#thanks for letting me draw your characters! They're such a treat

[casteliacityramen]

The idea of making two small ramen bowls excites Ray more than he thought it would. He's glad he can still provide some sustenance despite the strict budget he was now on. In a heartbeat, he turns around to adjust the portion sizes.

All he needs to do now is-

On a clear blue sky, the sound of distant thunder booms in the distance.

Ray has left Castelia City.

Rio calmly returns back to the stand, this time, standing on her hind legs behind the counter.

With a strained tug of the ingredient cooler, Rio goes to work.

Thankfully, all of the ingredients were prepped and the only thing Rio had to do was put it all together. Easier said than done when you're a rockruff.

You can tell that she's not used to doing this, but it's almost impressive at how dexterous she is at getting everything together. Almost, because you can hear very faint curse words come from her mouth as she struggles with the tasks.

Despite all the setbacks, she gets it.

The noodles may have been sitting a bit longer in the broth than usual, making them less firm. But, in almost every other aspect, it's clear that Rio's no slouch. Bamboo shoots, seaweed, and bits of corn dress the bowls with the kids getting a grown-up portion of an egg as a treat. A heavy, but delightful meal for anyone looking for a good lunch.

... That is, if the debacle in front of you hasn't ruined you or your kids' appetites.

"I apologize, but... did you happen to see what the postal service worker looked like?"

[@inaris-pokemon-world | @askthehoenngods] [Pinned Post | Previous Plot Post]

[pathetic-sapphic]

Thank you for doing my request! Your write wonderfully. And of course it’s ok that you do it for the male characters! U don’t need permission from me this is your account and your writing, you do what you want :) and also if you’re gonna do it can you add Grayson to the list? Tysmm 🤍

Arcane men with a S/O who has anxiety

VIKTOR likes to use the slow and gentle approach when helping you during harder times. He understands what it's like to have doubts and feel as if all eyes are on you, just waiting for you to make the wrong move or fail. He will ground you by gently taking hold of your hand and kissing the back of it, whispering how everything is going to be alright and that he is right next to you. If he sees you panicking and your breathing getting heavier, he will lead you outside to get some fresh air. Viktor will sit next to you on a bench, winding his arm around you and drawing soft circles along the length of your spine until you've calmed down. Overall, he is a very gentle and patient lover who will be there for you no matter what, always reassuring you and helping you regain your peace. Viktor is forever your safe space.

''There we go, darling. It's okay, just breathe. No no, do not apologize, there is no place I'd rather be than right here next to you. Trust me. You know I'd never lie to you. Remember how many times have you stood by my side whenever I felt panicked or lacked faith in myself? Exactly, so now I'm going to do the same thing for you. I love you and I want to help you, I want to be your safe space. Now, just take my hand and tell me what's bothering you. I'll always be here to listen, sweetheart.''

Let's be honest for a bit, JAYCE is a himbo through and through, meaning that it might take a while for him to pick up on your anxious tendencies. He might even mistake your nervous fidgeting for excitement which definitely doesn't help your situation. You're going to have to tell him outright what you're struggling with, but once you do, he is your biggest supporter. Jayce is good with words and he is hopelessly in love with you so he is quick to beat down any feeling of self-doubt you might feel. He is basically your rock, always standing by your side and letting you lean on him whenever you need it. Jayce is like a loyal puppy, always following you and making sure you have whatever your heart might wish, he basically treats you like royalty. He is at your beck and call, ready to help you out or just hold you whenever you feel bad or your anxiety gets the best of you.

''What's wrong, babe? Come here, sit on my lap, and tell me what happened. Oh, baby, I wish you told me earlier you struggled with all this, I would have been able to help you sooner then. Tell you what, whenever you feel like that again, feel free to seek me out and I'll help you feel better in no time! Don't be ridiculous, you're much more important than my job, I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for all of your support during all these years. Now, let me do the same for you and be your support, alright? Good, I love you so much, babe.''

By being a leader at such a young age and carrying such a heavy burden, EKKO is well aware of how hard it can be to try and mask any doubts or insecurities you may have. He could always rely on you whenever things got too hard and now he wants to be there for you too. Once you reveal all the things that have been plaguing you for a while, he pulls you into a long, tight hug. His heart hurts just by thinking about all the things you had to go through on your own. How many nights have you spent crying yourself to sleep while he unknowingly slumbered away next to you? He decided that it ultimately doesn't matter because it'll never happen again. He knows you'd feel bad or as if you're bothering him by confiding in him about your worries but he reassures you that you could never be a burden to him. What would truly bother him is his beloved suffering in silence while he is unaware of all the hardships they're going through.

''Oh, firefly, why didn't you tell me you've been struggling so much? I could have been there for you and helped you! It doesn't matter, it's not your fault, just don't do it anymore, okay? You are never a burden to me, don't you dare think that. You deal with just as much trouble as I do and even if you didn't, that still doesn't mean you can't rely on me when you need it. I'm here for you, babe, and I want you to look for me and tell me whenever you're not feeling well. I'll always make time for you.''

VANDER is often very busy so you might think you can hide your troubles from him since most of the time he is either off running the Last Drop or taking care of his kids. However, he is a very observant and intelligent man, not to mention a very caring one so he quickly picks up on your sour mood. He will invite you to a storage room behind the bar, asking Benzo to take over for a bit. Vander will sit next to you on a squeaky old couch and take your hands into his, laying them upon his lap. Carefully, he will ask you what's got you so upset lately and once the floodgates open, he wastes no time in pulling you into his embrace. He will kiss the top of your head and rub his big hands along your back, cursing himself for letting it get this bad. Vander calms you down and comforts you, making you promise him that you'll make sure to communicate your feelings to him in the future. He hates seeing you cry and is ready to do whatever it takes to make a smile reappear on your pretty face.

''Come here, darlin'. It's okay, I've got you now, you can cry as much as you like. I'm sorry I didn't notice how bad you've been feeling sooner. It must've been so hard for you, my love. Shh, don't apologize, it's not your fault that you're feeling this way. We all feel like that sometimes and I'll always be here for you whenever it happens, alright? I love you so much, my darlin', now let me see that beautiful smile. There it is, it's like the sun is shinning right at me. You are my sunshine and I won't let anyone dim your light or take away your warmth, got that?''

SILCO can be surprisingly kind behind closed doors. It's no secret that he has a soft spot for you and will treat you as a priority, along with his daughter of course. He quickly picks up on your fidgety and nervous form but trusts you to confide in him when you're ready. When that doesn't happen and he notices your state getting worse with the days passing by, he invites you to his office. He will make you sit in his lap and explain your troubles to him while he tentatively listens and clings to your every word. Once you're finished, Silco will gently cup your face and lift it so your eyes meet his. He will tell you how proud he is of you and how grateful he is for your trust. Next, he will reassure you that your troubles are never an issue to him and that you always have a safe space in his office. Whatever you may need, whatever your heart may wish, he is ready to grant it as long as it means it will return that beautiful smile to your lovely face. He dedicates the rest of the evening to making sure you're feeling relaxed and well-rested, banishing any negative thoughts out of your pretty little head. He may be a criminal mastermind, but to you, he is your kind and gentle boyfriend, always ready to serve you and dedicate his time and effort towards assuring your comfort and happiness.

''Come here, darling. Yes, sit right here and look at me. Please? There you are. Now, are you ready to tell me what has been bothering you so much lately? Lying is futile, my dear, do you think I haven't noticed how fidgety and distant you've been for the past few days? I just thought I'd give you time to approach me and confide in me. Seeing as that hasn't happened yet, I am now giving you an opportunity to explain what has been going on inside that pretty little head. I see, I wished you'd told me all that sooner, it would have saved you the trouble and suffering, beloved. No matter, I'm here now and I am aware of your situation, thank you for trusting me with this, I know it can be hard to talk about such things. Now, how about we take a bath and have dinner together, hm? It'll help you relax and take your mind to a hopefully more pleasant place. Perfect, wait for me in the bathroom, I'll be with you in a minute, my dear.''

a/n: i will add grayson in a separate post for arcane milfs :)

[factual-fantasy]

29 asksss

Yes

@britneyt

Aw! Thank you! :DD

@gilbertsphotography

The elven style ears are meant to make them look less human and to match the Wario bros. :0 My AU's Peach and Daisy are these tall elf like creatures, not humans. They are the same species as the Wario bros.

Jangles would prepare himself for this brutal duel in "put em up" type battle stance. Ready to give this fight his all.

Only to be squashed by Jangle. Alas, he is made of plastic <XDD

@pinkpenguin88888

XDD Thought that was a bunny at first-

:DD Thank you! But hey, nothing's stopping you from book marking the post or saving the link to it somewhere :0

@whereismycupofcoffee

Honestly I have no hope. I'm thinking its gonna bomb like the Ruin DLC did, lore wise. Calling it now there's gonna be a character named VANESSA and her nickname is VANNY even though this movie is about the first game and has NOTHING TO DO WITH VANESSA. There's gonna be a kid named Cassidy, another kid named Gregory, circus baby is gonna come out of nowhere, there's gonna be a nightmare animatronic reference, one kid is gonna look like the crying child for no reason, Springtrap is gonna talk a lot and take away the horror- its gonna be a mess. The lore will be a terrible. mess.

Horror wise it might be awesome but I am NOT looking forward to all the crap they're gonna mix in with the lore. Its soooo simple, just make a spooky movie that captures the terror that the first game created. Recreate the mystery and horror. Bonnie disappearing, Foxy running down the hall. Freddy's music. Maybe Golden Freddy?? Hints of a darker past with dead kids. It would be awesome. They don't gotta complicate the lore by adding all the other games into it but I know they will-

@palettepainter :DD Thank you!!

@randox-talore Nope! The flowers don't make them bigger. They just give the bros ice/fire powers :}

@devastatorst

Pretty much XDD

@andysalleyway

:DDD Thank you so much!! Honestly I'm surprised by the number of my followers that are into the same fandoms I'm into. Sounds like I've found my people! XDD

Thanks, I'm hoping it finally gets through to people and they'll just leave me alone..

