When I think about Gale and Mystra, I'm reminded of the Greek myth of the moon goddess who fell in love with a shepherd and asked Zeus to place him in an enchanted sleep, so that he would never change. So he would be beautiful and hers forever.
There are different versions of the myth, but this is the one I knew as a kid - and it always made me so fucking sad. And now I see why, because Selene loves Endymion - and her love takes his life from him. A god could not love Endymion as a mortal loves a mortal; she wants his presence to gaze on, to soak in, his body to hold. Perhaps he's a balm to her immortal existence; perhaps his beauty is an inspiration to her - but she does not want him, not all of him, not really. She doesn't want his sheep flock, the evenings where his fingers burn from the cold. She doesn't want his voice, or the lines and experience he'll gather as he ages. She doesn't want to live a life alongisde his.
Selene would say she loves Endymion, and perhaps, yes, Mystra would say she loved Gale. But how can a god love a mortal in a way that a mortal can recognise as love? You soak up his company, you laugh with him, you value his mind and his talent and his deftness with words. His presence is a spot of bright difference in your endless existence. But will you change with him? Will you be vulnerable with him? Will you look him in the eye, as an equal? Will you stroke his cat and put a blanket over his shoulder when he falls asleep reading, make soup for him when he's sick? Would you love him as a person, not a treasure? You can't.
Gale wanted to be loved with a devotion to match his own. Mystra wanted him to live in the enchanted sleep of being hers, something to smile at and hold but never, never to live beside. And she knew - she must have known - how unequal their desires were. She kept him anyway, until she didn't. Until he woke up.
A god's love ruins mortals.
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the great irony of early one piece antagonists believing zoro was the actual captain and using luffy as a puppet ... oda really threw us a bone and curb-stomped it right in our faces. yes, zoro could be a captain in his own right. yes, zoro could match luffy in strength. yes, zoro knows this perfectly well. and you know what? he chose luffy two years ago, and he will continue to choose luffy again and again. roronoa zoro, the pirate hunter, who followed a wannabe pirate with a nonexistent crew on a whim because luffy brought him his swords and made a half-assed attempt at a bargain. zoro, who made a vow to never lose again on both his and luffy's honor. zoro, who told luffy he'd make him commit harakiri if he got in the way of zoro's goal, only to turn around and be willing to sacrifice his dream if it means that luffy reaches his. zoro, who stood in place and took luffy's pain and told a warlord to take his head instead of luffy's, who got down on his knees before his supposed rival and begged mihawk to mentor him so that he could return strong enough to protect his captain. zoro, who has conqueror's haki- a natural born leader- but chooses to stay at the right hand of a man he has deemed greater than himself.
and the thing that luffy fears most? being alone. being rejected. being left behind. and what should have been his foil- the pirate hunter to his pirate king, the nonbeliever to his divine, the king of hell to his sun god- instead becomes his first and most devout follower; the one who demands to follow him to hell and back. oughhhggg i'm sick to my stomach
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This is why we’ve been telling people not to stan staff and this website, Just because they’ve gotten better at making the same jokes as the users doesn’t make it « one of us ». Tumblr is a corporation, an exploitative one. @staff pls have a crumb of respect for artists and do not expect free labor, custom art AND all exploitation rights for MERCH. Exposure does not pay bills. This is extremely insulting.
@libbyframe i am so sorry they would even disrespect your time and your craft like that.
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NO LONGER ACCEPTING REQUESTS as it is past the 28th!!
thank you to everyone who donated, and I’ll complete the requests that are currently pending but will not be taking any more.
hi! to help encourage donations, i’m offering drawings to anyone who donates or sends an e-sim to gaza. here is a tutorial on how on the gaza e-sims website and here is another one on tumblr. check the notes of this post for discount codes if you’re into that. i will be doing this until the 28th of february!
alternatively, you can donate to any one of these instead:
Pious Projects (twitter)
Help Gaza Children (proof of impact)
Care for Gaza (twitter)
Medical Aid for Palestinians (twitter)
Help Ahmed and his family evacuate (his account)
Help Mohamed and his family get medical help and evacuate (post)
Palestine Children's Relief Fund (twitter)
Anera (twitter)
Help a family of 13 evacuate
Urgent support for medical professionals
OR donate to any other legitimate fundraiser!
i am only accepting donations made from 10th feb onwards! send me a screenshot of your receipt with timestamps through DMs or email me at
[email protected] (but cover your personal details), along with the character you would like. sending one or two reference images is also highly encouraged!
there’s no lower limit to donations that i’ll draw for! a dollar or two is still money, and every little bit helps. that said, I won’t be spending over 5 hours on any one drawing so that i don’t burn out. im going to try and do as many of these as i can, but if i am uncomfortable with your request i will refuse it (but that almost certainly won’t happen tho)
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pink - jinshi x reader
Jinshi groans, soul slipping past his lips as he rests his head in his hand on the table, grumbling. Mushrooms are growing on his head, and at this rate, and it would interfere with the banquet. One of the courtesans push for you to attend to him, and you blink at how familiar he looks.
You hold the teapot, getting onto your knees as you blink. "More tea?"
"Leave me be." He grumbles.
You reach to brush his hair to the side. "...Master Jinshi?"
Jinshi looks up at you, eyes wide.
"...servant."
"Okay, for starters, I'm not—"
His hand reaches for your wrist as you pull back.
"You won't... let me touch you?"
"Kind customer, please refrain from touching the courtesans." You smile, eyes closed.
"You're giving me a customer service smile." He pauses. "Wait. Courtesan? Are you..."
"Yeah. What about it?" You lie without blinking, and you yelp as he falls backward, eyes spinning.
You catch him, eyes going wide as he reaches for you, thumb brushing your bottom lip, smearing your lipstick. He smiles up at you, his thumb brushing his own lip now, the pink from your lips smudging on his. Your neck snaps to look to the side, ears burning.
"Want me to buy you?" He hums, fingers playing with your hair.
"Wow, master." You tilt your head to look at him again, smirking. "you would do that for me?"
"Only for you." He winks, charm flying off of his face as your friends all gasp behind you. Jinshi has a face that could kill thousands.
You shudder. "Gonna buy me as a wife or as a courtesan?"
Jinshi pretends to think, tapping his chin as he looks to the side.
"Wife or courtesan... I wonder." He hums.
"Anything below wife would warrant a death sentence from them." You point back at the other courtesans.
"Well, of course it would to be to buy you as my wife." He sits up, holding your face in place as his lips brush yours. "I love you too much to make you a courtesan."
"Love is a heavy word, Jinshi-sama." You deadpan.
"Which weighs perfectly into this situation." He hums. "Can I have a—"
You push yourself off of him, stepping back and standing up. "Please make the payment as soon as possible. Much honor, master."
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