she feels bad when she slaps him and concedes to his request #but once she gets over the initial guilt she's like but he was a STAR i was the mother of a STAR

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sneez · 1 year

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more of my oc tervis (any pronouns), the creepiest most miserable little weirdo in town. which is saying something [id under cut]

/ ID: four digital drawings.

The first image is a series of drawings of Tervis on a paper-textured background. A heading at the top reads 'Tervis (Humble)'. One is a coloured headshot of Tervis looking to the left; they have a gaunt face, short receding hair, a scar bisecting their lip and right eyebrow, greyish skin, and are wearing a red shawl around their neck. An arrow pointing at their right eye reads 'one blue eye (mostly blind)'; another arrow pointing at their left eye reads 'one brown eye'. They have a serious, hostile expression. The second drawing is an uncoloured full-body sketch of Tervis. Next to this is the same drawing but coloured and with more polished lineart. Tervis is a thin, hunched figure wearing a long, dark brown robe, a greyish bag on their back, and a red shawl around their head and neck. They are barefoot, and are leaning on a walking staff with both hands. An arrow pointing to the walking staff reads 'needed for walking, useful for hitting'. Tied to the belt around their waist are several long scrolls of paper with writing on them. An arrow pointing to the scrolls reads ''blessings' they paste on infected houses'. Tervis is looking warily out at the viewer from beneath their eyebrows. An arrow pointing to their head reads 'scar from getting hit in the face with a brick (also knocked out a tooth)'. Alongside these drawings are a series of bullet points giving information about Tervis. These read:

indeterminate age, indeterminate gender

religious fanatic (unclear which religion)

lives alone somewhere in the steppe

dislikes everyone but is nicer to children than anyone else

has every disease

The second image is a fake screenshot from the video game Pathologic. Tervis is looking out at the viewer; the background shows scenery from the steppe. The text on screen reads:

CHANGELING: I still don’t see what you could have done that would make you personally responsible for this plague. TERVIS: Responsible… no, not merely responsible! This is my plague, cast upon my head alone. I am the originator; my sin is at the root of all. I have ventured into the town. I have seen the canker there. No matter how many houses I bless, my sickness sinks deeper. The rotted limb is the death of the body… Surely you understand me. You are a healer, are you not? CHANGELING: What is it that you are asking me to do? TERVIS: Let me be the lamb, worker of miracles! My blood shall wet the earth, and bright flowers shall grow… My putrefaction will provide the soil within which new life will burgeon, pure and free of sin and decay. Let it be done. I am ready. My failing flesh is but little sacrifice; in death my weakness will be my strength. Soon these torments will be at an end.

Below are two dialogue options:

You’re insane!

What makes you so sure your death would solve anything?

The third image is a fake screenshot from the video game Pathologic 2. Tervis is looking out at the viewer, and has been painted in semi-realistic style. The text on screen reads:

Tervis: Why do you force me to live? Damn you! Your cure is poison to me. Now I shall never be blessed. You should have left me to bleed.

Below are three dialogue options:

Don’t be absurd. I wasn’t going to watch you die.

What makes you think you deserve suffering?

I wish I had.

At the bottom of the image is a line of dialogue which Tervis has just spoken:

The air is foul. There is rot in this place. The stench of corruption shall be – what was it? What was it? The stench of corruption shall be… swept aside…

The fourth image is a coloured scene depicting Tervis and Clara. They are central in the composition; around them is the steppe, which has been rendered in a loose, painterly style. Tervis is kneeling, their walking staff cast aside, and are reaching out their hands to Clara in a desperate, pleading gesture. They are crying, their face contorted in an expression of agonised ecstasy. Clara stands beside them, one hand reaching out, the other held above Tervis’s head as though about to touch their brow. She has a solemn, pained expression. Behind her head, a break in the dark clouds gives the impression that she is haloed by sunlight; rays of the same light fall onto Tervis, illuminating their face and red robe. End ID. /

#artwork #pathologic #tervis!!!!!!!!!!!! :-D #sorry i know ive already posted that fake p2 screenshot i just wanted to keep all my tervis images in one place. please forgive me #i am having. So Much Fun. i would explode and die for tervis shes the worst i adore her #making fake screenshots is so enjoyable i love trying to match the fonts and copying all the little ui details it's so fun highly recommend #i have a lot of tervis lore which i am still developing but hopefully these drawings give you some idea of his character #hes just a mess really. hes got every imaginable problem #that last drawing is her getting sacrificed in the humble ending. she is SO happy about it #also if you didnt see my last post tervis was originally a warhammer 40k oc (which he still is ive just made a bonus pathologic tervis now)#but ive tried to keep a lot of 40k stuff in her design like the blessing scrolls and the uh. Posture #that's also my reasoning for why nobody knows what his religion is. the watsonian explanation is they are just spouting incomprehensible #disjointed passages from some obscure scripture which nobody can identify (and who would want to try really. tervis is not good company)#but the doylist explanation is that it's literally just the cult mechanicus. just ignore all the references to the weakness of the flesh and #the glory of the machine it will all be fine nothing weird here at all #anyway :-) i could talk about tervis forever but i will stop now #i hope you are all well my dear friends! i am on holiday now wahoo #i am also aware that i have several messages to answer which i will do very soon i am so sorry for being so slow as usual #i love you all i am giving you individual kisses on your individual heads. mwah

