#Also. if you're thinking it. you're absolutely correct!

[ciphers-fragments-au]

First of four ref sheets for this blog's AU "Cipher's Fragments"

Here's Bill Cipher's ref sheet, including both younger and older form to match Stanford Pines' age throughout the AU. I like to call his skin details "deer freckles". He has gold littered around both of his designs!!

Next up is Stanford Pines

When all ref sheets are complete I will create a pinned message with all of them together to have easy access on info/refs.

-@sylveon-and-velveon

[alexjcrowley]

I just realised that Robert Sean Leonard is the Kimi Räikkönen of acting

[sainteclectic]

OCD SOUL.... you're so so right, I think he'd have a lot of violent intrusive thoughts towards the others and have to do compulsions that "fix" them, so they don't interfere with Harmonia. his obsessions mostly revolve around scrupulosity i think- he already serves this concept he describes as divine, having obsessions around the concept of Harmonia and trying to "prevent it from being ruined" by actions that seem random to everyone else completely fits in that

and with ocd mind, I feel like his npd would ABSOLUTELY conflict with it. in his mind (ha), he's the best because he's the most rational, the most logical, obviously the Objective Best Choice. if he's doing things that aren't rational, if his thought processes aren't logical, how can he be the best? he has a lot of internalized ableism because it conflicts with his projected self. i think he'd have the most trouble with patterns: keep things at a certain multiple, step this number of times, click the lock a certain way... and it frustrates him to no end, because seeing patterns where there aren't any isn't rational! and he's supposed to be rational! it's a constant struggle

heart's ocd is mostly obsessions, spirals of existential intrusive thoughts. he ruminates a lot, which gets especially worse post-juno when he's stuck with nothing to do but sit there and go over the same thoughts repeatedly in his head. this is just a personal thing, but i think he'd also struggle with hoarding. his sight is a factor in this: he worries that if he doesn't keep something close he might never find it again, or something bad will happen to the object.

npd/bpd soul also works so well... there's the need for control and respect mixed with the desperate need for stability and connection. seeing himself as simultaneously above the other two, but also empty and incomplete without them. he's the correct one, he's the one in control, but no one ever listens to him (which feeds into the attachment issues too). his lack of self identity from the bpd and inflated sense of self from npd are constantly at war, which probably makes it really hard for him to come out of a crash. and if we fit ocd in there too, the checking compulsions mixed with abandonment issues can be a MASSIVE pain

bpd soul propaganda

his relationships with heart and mind are extremely tumultuous. he alternates between encouraging support and harsh criticism. he wants them to be close and loves them, but he's easily frustrated by their conflict and despises them for it.

he seeks a stability that seems impossible for him to achieve. when he doesn't feel like he can be stable, he threatens suicide because it feels like his only option. suicidal and self-destructive behavior is really common in bpd, especially in response to interpersonal distress and instability.

he has very little sense of self. identity isn't something he feels like he has the right to have (since personal separation is contradictory to trying to be Whole), but also, it seems like something he just can't get a grip on even if he tried.

I think that he has extreme attachment issues in concord. he's terrified that things will go wrong again, worried one of them will get hurt or disappear whenever he's not keeping an eye on them. he wants to know exactly where they are and be told when they're leaving because otherwise he'll panic about their absence.

on that note, his fears of hurting them or ruining things when things seem stable are something a lot of people with bpd struggle with. there's this underlying fear that the things "inherently wrong with you" will ruin everything you touch, either because of personal experience or internalized demonization.

if you headcanon Whole as a distinct person, that would be his favorite person. the extreme, almost religious idealization and having your entire sense of self revolving around a person (or really, the perception of perfection you have of a person) is a clear sign of having a favorite person. the abandonment issues would also be the worst with Whole, for obvious reasons

also i think it would be neat if this was a more widespread concept

[starflungwaddledee]

please draw captain vul realistic birdman next

piece of cake. captain on deck!

