#I hope this readmore works

[emberglowfox]

Keeper -- a short comic about an angel meeting a robotic lighthouse keeper that doesn't know the world has already ended. Made in about 18 hours for a 24-hour 24-page* black and white comic challenge (that I arrived late to, ha.)

*the actual submission does not include the cover, which was created after the fact for this post.

This was a really great learning experience as someone who's... never really made a completed comic. I ended up really attached to the story by the end of the project (possibly due to all-nighter deliriousness lol) and ultimately am very proud of what I made.There are some things I'd still like to change, particularly text placement, but in keeping with the spirit of the challenge I've elected to leave it as is.

[lemonlinelights]

Intervention

ao3

Summary: The turtles are worried about Casey Jr's recent behavior.

A short fic based off of somerandomdudelmao’s Cass Apocalyptic series 

   Casey Jr!” Mikey yelled. It was a type of shout heard on long car rides when a cow was spotted. Casey froze, his hand hovering over the door knob. 

   “Hi?” Casey asked. He turned around to face Mikey. Then he immediately regretted doing so. It wasn’t only Mikey that was there. Donnie and Leo had appeared quietly, flanking either side of Casey. It reminded him of that dinosaur movie they watched together to have him “better understand pop-culture”. 

   “Well um,” Casey turned around “I’ve gotta go-” he tried to make a break for it only to be met with the wall that is Raphael Hamato. Casey was surrounded. 

   “What, what is this, an intervention?” Casey joked. He was the only one who laughed.

   “Precisely.” Donnie said. Casey’s eyes widened. 

   “We’re worried about you.” Raph said, hand on Casey’s shoulder. Reassuring, but also stopping Casey from bolting. 

    “Me?” Casey asked. 

    “Yes, you!” Leo exclaimed. “Who else would we be talking about?” He waved his arms around. 

   “…not me?” Raph’s brow furrowed. 

   “You haven’t been home at all.” Mikey said, officially opening the floodgates. 

   “We haven’t seen you eat.” 

   “You won’t talk to us.”

   “Have you been sleeping at all?” 

   “You’re skittish.” 

    “And I know you’ve been stealing from my lab!” Donnie shouted. 

   “Also, you’ve been lying.” Leo finished. Casey rocked back and forth. 

   “Psh, me, lying?” Casey waved his hand as if to dismiss the idea. 

   “Does saying you have an uncle of all things ring any bells, Casey?” Leo asked, hands on his hips. Casey felt his heart sink. 

   “What Leo means to say is, we can help Casey, whatever it is that’s bothering you, us, April, Splinter, and…even Draxum.” Raphael explained, he squeezed Casey’s shoulder. Donnie rolled his eyes, but he didn’t scoff. 

   “Yeah!” Mikey exclaimed. “I can use my pizazz!” He said while finger gunning at Casey. 

   Casey couldn’t do this. What felt like an eternity to Casey looked like a blur to the others. He yanked himself out from under Raph’s hand, dodging Mikey trying to grab him. 

   “No!” Casey shouted. “No, you can’t help!” 

   “Yes we can!” Leo shouted back and God the way he tilted forward, arms opened wide, a determined look on his face. Casey choked back tears. 

   “You can’t bring them back!” 

    Everyone stilled. 

   “You look just like them.” Casey whispered. But that also wasn’t the full truth.

    Sure Leo did what Uncle Tello called the mom stance but he didn’t do it with the same caring grin. Smile lines and crows’ feet missing from his face. Donnie rolled his eyes but it wasn’t the same playfulness. Mikey did finger guns but there wasn’t the same spark, literally and figuratively. And this Raph couldn’t hold him the same, they weren’t there yet. He wasn’t there yet with any of them, where an embracing hug was the default. They were so much alike but they were not the same turtles he knew. They were not his senseis. 

   All he wanted right now was a genuine Hamato hug. His Hamatos’ hugs. And Uncle Tello could do that. Uncle Tello was here. Uncle Tello was working towards a day where all of them could hug Casey again. Casey could do that. Casey could be here with them, his senseis. 

   “I can fix it.” Casey said. His hope poured out like a squashed oozesquito. Sad and beaten but still going. 

    “Huh?” Mikey said. 

    “Just you wait!” Casey exclaimed, running out of the lair, heels on fire. 

   “Casey, wait!” Leo started to go after him. One of Donnie’s mechanical limbs reached out and grabbed him. 

   “What would you even do?” Donnie asked. Leo didn’t know. He didn’t know. None of them know. 

   But Casey? Casey knew. Casey knew exactly what he was going to do. For once in his life he knew exactly what he wanted and he knew exactly how to get it. 

   Casey Hamato knows.

[laurasimonsdaughter]

is there any aromantic themed folklore stories?

I think that very much depends on your personal definition. Of course there are plenty of folktales that do not include romance, but for me that usually isn't quite enough to consider them aromantic. For me the folk- and fairy tales that feel the most aromantic to me, are the ones where the plot makes me expect there will be a love interest along the way or a wedding at the end, but instead there is neither.

Here are the ones I've taken a personal liking to so far:

The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces

Source: Cape Verdian folktale, collected by E. Parsons from Antonio Soares Rosa in 1916-1917.

Content warnings: princess-shaming.

Character I read as aro: The hero.

Why: He answers a royal proclamation that states that whoever is able to find out how the princess wears out seven pairs of shoes every night can marry her and have half the kingdom. When he accomplishes this, however, he declines the marriage and returns home to build his mother a new house.

Read it: Full text online.

How The Devil Married Three Sisters

Source: Italian folktale, published by Widter and Wolf in 1866.

Content warnings: fairy tale violence, abusive spouse.

Character I read as aro: The youngest of the three sisters.

Why: While the first sister is pleased by her handsome suitor (the devil) and the second sister is also described as "wooed and won" by him, the third agrees to marriage only because he is rich. She proceeds to save her sisters, outsmarts the devil, and they all get away.

Read it: Full text online.

David Cotterson

Source: Danish fairy tale, collected by Jens Kamp, published in 1879.

Content warning: suicide contemplation, fairy tale violence.

Character I read as aro: The hero, David Cotterson.