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sharkstatic · 5 months

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you!! show me your ocs (pretty please)

OFC <3 oh man where to even start

i have about 22 active ocs i rotate lmao about 10 of those have fully developed story/background/personality

these are all ones i dont think ive posted much or at all but these are some of my fav designs/concepts:

memphis honey- catboy extreme, magic user, very loose morals, carved those symbols into his own skin before his scheduled execution so that noone could bring him back once dead. once took over a cult in order to blow it up.

diamond- legally a tattoo artist for powerful demons that would usually heal up tattoos and piercings. illegally most other things. that collar is very literally keeping their head on.

sixgill- very very very old sixgill shark. she lives in the deep ocean and protects an ancient evil and also the ancient evil's baby son. 27 ft tall.

dishi- 7ft tall super buff spirit medium and compulsive liar. a romantic but has the worst taste in men youve ever seen. sees ghosts, demolition expert. this is specifically him while possessed which happens more often than hes comfortable with bc the Veil Is Thin around him, hes like personified halloween

fangfei- sir thats a whore ass bitch. cloud dragon. their style can be summed up with 'cheap and gold'. had to fight their twin to the death at an early age. mommy issues. doing coke in the bathroom about it.

:D they are all fantastic i love them ty for giving me an opportunity to spit them all out on here

#i didnt wanna just post all the arts id already done dfshbdfggfd #so heres my faves #otherwise kuo and dou wouldve been on here but theyre on a post on my main blog i think #i dont think ive ever mentioned memphis or sixgill or diamond on here #they all have pretty extensive lore but it would be too much to put down here #diamond died and his brother made a deal with a dream demon to bring him back from the brink of death #memphis comes as a package deal with sigurd theyre besties #and he forgets morals exsist as soon as hes presented with something interesting and sciency but he KNOWS this so he trusts sigurd to check #ANYAWY TYTYTY FOR ASKING SORRY THIS TOOK A DAY I HAD TO DECIDE WHAT TO EVEN ANSWER WITH DFGSBHGHFDS #i decided to try not to just post all the art i already posted again #so new ocs be upon ye fdsghfds #thanks for giving me an excuse to show them off #this is like the worst picture of dishi but its also most interesting lmao #this also reminded me of another oc i should finish and post shes actually my favorite concept for an oc ever mostly for the pun in her nam

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unexpectedbrickattack · 1 year

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sending this ask as an excuse for you to go hogwild with peppino/pizza tower chatter bc i like to read it lol

Using this as an opportunity to distract from comms bc im tired of looking at this screen 😭

I think despite the hell Peppino went through, there are some levels/places that he actually enjoyed. Or at the very least, wouldnt mind visiting again. Off the top of my head, i am thinking of the saloon and the beach levels, but also the mini golf area 🥺

While i was playing the game (completely blind), I just assumed the tower was comparable to a real life train hub area; portals just led to different areas and districts. As in, these would be places you could visit outside of the tower if u had the means to take urself there. Its why despite the collapse, in the pepperman comic i did, he still offers to take Peppino to his villa. It still exists, its just that the shortcut the tower provided is gone. (This is also why Peppino and Gustavo can still do deliveries in the forest)

So like, now that the threat of losing his restaurant is gone, hes like. Some of those places looked Okay i guess 😒……. And Gustavo is like (prodding) ‘which places caught ur eye, then?’

Without the towers (pizzaheads) influence spawning in monsters to fight, the mini golf course is very fun. He gets to run Very Fast (already the best thing in the world) for very long periods of time, and smash into things to score goals. And if he wants to be Normal about it, he can just. Play golf the normal way lol (golf is also just a very calm sport to watch. He watches that shit all the time when hes home, and then passes out in his chair without realizing it)

The saloon is always nice to visit. It did blip on his radar as a place to try out, but he wasnt really incentivized to do so until vigilante started inviting him out. He doesnt go out often, but it is nice to have a little friend circle again :)

And the beach is like. Its a beach! Its weird for him; he probably didnt have any time or money to waste on shit like ‘visiting the beach’ before, so he feels out of place w all these people running around and having fun. He just likes to lay down and be in the sun :) He stays late into the evening, and drives back home in his shitty car 🧡 Everyone knows when he does his beach visit bc he tans so easily 😭

