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dansnaturepictures · 3 years

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09/04/2021-Speckled Wood and more at Lakeside and home (10 different photos in this post to those I tweeted tonight)

I took the second picture in this photoset of one of a few nice and bright sky scenes and general scenes out the back today especially this morning. On my Lakeside lunch time walk I went in by the tarmac path along the properties and took the third picture in this photoset of some of the sweet looking white daffodils by the railway track at the Monks Brook Halt platform when I got into the country park. I enjoyed walking into the deep woods to the west of the site, deviating from the path through it a little and I loved seeing the bright yellow lesser celandine still going strong after a fair few weeks since I spotted my first of the year now and began seeing them here and elsewhere and adorning the forest floor of course. As I walked down around Concorde lake and through the middle of the lakes I was enthused to notice both the Canada and greylag geese nesting in the woods on the island. I had never actually seen where the geese species nest at Lakeside whilst their goslings are always such a key part of the strong Lakeside nesting festival of life each year so this was really interesting. I think some cutting of the trees on this island has allowed us a slight glimpse into where they nest. The Great Crested Grebes showed well on the lakes again as did the Tufted Ducks with brilliant views of them the females especially looking really beautiful in a special colour both on the water and on a bank of the island too. I also enjoyed as I tweeted a picture of on Dans_Pictures a Mute Swan the returning birds here of late quite close.

My Mum had said on a walk with Missy to Lakeside before my lunch break today that she had seen a Speckled Wood butterfly one of the next butterflies I needed to see. I entered the southern fenced off area just going through on the way back as I wanted to use my macro lens which I had with me today to take pictures of some of the newer groups of snake’s-head fritillary flowers on the ground in this area I had noticed. When at the point I had seen my first Speckled Wood of the year walking through last spring, I spotted a butterfly the right size and colour for one and I was pretty sure it was this butterfly. I walked on hoping for a better look, when I heard the exciting cackle of the Green Woodpecker as I had done a lot at lunch time and it was an honour to then see this emerald delight dashing into the almost as bright green landscape. I heard a beautiful and loud Chiffchaff and saw Woodpigeons flying off too and as the the sun really started to come out from behind the clouds I saw another butterfly I believe a Peacock it was a red one I didn’t get the best look of it and I saw another one too. Then I was thrilled to see the Speckled Wood again, as it flew on and then slowed down even settling on the bright blossom which looked wonderful and I could beyond a shadow of a doubt tell that this was a Speckled Wood now as I made out its sweet brown markings. It flew up now and again and then came back to blossom, I loved enjoying and taking it in such a beautiful sight. I couldn’t quite get my macro lens out in time to take a macro picture but I got the first picture in this photoset as well as one other I tweeted of this butterfly with the other lens I had my big lens. I was delighted when looking down on the ground following this butterfly to notice yet more snake’s-head fritillaries first hidden in trees behind and then more I could see on the ground. This meadow is teeming with them, and its a picture of a perfect spring and a vibrant, rich and colourful piece of grassland and few wooded areas I can never tire of these. I took the fourth and sixth pictures in this photoset a view with the snake’s-head fritillary visible over the meadow and snake’s-head fritillaries and another brilliant flower around lately at Lakeside the cowslips and fifth picture of a view in the area that gave me some glorious spring moments.

That’s now four of my year lists running that Speckled Wood was seen by me for the first time in a year either at Lakeside or on the green just outside, the last time I got Speckled Wood as a year tick at a place other than Lakeside was four years ago today in fact at Acres Down in the New Forest. There were more nice connections as I saw this one at the exact same bit of Lakeside I did for the first time last year and like last year its butterfly number seven of my year. I am only one butterfly behind how many I had seen last year and 2019 my two highest ever butterfly year lists which is promising in the early stages. I am five ahead of how many I saw in 2018 at this stage my now third highest ever butterfly year list a record for me at the time but admittedly that one did have a famously slow start thanks to the beast from the east. I was thrilled to see the Speckled Wood today. It came up in my last run of a butterfly a day tweets on Twitter this week I now have just two days left of them and including all 46 species of butterfly I’ve ever seen and photographed in them so its quite sad that an activity through lockdowns and times I needed the days to pass a bit, the original animal I focused on is coming to an end but I also reflect on the immense good it has done for me and being able to still feel happy. The spring ones in this run as last year a bit too definitely served to excite me for when I would hopefully actually see them and its not bad that I waited only two days after it was featured to see a Speckled Wood this year. The Speckled Wood a true highlight of my day and week.

