#I draw random things without an explanation

[fizzyheadache]

idk

I kinda drew my friend irl (with wings lol) idk why. Just like how I don’t know why they are saying “ew” but 🤭

[leftarmofl1fe]

hue makes an appearance again.. if any of yall know me from tiktok and saw my first post about him ily

don’t mind me @toffeebrew @howlsofbloodhounds

Yapping below \/

So initially he didn’t have much of a story because I’m not very creative and I blank out whenever I try to make something original so yeah.

basically, if Color were ever to get error-d, I think he would be on a hike, probably in some random AU that had nice scenery or something. He’s wearing a rain jacket because it was raining at the place he was, and he he just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time, and Error or some other entity was destroying it or something. As for how he got into the anti void,,, yall can use ur imagination 😭

(That’s the best explanation I can give, kill me)

I was more focused on the actual character than his backstory, so I’ll just explain my ideas of how he would act and such..

I called him Static Hue, or just Hue for short. (It’s a synonym of color I’m very creative guys)

I think whatever caused the error in his code amalgamated the human souls, and kind of made them fuse together, so Hue can never understand what they are saying because they speak over each other all the time. The different traits overlap and he feels mixed emotions all the time, along with intense mood swings and anxiety attacks. His flames also change color at a much faster rate, so people with epilepsy will stay FAR away from him 😭😭😭😭

Fun fact: he’s also blind. The only thing he can actually see is the color of his flames (which change all the time), and it tends to give him headaches and nausea. His grabblings are always out and just attached to his back so he can use them to move around.

As for the strings, they are very hot to the touch and leave burn marks on however he uses them on. They burn himself as well but he doesn’t pay any attention to it.

Hue’s memory is very jumbled, he didn’t necessarily forget about everything, but he doesn’t remember why exactly he does things. He knows he needs to help killer and protect him at all costs, but he isn’t sure why. He knows he hates Nightmare and REALLY wants that guy dead, but he doesn’t know where that hatred came from. And of course he naturally feels safer near the epic trio, and nervous staying in the same places for too long.

hue’s pretty obsessive over Killer for this reason. His need to help killer was multiplied by a gazillion, and he tends to just.. kidnap Killer and take him random places to keep him close. Sometimes he accidentally hurts him, but he doesn’t realize it, the only thing he can think about is keeping him safe and close to himself. On the contrary, he gets super aggressive and defensive at the mention of Nightmare, and if he were to see him face to face he would attack without hesitation. He knows his job is to keep Killer safe and away from Nightmare, and that’s really his only motive. He just doesn’t know where it came from.

Similarly to most errors, he has trouble speaking because of stuttering and glitches. He also can’t form very clear thoughts because the souls are constantly influencing his behavior. He has trouble explaining his thoughts and feelings, he tends to speak more in actions (as in he would crush you to death in a hug to show affection.)

anyway. If anyone wants to add onto this or share thoughts I’d appreciate it..

Here’s some older drawings of him LMAO

[harukyuu2]

Hiii can you write a Ivan x reader fic where reader has vision impairment?

Ivan loves stars, so he takes reader to stargaze with him. He yaps about the stars and what they mean (he read a lot of books about them) all night long. Reader doesn't really see anything in the sky, so they don't know what he's talking about but they love hearing him talk. They listen to the things Ivan says about the stars and imagine them themself.

When the nights end, they write down everything in a diary, drawing the stars according to what they think they'd look like. Ivan doesn't know about Reader's vision impairment. So, when Reader gave him their diary for him to read, he saw all the things he said written down with multiple wrong pictures drawn above.

LOVE YOUR WRITING BTWWW!!!

✧╰┈➤ ❝Youre my star!❞ Ivan x Reader *ੈ✩‧₊˚

!! - Fluff, gn reader, ivan and reader are adults already so Alien Stage starts soon!! Reader has vision impairment (i had to do a little research so i hope its writted correctly D:), reader is kinda shy. -> I put a small answer at the endd <3

A star.

A star is a concept you heard many times since childhood, but yet you were never able to see it. A star is always described to you as something gorgeous in the sky, but your eyes arent able to see it— Ah, you feel envy for missing things that are small for others.

Such a foreign concept was explained many times since years ago to you by Ivan, a guy who got into the same season of Alien Stage as you and, luckily, became close one random day —without even asking for permission to follow you around— thanks to ANAKT GARDEN. It didnt feel that bad, the lessons you received there, thanks to Ivan being by your side.

It became a tradition that atleast one night of the week, you two would go to the garden part of ANAKT to look at the sky while he ranted your ear off about the visible stars— something he admired a lot and loved how you heared everything he had to say. Everytime he learned something new, he was excited to find you since you would actually hear him, but he kept them for those special nights at the end.

But still, there were unspoken things between you two, even if those nights were completely honesty for both. The definition of "lie" doesnt enter in this concept, or atleast thats what you two think, since there was never the need to mention that you didnt see the stars as Ivan did— or that he never mentioned that the sky of the garden in ANAKT was artificial and just a recreation of the outside.

Night had fallen, and Ivan came to your room to guide you to the garden, where you lay on the grass to watch the stars together— even if you werent able to. Ivan laughs slightly and started talking as always, but an idea came to your mind. Maybe if you paid more attention than usual, listening to him intently, you could try to draw a star from his descriptions and finally see if you truly knew what a star was.

"You know, the other day i read on a book that for at least part of its life, a star shines due to the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium in the core of it, which releases energy. This energy travels through the star's interior and is then radiated into outer space!" - Ivan started ranting and you blinked confused

You got frozen for a moment— thermonuclear fusion? helium? The hell is that!? and was he really allowed to read those books? You didnt have an idea what he was talking about right now since it seems today's talk goes more to the scientific side than the 'stars are pretty' side...

Still, you tried your best to hear his explanation, trying to imagine what a star would look like...energy? So its like a ball? a white ball...? You usually didnt interrupt Ivan, letting him make the flow of the conversation, but since today you were curious, you asked him small questions about some words you didnt know the meaning of or tried to figure out the shape of a star

After letting Ivan rant you of the stars a couple of hours, he guided you to your room again since tomorrow the lessons with the guardians start pretty early, he didnt want you to be tired. He smiles teasingly at you while walking.

"You know, youre like my star! Youre just as bright at them!"

You couldnt help but blush slightly, touched by his compliment. Even if you had never seen one, you trusted him— trusted that they were utterly gorgeous, and thats why he talked about them so much to you. Your smile made Ivan's heart ache for warmth. Couldnt he keep talking about stars in your bedroom? Would that be wrong?

"Really...? Then, youre my star too Ivan!" - The smile you gived him spoke volumes between you two, but Ivan rarely decided to not push it. Patting your head and going away so you can rest.

But as you entered your solitary room, you knew pretty well you werent gonna rest today. You focused your energy on making several notes in a small journal you had, filling it with lots of informations, several question marks and certain information marked with exclamations— other totally scratched because you dont remember if Ivan said it or you didnt understand it.

Once you thought that the information was done by now, you started to try sketching it, but it was hard— how could something that produces light be spiky but also different when you see it on the sky? It was a hard concept to draw, more since the only part you remember from how stars look are small fragments of Ivan's rants and the cientific explanation of today— it was making your drawings looks like you were falling into madness, you kinda were though...

Being in a room with four walls, no windows, and no clock made it difficult to know what time it was— but you knew you had been on this for a while. The way your head hurt from trying to understand what the heck thermonuclear fusion meant told you pretty much everything about the time!

In the end, after endless pages of failed attempts, you decided to summarize the most important information on a final page, where you also added three clean sketches of what you thought stars looked like. Did you get it right? You hope so.

For now, you're going to sleep and recharge your energy before meeting Ivan again.

...

