#also i PROMISE my art usually looks way better than this

[vicmybeloved]

Okay ummmmmm I'm doing this dumb art challenge where I, someone who has never been in the pokemon fandom, Attempts to make a fakemon with as little information about pokemon as possible. Mostly as a character design practice? To see what I can gather from just looking at pokemon designs, with minimal research into lore and things. Like I looked up what the types were, but made sure I didn't research much beyond that. Anyways here's my horrible little children.

This guy's is supposed to be a rock type, and is intended to look like a statue. The first stage (is that what it's called????) Is supposed to look like a poorly crafted statue made mostly of clunky shapes with little marbles for eyes. The other one is intended to resemble a much more detailed statue with more accurate anatomy. (NO idea if that makes sense in pokemon lore but y'knowwwwww)

These guys are actually intended to look like a black phase wolves, which are born very dark colored but get lighter as they age.

These are NOT intended to be the absolute final designs of these guys, these are just concepts!!! Soooooooooo if anyone has tips on how to make these idiots actually look like pokemon, feel free to tell me!! (Also feel free to suggest names cuz I genuinely have NO idea how pokemon names work 😭)

[cutetanuki-chan]

sometimes I see people being confused where alectostasia ship came from so here's a little bit of run down

I'm not really good with words so it might be clunky

what we know from the text

Anastasia tries to achieve 'perfect lyctorhood', something goes wrong during her ascension, John kills Samael, Anastasia fails her attempt

Anastasia moves to the ninth, continues working on the house or only founding it at that time

John asks Anastasia to help build the tomb 'I built that tomb with Anastasia, designed every inch of it.'

somewhere between working on it and Alecto's entombment, Alecto and Anastasia make a vow where Alecto basically swears as a cavalier to her 'Alecto said, I remember my vows. As I swore to Anastasia I swear to you. I am in your service until you bid me the favour, and whatsoever you appoint I shall perform, and consider the vow rendered. This is what I promised, until such a time as you deal with me as you see fit.'

as John leading Alecto to the tomb, she asks to see Anastasia 'She had said, There are almost no beautiful things left. Where is Anastasia? Let me talk to Anastasia.'

presumable Anastasia is the one to inflict to the ninth house importance of keeping her bloodline and worshiping of the tomb through all of those years

Anastasia's bones are in the tomb 'She looked back beyond, and she saw Anastasia, tucked where nobody would find her: Anastasia, all bones. Not really Anastasia. But Anastasia’s body without the meat on it, snuggled right into the curve of the rock, ready to close the door whenever it was opened. She remembered Anastasia.'

Alecto immediately getting chill after tasting Harrow's blood 'The child was silent; but her blood was on Alecto’s lips, and through that blood Alecto was made to understand what it was, and was astonished exceedingly. Alecto put away wrath and said: Thou art the blood of the tomb-keeper.'

Alecto saying sorry for Samael

the implications

the vow on itself is very interesting, at first we all know how usually normal cavalier and necromancer relationships are. then for Alecto to comply to that, indicates she should be pretty trusting of Anastasia, and their relationships at least somehow better than with other lyctors who were terrified of her

then there's also the tombkeeper blood thing, what serves as a check note for Alecto after waking up, and means the initial purpose of the ninth house was actually waiting for rock to roll away

and one part of the vow seems to imply 'if anyone beside a tombkeeper wake you, slay them as they came to hurt you', as could hinted on a protection from other lyctors who wanted to kill Alecto? (Then Alecto remembered the vow, and turned back upon the altar to face the second child and raised the sword with wrath in her heart, for they meant to bring destruction upon her.)

then the matter of Anastasia's bones laying in the tomb next to the rock. not sure if it's just her skeleton or she made herself a some construct mechanism from her bones. and not clear if she got entombed on her own volition or John closed them both there, but being entombed together five feet apart cause we are not gay

there's also some oddness in Alecto immediately after waking saying she's sorry for Samael, but I won't go into that here, anyway Anastasia was trying to find a better way to lyctorhood and I think in her more close relationships with Alecto she figured out something that John wasn't telling them, before or after her ascension

and some theories

I think I first heard this theory from @/mayasaura, that ninth house tradition of telling secrets while submerged in the salt water could've corelate with Anastasia trying to have a talk like that with Alecto since she feels the most at ease in the salt water, so means pool time for alectostasia too

another one that I really like but not sure how much legs it actually would have in canon, one of the reasons Nona was so enamored with her body cause Harrow is a spitting image of Anastasia, first saw @/corvophobia talking about it

coming back to Harrow, could there be anything more to her taking immediate affection to the Body a la some fuckery with Anastasia's spirt/tombkeeper's blood

more people explained it better, I try to reblog most of the theories in my side blog, you can check it out there but some of it explicit just in case

anyway in conclusion, as I keep procrastinating with my work, I don't think they were making out 24/7 in Canaan house in canon but something for sure happened there between them

[clockwayswrites]

So far this file is called 'birdritch'. Those of you who follow my art tumblr might know where this is going. I needed something light to write, been a low day. There has been zero editing or reading through and it is past 2am, sorry and enjoy! (Don't need any typos pointed out, ty.)

---

“You are supposed to be home.”

Danny blinked up from his work to find Lucius Fox standing in the doorway of the lab. The man had the sport of expression one wore around a child who had just done something disappointing.

(Danny was used to the look, even if it had been a long time since he'd been a kid. Or seen his parents, for that mater.)

“Okay, but,” Danny started, “we agreed that I could start at ten and take my eight hours and one for lunch—”

“A mandatory one hour for lunch away from your desk,” Lucius interrupted.

“Yes, yes, I’ve been doing that! I’ve been eating out on the rooftop garden or even leaving the building and eating out or taking lunch to the park. I’ve been behaving, Lucius, I promise.”

Lucius raised a judgmental brow. “It’s after eight, Danny.”

“What? No. I have an alarm on my phone and everything… okay, well, that only works if my phone is charged.” Danny jabbed uselessly at his phone screen. He followed the charger, which was plugged in, all the way to the wall. He resisted the urge to let his head fall against the wall. “I guess Leslie fried the outlet again or something. I’m sorry, Lucius.”

“It’s fine, Danny,” Lucius said, “but only because, one, I know you have been trying, and two, I am going to buy you the most embarrassing alarm clock I can find and mount it to something in this lab. Now it is late and I am going home and so are you, Mr. Fenton.”

“Yes sir, Mr. Fox,” Danny said and made an exaggerate show of packing up his backpack, dead phone and all.

Lucius gave a little snort at the antics, but left with a ‘get home safe, Danny’. After his boss was gone, Danny took the time to actually make sure everything was in his bag and secure. He still didn’t get why he couldn’t just work late, but apparently WE had something of an insistence of work life balance. According to Lucius, Danny crossed the line too often and so was being kept in line. (Danny didn’t think mention he didn’t have much of a life, literally and otherwise, would help his case.)

Still, Danny mused as he stepped inside the empty elevator, the rules did keep him from becoming his parents. And that was a very, very good thing! Being a mad scientist in Gotham usually ended up landing someone in Arkham. It was just that after the chaos that Danny grew up with, going back to his empty apartment was depressing. It wasn’t as if Danny never got out and did things, it was just that all those things were mostly on the weekend. Most days he just didn’t have a reason to go back to his place.

There was no getting out of it tonight, the great and powerful Fox had spoken and Danny knew better than to try and sneak back up. He lifted his hands over his head, stretching as the elevator descended the last few floors. Oh well, at least it was before ten. He could still grab something on the way home and have a full, warm meal to take his pain meds on. By the pull along his forearm he would need them.

“Night, Bill,” Danny said as he passed the security guard who was on the evening shift. He got another ‘get home safe’ in response and gave a little wave in reply over his shoulder.

Even after the few years in Gotham, it still amused Danny how much everyone wished everyone else some sort of safe travels here. As much as Gotham was a city of hardened realists, there still was so much hope about it. Hope people got home safely, that the Bats would get where they were need in time, that the city would rebuild again and again and again. The undercurrent of hope was so strong that Danny could practically feel it moving through the city like a river.

It had been one of the reasons Danny had taken the job.

He could use hope.

He also had been very careful not to look too closely into it all. While Danny’s early life may have been dominated by the occult, he tried to stay away from it these days outside of the necessary visits to the Realm for his health. As much as the Far Frozen was full of ghost yetis, Frostbite was still a being of science and being there felt more like a cold vacation to his weird relatives than anything else those days.

Danny was actually worried that he was getting close to needing another visit. He shouldn’t, not yet. He wasn’t actually due back for another three months, but the thought of visiting Frostbite had been pulling at the back of Danny’s mind. The most annoying part of it all, is that there wasn’t any concrete reason that Danny felt he needed to go, just a lot of little things: the ache was deeper in his bones, he’d been missing noticing little things, his near constant vertigo was worse, and, oddest of all, he had been feeling chilled.

Maybe he should just take a long weekend and go for a quick visit.

Lucius would undoubtedly approve of the break.

Tomorrow, Danny would ask tomorrow.

(As long as he remembered.)

