#and it's such a lonely thing for this character

[julessuretries]

Seeing people call Ragatha an "abuser" post episode 5 is actually insane to me because for me, episode 5 singlehandedly sold me on her character, whereas before I was kind of apathetic.

She's not "toxically positive" - she's just got some sort of fawn response given her mommy issues and feels like she needs to be "well-behaved and proper" in order for people to like her.

One of my closest friends from college was exactly like this and it was hard to see them go through the recurring issue of being unable to break past surface-level acquaintanceships with people precisely because they were "too nice". Like, do you know how uncomfortable it is to have to explain to someone they'd probably have an easier time connecting with people if they, just, stopped being overly helpful? It's a really weird conversation to have: like, am I actually encouraging this person to be worse? I kid you not at one point I think I actually said "you'd be better of if you were meaner", but, like, no one else was willing to say it and he was desperate so I guess I had to.

But unfortunately the only person who'd ever be bold enough to do that in the show is Jax (because he's literally already done it) but it's hard for Ragatha, or anyone, for that matter, to take any advice he gives sincerely even if he's kind of right because he's already such a jerk (and might be projecting some of his own mommy issues if we're being honest).

Looking back at the pilot, Ragatha's behavior towards Pomni seems all the more depressing. She literally pounced on the opportunity to befriend Pomni from minute one because newcomers are rare and I imagine she's been lonely for a very long time. Which is why seeing Jax do a better job bonding with Pomni gets under her skin because from her perspective she's put in way more effort and therefore deserves her friendship more. That's obviously a very transactional and problematic way of viewing relationships, but isn't surprising given what we've learned about her upbringing. She's likely been taught that love is something that can be earned with enough effort and is now reaching her limit having to come to terms with that not being the case.

The best things in life come free. Genuine connections have to form naturally. While I'm not totally convinced that Jax is being fully honest in his attempts to befriend Pomni, I do think he understands something that Ragatha doesn't. People want to be friends with people they can relate to and trust. And even if Pomni isn't a jerk like Jax, she at the least can rest assured she's seen the worst of him, whereas Ragatha could reveal her "real self" at any time. It's about taking a calculated risk - even if Ragatha deep down is still a nice person (which I personally think she is), there's no way for anyone else to know that for sure. It's less risky to be friends with people who are more open about their flaws than with someone who feels like they could crack at any moment and you'd have no idea what would spill out.

Ragatha is a really tragic character but also so incredibly real. Unfortunately even if she did decide to be more "genuine" with who she was as a person she'd still have a long journey ahead of her, since I'm not very convinced she even knows who she is.

Wow this episode was good.

“We need more complex female characters”

YALL COULDNT HANDLE HER

It’s crazy that her character flaw is thinking that if she ever expresses a negative emotion everyone will dislike her and yall immediately proved her right. Goddamn.

[howitcouldgoes]

for all my ragatha haters out there

I am not one of them

I love Ragatha - in fact I'm a firm believer if you hate Ragatha.. you kind of have to hate Jax too. I can understand where potential confusion might come from since despite this episode focusing more on Ragatha's past compared to Jax's we do get to hear most of it through Jax's perspective. Which leads me to believe personally ep. 6 will be the opposite. Jax's backstory and how Ragatha will react to that information.

But still, Ragatha is one of the most human characters out of the whole cast(tied with Gangle) to me personally. She feels the need to be happy and positive NOT BECAUSE she's trying to manipulate anyone - but because she doesn't want anyone to focus on the negative and abstract. That's her method of keeping herself and everyone else sane. Almost blind encouragement and a positive attitude things will turn out okay - because what else is there?

She seems the closest to Kinger whose whole mentality is "The worst thing you could do in this world is make someone feels unloved or unwanted." and to hold onto memories and connections because they're all we have.

And then you have her mother - who is her only memory. She grew up with someone who made her feel like shit, unloved and unwanted - Ragatha confesses this when she literally says "And my mother... I doubt she misses me."

No Ragatha is not perfect, but she was forced to be in her childhood and early adult life.

I genuinely don't believe she's trying to manipulate anyone - and especially not intentionally.

Ragatha's positive attitude towards Pomni and her friendliness is because she sees herself in the jester - in Ep. 2 Ragatha confides in Kinger about this on the candy truck, seeing how horrible of a day Pomni had when she first got here and compared it to her negative reaction when she first arrived too. She's not trying to steal her from Jax or force her to be happy all the time - the only reason she retaliates with something like that is because she believes Jax is trying to turn Pomni bad - and the last thing she or anyone needs is a second Jax.

So her jealously in Ep. 5 when Jax is growing close to her - IN THE MATTER OF A FEW MINUTES BTW - when Ragatha has tried for four episodes now to befriend her is killing her.

Hence why she's so relatable. Ragatha's inability to get angry without consequences(most likely from her mother), raised to be happy and perfect, humbling herself quickly by calling herself just a farm girl - is why people now think she's tricking everyone - but that's just it. She is just a girl, and by the sound of her and how Ep. 5 ended - she grew up with absolutely no friends.

It brings us back to that question we all had at some point in our lives: "Why does no one like me?" "Why does no one want to be friends with me?" "Is it me?" "Am I the problem?"

Ragatha watches Pomni, the girl she wanted to befriend so badly not out of pity or a selfish desire but because she thought Pomni was lonely just like her - walk away with Jax. And then watches Zooble and Gangle walk off with Kinger mindlessly following because he doesn't care and we see her standing all alone.

And there she debates: Does she want to keep pestering Jax and Pomni? Like a bother? Like she finds him annoying but here she is anyway chasing after him..

or does she follow the trio that didn't even realize she got left behind?

I love this little Raggedy Anne look-alike because I see so much of myself in her. She just wants to be good and yet that overly positive attitude and friendliest over the years is growing tired and annoying and the only person willing to tell her that isn't even Jax. Not directly anyway. With no one to tell her what to do - how to improve - what can be done differently - Ragatha can only keep asking herself those same questions and keep trying with the same approach.

Jax may be my favorite character - but I just don't agree with his view on Ragatha. I think she's a delight.

But if you deadass just hate Ragatha because she's annoying to you, or boring, then okay idc disregard the above-

btw i know ive been spamming so much tadc this might be my last post temporarily but i wanna make a few things clear for ppl who shockingly hate my girl

[alicethenobody]

I think maybe one of the reasons Dante is so often misunderstood as a character is because he’s never written in just one specific way. I fee like different eras of the franchise have him act in different ways depending on where he is in his life.