#answered #chattin #peppino #long post #i did not put it in the main body of this #but i hc that he does jogs n stuff in the morning #or at least walks; i do it w my mom so shes not bored and SHE does it to keep her knee from fucking up #so i like the idea of him going to the beach early in the morning to jog #and then relax on the beach for the rest of the day #someone teach him how to listen to podcasts; hed love it #also also #i have no idea if theres like #lore™️ about the tower but im stickin w that #i feel like it would get rebuilt anyway bc enough people use it as a proper hub #that having it blown the fuck up may in fact disrupt some peoples daily lives 😭#peppino is like its ALWAYS been there that wasnt the fucking problem!#the problem was that some fucker came to me like an apparation to tell me it was outfitted w a PIZZERIA BEGONE BEAM!!!#they can build the fucking tower again; just dont give it the fucking death beam; please 😭😭😭😭😭#i think gerome n them would be way more cautious about who decides to take up residence WITHIN the tower again #maybe they didnt have any say in the matter but Now they do

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dynamitekansai · 2 months

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aew: Who are the women that inspire the women of #AEW?

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stonerzelda · 13 days

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WELL I got an interview for a marketing position tomorrow morning soooo 🤞

#whats getting me too is she called me a liar and cut me off and Woukdnt fckin listen to me abt some shit i was Trying to explain #that i literally havent bothered defending myself about so far bc i knew it would just cause problems. and when i Finally was about to try #i get cut off and called a liar because she “could tell” by MY FACE?????#like she gave me the opportunity to explain something and cut me off before i finished bc in her mind the answer was i just didnt think?#meanwhile it was bc the coworker she wanted me to talk to..who was already giving me shit...is impossible to approuch LOL #and right after that she says this #girl.

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cosmicpines · 15 days

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I'm not done listening to the Alex Hirsch interviews but god it just reminds me both of how much I miss this show and how much I appreciate the love and care that went into it. I love listening to him talk about the characters with a frankness and care that shows how much he values them being three dimensional beings.

#notably his answer about mabel in lost legends i thought was strong of like #yeah were going to give her a story that shes flawed in thats the point of a story #i still dont *love* dont dimension it bc i think it doesnt completely hit what theyre aiming for #the Mabels Fault is so weirdly pointed and bizarre #and her apology at the end is like. eh. bad. it needs another draft i think it needs more space to be explored.#ive been thinking a *lot* about 'mabel hatred' as i think about the show again #i do need to rewatch the show before i make a long comment on it #and how much of it began from people being frustrated that she was continually denied a proper episode where she was allowed to be wrong #in an interesting way #love god in particular is. weird.#and last mabelcorn felt like the beginning of an arc that didnt really happen #like that she was always untouchable in a sense #and that argument was co opted by people who were just unbelievably cruel to her and completely unreasonable #let me be clear: mabel hatred is overblown and absurd and i hate it s omuch #but i also dont like it when people put her on a pedestal of Perfect Unflawed Glitter Goddess #while also being like wow look at the depth of dipper #if youre going to say mabel cant be selfish because shes 12 you also cant say dipper has depth bc by that logic hes also 12 #anyway im sure someone will misinterpret these tags thats why theyre in the tags #mary blabs

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nelithic · 3 months

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[ lattice pie - what kinds of gifts do they like to give to/receive from their partner? ]

▀▀ 　LOVE HEADCANONS　₊　

to start, nel isn't much of a gift giver or receiver. i touched on this in a recent ask, but there wasn't much of a gift-giving culture in fell!gradlon ( unless you count the gift of death i guess ba dum tss ) and even after escaping, she had — and has always had — an uneasy time assimilating fully into life among human customs.

( which is different from saying she feels like she doesn't get along or doesn't have something of a place among them; she does, but i think this is different from feeling complete belonging as if she were one of them. there is something about nel that has been and will probably always be a few steps removed from humanity. )

anyway i digress.

the point is, she's never gotten used to gifts, either getting or receiving them. she's gracious enough about it, and knows what to say and how to act, but to her it feels unwieldy. like going through a rote set of motions because it's the known response. not that she doesn't appreciate the occasional one but they're still somewhat alien and awkward to her. she's not sure she'll ever get used to it.

as a result, gifts are more a gesture to her than an indication of the object being gifted itself. she will never turn down any gift for this reason, even if she doesn't care for it much or has no use for it, because it's a sign that an individual had her in mind and wished to part with something of their own for her sake. coming from a world that was 97% take and 3% give and only in the rarest circumstances ( or, more often, backhanded and as part of a larger play ), a sincere gesture of giving alone is something worth acknowledging in her eyes.

as for what to get her, engage's favorite gift list is a good indication.

