#I'll link it in refs too :]

[verflares]

(click for higher quality!) draconified link concept ive been chipping away at this past week ..... here's my funny little compendium concept for him:

"A heroic spirit has taken the form of this bestial dragon. Unlike it's kin, this creature exhibits an extremely aggressive disposition. It appears highly territorial, and will relentlessly chase down those who disturb its skywide patrols - of which it seems to be endlessly searching for either a long-time vassal or foe. Unfortunately, it seems the spirit within has long since forgotten exactly who it was looking for…"

[rarestdoge]

I've seen a good deal of confusion with the many versions of Cam, so I MADE A CAMUAL.

It was originally meant to be short and sweet and just colored sketches, but ofc I ended up fully rendering it bc I can't help myself hdhjwhd

Ah yes, the tutorial

[rozeliyawashereyall]

Redrew the Korey ref because I have no self control

The absolute gal she is.

Little symbolism and poem made by my dearest nerd of a brother for the apple tree.

The Apple Tree of Toxicity

In a family filled with pain and strife,

An apple tree stood tall, a symbol of life,

Its branches reached out, so filled with grace,

Promising protection and a place,

But the fruits of this tree, oh so sweet,

Hid a bitter truth, hidden beneath,

They promised knowledge and a sense of power,

But only brought emptiness and devower,

For the taste of the fruit was oh so sour,

It left a feeling of nothingness in its wake,

As though the apples were poisoned,

Leaving a hollow feeling, a wound that cannot be healed,

And yet we still reach out, hungry for more,

Searching for answers to what lies in store,

For we cannot seem to let go,

Of the knowledge that the tree has to show.

But oh, how we wish to let go,

Of the toxicity that's brought us woe,

For we cannot escape the past,

And it leaves us with a feeling of emptiness at last.

SYMBOLISM LETS GOOOOOOOO—

In the story of Genesis, the forbidden fruit that Eve consumes is often interpreted as a figurative apple. Apples are associated with knowledge and wisdom, which can be a double-edged sword when it comes to toxic families.

On one hand, the pursuit of knowledge can help you see the truth about your family dynamics, which can lead to self-discovery and a sense of peace. On the other hand, the pursuit of knowledge can also make you realize the emptiness that can result from growing up in a toxic environment.

The apple tree, which bears the fruit of knowledge, can be seen as a symbol for families that are rooted in toxicity. The tree can provide a sense of stability and belonging, but it can also be a source of pain and trauma.

In such families, it is not uncommon for children to feel a sense of emptiness, as they struggle to make sense of their experiences and find their place in the world. The fruit of the toxic family "apple tree" can leave them feeling hollow, as they come to terms with the challenges of living in a family that is not emotionally supportive.

Ultimately, the experience of growing up in a toxic family is a journey of self-discovery and healing, much like the pursuit of knowledge from the forbidden fruit. Both can lead to a sense of emptiness, but also offer the potential for growth and healing.

Credit to my brother Rani, you're an absolute nerd, but thanks 👍

[reallunargift]

A prequel of sorts to this piece.

.

.

.

On October 5th 1910 there was a revolution which abolished the monarchy and implemented a Republic. (More notes under the cut)

Teófilo Braga was named the president of the temporary government.

Afonso Henriques was the first king while Manuel II was the last, deposed and exiled in 1910.

There is a theory that the real Afonso was a sickly child and died young, and was then replaced with a healthier boy who grew up to be the king we know. This is not really believed to be true, but I like the idea, and it was fun for me to think that someone like Teófilo, whose vast body of work includes folk stories from around the country, would ask about it if he had the chance.

Essentially this was an attempt at portraying Port during a difficult time. I think he was tired of the monarchy and sympathetic to republican ideals and knew change was necessary. I also think he had a hard time letting go at a human level, and knew very well how difficult big socio-political transitions are.

Images used:

x / x / x / x / x / x

[thenegoteator]

history of emotions nerds!!! I just found a free lecture series on it (in Spanish and English!!)

[koushirouizumi]

{Reference}/{Starting Master-list} - Donor Children History in Japan

(Gathered by me for reference; It's been a while since I researched this, but maybe you'll become Informed by following these {and I do plan to search around again}...)

Also re-blogging for my own reference since I'm, you know, a Donor child, and wanting to research more about how the laws surround such in other countries, including for the series I create fan works for.

(Some of the language may lean slightly bionormative in the reporting, so it is important to keep this in mind. Please note I am compiling these for my own reference, too.)