The morning started with the usual breakfast, and then you had to go to your vocal class. It seemed that today, Ivan had a different schedule than yours, so, gathering a lot of courage, you yanked him into a secluded hall to talk. Your heart beat fast as you saw his surprised blinks at you— this could get you in trouble! But the journal on your back, held so tightly that you could swear you were about to fold it, calmed you a little.

Ivan got excited! Even if it could be dangerous for you two to miss classes, he grinned from ear to ear and tilted his head - "Aww! Missing me already?? We could had meet later, but if youre that desesperate i guess i can—"

You made him shut up a moment by putting your hand over his mouth, huffing and grumbling for him to shut up a second since you had something to show him, and how could he say no to that? He quickly shaked his head excitedly up and down, what could you want to show him?

As you shyly showed him the page with your idea of a star, he blinked confused, then decided to take the journal from your hands without thinking too much. You knew very well that if he was curious, he wouldnt let you take it back anytime soon, so you felt the need to quickly explain yourself— tripping slightly over your words, as guilt crept in for never mentioning your little problem to him before.

"Uhm, i tried...drawing a star, i uhm— actually never saw them, so i tried to recreate them from what you said to me! Since you admire them so much and all..."

Ivan was in shock, deciding to see through the other pages where you had written down information and sketched other discarded ideas. Even if you felt embarrassed, he didnt notice— too focused on examining them. All the concepts you had sketched were wrong. He wasnt mad, though; he understood pretty well that if someone who had never seen a star tried to draw one based only on a scientific or creative explanation, it wouldnt be easy.

Still, he left a small smile— a genuine one that reflected the deep warmth you made him feel. Even if this was the only way you acknowledged him, who else would want to listen to him rant about stars all night? Only you.

Ivan closed the journal only with one hand and turned to see you, when he saw your nervous gaze, he wondered why couldnt you see the stars, he had a little idea— but you know what? it didnt matter now. He had plenty of time to ask you later. - "They're all wrong."

He simply said and your heart sinked into sadness, he was mad right? after all, you kept that secret from him and...he patted your head? you felt your hair being ruffled, and when you looked up you finded him still with a big smile that showed his fang.

"Heeyy!! You didnt let me finish, dummy... It was my fault though, i gived you too difficult ideas, didnt i? My bad. Lets meet tonight and i'll show you what a true star looks like, how people draw them and why they're so gorgeous...just like you! Anyways, lets meet on the night, i dont want to cause you trouble now, bye lovely!"

He said, pushing you back toward the hall where your vocal class was. He gave you a kiss on the head, and you felt your cheeks grow warmer as you hugged the journal to your chest. He didnt even question you or blame you for anything. No matter what you did, Ivan wouldnt get mad at you… Hearing him talk endlessly about stars is the least you can do for him, after all.

You may have gotten every concept wrong, but hey! That just means tonight's talk will be even longer, you'll have more time with Ivan!

Ivan was truly your light, your star, just as you were his one. It wont take long until you two collide into each other creating a more vibrant light in this space of darkness.

!! - HII ANONNN sorry i took pretty long with this, but i hope you liked it if youre still around!! i hope i did it correctly and keeping the idea you had, i couldnt help but get a little emotionalll, such a pretty request, i loved it :( <3

[wheels-of-despair]

Define Romantic Pairing: Eddie Munson x You Summary: Is Eddie romantic? Evil Woman ponders. Out loud. And makes Eddie squirm a little, just for fun. Contains: Lovesick losers, mildly amusing banter, a verdict. Words: 800ish

"Do you think I'm romantic?"

"Define romantic," you say without looking up from your book. This is one of the least shocking random questions Eddie Munson has ever thrown at you.

"I dunno, like… romantic."

"Yes, repeating the word really does the trick, thank you for that, Edward."

He drops his face onto the pillow and groans. You put your book aside, turn your head toward the frustrated boy lying face-down next to you in your bed, and wait for an explanation.

He flips over on his back, putting his hands behind his head, and speaks to the ceiling.

"Two chicks in third period were taking a romance quiz in some gossip rag and I was bored enough to listen."

"Ah, so we're going by Cosmo's romance standards," you surmise. He shrugs. "So like… flowers and chocolate and red rose petals on the bed?"

"Nevermind," Eddie sighs, closing his eyes. "Forget I brought it up."

"Nope." You roll over and nestle into his side like you belong there, resting your head on his chest and slinging a leg over his. "You asked, now you're gonna get it."

"Oh, God." He groans, but wraps an arm around you.

"Do you think you're romantic?"

"I don't know," he whines.

"Do you want to be?"

"Is it like… optional?"

You snort. Eddie shifts uncomfortably, and you collect your thoughts.

"I think you're romantic, but not in a traditional way. And I love that about you."

"Yes, good. Continue," he says. You laugh and proceed.

"I don't think romance means the same thing to everyone," you muse. "To me… it's not gifts that you're expected to give. Flowers and teddy bears and jewelry on Hallmark-approved holidays. It's…" You pause to take a breath and search for your words. "It's little things that make me stop and go, 'fuck, I love this guy.'"

"Like what?" Eddie asks quietly.

You think about it for a moment, and when you realize what the answer is, a smile spreads across your face.

"Like how you always 'forget' the blanket when we go to Weathertop, so I have to rely on you for warmth."

"Bold of you to assume I forget on purpose," he chuckles, giving you a slight squeeze with the arm he has around you. "What else?"

"Hmmm…" you ponder. A laugh escapes your lips. "When you ramble about Middle-earth."

"Shut up."

"I'm serious," you grin. "You get so fired up and animated, waving your hands all around and knocking stuff over. I love it."

"K, I'm just gonna go die of embarrassment now, it was kind of nice knowing you, I guess," he grumbles, trying to squirm away. You hold him tighter. He's not going anywhere.

"It's passionate," you correct him. "The way you rant and rave about something that matters to you. To me. I don't know if I'll ever fully understand the complicated world of Tolkien, but dammit, I love listening to you ramble about it."

"Really?" he asks quietly.

"Yeah!" you laugh. "You know what else stokes the fire in my loins?"

"Oh God," he groans, squirming and pulling his hair across his face and trying to hide how much he's enjoying this.

"The way your good-morning and your good-night kisses are completely different," you say quietly, kissing his jaw. He stills, and you rest your head in the crook of his neck and continue. "The way you look at me when you're on stage. The way you light cigarettes. The way you keep your fridge stocked with my favorite pop. The way it feels like we're the only two people in the world when we're alone together. The way you nuzzle your nose into my neck when it's frozen and I tell you to stop and you know I don't mean it so you don't. And those little drawings you make for me on tiny scraps of paper. You know I keep all of those?"

"You do?"

"Mhm," you hum, resting your chin on his chest to look up at his blushing face. "And I'd pick one of those over a truckload of roses or a box of boring jewelry every time. So yes, Eddie Munson, I think you're extremely romantic. In a way that's probably weird to other people, but perfect for us."

"Because we're weird," he supplies.

"Because we're weird," you confirm.

You let the words hang in the air between you for a moment, unable to break eye contact.

"So uh…" Eddie smirks, shifting beneath you. "Would now be an appropriate time for me to stroke the fire in your loins?"

You narrow your eyes. When his smirk fades and his eyes show a trace of fear, you grin.

"Ugh, fine," you groan.

He pounces.

[alllgator-blood]

I s2g if you add the layers of these comic pages together, it's over 350 layers. THIS is why I don't do full color for my comics lmaooo- ANYWAY EVERYONE HERE HAS AN AU APPARENTLY, SO THIS IS A BRIEF GLIMPSE INTO MINE. I don't know what to call it yet but I'm thinking of calling it "famous prophets" because 1. I like that car seat headrest song, 2. it's about shamura who is prophetic, 3. it's about trying to outrun fate with the Power of Love (and failing. Like the song!!!). It takes place when all the bishops were teens/kids during the age of hundreds of gods at war, and were trying to survive as a family.