nel likes things she can use. practical gifts that can serve a tangible and immediate purpose. bonus points if it's due to attention paid to something she's been doing lately or some situation she's in, which demonstrates attentiveness. anything weapons or martial related automatically falls within this category as well, since it's attention to her desire to have any means necessary at her disposal to defend what's precious to her.

nel also is at heart a sentimental creature and likes anything that reminds her of the things and people she cares for. the divine dragon scripture gift falls into this category. she herself doesn't pray or read scripture, but it's a reminder of the one it was originally intended to honor. ( conversely if it'd been fell dragon scripture, it probably would've been a disliked gift, ahaha. )

a subcategory of the above is anything that reminds her of life. books about wildlife, a butterfly net, the animal treats, a landscape painting, any flower at all ( you could even gift her a weed; she'd probably raise an eyebrow, but even this wouldn't go unappreciated in its own way ). as mentioned in diamant's support, she's a conscientious and compassionate steward of all natural life because there was none in her world. even a plot of grass is a sign of life and growth, of possibility for a future other than slow and inevitable decay.

#——— ⟢　𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝒂𝒕𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒔 】₊　lore.#thank you for sending !!#as always will pick at these slowly when the mood strikes #this was already long so i didnt get into her as a gift-giver #but the answer is she's not much of one ALJSDKGNAKD #she's awkward at giving gifts and doesn't think of herself as very adept at either the gesture or at knowing how to pick them #so she just doesn't

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altairring · 2 years

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This is it. This is their dynamic (and I love it).

I want to pinch his cheeks so bad 😭

#clavis asks a question out of nowhere #emma gives a reasonable and honest answer #then he responds back (as if he didnt hear you) with an answer that is so different from hers (sometimes bewildering)#alt rambles #they’re so cute i will kiss hug them

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swannposting · 4 months

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Jack (on a side adventure with Lizzie?) comes across some supernatural thing that even he isn't about to fuck around and find out about. Something insane like a wardrobe being guarded on a ship and he opens it and snow comes out.

♡ Hi, anon! Thank you dearly for this prompt. I had a great deal of fun playing with this today. ♡ -> askbox is open for prompts whenever

“We never should have sailed north of the Carolinas, Lizzie.”

Shivering like a wet dog, Jack trudges along a rocky beach at the heels of his Captain. He rubs at his elbows for warmth and lets out an ostentatious sneeze.

“You know I hate the cold,” he grumbles, his voice thick and snotty, “And the clouds. Where’s the sun? Feels like me bollocks are goin’ to freeze off…”

“Keep that up.” Elizabeth taps at the compass cradled delicately in her palm. She pauses, squinting at the twitching needle, and Jack catches up beside her.

“Huh?”

“You are being thoroughly annoying,” she informs him, “It’s stopping the compass from getting distracted by you.”

“Hm. Well, you’re welcome. Can we leave now?”

Her eyes roll irritably in his direction and she just walks onward, leaving him stewing in his bad mood. Jack stumbles on the unfamiliar terrain as he hurries after her.

“Do you truly think there will be something of value here?” he says, following her around the corner of a cliffside, “Seems like this rock is entirely devoid of anything shiny.”

“The compass seems to think so,” she replies, “I suspect it’s got something to do with the chalices. I’ve been wanting them terribly.”

“Compass doesn’t work like that.”

“Sure it does,” she says matter-of-factly, “When one learns to get a handle on one’s own desires, she can be incredibly responsive.”

Jack scoffs, unwilling to believe that Elizabeth could have mastered the compass that has been his uncertain guide all his life. They continue along the base of one of the myriad of cliffsides found in the scattered islands north of the British Isles until they come across a break in the rock formation. It is almost like a staircase of stone. It isn’t man made, but it looks simple enough to scale.

“Allow me, dearie,” Jack offers, stepping forward to take the lead as they climb.

“No, you stay behind me,” orders Captain Swann, hopping gracefully up onto the first ledge.

Of course, he should have known. If he is to take the lead, Elizabeth will be unable to discern if the compass is leading her to the treasure they seek, or in circles, following her dear old Jack. That gives him something to grin wickedly about as they ascend into the cliffside. Distracted by his own celebratory musings, he walks right into Elizabeth. They have reached the top of the cliff, where the ground is patchy with grass, and their anchored ship is visible in the distance. The captain has halted to look out at what they’ve found.

“Huh. A shortcut?”

Elizabeth approaches a large opening in the ground. She kneels at the edge and peers down, then takes a pebble and drops it into the pit. It sinks with a whistle of air, and a splash echoes upward.

“You aren’t actually thinking about going down there, are you?” asks Jack from where he stands at a safer distance.

“I was considering sending you down there.”

“Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy exploring massive, unfamiliar holes.”

Still, he cannot help his curiosity, and he steps forward to peer down as well.

“This must be the cave that they spoke of,” Elizabeth says thoughtfully, “You can hear the tide within. Seems like the compass just took us on the most direct route.”

