#big scary mermaids are my favorite mermaids

[tubbytarchia]

Liau drew such an awesome salmon merPearl that I couldn't help but do the same because I can't stop thinking about her (also I turned it into Gempearl of course)

[vulpixelates]

• Name: Saga • Race: Goliath • Class: Sorcerer & Paladin • Background: Deserter (Spy) • Deity: Fierna (archdevil, punisher of betrayal) •

• character tag • inspo tag •

Left on the doorstep of a monastery as a baby, sold from Amn to Mulhorand as a young child and broken out by rebels at fourteen, very little of Saga's life has been within her control. So when she was finally free she chose the name Saga to signify that for the rest of her life, she will be the one writing the story - and it will be one worth telling. Now, Saga is on a mission to explore her personhood and this big, magical world that she's been kept at a distance from for so long.

As an exercise in control and as part of a journey to discover herself, she has begun taking up a handful of new hobbies, such as carpentry and embroidery. Her carpentry needs work, but she has developed an arcane technique to transmute raw materials into useable construction products. Next on her list: knot-tying (to help with her sister's next boat), alchemy (to impress her smart new friends), and garment sewing (because she loves soft and flowy fabrics but clothes never fit her the way she wants them to).

Since the beginning of the campaign: At the footnote of a quest, Saga picked up what she now knows to be a cursed staff and has since been having dreams of drowning. Slowly, the pieces have been coming together: the staff seems to be tied to the unhinged archdevil Fierna, who rules over the underwater layer of Hell devoted to torturing those who committed betrayals during their time alive. Saga is mildly terrified and wholly unsure of what Fierna wants with her, but does not seem to be having ill-effects yet other than the dreams.

Appearance

Saga is a massive goliath woman, standing at just shy of eight feet tall. Though most goliaths have fully stone-like skin, Saga's distant relation to earth elementals shines through differently: veins of pink crystal-like stone cut through her dark brown skin. Her hair is afro-textured and currently shaved on the sides with the beginnings of short locs on top. Since beginning her travels on the open seas with her sister, Razan, Saga has been collecting many piercings.

In terms of real-life ethnicities, she would be a mixture of Middle Eastern and African.

[inf3ct3dd]

ellie headcanons pt.5!!!

warnings: nada

content: loser!ellie x reader headcanons

authors note : ellie dug a hole into my skull and moved in

⁃ against bags for no reason. like her pockets are constantly full of things. random receipts, money, headphones, EVERYTHING. she takes her pants of and they jingle cuz they're filled with COINS.

⁃ knows how to do a back bridge and just HAS to let everyone know. you're watching tv and she's just on the floor like "look"

⁃ i feel like shes the type of person to just start fully eating an orange in the middle of class. like ur listening to the teacher talk and you're just hit by the most aggressive wave of CITRUS from behind you

⁃ constantly fighting the air... like she's just in the kitchen punching and kicking at NOTHING just because. she's always coming up to you and like take punching you and doing her own sound effects like “PWAH PWAH WAM WAPOW"

⁃ jar hoarder 😞😞 every time you buy anything that comes in a jar she's keeping it. literally won't let you throw them away!!! you guys don't even have cups anymore, its just jars and mugs.

⁃ speaking of mugs, ellie has just as many stupid mugs as she does stupid tshirts. absolutely has a lot of garfield mugs be she LOVES GARFEILD

- would buy a dry-erase board for your fridge and leave u little notes and drawings

⁃ "Every single time I see you, I become horny like a triceratops" with a little drawing of a triceratops"

⁃ breaks into incoherent ramblings when shes sleepy... like insane hypotheticals

"what if our bed just completely exploded right now"

⁃ whenever ur on facetime and it gets quiet she just breaks out into song. not even like good, trying singing but BAD SINGING.

⁃ she does that whenever it's quiet !!!

⁃ is listening to music CONSTANTLY. her headphones are actually attached to her ears like all DAY she's listening to something.

⁃ HATES THE BIG LIGHT (iykyk) she lives for low/ natural lighting definitely has so many lamps and led lights

⁃ can never sit normal.... like she is not beating the gay ppl sitting weird allegations she sits so ODD

⁃ will spend literal hours in the pool. doing flips, pretending to be a mermaid, 'making up' her own tricks, she lives for it & !!!

⁃ refuses to dress right for the weather. it'll be like 90° outside and shes in a whole hoodie and jeans.

⁃ has the WEIRDEST subway order. probably puts banana peppers on her shit 😭😭 she swears its the best thing ever

⁃ love's campy comedy movies, esp lesbian ones and horror movies (but im a cheerleader, bottoms, scary movie, etc) also def loves coming of age movies

⁃ has a letterbox account and makes extremely thought provoking reviews

literally her

⁃ always taking candids of you, and they're literally her favorite pictures

⁃ every time she sees two things next to eachother she's like "oh my god it's literally us!!"

⁃ one time she crashed her car and it literally fully flipped over and she just crawled out of the trunk and called you like "you would NOT believe what just happened to me."

- absolutely a waffles girl she needs the texture she likes the CRUNCH

⁃ but like she also loves bacon pancakes. like she's obsessed w adventure time and she makes bacon pancakes ALL THE TIME and she sings the song while she makes them

- eats trail mix like all day....she buys the giant jars and you make fun of her cuz she "likes eating nuts"

⁃ the most secret swifty ever. like she refuses to let it be known but she fully sobbed when she listened to folklore for the first time

⁃ obsessed w those baby sensory videos. like she will literally be entertained for hours

⁃ LOVES the lego movies, esp lego batman

⁃ the MOST honest shit talker ever like you'll be like "yeah she's just a really bad person" and she'd be like "she's also like disgustingly hideous...

⁃ her search history isn’t even weird or gross its just…random. like she’s definitely googled “how do cotton candy machines work” before

⁃ family guy enjoyer.....

⁃ her cf story is like insanely long n its filled w random memes she reposts and insane ramblings

taglist!!!! if ur name is crossed i can't tag u :((

@syrenada @dinaissoprettyoml, @kingofmylastkiss @as2rid @greencacty @melissabarrerass @bratydoll @lov3lylotus @forelliesposts @echostinn @f3r4Ifr0gg3r @r3wbeef @leatheredhearts @mousymaven @mina-281@princessguardian444 @calystas-morning-tea @horror-whoree @slutshies @bearieio @mag-mfm @bubs-world @paran0id0blivi0n @sawaagyapong @bbygrIshelbs @gayh0rr0r @p|9ys @ellieslilsIvvt @dollietes @elliesmellsbadd @ibloom4u @ddreabea @beestar120 @brunettedolls-blog @girlwonderchloe @elliesgflol @maris-koffin @emonopolyman @iloveeyousblog @fr3sh-tragedies @ilovaffles @certifedcrybunny @elleatethat @baldph0bic @clouded-whispers @4rt3m1ss @saggykneecaps @swtsuna @ellesslutt @minixmel @yuyans-stuff @owmoiralover @thecowardwrites @lunascerebro @elliestrwbrry @iwantsoda @teeveegirl @dinasmoon @urnewghostfriend @k3ym4ra @bratzboydoll @ungodlyvenus @lav3nd3rhaze @scokslvoer @iloveunrealpeople @realwinehouse @nehemiahlicious @onedeaddreamer @teawithnosugar @r4t1ku5 @villainousbear @mentallymarriedtonatasharomanoff @gay4tiddies @uraesthete @lil-elliesgf @neighborhood-houseplant @sagessensationalstuff

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

reading update: October 2024

hello, ahoy, and welcome to my October reading recap.

I made a real effort to focus on spooOOOoooky books this month, in the name of the season; you may even recall that I started early and read some spooky stories at the tail end of September. (read Carmen Maria Machado's comic The Low, Low Woods, btw.)

I've never been great at sticking to a theme but I think it helped that what gets classified as "horror" can vary greatly, so I never really got bored of the genre. I did get disappointed more than once by how Not Spooky some of these books turned out to be, but that's a totally different question.

right at the end of the month you'll notice a couple of outliers with Caped Crusade and Luster, which happened entirely because I was out of library books and on the road for a conference, so I was reading what I could get my hands on! I've been working on rereading Caped Crusade on and off for a couple months and I bought Luster at a cool indie bookstore in the town I was visiting and then inhaled most of it on the way home.