When nearly back home at lunch time I took the seventh picture in this photoset of more great dandelions lately and some of the purple flowers that are commonplace on the green out the front. With it a brilliant bank holiday last Friday today I got the first chance since lockdown eased slightly, with it now also light late in evenings to do a second walk after work with me usually finishing work a bit earlier on a Friday. I did do that but not a Lakeside or camera one, instead a walk around the area outside around the block you might say a quick one. In the still evening air it was great to be serenaded a little by a babbling and gushing Blackbird and hear the beautiful screech of a Green Woodpecker again. As well as taking in as I had noticed earlier in the day and photographing as I tweeted a spider by the front door when I returned I also took the eighth picture in this photoset of daffodils in the front garden after the walk. I then went on this evening to take the final two pictures in this photoset of a moody lit Jackdaw on the roof out the back and a sky scene with just a little bit of red visible from the sunset.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Speckled Wood butterfly of the year, Peacock, bees its interesting how when trying to see the Speckled Wood a second time suddenly my eyes were so focused on everything little and flying so I enjoyed bees well I am having a great spring for them so far, two of my favourite birds the Green Woodpecker and Great Crested Grebe, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Jackdaw, Great Tit and Robin seen both singing very nicely together in the woods on one tree, great Goldfinch views at home again from my window, House Sparrow, Starling and I heard Blackbird. I also loved seeing some perwinkle beside the neighbour’s house on both my walks today.

I have made no secret where I’ve felt it relevant before that I do have another Twitter to Dans_Pictures and another Tumblr to this one where I post about other interests of mine and general life both nationally, globally and personally and these are my profiles to focus on my birdwatching/butterflies/general wildlife watching and photography interest which I put most of my time into. There are sometimes things though that happen that are more about that general, but they are so big, important and all-encompassing that I want to give them a mention on my more focused to my main hobby and interest social media pages which has been common over the last year or so. Today I must say rest in peace Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, what an extraordinary life he had. I send my deepest condolences to Her Majesty the Queen and the rest of the family. On the more topical side to these social media presences from me I celebrate the Duke of Edinburgh award and all its done for getting youngsters outdoors and active. And it was interesting to hear Sir David Attenborogh talk about someone he was clearly very close to bringing things topical for these social media pages of mine. I also want to say today, rest in peace DMX and my thoughts at this difficult time are with his family and friends.

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deitiesofduat · 6 years

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I was wondering if u can do a bunch of random facts/headcannons for the main cast?

Oh man, I mean, I’m happy to try, but I’m not sure where to start for the entire cast of 10… well, now 11 gods. I know have some that are scattered around the blog’s tags, and also in places other than tumblr, but It’ll take me a bit to find them or think of new ones without revealing spoilers, hmm…

So here’s what I’ll try that’s similar to the 1 Like 1 Fact meme I did on twitter a while ago: for every note this post receives, I’ll add a DEITIES-related headcanon or fact about the main cast. The main cast includes Set, Horus, Anubis, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Bastet, Sekhmet, Thoth, Ra, and nowwwww Sobek – and maybe the Set Spawn and the big bad serpent too, if relevant. You can add a note by +liking this post, and if you’re interested in learning about a particular deity, you can mention their name in a comment (and it’s not necessary to reblog this, unless you want to!).

This should help give me a bit more focus and time to think of some decent non-spoiler headcanons/facts to share. I’ll come back to this post in a few hours and add any many as I can, depending on the amount of notes it receives, and I’ll bump and place them under the cut for easy access. So yeah, go for it /o/!!

[1] Been playing with a headcanon where Horus’s Eye can see an object’s or person’s weak spots – though only for like, a moment once it’s activated, cuz I’ve wanted to avoid him being OP (but then again… he’s a literal god… so >>)

Also a related-headcanon where he can see a person’s past injuries thru his Eye too, including the hidden ones that have long-ago healed and left no visible scar. I’d like to draw the ones he “sees” on others one day if I keep it…

[2] Set is the only one of his siblings that doesn’t have an avian sacred animal, and for a while I wanted to keep it that way and literally keep him “grounded” compared to his family (sans Anubis). But I found that he’s sometimes also associated with crows (and falcons??? interestingly enough), and even though I haven’t found solid evidence of this yet, I also like the idea of him being associated with bats even before I read about it in Kane Chronicles I swear– So those 2-3 animals are probably some alternate animal form that he has but just rarely takes.

[3] Actually while I’m at it– aside from the Sha Animal, here’s a list of 30-ish animals that I keep as Set’s canon forms in DEITIES verse (based on a combination of historical speculation, recorded myths, and personal headcanons), and would love to eventually draw him as one day:

Aardvark, African Wild Ass (and Donkey), Giant Anteater, Baboon, Bat, Boar/Pig, Bull, Camel, Crocodile, Crow/Raven, Dog (some sort of sighthound?), Fennec Fox, Fish (Eel?), Gazelle/Antelope, Giraffe, Goat, Goose, Hare/Rabbit, Hippopotamus, [Spotted] Hyena, Jackal, Jerboa, Okapi, Oryx, Panther, Rat, Scorpion, Shark, Snake (Viper), and Zebra/Quagga.