It is! But ya gotta DM me for it so I can sus out your blog :x

I need to have some idea of who I'm letting in-

:DD Thank you so much! Also sorry, I don't take requests :/

@montygatorshusband

THANK YOU! I don't support any ships from any fandoms, I just personally don't like them. So having people harp on me and my AU because a "canon ship" isn't in it was really annoying.. 😓

Glamrock Bonnie and Foxy would be thinking "Wow, they look different/great! :00"

Glamrock Freddy and Chica are like "WHY IS BONNIE SO LARGE"

Oooo that would be cool! All my versions of Bonnie are slow, so having him throw things at Gregory would be terrifying-

@ocinstituterep

The reason why I haven't drawn any classic mermaids like that is because it felt kind'a weird to add a half human creature into the Octonauts universe. Considering humans don't exist in it.. Now that post with the mermaid thing actually has the creature looking humanoid for sure. Because it would look more alien if it was human. But I kept the scales because a straight up half human mermaid would just feel out of place-

@mashmellowy

Firealpaca! :}}

@oddesto

XD Thank you!! Also my WHOLE BLOG?? Dang. I apologize for all the Gravity falls cringe you had to see-

XD Factual Fanta, that's great 🤣🤣

@citrusfruitman

I think those people are just salty because they wanna draw my stuff but I wont let them. My true fans will have basic human respect and just not draw fanart without sending me hate and rude comments.

@danman22ful

Monty is much more mellow and kind in the Partial swap. Although he still can be a bit of a grump sometimes. The way Bonnie is treating everyone (mostly Foxy) really angers/upsets him.

Roxy hasn't changed a whole lot tbh. Full of grief and self loathing. Except I don't think she'd have this "I'm better than you" attitude. Her thinking that Freddy's death was her fault would crush her. Just like Monty was crushed in the OG au.

:DDD Thank you!! Also really? :00 Wow, great minds do think alike! XD

Aw, I'm sorry that you relate to Bonnie's struggles, <:(

I was thinking he would do 1 of 2 things.

Either this bombshell that his late friends of 10 years are alive, would be so emotionally overwhelming that he would completely shut down. Literally. They would break into his room and Bonnie is collapsed on the floor. And cannot be reactivated. And when he does eventually reactivate, he absolutely refuses to acknowledge or speak to anyone in anyway..

OR, hearing that Chica and Freddy are alive, would completely drown out any other feeling. They're alive, he would rush out of his room to go see them. All of his stress, all of his anger would be swept away in favor of his anxiousness to see his friends again. And finally, he would talk to people again somewhat. Every day would get easier knowing that once its over he can go see Freddy and Chica again.

I haven't decided which one is better <XD

@burningmusicfunnygiant (Post in question)

Oh a whole mix of emotions. Mostly joy and sadness though.. Joy to see them alive after all these years. But sadness too see the horrible states they're in.. Mostly Freddy's state-

<XD Don't worry I wont. I know some of the angsty bits of Bluey but not enough to draw stuff and traumatize you all-

You are spared this time! XDD

[ghostbite0]

I feel like regression content is always treated so poorly. Especially when it comes to traumatized characters in a popular fandom. I'm really happy you make what you like and don't let anyone knock you down.

I deal with a lot of bs, and so I find a lot of comfort in drawing children. Both just for the simple joys felt in youth as well as a case study of the "what went wrong".

Your content is very wholesome and definitely falls into the first category for me. And honestly, I too, get really bad baby fever 😭 So I sometimes just like seeing my favs as kids or just drawing kids. They're so damn cute and I want them to be happy.

I hope no one gives you too much trouble. Keep doing what you're doing. Especially since you enjoy it.

oh goodness waking up to this in my inbox truly made my week! sorry for the late response, my internet was out all day D:

i wasn't always able to make the content i like; in fact, when i first began drawing de-aged/regression content, i used an alt to hide my identity because i was so scared of how people would respond to it-- since, to ur point, regression content is always treated horribly and there's a stigma around it (like how ppl looooove to sexualize agere stuff. exploding them with my mind). but i think its really endearing and healing! even now posting is really scary sometimes... it took me about a week to gain the confidence to post the tiny 21 trio art x-x so im really glad the feedback thus far has been positive!!!

i love drawing characters, particularly the ones with more trauma, as little kids-- they get a second chance at childhood and get to cope with the horrors^tm, and it's always a lot of fun to think about how their close ones would react and how they would take care of them and stuff... I've worked with children in the past, and im hoping to be an educator in the future, and it just makes me really happy when //they're// happy.

im so glad you think my work is wholesome and it provides some joy :( drawing is how i cope with the horrors^tm and I've found drawing happy sweet little things with my favorite characters really healing vs constant angst stuff. provides that comfort i don't really get anywhere else, and so i always really appreciate messages and comments like these

im also a really huge fan of your work and its always such a joy to see you post, so seeing you pop up to convey your support genuinely means the whole wide world to me :( thank you so so so much!

[ebi-noodle-doodles]

I think that last anon was incredibly rude and very, very suspicious. I'm also a fat person, and I think your art is just fine the way it is.

This anon accuses you of having a fat fetish for using peach to shade, doesn't give you the name of the artist they think you're emulating, and then tell you (not asking politely, on your own blog where they are a guest, TELL) you to put body hair on Miku.

Not to mention, why are they recognizing a style from a fat fetish artist if they aren't on the fat fetish side of twitter themselves, enough to have picked up on this supposed artist's style, down to the shading?

Sure, Twitter is wild, you'll see plenty of things you aren't necessarily looking for, but this reads as someone who is trying very hard not to let you see them sweating. What are they doing at the devil's sacrament, pointing out all of the sinners there, tactfully not pointing at themselves as one of the people included amongst the crowd.

If they didn't say "teehee I'm a fat girl btw <33 nasty nasty fetishists <33" at the end, wouldn't you think this message is situationally inappropriate? This is the internet, this person is anonymous, and that means they can lie if they feel like it.

You shouldn't even believe me or care when I say I'm fat, because I too am anonymous, and you simply can't fact check me. Even off anon, I don't share pictures of myself online, because I know better than to trust the internet at large.

If they are not outright malicious

(people will do this when they themselves fetishize fat women for the sake of getting art they think is hot; kind of like people saying "fat women can't be sexy" so fat women will post suggestive pictures of themselves to prove the statement incorrect, especially so they can pick and choose through which images they like. This is Creep Behavior, to use negging to manipulate people into sharing racey pictures)

then they are outright very, very rude, despite their friendly tone. This is YOUR blog, your art is fantastic, and nobody should be coming into your house, telling you how to run things.

Personally, I think the shapes and textures you draw are aesthetically pleasing, and your color choices always go together very nicely, especially when pink and green can clash really bad if you're not careful. Please don't let some misguided person (or worse, a creep) tell you what to do. You've gotten as far as you have on your own just fine, because you're doing your own thing.

In your response to anon, you said

"I find it weird that when a “normal” character is posed something suggestive its just a drawing but when added a bit weight it becomes a “fetish” ????"

(https://www.tumblr.com/ebi-noodle-doodles/739308628074496000/im-really-not-trying-to-be-rude-but-your-pure)

and I could not agree with you more.

Why is it a fetish that Miku is fat? I look an awful lot like her, and it's nice to be represented in art, suggestive or otherwise. Why is this person coming at you like you're a freak pervert that needs to be corrected, when you're just drawing a character?

Why is fat considered inherently unattractive, the only people allowed to enjoy it being (implied) nasty, disgusting, morally deficit fetishists, when "normal" or "skinny" body types are left alone? Why are we treating body fat as morally reprehensible, and not just a thing people sometimes have?

If this person really is fat, they have a lot of internalized fatphobia to let go of, and if they're a fetishist they need to learn better manners.

And thank you, for being generous enough to share your art with the world. Sorry for the lengthy message as well. Your Miku is very cute, and I look forwards to seeing more of your art in the future :]

- 🐺🕷️ (Wolf Spider Anon)

Ive been self debating and doubting if what I’m doing is bad or that Ive done something wrong especially on illustrating her in a suggestive manner

Thank you for understanding my view. The reply timing is off as I’m still trying to understand myself if my coloring it self was wrong… are my poses off? Is it rude to draw her like this? I didnt take the anon’s comment as rude but i did feel some guilt that i feel i shouldnt have? Man i dont understand I’m dumb when it comes to these sort of stuff. I just answered truthfully on thoughts about that. All I know is I enjoy painting her, suggestively, happy, innocently or cute! I just like drawing her. Youll see more of her in blog hopefully :D

[blackjack-15]

the way nat is treated is sooo sad and predictable. she doesn't always (present day) handle things well, but...with an upbringing like this? and good on her for pouring the liquor down the drain and bringing paper towels

"oh you're gonna make sprite?" "yeah, i'm gonna make sprite" that's carmy in a nutshell. push on a wall, it becomes a bridge.

"holding everything in and then letting it out inappropriately" you've reduced the bear to its most basic components!

he made sprite! something from nearly nothing, that's carmy. and no one even thanks him to his face. he didn't have to do it, he was doing 6 other things at once, and he still made sprite for someone who was having a hard time

also richie's ex wife reminds me strongly of mrs. berzatto. just saying.

"why isn't someone listening to me?" "i'm listening" "WHY IS NO ONE LISTENING TO ME" and this is mrs berzatto at a 4/5? we're gonna see her at a 6+ before long

i hate to armchair-diagnose, but there's pretty obviously a personality disorder present here in the Matriarch of the Berzatto clan. histrionic personality disorder is my immediate thought, but could be something else.

"no one's f//kin with you why would you think that?" gee i wonder.

"we ran into the love of your life" "i don't have a love of my life" 1) they're 100% talking about claire 2) carmy baby. you're so right you don't yet.

wow i hate mikey/richie right now. but! this adds a whole new dimension to carmy re: claire! because claire is tied to mikey, to what mikey 'wanted' for carmy, and that makes this whole thing come full circle, doesn't it?

"what did you do. what did you do." maybe christmas in copenhagen would have been a good idea.

carmy's absolute distaste for this whole 'conversation' (the glasses came off? the body is banging? really guys? you're being disgusting) is beautiful. carmy's got many, many vices and makes a lot of mistakes, but this is Not something he puts up with

"i don't understand why you would do this. why are you like this" oh carmy honey.

"i'm not in love with her, that's what i'm saying, where did you guys get that?"

THERE IT IS.

there's the reason for showing how carmy reacts when someone wants something from him, why the awful phone conversation with claire has her making him go from not wanting to give his number to saying "i want you to have my number". we have to see how carmy goes from saying no -- the truth -- to saying yes -- a lie -- after pressure is put on him. because this is where it starts.

claire represents what others want for carmy. normalcy, a chance -- his "only" chance -- to be with someone deemed societally Valuable. to not be an "other", to fit in, to have something "Good" that everyone thinks is good. carmy/claire is nauseating, but it's supposed to be. people spend so much time on screen telling us how Good claire is, when the show itself doesn't back it up. she's a figure of myth, a representation of the expectations others set on carmy and that he bows to, not a character. full stop.

and wow this is legitimately hard to watch. carmy attempts to set boundary, boundary is ignored. rinse, repeat.

they think carmy's in love with her -- this is a man in his, what, late 20s at this point? -- because he used to draw her in high school? the tenuous is getting more tenuous my Gosh.