I'm really excited to work on stuff for it but it's all gonna be drawn out of order. Maybe I'll write a full explanation of what it's gonna be about when I have a better idea...I want to channel my eldest sibling angst in a productive way, and maybe establish a QPP between shamura and a completely random npc everyone forgets about <3 also kallamar is trans too cause I said so. I'll do a comic about it eventually. Instead of an absence of gender he has TOO much gender. It simply cannot be contained.

I like that nonbinary genders are normalized in cult of the lamb to the point where nobody singles anyone out for being a they/them, it's not like "THIS IS MY SIBLING SHAMURA. THEY ARE NONBINARY AND USE THEY/THEM. ALRIGHT BACK TO KILLING YOU", it's just like "don't you fucking dare make my poor sibling wake up from their nap to kick your ass. Cause they deserve better than this."

But at the same time I like having the freedom to be more specific, and say "shamura is voidpunk and their gender is best described as the feeling that overtakes you during the first snow of the year, when everything outside is deathly quiet". This comic is actually derived from the time I was walking through a forest that's been torn down for a few years, and came out to my little sister as trans. I must've been like 13 or 14 and she didn't really get it as a 10 year old, but it was better than my mom FREAKING OUT about me coming out. So it was a nice little bonding moment between just the two of us. I don't have a good memory so I don't recall how it went unfortunately...

Now, the climate is a little different. My sis tried out transmasculinity for maybe 5-6 years before feeling happier as a woman, my mom is trying to be Based and flaunt her Woke trans children, and my dad remembered "oh yeah trans natives have existed before colonization. Maybe me being transphobic is a product of my culture being erased" and has gotten better about calling me the right thing. I have a mustache (thanks pcos!!) and wear skirts and am not a repressed "tomboy" teenager anymore. But I can't help but wonder what would've happened if I could've been like shamura and just...been nonbinary without people being fucking weird about it. Or been born as a badass war god who will tear you to shreds before you can perceive my birth sex. I know they're fictional but they are my ultimate gender envy GRRRRR BARK BARK BARK

Here is the secret image for this post- I listen to mostly EDM when I draw cause it keeps the energy up, but as I was finishing up shamura's poetry part, I was like THESE ARE JUST KMFDM LYRICS so I made this

[goawaypopup]

Look Outside Posting Part 2: Infectious Mutations

Today we're talking about the contagious mutants. The tooth family, the rats, the hands from the bus, and so on (including those, like the SWAT truck, that fuse with their victims as part of the process).

These, I suspect, are more common than we actually see firsthand.

I think the likeliest explanation for most of the groups of enemies with similar themes is that they're from one or two people getting witnessed, and then attacking everyone else around until they're all a big, happy monster family. People just looking together, if they don't merge into a single amalgamation, doesn't appear to necessarily give them similar monstrous forms.

You would also expect a lot lower than a 100% mutation rate for, say, Vincent's party, which had at least seven people present, and not that big of a window in the apartment - someone would avoid the window where weird things were happening, try to flee, or at least get killed by one of the Onlookers and end up as a corpse on the floor. Same goes for the taxidermy or frozen apartments.

I think Vincent's party had two primary witnesses: Vincent, and the Gawker in the bathroom (who's at a later stage than the others).

And for something a lot of players might never find out about - the concealed eyeball gang is actually the one and only non-ending chance Sam has in the game to get infected by a monster himself, to my knowledge. There's a random event that can occur at the table, where Sam has an intrusive thought to cut himself open and see if he has eyes inside him like the wounded man at the beginning - and there's a 1 in 3 chance that his hunch turns out to be correct. Neato!

Anyway. It also struck me as strange that, in the endings where something doesn't literally, physically, personally grow to reach around the entire earth, there isn't a whole new zombie apocalypse with whichever infectious mutation happened to fare the best in the arms race. We know that this mechanism still works after the Visitor leaves, because of the Truth ending... so what I think is that in order to be an infectious mutant, you have to be a primary witness, i.e. people you infect can't continue to spread it - naturally limiting any potential outbreaks to direct contact with their single carrier.

I searched for a counterexample, but couldn't find any among the game's enemies. Rafta was a witness herself, the pipe men that got Placide were witnesses, the Rat King has plenty of mouths to be responsible for all the rats (though I still wonder where all those people even came from).

I thought for a moment that the landlord's attack might disprove it- HOWEVER! From Memorial's account of events on the bus, all of the mutated passengers were infected by a single witness, who exploded into dozens of tiny crawling hands that climbed on everyone. Very similar to the ones that that attacker was keeping in its stomach to release onto the landlord! How...... sweet? Some of the passengers literally scooped up a little of their primary witness to share. I guess it's nice that tiny hands guy is still alive?

It also makes it a little more plausible that Sam (and whichever companions) got through hand-to-hand combat with so damn many potentially contagious creatures without anybody getting turned.

Why this happens in the first place, seems to follow pretty naturally from my previous post's theories. The Visitor isn't great at telling individuals apart at the best of times. If I hold you close, or draw your blood... the division between our separate flesh blurs, and something might slip across.

[killerpancakeburger]

Another Headache

SUMMARY: You get another one of your chronic headaches, and the meds don't don't work. Soap's by your side though.

PAIRING: Soap x F!Reader (Soap calls Reader "pretty girl" once, that's the only mark of gender)

TAGS: Hurt/Comfort, fluff, suggestive at the end, Soft!Soap, Established relationship, Civilian!Reader, Reader works as Price's assistant.

WARNINGS: The suggestiveness at the end, mention of chronic pain.

WORDS COUNT: 1.8k

A/N: Lots of Soaps I like in there... pouting Soap, drawing Soap, needy Soap, Human calculator Soap (because of that one post that I KNOW I REBLOGGED BUT CANT FIND!! CURSE U TUMBLR!)

“1245.87… minus 56.43… divided by 98.62….” you mumble out loud to yourself, painstakingly inputting each digit into your calculator.

“12.06,” pipes up Soap without missing a beat, not looking up from his sketchbook where he's drawing.

You look up from the device and throw him a mildly annoyed glare, assuming he concocted a random number to confuse you. It's the first explanation that comes to your mind, the most logical one, even though it would be out of character for Johnny to make your work harder, even as a joke. 

“Very funny.”

Then you press the result touch and your eyes widen as the machine provides the exact same answer.

“How in the hell…?”

You look at your boyfriend again, irritation gone out the window, replaced by amazement and a dash of admiration.

“Do you have a calculator for brain or something?”

“S'basic stuffs for sniping and demolition works.” 

The explanation is way too abrupt for anyone who knows how much Johnny enjoys his job, rambling, and rambling about his job. You raise an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Can you develop?”

An amused smirk stretches his lips as he still persists in not looking at you.

“Bonnie, ye need tae focus oan yer work, or ye'll git us in trouble.”

You groan in protest. Being lectured about trouble by Soap “Troublemaker” Mactavish out of all people, you couldn’t make it up. That doesn't make him less right unfortunately. 

Your supervisor, John Price, only allowed his Sergeant to hang out in your office during his free time on the express condition that it would not impact your tasks. You initially couldn’t imagine that blue-eyed menace sitting still for hours only for your sake; to do your own thing in your own side of the room in silence, without any physical contact, nor any other sign of acknowledgement? That was Ghost's idea of a good time, but Soap's idea of torture.

However, it turned out you underestimated his willpower, and his determination to take advantage of every moment that could be shared with you. The intimate knowledge that he was holding back this whole time, and that the minute the clock would strike the end of your workday, he would be all over you like usual, warmed your heart and sent pleasing tingles everywhere in your body.

Sympathetic to your plight, Johnny adds with indulgence and cheekiness in his tone: 

“Ah ken how much ye like mah voice, but we'll make up fur lost time after.”