Why: His biggest desire is to become a sailor and see the world. In his biggest adventure he defeats a seductive witch, saves a prince who has been cursed to be a dog. He then decided what he wants most of all is to got home to his loving parents, which he does.

Read it: Offline in this book, or my summary online.

The Squire’s Bride

Source: Norwegian folktale, collected by Asbjørnsen and Moe, published 1841-1844.

Content warning: attempted arranged marriage, attempted kidnapping.

Character I read as aro: The heroine, a farmers daughter.

Why: She's being courted by an old, rich squire. She rejects him, not for a better (kinder, younger) suitor, but simply because she doesn't want him. He doesn't back down so she humiliates him to teach him a lesson.

Read it: Full text online.

The Three Brothers

Source: German folktale, collected by the brothers Grimm, published 1857.

Content warning: ends with natural death.

Characters I read as aro: The protagonists, three brothers.

Why: Their father tasks them to learn a trade to show who deserves to inherit their family home. They become a master barber, blacksmith and swordsman, and the third inherits the house. But because they love each other so much they decide to share the house. They live happily and grow old together, after which all three die close together and are laid in the same grave.

Read it: Full text online.

Diarmaid and Grainne

Source: Celtic legend, Scottish variant collected by H. MacLean in 1859, from Alexander Macalister.

Content warning: tragedy, coercion, murder of protagonist.

Character I read as aro: The warrior Diarmaid.

Why: He has a love spot on his face, which he keeps hidden to prevent women from falling in love with him. Grainne (who is married to his lord Fionn) sees it and falls for him, but he refuses to go with her until she outsmarts him and places him under obligation to do so. He goes with her but they live in a house with separate beds. Grainne betrays Diarmaid for yet another man and Diarmaid ends up being killed by Fionn before he realises that Diarmaid has never touched his wife.

Read it: Full text online.

Slawa

Source: Romanian fairy tale, found in a German collection from 1977, sadly unsourced.

Content warning: attempted kidnapping, fairy tale violence.

Character I read as aro: The heroine, Slawa

Why: She is a poor young woman so beautiful that the cruel tsar wants to marry her. She keeps refusing and he gets violent, so she resorts to defeating him with magic (which she has because she was once a doll brought to life through the love of her parents), so she is free to go see the world.

Read it: You can download my translation here.

King Bear

Source: Danish folktale, collected by Jens Kamp, published in 1879.

Content warning: animal death.

Character I read as aro: One of the two protagonists, the eldest of two brothers.

Why: The older brother doesn't fully understand why his younger brother has fallen in love with an imprisoned princess, but helps him win her hand anyway. He stays happily at the royal court, but never marries himself.

Read it: Offline in this book.

And just because I still love them, I did write two literary fairy tales with aro protagonists myself some years ago:

The Man and the Mermaid, in which a man meets a mermaid after losing the woman he thought he wanted to marry.

The River Sprite, in which a woman helps a river sprite who is determined to repay her.

Hope there's something on this list that makes you happy!

[unexpectedbrickattack]

Some (scary, Huge) fake peppi sketches i managed to get out recently

Ramblings under the cut heehee

Wanted to emphasize his HUGE and Hulking body. Hes got Similar movesets to the ingame fake peppino, but theyre fundamentally very Peppino-esque; he is strength and speed based just like Peppino instead of being (primarily) unpredictable and speedy. Thinking of the grab still being one handed but its more like him grabbing Peppinos shirt/body, and immediately chucking him against the wall (similar to peppinos two-armed grab)

The shouldercheck that Peppino does is mimicked with Fake Peppino using his hand as a mace/heavy weighted head weapon.

Runs up the wall on all fours instead of the regular run he does ingame (similar to Peppino using his hands to help with wall climbing)

He is INCREDIBLY loud and shrill during this fight; his voice echoes over itself and its very fast and unintelligible. Hes got very loud and nervous laughter bubbling up alongside the shrill screaming so its just NOT a fun time for Peppino at all.

He is normally very docile, but bc of some hcs I have wrt to him and pizzahead (and the tower overall), he is EXTREMELY stressed out and out of control when Peppino goes through his boss gate. Once he gets his ass handed to him AND he exhausts himself w the chase sequence, Fake Peppino is calmed down enough to think rationally again. And he has decided that Fighting Sucks and he would much rather just keep making pizzas lmao

(yoinking this from discord bc i do Not want to paraphrase lmao)

[I make my peppino SO hulking despite being short so i wanted to convey that same kind of Hugeness but like, if he had the extra height to go along w it Like peppino throws his weight around so i wanted fake peppino to do the same; hes very fast but also incredibly destructive and brutish]

[Im trying to find the best way to put it but like. In the same way getting angry gets u worked up and ur face gets hot and ur heart starts pumpin, the same thing will happen to fake peppino, only it translates into his body starting to bubble up and boil. Which looks AWFUL and it FEELS awful and it further aggravates him when hes burning up and falling apart So he will escalate very fast and essentially go blind w rage until he either passes out or gets knocked out]

[I want him to be a somewhat close parallel to peppino; act first think later. Everything makes him emotional and just like peppino, it will build up out of control very fast, and make him blow up in anger before he can think of a better way to handle it]

[ALSO wrt to fake peppino fighting i want the direction to be less ‘oh that is a weird freaking thing’ and more like ‘that a scary huge monster what the fuck IS that’ Like he makes the ground shake in his own pizzeria when hes chasing after peppino like hes throwing his weight around in such a way that makes him feel like the tank from left 4 dead. Big mans. Charges after peppino, misses; and where peppino would just bonk the wall, fake peppino makes a crater in the wall before shaking off the debris]

[hes not really throwing temper tantrums hes like. JUST as emotional and unable to ‘mask’ as peppino is but he does not have the 40+ years that peppino had to at least have the awareness to be ‘im destroying my own home’]

[I feel like. He is just as fast and strong as peppino, the difference being that peppino has Self Restraint, even if its not Alot And body limitations like breaking limbs n such, but fake peppino does not have that hindrance]

[He and peppino arent like emotionally unstable they are just incredibly volatile when under immense stress. Like most people!! Peppino is just under maximum stress 24/7 and fake peppi is a brand spankin new peppino that finds everything raw and stressful

(From a tagentially related convo)