[4] RELATEDLY… I REALLY REALLY like the idea of Set somehow acquiring a Thylacine form even tho it’s in no realistic way in the current timeline because thylacines weren’t native to Africa let alone Egypt. BUT… I JUST… THEY REMIND ME OF SHA ANIMALS SO MUCH o)——–

[5] When I was considering the color schemes for the main cast, I once briefly envisioned a purple/violet scheme for Nephthys, but decided to scrap it because (1) I wanted her colors to contrast with her sister’s and match a bit more with her husband’s and son’s and (2) I found that purple was nigh impossible to find in AE wall art and admittedly worried “maybe it won’t look authentic if I use those colors;;;”

Even though I’m happy with her orange/black/red scheme now, I’ve recently found that purple is a common association / kemetic UPG (or doxa?) with her?? SO THAT WAS INTERESTING… I don’t think I’ll change her color scheme for DEITIES, but maybe I’ll draw her in an alternate purple outfit one day to see how it looks on her >>

[6] One of the reasons why I like Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as their own casual friend group in DEITIES verse is that, because they’re all relatively young gods, they all share the experience/pressure of being measured up against their older royal relatives – Horus being seen as both his father and mother’s legacy and feeling the pressure to restore his family’s throne; Anubis being know for his infamous father, and even having his paternity questioned (via rumors and “myths”); and Bastet being the youngest of Ra’s daughter, sometimes being compared to her sister’s roles and achievements.

They’re all really good at masking any pressure they feel, but they also probably confide in each other about it more than with others, cuz they’ve all “been there.”

[7] Relatedly, one of the earliest version of DEITIES Project, before it was known as “Deities Project,” had Horus, Anubis, and Bastet as the main trio. That’s been changed “for reasons” since then, and their characters were quite different back then, but it might be fun to explore a story that focused on the 3 of them someday.

[8] Okay ya’ll know the part during The Contendings where Horus and Set are racing in stone boats and Horus “wins” by painting his wooden boat to look like stone? I have ideas for how that entire race happens in DEITIES verse that would be fun to explore as a side story, but in order for me to give Horus a “legit” way to win without outright cheating, he covers his boat with stone casing/accents, and after he wins and is confronted about it… well…

HORUS: “The rules we agreed on were to sail a boat made with stone. They said nothing about it needing to be made entirely out of stone.”SET: “…”HORUS: “ :)c ”SET: “…” *Internally raging*

[9] I’ve headcanon’d that Nephthys has her own set of ~7 Shabti who act as her personal assistants while she’s conducting her nightly duties, or working around her home, but I haven’t decided much more past that (still debating on how she acquired them, and if she more-than-likely named them…).

The concept and number were loosely based on how many of the other goddesses had their own sets of 7 as extensions of their power and/or control (7 Ribbons of Hathor, 7 Arrows of Sekhmet, Isis’s 7 Scorpions), and I thought it’d be neat if the Goddess of Service had her own Shabti that exemplified that part of her domain.

[10] Thoth is an avid lover of puzzles, trivia, and strategy games, and he’s also exceptionally skilled at games of chance. He doesn’t gamble or make bets often because he understands the risks, but when he does he tries to be calculative about it… and also has a natural knack for luck going his way (EX: That one game of senet that he won to help assist Nut with having her children… which is another story for another day)

[11] Ummmmm Isis is the only one of the main cast who I haven’t drawn a ref of her sacred animal form yet… or at least, not digitally. Her animal is the kite, but I’ve been debating on a while for what species to base her design on. I like the idea of her kite form looking like the Black-winged Kite, although those species aren’t native to Egypt… but some are native to Africa… and they’re so fricken pretty and they fit her colors so well so I might cave on this ffffffffffff–

[12] While we’re on the subject of sacred animals (and to help me get somewhat closer to the note count lmao I’m trying guys–), Horus’s falcon form is based on both the Peregrine falcon and the Lanner falcon, with more simplified markings for my own sanity when I draw him in dozens of panels.

At one point, I considered making his falcon form leucistic to contrast more with Anubis and Set, buuuuuut I also liked the brown colors on the falcons’ normal coloration, so I kept it. (That and more leucistic birds of prey are hawks, so… maybe for Khonsu tho if I don’t change him to an owl, hmmmm…)

[13] Okay continuing thoughts on animal forms, Bastet is able to shift her cat form into nearly any coloration or breed she desires (aside from her eyes, which remain green), but for the purposes of DEITIES I draw her as a brown cat with light gradation markings. I knew of the Egyptian Mau but also realized the spots would take a lot of effort to redraw in the panels where she appears as a cat (much like the spots on falcons for Horus). I also personally really like solid-colored coats on cats, and in particular I liked the coloration of the Havana Brown, so it may be a little less authentic but it did factor into her colors as well.

[14] I'm still debating on Sekhmet's main hairstyle and want to play with it a bit more -- not the arrangement per se but whether to keep it as locks or to make them more obvious twists -- or perhaps a combination -- since I can see her with both style at certain points in time. Either way, at full length Sekhmet's hair is very long: if she were to loosen her tie and let it fall, her longest locks would reach past her hips.

[15] I initially gave Set yellow eyes because even though he's often depicted with red eyes, I didn't want to over saturate his design with just... well, red -- especially in his animal form where his entire body is covered in red fur (red eyes + red sclera would have been, a lot). I like how his yellow eyes provide some contrast, and I've since found some story-related reasons where his eyes might play some role in the plot… but anything further might be spoilery 8')c

[16] It took me a while to settle on Osiris's "resurrected" skin tone because there were a lot of sources that describe his skin as being green, or blue, or black in coloration. I even tried them out in an earlier color test that I shared on patreon, but I eventually went with black since the color has had various meanings in Ancient Egypt that include both life and death. (It also gave me some opportunity to give green skin to Ptah and blue skin to Hapi to help vary the designs for each of those gods).