"carm. this is a good thing." oh and no it really really isn't.

okay nice moment here for richie. does he think carmy is weird? yeah. does he still kinda brag about his sprite-making abilities? yeah

okay, ex wife is the worst. the boy makes you sprite b/c you don't feel good and there's none in the house and you ask why they'd 'punish' a nice girl like claire by hooking carmy up with her?

richie is adorable with his daughter and despite everything going wrong in his life (both his fault and not) is a really good dad ("do you think that she'll like us?" is such a soft question). i am really, really glad he's divorced. i want him to find happiness -- i don't know what that would look like for him just yet, but.

"we just have to not be like our parents" the other distillation of the bear!

richie trying to get a better job for his kid is really sweet. mikey telling the bill murray story in the background? hilarious

we're further breaking down the Mythos of Mikey -- he's introduced as a perfect, tragic figure, and we've spent a season and a half showing his foibles...which are Many.

[genericpuff]

I hope you won't mind this in particular because I have no way of posting this anonymously to the critical community outside of making a burner account but I'm hoping that maybe you could share this as you're well respected in the community and may understand where I'm coming from.

It has become increasingly uncomfortable the way I've seen some people in the community comment on Psyche's design. I'm Black, and while I have my issues with the way she's been introduced, her entire character arc, or the fact that she was made into a token character for diversity points, I still find the way part of the community discusses her increasingly uncomfortable and nearing anti-Blackness at times. Really all I want is for non-Black criticals to please be more mindful of their criticisms when it comes to her character. That's all. Some comments are starting to become hurtful, like her current hair being called ugly (which I get isn't done in more creative styles but puff ponytails are a thing Black women wear often) or just the fact that she's Black now at all, she was always brown, the only thing that really changed was her hair texture and eye color. And repeatedly seeing things like "She looked prettier before" when she isn't ugly or "I liked her hair before" it's...uncomfortable, which hurts because I really enjoy this community full of creative and intelligent people. 💔

That's all, thank you for taking the time to read this.

Ouu, this is a great post with some great points, thank you for sharing! I don't mind people sharing their takes through my inbox if it gives them a safe outlet to do so, just so long as y'all don't mind me responding to them!

CW: this is mostly just a very sensitive post regarding race and culture representation in LO so just be aware that this one miiiight be heavy and/or triggering, please please please if anyone has anything to share in response to this just let me know, these discussions are important to have but they can still be emotionally draining and I don't want to make anyone feel upset or invalidated by this lil' essay post!!!

So obviously I can't speak on this as a black person BUT as an Indigenous person, I feel like I would be in your same boat if Psyche were being drawn with Indigenous/Mi'kmaq traits and I saw people going "well she looks UGLY now and she was PRETTIER before." So I can empathize with you there in that regard, people's takes can be a little rough around the edges with this kind of topic.

But I'm willing to give people the benefit of the doubt most of the time when these topics do come up because a lot of the criticisms aren't aimed at Psyche specifically being black or having textured hair, they're aimed at Rachel for suddenly retroactively retconning Psyche from being a dark-skinned/brown Mediterranean woman into a black woman.

Like, straight up, what pisses me off about how Psyche is treated is simply how she's been drawn as 4 different women of color over the course of the comic. Having a hairstyle that changes often is one thing (literally every character in LO lacks consistency) but her hair texture and length is constantly changing (which isn't something you can just change on a whim unless you're Persephone LMAO) AND her skin tone has flip flopped between, again, dark-skinned/ woman and black woman. In some panels she's outright orange which is... ech.

Now, take this with grains of salt because I have no source on it, but I've seen claims that RS once stated she "always wanted to draw Psyche black, but didn't know how to." Besides the fact that this sounds outright lazy (it's not hard to learn how to paint skintones that are not your own, Google exists) it also seems like RS trying to paint herself as "progressive" which she's done for a LOT of things beyond just POC rep (ex. fat rep, mental health rep, etc. all things that she's butchered or misrepresented entirely but still pretended like she was doing well).

Again, I'm giving a lot of benefit of the doubt here and I'm sure I'm gonna be proven wrong on this (I welcome it if there's something I've blatantly missed here, educate me in the comment section below pls) but when I see people say Psyche's hair is "ugly" in the newer panels or they "prefer her old design" I don't see it as them saying the hair style or texture itself is ugly or that she, in and of herself, is ugly. Often times people will short form it to "it looks ugly" especially in the faster-paced discussion circles, but really more often than not they mean "I think the way RS is trying to draw her just isn't good." Especially considering how low effort and lip service-y it feels. Like, Psyche's hair rn is literally just a giant texture brush pressed onto the screen and her skin tones are just brown + brown set to Multiply.

And that design is a far cry from where Psyche started.

Like, these are LITERALLY not the same women and while some might say "well maybe it was after she became a Goddess-" nope, she looked like her S3 version when she turned back into a mortal from nymph form, except she had an entirely different hair texture and skin tone.

None of this is to invalidate anyone's feelings regarding this criticism and how it's delivered. There doesn't need to be an intent to hurt for something to be hurtful. The purpose of this post is more so just to explain my own interpretation of where these criticisms come from (as someone who's had them myself) and how I interpret them as a POC. I don't think anyone's trying to be intentionally malicious to people from the POC community (though they can be blasé) especially considering a lot of the people talking about it are black themselves. No one person is a monolith for the entire community so while some are fine with how Psyche is being drawn, others aren't, and I think both are valid in their own ways. Often times it can come down to individual experiences and what people are used to seeing in media when it comes to POC rep and that's something that will vary per person. I've definitely seen conversations revolve around something being racist towards the Indigenous community that I couldn't care less about because it just wasn't something that I found offensive due to my own upbringing or what I'm used to seeing in media. Doesn't mean I can't still be educated on why it's hurtful to others, though!

All I'm gonna say on it is that, personally, I don't find anything inherently wrong with any of the designs on their own, there's nothing ugly with any of those looks. If they were all each their own character, I'd be down for it, absolutely. It's just the fact that all these designs are for ONE character. It's a shame to see Psyche robbed of any consistency even more so than every other character in the plot, and it very much feels like a case of a white New Zealand woman trying too hard to win representation points (and yes, that's a hot take, but it's a small hill I'm willing to die on because we all know RS' history with this sort of thing at this point, she's not good at hiding it lmao). It feels very low effort and obligatory, like Psyche is just there to check off a list of mandatory representation rather than be her own character with her own goals or traits or motivations.

And, REAL hot take, though it isn't really related to the majority of this post, I have to point out that it gets even weirder/ickier when you remember the fact that nymphs are treated as lower class in the narrative and Psyche... becomes a black-coded nymph... who works for Aphrodite as a servant...

(sigh how was this any better than just doing the OG myth, Rachel?)

Anyways, that's all I'm gonna say on that. That is, again, my personal take on it but I obviously can't speak on behalf of the black community or people in it, most of what drives me nuts just has to do with the lack of character consistency and the feeling that RS is just phoning shit in. The designs on their own independently from one another are fine and I don't think that's what most of the criticisms out there are annoyed about anyways - we're all just tired of seeing Psyche morph into different POC rep characters every other week.

Thank you for taking the time to write and voice your opinion on it, it's definitely a topic that can veer into nasty territory if not treaded carefully but it's one that interests me in talking about because POC rep is important to me, whether or not I belong to the specific culture that's being represented. I know I would be in the same boat if it were concerning Mi'kmaq characters.

And by all means, if y'all think I'm just spouting shit out of my ass or speaking completely out of turn, tell me in the comments or in my asks, this isn't a discussion with one simple clear cut answer or solution so I'd love to hear your own takes o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

[pocketwei]

Hello !

As a fellow artist, I really admire your style, and would like to study it.

In that spirit, would you be OK to tell us a little bit about your process ?

I hope you have a great day and I look forward to seeing your future pieces !

Woah, this is high praise, thank you so much 🥹 And thank you for allowing me to nerd abt process hahaha, I love to talk abt this stuff! Drawing is so much fun honestly

For process, I'm not sure if you mean more the actual process of crafting the art, or rather the thought-process that goes into it, so I'll briefly cover both! I'll just talk abt my personal/fanart practice since I think this is what the "style" part refers to? As in, I won't mention process for, say, storyboards or backgrounds I make for animation.

Under the cut bc long answer!!

A piece usually begins with an idea, it's often inspired by something I see or hear, by something that comes up in a conversation with friends, by something I read in a fic, etc. And imo, the most crucial aspect of my creative practice is narration; it's the thing I strive to perfect and polish the most. What do I want to say with this piece, which story do I want to tell. Before I even start sketching, I usually have an idea of the intention I want for a piece, and with enough experience, at some point you start guessing what "visual devices" you should use to render that mood. E.g. if I have an idea that involves a really suffocating mood, a feeling of tension, one of the basic ways to go about it is to crowd your piece, have it more zoomed-in and in longer focal length so the perspective is flattened. Similarly, you'll often choose not to show your character whole (especially not their feet, with which they could flee!) or the floor (which is a way out for the character), you have many overlapping objects, etc. Knowledge of these "visual devices" honestly come with time, and sometimes they sound super basic, but they do the trick, and they're not hard to spice up and make more original when you keep your mood/intention in mind.

Then comes storyboarding/sketching! It's the most important part to me, because this is where you decide how you're going to tell your story. Sketching is the most exciting part, you can let your mind speak and find creative ways to spice up the "visual devices" you've figured out at the initial thinking step. I think one of the greatest advices I got, ever, was from my storyboard professor, who told us to always keep in mind that a picture (moving or not) is ALWAYS a 2D surface, and that it should be treated as such when storyboarding. I.e. when you board, think of your image as an arrangement of shapes on a flat surface, rather than a 3D scene. You can figure out the logistics and the perspective in lineart, but for storyboard, composition has to be prioritised over a well-constructed room, bc otherwise you'll just draw the same things over and over.

It depends on the pieces, but nowadays I prefer to just clean up the sketch rather than do a whole clean line on top of it, as not to lose the spontaneity and dynamism of the sketch. Lineart is about making things look pretty and nice to look at, but it's also a step where you can reinforce your initial intention with details. It can be details of anatomy (giving an expression, working on your characters' anatomy to make it expressive (what story does this body tell)), or of environment (what does this place mean for my characters, why are they here, what does it tell about them). For this I use truckloads of references!!!! Super important. Either from other artists, especially for anatomy details or line efficiency (matanai_ke, nisir0, nonebrainer on twt, whose styles I've been really digging recently), or from pictures/real life for enviros. No one's born with the ability to come up with a plausible baroque interior so get those refs! Lineart is honestly one of the steps I enjoy most, I spend the longest time on it because I need it to be perfect and tell exactly what I want to tell. I'm working on improving my linework quality because I feel terrible abt it ahjdsf

Then I do a coloursketch. My approach of colours is painterly (applying colours directly as they appear) rather than the neutral flats + coloured filters workflow, which do work great for beginners however, and I did my time in the mines with it as well asdjfh...... I usually apply an underpaint layer as shown below, usually then place lights first, and then work my way through all the elements.