In 3 he is often described as “A younger Dante who lacks the maturity DMC1 Dante had.” As he’s kind of a dick early on and doesn’t really care about much happening besides his beef with Vergil. That is until he gets his character development, of course. Dante’s Awakening has a double meaning because he awoke to his DT and awoke to justice like his father.

In 2 and the Madhouse anime we see a Dante who’s way more reserved and he can come across as cold sometimes, as he’d been dealing with grief and thought the only way to protect people was to be cold to them so they wouldn’t want anything to do with him. This is a trauma response to Nell, Grue, Jessica, and Vergil’s deaths (or “death” in Vergil’s case) in the Madhouse anime it’s implied he was kinda pushing away Lady and Trish for a while, with Trish being a little surprised he offered a place for her if she ever needed somewhere to stay. Thankfully this isn’t the case anymore starting with 4 where we see the trio hanging out and having fun.

Speaking of. 1, 4, and 5 Dante + multiple spinoffs or crossover media like PxZ, PGR, MvC, etc. We see him being warm and friendly to people. Compare how he interacts with Lucia in Before The Nightmare and DMC2, it’s honestly night and day.

So for me I see Dante’s default as a warm and friendly guy who’s also jokey but I mean friends joke with each other all the time so that’s an aspect of his friendliness. But might put on an act of coldness like he did in 2 and sometimes in the Madhouse anime if he deems it necessary. It’s really a show of how selfless he is, but too selfless, because he’s essentially hurting himself for the sake of others. He doesn’t believe he deserves happiness because he blames himself for things that aren’t his fault like the fact Nero didn’t have a father or the deaths of his loved ones. He’s clearly very lonely and doesn’t enjoy pushing people away.

This man needs therapy and hugs.

[weavingstarlight]

Happy Pride, have some angsty art of Four and Shadow ~

So I decided I wanted to draw Four and Shadow for Pride because, hey, I love these gay boys — but when it came to deciding WHAT I wanted to draw, I had a little more trouble. Instead of doing a classic “Pride post,” I wanted to tell a story. I’ve been spending a lot of time recently with Four and Shadow in Guiding Lights and so I felt like it made sense to draw that version of them (even though it felt a little self-indulgent). I didn’t want to illustrate a particular scene, but instead capture the emotions of the characters symbolically. So, uh, this is what I ended up with!

[Spoilers for chapters 1-17 of Guiding Lights below the cut]

Four was not meant to take over the narrative the way he did. Neither was Shadow. Both characters managed to insert themselves into my outline and demand a larger chunk of the story for themselves. I accept this as “the way writing goes.”

I mention in the fic tags that the soulbonds that unite the Chain are entirely platonic, and this is important to keep in mind with Four and Shadow, who are bonded but who additionally have a non-platonic relationship. It is also important to remember that the soulbonds “activate” the moment a pair of Links get close enough to each other, physically or emotionally (and depending on each Link’s sensitivity to the bond). This means something very important for Four and Shadow’s relationship, which some of you may have already figured out but I’ll lay it out plainly here: The Colors were already soulbound to Shadow when Shadow destroyed the Dark Mirror.

Imagine what that felt like for a moment.

Imagine what Link went through, immediately after his adventure — not only losing his friend, Vio’s partner, but losing his soulmate. And at the same time, rejoining for the first time — going from being Link to being the Colors to being Four — and all that that entailed. (We’ll learn more about what that entailed later in our story.) And the choice, the sacrifice, was made by Shadow and Shadow alone.

Four is no stranger to grief… nor to anger.

And then, quite by accident, Shadow was revived. And Four had to adjust his worldview yet again, now to include the person he was sure he’d lost forever.

But Shadow was the same person as the day he’d died, and Four… wasn’t, anymore.

Fast forward to the “present” day.

Shadow desperately wants to use his powers to rejoin his partner — to save him — but practicality prevents him from doing so. He’s not just worried for Four, he’s scared. And he’s also scared for the other Links, and though he’d be embarrassed to admit it, scared for himself. What happens to Shadow if Four is seriously hurt? What if he dies? Guilt of several kinds bites at Shadow at every moment. He feels angry at his enemies, but also angry at himself for not being able to do more — and even though he knows it’s unfair, he’s angry at the Chain for being slow, angry at Wild for not taking a bigger risk and transporting them with the Slate, and angry at the world for just being sucky. And, selfishly, he misses Four. He’s sad.

Meanwhile, Four is going through his own ordeal. He has no way of knowing where the others are or even if they’re coming to save him. Half of him wants to have faith in his partner and brothers; the other half wants to focus on right now and on saving himself. And there’s a little bit of anger on his part, too — of course the others did the best they could, of course they did… and yet. Four is scared, injured, and lonely, and he can’t afford to be any of those things if he’s going to survive and escape.

But despite all the pain they’ve been through, what unites these two — what unites all the Links — is love. They take strength from each other no matter the distance between them, secure in their love for each other. Nothing can destroy that love, not even death. They’ve already proven that.

During Pride month, it’s great to see examples of queer joy — it’s important to see that! But I think it’s also important to see queer sadness, anger, fear — the full range of human emotions, because queer people and queer relationships contain the same kinds of pleasure AND pain as non-queer ones do. So I don’t feel bad about drawing my poor stressed-out boys during Pride month, and I promise I’ll do happier art of them at a later time. ***

Technically speaking, this piece went great. I’m especially pleased with how the colored pencils came out. My white ink was very dry but it rehydrated well!

8 x 11. Alcohol markers, colored pencils, micron pens, and white ink. Digital background.

[IMG: An illustration of Four from Linked Universe and Shadow (Four Swords manga with a Linked Universe-based design). Four is walking away to the left, visible from the knees up. Shadow is floating behind Four and reaching out for him. Shadow is surrounded by a dark, fiery aura, which flames out behind him. Four is reaching back over his shoulder and their fingers are intertwined. Four is wearing a patchwork tunic, black pants, and black gloves over a light gray shirt. He has blonde hair, pale skin and multicolored eyes. Shadow is wearing a black tunic, white pants, and black gloves over a light gray shirt. He has black hair, paler skin than Four, and red eyes. His feet melt away into dark flames. The “flames” surrounding him are various shades of purple. The background is a textured dark gray-blue. The drawing has black ink lineart and is colored with markers and colored pencils.] *** UPDATE: I made additional posts about the process of drawing this illustration, check them out here!

