#and sorry it took me a bit to answer!

[knightzp]

hi miki! how r u?

question, which (in ur opinion) genshin design is the ugliest? bc lets be real, not all of them are easy on the eye! also im just curious.. for me i have to say its benny boy lmao. love u bennett but uh. srry hyv did u dirty (2nd is razor. fjaknasjn i h8 how his long hair comes out of his hoodie srsly what. is. That) others i dont Particularly Like are; (might be a hot take here but) nilou, dori (ehh) + nahida (sorry boo)

And on the flip side.. which designs are the prettiest/ur favourites? (i like scaramouche's, hu tao's + rosaria's reskin)

i hope u have a wonderful day/evening! :)

tūī!!! hii im fine! how are you??

ooh i love those questions! okay get ready for my probably very hot takes (under the cut bc this turned out to be quite long lol)

so, in my opinion, the award for the ugliest design goes to: childe. his clothes are all gray and with a boring style, he has a very silly scarf and he thinks hes very cool for it but actually, he isnt. also. that little gap he has at the bottom of his jacket showing his stomach??? its so dumb and also means he doesnt wear a shirt under the jacket, like really?? so yeah, ugliest design for me

as for some others, i agree with you in doris design! especially her glasses are so ugly and that ruins all the design for me. similar to dori, i dont really like dionas design either. also, and this might be a hot take too, i dont like much candace design. okay shes not ugly, i actually really like all the accessories she has, that shes one of the few poc characters ingame and the only one that has heterochromia too! but. somehow i hate how they did her hair and just that is ruining her design for me, and its quite frustrating. and finally, this one i dont really hate it? but ayato deserved to have a different design from the one they ended up giving him. his clothes look a lot like a western costume and so different from the traditional japanese clothes i expected him to have so it was kind of a disappointment for me when they finally revealed his design

now, reading that the ugliest designs for you are benny and razor... :( i mean yeah its true they dont have the best designs, but personally i think they match a lot with their personality and i really like their characters too, so i cant seem to hate their designs either ajfdlk though i agree with you that the gap in razors hoodie to let their hair out is... weird, yeah. as for nilou and nahida i think their designs are very cute! but theres one thing i dont like abt them and is how white they look. living in sumeru they obviously deserved some melanin, and especially nahida being the dendro archon, but we know how hyv is, sighhhhhh

now on the brighter side, the prettiest designs! i cant choose just one so ill say my most favorites: kazuha (my fave character so i love his design a lot too), kokomi (very pretty pastel colors!), yoimiya (i love her tattoos, her hair accessories, how she wears her clothes, everything). hu tao is also one of my fave designs for sure, so we agree on that one too! xiaos design is also sooo good and i really like fischls skin too!!

as for the others you said, theyre not my most favorites but theyre very good ones too! rosarias reskin is much better than her original design and suits her a lot, and scaramouche idk if youre referring to his original design or his playable one but theyre both so nice too

and thats all i think! tysm for asking, this was fun to write, and i hope you have a wonderful day/evening too!! <3

[mixtercandy]

OHHHG REQUESTS R OPEN...... mayhaps a shaymin or an espeon... or maybe even a shayminespeon....

Shaymin might just be my favorite grass type EVER... TYSM for the request!! I LOVED how this turned out!!

[castaway-clan]

I just met Coniferpaw and I love them. They and Darkpaw of Surfclan are twinning!! I'll have to draw them together soon, silly big eyed goobers

SAME HAT !

[boyfriendstevie]

Ok but watching bake off with Steve while fucking 👀 (he probably gets distracted all honey we should get one of Mary Berry’s books—and after post sex cuddles he’s on Amazon ordering it)

FALSDKFJASD PLEASE 😭😭😭 i can totally see this going one of two ways.

you're having a chill day, relaxing on the couch with steve, watching whatever catches your attention, at some point when bake off is on, you start kissing steve's jaw, your hand sliding down steve's torso, dipping under the waistband of his sweats, and he huffs and his cheeks are pink and he's like "babe not while paul and mary berry are on :/"

OR he's literally inside of you, and you're putty underneath him, when something they say happens to catch his attention??? and he literally like pauses midstroke and glances at the tv and is like "omg that sounds so good. honey, we should totally get one of mary berry's books and make one of her recipes!!" and you're completely dumbfounded, staring at him incredulously, and he totally doesn't understand why you're pinching his bicep and huffing until you say, "steve, i was so close, and you literally stopped to talk about mary berry's baking???" and he giggles and apologizes with a thousand kisses, and makes you cum a few extra times just to make it up to you.

and then, either way, after you're all cleaned up and cuddled up together under blankets, sharing soft kisses, he just gets wide-eyed all of a sudden and is scrambling to find his phone. you're worried something is wrong, but when you ask, he's already pulling up amazon and saying "i was serious about getting one of mary berry's books, baby."

[royboyfanpage]

Hi, I love your page! What are your thoughts on Roy and Connor's relationship?

Hi! Thank you so much, I'm glad you like my posts :) and thank you sososo much for this ask, I love Roy and Connor's relationship and I'm glad I have an opportunity to talk about them. Sorry it's taken me all day to answer, but here you go :)

Short answer? That's his little brother.

Long answer?

I know that "fanon Batfam is canon Arrowfam" is tired and overused, but I really do think that, especially with Roy and Connor, there is some truth to it. While they haven't had too many interactions in canon, there's still a clear arc their relationship takes which I really like.

I don't like Chuck Dixon's Green Arrow run, obviously he's a shitty person but also his writing just isn't for me, but one of the few parts of it I did enjoy was Connor's first meeting with Roy in Green Arrow (1988) #97, prior to Ollie's death. It first establishes one of the most present themes in their relationship, which is the differences in relation to Ollie, and the contrasting experiences of being their father's sons. Roy's the son who grew up with Ollie, he knows him personally, the good and the bad, but his status as Ollie's son is still constantly in question, you can see it back in Longbow Hunters, Ollie calls Roy his son but still denies that that word has meaning ("Roy's a hell of a kid, but he's not mine. Not really.") Whereas Connor, there's never been any doubt that he's Ollie's son, he's his flesh and blood, but he never knew Ollie until he was already in adulthood. He knows Oliver Queen through magazines, but not personally. That's why when Ollie storms off after finding out he's Connor's dad Connor's shocked, but Roy isn't surprised when he hears that from Connor. He knows Ollie, and he knows how his fears of commitment would make him act. While this is only a minor theme of those specific issues where they first met, Roy helping Connor understand what it means to be Oliver Queen's son is one of my favourite parts of their later interaction.

After Ollie's death, there is some tension between Roy and Connor, particularly around Connor joining the JLA in Ollie's place and becoming the new Green Arrow, first mentioned in Teen Titans (1996) #12-

-which is later expanded on in Arsenal #2.

This is really the first time we see Roy and Connor have a heart to heart, and it shows Roy's inferiority complex. Due to tumblr photo limit I can't show more pages for this, but I think the one I chose is the most poignant because, at least in my eyes, it shows the insecurities both of them have in terms of their relation to Ollie, and how each of them address that. Roy's loud, he'll openly speak his mind and say what he feels, and that's why it's primarily about him (that and that it's his mini and Connor's a guest). Roy openly admits feeling inferior to Connor in his position as Ollie's son, even after Ollie's death. Connor, he's quieter about it, and gets spoken over by Roy before he can actually talk about his feelings (which is a pretty consistent problem Connor faces where people expect him to listen but not talk). But you can still see it in his body language, the shadow over his face looking downwards, and while he isn't allowed to finish his sentence you can still tell what he's about to say, that Roy's more of Ollie's son than he is. They both know that the other hasn't actually done anything, but they're not to blame for each feeling their own individual emotions.

