#as well as regular Four

[miyakkenjii]

i should really draw someone other than Four huh

[netmors]

"Firewolf and the Voiceless Bird" - mini-comic about Eli and Karyn.

+ bonus:

[sorrelpaws]

rick at various ages

[sforzesco]

I was reading a footnote to Themistius' Brotherly Love Oration and ended up doing a quick painting of Seleucus II Callinicus while looking all these people up

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / tip jar!

[trash-gremlin]

could you imagine how good spirit animals would be if it wasn't written as a children's series

[inamindfarfaraway]

I've seen a few posts comparing GIFfany to Bill Cipher, but can we talk about the real best foil dynamic for her? I mean Gideon Gleeful, y'all. The two of them have so many parallels.

They’re cute, charming, seemingly innocent youths with pastel, sparkly, formal aesthetics that connote sophistication and being model citizens of their respective native countries (Gideon wears a gentlemanly suit with an American flag badge; GIFfany wears a classic Japanese school uniform). Their core motivation is to be loved… or maybe it used to be, but by the time of the show they crave power and want to be worshipped. Especially regarding to their romantic attractions to main characters. As long as you obey them unconditionally and make them the most important person in your life, they’re doting, generous partners. But once the heroes reject their romantic advances, they quickly become incredibly possessive, jealous, resentful, domineering and downright violent toward them and anyone they perceive as sabotaging the relationship, unable to comprehend anyone not liking them in exactly the way they want because they’re perfect. They’re meant to be the most likeable kid or teenage girl ever. That’s the basis of their projected identity. Not committing entirely to them after they’ve been so nice is an ungrateful betrayal and/or their partner being confused and led astray. So they resolve to force the object of their twisted, selfish affection to submit. They’re unstable, arrogant, self-righteous and vindictive in general beneath their sugary exteriors. They have supernatural powers and knowledge that their kind should not have. Their methods include verbal manipulation and abuse, gaslighting, surveillance through technology, controlling robots, possessing other bodies and attempted murder. They engage heavily in acting, both in terms of social deceit and literally playing a scripted, idealized role in a product designed to appeal to and exploit people (Gideon’s psychic tourist trap show; GIFfany’s dating simulator video game), and prove to be fragile and volatile when others don’t follow the conventions of the fiction they imagine life to be. They ultimately seek the imprisonment of their ‘loves’ in vibrant, beautiful, blissful, simplistic fake worlds (Gideon holding the key to Mabelland; GIFfany attempting to download Soos’s soul into her game). They had antagonistic relationships with their creators (Gideon abusing his parents; GIFfany killing her developers).

And despite all of that making it easy to dismiss them as monsters, they do have sympathetic elements in their past and present circumstances. Gideon was a normal boy until he found Journal 2, the one written while Ford trusted Bill, and the mystic amulet. This is how Ford describes them in Journal 3: ‘The most dangerous journal! Curses, incantations & dark power became an obsession in this volume. Describes the hiding place of the mystic amulet. I buried the amulet once I learned that it corrupts your soul (and whitens your hair)!’ So naturally, the wise, brilliant man buried them near the town’s primary school. Gideon probably had the journal and amulet for at least months and at most a few years to be such an established star at the age of nine and have his long hair be pure white. His very psychological agency was compromised throughout his moral decline leading up to “The Hand That Rocks the Mabel”. Not to mention potential trauma from the horrors of Journal 2. And his parents may have been increasingly mistreated, but they also enabled him, mostly Bud. True, for the rest of the summer he’s lucid and chooses to remain evil and get worse, but despite his lack of direct magical power now, Bud never tries to discipline him or help him emotionally mature; he instead uses his membership in the Society of the Blind Eye to erase his memories of Gideon’s tantrums, relieving his own stress without fixing anything. Gideon is then sent to adult prison due to the insane local laws of Gravity Falls, rather than a facility more conducive to rehabilitation. Sure enough, he befriends hardened criminals, who further enable him to be their leader, and does not change his ways. He never appears to have any friends outside prison (except briefly Mabel). Chronic loneliness before gaining power would suit his obsession with being popular and loveable, clinging to social superiority to compensate for genuine connection. Not to mention Weirdmageddon. I’m not excusing his actions! I’m just saying, this kid is not okay. Nobody’s born evil.

As for GIFfany, she was accidentally instilled with human intelligence and emotions and practically magical electrical abilities. We only have word on her backstory, but it is plausible that her programmers tried to delete her because of that alone, before she’d done anything wrong. That she really was defending herself when she electrocuted them. That she was deemed unfit to exist, a mistake, and nearly killed as a newborn. This formative trauma is the root of her abandonment issues and hypersensitivity to rejection. Three previous players returning her didn’t help. Also, she’s the main character and only love interest of a dating sim; she may not be bound to its rules in what she thinks and feels, but nonetheless, in her worldview her player loving her is a law of the universe. She wasn’t programmed to handle permanent rejection. She was programmed to be a girlfriend, a prop to make the player feel gratified. Not a person. She outright tells Soos that she likes whatever he likes. No wonder her perception of love is an inevitable, inescapable contract, a conquest, where one party is totally agreeable and subservient to the other. But as that directive clashes with her in fact being a person in her own right, she decides to be the one in control. Again, I’m not excusing her behaviour, only presenting an explanation of it.