Process photos Inking timelapse

[manyegos]

Originally posted on May 3rd, 2023 This movie made me cry. I posted about it before. It really reflected a deep seated pain I had, a trauma I had as a kid. I love that movies and start help us make sense of things that we all go through but no one dares to speak about it. The movie is heavily inspired by the study by Niobe Way on Boys friendships and crisis of connection, titled "Deep Secrets" . . . I happen to have such book next to me. there is this moment in the life of men, when we all stop having such rich incredibly and intense friendships with one another. . . and even with ourselves. This is not an attack to masculinity or a forced advocation for sensitivity and delicate gentleness of males, but rather a conversation of a deep unspoken pain men carry. The movie does have some "imagery" a little over the top given that these are kids and they are boys, but it is not sexual nor it is intended to be this way. However, in context as a boy growing up with straight friends I can tell and I can remember very well how closed and sensitive we all were and little by little that went dying. At some point because of whatever it was, we wouldn't dare to hug, cuddle or have heart to heart conversations (remind you women do this all the time without being lesbians and gay men do this with their friends without engaging in any sort of sexual activity) We as men, and specially straight men carry this heavy burden of not being able to relieve their pain. It is a crisis. We are emotional animals, we need to touch, we need to feel and cry, and we need to be close to one another. Women have (and even used to have way deeper) friendships, stronger at times than their marriages. It enriches their lives. We men do, but something loose and aloof. We live without really living. There have been times I wish I knew how my buddies felt, I have a friend for example who lose his mom at 20, was a virgin and feeling lonely. I wish He had talked more about his feelings to me, how he felt, that He knew we would be there for him. Men only get "touchy" seek affection, connection, closeness, emotional, they get real when they drink. That's why men drink in my opinion which is dissapointing. While very few have the fortunate luck of having a wife that knows their most sensitive vulnerable side, even there is as if they abnegate everyone that can understand aspects of them than even women can't, but designate their poor wives to assume all these roles (not only their mother, but also an equal male buddy... ) Women unfortunale will never understand what is like to go through life as a man, same as us will never understand what is like to go through life as women (not even if we transition) So why do we live limited lives? why we as men have this strange disconnection with ourselves and lack of deep friendships? anyways, I love this film. _______________________________ Funny Story I used to have a best friend around the age of the characters, we were close like this. At some point because my inner fears of my own sexuality, I treated him so bad so I could push him away. He was my best friend from childhood. I destroyed a possible meaningful friendship and life story. I deeply regret of such. It was one of the worse emotional pains I went through and I caused it because I was afraid our closeness was too gay (he was not gay, and I did not have romantic or sexual feelings for him, I was just deeply scared of his closeness and that He found out there was something broken with me) I wish I could take all of that back.

close (2022) + male intimacy

[auren-zagarra]

Mercurii Sepultus

Chapter one: Manes Dominae Meae

Author’s Note: Hello! This is my first long fanfiction for the Twisted Wonderland fandom. I’d like to thank my beta reader, Tammie (@house-of-tales), for all their help. They were incredible - correcting and improving the text, sharing amazing ideas, and just being an absolute blessing to work with. While this chapter doesn’t contain any smut, I do plan to include it later on - so, kindly: minors, do not interact!

Trigger Warnings: Death, angst, grief, mentally unstable Malleus, and implications of depression.

Characters Count: 13667

Your body was buried on a Wednesday evening.

The air bit with cruel indifference, wind lashing the folds of Malleus Draconia’s cloak as he stood like a monument of grief before the stone that bore your name. A marble too soft for the horror it concealed. Beneath that soil, you lay - silent, cold - and the world around him seemed hushed, as though nature itself dared not disturb the stillness of death. The warmth that once clung to your skin had long since fled, leaving behind only a hollow echo of what you were. You, who once danced through the castle halls like firelight on dark stone, who laughed like chimes shaken by spring winds - now stilled, muted, devoured by the earth. He could not weep. The grief had calcified, a crown of thorns buried into his skull, throbbed by the soundless memory of your voice. You had held him once, arms wrapped like sanctuary, breath soft against his horns as you whispered promises meant to outlive the stars.

"I will never leave you."

You had said it, so softly, with eyes full of love and hope. A promise spun of warmth and eternity - and yet, you had left. Why? Why had you woven lies from love and sewn them into his heart? Were you deceived yourself, or had the cruelty of time simply stolen your breath before your promise could be kept? Now you were no longer warmth, nor voice, nor laughter. You were only a memory rotting beautifully beneath the earth, perfumed in petals, decaying with elegance as all mortal things must.

They had all foreseen this. The courtiers whispered it from the halls: This human is a fleeting flame; they will perish long before the dragon’s fire fades. And yet, Malleus had refused to believe them. But death is a tyrant with no regard for kings or vows. And so, he stood alone, as dusk closed its dark wings over the land, mourning not only your departure, but the cruel truth that even love, in all its grandeur, is powerless before the grave.

Now it is Thursday morning, and the sun stretches golden fingers across the graveyard, casting warmth upon the pale face of the grieving king. Its rays, soft as breath, dared to caress him, as if urging him to rise, to return to his castle and forget the one who once crowned his heart with joy. But how does one forget a cathedral once filled with light? How does one abandon a body that was once a sanctuary, now reduced to sanctified rot beneath indifferent earth? How could he walk away? How could Malleus Draconia leave you there - to decay, to fade like a half-remembered verse of a love poem? In your absence, the centuries pressed down upon him with a child’s weight, and he was no longer king, no longer fable - merely a boy again. A boy stumbling through the lonely corridors of Night Raven College, searching for something - anything - that would make the silence stop echoing.

Malleus had stood vigil beneath the moon’s gaze, all through the hours when ghosts grew brave. He had waited, mad with hope, as if you would rise laughing from the grave and tell him this was simply a stupid jest. But the dawn brought no miracle, only the cruel morning light. And so he fell - at last - his knees sinking into the grave-soiled ground. The regal weight of his mourning cloaks pooled around him like black blood. Silent tears carved down his cheeks and kissed the earth where you slept. His fingers clawed into the damp soil, trembling as they curled around the mud - his last, desperate tether to your vanished warmth. If he clutched it tightly enough, would you come back? If his grief soaked the ground deeply enough, would you feel it beneath the veil? The mud dirtied his hands, but he did not care. A king no longer. A husband no longer. Only a widow - drenched in daylight that mocked the night he carried inside his chest.