[sunny-knight]

What Kind Of Monster Was He?

A @forgettable-au fan (colored) animatic

MINOR BLOOD WARNING!

*Was he the kind to do too much, or not enough?

…OK, SO WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS-

I had planned to finish this into a full fledged animation, but a lot of the parts I did end up finishing just didnt live up to what I imagined…I waited for more motivation to happen, but it just didnt so HERES THE COLORED ANIMATIC CAUSE IM REALLLY HAPPY WITH WHAT I HAVE and ive sat on posting this for like a 2 weeks 😭 which is an eternity in my time

Im gonna post the unfinished “finished” part on my side account @o-sunny-day though! and probably have people yell at me cause it actually isnt that bad AND IT TOTALLY ISNT I just… art. You get it. ENOUGH YAPPING! ITS TIME TO YAP!

except not yet, MORE BACKGROUND INFO HUCDHUC- but its background info on explaining the lore…

The explaining is much less expansive than in Dear My Dear just because I didnt work on it long enough to think every bit of it through. This is just a clean, nicer looking, and colored version of the very first storyboard.

I usually think about and put more effort into the little stuff while making the FINISHED bits since ive had so much more time to think about that in all the preppin n sketching.

BUT I liked the explaining format I did for Dear My Dear so im sticking with it!

The main idea for this was to do a study of Wingdings’ character from what we’ve been given, mainly focusing in on the expectations he puts on himself because holy shit the lyrics for this works so stupidly well it makes me mad LOOK AT THIS???

its ridiculous. i love it. I didnt know Jack Stauber helped write Forgettable AU???? woww!!! ANYWHO thats the gist of it, not much context is needed past that. Onto the sillies!!!! (per usual excuse the shitty quality of the pngs idk why Tumblr does that-)

Did you know love? Will you rest in peace?

Wingdings and Sans holding hands as kids, before turning to a casket like appearance for adult WD. The flowers hes holding are pretty important too, Marigolds to represent grief, Lilys, new life, and Forget Me Nots for this lovely little line I found when looking up good flowers to use-

“a promise to always remember” ….stop that.

That actually also has a double meaning in this case too. 1, ofc the forgetting of Wingdings. But ALSO Wingdings forgetting something himself. Forgetting who he is. Almost like a Zuko ATLA situation.

Did you have a family?

Who knows where theyre parents are, but this is HAPPY TIME and we���re gonna assume they were so awesome and very kind but had to leave or went to a farm in the sky for whatever reason.

The colors here I had a lot of fun with. Their parents had warm colors but the boys have cold, still with warm accents. Its said they more or less raised each other being very independent as shown in the second part with them running out the door by themselves.

How was the view from the shelf? Did you ever believe in yourself?

Before, we started with the beginnings. The good things, the only thing Wingdings cares to even recall. Now we’re seeing his life really start to turn upside down- making first contact with The Player :D

He’s hesitant to reach out, but is intrigued, before getting a rushing revelation of his reality and how it isnt “real”

Rather than feeling crushing existential dread, he more feels pressured to be BETTER, to figure a solution, to do something. Thats what white represents here

WHAT KIND OF MILK WERE YOU?

We then switch to more examples of how Wingdings is taking this pressure (not well) The soft tones of yellow that were shown before, turn to way brighter, intensifying that feeling that he should be fine, he should be happy, drowning in success of being the Royal Scientist.

But he just desperately wants to just go back to a time of nice coldness.

The warm vs cold tones in this I had so much fun with, coldness is supposed to represent hostility usually, while warm is nice and happy. (same with Black and white. Scary, relieving,) But these points often contradict each other, its hard to tell what you’re feeling vs what you’re supposed to be feeling. Just like Wingdings!

WHAT KIND OF LIFE DID YOU LIVE THROUGH?

The white lab coats, the expectations, theyre on all of them. But Wingdings has essentially become his expectations.

He questions what life he wants to live, one being himself and alone (speaking in wingdings) or not himself and with company (speaking in a “normal” font) Still, he frames it in past tense as he believes theres no going back now, based on what he knows.

“One of the last happy moments they had together” stop that. (i cant find a link to when that was said but I know it was once, about them taking a photo together….)

DID YOUR LIFE RUN RICH WITH CALCIUM?

Calcium….bonesss :3 Hehehehdhehfhehehheheheh still dont know why he has holes in his hands so we’re movin on

DID THEY LAUGH AT YOU OR DID YOU LAUGH AT THEM?

Compared to the childhood Wingdings remembered, heres the sadder, bleaker, more realistic version. He always thought they were laughing at him but… maybe they werent.

DAIRY BELOVED. YOUR DAYS ARE GONE,

It doesnt matter now though. Because in the NOW, Wingdings has become consumed by his expectations of himself, seeing this has the “only option” to do the only thing that he feels will give his life meaning and purpose, establishing connection with THE PLAYER

But the grocery list goes on…

And yet life continues on without him, and his room is transformed into a more livable space now that someone is…living in it. Always hurts so much making the differences between Wingdings and Papyrus’ room. It feels like making something out of the man Wingdings COULD HAVE been. Because honestly thats just what Papyrus is,

Thank you to my bestie @fruitytrip for helping me with all of my art in general but especially the storyboarding on this :3 <3

[spacebubblehomebase]

My Official Hazbin Hotel Stargazers AU Masterpost!

Or the #HHStargazersAU Checklist + MORE!!!

But before all that, here's the general synopsis:

Charline is introducing her first ever girlfriend, Vaggie, to her circus running dad, Lucius Magne. But unbeknownst to them, Vaggie is hiding a big secret: She's Charlie's guardian angel! Tasked with setting her on the right path towards good, but to make things more complicated, the family's live-in hire, Alastor, is actually a demon that's been trying to tempt Charlie's dad to the opposite side! So how can this unlikely pair keep their respective truths hidden when mysteries start to unfold, how do they play house while also playing tug-of-war for Heaven & Hell, and just HOW did they get in this situation in the first place? Well, one thing's for certain, family dinners will never be boring as feelings unravel and everything grand is yet to be revealed. So tune in~!

Or something like that...

So if this summary seems like your cup of tea and you happen to enjoy both Chaggie & Radioapple content, then hop on aboard! Because, let me tell you, the ride I've prepared is so convoluted, I wish I charge people for it, but it's FREE! Unfortunately, all updates usually depend on my schedule and plans for plot may always change. But this semi-serious story of mine follows a loose "artfic" format anyway. A term I use to mean: I write just as much as I draw. So this is both a fanart and a fanfic AU now basically. But everything for it can be found on Twitter, Insta, or Tumblr. I post just about almost the same things in each, so there's no need to look further for more! Though I won't protest if you ASK for more as in the end, this gigantic AU is just a personal project of mine and any support. Be it a little acknowledgement or a major gift of a comment goes a long way to fuel my motivation! Now that the sappy stuff is out of the way though, here's the links to my story and list of future posts that would be regularly updated anytime I remove or add something new!

Relevant Lore List:

Click title to be redirected to the post and some titles are [Redacted] for the sake of avoiding any spoilers...

-A New Day Will Dawn. ✅

-BONUS Interaction (& Ask). ✅

-Color Palette Reference. ✅

-Say My Name. ✅

-Divorce Aftermath (Ask). ✅

-Meet The Magnes. ✅

-The Stargazers. ✅

-Lore sneak peek. (Ask). ✅️

-Shadow Of His Light.

-His Pride.

-Her Joy.

-Close Calls.

-Surprise.

-The Dreamers.

-Phantom Pains.

-[Redacted] The [Redacted].

-[Redacted] That Day.

-A Cold Day In Hell.

-Prelude Promises.

-The Dancing Devil's Circus.

-Blossoming Feelings.

-False Start.

-The [Redacted, Redacted, Redacted].

-When A [Redacted, Redacted].

-The Last [Redacted] Lament.

-Moth To Her Flame.

-A Taste of Temptation.

-Better Than Never.

-Free Fall.

-HerStory.

-Wake Up Call.

-Seeds Of Doubt.

-Mother Knows Best.

-Fuck You, [Redacted].

-Dad Meet Mom.

-With Tax Benefits.

-Dawn Of A New Day.

-The First Stage.

-Reprise Reveal.

-B.U.S.T.E.D.

-A Third [Redacted].

-The Show Must Go On.

+++++++++++++++

Related Posts:

((Asks are answered in between updates, but due to the amount of them, I unfortunately may still miss some. But rest assured I do read them! I just can't get to everyone. TvT Very much appreciate them though!))

-AU Idea Announcement.

-Magnes Are Humans (Asks).

-AU Name Explanation (Asks).

-Author Is Delulu.

-Excited To Spoil (Asks).

-Human Carmilla Carmine.

-Radioapple Dynamic (Asks).

-Alastor's Eyes (Asks).

-Questions About Lilith (Asks).

-Outdated Sneak Peek (Asks).

-Stimming Radioapple (Asks).

-Cryprid Alastor (Asks).

-Flavor Of The AU (Asks).

-Magne Discussion (Asks).

-Artist With Chaggie (Asks).