Sometimes my underpaint is bright and saturated, sometimes it's more muted and darker: again, it all depends on the intention of the piece! I do this to visualise better and to contextualise the colours I'll paint on top of this base. The yellow in the top-left screenshot gives a warm touch to the wood-browns, even though they're not actually super saturated! With the bottom-right, the pink gives a colder aspect to the teals/greens and makes them more "aggressive", as it's their complementary colour. It also bears a narrative purpose: on the bottom-right screenshot, I wanted pink to seep from the edges of every shape, and purposefully left the edges jagged and rough instead of cleaning up the painting perfectly. Bright pink like this is not only a crazed colour, but it also represents Doflamingo, and in this case, it fit the intention to have him and this madness as the backdrop of a scene that doesn't involve him, but to which he is the unspoken key and center (Monet is hallucinating/projecting that it's Dof looking down on her, when it's actually Law). As if his presence was underlying the very materiality of the scene.

God that was long. Then comes rendering, which I hate with my guts because I don't know how to do it and if I could get away with only colour sketches for the rest of my life I would!!!! I hate spending time on colour details and rendering materials and polishing brushwork I just hate this step :')

And finally, compositing!! Slap some grain* on this bad boy, slight chromatic aberration in the corners if we're feeling fancy, perhaps a bit of field blur... chromatic aberration is to mimic cameras! it's a physical effect of the lens, and having it on illustrations give them a more cinematographic quality.

*in a non-destructive way I BEG!!!! Quick grain tutorial for the poor souls who still merge everything -> filter -> noise!!! 1. Create a gray layer with HSV at 0, 0, 50 2. filter -> noise as you'd normally do 3. set blending mode to overlay so your grain is more visible the darker your colours are (like for a real camera! grain is an artifact created when there isn't enough light in your captor) (I won't get into the maths of overlay but it's quite fascinating, basically it multiplies the value of pixels that are V>50 and "divides" the value of pixels that are V<50, while pixels that are V=50 like our initial grey layer, it doesn't change the value of the pixel underneath it) and 4. set opacity to ~20% depending on what you want or need

and tadah! you have an illustration. how cool!! there are still many things I need to work on, but it's a very fun exploration everytime :'D I feel glad that I've reached a point where I somewhat know what I'm doing, it made drawing so much more fun in the past year. Good luck w your own endeavours!!!

[xxsycamore]

🍕 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙤𝙣 𝙃𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙀𝙮𝙚 𝙇𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝘼 𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝙋𝙞𝙯𝙯𝙖 𝙋𝙞𝙚,

► A story about Italian vampires, secret admirers, and pizza.

Galileo x MC • rating: G • wordcount: 1,863 • characters: mc, galileo, francis, leonardo, napoleon, comte, dazai • tags: Pizza; Secret admirer; Romance; Cliché; Feelings Realization; Crack treated seriously  • masterlist

a/n: I don't know. I don't know.

I blame the English Ikesen twitter for informing me it's international pizza day (in a very creative way), which led to me going "haha three italians in ikevamp" which made me remember one very bad movie full of pizza and cliché, which led to me coming up with this. I don't even like pizza that much.

Idk if I should label this as crack, but don't take it seriously either way.

MC and Galileo's first encounter described in this fic is canon and you can read a translation of it here - many thanks to @cirillafionariannon

I wanted to try my hand at writing for our new two vamps, and this could also be an early Valentine's Day fic! Hope you enjoy!

Fun statistics!: the word pizza appears 33 times in this fic.

Leonardo was in Comte's room, lounging around with a drink and listening about his friend's most recent trip to the 21st century. While Leonardo was a man with passion for knowledge, not everything that Comte talked in great detail about was to Leonardo's interest. Mind trailing off in random directions while supposedly continuing to be a good listener, he suddenly feels the need to interrupt his friend.

Waving a hand in the air and looking over the Gucci shades that Comte actually bought for himself, he motions a pause.

"Forget about that, tell me if they made an International Pizza Day in the future yet."

"…Why, there actually is a day like that. It's the 9th of February, if I remember right."

***

With a little over a week remaining until Pizza Day, or Just Another Thursday as 19th century Parisians know it, Leonardo mobilizes the mansion into preparing something grandiose for the occasion.

"We're going to feed the whole of Paris with pizza."

MC blinks in apparent bewilderment. With the amount of crazy stuff happening around the mansion already, one would think that feeding the whole of Paris with pizza would find its place low in her list.

They're all gathered in the kitchen as if it's some kind of conference hall, with Leonardo using a blackboard to illustrate his schemes. So far he's drawn just one giant pizza taking all of the blackboard. He taps the chalk against the board.

"Think of it as a charity. While everyone would be free to help as well as consume, we'll prioritize those who are in need."

Dazai raises a hand. "Let me guess, you always wanted to invent a giant stove and this is your mastermind plan."

Leonardo enthusiastically points at Dazai with the chalk in his hand, "Esatto! But not exactly a stove. While fixing various gadgets for people in town, I had this idea of making a massive hot plate," he draws an oval under the oval supposed to be pizza, "which is a metal plate heated by charcoal underneath. Some of you will help me assemble it, others will get the word around town. And for those who are incompetent with cooking pizza…"

"I can give out a lesson or two." Napoleon says, with a raised hand. "I love the idea. I have volunteered in food banks a couple of times already around town. I'd be glad to help."

"Heh, Napoleon, knew you had that Italian blood still running hot in you. Alright then, it's settled."

***

MC is in her bed, staring a hole through the wall. Eating in bed is something she rarely indulges in, moreso if it's pizza, but she can't help it. As she chews with eyes squinted in deep concentration, she tries and tries to make just any connection between recent events and the possible reason behind all of this.

Just a couple of days ago, some white haired guy with a half-up hairstyle started coming to the mansion.

"Pizza delivery! Miss, that's for you. You don't owe anything. Enjoy! Bye!"

Wait, pizza delivery in the 19th century? It was strange the first time, and it's still strange the tenth time it happened. Some of the residents advised she don't eat it, but in the course of events (and hunger) she found out that's some damn good pizza. The best she had ever since she came here. And it was addressed to her. Is this a secret admirer situation?! Very strange.

Of course she suspected Leonardo. With his pizza hype recently it only made sense, but also that would be too easy. Placing the box on the nightstand, she sighs and goes over the possible leads in her head one more time.

***

The next day she takes Napoleon's pizza cooking class and conveniently stays behind until everyone else leaves the kitchen - namely Vincent, Mozart, and Jean. Napoleon takes the bait and praises her efforts at perfecting her pizza-cooking skills, being more than willing to give her some extra lessons.

Then they have clichéd and intimate dough kneading moment where he stands behind her and guides her hands; she pokes her nose into some private topics as carefully as she could, taking the conversation in the direction of love and cooking a meal full of love. Still, nothing she samples for the sake of learning tastes nearly the same as that same pizza delivered to the mansion's door every night.

***

Looking out of the window up at the moon that is nearly full, MC can't help but remember about a recent encounter with a strange man. It happened when she had to deliver some Blanc to Isaac who was working late at the university. In one classroom there was a white haired man with beautiful purple eyes looking through an old-fashioned telescope. There was something intriguing about him; about the shooting star they saw together, the timing, his comment about "still looking at the stars even in this day and age". The name he introduced himself with. All of it, full of mystery.

And yet the biggest mystery of her life currently revolves around pizza.

***

The man with white half-up hair approaches the merchant brig ship has recently docked at the Seine. Night has long fallen but the light inside is unmistakable; of course it's his friend baking pizza again. On his ship, nonetheless.

"Again, Galileo? That's the sixth time this week. I'm not going out this time. And please be careful not to burn down the ship, okay?"

The other whitehaired man doesn't as much as acknowledge the other's presence, too absorbed in his craft. The parmesan falls from between his fingers like a snowstorm over a tomato-red sea; in the next second he's at the cutting board; going left and right like a madman. Or like someone inlove.

The other sighs.

"I'm hearing something about a pizza charity in town. Basically everyone's gonna cook a giant pizza together and then give pieces away. Sounds like your thing, eh?"

Galileo's eyes dart towards his friend for a mere second, his hands never pausing.

"Where are you taking all my pizzas to, anyway? And I'm not participating."

"As you wish."

He exits the kitchen, opting for the company of the moon outside instead. The gentle lull of the waves make him crave a nap ever if it's technically close to his sleeping time. He notices the telescope nearby, unused by his friend in some time, which is awfully unusual of him.

"Man, this stress-cooking is going to ruin him."

***

The day finally arrives. The masses are buzzing around the square where Leonardo shows his invention that aims to leave everyone with a stomach full of delicious pizza, so long as there are enough hands to help. And they are. Soon the place gets overcrowded, the air smells like heaven, and the chilly February day gets as hot as a midsummer one.

All MC can think about is her secret admirer. With all the pizza being passed around and under her nose, she swears she's not crazy when she claims she didn't catch a whiff of That One Pizza. Will the whitehaired man be here today? Is it him, after all, stating that all he does is deliver it to her door, yet lying? No, there was no trace of such feelings in his demeanor; not the thrill of seeing her, nor the hope of learning something more about her in those short encounters. He was merely a proxy. But whose?

Defeated, the reason why the smile hasn't already left her face is solely the fact that she saw a lot of happy people today. Pizza really does bring people together; Leonardo was right all along. He was excellent at what he did, but he did it only with the people in mind; not a lover, much less her. She liked helping him today. And Napoleon too, who thankfully didn't think anything about her strange behavior the other day.

***

With the sound of street musicians who joined the celebration drifting in the distance, MC walks along the Seine, admiring the moonlight dancing on the surface. The noise and the hustle had gotten to her, so this little walk was welcomed, and it matched the feeling in her heart. The emptiness wasn't only there, though.

"Haha… I made so much pizza yet it seems like I didn't eat anything all day."

"I can see that. The growling of this belly of yours could be heard all the way here."

Eyes widening at the sound of that voice, she looks at the direction of a docked ship. The man exiting it seemed familiar, along with the voice, and it took just a couple of seconds to remember.

"Ahh, you're the…"

"The man with the telescope. I didn't think we'd meet again."

Right, this is the man who introduced himself as Galileo. The silence was awkward, his earlier comment not helping much, but she still felt good about seeing a familiar face. Though, they're barely more than strangers. Or maybe after having their second encounter, they're not strangers anymore?