[hes got a weirdass hobbled together nervous system (since u always see those nervous system diagrams laid out w a floating brain lol)

Its very human like but also inconsistent in some places ie he can feel pain but not All the time. The human body is very VERY complex and theres so many things working together to make shit happen. A nervous system but no bones to help hold it up and send it through the body; its floating in doughy goop ALL the time. His skin isnt Real skin so it doesnt have the same kind of like. Setup to easily receive pain and touch overall. Stretching his body out makes it hard to actually access the nerves so hes often unaware of Pain. But he can Feel things happen. I dunno]

[(responding to the idea of Fake Peppino getting hit with something blunt vs getting impaled or stabbed and grazing his nervous system)

[YES its like literally hitting a raw exposed nerve. The same pain youd get from a fucked up tooth i think however, if u managed to do that his instinct to protect himself would go haywire and hed literally try to maim you or die trying. He has no built in shock response to extreme pain like a normal human does]

[skateintoawall]

[corviiids]

fic writers director cut ask thingy!!! the palace fic pretty please I must know everything.

ofc if you have something else you've been dying to talk about this is also your opportunity! be free

THANK YOU 😭 i've been sitting on this ask for a few days because i wasn't sure which part to pick so i picked the speluncean explorers scene from chapter 7 (comparing it to the experience machine discussion in chapter 4).

under the cut for spoilers and to avoid spam 🫡 it is Long. this got Long. i originally was going to do a few scenes but then i wrote a fucking thesis about specifically just this one scene and also kind of akeshu as a whole.

“Let me tell you about the Speluncean Explorers,” said Akechi.

you can probably tell, but this is one of those scenes i just got super self-indulgent with lol because i LOVE the speluncean explorers. i will not subject you to more legal philosophy since the chapter already does that, but i really enjoyed using the narration of the story as a device to frame their dynamic with each other. as seen here:

   Akechi's eyes sparkled. Ren realised with a start that he, too, had begun to lean in; there was now much less space between their faces than there had been at the start of their conversation.    “Five men are caught in a landslide,” said Akechi. “These men are amateur spelunkers—cave explorers. After the cave-in, they’re trapped inside. A rescue operation commences, during which ten workmen are killed. Radio contact is established with the spelunkers. It is determined that the rescuers will not reach them before they starve.”    There was something captivating about Akechi's voice. Ren was sure that if this were something that had come up in class, he would long have drifted off—but delivered in Akechi's charming lilt, a picture began to form in Ren's mind of the five men, desperate and alone; of the dark cave; of the crackling voice over the radio informing them that they were all about to die.

the scene kind of starts off as ren agreeing to hear the story just to hear akechi talk, more or less, but he starts to get invested around the time it becomes clear a serious injustice was done in the story. which as we all know is ren's weakness lol.

in the earlier chapters when akc starts waxing philosophical at ren, like when akechi explains the experience machine in chapter 4, ren doesn't quite get into the rhythm of the conversation. not because he isnt smart enough, but because he hasn't really settled into how to engage with akechi when he gets like this - he's sort of focused on keeping up with the philosophy as an academic exercise as opposed to treating it as a window into akechi's way of thinking.

   Akechi’s eyes cleared. “Ah, I see. No, you’re missing the point of philosophy.”    “Which is?”    “Philosophy,” Akechi said. “Proving the point is its own point. It’s about thinking through questions we don’t fully understand so that we can come to a better understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Plus, don’t you think it’s interesting?”

in that scene, akechi closes off the discussion sort of dissatisfied, and ren can tell. akechi is talking at ren, and ren is trying to engage at akechi's level in the way he tends to do with his confidants, by trying to mirror their approach and say what he thinks they need to hear. but he can't do that here, because he's not well-read on philosophy and can't really engage in this academic way. and that's actually not really what akechi wants anyway. so it falls flat and ren figures he's picked the wrong dialogue options:

“I really am interested,” Ren insisted, but from Akechi’s indulgent smile and resigned dismissal from the bar thereafter, he sensed he might have chosen the wrong thing to say somewhere along the line.

however, by chapter 7, ren's stopped trying to mirror akechi or meet his needs, and is starting to engage as himself. ren hasn't read any legal philosophy, but it doesn't really matter. akechi doesn't need ren's Legal Take on the speluncean explorers, because he's a jerk and doesn't really care about other people's academic opinions anyway. he's telling ren this story in the hopes that ren will bring something uniquely ren to the table, and ren is finally able to meet him there.

   Akechi's delighted smile widened. “I'll make a philosopher of you yet. You've spotted the problem.”    “Anyone could spot the problem. They're executed?”    “Sentenced to be executed,” said Akechi, “and as to the problem being obvious, I only wish that were so. The story continues... but surely you must be bored by now, so perhaps I ought to—”    “Finish the story,” Ren demanded, which was worth it just to hear Akechi’s cackle.

...

Akechi’s smile is a little too knowing. “I’m quite confident I can predict your perspective on the matter, but do recall this is a legal puzzle and not a purely ethical one, will you? ..."

you can tell that this conversation is much more alive than the previous one. ren does not approach the problem from a legal or academic perspective, he brings himself to it the way akechi always wants him to. in canon, akechi is always saying that ren's pov is refreshing and catches him by surprise. some of that is definitely just him lying for ren's trust, but there's also definitely an element of truth in it, because akechi obviously appreciates talking with ren and enjoys hearing his views. in this scene akechi is able to predict the logical thread of ren's arguments: that it's a waste to sacrifice lives for save people who you then sentence to death, and that it's ethically reprehensible to sentence people to death who have struggled to survive. but he fails to predict the last prong of ren's argument, which is something borne of ren's unique rebellious spirit (and something akechi shares in private but doesn't publicise and for that reason doesn't consider a factor):

   “The rules never apply the same way to the ones making them,” said Ren.    Akechi whistled.    “It always comes back to rebellion with you,” he said affectionately.

this is what akechi wants from ren: his wildcard ability to step outside of a paradigm everyone takes for granted and shatter it. akechi is used to curating himself into what's expected, and he's used to talking to people who operate solely within the status quo, either because they're trying to survive it or because they aren't interesting enough to do otherwise. even the phantom thieves' take on rebellion is fairly pedestrian. but ren has a unique perspective on things and akechi is hungry for it. (im sure im not the first to raise this angle on the speluncean explorers btw although i haven't seen it lol. it's one of the most well known texts in jurisprudence so surely it's been said. but it's not an angle taken in the text itself.)