[beneathsilverstars]

I didn't even consider bonnie not actually having a best friend with that post. My best friend gave me bad definitions when we were kids bc she thought it was hilarious, and she's still one of my closest friends in adulthood

Per my last ask, I thought the joke was that the adults didn't get little kids humor/pranks

it definitely could not mean anything bad! trolling your friends is a time-honored tradition. but there's a lot of things like that that can be fun, but can also get taken too far, or be done too unevenly.

i feel like with "gullible" in specific it's easy to imagine like. "oh bonnie. you are SO gullible." "what's that mean?" "oh ^^ super cool and awesome" "yay!" <- it is now established that not only is bonnie the most gullible person in the friend group, you can also get away with calling them that, which makes it doubly fun to tease them this way!

and it's not like malicious, nor did it even notably bother bonnie at the time - they still consider the person who told them this their best friend! but maybe if bonnie had a true best friend who prioritized them over the rest of the group, that person would've told bonnie the actual meaning at some point, yknow?

and ofc it still could have been a perfectly fine thing, with bonnie getting their friend back just as often! you can't know from just these two lines.

but as i said, i think everyone in this party grew up some level of lonely/alienated. and the rest of them are old enough now to have looked back at some of their own youthful experiences and gone "ah. i think they were actually making fun of me." so these particular people - despite enjoying a bit of familial teasing and trolling and mean joking themselves - heard this particular story and went. hm. well. i'm not going to say anything. but i am going to take note of this as a potential issue.

[dropespeon]

kaito and sonoko deserve to be online friends i think

[deservedgrace]

Am I being petty? My dad is always saying stuff like “I’m praying for you to be successful” or “god made you perfect”. I know he means well but it’s so uncomfortable whenever he does those things. I don’t want you to pray for me, I need real help. You don’t know the real me and you probably wouldn’t be as proud if you did. He still thinks I’m the perfect Christian boy instead of an atheist who’s figuring out their gender. He claims to love and support whatever I want, but he always leaves out being a girl when listing off topics, and has questioned me at random times about trans athletes when I’m too tired to think of an answer.

In my opinion, absolutely not.

I was actually just talking about the prayer thing with my friend last night. So many christians use prayer as almost a silencing method, whether intentionally or unintentionally. When I left the church I realized just how abysmal my comforting/supporting methods were because while I was in the church, I and everyone around me relied on cutting uncomfortable topics short with "well I'll be praying for you" or ask to pray with you about it, and offer literally NO other support while also expecting prayer to, just fix it magically. Hilariously, the same people that are always like, "god's not a genie, you're praying wrong if you're expecting him to answer every prayer you have" seem to ask for and expect genie-like responses from him while doing NO work of their own to support the people they're praying for. Prayer is Very Very often used as a substitute for support. Even when I was deep in the church it never felt sufficient, but I couldn't say anything because it was supposed to be sufficient and if it wasn't sufficient that was a problem with me and my "sinful nature". Churches and christians that focus on prayer over actually being the hands and feet of jesus (fucking doing something about it) aren't fostering proper community and support. They're fostering a culture of not being able to talk about difficult things, of suffering in silence, and of relying on a silent and unprovable god which often results in being taught to rely solely on yourself.

I really feel for you with the gender thing. I don't know the full context of your specific situation but I see "god made you perfect" used to silence any notion of being trans far, far too often. The implication being, being cis is the default, being trans is going against who "god made you to be", etc. I've noticed this especially of christians who believe in complementarianism (men and women have different roles to fulfill), many of them tend to "love and support whoever you are"........ so long as it falls into their tiny box of what they deem acceptable. I don't want to turn this into a whole thing about gender but even in a worldview that doesn't recognize the existence of trans people, there isn't a definition of womanhood that includes every woman and excludes every non-woman and vice versa for men ("a woman is someone who can have babies" excludes those with infertility issues, something that affects up to 20% of women, "a woman is someone who has XX chromosomes" excludes intersex women, "a woman is someone who has a uterus" excludes women who have had hysterectomies, "a woman is someone who has had a uterus at SOME point" excludes women that simply born without one, which happens to about 1 in 5000 based on a quick google, etc etc). My point being, they're trying to draw these confining and limiting boxes where they can't. Humans don't work like that. Their idea of perfection is something that is simply biologically and sociologically and historically unsupported. Gender is complicated because humans are complicated. It's disappointing that some people can't see the beauty in that and it's devastating that it often causes so much pain and suffering to those around them.