MC stares at the fullmoon high in the sky, and surprisingly, so does Galileo. She giggles and breaks the silence.

"It's like a big pizza pie."

That's the single most absurd thing Galileo Galilei has ever heard in his life, being a person who devoted himself to astrology.

He scuffs at her remark, too taken aback to even say anything that won't ridicule her. He decides to spare her.

"So? Are you hungry? I've got some pizza on the ship."

Ah, pizza again.

"Sounds great."

Hoping for a distraction, she followed him on the ship. If anything, with all the pizza flavors she tasted recently, her palate would hopefully forget about the one that her secret admirer makes for her. What a silly story. She's sure it all ends tonight, the person likely pranking the whole of Comte's mansion in relation to the whole pizza cooking event or something.

"What a yummy smell. I must be really hungry. Did you make this yourself, Galileo?"

The man visibly tenses a little, possibly at the fact that she remembers his name. He should've given her a different one, after all.

"Yes."

MC bites into the piece, mind elsewhere. She wonders if she'll be sick of pizza ever since today.

Wait.

The flavors clash in her receptors and realization hits all at once; she looks at Galileo.

This taste!

"It's you."

The man with the beautiful purple eyes hums at her, without a clue what she is talking about. He hasn't shared his pizza recipe with everyone other than Francis, the look of recognition on MC's face not making sense to him.

He would soon come to know; but not tonight.

With the assurance that she must be mistaking him for someone else; and with the need to help her get home due to the late hour, their second encounter soon comes to an end.

And for Galileo, who barely kept his composure in the face of the one he strangely fell hopelessly inlove with, he swears he'll make sure this time it truly would be their last.

Unless the stars have other plans for him.

Taglist: @arsnovacadenza @ale-teodora @kimi00twin @otomelady @privilegedpancake @g-kleran   @pumpumnnnp @thesirenwashere @ravenarld @kimmy-banana @devonares @animeworldsposts @randomanimatedhusbandoseeker @galaxyprison @sadshaxk @starshards26 @pro-cat-stination @acethephoenix256 @ikevamp-shrine-2 @nad-zeta @crystal13unny @keen19thcenturygoatsstudent @lordsister @ikemen-banshou  @themysticalbeing @canaria-blackwell @otome-scribbles @rhodolitesrose @coornn @kpop-and-otome @queen-dahlia @kisara-16 @chaosangel767 @ikemenlibrary @queengiuliettafirstlady @aurora-morning @aquagirl1978 ​ @ikemenlover24 @violettduchess @mcofthemansion @tiny-wooden-robot @joy-the-reader @katriniac @ikemen-writer @tele86 Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged!

[nyx-sagau-dreams]

May I request a continuation of "Rest, Creator"? Some hurt/comfort goodness where Thoma (and whatever other characters you wish to add) help the reader adjust to life in Teyvat? Please don't feel pressured to write this if you don't wish to, and take all the time you may need. Thank you!

Of course! Thank you for asking!

(SAGAU requests are still open, though matchups are not!)

Rest, Creator (Part 2)

Thoma carried you to the Kamisato Estate, the best place he knew to keep you safe until you were more recovered. He already had many of the accomodations set up thanks to planning ahead before he had summoned you. And both Ayaka and Ayato were prepared as well.

Thoma arrived at the estate quickly, and both the Kamisatos were ready for him, shooing the guards out of the way and ushering Thoma and you into a secluded room.

When you awoke, Ayaka was sitting nearby, keeping an eye on you. She was quietly reading a book, and looked as prim and proper as she always did through... the... screen?

You sat up in a panic, drawing Ayaka's attention to you. She quickly sets her book down and rushes to your side, a small flurry left in her chair in her rush.

"Creator, you're safe here, do not worry. Thoma was able to summon you so you can finally rest."

"Wh- WHAT?" You stumbled out of the bed. "No, I must be dreaming. Or worse, dead." You started pinching yourself. "Come on, wake up!"

Ayaka sighed. "Thoma? They're awake now, and I'm afraid they're panicking."

Thoma entered the room with a tray of tea and snacks, which he immediately set aside when he saw you freaking out on the floor.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. You're okay here." He knelt down beside you. "You're free now. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do now. I brought you here so you could get the rest you deserved. Consider it a thank you for all the gifts and talents you've bestowed on me," he said, briefly summoning his weapon and artifacts.

"You brought me here?" You ask, slowly panicking less. "Why?"

Thoma sat properly next to you. "You were being overworked, neglected, and not cared for properly. I could hear you sometimes, when you'd leave in a rush, when you'd forget to sever the connection. I saw you crying."

You looked away in embarrassment. "I didn't know you could hear me, or see me." You wiped away a sudden tear. "You don't have to take care of me, I'm not anyone special."

"But you are!" Ayaka says. "You're our creator, our master. And the people you were with before did not treat you with the respect you deserve. We will be here to help you rest and recover, and then whatever you choose to do, we will support you."

Thoma nodded. "But for now, we want you to rest up. I know how hard it can be to be in that position, where you're exhausted and burnt out and no one cares. And so we'll be here to care. And I'm sure that plenty of people all across Teyvat will be ready to greet you when you're ready."

Ayato entered the room with a nod. "In fact, some people have already caught wind of your arrival. But don't worry, the estate is closed to visitors until further notice. You can rest."

And you did, letting yourself be tucked back into the bed, and letting your worries be washed away in the calming presence of Thoma and the Kamisato siblings.

[mermaidfanficlibrary]

Hello!! How are you? If it's okay, can I ask for platonic headcanons with the kid characters from Genshin Impact and a Traveller!Reader (reader is the traveller, but has no specific physical descriptions)?

Ofcourse!! Sorry if YaoYao is OOC because I haven't gotten to her story yet. Characters: Diona, Klee, Qiqi, YaoYao, Qiqi, Sayu, Nahida

CW: None

Theme: Basic headcannons

Reader: Gn Traveler Reader

~💥~KLEE~💥~

Klee is a very eccentric child, so everyone around Mondstadt was relived when you showed up and made fast friends with Klee

Klee begs you to take her on adventures even if they're dangerous, but she'll go even if you say no

Whenever she's sent to solitary confinement, you go in with her even if she protests

She blames herself whenever you get in trouble with Master Jean on her behalf, but you just chuckle and tell her there's nothing to worry about

Albedo is very thankful that you watch over her while he's busy

He's able to get work done without worrying about Klee blowing things up... Well sort of

You go fishing with her and that's how you end up getting in trouble most of the time

People call you the sibling chaos duo

She always holds your hand no matter where you guys are

When she cries, you comfort her by telling her stories or coloring with her

When you cry, she makes you drawings and picks flowers as well as patting your head

She loves telling you all about Dodoco and her mom

When you travel to other nations, Klee misses you dearly

She doesn't have the energy she used to when you were around and its just as concerning

Jean tries to help but realizes she really can't do much

Klee writes you letters all the time (with Albedos help) and you write back with a little trinket from the nation you're in

"When are they gonna come back Mr. Albedo?"

"When they get back Klee."

Her impatience drives her to try and get to you

Though either Kayea, Diluc, or Jean will catch her before she leaves

Once you come back, Klee clings to you and takes you on many playdates with her

"Yay! Y/n's back! We're gonna play all day!!"

"Uhm Klee, don't you think the traveler should rest before you two play?"

"It's okay Master Jean, I always have time to play with Klee."

~🐟~DIONA~🐟~

She's reluctant at trusting you at first

She thinks most adults are the same so when you came to her tavern, she didn't think you were any different

But when you asked if she wanted any help with anything she was sort of shocked

'Why do they want to help me?'

She lets you help and you often go to the tavern just to help

This starts the friendship between you and Diona

After an adventure in Mondstad you'd always order a non alcoholic drink and tell Diona about things that might help her with her alcohol demolish goal

She always appreciates the information you give her, but is disappointed that it never seems to work out

Whenever she has a day off, she'll always spend it with you

Whether it be helping with chores or walking around the forests

She loves any gift you make for her and will hang it on the wall of her tavern

If you ever catch her crying, you'll always pat her head and give her words of affirmation and comfort

If she ever catches you crying, she makes you your favorite drink and tells you all sorts of funny stories from her witnessing drunks around her place

She always enjoys your tales of adventuring

Whenever you go, she always tells you to come back safe and that she'll save a snack and drink for you when you get back

When you're in another nation she worries about you endlessly

She wouldn't admit it, but the ways she serves customers is way more snarky than usual

"Please be safe Y/n."

"Do not worry Diona, Y/n will be back before you can even tell any time as ever passed."

"I know that Prince! But I won't stop worrying about my sibling-"

"You called Y/n your sibling Diona."

Diona gets so flustered when people figure out that you're like a sibling to her

When you get back she treats you to so many sweets while she listens to your tales

"I'm so glad you're safe Y/n!"

"Thanks Diona! How about I help you now?"

"Nope! You're gonna rest, I can handle the Tavern for a bit longer on my own"

~❄️~QIQI~❄️~

Its odd for Qiqi to remember someone like you for so long

She makes it a priority not to forget you

Baizhu is grateful for you to be so kind to Qiqi and take her on outings when he's busy

He's also quite baffled that you can understand her nonsense speaking when she confuses something with another thing

She always loves walking around with you around Liyue as you teach her things from the nations you've been too

Her book has become a scrapbook at this point of photos of you and her as well as notes that she takes so she doesn't forget your stories

Whenever you find a good secluded spot, you two stretch and just talk to each other

When people see you two together, they find it odd that you out of all people would be able to befriend the little zombie

Qiqi tries her best to tell you memorable stories but often forgets the ending or important parts to it

She gets sad when she can't remember a story for you but you cheer her up by creating your own endings or details

Qiqi genuinely laughs with you around and doesn't always have a flat face

When you catch her crying, she immediately hugs you telling you about how she doesn't like feeling this and you let her cry it out while cuddling her and teaching her breathing techniques

When she catches you crying, she's unsure what to do and gets Baizhu to help comfort you but if he's not around she offers you some snacks and hugs

Whenever you go adventuring to a new nation she gets really upset

Every time you mention it she runs away but comes back after a day and wishes you good luck

She sends you photos of her adventures while you're not around and you giggle all the time when you look at them

"Is Y/n okay?"

"I'm sure they'll be alright Qiqi."

She askes Baizhu that every day of every hour

He gets annoyed by it sometimes but understands the girls concerns

When you get back you immediately go to her and start your stories and give her photos of the places you saw

"Can we go there together next time?"

"Of course Qiqi! Wherever you want to go, whatever you want to see I'll take you!"