As she contemplates the sea cave below, Jack is suddenly spurred by a spirit of mischief. He does not mean to push Elizabeth into the pit, really. When he jolts her shoulders, he is only trying to give her a lighthearted scare, perhaps providing more of that helpful annoyance she asked for. But she startles, and slips, and the fragile earth beneath them crumbles at the edges. Gasping, she grasps at his coat as she falls, dragging him down into the abyss with her. Their shrieks shatter the silence of the cave, surely alerting anything that dwells there of their presence before they splash into the water below.

The water there is dark emerald, illuminated by what Jack first thinks are some kind of gemstones. Until the gemstones move, and he realizes that the glow comes from the eyes of several creatures swirling past him underwater. Bubbles escape his mouth in a silent shout. He swims upward at top speed.

“Selkies!” he cries as he breaks the surface. Treading water, he spins about, searching for Elizabeth.

“I know!” Elizabeth calls back. Jack spots her a ways away, being guided to a dark shore within the cave by a large seal. “They’re nice!”

“No, they are not!” Jack splutters through his breaststrokes as he makes for shore, “They’re like mermaids, ‘Lizbeth. They’ll trick you!”

But she pays no heed to his warning, and ends up on the ebony sands just before he does. Several of her new selkie friends follow, and as they emerge from the water, their seal skin transforms into pale, naked, human forms. Their eyes, huge like saucers and darker than the Black Pearl, lock with Elizabeth’s inquisitive gaze. He hears her whisper, “Beautiful…” as she extends a hand to one of them.

If Jack was cold before, he is positively turning to ice now. Drenched from head to toe, Jack wobbles to his feet and hurries to Elizabeth, tugging her away from the spell of the selkies. They hiss at him, exposing razor sharp teeth. Elizabeth yelps. Dozens of selkies within the water and on the shore all begin to circle the small strip of land upon which they stand, shivering with cold.

“Do you think they are guarding that?”

Elizabeth points further back in the cave. It seems that a bit of sunlight has broken the cloud cover and now shines through a small opening in the roof of the cave. The sliver of light reveals the remnants of a ship, wrecked and run aground.

“Lovely observation, Lizzie dear,” says Jack, checking that his sword is still strapped to his belt, “Now what do you say we leave them to their duty, shall we?”

Instinctively, they side-step until they are back to back, ready to draw their weapons and defend one another should the selkies use their teeth for more than just an unfriendly hiss.

“No!” Elizabeth protests in a near whisper, “I want to see what’s in there.”

“I expect more things that would love nothing more than to kill intruders such as you and I.”

“We don’t know that! They could be nice.”

“You almost became dinner for these things a moment ago.”

Jack groans, covering his eyes for fear of the sekies’ spell. He hears movement beside him and peeks between his fingers to see that Elizabeth is boldly approaching the creatures. As fond as he is for his darling captain, he considers making a break for it and leaving her to sort out her own questionable decisions.

“Hello!” greets Elizabeth, cheerily as she can muster to conceal the fear that Jack sees in her shaky smile. She gives a wave and holds up both hands in a sign of peaceful surrender. “Lovely to meet you all! And thank you very much for helping me to shore. I am Elizabeth Swann, Pirate Lord of the South China Seas and King of the Brethren Court.”

The selkies exchange looks and start to whisper among themselves in an unfamiliar tongue. Elizabeth casts a nervous glance at Jack, who is becoming very distracted by the terrifying visions of beauty that surround him. Before he can run, two selkies slink out of the water and come up behind him, sliding their long, dainty arms around his shoulders. The tallest of the selkies, and perhaps the most stunning of them all, steps up to Elizabeth, who holds her ground.

“A woman king?” inquires the selkie in a melodic voice. Briefly in awe, Elizabeth blinks a moment before answering.

“Indeed, I am.”

“And this man here– We saw him push you into the water. Would you like us to kill him for you?”

“That was entirely accidental!” Jack calls out, struggling against the creatures and their pointy nails, “An awful misunderstanding really! Now if you’ll just kindly call off your ladies we can—”

Elizabeth shoots him a glare and holds up a hand to silence him, then smiles sweetly at what might be the selkie clan’s leader.

“That is very kind, but no, thank you!”

“Oh. Is he your… consort?”

“Yes. I- I mean– no. Not exactly. He is more like my second in command. And I would like to keep him around. I do apologize for our intrusion. I can assure you we mean no harm.”

“A pirate that means no harm?” says the leader, tilting her head. The other selkies let out a chorus of taunting laughter that makes Jack squirm.

“Yes,” Elizabeth insists, “We mean you no harm.”

“In our experience, pirates are liars who befoul our homes and slaughter our children.”

The selkie leader’s anger is palpable. Elizabeth takes one step back, shuddering as a cold wind blows through the sea cave.