ANYWAY. to the books!

And Then I Woke Up (Malcolm Devlin, 2022) - this is a novella with an interesting spin on the zombie story, where the "zombies" are actually people who have started suffering hallucinations that fill them with paranoia and force them see other people as monsters. so, like, there were never any REAL monsters, but a woman looked at her young son and saw him as a cannibalistic monster, so she killed him. so who's the real monster? it's very deep. this story's explanation for this is "the narrative," an idea so strong that it simply seems to take hold of anyone who's around a sufficiently charismatic ringleader who drives them to join in their delusions and kill innocents who don't share their worldview. it's not a super subtle zombie metaphor, but I guess very few zombie metaphors are. it's fine.

Through the Woods (Emily Carroll, 2014) - I truly wholeheartedly wish I had more to say about this but it's just a very charming creepy collection of comics. my favorite was the one that was the scariest, involving humans getting taken over by body-snatching worm monsters, but on the whole it was a very minor creepy factor. the art's great the whole way through.

Happy Medium (Sarah Adler, 2024) - Happy Medium is October's romance novel as picked by my patreonites, and I will admit: my hopes were not high going in. a conwoman posing as a psychic clashing with a skeptical hottie goat farmer didn't ping me as a great mix, but honestly? HONESTLY? it kind of served. there was a much more well-rounded emotional core to this book than I often encounter in my romance novels; at risk of sounding like a cornball it genuinely had a lot of heart. the conwoman is actually extremely charming, I was rooting for her in a big way, and her emotional journey goes so far beyond just falling in love with the goat farmer. I'll happily claim Happy Medium as my #1 romance of the year unless a challenger arises in the next two months, but it's not looking likely.

The Ones That Got Away (Stephen Graham Jones, 2010) - this is a collection of Graham's short stories that was published long before he became a huge name in horror with books like The Only Good Indians and My Heart Is a Chainsaw. and as much as I hate to say it, I think I personally prefer his longer form fiction. none of these short stories were bad, per se, and they're incredibly stylized and polished, but I think I like Jones' work a lot more when it has time to simmer out. I may have also been biased by the fact that I was desperately seeking something scary to read, because while Jones plays with some pretty narsty concepts, the horror tends not to hit until a last page reveal that recontextualizes everything that's come before. which is cool! but not scaring me as much as I wish it was.

The Salt Grows Heavy (Cassandra Khaw, 2023) - a lot of people told me I should read this because it stars a killer mermaid and a plague doctor, which are two aesthetic archetypes I love, and I will give this to Cassandra Khaw: I liked this a lot more than their other book, Nothing But Blackened Teeth. which is clearing a very low bar, since I didn't really like that book at all, but I do think Salt is genuinely a pretty marked improvement. the prose is still kind of torturously overwrought in many places and I desperately wish that Khaw would put the thesaurus away, but there's like. a Concept here. the core is fun.

Tell Me I'm Worthless (Alison Rumfitt, 2021) - this book is by far the scariest I read, because the horror is hatred and bigotry and a fucked up, evil house that brings out the very worst of everyone who steps inside of it. this book gets so fucked up and bloody and downright nasty in its exploration of the characters and the underlying bigotries that turn them against each other and drive them apart. I don't want to spoil anything, but the book follows a white trans woman named Alice and her mixed race, cis ex-girlfriend Ila. in the past Alice and Ila entered the evil house with their friend Hannah; that ended with Hannah dead and missing and Alice and Ila both scarred and traumatized, each certain that they were raped by the other. so that's what this book is like! not a lighthearted undertaking, but one that I could. not. put. down.

A Sunny Place for Shady People (Mariana Enríquez, trans. Megan McDowell 2024) - what is there to say? Enríquez is my short story queens, and her new release absolutely lived up to the precedent set for me by The Dangers of Smoking in Bed, which was originally published in 2009 but not translated into English until 2021. this collection is sooo aptly named, because many of the stories are obsessed with the terror of places: hotels haunted by memories, neighborhoods filled with ghosts, junkyards where bodies are hidden, towns abandoned and taken over by something sinister. also, completely detached from the quality of the writing, this book has one of the most striking covers I've encountered this year. the screaming yellow cover and bold purple text looked SO COOL under the purple string lights in my bedroom, which was a little +1 to my mood every time I saw it :)

Thirst (Marina Yuszczuk, trans. Heather Cleary 2024) - I think if I had to pick a favorite book from my spooktober reading, Thirst would edge Tell Me I'm Worthless out by just a hair, because I'm just SUCH a sucker for a modern gothic. this novel is split into two chunks. the first is narrated by a vampire (hinted to be one of Dracula's infamous brides) who flees the Old World and crosses the sea to find safety in a young Buenos Aires, where she struggles to figure out how to slake her thirst and escape from loneliness while avoiding detection in a modernizing world. ultimately she seals herself away in a crypt to escape the relentless pace of change around her, and that's when our perspective shifts. here we join a modern woman with a young son, an ex husband, and a dying mother, who's struggling under the pressure of grief as she watches her mother waste away. she ends up accidentally reawakening the vampire from the first half of the book, and you can imagine things get weirder from there. honestly, for me, the part of this book that's most brilliant is the latter half and it's deep meditation on grief, but the historical portion of the book also plays the vampire gothic to the hilt. delicious!

The Caped Crusade: Batman and the Rise of Nerd Culture (Glen Weldon, 2016) - this is a really fun piece of pop culture history, tracking how Batman came to be DC's little #1 it boy alongside the developing prominence of nerds and fandom as a cultural force to be reckoned with. as I said above, this was a reread for me, because I wanted to circle back now that I've actually read most of the major comic events discussed in the book. Weldon weaves between Batman in comics, TV, and movies to examine on how one portrayal influences another - for instance: the goofy '66 TV series saw a huge backlash in comics, which went way dark to reinforce a grim and serious Batman for 'real' fans who objected to the show making Batman a joke to much of the normie population - and I think that's a really neat lineage to trace. while I think Weldon is sometimes a bit too transparent with his own disdain for certain adaptations, he overall has an extremely levelheaded approach to Batfandom and a conversationally informative approach that I really enjoy. of particular note is the fact that Weldon is himself a gay man, making him one of the only writers I trust to talk about why he personally dislikes Joel Schmacher's movies without getting homophobic about it.

Luster (Raven Leilani, 2020) - this book!!! this was one of three novels recommended to me by Bonnie at Snowbound Books, and Bonnie if you are on this website I owe you my LIFE because you were 100% correct. I was obsessed from the very first line and it only gets better from there; Leilani's prose is painting a searing, witty Sistine Chapel to render her protagonist's miserable life in vivid color and detail. the short version is that our 23 year old hot mess finds herself jobless and homeless and ends up moving in with her married boyfriend who's 23 years her senior, where she forms a powerfully weird connection with his rage-filled wife and develops a bond with the couple's nerdy adopted daughter, as the two of them are the only Black women in the excessively white neighborhood. (spoiler alert: she also realizes that her married boyfriend is a fucking loser.) it's a simple enough premise but the execution is bananas in its flair. I couldn't believe this is Leilani's first and so far only novel; if she ever drops another I'll drag myself through barbed wire to get my hands on it.

Juniper & Thorn (Ava Reid, 2022) - I first became aware of this novel via twitter thread of Reid's that made its way to tumblr, in which Reid bemoaned being harangued by readers who were shocked that her dark fairy tale retelling had, you know, dark shit in it. having now read the book, I have to say: these people are fucking pussies. going into this book I was under the impression that there was full on-page father/daughter rape happening, which is actually NOT the case, so you can breathe easy if incest is a hard no for you. what's actually here is a wizard dad who's emotionally abusive, non-incestuous sexual abuse in the backstories of the main character and her love interest, some moderately explicit consensual sex, some bulimia, and [spoiler alert!] admittedly a lot more cannibalism than expected. it's not a lighthearted romp but it's also like, come on. come on. grow up. in terms of the actual book, rather than its controversy, I didn't LOVE it but I'm still compelled enough by the world building (particularly Jewish author Reid's Hueli people, who are a fairly obvious stand-in for Jews down to people claiming that they have horns and using phrenology to prove the have an unfair advantage at making money) that I'm going to check out Reid's earlier novel, The Wolf and the Woodsman, a novel set in the same world. it felt a little repetitive in places and the characters were largely pretty predictable, both of which may be a byproduct of trying to encapsulate the vibe of a classic fairy tale, but I had a good time reading it.