-Hug Alastor Request (Asks).

-Vaggie UwU (Asks).

-Yep. Still doing the AU (Asks).

-Alastor's Voodoo (Asks).

-Radio Signals (Asks).

-Masterpost Suggestion (Asks).

-Future Animatic Announcement!

-Dynamics & SPOILERS!!! (Asks).

-BONUS Vaggie's "dad" (Asks).

-Radioapple + Art Advice (Asks).

-ALAKAZAM!!! (Asks).

-Update about updates (Asks).

+++++++++++++++

Other Account Links:

((Just in case you want to experience my story somewhere else you're more comfortable with!))

For Blue Sky Account, click this sentence!

For Instagram Account, click this sentence!

For Old Twitter Account, click this sentence!

((Note: I advice y'all to keep on checking the original masterpost on my page and see if it's updated as it may not show the new changes in reblogs. As for my Twitter, because of certain AI policies approved by an "egocentric piece of shit" billionaire, I moved to BlueSky for my own sanity. I hope you all understand. Thanks for reading!))

-Bubbly💙

[winniefrezcomics]

Couple of questions about Ved:

Does he have any Romatic interests (Like lezah?)

Whats his relationship like with his dad?

Why is he desperate to annoy Dev?

What are his pronouns?

Does he have any subjects that he’s crazy nerdy about?

and is it wrong that he seems really cute 😭🙏 He’s definitely my favourite character in your AU

Hoohoohoo heeheehee, ty for the food lmao 🍽️, lets see:

Yes! Lezah is his girlfriend! :3 (I’ll draw her soon I promise I swear sbdbebdhejdh) She likes being pampered by and bullying her dorky bf uwu (affectionately, of course... usually)

Not fantastic, but way better than devs! (Elad infodump on the way but I wanna draw a few more doodles for it first hehe)

He enjoys annoying Dev because it’s easy, entertaining, and despite Dev being the only REAL impediment to his plans, killing him isn’t an option bc Ved would also cease to exist! 😚💙

Ved goes by he/they/it ! (Dev is he/they)

Two words: alternate universes (also explained better in the Elad infodump, but ved has an equivalent to Dev’s crazy-powerful clairvoyance abilities and it is SCARY AF 😳) Lezah will sometimes ask him about the worst/his favorite ones he’s ever seen and he’ll just immediately summon an entire-ass PowerPoint while practically vibrating with excitement (much to his GF’s dismay 😂)

Ty for the questions, I’m glad u like him!! 💙💙Ved feels like the only real “oc” from the AU for me, so that means a lot! ;w; tho I’ve seen a FEW takes on Dev’s anti-fairy here and there, I like to think this aus version is somewhat unique in that he’s the main antagonist for the “series” hehehe

And No, I totally agree- he IS cute! When he wants to be, at least… Let’s just say it varies 😳

(No glasses concept art jumpscare lmaoooo- he can make his eyes look like whatever depending on how seriously he wants to be taken at any given time)

[vanillablankcanvas]

Part 1 Trolls Headcanons/ Theories/ Thoughts/ Ideas

Part2 Part3 Part4 Part5 Part6 Part7 Part8 Part9 Part10

Trolls - in general Trolls are pretty rare outside their usual kingdoms and it's considered good luck to meet one.

Brozone - drastically changed their looks coz they hate that they used to dress the same.

Bruce - one of those dads who would get a new barbeque and show off all the cool features to the other local dads.

Bruce - "No kids, we're not keeping that stray animal, end of story, no way..." - 1 week later and he's giving it kisses and building it an over the top kennel with a heated blanket and a water fountain.

Bruce - (canon?) carried all their eggs, indirect reason why his hair is so big. (Side note - I read somewhere someone called all their kids 'The Bakers Dozen' and I frigging love that)

Floyd - solo career after he left Brozone - all his songs were PINK FLOYD SONGS! (Maybe that could've been his stage name?)

Floyd - his hair is naturally pink but JD made him make it redder because 'we're a boyband and pink is a girls colour'

John Dory - has embarrassing baby pictures of his brothers as leverage

John Dory - over-exaggerates his retellings of stories "I fought off 30 no no no 40 snakes with one hand behind my back."

John Dory - always casually asking Poppy, Brandy and Viva to marry him, over small things too "Brandy, these pancakes are delicious, marry me."

Clay - writes long and very detailed critical reviews of restaurants

Clay - has reading glasses. Probably the ones that attach magnetically at the nose ridge.

Clay - labels everything (labelmaker is to Clay as Gary is to Branch)

Clay - very into color coded itineraries and always know everyone's business "Poppy is currently at Smidge's pod doing her hair" "How could you possibly know that?" "I have my sources."

Clay - also a notary and registered marriage celebrant

Clay - hair was always naturally green but JDs hair was already green. JD said he had to be yellow for the band, they needed that color coordinated group vibe.

Clay - has drafts for his own book series

Clay - actually plays golf

Clay - gets clumsy when trying to impress someone he admires (imagine him meeting King Peppy and he just knocks things over)

Clay - competitive af - brothers know better than to verse him at anything - has an over the top victory dance

Viva - that concept art of tiny Viva is the age she was when they escaped the Troll Tree. So like 15 maybe?

Viva - wants to make up for all the missed holidays/birthdays/parties with Poppy so she is constantly popping out from places with gifts yelling SURPRISE!

Branch - for Pop Trolls - being in a famous singing group is the equivalent of being a recognized expert in your field. So the fact that Branch is in TWO famous boy bands is like he has several PhDs.

Branch - Kismet formed inside a group home for Trollings

Poppy and Vivas mother - my theory is that they managed to keep princess Viva a secret from the Bergens. They chose the Queen for Trollstice when they discovered what they thought was her first egg. The Troll Tree escape plan came about when Chef promised the new royal trolling for the young Bergen prince.

[jeaanmoreau]

[kevjean] broken things

OH HI HELLO so i read this post by @toofkin and immediately had to do this. does this count as my first aftg proper oneshot ??? also my little multishipper jerejean heart was protesting the entire time that i wasn't making this about them 📚 read it on ao3

They walked into the study for privacy, shutting the door behind them and Jean headed straight for his desk, pausing only when he reached it, stomach plummetting.

The magnets from his desk drawer were laid out in a line on the wooden surface, painstakingly pieced back together, every missing piece had been replaced with ceramic that had been painted gold. They looked like that Japanese art and they made Jean's throat constrict as his eyes dropped to the note next to them in Jeremy's now-familiar scrawl: 'Read something about Kintsugi and how broken things are not something to hide but to display with pride. Well done with the interview.'

And like a shadow he couldn't ever leave behind, the voice at his shoulder was quiet with amazement, "You kept these?"

Jean wanted to throw them in the trash and kiss every single one and he wanted to crumple up Jeremy's note or kiss that, too. He was overwhelmed and overstimulated and out of breath as he refused to look back to Kevin's stoic curiosity. "You know as well as I do it's not like I owned much else." His voice was tense, sharp, defensive.

It was more than that, and he thought Kevin once knew that too, maybe. There'd been intention in the way he'd pressed each and every single one into his palm on his returns. A promise imbued in the figurines. They had meant everything to him, and they too had been destroyed in the wake of the two people hell bent on making his life miserable with their rash, mindless actions.

Everything had crumbled around them. The interview had been a nightmare and Jean hated how much reassurance he'd felt having Kevin beside him How at ease he seemed in front of cameras and microphones and how broken it made him seem standing next to him. Hated how much it had always felt like that, time and again, like his nightmares could be kept at bay as long as Kevin was there. Until he hadn't been.

A scarred hand reached into his line of vision and picked up one of the magnets, turning it this way and that. Heart at his throat, Jean snatched at Kevin's wrist, shoving it back down against the desk as he turned around to face him, ice in his veins.

Kevin's expression was indescipherable as he loosened his hold and let the magnet clatter softly out of his reach.

"Jeremy is kind."

"Don't."

Kevin had the decency to drop it, though his eyes didn't waver off his face. His gaze had always felt intense and unbreakable on him, and Jean was more often than not the one to break. This time he held his chin up, defiant.

At last, Kevin blew out a breath and said, "It's better this way. We're in the clear and Edgar Allan will start over. The rest of them will learn, and we'll be okay."

His conviction ought to have been more contagious, but Jean had had a skeptical nature beaten into him for too long to let himself be wooed by optimistic hopes. He prodded at the relief in Kevin's tone. "Is this how you assuage your guilt? You think this undoes the rest of it?"

That at least seemed to crack through Kevin's facade. "I already apologised."

Jean laughed. It was humourless and short. To think that one 'I'm sorry', no matter how sincere he believed it to be, could make up for what Kevin had done to him was laughable. Everything about this was laughable and he wanted to stay far, far away from it. The urge to walk out of the room pressed at him. "It's not enough."

"What would be?" Kevin asked instead, quiet and determined.

"Nothing," Jean snapped back. "You'll just have to live with it the way I do." And it was rich, really, that Kevin wanted to get rid of all the ugliness that tainted their history just like that.

