Hi, Im Charmy!
Heres a Caption from my Instagram post:
Queer folks, BIPOC folks (esp black , indigenous folks), Disabled folks, fat folks, and all those caught in between these intersections deserve the world. No matter what they think, or do, what they’ve been through, they deserve full, vibrant lives. They deserve to eat, to sleep, create, to play, to find joy in community, to live, to thrive in any way they choose. Like any other human on the planet.
The systemic injustices and oppression all over the world have robbed them of their right to thrive without fear, to be free of constant stress and trauma and to exist as themselves without fear of judgement.
Financial difficulties often make this heavier tenfold. With constant bills, rent and now student loans, and a lack of sufficient government protection that doesn’t force people into poverty to obtain aid, folks have little to no time to heal and recover while trying everything to look for aid; many consider s*icide because this world is barely survivable for them.(since it’s the prevention month, yet many people focus on individual recovery and don’t understand that it’s the systems that be that lead to this.)
As humans existing in this incredibly unkind and oppressive system, the best we can do is to take care of one another and support one another, especially those that need more support than others. Please go to the pages of the humans in the posts, read their stories,and provide support in any way you can, whether that comes in the form of sharing or making CONSISTENT donations to help them meet their needs if you are able , so that they are able to take their lives back and thrive.
This is why im pinning this to the top of my tumblr and doing daily reblogs to ensure everyone above and below gets their goals met; The previous iteration of this was sorta shadowbanned and messy, so Im making a new post here. T his will also be updated with anyone in need of urgent needs!
Paypall: click here
Cashapp: $CEOofAntifa
Venmo: CEOofAntifa
I'm Decol, the disabled one who can't work. My trans gf is the working one.
Please help support Jupiter- they’re a black Nonbinary fae that’s been struggling with lots of traumatic incidents that I’m not going to to
PLEASE HELP THIS GRIEVING MOTHER WITH THEIR RENT THAT IS DUE VERY VERY SOON!!
Hey since she's staying here their mom asked for her money back 🥹
That was gonna be dresser/bed money.
I know I said we met our goal but i
Nick is a Black Nonbinary Disabled person, writer and artist in need of consistent aid within two years to help them move into a safe area a
Rio has been healing from various traumas including medical trauma and s*icidal ideation, and they have experienced a severely traumatic inc
PLEASE HELP @fattummyt WITH THEIR HOUSING FUNDS BEFORE AUGUST 31ST- LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY!! THEY HAVE RAISED 500 OR SO DOLLARS SO FAR; PL
Hello, Cathelene is a black woman that needs help in fighting her breast cancer! She has an upcoming treatment and would really appreciate t
Please help kiing curry out!! They are a black artist/beader that needs CONSISTENT aid. Right now they are in need of 4000-5000 dollars for
Thank you so much for reading this far!! I hope that one day we can live in a world where kindness and care are prioritised instead of profit and power <3 but until then I’m going to keep trying to fight for that world.
Here u can find solarpunk stuff, current events, but also fandom things like splatoon, cookie run, sky, Honkai star rail and most recently baldurs gate 3!
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PMMM Precure AU! It was fun trying to keep their outfits recognizable while trying to make them look more cohesive. Homura's is definitely the most changed, so I hope it still looks enough like her???
The themes would be gemstones, jewelry, and wishes. I'd probably have their Cure names be gemstones, maybe Opal/Morganite, Sapphire/Turquoise, Topaz/Citrine, Ruby, Amethyst, but I'm not strongly attached... Transformation item is supposed to be like a little faberge egg style jewelry box with the ring as a key TroRouge style!
Vague plot idea: There's a big important magic gem that can grant any wish, guarded by the Kyubeys for generations. The last person who successfully used it was a princess centuries back, but she vanished mysteriously and no one remembers what she wished for anymore... (Definitely she was NOT lost in time and will NOT show up later on with her own thoughts on if the Precure are doing things correctly...)
To activate it, you need to gather enough energy from granting people's wishes. Recently there's a coven of witches going around bespelling people into serving them and stealing their wish energy... Unclear on the end goal, but it doesn't look great! So one baby Kyubey heads off alone to try and awaken the Precure to fight them off and claim the big wish for themselves, to maybe bring back the princess???