I really hope you're able to find proper support. If possible, I encourage you to (safely!!!) continue exploring your gender. And it makes complete sense that you'd feel uncomfortable about these things. Prayer without proper support is skirting responsibility at best. Tearing down trans athletes and doing the christian "god made you perfect" thing with the implication of cis being the default is not a supportive environment to be around. I'm not going to be able to remember the quote verbatim but one of my favorite god/trans quotes is something along the lines of "god made trans people for the same reason he made wheat but not bread and grapes but not wine; so humanity may share in the act of creation". I'm not necessarily encouraging this as a "gotcha" statement, I can hear in my head exactly how my church would respond to that. But outside the church I think it's a beautiful reframe despite me not believing in god anymore. And if you would prefer something less religiously related: I'm deeply sorry you're not in a supportive environment. There's nothing wrong with you. As far as I can tell you're having a very normal reaction to the shit you're having to put up with and the situation you're in.

[timeofjuly]

(not so sure if this counts as a story spoiler ask so you can pick any of my questions or ignore until the time comes.¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯)

in what order would the characters fall in love for mc?(e.g. 1.quinn 2.red ect.[or if mc falls for them first?])we already know the flashbacks of quinn and MC but not when they confessed/caught feelings, who did what first in what place and environment? these questions also involves the skeletons too if you don't mind us having a peek at future events. XP

although i am not the most observant of readers, your work is so interesting to read that I would put it on a petri dish to understand it more thoroughly if I can hahah, maybe even a piece of your brain too./hj

Thank you so much!!! My brain is pretty smooth most of the time so I'm not sure how much you'd get out of it, but I'm very flattered!! If there's anything in the fic you (or anyone else) wants clarification or my in-depth thoughts on, I'm always very very happy to give my commentary :)

I won't answer in terms of order, because it'd be a little spoilery (and my planning is not that detailed lol) BUT, if you'd like, I can tell you what traits MC/the skeletons have that'll make things work? I put A LOT of thought into it when writing MC's personality because I wanted her to be a good fit for all of them plus Quinn whilst still maintaining an actual coherent personality, which was a challenge lemme tell you! If you want to see that, let me know and I'll pop it into a separate post because it'll be LONG.

But I will say that one big, overarching thing that'll make all this work is that MC reads as really genuine. Her intent matches her actions. I actually go into this in the next chapter in relation to Quinn, but it applies to MC too. I think this would be a super important part of attraction for monsters.

Anyway! Onto the Quinn and MC backstory. I'm happy to answer this because it's not really a spoiler and I don't (yet) have plans to actually write it (it may come up at some point tho). I will put it under the cut, though, if anyone would rather learn this as I drip feed it into the story you won't be spoiled.

MC fell for Quinn first, or at least was able to identify her feelings as romantic, much earlier. They become friends at 15 and it takes MC like, a week, to realise that she's attracted to Quinn physically and then another one to work out that she's interested romantically too. MC is into a lot of people, so this isn't particularly groundbreaking or intense at first, but when her feelings start to grow beyond casual attraction, things get more serious.

Teenage Quinn was hella repressed (in soft, as it began, she's having some serious Gay Panic but doesn't have the emotional framework to describe it) and also didn't have a bunch of friends, so didn't actually understand that her feelings for MC were romantic. She just Really Likes this girl and has funny feelings around her, so what? They're just besties. Besides, MC could have anyone she wanted and if she was into Quinn, surely she would've said something, right? Right?!?

Meanwhile, MC thinks that Quinn wouldn't be interested and that she has wayyyy too much to deal with already without adding her best friend having a crush on her on top of it all (this is the beginning of MC acting in what she thinks are Quinn's best interests and trying to spare her feelings), so she doesn't say anything. She thinks can read Quinn pretty well at this point, surely she'd be able to tell if Quinn was into her because she'd start acting differently, right? Right?!?

This all comes to a head in MC's bedroom when they're both 16, so a year into the friendship. It is not very romantic - they're passing a bottle of chambord stolen from MC's parents between them and simultaneously feeling very drunk from the alcohol and very sick from all of the sugar, they've just finished trying to scrub said liqueur from the carpet because Quinn accidently knocked it over and now there's a stain in the pile, it's a school night, the second Twilight movie is playing on MC's TV and Bella is October, November, December-ing, and MC just looks at Quinn, in ratty pajamas and hair greasy, lips stained purple and eyebags dark under the harsh yellow glow of the ceiling light and just... blurts it all out.