Children born through Artificial Insemination Speak Up {2003} "The Ministry of Health reports that {Donor children} births have been reported since the mid-seventies in Japan. While statistics record about 10,000 such children, the numbers could be much higher."

"There is no correct record on the number of AID children {Donor children, etc} as laws now do not stipulate that parents and doctors record such births. We contend the actual numbers could be between 100 to 200 a year," says Tomoko Kashiwage, a director in the infertility section at the ministry.

(...) Experts are now supporting the passage of a law in 2004 that would allow children above 15 years the right to the disclosure of personal details of donors of sperm and eggs in their birth.

(Yuri Hibino) Attitudes towards Disclosure of Children’s Genetic Origins among Japanese Patients Using Assisted Reproductive Technology {2014} (PDF) Keyword: Donor conception; Right to know; Infertile patients; Japan "In Japan, a 2003 government report recognized the right of children born via donor-assisted conception to know about their genetic origin, including identifying information about the donor [2]. However, this right has {not} been enacted into law(...)"

first, woman gives birth using egg from anonymous donor {2017 Mar}

"(...) Although there have been earlier cases of children conceived using a husband’s sperm and eggs donated by sisters or friends"...

{Tradition} denies Surrogacy {2017 May};

"Most major media covered the March 22 Tokyo news conference where Sachiko Kishimoto of the nonprofit organization Oocyte Donation Network (OD-Net) explained how a woman in her 40s had recently given birth to a daughter who had been conceived using the woman’s husband’s sperm and an egg from a third party. Though there have been instances in Japan of women giving birth by using the eggs of friends or relatives, this was the first publicized case in Japan of a baby successfully coming to term with the help of an anonymous egg donor."

"(...) there are no laws governing infertility treatments using donated eggs from third parties"...

"Japan tops the world in the number of women who undergo infertility treatment, while at the same time it also has the lowest success rate." (...)

[mikodrawnnarratives]

The long awaited Marriage Material animatic, is here. The final version that is. Feel free to compare with the very very very much wip version from- ...that was- that was more than a year ago i did not realize its been that long..

huh. Anyway, I'm sure you already notice many changes haha

The Sleuth Jesters fics are written by @naffeclipse and the detective au belongs to @sunnys-aesthetic

Youtube link and thumbnail below cuz I like how the thumbnail turned out + a bit more talking

Check out This post and This post for a lil closer look at some parts that I liked making a lot and one you only get to see a little bit of

I don't know if I'll make it public just yet so for now it's gonna be an unlisted vid

Edit: It's public now :3

(There is a dance earlier in the animatic and i used this vid as heavy ref and Im gonna link it just in case its too similar. idk just in case)

i DEEPLY encourage watching multiple times cuz i added a whole lot of details in some sections (some hard to catch hehe) and im curious to see ppl react to some :3c

Feel free to lmk which section was ur favorite cuz there were some parts that I definitely loved making the most.

[lara-cairncross]

masterpost weewoo ✨✨

general art tag general ask tag

🧚hidden hollow au / rottmnt fairy au stuff:

au tag fanart/fanwriting tag "ask mikey" tag

original designs (this is kinda outdated now lmao)

brief intro comic

april -> leo size comparison

mini lore comic 1

info about mikey's talent

general idea for wings + shell anatomy

mini lore comic 2

info about leo's talent

mini lore comic 2.5??? (not important just funny to me personally)

shelldon exists. kinda.

thingy about their fangs (good color ref)

ao3 fanfics (from most recently updated to oldest)

link to my Ao3 page

are you lonely yet?

-> 6/? chapters, 11k words, english, Donnie- and- Mikey-centric.

notes: uhhhhh mikey gets hurt in a very damaging way. donnie blames himself big-time. they both think the other is mad at them. emotional angst woo hoo, but also kinda fluffy i think? also pretty heavy on disaster twins stuff

now it's red, now it's dead, now it's--

-> 1/2 chapters, 5k words, english, Mikey-centric.

notes: set in the Bad Future timeline! follows mikey's slow ascent into becoming something Other. lots of angst-- depression, disassociation, suicidal ideation, major character death, etc etc. probably my favorite fic that i've written? idk I love writing OP mikey!

the sun is a dying star

-> 3/? chapters, 10k words, english, mikey-centric but bounces between POVs

notes: started off as a one-shot but i got too ambitious for my own good. mikey is not having a good time. blah blah blah turtle-gets-kidnapped-by-scientists-or-something, but i wanted to focus more on like, psychological damage than physical damage. not sure when/if this one will get an update.