Possibly Sayaka becomes a witch for a while, probably due to being disillusioned by actually meeting The Princess plus realizing the Kyubeys have not been totally honest. Kyoko's backstory is not quite as harsh as canon (also she didn't have magic to accidentally brainwash people), so instead her dad just became erratic to the point of losing custody, so she + Momo are growing up in an orphanage/foster care... Definitely the elder Kyubey is up to something...
The dragon slumped forward, the newly formed cavity in its chest inadvertently sucking Hollyberry's fist in even deeper as it did so. A bottomless well of blood sprung forth from the mortal wound, soaking her leather gauntlet through and staining it - and many other parts of her person, as the sticky, foul-smelling life essence was blindly spat at her - a hideous dark color. Quickly and unceremoniously, she yanked her hand back out, allowing gravity to take back control and force the dragon's fresh corpse to the ground. The hole in its chest was far from its only injury, but it was the most grievous one. And with all of them together, the creature was slain; vanquished by a fellow predator that ultimately proved herself superior.
Hollyberry stared down at the remains of her prey, as cold and stoic now as she'd been when their battle had first started. The telltale glimmer of life in its eyes was long gone; it dimmed rather quickly, fading almost in tandem with the stream of blood that drained from its body with each erratic pulse of its dying heart, vanishing completely with the slam of its head against the tarnished earth. Once a mighty beast, now beaten and broken at her feet, its face now forever frozen in incomprehensible agony.
That's ten. Ten dragons slain. If memory served, ten was the amount of dragons that had been plaguing this area and terrorizing the nearby village. At last, she had gotten them all.
She wiped some of the blood off of her shield - just enough to allow the gem at the center to enjoy the sunlight again. Taken in by its renewed shine, she drew the shield closer, gazing into the pretty, polished jewel and the grim, unkempt reflection gazing back into her.
"A tragedy, really. A doughy little Cookie, carried off by a dragon... Tsk tsk."
Never did that singular phrase ever stop replaying inside of Hollyberry's mind. Never did her mind rest; never did her thoughts grant her a moment's peace. Never. Not once. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day has just been this; this terrible memory that her mind and heart and soul simply could not, would not perish. The monster hunter's countenance, as real as though he yet stood before her. The monster hunter's voice, crystal clear as a berry juice glass.
If only she'd had it in her in that moment to punch the sneer right off of his godsforsaken face.
But it was fine. It is fine. It will always be fine, if she can help it... and she can. She will. She already has. Just a messenger, he was; not worth the ammo nor the aim. There were better targets out there. Tougher ones. More deserving ones. All in far more dire need of punishment than he.
After the village had been cured of its draconic sickness, she moved on. One last day was all she chose to afford the villagers, with all of their cheers and tears and now remedied fears. They made her a feast; a hearty sampling of their finest culinary selections, the cream of what little remained of their crop. The dragons had done a number on them in more ways than one: fields torched, loved ones devoured, homes and businesses reduced to smoking ruin. But it was fine now. They are fine. And now, they shall continue to be fine, without the monsters prowling around. Without her.
What was it they'd served her again? Pumpkin soup? Roasted quail? A smorgasbord of fruits and vegetables? Even as she ventured back through the houses and streets and reached the village gates after bidding them all farewell, she scarcely recalled a single morsel. In fact, she scarcely recalled sitting down at the table at all. Life and all its contents blended together and disappeared into the fog more often not nowadays - all but her hunts. Her battles. Her cullings.
...Juice. The elegant scarlet lettering painted onto the village welcome sign, carved and decorated in such a way as to draw one's eye and heart in at a glance, awoke a single memory of the night before: a goblet of juice, eagerly set beside her plate. Their last bottle, one villager said; the dragons had either drank or destroyed the rest. A gift, one of many, for her heroism. They admired its gorgeous color, yearned for its sweet yet tart taste - but for their savior, they would happily part with it. They would be remiss and horrendously rude not to.
She made up for their politeness by being rather rude herself, and turning the juice down wholesale. "But why?" they had asked her, in such overwhelmed surprise that it was almost comical. "Is it not to your liking? Please, won't you have even a sip? We only wish to honor you! We beg!"
"I can't accept such a gift," she answered them. "You have sacrificed enough already. Don't give up any more for my sake."
"But we insist!" Of course they did. Insistence is the foundation of all gratitude, and the fuel for all celebration and merrymaking. In a different time and place, she would've obliged without question. But not this one.