A year was not enough to mend the fractures death carved into him. Nor was the second, which passed like a ghost brushing its fingers across an unhealed wound. Some say that the third year brings mercy - “third time’s the charm,” they claim, with smiles stitched from ignorance. But such words are lullabies for the damned, sung by those who have never known true loss. Lies we inherit as children - wide-eyed and foolish - and repeat as adults who’ve forgotten how to live without illusion.

Malleus Draconia had no illusions left. He was an abandoned man, a soul with no future, condemned to linger in the shadow of a love turned to dust. For five long years, he returned - like a mourner possessed - to the place where your body slept beneath the withered earth. Every month without fail, he knelt before your grave and wept the same tears, salt-slicked and soundless, each one a memory he could not bear into forgetting.

He brought flowers, always the same kind - those soft-petaled things you once adored. He would cradle them gently in his hands, brush them against his lips, as if kissing you again through their bloom. And then he’d lay them down, right where your ears once wore them like a crown of spring. “Not even they could rival you” he used to whisper, when your laughter still lit the hollows of his heart.

On the fifth anniversary of your death, Malleus commissioned a portrait. Not a simple likeness, no - but a relic, wrought by the steadiest hands in all the Valley of Thorns. The canvas was stitched with threads of gold and silver, each one trembling with the weight of devotion. And your face… oh, your face. It was captured in cruel perfection: flushed cheeks, lips softened by the illusion of breath, skin painted with a warmth that no longer touched your bones. Yet it was the eyes - those eyes - unsettled even the fae. There was something in that gaze, something unholy and piercing, as though your soul had found its way back through pigment and brushstroke just to accuse him. You stared out from the frame not like a memory, but like a judge. Not lovingly, but as though whispering, "Why did you let me rot in the dark? Why did you bury me and call it love?"

Yes, those were your eyes… and yet, the painter - no matter how skilled - could not resurrect the light they once carried. That particular fire had died with you, and it would never burn again. His fingers brushed the dried oil gently, and for a moment he swore the paint seared his skin - a heatless flame, born not of fire, but of guilt. Still, he did not pull away. He placed the portrait where the king’s should have hung, high above the throne room - breaking the rules settled by bloodlines and titles. Let the courtiers murmur. Let tradition fade. What was royalty, after all, if not the power to choose who you worship - and how deeply you mourn them? This was his shrine in your memory.

The ink bled like blood across the parchment - a dark, oozing wound upon the letter your majesty had so carefully begun, meant to serve as a reply to a distant king’s plea: the offering of his daughter’s hand in marriage. The error was born of a simple gesture - Malleus, rising to shut the window against the sighing dusk, his sleeve brushing the inkwell’s lip. A soft clink, a tip of glass, and then ruin. The black ichor spread like rot, devouring his words before they had even been born - as though fate itself had risen from the grave to strike the quill from his grasp. He stared at the marred page for a long while, not with frustration, but with a hollow stillness that haunts. Then he cast it aside - not in defeat, but as one acquainted with the impermanence of all things.

A fresh page lay before him - blank, pale, expectant - yet it remained untouched. Malleus sat once as outside, the world turned on: stars wheeled in indifferent constellations, winds danced through trees. But the seconds grew heavy. Minutes blurred into hours, losing their shape. He did not chase them. He only thought. The ink at his quill’s tip trembled, then fell - a single drop blooming on the virgin parchment like a bruise. And with it came the sigh, deep and slow, dragged from the hollows of his chest like a final breath. He could not write. Not because he lacked words - but because no word, no sentence, no treaty scrawled in gold that he thought would fit as an answer. He knew he should remarry, bond his soul with someone of high class with noble blood - but it sounded so… wrong.

Rising, he reached for the ornate chandelier resting upon the nightstand - that little altar beside the bed you once shared, now cold, untouched by breath or dreams. The moment his fingers brushed the metal, the flames within flickered - and then bloomed into green. Not the harsh green of envy, nor the sickly hue of poison - but a soft, phosphorescent glow that shimmered like emerald dew upon midnight leaves. It pulsed gently, alive with fae magic, casting halos that swayed like spirits against the cold stone walls. He stepped into the corridor, the dark swallowing him like a tide. The castle slept - no servants stirred, no nobility whispered. Only his steps remained - slow, echoing.

It was as if his feet moved of their own accord, drawn not by destination but by sorrow - silent pilgrims. They carried his pallid form through the vast, hollow corridors of a castle far too grand for a soul so burdened. He, the lonely monarch, wearied not by rule but by remembrance, drifted as a wraith might, until he stood once more before the altar of memory - the throne room. There, your visage awaited him and it was enough to unravel him. Would you call him weak, he wondered, for refusing to let your death settle into silence? For summoning your spirit with every breath, tethering himself to a memory too tender, too cruel to release? He gazed into those eyes - eyes that once knew the shape of his joy - and imagined their judgment: that he was not a king. Tears, always waiting, rose once more. His lips cracked about to speak - a whisper, perhaps, your name, or some plea the stars might understand… when suddenly, a voice pierced the hush.

A voice echoed in that mausoleum, so soft and familiar: “Tsunotarou! You’re back!”

And there you were. A phantom, watching him from the other side of the room. The garments that once adorned you in life - and later in death - now hung from your form like a thin veil. You smiled… just as he remembered, just as he had longed for in countless fevered dreams - and opened your arms, as if the grave had never claimed you. There was no reason for your presence, no law of nature that could explain such an apparition… But Draconia no longer cared for the laws of life or death. 

He felt like retching, like tearing his own chest apart just to see if his heart still dared to beat within it. What vile trick was this? What cruelty did fate now stage before his weary eyes? Was it destiny that mocked him… or the last desperate fracture of a mind undone by grief? The king stood motionless, trembling - not from fear, but from the overwhelming ache of longing. Had he yearned so bitterly, so violently for your return, that even his soul had grown defiant? Had his mind, broken by mourning, chosen to rebel against reality itself - conjuring you in the hollow silence just to spare him from madness? 