~🐇~YAOYAO~🐇~

YaoYao cares for you so much and tries to protect you despite her age or stature

She loves taking care of you as if she were the older sibling

Whenever you get hurt during a commision or when you adventure with her, she brings Yuegui out to help you feel better

You often help her with her things when she has things to work on and such

Madame Ping loves that you have befriended her apprentice since YaoYao hasn't had many friends and seems so stuck on acting like an adult

YaoYao sometimes treats you as if you were younger but you don't mind since you get back at her and she doesn't mind

You often take her places and trust her the most when you adventure around Liyue with her

She loves telling you about all the things she's learning under Madame Ping as well as from you

YaoYao loves to take you to her safe spaces that are secret when she isn't feeling to good and just needs a break from people

You both often play around and climb trees together as well as joke a bit

When you catch her crying, its sort of rare since she never shares her true feelings with you but when she does you embrace her and reasure her that it is okay to cry and have the feelings she is having

When she catches you crying, YaoYao tries her best to make you feel better by letting you hold Yuegui and making you your favorite snack

When you go adventuring to another nation, she worried about you so much

"Still worried about Y/n YaoYao?"

"What if they come back hurt? I'm not there to help!"

"I'm sure they'll be fine, they are a very capable adventurer"

Madame Ping usually reassures YaoYao whenever she spirals into those what if thoughts

Whenever you send her something from the nation your from she is so relieved

She often sends 3 letters a day checking in on you and making sure you're eating well

Once you come back she immediately runs to the dock if she wasn't there already waiting for you

After she checks you for any injuries and such she takes you to the special spots you two have reserved for hanging out

"Y/N!"

"Hey YaoYao! Want to go to our special spot?"

"Yes please! I was so scared you wouldn't come back!"

"I always do and always will."

~🎐~SAYU~🎐~

Sayu considers you her sleeping buddy

She always depends on you for either distracting, avoiding, or talking to her caregiver

Sayu loves when you nap with her because it means she's even safer and is able to sleep longer when there is a disruption

Whenever she has a job she takes you with her and you always are willing to go

Even when you do most of the work, you just want Sayu to be well rested

Whenever she is upset about not being tall or the sleeping isn't making her taller, you take her on your shoulders and sort of help her feel better

You take her on sibling lunch dates and make sure she doesn't force herself to eat everything and tell her to set limits

You encourage her to do her own work when she brings you on missions bit by bit

Her caregiver is so grateful to you because she can finally take a break and not really worry about Sayu as much

You two tend to play games with each other but its very minimal and short

If someone were to call her lazy, you'd stick up for her and tell them that she works just as hard as anyone else

When you catch her crying you pull her into your lap and try to help her with whatever she is crying about but she ends up falling asleep in your lap

When she catches you crying she cuddles you and take you to where the foxes are so they can help you cheer up

When you leave to adventure other nations, Sayu is incredibly lazy and has to hide from her caregiver again

"Sayu! Come out this instant!"

"No! I'm not doing anything without Y/n!"

Sayu feels a bit better when you send her letters and telling her you're working hard

She works hard after those letters but its really rare

Once you come back, she drags you to the usual napping spot and naps with you

"I'm so glad you're back Y/n.."

"Did you miss me so much you didn't sleep?"

"No, I just like having naps with you."

~🍃~NAHIDA~🍃~

She first found you in the forests of Sumeru before the whole incident in Sumeru

You caught her attention and always made sure to make herself present in your dreams

Once you saw her in person you connected the dots really quickly and she became one of the quickest best friends you have ever made

She loves teaching you new things and spends a lot of time with you in the forests or in the main areas of Sumeru taking you to a bunch of best food places

People are shocked to see you treat her as a sibling but they don't question it since they don't want to offend their god

She loves hearing all the knowledge you've obtained from traveling all over Tevat

She likes coming up with funny analogies with you and seeing you giggle with her

She loves introducing you to things she's interested in and helping her research topic

Nahida found it funny how you and Scaramouch/Wanderer met again after the fight

You were all protective of her and saying if he hurt your sister that he would be dead

Nahida likes that you consider her a sister and would do anything to protect you as well as help you grow as a person

Whenever she cries you always manage to make her laugh with a funny story or with funny movements

Whenever you cry she puts you into a dream world to distract yourself to calm down and then when you come back the two of you talk about it to find solutions to the issue

When you go adventuring to another nation, she always visits you in your dreams

It startles you every time but once you get used to it, the two of you talk about how things are in Sumeru

"When are you going to come back Y/n?"

"It's a secret little leaf."

"Aww please tell me! I miss you so much!"

"But if I tell you I won't get to surprise you when I come back"

Once your back you always make it a surprise by sneaking into her Sanctuary with a little tea set

The two of you have a tea party and talk about the stories and new knowledge you have obtained

Nahida loves that you travel and wishes to much to come with you

Sure being in your dreams helps her a lot but it doesn't compare to being there with you physically

"What happened next?"

"Well as I was fighting, I figured out that the weakness is behind the neck, so you just put pressure there and then it'll colapse"

"Can I come with you next time Y/n?"

"Maybe, you better learn how to fight if you want to come little leaf"

[goldendoodlerlockerlove]

Are y'all ready to see my updated wall of art??

But Doodler, won't you have to take all of that down when you have to move out of your dorm for the summer??

Hush. Let me have this. I worked too hard for this beautiful art wall, and I don't want to think about when I'll have to take it down yet.

I'm going to go from the top left all the way to the bottom right, tag every artist who made all the art you see here, and give a little backstory to the art!!

--Starting at the top left, we have Gene as Cat Stevens, which is an adorable sketch that @koko-raccoon made for me for Halloween when I invaded their inbox for trick-or-treating.

--This is a mini-comic I just Commissioned from @drawthethingdoppelganger of Gene and my Bob's Burgers OC, Alexis. I gave her the roughest and most rushed reference sketch to work with, and she did an incredible job. I'm never getting over the fact that she put a Mickey Mouse on Alexis' shirt and a music note on Gene's overalls. It's so beautiful and perfect and adorable and precious and--

--Here's a sketch I requested from @jae-is-drawing of Bob and Linda in the rain and Linda giving Bob a lil' kiss on his cheek 🥺 They seriously went above and beyond for this sketch, it's so freaking gorgeous and sweet. I can't believe they laid down colors, and did some shading, and lighting too!! They're so talented.

--Then, below the Cat Stevens drawing, is another piece from @koko-raccoon that they surprised me with. They made an adorable piece of my Gravity Falls, OC, Maggie, and her younger, triplet siblings, Dipper and Mabel!! It's the cutest thing ever, I'm so obsessed.

--Then we've got a sketch request that I got from @devilh0rnsinc, and it's so freaking adorable!! I asked them to draw Gene and Alexis sharing a milkshake, and they delivered. I can't stop thinking about them going on a milkshake date now.

--Then, below the Mystery Triplets piece, we've got a Commission I got from @alyssaerin of my sister's and my Animal Crossing characters, who is an extremely sweet and talented artist. I have to thank her once again for being so patient with me throughout the process of when I Commissioned her because I had to cancel my first request, and then when I actually got a request moving, I was a bit picky about the details, pfffft. But it turned out amazing and wonderful.

--Next to that, we've got another @drawthethingdoppelganger piece, and this piece she completely surprised me with. She drew up this fantastic, gorgeous, and colorful piece of Gene (inspired by AJR) and dedicated it to me!! I'm still not over it. Look at his wonderful, flowy hair and his outfit!!

--Then, we've got a Gravity Falls piece I Commissioned from @itscalliebeanie (she's only on Instagram, she doesn't have a Tumblr), of my OCs Maggie and Sydney being adorable dorks together. It came out so sweet and it makes me so happy looking at it. I adore Sydney's guitar. She also did such a good job drawing the shoes!!

--Then we've got the first piece I Commissioned from DT, which yes, I am still not over. It's Bob and Linda based on my "Linda is deaf" AU, and takes place during the episode Something Old, Something New, Something Bob Caters For You, which explains the super cute outfits. But if you've seen my Tumblr at all, you already know all of this, as I've rambled about this piece way too much. But she just did the greatest job on it. Their expressions?? The way you can see Bob signing "yes" with his hand?? Perfect. No notes.

--Next to that, we've got a Boblin piece that DT sketched up and dedicated to me and it makes me so 🥺 Look at them being so happy together. I swear, I am so unwell about Boblin.

--And finally, at the very bottom, we've got a piece I Commissioned from @carnivaldemon of Gene and Alexis. It came out so cute I actually squealed, giggled, and kicked my legs when she sent it to me. The way Alexis is holding an ice cream cone and has a heart on their shirt?? The way Gene is wearing overalls and holding his keyboard and leaning over to kiss Alexis on the cheek?? I can't. Yes, all of those things are things I specifically requested, but still--

[bengiyo]

Moonlight Chicken Ep 2 Stray Thoughts

Can you believe we're getting double doses of Aof shows now each week? Yesterday, we were treated to possibly the best opening we've ever had in BL. We have a sense of the dynamics of the restaurant and the way the financial crunch of the pandemic is hurting this town. We know that Uncle Jim is gay, and down to clown with Wen, but only casually. Li Ming doesn't seem happy about his current circumstances, and is now. wrapped up with the deaf son of a local police official. Alan (First Kanaphan) is so notable in his absence that we all were thinking about him. Mark Pakin and Khaotung continue to deliver phenomenal performances from supporting roles.

I'm so curious about Leng coming along with the restaurant.

I love the way Mark moves.

Wen just got here and already is like, "I am persistent."

"Chapter 2: The Temporary Chicken Rice"

I like the vibe Praew is giving off. Curious if this lotto thing is foreshadowing or world building.

Fourth feels so different as Li Ming.

Li Ming has to have thoughts about his uncle's fling suddenly working for them.

Uncle Jim and Li Ming seem to have a tense relationship.

So Heart doesn't have anyone to speak to because his parents haven't learned sign? No wonder he was driven to drinking.

Curious about why Heart took the photo.

Earth being allowed to play older characters is such a sexy move by Aof. He even gets to be funny!

Ah, yes, let's see Leng, Gaipa, and Praew together. These three are so comfortable on film.

I hope Khaotung being in love with either Earth or Mix continues as a bit far into the future. Gaipa is being nice, but he is definitely here to check out the competition.

Fourth joins the ranks of the fit boys we find excuses to strip.

I do like that we're drawing attention to Thai pronouns and how some of them have a familial context. Jim is younger than Li Ming's mom, so I think he would normally use "Ar"

There's a lot seemingly weighing on Li Ming. He clearly seems stressed about affording school in Bangkok, and seemingly has no interest in girls. He also seems to be struggling in his English classes, and seems to project a lot of this onto his uncle.

I think this tv sequence is the first time we've seen Li Ming seemingly relaxed so far.

I figured Praew was going to be pregnant with the eating earlier. Curious that they came to Jim with this problem. Does everyone go to their local gay uncle when they have problems?