pizza bagels, communication, and other life-changing novelties

-> 1/3 chapters, 3.4k words, english, Miles- and- Mikey-centric.

notes: SHELLSHOCKED FIC WOOHOO !! THE ONE AND ONLY TIME I WILL WILLINGLY WRITE ROMANCE! uhhhh two teenagers pining for each other and doing dumb shit together and angsting about being children with the weight of the world on their shoulders. IT'S FLUFFY AND CUTE I PROMISE

it's golden hour somewhere

-> 1/1 chapters (completed), 7.4k words, english, Mikey- and- Karai-centric.

notes: one-shot. Karai POV, but focuses on turtle tot Mikey. basically the Hamato Sacrifice isn't the only curse that plagues the clan, and Mikey is the most recent Hamato to come under fire. predetermined fate and all that shit. fluff and angst. this one's kinda weird ngl I remember nothing about writing it or getting inspiration for it lmao

the icarus complex

-> 2/2 chapters (completed), 10k words, english, Raph-centric (and also kinda Leo-centric in second chapter).

notes: deals with Raph's PTSD following the Kraang invasion, and one possible coping mechanism he could fall back on. spoiler alert it's NOT a healthy one lmao. definitely one of the more interesting fics I've written in my opinion; I did a lot of research for this one to make it as realistic and respectful as I could. another personal fav :)

equivalent exchange (and other things that give Leo a headache)

-> 1/? chapters, 2.5k words, english, Future!Leo- and- Mikey-centric.

notes: another Bad Future timeline fic, this time with Present Mikey accidentally ending up with Future Leo. follows the two of them trying to figure out how to get Mikey back to his timeline. I still love this concept, but idk when I'll get around to updating it tho lmao

that's where the blood's supposed to be!

-> 2/2 chapters (completed), english, Mikey-centric.

notes: Mikey gets hit hard during a fight but brushes it off, and it comes back to bite him later. takes place after the show, but before the movie-- right when the whole Leo vs Raph kerfuffle is at its peak. questionable medical information but I did my best lmao. this one's kinda old and cringey atp but whatever

other stuff

fanart for 3 months au tag

fanart for golden future au tag

glass turtle keychains example

College Fund (aka my Ko-fi page :>)

[kairismess]

❝WE WOULD BUILD OUR OWN FOREVER.❞

🏐 genre: fluff ~ ! ✒️ word count: 624 💭 summary: kenma thinks he's found his forever, and that's with you. he tells you of all the things he's been dreaming of doing together with you in the future, and he hopes that future he dreams of would be one you'd love to live out with him someday. 🍥 author's note: it is now canon that kenma kozume collects sylvanian family cats and names each one of them after his favorite video game characters bc i said so . (also the title is an adventure time song ref TEEHEE ily marceline)

"i want... to live in a cozy cottage with you, well, maybe not exactly a cottage... the inside's like a cottage, just as warm and homely as one, and... i wanna have two cats with you." kenma mumbled out sleepily as he tried to keep his golden eyes open, smiling at you as you smiled at his confession.

kenma wasn't exactly used to commitment, let alone any form of romantic relationships; he had hardly fallen in love, let alone fallen this hard for someone so lovable and spectacular. this relationship with you had only lasted for about four months, soon to be five, but kenma couldn't stop himself from dreaming out his desires; his need to be with you until you both grow old and wrinkly, and love you forever, exactly the way you deserve to be.

you chuckled as you shifted under the covers of your bed, angling your phone's camera so he could still see your pretty face. "what would we name our cats, ken?" "hmm..." kenma hummed, he didn't think too hard on trivial things like that, but these cats, to him, would be like children he'd want to have with you in the future. he wants to be a cat dad, only if you'll be his co-cat parent.