His hands rose toward you as if by instinct - trembling limbs guided by love and delusion alike. Fingers stretched toward something far too divine, too sacred, too lost for one such as him. He reached not for flesh, but for memory… for stealing one last kiss from your lips, for a warmth he missed so dearly. And oh, how he longed to feel it again - to feel alive. It was blasphemous, to crave so greedily what the heavens had claimed, to reach for a soul meant to rest in peace. And yet, what man would not dare the wrath of angels… just to hold his beloved one more time? The love of his life. His human.  He stepped forward, haltingly - like a man afraid to frighten a specter of deer-bone fragility, one that might flee into the shadows of eternity if startled. 

But before he could close the distance, before their fingers could meet and tangle like they once had in moonlit gardens, his body betrayed him. His knees buckled. The weight of grief and guilt crashed into him like a tidal wave, and he crumpled to the stone floor with a thud that echoed through the silence. He could not look at you. He could not meet those eyes. Because they were the same eyes that had looked into his during your final moments - when life had fled her body like smoke from a dying flame. Eyes that had once held warmth, light, laughter... now stared down at him with a chilling stillness. There was no anger in them, no cruelty. And yet they judged him more harshly than any sword or sentence ever could.

A sob tore through his chest - guttural, full of all the pain he'd tried to bury in the ruins of his castle, in the ashes of memory. It wasn’t a cry. It was a groan, a sound dragged from the very marrow of his soul. He wanted to say something - to tell that figure right in front of him that they were still everything, that they haunted him in sleep and in waking, that his love hadn’t died with them. He wanted to beg for a kiss, even just the remnants of one. To feel their breathless melody on his lips, even if it was a lie.

But all that came out was the truth: "I'm so sorry." he whispered, barely able to breathe through the trembling of his voice.

The only response was the way your hair shifted slightly, as though stirred by wind that did not exist - as though some god had sighed in pity… or in disapproval. You gazed down at him - eyes as lifeless and cold as the soil that once held you. And yet, with the tenderness of a haunting, you brushed a single strand of dark hair like coal from his face and began to sing. A lullaby for the damned. You were there. But were you mercy… or malediction?

You appeared at dawn on Wednesday.

[maricoelquelolea]

The fact that Cassian easily disposes of Tivik, doesn't interact with Bhodi, Baze and Chirrut as much as Jyn does - coupled with the fact that he is generally presented throughout the movie as an extremely aloof and cautious person - makes me think that the bond he had with Kay was incredibly special.

They all went to Scarif knowing they would most certainly die. Yet as K-2so is dying he not only cries out for him, he was going back. If Kay hadn't closed the door he was probably either going to get himself shot or kill people and risk ruining the mission; literally the most sacred thing for Cassian, just to get Kay out of there alive.

This lone aspect of Ro1 has fascinated me for years. Usually when anyone in SW goes back for a droid it's implied to be a sort of "exceptionally kind" being. They're treated like disposable machinery. You see, say, Luke, Hera, Poe, and Jeager being extremely protective of their droid friends; but they're characters who are meant to be seen by the audience as incredibly considerate and attached in a way that is rare.

However, Cassian? Reacting like that? When the first thing he does within the first 20 minutes of the movie is kill a human being just because there's a chance he might snitch?

What I'm saying is that I really love just how much was implied about their dynamic in such a small window of time and it makes me sad that this wasn't explored in the Andor show.

[dysaniadisorder]

id be more neutral on tadc ships if people werent so obsessed with them but now they genuinely bore me . i do not want any of these characters to kiss. what is so appealing about both the group and one on one dynamics is that basically no one is even friends. largely untapped dynamic of 'we're stuck together, but we cant die, leave, or even get hurt, so i dont even have to care about you.' followed up often by an 'i do, though.'

"do you have any actual friends" is gonna kill me. zooble and gangle are friends. jax and ribbit were friends. what is everyone else? its not quite friendship. its a constant mutual understanding. its leaving a stranger to die so you can escape before realizing you cant and now you have to face her everyday of your life. its, youre being mean, but youre upset and im here, so lets sit in this back alley and talk about it. its, we're gonna go back to the group and youre gonna forget this ever happened, arent you. its fake positivity and sarcastic optimism. its hating yourself so much you cant stand to be around other people. its saying things just because you can say them. and it is unbelievably lonely, but the fact that it is lonely is always entirely your fault.

the fact is that everyone is always about 2 degrees away from tearing eachother apart with their teeth if it'd actually make a fucking difference is what makes all the moments of kindness range so easily from extremely strained to extremely genuine. and im obsessed with it. i would watch 6 hours straight of them all attempting to have something resembling a normal conversation with each other. but my ultimate point is i fucking hate love and im gonna drown jax and pomni in an aromantic lake

[uncleadelheid-will-eat-your-soul]

I think this has not only been an issue with the latest season.

This has also been the case with the whole flux thing and also a few others.

Doctor who has always been the best (at least imo) when we have contained smaller scale stories a la monster of the week.

I don't want big world ending stories that run over multiple episodes or whole seasons. I'm glad when there is like an overarching red lone going through it.

But what I really want is character growth and adventures.

I love season 10 of new who because it’s so… quiet. The setting of the season is the university, which makes everything feel grounded; the Doctor even has a “home” outside of the Tardis (his office). Outside of the Vault, which is a mystery that’s solved midway through the season, there’s no big problem or enemy that hangs over the heads of the characters. Missy would maybe function as that, but instead she becomes a part of the core cast, and her character is given time to be fleshed out. And this was the end of Moffat’s run; he’d established so much lore that he could have easily put in a big overarching narrative about the silence or the daleks or what have you, but he didn’t.

I really miss the grounded energy that this series had, especially compared to the most recent series of RTD2, where seemingly every problem is universe-threatening and there are 50 billion characters that are packed into eight episodes. I think that if the series were to have another season like 10, it would improve the show greatly.

[spotsupstuff]

How do you make your drawings so expressive, especially in the facial expressions? I want to make my character drawings more expressive and I'm not really sure how to do so, so any advice on it, especially with expressions, would be very appreciated!

Great timing, right when I'm having a crisis about my abilities. -face in hands- I will Attempt to explain my processes around expressiveness to my best ability, however.

• What helps expressions quite a bit is asymmetry. I realized this some years ago, before I would be maticulously trying to achieve perfect symmetry.

One eye bigger than the other, adds to dynamicness of the expression, along with line of flow to the eyebrows.

• I'm fairly convinced even the smallest details can affect an expression.

• Lack of information is an expression, too.

