#AND YES I LOVE THAT KIND OF SHAPE WHEN A CHARACTER HAS A REALLY LARGE CLOAK OVER THEMSELVES!!!

[anniflamma]

a question do you have designs for the cathonic gods(underworld gods) you know Hades,Persephone, their kids, Thanatos, Hypno, and Hecate?

I just think of Hades and persephone being good parents and all the underworld gods + Hermes being aunts and uncles to them. 😊

So, this is all I've got for now!

Hades! Ahhh… I don't know if I managed to convey exactly what I wanted to do with him. He's such an iconic character, so it's pretty hard to avoid the goth man stereotype. These drawings of him aren't really finalized yet, but they're a step in the direction of what I want.

So, in a sense, when Persephone is in the living world, he becomes this typical dark man, clothed in shadows. And when his wife comes over, she dresses him up! His hair gets decorated with flowers and plants. This "form" of him is when he goes full-out drag! That's it!

But I also think the trickiest thing when designing him was due to his brothers. I don't want them to look alike. And, well… My take on Poseidon is a big hazard. People already think that he looks like a god of death, which was my intention. I wanted him to represent death to Odysseus in Epic the Musical. I even thought of making his clothes black, but I realized that people would definitely think he was Hades instead. So Hades's color scheme had in mind with Poseidon's. Poseidon has black hair, Hades has white. Poseidon has light skin, Hades has a tan. To be honest, I even don't really like that I gave him a purple white dress....

Hmmmm… now that I'm looking at these sketches… I should have added body hair…

[cybernaght]

The fandom echo chamber: fanon, microanalysis and conspiracy brain 

As someone who has been in fandom spaces, on and off, for 20 years, I find some fascinating trends popping up in the last decade that I thought to be fandom-specific but clearly aren’t. So, I would like to do a little examination of where those things come from, how they are engaged with, and what it says about the way we consume media. This is a think piece, of sorts, with my brain being the main source. As such, we will spend some time down the memory lane of a fandom-focused millennial.

This is largely brought about by Good Omens. But it’s also not really about Good Omens at all.

Part one. Fanon.

The way we see characters in any story is always skewed by our very selves. This is a neutral statement, and it does not have a value judgement. It’s simply unavoidable. We recognise aspects of them, love aspects of them, and choose aspects of them to highlight based entirely on our own vision of the universe. 

Recognition comes into this. There is a reason so many protagonists of romance novels have a “blank slate” problem. Even when they do not, we love characters who are like us or versions of us that we would like to be. And when we say “we”, I also mean, “me”. 

(I remember very clearly this realisation hit me after a whole season of Doctor Who with writing which I hated utterly when I questioned why I still clung so incredibly hard to Clara Oswald as my favourite companion. Then I looked at myself in the mirror. Oh. Well. That would do it, wouldn’t it?)

Then, there is projection, and, again, this is a neutral statement. Projection exists, and it is completely normal and, dare I say it, valid way of engaging with — well, anything. Is the character queer? Trans? Neurodivergent? Are they in love? Do they like chocolate? Are they a cat person? Well, yes, if this is what the text says, but if the text does not say anything… You tell me. Please, do tell me. Because, in that moment of projection, they are yours. 

And then, there is fandom osmosis, and that is the most fascinating one of them all, the one that is not very easy to note while you are inside the echo chamber. It’s the way we collectively, consciously or not, make decisions on who or what the characters are, what their relationships are, and what happens to them.  

(Back when I was writing egregiously long Guardian recaps on this blog I actually asked if Shen Wei’s power being learning actually was stated anywhere in the canon of the show. Because I had no idea. I have read and reread dozen of fanfics where that is the case, and at some point through enough repetition, it became reality.)

We are all kind of making our own reality here, aren’t we? 

Back when things were happening in a much less centralised manner - in closed livejournal groups, and forums of all shapes and sizes - I don’t remember there being quite as much universally agreed upon fanon. Frankly, I don’t remember much of universally agreed upon anything. But now, everything is in one place: we have this, and we have AO3, and it’s wonderful, it really is so much easier to navigate, but it’s also one gigantic reality-shifting echo chamber, with blogs, reblogs, trends, and rituals. 

Accessibility plays its part, too. If you were, say, in Life on Mars (UK) fandom between seasons, and you wanted to post your speculation fic, you had to have had an account, and then find and gain access to one of the bigger groups (lifein1973 was my poison, but ymmv), and then, if you feel brave you may post it, but also, you may want to do so from your alt account if you wanted to keep yours separate, and then you would have to go through the whole process again. And I’m not saying that fan creations then were somehow inherently better for it than fan creations now (although Life on Mars Hiatus Era is perhaps a bad example - because some of the Speculation Fic there was breathtaking), but there is something to say about the ease of access that made the fandoms go through a big bang of sorts.

(I mean, come on, I can just come here and post this - and I am certain people will read it, and this blog is a pandemic cope baby about Chinese television for goodness sake.)

The canon transformations that happen in the fandom echo chamber truly are fascinating to witness as someone who is more or less a fandom butterfly. I get into something, float around for a bit, then get into something else and move on. I might come back eventually when the need arises, but I don’t sustain a hiatus mind-state. This means that when I float away and return, I find some very intriguing stuff.

Let’s actually look at Good Omens here. Season two aired, and I found it spectacular in its cosy and anguished way; deliberately and intelligently fanfic-y in its plot building; simple but subversive, and so very tender. (I will have to circle back to this eventually, because, truly, I love how deliberately it takes the tropes and shatters them - it’s glorious). And, to me - a person who read the book, watched the first season, hung around AO3 for a few weeks and moved on - absolutely on-point in terms of characterisation. 

So imagine my surprise when the fandom disagreed so vehemently that there are actual multi-tiered theories on how characters were not in possession of their senses. Nothing there, in my mind, ever contradicted any of the stated text, as it stood. This remained a strange little mystery until I did what I always do when I flutter close to an ongoing fandom.

I loaded AO3 and sorted the existing fic by popularity. And there it was, all there: the actual earth-shattering mutual devotion of the angel and the demon; willingness to Fall; openness and long heart-aching confession speeches. There was all of the fanon surrounding Aziraphale and Crowley, which, to me, read as out of character, and to one for whom they became the reality over the last four years, read as truth. 

Again, only neutral statements here. This is not a bad thing, and neither this is a good thing, this is just something that happens, after a while, especially when there are years for the fandom-born ideas to bounce around and stew. I can’t help but think that so much of what we see as real in spaces such as this one is a chimaera of the actual source and all the collective fan additions which had time and space to grow, change, develop, and inspire, reverberating over and over again, until the echoes fill the entirety of the space. 

Eventually, this chimaera becomes a reality. 

Part two. Microanalysis 

Here are my two suppositions on the matter:

1. Some writers really love breadcrumb storytelling. 

Russel T Davies, for instance, on his run of Doctor Who (and, if you are reading it much later - I do mean the original one), loved that technique for his seasonal arcs. What is a Bad Wolf? Who is Harold Saxon? Well, you can watch very very carefully, make a theory, and see it proven right or wrong by the end of the season. 

Naturally, mystery box writers are all about breadcrumb storytelling: your Losts and your Westworlds are all about giving you snippets to get your brain firing, almost challenging you to figure things out just ahead of the reveal. 

2. We, as humans, love breadcrumbs.

And why wouldn’t we? Breadcrumbs are delicious. They are, however, a seasoning, or a coating. They are not the meal. 

Too much metaphor?

Let’s unpack it and start from the beginning.

Pattern recognition colours every aspect of our lives, and it colours the way we view art to a great extent. I think we truly underestimate how much it’s influenced by our lived experiences.

If you are, broadly speaking, living somewhere in Western/North-Western Europe in the 14th century, and you see a painting in which there is a very very large figure surrounded by some smaller figures and holding really tiny figures, you may know absolutely nothing about who those figures are, but you know that the big figure is the Important One, and the small ones are Less Important Ones, and the tiny ones are In Their Care. You know where your reverence would lie, looking at this picture. And, I imagine, as someone living in the 14th century, you may be inspired to a sense of awe looking at this composition, because in the world you live in, this is how art works. 

If you, on the other hand, watch a piece of recorded media and see the eyes of two characters meet as the violins swell, you know what you are being told at that moment. You don’t have to have a film degree to feel a sort of way when you see a green-tinged pallet used, when cross-cuts use juxtaposing images, or notice where your focus is pulled in any given shot. This stuff - this recognition of patterns - has been trained into us by the simple fact that we live in this time, on this planet, and we have been doing so long enough to have engaged recorded media for a period of time. 

As humans, we notice things. Our brains flare up when they see something they recognise, and then we seek to find other similar details and form a bigger picture. This often happens unconsciously, but sometimes it does not. Sometimes we do it on purpose: finding breadcrumbs in stories is a little bit like solving a mystery. It allows us to stretch that brain muscle that puts two and two together. It makes us feel clever. 

So yes, we love breadcrumbs, and, frankly, quite a lot of storytelling takes advantage of this. It’s very useful for foreshadowing, creating thematic coherence, or introducing narrative parallels and complexity. It’s useful for nudging the viewer into one or the other emotional direction, or to cue them into what will happen in the next moment, or what exactly is the one important detail they should pay attention to.

Because this is something media does intentionally, and something we pick up both consciously and not, it is very hard to know when to stop. We don't really ever know when all of the breadcrumbs have been collected. It becomes very easy to get carried away. There is a very specific kind of pleasure in digging into content frame by frame, soundbite by soundbite, chasing that pleasure of finding. 

But it is almost never breadcrumbs all the way down. They are techniques to help us focus on the main event: the story. I truly believe those who make media want it to reach the widest possible audience, and that includes all of us who like to watch every single thing ever created with our Media Analysis Goggles on and those who are just here to enjoy the twists and turns of the story at the pace offered to them. And I think, sometimes in our chase to collect and understand every little clue we forget that media is not made to just cater for us.