[17] Relatedly, Osiris's mortal form is a naturally dark skin tone, but following this death he can no longer appear in that form. He is also unable to travel to the overworld / realm of the living, though I'm still debating on how restrictive this is (if it's limited to his physical body or if he can split his soul under special circumstances, or with assistance). Regardless, most of his correspondence with other deities have to be arranged within Duat for this reason.

[18] I haven't made any plans to designate a spouse or romantic partner for Ra. I understand that there were a number of goddesses that were associated with him in the myths and often said to be his wife, but for that reason it was hard to settle on choosing one -- or multiple, and I realized that for the purpose of the main story it might not be necessary. I also kinda like exploring the idea of this high king and powerful creator deity who's also a happily single father, and where it's not for tragic reasons like the separation from or death of his spouse (not to knock that trope at all tho sdjfdsf). I'm not opposed to him being shipped with anyone though, I just don't think I've been inclined to do it myself lmAO;;

[19] RELATEDLY, while Ra's daughters (Sekhmet, Mafdet, Hathor, Serqet, Bastet) don't have a biological mother, I like to think that they were raised in an environment with a lot of parental figures and mentors to go around, aside from just their father. I haven't quite settled on how it was organized though, but I know that the daughters regard Thoth as something of an uncle/secondary dad (tho their dynamic with Thoth is can vary a lot from the one the have with Ra), as well as their teacher and mentor. I can also see where other gods like Khnum, Khepri, and Bes, and goddesses like Neith, Seshat, Taweret, Ma'at, and Mut, might also have played some direct mentor role in the daughters' upbringing and sense of self.

[20] (squick + implied nsfw) I uh… have this minor gag headcanon where Horus, Isis, and Osiris just don't eat fish. They just… don't. And it's entirely based on that one part of the myths after Osiris's death, where a certain part of Osiris's desecrated body ended up in the river and was swallowed by a fish 8')c (should be noted that I'm not saying that event did happened in DEITIES canon, but I'm also not disputing it either >>).

Apparently that was considered a bad omen, and I still find conflicting information on whether consumption of fish was taboo for some or all in Ancient Egypt (I think "for some" makes better sense, cuz why would an entire society that resides near the Nile river pass up on a perfectly available food source?? But I digress, I might need to review this again so take my thoughts with a grain of salt--). I also admit that I've seen it mentioned that fish are not ideal food offerings for Isis and Osiris?? and I can imagine that maybe Horus adopts the distaste for them as well. Either way, I go with the DEITIES canon that while most people and deities happily consume fish, Horus and his parents will not, and they don't enjoy it as offerings either.

I’MMMMMM gonna end it here for now cuz my headcanons have run dry for the time being, thank you guys!!

#// I'M SRSLY JUST blanking on new facts right now o)-----< but I wanna give this a try later after I make dinner in a bit #// I will… also see if I can make a tag for the headcanon-type replies since it seems that people are interested in them!#DEITIES asks #general asks #meme #Horus #Set #Anubis #Bastet #Nephthys #Ra #Thoth #Isis #Osiris #Sekhmet #headcanons

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hashtagtransanthology-blog · 7 years

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Contributor Interview: Gabriel D. Vidrine

Next up: Gabriel talks about their essay on The Crow, YA novels, and what they watch on Netflix on Friday nights.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and what you generally write.

First and foremost, I am a scientist, but I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first full-length novel at 16 (it was terrible, don’t ask, but it was cyberpunk). I entered short story contests before then, as well, but didn’t win. I never thought I’d be any good at it, or be able to make a living off of it. So scientist it was. I write what I like to read. I primarily write fantasy (epic and urban) and horror (paranormal and survival), but I’ve dabbled in science fiction, erotica, and essays. Out of nowhere, I wrote a trans YA summer romance story. Not much has been good enough to publish yet, but I keep hoping!

2. What is your essay for #Trans about?

My essay is about how I realized I was trans through the help of pop culture and media, specifically movies, comic books, and video games. It took me a long time to be okay with how important pop culture was to me (at least, the pop culture subgroups I enjoyed) and how it affected what I thought about my gender identity. It’s also a comment on how difficult it is to find those identities that are liminal – in between – like being bi and nonbinary.

3. Katherine Cross describes her realization of being trans (and a feminist) as a series of 'clicks' on a keyboard in online space. What was your 'click' moment when you realized you were trans?

I didn’t have much of a click moment (though she does describe it as a series of them, and I can see that). I’m a horror writer, so it’s probably easiest for me to describe it as something like the creeping dread. There was not one moment, but many small ones, building up over time, until I could no longer deny what I was experiencing. I never noticed my feelings until I was looking back over them, drowning in them, and just couldn’t ignore them anymore. I had always felt boyish, but it wasn’t until many things fell into place that I realized I was actually trans.