You roll your eyes at the suggestive taunt, still recognizing the comment for what it is - a consolation to compensate for his refusal to extend earlier. You bite your tongue to keep yourself from retorting about how distracting he's actually being even when drawing in silence, his biceps bulging with his posture, and the mix of concentration and serenity on his face strangely captivating. 

The expression he wears when sketching is one you're particularly fond of. It reveals a different kind of intensity than the one he usually displays, when eager for battle or indignant in front of injustice. It is one not many are privy to, since he tends to favor the solitude of his bedroom to scribble, making this scene all the more special and giving it an intimate tone that's enough to make your heart race.

A loving smile on your face, you throw yourself into your work.

You can feel it coming from miles away.

That accursed headache. Pushing behind your forehead, between your eyebrows and sneaking behind your temples.

Its reasons could very well be everything or nothing; the mix of cold weather and your own tiredness, the acute light from the winter sun blinding your eyes in the absence of sunglasses, the long hours spent in front of a screen.

It is light yet harsh all at once. Muffled pain always felt worse than a sharp one. Yet you know from experience it is only going to hurt more from here on.

Gritting your teeth in a grimace of discomfort, you press your hand against your forehead. The coolness of your fingers provides a respite, albeit a short-term one.

Is there even any painkillers left in your bag? You can’t remember the state of your stock-

A familiar box is suddenly moved in your line of sight. Your usual brand of aspirin.

You look up to see Soap staring at you expectingly. You take the medecine with a grateful smile.

“You really are full of surprises today!”

He pouts as he hands you your water bottle.

“Wi’ how often ye git those bloody things, a'd have tae be a bloody eejit for nae knowing how tae deal with ‘em.”

He sounds like your chronic migraines offended him, personally, and it's both adorable and hilarious.

“That's still very sweet,” you insist after swallowing the treatment.

He brings a lock of hair behind your ear before tenderly kissing your forehead.

“That's me, “Sweet Soap” Mactavish.”

That drags a giggle out of you.

An hour later, as the meds miserably failed, you’re not laughing at all anymore.

At least your work is done for the day, granting you the luxury to suffer on the rec room's couch. Laying on your back, head on the armrest, you’re pressing the heels of your hands into your closed eyelids while groaning in agony. Any bright light or screen increases the pain, so keeping your eyes closed is the only protection conceivable.

Seated right by you, your legs laying over his lap, Soap squeezes your tigh in support, itching to bring you relief but unsure how.

“What can I do?”

You remove your hands from your face to peek at him. If the ache behind your temples wasn’t occupying all space in your thoughts, you would have fussed over his chagrined expression that wasn’t without reminding you of a worried puppy. He was torn between concern for you and frustration of not being able to do anything. Johnny absolutely hated not being capable of remedying a problem. It made you want to cover his face in kisses, not only to placate his frustration, but also because you were filled with cute aggression.

“Well, I have this theory that if someone hit me really hard in the head with a baseball bat, it would help…”

“How the bloody ‘ell would it help!?”

“The pain from the blow would replace the headache.”

“How does replacing pain with pain helps…?”

“I prefer the acute pain of a strike than the dull one of a headache. It's way more bearable.”

“M not hitting you with a baseball bat,” he exclaimed, clearly convinced that the pain had made you go insane.

“I'll just ask Simon instead.”

At this point, you’re insisting more to rile him up rather than out of seriousness.

“Nae yer not,” he retorts vehemently, voice bordering on a growl.

You're about to laugh when he suddenly gets up, still taking care to not send your legs flying off the sofa. Worried that you managed to actually piss him off, you half pick yourself up, raising on your forearms, but he exits the room before you can catch his expression, ordering you to not go anywhere. Not like you were planning to anyway.

You flop back on the couch, closing your eyes and massaging your temples. A moment later, deliciously cold fingers rest on your forehead. You hum in appreciation.

“Better?”

“I love you,” you declare boldly.

The husky laughter Soap emits in response is almost as soothing as his touch.

You suddenly open your eyes as a realization dawns on you.

“Johnny, why are your hands fucking freezing?”

“Put ‘em under cold water,” he retorts casually, like it was evident.

You sigh, closing your eyelids, endeared by his behavior but also a bit fed up.

“You're crazy.”

He chuckles again.

“Crazy in love maybe.”

You don't need to look at him to know the smug smirk he's displaying with that comment.

“Wipe that goofy smile off your face, Mactavish.”

“Make me.”

You playfully slap whatever part of his body is nearby, then sigh once more.

“It's only a temporary solution, though. Unless you intend to spend all night turning your hands into ice cubes.”

“Ah could try-”

“Johnny, no.”

“Johnny, yes.”

“Don't be silly.”

“Will have tae be, unless ye've got a better option.”

“Laying in the dark with a wet cloth could help… or at least it's supposed to.”

This is how you ended up in Soap's bedroom with the lights off, both of you laying on his bed, you nuzzled on his torso with his arm around your waist, a washcloth soaked with freezing water on your forehead.

“Is it working?” he asks, barely a few minutes after settling down.

You cannot contain a smile at the impatience in his voice.

“More or less. But what sucks the most with this method is.. “

“Aye?”

“I'm so freaking bored. Cannot read, cannot use my phone, cannot fall asleep either. And with no distraction, I cannot focus on anything but the pain.”

“Ah could distract ye... If ye wanted.” he immediately suggests.

“What are you thinking of, pretty boy? Surely nothing… inappropriate.’

Despite your playful words, your fingers start idly running down his chest, and the shiver that travels his skin in response doesn't leave you indifferent. You hear him suck in a breath, and he grasps your wandering hand only to press it flat against his pectoral, even raising his breast to deepen the contact. Meanwhile the hand holding you tightens its grip on your flesh before traveling lower to grab your ass. 

“Now that yer mentioning it, ah read online that it could help wi’ headaches…”

“That what could help, Johnny?”

“An orgasm, bonnie,” he rasps.

You let out an amused sigh at the bold statement, trying to hide how much effect the rasp of his voice has on you.

“Hear me oot-” he pleads, apparently worried that you’re taking him for a perverted loser obsessed with his own pleasure over your comfort. “A'm not bullshitting ye-”

“I know, baby,” you appease him. “I know about the orgasm being a thing.”

“Ye know?... wait, ye knew this whole time? Why didn’t ye say anythin’?”

“Let's just say I'm skeptical of that method.”

“Did ye already try it?”

“Nope. But I'll believe it when I see it.”

“Then let me make ye a believer, pretty girl. Please? Pretty please? Will make ye feel so, so good, promise. Lemme take away yer pain, hen.”

He punctuates his begging by burning kisses, on your temple, your cheek, your jaw, your neck. His fingers sneak under your shirt, tickling your waist. The neediness in his voice and his touch makes you whine his name helplessly.

“Johnny…”

He echoes your whimper with a moan of your name.

“Alright, alright,” you capitulate. “For the sake of experimentation.”

[deedeeznoofs]

You’re? Correction! I’m Yours 

➺ Characters: Ryomen Sukuna, GN!Reader 

➺ Word Count: 900+ 

➺ Genre: Fluff

➺ Content: Non-Curse!AU, Nerd!Sukuna, Established Relationship (with some pre-relationship sprinkled in), Swearing

➺ A/N: Shout out to my wonderful mutual @heian-era-housewife for this post about Heian Era Sukuna doing poetry. If she’s reading this: I hope you don’t mind the tag but your post seriously inspired a huge chunk of these headcanons 🥹

➺ Synopsis: Headcanons of all the nerdy things Sukuna does because deep down inside that’s all he is and all he wishes to be ❤️

➺ At first glance he doesn’t read as someone who would be super nerdy or all that interested in learning. 

➺ I mean, can you blame anyone? No one really expects the dude constantly looking for a fight to pull up with some textbooks during his free time.

➺ Once you get to know him though, you realize that on the inside he is in fact a giant nerd about basically everything.