"I had to," was the response he got, urgent and hushed and charged with the usual kind of tense emotion in Kevin's tone. "You must understand that. No one was dragging me out of there—"

"I didn't ask for that!" Jean cut him off, eyes flashing as his blood boiled and he pushed away thoughts of rainbow hair and kind, understanding silences.

Kevin was unfazed. "No, I asked it for you. I found someone to get through to you because I knew you were never going to listen to me. You still don't listen to me."

A choked off sound almost escaped Jean's lips, and he lifted his hands up to his chest, neck, dragged his fingers over his face. Warm fingers wrapped around his wrists almost immediately and pulled his hands down firmly and he resolutely looked over Kevin's shoulder.

"Jean," was the insistent word that cut through his racing thoughts. "I'm sorry. I am. I've hated myself for leaving you behind like that. I didn't know what else to do. You were never going to leave with me—"

"You could have asked."

It cut through the tension, surprising enough that Kevin's hands loosened on his wrists again, and he stared back at him. Jean regretted it immediately. The way words left his lips unbidden were going to be the death of him. He didn't even know how much of that was true. Even if Kevin had asked, could he really say he would have gone with him? Betrayed everything he believed in for a chance at... No. Sucking in a sharp breath, he fixed his stare on the wall. "Everything I did, I did for you. You trampled on that when—"

"Why?" Kevin asked, frustration creeping into his voice at last, and Jean ought to have felt some satisfaction in that, except he didn't. "You had as much right as I did to protect yourself—"

"It was supposed to be us against him. Our pact. Our secret. I trusted you with everything I had and you spat in my fucking face."

"That's not—"

But Jean was incensed too, finally drawing his gaze back to glare at the boy in front of him. "And I fucking took it. I took it all so you wouldn't have to."

Kevin was staring at him like he was written in glyphs he didn't understand. "Why?"

And another choked off laugh barely escaped before he shouted, unbidden and uncalled for, "BECAUSE I LOVED YOU!" The words rang at Kevin's face, the tension in the air shattering between them like shards of glass that turned in and pierced his heart through a hundred times. Breath escaped him and for a split second, Jean thought he would die, that it would simply never come back and he would choke on the words that had wrecked their way through his deepest secrets and into this moment.

If Jean hadn't been looking at him so intently, he would have missed the way Kevin's eyes widened imperceptibly before they softened again and his frown deepend and his gaze flickered between his own eyes—left, right, left, right, left—as he searched for something there or thoughts of his own raced in his head and he thought maybe Kevin also stopped breathing and maybe it was because all the air had been sucked out of the room without mercy.

Mercy had always been a pipe dream, anyway.

He dropped his gaze away from him as a shuddery breath rippled through his chest and his fingers curled into his palms, fingernails digging at the soft flesh there as his ears rang with the silence. It landed on the bear with the beret and the golden lines coursing through it and his chest clenched and clenched with pain he hadn't allowed himself to feel in what felt like years.

Then there was a hand on his chin pulling him back, and Jean had no choice but to look up at Kevin's face, that steely determination he was so used to seeing in his eyes and he wanted to take it all back and he wanted to yell at him and he wanted to shove him on a plane never to set foot in California again and he—

There was a split second that hung for longer than it should have as Jean watched Kevin's eyes drop to his mouth and then the air between them collapsed as Kevin stepped up and crashed his mouth against his.

It was so unexpected, so nothing at all like what Jean had ever convinced himself would happen between them that it took him a moment to recover. He was frozen, heart at his throat, beating so hard he thought he would throw it up as everything came rushing back and out.

Another broken inhale shook his shoulders and Kevin pulled back, hands on his face to search his expression. "...was that okay? I didn't—"

Jean's breath left him again as he unlocked his fists and grasped at the front of Kevin's shirt to yank him forward again and kiss him again. Kiss him properly, with every intention he'd ever harboured and the permission he'd been granted and the avalanche of hearbreak and misery and battered hope that clung to every feeling he'd ever had about the boy in front of him. Kevin kissed him back, hands gripping at his face, sliding into his hair, holding him in place as every whisper in dark corners and every shared look and every ounce of pain they'd suffered together and alongside each other and because of each other twisted up into this one desperate moment.

"I'm here," Kevin whispered against his lips in French, breathless too in a way that made Jean's head dizzy. "We're here. Let me be enough now." He swallowed. "Please."

Jean's fingers twisted in Kevin's shirt, he pressed his nose deep into his cheek, threw himself in headfirst once more, and nodded.

[snaccpopstudios]

Hi everyone! We're here with the long awaited post on our newest bachelor, Simoun. We know you've all been abuzz with questions about him so we hope to answer some of that in this deep dive into his creation. This post is in lieu of our usual Wednesday devlogs as we've been writing this over the span of several weeks, and was co-authored, edited, and reviewed by Tobias, Jude, ToyboxToonz, Primarvelous, and Sauce. The above image was drawn by @toyboxtoonz.

You can read the full post for free on Patreon, or click the readmore to see it all!

Personally speaking, some of my concerns since Simoun's debut are thoughts like "Do people think I'm making SnaccPop Studios push an agenda?" and "Do people think I'm going through a checklist while making new characters?" It's made it difficult for us to write this quickly because this is quite personal to myself and the rest of the sensitivity consultation team on the DachaBo team.

Concept to Creation

The story of DachaBo begins way before SnaccPop Studios itself was even a concept (that's Sauce's story to tell though). Early Patreon art of Simoun exists from November 2022, back before I was signed on to manage the Patreon and any other projects besides Sunny Day Jack. Sauce had some ideas laying around for several other characters in the DachaBo universe that didn't make it into the proof-of-concept demo:

I dug up an old draft for the DachaBo cat character we teased and it featured a story concept where the cat character was originally a female DachaBo character, referencing the original female design. And overtime he got tired of how he was being treated and decided to change his own self to reflect who he wanted to be, not the sycophants who collected the toys and whatnot ... It was shelved because I didnt have the means to sensitivity check it The designs are half cooked is all but he was supposed to be Indian ethnicity coded for no other reason than I've never seen a character like that

One thing that's important to note is that there definitely are Indian folks who are gender diverse (see Hijra on Wikipedia for a quick primer on one of the traditionally recognized nonbinary genders in South Asia) so it's not a novel concept by any means, but it's also not very common in media whatsoever.

Why The Long Wait?

One of the other contributing reasons as to why Sauce wasn't able to do much with the concept at the time is because we didn't have a VA for him confirmed yet, as I explained in May:

One thing that's rather unique to SnaccPop Studios in all of my experience as a game developer is the fact that all of our series involve coordinating with Voice Actors from the start, which means we need to take the VAs themselves into account when making characters. Adding another layer of complexity in hiring is the fact that SnaccPop Studios is a strictly Erotic Adult brand focusing on masculine love interests, and even if we focus more on the softcore, there's still the unfortunate stigma that any 18+ work has when attached to your name. All of these contributing factors make the potential talent pool that much smaller. This isn't to make excuses: I know SnaccPop Studios can do better on this front. While we can't make changes to some of the existing series' main cast (we don't want to put people out of a role they've been promised), we will do better moving forward to incorporate more diverse characters into our future titles, and that's a pledge

In the field of voice acting, it's best practice to cast actors with similar backgrounds to the character they're voicing, particularly for characters from marginalized populations (ethnicity, culture, gender, etc.), because it's a recurring issue in all professions where marginalized folks are regularly turned down for employment or career opportunities. You don't have to look far for instances where other voice directors failed to cast the proper talent for a character, even in the AAA sphere where they ought to have the resources to be able to find the proper talent; at SnaccPop, we wanted to avoid that situation at all costs.

Finding Simoun's Voice

So we had to confirm a VA first before we could do anything. Sauce, Reece, and I all tried to put private ads out for a trans masc POC (any ethnicity with dark skin) actor for a R18 game, which was largely met with silence at first, then responded to by folks who didn't fit the role in a full capacity (many only hit one or two of the criteria we laid out, some of them none at all). And it's not hard to imagine why: it's common knowledge that the majority of erotic works often fetishize marginalized people who are otherwise underrepresented in mainstream media. Things such as skin color, body type, hair color, age, etc. are treated as traits to be objectified, and on the off chance that queer folks or people of color might see themselves in porn… it's usually not for the most flattering or empowering of reasons. How could we, an exclusively Adults-only studio, convince someone who isn't familiar with us that we wanted to make something for people like them rather than something that turns them into mere masturbating material?

We were almost about to give up on the Catboy until I decided to take a chance on contacting a VA whom I hadn't had any formal and proper interactions with before. I'd been a fan of his work and knew him from an audition he sent in from a previous game I had worked on, but he knew me solely by name at best since we were following each other on Twitter. Still, it was a lead, and after chewing my nails for half a day, I shot off a message to Soren Viloria.

And what do you know? He said he'd give it a shot as his first NSFW role.

Naming the Lad

Soren is a Filipino VA, and despite the fact that I myself seem to be mistaken as Filipino by other Asians quite regularly, I'm actually not as well-versed in that culture as I ought to be.

