#gri is so short lmao

[map1e-1stru3]

The block people.

They have expanded.

[einsatzzz]

Hello ❤️ I have some meta asks for your ocs

Kana: What controversies/drama would your character incite in fandom?

And (yes she gets two because I am biased and looking for crumbs)

What is the quote between your character and their love interest/whoever they might be shipped with that their fans would latch onto?

Kurumi: What would be the ‘incorrect but wildly popular’ interpretation of your character in fandom?

Yui: If your character had a breakout show/film/comic, what would the plot be? Who would be in their supporting cast?

- 🍎

Hello 🍎Anon 🫶✨👀 Thank you for sending this over and enabling me to yap more about my blorbos 🥰🥰🥰 I only know what to talk about when I draw them, but for pure text posts I often blank out on what to say, so I love asks! I will try my best to give you Kana crumbs too!

🍎Kana: What controversies/drama would your character incite in fandom?

If Kana were a canon character, Kana and controversies/drama are like blood brothers, like soulmates. They are a set package. It wasn't there at the start or perhaps there will be initial discourse about her gender. But fandom will find out eventually that they have bigger fish to fry. As more and more layers of her character gets revealed, the more fandom discourse there is. She is certainly not a character for people who view things in a black or white manner or those with low reading comprehension 😭🤣😭🤣 *looks at those gear grindingly loud mfs on twi//ter*

On the surface, she would prob be reduced to either a some kind of siscon (memes included) or straight-up a cruel/heartless character with ulterior motives ("maybe her love for Kurumi is just a facade? and she has ulterior motives?"). If you peel off the first few layers, you will see that she really does genuinely love Kurumi and her family, for better or for worse. If you peel off more layer, you will see an asshole. If you peel even more layers, you will see an even bigger asshole banned from hell.

Also do you know that one meme where they keep putting Oi\\kawa (from Hai\\kyuu, a VOLLEYBALL series) in a line up of actual villains/war criminals?

Kana would be there, except she kinda deserves to be there. People who don't get the joke would complain about why Oi//kawa keeps getting included in these fuckass lists that includes Kana and other messed up characters lmao (truthfully i didn't get it at first when i saw it and was lowkey pissed since im an oi//kawa oshi lmaooo now it's just funny every time i see it. still crazy to see him lined up with characters like d//io or aiz//en or gri//ffith like damn wwwwww)

Did you know? My favorite character from Monster is Joh//ann Lieb//ert hahahaha nothing important, just wanna say it haha,,,hahaha,,,,, pls ignore if you don't know Monster sdkjfsdhvfsd

🍎Kana: What is the quote between your character and their love interest/whoever they might be shipped with that their fans would latch onto?

The least spoilery thing I can come up with on the spot on is Hibari telling her "You're so stupid (affectionate & relieved)" after she does (and says) something objectively very stupid that could even give YuiRumi&family a heart attack & a stroke simultaneously.

Short, simple, effective. ME, personally, I will lose my mind and latch onto it even on my deathbed.

If you want something that could potentially come from a Kana POV, I do have a quote like this saved:

🎀Kurumi: What would be the ‘incorrect but wildly popular’ interpretation of your character in fandom?

For Kurumi, I think modern fandom would focus too much on her gender? There would be a divide in the fandom based on how they interpret the "Gender: ?" in her profile lmao We can see a lot of people insisting that she's non-binary. That's fine and all, everyone is free to interpret characters as they like (except if the creator has reiterated clear rules and boundaries for it). The problem is that we can also see people say that you can't refer to her as anything else but non-binary sjdgbhjsdfvhjsbfd

🤖Yui: If your character had a breakout show/film/comic, what would the plot be? Who would be in their supporting cast?

My understanding of this question is that it's asking for a Yui spin-off where he's the MC! It would be in a light novel format under the romantic comedy genre (with some sci-fi, perhaps? because he loves making robots hahaha inb4 it becomes a mecha story). The story's main couple would be him and Hiyori, because that's what Yui would've wanted. He is delusional and down bad.