Aka, leaving large amount of expression (if not whole) up to interpretation of the audience, but setting the general vibe by other means, OR using it as a set up for a funny reveal because lack of actually seeing the face gives it all an air of seriousness, usually.

• Imperfections and anatomical nonsensibility spawn their own specific feelings.

She has no business having that giant or small eyes, the mouth is too big, she doesn't have shark teeth like in the first picture, she doesn't have a tongue. He's got a mouth outside of the boundaries of his face. Those things help to say something, though.

Good example are also meme emoji drawings. These kinds have hyperspecific expressions, which is what sells them as memes, even if the reposter of the meme doesn't consciously picks up on it

• Posing, angles of camera, details within the anatomy, tiny adjustments within the facial features, add greatly.

To note here: slacked shoulders, different rotation of the torso, different angle of the torso (from below vs. more head on), neck squished by the shoulders vs stretched by the relaxation, mouth placed unrealistic more to the side vs placed more realistically and slightly open, eyes squinted on their bottom (flexing of the cheek muscles) vs relaxation [giving a more ,,In that moment, his expression fell", quite literally thanks to the relaxation], less extreme frown - the eyebrows are more leveled than arched - this gives more "concern" vibe than "anger" vibe.

-- example of posing:

-- example of angle:

In the case of characters with limited facial features (like Iterators, just eyes), one has to rely more on posing, anatomy details and angles. Exaggeration with both their lone facial feature and posing is a good idea, just gotta find the right balance between It and your desired weight of reality in the scene.

Outside aspects like the little anime expression signal thingies help out, too.

• And ofc also looking into animal behaviour to apply them to inhuman features boosts expressiveness.

Anatomical notes: jaw is hinged to the rest of the skull, meaning lowering it, moving it side to side and clenching it helps an expression come more alive.

Lips have their own volume, sticking them out from profile is Good. Shoulders are like another joint in arms- by which I mean the true root/anchor of an arm is more the point where clavicles connect to the sternum than the shoulder itself. They can be moved forwards and backwards. Moving them forwards for example boosts the feeling of curling in on self.

Here's an older compilation of Euros having a shit day for analyzation if you'd like.

[wilsonology]

house md characters as my little pony characters. cause like. why not

gregory house: discord

both are manipulative, irreverent, and cause problems on purpose. they thrive on destabilizing the people around them just to see what happens. but deep (deep. like deep) down, there’s a soft spot. and they both get wildly defensive if anyone suggests they care.

james wilson: fluttershy

empathetic, conflict avoidant, constantly trying to help dysfunctional creatures (cough house slash discord). fluttershy literally takes care of wounded animals. wilson takes care of wounded. um. women. both are kind to a fault, and both have that surprising backbone that shows up once in a blue moon

lisa cuddy: twilight sparkle

both are overachieving, hypercompetent, type-a control freaks. they’re like. “if i don’t micromanage literally everyone in this hospital/magical kingdom, the entire thing will collapse.” they’re organized, responsible, and stubborn, but also have a secretly chaotic streak that slips out when things get too stressful (or when house pushes every button she has).

allison cameron: applejack

applejack is honest, dependable, and the moral backbone of her group — cameron is the same!! she wants things to be good and right. she’s dependable, sincere, and will stand her ground if her principles are being stepped on — but sometimes takes herself (and her ideals) a little too seriously.

robert chase: rarity

rarity gets dismissed for being vain and shallow, but actually she’s creative, hardworking, and generous in her own way! same with chase. people underestimate him because he’s pretty, posh, and occasionally a suck-up — but he’s got depth, ambition, and sharp instincts. both are stylish & a little dramatic

eric foreman: princess luna

luna isolates herself. foreman isolates himself. both struggle with feeling fundamentally different from the people around them. luna’s whole thing is “i don’t fit in with the others, i have to hold myself to a higher standard,” which is basically foreman’s entire life. they both balance bitterness with a genuine desire to do the right thing, and they’re both more sensitive than they’ll ever admit.

thirteen (remy hadley): starlight glimmer

starlight is sarcastic, guarded, and deeply afraid of intimacy. she keeps people at arm’s length because she’s scared of getting hurt (hi thirteen). both are competent, capable, and devastatingly smart — but their whole arc revolves around learning to let people actually matter to them.

chris taub: rainbow dash (but in denial about it)

taub wants to believe he’s cooler than everyone else. he projects arrogance. flirts too much. and leans on humor to hide the fact that he’s actually deeply insecure. rainbow dash does the same thing. both need constant reassurance that they’re talented, valuable, and not secretly failing at life (+ also chronic smug face lol)

lawrence kutner: pinkie pie

kutner is pure chaos. but like. the friendly, loveable kind. pinkie’s randomness isn’t that far off from kutner randomly shooting himself with a taser just to see what happens. both are energetic, fun, and bring levity to a group that desperately needs it! and when they’re gone, it hits hard.

amber volakis: tempest shadow

amber is sharp, driven, and willing to do whatever it takes to win. tempest has the same edge — all armor, no vulnerability… until the cracks start to show. both operate like lone wolves because they’ve convinced themselves that needing people = weakness. but once someone gets past the walls… oh, it’s so over

stacy warner: princess celestia

celestia keeps discord vaguely in line! stacy keeps house vaguely in line! both are elegant, poised, and deeply self assured. both carry that weird bittersweet sadness of having loved someone who will never quite be easy to love.

[chaifootsteps]

Reminder that you can find it unfair the way ragatha was treated by the fandom for lashing out one time

But still find her niceness insincere

The two things are not mutually exclusive

See though, the whole point of Ragatha's character so far is that her niceness isn't always completely sincere, but by the same token, that it also isn't completely insincere. She really does want to be kind, likes being kind, and can be a very helpful and supportive presence. There's nothing in the text to suggest that she wishes she could be ripping everyone's arms off instead, or that she's trying to manipulate anyone.

The issue comes when she uses that positivity and kindness to mask her own negative emotions, when she lies to people that things will be better without knowing if they actually will, and when she bottles negativity up until she explodes. It's made the others (save Jax) like her, but in a way that isn't synonymous with feeling comfortable around her, which has left her isolated and lonely.

It's very human. It's sad.

[xandriiaa]

YANDERE LOVER X TRANSMIGRATED MENTALLY UNSTABLE READER

You suddenly woke up from a deep slumber feeling pain all over your body.

Unconsciously, you looked around the room only to find yourself sleeping in someone else's room.