There's actually a reason why we were so secretive with Simoun's name for a while: he didn't have one yet, so internally we just kept calling him "the Catboy." We wanted to pick a culture-appropriate name for him, something that was meaningful: Soren initially suggested "Siopao" as it was a common cat name (it's a type of Filipino Steamed Bun, so think of how many pets you've seen who have names like Cupcake or Nacho Supreme), but that didn't seem serious enough for a tsundere catboy like him. A few days later, Soren did a little research on a few well-known characters from Philippine media/culture that fit the bill a bit better:

Elías from the Philippine Revolution novel Noli Me Tángere (a required reading in the Philippines). Cat may like his radical tendencies for revolution and his deep, devoted connections.

Simoun from Noli's sequel, El filibusterismo. Holds revolutionary values similar to Elías, but far less noble and more of a loner. Violent at times, and will do what it takes to get his way.

Panday/Flavio, a very popular hero. Part of his charm is that he doesn't have special powers, but took matters into his own hands and forged a magical blade. Has been portrayed in both 'cool' and comedic ways.

Ricardo "Cardo" from the Philippines' longest-running TV drama Ang Probinsyano. Just a cool action hero dude who cares about family, but is also very ambitious and angy.

Seeing as how we already had an Elias Gallagher, Simoun seemed to be the perfect fit, and the name stuck pretty easily.

Simoun's Boundaries

Now that Simoun had a name, we were able to talk about him more seriously beyond the simple "tsundere cat" tropes. You've all already met Gil Finnegan, who we originally brought into SnaccPop Studios to handle the narrative design for DachaBo but was then onboarded to help with Sunny Day Jack, and those of you in the Patreon Discord server are familiar with our mods Tobias and Jude; along with me and Soren Viloria, that brought the grand total of openly trans masculine members on the team.

We all talked about our personal experiences as trans masc/AFAB people, what things we rarely saw reflected in both mainstream and indie media, things we wanted to see more of. Something we all agreed that was difficult to find was trans masculine folks in sexually dominant roles in erotic media, whether that was live video, audio, writing, art, or a combination thereof; there was only a handful of series we could count on our fingers as far as sexually explicit content that featured trans masculine people in roles that weren't exclusively submissive/bottoms, and the majority of us had already seen those or at least heard of them before (ie. Gummy and the Doctor and Sasha From The Gym were prominent ones). Either discovering this content was difficult due to Search Engine Optimization favoring depictions of trans feminine folks, or it simply didn't exist.

All of this, along with the backstory that Sauce had for Simoun, led us to determine that Simoun would be adverse to submissive roles in intimate situations. Simoun isn't the type to want to be penetrated either due to previous trauma surrounding his gender. Bear in mind that this isn't meant to imply or suggest that there is only one "acceptable" sexual preference for trans masculine folks, nor is Simoun meant to represent all of trans masculinity; he may be our first trans masculine character but certainly isn't the last, as we hope to feature more types of characters at SnaccPop Studios.

As an aside, it should be noted that the trend of erotic trans feminine content being more readily available doesn't necessarily mean that trans women have more positive representation per se; for every kinky piece of art created by trans feminine folks out there, there could be ten more works that fetishize and objectify their bodies. We probably don't need to tell you about the common derogatory slurs that have been used to refer to them; trans feminine and trans masculine people deal with varying levels and types of transphobia as well as situations that oversexualize (or even undersexualize) them, and it's important to focus on content that doesn't strip them of their autonomy.

There actually was a period of time between the release of his concept art after Soren was onboarded where the team observed comments both on Patreon and in the Discord regarding Simoun, and we discussed how we could avoid having people try to ship Bo and Simoun together; because Simoun hasn't had bottom surgery of any kind, we wanted to ensure that tokophobia (fear of pregnancy) or dysphoria wouldn't become a thing for any of us involved in the team or for our trans masculine Patrons. It was a bit of a chicken or the egg situation, trying to keep up with the evolving comments about Simoun to try and anticipate what people might accidentally say.

Debut Day Thoughts, & Moving Forward

We were quite happy with the general reception everyone had with Simoun, and we're excited to see so many people taking a liking to Simoun after his reveal. SnaccPop Studios has always strived to provide inclusive and diverse stories for those who don't often get represented in media, much less NSFW media, and the team was quite elated to see folks who were just as happy to see Simoun.

We hope that the love and care we put into building Simoun has shone through in this post and will continue to shine as we write more of him for DachaBo, because we're just getting started.

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

Jungkook's Career Reading

Now time for the last member for BTS' career reading. I would leave it to Jungkook to give me some intensity here, so some promising cards, but there is some darkness here too.

So, we start with the Pluto energy. I was surprised to get this, but I really shouldn't be though. This card usually just gives me that there is some old stuck, murky energy that needs to be released. The color is very murky, can't think of anything else. So, he may need to remove some dark energy or toxicity out of his life regarding his career. There is a lot of dark shadows around him when it comes to his career. I am hearing Come Clean by Hilary Duff. He's got to work on clearing this energy.

Now, we got to the 5 of Pentacles, the first word that I noticed was the Darkside of money. I feel this may relate to him somehow and if you read his perspective reading. You may know what I am referring to, because I am being pulled to that reading. He may also feel neglected, left out, not sure he feels he has much support when it comes to his career or maybe this is how he feels right now that he is in the Military. He might be in a doom and gloom energy right now. But the 5 of Pentacles isn't about emotions. It is about maybe not feeling safe and comfortable at the moment, and he may now feel that way regarding his career as well.

Now, with this Angel card. I can see this as he does have a lot of angelic support and guidance around him. I also see this as him being a gentle soul and very caring towards others and wanting to support and protect others, maybe this is others in the industry.

With this Addict card, the imagery here speaks to me. He wants to push away any negativity that may come from the industry and try to fight and resist temptation, not sure what that is, but that popped up. I am not sure if he has any addictions, but he tries not to fall prey to it, or any patterns this industry tries to cultivate in him.

Now, I see promising things for him with the Tarot cards. I can see the world card as he does have global appeal, and he can impact the world with his art and music. I can still see him doing that once he is out. I feel there is a lot of music he wants to create. He wants to explore and try new things and expand himself. I see an adventurous and rebellious nature to him as well. I see that in his music already, so there will be more of that. I see him trying to visualize what he plans to do.

I do see a lot of stress, worries and sleepless nights with him. I wonder if there is some sort of bullying with him. There is a sense he could be taunted by others or just taunted by the past. I am not sure if this is the Miliary or the industry, but I am asking about his career, but current energy sometimes seeps through my readings.

Now, it is interesting that the devil card was exactly behind this 6 of Wands when I pulled the card out, which gives me there is something darker and more sinister to his success and rise to fame that is hiding behind all the glitz and glam, not liking that, but this goes along with my perspective reading. There are chains that comes with success for him. It isn't all that it seems.

I am not really understanding this false assumption card here. This card is urging him to let go of a need to be right and making false assumptions. Now, maybe he is prone to do that and maybe he is making things worse than what it is, but I don't get that impression from the cards or his energy. I was looking at the cards for some answer to this and the keyword on one of the cards says, "a sense of lack in life." I think that could be it. He may feel he has nothing in life, but he actually has an abundance of things. If he starts to look at what he has rather than what he doesn't have. He may start to feel better about himself and his situation. He may just focus on the downsides, which can lead him into misery.

Now, to the final cards, Peacock spirit, one of my favorite cards in this oracle. It is time to let himself shine and show his true colors. To allow his talents to flourish. To use the spotlight in a beneficial way, that can help him and others. Once he gets out of the Military. I feel this is something he may or should do. He also has the ability of communicating to the masses and shedding light on some things as well, not sure what that is exactly, just go with the messages I get.

So, yeah, I do see some downsides here, but I can also see some positive things happening for him as well. Once he is able to transform all that negative energy to something far greater and more positive in his life. It is time for him to leave that negative energy behind him. I am wishing him all the best. Another interesting reading from him. Now time to get to their love readings after this. It was a fun journey regarding all their career readings.

I also find it interesting that I don't feel anything with his energy, like no blockers/protections or anything with the type of messaging he gives me, but for others I do, and I don't see their readings as dark as his. That confuses me sometimes, like why some and not others, not sure how that works. Anyway, always enjoy getting to know more of his story from my interpretation. No facts. I find his story interesting.

[konohamaru-sensei]

Because im predictable, gray/juvia: "I wanna waste all of my time with you.” 🥺

Merry Christmas Shore! I am very grateful that I somehow made it into your circle of 5 fairy tail fandom friends!! I really admire your art and the speed at which you create, i love that we have the same brain when it comes to shipping and just your general love for Juvia. I promised something fluffy for christmas to offset all the angst, but I'm not sure about the quality of what I wrote. I hope you enjoy it anyway <3

--

Gray x Juvia

Post Alvarez lol i mean.

__

“I’m going to buy a drink.” Gray pushed himself out of the seat he had been sitting in for what was the better part of the day. His limbs felt numb and every bone in his body hurt so much that he wasn’t sure if stretching them out even helped. He’d been perched up on that wooden bench so long that he never wanted to go back there again ever, even though he knew he had to.