In terms of shipping, we actually have three main ships we've committed to. It's just that I often end up posting about the two CanonxOC pairs more sjkdfjskdf but the third one is an OCxOC pair between Yui and Hiyori (YuiHiyo). Sowwwwyyy Yui! uwu Hiyorin is holding me at syringe-point and telling me to shut the fuck up about it.

[spanishskulduggery]

Ohi there!

I made this u/n forever ago so ill probably keep it no matter the answer to this, but I've always wondered if it should be 'chic@ con pelo rosado'? Or maybe better 'de pelo rosa(do)'? It just feels... awkward to me, but I can't place my finger on it.

I know there are words for the 'hairèdness' of someone (e.g. moren@, rubi@, etc.), for lack of a better term, but since it's not a natural color (on hair or in general), I'm not sure how that would work. I've always wondered how accurate it was lmao

(Also side note, which article do you use for gender neutral lmao is it 'l@'?)

First, it could be either

chico con pelo rosa / rosado is "boy with pink hair"; and chico de pelo rosa / rosado is "the pink-haired boy"

Both are acceptable, but the de kind of makes you think of using a hyphen

Note: You may also see el cabello used for "hair" when it's specifically hair on the head

But you're right that there are certain words for hair colors:

rubio/a = blond

pelirrojo/a = red-head, "ginger"

moreno/a = dark-haired / brunette de/con cabello/pelo castaño = brown-haired

de/con pelo/cabello caoba = auburn-haired

cano/a = white-haired, gray-haired [as opposed to pelo cano or pelo blanco / gris]

de/con pelo/cabello negro = black-haired pelinegro = black-haired [less common still used sometimes]

This also applies to hair texture/length... corto/a "short", largo/a "long", liso/a "smooth/straight (hair)", rizado/a "curly/wavy", and calvo/a "bald"

-

Two options for gender neutral - the @ makes the most sense in writing when you're including everyone not specifically talking about a particular person like tod@s is "everyone (male and female)", or el/la chic@ maybe

The way a company might do it is to include both: un/una alumno/a "a student" for example, or se busca un/una empleado/a "looking for an employee"

The other way a company or someone official might do it is to include both options; damas y caballeros "ladies and gentlemen" or todos y todas "everyone"

-

Less official but still used especially by the younger generation and for times when you are really talking about one person in particular: the general idea for gender neutral is the use of -e

So it would be le chique "the young person" gender neutral

For non-binary groups, it would probably be les chiques or saying todes "everyone". I would tend to assume it works like feminine does that nosotras "we" is for only women in the group, nosotros is either a mixed group or all men... so nosotres would be like everyone NB, but in a mixed group I would expect to see nosotros

And so it would be rubie, pelirroje, morene, cane etc.

But be really careful because depending on where you're saying/using it, it might not be regarded as correct or you might be mistaken for using French or Italian

The "default" way to talk about someone non-binary or gender neutral is either to assume masculine until proven otherwise, or to use gender neutral language that's a bit impersonal... such as la persona que tiene (el) pelo/cabello negro "the person that has black hair", or alguien con (el) pelo/cabello azul "someone with blue hair"

-

Side Note just in case you were confused rosa can be used as "pink", rosado/a is more explicitly the adjective form "pink" or "rosy". They are both correct as adjectives, just that rosa doesn't change for gender so it could confuse some people

I know in my textbooks for colors they wrote anaranjado/a "orange" [lit. "orange-y"] instead of naranja "orange", and they wrote rosado/a "pink" instead of rosa

When using an actual noun as an adjective, they don't change gender; so la rosa is "rose", el rosa is "the color pink", rosa is just pink

You can also see this with caoba "mahogany" or "auburn", plata "silver" [as opposed to plateado/a], oro "gold" [instead of dorado/a "golden"], bronce "bronze" [instead of bronceado/a "bronzed / tanned"]

And some other words like márfil "ivory", ébano "ebony", castaño "brown/chestnut", café or color café "coffee colored" aka "brown", or something like lila "light purple" and turquesa "turquoise"

All colors are masculine when talking about them; all colors taken from nouns will not change as adjectives - la camisa turquesa "turquoise shirt" vs. el abrigo turquesa "turquoise coat" for example... And la turquesa means "turquoise" often the gemstone, and el turquesa means "the color turquoise"

[etinceelle]

Hey. Hope you're having a wonderful day

Just wanna say that your characters are amazing. Exactly what got you into creating them ? Any sort of inspiration ?