"No." Her tone was cool, her words clipped; painfully firm as her grasp on her silverware had suddenly become. "I need to keep focus. Juice would get in the way of that. All of you, keep it. You deserve it more than I."
How amusing it had been, in a morbid sort of way, when their rosy-cheeked insistence withered at the sound of her harsh voice. In a different time and place, she would've apologized. In a different time and place, she would've laughed and said they fell for her joke, her act, and perhaps then she would've down the whole glass in one fell swoop to the sound of applause.
But not this one.
Her shield provided much needed protection from the morning sun's glare. Light is always welcome, but not when it dares to overtake the lines on the map. She couldn't afford to lose track of her next destination.
What might they be doing now, Hollyberry wondered?
Who "they" were, she could not tell you. Who "they" were, she knew all too well. "They" were those clouds that drifted in and out of sight on a windy afternoon. "They" were those shadows cast on the wall by the dance of the torch light, too ethereal and erratic to keep any proper shape for too long. "They" were those wandering reflections in the windows, in her shield, in the all of those berry juice glasses she shunned. "They" were a mystery. "They" were a paradox.
She wondered if there had been a search party. If the Crown had spared no expense, no soldier, no single second of time, in hunting their targets down. She wondered if her son tore his robes and dirtied his hair pacing through the jungle, parting every bush and overturning every stone himself. She wondered if her daughter-in-law could see through her veil of tears or speak past the lump in her throat; if her strength waned with each passing day, little by little, until her knees buckled and bent and she finally collapsed, howling her grief into the earth below until her voice failed her for good.
She wondered if there had been a funeral. Might as well have. From the clutches of dragons, even great warriors seldomly escaped. No exception would have been made for a child, especially one so small and feeble. Easy pickings.
She wondered if the other child felt her sister's absence. Never for a moment were they apart, those two; not in the womb, not in the crib, not even in the playpen or the bathtub. One so loud and vibrant, the other calm yet curious. But no matter their differences, it was plain as day that they loved one another. Before they knew of the world, before they even knew their own names, they knew and loved and trusted each other. Partners in crime, they were. Or, they were supposed to have been.
She wondered what the others would have said - to her, to the king and queen, whoever, it didn't matter much. The ghostly memory of a voice, sad but serene, drifted through her ears; there was never a shortage of heartfelt prayers with him. Perhaps, in the face of a tragedy like this, even his staff would have wept. Two weapons were drawn before her mind's eye, one great and powerful sword and one sleek and dazzling spear; he would proclaim that such an injustice could not stand and he and his warriors would gladly pursue retribution on their behalf, and she... she would likely say something similar, Hollyberry thinks. She would have, if she knew her well enough. Never mind that she probably didn't know what happened. Never mind that Hollyberry didn't even know where she was now.
In the corner of her thoughts sprouted a lily, small and thin and so unsure. She paid it little mind. Before all of this, Hollyberry might have imagined her gazing upon them all with such an overwhelming sorrow, even setting her staff aside so she may offer a proper hug. But now, she wasn't so sure. Nowadays she isn't so sure she ever knew her at all.
They were the sharp cries the dragons let out when her fist collided with their snouts: agonizing, deafening, piercing through her skull and haunting her thoughts well into the night. They were the droplets of blood that ruined her clothes and her hair when she rended the flesh from the bones, and bashed the heads into the rocks: small and bright and numerous, washing away in the river and rain and always leaving her behind. They were the reflections in their wide eyes, colored first with rage and then with panic, growing cold and still as their vitality slowly faded away.
She wondered what they were doing. She wondered if they wondered the same of her.
Ten. Ten dragons slain this week. Or, at the very least, Hollyberry believed so.
Back and forth across the world, she continued her endless trek: through the woods and across the lakes and over the tallest mountains. Wherever she heard whispers and wails of dragons being a blight, she went. And she killed them all, one by one, until their extinction in the area was all but guaranteed. And then her endless trek resumed, with hardly so much as a brief pause.
Interesting, really, how many of them there proved to be. As she trudged through the mud and snow, she racked her brain for answers - has is always been this way? Could she remember a time when dragons weren't there, appearing as the black marks on society and history they always were? Ten, twenty, thirty, forty - she was starting to lose count of them by now, to the point that she'd begun keeping tally with her shield itself, whittling a slash mark into the wood with each conquered beast.