One can call it missing a forest for the trees. But I would hate to mix my metaphors, so let’s call it missing a schnitzel for the breadcrumbs. 

Part three. The Conspiracy Brain. 

If you are there with me, in the midst of the excited frenzy, chasing after all those delicious breadcrumbs, then patterns can grow, merge together, and become all-encompassing theories. Let’s call them conspiracy theories, even though this is not what they truly are.

So, why do we believe in conspiracy theories?

One, Because We Have Been Lied To. 

All conspiracies start with distrust.

If you are in fandom spaces - especially if you are in fandom spaces which revolve around a queer fictional couple - especially-especially if you have been in such spaces for a period of time, you have most certainly been lied to at one point or another. 

We don’t even have to talk about Sherlock - and let’s not do that - but do you remember Merlin? Because I remember Merlin. Specifically, I remember the publicity surrounding the first season, with its weaponised usage of “bromance” and assertions that this whole thing is a love story of sorts, and then the daunting realisation that this was all a stunt, deliberately orchestrated to gather viewership. 

And, because we were lied to in such a deliberate manner for such an extensive period of time, I genuinely believe that it forever altered our pattern recognition habits, because what was this if not encouragement to read into things? Now we are trained to read between the lines or see little cries for help where they might not be. Because we were told, over and over again, that we should.

(Yes, I think we are all existing in these spaces coloured by the trauma of queer-bating. I am, however, looking forward to a world where I can unlearn all of that.)

Two, Cognitive Dissonance.

The chain reaction works a bit like this: the world is wrong - it can’t possibly be wrong by coincidence - this must be on purpose - someone is responsible for it.

Being Lied To is a preamble, but cognitive dissonance is where it all originates. In so many cross-fandom theories I have noticed a four-step process:

A) this is not good

B) this author could not have made a mistake 

C) this must be done on purpose

D) here is why 

(Funny thing is, I have been on the receiving end of the small conspiracy spiral, and it is a very interesting experience. Not relevant to this conversation is the fact that a lot of my job revolves around storytelling. What is relevant is that my hobbies also revolve around storytelling. And one of them is DnD. Now, imagine my genuine shock when one of the players I am currently writing a campaign for noticed a small detail that did not make a logical sense within the complexity of the world, and latched on to it as something clearly indicating some kind of a secret subplot. Their thinking process also went a bit like this: this detail is not a good piece of writing — this DM knows how to tell stories well — this is obviously there on purpose. It was not there on purpose. I created a clumsy shorthand. I erred, in that pesky manner humans tend to. And, seeing this entire thought process recited to me directly in the moment, I felt somewhere between flattered and mortified.)

This whole line of thinking, I think, exists on a knife’s edge between veneration and brutal criticism, relentlessly dissecting everything “wrong”, with a reverent “but this is deliberate” attached to it like a vice, because it is preferable to a simple conclusion that the author let you down, in one way or another. 

Three, Intentionality 

I believe that there is no right or wrong way of engaging with stories, regardless of their medium, and assuming no one gets hurt in the process. While in a strictly academic way, there is a “correct” way of reading (and reading into) media, we here are largely not academics but consumers; consumption is subjective.

However, this all changes when intentionality is ascribed. 

The one I find particularly fascinating is the intentionality of “making it bad on purpose” because, as open-minded as I intend to always be, this just does not happen.

It certainly does not happen in long-form media. Even in the bread-crumb mystery box-type long-form media. 

When television programs underdeliver, they also underperform, and then they get cancelled.

If all the elements of Westworld Season 4 that did not sit together in a completely satisfactory way were written deliberately as some sort of deconstruction for the final season to explore, then it failed because that final season will now never come.

(There will likely never be a Secret Fourth Episode.)

And look, I am not here to refute your theories. Creativity is fun, and theorising is fantastic. 

But, perhaps, when the line of thought ventures into the “bad on purpose” territory, it could be recognised for what it is: disappointment and optimism, attempting to coexist in a single space. And I relate to that, I do, and I am sorry that there is even a need for this line of thinking. It’s always so incredibly disappointing that a creator you believed to be devoid of flaws makes something that does not hit in the way you hoped it would. It’s pretty heartbreaking. 

Unfortunately, people make mistakes. We are all fallible that way. 

Four, Wildfire.

Then, when the crumbs are found, a theory is crafted, and intentionality is ascribed, all that needs to happen is for it to catch on. And hey, what better place for it than this massive hollow funnel that we exist in, where thoughts, ideas and interpretations reverberate so much they become inextricable from the source material in collective consciousness. 

Conspiracy theories create alternate realities, very much like we all do here. 

So where are we now?

I am not here to tell you what is right and what is wrong; what is true, and what is not. We are all entitled to engage with anything we wish, in whichever way we wish to do it. This is not it, at all. 

All I am saying is… listen.

Do you hear that echo? 

I do. 

[the-s1lly-corner]

Cuddling w/ various HH characters 2/?

This is probably going to be a three part thing like the cookie post

Characters: Lucifer, Adam, Lute, Emily, Velvette, Rosie

Notes: Reader is GN

CWs: none

Lucifer

Hes so very very warm! It's like cuddling into those heated bottles of water! Loooooves clinging onto you but he also loves being held. It's a whole security thing with him, you know? Hes so eager to give you his love but hes wary that the relationship will end abruptly or something else will go wrong- give him time and reassurance he'll smother you when hes ready 7/10 last minute note but yes, he uses his wings as a blanket for you

Adam

Very large, and hairy. Hes chubby- soft and more to love. Prefers cuddling in bed and preferably without clothes- take this as you will. Prefers to have you slung over his chest and cuddle like that rather than on your sides. Warm! Will hold you close to him whenever he can- doesnt matter if it's to his side or taking you in his lap hes going to hold you 8/10

Lute

I think I've mentioned this before but shes cold, very much so. Shes also not very soft thanks to her muscle. She also tends to lay very stiff in bed, she kind of turns into a statue when you cuddle up into her. She definitely gets better over time but its.. still not the best. Tends to be the cuddled and when she is doing the cuddling shes not sure of what shes doing, similar to pentious in the previous part 4/10

Emily

Shes pretty similar to charlie and lucifer in regards to cuddling habits! Shes cold, though.. hope you dont mind that, though! Loves wrapping her wings around you as well, like a blanket! Happy to be big or little spoon she doesnt have a real preference so long as you're comfortable! Nuzzles into you while cuddling! If you need her to tone it down she will- she doesnt want you to be uncomfortable! 8/10

Velvette

Like most sinners I headcanon her to be warm! Average body type, a little on the skinnier side though. If you guys are cuddling on a couch or somewhere that isnt private and at home her clothes might be a little uncomfortable to cuddle into, unfortunately.. but when shes wearing stuff for around the house? No problem! Unfortunately shes not a big cuddler, at most she might sit in your lap or vise versa 4/10

Rosie

Warm and lanky, her clothes feel nice too- house wear and otherwise! Loves being big spoon, that's her default. Snuggles into you when she returns home, pretty much attached to your hip until she has to leave again. Its not really because shes clingy, shes just trying to make up for lost time. Overlording can be time consuming, especially when you have a colony to keep in shape

[olderthannetfic]

https://olderthannetfic.tumblr.com/post/739381076510785536/so-it-seems-our-flag-means-death-has-not-been#notes

I liked OFMD and I'm sad it's not getting renewed, but I agree that the fandom was especially toxic, even by the standards of currently popular slash-heavy fandoms. I wanted to read fic after s1 ended the way it did, and I read a little bit, but along with it having all the tropes that I can't stand in a lot of what is currently big with the MSF crowd (and that I'd been happy to have a reprieve from in my current main M/M fandom), the toxicity of the online fandom discourse made me quickly realize it was one that I was going to discuss among my current-friends-from-other-fandoms who also watched it, and my sister who watches it, and pretty much ignore the rest of the Internet. It was such a perfect storm of everything awful, from people who are overly invested in it to an unhealthy degree (I think I realized I wasn't gonna be active in the larger fandom around a month or so before the s2 renewal announcement, when I saw earnest PSA tweets telling people to "stop threatening suicide in HBO's replies if they don't renew OFMD"), to bombarding and parasocial obsessions with the creators and actors, to all the classic "anti" and purity police crap that plagues anything that gets popular on here.

The fandom it reminds me the most of, honestly, is Yuri on Ice fandom at its peak in early-mid 2017. Again, a show I love, but a fandom I absolutely do not miss. In some ways they are kind of similar shows: ones with canon M/M romances where they were not billed as that, and they were hinted from early on but people didn't trust it due to years of dealing with queerbaiting, where that sort of thing slowly crept up on people and then became the defining feature of how it was discussed everywhere. I wonder if there's a particular level of insanity that that type of thing breeds in its fans - or maybe, more broadly, "canon M/M with a large female fanbase." Like, you don't see this kind of thing in canon M/M stuff that's mostly watched by queer men rather than women, but there are shades of the insanity I also remember from Glee fandom (I was more active on the F/F side of things there, which had its own unhinged drama, but the Klaine vs. anti-Klaine stuff was so explosive that it was hard not to notice it if you were anywhere in that fandom, like a mushroom cloud in the distance). But YOI and OFMD do seem very... singular in the particular kind of obsession that they generate.

And I really wish people would shape the fuck up, because if they're going to act like this over and over again, that's just going to de-incentivize showrunners to make shows like this for that audience.

Driving Con O'Neill off Twitter was one of the worst parts of it, too. There was something so refreshingly earnest about how much he embraced the fandom, even the weirdest parts - saying with regard to NSFW fanart that "art is art" and retweeting stuff like his character in a crop-top that said "babygirl." It was so nice to see an actor who didn't usually have that kind of following embrace it wholeheartedly rather than steering clear. ....And then people had to be awful and creepy and obsessive and he left Twitter. I bet he's going to be a lot more skeptical of dealing with fans in the future!