"...link, link and kirby." he declared in a hushed voice, making you giggle. "like the game characters?" "yep... and when we get a home of our own, i'll make sure all three of you will live the most comfortable lives ever, trust me." he promised, his half-lidded eyes about to droop to sleep now. though he toughed it out, he wanted to spend the whole evening with you and make the most of it, even if you were both just seeing each other through tiny phone screens.

kenma yawned before continuing, though when he did yawn, you let out a little gasp of adoration. he looked like a newborn kitten waking up from its nap when he yawned, it was too cute for you to bear. "a-and... i'll get you all the games you want. we could play animal crossing, and make little homes and islands for ourselves, rule the world together... and, and..." his voice was getting slurred and soft, he was on the brink of falling into a deep, peaceful slumber.

you smiled as he tried to fight the urge to sleep, but your voice brought him back to reality as he set two feet into dream land. "ken... i'd love that. but darling, you need to sleep." kenma's eyes opened a little wider at you admitting you shared the same sentiments of love and fondness of that dream kenma had for the two of you, and the two cats he wished to have with you, to parent with you.

he smiled and chuckled, almost as if he were teasing you for being so caring around him. "i wanna fall asleep in your arms, dear..." he mutters, and ultimately, his body gives in to sleep, and before you could even promise him he could sleep in your arms on the train ride to school, he was out cold. he was lightly snoring and a hint of drool drooped down from his open mouth and onto the pillow beneath his head.

"sweet dreams, ken." you whispered to him as you set your phone by your side as you fell asleep with him on call, hoping your beloved would dream nice dreams of you, in a small cottage-like home, the safe space for you two with your two little cat babies, building your forever together with him, even if it's in mere life simulator games. that would be enough, more than enough for you; and kenma couldn't be any happier knowing that.

[pkmn-redirect]

Chapter 2 - Page 24

First | Previous | Next | Latest Index (chapter 3 info under cut)

Chapter 2 has finally concluded! A whole 8 pages longer than the first!! Woo!! I have a feeling they may just get longer as we get more into the story haha. Oh well! Like last time, I'll be taking a break between chapters to rest a little, get the plot points for the next chapter more polished, and try to get a solid backlog of pages ready. Going to take about of month off- POSSIBLY a month and a half? Depends on how well prepping the chapter goes (I have doomed myself by setting it in ancient Ecruteak City and am not as familiar with classic Japanese architecture as I would like hahaha- time to find some refs and do a bunch of studies!). Either way- it will be back in mid-late November! That DOESN'T mean that the comic feed will be quiet though! Like last time, there's a between chapter Interlude page that will be going up on October 11th! And after that, I plan to post some behind the scenes development stuff on days that the comic would normally update- so if folks want to they can get a look at how I put this together. If folks are interested, I could also open up the ask box for a little while? Do a bit of Q&A for comic related things (I won't be answering anything too spoilery, but you're welcome to ask!). And since it has been asked for (and rightfully so, this thing is getting long and difficult to navigate) I've compiled a pinned masterpost to make navigation easier for folks on mobile. There's been an Index Page set up for the web version since the beginning- unfortunately it's hard to get to normally on mobile, so a lot of folks didn't have an easy way to thumb through pages, and that's no good! So- fixed! I'm also in the process of going back and putting "Prev", "Next", "Read from the Beginning", and "Latest" links on each page update. Which honestly I SHOULD have been doing from the start, but hey- live and learn I suppose? Also ALSO am going to see about getting the Neocities page for the comic that I started months ago more finished so it has its own home away from Social Media- but that's a bit lower priority at the moment haha.

But yeah! Honestly, thank you all so much for reading! The response to this silly little passion project has honestly blown me out of the water, I can't believe how many people are keeping up with it now. :'D I love love LOVE reading reactions and speculation in the comments and tags! Thank you all for sticking around so far, and I hope you continue to enjoy this self-indulgent little project as it goes!

~Ann

[velnna]

What's wrong with using a pose ref lol, didn't you just redraw a screencap from a tv show

See this is why I prefaced it by saying it's not objectively "wrong", it's a personal take and a grey area. Ultimately if an artist tells you they're uncomfortable with something and you choose to do it anyway it's on you if they then complain about it or ask you to reconsider, it's not the law. You can always tell them they're wrong but then don't be surprised if they take issue with that lol

But for a more detailed answer, I know I've said this a thousand times but I'll always hammer it in. I think there's definitely leeway to do redraws of things across media (so if you redraw a screenshot from an animated show and link said redraw etc, I see it as more of a transformative thing and a tribute than just straight up copying. Same for live action or even photographs - the same way that if someone took one of my drawings and decided to replicate it in photography or animation with a very clear link to it I would see it as more of a tribute because it's transformative) but even then if anyone was shown to take an issue with it I'd just Not Do It. Also the vast majority of the time these things are memes and very obviously a nod to the original one rather than me saying "look this is totally something canonical to the characters I'm drawing and didn't originate elsewhere"