Hey, I'm having a good night and hope you too !

Thank you so much, I'm happy you appreciate them :) I'm happy to tell the tiny story behind their creation-

So, back in march/april 2021 I was in my last year of my bachelor's degree studying animation, and I still wasn't sure about going in the master's degree in animation as well after that. There were a lot of struggles at this moment but anyway

The thing is that for the master we had to create a short film, alone and (almost) fully done by ourselves, so our teachers asked us to start a sort of book or sketchbook to do researches and brainstorming about the film during summer. Even if I wasn't sure to continue I started it, and sketched a lot of stuff and various ideas I had at this moment

Then I ended up not going in the master's degree and taking a gap year instead, but I still continued to sketch stuff in that sketchbook because I still wanted to do my own film at some point. Uni or not the diploma was mostly a reason to make a film, but I in any case I wouldn't be free to do like I want because of teachers' reviews etc. I wanted to make it truly my own, maybe not perfect but just give it a try and be free to tell the story I want.

But I was frustrated because I wasn't finding something that would make me feel like it's my own stuff, it was too similar to RWBY for a lot of things (already a big inspiration at this moment, I was in the V8 brainrot for the first half of 2021 lmao). So I wasn't really going anywhere

BUT, randomly in december 2021 I had a pretty wild and pretty dream, I decided to paint digitally the main scene of it and doodle some concepts I had from it in my sketchbook :

I also ended up writing and composing a tiny song based on it (in french sorry-). It's not perfect at all or anything because I'm not a pro or super good, but creating a link between visual art & music helps me a lot most of the time so I do it (also for fun 'cause I love it) :

After that it didn't evolved much outside of the fact that I already had some sort of script for a "short film" or a teaser idk, I wrote that when I was in uni last winter. But I still wasn't really sure about the main characters or even their designs, even if Gris was the one I thought the most about and changed a lot of stuff

So last january/february I started to work on a first design and turn around for Gris :] (she didn't even have a name yet at this moment)

I continued to think of it until recently at the end of this summer where I sketched another design for her. As for Fauve, I knew for a long time I wanted Gris to have a strong bond with someone to help her go through stuff (and also a gf lol). I never really worked a lot on Fauve, I only knew she was going to have red or brown hair. x)

And I just sketched a first rough thing after Gris and liked it, so I kept it, it was really simple and easier than Gris' researches aha, idk Fauve's vibes felt pretty natural and logical after Gris was done.

Also if you're curious here are some of the first design ideas for them I had back in 2021/2022 :]

It changed a lot--

Anyway, now I'd love to develop more stuff and make a short film :]

[lannisterdaddyissues]

I want to enable your BillRita screaming so for those ship asks...

How do they sleep?

What's their most and least favorite thing about each other?

How are they with PDA?

What's their favorite thing to tease each other about?

What little things remind them of each other?

I would apologize for how many of these things I sent but we both know I'm not sorry...

OHHHHHHH HEATHER YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH YOU’VE ENABLED ME WITH THIS I’M FROTHING AT THE FUCKING MOUTHHHHHHH GRGSHGRHFJGHASRJGHASJFHSAGRJSFSGAS YOU KNOW I LOVE THEM!!! YOU KNOW I DO!!!!