They also address the topic of legacy in relation to Ollie in #3, and how there's this unspoken standard to live up to that neither of them ever really can. Roy's Ollie's mentee, his protege, he should be Ollie's legacy, and yet he's not Green Arrow, he's not in the JLA, and he's still coming in second place. Whereas Connor, he is Green Arrow, he's Ollie's legacy, he's in the JLA, but he's a better martial artist than archer.

I wish they'd gotten more opportunities to interact while Ollie was dead because there was SO much potential for them during that period, but alas.

And now, I get to talk about one of my top five comics ever: Boys' Night Out, Green Arrow (2001) #32. Yeah, sure, the whole issue only happened because Ollie wanted Connor out of the house, but it's also the first comic to really explore the brotherly relationship between them, particularly in terms of Roy being older. Roy takes Connor bookshopping despite his own boredom-

-And then takes him to a strip club, where they have another heart to heart.

This page specifically is so important to me, because it's one of the few instances where Connor's actually being heard. Particularly in the 2000s but also in the 90s, a lot of Connor's character was defined by him being the voice of reason, the one who'll talk people down and listen to their problems, which ignores the fact that he's actually a pretty young guy, usually younger than the people he's helping (I suck with ages, I'm pretty sure he was 18 when he was first introduced which, by rough estimate using the Lian Method, would make him around 20-22 in the 2000s). I'm not saying that diminishes his emotional intelligence, he's clearly very emotionally intelligent, but it is a lot of pressure to put on someone that young to constantly be the one holding his family together. That's why I think this whole issue is so important for Connor, it's his chance to actually just be, and Roy's the best person for that. Despite what some fanon and canon characterisations suggest, Roy is absolutely not emotionally immature. Hell, you could make a pretty solid argument that part of the reason he took Connor to a strip club in the first place was to bring up the issue of Connor's sexuality. While asexuality wasn't as popularised as a term back then as it is today, the idea of Connor being queer was very present during Green Arrow (2001), albeit often used as a punchline, and while they're there Connor even gets referred to as a "friend of Madonna" by one of the workers. And while in Roy's head Connor was either gay or just had a low libido at that time, his "you're you and Ollie loves you" speech could very easily be interpreted as acceptance of his sexuality, even before Connor himself had figured it out. It acknowledges that, while Connor's good at helping other people work through their own problems, he's still a young person struggling with his identity, not understanding why he's so different to those around him, even his father. And Roy picks up on that, and tells him that it doesn't matter who or what he is, that what matters most is he's Connor, and him being Connor is enough to warrant love and support.

But Roy also doesn't treat Connor any differently to how he'd treat anyone else. When Connor says something Roy disagrees with, he calls him out

And I think Roy's treatment of Connor as an equal is very important. He doesn't depend on him or treat him like he's this pinnacle of wisdom, but he also doesn't coddle him and treat him like a baby. He calls his ass out, when he needs to! Roy's still a very loud and outspoken person, and he's not gonna change that because he and Connor had a heart to heart. I feel like a big problem with a lot of characters who enter into a family dynamic is that sometimes their writers change who they are at their core in order to have them fit into a specific role in the nuclear family, and while yeah, Roy's absolutely playing the role of an older brother in this issue, he's still Roy Harper, which I think is crucial. And conversely, Connor also calls Roy out when he does something he doesn't like!

I'm running low on the photo limit so apologies for the quality of this collage, and I couldn't fit it in frame but for context Roy just knocked out a robber who Connor was trying to talk down. Connor explains to Roy his reasonings, and Roy apologises! I think this also highlights the differences in terms of their characters. They're both very protective of their families, but Roy tends to act first whereas Connor thinks things through. Roy saw Connor with a gun pointed at him and immediately took action, which contrasts Connor's reaction when Roy gets shot in Outsiders #6

Connor's more of a rational thinker in times of crisis, and he tends to try and think things through and avoid rash decisions, whereas Roy's very much an immediate responder if his family's at stake.

And then it ends with them actually acknowledging each other as brothers!

The ending of Boys' Night Out is so important to me, honestly, and it demonstrates one of the most important features of their relationship- trying to figure out what brotherhood means. There's not a big hug at the end, there doesn't need to be. Just an acknowledgement that they're in each others lives, that they're brothers, and it doesn't matter what that means. It's cool. I adore this issue so much, I had to make like half the post about it because it's so good and it's such a good example of why filler issues are needed. Sure, Williamson's run has it's sweet moments, but an issue like this where two characters just get to interact in a low stake scenario will always be so much more impactful than one hug in a big event.

So, yeah, I think my short answer sums it up pretty well. They're the brothers ever.

[theflyindutchwoman]

I think they’ve made Lucy look so stupid. It annoys me so much cause she was my favorite. Isabel, Noah, Nyla have allllll told Lucy UC work destroys your personal life yet Lucy is running around like she’s the exception. She’s not. It drives me nuts.

I'm not sure if you just needed to vent or if you wanted me to answer… But I respectfully disagree. I get not liking this storyline and how frustrating it can be or even how out of character it might seem. That's perfectly fine. But I personally enjoy watching this journey. While I do believe that in the long term, UC is probably not going to be a good fit for her and the life that she desires, I love watching Lucy finding herself and trying to figure out a way to have the career AND life that she wants.

Let's get back to why Lucy became a cop in the first place. I joined the Academy on a whim. I knew that my parents would hate it. But I had no idea how much I would love it. Being a cop is the first thing I've ever been serious about. (1.04) I guess I've been adrift since college, trying on different hats and different personalities, and nothing's felt right, until -- until this. But I don't think the time spent trying to find myself was wasted. You know, everything I've done so far, the profound and the foolish, has prepared me to become a police officer so that I can protect those who need it the most and from those who would do them harm. (3.10)

By her own admission, she spent years trying to find her place, to find a job where she could feel fulfilled… So now that she found it, is it that hard to believe that she would do everything in her power to follow through? I know that she is talking about being a cop in general here and not UC. But at the moment, UC is what she wants to do… and honestly, she owes it to herself to try. Maybe she won't like it. Maybe she'll decide that it is not for her after all. But this is something she has to try for herself and decide for herself. Not because others have previously failed or because others told her to do something else - which is what her parents have been trying to do from the beginning by the way. Hearing other people's stories are not the same as living that experience yourself. Sometimes you need to learn first hand. There's nothing wrong with that. She may be 30 years old, but she is still at the beginning of her career. She is still finding herself and exploring all avenues. As she should.