Jim is doing such a bad job of keeping Wen at arm's length.

Omg the face journey Mix just took us on when he realized that Li Ming doesn't feel like he can talk to Jim about his desire to travel.

Fourth can smolder. I'm glad he worked with Mix on this show, because you can feel his brewing attraction to Heart.

Mark Pakin just made me cry. When they say acting is reacting, they're talking about Saleng's face dropping in awe when he realized that Jim actually did come through and help him. You could see the relief and thanks wash over him. He thought he was alone with this big situation, but Jim threw him a lifeline.

Wen is clearly fond of this behavior.

"I'm giving you your reward." This feels like something Aof put in from all the BL kids teasing him and always trying to hug him.

"Get serious with someone. Kill your loneliness...I can't stay with you forever you know?" Gosh this felt so gentle and caring.

I like the price of 3000 THB as compensation (roughly $89.33 USD). How you feel about that amount of money says a lot about where you sit.

Jim saw the potential for Wen to be with someone else and instantly retreated.

I like that Aof knew the 1000 stars fans were not going to put up with Mix and Earth making fuck-me eyes at each other all month waiting for payoff. This is much more intriguing.

I kinda hope we don't learn what made Jim give up on love for himself.

Next week we learn about Jim's homophobic sister, confirm that Fourth does the chin thing on his own, and I hope to the gods we see First.

[linkspooky]

Hello! I Just discovered your blog and you did a lot of interesting work on jjk(I want to fully read your Fanfictions soon!) Since you did a lot of work on jjk side characters I wanted to ask how did you come to the characterization of the secondary/background characters especially the members of Zen'in family and If you had any tips about writing them. I'm plotting a Fanfiction with them as the main villains(except Maki and Mai that are "positive" characters) but I'm a bit scared to make them ooc.

Thank you! If you do end up reading my fics soon let me know what you think and leave a comment. As for the Zen'in, Gege killed them a little too fast before we could ever really learn what the Zen'in family was like in story, so I can describe my process for writing them if that helps!

There are inspiration I took from other media when expanding upon the Zen'in Family dynamic, the first is the Washuu Family from Tokyo Ghoul. In the manga Tokyo Ghoul the Washuu are an extremely rich and traditional patriarchal family who are also the heads of the CCG or Commission of Counter Ghoul the government sponsored organization that hunts down ghouls. Basically, they fight ghouls like the Zen'in Fight curses, but ghouls are sentient with human emotions so they're an even more brutal and unsavory family.

Over the course of the story we learn the Washu isn't just the main house, there are several branch families who are all considered a part of the "Washuu." The house in order to maintain their power commits the ultimate taboo of arranging marriages, some of them even consanguineous marriages in order to breed for stronger child soldiers to fight ghouls. These children were then raised in a place called the "Sunlit Garden" solely for the purpose of becoming ghoul investigators when they were over. However, only the really good ones got to join the CCG, the rest of them had to be secret agents only working in the shadows. They also, as a curse only got to live short lives.

So, you can see the parallels with the Zen'in Family right away.

"If you're not a Zen'in then you're not a sorcerer, if you're not a sorcerer then you're not even human."

If you're a member of the Zen'in Clan you basically have no choice to be a sorcerer, according to Mai the other option is being treated like a household servant, which also implies women are seen as second class citizens who are only there to support the home if they don't become sorcerers.

Which means just like the Washuu, if you're born into the Zen'in you are going to be a child soldier, you'll be sent to Jujutsu High with little choice for the direction in your life. The Zen'in are also the most militarized of the three families. It's one of the few things Gege emphasizes about them in extra-canon materials.

"The Zen'in Family: Sorcerers who place an emphasis on ability above all else. They will even oppress their own family and relatives. They hold a self-righteous and old-fashioned ideology but their battle strength is high: they construct their unique battle organization in order to support the Jujutsu World."

Here we have more parallels to the Washuu, they are basically producing sorcerers / child soldiers to support the Jujutsu World the same way the Washuu creates ghoul investigators. There's also a very regimented caste system, only the best of the best get to be actual sorcerers, those without cursed techniques get shoved down to the bottom while the elite serve in the Hei with Naoya. The Zen'in also value inherited technique above all else, which is why they cast out people like Maki and Mai and yet elevate Megumi who's a complete stranger to clan head. This is an extrapolation but considering that Naoya makes offhand combats about marrying his cousins, then arranged marriages to produce children with better cursed techniques is probably a thing too.

The only reason I draw long comparison between the Washuu and the Zen'in though is because they are both families that basically exist to produce sorcerers / ghoul investigators and raise them up. All of their power and privilege in their society is given to them because of their ability to do this. All prestige in the clan comes from sorcerer technique and ability, which is why if you're not a sorcerer you're not even human. You weren't born as a child to be loved, you're born to be useful to the family.

The Zen'in is a place for raising sorcerers not children, which is why it's such an extremely loveless environment. Men marry women to take care of the household and raise up children, men only pay attention to their children who are sorcerers, children are all raised with the expectation of being a sorcerer or they're failing their parents. The Washuu and the Sunlit Garden particular have a theme that it's such a toxic environment that every single person who's raised there is poisoned. Everyone. There are no exceptions. No matter how kind or soft a person you are, if you are raised from birth to be a child soldier and shown no real empathy or love you're not going to be able to function as a person. There are characters who actually rebel against the Washuu, but they're still very much showing signs of the environment they were raised in, they're still toxic, violent and use power to get what they want.

Which is why whenever writing the Zen'in I used the maxim "There are no good Zen'in" which means no matter how good-intentioned they are, even if they have more sympathetic traits, no one can come out of the Zen'in unscathed. Y

Yes, even Maki. Remember, she murdered a whole bunch of people. She recreates the violence of her clan the same way everyone else in the clan does, even when she's trying to break that cycle she repeats it.

The exception would be Mai who never wanted to be a Zen'in in the first place and only wanted to a normal life, but Mai can be toxic in her own way. She's codependent, she blames others, she's incredibly self-loathing and dysfunctional and in canon in the end she chooses to kill herself. So the one example we have of an "innocent" Zen'in literally dies and is consumed by the whole clan.

Now, this is the part of the post where I'm going to blow your mind, a character doesn't have to be good or even redeemable to be a good character. They just need to be complex. The biggest problem of Gege's characterization of the Zen'in is not that they're all irredeemable people, but that they're irredeemable and one-note.

Ogi wants to kill his daughters to become clan-head. Jinichi was apparently Toji's brother, has a face scar, and wanted to go along with that plan. In extra-canon materials it's mentioned that most of Jinichi's direct subordinates think he's a nicer guy than Naoya.

Naoya's the most complex character out of the bunch, and he works as a good example to outline how you can make a character complex while having them be completely unsavory. Naoya, despite being spoiled is as tragically a product of his environment as much as any other Zen'in is. As I outlined above no one comes out of the Zen'in untouched, if you're raised in an incredibly insular clan with no access to the outside world, and every male figure around you is a misogynist then you're going to turn into a misogynist too. You are educated and taught to behave by the adults around you in your life.

Naoya is really the ultimate foil to Maki in that they are both the ultimate products of the Zen'in Clan toxicity, it's just Naoya was the golden child of the entire clan and Maki was the scapegoat. It's obvious Naoya's upbringing has ruined his entire personality and made him the embodiment of entitlement. One thing I like to say is that Naoya acts like Gojo, but he doesn't have the swag or charisma to back it up so while Gojo gets away with it Naoya continually gets his ass kicked. But in that sense Gojo is also the person who he is because he was spoiled and the golden boy of the Gojo clan.

Let's look at who Gojo is. Emotionally stunted. Incredibly lonely. Thinks no one can connect to him because no one is strong / good enough. Despises the sorcery world and the clan system. Full of barely restrained anger that comes out in fights. Isn't particularly liked by the people around him but they all still need him. Has no life outside of being a sorcerer.

Naoya has all these qualities too he's just an asshole so the audience is less inclined to sympathize with him. Think about Naoya this way, he despises everyone around him, his own family, his fellow sorcerers, he has no friends and no connections to other people. He openly mocks everything and laughs and constantly makes quips like "my brothers should just hang themselves and die" but a person so full of hatred isn't really enjoying their life. He wants to become clan-head beause he thinks he's entitled to that position and he's been told since birth that it's his... but why does he even want it? He hates the Zen'in, he knows their full of shit for looking down on Toji, he hates the other sorcerers around him. He follows and repeats the toxic Zen'in Ideology despite knowing that it's bad for him, but why?

Naoya becomes a very nihilistic character in that light, there's no love or happiness in his life, there's nothing he likes, he just believes in his elitism because that's all he has. He's the perfect Zen'in set to inherit the clan but he's nothing else, he's nihil as a person, he has no identity outside of being a sorcerer and he doesn't even seem to really like anything.

He longs to be as powerful as Toji and Gojo, but once again why? Does he think being able to look down on everyone from above would at least liberate him from the toxic cesspool he was raised in? Would that validate him somehow because he derives no real enjoyment from life?

While not sympathetic a person like that is pitiable. It's impossible not to feel bad for someone miserable, even if that person is the architect of their own misery. Anyway, you can draw a lot out of a character even Naoya who's basic role in the story is just "Naoya always talks shit and then immediately gets his ass kicked."

As for the rest of the clan, like I said they have no canon material so it's basically impossible to write them as out of character. They have no characters in canon.

For Jinichi I chose to focus on his relationship with Toji, because it would serve as a good parallel to Mai and Maki. My idea was to show Toji and Jinichi actually caring about each other as rothers to show how the Zen'in can ruin relationships even when there is love. The Zen'in Clan is a poisoned earth, everything that grows in that garden is poison so even loving sibling relationships are poisoned.

Jinichi can care about his brother, he can be much nicer to him than their father, but eventually their father's mistreatment of Toji and their father pitting them against each other is going to drive a wedge in their relationship no matter what. As much as they want to be they can't be a proper family, because the Zen'in Clan aren't a family they're a bunch of soldiers.

Which again parallels to Maki and Mai who love each other clearly, but are inevitably driven apart by their family circumstances. All the love in the world doesn't make a difference for the both of them because number one they are pitted against each other by the clan and outside environment and number two they are two different people coping with their trauma in different ways.

For Toji and Jinichi, and then Maki and Mai I chose to basically show that these are two twins who are inevitably unable to have functional sibling relationships with each other despite the love they might have because despite being twins they are not the same person. They are inevitably two different people reacting in different ways and therefore they're driven apart by it.

Ogi is the last one I gave any real characterization in my fic, by not actually giving him characterization at all. That makes sense I promise just let me explain.