4. What is your next project?

Getting fiction published! My trans YA romance is nearly ready to be shopped around, so I’m hoping that I can find an agent or a publisher who is looking for something like it. (Shameless plug: it’s an ownvoices trans boy m/m fluffy summer camp romance!) I’m also working hard on getting my dance career revived and vlogger career started. It hasn’t left as much time for writing, but I keep trying. I’m currently writing a trans epic fantasy

5. You're given a time machine. Do you go forwards or backwards in time? Why? What do you do?

Forward. Definitely forward. I want to see how humanity turns out, if we survive the coming years. More importantly, does the Earth survive us? How have we all fared, and what direction did we take? If things look good, especially for trans people, I want to stay there. If things look bad, I’d come back and see what we could do to avoid that fate (provided we don’t run into any Oedipus-like problems).

6. What is your favourite book written by a trans or nonbinary writer?

I’m a bad trans person. Admittedly, I have not yet read that many books by trans or nonbinary writers. I’m a sucker for genre fiction and I’m super picky about it. There isn’t as much written by trans people in the genres I enjoy as there are in regular fiction, non-fiction, and YA genres. I have read Elliot Wake’s (writing as Leah Raeder) Cam Girl, which has beautiful writing but just isn’t my genre. I have also read If I Was Your Girl, Some Assembly Required (which was probably the most important for me), and Rethinking Normal. I just bought Peter Darling but I haven’t started it yet. I haven’t yet read anything that has spoken to my soul, a “Yes, this,” but I have enjoyed what I’ve read so far. I have made it a priority this year to read as many trans-written books as I can, even if they aren’t my genre, so I’m actively looking for books I will hopefully enjoy.

7. What historical figure--trans or cis--would you like to have dinner with? What would you ask them, and what would you order?

These sorts of questions are so hard, lol! I tend to find history boring (unless it involves dragons or something) so I don’t really idolize any historical figures. I’ve met a few people I’ve idolized before and it’s always underwhelming (you find out they’re human, just like everyone else, with prejudices and weird habits and such). There are a few people I think I want to preserve my interior image of instead! The only person I can think of would be Anne McCaffrey. Her work changed my life and started my dragon obsession. A lot of it went over my head when I discovered it (I read my first book of hers in fifth grade), and I think a lot of her work is deeply misunderstood today. I would like to talk to her about it, about why and how she was able to sneak in gay people without being too obvious, and still have her work be taken seriously in the 60s and 70s, especially as a woman author writing science fiction (with gay people!). Since we’d likely be in Ireland or England somewhere, a good British pub sounds about right. I’m fond of Cornish pasties. It makes me incredibly sad that I never got to meet her before she passed.

8. What's one message, image, or feeling do you want people to take away from your work?

A lot of my work is about pain. Internal pain, external pain, the suffering it causes. I want people to know that pain doesn’t have to stop your life. That when you feel overwhelmed by it – no matter its source – that there is someone out there to help you, to share it, to take it away. That none of us have to suffer alone, and to reach out to those who love you when you are in pain. I know that’s hard; I have suffered a lot of emotional, psychic, and physical pain in my life. I’ve struggled with reaching out. I try to bury it, to suffer alone, to not bother anyone with it. Please, bother someone with it. It’s worth it.

9. It's Friday night and your plans fall through. What do you do instead?

Either I spend my night dutifully sewing a new dance costume while listening to a documentary on Netflix (old castles, LGBTQIA, or true crime) or I tell my guilt to go to hell and spend all night playing video games.

10. Finally, what is your social media of choice? How can people contact you?

I’m on Facebook the most, but I use that for mostly private, personal interaction with irl friends and family. Twitter is the best way to contact me otherwise, but I’m all over the Internet. I have an Instagram where I post pictures of my silly cat and weight loss progress, if that’s of any interest, or they can email me at [email protected] or contact me through my Tumblr (though I don’t use it as much as I should).

Thank you, Gabriel! Up next: Shawn Dorey.

#interview #transgender #trans #nonbinary #LGBT #spilled ink

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katsukiyurj · 7 years

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proper poise

on ao3

i was stressed last night and started thinking about phichit (because honestly....what a guy) and realized he is the most theatery theater nerd to ever theater nerd. and i think we should embrace that. so i slammed it into a fic with some victuuri cuddles and called it a night around 2 am

the title is a pretty random line from popular from wicked because....it sounds nice? alliteration is cool.

this is my first yoi fic and i dont trust anything i write after midnight so it might not be my best, but i hope you enjoy nonetheless~

“ Popular! ”

Yuuri groans as the familiar ringtone wakes him from a dream that was probably really nice, but is already slipping away. Goddammit, Phichit. Today is supposed to be a rest day, which is supposed to mean sleeping in.

“Wha’s that?” Victor mumbles into his pillow as Yuuri fumbles with the phone charger.

“ I know about popular! ”

“Phichit,” Yuuri grumbles. Not that he doesn’t love waking up to Kristin Chenoweth’s voice, but he really needs to find a new ringtone. Or just make Phichit’s the default one again. He answers before the song can go on for any longer. “Mhmm?”

“ Hey, Yuuri! ” Phichit practically sings. “ How are you? ”

Yuuri sighs and sits up, running his hand over his bedhead. “I’m tired. Is something wrong?”

“ Am I not allowed to want to hear my best friend’s voice for no reason? ” Yuuri can practically hear the pout in Phichit’s voice.