There's times when I don't take an issue with people using my poses as inspiration or reference but a lot of my work does sort of just work as pieces of a comic or a scene that I don't like seeing repurposed for other characters. But that's the keyword: I don't like it. Not gonna send the police after you for it or claim copyright or even force you to take it down but I may *ask* you to reconsider it and think about it. And if it's a recurrent thing and I see you do it a lot I may insist 🤷‍♂️ it's a boundary I established but others are free to feel differently

ALSO I'm not referring to accidentally creating shit that's too similar. We all take inspiration from each other so that's bound to happen. I'm mostly referring to when it's very obvious a single artwork was used as a direct reference - and again, no shade if people do it without realising the artist might feel bad about it. I never assume ill intent from the get go

[bonus-links]

So, the immediate question I have is did Wake lose an eye, or is he wearing an eye patch to preserve his night vision to better navigate in darkened ship's holds and dungeons?

he did lose an eye, the scar is in his ref! it's super super old, but I actually have a comic about this too! it was one of the first comics i made for bonus links (featuring a few old designs lol). I'll probably retread this info at some point in the main comic, but if you don't mind some spoilers, you can read it here

[capswarmedals]

BBC GHOSTS: DEEP DIVE

"You're a bloody fool, James!" - Ben Willbond, Inside Ghosts: A Christmas Gift.

CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR CHRISTMAS EPISODE AND SEASON 5. BE WARNED.

Okay, just before we start, I WILL be referring to BOTH James and The Captain. Wait and see, your poor little dumplings.

We all know The Captain. Brave, stern, always has a stiff upper lip and of course, most obviously, he's an ABBA loving star. Joking (not really though)!! The most obvious part is that he is gay, but he hides it deep down inside himself. You'd have to kill him to find out or well, you know what I mean (/ref). That part deep down inside himself is James. James. The real person, the person under the mask, the villain, the mastermind of it all. Except that... James isn't really anything like The Captain. James is not brave, not stern, never has a stiff upper lift, but he's still an ABBA fan and gay. Incredibly, incredibly gay.

We know that he had a very, VERY strong crush on Havers (Anthony as I will be referring to) as evident in the Cricket Report in the Button House Archives and in Redding Weddy/Carpe Diem. Throughout the series, we see James fall for men. Mike ("Yes, he'd make a very fine soldier."), Adam, the director ("Yes, though I might just... Check."), Pat (even though it's not as obvious, but it's certainly there).

Many people, including myself, head canon James/The Captain to be autistic, and I can very much add some reason and proof to these reasons.

1. A very strict routine. This man will NOT let go of routine, and it is clear in 4x02 (Speak As Ye Chooses) where he states: "It's all very well saying 'At ease', but what do you do for the rest of the day?" and visible expression of shock and anger to finding out that a club was cancelled. As we come to the end of episode, where we see the man casually without his jacket on, he says "We've got forever" before immediately re-settling himself into his strict routine when being reminded of Film Club. But of course, this could be either that James is attracted to Captain America or is just reminded of his strict routine. This links into another point about change. In 3x05 (Something To Share?), this silly man agrees with Pat about how it is frightfully important to have an extremely strict routine. DON'T get me started on his almost coming out. (I will talk about this.)

2. Hyperfixations. This man has a hyperfixation/special interest in tanks, birds and basically anything remotely military related. He made a club solely dedicated FOR birds. He values his hyperfixations over secrets ("This is outrageous, I'll simply have to tell Fanny-" "No more war documentaries, then." "Your secret is safe with me, she'll have to kill me first- Well- You know what I mean."). 1x02, watching Hitler's Secret Superweapons "It's Christmas! I mean, it's Christmas Morning!" and when Mike turns it off... "What the bally heck do you think you are doing? Where the bally hell are the tanks?" "If you were dead, I would thrash your bottom, sir!". As like other autistic people, such as myself, taking away our hyperfixations isn't a good thing. We don't like that.

3. Masking/easily overwhelmed. (Basically what this deep dive is about). James is the true individual. The Captain is his mask, his shell. And he's been living in it for far too long now. He does not like change, and hates loud noises. This is clear when a club is cancelled in 4x02, and when he realizes the Queen's speech is televised in 2x07. He stress stims by using his swagger stick (Or Anthony's) and twirling it around in his fingers, he bounces a lot, he hums a lot, and whenever he matches about the place, he swings his arms depending on what arm the swagger stick is under (usually the right), and yes, I know that military marching is very exaggerating on the arms, but STILL, it's an output of energy that he does CONSTANTLY. I don't think I've seen anybody talk about the fact he hums. He does it SO MUCH.