--

It's not just the canon m/m aspect: it's the wholesomeness.

Yes, yes, they're all evil pirates, I agree, but watching S1 did give me the feeling of something that was supposed to be very progressive and light-hearted in particular ways. I don't think that's bad, but it does tend to attract some very over-sensitive fans with some very rigid expectations.

It's sadly par for the course that one of the random side character actors is the fun one and people are jackasses and desperately want the leads they ship to be the fandomy ones and/or just start creeping on any actor they can get a reaction from.

[dingodad]

I know your tags said that the lil cal & Gamzee stuff isn’t worth discussing, but I think a lot of people could actually use someone articulating the problem with assuming that the puppet is what triggered the breakdown/“mind controlled” gamzee. If you’re really to speak on it, I’d love to hear it 

to preface: i'm not unsympathetic to the desire to see a more sympathetic interpretation of Gamzee given how his arc speaks to certain racialised themes within the comic. but this is what's in the text as i see it.

ultimately it comes down to the exact same arguments that apply to Dave's bro. Gamzee is part of Lil Cal, so if Lil Cal were whispering in Gamzee's ear the whole time he was also undergoing all these stresses related to faith and substance, those whispers are Gamzee's own thoughts being reflected back at him. if puppet-Gamzee suggests to man-Gamzee that he kill people and man-Gamzee concedes, all that's really happened is that Gamzee has given in to his own desire to do that. this is what Homestuck does when it pits alternate timeline versions of characters against each other; it simply manifests interactions going on within that character's own self.

more specifically to Gamzee, this is a character who manifests Homestuck's feminist themes very explicitly, especially in regards to how they are portrayed via Alternia's caste system as a member of the patriarchal purple class. it is true and worth mentioning of course that Lil Cal is not just Gamzee, but is also Caliborn, Gamzee's patriarchal god! but then it was Gamzee who raised Caliborn to have those patriarchal principles; because in Homestuck the patriarchy isn't something you're somehow influenced or tricked into participating in, it's something you choose to perpetuate, just as Caliborn chose to perpetuate it in becoming Alternia's patriarch... and so on ad infinitum.

the "tragedy" of a time loop isn't that fate is somehow forcing you to adhere to a course of events that you don't want to adhere to; tragedy is when the person that you are makes it inevitable that you will walk down that same violent path every time. and Homestuck is all about that person that you are; it's a story by and large disinterested with any scenario where a character's actions do not offer insight into their personalities. a Homestuck character has a certain nature, and while on occasion they are offered psychic stimuli, how they react to that psychic stimulus is according to their nature.

there is of course a physical rather-than-metaphysical approach to Gamzee's backstory, which I'm sure is more along the lines of what you were looking for lol, and while analysis of that is not so much my area I feel that the physical approach basically points toward the same kind of conclusions as the metaphysical one. Gamzee is a character of tragedy, who has been shaped by physical stimuli like religious abuse (from all manner of directions!), parental neglect and substance addiction. and my assessment of that is primarily that... this should be enough? like is that not enough to create a compelling character. even if it were not antithesis to Homestuck's themes I guess it just seems to me like it goes without saying that "this character's actions were the result of someone else's will and not of their own unique circumstances" reduces the character. most certainly yes, there are manipulative forces at work in Homestuck, and their name is Lord English, and yes, Lil Cal is Lord English, but Lord English's power lies in the telling of the narrative; and the narrative that turns Gamzee into a villain is already there! English doesn't need to tell Gamzee to make those malevolent choices, because English already established the circumstances that made those choices inevitable. to make Lil Cal into some literal cursed amulet is to make Lord English into Vriska, and that reduces him, because that's not what he is! he's the god of inevitability!

[starleska]

welcome to...starleska's f/o round-up 2023! 🥳🥳🥳

below the cut is every single character i've had a crush on in 2023...and there are 30 in total!! 🙈💖 these are given in chronological order of fixation, and they are all new crushes (so re-entering a fixation for a character i've simped for previously doesn't count 😂) now be warned, this is a genuinely unhinged list. they are largely villains. one is a mushroom. one is a vehicle. one is a casino-themed duck-shaped robot. my autism is indiscriminate in the characters it fixates on, and they are all suitably embarrassing 😭💖 without further ado, here we go...

1. James the Red Engine | Thomas the Tank Engine

...shut up 😂💖 at the start of this year i truly lost my mind and fell headfirst into the Thomas the Tank Engine fandom (everyone there is so lovely and creative!!)...and of course, the vain train is my favourite 🙈💖 James is cute okay!! i don't need to justify myself!!! 2. 'Big' Jack Horner | Puss in Boots: The Last Wish

there's no way anyone missed this one - we are quite the tight-knit and dedicated group in the 'Big' Jack Horner fandom 😳💖 come on, look at him...a huge, powerful, obsessive, fancy-bastard collector with an affinity for magic??? he's stunning 🥴💖 i made so many lovely friends through gushing about this horrible man!!! we had so much fun making OCs to ship with him 🙈 one of the most intense fixations i've had all year, and one of the best villains we've seen in years...he is fantastic 🥰 3. Pizzahead | Pizza Tower

i don't know what's in the water of Pizza Tower but it's impossible to be normal about any character you like from that game 🙈💖 of course the evil sentient pizza slice took the top spot, he's so cartoony and ridiculous!!! the amount of power he exerts is also quite the draw 🤭💖 i'm not gonna lie there's a couple other characters from this game i may get into later...we'll see 😉 4. Fingers | Dead End: Paranormal Park

have you heard this guy's voice. can you blame me. deliciously evil fruity monstrosity with supernatural powers? sign me up to whatever sinister scheme Fingers has going on now or in the future 👉👈 he hits a lot of boxes...between the cabaret-style makeup, the posh, dismissive and manipulative personality and the inexplicable Eldritch body, he was always gonna be a crush 🤭 5. M.O.D.O.K. | Marvel

wheeze okay, this was originally a JOKE!!! @thelighttasteslikelasagna sent in this message joking that i look like i'd find M.O.D.O.K. hot, and i was really angry about it for five minutes...and then i discovered the stop-motion cartoon where he's exactly the kind of cringefail malewife villain i enjoy (in the Augustus St. Cloud vein), and the rest is history 🙈💖 definitely one of the silliest crushes i had this year, but he holds a special place in my heart :3c 6. Gargamel | The Smurfs

nah man i was on some serious mental illness at the start of this year 💀 i just can't help it when bad guys are like this, alright!!! Hank Azaria's performance as Gargamel is sooo silly and over-the-top, i couldn't help but love every second he was on screen 🙈💖 Gargamel's just a whole lot of fun!!! who doesn't love a magic-wielding freak hellbent on the destruction of a group of little creatures?? (i cannot and will not be taking any questions at this time 😶) 7. Wally Darling | Welcome Home

my God, the Wally Darling fixation hit the entire Internet like a train 🤭💖 soft-voiced, ambiguously-moraled rizz puppet that he is, how could we not all fall head-over-heels? i have to thank this guy for throwing me headfirst back into fanfic writing, as the whole Welcome Home story really inspired me...not to mention all the lovely folks who wanted to imagine different ways of getting to hold Wally's hand 🥰 hooray for our pretty puppet boy!! 8. Killa Harkan | John Wick: Chapter 4

...yes, i know, it's funny that Killa's the first of two cartoonishly evil German-accented bad guys with sleight of hand tricks and gold teeth on the list this year 😂💖 sitting in the cinema, the second he opened his mouth my partner just turned and stared at me, because they knew. i refuse to apologise for appreciating a really awful bastard - especially one who dresses so sharply 😉 9. Ian Hawke | Alvin and the Chipmunks

yet another member of the 'it started off as a joke...' club 🤭💖 listen, Ian serves!!! we can't resist a smarmy music producer/manage type, can we? Ian's in the same camp as Gargamel for being a deeply evil man whose capacity for doing harm is directed at little creatures. all i'm saying is, he can sign me up for a dodgy deal any day 🥴 10. Myc Cellium | Inside Job

i can't tell if it's my monsterfucker tendencies or my consummate attraction to Brett Gelman but the crass sentient mushroom got me down bad 😭💖 he's just such a menace!! he's got that intoxicating combo of being horribly socially inappropriate and an actual outcast...fellas, Myc was fixation bait for me 😭 11. Klaus Kickenklober | Sing 2

i don't care if you think you're not a furry, someone can and will get you from the Sing franchise, and that is a threat 🙈💖 yesss laugh it up, Star's got another stern and vaguely European cartoon villain added to the list 😂 i just find Klaus so impossibly delightful!!! he'd be a terrible teacher to have in real life, but in fiction, i think i could fix him :3c 12. The Spot | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

ohoho, i know you guys were living for The Spot fixation because i remember your reaction to the x Readers 😉 look at him and his incredible design!!! the transformation of The Spot from weak laughable villain to reality-bending monstrosity had me by the throat...and i can't wait to see more of him when the next Spider-Verse drops 👀 13. Mad Mod | Teen Titans

MAD. BLOODY. MOD!!!!! i think our favourite British bastard has to take the crown (literally and figuratively) as my strongest fixation out of the whole of 2023, i lost my mind over this guy. he just consumed my every waking thought!!! 🙈 the style, the voice, the unbelievable engineering skill...Mad Mod is one of those once-in-a-lifetime f/os that you know you'll be obsessed with for a very long time 😳💖 i look back so fondly on those wonderful few months of Mad Mod fandom resurgence, and how that still continues today...here's hoping even more people find out about him and develop their own crushes 😉 shout-out to the lovely @iriso-page who suggested him and Music Meister to me 🙈💖