"Isabel, Noah, Nyla have allllll told Lucy UC work destroys your personal life" All true. And yet, she is actively supported by people whose very own lives were destroyed by undercover work. Nyla has been mentoring her from the beginning. The same Nyla who teaches classes on how to learn from past mistakes. Who told Lucy on their first shift together to be better than her. And what about Tim? He obviously believes that she is different (his words), that this could have a better ending. Otherwise he wouldn't have bothered taking that leap of faith. And more than Lucy herself, he knew exactly what he was getting himself into. Despite his past and own issues, he has been nothing but supportive and encouraging since she graduated. Did he underestimate the toll it would take on him? Probably. Is he hiding his own feelings on the matter? Most definitely. But the fact remains that he still chooses to believe that they can make it work. It's no coincidence that the two main characters who had their personal lives so negatively impacted by UC work, are also the ones actively encouraging Lucy. I strongly believe that you are not bound by other people's mistakes and failures. Learn from it but don't stop doing something because other people failed. And that's what Lucy is trying to do.

"Yet Lucy is running around like she’s the exception." Is she, though? So far, ever since s4, she hasn't been in any rush to do undercover work. The only times she was pushing for a UC op, was when she volunteered Tim as a hitman and as Jake. Which is hilarious when you think about it. Since we mentioned Noah, here's what he said on the topic : she could have done more missions. Now, granted, unlike him, she is still a P2 so that might hinder her. It's entirely possible that she didn't get more opportunities. But when she got one, like in 5.07, she was still being cautious at first. And in 5.21, she didn't hesitate to call off the operation at the end. Not only that, but every time she meets someone who has done UC, she jumps on the occasion to ask them for their advices, for their different perspectives. And every time, those advices ended up with a 'maybe it can be different for you'. She is actually trying to learn from others so she can avoid making the same errors. That's not the act of someone who thinks she is better than everyone. Or who thinks she knows better. If anything, she seems to be taking her time : this has been her arc since s3. Even when she got accepted to the UC Academy, she went to see Nyla for advices. Sure, she was looking for some sort of absolution, but it's still telling that she went to her first.

"She’s not." How do we know she won't be the exception? Why do we immediately assume that she can't succeed when the premise of the show is about a 40+ years old man who decided to become a cop and succeeded? Everyone was telling Nolan he was stupid and naive too. And yet, here we are. So why Lucy couldn't be the exception as well? To show that there may be a way? In the end, it's a story. The writers can choose the ending they want.

Do I believe she would love the full undercover lifestyle? No. Not for long missions. I can't see her enjoying leaving her life and the people she loves behind… leaving herself behind. Not for a year. And not without taking its toll on her. But that doesn't mean I find her stupid for wanting to try out anyway. That's just my opinion though. Also, a career in undercover ops doesn't automatically mean going under. She could be a case officer. She could train new agents. She could do short(ish) missions. All of this could be a really good alternative for her.

Side note : I didn't touch on the logistics of long term undercover work on the show (or her being outed on a documentary) because, at the end of the day, no matter how complicated it could be, if the writers want her to do UC, they'll find a way. I just wanted to focus on Lucy's journey.

[fallenclan]

Everyone’s been limiting you for giving tidbits abt cats. So give me some tidbits you wanna share about any cat!!

-After giving her life to save the apprentices during the Rogue Attack, Toro became somewhat of a mythological figure to Fallenclan, especially to the young ones. Many kits like to pretend to be Toro during their games--this ferocious white cat with gleaming black horns and eyes like lit coals, protector of all those who need her.

-Ever since Henryclaw died, Poppyfeather and Brambletuft have gone for semi-regular long walks around the territory. sometimes they spend the whole time talking, but more often than not they just walk in silence, side by side, pelts brushing against each other.

-When Petalslip and Sunnytuft were kits, Willowsplash would spend hours telling them stories about her siblings. She wants to make sure they'll be remembered.

-When Feathersight visits the Glow-cave, he often speaks to his father, Hare. He was a kittypet, and didn't believe in Starclan, so in order to see him Feathersight has to cross Starclan's borders into the unknown. When he told this to Silverbelly, he was shocked to learn he's the only Fallenclan cat to have ever done so.

-Lightningtail still visits Lilystem, her Archclan mate, on occasion. The only cat who knows this is Crowflame, who reluctantly swore to never tell a soul, unless Lightningtail were to die prematurely, in which case he was instructed to tell Mossfrog who her father was.

[squuote]

Hey Hey Squuote, just popping in to give you something for all that wonderful Tsp content. Here's your very own crown! You can wear it anytime you feel like, and here's one for your Narrator too! Thanks for all that amazing art, see you later!

WUHH HI HI. THANK YOU :-) !!

[sleepanonymous]

Heya! I just got into Sleep Token and I'm enamored! Do you know of any links to posts or anything that talk about the characters and their personalities onstage? I'm having trouble differentiating between III and IV (I know II is the drummer) and I want to learn more about them!

Also, is it pronounced Two, Three, and Four, or Second, Third, and Fourth?

Hi and welcome! 😊 Glad to see a new fan of the band. For the sake of clarity, I'll answer your second question first. The Sleep Token lore technically dubs them all Vessel 1, Vessel 2, etc. so it's my understanding that fans started calling the other band members Two, Three, and Four, and used Roman numerals for their monikers.

TLDR: This Weblink has almost all of Sleep Token's lore, and This Video also has almost all of Sleep Token's lore. The easiest way to tell III and IV apart from each other is by their instruments and height. III plays bass and is taller than the rest of the band. IV plays guitar and is shorter than the rest of the band (except for II, he is the shortest of the four).

I'll be honest, I also had trouble differentiating between III and IV when I first got into the band. Up until very recently, they wore similar outfits, too, which made pictures difficult to tell them apart. You can always tell via the instrument they're holding (if it's visible). III is the bassist and IV is the guitarist. Another way to tell depends on which side of the stage they are standing on. 85% of the time III is stage right, in front of the choir (Vesselettes) and IV is stage left, in front of II's drum set. My favorite way to tell them apart (before it just became secondhand nature to know which was which) was if the musician had a bun under his mask or not. IV's hair is relatively concealed beneath his mask, but III has longer hair and puts it up into a bun to keep it all in place under his mask during rituals.

The neck of III's bass is kind of in the way of the back of IV's head in the second photo, but here are two examples of the bun shape that III has. This is also a good way to tell them apart if they're standing next to each other, or, in this case, kissing. III is extremely tall and will always be taller than any other band member unless he's crouching or leaning over. If the two aren't standing near each other, you can always use Vessel as a measuring stick.

The photo on the left probably isn't the best reference, but trust me, III is about 5 centimeters taller than Vessel, he's just leaning back. The photo on the right also probably isn't the best since Vessel and IV are both just dark shapes lol, but at least it's obvious that Vessel is taller than IV.

The band as a whole is anonymous so you might not find much in the way of personalities, even of their stage personas. If you're willing to read up on the Sleep lore itself, you can do that here (this is a link to boolintunes.com). Or, if you'd prefer to watch a friendly, lecture-style video, there is this one here on YouTube. Persona-wise the most concise I can give you is this:

Vessel is very emotional. That is evident by the lyrics he writes, but doubly so when he is in front of an audience. He will cry, he will laugh, he will do silly dances, and he will hype up his bandmates. It's evident that he loves what he does, but he is also extremely humble about it. All of the love his fans give him he makes sure to give back 110% (the fact that he manages to do it without speaking is impressive in itself).