An occasional glance into its back told her she'd run out of space soon. Pity.
She was in Beast-Yeast, somewhere in the north. There were dragons there, too. No one had called her there - no one ever called Hollyberry to Beast-Yeast, save for fun and adventure and the pain tucked away deep in her heart, still knocking on the walls - but she set out for it anyway. Always some unholy creature of some sort skulking around in that place, making it worse than it already is. A revisit or two or three or ten or one thousand to clean house never did any harm. Fewer dragons in the world at the end of the day.
She was back in Crispia, near the Cream Cake Mountains. An overheard report detailing an ice dragon beginning to circle the outskirts of a snowridden village brought her there quick; a day of preparing a trap and a lure brought the dragon out quicker. Some small, unfortunate part of her almost lamented the creature's demise; countless snowflakes of all shapes and sizes took the place of its scales and icicles of a shimmering, semi-translucent beauty made up its many spines. From above, it appeared as a sentient aurora, streaking across the night sky. It was almost a shame that that sky had to be darkened for eternity. Almost.
She was near the Crème Republic. She was in somewhere in Wholegrainia. She was meandering around some old, worn path that stretched into both ends of the horizon - the Sugar-Free Road or some such nonsense. She was everywhere. She was nowhere.
Ten. Twenty. Thirty. Forty.
Fifty.
One hundred.
One thousand.
She ran out of space on the inside of her shield.
She didn't care. She simply stopped counting after that.
Fighting the urge to wince at that old, silly name, Hollyberry dredged up a smile, hoping against hope that it actually bothered to reach her eyes this time.
"What brings you back to Dragon City this time around, hm?"
"What always brings me back here, my friend," Hollyberry said. "I'm here to hunt some dragons."
"Fair answer, haha! Not too much else to do here." Tapping on the side of the empty bowl in front of her, the Innkeeper's smile turned a bit wry. "Besides helping yourself to some of my famous stew, isn't that right?"
"Isn't that right, indeed," Hollyberry tried her best to play along.
"Let me get you some, then! And a mug of fireade to go with-"
"That won't be necessary."
"Eh?" The Innkeeper blinked. "Are you sure about that? You look thirsty to me. And you never say no to my fireade."
"I'm sure."
"Alright then, chum... If you say so."
She only half-heard her old friend call out to one of her sons to ready a bowl of dragon's head stew. She only half-noticed when it was placed before her a few minutes later, the hot steam wafting from it only somewhat snapping her out of her daze.
"The dragons have gotten quite rowdy these days," the Innkeeper remarked. "Moreso than usual. It's been a bit of a pain for local hunters."
"Oh?"
"No one's quite sure what's got them so spooked. But there have been rumors of a slayer running around the continent, culling their numbers awfully quickly."
"Maybe that's what it is, then," Hollyberry murmured into her spoonful of stew.
"Maybe, but... There's hardly anything to go on, save for the rumors. If that slayer is real, then they don't seem to want any attention. All that's ever been left in their wake are dragon corpses. Nothing else. Not even a name or a face."
The Innkeeper slowly leaned forward, propping herself up on her elbows, eyeing Hollyberry in a way that made her feel as though a thousand eyes were suddenly upon her, trying to dissect her. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"
"...No," Hollyberry eventually answered, the agonizingly slow sip of her stew having done nothing to soothe her nerves. "I can't say I have."
The Innkeeper raised an eyebrow at her, but ultimately shrugged. "Alright then. I'm surprised to hear you say that, in honesty. But it's understandable. Elusive fellow, that fabled slayer seems to be."
Hollyberry nodded slowly, feigning agreement long enough to appear convincing before safely turning her full attention back to her meal.
"In any case... Have you heard what happened in the Hollyberry Kingdom recently?"
It took everything in Hollyberry's power not to choke on her stew.
"That poor girl," the Innkeeper lamented. "I can hardly imagine what the royal family is going through. I don't know what I'd do if something like that happened to either of my boys, especially with their father leaving me alone to hunt so often. It's a tragedy."
Everything looked, sounded, felt so, so far away now. Blurry. Incomprehensible.
"Those damned dragons," the Innkeeper muttered. "Whoever that slayer is, I wish them all the luck and give them all the thanks in the world. Who knows, maybe they'll even take down whichever one of those devils took the princess."