➺ It starts off subtly: at first you’d ask him questions and he’d be able to easily come up with answers without even giving it a second thought.

➺It could be a question about anything, regardless of the subject or perceived difficulty, and Sukuna would be able to explain it to you. Not only that, but he’d be able to explain it to you in a way that made it sound like the simplest thing in the world. 

➺ At one point you basically just started playing trivia and just started asking him stuff normal people didn’t know the answers for and he’d answer with ease, albeit he’d get really annoyed with your constant random questions.

➺ Sometimes if he’s really excited about a subject his explanations would turn into full lectures that’d put most college professors to shame.

➺ Although it was shocking at first, it started to make sense when you realized that the main reason why he takes time to learn about stuff is because he’s constantly bored and looking for new things to entertain him.

➺ He’s good at basically everything so long as it piques his curiosity, but his one and only love will forever be literature, mostly because of how infinite the possibilities are with the medium.

➺ He’s well versed in literature of all genres and different cultures, but he is the most drawn toward Japanese works (and let’s be honest, his favorites would probably come from the Heian Period).

➺ Ever since getting with you, he’s been leaning more toward the romance genre. Just in case he needs any inspiration on how to spice up your relationship, you know? 

➺ He’s taught himself multiple languages just for fun and to see how far he could go.

➺ He LOVES poetry, he both writes and reads it a lot and it’s his favorite hobby besides eating.

➺ Other than literature, he also has a huge fascination with art.

➺ He designed his own tattoos because he wanted to play with the idea of turning his body into a canvas. It also just so happened to make him look intimidating as hell which was a plus in his book.

➺ He also has a little journal that he carries around and he sketches a lot whenever he’s bored or sees something interesting.

➺ As for styles, he’s a really big fan of Sumi-e painting because he’s allergic to color but he basically just uses and does whatever he feels like at the moment. 

➺ He’s the type of person who draws what he sees, but he would especially enjoy drawing nature. 

➺ He would go out on hikes whenever he felt the need to draw and would walk until he found something interesting. 

➺ He’s really into meditation while he draws and he uses sketching as a way to keep himself level headed during particularly annoying days.

➺ He isn’t too fond of drawing people, but you’d be the exception. 

➺ He would 1000% draw you while you sleep. It’s the perfect time since you’d be still for most of it. 

➺ Sukuna is able to write really good cursive and also does calligraphy because he got bored one time (shocker) and so decided to see if he was able to do it well and to no one’s surprise, he was eventually able to.

➺ The reason why he leans towards the humanities so much is because they’re both subjects no one can really “master”. With both art and literature, there isn’t a point where someone knows absolutely everything about either subject. Since Sukuna loves a challenge, he wants to be the first person to go “Fuck you, I DO know everything about this”.

➺ One of the little things he does every day includes writing you short little romantic poems on a post it note and leaving them in out random spots for you to find. 

➺ Sometimes they would be in your pocket or other times on the bathroom mirror, wherever it is they would make you smile. 

➺ Though, sometimes he would stick them onto such odd spots that you’d wonder just how he did it?

➺ He has TONS of pride in his writing (to be fair, he’s prideful about basically anything he does) and he always appreciates it when you mention his little notes and complement the work he put into writing them.

➺ Sometimes when the both of you are talking together he’d say some of the most poetic sentences that you’ve ever heard like it’s nothing. 

➺ When you gasp he just goes “What? Why are you staring at me like that?” as if he didn’t randomly drop lines that sounded like they came from straight out of a novel.

➺ He’s a dick when it comes to spelling and grammar, especially during petty arguments.

➺ “How many times do I have to tell you, if your going to the restroom put the damn seat down afterwards” ➺ “It’s YOU’RE*, actually” ➺ “Fine, YOU'RE** a piece of shit Ryomen!”

➺ Don’t fret though, because while Ryomen Sukuna wants to know anything and everything there is to know about the world, he knows deep down inside that the best thing the world could have ever offered him was you.

-

➺ Edit: Okay I made this story quite a while ago but I HAVE ANOTHER HEADCANON TO ADD! I think his observation skills are super on point which is how he’s able to understand things so easily

A/N: Everyone list what you think Sukuna’s favorite book(s) would be 🗣️

A/N: If you enjoyed my thoughts on Sukuna, you’d love this story I also wrote paired with some headcanons! 

[divine-crows]

✨️10 Things I always Include in My New Grimoire/Book Of Shadows✨️

I'm getting to the end of my second grimoire (prior to this I'd have random stuff in school notebooks that I unfortunately don't have anymore) so I thought it'd be fitting to talk about the stuff I benefited from copying over into my second Grimoire along with what I will most likely put into my third Grimoire.

Please Note: for my journey a Grimoire is the most fitting way for me to describe my preferred method of transcribing what I learn. As a result I will be referring to a Grimoire the whole time but this knowledge can be generally applied to other witchy books meant to hold knowledge.

To help with dictinctions:

Anything with an asterisk* indicates I regretted not including it before

Anything without is stuff I've included and benefitted from having on hand

1. The Elements and Their Correspondences

What I Include in this entry:

- A page dedicated to each element

- Tarot Card, Astrological sign, Color, Crystal, and Herb correspondes (condensed down to crystals and herbs I'm guaranteed to use)

- a vague list with ideas on what this element embodies vibe wise (for example: Earth can represent success, stability or fertility)

- A page dedicated to ideas on how I can work with each element

- how to invoke and banish an element with a pentacle

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

It makes for a very useful reference point when doing spellwork. I can easily see if I can use elemental symbolism and how I can incorporate it.

It also can be nice to reference if I'm celebrating a holiday that embodies the energy of a specific element. I can reference the page for ideas on herbs to use while cooking, colors I can incorporate, etc.

2. Moon Phases, Time, and Seasonal Correspondences

What I include in this Entry:

- a drawing of each moon phase along with about three adjectives to describe the phase

- lists of associations for each time of day

- a chart of the cardinal directions and which season and element corresponds with each one

Why I find this Entry Useful:

It might sound weird that I have all of this stuff condensed down into one entry but hear me out: it's so much nicer to plan rituals and spellwork when all you have to do is look through two pages??? Especially if your first grimoire has all of these entries in more detail (which I heavily reccomend so all of the knowledge is still recorded somewhere), it's nice to know you can easily access the basics without reading every little detail, and then you can always go back to your old grimoire when you need to access more information on the topic.

3. Cartomancy/Tarot

What I Include in this Entry:

- very brief definition of Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, and Court Cards

- elemental correspondences of minor arcana plus what they symbolize

- what each court card symbolizes

- a numerology "cheat sheet"

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

This is one of those things that will not be helpful for everyone but since I practice tarot frequently it's perfect for me. Even if you're not a big tarot person I at least reccomend you pick something you do a lot and create a condensed version for you to review when you need it!

4. The Witches Compass/Opening and Closing Circles

What I Include in this Entry:

- a brief explanation on why you'd use one

- a step by step guide on how you would open and close one

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

Even though I don't always utilize the Witches' Compass or a standard magic circle, I like to have a condensed form written in case I need to perform a ritual but don't have the space to lug around multiple books.

5. Alters, Shrines, and Temples

What I Include in This Entry:

- Definitions of each word

- a list of examples of types of alters

- a general run-down on what typically goes on an altar

- ideas on how to decorate an altar

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

I actually don't have an altar space currently, but I do find it useful to have inspiration on hand in case I need it. I also just find it useful to have the distinctions on hand in case I'm cross referencing my research.

6. Warding and Defensive Magic*

What I Include in this Entry:

- a list of types of wards with minor guidance on how to use them if I don't use them often

- ways I can use defensive magic if things go wrong

-When to ward/When not to ward a space

- a page dedicated to the Witches Ladder, how to make one, and I typically include one of my own spells with it.