14. Control Freak | Teen Titans

sdfgdf okay back on form with the fat dweebs, i know, i know!!!! my ravenous Mad Mod fixation wasn't enough to ignore Control Freak, one of the most delightfully stupid villains in Teen Titans...!!! he hits all my buttons (ha!) and i genuinely think his design and powers are kind of epic. would love to see him utilised in the future 😉 (i am never beating the Discord kitten allegations...) 15. Ken | Barbie

well, this particular blond himbo was quite the surprise!! 🤭💖 i'm not usually the one to go for such a stereotypical hottie, but Ryan Gosling plays Ken as so unhinged and...off for the whole movie, he activated the same neurons which come with the weirdest of my crushes 🙈💖 Ken's a misguided sweetheart and i'd love to help him feel a little bit wanted;;; 16. Buck Ruffler the Duck Shuffler | Toontown: Corporate Clash

fell into the wonderful world of Toontown: Corporate Clash and imprinted on this fucker like...well, like a baby duck 😂💖 is this not the most spectacular design for an original Cog you've ever seen?! i love that Buck is an absolutely scrambled robot with a gambling addiction, and i think he'd be lovely (and hilarious) company 🥰

17. Barnaby | Billie Bust Up

ohhhh yesssss Billie Bust Up caught my attention with this sinister goofball!!!! fancy, flamboyant and very into murder...Barnaby has all the traits for any Tumblr Sexyman, and i cannot wait for the full game to drop so we can see even more of him 👀

18. The Mad Hatter/Jervis Tetch | Batman

Jervis Tetch my beloved!! this has been the year of fancy blonds in top-hats, as well as deeply silly hypnotists, and Jervis kicked off this trend with a bang 🙈💖 i'm a Mad Hatter fan generally but B:TAS Jervis is a special kind of pretty stalker, and that voice is delicious 🥴 thanks to him for kicking off an Alice in Wonderland fixation and for finally getting me into drinking tea...the things we do for our crushes, eh? 🥰 19. Music Meister/Darius Chapel | Batman

and here is the first character played by Neil Patrick Harris who made it onto this year's list!!! 🙈💖 another camp, theatrical Batman villain to add to my collection...gorgeous voice, such an immense sense of style, and wonderfully good fun!! i think more people should get a little obsessed with the Music Meister 😉 20. Buggy the Clown | One Piece

none of you can judge me for this one - i remember all the TikTok edits!!! 😂💖 Buggy is pathetic and so much fun - i wasn't expecting to enjoy him as much as i did!! although my fixation for him may have been short-lived, my love for him certainly isn't 🥰 21. Pat Butcher | BBC Ghosts

ohhhh, every now and again a little sweetheart will get me right in the feelings, and Pat Butcher is added proudly to my f/o collection as the second Yorkshireman (next to Salad Fingers 😭). i just love what an upbeat, lovely man he is!! he's so soft and warm to everyone he meets and tries his best to do everything right by his friends...i'd love to cuddle with him 🥺 22. Josh Levy | The Eltingville Club

a classic return to form with Josh Levy, à la Comic Book Guy and Control Freak...really telling on myself by collecting these horrible greasy nerds who would 100% call me something derogatory if i tried to talk to them 💀 i appreciate every last one of The Eltingville Club but Josh, as a failed writer who remains just as toxic as he was when he was a teen, is my undisputed favourite 🙈💖 23. Swan | Phantom of the Paradise

oh God, reawakening my crush on Paul Williams by discovering Swan damn near killed me!!!! 😭💖 i was so obsessed with this man as a kid and the moment i saw him as Swan in POTP i felt intense attraction and gender envy in equal parts;;;; Swan's whole aesthetic and demeaning, inhuman approach to people is impossibly sensual, and i can't overstate enough how little evil dudes in tinted shades will always get me down bad 🙈💖 24. Kinger | The Amazing Digital Circus

my love for Kinger was such a pleasant surprise!! 🤭💖 sweet, anxious fella that he is, all i want to do is get him out of that digital hellscape and ensure he can wrap up in as many blankets as he likes!!! i love his always-on-the-edge-of-a-breakdown portrayal and am so eager to learn more about him and his backstory 👀 25. Peter Gregory | Silicon Valley

ahhh, kicking it the old-fashioned way by getting extremely invested in the most autistic character on the show (and that's saying something, given the high neurodivergent coding of everyone in Silicon Valley 🙈💖). Peter's style and methods of communication are traits i simply find attractive in real life, and although he sadly wasn't with us long, he absolutely stole the show ✨ 26. 'Action' Jack Barker | Silicon Valley

given my love of nerds it's no shocker that Silicon Valley hit me with two f/os, and 'Action' Jack Barker - the tech-field Colin Robinson - was a surefire entry 😳💖 what is it about these milquetoast men who are so whitebread yet are capable of such terrible things which gets me every time?! Jack is such a fun character and i'm glad we got as much of him as we did 🙈 27. Avery | Pokémon: Sword and Shield

i cannot believe none of you guys told me about Avery, the most amazingly dressed character i've ever seen in the whole of Pokémon 🙈💖 shhhh he is so very pretty and petty and his powers are incredibly cool. i just love everything about him and would delight in helping him develop a real sense of self-esteem, because he does not deserve the dismissal he receives from his family 😭💖 28. Matthew Patel | Scott Pilgrim

oh my God, heart in my MOUTH seeing Matthew Patel get the glow-up villain arc he so desperately deserved!!!!! 😭💖💖💖 Matthew is just the epitome of style and power in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and it was so fantastic getting to see him grow as a character and get self-actualised. plus his fight scenes were some of the coolest things i've ever seen. Matthew can i have your number please 🥺 29. The Toymaker | Doctor Who

!!!!!!!!!! i don't know if you guys can tell, but i really love the Toymaker...and even predicted that he'd completely consume my mind months before we got The Giggle 🙈💖 e v e r y t h i n g about him just gets me so bad. his reality-bending, his teasing attitude, his ridiculous accents, his gorgeous costumes, his emotional inconsistency, his tragic backstory...god, if i so much as look at him smiling i melt 🥴💖 characters played by Neil Patrick Harris really get me!! i'm so proud to be modding a server dedicated to the Toymaker now, and have met so many brilliant, wonderful friends through him and falling back into Doctor Who!!! i think we're all going to be brainrotting over him for quite some time 😉💖 30. Dr Mark Fry | Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget

Dr Fry, rushing in at the finish line!!! 🤭 the second my pals saw this guys they were all spamming me, begging me to watch Dawn of the Nugget!!! and ooooh i was noooot prepared for the specific brand of soft creepy genius he is 💖 even if they'd played Dr Fry purely as your run-of-the-mill mad scientist he would've gotten me bad, but they just had to make him equal parts freaky and brilliant with just a touch of arrogance, didn't they?? Melisha scored well 🤤 (also, three whole Yorkshiremen in my collection now!! is it the accent? 😭) aaaaand that's everyone!!! phew, is anyone else out of breath? 🥵 what a wonderful, silly year of fixations this has been 🤭💖 thank you all for being here, brainrotting happily alongside me for some of these characters, and for all the other characters you love!!! i hope 2024 is awesome to you, and that many more fictional characters are around the corner, ready to make you smile 😉

[sparklingpax]

HEADMASTER JUNIORS IN THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY MUSIC VIDEO

!!!!!!!!!!!!! I KNOWWWW I SAW FIRST THING WAKING UP TODAY I LITERALLY FLIPPED TF OUTTT 😭😭😭‼️‼️‼️ LIKE NOT ONE BUT MULTIPLE MASTERFORCE REFERENCES IN 2024.....WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE FR 😭💗💗💞❤️✨‼️🔥🫶✨

wait I'm gonna take fhis opportunity to gush about the video its 1 am im only half awake there will probably be typos sorrY

..

Genuinely would have been ecstatic with just a god ginrai in the bg and I honestly didn't even expect as much but man oh MAN did they give us so much more than that 🥳🥳

oh but lemme say ginrai SLAYEDDD HE LOOKED SO AMAZING AND COOL I was literally squealing "YES GO MY SILLY GOOOO" like the Dork that I am when he was out there doin the exkaiser sword pose w the others 🫶🫶🫶🫶 EEEEEE

and also!!! Let us NOT forget ofc all the other TF series and leaders and characters and such getting their time in the spotlight and the MANY little references to all kinds of stuff everywhere and.....!!!!!! Like I have so much respect for that video 🥹 it's such a detailed, wonderful tribute to everything transformers has been, is, and continues to be. Themes of connections literal and metaphorical and the power and beautythat comes from it. UFFF and Everything was so pretty and wonderful to look at and (⁠ﾉ⁠≧⁠∇⁠≦⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠ ⁠ﾐ⁠ ⁠┻⁠━⁠┻!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very happy with it <3333

and also Yes I did have the thought It would have been cool to see the Pretenders (😭) but I also understand its probably hard enough to tastefully fit in all thr characters they did (and plus! Masterforce Mentioned At All is such a huge W youre not hearing Complaints from me 🫡) and also y'know what. maybe. maybe that was for the best because I might have simply combusted into fucking flames if they did that. Like you all think I'm annoying about those guys NOW but if I saw them animated all pretty and shape andshiny and sharp like that.........or.GOD if they had put their human forms in there...........I would need to be restrained is all I'll say

AND y'know what too it actually also fuels me with even MORE willpower than I already have to work for and eventually finish this illustration degree, somehow hopefully make it to a position where I too can make masterforce references in 4k except OFFICIAL and also have the opportunity to be insufferable about my blorbo of all time and space <333333 stupid silly ass dream of mine that may never happen but mark my WORDS if I get even the slightest opportunity y'all.....I want to do a masterforce centric project someday. Like a real one. Something for the world to see at large. I want to do something with it I really really feel like I could......,! I would achieve one of my few life goals/dreams fr......