on the flipside, akechi is the only person who is actually looking for ren and not just what ren can do for him. that's what ren's getting out of this. makoto talks about this in chapter 6:

“I think sometimes we even fail to see you as a complete person,” [Makoto] says, sounding a little horrified at herself. “Even when I spend time with you, it feels like I do all the talking. Like you just reflect back what I need to hear, to help myself. And I—I’ll owe you forever for everything you’ve done for me, but I’m just now realising how little I actually know about you, Ren, because I didn’t make the effort. “But Akechi did, didn’t he? Akechi never spent time with you because he needed your help. Every time he talked about you, even if it was to say he hated you... it was like he was endlessly fascinated by you. Like he really, really wanted to know you.” Makoto smiles. “You two had such a unique relationship. No wonder he mattered so much to you.”

to me this is at the heart of what makes ren and akechi's relationship so compelling and it's sort of metatextual given ren's role as the player character. there are precious few occasions where ren really voices any kind of individual desire or drive because he's meant to be a conduit for the player, and that takes on sort of an interesting twist when you consider that the player is minmaxing social relationships. i did a whole meta write up about this in 2018 on twitter which i need to clean up (i wont link it here because it's a mess + my twitter is locked right now but remind me to post it again) about how ren being the player character means that in-universe he's doing exactly what akechi is doing, i.e. saying what people want to hear from him, except on an interpersonal rather than performative level. in that sense they're both wearing heavier masks than everyone around them and beneath the mask is very much about both of them.

this fic was started before royal, but i have pulled from it a lot because it's in alignment with what im doing >:) royal highlights that akechi is the only character in the game that ren isn't doing that around. it's important that he's the only confidant in the game (barring your teammates) that you don't approach because you're trying to make some kind of deal, and even including your teammates, he's the only one who isn't seeking your help for something. akechi's confidant is just him getting to know ren, partly for infiltration reasons, but partly just because he likes spending time with him. and ren caring about akechi is one of the only choices ren really gets to make with no player input. no matter what you do, ren will lie in bed thinking about akechi's sacrifice. ren will always be reluctant to sacrifice akechi on 2/2 even if he ultimately agrees to do it. he will always indicate that he's upset when lavenza 'confirms' that akechi is gone. and if you go to the jazz club on your last day in tokyo, ren will take out the glove and affirm that he believes akechi is alive, even if the player doesn't give a shit.

anyway, one final note on this scene since i've kind of gone off topic.

   The waiter arrives with their drinks. Akechi smiles at him like no one’s ever done anything quite so kind, and the waiter leaves with a slightly dizzy grin.    “I think you blinded him,” said Ren.    “Hush, you,” said Akechi.

...

   [Ren:] “No, it’s not. Am I wrong?”    The way Akechi looked at him—it made Ren feel like Akechi wouldn’t have minded sitting there with him forever. He was, in this way, no different from the waiter, whom Akechi had never met before in his life—no better at resisting that sweet look in Akechi’s eyes, like Ren was the most special person in the world, that he was lying to everyone else.    “You’re right,” said Akechi.

im just pleased with this part lol. it's a technique i like using. ren's asking if he's wrong about his prediction of akechi's perspective, but then he has some internal narration thinking about how akechi feels about him. akechi confirms his prediction, but it sort of looks like akechi's confirming ren's musings as well that ren is special to him. is that the case? up to you.

[maythedreadwolftakeyou]

so turns out everyone's room gets upgraded after you play their personal quests in act 2 LMAO. not just davrins. some of these rooms looking a little less dire than they did before but for the most part the beds still all suck. though im upping harding's score to a 6 bc she adds a lot of pillows and cushions to her blanketfort.

[the-wolf-poet]

I haven't written, let alone posted, fanfic in quite a while. I'm embarrassed to do this but I think it'll be good to practice not caring so much. This is a tiny fic (230 words) marking the beginning of Kaneki and Hide running away. I've tried writing this before and I'll probably try writing it again. I'm never satisfied.

"Hide," a figure whispered from the dark alley. "Hide, it's me... Ken."

"There you are, Kaneki." The bulging sides of a brief case gleamed from the dim streetlight nearby. Hide stepped into the scant circle, grinning as he brandished what once held a quinque. "I've got everything we need right here."

Kaneki closed the gap between them - oh he smelled like the sweetest dab of sweat - gave a quick smile, and led him by the arm in a feigned casual stroll. Out in the open the cold night air pricked his cheeks.

They walked for a while in silence. With hardly anyone around in the back alleys, Kaneki found his hand sliding down Hide's arm, down his wrist, down to his warm palm. Down to warm fingers lacing together. He lifted his gaze to the stars, the only eyes watching them. What did they look like to the universe, these two predators of each other? Was this perverse? Nothing had ever felt more right.

Hide saw Kaneki looking up and did the same. It was so nostalgic. They had done this for years on that concrete hill. This time they would stargaze somewhere real. Somewhere where the fences and poles and skyscrapers didn't trap their secrets like flies in a web, waiting to be consumed. He gripped Kaneki's hand harder as though he'd disappear again if he let go.

[lain-at-the-gay-bar]

imagine if cars where girls... this could be the yurifull world we live in

these are the cars they're based on! see if you can figure out who is who (its not very hard :P)

and here is the site i found these cars on :]

[lavender-gayz]

Lizzie the musical at Southwark Playhouse Elephant - some little moments that I loved, part 1/?

Background: This production originated at Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. It features Lauren Drew as Lizzie; Maiya Quansah-Breed as her neighbour, Alice; Shekinah McFarlane as Lizzie’s sister, Emma; and Mairi Barclay as the Bordens’ housekeeper, Bridget. Esteemed tumblr user thegirl20 has many lovely photosets and gifsets of the cast, including this high-definition one where you can see the faces of everyone in the main cast (and also the set!)