4. Tone. Because of his ridiculous amount of gayness inside of him, this man cannot always understand straight jokes. 5x04, where they play Blankety Blank and he does not understand the word "saucy" (I mean, it is late 20th century/early 21st century slang...) and does not approve of the meaning. He gets jokes late, but that's alright because I do too.

ANYWAYS. Back to his pining.

In the first GIF, you see James check Adam out. This also happens in another scene with the quote "Do you find yourself to be distracted?" where he takes the moment to check Adam out yet again. In this second GIF, you see James slightly creep out when he realizes that he's openly saying he'll miss a man, with that look down, almost ashamed of himself.

But why does he fall for these men of order? Because it reminds him of Anthony, not because they're bossing everyone about - it's as if they're doing the bossing about for him, so he can relax and be himself. During Redding Weddy, we see Anthony order the unit around whilst James is looking outside the window (suppressing stims, but bouncing slightly on his feet) trying to spot Germans. I could see why James fell for Anthony. Despite everyone else, Anthony does not see these stims as annoying or his remarks to be unfunny. We see him SMILE when James makes a joke.

As we know, their love for each other was mutual.

He knew.

Anthony smiles after saying "James" and saying "I know". Why? He knew he was dying, he knew that James loved him, he knew why James was here. He wanted to be by James' side as he died to comfort him. To just be together, maybe once. Maybe twice. We don't know if they've held hands, kissed, but still. This is a very significant moment.

Additionally, Anthony's knowledge of James' intense crush is during their talk in James' office in Redding Weddy as it starts to reach a conclusion. Anthony subtly hints to the fact that if James should say anything, the moment is now ("Well, if that's all?").

He raises his eyebrow slightly, communicating to James that he is eager to hear what he really says, and that it's okay to be them because they're alone together. But no. The Captain completely hides James away. Anthony understands, he always has. The Captain probably hid James away because of Anthony's reaction to "I shall miss you, Havers." (his smile drops).

But... "I say, Havers?"

The way Anthony turns around. SO QUICK.

His smile. It's so ridiculously warm. But he knows because he saw that hesitancy, he saw James' sad expression. James is bally well sad that Anthony is leaving!!

Masking is clearly shown in this conversation. The Captain is preventing James from speaking the truth. And just like how he buried the limpet mine, he too, buried his feelings. And it became a ticking time bomb to Carpe Diem, where that emotional bomb finally explodes.

He leaves it to the last second. Literally. Let me show you proof.

Ben is absolutely AMAZING at micro-expressions, one of the many reasons I love to delve into The Captain so much. Carpe Diem (5x05) is an excellent example of some of the best James scenes.

Right here, what I am personally reading is that James is attempting to unmask, or is in the process of doing so. He deciding whether he should tell his story or not. This frame is important as it comes just after the quote "When I died, I never got to be surrounded by the people I loved." Blatant foreshadowing here because well, it shows that James loved Anthony and still does, despite it being 83 years since Anthony left of that year, he still holds him very dear to his heart. Of course, he has Anthony's swagger stick, which I love because he's always been there with James to help him out through moments. I love that and I love everything about that. How I ADORE Simon Hynd's directing here of the camera position, openly hinting to the fact that James died with Anthony next to him. God, everyone in that show is a mastermind!!

I also think that he is remembering here. Perhaps remembering the good memories? That Sunday afternoon stroll, or that certain Cricket Report? He's trying desperately to remember Anthony so he doesn't forget him when he moves on. For all he knows, he doesn't even know if Anthony thinks of him. All he knows is that he knew, and is most probably dead. He doesn't know what's beyond the veil. He doesn't know if he'll see Anthony. It's worth it.

This "desperate searching" facial expression is the same as the expression he had when glancing at the gate a few scenes prior to this, eyebrows furrowed and mouths slightly agape. It cuts to the gate, where we know, that in Redding Weddy, Havers walked out of. Anthony. Yet again, he's remembering him. James is obsessed with the memory of Anthony, the good times they had yet the good times they never were really good as laws about homosexuality were extremely strict. You could even say he is clingy.

Another thing is that, The Captain is one of the most favourite characters and people have been demanding to see how he died for ages! Why is it near the end of the last season? Well. I may have an idea to why it is in the last season.