GOSH ok anyway sorry I went on for quite a while there and then started derailing the topic at hand SORRYY 😭😭😭 but yea man I love transformers I love being a fan of this franchise I love how many thousands of characters and all the stories and universes and stuff there is and how crazy and cool it all is and that it's been a part of my life for most of my life and it's the reason I'm an artist and god that video will have me emotional for a long ass time *wails* good NIGHT 😭🫶❤️❤️🫶💖✨‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️

(-kuni 🫣)

[wasyago]

Love your art! I was super inspired by your Gillion design specially. He's so squishable (positive).

Do you have a specific process for designing characters? Be it original or reimagining canon designs of fandom

thank you!! :D

hmm, well, i don't remember the last time i properly designed an original character, so nothing on that front. for reimagining designs... i don't have a step by step way i do it, it varies from character to character, but i can point out some of the things i do that might be helpful?

i largely base my designs on the vibes the character gives me: their manner of speech, their actions, their story and personality. and also the world and environment around them if it affects the character. it sounds pretty obvious but like, duh.

im gonna try and explain on gillion's example since its the one you mentioned. he's a himbo, a swimmer and a paladin, so he's gonna be buff or at least a little thicker. he's a triton, so he's short. he's also short for the reason that he is in an unfamiliar for him world and he might feel small in it. he's also short because it makes him look almost child like, connecting it to his trauma and lack of childhood that manifests in his behavior now. gillion is kind or at least trying to be, so his features will be softer and rounder. but sometimes he's chaotic or harsh, so he has some sharp features too. though they're secondary, the softness is still the main focus.

i also really like to think and overthink the designs while drawing. i try to keep everything simpler and less detailed, showing personality with shapes rather than uhh presence(?), but that means that details i do include have a lot of thought behind them.

one of my favorite things is practically. i love to think about what a character would realistically wear in the climate they're in, which clothing would be comfortable for their anatomy and field of work. would certain things get in the way or would they be helpful? how would they style their hair, do they need it tied back or do they not care? would they wear make up, why yes or why not? etc etc etc. i like asking myself questions and answering them in the design.

continuing with the gillion example. he's constantly wet because he's a triton (again, yes), so it would be more comfortable for him to wear a wetsuit. other clothes may stick to him and be uncomfortable, or get stuck on his fins, etc. he doesn't have any piercings, there's no way he would've gotten them in the undersea, and on the surface i don't think there was anything meaningful enough to promt him to get it. plus fin ears. he doesn't have his hair styled in a complicated way because of the coral on his head. doesn't wear a lot of jewelry because he jumps in the water a lot and it'll easily get lost. no belts or flowy bits because they constrict the movement and might get in the way.

and then like. all the personal headcanons and preferences and little bits and things. there's a lot of elements that i draw just because i like how they look. or because that's a comfortable thing for me, or because it's cute or hot or sad or whatever. or because i saw it while looking for inspiration and i really liked it. just bullshitting with the design and making it my own, yknow?

for gillion. gave him a cool long tail and lots of fins everywhere because i like it when inhuman characters are openly and visibly inhuman and have distinct features. and gillion is VERY much not human, part of his personality is being confused about humans. big ol yellow eyes with slits — look cool, also doubles as an inhuman feature, also makes him look curious about the world. small black stripes all over his body — make him look more fishy, plus because there's a lot of them and they're all the same they form a pattern that looks more like a natural anatomical feature and draw less attention. coral that goes around his head and not only the front like a tiara— makes it feel more three dimensional and looks cool in perspective (also i kinda just drew it wrong and never fixed it). coral and fins are pink — adds some much needed color variation and contrast, plus pink is one of the more natural colors which again make him look animalistic and not magical, plus ties in with pretzel. his skin is closer to green than blue — removes blue from the color pallet (especially with his eyes being yellow instead of blue), making the design more coherent and pleasing, allows me to properly introduce reds and purples without it looking like a mess of colors (although it still does sometimes). sharp teeth — fish, cute. yellowish underbelly — supports the yellow for the eyes and makes it stand out less, plus again, animalistic feature. little to no details on the clothing — creates good negative space that lets the eyes rest and focus the attention on everything else. his fringe and hair are floating around and don't follow the laws of physics — personal headcanon that it always looks like he's under water, plus adds roundness to the design because of the waves and curls.

ookay haha sorry didn't mean to write down literally every design decision here-- kind of derailed the post again.

basically yeah, for me designing is like a dialog with myself where i ask and answer questions. also something that wasn't mentioned are references and inspiration. if i don't have a good idea when i start, i usually scroll through my gallery or pinterest for some time to get ideas and figure out the general direction i want to take the design, maybe also find some fun stuff to include, etc.

hopefully this long ramble was at least somewhat helpful or gave you insight on my progress. i wanted to draw some things to also visually explain the design decisions for gill, but i think I'll do it later and in a separate post, and maybe include chip and jay too...

umm good luck 👍👍

[toujokaname]

Mischief / Episode 3

Characters: Kohaku, HiMERU  

"He wants the world to be a place where those who work seriously are properly rewarded. Is there something wrong with thinking that way?"

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[ Read on my site for a better viewing experience using Ois~su ♪ ]

Season: Spring

Location: An Apartment Room

One week later, in a one-room apartment somewhere in Tokyo.

During the rehearsal for the online broadcast collaboration project "Kohaku & HiMERU's Daily Joyful Cohabitation Life," produced by the independent team "Pastel Color."

Kohaku: "It's Kohaku's~♪"

HiMERU: "And HiMERU's~♪"

Kohaku & HiMERU: "Daily joyful cohabitation life~♪"

Kohaku: ...What the heck is this?! This the "thing you wanted to try" that you were so dead serious about, HiMERU-han?!

HiMERU: Do you have any complaints?

That's right—HiMERU has long been yearning to take part in this kind of tepid... no, rather, heartwarming program.

Kohaku: Whaaaa...?

HiMERU: Instead of a grand, large-scale production under the strict management of a major TV network, he wanted to appear on a cozy, independently produced show.

Kohaku: Huhh... Well, it does feel like this whole thing's put together by some tiny studio I ain't never heard of.

They probably figured it was a long shot and had nothin' to lose, so they were over the moon when we actually took 'em up on their offer, given how popular we are now.

HiMERU: To the end, or rather, even now, it seems like they're still in doubt, wondering, "Are we being deceived? Is this a prank?"

Kohaku: We've really come up in the world, huh. We used to be the outcasts of the industry, and now people are practically grovelin' when we take on their jobs.

HiMERU: ES, being a profit-driven organization, tends to look down upon independent business owners and small to medium-sized enterprises that don't typically yield significant profits.

It seems that in this current, ES-dominated "overarching trend," those who may not excel at profit-making but are dedicated to creating quality work are finding it difficult to thrive.

HiMERU: —HiMERU wishes to save those people.

Kohaku: Y... Yeah...?

HiMERU: He wants the world to be a place where those who work seriously are properly rewarded. Is there something wrong with thinking that way?

Kohaku: No, it ain't wrong at all. If anythin', I actually think it's pretty admirable.

But HiMERU-han, were you always this type of kind and gentle character? It's kinda scary, like you've got some hidden agenda or somethin'.

(No, then again, HiMERU-han's always been good to me since day one.)

(Crap. Bein' in Double Face got me too used to seein' the ugly side of humanity. Made me way too paranoid...)

...Just to confirm, HiMERU-han.

HiMERU: Ask away.

Kohaku: You've really got no ulterior motives, right? You took this job outta pure goodwill, just to help out hardworkin' folks, no strings attached?

HiMERU: Yes. To reiterate once more, this is something HiMERU genuinely wished to pursue.

Rather than being controlled by massive corporations, following a predetermined path without question—

To be able to walk forward with one's own feet, collecting things worthy of love with each step...

That's the kind of life "HiMERU" has always longed for.

Kohaku: Hmm... Well, alright. I'll take your word for it.

Kohaku: (Despite how mature HiMERU-han seems, he's got this weirdly childlike side to him.)

(That contradiction, that feeling of unease, is part of what makes him so charmin'.)

(I guess it's just that his eccentricities happened to be exposed once more.)

Kohaku: Besides, I don't much like complainin' once somethin's already set in stone.

I've already taken on the job, so now I've got no choice but to give my all to what's right in front of me, don't I?

HiMERU: How commendable, Oukawa. You may look as cute as a doll, but you're brimming with an odd sense of manliness.

Kohaku: Must be thanks to my older sisters' twisted way of raisin' me...

The eldest of 'em tried to shape me into a proper man, fit to be the next head of the Oukawa family.

But the younger of 'em spoiled me rotten, dressin' me up in girls' clothes and all that.

As an innocent child, I soaked up all of that twisted upbringin' completely—and ended up basically split down the middle.

HiMERU: It's not a split, is it? Rather, your adorable, girlish side and your rowdy, boyish side coexist within you.

It's highly fascinating.

HiMERU: (And... sure enough, you really do remind me of that boy.)

(How did "I" really want to raise him? —My little brother?)

[ ☆ ]

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[veronicalodgefaghag]

"THOUGHT EXERCISE TIME you have to script one (1) hiram/archie kiss into the existing show somewhere. no plot impact at all, it's never going to be brought up again onscreen it just becomes part of the overall texture of everything that's already going on in canon between them. where does it go, for maximum high camp and/or dramatic impact (double spaced on lined paper by whenever)"

Well?

Didn’t answer this ask back when it was going around cause I wasn’t into Riverdale enough at the time to feel prepared to answer it. I’m on a riverblogging kick tonight and it’s been weighing on me so here goes:

My personal favorite answer is @normiewizard ’s post about Archie going for it earlyish in the grand scheme of things and Hiram just Knowing That about him and Having That Over him for the rest of the show, that was a stroke of genius on their part that makes me fucking insane.