Juvia gave him a nod and said nothing, which he took as her not wanting one herself. She’d gotten very quiet in the last hour. Also another reason he needed a drink: When Juvia gave up her always cheery attitude in favour of being sombre something was usually very wrong.

The first beer that was handed to him Gray downed in one go without taking a breath and then he ordered the next one immediately and watched the baffled barman fill his glass again. Then he walked back to the table, frowning at the look of the bench he had to force himself onto again.

They’d been out on this job for three days. A wizard who was rumoured to have stolen some valuable diamonds was supposed to come by this bar or sell here and the mission giver had tasked them to sit there and wait for the guy to come by. Gray had asked Juvia to join, because he didn’t think that making conversation with Erza or Natsu during a full day was a bearable idea. Juvia on the other hand was pleasant to be around.

They had spent their days sitting in the back of that bar, the cheapest seats at the very back where it was mostly dark, waiting for a guy to appear that never appeared. Each night Gray had to watch the tenants of the pub get drunk without being allowed to drink himself. After all, alcohol and fighting didn’t match well - unless you were Cana, but she had incredible resistance anyway.

Gray sat back down in the damned place and he had half the second drink down right away. “If the guy doesn’t show up tonight,” he said, “we will go back.” Abandoning jobs was not his style, but wasting his time wasn’t his style either. 

“What about the master?” Juvia asked and circled the table with her pointer finger. She looked dejected in a way that Gray hated, as if she was personally responsible for the misery of the last three days.

He emptied his glass. “Don’t mind him.” Gray shrugged. “I’d rather not get paid than be here for another 12 hours in this dark and uncomfortable and boring place.”

“I’m sorry, Gray-sama,” Juvia put the ends of her fingers together, “Juvia wishes she were better company.”

“What do you mean by that?” Gray waved to one of the staff to refill his drink and they did.

Juvia looked from the alcohol back to him. “Juvia is boring Gray-sama. That is why Gray-sama is annoyed.”

“It’s the guy that refuses to show up that annoys me,” Gray says decidedly. “You’ve not done anything wrong.” He tapped his finger in irritation and then sipped his beer again.

“But if Juvia were better company…” she murmured, “..maybe Gray-sama would be happier. Gray-sama asked Juvia to come along and now she is of no help.”

He let out an irritated grunt. “Nonsense,” he said and shook his head. “I don’t know how you always come up with this stuff.” There was already a considerable warmth in his chest and probably on his cheeks too. Surely the alcohol was getting to him. He downed the next drink.

Juvia looked at him as if she was trying to find words to say. The way she looked when she looked away from him, when she tried to do stay away from him if he was moody or angry, when she had somehow gotten it into her head that she was doing something that was wrong, he hated that look on her face. Juvia was the best when she was happy, when she was enthusiastic and a little weird. 

“Don’t make that face,” he said and put his head onto his flat hand to keep it upright. “I asked you to come, didn't I? If I were bothered by your presence I wouldn’t have asked you.”

She opened her mouth, but he cut her off. “Seriously, it’s pleasant to have you around, you have a nice- “ he gestured a little with his hand - “..everything.”

Juvia blushed, which somehow made the warmth at his core worse, so he waved for another drink. He already felt a little confused in his mind, like it was slightly clouded over, but drinking helped with the frustration of the day. 

Apparently having found her usual stride again with what he said Juvia moved closer to him and picked one of the strands of his hair away from the beer: “Why exactly does Gray-sama like hanging out with Juvia?”

Gray briefly closed his eyes and moved his head sideways into her hand so he could breathe in a little of the smell of the hand soap she was always using. He’d noticed it long ago, but he’d never been close enough to soak it in like now.

“You smell nice,” he said and by the way her fingers jumped away from his hair he could tell that his answer surprised her. He made a frowny face and reached for her hand again to put it into his hair. “I like when you do that too.” He looked at her and though she was slightly foggy, he could make out the red cheeks.

“You are always happy and positive and smiling - I like when you smile. Your powers are so compatible with mine so I like doing jobs with you and I enjoy every conversation we have with one another. “ He weighed his head. “But I also enjoy just being quiet around you. It’s pleasant to have you near me no matter what.”

He reached for one of the strands of her hair and turned it around his finger. “Gray…sama…” Juvia murmured in reply as if she didn’t quite know what to say to that onslaught of compliments.

His eyes shot up: “That I hate,l though.” Juvia blinked and he waved with his hand. “I don’t like how you are so formal with me. We’ve known each other for ages, hell, you’ve died for me, you should stop addressing me like I am a prince of some kind.”

“Well then, what if I call you dear then?” she asked slowly.

Gray grabbed the beer in front of him and drank half of it. Through his foggy mind the answer came much easier than it would have if he hadn’t been drinking. “Sure..” he said but didn't look at her. “Whatever you want.” His insides felt strange at this admission. He finished the glass for good measure.

Juvia let out a squeal and then, as if to test the waters, she leaned forward to his ear and slowly said: “Don’t you think that is enough drinks, my dear?” 

It was like a magic spell had been cast. From where her breath had touched his ear goosebumps spread all through his body to the tips of his toes. He hadn’t experienced this since the last time he had been actually cold, which happened so very rarely that he couldn’t even recall when that was. But here she had done that to him, just with one word alone. 

He buried his head forward into his arms, combatting the spinning of his head by having his eyes closed. Gray let go of the strand of hair he’d been holding and instead ran a hand through his hair to regain composure, but then he found her fingers already there. He’d forgotten he had put her hand into his hair in the first place.

“Dangerous..” Gray murmured and pulled away from her fingers. “You are a dangerous woman.”

Juvia leaned closer to him again. “Why? Do you not like it, my dear?” She made sure to make the last syllables very clear again. She stopped moving through his hair.

“No.” Gray said, decidedly and then slightly shook his head to invite her to continue what she’d been doing. “No.. it’s not.. Like that..” He didn’t know how to explain what confused him so much, so he just grunted in frustration and gave up. He buried his head deeper into his arms.

“Juvia thinks you had too much to drink, dear,” Juvia giggled and combed through his hair. “Maybe it’s time to leave.”

Somewhere beyond the fog, Gray knew she was right, but he found himself entirely unable to move. Too tired and comfortable with her body close, her smell in his nose and her hand in his hair. So he decided to pretend he’d fallen asleep, just to enjoy it all a little longer.

[panlight]

hi!! i’m so sorry to keep sending you asks (if you get sick of it please just let me know and i’ll shut up i promise!! 💕💕)

so this is re: the cullens being in high school, as per the ask you answered a couple days ago! i also always thought it was super weird, and i’ve been thinking for a while now that a MUCH better cover story would for them all (even carlisle and esme) to be grad school housemates (i say this as someone who has now spent two years in grad school and is about to be there for another five at least lmaoooo)

here’s why i think it would work:

1. the age weirdness wouldn’t be as obvious bc people of all ages go to grad school (i started when i was 22 and had classmates in their 40s)

2. related to age, the visible/physical age also wouldn’t matter as much since some of my classmates (me included 😭😭) looked like we could still pass as high schoolers while others gave off huge “kids and a mortgage vibes” even if they were just like a year older

3. the whole looking “off” and tired thing is just like. the grad school Look™️. the shadows under the eyes and general gaunt-ish appearance honestly wouldn’t stand out that much and if somebody said something about them looking “off” or whatever, they could just be like “late night studying” and the other person would be like “lmao so true bestie”

4. if they pretended they were all renting space in the same big house (and carlisle and esme just acted a little less parental), the whole “dating each other” thing wouldn’t be that weird at all. i feel like it’s not that uncommon for couples who get along to rent different floors or sections of a house, and if they didn’t pretend to be one big weird family situation and instead just acted like they all met each other at school, i don’t think people would even bat an eye

5. people go to grad school forever. like. for so long (i vaguely knew of someone who was in the eighth or ninth year of her phd). esp if they picked something like a big state school where the “kids” could go to undergrad first, they could realistically do four years of undergrad, maybe a two or three year masters, and then a phd of indeterminate length (usually at least five). that would allow them to stay in the same place for at least 11 years

and this is not an official point, but i will note that for carlisle to still do his whole doctor thing, i think it would be perfectly reasonable for him to have already “graduated” or whatever, but continue to stay with his “friends” for financial reasons, or just bc the living situation worked for everyone

anyway, i’m so sorry this was so long, and honestly i bet someone has already said this somewhere before, but it just struck me when reading the “why tf are the cullens in high school” post that grad school would be such a great cover story for them

haha anyway thanks for putting up with my ramblings and thank you for all the lovely work you do on the blog!! 🥰🥰

I've definitely seen "just put them in college!" before (and I have made that argument myself) but I don't know if I've seen the grad school cover story specifically before!

It would allow Esme and/or Carlisle to be the 'peers' of their children rather than some sort of guardian or parental figures. They could, as you said, all be renting a house together and Esme could be studying architecture or getting a PhD in art history or whatever while the kids study who knows what. Maybe there's a medical school as well and Carlisle can go back (it still makes zero sense that Edward and Rosalie go "to keep him current' like how is that supposed to work? They come home and just recite from perfect vampire memory everything that happened in calls? Wouldn't Carlisle be keeping current by like, idk, actually being a doctor, reading journals, going to conferences, and continuing education?).