James leaves things until the last second, he leaves the real explanation to things until it's too late. I saw someone on tiktok quote that James is as pretty as poppies because his love sprouts up in the wrong times and wrong places, which I think is amazing. I personally believe that his death was purposely the last one because you needed to see that he's more than just a stern WW2 CO with no feelings. He's an anxious man who's terrified of the real world so decides to seclude himself in a time and place where he was loved. World War 2. 1940. When Anthony loved him. We needed to see this inner secluded character within him to make the death sadder, which is what Ben likes, the silly man.

This also explains why he says "Is it? Is it, Alison?" during Redding Weddy because, well, with his mindset and attitude, he doesn't believe the war is over. He wasn't very good at keeping a unit of alive people under control, but perhaps he could try at keeping a whole bunch of dead people under control to keep himself busy from accepting the fact that Anthony is gone and he should emotionally move on.

In 4x04 (Gone Gone), the episode where Mary moves on, we see that James' coping mechanism is to keep himself busy. Keep himself busy so he doesn't have to focus on his feelings, but when he's given the time to pause and process it... He completely breaks down. Imagine that with Anthony when he left for North Africa.

But why does he like Pat?

Well. It isn't canon. But, the most recent Christmas special definitely hints at it. Pat introduced James to the amazing thing of baby talking, attempting to teach him just as Mia is put to bed. But once again The Captain's hard shell is back again and gives him a monotone voice and tone, rather making him seem like a robot. But at the end of the episode. He learned, and the glance he takes towards Pat is "Did I do it?" and Pat gives him a warm smile and a subtle nod. HUSBANDS I TELL YOU!

The Woodworm Men (3x03): Pat outbests The Captain with camping, yet they are still both very keen. The Captain trudged back though!! In this episode, James is awarded the teamwork badge from Pat, and when you see the scene, you can tell that he is smitten and in love. Because, now rewatching that scene with the context of his death, he must've been the happiest he had been in a while to achieve and properly earn a badge. James, I think, personally likes Pat because he still has all the leading roles (being a scout leader) and that reminds him a lot of Anthony hence why we see them working together in a lot of episodes (2x06, 2x02, etc). It all leads back to Anthony. Who knows what would've happened if they didn't meet.

I also think that Getting Out (1x06) is a good episode that represents self growth as well as debating with the issue of being mocked, as James is mocked in the episode.

This is him overhearing the conversation. Confusion. Anger. This episode is where James learns that not everybody will adapt themselves for him, not everybody will accept the way he acts. It's pretty clear that he cannot control this mindset he has, it was probably drilled into him, the poor soul. The way he brings himself back into the group is through a secret weapon (Kitty, because she's the most likeable and their relationship is mwah).

This episode is also important because of the scene in the library with James and Kitty.

"What matters more? Keeping Alison here, or letting her be happy?"

Now imagine that question but Anthony. James has sacrificed his life and soul towards Anthony, and even has a piece of him with him. This man is obsessed with Anthony. Crazily in love. He can't control his feelings for people. It just... Happens.

After Carpe Diem, it took me only a fraction of a second to see how comfortable he was. He was free to love who he wanted! I was stimming so crazily when the last scene of Season 5 (disregarding the Christmas special) was him being gay. Fanny comforted him after he came out, and every one supported him. He feels safe now.

The mirror and the draw in the intro.

Personally, I believe that the mirror represents the fact that his medals are the right way, meaning that the man in the mirror is The Captain and the man looking at his reflection is James. He's looking what he could've been. A hero. Yet now that he's come to terms with himself, James knows that he can be himself now. Free of judgement. Free of secluding himself away. I believe that the drawer represents him ever searching for more memories to grasp onto, more things about Anthony to remember. I also think it represents the fact that there is something inside of him that is worth looking for, and that thing deserves to be looked for and looked after. The draw is pulled out as far as it can go, so this could point to the fact that there is something buried within the house that needs to be found and given back to him. Could be the limpet mine. Or perhaps that William letter truly was a love letter.

OVERALL:

James is a different man to The Captain. The Captain is merely a costume or a nickname James wears knowing full well of the man he is underneath those perceived images of him. James is a coward. James is obsessed with Anthony. His heart has bled so much he has to rely on the small amount of attention from someone so he can carve it out and then offer it to those people who attention has been wasted on him. Ben is an amazing actor and writer who threads things together so subtly and sneakily it's insane. James won't let go of the military mindset, just incase he meets Anthony when he moves on. He thinks that no one will fall in love with the present him so he tries his best to act like his old self. Ben is right. You certainly are a fool, James. But oh, how I love your character.