II is a beast, like no joke. This man has got to have started playing drums before he could walk, I swear. He, like Vessel, obviously loves what he does, has a blast, and also gives zero fucks while doing it. He will sit at his drum set and kick out beats while drinking Red Bull and Diet Coke through his mask 🤣🤣 During moments in songs where there is little to no percussion he'll often stand up and react to the lyrics Vessel sings. He also comes to the front of the stage at the very end of rituals to hype up the crowd and hand out his used drumsticks and sometimes even a drum head.

III is the most animated of the guys. I will often refer to him as the "main character" of Sleep Token because he is always front and center. This has also earned him the fandom nickname of Bassy Boi. I've seen him do everything from windmill headbang, to run in place, to high kick, to jumping up and down for 30+ seconds straight. He also has a knack for yelling at fans. There is a compilation video on YouTube here for reference. Also! Something I forgot to mention earlier in telling III and IV apart: III almost always has on his iconic checkered socks in the most recent shows.

IV (at least the current IV) is probably the most reserved and collected on stage (fun fact, there were two other IVs in Sleep Token before our current IV, I wrote about that here), In earlier shows he played with the band, around 2021/2022, he used to be fairly shy. Sometimes IV would stand off to the very side of the stage and let Vessel and III have all the attention. Luckily he's seemed to get past his shyness and has become much more of a crowd pleaser. He'll often do things like serenade the crowd (a bit like II does, only a lot closer since there's no drum set in the way), get roped into Vessel's or III's chaotic stage antics, or, you know, tease pulling his mask off in front of an entire music festival crowd.

[deoidesign]

Hello I stumbled across your profile and I just say I love your art style! I've gotta ask, how'd your develop it? And do you have any advice for someone who can't decide what they want their art to look like?

Thank you so much!

To be entirely honest, I don't feel like I truly "developed" my style. I feel a lot more like I finally let myself draw it! But I am incredibly deliberate with my work, and I do have clear tendencies and preferences... So I'll do my best to explain how I got to where I am now as an artist.

It's important to remember that "style" is something of a nebulous concept. It changes with you as you grow as a person, and most artists can work in and emulate many art styles! Art really is a form of communication with yourself, and your "style" is a reflection of the tendencies and preferences you have. My art does not look how it looked 5 years ago, and my art will look different 5 years from now too. I've changed, and my art reflects that!

(2012, 2018, 2023; two pieces I remember being incredibly proud of and considered my best work up til that point, and then my most recent piece)

What you need to do, as everyone will tell you, is study the fundamentals (anatomy, perspective, form and structure, lighting and shadow, color, and composition) so you have the proper tools to make the most informed decisions possible about your art, and so you can deliberately break or follow rules as you please for your desired effect. I know it sounds silly to learn rules if you're not gonna be following them anyways, but they help you be much more consistent and intentional! More knowledge is NEVER a bad thing to have!

However, I know it's a bit demoralizing to just be told to study fundamentals. Everyone knows you're supposed to do that, but it takes YEARS to learn, and people want their art to feel how they want it to now (which is very very very normal to want!)

So on that front, I have 2 follow up suggestions that I personally find helpful (of course, everyone is different, so it's not like this is the only way to learn! But, if it resonates with you, it might mean it will work for you too.)

1: Separate study from application

I believe this is beneficial for a few reasons:

If the goal of every piece is learning, it can become frustrating, overwhelming, and boring

It's harder to self critique when there are multiple variables to investigate. I like to study one fundamental at a time

Study (usually) works best with a large quantity of output, whereas application of knowledge (finished pieces) is often more satisfying and effective when you get to take your time

Deliberate practical application of what you've learned in a finished piece helps cement the learning in your mind, and also lets you get satisfying finished pieces with noticeable improvement after a good study session!

I've found that keeping these things separate helps me improve faster and more deliberately, and it takes a lot of the pressure off of both aspects! I'm not worried about my studies looking beautiful, they're just to learn! And I don't feel pressured to critique my finished pieces, cause they're just for fun and to make something pretty. I personally find this helps me have a much healthier relationship with my art.

When studying, copy! Copy things as best as you can, all the time. It gives you something to compare to for self critique (and of course, if you're copying someone else's work and you share the study, ALWAYS give credit, share the original, and say it was for study.) In application, don't copy: reference. Make it yours!

2: Let yourself do the things that feel "easy" or like "cheating"

This one is simpler: nothing in art is easy.

If something feels easy to you, most of the time it's not because it's actually any easier... It's because it's part of your natural tendencies and preferences! This took me forever to realize, but as long as you're actually doing some study, then you're learning. You don't need to learn All The Time. When you're doing the "application" portion, you should let yourself do whatever is actually the most fun and feels easiest! This is where your style will start to come through, and where you get to learn about yourself. Take the pressure off, and have fun!!!

The only cheating in art is theft. If you're not stealing, then it's allowed!

My whole life (and yes, still!) I'd get regular criticism about both my style and my subject matter. You will too. You'll see a thousand different styles, and a hundred different things to admire in each. Your heart will ache that you don't draw like others do.

But art is a form of communication with yourself. It's like your voice, or your accent; just something that's a part of you! It can be fun to mimic others', but when you sit to have a conversation you speak naturally. (I know some people want to and do change their voice, but this is a metaphor and metaphors aren't perfect)

Don't stress so much about what you want your art to look like, especially if you're not sure. There's a lot of value to be had in constant experimentation, I think it'd be rather boring to only draw one style the rest of my life. What I draw is what I want to see, right now, for who I am now! It's a part of me and comes naturally, if I let it!

I hope this helps!

[squidpedia]

What was it like for you starting out as a beginner artist? How did you improve?

I mostly just incessantly practiced, experimented, and observed a lot for as long as I can remember. I grew up on a lot of videos going over tips and techniques for beginner artists and mostly just observed their processes and would try to bring them into my art. Othertimes I would just constantly experiment with my artstyle (what if I made the shoulders more defined, what if I changed the size of how I draw eyes, what if tried drawing different body types, what if I tried a pose with a lot more foreshortening etc etc). I tried to push myself a bit further everytime like maybe spending more time on the overall piece, adding backgrounds, drawing multiple people interacting. Drawing challenges also helped a lot I think since they pushed me out of my comfort zone or forced me to approach my art in different way than what I was used to. Things like “draw something using only one line and not lifting your pen from the paper”, or “create a bunch of random shapes using a colored marker and then turn them into characters/objects”, or even just dtiys challenges were great for this. A lot of the drawings I made from these didn’t really end up being things I was super proud of after finishing them, but thats fine since I still learned a lot and they still helped with improving. A lot of it was honestly just not being afraid to draw something I might not be happy with later in the name of getting that practice in and trying new things all the time.

I hope this is helpful, but I’m not too sure so I’m sorry if it isn’t, this is the best way I could think of summarizing it!