A group of friends renting a house together as a bunch of couples makes way more sense than two parents barely visibly older than their foster/adopted kids who all date each other.

And, honestly, it's probably a better use of their time to get actual advanced degrees rather than stopping at undergrad? I know because of secrecy how they use their knowledge and skills is somewhat fraught but like, publish papers under a false name or let someone else take the credit or something and you can still contribute to the world of academia.

[aquarius-cookie-jar]

Right. I'mma just dump these ref sheets I made here because I'll be making some drawings with these guys, and I am bad at staying consistent within the design lmao.

I was inspired by these amazing designs, go check them out.

X || X || X.

Ramble down here, where I try to explain the ""lore"" and my design choices:

So as mentioned above, the majority of the Dark Cacao kingdom is actually composed of kirins, mainly because Cacao was already a kirin in my older designs, and I wanted more of his citizens to match him. Maybe I'll draw the other Cacao NPCs mlp-ified and what I headcanon their species to be.

I ultimately decided to give Cacao a mane and replace his long hair with that. Ngl, I was always on the fence about Cacao and Choco's designs, but yeah, I think the mane works better than just getting rid of it. (Old design below).

Btw, I dunno if I wanna give Cacao an actual crown, or just keep the additional horn things the leader of the kirins kinda have.

Dark Choco hasn't changed much, just in a different art style. I do however wanna say that he shaved off his mane out of shame and guilt for coming across the cursed sword not long after his banishment. Maybe when he and Cacao reconcile, he'll start to grow it out again, or maybe he'll keep it that way as a reminder of the past.

I actually drew (more like edited a screenshot) Caramel Arrow before, and she was originally just a pegasus, but honestly, the concept of hybrids and what they entail really intrigued me. I thought it would be fun if she were a hybrid kirin/pegasus.

Also, her horn doesn't exactly function, mainly because there's this headcanon I once came across a post that says faux alicorns do exist in the mlp canon. If you wanna know my full headcanon for this, feel free to shoot an ask, but to keep it short, for faux alicorns, either their wings are under developed, or their horn can't control the frequencies of magic that well or at all. Such is the case for Caramel Arrow. Though she has fully developed wings, she can't control magic with her horn, and if she tries to, it may cause a headache. But besides that, she's all fine and dandy.

Crunchy Chip, hm, I'd say when he was a little filly, he was found in the woods, either by Cacao, or Choco, and his horn was already broken by the time they came across him. When asked, the little guy said he was protecting the cream wolf pups from a monster, but he can't remember what else happened before he fell unconscious. As he grew older, his broken horn didn't really bother him anymore. He's adapted well, and picked up a thing or two about survival from his cream wolf pack.

Also, sidenote, the kirins' scales are actually very hard to dent, meaning their backs are usually safe from attacks. Crunchy once encountered... something when he was out on patrol, and he was out of commission for a week (to his incredible dismay + annoyance) because of how rare serious injuries to the kirins' backs occur.

Ah, Affogato. Actually, I really do like him as a character, I just tend to focus my attention towards the Celestia and Luna coded father-son duo a bit more. Oops. But anyway, I decided to make him a hybrid just like Carrow too, mainly to add both contrast and similarities between them. They're not too different, but their ideals and beliefs clash and cause conflict with one another, I just thought it was fitting. Also decided to give him a more elegant and curved horn design as a nod to his unicorn heritage. Unicorns in the Cacao kingdom (and maybe the Golden Cheese kingdom) have a curved horn, mainly because the east asian coded unicorns in the mlp canon have curved horns too, and I thought they looked beautiful. Affo is someone so elegant and refined in a land that's chaotic and holds danger everywhere.

And that's my unhinged thoughts for now. I think I'll design Licorice and the others next time, but no promises.

Anyway, thank you for reading.

[mammoth-clangen]

I just wanted to say that you've greatly inspired me to start working on my own clangen comic!! I'm TERRIBLE at drawing cats, so when I first started reading clangen comics I figured I would never make one. But yours was the first one I read that wasn't based off "cats" per se. After I read yours I sought out more clangen comics that didn't feature cats, and I finally started my own!! @scaleclan-clangen (I'm still not very good at drawing in general, but better dragons than cats haha). Obviously you don't have to respond, but if you do choose to, then I would love to hear any tips that you may have!

Oh dragon clangen that's so neat! 🐉

I'm definitely not the first to use non-cats for a clangen, so i can take 0 credit for that cx Even before I started there was at least a few around using other species (pigeons, wof dragons and chickens off the top of my head), I think there's even one using inanimate objects out there!

I've done a few comic/clangen tip asks but as for art advice, it's tricky because it's mostly the same old "practice always" cx

For dragons specifically I can give one bit of personal advice which is: References are great even if you're drawing a made up animal!

Find a living creature with similar anatomy even just in one area (wings/legs/head/etc) and boom, references! I originally learned to draw almost exclusively from my silly original species so this does work I promise cx

Something I always say is "if you used a reference and it still looks wrong, it is". Which is to say, use references but don't marry yourself to them, go with what looks right! Usually I find a couple of similar ones and draw from both, rather than replicating one completely. When I'm drawing a particularly in-depth pose (such as Poppy hunting in Moon 8) I often try to find a video of the moments surrounding it, to get a better idea of movement. Also the line of action is your friend and it's Not just relevant in animation, it will also make your still drawings hold more motion c:

When learning a new species, or a particularly hard pose, I'll often doodledump loosely from a reference then put that reference right next to the doodle to compare where I went off.

This way you get a better feel for shapes than you would from tracing (which isn't The Devil, but should be used sparingly), and better proportions than just loose referencing c:

don't try to work out who the characters are i intentionally anonymised them rjhrfh

[mossy-petrichor]

Mossy Petrichor's healthy coping 101

Do you always dissociate from distressing situations, repress strong emotions or deal with stress by self harming? Do you have 0 idea what it means when people talk about "coping"? This post is for you!

I usually see this happen a lot in people who were emotionally neglected (like yours truly), which is unfortunately really common, but no less traumatizing

Psa: all of this is based off my own experience, as someone who also had no idea how to cope and learned it by themselves. This isn't medical advice!

So, what does coping mean?

When you go through a stressful situation, you can feel your emotions at a 10/10. To cope is to bring this down so you don't lose your mind. This can apply to anger, sadness, hopelessness, fear

I like to separate coping into two ways:

Expressing the emotions in a healthy way

Calming yourself and bringing the emotions down (when you can't express them, or when those emotions do more harm than good)

I usually go by 1, but 2 can be used for when, for example, feeling angry at someone who can't change. So you keep feeling this anger that you can't do anything about, and it'll just make you feel worse to keep feeling it whenever you look at this person

Here's some things to make sure to do if you're feeling shitty:

Drink water

Eat a meal

Shower/bathe

Take a nap

Move your body (go outside if you can)

Socialize, talk to friends

(think of yourself as an animal in the zoo. If you noticed them feeling bad, what would you do to make them feel better?)

Here's some examples of how to express emotions healthily:

Singing loudly, screaming, humming, stimming verbally, talking to yourself out loud about what made you feel bad

Acting, drawing, painting (it doesn't have to be perfect! Just express whatever those emotions feel like, in whichever way feels right)

Writing poetry, visual poetry, making playlists, writing (like projecting into a character, make them do the things you wish you could do to cope)

Writing about how you feel, crying, venting (can be counterproductive, so if you feel like venting is just making things worse, try something else!)

Dancing, jumping, running/walking, exercising, cleaning, stimming physically

Ripping paper, chewing on something

Baking or cooking, going outside, playing with animals, gardening, taking pictures

Here's some examples of how to calm your emotions when you can't express them:

Watch something that makes you laugh

Consume comfort media (make a list! Videos, series, movies, books, songs)

Play a chill game

Make a list of things that make you happy and read it

Listening to music

Taking deep breaths, tensing and relaxing your muscles

Engage with things that make you happy (a hobby, art, an interest)

Meditation, sitting and thinking about your emotions

This isn't an extensive list! Coping is a very personal thing, and all of these are suggestions if you don't know where to start! In the beginning, it can (and will) feel like it doesn't do anything, because you're used to immediate solutions to make you stop feeling unpleasant emotions, and healthy coping mechanisms don't work immediately - it's a long term thing

Some of these can make you feel worse, in which case you should just try something else. As I said, they won't immediately make you feel better until you're more used to coping healthily

Eventually, you'll reach a point where it feels more intuitive and less forceful and uncomfortable, but you have to get past this first phase! It's like building a muscle, and it takes work. With practice, you'll figure out what works best for you and what doesn't

I promise it gets easier :•)

[dwobbitfromtheshire]

Steve finally moved out of his parents' house after Robin graduated and into a shared apartment with her. His parents never let him have a pet before, and he had always wanted a cat. It was all he could think about when they moved in.