- a page dedicated to a basic house protection spell

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

This is one of the topics I didn't copy over into my current Grimoire but really regret not doing. Since I like to dabble in Astral travel and a huge part of my practice is working with the in between this knowledge is nice to have on hand.

I'm personally of the school of thought that you don't need to ward everything at all times, however if you're like me and you do a warding spell every once in a while and then you forget how to do it... yeah might be nice to just always have it freshly recorded so you're not rifling through all of your stuff.

7. Magical Excersizes from Books, Media, Etc.

What I Include In This Entry:

- the source I got the excersize from

- what the goal of the excersize is

- a step-by-step rundown

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

It's especially nice when you're dealing with burnout or a mental block. It's also oddly refreshing to occasionally do one.

Now, I wouldn't reccomend having every magical exercise you've ever done in your new Grimoire, but I usually pick three or four that I really like and write them down.

8. About Me Page*

What I Include In This Entry:

- Deities I mainly Venerate

- What magical "paths" or ways of life I tend to follow

- How I feel about my practice (Do I need to improve in some areas? Do I feel lost? Etc.)

- Things I want to explore more or do more

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

This is another entry I seriously regret not including more. With my first Grimoire (that I didn't lose) it served as a good spot to check in order to see my growth, look for anything I hadn't learned yet but wanted to learn, and it served as a nice sentimental peice to look back on.

Some may not benefit from having an entry like this, but others may find they'll benefit from it like I do!

9. A Basic Guide on Fae Species (or other entities depending on your practice)

What I Include in this Entry:

- I usually pick about 8-10 Fae to make an entry on and I try to keep it in a broad, diverse range.

- A picture depicting each thing

- Name of species

- Anecdotes on their temperament, how you can avoid pissing them off, etc.

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

As a Celtic Pagan it feels right for me to have an entry that includes the Fae even though I avoid interacting with them when possible. I've also generally had a sort of fixation on the Fae and their way of life since I was young so it's a little something that speaks to my heart and my passions as well.

If you want to look at this more practically, having a guide of common entities can be good in case you encounter one that way you have a sort of code of conduct written down.

10. List of Herbs I Commonly Use and their Correspondences

What I Include in this Entry:

- Household herbs I can easily find in the pantry

- items I can easily forage and use from outside

Why I Find this Entry Useful:

My first ever list of herbs was basically every Herb under the sun and how I could use it. Did I use any of those herbs? Heck no! Now I keep a small, condensed list of stuff I actually use and have easy access to and if I use anything I'm not used to that's when I reference my giant list.

Not all of these topics may personally speak to you, but I hope that at least some of them could help you decide what you'd like to include in your own books!

[helenekuragina]

while trying to make any of the characters in great comet more nuanced is kind of a lost cause due to how out of context it is, the sanitization of pierre truly does kill me because pierre is many things but he is never supposed to just be an explicitly Good Man. and in the case of great comet it truly does feel less like an oversight and more like a conscious decision to make pierre seem less complicated and therefore easier to position as a good, kind, main character when that's just... not who he is. i understand why that's the way that a Musical would decide to position him, but it doesn't make it any less frustrating as a war and peace fan

the specific way that the duel is added kind of baffles me because i do think it benefits from the added context in theory but rather than just providing context it instead warps it and i end up questioning what purpose it really serves? throwing in a random event from literally 5 years earlier in the novel's timeline without adding any of the fallout is such a questionable decision and truly just leads to such a warped perception of hélène and pierre's relationship

by having pierre be certain of hélène's infidelity before the duel with dolokhov, it completely writes over the purpose of the duel in the first place. in the novel, this is the moment where pierre begins hating hélène, where he decides he has to leave and therefore sets off on the beginning of his spiritual journey. it's also notable that the affair is never actually explicitly said to be happening, either. pierre hears a Rumor and he reacts violently to both dolokhov and to her, threatening to kill her and throwing a marble slab at her before leaving petersburg. meanwhile, the musical takes place 5 years later where he has (reluctantly) reunited with her and he's currently [insert the lyrics of 'pierre' here], etc etc. he's resigned to his loveless marriage already, so the duel cannot have anywhere near the emotional impact nor purpose that it did in the novel. so what is its purpose in the great comet???

the easiest answer is that in contextualizes why hélène is so well-suited to be the one to "seduce" natasha and ease her worries about not being loyal to andrei, but even then that was never the way that hélène seduced natasha. she seduced her with her beauty and influence because those were things that natasha admired and wanted. so it's not exactly necessary there. the other explanation is to position her as a more clear antagonist for pierre, but this also just pushes him further into that "bumbling and kind guy who things kinda just happen to" role that isn't entirely inaccurate but isn't really accurate either

you can't have his violence towards her after the duel because the duel in the context of the musical doesn't have the same emotional impact from the novel that led to that outburst but without it and without the context of it being his reaction to a rumor (meanwhile it's blatant and shown directly in the musical, giving him "reason" to hate her), it just positions pierre as a victim rather than a violent participant, which he was. when he speaks to her during the 'find anatole' scene in the novel, she is Afraid of him and she's afraid of him Because he has actually physically threatened her before. taking that kind of weight away from their characters is frankly boring and annoying, especially in terms of the conclusions it leads great comet fans to draw

[mochinomnoms]

I am eating up shirmpy chronicles content

I was thinking of the mix of genes that maybe there are some shirmpkids that have sharp pointy teeth like eels and eelkids that have a bit more blunt teeth like yuu what if we add Azul to the mix? Either in octopolycule or in uncle Azul either way he just wouldn't tolerate if the kids get bullied by "not fitting their species standards"

Also i fully agree with the ideas of mixes of shirmps and eels for the kids learning how a hybrid would work looks interesting but tiring I do think little eels and shirmps in case of octopolycule with purple-ish colors and spots would be so cute but as far as hybrid goes maybe MAYBE one of the elvers get born with shirmp antennas AND THAT'S WHERE I DRAW THE LINE and and more Azul and merkids Azul's mother teaching the kids how to do simple cooking stuff and while preparing the ingredients there is an elver next to her playing trashcan so when there is something that isn't of use from the ingredients the elver just goes :O and eats it

-Vaquita

Hell yeah! I have a few ideas for hybrid shrimpkids, I'll separate them via Tweels and Octopolycule:

Shrimpy Chronicles: Explanation of Hybrid Children

For reference: Fries can refer to both baby shrimp and octopi, so the shrimps will be called berries (cause the eggs look like berries lol) and octopi as hatchlings. Elvers are still baby eels! I'll refer to all the babies as fries in general to make it easier to read.

General:

All the kids, regardless of their fathers, are half-human. While the transformation potion permanently alters Yuu's appearance, it doesn't change their DNA. As such, the kids are a bit more mammalian than aquatic. This means that technically speaking, if Yuu is able to, the fries could be breastfed, but this depends on how human the fries are born as.

The most common variation in the hybrids is more varied colors/patterns. However, certain aspects of one species can pass over, such as the twin's teeth, pharyngeal jaws, and claws. Azul's dumbbell-shaped eyes, rectangular pupils, ink, and chromatophores can also be passed down. Shrimp Yuu's antennas, legs, “cleaning” behaviors, and patterning can be passed down, as well as some more human traits. Namely, the ones mentioned before, but they also have the potential to transform from merform to human without the aid of a transformation potion.

Because the fries are half-human, they are not suited well for the deep sea, unlike their father(s). Neither is Shrimp Yuu, even their type of merfolk is suited for corals reefs and bays. There is a chance that at least one or two of the fry will develop closer to their father(s), however.

The more gluttonous fries are actually a tie between the berries or the elvers. So the fry going :O to be a trashcan can be either shrimp or eel.

All the fries are prone to hiding. Eels, octopi, and shrimp all tend to hide in corals, crevices, etc. This makes them excellent at both hide n seek and giving their parents heart attacks.

Their diets are extremely varied due to their parentage, and while technically the berries and hatchlings can eat shrimp and octopus, it's more of the principle of the thing.