[jonathanbiers]

Argyle never gets frustrated with Steve when he doesn’t understand something. He doesn’t roll his eyes, or give That Sigh. He explains things patiently, if a bit abstractly, and when Steve is way off base Argyle runs with it. Is Vecna a vampire? Whoa that would be wild, man! Do you think he can’t have garlic? We could just take him out with a gnarly garlic pie, my dude!

the way you're seeing into my mind.... argyle being really soft with steve and taking the time to make sure he doesn't feel stupid when he's confused is something i've considered AT LENGTH (specifically in dms with @himbohohoharringtxn who has the unfortunate luck of being on the receiving end of Most of my argyle thoughts fdjghkdfj)

i would like to preface this by saying that i am firmly in "argyle and steve are both genuinely smart" territory. i think steve is very neurodivergent coded (i see the arguments for adhd/autism/dyslexia/ocd and as someone who might be autistic but is diagnosed with the other three....i see these arguments and i agree on all fronts) and there's also the head trauma of it all, though that's not what this is about. he's not fucking dumb, he just needs things broken down and explained to him in a very specific way. nothing wrong with that!

as far as argyle is concerned - we've literally seen him in action noticing small details no one else has(one of my fav parallels between them), which ends up being the reason the cali group finds nina and el. he's not fucking dumb either, just delivered to us as a comic relief stoner character with little dimension because the duffers need to be fucking stopped

BUT ANYWAY! you're so right! argyle would see the way steve sometimes gets brushed off and spoken over. the rest don't mean it to be hurtful and steve tries not to show that it does sometimes sting (because it's really not that big of a deal to him and it's not like they're being outright mean) but he would ABSOLUTELY "yes and-" whatever steve's off the wall question or idea was, if anything just to make him laugh, relieve some of the tension. AND IT WORKS is the thing.

it's not just, "duuuude, what if we just lure vecna into the sun? he'll be TOAST in five seconds flat, no fighting necessary. nancy, you can put the gun down, we're gonna hurl garlic cloves at him with a slingshot!" in one fell swoop, argyle is 1. making sure steve feels heard and not spoken over; 2. acknowledging steve's input and effort in a way that, let's be honest, the others don't do very often; 3. putting a smile on the group's faces for a while because fuck they're kids in a stressful situation and need a laugh; 4. putting himself in the line of fire so the others can rag on him instead.

argyle would do this when they aren't even dating yet and steve definitely would not be normal about it, he'd be smiling so big and soft and then argyle would catch his eye and smile back and they'd have this little quiet moment between them amidst all the chaos and dread.

after they're dating though? oh, they'd be INSUFFERABLE. they'd be such a pda couple, with the ridiculous pet names("what the fuck did you just call me?" "don't worry about it, my lil sweet potato pie."), and the open flirting until their friends are fake-retching, the whole nine yards. argyle is hanging off of steve's back with his arms around his waist and not even acknowledging it as he makes his argument to the rest of the group that, "no, no, listen. steve is onto something here, i just know. what if-"

and when they're alone, it'd be less of the theatrics and silliness and more of the gentle patience. they're both smart in really different ways and when argyle gets something steve doesn't and steve is getting a little frustrated about it, he'd take his hand or pull him close and just distract him with a little bit of affection to get him to cool down because he knows being frustrated isn't going to help steve figure out whatever it is. conversely, steve does the same when he's trying to explain something to argyle - though he's less likely to get as frustrated when confused, and more likely to pretend to take longer to get it than he actually does because listening to steve explain a subject he's knowledgeable about is fucking hot, can you blame him? they're just soft with each other, okay

[thetarttfuldickhead]

what if, one match while jamie's being a prick, winding up the opposing team like only he can, one of the guys on the opposite team takes their frustrations with him too far and takes a swing at him, making contact with his face before anyone can stop him. jamie goes down, and some of the richmond boys are pulling the other guy away while some stay behind to check on him. I'd imagine jamie would get taken off the pitch to get checked out, since it's a hit to the head. what do you think roy's and keeley's reactions would be?

When it happens, it happens quickly.

It's the third game of the season, and Jamie’s in rare form. Has been ever since training resumed after the summer break, really, somehow bringing his very best great teammate game and his prince prick of all pricks game to every match. Once he’d needed a signal; these days he just knows when it’s time to pass the ball and when it’s time to bear down on the goal like fucking Nemesis.

Like something’s settled in him, slid into place.

It’s fucking gorgerous to watch, Roy thinks, nodding approvingly as Jamie slides the ball back to Sam with a deft twist of his ankle.

Unsurprisingly, today’s opponents do not agree. It’s an even game, 2-2 with only ten minutes left to go, and when United takes the ball off of Bumbercatch and initiates their own attack (fortunately ending in the ball going over the sidelines and a thrown-in for Richmond) that’s when Jamie decides it’s time to kick things up a notch and go full prick. Roy watches him jog up to United’s Westerly (whom he has been more or less been running circles around the entire match) and mutter something to him, grinning in that way that used to drive Roy up the fucking wall (still does on occasion), and Westerly—

—fucking swings at him, and before Roy can fully process what is happening Jamie’s down on the grass and players from all over the pitch is running over to hold Westerly back and hold Isaac back as he charges at Westerly and the sound of the whistle is shrill over the roars from the stands and there’s the red card and Sam and Dani are both kneeling by Jamie’s side as the rest of the two teams are either getting all up in each others faces or trying to pull each other away and Jamie is not getting up and—

Roy doesn’t realize that he’s moving before a firm hand on his arm holds him back. “Can’t go on the pitch, Coach,” Beard cautions. “Medic will check on him.”

Truthfully, Roy isn’t fully sure if he was moving to check on Jamie or to punch Westerly in the balls, but Beard’s calm voice cut through the red mist somewhat. He takes a deep breath, calling on the exercises Dr. Fieldstone has had him practising for the better part of the summer. They don’t help much, perhaps, but they do help.

The medical staff is already making their way over to Jamie and thank fucking God he’s rolling over on his back and seems to try to sit up only Sam’s holding him down. Looks like there’s blood on his face but if he’s moving then he’s not fucking dead, is he, or paralyzed and Roy doesn’t need to throw his career away to run over there and break Westerly’s fucking neck even though he can already imagine how fucking satisfying the sound of it snapping would be and—

Roy closes his eyes. Breathe in. Hold. Breathe out. Hold.

Football is a contact sport. Getting knocked down is all part of the game. Emotions run high during a match, all that adrenaline, and fuck knows Roy’s been fouled more times than he can count. He knows, too, that Jamie can take a hit as well as anyone – but that wasn’t just rough play gone a little too far, that was a deliberate fucking punch to the face and this isn’t fucking ice hockey, is it, that shit is not fucking on.

Even so, Roy’s surprised to realize how angry he is. After all, he’s punched Jamie in the face himself, and that wasn’t even half a year ago.

That was different, somehow. For one, Jamie didn’t need to be led of the pitch and sat down on the grass just a couple of meters away from Roy as Nate tells Roberts to get warm and is it really déjà vu if you know for a fact just what the situation reminds you off?

His phone buzzes. He pulls it out, mostly for a distraction while the medical staff try to stop the nosebleed and check Jamie for concussion.

A text from Keeley. Is he okay???

Before he has time to even begin typing an answer, she’s calling him, and he can’t not answer, can he? Not when he understands how worried she must be, stuck far above it all in the VIP box.

“Hey.”

“Is he all right?” She sounds breathless, tense.

He wonders if that ought to make him jealous. It doesn’t; if anything, it feels good that they’re in this together, just like it had back in Manchester when they conspired (badly) to bring Jamie out of his funk.

“I don’t know. I mean, he’s not fucking dead.” It comes out harsh, but he trusts that Keeley knows him well enough to know why.

“Are they not telling you what’s going on? You’re the fucking coach!” Harsh, but he knows Keeley well enough to know why.

“Have to let the medical staff do their job first. They’re still checking him out, can’t fucking crowd them.”