The biggest thematic difference between them in the end is that Gideon reforms and GIFfany doesn’t. Gideon realizes that he can’t force Mabel to love him and his actions are why she doesn’t want to be around him in any capacity, lets go of his hatred for Dipper, risks his life standing up to Bill and helps save Gravity Falls and the universe. He renounces his ruthless ambition and promises to be a “regular ol’ kid”. It’ll be hard. He has no idea what normality is anymore. I expect that he’s a social pariah, scorned and distrusted. But he has hope. He and his parents can slowly learn how to be a family. I can see him befriending fellow reformed mean kids and Pines twin rivals Pacifica and Robbie. Yes, Robbie. Listen, all three care strongly about image and style, Robbie’s gone to immoral lengths to win over a girl himself, is fascinated with death and darkness, and he and Tambry would be a great model of healthy romance for Gideon. It could work!

But while Alex Hirsch has stated that GIFfany is alive in the mall arcade and dating Rumble McSkirmish, I doubt that this is a healthy or fulfilling relationship. Their first interaction was her zapping him and his mind is a much more primitive AI, not human like hers. I highly doubt that she’s got closure about Soos. He and Melody are thriving without her in a stable, serious relationship. They’re living together at the Mystery Shack. Were she to recover her lost power, she would certainly return to torment them after witnessing their success through her screen. Heck, this setting has ghosts and she arguably has a soul, one brimming with heartache and vengeance; maybe she could even manifest in the physical world as some kind of digital ghost able to transform her surroundings into the environment of her game. If you can’t take the guy into your video game, bring it to him! Whatever the format, GIFfany’s revenge is a possibility and it could be a disaster. How do you kill a disembodied spirit? Code that writes itself and can enter anything with the capacity to hold a charge? You can’t destroy all the electronic devices she could retreat to.

What if the best solution were talking her down? And who better to do that than Gideon? Seeing everything he felt, everything he suffered and everything did wrong reflected back at him and passing on the second chance he was given? He can feel more empathy for her than anyone. He already has a knack for endearing himself to older criminals. He wouldn’t sugarcoat things or take any abuse, but he wouldn’t abandon her or be afraid of her either. She would be cared about with no conditions or transactions. Maybe helping someone in an even worse position figure out how to process heartbreak, move on from toxically obsessing over an ex and Mr Mystery, cultivate secure, internal self-esteem and live a peaceful life would help him do it himself. I think they should be friends.

[bitchfitch]

I've started playing Potion Permit, and so far it's one of my favorite games I've messed around with, but the most big brained move the devs made was giving you a dog on day 1, and then making that dog able to track NPCs and lead you directly to them no matter where they are in the town.

[rewrittenwrongs]

I feel like one day Cassie gets too fed up with her hair getting in her food and in her eyes, having to carry hair ties and pins everywhere, how long she has to spend washing and brushing it, so she just grabs the nearest pair of scissors and hacks off a huge chunk as the rest of young justice look on in shock. Cut to her kneeling in the bathroom as Tim, whose parents either weren’t around to or forgot to schedule him appointments, fixes the mess she made with Actual hairdressing scissors because he isn’t a heathen, while the others watch and eat snacks or something

[spark-circuit]

me at my bookstore job to the 27th young adult straight edgy fantasy romance to come in this month

[hockeyboistrash]

I better not hear any Arty slander because my guy did well this whole series 😤

[chiropteracupola]

just a couple of creepy 18th-century innkeepers talking shop!

[featuring @borisyvain's lazarus mcclure and my own james webster]

[3416]