Moray/Shrimp Children

The most common result in hybridization for the twin's and Yuu'd children is higher variation in their colors and patterns. Teal and red at best makes a muted purple-brown, at worst is just a plain brown. Their kids are more likely to come out as either teal, red, or a more mosaic coloring (think of mantis shrimp's colors and patterns).

The elvers can develop antennas on their heads, like their berry siblings. Alternatively, they may not have pharyngeal jaws or sharp teeth, or claws. These elvers require more protection/supervision. Likewise, berries can develop all those traits as well.

Whether or not the elvers or berries are bioluminescent is random, but the ones with more eel traits are more likely to develop the trait

Sharp teeth are a dominant trait, so more likely than not most of the fries will have sharp teeth. Not all of them will develop the pharyngeal jaws though, and is more likely to show in the elvers than the berries.

Behavior-wise, the fries that take on more eel traits (regardless if elver or berry) will be prone to more predator behavior and instincts. You can find one of the berries barring their teeth at one of the elvers if they both take after their father(s) in this case. The opposite is true for the fries that take on more shrimp traits.

All the fries, regardless of which parent they take after more, will have the need to tend and clean each other and their family. This is because I just think the idea of Jade/Floyd being covered in fries is funny.

Octopus/Shrimp Children

Various patterns and coloring are also a common result for Azul and Yuu's children. Purple/lavender and red are adjacent colors (I think that's the word) so they mix much better. These kids will find themselves in a variety of shades of magenta, cool pinks, purple, lavender, red, or a patterned mosaic of those colors. They will have patterns similar to freckles on their skin, rings, but due to their ability to easily change their colors, they will copy their parents' patterns out of comfort.

The hatchlings can develop antennas like the berries, but the berries won't develop tentacles. They will, however, have more arm strength similar to their hatchling siblings.

Similar to the elvers, the hatchlings and berries with more octopi traits or behaviors are more likely to be bioluminescent

Berries may be able to produce ink from their mouths, while not all the hatchlings are able to do the same. Because of this, they are more prone to hiding to avoid danger and conflict.

Behavior-wise, both hatchlings and berries are prone to hiding. They are much shyer than their elver siblings, and you can find them using baskets, large shells, pots, etc as hiding spots. Often, if you find one, you will find many in that same spot. Sometimes, the hatchlings will develop the same cleaning tendencies as the berries.

These kids will also find themselves prone to cleaning their siblings and parents, but they are also collectors. The hatchlings and berries will get into groups and compete on who can find the coolest items. Their elver siblings are judges.

Moray/Octopus Children

Various patterns and coloring are once again the most common result for any of Azul and the twins' fry. Purple/lavender and teal produce a muted blue. But the fry will find themselves in a variety of shades of muted blues, purple, lavender, teal, or a patterned mosaic of those colors. They will have patterns similar to freckles on their skin, or the stripes seen on the twins' skin. They can also easily change their skin colors.

Hatchlings can develop Jade/Floyd's pharyngeal jaws and sharp teeth, as well as their claws. On the opposite end, the elvers may not develop those traits.

Regardless if they take more moray or octopus traits, they are all bioluminescent.

The elvers may produce a more ink-like mucus on their skin, while the hatchlings may not produce any ink at all. They may however produce the same mucus on their skin as the elvers.

Behavior-wise, technically speaking both morays and octopi are a type of predator, morays just more so. But you can find eels and octopi fighting in the wild. So, you can actually find the elvers and hatchlings play fighting against each other. They make it a game (whoever loses has to take over the other's chores).

The hatchlings and elvers are more protective of their berry siblings, and you can often find them in pairs or trios, with at least one elver/hatchling with one or more berries.

And that's all I got today folks! Womp womp, I love the Shrimpy Chronicles, they're so fun to write!!! As me for more, I have many thoughts and names for the potential children, hehee.

[toskarin]

while i enjoyed my time with elona+, it never quite grabbed me in the long term, so last night when i downloaded the demo for elin i was quite surprised to discover that i locked in until about 3AM trying to figure out how to get metal processing going, and only stopped at that point because i recognized that i probably should even if i didn't feel like it. it seems that i yearn for the forge

anyway do you know which folder elin keeps custom portraits/sprites in? i assumed it'd be the same as elona but i wasn't able to find it digging through the steam directory, appdata, or looking online

elin doesn't actually have a distinct custom folder for portraits, but if you don't want to make a mod (because it's pivoted more to mod support for that kind of thing) the best way to go about it is by opening the standard portraits folder (Elin\Package\_Elona\Portrait) and then adding your portrait of choice as a special portrait

somewhat in-the-weeds explanation of how to do this below the break, mostly intuited since I haven't made any mods myself as of yet

for context, the structure of a portrait's filename is (and keep in mind that I'm using my own terms here, I haven't looked at how the documentation would describe this)...

[tag]_[gendertag]-[NAMEGOESHERE].png

so, to make a special portrait for a female character, it'd be something like... "special_f-myportraitwithauniquename.png"

if you wanted that to work with all gender options, you'd use an n instead of an f. if you didn't plan on more than one defined character ever using it, you could even skip the gender tag altogether

if you wanted to add tinting, you could draw out the mask for that (basically a monochrome cutout of the hair) and then name that image "special_f-myportraitwithauniquename-overlay.png"

the main advantage of making your portraits as special portraits is that they can't be used by random npcs which aren't specified to generate with them, which means it slightly overlaps with portraits tagged UN (they do the same thing except they also disallow the player from choosing them)

as a fun aside, there's also a specific tag set aside for foxfolk, presumably because it would be weird if any generated without ears. I haven't played with modding in earnest, but I imagine you can also make your own pools of portraits that way

I think that covers it? I may be off here, but that seems right to the best of my knowledge

[demeterdefence]

i had some time to chill i took a walk i drank some water i still hate this sequence

fastpass spoilers and sexual assault references ahead

i mentioned a few weeks ago how much i disliked persephone's last interaction with apollo and how the narrative wants to insist that persephone has moved on / healed from her assault, and with the last chapter and fastpass spoilers, it has genuinely just gotten worse. like at this point i can't even fault the characters or their choices, this is 1000% a rachel thing, and i hope her computer crashes in the middle of an eight hour drawing that she hasn't saved ANYWAYS

i don't think it needs to be said that rachel sexualizes her abuse victim. like, there's a reason that hera is naked during her fight with kronos despite kronos being clothed; there's a reason persephone was alone and apollo had his shirt undone when they spoke on the phone before the press conference. it's masquerading as feminine empowerment, but it just seeks to emphasize how rachel sexualizes abuse, and how she will still try to redeem these male characters.

it's very telling that while she's having kronos monologue how sad and abused he was, and how he was ruled by fear, we cut to a shot of apollo and eros with the love arrow - another plot point that drove me absolutely bonkers but we'll get to that. the placement is not random, for all that it feels it; she's trying to draw a connection between apollo and kronos, how they're both ruled by fear.

apollo is planning to assault persephone again. this is not me being dramatic or exaggerating - he knows what the arrow does, he knows persephone hates him, he is absolutely planning to assault her again for his own purposes. whether kronos' apology was intended to be sincere or not, placing apollo in the visual middle of it sets a tone. he has abused persephone in the past and he will abuse her again.

the next time apollo and persephone interact, persephone has figured out how to make spring again (somehow, without explanation, one trainwreck at a time i guess.)

i don't love her plan, and i don't love how it came about, but on the top ten list of crimes in this webcomic, it's not the worst. persephone plays up her "weak, damsel in distress" image to apollo so he'll underestimate her - fine, whatever, not the end of the world. it's how rachel depicts this that i take issue with.

it took me a couple of minutes for that last picture to realize they're supposed to be struggling because it genuinely looks like they're making out lmao thanks rachel i hate it

not entirely related but the way the lineart becomes minuscule except on the face and chest rachel really shows her priorities

i'll skip a few more panels of apollo manhandling persephone with her doing pretty much nothing to fight back - she alternates between pleading with him to listen to her when he has historically never done so, and threatening to expose him for the rape, which also historically has never worked, but that's about the extent of her fight back. this is all before she knows about the arrow, so i'm hesitant to say she's playing him with her distress; this is genuinely the extent of her fight back.

a clear callback to the assault, which in another author's hands might have succeeded in being harrowing and traumatizing for the readers, but just filled me with visceral anger.