I was lucky enough to catch this show with the main cast in London at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant a couple of times (plus once with Emma Louise Hoey as Lizzie and Ayesha Patel as Bridget) when they went on a mini tour in Nov/Dec 2023 :)

1. The House of Borden:

Bridget ladles out impressively gloopy gruel while singing about all-purpose mutton. Both Lizzie and Emma give it a wide berth (and say no to breakfast for the rest of the show).

Emma goes, 'we’ve no personal objection BUT SHE CAN'T HAVE WHAT'S OURS' – an increasingly-concerned Lizzie rushes over and shakes her head and Emma is temporarily mollified. Fair is fair in the House of Bordennnnn!

The way their voices go up in the last ‘let us take you to an August back in 1892’ – MUAH.

2. This Is Not Love:

Lauren Drew performs the majority of this song while sitting uncomfortably in an ornate armchair where something horrifying routinely happens. It’s very effective.

She really conveys the despair and the agony Lizzie feels – there's one bit in the final verse where she gasps out, 'this is not love' and she sounds so incredibly broken.

(“I want…to see arms outstretched to hold me / wanting nothing in return / but only for me to feel safe and secure”

She’s literally next door, Lizzie.)

And at the end she tears herself out of the chair with the line ‘I don’t know what it is, but I want out of it.’

3. ‘I love you too, Father.’

4. Gotta Get out of Here:

Lizzie absently trails her hand along Alice's arms and shoulders in this one bit at the start - Alice never stood a chance tbh.

Maybe I'll do a separate Alice x Lizzie highlights thing.

LOVE the energy in this song and how Lizzie almost seems possessed when she sings about something hanging over her and how she physically throws her body around.

Alice's higher 'stay here longer' when she joins in on the chorus is what angels dream of.

5. If You Knew:

Let's have MAXIMUM YEARNING

To set the scene: we’ve just come out of ‘Gotta Get out of Here’, where Lizzie expresses her need to get out of here and is hindered by Bridget, Emma and Alice (with some very cool dance breaks). Lizzie finally breaks free and Alice chases after her but loses her. We’re now in Alice’s bedroom where she’s thinking about Lizzie.

Lizzie is just off to the side (presumably in her own home or in her yard) looking sad and letting down her hair.

Alice is singing to herself about how much she loves Lizzie and wondering how Lizzie would react if she knew about this.

(She thinks a secret’s just a lie! This may or may not come back to bite us!)

Her voice just SOARS when she sings about dreaming about having Lizzie in her arms.

I like that this song expresses the pretty relatable concern of ‘oh no if you knew I had a big gay crush on you would you still let me touch you and comfort you’ but it doesn’t come with a side of ‘oh no it’s so wrong and gross for me to have feelings for another woman’. Thanks, Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer and Tim Maner!

And good news for Alice: YES Lizzie will let you hold her close when she knows about your secret gay feelings AND she will make out with you and hold you close too! You will get to be happy for approximately seven seconds before Bad News Bridget interrupts.

6. Soul of the White Bird:

'the violence of freedom'

Emma joins in with Lizzie from the side at ‘oh if I had wings like a dove’ - the harmonies!!

Bridget knits and goes la la la in counterpoint while Lizzie slowly falls apart.

7. ‘Lizzie, don’t!!’

8. Maybe Someday:

The FIRST iteration of this song and it’s Alice singing to Lizzie about how maybe someday her heart will be open. They may not get a conventional happy ending together but by god their story is integral to this show.

It is so sweet and then they end up cuddling and falling asleep!

I was going to save this for the Alice x Lizzie highlights, but this was too cute to leave out so I guess I'll just include it twice: Lizzie is the big spoon!!!

9. ‘Her bed is freshly made, as if she hadn’t slept in it at all!’ – Bridget, relishing her role as a gossipmonger-in-chief

10. Who hasn't had to kick a girl out in the morning because your sister needs to vent about developments in your father's will and is threatening to go to Fairhaven? Sisters, amirite?

11. ‘Emma, wait! What if Mrs Borden…dies first?’

12. Sweet Little Sister:

It has been said before and it bears saying again: vocals for DAYS.

The little lyric change to “I look into your cold dark eyes” to suit Lauren’s eye colour!

Bridget and Alice pop up with mic stands to sing along.

And then Emma fucks off to Fairhaven even though her sweet little sister was begging her to stay.

13. Mairi's delivery of 'oh Miss Emma you've forgotten your book! And she asked me to pack it S P E C I A L.' is so deeply funny.

14. Also hilarious: the very un-suspicious way Bridget slides the book of household poisons over to Lizzie.

15. ‘…time for Mrs Borden’s tea!’ I love Bridget.

This feels like a good time to take a break!

[majorasnightmare]

Inevitable Gerudo Headcanon Posting

i spend too much time thinking about the gerudo like genuinely theyre one of my favorite recurring tribes in the zelda series, which as we all know is a form of suffering because god forbid nintendo stop relying on racist tropes and caricatures.

keeping in line with this nintendos portrayal of the gerudo tends to either be 1) why theyre bad, and/or 2) how a culture of all women has kids. like thats an oversimplification of ALLL the problems present in the gerudos portrayal but thats a different post for another time. in general i bring this up because it means, for me as well as any others interested and invested un the gerudo, that there is a kind of generalized lack of pre botw characterization or cultural concepts to work with, esp when compared to the other tribes of hyrule. (looks pointedly at how theres no gerudo in the gerudo desert but there is a prison slash execution site where their king was held. LOOKS AT WHO SURVIVED THE PROLOGUE CUTSCENE IN WINDWAKER)

ANYWAYS. botw was really fun because, while it had plenty of its own issues with the gerudo, they were at least non hostile! so with that in mind, the headcanons and worldbuilding i write primarily apply to the wilds era gerudo, which spans the timeframe between ganondorfs reign as king to totk (suspending disbelief because that timeframe is. by all accounts. longer than recorded human history. friendly reminder ganondorf does All That before we even get sheikah wifi towers. christ.)

anyways. second verse same as the first, core assumptions and then a readmore

Some core assumptions:

The BotW branch of the timeline is chronologically set AFTER the previous timeline, ie the events of ToTKs ancient past is set AFTER the last event of the Hyrule Historia timeline. essentially they all come back together to form one line that makes up ToTKs ancient era