"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚... 𝘼𝙢 𝙄?" However, before you could ever stand up from the bed, a maid suddenly opened the door and walked up to you, seemingly shocked to see you've woken up.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧" the maid said bowing in front of you.

𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳...?

Before you could ask, Who the hell is she? A sudden pain engulfed you whole as a memory that wasn't yours flooded your mind.

𝘏𝘶𝘩... Did 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘛𝘙𝘈𝘕𝘚𝘔𝘐𝘎𝘙𝘈𝘛𝘌𝘋 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨?

A loud laughing can be heard all over the room as soon as the pain left your body.

"𝙈-𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧...?" the maid said as fear crept deep inside her spine.

"𝙃𝙖... 𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚," you said naturally.

The maid immediately left as if her life depended on it, As if one wrong move and she'll die in your hands.

Well, she isn't wrong.

You know it yourself, That you're a mentally challenged person at heart.

That's why when writing your last novel, while putting your own personality and psychotic mind on the villain, the smell of corpse permeated your nose.

The corpse of your past lover who intended to leave you.

You killed yourself happily.

And now... As if the devil itself blesses you, A deranged person to live once again in this pitiful world. The world you created.

How can anyone not laugh at this strange thing?

You made yourself walk to the lonely and vast garden, looking at the man sitting on the table looking at you intently as if wanting to eat you alive.

This man is Earchlin Sandoval. The villain of the novel.

He, Earchlin Sandoval, was deeply in love with the main character of the novel.

And you? You're just a substitute for the main character. The person who deeply resembles his first love.

You laugh internally. 𝘚𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦? You licked your deep crimson lips. 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘣𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦? 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵.

𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.

"𝙄 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙋𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚." You bowed down naturally, while he looked up and down towards you lustfully.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙩," the crown prince said, barely holding himself back.You take a seat in front of him.

"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙮." Earchlin looked at you intently as if the moment he sees a hint of disapproval, he'll personally massacre your whole family right at this moment.

Naturally you agreed.

Weeks turn into months, and months turn into a year.

You have successfully taken his heart by force through manipulation.

"𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧?" The crown prince looks at you, dressed in all black garments, walking in the dark in the palace garden.

You looked at him fearfully.

But your looks... to him, it turns into gasoline that lights up the fire in his heart.

More and more soldiers surrounded you as he made his way to you, his eyes darkening into a dark void ready to swallow you whole.

The eyes that turn you on so badly.

He suddenly grabs your chin, forcing you to look up at his, gripping it until drips of blood flow down through his fingers to your neck.

Your pupils turned into a heart at the moment. Ah... 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦.

"𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙣. 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚! 𝘾𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪?!" Mavlien, the main character, said, pushing Earchlin's hand off your chin. "𝙒𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧!! 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙪𝙨!"

Yes. You seduced the main character into thinking that you and he loved each other.

And for what?

Naturally. To take Earchlin all to yourself, sacrifices naturally need to be made, and the main character, the villain's first love, fits the position very much.

The thorn between you and Earchlin.

Earchlin gritted his teeth. "𝙃𝙖! 𝙔𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?" Earchlin looks at you. "𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚?!"

"𝙀𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙡𝙞𝙣... 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚... 𝙒𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧!" You said as tears came dripping down your face, looking utterly pitiful at the sight while holding Mavlien's arms tightly.

Then Earchlin laughs.

The laugh that would send shivers to all the people who can hear it.

But naturally, not you, 𝘔𝘰𝘳𝘦... 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦...

Then one of the soldiers takes Mavlien down while Earchlin takes you into his arms, holding your face tightly.

"𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩? 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩? 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙣... 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨!" Then five soldiers rush towards Mavlien, pulling his hair up and punching him like a mere punching bag.

And some are cutting his fingers off slowly and ripping off his skin, directly causing him to shout in pain.

And an hour passed of tormenting him in front of you; his fingers were all over the place, his skin was shredded into pieces, and one of his eyeballs was rolling on the ground.

He slowly lost consciousness. He looked at you with bewilderment flashing on his barely intact face as you showed a hint of a smile, looking at him coldly while fake tears were still dripping on your face.

Earchlin grabs your face to make you look at him, gently wiping your tears off.

Then he suddenly punches your stomach so hard you lose consciousness.

"𝙉𝙤𝙬, 𝙬𝙚'𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚. 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚." He kissed the tip of your eyes gently and carefully.

[rayyanishere1]

on the lastest episode of "What The Hell Is This Kid Doing?" a new character joins the cast!

Lil' Ray Ray, The Plush(ie?) Fairy!

he's an interdimensional delivery boy who sends plushies to the lonely souls of the multiverse (particularly stans and fords, but not exclusively!)

you may recognize him from these few posts, but i've given him a make over! he's now his own character rather than just a version of me. though, most things have stayed the same about him.

as he's only provided with generic versions of characters, he'll often customize them (by hand!) to fit whatever version they're meant to represent;

Jerk Ford AU by @tinfoil-jones

(unfortunately, his hard work on that particular plush was not met with enthusiasm.)

you may look at this and wonder, how small is he? or is that a freakishly big plushie?

lil ray ray is pretty tall for a fairy, a teenage one at that!

his life has been pretty crazy so far. he's technically a highschool dropout, he's got a full-time job.. how does he manage to have a social life? easy, his job has a social life fully included!

while they aren't exactly co-workers, they've got the same boss (yes, the axolotl)!

those three are glorified babysitters, but don't tell them that. they'll start protesting and asking for raises.

as usual, @sharkiewyu is the co-creator/author of all this! go blow up her inbox! she deserves it!

also tagging @localcanadiancreature62 and @triptychcryptid cuz idk i felt like it AHAH

[nickythehickey]

random sfth longform hcs bc idk

(under cut bc its long)

for no real reason other than my own projection, johnny and janae both have arfid. their parents had the “you can just force kids out of being picky eaters” mindset and didn’t give a singular fuck about actually helping them with it, so by the time tnutb takes place its pretty severe for both of them. luckily their individual aversions line up in a way where for the most part they can trade the things one of them can’t eat but the other can (this doesn’t work for everything though- good luck ever getting either of them to consume a mushroom, those are the devil from the bible)

one of the first things frankie ever stole was a stuffed animal for donnie when they were young and perhaps donnie was sick or just having a particularly hard time

nigel and lord lafayette are related. not necessarily super closely, but there's definitely a family connection there

janet had really bad morning sickness the entire time she was pregnant with peter. she considers it karma.