The sudden screech of the bar stool legs nearly deafened them both.
"Wha- Pinkyberry? You alright? Where are you off to so soon?"
"I have somewhere to be," Hollyberry spoke quickly. Perhaps too quickly. "I could never stay long, anyway. Forgive me."
In the blink of an eye, a rather hefty looking coin pouch appeared from Hollyberry's pocket, being all but slammed on the table before she made a heel-turn and began hurrying to the inn's front door.
"Wait! Sweet Pinkyberry!"
Biting back a sigh, she turned and looked back over her shoulder one final time.
"Be careful!" the Innkeeper warned her. "Dragons here are more hostile than ever thanks to the goings-on! Promise me you'll take care of yourself!"
Hollyberry nodded, a bit impatiently.
"And don't you forget! The only good dragon is a dead one!"
"How could I?" Hollyberry called back to her, before leaving the inn for good.
Was there nowhere she could go to escape this? This- this word? This feeling? This bitter, endless mourning, corroding her bones? Devouring her soul?
Stray embers and volcanic ash particles lazily rained down upon her, dusting her head and shoulders and shield as she steadily hiked up the volcano's slope. The Dragon's Valley today was the same miserable, heat-stricken, inhospitable wasteland it had been yesterday, and would be tomorrow, and would be the day after that. Simply abominable in every conceivable fashion - most of all in how it so brazenly housed dragons of all kinds.
...But it wasn't the fault of the valley itself, now was it.
All manner of creature came for Hollyberry as she traversed that hellish landscape, practically the moment her feet first touched its cursed ground. Dragons, wyverns, lesser reptiles big and small. Perhaps her visage was too obvious, framed against the rich browns and dull oranges of their surroundings, even after generously allowing ember and ash to dress her in their likeness and offer her a free disguise. Perhaps her scent was too unique, too cloying, just enough to rise above all those hideous, overpowering smells wafting through this godsforsaken place.
Perhaps they sensed her anger, and their impending doom along with it, and sought her, and thus, their destiny, out of their own accord.
Whichever one was the real answer... she did not know, and she did not care. Regardless, she appreciated it - all of her enemies delivering themselves to her right on her doorstep. Easy pickings.
Ten, twenty, thirty, forty- oh, what did it matter. What difference did keeping count make. What mattered was that they all fell before her. That she left behind a slew of dragon corpses in her wake.
The more blood she spilled, and the more viscera she lavished upon these lands, the more likely it would be that they would come out.
In all of her long years, Hollyberry never succeeded in finding Pitaya Dragon's nest. Her usual excuse was that challenging a foe to a battle in the foe's own house was unfathomably rude - but, the truth of the matter was that she simply didn't know where their house was in the first place, and all of her long years of adventuring and tracking expertise did far less to remedy this than she'd hoped they would. Ah well, it was nothing Hollyberry couldn't otherwise overcome; the next option was to draw that old lizard to her instead.
The so-called "legendary" Red Dragon. Undisputed lord of the Dragon's Valley since time immemorial. They had answers, didn't they? Surely, in all of their timeless and impeccable wisdom? The dragons that came to terrorize her kingdom and people always hailed from the Dragon's Valley - never anywhere else.
Pitaya Dragon has to know something. They must. They will. She won't entertain any other option.
Tendrils of steam whispered and coiled around Hollyberry's ankles. The air surrounding them crackled with heat and energy, born from both their godlike power and the valley itself.
"Pitaya!" she called out, daring to take another step forward. "What happened?! Where is she?!"
"What doesss it matter?" Pitaya Dragon drawled, lips curling to form a dry, mocking smirk. "She'sss gone. Ssso much for a hero."
Overcome with rage, Hollyberry lunged forward with a battle cry. Pitaya Dragon stayed where they were, feet firm and arms crossed, obnoxiously cruel expression only being wiped away with the hard swipe of her fist against their cheek.
Their fight lasted only minutes. Their fight lasted for an eternity. She blocked, parried, threw back every swing of their greatsword with terrifying ease - and a hideous smile of her own had begun to bloom as their little war raged on, growing bigger and brighter with every snarl and yelp of pain she managed to knock out of their lungs.
Yet still, something was missing. Yet still, her words and actions rung hollow. Yet still, through all of the blows they exchanged, in every hit she landed, she found no peace. No resolution. No respite.