"If you want a cat, get a cat," Robin shrugged as she doodled Vickie's name over and over. "We're still rolling in that compensation money."

Steve grinned, grabbed his keys, and dashed out the door. He made sure to stop by the pet store first and get as many supplies as he could. The next stop he made was to the animal shelter, and he really shouldn't have, but the first kitten he saw he fell in love with. Her black fur was curled like a sheep's and she only had one green eye. She was curled up in the back and looking weary.

"No one wants her. They always walk past her when they come through the store, which is a shame because she's a beautiful cat. I'd take her, but my husband says I can't keep adopting every animal that comes through here," the clerk said. "I think they pass her by because she's black."

"Well, that's racist," Steve scoffed.

"Yeah," the clerk agreed. "Superstitious assholes."

"She's the one," Steve declared.

"Okay, be careful. She's a little skiddish," she warned Steve.

Steve held out her hand and let her come to him. She didn't at first, still looking at him in an untrustworthy way.

"I won't hurt you. I promise. I just want to give you a home," Steve said.

She understood him because a few seconds later, she was crawling into his hands. Steve smiled and held her to his chest, scratching behind her ear.

"Meow," Yeah, I'm going with you, but I'm also keeping an eye out.

Steve snorted.

"I think that I'll call you Raven," Steve said. "Raven Harrington?"

"Meow." It'll do.

When Steve came home with the kitten in the carrier, Eddie was waiting outside of his apartment door. He had forgotten they were supposed to hang out tonight. Steve blushed. He was wearing an open vest and nothing underneath with his usual pair of black ripped jeans. His hair was in a loose bun, which always drove Steve mad. Heart thumping in his chest, he approached him. He had yet to tell the metalhead how he felt, and he really needed to. Everything about Eddie drove him crazy. Eddie grinned and spread his arms wide. Oh God. He got his nipples pierced.

"Well, what do you think?" Eddie asked.

"They're, uh, nice, Eddie," Steve said, swallowing thickly. "I got a cat. Shit, my hands are full. Uh, is Robin not home?"

"Nope. Do I need to fish your keys out of your pocket for you, big boy?' Eddie asked.

"Y-yes, please," Steve said.

Eddie stepped right into his space, his nose practically touching Steve’s. He fingers slid into the front of Steve’s pocket. Eddie's eyes furrowed. The keys weren't there. He checked the other pocket but still no keys. Eddie grinned and slid both hands into the back pockets of Steve’s jeans. Steve’s mind was completely blank, his face red.

"Oh, keys, where art thou?" Eddie asked.

"Oh! Uh, yeah, they're in my jacket pocket," Steve realized.

Eddie cackled and fished them out of his jacket pocket. He dangled them in front of them before going to unlock the door.

"You know, you could have put the kennel down," Eddie pointed out.

"Yeah," Steve said and scoffed.

"Meeeeooww!" Okay, enough of this bullshit.

Eddie unlocked the door, grabbed the bags from Steve’s hands, and followed him into the apartment. Steve set the kennel down and opened the door. Raven looked weary again and was curled up in the back.

"It's okay, Raven. This is your home now, if you want it to be," Steve cooed, holding out his hand again.

Raven walked out, unsure, and curled up into Steve’s hand. Raven sniffed the air, glancing around the apartment.

"Meow." Better than the shelter, anyway.

"Thanks," Steve scoffed.

Raven glanced over at Eddie, apprasing him. Raven glanced at Steve.

"Meow." This is the man you wish to mate with?

"Why do you have to say it like that?" Steve sighed.

"Uh, Steve, watchya doing?" Eddie asked.

"Oh, you know, just chatting with the cat," Steve said with a shrug and watched with a grin as Raven curled up against his stomach. "Aww, look, she knows her mommy."

"You don't mind being called mommy? I thought that was a joke," Eddie said.

"Mommy, Daddy, you know, whatever I'm in the mood for," Steve shrugged.

"You're just full of surprises, Stevie," Eddie grinned.

"Meow." I am NOT calling you mommy or daddy.

"What if I give you all of the belly scratches and treats you want? Hmm?" Steve cooed.

"Meow." I'm listening. . .mother.

"Good girl," Steve smiled and rubbed her belly.

"Meow." You know, a cat needs a father too.

Raven glanced at Eddie. Steve snorted, blushing. He tucked her under his chin and looked at Eddie, pouting.

"Can you believe that people at the shelter didn't want her because of the way she looks?" Steve said, looking at Eddie.

"Assholes. She looks like a cute little black sheep," Eddie said, kneeling on the floor with Steve. "Although she's not nearly as cute as her mother."

"Meow." Smooth.

"You know, Raven says she needs a Daddy too," Steve said.

"Are you asking me to raise this precious kitten with you, Steve Harrington?" Eddie asked.

"Yes," Steve said.

"Hmm, I guess we can split time evenly between my place and yours," Eddie said.

"I mean, we could, but I think it might work better if you moved in here," Steve said.

"Where would I sleep?" Eddie asked.

"Meow." Wow, slow. Are you sure you want this guy to be my father?

"Okay, I'm so tired of dating. I spent a lot of time looking for the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I don't need to look any further because he's right in front of me," Steve said. "I know we're skipping a lot of steps here, but you're it for me, Eddie."

"You're it for me too, Stevie," Eddie said. "And yes, yes to everything."

Steve and Eddie moved at the same time, their lips meeting in the middle. Eddie smiled against his lips, wrapping his arms around the both of them. It was soft and sweet but also short. Eddie broke the kiss and leaned his forehead against Steve’s.

"Is Robin going to be alright with me moving in?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, I didn't even tell her that I wanted you to move in. She automatically made space for you in the hall closet and the bathroom. She's also made a key for you. She's just been waiting for me to get my head out of my ass," Steve blushed.

"I'm glad you did," Eddie said.

"By the way, the nipple piercings are totally hot. You should never wear a shirt ever again," Steve said, and Eddie laughed.

"I knew you were only into me for my tits," Eddie said.

"MeeeOW!" I do NOT want to hear this.

Steve grinned and handed the kitten over to Eddie. He got up and started digging around in the stand by the door. He pulled out a key and knelt by Eddie, holding it out to him. Eddie grinned, taking it, and gave him a hard kiss on the lips.

"I love you," Steve said fondly.

"I love you too," Eddie said.

"There's something you should know before we enter into this relationship," Steve said and took in a breath before exhaling. "About me."

"Okay. . .lay it on me," Eddie said.

"I can talk to animals. You know, understand what they're saying and everything. I've always been that way. It's why my parents never let me have any pets. They thought it was weird," Steve shrugged. "I get it if you don't believe me."

"After everything we've been through, of course I believe you," Eddie said. "I think it's the coolest thing ever."

"Meow." This man is a walking doodle.

Raven was looking at Eddie's tattoos. Steve snorted.

"What did she say?" He asked.

"Oh, she called you a walking doodle," Steve said.

"Our daughter is so mean, I love her," Eddie grinned.

With the help of Wayne, Robin, and Vickie, they managed to move Eddie in over the next couple of days. Once Eddie was all settled in, they invited the kids over to hang out and introduce them to Raven. It was date night with Vickie, so Robin wouldn't be there.

"Alright, kids, gather around. Your mother and I have something we want to tell you," Eddie said.

"You know, Steve is not actually our mother," Max said. "It's just a joke."

Steve burst out of the kitchen wearing a frilly apron and carrying a plate of brownies.

"I made brownies!" Steve exclaimed.

"Yeah, a joke based on a lot of evidence," Dustin scoffed.

"Yeah, I got nothing," Max frowned.

Eddie snickered and watched Steve fondly as he set them on the coffee table.

"Anyway, we have something we want to tell you," Eddie said.

"Finally!" Mike said and swallowed his brownie. "Have you two idiots finally stopped dancing around each other?"

"It was getting painful to watch," El said seriously.

"Were we being that obvious?" Steve asked.

"YES!" They exclaimed.

"Okay, yes, we are together. I did move in here, and we did have another baby," Eddie said.

"What was that last part?" Will asked.

"Oh, we had another baby!" Eddie exclaimed with a grin. "She's probably up from her nap by now. I'm going to go get her."

They all watched as Eddie disappeared down the hall, and they turned to look at Steve.

"Is your boyfriend on something?" Erica asked.

"No!" Steve scoffed.

Eddie grinned as he walked back into the living room with Raven in his arms.

"Meow." Father is lucky that I was already awake.

"Introducing Raven Metallica Harrington," Eddie said proudly. "I came up with the middle name."

"Aww," everyone said, and crowded around Eddie.

Raven sniffed Max and jumped into her arms.

"Meow." I have a feeling that this one is going to be my favorite sibling.

Steve whispered what Raven said in his ear, and they giggled as they watched the kids sit on the couch, taking turns with the cat. Every family looks a little weird and a little different to everyone. There's not a single one that's the same, and as long as they make you happy, it's the only thing that matters. Steve was very happy with the family that he had now.

"Hey, Steve, can we babysit when you and Eddie go out on a date?!" Dustin asked.

"Oh, how the tables have turned," Eddie cackled.