As to answering the question for myself, so much has already been covered by more adept hirarchie scholars than I, so I’m gonna go with my gut feeling from the very beginning and say my answer from the very beginning of this question going around has been the possibly very basic scenario of “Archie kisses Hiram during the stabbing dream in No Exit.” As a first half of season 3 scholar before any other area with this show, and an Archie scholar this is just the obvious answer to me. I love Hiram as much as the next guy and am very interested in him because I’m obsessed with Archie and Veronica, but I don’t feel I know him quite well enough as a character. Whereas, I know Archie very well. Hirarchie is most interesting to me as the result of Archie’s relationship with Grundy and its/her shaping of him, so Archie’s desire for him which Hiram is quite aware of, finds amusing, plays into (and don’t get me wrong, Hiram is attracted to Archie of course, and as many have said, there was a sexual relationship there in the show on our screens if you’re watching one way. To think there are some people to whom Archie being forced to fight in a secret underground prison fight club is not forced sexual violence… we live in different worlds.) is most interestingly explored from the Archie’s character side of things in a situation like this where we are not seeing Hiram’s true reaction to anything, but Archie’s mind’s Hiram. To actually answer the question, I think that Archie comes into the room, picks up the knife and kisses Hiram as he holds it between them. Hiram’s sly smile in this scene is then a reflection of the knowing way he plays Archie wrt his desire for him and his vulnerability resulting from the Grundy relationship. We go to the shot of their shadows on the wall now, and shots of their faces and the knife stabbing in. Yes, Joaquin parallels but also season 6 Archiereggie stabbing to death/gay sex parallels. I also think that Hiram should be awful about it (Archie’s desire for him) in some way in Archie’s imagination, because Archie’s dreams in that episode are all cruel to him because he is cruel to himself, but specifically because the kiss alone (despite the stabbing) could convey the wrong idea about what Archie thinks of Hiram kind of? If that makes sense?

I think No Exit is perfect if we’re talking about it never being mentioned in the show like you’ve prompted because so much of that episode is never mentioned again. Archie’s dream sequences in No Exit lay bare so much of his subtextual conflict that is never brought up again and doesn’t really add to anything because it all already underlies his whole story—his having to kill his “soft” self most importantly, but also, like the other core three showing up in their first episode outfits, “are you working on any new music, Arch?” pushing the show to finally acknowledge that he does. not. do that anymore after so much of his story revolves around music for the first season. This is of course another thing Hiram is responsible for in large part. So then this sojourn of his from Riverdale, spurred by an event which involved his being kissed by Joaquin, during which he runs away with Jughead (acknowledged by the show as making then look queer), ending with his subconscious instigating a Hiram/Archie kiss that never gets mentioned again but sets the final tone for his return to Riverdale as a man revived from death works so beautifully to me.

I’m really torn on whether I think that, in this hypothetical version of the show, they have kissed outside of that offscreen, or they eventually do or what. Like is this Archie taking his own control of something Hiram already physically uses against him as he kills him? Is this him acknowledging not only his homosexual desire but the homoerotic capacity/side of the relationship with Hiram only in his near-death subconscious? Tangentially relatedly, what if Grundy is the game master who hands him the “kill the Man in Black” card instead of the warden who’s another of his dead sexual abusers anyway?

[grey-gazania]

Self-rec time! What are your favorite five fics that you've written and why? After replying to this ask, feel free to pass on to five other writers to spread the love. 💗 — @emyn-arnens

My dear @emyn-arnens, you sent this to me weeks ago, and I saw it and then unfortunately forgot to answer it, because Real Life has been kicking my ass, so I want both to thank you for the ask and to apologize for how long this took me.

My 5 Favorite Fics (Which Are Not Necessarily My 5 Best Fics)

Loyalty (yes I know this is actually a series, not a fic, hush)

In some ways this series is the bane of my existence, and in other ways it's one of my favorite things I've ever started written. I began planning it in 2011, began posting it in 2015, and, uh, still haven't finished it, whoops, because I think I need to drastically restructure the whole thing before I can proceed. But I've had a lot of fun creating my conlang, and Tókhesh/Tavoreth is one of my favorite OCs I've ever come up with for any fandom, not just Tolkien. I also really wanted to give the Easterlings the chance to be well-developed people in a well-developed society, instead of just being a glorified plot device, and I like to think that I've succeeded.

Unconscious Arithmetic

This story is by now quite old, written in 2011, but it was both my first foray into writing Caranthir and my first attempt at writing in 1st person -- a style I've since found works particularly well for Caranthir, or at least for my version of him. It was also my second story featuring Parmacundë, though she had yet to earn that epessë at the time this story is set, and was the beginning of my plan to work her into the broader story of The Silmarillion. I think I conveyed a particularly vivid picture of how I imagine adolescent Caranthir and what kind of person he might risk befriending.

The Flight of Birds

I hold great affections for the Kidnap Family, as you have probably noticed, but damn, those poor twins must have been pretty messed up by the time they were returned to their parents' people. Transitions are hard even when you haven't began kidnapped and raised by the people who tried to murder your mother, and I thought it would be interesting to explore the turmoil the twins must have felt through Elrond's eyes. I feel like Elros often ends up getting treated as the conflicted twin, while Elrond is the one who is wise and serene, but I think Elrond should get the chance to be an angry adolescent full of turmoil, too.

Root and All

This story is a favorite less because of anything I've done with the characters and more because writing it was a trip down memory lane. I spent large swaths of my summers as a child at a camp in the NJ Highlands, where we spent a lot of time hiking in the woods and swamps and learning about the nature that surrounded us. My fondness for those hikes and that part of NJ was really the driving force behind this story. I first encountered and learned about both ghost pipe and water hemlock at summer camp, which are the two plants that anchor this story.

Darkness and Light

Bet you guys were starting to think we'd get through this list without any representatives from my Woman King AU, but fat chance! The Woman King AU is my life's work, and this is my favorite installment of it. It's short, but I think I did a very good job of portraying Ereiniel's grief and pain following Fingon's death. Fingon and the shadows he cast after his death were a massive influence on the woman Ereiniel grew into, the Gil-galad she became. In some ways the Woman King AU is just as much about Fingon and his wife as it is about Ereiniel, because their choices, successes, and failures echo down to their daughter and shape the woman she grows into.

[hellcheer-heaven]

Hellcheer List: How caretaker Eddie helps Chrissy.

Thank you to @bluebunnymoose for helping me with this.

So I know that I’ve mentioned a previous headcanon where Chrissy and Eddie would have their “kid day” together. I do love the idea of the two of them engaging in that, but I really like the idea of Eddie being a gentle and loving caregiver to Chrissy.

Let's say she's having a rough week and she's just exhausted and overstimulated.

When Eddie can sense and see that she’s distressed, he goes right into caregiver mode.

One of the first things he does is hug her and offer her a stuffed animal.

She holds the toy and lets herself cry in his arms, tightly shutting her eyes as he rocks her gently.

“It’s okay Chrissy, just let it out sweet girl. You’re safe here.”

Sometimes when there’s too much going on, she may speak very softly, say a small selection of words, or nothing at all.

If she doesn’t talk, Eddie will ask her a simple yes/no question: “Are you tired? Do you want something to eat?”

He also gently encourages her to point to what she needs as well.

He's considerate and patient, letting her know that she can communicate her needs when she’s ready.

She’ll quietly ask for a bubble bath and when he asks her if she would like her bath toys, she looks up with a little smile and nods.

While he washes her hair and scrubs her skin, Chrissy will blow the bubbly foam and watch it float, reaching out to catch it before it hits the water.

Eddie smiles knowing that she’s feeling a little better, he’s even happier knowing that they will have the weekend to themselves to continue this for as long as she wants.

This means no errands, chores, and other adult responsibilities, just taking care of his one and only.

In their own small house, Eddie has already supplied the pantry with snacks and comfort food (bear shaped graham crackers, pop tarts, mac and cheese, chicken nuggets, etc.) that she was never allowed to eat in her childhood.

Eddie will help make their bed and decorate it with her stuffed animals.

He’ll rent a collection of cartoons and animated movies on vhs for them to watch.

He brings out a huge container of arts and crafts and coloring books to play with.

There’s a large soft blanket spread out with even more of her stuffed animals in the living room.

There’s a book shelf filled with her favorite stories from her childhood.

These include fairytales with happy endings, Alice in Wonderland, Winnie the Pooh, Dr. Seuss, Goodnight Moon, Charlotte’s Web, Peter Rabbit, Madeline, etc.

If she wants to color in a coloring book, Chrissy will lay down on the blanket, open up her big box of crayons, and have her back rubbed while she colors a picture of Minnie Mouse petting Figaro.

Before he heads to the kitchen, he gives her two choices for lunch: Grilled cheese sandwiches or pizza rolls.

They eat in front of the tv and laugh together as they watch cartoons and movies.

She’ll happily sing along and dance to the songs, and ask Eddie to join in, something he gladly loves to partake in.

During a sad scene, Eddie gently holds Chrissy as she squeezes her plush toy and presses it tightly to her face.

He rubs her tears away and pecks her forehead, sweetly reminding her that it’s okay to cry and feel sad for a character.

Even if it’s a movie that they’ve seen many times, certain parts never fail to make her tear up, “Seeing Dumbo cry is sad to watch, isn’t it Chrissy?”

“Everyone is so mean to him, he wants his mama Eddie. Dumbo loves his mama and she misses him.”

When Chrissy wants to make a pillow fort, they take off the couch cushions, rearrange some furniture, cover it with a blanket and crawl inside.

When she wants to play with her dolls, Chrissy decides how the story goes.

She’ll let Eddie know which dolls he gets to play with, what kind of voice to use, and what will happen next.

He loves to watch and listen to her create all sorts of tales and describe the adventures and hardships the characters go through.

After dinner time, she begs him to stay up just a little longer, but he softly reminds her that it’s time to get ready for bed.

He offers to pick her up and take her upstairs for her evening bath.

When she’s done brushing her teeth, he dresses her in cozy pajamas and lets her pick two books to read aloud.

During story time, she asks for him to read the book in different voices for each of the characters.

Then he turns off the lights and turns on the nightlight, singing or humming a few comfort songs to her as he tucks her in and boops her nose to make her giggle.