Yet still, the voices wouldn't stop.
"Wouldn't you know it? Soon after the queen left the Hollyberry Kingdom, dragons began to roam freely, terrorizing the land!"
Carefully, she tried to step- careful not to trip over the dragon corpses. The beaten, broken, bloodied remains of those slimy, pathetic, cold-blooded cowards she dutifully removed from the face of the earth. Everything that happened, everything she did- it was deserved. It was destined. It was justice.
"And in all the chaos and confusion, those lizards kidnapped one of the twin princesses!"
Pitaya Dragon's face was a kaleidoscope of emotions, each more contemptible than the last. Smugness. Derision. Anger. Shock. Confusion. Realization. Betrayal. Terror. All the sight of them did was stoke the flames of Hollyberry's wrath even more.
"A tragedy, really. A doughy little Cookie, carried off by a dragon... Tsk tsk."
Ember and ash, fire and brimstone rained down upon them as their terrible duel shook and tore apart the heavens and earth. Red as blood, blinding as the sun, searing through skin and flesh and bone. Slowly, their color and texture changed; a new element was added to this hellish mixture. Ember and ash, fire and brimstone - and dark flour, mountains of it, turning the heavens and the earth and Hollyberry's eyes and lungs pitch black.
"Terrible, terrible stuff... Too bad the queen abandoned her duties and her land..."
In a last ditch effort to turn the tides of war in their favor, Pitaya Dragon transformed. The strain was great, Hollyberry could tell; as scarlet and emerald flames engulfed their person, hisses and howls of pain rung out from within, culminating in one skull-splitting roar as the dragon's true form came back into being. At this, Hollyberry barked out a laugh. A waste of time and effort. It meant nothing in the end.
"I bet she would've never allowed the dragons to do what they please!"
Pitaya Dragon fought frantically, mindlessly, beating and clawing anything and everything within reach, spitting fire every which way with little regard to what they actually hit, flapping their wings with such force that entire boulders were swept away in the wind. But every attack proved fruitless; Hollyberry was too quick, too tough, too clever. She had waited too long for this moment. She'd be damned before she let it pass her by.
"So much for a HERO!"
Eventually, they slipped up for the final time, and Hollyberry struck back for the final time. When they made the fatal mistake of flying too too low and too close, Hollyberry seized the opportunity and every last bit of her strength to jump up, shield outstretched and aimed at that precious gemstone, that window and key to their heart. The gem embedded in Pitaya Dragon's chest shattered on impact, blazing red shards splintering and exploding every which way. Their mouth fell open in a silent scream, eyes wide as the moon, blood staining their teeth and spurting from their mouth and nostrils. Quickly and unceremoniously, Hollyberry shoved them backwards, watching them collapse with a loud thud, blood oozing from their many wounds and pooling all around them, dyeing the soil an uglier shade of red than it already was. In a smoking crater in the middle of the Dragon's Valley thus lay the legendary Red Dragon. Beaten. Broken. Dead.
In their eyes, Hollyberry thought she had seen tears. It must have been a trick of the light.
She marched forward, making her way around her slain opponent's body until she at least reached their face. Wedging her hands between the teeth of their lower jaw and gripping them tight, she pulled, pulled, pulled; slowly but steadily prying their massive jaws open, until Hollyberry could all but stroll into their mouth with ease.
She didn't have to search for long. Sitting on Pitaya Dragon's tongue for the whole world to see was a cream-colored swaddling cloth, with a tuft of teal hair poking out of the top.
"Tiger Lily!" she shouted, rushing forward and kneeling and gathering the princess in her arms. "Tiger Lily, I-I'm here! I've got you! It's alright!"
She cradled her, rocked her, but the girl did not stir.
"Tiger Lily? Tiger Lily, please, I'm here now! Look at me! Come on!"
Nothing.
"Tiger Lily..." Her vision blurred in an instant, her whole body trembling with such force that it was a miracle she remained upright. "Tiger Lily, p-please- Please, I, I-I'm sorry, I know this is my fault, I'm sorry, I-I'm here now, see? See, everything is alright now. Please, p-please look at me, wake up, look at me, please-!"