The biggest effect on Hyrules topography was the flooding in Wind Waker. after an unknown point, the flooding ocean receded leaving behind the ruins of ancient Hyrule. at some point after that, the zonai settled parts of it and made the buildings wed see as ruins by the time of BotW. slowly the various tribes of hyrule immigrated back

all peoples within the setting of hyrule are loosely grouped into categories called tribes. in this sense, tribe refers a collection of peoples with shared traits, without anything concretely set in stone (for example, hyrule includes the tribe of hylians, the tribe of gorons, the tribe of koroks, etc etc). the main six who show up repeatedly can be considered the sage tribes (gerudo, hylian, sheikah, rito, goron, zora), and the various types of enemies can be considered the monster tribes (the blin tribe of bokoblin, moblin, bulblin, etc)

so. starting at the beginning. near entirely headcanons

in ocarina of time, we see the spirit temple, where Nabooru awakens as a sage. this temple features a MASSIVE statue of a woman adorned with a snake and its primary mechanic centers around mirrors and reflected light. while the mirrors return, we dont really get that same kind of implied spiritual/religious focus again. so instead im going to make a mountain out of a molehill and position her as the primary spiritual figure here. im running low on name ideas tho so suggestions are much appreciated. for right now ill refer to her as the serpent goddess

the gerudo are culturally a people of function over form, practicality over whimsy, but when circumstances allow for it, are drawn like any other to arts and music and decoration. they have a long history of bloody, brutal battle, and while the war has long since ended, its kings buried and its warriors naught but ghosts, the desert remembers. its sands haunted by the bloodstains of conflict past, and echoes of ancient tragedies. the gerudo here in the era of wilds may have lost their records of their ancient history of conflict, but some aspects, preserved by the sands, have managed to survive the onslaught of time

surviving all this time is the ancient creation myth of the gerudo people. as legend tells it, long ago in the time before myth, there existed a goddess whos power was transformation. she was possessed of two forms, one a proud humanoid figure, the other a striking serpentine form twisting through the heavens with ease, her scales glittering with mirror sheen. to shift from serpent to human, she would shed her skin, and grow it back again to embrace her serpentine form anew

seven times she shed her skin, and from these shed skins rose the first gerudo, each embodying a key aspect of their sacred mother. the serpent goddess's scales are each a nascent soul of a gerudo, and when those scales are shed and fall to the land below, a new gerudo is born. likewise, when a gerudo dies, their soul returns to the scales of the serpent goddess, to await until they would descend again and reincarnate once more. the seven daughters of the serpent goddess led these gerudo as their guardians, leaders, and protectors. but, away from the seven heroines and their new people, the goddess shed her skin an eighth time. this daughter was born alone, and while her sisters embodies the strengths of spirit, flight, endurance, knowledge, motion, skill, and gentleness, the eighth was born with insatiable wanderlust. learning of this, the seven sisters cursed her name for leaving them and their people behind, and despite their shared ancestry, the eighth was forbidden to be spoken of. this suited her just fine, and the eighth was free to walk the land and learn all of its hidden paths

in time, war came to the gerudo, as it often does. though they were united, and strong, they were a small collection of people, and thus despite their proficiency were threatened nonetheless. it became clear at last that they could not stand and fight, and that to survive, they could not remain in place for long. but the enemy had pushed them deep into their home, and knew all the paths back. as hope seemed lost, as if summoned by call, the eighth sister at last wandered home. calling her seven sisters to her, she proclaimed that every hidden step was known to her, and while she lacked the power to guide them on her own, together they would escape unseen into the night, their enemy none the wiser. thus, skillfully guiding the skills of her sisters, the eighth heroine led the gerudo into safety, and the seven were humbled from their pettiness. seeking to apologize to the sister they had banished and forgotten, the seven sought to make amends, but the eighth was content merely to have a place of remembrance among them. to wander is not a sin, as long as one remembers where their home lies.

the eight heroines have long since passed and returned to their mothers scales, but the virtues they embody are cherished by the gerudo family they left behind, seeking to hold their memory close even as the years wear on

to the gerudo was bestowed the blessing of the element of Spirit, embodied by their iron wills and manifesting as crackling lightning. this spirit lightning is the gerudo's will made tangible, arcing out towards their target as an extension of their focus and sheer determination. to a gerudo, nothing is impossible until one has devoted themselves entirely to it, giving it their all, and only then may it be conceded

a long history of persecution has resulted in the gerudo being increasingly insular and isolationist. their admiration of the art of combat and how it can bring forth an individuals talents, achieving a perfect harmony between body and will as the weapon became an extension of ones limbs, was often perceived as aggression by outsiders, who would react as if to defend their own interests. the gerudo have suffered much at the hands of hyrule at large, and have pulled further and further away.

as the gerudo pulled away from hyrule, and hyrule from them, they devoted most of their attention to themselves. cooperation amongst themselves is seen as paramount to their survival, and familial affection often extends well past ones blood relations.

the gerudo value family, and loyalty, alongside independence and cooperation. everyone should have the opportunity to pursue their goals, but if someone is struggling, it is the responsibility of everyone to help. children are raised by as many people as are available, and even in the times of monarchy, the palace was less a formal dwelling place belonging to the gerudo ruler and more a public forum that the ruler simply happened to live in

most of the palaces amenities are fully public, a tradition that has carried on to riju's time. meals are communal and the kitchens open to all, and the palace has no strictly dedicated servants, merely a collection of amenities the gerudo people are free to use at will and often do so together. what this means is that there is no servant, for example, dedicated to preparing riju's meals but instead a collection of people willing to cook and willing to eat making meals riju partakes in, and this applies to most other menial tasks as well. the throne room is where the leader of the gerudo engages in their job as public servant, attending to the needs of the gerudo at large and responding to crises as they arise.