Chrissy will give him the puppy dog pout and tell him, “I’m not tired Eddie.”

Eddie can’t resist those pleading eyes and lays down beside her, brushing his fingers from the top of her forehead to the end of her nose.

She’ll try to keep herself awake, her eyelids feeling heavy as the gentle hum of his voice eases her into a peaceful slumber.

“I’m… not tired. Not… sleepy. Eddie…”

He stays at her side until she’s fast asleep, carefully getting out of bed, and tiptoeing away.

Eddie looks at Chrissy one more time, smiling at the sight of her so calm and serene, “Sweet dreams princess.”

The next morning after breakfast, they would go for a walk in the park and Chrissy would stop to look at the playground.

She wants to go, but she doesn’t tell him and she’s afraid of being judged by others, so instead she watches from afar.

Later on in the late afternoon/early evening, Eddie says that he has a surprise for her

After dressing her up warmly and telling her to bring one stuffed animal, he takes her over to the park.

All of the families have left and the two of them have the entire playground to themselves.

He would push her on the swing, race her down the slide, spin on the merry go round, climb the jungle gym, and play on the see saw.

After she’s tuckered out, Eddie takes her home and then it’s time to get ready for bed.

After a quick clean up and a shower, he joins her as well.

He lays down beside her and kisses her lips, affectionately whispering, “I love you Chrissy.”

[wormzandgutz]

hi hi I'm back again pl.ease t ell me more

hi sorry this took a bit, This post will include what I currently have figured out of the main group and ideas im considering. First introductions, this is the main group, from left to right we have..

Nico (in the process of being renamed), Atlas, Star and Clover

Ph is a collaborative story I made with a friend in 2018, since then I have made these characters completely my own and I’m currently doing some renovations with it, since it’s last canon was made in 2019.

Atlas, 19(may change), they/them, 5’11” Atlas lives with their older sister (pictured below)

I haven’t fully figured out the situation with their parents, the current idea is that they work overseas. Atlas loves friends more than anything, they would go to great lengths to help a friend in need and they are fiercely loyal. they are honest to a fault and hate beating around the bush. they’re stubborn and hold grudges, they trust their instincts when it comes to people more than anything. They don’t know what they want to do with their life. I cannot decide on their pronouns or gender for the life of me TToTT

Recently I’ve been taking inspiration from 80s anime boys when drawing them. This idea has a strong possibility of being cut but the idea is that animal hybrids that are born during the full moon become werewolves (in the way that they turn into more anthro animals of what they already are, and lose their human consciousness, aka going full animal) why does this happen?…..magic ✨✨ this means that during full moons they go through incredibly painful werewolf transformations, the transformation then lasts anywhere from half a day to a week. The condition is very misunderstood socially due to legends surrounding werewolves and also a lack of medical research (due to it being magic and all) Think people not understanding just how painful it is, thinking people can control it or thinking that they turn violent

Clover, 19, she/her, 5’7” Shes focusing on getting her life back together after her fall through with Valkyrie, with the help of the friend group, she’s slowly regaining her confidence and self worth. She distracts herself from depressive thoughts by throwing herself into her studies, her friend group is against this and is trying to find better alternatives for her. Clover isn’t actually very shy or awkward, once her walls start to crumble, her true personality begins to flourish. Shes actually quite snarky. Her antlers do shed once a year, yes it’s gnarly and yes I know that only male deer shed their antlers but I don’t careeeeeeee it’s fantasyyyy. maybe they shed due to the unstable and weird biology of the hybrids, I don’t careee she isn’t blind in her right eye, it’s just white, she has heterochromia (fantasy heterochromia oooo)

Star, 19, she/her, 5’4” Star is an absolute troublemaker, she has no qualms with confronting and insulting people 10x her size. She is fiercely protective of her friends. She is quick to assume if a person is good or bad, and she stubbornly won’t admit that she is wrong until given hard evidence. She loves her name and wears stars constantly because of it. Comfortable clothing for avian hybrids is hard to come across due to their wings. And even clothing made for Avians is difficult because wing sizes are different person to person, some have very large actually functional wings and others like Star have small wings that can only glide. She does not care about eating bird meat, in fact she really likes chicken. She is the kind of cute that’s creepy, Like her eyes are really big and she stares. She also has a kind of v shaped smile Nico (not final name), 19, she/her, 6’2” Shes been the star runner of every track team she’s been on since middle school. Prefers sportsy and easy to move in clothing, mostly just so that she can start working out at the most random times. she’ll be hanging out with friends in town and suddenly just starts jogging. But she also enjoys dolling herself up. Largest advocate for self love you’ve ever seen, she WOULD date a clone of herself. If you self deprecate in her presence she will aggressively compliment and hype you up like a fitness coach. and then she will somehow rope you into some sort of physical activity “it keeps your dopamine levels up!”, how she keeps doing this is a mystery. She eats like a horse (ha!) and hates wasting food. while she means no harm she has a hard time understanding how some people can struggle with light exercise (like some people have disabilities that make it exhausting to just walk for a few mins) She does eventually get around to understanding and immediately becomes a personal coach “YOU WALKED FOR A MINUTE TODAY, LETS FUCKING GOOOOO”

Now that I’m thinking about it, there’s some interesting world building questions that arise when thinking about hybrid differences. Like do horse hybrids have separate track teams? Do they have an actual genetic advantage? And then my mind immediately thinks of gender debates and allowing trans women in women’s sports and trans men in men’s sports. I don’t know if that’s a topic I want to address in this story? I could make it so that it depends of the person (like in real life, while men have an easier time building muscle and such, it isn’t 100% and it depends on them actually building it) But that also dampens the idea that the animal counterparts actually affect the biology??BUT ALSO MAYBE IM BEING DRAMATIC AND ITS NOT THAT BIG A DEAL???

it’s just that I don’t want this to be a cat girl type of thing, where the animal parts are just cosmetic?? I don’t know if I want to include such a thing in my story BUT THINKING ABOUT THE IMPLICATIONS ARE IMPORTANT!!!

I don’t knowwwww ( T^T) ( T^T) for now I have a to do list with this story: - give Nico and Star more significance other than being Clover and Atlas’ friends - Figure out the power system - see if I can salvage the current version of the story or if I’ll need to do a total rehaul - give the characters some interests and hobbies - THINK OF THE IMPLICATIONS

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: The Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore

4.5/5. Releases 8/20/24.

vibes: light magic, love after loss, complex families, and waking up into life

Heat Index: 5/10

Ezra has largely disconnected from his family's funeral home--in part because he sees ghosts, and hasn't loved his grandfather's spirit giving him disapproving glares as he's transitioned. But when his mother announces that she's leaving his father for the local rabbi's wife, he's forced to pitch in again. Which brings him into the orbit of the gentle, charming Jonathan... whose late husband appears to be the latest spectral entity haunting Ezra. Ben's presence isn't the only problem (though it certainly does cramp Ezra's style). He also speaks. And moves. In other words--things ghosts aren't supposed to do, and things that definitely cause issues as, slowly--against his own will--Ezra begins falling for Jonathan.

What a strong debut! In a lot of ways, this is as much a family story as it is a romance--the Friedmans are complicated (though, and I think this is important to point out... though they may be imperfect about it, they're largely accepting of Ezra's transition) and as the book goes on, you see how those complications have shaped Ezra and his worldview.

Which, in turn, shapes how he can't quite trust his feelings for Jonathan, or Jonathan's for him. Especially with the dead husband thing. But the paranormal elements of this book are soft, and really serve the character development more than anything else. This is a sweet, funny novel about waking up into your life after sleepwalking for a long time. It is, yes, also about grief and loss... and how life really doesn't stop happening after they occur.

Quick Takes:

--Can I just say... a pseudo love triangle between a guy who sees ghosts, a widower, and the widower's husband's ghost? Brilliant. But it's also not really a love triangle, is it? I loved how super real and honest this story was with the reality of losing a partner to death, rather than by choice. Will Jonathan ever stop loving Ben? Probably not. Does that diminish his feelings for Ezra? Nope.

And a lot of this novel does center on the complexities of love. Of how sometimes, it's not enough. Of how it can end, or take another form. (One of Ezra's close friends is his ex, which I found super interesting.) It's really mature, but not in the manner that anyone acts perfect--they just naturally learn and go through these things together.

--There's a good amount of focus on Ezra's Jewish identity and how that fits into the funeral home, as well as his place in the family as a trans man. None of it comes off as an info dump, and at the same time, I (as someone who isn't Jewish) never felt lost. That's a tough balance to hit. Reading about the rituals was oddly soothing to me--I actually have a lot of anxiety about death, and I worried a bit about that as I opened the book. It was kind of perfect here.

--One really cool note: Ezra is a doula! There's only one fully on the page birth scene, but it's the kind you rarely find depicted in fiction. I super loved that detail.

--Jonathan and Ezra's love story is both inevitable and bittersweet. Because as much as Jonathan still has one foot in the past as someone who lost his spouse... Ezra isn't dissimilar. He also hasn't fully come to terms with a lot of things--he hasn't fully processed his transition (understandably) and there's this huge reframe happening within his family. It's kind of refreshing to see a book in which we see a lead really having to do some work before they can fully be true to not just themself, but their partner.

The Sex:

There's one full sex scene in this one, and it's both explicit and, I think, respectful of the insecurities Ezra still has about his body. (I also want to mention that, as far as I noticed, the author also made an effort to censor Ezra's deadname. Which was super cool.) It's romantic and tender and also hot? And it was real about Jonathan's own new experiences, too. I kind of loved it.