Ogi's the kind of man who is willing to murder his own daughters for what he thinks is a shot at getting him clan head. These are children he's spent sixteen years of his life raising, and he has no hesitation whatsoever in doing that. Sure, Jinichi goes along with it but those aren't his kids so he's at least got a reason for being impersonal.

What kind of person can do that?

Well my idea was that Ogi's just not really much of a person to begin with. At least Naoya is grappling with inner turmoil and negative emotions whereas Ogi just seems to only care about his standing in the clan and his desire for clan head.

He probably never formed an attachment to his daughters, so he handed them off to his wife to raise. He probably didn't want daughters and twins on top of that in the first place, but when they turned out to both be worthless as sorcerers he probably stopped regarding them as his children whatsoever.

So everything in Ogi's life is just about playing a role in his clan. His marriage is probably arranged, and one where he has all the power in the house considering how Matsuko is scared into just going along with his plans. He only had children out of obligation to produce more heirs to raise up as sorcerers, and those failed so they're not even his children anymore. He doesn't have anything he wants, besides his desire for clan leadership but only because he believed he was unfairly passed over.

He's someone who perfectly fits the role of a traditional man of the Zen'in, but he's absolutely nothing else. He's got no personality, no motivations beyond ascending the ranks, he's just a cog more or less. Which is why in the end he's not even that important or complex a character, Maki just kills him in an instant because he's a nobody.

Those are the ideas I came up with in fleshing out the Zen'in as a household, I hope that helped you even a little bit, anon!

[inkblot22]

I agree!! aftermaths are ALWAYS my favourite to read during forced pregnancy stories and I actually hate when it ends with the yandere impregnating darling like how do u know if she truly got pregnant? where’s the horror in finding out you’re carrying your rapist’s child(ren)? how does reader deal with that? how does the yandere react to that? (I’m sure he knows but finding out the news from you yourself would surely elicit different emotions) how does he react when you say you wanna get rid of it? how do they both cope as parents? sooo many possibilities!! I’m glad to know the story I requested will not end with epel just impregnating darling!! thank you sm for that <3

also seeing as how both you and the other anon rank epel low I hope to see he be ranked higher in the future >:3

- epel felmier anon 🍎💜

ALL the freaking possibilities! The machinations of the yandere's mind when the baby-trapping (consensual or not) isn't received well is bound to be endlessly fascinating. Idk, stories work well sometimes if you let the reader imagine the hopelessness of a situation, but they work even better if you showcase it.

I'm putting the other stuff under a cut because I'm about to go on a bit of a tangent. Also, I have not read book seven yet, if anyone spoils it, I will temporarily block you until after I have read it.

I ranked Epel a C the first time because I didn't know anything about him at the time, almost every character save for the ones I really loved the designs for were lower than I would put them today, and frankly some were higher. I've done another tier list, this is not the old one. I have a pretty high opinion of most of the characters regardless of their ranking, here's the maker I used.

Okay, so, I feel the need to specifically explain Crewel: I don't like being treated like a dog. Pet play is not my thing, and I do not understand the hype surrounding him whatsoever. Why would I want to hang out with someone who probably smells like a really strong, expensive cologne and refuses to call me anything other than "good boy"? No thanks, y'all can have him. Crowley is self-explanatory.

Riddle, Silver, and Lucius all have their good qualities, I will admit. But I'm the type of person who would avoid both of the people for varying reasons (Riddle is annoying, I don't like being bothered when I'm minding my own fucking business because I'm "breaking the rules" and I don't want to wake up Silver and I don't know enough about him,) and I would get irrationally mad at Lucius for always getting into fights with Grim.

C tier is somewhat similar to D for me. I'd very likely not go out of my way to interact with these guys, but they're either more approachable or less irritating than D tier. I'm sure you can see a trend with at least two of them, but most of these mfs are too high energy or too intense. Sebek is here because while I don't like petplay, I do like degradation and I think he would be excellent at that, given his usual temperament and opinion on humans. Deuce is there because I find him to be a very one-note character. Everyone in this game is well-written, but not everyone can be interesting. Trein is here because I know I'd be constantly getting in trouble in his class for drawing instead of paying attention. By the way, when did people who were 50 become old? Idk I consider old to be like 70+ but maybe that's just because of the people I grew up around.

B tier is characters that I am aware I am sleeping on, with the bonus of Vargas, who I actually like quite a bit. Not enough to put him in higher than B tier, though. Ortho and Idia are sort of a package deal, but I do like Ortho less than I like Idia. Azul pisses me off but I am a sucker for a pathetic man.

EPEL!!! THE ONE WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!! Epel is like Deuce, if Deuce had more of a twisted view of himself. Reading though his little dilemma in book 5 didn't make me sympathize, but it did endear him to me. I can understand getting upset because you are literally unable to express yourself in a way that you would like because of reasons outside of your control. Beyond that, I love it when characters have a secret rough side (sorry Deuce.) Two-faced characters are my favorite thing.

A tier is characters I would like to put in S but I am too scared of them to do so. While C and lower are characters I would avoid because they're annoying, A tier is literally just characters I would avoid because they're freaky. I think people forget that the first interaction we have with Leona is him threatening to beat the shit out of us because we accidentally tripped on his tail. While Trey is sweet, he's the absolute definition of a two-faced character and he's way too observant to be comfortable around. Idk, maybe that makes him boyfriend material. I feel like anyone who has been on this blog at this point already understands my viewpoint of Jade, Floyd, and Rook. They scare the mess out of me and I love them for that.

With S tier, I'm actually going to specify a couple things: Sam is up there because I know I'd constantly be in his shop, buying things with thaumarks I should save just because I know his shop would smell like home. I feel like where a lot of people see Sam and think "this man can FUCK," I see Sam and think "big brother material." The sibling that I am closest to is literally just barely a year younger than Sam. Also, to clarify, I'm Black with family from the south. Grim is also sibling material. He's like a little brother, and I love him for that even though he pisses me off.

Now back to the WHORE KNEE. I very desperately want to bring my personal Vil series to this blog. I think maybe someone else would enjoy it, because what's more lovely than a man who sees what he wants in a person that isn't what he wants but forces to be what he wants anyway? I love that shit. Lilia is prime fodder for coercion fics, and I'd love to see more of those because he's very wise (because he's old as hell) and he's had a lot of practice at being a sweet talker. I think with a gullible reader?? Oh my god??? I'm not shy about my opinion on Malleus, Jamil, and Idia, and I think I talk about Idia a bit too much. Jamil stole my heart from the minute he was all sweet and kind in book 4 because he is so obviously two-faced that only the overly trusting would fall for that. Also, Jafar was something of an awakening for me. Who cares about Aladdin? I want the old man. As for Malleus, I like that he fills out the gap moe trope, but not overly so. He absolutely strikes me as the type to assume he knows best for both parties involved, and if he doesn't assume, he decides for you.

Anyway, knowing me, this list will have switched all over the place in a month's time. Thanks for reading my garbled nonsense.

[violetvirus]

DUDE, YOUR AU IS SO COOLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!

trying to think of AU names. i should be studying but. IT'S COOL

tell me about Ao Lie. and Wukong, and his programming backstory. and why Tripitaka is in trouble with the government. and Nezha (obviously, as aroacenezha LMAO). i wanna know everything about that angry little cyberpunk guy. what's his junkyard look like? have any Ao Lie/Nezha spats? is he a main-ish character?

and how does this translate w/ the og story of JTTW? is this just a character idea kind of thing, or some ideas about the scrolls and journey to enlightenment?

look. you put out cool idea and now I will not stop talking. <3

AAAAAHAH THANK YOU!! yeah… not sure what i should name it yet agh…. But I'm sure i'll think of something more clever than cyberpunk jttw! eventually…

rubs hands together lets get to it heheh

ao lie and tripitaka's relationship is one of my favs to draw and write about currently, they both lean on each other super hard for support bc at their core they're both so lonely yet unable to reach out for help. ao lie often has tripitaka pick him up from parties or other events. their friendship has only stayed so strong because ao lie is so insistent that he would get to know the shut off tripitaka.

wukong's old programming was a secret project from the jade city government to raze areas marked as "undesirable" from the city. this is mostly places where resentment towards the government is growing, and poor areas. wukong's original programming was violent and obedient, he had no personality of his own and his only goal was to carry out the current command. but because of this, it was easier for tripitaka to rewire him, as robots with no set personality code can more easily be reprogrammed, as they're almost a blank slate.

ao lie and wukong… used to not like each other. at all.

but one night, they got the chance to actually talk to just each other. and after that, they became much friendlier to one another. i want to make a comic based off this so i can't say much for now…

tripitaka is in trouble with the government because he is against it. jade city's government is corrupt and ripe with nepotism. they try and lock out technology from reaching poor areas. so tripitaka builds and creates, so that the defenseless can defend themselves. tripitaka is technically an illegal citizen, nobody is really sure where he's from and he has no official papers stating he is a citizen of jade city. but he's been living in the slums since he was very young. tripitaka also gets into trouble for breaking and entering and trespassing, as he will sometimes need materials that aren't available on the black market and will take matters into his own hands. tripitaka can be a little badass, as a treat. (but i love book tripitaka too)

though this tripitaka is still a strict pacifist, so his crimes are all non-violent.

nezha!! little nezha thinks he looks very badass, but everyone else wonders… who the hell is dressing this kid LOL. nezha has first hand experienced the inequality of jade city from living in the slums and has becomes extremely protective over the people there. just on the outskirts of his town there is a junkyard he frequents. tripitaka goes there often too, for scrap metal, and sometimes nezha will bring him materials (if tripitaka asks nicely, lmao). when wukong was first sent to raze their town, nezha was able to pin him under steel pipes in the junkyard, making it so tripitaka could reprogram him. nezha is still extremely proud of this. im making a comic based on this moment….

nezha often will enter tripitaka's home without warning, so the first time he entered with ao lie there, he assumed the worst and jumped to defend tripitaka. ao lie found it hilarious and adorable. ao lie doesn't take nezha very seriously and reminds him often that he has no part in what his family does as he was disowned, but nezha is convinced otherwise and will pester tripitaka constantly to stop talking to ao lie.

nezha is a main character, he is the connection for tripitaka to the neighborhood. he acts a bit like a scout, alerting tripitaka to events that are happening or people that need help or things fixed. nezha seeks out tripitaka because he knows that tripitaka is dependable and wants the best for people.

as for how it translates to the og story of jttw… in my head, eventually, tripitaka is forced to leave Jade City with his robots and head west. i don't have it all figured out yet, but the scrolls would instead be like… some kind of data. sorry this part is so vague haha, in my head there is a closer resemblance. i currently have the story split into a few parts, and right now we're remaining in jade city.

thank you so much for asking!! i love rambling about these guys….