[ozzgin]

My eyes are bleeding from the sailor moon yakuza drawing! 😭

It reminded me of this clip from, My Bride is a Mermaid, where some of the yakuza men try to be “moe” 😂

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LfLlm63pqEM&pp=ygUmbXkgYnJpZGUgaXMgYSBtZXJtYWlkIHBhcmVudHMgZHJlc3MgdXA%3D

-👘

Back when I was actively watching seasonal anime and hounding the AniCharts, there was this series I had my eyes on which I never got around to actually check out: Mahou Shoujo Ore, aka magical girls who transform into buff guys in dresses to be able to properly fight. Their mascot is a yakuza guy. This gave me a big, fat idea, so I'll be back later today with it. 👀

Though I think the opposite trope is my favorite: unsuspecting feminine-looking characters acting like manly brutes. Which takes me back to Gokudolls; this one I actually watched. Yakuza guys forced by their boss to pull a gender change and start an idol group. So it's a bunch of girls (ex-men) talking like street thugs and playing mahjong after concerts.

This also gets me thinking of a big, frightening monster who is actually really soft-hearted and shy, followed by a small, angry, loud human who takes care of business.

"You got a problem, punk?", Reader barks, pushing aside some reptilian creature who happened to bump into their monstrous partner.

One glance at the beastly boyfriend, and they scurry away in terror.

"Heh, I thought so", Reader declares with a smug grin. They must've intimidated the rascal.

Monster partner just blushes and stutters.

"D-don't get into fights, (Y/N). It's scary."

[my-plastic-life]

Behind the Scenes: Making Melody

Ah, Melody. The daughter of Ariel and Eric. Ariel, the only princess to have a child (Descendants doesn't count). Since the sequel to The Little Mermaid launched in 2000, I've wanted a Melody doll. To this day I can't believe the Disney Store hasn't made one.

Technically, one was released back in the day. I remember going to Toys R Us to get it, and upon seeing it, put it back on the shelf. Why? Because it looked nothing like my favorite princess's daughter.

A bit scary, right? Her eyes, for one, are brown and they should be blue or at least greenish-blue. And her face overall just gives me an uneasy vibe. I can't explain it, but she just doesn't look right. Even back then I couldn't fork over the money for her. Now, try to find her on eBay, and I swear she's ranged in price from $400-$800. Definitely out of my price range for a sub-par doll. Yes, I'd like to have the clothes, but no way am I forking over that kind of cash for clothes that I'm sure I can have someone make. And while I've come a long way with customizing and could easy change her eye color, it doesn't change the fact that she looks... off.

And thus began my journey of creating my own Melody doll. Again, Disney Store should really make one. A lot of us fans and collectors want one, and we know they have the ability to make smaller dolls because we've gotten Alice, Wendy, and Tinker Bell. Come on Disney Store...

But when a company fails to provide a doll you desire, you do the logical thing - you make your own!

The first step was determining the best candidate to transform into Melody. Obviously I wanted her to have one of the aforementioned Disney Store bodies designed for smaller characters. It would match the Ariel dolls I have, and I'd been eyeing an outfit made for that exact body (Melody's primary outfit, her bloomers).

So the body was simple. Next was the face. Obviously either of the three heads that came with the body would have sufficed. Skin tones were a good match to the Ariel dolls I have, so another easy step. The face, though... Melody is often portrayed as having a very large, toothy grin. I've seen people create Melody dolls using Ariel's face, and while that does make total sense, I felt her smile was a bit too "small" for this girl.

If I wanted to keep the original head with the body, Tinkerbell was out because of her pointed ears. That's one thing I can't fix LOL. Sculpting and drawing are definitely out of my area of expertise.

That left Alice and Wendy:

Great candidates, but their smiles definitely aren't right. Melody rarely had a closed mouth smile, if ever, and while I've seen some people customize these dolls into Melody and other characters and add painted teeth, the original issue still exists - the smile isn't big enough.

And yes, Tinkerbell, of course, has the open mouth smile - but the ears!!! Why?!

Another issue with using a Disney Store doll is the head itself. Disney Store doll heads are significantly harder than Mattel and Azone dolls, meaning it takes extra strength/work to reroot them. I could try dyeing the doll hair or using fabric markers on it, but A) that could possibly stain the doll, and B) I've tried fabric markers before and it makes the hair feel like straw.

I was convinced I'd inevitably have to use Wendy or Alice and have someone else reroot her for me, but then I thought of something else. Mattel has reacquired the rights to make Disney Princess dolls. That, of course, includes Ariel. I've made hybrid dolls before (my Inuyasha dolls combine two or three different dolls into one amazing creation), and I remember seeing the princess dolls when Mattel brought them back - particularly Ariel, who had a large toothy smile.

Plus, because she's Mattel, I know how the mechanics work with swapping heads and that the head is a lot softer and easier to work with in terms of rerooting. So I ordered her, but I wasn't yet sure if she'd work. Would her skin tone match either of the Disney Store bodies? What about the head size - would it be too big or small compared to the Disney Store Ariel? And of course, Mattel = pixelated faces... though I'd be repainting the lips anyway for sure because Melody's lips are a more natural pink shade rather than the bright red Ariel has.

Well, luck was on my side - the Ariel head not only matched the skin tone of the smaller bodies (which were also very close to the Disney Store Ariel), it was actually smaller than the original Wendy and Alice heads! I don't know what's up with that, but what a happy accident!

However, there was still another step. I've put Disney Store heads on Barbie bodies before, but not vice versa. And these are smaller bodies. How would it work? The verdict was a bobble head, but some rubber bands around the neck peg took care of that. I think it completely works!

The next step was the rerooting process. I don't know why it's so satisfying to pull all those little plugs out of a doll head, and then poke new hair right into it. :D Of course, before the poking, I had to use acetone to remove the factory paint on the scalp, then paint back over it with black and seal it. This time I was determined not to use too much hair, as in making it too long. When I rerooted my Azone Kagome, I didn't trim the hair until it was completely rooted, and not only did it make a huge mess, it was very wasteful because of how much I had to trim off to get it to the right length. Melody's hair isn't that long (it seems to hit just past her butt I think), so I felt fine cutting each piece I plugged in half. In the end, that proved to be a good decision because I only had to trim a very small amount to even it out and get the look I wanted. Yay!

Once that was done, I gave her a boil wash, allowed the hair to dry overnight, and then added the special glue inside from The Doll Planet Hair (I also got the hair from them). After that dried overnight, it was time to start on the face. I decided to start at the top and work my way down to lower my chances of messing up something that was finished. So I did the eyebrows first. Melody has significantly thicker eyebrows than Ariel, and of course they're black rather than red. Surprisingly enough, I was able to get them thicker and still even... this coming from the person who spent two hours on eyebrows on a different doll. >.<

Next was the eyes. At first I wasn't sure if I should leave them or not, but in the end I decided they needed to be changed. They were way too blue, and they're really supposed to match Ariel's and Eric's. She is their child, after all. Plus, thanks to Mattel, they were also pixelated. BOOOOO!

Many of the scenes in the movie show Melody as having green eyes, so I started there. But then I thought, I better make sure they match Ariel. So I got an Ariel doll out and used her as a guide. Let me tell you, matching that color was insanely difficult. Too green, too bright, too blue, too dark, etc... Then I kept going back and forth because, again, she seems to have green eyes. But then again, they should match Ariel's eyes. Remember, being a perfectionist can be super exhausting.

I finally had what I thought was a good color, so I used that to help shape the eyes. I kept the original white part of the eye and just painted over what was already there, trying to match the Disney Store style (large portion in the darker color, small ring in the lighter color, and then the pupil). But then, after holding it next to Ariel, I was still dissatisfied with the color (way too bright). I kept looking at Ariel, and then I even saw some other custom dolls with blue eyes and some shots of Melody do depict the eyes as being more blue than green (Ariel, too):

So, after literally a week of just trying to get the best color, I finally got it!!! Victory dance!

Last was the lips. Should be simple, right? I like the color of my Barbie self's lips. They're a natural shade of pink, and I have the combo of paints I used to pull that off saved, so I could just replicate that, right? WRONG! I didn't factor in the original factory paint, which serves as a base coat and affects what goes on top of it, plus this doll has a warmer skin tone than Mini Me, so the color turned out to be super bright and very unnatural-looking. So I did a ton of mixing and modifying the paint recipe until finally I was satisfied with the shade. I had to go over the teeth a couple of times too because A) pixels and B) I went over the white a bit with the lipstick.

Once her face was done, I could start styling her hair. Melody just has a simple ponytail with large bangs like her mom. The hardest part was definitely those bangs. They're not straight or flat bangs, but they have kind of a "poof" to them.

The part was a little off - it should have been more to the side and less to the center. However, I was following the original factory root line, so I didn't really pay attention to where it was. That was my fault lol. I took a few strands of hair and held them out of the way as I tied the rest into a ponytail. To give the bangs their ideal effect, I tied that hair back separately with a hair tie I'd bought that resembles Melody's green one. Then I started pulling them out little by little, hoping to achieve the desired look. This was the first result:

Not bad, but I thought I could make it a little better. I noticed some small bald spots around that area in the scalp (oops), so I added some more hair to those areas to make the bangs a little fuller. I re-tied the bang strands (didn't boil wash the second set of hair because I didn't want to risk messing up the paint and I wanted them to stand up somewhat anyway), manipulated the positioning a bit, and came up with this:

I think that's a little better and gives the desired effect. I may still try to manipulate it some more, but I did put some of my special doll hair spray on it to hold it in place. The ponytail bottom just needed a small curl, and while I tried my curling iron on it, I found it to be better to just curl it by hand and spray it.

The final part was the outfit. I got the outfit from malanedoll on Etsy (she makes gorgeous Disney outfits!) The outfit also came with Melody's symbolic seashell locket.

I know what you're thinking - where the heck is her tail? Well, I can't sew that well (I can make little pillows, relatively decent curtains, and maybe some garden flags, but outfits? Nope lol), and I haven't been able to find a tail that would work with this body in the right color. By next year I might have her tail, but for now, she'll stay in her signature bloomer outfit. That is what she's wearing most of the time, and she did ultimately decide to stay a human in the end. :D

And with that, Melody was complete! Probably not 100% perfect, like most of my creations, but satisfying enough for me! Of course, if Disney Store makes an official Melody doll, I'll buy her - and totally do a comparison LOL. And I do intend to eventually get her that iconic red tail!

Thanks for reading my journey on creating Ariel's daughter! To this day, she's still the only Disney princess to ever become a parent lol.

[dropdeadgorgeos]

So this is just like a thought of like imagine (I swear I say that word all the time 💀) if the twst boys(expect orhto and the staff) we like yanderes like... I can't get my head off this subject-

𝔾𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕡𝕤 𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕕𝕖𝕕

Riddle Rosehearts:

Tbh I can see him working with Trey and Chenya all to get your love like they all can have a role where Chenya is like the scarast Mitch and he can like stalk you in his invisible form and riddle can make sure your always doing well and IF they hurt you which I don't see it happen but it could riddle would gladly heal you up and Trey could bake for you and protect you.

Ace & Deuce:

Okay so I think this would work as like they both try and like lock you somewhere where only they could find you though that's what most would probably do but whatever and like I don't see much here sorry-

Cater:

Okay so like he forces you to take pictures with him all the time and always tries to hide your sad face of being trapped in his room so he puts filters on and make you smile and always shows you how much people love your fake smile.

Jamil & Kalim:

Y'all KNOW these guys are working together like they don't even need to lock Y/N up Jamil just needs to hypnotize you and hide the fact your spellee and like they could just walk around holding your hand and they lock you up like Jamil did in book 4 lol see he's my favorite character and he is absolutely horrifying

𝕍𝕚𝕝:

Okay so like he spells the Apple as a love spell feeds it to you boom! That easy! He doesn't even need to chain you up.

ℝ𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℍ𝕦𝕟𝕥:

HOLY FUCKING GOD OMG okay so like this dude already stalks you imagine him actually taking you as his prey and like chaining you up as a trophy or something like he's already scary you gotta get scarier like god man I don't think I'll be able to live with that.

𝔼𝕡𝕖𝕝:

I don't really see it but that's probably because I'm not a big Epel fan so I don't know much other than he likes being strong or something I'm probably even wrong on that so I'm so sorry to all you Epel fans/simps I can't do this one sorry.

𝕃𝕖𝕠𝕟𝕒 𝕂𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤𝕔𝕙𝕠𝕝𝕒𝕣:

Imagine ge respects women to much to do this 😘 but I mean if he did he'd probably chain you up yeah and just like sleep with you while your chained up and bring you meat eat (so of you are a real plant eater us better get going-)

ℝ𝕦𝕘𝕘𝕚𝕖:

I can kinda see this maybe he could side with Leona or just keep you there I don't really see it happen but just tell me what you guys think.

𝕁𝕒𝕔𝕜 ℍ𝕠𝕨𝕝:

Hm....fuck... Your up against one of the strongest (physical form) students how the heck you escaping that??? Your not at least I wouldn't my body is to small and fragle he'll break me the moment we touch bruh.

𝔸𝕫𝕦𝕝 𝔸𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕟𝕘𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕠:

I feel like the fish mafia are some of the scariest yanderes because like I could see Azul actually using a spell to turn you into a fish or like a mermaid or something in than like he locks you in a tank and sits in his chair and just looks at your beauty and maybe made you sign a contract to forever be his oh! He didn't use a spell your silly ass signed a contract Hehehe hehehe fuck azul's yandere it's scary( I have a fear of being in water to long :'0)

𝕁𝕒𝕕𝕖 𝕃𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙:

I feel like this could work with him and his brother bit also not I can totally see this man using chains like for sure and he changes your emotions from scared and sad that your locked up to happy and loving like fish mafia = scary fucking yanderes

𝔽𝕝𝕠𝕪𝕕 𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕔𝕙:

He's... Already scary enough yep he doesn't need to go any farther to give me nightmares he chains me up and I'm as good as dead and I know you are to let's just be honest I think Jade would help him chain you up tbh.

𝕀𝕕𝕚𝕒:

Maybe lock you in his room or the lab idk cause I'm not at that part of the game yet but I know a few things so maybe like that and he would XD omg imagine he forces you to play Mario Kart with him XD just a thought lmao

𝕄𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕖𝕦𝕤 𝕕𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕠𝕟𝕚𝕒:

Probably tries to turn you into a fairy or something crap maybe makes you prick your finger so you don't run away and your fast asleep or something and he just watches you and forces you to be his queen I bet on a lot of these you aren't human like they turn you into some sorta creature that's from there home or kind.

𝕃𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕒:

Hm... Yep... Yep that's scary alright so like imagine your just living hour life than this 200 year old man short as your dresser walks in and is like "your mine now" he take you home and you wake up the next day chained up and bleeding like.. Lilia I could see them playing rough tbh.

𝕊𝕚𝕝𝕧𝕖𝕣:

Y'know I don't really see it maybe you do but I don't.

𝕊𝕖𝕓𝕖𝕜 ℤ𝕚𝕘𝕧𝕠𝕝𝕥:

Okay just a funny thought imagine he like ties you up and you guys are sitting together and he just tells you how much he love waka-sama XD and like he just explains it and he's like "oh yeah I love you a nd your here because I love you but I love waka-sama so much I could never tie him up" like boi-

PLEASE tell me if I forgot someone brain not going through

I could imagine Azul sitting as his desk saying a little peom

"Dear the deep blue sea! Let me be the only light you see!"

[suzieloveships]

Marauders era's girls x girl childhood

Lily - Strawberry Shortcake girl first, human second, collected greeting cards and watched the cartoon religiously. Loves Barbie, had few dolls and watched every movie with Petunia, her favorite ones are Magic of Pegasus and Princess Charm School. Watched Winx, her favorite was Bloom. Favorite Disney Princesses are Belle and Cinderella, Twilight is her favorite out of Mane6 from MLP. One of 10 people on the planet that read Star Darlings.

Marlene - Polly Pocket girl, had a dozen of those tiny boxes. Adores Monster High, got atleast 2 dolls for every birthday, seen every movie. Watched og He-man and She-ra with her brothers and was super hype once the reboot came out. Made James and Peter watch Barbie movies and W.I.T.C.H., they made her watch TMNT and Transformers. Her favorite Barbie movies are Mermaid Tale and Diamond Castle, favorite pony is Rainbow Dash and favorite Disney Princesses are Mulan and Merida

Mary - dances ballet since she was 10, watched Angelina Ballerina almost every day and read as many Angelina books as she could. Collected LPS since she was 6, has two shelfs in her room just for the figurines. Favorite Barbie movie is Nutcracker and Swan Lake, mostly because of the real ballet dances in those movies. Her favorite Disney Princesses are Tiana and Rapunzel and Rarity is her favorite pony. Elle Woods and Cher Horowitz are her heroes

Dorcas - she is Tiana and Tiana is she, she owns colour green, as a kid definitly tried to kiss a frog atleast once and she and Pandora dressed up as Tiana and Lottie for Halloween 2 years in a row. Adored My scene, had many dolls, watched all movies and cartoon episodes and played all of the flash games. Also watched Winx and listened to Winx's albums so often I started to drive her family insine. Was also obsessed with PowerPuff Girls. Watches Sofia the First and Elena of Avalor with her younger sister. Mariposa duology are her favorite Barbie movies, Applejack is her favorite pony

Pandora - W.I.T.C.H. girl, collected comics as they were coming out, still has a box with accessories that came with each issue, rewatched the whole show every year, probably forced Regulus watch with her. Watched all of Disney Fairies movies and read all of the books, forever mad that Rani was not in the movies. Fairytopia trilogy stan, had a Bibble plushie. Pinkie Pie is her favorite pony and Aurora and Ariel are her favorite Disney Princesses. Watches Enchanted atleast 3 time per year

Sybill - One of 5 people that remembers Bratzillaz, but never really got into a Bratz. She just really likes a cartoon where a main character is a seer. She also likes Barbie, Rapunzel is her favorite. Religiously watched Addams family cartoon and Laika's movie. Had all 3 MLP G3 movies on DVD and later got obsessed with Friendship is Magic, her favorite is Fluttershy. Her favorite Disney Princesses are Snow White and Aurora. Practical magic is her comfort movie

Emma - Bratz girl, bought many dolls, watched all of the movies, even the live action one and listen to every album. Was also obsessed with Totally spies and Kim Possible, wanted to be a spy until she was 10. Despite being Bratz girl she did seen few Barbie movies, 3 musketeers is probably her favorite. Will unironically say that Kuzco is her favorite Disney Princess, it's actually Jasmine. Also a big fan of Jem and the holograms. Can quote Mean Girls so well it's actually scary

Amelia - one of those Barbie scholars. Not only has she see all of the movies she also knows deep lore of the toy. Don't ask her which movie is her favorite, she cannot choose. Adores Legally Blonde, movie and the musical. Hello Kitty aesthetic. Favorite Disney Princess is Rapunzel. Read Princess Diaries serie and hates to movie for completly ruining the story

Emmeline - MLP stan, can sing every song on Rainbow Rocks soundtrack, her favorite is Twilight, og LyraBon shipper. Also loves Care Bears, definetly annoys everyone by yelling Care Bear Stare while throwing thing at people. Had a massive crush on David Bowie and watch Labyrinth over and over again. Favorite Disney Princess are Ariel and Mulan and favorite Barbie movie is Princess and the Pauper

Lucinda - Evar After High girl, watch the whole show, bought many dolls and had a diary with a key. Thought Somebody to Love was written for Ella Enchanted. Favorite Barbie movie is Thumbelina. Got really into Buffy as she grew older. Grew up with DreamWorks rather than Disney, but Jasmin is probably her favorite princess

Hestia - lived near sea and had a mermaid phase. Watched H2O and Aquamarine almost every day. Marmaid Tale duology stan. Favorite Disney Princess is obviously Ariel and favorite pony is Pinkie Pie. Had a small Sylvanian Families collection. Was also a big Sailor Moon fan. Adores studio ghiblie movies, especially Ponyo. Actually owned the 13th year on DVD, that's how big her obsession with mermaid was

[dimlylittorch]

Random Thoughts: Edition 3

what i think the cod boys’ favorite Disney movies (animated) would be

Featuring: John Price, Simon Ghost Riley, Johnny Soap MacTavish, Kyle Gaz Garrick, König, Alejandro Vargas, Rodolfo Parra, and Phillip Graves

My Masterlist🌱

Price:

- The Fox and The Hound (made him cry)

- Soul (has a special appreciation for jazz music)

- The Great Mouse Detective (loves a twist on a classic story, especially a Sherlock Holmes one)

Ghost:

- Robin Hood (def watched it as a kid)

- Atlantis: The Lost Empire (one of the most badass Disney movies)

- Up (Kevin and Doug remind him of himself and Soap)

Soap:

- Mulan (super badass movie, loves action)

- Brave (SCOTLAND)

- Hercules (thinks Megara and Hercules are both hot)

Gaz:

- Brother Bear (super sweet)

- The Lion King (made him cry)

- Aladdin (loves Robin Williams)

König:

- Beauty And The Beast (big scary hairy man finds love..)

- Wall-E (loves the animation style)

- The Little Mermaid (very much enjoys the music)

Alejandro:

- Lilo and Stitch (such a chill vibe)

- Coco (who doesn’t love seeing representation of their culture? plus it def made him cry)

- Pocahontas (likes it when Disney movies allude to some kind of real life events/more realistic)

Rudy:

- The Emperors New Groove (always makes him laugh)

- 101 Dalmatians (puppies!!!)

- Encanto (i think he would rly just love the family dynamics and how creative the characters are)

Graves:

- Tangled (wants to be and fuck Flynn Ryder)

- Peter Pan (grew up watching it)

- The Princess And The Frog (hella good music and romance)

Hope you guys enjoyed!! Asks and tips are open! Happy holidays <3

[juno-of-wonderland]

the reader/mc is a descendant of one of the sevens

Queen of Hearts

- despite her ancestry, doesn't follow the rules so strictly, only the ones they thinks are worthwhile

- amazing croquet player, memorized all the rules and doesn't need to cheat to win every time

- strangely not a big fan of tea, not that he doesn't like it, but it wouldn't be his first drink choice 

- cliché but her favorite color would be red 

- you spend a lot of time in the Heartslabyul dorm or you are a resident, either way they are very close to the students 

- how they found out doesn't matter but I imagine it this way: they were all gathered for tea if Riddle was having one he spat out, while everyone else froze, Ace looked at them in exasperation and yelled YOU ARE DESCENDANT OF WHOSE?! 

- chaos settles in the dorm

King of Beasts

- how it happened don't ask me

- clearly you are a lion man beast

- is very smart after all they/you family values ​​the mind over strength 

- doesn't mean you're not athletic 

- if something interests you, you will spare no effort to get it, otherwise you will only do the minimum 

- loves to be sarcastic and tease others, his favorite people for this are Ace, Leona, Ruggie and Epel 

- when they discover the family tree, Leona can see it as a rival now or let it go, Ruggie wouldn't care much but he would definitely ask questions here and there, Jack would probably be more respectful than he already was

Sea Witch

- favorite hobbies: reading, cooking and watching the mafia trio (Azul, Jade and Floyd) 

- favorite of teachers 

- loves pets 

- Of course, it's an octopus mermaid 

- you certainly released information about your ancestor, something like that is an outrage, as a descendant of the witch of the seas it is my duty to help these poor unfortunate souls, everyone stops and wonders if this is true 

- Azul goes after the director and confirms everything, he will ask for business tips with that characteristic smile

Sorcerer of the Sands

- a complete riddle 

- smart, astute, calm, athletic, basically the perfect student 

- everyone has no idea what to think about you, after all you are so kind, but there are days when you wake up with this aura that you are up to something 

- some students are sure they heard a snake and a parrot coming from their room 

- the principal who comments on his family and it spreads around the school, a real annoyance 

- Kalim will be the first to jump on you (literally) and ask questions non-stop, Jamil will be behind him sighing

Fairest Queen

- it will be a Vil 2 lol 

- very photogenic and videogenic 

- has a HUGE wardrobe 

- potions? nah, the thing is to produce perfumes and have your own company 

- very artistic, knows things about this area that are even scary 

- a bit dreamy and romantic 

- it's public knowledge that your blood comes from the queen, so no surprises for anyone 

- I think I would only have political relationships in Pomefiore

Lord of the Underworld

- ...lazy...just a little 

- sarcastic as hell 

- her flaming hair is hidden with magic but nothing that a good surge can't make it shine and break the illusion, if your hair is long, it will look like Idia's 

- speaking of this boy, someone saved him, as he would be his main source of entertainment 

- you are a bit unlucky 

- he is in Idia's room along with Ortho, just browsing around until a news item in which his face and that of hades are side by side and in the title it says "the youngest descendant of the lord of the underworld" 

- olympus is being cursed and Idia is freaking out about how disturbing you look

Fairy of Thorns

- former fae royalty 

- doesn't mean it's not respected there 

- amazing with magic, never missed a spell 

- sure, you have horns and maybe you have green skin 

- polite and elegant 

- the night is like a sister 

- has a small garden of carnivorous plants and poisonous plants 

- Malleus, Lilia, Silver and Sebek know his identity and it is because of the last individual that the rest of the school finds out

[aerkame]

I’m curious what the others finfolk forms look like, what kinda tails and colors do they have, markers, etc. I’m so excited for the au!

I am not feeling well enough to really draw so I will just give descriptions instead! I'll be sure to draw everyone at some point though, but if you want me to ping (or just message) you or anyone else just private message me or let me know in replies.

__________________________________________________________

For all neighbors minus Home:

Each and every neighbor will grow claws, teeth, increased height, increased strength, and webbed hands when fully transformed. As for clothes, they're designed to change with their form.

Wally Darling

Wally may still be the shortest of the neighbors, but he's still quite tall when compared to normal puppets (most finmen are huge regardless). When he comes off as a normal-looking puppet, he wears a blue glass colored (blue glass is a color, it is my favorite color-) clothing, or sometimes loose-fitting beach clothes if he feels like relaxing. He often keeps a red shell pendant around his neck area and a black single earring on his right ear.

When Wally is a finman however, his yellow felt turns to scales that range from yellows, purples, teals, and different shades of blue. His ears become thick and finned, each end going up into a small S-shaped curl. Underneath the clothing, his body is covered in soft red swirling and spiraling markings, something you can he on his cheeks. Unlike the finwomen, finmen don't turn into mermaids/mermen, so he does not have a tail at all and he instead grows various fins on his body, all very colorful. Oh, and don't forget the fangs and claws...those are pretty sharp.

Barnaby

Barnaby is one of the taller finmen, but not the tallest. You can usually find him wearing shorts, sandals, shell necklaces, and a sunhat. It's just so darn hot sometimes so don't expect to see him in a shirt really. If anything he'll probably be under a shady area or relaxing in some cool water.

While he does already have teeth and claws, they are pretty dull until he transforms, having his teeth become more shark-like and claws much sharper than anyone else's. However, Barnaby is the only one here who does not grow scales at all. Instead that blue felt skin will turn into something far more smoother and paler in color almost becoming grey but not quite grey. The spots all over his body stay of course, but they become darker and more larger, creating marbled patterns. Not only is Barnaby the only one without scales, but he is the only one to grow a tail and keep his legs. The once small fluffy tail turns into a strong shark-like one, being capable of causing someone a concussion or head trauma if he really swung hard enough with it.

Sometimes everyone suspects he isn't a finman, but even if Barnaby wasn't, everyone would still love the big guy.

Howdy

Being a fisherman has its perks. One being that it tends to be a good workout, another being that you can get all kinds of stuff from the ocean. That being said, Howdy is a giant when compared to the others. In his normal form, the fisherman has medium long blue hair that's often slicked back or just braided all under his hat. You'd think that running a shop and being a fisherman would leave little time for this man to tidy up his clothes but you'd be wrong. Everything remains completely clean no matter the weather, it's almost scary. Even the shell pendant he wears on his apron is constantly shining.

Obviously having double the legs and arms leaves him with double the amount of claws to tear someone up with. As a finman, Howdy's height becomes outright terrifying to anyone he meets. Forget the scary claws and fangs, his height alone is enough to scare the fear of God into anyone.

The colors of Howdy's scales match himself much like it does with Wally and the others. Green scales fade from blues to teals and tiger-like stripes decorate his body, leaving oval spirals on his cheeks.

Eddie

Probably the friendliest captain out there with the coat to match! Often times Eddie will be wearing his white captain's coat and hat, having a shell pendant pinned to the black suit he wears under. He always stays tidy, keeping his red hair slicked back under his hat.

As a finman, Eddie will also grow in size. This is when his usual friendly appearance turns more scary to some. Being large and having a giant captain's coat squaring your shoulders can look intimidating. Along that, Eddie's hair tends to get more rougher and slightly wavy, so he lets it down every once in a while.

Frank

Frank is the only one that wasn't a finman before moving in on the island, having been a normal puppet before. He still prefers to remain as his normal puppet self on most days unless it's rainy or stormy. Usually he is wearing vests, casual clothes, and colors that are muted in color, preferring to keep the shell pendant he has on a butterfly bow, keeping the bow as a reminder of his old life.

In the rare times that he decides to be more fin-like, the only things about Frank that change is that he grows teal, purple, and grey scales, square-ish finned ears, squared swirls, and fangs.

Julie

Being a finwoman (or mermaid) has it's perks.

Julie will on most days wear light colored fluffy dresses with thick high sandals, a large sunhat, and a shell necklace to match. If not a dress, then she'd be happy to wear anything good for the beach so she can go ahead and jump in the water at any time.

As a mermaid, Julie transforms her legs into a long and strong tail, being just as strong as finmen (no really, you do NOT want to get hit with her tail). Her scales often reflect the dresses she usually wears, which are deep shades of coral reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows. The fins at the end of her tail are wide and flowing, sometimes she'll even wrap herself up in them for fun.

The ears differ slightly from the others as they appear more softer and fluffy with light pink swirls and sparkles dusting her face.

Sally

Sally is sometimes nicknamed Sally Scarlet for several reasons. One reason being the clothing she wears. Everything is always extravagant or just screams passion, having everything in shades of red and black.

Sally is the only one who is almost always in her mermaid form. No really, she even has a part of her house with an indoor pool that leads to the ocean because she just doesn't feel like getting out of the water yet. Her tail is much longer than Julie's but more slim and much sharper, some scales being so sharp they can be flung or used as throwing knives. The weapon tail is made up of blood red scales with speckled black and gold scales scattered on her body.

She often wears a golden crown around her already existing crown (she's a star so duh) and dark makeup to compliment her scales. Of course, she painted her claws black to match. Dramatic...

Poppy

Poppy is probably the most colorful out of the neighbors, having literally every color in the rainbow on her. You can usually find her outside gardening with Julie, wearing nothing (because she has feathers) or just wearing a light colored shawl with a matching sunhat. She often carries her shell or clips it to a shawl.

However, Poppy is a little bit different like Barnaby when it comes to her original form, but no one questions it really. Like the other mermaids, Poppy will form a tail consisting of the rainbow, but the rest of her body becomes much larger and longer, resembling something closer to a serpent. The feathers soon turn into long spikes and sharp scales that could easily cut through steel. Her wings become giant fins and her beak grows a sharp curved end. She doesn't transform ever much like Frank due to her scaring herself and others sometimes.

Home

It is known that Home has a physical body, but no one other than Wally has talked to him. The only time anyone ever gets a glimpse of Home is when a shell is being given to a neighbor. Large clawed and black scaly hands reach out from the dark whirlpool to take the shell and imbued his magic into it before it's given back.

Sorry for any spelling errors, I'm a bit tired right now.

[forthegothicheroine]

Horror novel recommendations

@allthestoriescantbelies​ asked for horror novel recommendations, so I thought I’d throw one together to post on the blog! Largely focused on non-gothic stuff since I’ve already made a gothic lit list over here.

As a general warning, all horror books listed here will have potentially triggering material. If you want more specific trigger warnings, you can ask me or see if people have listed them on goodreads or storygraph.

My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix: I know you’ve read this, but I’m putting it on the list because it is one of the scariest books I’ve ever read, about a teenage girl in trouble and the only other girl willing to help her. I’m told the movie makes it much more straightforwardly comic rather than horror-with-jokes, which disappoints me. I’m a big fan of Hendrix in general, though I know you (and plenty of others!) find him hit-or-miss.

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris: Another one I believe you’ve read, but for reference, it’s the best serial killer thriller I’ve ever read. Francis Dolarhyde is a much more interesting character than Hannibal Lecter, I will die on this hill.

We Will All Go Down Together by Gemma Files: Centuries ago, the Five Family Coven made a deal with the Fairy Queen, and their descendants have been doomed ever since. I could have just as easily recommended Files’ book Experimental Film- if you like one, read the other as well.

The Drowning Girl by Caitlin R. Kiernan: A schizophrenic woman has two different memories of her ex-girlfriend and the horror that followed her- was she a werewolf, a mermaid, or were both memories wrong? This is Kiernan at her most heartfelt and most accessible; if you like this and want to try her grosser stuff, read The Very Best of Caitlin R. Kiernan.

House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski: A haunted house in a haunted film in a haunted memoir, written in a work of visual art. I won’t blame anyone who bounces off this, but give it a try!

Carrie by Stephen King: If you’re only going to read one Stephen King, make it either Carrie or Misery. I don’t feel like any film adaptations have captured all the aspects of this tragedy about a girl who deserved a better life and the town who didn’t save her while there was still a chance, including the epistolary format.

Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant: This novella was followed up by Into the Drowning Deep, but I found Rolling in the Deep much scarier. It’s brisk and high-tension to watch a semi-fake documentary team put together, piece by piece, just what the monsters are that pursue them.

Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge: The Great Pumpkin, but scary! Seriously, though, if you are willing to accept the concept of a boy with a pumpkin head and a knife and a yearly child sacrifice, this is short and a lot of fun.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones: Just an elk killed when some kids were blowing off steam. Just an elk damning the rest of their lives. (Jones’s My Heart is a Chainsaw was too sad for me to recommend as a favorite, but I am curious about the sequel.)

The Wolfen by Whitley Striber: I wanted to include a good werewolf novel on this list, and The Wolfen wins by far for interesting creature design. (The runner up was The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan.)

The Auctioneer by Joan Samson: A very atypical entry on this list, closer to Twin Peaks than your average thriller. A rural town is turned into a capitalist police state when a slick salesman comes to see what they’ll allow him to do. It turns out, it’s a lot.

The Drive-In by Joe R. Lansdale: The only “splatterpunk” I’ve ever loved, this is an absurdist nightmare about a southern drive-in crowd who get stuck in a world with only the movie screens and each other, turning into literal and figurative monsters. Usually published with the sequel, since both are short, though I didn’t like the latter as much. If you like it, read one of Lansdale’s short story collections.

As always, reblog with suggestions of your own!

[enter-the-performapals]

@arcvmonth Day 18 D/D/D- Different Dimension Day!

Even though its a little late (because I wanted to color these lol) I wanted to talk about my Mermaid AU- concepted while I drew my big piece for Mermay this year! I was originally going to turn it into a series basing them on the En cards, but I didnt have time (maybe next year?)

This is a high fantasy AU, of course, and each of the stories happen around the same time-which Ill get into later. All of the Bracelet Girls, Dragon Boys and Zarc + Ray are in their 20's here, with romantic interactions between the expected couples (Fruit, Apple, FallenAngel, Predator, Genesis). All of the stories are unrelated but take place around the same time, with the the exception of the Genesis which takes several decades before.

Just slapping the word 'Mermaid' on a character and not basing them on a sea creature has never been an option for my autism brain, so I based the girls off of sea creatures I thought suited them!

Yuzu is based on a Betta fish- the only freshwater mermaid out of the five- mainly because I think theyre gorgeous with their lovely flowing tails, but also because theyre highly territorial, which I will get into later.

Rin-Rin is based off of one of my favorite sea creatures, the Lionfish. Bright and beautiful, but venomous and a ruthless predator. She's also Siren.

Ruri is based on a Parrotfish. Beautiful, iridescent scales and placid nature who live in coral reefs. Also, bird pun becuase I couldnt resist.

Serena is a Human-Mer hybrid whose based off an Angler fish. Scary creatures who use beautiful light not to illuminate their surroundings, but to draw in prey. She requires more oxygen than a normal mermaid, so like a mudfish, she can chill out near the surface of the sea and take in oxygen when she needs to.

Ray is based off of a Sea Angel, which is apparently a sea slug. It's pretty and I dont know much about it, which is the exact same thing I can say about my girl Ray.

Under the cut ill get into my thoughts for each of the AUs! Including a minific which kind of adds a little context to my piece from Mermay!

Ill go over all my ideas for the different storylines - marked by their ship- and at the end is minific! Sorry for any punctuation/spelling mistakes!

Genesisshipping:

Zarc is an apprentice boatsman on his first voyage on a big ship. After smashing into rocky bluffs, the boat he's on capsizes and falls into the ocean. Almost drowning, he is rescued at the brink of death by Ray, who takes him to an uninhabited island to bring him back to life. Over a year or so, the two fall in love and while Zarc does want to escape the island he beleives its futile and doesnt even try. Eventually a ship does come to rescue him, and he promises Ray that he'll make it back to the island one day to be with her.

After hes back on land, people ask him what happened, howd he survive, ect; he eventually lets slip that a mermaid saved him. This makes it around, and eventually wealthy prospectors hear. Entranced by money and power wished to him, he leads hunters to the island to capture Ray.

Thinking that hes back to start a life with her, Ray's shocked when other people come from the boat and try to capture her. Realising Zarc had sold her out, she escapes to the sea, never to be seen again. Realising the error of his ways, Zarc decides to stay on the island after the disgruntled hunters leave in an attempt to attone for his greed and to hopefully see Ray one more time.

Appleshipping:

Hugo had always heard tales about sirens in books and wanted to if they were real or not. After attempt of humours faliures to become part of an actual reputable ship crew, he falls in with some pirates who decide to take him out to the seas. On his maiden voyage, he is so nervous that he cant fall asleep on his first night. Thats when he hears it. A siren's song in the distance.

The rest of the crew asleep, he steals a rowboat to find the source of the singing. He finds it- the most beautiful girl hed ever seen, singing the most beautiful song hed ever heard. He falls head over heels for her at first sight.

While Rin just wanted a meal, she now has to put up with idiot pirate trying to woo her. She is severly displeased about it, and makes it known. Then she realises- this dude is a grade A idiot with the luck of god on his side and now has to live with a human taking up her favorite rock. Ridiculousness insues

FallenAngelShipping:

Ute grew up in a port town that had a great relationship with the fellow merfolk. He and Ruri grew up together, and eventually became a couple. One day, the village was raided by hunters, who both killed and captured the humans and merfolk, burning the town to the ground.

While hed somehow escaped from the raiders, he knows he has to break in to the enemy camp as they transport prisoners and set everyone free.

After weeks of planning and watching them from afar, he finds the perfect moment and storms the encampment, setting everyone free, including his best friend Shun and his lovely Ruri.

While they are displaced, remaining survivors help rebuild the city, and they try to rebuild their lives. Now with round the clock border security :)

Predatorshipping:

Joeri is a wealthy buisness man who found success selling various snake oils in his teens. Feeling bored of scamming people out of their cash, he goes to a beah town in an effort to refresh, regroup his thoughts, and figure out his next buisness move.

While walking a beach in the dead of night, he notices a glow coming from a little cave in the distance. Sneaking a peek, he notices Serena stting, resting, and his mind races. Mermaids are uncommon, but not unheard of but most people havent seen one, so what if he could show her off?

Practically smelling the money from the buisness opportunity, he approaches her. She startles, and draws a weapon on him. That night he tries to talk her down and using all of his sales knowledge and charisma, tries to get her to warm up to him.

While it ends up in faliure, the next night she is in the cave again. And he makes up his mind to convince her to join him, whether that be by convincing her with his words, or bribing her with anything he can get his hands on. He has a goal and wont stop until it's realised.

Fruitshipping:

Feeling wanderlust in his early teens, Yuya decides to dedicate his life to becoming an adventurer to see all the beautiful sights hes read about in his beloved father's old travel diaries. After about a decade of seeing what the continent has to offer, he takes a wrong turn (not the first time) and accidentally stumbles into a serene clearing blanketed in cherry tree blossoms nestled in between foothills. In awe, he explores the adorable little field, picking wild dasies as he goes, and spots a lake fed by mountains. As he investigates, he is jumpscared by a mermaid who warns him to leave immediately or face the consequences.

After a breif moment of shock, he starts to laugh. Yuzu is flabbergasted, as most humans would have fled at that point. He tells her that meeting a mermaid was always on his bucket list and that hes pleased to make her acquaintance, which leaves her even more shocked.

While she is standoffish at first, Yuya sets up camp near the water's edge to really drink in the scenery, subbornly telling an annoyed Yuzu that it was the best vantage point in the clearing.

While he'd oly planned to stay for a couple of days, as he talked to Yuzu- her sharing enchanting stories about the depths of the lake and the merfolk who lived there and in turn, her avidly listening to Yuya's travel stories- he decided to stay through the end of spring... and then summer... until eventually autumn's chill prompts him to eventually- begrudgingly- forces him to start packing up his temporary home.

Over the months the two talked and talked and became best friends. Through the wilting daisy chains they made, to the silly splash fights they shared on hot days, to almost sombre monitoring of deciduous leaves starting to fall as the lake theyd made memories in starts to slowly develop its winter shell, baring the aquatic from the terrestrial.

As they say their goodbyes, Yuya noticing Yuzu shivering slightly as she sits above the water, he promises her to come back in the spring with even more travel stories, handing her one of his earrings in a jesture of his vow. And she is overjoyed.

As they part ways, he catches her tightly gripping the blue crystal of his earring before she slips below the water, and he wishes that winter would just leave and never come back.

Over the winter, Yuya can't stop thinking of his time in the clearing. The curiosity that Yuzu would have for the camp meals he'd cook. The sparkle in her eye as he'd describe one of his adventures. Her concern over even the most miniscule of old wounds hed accrued over the years. Her witty remarks that never failed to get a laugh out of him. That no matter where he went, he'd always wonder what Yuzu would think if she'd been there with him.

As the weather started to turn from hail and snow to bright skies and sunshowers, he practically made a mad dash to the little clearing tucked away on the forgotten road near the foothills, hoping that the ice had melted in the area- if not for the whole pond, at least around the crude dock he'd put together to sit with Yuzu on, so close to where he'd set up camp.

As he approaced the sea of sakura, the blooming daisies, the grass rejuvenated after it winter hibernation, he noticed a figure waiting where she always was early in the mornings before he awoke, brushing her beautiful magenta tinged hair, facing toward the mountains in the distance.

He grinned and picked the prettiest of the wild daisies he could see on the bushes around him.

He was back home and couldn't be happier.

[discoveredreality]

✨️🍃🎶 for this ask game <3

u linked the ask game that is so nice omg that has helped i dont have to search through my blog for it😭😭😭

anyways

✨- which fictional character (book, show, or movie) do you relate to most?

fuck i have no idea. ummmmm. shit. i... have no answer??? idk im sorry i can't think off the top of my head😭😭😭

🍃- would you rather live in a sea with mermaids or a forest with fairies?

forestttt. omg it would be so cutesie and cottagecore. also the sea is kinda big and dark and scary. not that much. but i would prefer a forest.

🎶- favorite song right now?

ummm. so high school by taylor swift. oh but also espresso. and pretty isn't pretty by olivia rodrigo. and soulmate by like badshah and arjit singh or whatever. ok im done sorryyy

[arcane-vagabond]

About Me

Hey there!

Hi! My name is Liz! I’m 28 years old (Born on September 3rd), and my big three are Virgo Sun, Taurus Moon, and Virgo Rising! I just recently started writing fanfiction, but I’ve been writing since I was around 9 years old. I’ve been creating stories since I could talk! I was a Linguistics Major in college, and I had two minors: one in German and the other in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. I studied abroad twice during college: once for a year in Germany and the other for a month in Ireland! 

My Hobbies include:

Writing

Reading

Drawing

Painting

Traveling 

Video Games

Photography

Cross-stitch

Embroidery

My Favorites include:

Books: Night Road by A.M. Jenkins, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, The Giver by Lois Lowry, Earth Abides by George R. Stewart, and Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Movies: The Labyrinth, Pride and Prejudice (2005), Raiders of the Lost Ark, Where the Crawdads Sing, Detective Pikachu, and Black Phone

Shows: Derry Girls, Daria, X-Files, Steven Universe, Gravity Falls, Fruits Basket, and Anne With an E

Songs: In a Week by Hozier, The Yawning Grave by Lord Huron, I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For by U2

Disney Movies: The Little Mermaid, Brave, Elemental, and Soul

Disney Princess: Ariel

Disney Character: Donald Duck

Disney Show: Ducktales (original and new)

Cryptid: Mothman

Holiday: Halloween

Scary Movies: The Omen (1976), Longlegs, Incantation, and As Above, So Below

Flower: Lily of the Valley

Place in the World: Scottish Highlands

Myth: Orpheus and Eurydice

Musicals: Hadestown and Jesus Christ Superstar

Season: Spring

Weather: Thunderstorms

Colors: Yellow, Green, and Pink!

Musical Artist: Hozier

Animals: Stingrays, Gorillas, and Foxes

My Other Interests include:

Mythology

Folklore

Cryptids

Anime

History

Literature

Cute Things

Conservation

Activism

My Personality Types are:

INFP

Chaotic Good

Enneagram 7

Have other questions? Go ahead and shoot me an ask!

[nats-reads-reviews]

October 2024 Reads & Reviews 📚 🎃

Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi - 5/5⭐️ I absolutely loved this book! I'm a big fan of magical realism romances and this one hit the nail on the head for me. It was cozy, it had depth and great character development, and the spice was hella spicy! I'll definitely be reading the second book to this series when it comes out.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson - 2.5/5⭐️ This book was okay, and I was a little let down, since it's such a popular horror book. But, realistically, not all classics live up to modern day standards of story-telling. I found the dialogue between the characters having too much tongue in cheek humor for what was supposed to be a scary, eerie story. I'm glad I read it though because I can see how this story sets up the modern-day haunted house story and the way vulnerable characters are prone to be effected to hauntings more.

The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore- 3/5⭐️ I didn't know what to expect with this one since it's been so viral and maybe I over-estimated the book because of that and should have known better lol. Even with that being said, it was still a super cute, cozy fall romance that has a good level of spice. If you want an easy, entertaining and no-frills seasonal romance, I'd recommend this one.

Man Made Monsters by Andrea L. Rogers - 3.5/5⭐️ This was a really neat book. If I had to summarize it, I would say it's, "Young Adult Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark with Native American Characters and Themes", which is pretty cool! There was a bunch of short stories and each one had some pretty cool illustrations. I loved that all the stories had characters that were related spanning from the late 1800's to modern times and onward. The inclusion of the family tree was pretty awesome, as well. Very neat and unique read!

The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden - 5/5⭐️ Damn! This was probably one of the my favorite McFadden books so far. I really didn't see the plot twist at the end of this book coming. This was a quick, easy and entertaining read that I'd recommend to any fan of psychological thrillers. I enjoyed the variety of crazy people in this book - they all had their own motives and intents behind their actions for doing wrong and it makes you think a bit about the reasons people turn to murder.

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw - 2.5/5⭐️ This was such a strange book! I read it for a book club and I think a more realistic, horror style storytelling of The Little Mermaid is super cool. However, it seemed to me that the author used the most complex, and uncommon words to her writing that made it utterly pretentious and difficult to read. The ending was good but I felt the timeline of the story telling was very off and some of the story came after the acknowledgements page which was bizarre to me.

Murder Your Employer: McMaster’s Guide to Homicide - 3/5⭐️ I really didn't know what to expect of this book but it was very unique and highly detailed, as well as filled with dark humor. I enjoyed the story and the premise of a school to teach people how to "delete" people the world would be better off without. However, it just wasn't my cup of tea. It was very quirky which I loved but it just wasn't for me.

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst - 3.5/5⭐️This book is the definition of "cottagecore". It was really cute and cozy, however, it was definitely slow for the first half of the book. The second half was a lot more fast-paced, and I loved the ending. I just wish the pace was more evenly spaced out. Still very much an enjoyable, feel-good book.

A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Clair - 3/5⭐️ I loved a more magical realism take on Greek mythology and the gods being like celebrities within the world of mortals. This was a story about Persephone and Hades relationship. The spice was super good, like very good! The story wasn't anything groundbreaking good but I love an easier fantasy read without it coming with the need of as much lore to the world they live in.