“No. No you’re not. Not when I’m sleeping.”

“ Rude, Katsuki. That’s very rude. ”

Victor mumbles something incoherent and rests his chin on Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri smiles softly at him before saying, “Victor would say hi but I don’t think he’s awake.” He turns the phone away from his ear a bit so Victor can hear as well.

Phichit snorts. “ Lazy butts. ”

“What time is it anyway?” Yuuri squints at the clock on his desk, but he doesn’t have his glasses on, so really? What’s the point?

“ It’s just about six for me! ”

Victor inhales deeply. “Too early.”

“ Uh huh, that’s eight for you two. Shouldn’t you be up and running already? Or were you busy last night. ”

“I can hear your eyebrow wiggle, Phi,” Yuuri deadpans. “Stop that.”

“ Never! ”

Yuuri rolls his eyes. “I’m taking the day off.”

“ Says who? ”

“Says my coach.”

Victor hums in agreement and buries his face in the crook of Yuuri’s neck. Admittedly, they had been up incredibly late. But they had been playing with Makkachin and watching videos of themselves on YouTube. Mostly old routines and random compilation videos people had made, nearly all of them from years ago so they could judge each other and themselves for their mistakes, fashion choices, hairstyles, and that one time Yuuri wore makeup and it did not go nearly as well as Mari insisted it would. Both him and Victor agreed that eyeshadow was not a good color on him. Yuuri likes the tribute videos to Victor the best, the ones set to really cheesy music with overdone effects and iMovie transitions. The comments had been fun to read too. Yuuri hadn’t realized how easy it is to make Victor embarrassed, but apparently all it takes is five year old YouTube comments from preteens. Victor made Yuuri swear to never tell Yuri, but Yuuri has pictures of some of the expressions Victor had made and, honestly, who knows where those will end up.

“ Who says your coach gets the day off? ” Phichit asks.

Yuuri runs his fingers through Victor’s hair. “First of all, Yakov is in Russia. And second of all, even if Yakov was here, do you think it would matter?”

“ True, true ,” Phichit agrees. “The Victor Nikiforov does whatever he wants. And who ever. ”

“I’m going to hang up on you,” Yuuri threatens.

“ You wouldn’t! ” Phichit gasps.

“Good bye, Phi—”

“ Don’t leave me, I’m pregnant! ”

Victor inhales sharply and tries to muffle his laughter in Yuuri’s shoulder. Yuuri just rolls his eyes.

“ You’re the father! ” Phichit cries. “ You can’t leave! ”

Victor gives up and falls back onto his pillow, covering his face with his hands as he laughs.

“I hate both of you,” Yuuri mutters.

“I can’t believe you cheated on me with Phichit,” Victor says through his laughter.

“I swear it meant nothing,” Yuuri says flatly. “It was a one time mistake.”

“ Drunk Yuuri is a great kisser though ,” Phichit says thoughtfully.

Victor raises his eyebrows.

“Phichityousworewewouldnevertalkaboutthat!” Yuuri hisses, feeling his face burn.

Victor just smirks and wraps his arms around Yuuri’s waist. “He’s right though, you are a great kisser.”

Yuuri groans. “Let me die already.”

“Nooo,” Victor whines, nuzzling Yuuri’s neck. “I love you too much for you to die.”

“ Awww ,” Phichit coos. “ Wait a minute, you two aren’t allowed to be cute when I’m not there to witness it! Who’s going to tell Instagram? ”

“And snapchat and twitter and tumblr,” Yuuri mumbles.

“Someone needs to get him followers,” Victor teases. “His selfies alone aren’t good enough.”

“ Hey! ” Phichit protests. “ My selfies are better than yours . ”

Victor hums thoughtfully, a smile playing at the corner of his lips. “That sounds like a challenge.”

Phichit scoffs. “ If I’m challenging anyone, I’m challenging Chris. ”

Victor narrows his eyes. “You’re on, Chulanont.”

“ Bring it, Nikiforov! ”

“Please don’t make this like last time,” Yuuri whispers.

Victor furrows his eyebrows. “Last time?”

Yuuri shakes his head. The last selfie war Phichit had lasted through finals week and Yuuri had genuinely considered dropping out of college to avoid getting caught in another surprise selfie. It didn’t help that Phichit liked to blast music while he was perfecting a photo. The first few times it wasn’t bad, but after the sixth rendition of Omigod You Guys, Yuuri was kind of done. At least it had been a change from the Bend and Snap. Phichit had gone through a Legally Blonde phase that was a week or two too long for Yuuri to handle on top of finals stress.

“ It was beautiful ,” Phichit says dramatically.

“I almost died,” Yuuri reminds him. Victor gives him a confused look and Yuuri will have to ask Phichit for that photo later.

“ It was worth it, ” Phichit declares.

“This is what you’re getting us into with this selfie war,” Yuuri says to Victor. “And no doubt Chris will get involved—”

“ JJ will probably invite himself .”

“Yurio will claim he’s not participating but he’ll aggressively post selfies all day when he catches whiff of this,” Victor says with a smile. “Phichit, you are so on.”

“ Yes! ”

“ No ,” Yuuri groans. “Why do you two want to make my life hell?”