Quinn doesn't get to respond until the next morning, though, because MC follows the confession up by vomiting all over the carpet and the caretaking and clean-up that follows takes at least half an hour, and then MC falls asleep.

[magnusbae]

saddened when my concepts are turned into angst, saddened when my ideas are good 'but this is better', saddened that it's often 'yes but' with the things I make instead of "yes and" to build on top of it

[leaf-in-a-flower-garden]

Getting re-obsessed over Two Embers cause it was supposed to be out by now.

[oakfathers-embrace]

"oh..." The child nodded, understanding, "How do druids get to talk to animals? Can I learn one day? I want to apologize to the bees before I get honey from the beekeeper."

Halsin chuckles, happy at the boys enthusiasm, and how he seems to be receptive to his teachings.

"It takes time, but I could help you start learning magic, then you can cast a spell which will allow you to do so. Alternatively, there are potions. But the potions are a bit expensive for a child, though I suppose you're old enough to begin leaning alchemy..." He ponders, wondering what the best path would be.

"As for your apology. While you cannot understand them yet, the bees will still understand you. We can return to them, if you'd like? I am sure they will forgive you."

[cicadagaze]

there are not many design discourse things I feel very strongly about. the color of Ravenpaw's eyes is one of the only ones that I am willing to fight to the death for

[todayisafridaynight]

huh...wuh..accidentally hit daigo with the bpd beam (unintended projection is scary) in sumn im writing but now im thinking daigo could totally have it chairman daigo is better at managing it but 2006 daigo is already doing bad whats another thing on the pile hes got the risky behaviour he's got the impulsiveness maybe the unstable relationships (im reaching i think)..maybe im just smarter than everyone and right and awesome wow..

(i rambled sorry) (my bad) (headcanons are so fun for me sorry)

you come into my house and proclaim yourself smarter than me when it comes to daigo dojima i will make your execution quick and painless

unfortunately you're right in this one instance cause i dont know a licka anything about BPD so i'll SIMPLY have to take your word on it. whats another trouble for the boy yk

[ranger-kellyn]

i love when all my coworkers bicker about which tribe's frybread is the best, meanwhile my frybread-deprived ass is like iTS ALL SO FUCKING GOOD Y'ALL ARE CRAZY

[here-there-were-dragons]

all modern writing advice is optimized towards creating the most digestible and marketable mass-appeal piece possible, which everyone has decided is The Only Way To Do Art Right for some reason. i hate it, i fucking hate it so much, i had to stop listening to movie and art concrit videos because it became infuriatingly clear that literally no one has opinions of their own, they're just parroting from a list of How To Make The Most Marketable Thing that they heard from other criticisms, taken as gospel of The One And Only Way To Be Right, and have put no real actual thought into it themselves.

literally all of them now just boil down to "here's how this did/didn't follow the Standard Marketability Checklist to the exact letter. also at least a third of this essay is me randomly interjecting about how much i want to suck off puss in boots 2"

Every 21st century piece of writing advice: Make us CARE about the character from page 1! Make us empathize with them! Make them interesting and different but still relatable and likable!

Every piece of classic literature: Hi. It's me. The bland everyman whose only purpose is to tell you this story. I have no actual personality. Here's the story of the time I encountered the worst people I ever met in my life. But first, ten pages of description about the place in which I met them.

[pa-pa-plasma]

look i know it's probably just really petty (it isn't, the whole message of this episode, even ignoring the twitch namedrop, was disgusting tbh) but i don't think i'll ever get over how one day at a time decided to alienate an entire chunk of their audience because of an assumption/stereotype they decided to not look into at all before making a whole ass episode about it. "oh just get over it" THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A SUBSCRIPTION IS. OR AN EMOTE. I DON'T EVEN THINK THEY KNOW WHAT STREAMING IS LIKE GENERALLY. TWITCH IS FREE. THERE IS NO PAYWALL TO USING THE SITE OR APP. THEY COULD'VE JUST LOOKED THIS SHIT UP OR ASKED SOMEONE WHO USES IT. DO YOU SEE HOW STUPID & FUCKED UP THIS WHOLE EPISODE IS COMPARED TO EVERYTHING THAT CAME BEFORE IT. I CAN'T GET OVER IT.