[narrator voice] fucking yikes!

ties her up, but don't worry! her chest will be on prominent display no matter what.

unrelated tangent once again but i love! how rachel has retconned the narrative so that ouranos was manipulating apollo all along! instead of apollo owning up to being a shitheel, we've got a master manipulator in the background, who can take some of the blame for apollo's actions! cool!!!

anyways persephone's plan is to make apollo fall in love with her, so he'll feel bad about raping her.

that's it.

we don't get persephone defeating apollo. we don't get persephone getting actual justice. it takes apollo being under the control of magic to admit what happened - it's a cheap cop-out, a lukewarm offering at best. i'm not joking, either, in the fastpass apollo quite literally goes on live television and admits he raped persephone, because he's under the magic of the love arrow. not because he genuinely feels bad, or because persephone got justice - it's a deus ex machina to wrap up the assault plotline. rachel never figured out if apollo was a master manipulator or some idiot tool, so she swerves between both, and then tosses the plot out to make room for something else.

it's such a miserable, cheap conclusion to a storyline that so many women have dealt with. years of waiting for apollo to be brought to justice, and he goes out with a little whimper, and persephone's assault gets swept under the rug again.

what a disappointment.

[mochiiniko]

follow up to this ask! this time im just gonna be talking about my coloring process (i also want to let you all know that im not an expert in color theory since im still learning, im quite literally just going random bullshit go on the blending modes 💀 lots of explanation under the cut)

the three blending modes i mainly use are exclusion, hard light, and overlay. from the guide above you could see how the blending modes work on their own, and how they look like combined altogether. the cool thing about blending mode layers is that it really is all about experimentation and finding the best combination for a piece (also to any fellow inabakumori enjoyers GRAHH lagtrain pose jumpscare)

i went through a bunch of blending mode phases before i ended up with those main three, though it's funny how ive been using the same overlay color for about 4 years now (multiply used to be one of them, and i still use it from time to time, just not as much). im gonna be honest the whole reason why i know about blending modes being helpful was because one time i accidentally had the fill bucket on and had a certified eureka moment 😭

the best way i could explain these three modes is:

exclusion - honestly i still dont understand how it works either 💀 when i use a really saturated blue color and lower the opacity, it gives a cooler feeling to the palette. feels like a mix of multiply and overlay with how it adjusts the colors without making it darker

hard light - gives more saturation and color

overlay - gives off a glowy effect, especially if the lineart isnt completely solid (this is why it isnt clipped on the folder as shown in the example below, keeping it above the layers gets that glowy effect)

i still use the same colors for exclusion and overlay (while i do alter them with hue saturation brightness from time to time, i just use the same blue and brown for most of my works) though hard light is what i use to make drawings lean towards a temperature

i tend to use warm colors a lot because i think theyre neat and also im biased sorry <3. as a warm palette example, i drew yinu and used this orange color on hard light and lowered the opacity

cold colors have a similar process, it's just the matter of adjusting the hard light layer. i wouldnt really say it's completely cold since i still add warm colors because im still biased </3. as a cold palette example, i drew sayu and used this purple-pink (??) color with the same settings

when it comes to drawings that have characters with contrasting palettes, it does take a bit of trial and error but i most of the time i mix both warm and cold methods like the example above. this also helps for art with several characters in general, since the blending modes help make the colors go well together despite the variety

theres also instances where i dont always use the warm + cold combo, since sometimes drawings lean towards a specific temperature instead (like environments with set lighting/shading, so usually i follow that even with characters with different palettes)

tldr; there are lots of palette combos you could make, not necessarily with just the three blending modes i mention. random bullshit go genuinely helps with experimenting with colors!!

[sweetestpotatoes10011]

Ok, I have a reason as to why people think Nyen is racist, it's rather simple. Back when Howdie was a teen, he used to draw ranfren characters doing some weird stuff, one of those things was blackface with Nyen and having him say the N-Word, of course, this is very wrong but it seems now he is trying to stray away from those edgy jokes and focusing more on silly jokes.

1. Nyen and Nyon's beta designs were supposed to represent yin and yang(stated by howdie) but it didn't take long after he redesigned him for the better since people showed a negative reaction towards them (*let's also keep in mind Howdie was an immigrant as a child and didn't knew these things were offensive. I myself, as an European, grew up in a pretty racist country and was taught specific words when i was little thinking it was normal, i only found out how harmful these words really were by the time i turned 14 thanks to a meme lol)

2. And i'm pretty sure Nyen wasn't the one who said that word but rather Randal?(Correct me if i'm wrong)

I am not defending this in any shape or form though, since there are no articles with Howdie's apology but i also believe that this things can happen unintentionally if you're not educated on the matter(not an excuse, but rather an explanation) i'm just stating my point of view without taking sides.

Anyways, the original point of the post wasn't about the evil 2014 flashbacks but rather about current Nyen's mischaracterization by the fandom where some people would pull random stuff out of their ass for literally no reason(i say as i'm side-eyeing people who call Randal hot or a fckboy, or ANY of THOSE people that sin upon Sebastian...if you know...:^(. )

[beesmygod]

Sorry for the random question but I'm a big fan of "You Hunted" and your research ethic. If u have the time, can you tell me what you think the shadows of yharnam are? I used to think they're just random byrgenwerth experiments but then realized they could mean yharnam as in the queen, being bodyguards of a kind, which is why they manifest in mergos loft as well. Why are they snakes though? Why are they in the forbidden forest without yharnam? Are the forbidden forest snakes just random parasites that hang out in this creepy world? thanks in advance if you answer. xx

oh thank you for the kind words! im still spinning my wheels drawing so i appreciate getting to take a moment to nerd out about this shit lol. you already know my disclaimers: this is only my opinion and i can only offer a read on the ambiguous text, not perfect answers.

imo: the shadows of yharnam are, as you say, the body guards of queen yharnam. they only appear in two places, the forbidden grave (where a projection* (?) of yharnam is seen after defeating rom) and in mergo's loft, very close to where she is weeping. bizarrely, they don't show up for the real queen. maybe she just doesnt need the help lol.

when they die, they drop blood rapture, which i think describes their predicament very well in the usual fromsoft way. blood rapture is identified as "one of the darker hunter techniques"; the other blood raptures are found in the cursed and defiled dungeon (arguably the state its in is a result of yharnam's baby being stolen) and the blood crow of cainhurst (who serves the other queen in the game, annalise). from this we can reasonably extrapolate that the shadows were (are?) hunters and they serve the queen directly in the hopes of being bestowed "their Queen's blood with little hope of requitement". maybe this is because they're following fake yharnams lol.

*during her fight, yharnam creates two fake yharnams to distract you. you can tell which is the real one bc shes the only one who is pregnant. the versions of yharnam you see after rom and in mergo's loft are not pregnant, so i assume she uses this power to roam around outside the chalice dungeon.

snakes are definitely parasitic in bloodborne, which is kind of insane. i don't even think there's a good explanation for it, they're just doing that. i guess the explanation could be that they're eating beasts who have been exposed to old blood and are taking on the blood's properties that way. snakes are mentioned in the description for the hintertomb chalice and i've suggested that the hintertomb is located near the forbidden woods, so its possible a bunch of super snakes who have been eating magic blood just crawled out one day and found new things to eat.