“Those pirates are not our allies,” says Elizabeth, choosing her words carefully, “And I will make certain that any pirate who lives by the Code of my Brethren shall never harm you, or any of your children...”

Jack winces. That sort of grandiose promise does not sound like something that could be easily enforced. But perhaps these are just words. Perhaps Elizabeth has seen sense and, like him, wants to get as far away from these isles as—

“...All I ask is to be permitted onto that ship you guard.”

Bugger. Jack drags a hand down his face and groans again. If he ends up gnawed to death by a gorgeous seal-lady, he swears he will have a nasty message for William when the Dutchman comes to retrieve his soul.

“That ship?” The selkie leader inclines her head toward the back of the cave. Elizabeth nods.

“I believe there might be something there that I am seeking. That is all we have come here for.”

A disarming smile graces the selkie’s face, and her red lips stretch over teeth like sharpened pearls. She advances on Elizabeth, and Jack holds his breath, fearing that he is about to watch the gruesome demise of someone quite dear to him. Instead, the creature takes Elizabeth’s face in both her hands.

“You are a very interesting Pirate King indeed. Have you been blessed by the sea?”

Elizabeth’s lips part and her eyelashes flutter. It might be magic that has her entranced, or she might just be enraptured by this supernatural beauty. Jack can barely hear her say,

“In a way, I am married to the sea.”

Her response pleases the leader, who touches her lips to Elizabeth’s forehead.

“Then you have our blessing as well.”

As the selkie leader draws back, Jack sees that Elizabeth’s face is bright pink, either from the cold, or that blessing. She and the selkie leader share a saccharine smile that Jack does not understand in the slightest.

“Whatever it is that you seek is none of our concern. That ship is all that remains of a crew of men who failed to defeat us. We do not guard it. It is yours to explore.”

And that is that. The leader calls off her fellow selkies, who retreat into the water and into the darkened corners of the cave. Jack scurries after Elizabeth, who heads straight for the shipwreck after graciously thanking the selkies. Together they shimmy up a splintering column of wood and nearly collapse onto the first deck they reach, which seems to be a captain’s quarters.

“Well, that was—”

“What the fuck did you do that for?” hisses Elizabeth, her teeth chattering now, “We were lucky enough that they d-didn’t kill us, but our wet clothes may very well s-send us to our graves!”

With trembling hands, she opens up the compass again. She gives it a shake and lets out an exasperated sigh.

“It’s spinning like mad now. What I w-want m-most in this world is t-to get warm!”

Jack wraps her hands in his and rubs them together. When that fails to generate any real warmth, he gently takes back his compass and she hugs herself.

“Let me try…”

Though it wouldn’t surprise him if the compass’s needle pointed him in the direction of the equator. He told her that he hated going north, and for good reason. Jack rises to his feet and starts to pace the dusty old cabin. The needle settles and he turns to where it points.

“Ah! How about this for a heart’s desire!”

He stands before a large wardrobe, and to his delight, it is unlocked. Some sort of clothing must be inside, he hopes. Anything dry would do them good for now. However, something strange seems to emanate from the knobs. He hears Elizabeth come up behind him as he tugs open the doors. He expects the wardrobe to be full of dust. What tumbles out is a shock, to say the least. Heaps of powdery snow avalanche out onto his boots, and a cloud of the stuff goes fluttering outward as though an icy winter wind has been released from the depths of the wardrobe. He turns to Elizabeth, his dreads and facial hair covered in snowflakes.

“Captain Swann?”

“Yes?”

“May I suggest we get the hell out of here?”

Blinking away snow from her lashes, Elizabeth nods fervently. Jack steps back, kicking ice and snow from his boots, and something catches his eye.

“Oh…? What’s this?”

The cold bites at his bare hand as he stoops to reach into the heap. There, glinting beneath this bizarre indoor snowfall, is one of the two silver Chalices of Cartagena. Precisely what they have been searching for. He hands it to Elizabeth for her to marvel at. Then he snaps his compass shut and kisses it gratefully.

“Incredibly responsive. Seems this blasted thing knew where she was taking us after all!”

#rat's fic #answered asks #so i kind of just ran with an AU that i've been working on for them #i just sort of love the idea of him sailing with her on the Empress #and i've been wanting to write stuff related to the Fountain of Youth so i threw some of that in there to give them motivation #apologies if this is messy #and also sorry if you dont ship them anon i promise this isn't super shippy #really i just had fun with the first ideas that came to mind #thanks again for the ask! :3 #potc fanfic #friends with detriments (sparrabeth)#potc fanfiction #sparrabeth #also i didnt thoroughly research selkies so sorry if i got any of that shit wrong<3

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prestonmonterey · 2 months

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i hope my friends never get the feeling that they need to have something important to say to be able to talk to me