Jamie’s still sitting up, at least, and while he looks a little dazed he seems responsive enough to the medics’ questions. One of them glances over their shoulder at Roy, which Roy takes as an invitation to move over.

“Hang on,” he mutters into the phone before turning to the medic. “Well?”

“The nose isn’t broken,” she tells him. “We can’t rule out concussion yet, though, so he’s not going back out there. Besides, he’s still bleeding.”

Jamie looks like he maybe wants to argue but thinks better of it. Roy doesn’t know if that has anything to do with the quelling look he gives the younger man. I’m fine with him playing hurt, he’d told Ted not long ago, but Beard had had a point then, hadn’t he? And Dr. Fieldstone, too, when she’s gently but persistenly questioned how well pushing himself to just keep going through any and all pain had actually worked out for him.

“Yeah, okay,” Roy says, acknowledging the medic’s verdict with a jerk of his head. He glances over at Nate, who nods and motions for Roberts to go on.

Then Roy turns back to Jamie, only to find Jamie looking up at him, his face and shirt a mess of blood and dirty smudges.

“How are you feeling?” Roy asks. “Keeley wants to know too,” he adds, holding up his phone to demonstrate.

Jamie smiles a little at that, and Roy feels something in his chest loosen. “I’ll be fine, Coach, Keeley,” Jamie assures him – them. His voice is almost completely steady.

Roy nods sharply. “Yeah, you will.” He reaches down to squeeze Jamie’s shoulder, once. “Great playing out there today. It’s no wonder that fucking arsehole punched you, because there’s no other way he could ever have put a fucking stop to you, yeah?”

He’s rewarded with another smile, slightly bigger this time, and then the medical staff move to take Jamie away and Roy is walking back to the other coaches, speaking into his phone: “He’ll be all right. Might have a concussion, though.”

Keeley lets out a long sigh, almost like a sob. Roy can hear her tell Rebecca that Jamie’s going to be fine, and then she’s back in his ear, fear giving way to both fury and relief: “I’m still taking my stiletto heel to that fucking wanker Westerly if I ever get the chance. Do you think we should go to his place after the game, or should we bring him to mine? Jamie, I mean, not the wanker.” When Roy doesn’t immediately answer, she adds, “We have to watch over him, right? Make sure he doesn’t fall asleep or play video games or something?”

“Don’t think you actually have to do that,” Roy says, but before she can protest, he adds: “But yeah, of course we’ll fucking watch over him.”

Of course they fucking would.

[kris-mage-fics]

1,3, 4, 24 and 25 for Kyrahlise and Blade for the OCxLI OTP asks!

When I saw your ask I had to do a double-take, because I figured that you’d ask about Kyrah and Chase! But Kyrahlise and Blade are fun too! And so frustrating before they get together, lol! Now, without further adieu, here are the answers to the Romance Asks *dramatically gestures towards the answers*

1. What drew your character to their LI and vice versa?

Blade was drawn to Kyrahlise because she’s kind, hardworking, always trying to do what’s right, and keeps improving her combat abilities and magic. She also acts like she feels at ease around him and teases him. (Which gets to my headcanon that he likes it when people aren’t afraid of him and act normal around him.) 

Kyrahlise was drawn to Blade because despite all he’s done and seen, he’s still very kind and considerate. Also he’s incredibly fun to tease! He respects her abilities and knowledge, and she feels safe speaking her mind to him because he gives what she has to say due thought. What seals the deal is in Chapter 4 when he’s so angry about what happened to her. It’s been a long time since anyone has given a shit if she were safe, or wanted to protect her.

3. When they are having a fight, what is it about and how do they deal with it? 

The number one thing these two would fight about is Kyrahlise feeling like Blade is overprotective of her, and Blade feeling like she is too independent and reckless. Once Kyrah understands just how scared he is of losing her, and that he needs to know she’s safe, she’s going to take a long hard look at how she acts. She’ll agree to work on making her safety a higher priority, and communicating better before she runs off. When Blade realizes that she feels a little stifled and like he doesn’t fully trust her, I’m sure he’ll agree to reign in his protectiveness to some degree. Of course it’s something they both have to work on to find a balance, but they will eventually.

The silly thing about this argument is that she likes that he’s protective, and he likes that she’s independent and wants to tackle problems! They just both think the other takes it too far.

4. Their favorite physical feature on each other?

According to Lena, romanced!Blade loves MC’s eyes, hair, and lips (or just face in general), and we know he’s into a nice butt! I change my mind regularly as to which is his favorite, but right now I'm going to say her eyes!

Kyrahlise loves Blade’s smile! It fills her with joy to see him happy and relaxed enough to genuinely smile. She has an internal ‘got the stoic, ex-assassin to smile’ counter! Overall she thinks he’s a very beautiful and handsome man, but his smile is her favorite.

24. Is there any moment that happens between them that you know happens and just makes you melt? 

One time Kyrahlise sat on Blade’s lap briefly as he’s working to tell him something and give him a little kiss before getting up to read. (He’s a head taller than her, so she uses whatever she can to make it easier to kiss him!) But Blade doesn’t want her to go, so she’s like “fine, I’ll just read here” thinking that he’ll eventually get tired of her sitting on his lap. She severely underestimates how much he likes having her close. But he’s warm, and she feels very safe and cozy, so she falls asleep. Since he doesn’t want to wake her up, he stops working. And he’s probably having a hard time not staring at her because he thinks she’s very cute!

25. Share any headcanons about their relationship.

As soon as Blade lets her, Kyrahlise starts cutting his hair. She secretly thinks his haircut is atrocious. Though once she gives him a better haircut she realizes she played herself because now he looks even more handsome! (Kyrah’s been cutting her own hair since her mother died. Most people can’t be trusted to cut curly hair right, and she’s a touch vain about her hair.)

They trade books of poetry with each other and then talk about which ones they like and why. It’s like a little book club with just the two of them!

Blade’s office stops looking quite so bare, because Kyrahlise makes him some art to put up. If anyone dares to criticize it or make any disparaging remarks about it in his presence they get his death glare!

[my-name-is-apollo]

'Ello :D

I saw a few days ago that you mentioned something about complicated Cassandra & Apollo? I was wondering if you could expand on it 👀 Complicated CassandraApollo sounds interesting

I would like to direct you to this post because it summarises a lot of my feelings on them!

Besides that, I'd like to talk about the way one of my favorite scenes, Cassandra ripping apart her prophetic insignia during her final moments, is written in two different plays:

Farewell, ye garlands of that god most dear to me! farewell, ye mystic symbols! I here resign your feasts, my joy in days gone by. Go, I tear ye from my body, that, while yet mine honour is intact, I may give them to the rushing winds to waft to thee, my prince of prophecy

- Euripides', Trojan Women (trans. Edward Philip Coleridge)

and

Why then do I bear these mockeries of myself, this wand, these prophetic chaplets on my neck?

(Breaking her wand, she throws it and the other insignia of her prophetic office upon the ground, and tramples them underfoot)

You at least I will destroy before I die myself. To destruction with you! And fallen there, thus do I repay you. Enrich with doom some other in my place. Look, Apollo himself is stripping me of my prophetic garb — he that saw me mocked to bitter scorn, even in this bravery, by friends turned foes, with one accord, in vain — but, like some vagrant mountebank, called "beggar," "wretch," "starveling," I bore it all. And now the prophet, having undone me, his prophetess, has brought me to this lethal pass.

- Aeschylus, Agamemnon (trans. by Herbert Weir Smyth)

You can see the difference in how Cassandra feels towards Apollo. In the Trojan woman, there's still some fondness she directs towards her god. She calls him the god who is the dearest to her. She wants to take off the symbols of Apollo she dons on her body and give it back to Apollo while her honor is yet intact. It's a way for her to not let her god get dishonored in that helpless situation.

Where as in the Agamemnon, Cassandra sounds more bitter, there's no hint of fondness here. She tears away her prophetic symbols and tramples them because she wants to destroy them. She also blames her act of destroying them on Apollo. Apollo is the ultimate destroyer for her and his symbols are bringers of doom, as she says elsewhere in the play:

CASSANDRA: Apollo, Apollo! God of the Ways, my destroyer! For you have destroyed me — and utterly — this second time.

- Aeschylus, Agamemnon (trans. by Herbert Weir Smyth)

While the two plays portray Cassandra with feelings that are to some extent contrasting (but both founded on desperation), when I think about Cassandra I think like she can feel all those emotions - fondness, bitterness, scorn - almost simultaneously. Because this is her god whom she worships and has dedicated her life for. She has felt his wrath and she has also felt his divine inspiration. She scorned his advances in the past but she still gives him her body to possess his spirit. She couldn't save Troy, she couldn't save herself. But the very last vision Apollo shows her is that of her death being avenged, and that seemed like a miniscule relief for her in the last moments of her life.

Apollo also seems to takes it upon himself to orchestrate that revenge. He could have had other reasons to do that - but to avenge Cassandra's death could also very well have been one of them. We don't really get to see what Apollo thinks of Cassandra. In versions where Cassandra breaks her promise (Aeschylus' Agamemnon and Scholiast on Lycophron's Alexandra) we can definitely assume that he is betrayed by her and is angry with her, understandably so. The scholiast on Lycophron's Alexandra says that Apollo first tried to take back the gift, but when he couldn't he placed a curse to make his gift useless. So it does show that he intended to go easy on her, but it simply wasn't an option. Things are relatively simple here. But there are versions where Cassandra gets her prophetic powers without any direct deal with Apollo, yet the outcome is the same. She rejects him and gets cursed.

Now here the question arises - if satisfying his lust was truly his only objective, why did Apollo curse her instead of just, you know, having his way with her - which wouldn't be unusual for a god? It could be that he simply didn't want (which we see in the case of Sibyl of Cumae). But sometimes I like to think it's more than just that:

Maybe he did it because he knew it would be dangerous to let Cassandra have this power. He was worried that he had blessed her too much, that she had learnt so much that she could intervene with the destiny in her attempts to save Troy. And look at how that turned out for another seer Laocoon - not cursed by Apollo but killed by Athena for warning the Trojans about the Trojan horse. Maybe Apollo didn't want any other god to punish Cassandra like that. She is his beloved priestess, and if at all she has to be punished and damned, he wants to do it himself.

Or maybe (and this is my favourite thought to entertain about them) this was a way for Apollo to deal with his own helplessness about Troy. Because when you think about it, Apollo is not very different than Cassandra in the sense that he is also able to foresee the destruction of Troy, his beloved city with his beloved people, but he won't be able to save them. He is not cursed, he doesn't let out frenzied cries like Cassandra, but he is obliged to abide by the Fates, and has learnt to suffer with his emotions silently. Maybe he desired for someone to join him in this madness. It would torment them but at least he wouldn't feel alone. And he chose Cassandra because she was probably the most beloved to him, and familiar with her virtue, he probably knew she would give him a reason to curse her by rejecting him. He also probably knew that in spite of how unfair he would be towards her, she would still love him and stay devoted to him.

I know my thoughts are probably very unpopular, but I like to think that the bond between them was unbreakable, but definitely very strained. I don't know if co-dependent would be the right word to use for a deity and his doomed priestess (probably not), but I hope you get the idea.

[jounosparticles]

I'm curious....... what do you think the hunting dogs's backgrounds are?

I mean, we know fukuchi's and tachihara's and jouno was in a crime ring but i mean like specific details. does that make sense?

like what was their education or did they ever have to do like a mini basic training? did tachihara create a milk locker?

idk they've been taking up my brain since like October and what I do is that since they don't have specific backgrounds my brain just fills in the spaces for me. just little backstory hcs djdebd

hi!!

okay so….sorry in advance i got really rambly but here are some of my ideas for everyone

the whole team

- tachi joined likely after the others

- i assume fukuchi was there from the start

- but you don’t start a one person team so i’d assume teruko and tecchou were there as well!

- fukuchi specifically picked out jouno for the team. maybe he chose all the members? maybe not im not sure really.

- personally i think they started the team with tecchou, teruko, and fukuchi. then shortly after jouno joined then tachi after

- fukuchi wore the hunting dogs uniform during untold origins. this means either they never got new uniforms or the team has existed for at least 12 years.

- that makes me wonder if there are former hunting dogs that have retired or been killed? or maybe it was just fukuchi and teruko at the start.

- i suppose if tecchou joined while a teenager still (16-19ish) during untold origins it would make sense still. i assume he’s in his late 20s if not older (please i need canon ages asagiri please make them at least 28 please im so sick of everyone being in their early 20s sob. anyways). it would still make sense for them to form then

- however i don’t believe fukuchi makes an appearance in the untold origins book? so it may just be a lore mistake and the team may be newer. who knows.

now onto individual characters

fukuchi

- was in the military prior to the hunting dogs. we know this

- his power probably was the core reason the hunting dogs were founded

- i assume he started training and set this goal in his childhood after getting the signal from amenogozen

- he likely helped form the idea of the group

- i like to imagine he knew teruko beforehand

- i assume fukuchi’s ability manifested out of pure desire to save the world. likely around when he got drafted. since fukuzawa and him fought evenly as children i assume he didn’t have the ability then

- i feel the other hunting dogs likely warmed up to him quickly. he just has the personality of that

- he’s probably always felt immense pressure and stress throughout his entire life due to him knowing the worlds outcome results in his actions

- he likely started out with a strong fighting spirit (like when he met fukuzawa) but he was likely drained and very stressed over time

- as for education, hmmmmm. i actually am not sure. we really don’t get much of any mention of school in bsd in general (other than tanizaki and naomi being students and kunikida being a former teacher). i assume fukuchi got some schooling but enlisted while young

i don’t have too much to say about him since we seen a lot of his backstory.

teruko

- i want to say she was also likely military or a public service worker of sorts

- we really don’t know much about teruko. but she has the personality of someone who is very used to her work and likely has been here a long time

- i feel she probably completed school and went to further school in law enforcement

- she is very tough and good at interrogation. it likely made her one of the most noticeable candidates for the job

- i assume her ability manifested likely out of a time where she desperately wanted to change people, hence the way it is. i’m not really sure how exactly ill have to think more on this!

- i feel she was likely quick to adjust to the job. she doesn’t seem to have an issue talking to people and would likely be a good coworker from the start

- a lot of her background is hard to tell when we don’t quite know how old she is. if i could hazard to guess even roughly how long she’s been around i could come up with some better ideas i think

- i like to imagine she uses her ability to mess with people before they find out what her ability is. imagine going to get a coffee and coming back and seeing a random baby at ur coworkers desk. that would be so funny

- she also probably could use her ability to get those "kids eat free” meals and stuff. not really a backstory headcanon it’s just what i would do

- i bet she always had her sense of justice. i don’t think she ever swayed far from the way she is now. her job likely toughened her a bit and made interrogation easier that way but her heart was always the same intent

- i assume she knew who fukuchi was before they started working together (guessing his reputation was already good or maybe they knew each other).

- she’s probably the brains behind a lot of their work. despite fukuchi being the captain usually it’s her and jouno strategizing the most out of them all. i assume she’s super smart

- i feel she was probably very willing to do the surgeries. she already likely was very strong and skilled in her work. she’s dutiful and i think everything about her screams willing

tachihara

- i assume he’s somewhat new to the squad. remembering he’s only 19

- that makes me wonder if he had went to highschool? if so he was part time hunting dog part time student. must have been one hell of a week. i’m saying he probably dropped out after getting recruited OR idk had a lesser workload until he graduated

- i wish i knew how long he has been in the mafia, that could help me figure out a timeline a lot easier for him.

- i assume he hasn’t been in the mafia much longer than the manga has been going on, however he must have very quickly moved up the ranks somehow without outing his ability. possibly his enhanced strength helped here

- he was found and recruited by the hunting dogs but we don’t know when. somehow long enough to gain their trust to infiltrate the mafia, but not long enough to make a name for himself as a hunting dog.

- guessing, he got found at 17, started infiltrating the mafia at 18, and has been since (at 19). best timeline i can think of that’s reasonable. of course he Could have been much younger but i just don’t see that

- anyway, prior to any of this. we know he wanted to be different than his brother which caused him to act out in rebellion

- regardless of that i think the people around him (including his brother) taught him a lot of who he is

- tachihara is loyal and caring, much like his brother seemed to be. they felt very similar in personality there it really shows

- i’ll also note that his eyes stay bright white most of the time in the manga. despite most of the mafia having black eyes

- but i think being in the mafia taught tachihara that good people can do horrible things, which likely influenced his decision in sparing yosano

- i’d guess his ability manifested out of grief for his brother. he formed a much more dangerous ability that would help him get revenge

- as for joining the hunting dogs, i assume he fit in well from the start

- i think he seems like the type to be very easy to get along with which probably made him an optimal choice for infiltrating but also being part of the job.

- we can see that he cares about the approval of his coworkers as well

- he looks very happy and proud of completing his job. i think this just further shows that he’s always loyal to people, even if they contradict each other

- i bet he was surprised at the start of his military job. he likely didn’t have an option to not join. the sudden change from the surgeries was probably hard. i assume he didn’t train much beforehand since it wasn’t really important

- i like to imagine they all trained him a little bit and they all grew to like him rather quickly !!

jouno

- so all we know is that he was in a crime group six years prior to the current events

- as for schooling i’m really lost here. he might have went to school. he might not have went much. who knows. not me

- i assume jouno had a rougher upbringing. assuming he is at least in his mid-late twenties he was in his crime group until he was an adult

- that is explained a lot in his actions as well. he’s maintained his sadistic personality overtime. compare that to dazai who left his crime group while still a teenager and has had a clear change in some core personality traits

- of course, we don’t know how criminal-era jouno was. but i assume he didn’t change too much since based off the way he acts now.

- we also know he was an executive in said criminal organization, so he was likely affiliated with them for a long time.

- let’s take a quick look at the only executive jouno picture:

this photo is really neat. the striped outfit could indicate that he was a prisoner that fukuchi spotted. it could also just appear that way to look ambiguous as well. jouno also is smiling in the image, this could also be him being asked by fukuchi to join the hunting dogs here. it doesn’t really explain what’s going on or where he is. i just think it’s neat and worth bringing up. had be been a prisoner though im sure it would have been an easy escape given his ability (unless he was in an ability space, of course).

- anyway. this picture also shows his eyes closed, meaning he loses his sight before joining the hunting dogs

- he mentioned that he Lost his sight when arresting dazai, which means he was not born that way. i switch between it being an injury or an illness that made him lose it. either idea is interesting to me and i hope we get an answer.

- either way, i want more criminal executive jouno information

- and i’d assume his ability formed when he felt trapped somewhere. possibly cornered or in a dangerous situation and just needed a quick way to escape and formed it out of fear maybe?

-as for joining the hunting dogs, i assume it was a rougher transition for him

- the people who were after him before are now his coworkers. he probably felt awkward over this (if the others know his past)

- i assume he had the hard time adjusting to everyone too. probably easily annoyed but not wanting to come off that way until he was confident in his job

- i also assume the surgeries wasnt something he initially wanted to do but ultimately did because that’s better than being executed or imprisoned for his crimes.

- he also seems like the type to be reluctant to work with others. possibly making adjusting harder for him

- his morality probably clashed against tecchou’s a bit at first, until jouno found the joy in helping others

- i believe the hunting dogs really helped him find joy in helping people as well. their dedication probably helped motivate him

- he also mentions in one panel after fukuchi asks him to betray "so this isn’t some kind of military test?" which (maybe a stretch) Could suggest he’s been tested by the military to see if he’s still reliable. maybe this creates some lack of trust because people don’t believe him.

- i also assume his upbringing influences the way he acts towards people. he’s cold and mean sometimes but that’s likely a defense mechanism to not b too close to others

tecchou

- once again we don’t know much about tecchou yet. there’s nothing about his past yet but that doesn’t mean i don’t have a ton of ideas floating around

- i feel like teruko he probably went to school and then law-enforcement in post secondary. i know he was a good student too

- we know he’s typically very composed. even when joking he often keeps a straight face except that one time he teases jouno but that’s just him being gay idk

- because of this i wonder if he had some communication issues growing up? maybe working in anything unprofessional didn’t work for him since he often was taken seriously

- however with that in mind i believe he was definitely raised with his just morals. it seems really driven into him and seems to be a huge part of who he is

- i like to think his sense of justice stems from being failed by the system before. maybe he lost someone close to him and never got proper justice?

- what backs that up is how he mentions "there is evil that goes unpunished, and good that goes unrewarded.” and mentions that his blade helps decide that. that is an immense amount of pressure onto himself to keep everything he possibly can just

- such ideas i guess stem from his desire to never have someone not get what they deserve. destroy all evil, protect the innocent. he wants to do what the system failed before and takes it upon himself.

- maybe his ability manifested out of his desire to protect people?

- as for adjusting into the hunting dogs, i feel it wasn’t great or badly. got along with people fine but i feel maybe his very straight-faced personality was a strong contrast to the others at first

- he was possibly military beforehand? or law enforcement and was recruited because of his ability and his strong morals

- he was probably willing to do the surgeries and was already very physically trained. anything to serve proper justice

- he seems to be the calmest-acting of them all. very straightforward when he talks. maybe this was hard to get along with initially? until you’re used to him

- i don’t think he sees the way he acts as unusual either. probably just doesn’t care and is just himself. (which i love)

- i also like to imagine his fixation on ants and stuff is just something he’s always liked. idk he’s so cute for that

- he probably excelled at working right away. i see him to be very good at staying determined to get the job done

thank you for the question!! this was super fun to look at. also please ignore the grammar issues i am super tired