Tiger Lily's skin felt freezing cold to the touch, startling Hollyberry when she brought her hand to her cheek. Cold, clammy, with a faint blue tint. Her eyes were closed and nothing Hollyberry said or did opened them. No matter her efforts, no matter her pleas, the little princess lay still. Silent.
Dead.
"No." Hollyberry's came out so small. So feeble. Warm tears began streaming endlessly down her face; she clutched at her chest, a deep, sharp pain suddenly striking her heart. The world blurred and spun all around her, the heavens and earth and her old friend's lifeless body melting together into a single abhorrent mess. All that remained within her comprehension was her dear granddaughter, and the tears soaking through her face and clothes, and the dark flour still floating down from the sky.
Hollyberry woke up with a start, clutching at her chest and gasping for air as though someone had tried to drown her. Frantically, she looked over her surroundings - everywhere her eyes were met with walls of cool obsidian, save for the opening a ways off to her right that offered an escape to the outside world. She'd taken shelter in a cave the night before, after slaughtering her way through the valley and ending up nowhere, with no Pitaya Dragon in sight all day. The night looked young still. The moon shone bright from a gap in the clouds, offering her a single source of precious light.
Still reeling from her nightmare, Hollyberry stared down into her lap, at her trembling hands. Caked in dried dragon blood, as were the rest of her clothes. Specks of gore could still be seen on her person, clinging to her vest and boots and even strands of her hair. Instinctively, she reached for her shield; polishing off the jewel in the center, she gazed into her reflection and stayed silent as it gazed back into her.
...Who is she? What is she doing? Who has she become?
Setting her shield aside and burying her face in her blood-soaked hands, Hollyberry began to weep.
She slammed the crystal glass down onto the table - quite carelessly, sure, but who could blame her? It's hard to keep control of such things after a while.
"Care for another shot, miss?"
"Would I ever! In fact, I'm disappointed you'd even bother asking instead of just pouring! Haha!"
Ten shots in ten minutes. Was this a new record? She thinks it is. She hopes so.
Every day, Hollyberry sunk a little bit lower. But, at the very least, if nothing else at all, she could choose where she sunk. She could choose not to sink into rage and death and depravity. She could choose to sink into a tall, cold, delicious glass of beer or two instead.
The Hollyberry Kingdom, though renowned throughout the world for its berry juice, was far from the only kingdom with a fine drinks selection. The Crème Republic, for example; now there was a place and people that knew how to brew. And such friendly barkeeps, too! Polite, charming, well-versed in their trade. Perfect to buy a round from. As many rounds as they'd indulge.
The beer went down crisp and fresh, warming her throat and her stomach and her aching soul with each gulp. Delicious. Almost a rival to her own people's wares, even. She would have to leave the barkeep an even bigger tip than she'd already planned.
She hardly thought about that night in the Dragon's Valley, that she'd spent sobbing her heart out. She hardly thought about her nightmare, of her imaginary duel with Pitaya Dragon and its implications. Of the grave truth underlying her motives. The truth that she had not come looking conversation or civility from her old friend. She sought something far, far worse.
She hardly thought about the Innkeeper, or the fact that Hollyberry had fled the valley altogether as fast as she could at the first sign of morning, without stepping foot in Dragon City again to see her or say goodbye.
She hardly thought about the mountains of bodies she dumped practically everywhere she went. Almost every region of the world, littered with slaughtered dragons. In her quest to punish savagery, she became a savage herself.
She hardly thought about her newfound, twisted sense of justice, and the brutal nature of her one-woman crusade.
She hardly even thought all that much about her granddaughter now.
No, now it was back to her old routine; the only routine she ever should have known or abided by, that of fun and adventure and the illusion of freedom from her burdens. Though she was a connoisseur of poison, that which vengeance provided was simply too strong for even the likes of her. Her beloved drinks, and her beloved adventures, and the crystal clear reflection of her carefree smile captured within her glass made for a much finer alternative. One vice traded in for another.
It's the (past couple) year(s) of the magical girl!!!!! So happy that we've gotten so many new magical girl properties that aren't just remakes, Madoka-likes, and Precure (DISCLAIMER: I love most of those too!!! I just crave variety...)
Just me talking about these series under the cut:
I LOVE Magilumiere's framing of magical girls as a profession including the nitty gritty details of job searching and corporate events. I buy all the manga volumes as they come out and can't wait for season 2! (Manga spoilers: the OG Magilumi uniform is cute, but I LOVE the V2!!!)