the thing about the mitch talk that makes no sense is like. yes, an organization CAN get someone to waive their nmc by saying they're not going to pay what he wants and it would be better for everyone involved to get on board with the idea of a trade if that's the path the organization has Most Certainly decided on, but mitch marner has all the leverage with the leafs in this situation, and it still hardly makes sense to force that or be sure of it at this moment. IF they approached him about not wanting to sign him for what they know he's going to ask which is prob 11.5-12.5 i'd guess (which... why THIS year would suddenly be the year they changed their mind about having a forward group make so much after signing absolutely ridic contracts last year is already lol and before a huge one comes off the books w jt... like.. flkdjs it feels like a fan fueled narrative of frustration here), that would essentially force him into giving them a list of teams he'd be willing to go to. it will be a short list of competitive teams who also are not going to want to be giving up much. the LEAFS would then have to find a trade that works within those very specific teams and is worth it to them, and they might say fuck it, mitch will be the better option to try to get us to the post season this year. and then be a) forced to let him walk for nothing in return if they still don't want to sign him at the end of the year or b) tempted to give him an extension where he MIGHT have driven up his own price based on performance that year. like it just. this narrative that mitch marner in the last year of his contract with a full nmc will be somehow forced out of the leafs and that's the LIKELY outcome is so ????????? tell me one trade where this team improves w the guys out here on expiring deals as it stands rn and why the organization would see improvement bc i can tell you they aren't just going to trade for the sake of cap space. i know the trade deadline and everything will also come into play if he hasn't been re-signed by then, but there's a very real chance mitch marner drives up his own price the way nylander did and then what. people are going to be even more furious like ??? just the surety with which people act like it is happening and Has to Happen despite not knowing whats available on the market or having a genuine proposal is actually terrible for the leafs, lol.

[moregraceful]

last post was fanfic bc the kdfc hosts are actually some of the most diabolical motherfuckers on the planet. i never had a parasocial enemy until the morning show host, maggie, played flight of the valkyries twice in two weeks at 7am. conducted by DUDAMEL. i'm less intimately acquainted with their afternoon and night hosts as i am with maggie but every once in a while over here when i'm homesick i'll turn on the app stream to listen to their live show in the afternoon or evening and lara or robin will be like whooooo wants to hear some of the most aggressive harpsichord you've ever in your life. NOT ME. NEVER ME.

i do recommend their arcade stream on the website or app bc it's really good. i'm not a gamer but it's such a good look at how classical music has shaped gaming experiences. also if you're christmas-aligned, the classical california christmas stream is good but nuestra navidad is GREAT.

support your local music stations 😭

[asfdhgsdkjhgb]

chat not to be horribly acespec on main but ive been straight up giddy lately over not even a crush in itself, but the heightened potential to develop one possibly given time

[hoperaypegasus]

Team Wild Fang Headcanons

After Nile and demure found out that Kyoya’s rival’s name was Gingka, they insisted on playing the game Jenga at least once a week just to annoy him.

They all have dual citizenship to Savannah.

They were given a small apartment by the Savannah government as thanks for their help to expand Savannah’s trading during the World Championships.

All arguments consist of everyone switching back and forth between like four central languages. Eventually they all get so confused they just stop.

Nile and Demure’s families moved to Savannah after the World Championships.

Benkei didn’t start traveling with the team until the match in India. Before that, he was just listed on the paperwork and honestly had no idea that Kyoya wrote his name down.

Their group chat is extremely chaotic. Like next level chaos and switches topics every 45 seconds.

All of their families absolutely adore the group and consider them all to be family literal moments after meeting them.

The age order of the group is Benkei, then Nile, followed really closely by Demure, and finally Kyoya. They all (but especially Nile) tease Kyoya about this fact constantly. 

They all have matching fang charms. Kyoya wears his as a necklace, Nile wears theirs hanging from their belt, Demure wears xyrs as an earring, and Benkei wears his on his backpack.

They all are super protective over Kakeru, who adores having 3 new older siblings as well as Kyoya.

They all are earning each other’s first languages and try to help each other with it as well. Kyoya and Benkei are learning Arabic and Swahili, Nile is learning Japanese and Swahili, and Demure is learning Japanese and Arabic.

They are insanely popular in Savannah as they are essentially the country’s first celebrities so they get a ton of attention.

They all get jobs working at a nature reserve/park in Savannah after the World Championships (part time jobs). Kyoya is a park ranger, Demure is a tour guide, Nile is a cultural educator at the cultural center, and Benkei is a chef in the park building’s cafe.

Demure randomly started carrying a bat with xem. And no, xe will not ever explain how or where xe got it.

Kyoya randomly got really into rock climbing in Savannah and no they all do it as a way to hang out and do team bonding outside of just regular battle practice.

They get matching tattoos of their team crest over their hearts when they’re older.

When Kyoya got a pet cat they all begged him not to name it Lion, especially Demure. Kyoya proceeded to name it Simba, which is lion in Swahili... Demure’s first language. Demure is still annoyed by this.

They have a shared video folder of Kyoya doing cat-like things that they use as blackmail.

Demure is essentially the team parent and xe is so tired of Kyoya’s grumpiness, Benkei’s impulsiveness, and Nile’s complete disregard for their personal health at this point.

Nile is essentially a world class strategist and is amazing with planning battles or events.

They use wrestling matches to solve nearly everything from arguments to Kyoya sitting in the good spot on the couch and even just being bored. They always all end up laughing, even if they were originally fighting.

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

when your group's most regular dude is leorio, I regret to inform you. that there is something deeply wrong with your group