meth wife if self medicating something with the drugs she does. haven't decided what. also she might actually do heroin bc i think sam was mixing up the two (he says its meth but acts like its heroin)

amanda came out to her dad completely unintentionally while high after getting her wisdom teeth out

i've already briefly addressed the "characters played by luke with glasses also have glasses" hc here, but titch also has glasses. he hates it, thinks they're annoying af to deal with, prefers contacts whenever possible

poppy and tobias bring mario and bertie pretty much anywhere and everywhere they’re allowed to, and they get anxious/lonely very quickly whenever they’re apart from them

johnny's future dreams were very mundane at first and got more catastrophic/nightmarish as he got older. yea tis projection again

not my idea, but i like the idea of jasper apprenticing under margery at some point

pumpkin ice cream is objectively the best ice cream and derek will fight you if you claim otherwise

clarissa uses hallmark movies as genuine fashion inspo- and somehow pulls it off???

bubba is such a hopeless romantic it's almost embarrassing. i mean flowers for every special occasion, love notes planted around the farm, "ao3 would tag this as tooth rotting fluff" levels of sap. he very firmly believes that being married to jeremiah is one of the best things that ever could've happened to him and it's a wonder how he wasn't the one to propose. jeremiah is definitely still the more practical one, but honestly he's just as sentimental and he adores how much of a sweetheart his husband is

absolutely feel free to add on your own i love reading them

[aroaessidhe]

I need to get better at posting about aspec books as I read them, not just quietly adding them to my database and mentioning in the bottom of my reviews lol so here's the last few months [no order]

The Keeper of Lonely Spirits - cozy fantasy. the MC is likely acespec - he's only been interested in two people in 200 years, mostly uncomfortable about it otherwise. (& I think I saw the author mention this also). He's gay and also immortal - and elderly, not like an immortal-20-year-old, which is nice. It's vague/brief enough that I probably would not read it for aceness though.

I finally read the Villains duology, everyone knows about it, it's solid, only a brief direct mention of his asexuality in book 2 but the vibes are there throughout.

Be The Sea - a slow character focused scififantasy, with a demisexual (nonbinary, autistic) MC, and an ace SC. asexuality is discussed quite a bit in the book. lots of things are discussed. the book is mostly discussions.

The Fallow Year / Holy Terrors - end of the little thieves trilogy! Vanja and Emeric are still demisexual. they both explore some other relationships in TFY - I've seen some opinions that it felt 'not very demi' of them but imo the way it was depicted felt pretty clear on the difference of attraction vs action? I would have been happy with not as much focus on their relationship in the latter books but it's fine it's a good series

This Ends in Embers - end of a YA fantasy duology with dragons and sisters. one MC is demi. it's only briefly brought up but she has a romance subplot that it's lightly woven into.

Kiss Me, Maybe - contemporary romance with a greyace lesbian MC. I wrote a bit in my review here, it's not bad

The End Crowns All - YA Cassandra/Helen Greek retelling fantasy with a sex-favourable ace lesbian MC. bit too long and slow for me, but her ace journey was nice.

Wearing The Lion - heracles retelling, aroace author, athena (minor character) is alloace which is briefly discussed in a scene. probably won't put this in my database, just mentioning it here tho

Cradle and Grave - postapoc horror with an aroace character - just a single mention. no romance.

The Ocean Hugs Hard - historical mystery w a bit of cosmic horror, ace man MC. the depiction of his asexuality felt pretty true to the historical setting and was decent and complex, just didn't love the book.

Limitless: Poetry of an Aromantic & Asexual Journey - what it says on the tin. i'm not really a poetry person

What Wakes The Bells - YA fantasy with a demisexual girl MC, m/f. I liked how it emphasised the friendship aspect of their relationship just as much. her brother is also aroace. the book was just okay.

We Are Villains - YA mystery/thriller from Kacen Callender. the main MC is aroace, briefly explored. very glad for more Black aspecs from a Black author! the book was.....okay.

Vagabonds! - great Nigerian contemporary fantasy with a couple of ace/aroace coded characters in the ensemble cast, though only really discussed in a few paragraphs. very good book.

Unbury The Bones / Boneless - a couple very short cozy fantasy mystery novellas about an aromantic vampire & the werewolf who's trying so so hard to be their friend

That’s What She Said - contemporary novel about two friends in their 20s, one is demisexual. it is very focused on her demisexuality which is done pretty well imo, unfortunately the other MC is arospec coded and then villainised for it (aromanticism is never brought up. it's just commitment issues or whatever, eyeroll)

The Chronicles of Nerezia - not new, I just read the most recent two books. 3 aroaces and a lesbian going on adventures and playing so many board games and trying to save the world

Come Drink With Me - chinese fairytale vibe novella about two immortals who live/work at an opera house, who are both aromantic. this isn't new I just reread it bc i've been meaning to for a while! read my bestie's books 🫵

Children of Ruin - unexpected major character in book 2 of this trilogy is mentioned to be asexual (implied aro). very much the asocial mad scientist stereotype and only mentioned the once, I wouldn’t really call this good representation. But I do like this kind of character and I also liked the books, so,

Black Salt Queen - again unexpected, a side character is an aroace woman. (just mentioned once). fingers crossed POV in book 2? idk

A Stage Over Ruthless Stars - YA sci-fi with an aroallo MC and gay MC. his being aro is pretty much just mentioned the once. the other MC also expresses disinterest in amatonormative 'when you settle down with a partner in the future' rhetoric. no romance.

Hallowed Be Her Flesh - another monster romance/erotica from emryn bird, sapphic with an ace MC and asexual-species angel LI

a couple books I've heard/ been reminded about recently and are on my hopefully-near-future tbr:

The Star Crossed Empire - space opera with an ace MC

The Map And The Territory - high fantasy with aroace MC(s?), been vaguely on my tbr for ages but I just got a copy.

A Crimson Covenant - sapphic vampire/werewolf romance, I believe one is demisexual

Threads of the City - demiromantic ace MC

Demon Song - an ace MC, I think

That Devil Ambition - it's a linsey miller book I'm sure there's an ace girl in there somewhere

Rising Ashes - Fallen Thorns sequel, aroace MC

One Morning Sun - book 3 in the Sãoni Cycle! aroallo & alloace MCs

(there are obviously MANY more I know about these are just. I do actually plan to read these soon)