“ Because we love you .”

“And your face is too pretty not to share with the world,” Victor adds before peppering Yuuri’s face with kisses.

Yuuri laughs and gently pushes him away. Victor leans forward, making kissing noises. Yuuri blocks him and a smile with a pillow. “Stop it! We’re on the phone!”

“ Oooo now I’m interrupting, ” Phichit says. “ Probably should get on the ice soon anyway, unless some people I know. ”

Victor rolls his eyes.

“Good luck,” Yuuri says, “but you suck for waking us up.”

Phichit makes a noncommittal noise. “ Eh, whatever. Have to get up eventually .”

“Not the point.”

“ Oh, and Yuuri? ” Phichit says suddenly.

“Yeah?”

“ Don’t even think about changing my ringtone .”

Yuuri tenses. Whoops “…how did you—”

“Did you forget about our bond?!” Phichit interrupts. “I always know, Yuuri, my son. I always know.”

Yuuri rolls his eyes. “Good night, Phichit.”

“ Good morning, starshine! The earth says hello! ”

Yuuri rubs his temples. “How did I room with such a morning person. Please go back to skating and let us sleep.”

“ Only if you post cute couple selfies later .”

“You can’t bribe us int—”

Victor takes the phone from Yuuri. “We’ll do it and we’re also going to win. Bye, Phichit, have fun at practice.” He hangs up and puts Yuuri’s phone on Do Not Disturb before placing it down on the bedside table.

“Wow,” Yuuri drawls.

“Mmm we do have the day off.” Victor lays down and tugs Yuuri into his arms. “Phichit was cutting into that.” He curls around Yuuri and hums into his hair.

Yuuri scoffs but still sinks into Victor’s embrace, enjoying the warm, fuzzy feeling he still sometimes gets around Victor. “He’s so getting a new ringtone,” Yuuri murmurs.

“What, Glinda not good enough for Phichit?” Victor asks with a laugh.

“It’s been years ,” Yuuri complains. “I can only wake up to that song so many times.”

“I didn’t realize Phichit was such a morning person,” Victor muses. “How did you live with him?”

“Phichit is an every time of day person. You haven’t really experienced him until it’s one in the morning and he’s singing the Bitch of Living.”

Victor laughs softly. “Not a fan of musicals?”

“Musicals are fine,” Yuuri promises. “But I’m not nearly as big of a fan as Phichit is.”

“Life’s a bitch,” Victor muses.

“Mhm.” Yuuri closes his eyes and sighs contentedly. Later, he’ll have to deal with a selfie war that will probably take over the entire figure skating world and find a song that Phichit will see suitable to replace Popular, but for now, all that matters is Victor and more sleep.

#yuri katsuki #victor nikiforov #victuuri #phichit chulanont #yuri on ice #my fics #ahhHHHHH IM SCARED

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bryanclaesch · 7 years

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Hey, everyone.

Continuing with my series of Top 10 Reasons Why (this-character) Should Be Your Favorite, this time, we'll be looking at everyone's favorite emo kitty-cat Batman, Blake Belladonna. I'd also like to thank my friend Michaela Roan and RWBY Wonderland admin Blake Belladonna for their help in making this list.

And if you guys want to make sure you don't miss the next Top 10 RWBY post, subscribe to my RWBY mailing list: http://eepurl.com/cWX8Fj. And if you really want to show me the love, support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.con/bryanclaesch.

Let's get to it!

"Blake..."

So, Blake... so... Blake-y. I'll be honest, before I started writing the Novelization and before Volume 4, I really didn't like Blake. I didn't get the hype. She felt more like a stock character than the other members of RWBY and it still feels like she has the least characterization of them all. So it can be difficult for me to get into that Blake-mindset, but I'll do my best to explain why people like her so much.

1. "And what about you, Blake?! You seem to carry yourself with a sense of purpose."

"There's too much wrong in this world to just stand by and do nothing. Inequality. Corruption. Someone has to stop it."

Perhaps Blake's strongest asset is her strong sense of justice. Having lived through injustice and even committing unjust acts, Blake knows how far the crimes of others reach and how deeply ingrained they are in the world. Desiring real equality through real change, Blake left the White Fang and became a huntress all for the sake of rooting out the corruption. And even though she isn't quite clear on how to go about it, she's still fighting which is more than most people can say.

2. "There's no such thing as pure evil!"

This one confuses me a little, especially because I do believe in pure evil. (His name is Satan.) I got this from Michaela, so if it confuses you too, blame her.

Anyway, the argument here is that since Blake has been from both the right side and wrong side of the tracks, she can see the motivations behind every action and doesn't actually see people as necessarily evil. At the worst, they're just misguided. Who knows? Perhaps one of the reasons why Blake left the White Fang is because she pitied the White Fang and Adam. Blinded by their prejudices, she sees them not as evil, but handicapped, and so they can't objectively see the harm they're doing.

3. Psychomachia

I'm sure that's a new word for a lot of ya! But I bet Blake knows its meaning.