#marble musings #its just like #an awful feeling #had someone i knew who kinda just like ignored my attempts to make conversation bc im like. not good at talking to people #and i was really sad bc i just wanted to like. enjoy her company #and ive been told by a couple people that they thought i was kinda intimidating???#which is so funny to me bc im like SO scared to talk to people #anyway yeah you dont have to like #say something important or anything #if you dont want to #i mean im like actual shit at small talk but ill still try my best if you just say like 'hi' and wanna start a conversation #(ugh unless youre the kind of person who shuts down small talk questions i cannot deal with that.#there was someone i talked to who i was like asking questions to bc i wanted to like keep the conversation going bc i like. think thats wha #they wanted #but id say like 'hows school' or 'whats a fun fact about yourself' and theyd just give like one word answers which is alright but if you #wanna hold a proper conversation that doesnt really work #and when they answered the questions they didnt throw it back to me like 'how bout you' or something #theyd just. sit there #and i was like #damn ok should i like ask another question?#but i felt like they were trying to hint to me that they didnt wanna talk so i stopped talking #and they were fucking like 'awkwarrrd'#like DO YOU WANT ME TO TALK OR NOT)#ok sorry that was a really long tangent #i prommy im always happy to talk unless youre like a super rare exception (like 2 people ever)#in which case i will try to make it clear im not in the mood to talk or youre like making me uncomfortable or something #ok thats it #have a nice day #:)

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girlcrushau · 1 month

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#me? about to use tumblr as a diary again? in 2024? unfortunately:/#but here have a waterfall i saw on a hike last week as payment #i am sO tired and exhausted emotionally after dating #there's this guy that i fr thought was going to last and be around for a long time. we spent like every moment together that we could for 2 #months straight and if we werent physicaly together we were texting or calling or on ft . just every part of our day had the other in it #not once did i ever feel unwanted undesired or uncared for. not once did i feel that i wasnt sure of his intentions. i felt safer with him #in those 2 months than i ever did with any one else i could think to compare to.#until one day he just didnt think it important to communicate any more. after 3 days of nearly nothing .. hardly any talking . i asked if #he was ok if we were ok. what was going on in his head. he said some ive just been with my buddies and family and havent been on my phone #and just. immediately thats heartbreak yanno. thats :// thats what they say when theres a new girl. but there'd never been a reason to think #there was another girl so i was like ok we're gonna trust bc this dude has been So good in every way. so i said imy but i understand. enjoy #your time with your buddies and with your fam -- i cant wait to hear about it (and hold you)#and i havent heard from him in the 3 weeks since. just randomly #so last night #i send the dreaded 'i miss you' text.#i dont expect to hear back and i accept the hurt that will come with that and the confusion that i've felt settles deeper into my heart #until this afternoon i hop on ig and see a hard launch that was posted an hour after my text was sent #that shit kinda hurt different. but also sent me into a bit of a delirious state where all i could do is laugh bc are you for fucking real #did she see my message? i know it. bc i know him and i know that he wouldnt hide anything from the person he's giving his heart #and his softness to. i can almost imagine how he showed her and promised her theres nothing to worry about #and there really isnt anything to worry about because he genuinely is the type to give his all to the relationship he's in #which feels silly to say after what happened w us. like no there wasnt a title ever #it sucks to call it a situationship because a month ago we were laughing in bed together about how we could never bc we were all in.#just the timing of the hard launch makes me giggle. did my text push them to have a conversation about what they are. was she really the #reason that he went away on me.#im trying not to blame myself . trying not to think about the phone calls i didnt answer. about what i could have done differently. trying #not to think about where we would be if i didnt let my anxieties hold me back. if i wasnt scared about what he'd think of the parts of me #that i keep hidden just a little bit longer than the rest.#and at the same time im trying not to put him on a pedestal. but that pedestal is just where i wholeheartedly believe he belongs #he set the bar for me. he set the standard. i was never too much. i was never too little. he made me feel perfect just as i am

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legaciesgifworld · 1 year

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Happy birthday, Lizzie Forbes!

#legacies #lizzie saltzman #lizziesaltzmanedit #legaciesedit #legacies edit #lizzie saltzman edit #cw legacies #legacies cw #elizabeth jenna saltzman #lizzie forbes #lizzie saltzman forbes #lizzie saltzman gifs #legacies gifs #luca's gifs #happy birthday lizzie!!! i love you sorry im a bit late <333 had a bit of a mental breakdown but you were on my mind and in my heart all #day <333 #lmao i had this 3/4 of the way done at like 4:30 i COULD'VE finished it by six but like. shit kept happening and i completely forgot about #it and then i had to do shit and by the time it was 8pm and i remembered i decided to give up on posting it on her actual bday. bc at that #point it was almost over and i didnt feel like finishing it with everything and all my feelings so i didnt push myself cause who actually #cares when the days almost over anyway? the answer is me. a little. not enough to finish it #anyway sorry for ranting lmao but i figured no one is gonna scroll down to these anyway and i needed to rant a bit love and light if you #are reading this lmao. i hope you had a good lizzies birthday <333 #(not gonna let myself rant about it but she really means SO much to me. mentally ill bestie ily <333)