as nintendo is keen to point out, the gerudo are a people that are predominantly "all women", and thus spends plenty of time going over dialogue wherein people wonder how they have children and including a plethora of sidequests in the wilds era about acquiring partners. im ignoring all of that and instead going by lizard rules, in part because here theyre descended from a serpent dragon goddess, wherein a population of all female lizards were able to successfully maintain a stable population and have children without major issue. gerudo like ganondorf are the equivalent of a rare genetic mutation that flips some other genes on and has a different result, that really doesnt affect anything besides this one kid and doesnt have any major effects or differences in their life. two gerudo are perfectly capable of having kids together, having relationships as usual, and on the topic of "how do the gerudo have kids", thats all i really feel like exploring that topic

with an insular, isolationist culture that appeared for all intents and purposes to be all women, the gerudo were often a source of major culture shock when interacting with the other tribes of hyrule, most notably hylians

bonus hylian lore: hylians experience an even greater lack of sexual dimorphism than irl humans do, so gender presentation is near exclusively presentation based, with a heavy emphasis on clothing. showing skin is considered an act of emotional intimacy, and most hylians opt to cover as much as they can. the intensity of presentation scales upwards with their role in society, with the royal family having the most extreme form of gender presentation. gender is presented through clothing style and hair length, with ornamentation, jewelry, and piercings serving as a kind of intensifier, and hylian culture at large tends to operate on a sliding scale of masculine to feminine, with the middle androgynous zone being a weird gender spot for them

the gerudo, by contrast, never really developed a concept of masculinity versus femininity. gender pronouns in gerudo are based on personal proximity, occupation in society, and familiarity. these barely translate at all into hyrulean.

as the gerudo, by circumstance or by choice, interacted with hylians and the tribes of hyrule more and more often, some kind of understanding had to be reached with regards to translation. as relations were already terse, making an attempt to fully translate the gerudos understanding of gender to your average hylian was considered a fools errand, and thus translation was done in broad strokes, giving hylians the simplest root form of gender pronouns (and none of the increasingly specific declensions). loosely, the term vai is closer in concept to "us" and voe is closer to "not us" "foreigner" "outsider", and has taken on a connotation of " forbidden" or "taboo" (leading to wilds era gerudo secret clubs often imploying translatable Adult Puns regarding their catering to voe and the overall titillating atmosphere they tend to put on for customers). with regards to hylians, the feminine princesses and queens had more in common with the gerudo and were thus "vai", but the masculine kings and soldiers, who were often the main figures pushing aggressive efforts into conquering or otherwise absorbing the gerudo into hyrule, were "voe". this was then distributed in various guides to understanding the gerudo language as " vai" meaning "woman" and "voe" meaning man

gerudo town, as the capital of their people and general hub, has a law banning the entrance of voe. at the time if its writing, this was a fairly obvious law, because most "people who are forbidden" are forbidden from entering. as time has passed, hostilities cooled, and relations warmed, this law has been the subject of a long struggle of interpretation. it doesnt translate well into nearly any other language, and thus who counts as "voe" and "vai" is subject to endless debate. the differences in gender perception are most clearly on display with the admittance of the gorons. one might assume that the gorons, being a monogendered people who typically use masculine terms of identity and endearment in hyrulean, to thus qualify as voe, but the gorons cooperative nature, near uniform monogendered culture, and emphasis on hard work and independence has enough in common with your average gerudo that considering them as vai is a no brainer

ganondorf thus is also, clearly, considered vai. the specific pronouns he uses in his native gerudo include declensions regarding his position as royalty (one that has since gone out of use and is fairly archaic now, only really being used as a kind of neo-pronoun by current era gerudo as a rebellious self identification thing), his relation as the only child of koume and kotake, and are conjugated based on relation between the speaker and him. in the ancient era, calling ganondorf voe would be so confusing as to not even read as an insult. if one really wanted to refer to ganondorf with a tone of insult, theyd substitute the declension of familiarity with one used for strangers

ganondorf achieved his position as king the old fashioned way: a gift from his moms. ancient era gerudo practiced typical monarchy with a line of succession, and koume and kotake named him as the next royal of the gerudo as their heir. the hyruleans, seeing a masculine gerudo of royal birth, referred to him as "king", and correcting a culture of people he had little respect for was just a waste of ganondorfs time. after ganondorfs sealing, the gerudo changed to the current system of chiefs, wherein the current chief names a successor, or by default passes it onto their living heir. a system is in place to democratically install a new chief if the current one passes without naming a child their heir, or naming a successor in their place, a system drafted and then used in ganondorfs absence. riju thus inherited the mantle from her mother, but could opt instead to force a vote, or have such a vote forced on her due to her age, leading to much of her insecurity seen in BotW. this system has proven to be relatively stable, especially coupled with the continued tradition of keeping the palace an open public forum

the first chief of the gerudo was nabooru, advised by the sage of lightning we see in totk, following ganondorfs sealing

the gerudo are very familiar with the souls of the dead. poes, souls lost and aimless, wander the desert after millennia of bloodshed. thus their funerary customs have persisted, even as the folklore behind them fades in and out of memory.

a person perceives reality through their body. they know the sky is above them both by craning their neck up, and by the sensation of ground beneath them. in death, one is bodiless, and sensation becomes a confusing, directionless onslaught. it is so easy for a spirit to become lost, unable to orient themselves. the gerudos funerary rites seeks to aid these souls in their journey towards returning to the serpent goddess, as without guidance they are liable to become poes. the body after death is merely an empty receptacle, and on a practical level is a potential draw for dangerous desert scavengers seeking an easy meal. the shifting sands and hard soil makes burial difficult to impossible, so instead the gerudo burn their dead. smoke is ephemeral and thus able to be seen by spirits, and even as the wind rushes, smoke will still travel upwards towards the heavens. a spirit will linger by its body for a time, and thus cremation helps provide guidance to the dead. unable to feel the earth beneath them, the dead can follow the trails of smoke to orient themselves upwards, and dispel lingering confusion

as the body is burned both to guide the departed's soul and to ward away scavengers, the gerudo inter their belongings into gravesites instead, usually one or a small collection of items that the deceased valued or were considered emblematic of them. having a proud history of warriors, many gerudo consider their weapons extensions of themselves, and thus many gravesites will consist of a single weapon.