Anyway, psychomachia is a fancy word for the phenomenon of the angel and devil that sit on either of your shoulders and tell you what to do. Nearly all of Blake's existence has been tied to a battle between good and evil. She is that battle, and she constantly struggles with how to live a normal, virtuous life when her life has been darkened by everything she's done. We even get to see this battle play out as she struggles with the decision to just kill Torchwick or let him live in No Brakes. Her sense of morality and the struggle she faces reflects how others also struggle with the fight between good and evil.

Luckily though, Blake has her own sun who'll never stop brightening her world just like how morning always follows night.

Suck on that Bumblebee shippers! Blake's light is a sun, not a firecracker.

4. Redemptive

Blake fell in with a very bad crowd. She stole, she hurt, and quite possibly maimed or even murdered. (We don't know.) But Blake had the perspective to see what she was doing and what she was becoming, and she was repulsed by it. So, she left and got back on the right path. And as her father points out, she faced the White Fang, her demons, again and again, and she always came out on top rather than running away or changing her stripes for the sake of survival. Her story is one of redemption, and the audience always loves a good redemption story.

"I should have left the White Fang with you and Mom."

5. "I've heard students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And as a representative of Beacon, I feel as though it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom."

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upper hand in the tournament."

Not much gets past Blake. Is it the Faunus eyes? The life of a criminal? Or is she just naturally sharp? (Ow! I cut myself!)

Whatever it is, Blake can see through the BS whatever the situation, whether it be Weiss' feigned diplomacy, the goodwill gift of Menagerie, or that there's no good reason for the White Fang to be working with Torchwick. Blake's got the eyes of a hawk.

6. "General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the Faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched, and the general was captured. Perhaps if he had paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

Besides being perceptive, Blake studies. The girl knows her history, and although it's easy to assume she would've known that since she's a Faunus, we must also remember that in Volume 2 when she becomes obsessed with finding Torchwick and the White Fang, one of her problems that Weiss mentions is that her grades started to slip meaning she had grades that could slip. (I can't even claim that! But I don't go to school anymore.) And! The way Blake went searching for the White Fang and Torchwick suggests a studious, researcher mentality what with checking out books and searching the web. Blake's not your stereotypical cat-furry--she's got brains.

7. "Plus she likes books!"

If you were asked to name two things that Blake likes, what would you say? Adam? No! Yang? Maybe. Sun? Depends on the situation. But two things that you'll never go wrong with are books and tea. This may sound a little strange, but for those of us who like books and tea, it's great to see a character with these traits. Especially tea--there's too much coffee in the world! And books and tea go together perfectly. What's the perfect drink to have when you're reading? Tea! What's the best thing to do while drinking a cup of tea? Reading! See? It works splendidly.

8. Mmm, mmm. Yeah, yeah.

Have you guys ever been on YouTube and seen those RWBY Crack videos? Most of them suck, but some are genius. One I saw played that crappy song "Mmm mmm yeah yeah" by Austin Mahone over the footage of Blake walking away from Ruby after helping her with Weiss, and for the first time ever, I had to recognize the fact that Blake has a great booty. It's shallow, I know. But I mentioned Ruby being cute and guess what I'm going to say about Yang. That's right. Steel yourselves. But my point here is that while Blake is overshadowed by Yang, she's no slouch herself in terms of physical beauty. And I think all our hearts melted when we saw her in her prom dress.

9. "Now that's a katana!"

The Gambol Shroud is an interesting weapon. It's a sword, it's a gun, it's sheathe is a sword, and it's got a ribbon and can be thrown like a kunai. While I never would've thought of this as a viable weapon design because there's too much going on and there are better gunblade designs, Blake's weapon is effective and adaptable. In fact, there are times when it's more of a tool than a weapon. And if the Samurai or Ninja could've gotten their hands on the Gambol Shroud, they would have definitely used it. It's a pretty cool katana. (But admittedly Jetsteam Sam's is cooler.)

His sword is also a gun!

Can Blake's sword do that?

Hmm... not bad, actually.

10. "Here. This should help you."

On the surface, Blake's shadow clones don't seem to be anything special. She dodges and leaves a copy of herself to take the hit--what's so great about that? Well, Blake's semblance has a few extra advantages. For instance, she doesn't just dodge, she can use the clones to change the direction of her movement on a dime. She can go from flying right at Torchwick to the train car floor a safe distance away. Or, she can be flying through the air and then use her shadow clones to move her into attack position to take on a giant Nevermore.

Add dust charges to her Gambol Shroud and she can show you a whole range of new tricks from freezing an enemy's weapon in place to blowing them up. And if Weiss' semblance can evolve, I wonder what will happen when Blake's also evolves. Because lets face it, no one predicted Weiss being able to summon her fallen foes or how dust could help Blake. Just goes to show that Miles and Kerry still have a few tricks up their sleeves, and that we still don't know everything there is to know about Blake. How exciting.

And there you have it. The Top 10 Reasons why Blake should be your favorite character.

Ugh!

If you guys think I missed any, go ahead and put them in the comments below.

Keep writing, my friends.

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#RWBY #RWBY Chibi #Blake Belladonna #sun wukong #arryn zech #Miles Luna #Kerry Shawcross #gray haddock #Monty Oum #RWBY Wonderland #jetstream sam #metal gear rising

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