[delta-orionis]

I made an updated ref for my iterator OC Three Stars Above Clouds! Not much has changed since I designed them earlier this year, but I figured it was useful to make a more detailed ref sheet (primarily for my own convenience).

I’ve included some extra biographical info as well as my region map for TSAC’s internals, as well as what their can looks like from the outside, and the inside of their puppet chamber.

I have an in-character ask blog for TSAC over here. Give it a look! I love exploring their character and I'm having a lot of fun.

Some additional links:

TSAC's original ref (contains an extended backstory as well)

TSAC's region map (contains descriptions of the subregions and connections)

TSAC's facility grounds map (details their surrounding area and explains the purposes of each section)

TSAC's general tag on my main blog (misc. info and musings)

A transcription for the text in the images plus some additional notes can be found under the cut.

[ First image - a standard character reference sheet ]

Three Stars Above Clouds

Experimental mountaintop iterator created to catalogue and study celestial objects. Iterator of the Institute-Metropolis of Zenith*. Director of the Zenith Stellar Observatory Consortium and Lead Archivist of the Zenith Data Archives. they/them

Three Stars Above Clouds is an iterator- a massive biomechanical superstructure and supercomputer designed by the "Ancient" civilization to search for a true Solution for Global Ascension.

Three Stars Above Clouds ('TSAC' for short, occasionally 'Three Stars' or rarely just 'Stars') was created by a Firmamentalist** splinter group of Ancients who believed that the Solution could only be found in the sky. TSAC was created to be an advanced stellar observatory, meticulously cataloguing and analyzing all manner of night sky phenomena, as well as a home and institute of learning for the researchers, scholars, and priests of the Firmamentalist sect.

[ Second image - A drawing of TSAC facing away from the viewer, next to an extended description ]

TSAC might not share all of their creators' beliefs, but believes their assigned task of recording and studying the sky to be of upmost importance. They take this responsibility very seriously and value it above all else.

As a result, they are quite reclusive, always too busy with work to talk to anyone. Before the Global Ascension Event, the majority of their social contact was with high-ranking researchers and priests from Zenith, as well as brief, professional conversations with other iterators in their field to discuss theories and compare data. Because all of their social development was in a formal academic setting, they have a polite, professional, almost robotic tone (even by iterator standards).

Despite this, TSAC is not actively antisocial. They enjoy talking to others, and enjoy education in particular. However their intense focus on their work and sheltered upbringing meant they very rarely initiated social contact, only responding if spoken to first. After the Global Ascension Event, TSAC became even more reclusive, choosing only to listen to broadcasts and rarely speaking publicly, if ever.

In the absence of their creators, TSAC was no longer in charge of managing everyday life in the city of Zenith and found themself with free time for the first time in ages. Their self reflections during this time, combined with the worsening decay of the global iterator communications network, made TSAC realize that they barely knew their fellow iterators, and they decided to try and get to know them before they lost the chance.

---

*Zenith is the name of the city atop TSAC's can. It is home to several colleges, research institutes, and observatories.

**The Firmamentalists are the name I came up with for the group that created TSAC. They share much of the same religious beliefs as the rest of Ancient society, but believe that the Solution can only be found by searching the sky (aka the firmament). I'll assume that Firmamentalists or other like-minded splinter groups created other similar astronomy-focused iterators.

The Firmamentalist society of Zenith places a focus on education and the acquisition of knowledge, and considers anything related to learning holy. To learn is to better understand the nature of the carnal plane, as well as how to ascend beyond it. Three Stars Above Clouds was created to aid them in this task.

[felassan]

With the companions having their own rooms that change with the storyline, I would absolutely die of joy if Rook has a customizable bedroom! Probably won't but it would be the coolest!

hello! ◕‿◕ I'm only speculating but based on Hawke and Inquisitor having their own rooms in their games, I wonder if each of the DA:TV companions having their own rooms in the Lighthouse implies that Rook also has their own personal room space in there too. :D

also I remember reading this quote:

"Veilguard also brings back base management from Inquisition, though Epler says it's not on the same level as ruling over Skyhold. Makes sense: you're leading a crack squad, not a rogue nation. I'll miss being able to choose Skyhold's curtains, though." [source]

so maybe? 👁️ choosing aspects of the Inquisitor's quarters decor like their bed was so fun hh. or maybe Rook's space also changes as we progress through the story?

[msg refs this post] <- DA:TV spoilers at link