the sage of lightnings temple served as the primary gravesite for many gerudo, and in its heyday was decorated with love and care as befitting its role. torches burned bright in its sconces and the walls painted with care in massive sweeping murals. here in the temple, a foreigners idea of the gerudo as austere and practical would fall away, as the halls shone with warmth and color, taken from their desert home

lost souls that become poes often end up becoming consumed by their regrets and despair at their inability to find their way back to reincarnation through the serpent goddess's scales, and from there turn to rage and aggression. the sunlight glinting off of the goddess's mirror scales will blind and disorient the dead who have lost their way, as they try in vain to rely on their half forgotten senses, and thus poes eschew the day in favor of the cover of night. though incorporeal, poes move as fast as the desert winds, and try all they can to cause mischief and havoc. usually the end result of their shenanigans is light injuries and scratches, but it isn't uncommon for a waylaid traveller or adrenaline seeking youngster to suffer fatal consequences. despite this, poe hunting tends to be the go-to act of rebellion for antsy teenagers with a taste for danger. in general, one of the only things fast enough to strike a poe is a fired arrow

as the sands grew and the desert expanded, it grew more and more difficult for the steeds of the gerudo to gallop across the dunes, and they were driven further and further back until the gerudo phased out their horseback traditions entirely

and as an AU specific trivia tidbit

after ganondorf's sealing, nabooru grieved the loss of her childhood friend by constructing a dedicated tomb to house ganondorf's gravesite. even though he wouldn't die, nabooru would never live to see him again, and in traditional gerudo fashion, his gravesite is marked by his signature trident, further imbued by nabooru's blessing of lighting (in a similar fashion to urbosa's fury, despite urbosa not being a sage).

[srslyarts]

My 2022 GOE gift for @larkthorne​ ft. Ineffable Wifes! I really love your prompt and this was really fun to draw 💗 (also your butch Aziraphale/femme Crowley fics is one of my all time fav A/C fics I was pleasantly surprised when I see the prompter’s name sdhfbsdb)

The rest are below due to the mature nature but you can also check it here!

[orcelito]

Ok so I finally unboxed these fuckers

And yknow what I'm gonna take y'all through my unboxing journey with them. This is going to take at least 1 reblog lol, but I'll try putting it under some readmores

So starting out, I IMMEDIATELY lost my shit with Sasuke. I've always gotten figurines as already put together, so it surprised me so much I involuntarily laughed SO loud.

I just COULD NOT take him seriously!!!!!

But I got him!!! Yay!!!

He was so much trouble to put together (all the finicky little pieces, struggled to put his base on, struggled to fit the sheath into his ropes, his feet won't even fit into the holes of the base) that I was just like "Of course it'd be Sasuke that would give me this much trouble..."

Comparatively, Naruto was MUCH easier. He also came in two pieces, but no base to fiddle with

Just an easy one and done!!! He looks like an angry cheeto!!!!

But here he is with his boy ❤️

[indeliblepromise]

꒰ྀི ✧ — Anonymous asked: I’m so salty we got told Misha wanted to join the Express and pursue Trailblazing only for them to pull a 180 on us and have him decide to ‘rest’ ( pass away ) after regaining his memories. It’s so unfair he spent time ‘growing up’ believing he could be like his grandpa and never got to reunite with Pom-Pom or anything before passing on. His visitor log saying he’s departed from the Express makes me SO sad.

I don’t like that he, Gallagher and Tingyun are playable characters that are all, as far as we know atm, dead. It feels weird being attached to them but having them not exist outside battles if that makes sense? :(

↳ -: ˚ʚ ( I guess we're critiquing H/onkai now ! ) ɞ˚ :-

I saw this in my discord notifs and I was like ' DID I JUST ANON MYSELF ? ' But anyway.

NO FOR REAL ! I used to OBSESSIVELY visit the Astral Express hoping Misha would be there and just immediately warp out if there was literally anyone else. Granted, there are other characters I like too but you know. Misha is very special which is why he's one of the primaries on this blog. Now I barely even visit the Express.

But no I 100% agree. From a story point, it's FANTASTIC and by far, Penacony was the best arc we got so far. The story of Misha and the Watchmaker is tragic and beautiful and one of the best things I've ever seen.

HOWEVER. You are right that Misha KIND OF SORT OF had his dream of Trailblazing ripped away from him with the realization that he is the Watchmaker. You can argue that he had his chance already with his life as Mikhail which YES, I will agree. I'll also agree that death is a VERY big theme in the Penacony arc.

But I'm certain that had the devs not been dead set on offing Misha, there were ways to give Mikhail a ' second chance ' as Misha ( well, a longer second chance ). I mean, look at K/ingdom Hearts and the 100 billion variants of S/ora / X/ehanort / etc ( and I haven't even played that series since the second game on literally the P/S2 ! ). Mikhail OBVIOUSLY died with a lot of regrets. The Dreamjoy Memoir event showed us that AND there's also literally a Y/outube video called ' The Sad and Gay Life of Mikhail Char Legwork ' ( that I still need to watch myself personally ). The man definitely deserved a second chance and H/OYO FUCKING TOOK THAT FROM US MAN.

Us:

But also us:

Also some rambling regarding recent leaks for future content below the read - more:

I did see some leaks however suggesting we are getting a 5-star Tingyun however which I'm personally excited for because I liked her character too.

So MAYBE.... IF WE BREATHE ENOUGH COPIUM.... WE'LL GET A FIVE STAR MIKHAIL. AND WE CAN THROW HIM IN A TEAM WITH MISHA AND GALLAGHER AND TRAILBLAZER.

[copia]

hey sorry to barge into your ask box-- insane edits, btw! but you seem like you'd know how to do this and i am Very Bad at tumblr. how on earth do you get images to post in an even nine-panel grid instead of whatever stupid bullshit tumblr is trying to do?? i am tearing my hair out

hey!! feel free to barge in whenever, and thank you :D if you're talking about a 3x3 grid of images (like i've made under the cut) then that's definitely possible, tumblr allows a max of 3 in a row. you can either add each image separately or select all at once from your folder, then drag & drop them into place. works fine for me on both desktop and the app. if you've already tried this then idk what the problem could be for you, sorry :/ tumblr does mess it up sometimes

edit: WELL. i tried to put the images under the cut but as soon as i saved the draft, they all separated out into one image per row. it's only when i removed the readmore that they acted as they should and i'm still not certain everyone will see it that way ... is that the issue you had?

[ambereddragonfire]

Charles and the Scorn-Fluke, a short comic!

Read the other 9 pages under the readmore: