#but boy are they exhausting

[sboochi]

Good news: the hair wasn't nearly as bad as I thought! Bad news: the face was a nightmare!

[morbid-lycoris]

[thestralboy]

I can’t do it anymore, fr I‘m so tired

[littlesy]

[🗣️] Shoutout . . .

Shoutout to my Exhausted Littles and Caregivers.

to the little ones who didn't get out of bed today.

To the Caregivers who haven't had the energy to care-give!

To the Caregivers/Littles who barely ate or are only now getting something. Im proud of you

To the littles who don't have the energy to regress

To the Caregivers who Simply Existed today

To the littles who are trying their bests.

To the caregivers doing the best they can.

I see you, and i'm proud of you. Its okay to have off days, Its okay to have unproductive weeks. You'll get back into it in no time, just rest for now, take care of yourselves. - Syris <3

[that-ineffable-devil]

I've praised George Rextrew a lot for the emotion he put behind various actions, and I stand by that.

But I also want to take a moment to appreciate Jayden Revri's ability to handle Charles' more explosive emotions.

In the Devlin house, you watch his anguish and anger build in equal measure. Unlike the characters, we get to see the build-up to the outburst that leads to him getting stuck in the loop. The first time he sees that man murder his family he wants to look away, he tries to look away. You can see how much it hurts him, but he turns back and watches anyway--and the horror turns to rage.

When the Night Nurse comes, he fights her off--very aggressively yes, but they didn't see what he did when she took him into his memories--and everyone looks at him like...like he's a bomb that may go off again? Like they've never seen him before?

The boy's just been through some of his most traumatic memories and committed an act of violence that probably only made that experience worse, and he sees his friends looking at him the way he'd always feared they would--like he's a bad guy. And Jayden portrays that grief and pain so beautifully.

And when he gives that little "no" while he's crying and jerks away from Edwin's outstretched hand?

My heart feels like it's been squashed and wrung out.

[greyskyflowers]

I like the idea that, I've seen mentioned a few times and love it, the boys turn into those little orb things when they're like completely, if they were human they would have passed out, exhausted.

I imagine a soft glow, warm to hold, about the size of an orange, a little weight to it and it doesn't float but drops to the floor and rolls like a ball ~

⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️⚪️

It really isn't surprising after everything with hell, Esther, and Niko, that Edwin shifts.

He looks exhausted, and Charles still sees him terrifed and bloody in Hell when he closes his eyes, swaying a little bit where he stands listening to Crystal, and Charles knows what's going to happen before it happens.

The softly glowing orb doesn't even have a chance to drop before Charles snatches it, carefully tucking it away in his coat. It's a warm, little weight against his side.

He loves Crystal, Edwin does too even though he huffs about it, but she doesn't need to see Edwin like this. No one needs to see Edwin like this. The thought of it feels like calling attention to an open wound, advertising a vulnerable spot for someone to exploit or further hurt.

Thankfully, they're all finally free to go home. He doesn't like the idea of leaving Crystal but there's a growing itch to get back home and she shoves him towards the mirror and tells him she's meet up with them later.

Neither Charles or Edwin like being out when one of them is like this.

The first few time it happened, Charles hadn't really thought about it too much. And it happened a lot those first years after his death. He often overdid it, everything going fuzzy before going dark, and then he'd wake up, usually pressed against Edwin's side on the little couch. He always woke up on or next to Edwin and it'd been startling the first few times but he always wakes up comfortable now, no rush to get up.

The first time Edwin shifted in front of Charles, he panicked. Refused to let go of him until, after what seemed like days, Edwin shifted back. Still relaxed enough that he hadn't immediately shoved himself off Charle's lap and he hadn't fought the hug too hard either.

He's only see Edwin like that a few times but to be on the other side of it, he understands why Edwin always relaxes when Charles shifts back. It's a powerful and terrifying feeling, to hold something so small and vulnerable and know it's the most important person in the world to you.

As he got to know Edwin more, Charles had the horrible realization that Edwin had been in Hell for over 70 years and surely he must have been exhausted plenty of times when down there. What happened to him when he shifted?

Charles didn't know what Hell looked like or what really happened down there but he pictured the little orb rolling around on the floor, being kicked, or someone finding other ways to hurt it. He had finally asked, so worked up he hadn't even thought about if Edwin would want to talk about, because he needed to know.

He'd gotten a gentle look from Edwin and an answer.

While he was absolutely exhausted in hell, he never shifted. Hell takes a lot of things away and the relief of sleep or unconsciousness is one of them.

So, honestly, Edwin had lasted longer than Charles thought he would. He half expected that he'd have to lunge for the orb as soon as they fell back through the door from Hell.

Thinking too much about Hell and Esther makes him a nasty mix of furious and terrified, so he forces himself to focus on the present.

He holds Edwin closer his chest as he sinks onto the couch. He's emotionally exhausted and in the silence of everything, finally has a moment to think about the love confession on the stairs of hell.

He doesn't know what to do with that liar but he was right when he told Edwin they had forever to figure it out.

He lays out on the couch, feet hanging off the far end and his head on the armrest, the orb on his chest and his hands almost petting at it. Holding it like this means that when Edwin shifts back he'll be sprawled over Charles, something that will probably have him flustered and immediately trying to get up and off.

Charles hopes he's sleepy and comfortable when he changes back though, that he just settles there without over thinking it.

Just the two of them existing together in the same space.

[ashen--nightmares]

i knew i wasnt supposed to live past 18

[mossy-crow0]

just a little silly :3

[percicosoftcore]

percico fanfics are wild 😭 those are literally the second and third paragraph of the first chapter

[uspa-chan]

good boy... ♡

[exhaustedwriterartist]

Next (soon)

Masterpost

Here it is! The beginning. Oh my word... it took me... so many months to finally get enough motivation and post this... but hey! It's here. Just a note, the art style for the next part is going to look fairly different, because my artstyle has changed since I drew the line art for the panels. Plus I will be changing art apps for the rest of the time I do this comic. We'll see if I can get some more OOH stuff out by the end of the year. Love y'all. :]

People who wished to be tagged:

@bowandbrush @allyheart707 @lokiwaffles @nyaboshi @untitled-tmnt-blog @jadetheblueartist @ferniforest @banana-pancake5 @poetique823

Title/cover page art without text:

[whatlurksbean]

I mean trout did kill someone, I think it's very reasonable for people to consider that unredeemable regardless of whatever she's going through

I'm tired.

I didn't say it wasn't absolutely okay to hate her and want her to die. Nor did I say she was innocent or not responsible for her actions. It's extremely reasonable to hate her.

I don't even disagree that Trout should die, I'm just asking folk to read the room maybe.

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

people always talk about edwin being an older ghost, and he technically is, but he doesn’t have any more experience being a ghost than charles. he was in hell from the moment he died to the night he met charles. he died at 16 and then did not get a chance to go through any growth or learn anything in hell other than torture—he lost those 70+ years. functionally, neither of their afterlives start until they meet, and they have to (get to) learn how to be ghosts and how to exist in this form on earth together every step of the way. anyway, what are you procrastinating right now? i’m procrastinating an essay that was due 4 days ago AND an essay that’s due tomorrow 🤠

[flaxygo]

[homoquartz]

i do wanna say that for a sex pest the cat king has some seriously funny, corny pickup lines. "behind those emerald eyes" pops into my mind constantly.

i want charles to hear it. i want to see him process it, and look at edwin fighting god not to blush about it, and think to himself, "that WORKS??"

[vhalesa]

autumn creacher <3