Acro Trip is very endearing and the VAs give 110% even though the actual animation is a little limited... I'd love season 2, but I very much doubt it'll happen... I'll probably pick up the untranslated manga since it's only 5 vols.
Magical Girl Dandelion is SO PRETTY!!!! Love the dynamic of Tanpopo and Shade, esp. since I think the author confirmed it will NOT be romantic? Always interested to see more non-romance-centric shojo. The horror vibe is fun! Love when mg stuff can get a little dark without going full edgelord and losing the soul of the original concept of the genre... Waiting to see if there'll be a physical release since it's about at a volume's length now.
Princession Orchestra looks cool so far, although I have no idea what kind of tone they'll shoot for. There's kids toys, so maybe more Precure than Symphogear, but who knows? I was wondering how the unique shading style of the promo art would be translated to the actual show, and it turns out the answer is..... it's not!!! The actual designs (still very sharp imo!) are just kind of a normal anime style.
And finally, Pretty Pretty Please I Don’t Want to be a Magical Girl by @kianamaiart! The concept of using magical girlhood to look at burnout and the pressure to keep at something due to "talent" is interesting to me. Maybe a little bit of a Shattered Starlight vibe?? Anyway. The artstyle is REALLY cute, and even just from what's been posted so far I love the character dynamics! Looking forward to the pilot and whatever may come after!
I got really inspired by a YouTuber who wanted to make girls games based on the ones you used to see on girls go games, like Avata Star Sue, @ diby_doodle on Instagram. So l wanted to make my own rendition of what a line of girly games would look like, but of course with a magical girl twist. In the future I'll draw fake screenshots of each of the games, as not only will it be fun, but it'll also be good background practice for me!
It would be called:
StarPlanet
A collection of girl games based around the MC Star Hoshino.
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⋆。°✩ read more ✩°。⋆
⋆。°✩ Main Character ✩°。⋆
Star Hoshino:
A bright and sometimes brash middle schooler. She possesses a magic makeup compact called the PlanetPact that allows her to transform into a magical heroine. She has 3 different forms she can turn into, Chef Star, Idol Star, and Magical Star, each with their own different abilities. She usually uses her compact for good deeds or to solve a problem, although things rarely if ever go how she originally planned it. But in the end, she always finds a way to save the day!
I’m definitely gonna draw more with this character, so let me know what you think!
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the scariest thing about the generative AI thing is how quickly people have accepted it as an indefinite, irrevocable part of their reality. people have genuinely convinced themselves that ChatGPT is the only solution to most tasks - tasks they did with their own brain without any large effort two years ago. like you know damn well all of us used to write emails ourselves why are we pretending like this is an impossible task to do with your own two hands. what's with the fucking. AI revisionism. i feel like i am going insane.
Really need to see Shadow Milk waking up at night and noticing that PV isn't here anymore only to see that he is just staring to that one window and freak out
Gonna warn you about the suicide attempt this time
[insert the warning about my boundaries that are there in the pinned post]
Read the full under the cut (also look closer again ;>) ((I legitimately cried while writing this))
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[spiderman points at] FORMER BENDY FANCREATOR. Sorry I had to get that out of my system, I had thought your art looked familiar and then I saw Metal & Ink and was ricochetted through memories of earlier times. Anyway, so does Shadow Milk ever actually say the big I Love You with words or does he realize it's kind of obvious at some point. And is PV in a mental state he can deal with that if it is said with words
No, PV is oblivious, Shadow Milk had to tell him himself hfkiuehrkiusefirk. But that’s after the whole yaoi has been officially undoomed lol
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[spiderman points at] FORMER BENDY FANCREATOR. Sorry I had to get that out of my system, I had thought your art looked familiar and then I saw Metal & Ink and was ricochetted through memories of earlier times. Anyway, so does Shadow Milk ever actually say the big I Love You with words or does he realize it's kind of obvious at some point. And is PV in a mental state he can deal with that if it is said with words
No, PV is oblivious, Shadow Milk had to tell him himself hfkiuehrkiusefirk. But that’s after the whole yaoi has been officially undoomed lol
OOC: As a trans male who recently cut my hair short I had the exact opposite reaction lol (it's still sort of long, I like mediu length even if I get mistaken for a girl sometimes)