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floralovebot · 9 months

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on flora's whitewashing: is it possible that flora has been whitewashed in the show/movies with her artwork (illustrations) being fairly consistent with her skin tone, even prior to the reboots/nick era? like in season 1 and the movies iirc

examples: s1e3, and the movies like secret of the lost kingdom? i remember thinking she looked lighter in several scenes of lost kingdom and in that episode of season 1

i wonder if this is something that happened with flora in s1, with it not being or less a problem in s2 and 3, with the movie having a similar skintone to the reboot pictures. i swear that this has happened but i dont really see any discussions on rainbow lighting her skin other than in newer media (where it is more prevalent and more obvious) so if you have any thoughts? maybe also slightly on the merchandise/doll side of things if youre interested?

Rainbow whitewashing characters like Flora and Aisha has absolutely been an issue for a very long time. Unfortunately, a lot of white fans don't notice unless it's more of an extreme example (like Flora being stark white or Aisha looking like Bloom).

In the first three seasons, it's really not seen as a big issue because it's genuinely innocent on their part. Those seasons were hand drawn so every now and then you get a scene where the skin is too light or too dark and doesn't actually make sense with the lighting. Usually, it's an innocent mistake due to multiple artists, not understanding lighting, and things just slipping past them because they're looking at these scenes for hours and they get used to it.

Here are some examples from the first four seasons where their skin is too light even with the lighting happening around them.

And for reference, this is what their normal skin tone is (and what they look like in most scenes).

Again, people don't usually talk about these because it (most likely) wasn't racist or malicious intent from Rainbow. They just didn't understand lighting ajdhglad This actually happens with all of the winx! Just go through some episodes and you'll notice that even the white characters get lightened in ways that don't make sense.

As for the movies, Flora was 100% whitewashed in the first movie.

Flora got the brunt of it in sotlk - she's whitewashed for the entire movie, while Aisha is only whitewashed in certain scenes. There are scenes where both of them look normal and aren't whitewashed so maybe some fans just didn't realize, but if you watch the movie, you'll notice that Flora is whitewashed completely and only looks right when they're in super dark places which,, yikes ahdgalhg

The dolls were also a problem! The whitewashing in the doll lines heavily depended on the manufacturer though so it's very hit or miss.

A lot of the early dolls are perfect or almost perfect but some of them are whitewashed like in these examples. It's the later dolls that have the most whitewashing though so they tend to get more criticism (plus the early dolls are no longer being made).

Most of the other early (s1-s3) merchandising (like the magazines, bags, stickers, etc) didn't whitewash either of them.

I'd say almost all of the promotional art for the first three seasons was consistent and didn't whitewash any of the characters. It's hard to believe now of course but Iginio was initially really excited to make winx diverse (like he intentionally changed Flora to latina instead of white to make it more diverse). Rainbow intentionally whitewashing them really started with the first movie and then snowballed into what we have now. Unfortunately, I think so many white fans are so used to the whitewashing, that they've started to no longer even notice it unless it's super extreme. Like with the recent s9 promo art, most people weren't noticing Flora at all (and not ignoring her, specifically not noticing), and in a lot of fanart, they do not notice unless they're literally white.

Whitewashing has been a big issue in winx for years but I think there are a lot of fans who look at the early seasons with so much love and nostalgia that they don't want to admit it, or they don't understand how lighting affects skin, or their favorite character isn't Flora or Aisha so they just never pay attention to them (blorbo hyperbeam is very real). I'd still say that a lot of the early whitewashing was due to innocent mistakes regarding lighting and manufacturing, but the first movie was extremely on purpose (and so is everything after that).

#fans are naturally going to bring up the later things more since its happening Right Now #like the s9 promo art. the entirety of fate. s8. etcetc are all more relevant than a random doll thats not being made anymore yknow?#its still important of course but we can't change what happened unfortunately #but we can influence them now!#s9 is actually a really good example of how fans have pressured them to stop whitewashing! just look at aisha!!#she looks absolutely gorgeous and they even took the time to give her a real black hairstyle #(obviously not saying that her og hair isnt natural but you get what i mean. her having vaguely curly hair is not the same thing)#especially since they often give her Super Straight hair like in the movies #unfortunately flora still looks too light but if fans actually notice and make noise about it we Can make a change #even if that change is s10 instead ajdhgal #also holy shit s10... god its been so long i feel old now what the fuck #adhgladhglj #age crisis aside the whitewashing has been around for a while now #i didnt even touch on world of winx adhglhadg #answered #long post

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