#for comparison!!! reasons!!!

[philtatoshetairos]

Of wine-flush and indigo flowers

Shortly after reaching the colony, I fell fatally in love with Louis, a young dark-haired bourgeois planter, graceful of speech and fastidious of manner, who seemed in his cynicism and self-destructiveness the very twin of Nicolas.

He had Nicki's grim intensity, his rebelliousness, his tortured capacity to believe and not to believe, and finally to despair.  

Yet Louis gained a hold over me far more powerful than Nicolas had ever had.

(...)

And I wonder sometimes if I didn't look to Louis to punish me for what had happened to Nicki, if I didn't create Louis to be my conscience and to mete out year in and year out the penance I felt I deserved.

But I loved him, plain and simple.

To anyone paying attention, it was impossible not to notice how fragile he was, but I was the one who also saw a tenacious strength underneath, a stubborn tendency to cling to his misery. He didn’t want to die, as much as he didn’t want to keep living as he was. He simply refused to see other options, and I was desperate enough that I couldn’t wait to introduce him to the intoxicating pleasures of the blood and the flesh. The wine and the bread of communion twisted into a raw feast of desires neither of us could – or wanted to – control.

He roamed the streets of New Orleans as if he didn’t know what to do with himself, new to losing in a world that had always given him everything... at least on a surface level, if one ignored what he truly longed for. Louis would never have been able to carry on with the life of lies he expected for himself, a meek little wife on his arm, kids he would never love, a lifetime of sorrow to cater to the part he believed he had to play.

What Louis won't tell you was that Paul's death was a stepping stone towards freedom. He was finally free to waste himself in sin, he found a reason to crumble as he was always bound to have done. My beautiful martyr, longing to be sacrificed at the altar and worshipped in burial clothes.

Perhaps in another life, there would have been time for us to become friends. Instead, I had him blooming under my lips, the rosiness on his cheeks fighting the indigo blue of his melancholy. We crashed into each other, Louis looking for damnation, and me for a home I could bury myself in. In the absence of the devil, I gave him what he wanted and took what was my share, a deal sealed with a kiss.

---

Of cinnamon and sugar cane

The ship took me to Saint Louis. Not the city, no, although that was to be my destination on paper. It was along the riverfront in New Orleans that my heart found a suitable home. Shortly after reaching the colony, I fell fatally in love with Louis, a young Creole business owner, graceful of speech but strong of posture, capable of pulling a knife on his brother to establish himself at the eyes of a society that would never truly respect him for who he was.

In his demeanor I saw Nicki’s ferocity as well as his agony and that was how I knew that underneath all that razzle-dazzle there was a never-ending well of sorrow. I feared that it wouldn’t take much time until that fire consumed him and burned him down to ashes, as it had once consumed my Nicki.

Yet Louis gained a hold over me far more powerful than Nicolas had ever had.  

And I wonder sometimes if I didn’t look to Louis to prove that I could do better than I had with Nicki, if I didn’t start a friendship with Louis to measure him out and make sure that he would be able to prevail where I had first failed.

But I loved him, plain and simple.

He was tortured and it seemed that no one but me could see it. He was utterly beautiful and yet people looked at him as if he was only worth as much as he served their purposes. It’s no surprise that a man in his position refused to show any vulnerability to the world at large, refused to let anyone see the sensitive soul underneath. How he bled under all that strength, how I wanted to pump him with enough powerful blood that he would never feel as if he had to hide again.  

What Louis won't tell you was that Paul's death was a stepping stone towards freedom. He could finally walk away from the responsibilities that shackled him, and I knew he would be delivered right to me. Yet it's Louis we're talking about, Saint Louis, making everybody's problems his own even as he raged at God and the world for forsaking him.

He spoke to me as a friend and I heard the pleas to give him the means to transcend the life he knew. Under my lips, he melted like sugar and tasted like cinnamon, sweetest of spices. He needed a home where he could be himself, I had an empty nest to offer. In the absence of the devil, I gave him what he wanted and took what was my share, a deal sealed with a kiss.

[agentravensong]

thinking about how the extra area added on to a pacifist run of undertale, the true lab, is about alphys's past mistakes. how it ends with the story reaffirming that, despite the pain she's caused, the thing that matters is that she has now made the choice to do the right thing. she's still worthy of her friends' love.

thinking about how undertale doesn't expect the player to get a pacifist ending for the first time. how it's more likely than not that the player will kill toriel the first time they battle her, how lots of players don't initially figure out how to end undyne's fight without killing her, etc. what it expects — not even expects, really, but hopes — is that the player, if they care enough, will use their canonically acknowledged power over time to make up for those mistakes.

no matter how many neutral runs a player has done before committing to the pacifist run, the thing that matters to the characters, to the story, is that you've chosen, now, to do the right thing.

compared to alphys, the player honestly gets off lightly, in that you're the only one (other than flowey) who really remembers any harm you might have caused. and any direct guilting the game could have done about it is long past at this point. instead, as undertale often does, it makes its point via parallels: alphys caused harm, and she knows it. she has committed to being better. in doing so, she has unlocked for herself a better ending to her story. and she deserves it. she's forgiven.

those structural narrative parallels are all over undertale, if you know where to look. and that's one of the things that makes it so fuckin' good.

[youcanthandelthetruth]

Common interior design mistakes: having a crummy house. Try having high ceilings with big windows, this will make your space feel airy amd inviting! Lots of extra rooms give you places to store things and reduce clutter in your living space. Consider having a view of the city skyline or perhaps the ocean, this will give your home a peaceful and sophisticated mood. Easy tips that anyone can follow!

[chloesimaginationthings]

Are you more of FNAF or Jojo? (Ofc you will then say, I can be both-)

Why pick when they are so similar/hj

[greencarnation]

eleven is fascinating to me because he came right off the back of tens horrible traumatic breakdown after he lost everything and he immediately tried to establish himself as the opposite of that. he is funny and goofy and almost childlike, and he bulldozes on in his adventures with amy like nothing happened at all. but then something happens and his masks slips and it's like oh! the core of this man is still anger. he is so so angry all of the time and this façade is the only thing stopping him from being consumed by it. he isn't over any of it and he hasn't moved on. he is wearing a fez and laughing but under that all that exists is age old anger and grief and it is going to consume him

[fiepige]

Compilation of EVERY single time they changed Hobie's filter in the digital version:

Left: Theatrical release Right: Digital release

You might have to click on some of them to get a better look at Hobie, sadly I don't have a video editor that allows me to make better edits than these :')

[turbo-tsundere]

Kokichisake-onna

*Happy anime narrator voice*: “And thus, Kokichi has once again successfully evaded the dread of emotional openness!”

Also here’s a random selection of derpy concept doodles for this comic :)

Thank you byeeeeee

[tightjeansjavi]

comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity comparison destroys creativity

Everytime I have a negative thought about my writing, or find myself comparing my writing to another writer, I tell myself this: comparison destroys creativity

[nattikay]

OC lineup! All the characters that currently exist in this "story"

[ali3nboyfriend]

logically i know modern horses aren't native to the americas like that was a whole Thing but it causes such cognizant dissonance to think of there being wild horses in europe. like that can't be right. there's no fucking cowboys there.

[liketheinferno2]

These aren't full ref sheets but I was trying to take some clear pictures of Hephaistos for later art reasons and then got side tracked doing all of the Pandaemonium bosses so here they are in order. Also for anyone following who doesn't play FFXIV and knows it as the catgirl game, enjoy this instead? VISUAL SPOILERS obviously.

Asphodelos

Warder of the Condemned: Erichthonios

Mythic Creation: The Hippokampos

Mythic Creation: The Phoinix

(+ familiars)

Hemitheos: Hesperos

(+ sexy fanfic redesign by Nemjiji)

To be brutally honest I never really liked either of these designs compared to every other Hemitheos we get, I think the really brutal black and red of the Phoinix is weakened by gold accents, but I still am always down for gay vampire surf rock. The Savage version kind of looks like Ultimalius as well if you've played XVI.

Abyssos

Mythic Creation: Proto-Carbuncle

Hrgrhhgrhrgrh

Hemitheos: Hegemone

^ My favourite detail on this is you can see the parasite's outlines in her robes and in her legs, then right through the eye holes on the mask to wrap around the torso. I'm convinced this version of Hegemone is functionally an ant being piloted by a cordyceps infection.

Hemitheos: Agdistis

She's very big

Perfect Imperfection: Hephaistos

I'm probably biased by Abyssos being the first raid I was there for day of release but these really are all fantastic. It's also when the story abandons all pretense of not being (at least partly) about family abuse and is loudly using the body horror and shackle motifs to talk about that. It's great. Hephaistos specifically is constantly bulging and twisting in and out of different forms like a highly unstable chimera and the more I look at these the more I notice parts that just should not be there. He's giving everything.

As for the Savage design It's a hard thing to rate as such but my favourite part is the veins that grow down from the eyeholes in his mask like bloody tears.

Thanks Abyssos I love you

Anabaseios

Mythic Creation: Kokytos

Dæmoniac Dungeon: Pandæmonium

It's really hard to communicate how huge this nasty tumor crab I zoomed out as far as physically possible in the game engine and subsequently ended up at a goofy angle staring up his nose.

Ephemeral Justice: Themis

Best boy. The double ended lance and second pair of arms are fantastic for this character.

Theos: Athena

In.. almost every final fantasy adventure you're fighting the real villain not at the very end but a little beforehand, the big iconic end boss is often more a metaphorical figure representing everything wrong with that first person's ideals. Athena cut out the middle man and became her own JENOVA.

I do like the moth angel, especially the hollow body full of dubious orbs, but with her eyes closed all the time it gives off the impression of this not even being the true body but some kind of anglerfish lure in the shape of a fairy... which might be true because this exists:

I really really love her twitchy anemone feelers and how the moth body ends up grafted to the rest of it waist down.

Anyway there's the gang I did not specifically intend for this to be design reviews I just wanted to have clear photos because when you actually see them in game there's other things to focus on. In hindsight I can appreciate more the theming of each tier and then the series as a whole, but my only (extremely obvious) observation for now is that every character Athena had a personal hold over is decorated in chains somehow and so I should have seen the Hegemone thing coming lmao. Heph and Aggy are still my favourites I don't think that's changing any time soon. I'm also noticing that Anabaseios is now just old enough for random DF parties to fuck up severely and I find that fun so I'm going to go fight the crab mansion now.

[turtleblogatlast]

Things I make for myself when insomnia kicks in

Just a chart about what I wanna change up and keep consistent in my art - I mainly wanna draw Raph with a tail because he deserves one, it fits too well. Donnie gets a long tail too because I didn’t realize how dino-like he looks until I gave him one, and now it’s a must for me haha.

[hoetao]

sooo sort of a masterpost of info about Wriothesley.

about his character:

hes basically incorruptible, is said to be "low profile and dependable"

‌mostly just cares about the peace and tranquility of the inmates (he's a protector at heart!!)

treats everyone equally and generally prefers to be "reasonable" rather than use more forceful methods

‌doesn't really like cruelty and violence but if the need comes, he will use it

‌he thinks of himself as "neither a good person or a villain, just another soul still living on in this world"

‌hes basically just interested in every bit of knowledge any person shares and in their unique talents

he says that he himself doesn't have many abilities, but he "knows how to find people who do and get them to work for him"

his past:

‌wanted to be convicted and spilled everything about how he killed his adopted parents (cough cough child traffickers), even though some wanted to treat him with leniency

‌learned to lockpick and create small gadgets as a child

gained Coupons in the arena of the Fortress (while injuring himself considerably)

‌when he got his vision after going to prison he just. hid it between the fabric of his clothes so that no one would know and/or steal it. and then he kinda just hid it some more, for years, until he went to the Palais to receive his title.

‌how he actually became the Administrator:

accumulated a fuckton of Coupons

got everyone's respect by being so rich, "observant, persuasive, humble and reasonable"

got his account emptied in retribution by the former administrator

‌convinced other ppl to protest and challenged the previous administrator to a duel

the former administrator run away from the fight, leaving Wriothesley on the last day of his sentence without anyone to sign his exit papers

‌"so he walked into the office and took over all relevant duties"

about his role as a Fortress Administrator:

‌has a private information network and many connections

‌rejected having a ceremony for his title of the Duke. no spotlight for good old duke.

‌basically his management style just helps the Fortress make money (with one of its main clients being the Palais); he even jokes that his title was basically bought because he's a leading tax contributor

‌after dealing with the Fatui spies he went for a swim. near primordial water. and he didn't say shit after realizing that the prophecy may be coming to pass, he just started preparing his funky ship.

relationships with others:

‌Clorinde actually admits that no one really knows all of the methods he uses to keep the Fortress up and running; it is stated that "very few people know him in his entirety"

he seems to think of Neuvillette as some sort of a. higher power that cannot show concern (BUT HE DOES OH HE DOES)

‌he indeed held out the umbrella for Neuvillette in the rain. the Iudex was polite, but distressed.

‌gifts a lot of tea to Furina.

‌got Neuvillettes trust (i think what he implies is that he got it by his actions, not words?) and the Iudex "fought hard for the title and reputation he now has"

‌when he went to prison Neuvillette told Sigewinne to take care of him and they frequently exchanged letters about his progress (and Wriothesley called her Neuvillettes spy…)

info that i find especially funky:

he's a big softie when it comes to animals and kids

‌may or may not go outside the Fortress incognito to buy snacks sometimes. he's actually too incognito to know really

‌doesnt treat boxing like a hobby, "more like a necessity"

‌melusines put stickers on him and he rarely notices them do so. they are just too good. and besides, it doesn't bother him. they also have bets on who will pit more stickers on him.

‌he would like to have a happy childhood and maybe the ability to trust people (i am BAWLING)

‌might be "a bit taller than Neuvillette"

drinks coffee with milk and tea with two cubes of sugar

‌he thinks Sigewinnes milkshakes taste of desolation

Sigewinne spiked his tea with anaesthetics when he was younger because he always refused them out of fear that they would fog his brain

[overdramaticemotions]

enjoy :)

[tweedfrog]

Cersei explaining why every halfway decent looking nobleborn girl in Westeros represents a direct threat to her life

[zuzu-draws]

I don't know if you're still doing those requests but....

may i suggest......

catboy kise and wolfboy daiki 🥺👉👈

Well since i would be doing them animal themed, might as well try being more accurate to their canon animal counterparts, no? ;D So Black Panther! Daiki and Fox! Kise it is!

...sometimes Kise forgets he's not in Animal Form