In some ways, Rules for Ghosting is more about metaphorical than literal ghosts--even though there is a literal talking ghost. But more than anything, it's about acceptance and honesty and coming to terms with who you are--and all the things you can't necessarily do, even if you want to, until that happens.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dell for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[tanix-dragon]

One With the Hive: Being a Silithid Wasp

FINALLY getting around to making a post about my third kintype--the silithid wasp 'type that has finally made me take the label "fictherian" for myself. Thank @who-is-page for this because of his post asking people to please talk about their obscure identities. This is also crossposted from the fictionkind dreamwidth--if my cohost is going to be running the damn thing, I'm going to post on it whenever applicable. :p Anyway, The Post.

Very slowly over the course of.... I don't know, the last year or so, I've been chipping away at some kind of insectoid kintype. How I arrived where I am was quite the journey, and I'm still discovering what it means to me to be the kind of creature that I am. I hold out no hope of finding other silithid, nevermind other silithid wasps: maybe I'm just putting myself out there with this 'type out of the hopes that seeing something so strange will make someone else feel better about their 'type.

Brief mentions of animal death below the cut, as well as insects, of course.

I consider myself a fictherian because of this 'type: the silithid are a fictional "race" (as they're described in-game and on the wiki) of giant, cunning insectoids from World of Warcraft, a game that my hearttype (Netherwing dragons <3) is also from. The silithid hatch out from eggs laid by a queen into larvae that glow with bioluminescence, lighting their giant underground hives made from materials found in the environment and various excretions. Eventually, those larvae can grow into one of many shapes: ant-like workers, giant scarabs, scorpids(?), wasps, large soldiers called reavers, or even larger and stranger forms, such as the colossi.

Silithid are animals. They are members of a hive, and individually, are not particularly intelligent. They possess an animalistic cunning, yes, and as a group, their hivemind can make them quite tactical, but at the end of the day, they are just extremely large insectoid creatures. Silithid do not talk, do not have higher reasoning--this is the source of my calling this a theriotype in addition to a fictotype. Hence my taking on the label fictherian--I don't remember who coined it, but whoever it was is a genius.

Being a wasp... I don't know. Wasp on its own isn't enough. I've never felt any kind of kinship with wasps, with the forty or so who struggled into my home this past autumn and trapped themselves inside the light fixtures. A certain fascination, yes. When I was younger, a terror, sure. I love watching them sit still and clean themselves, and as of late, I feel a kinship with that, at least. Arthropods love to be clean, and will spend a tremendous amount of time ensuring that they are. That's something I can relate to: when I get into a shift, I want to paw at my face and eyes to wipe them clean, run antennae through my mouthparts to make sure that they're clear of debris.

Maybe part of my fear of wasps was an instinctive that's dangerous response. Would I know, since I am one? Was one? I don't know the origin of this kintype, spiritual or psychlogical: I don't know, since I've always been drawn to the silithid since I was a kid, playing WoW and stepping into a silithid hive for the first time. The buzz and hum, the glowing orange lights in the purple and yellow-brown interior, the almost plastic shine of everything that wasn't dull and rough... I wanted more. I wanted to be there. Stepping into the desert ruins of Ahn'Qiraj, the entire raid devoted to the silithid and their insectoid/humanoid qiraji creators/masters, servants of the Old God who created them... I had a fixation on it from as young as perhaps eight or nine, as soon as I had a character high enough level to see that content. The music is really something else, too--look up the Ahn'Qiraj music on YouTube for me, both the interior and exterior. You can see why it might sink into a kid's mind as the Coolest Thing Ever. Was I in love with the hive because I remembered it being my home? Or did my love for it, totally normal and human (if autistic) in nature, form the kintype? Who am I to say? It doesn't matter that much to me.

The wasps weren't even my main interest. Sure, they're bigger than a human, come in fun colors, have a stinger that could pierce a human's torso (and I do mean pierce), and have some kind of strange bladed legs that let them slash at opponents--but it was the scarabs and reavers that really drew me in. I felt a kinship with the reavers, some kind of family instinct, and now I think it's because the reavers and the wasps are the main protectors of the hives. The reavers are strong and tanky on the ground while the wasps come in from the air, more delicate but more damaging. They must work together to be effective. As for the scarabs... I don't know what job they performed. The game devs don't seem to know either. But they're slow. Well-armored, sure, but slow, and probably in need of protection. I love real-life scarabs, too: I love looking at them and I want to touch them and protect them. Beetles are just cool.

But I'm not one. My shifts usually encompass the mouthparts (what I got first, and what started this whole search for a kintype, after years and years of getting them and thinking nothing of it even after being in alterhuman circles for four years) and the wings, which I know were big enough to carry me and not protected like a beetle's are. I've gotten noemata since latching onto the idea of being a wasp, too: noemata of things like being up in one of the cells high on the wall of one of the hive chambers, crawling partway out and clinging to the wall, looking down at some tunnelers--workers--passing by below, scanning to make sure that there was nothing else trying to sneak by with them, no nasty little invaders from the mortal races. The silithid had been at war with humans and other mortals since the beginning: there was no love or trust lost between them. I can also "remember" flying over the dull gray-brown sands of Silithus, I think, either patrolling for threats or hunting for food. I can hear the buzzing of my wings, the hot, still air of the desert around me. My shifts drive me to chew up wood and other organic materials, to help build structures in the hive like the one I rest in out of these chewed materials glued together by a kind of glue-like salive-esque excretion. I want to chew my wooden desk so badly some days.

And it all just feels like home, like I know what I should be doing and there's no ambiguity to it. It's part of being a greater whole, a cog in a machine, a cunning, ferocious beast who will die without hesitation for the hive, for the qiraji, for the Old God that spawned my kind. No sense of right or wrong, good or evil: only feed and protect and kill. It's like my deathclaw kintype in that way, and it's comforting in a shift, sometimes. I can escape the worst of my emotions and worries by just thinking, a silithid wouldn't worry about this. A silithid would just press on--eat, fight, survive, until the day came where it had to die to protect its hive, and it would do so without anxiety or a second thought. The hive must be protected. There is no ambiguity in that. And if orders came over the resonating crystals in the hive, sent by the intelligent qiraji to the silithid, telling them to swarm, march, move, or do anything else? There's no ambiguity in that either. Obey. Do what instinct demands, whether that be the simple defend-kill-feed-sleep loop or something more complex, something darker.

It's a strange mindset to peer into as an individualistic, intelligent being that is also dragonkin, of all things. As if a dragon would not think about their actions! As if a dragon would ever take orders! But that's the oddness of being alterhuman, isn't it? The pieces of your identity that don't always align nicely, that are so separate from one another that they could only coexist in the you-that-is? It's strange, and fun to think about, and part of the joy of being alterhuman, at least to me. Picking apart your identity, delving into each piece, and then stepping back and going well, that was weird. 

I don't have much more to say other than this disorganized ramble. Not yet, anyway. I'm still exploring this kintype and I'm sure I still have a lot to learn about it. Maybe I'll talk about my haphazard, crawling Awakening sometime, but that's a long and meandering post on its own. Thank you for reading. ^^

[animehouse-moe]

The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 Episode 15: Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May.

I don't know if I really have much else to open with considering the very consistent quality and effort of these recent episodes. They're good, they're not great and they don't animate a whole bunch, but the art is always very pretty and places great focus on the characters, so I'll provide the little bit that I do find interesting to add here.

Overall, I do really like the boarding and direction of this episode as they really hone in on hands. Sometimes it can provide a lot of value and context, but other times it's just there to provide consistency.

Anyways, let's talk actual character stuff in this episode. Overall, it's certainly a considerable amount lighter than the prior episode, and for good reason, but I think it still includes a very good balance of detail and development.

Perhaps my favorite thing is how Elias attempts to try and soothe Chise and help her relax. He doesn't know much, but he does know a decent bit, so the thing he chose was harvesting, which I think is incredibly endearing and valuable for two reasons.

Though they're sort of one in the same? Elias chose it because it was an activity that he and Chise would do together, sort of their "thing". I think it's a solid decision based on how Elias would approach the issue as he can't (and this case rightfully shouldn't) remove himself from consideration for Chise. The more endearing part though is his lack of jealousy when all the students begin to appear. I thought that part was really impressive to see largely because harvesting was an activity that Elias chose to share with Chise only. Just shows how far Elias has grown as a character in this series, and is the perfect segue into his conversation with Alcyone today.

These conversations are very interesting, because while Elias claims to just be providing information that he's received from others, it's obvious that he's put significant thought into the expression of the thoughts and his experience with them. Bringing Alycone into the fold was really just such a great idea for Elias' character, I feel like he's grown leaps and bounds just by having someone that resembles a younger him nearby.

Also, I really like the subtle expression of Alcyone through the exchange. While it certainly expresses curiosity, you can absolutely feel the touch of desire that tinges their sequences, especially with things like the movement of their hands.

Moving forward to another character, I actually "liked" how Kevin was handled. Shitty stuff from the character, but the way it works is really good. Just right from the beginning, the type of pose he strikes, the overconfidence, he just exudes a personality that is "human garbage". So when he starts to go after Lucy, it doesn't feel forced or overly convenient, and I love how they handle the rug pull with him. Just really solid work for such a simple moment.

And then there's the Veronica moment at the end of the episode. So. Damn. Good. The way that she's drawn and how she acts is just incredibly good at conveying the fact that Philomela sees her as an inscrutable horror stuck by her side in the shape of a young lady. The uncanny nature provided by the art just adds an incredible amount of depth to Veronica's terrible personality.

So yeah, you could say that this episode is rather light, but I think that the key moments that exist within are very important to expanding on the dynamics within the college as well as deepening our understanding of various characters.

There's all sorts of little moments like Rian trying to go see Philomela, Lucy getting upset because Chise was acting for her once more, and even little bits like Zoe finding the courage to stand up for Lucy. It's really really great, and not a moment is wasted.

Also, there's still a story? I know, kind of funny to have almost no interest in it, but I really feel like the story is actually just there to provide a backdrop to use to explore the characters. And I mean, I'm not all complaining. When the story really does progress it's nice and solid. It's just that the characters are by far the focal point, and I'm loving it.