IM SORRY THIS TOOK 84 YEARS BTW AND THERES A LOT OF TONAL DISSONANCE IN THIS BECAUSE I WAS BEING SILLY AT FIRST BUT THEN I GOT SO FUCKING SERIOUS ABOUT THIS YOU KNOW HOW I AM AHRESGAKJHJSGKHALSJGKHFASG ANYWAY-

im putting this under a cut because it is. so fucking long. im so sorry for my mental illness

3. What's their favorite thing to tease each other about? AHHHHHH i think we all know rita will bully bill over anything and everything because she's just. so mean to him 😭 but i think her favorite thing to make fun of him for is his accent, or really just his being american in general because i think he’d be the most stereotypical american guy lol. he has a silly, dumb american accent and he likes silly, dumb american sports and silly, dumb american food! rita pretends to find his Americanisms™ exasperating but privately she thinks they're funny lmao

as for bill, his favorite thing to tease rita about is how messy she is. i’ve already said it, but rita being a messy bitch and bill being a neat freak is one of my favorite headcanons about them sjdfhskjgffjs… you’d think being in the army would’ve taught rita how to put things away but no, bill finds her bras and stuff lying around all the time and it was awkward at first but he’s gotten used to it now, so he lets her have her little rebellion against army regulations and politely pretends that isn’t her. uh. underwear. wedged between the couch cushions next to him when he sits down to do Important Media Relations Major Stuff™ on his computer 😳

5. How do they sleep? they sleep back to back because it's a show of trust and vulnerability for both of them... blubbubbublbddlwwbwudfbfbldludubldublub;;,.,$$.,$,&.,., goodbye... i'm crying now...

of course, by the time the morning rolls around bill is normally lying half on top of rita and drooling a bit on her shirt, which isn’t super sexy but bill will be bill 🤷‍♀️

7. What's their most and least favorite thing about each other? AHHHHHH oh my god. i have to think long and hard about this and it sounds like a cop-out but i truly don't think bill really has a favorite thing about rita. if you ask him what it is, he will actually spontaneously combust from thinking too hard.

but the short answer is her smile!!! he works so fucking hard to make her smile—cracking jokes, doing nice things for her, earning her praise by proving his competence—and he swears it lights up the entire room whenever he can get her to do it!!! 😭 and if he can get her to laugh? he won’t be able to think about anything else but that sound for DAYS

on the other hand, his least favorite thing about her is…well, probably her optimism. she's not very good at it. in fact, most of the time it just makes him feel worse whenever she tells him he’ll just have to try harder next time! like gee, thanks rita! he was already doing that but he’ll take it into consideration… just like he did the last time… and the time before that… and before that…

when it comes to rita though, she would never, even on pain of death, say anything sappy like her “favorite thing” about bill where someone else can hear her, but i think her favorite thing about him is—surprisingly, since it’s his least favorite thing about her—his optimism.

for her, it’s just been so long since she was able to enjoy things without feeling guilt or some kind of loss, but bill somehow never lost that. which certainly isn’t to say he didn’t acquire his fair share of trauma or grief or loss along the way, but he remains steadily resilient in the face of adversity even in the very last iteration—“we’ve had worse :)”—and that strikes a chord with her, i think. then, slowly, being around someone so stubbornly happy despite carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders starts to not only impress her, but it heals her. with his help, she learns to enjoy things again: the delight of a good meal after years of carrying a bad aftertaste in her mouth, the comfort of a spacious hotel room and a soft bed after sleeping on the ground for god knows how long, the satisfaction of a healthy jog just around the block after spending years running at a sprint with no breaks. the all-consuming joy of someone knowing her the way she never dreamed anyone would ever know her again after before. the relief of not having to think about 'before' anymore because now she has an 'after' to look forward to instead.

ahem. sorry. i got carried away for a second.

that being said, her least favorite thing about bill is easy to pin down and that is his complete and utter lack of dignity LOL... rita can say for absolute certain she has never met a man with as little pride as bill cage, and although he is rather funny and makes for surprisingly good company on a quiet day, he is often ridiculously embarrassing to be around and can be very difficult when he doesn’t want to do something because he’s being a chicken about it🙄

14. What little things remind them of each other? ohhhhhhh 🥺🥺🥺 i apologize because u will get a LOT of sappiness for this but-

on bill's side, he is reminded of rita in everything, but mainly in their experiences together. he sees her in a young woman's loosely braided hair as she passes him on the street. he sees her in his coffee cup when the waitress taking his order asks if he wants sugar or cream. he sees her in the sun at 6:45pm exactly, when he and rita sat together on the fence outside the farmhouse and watched it disappear over the horizon. in his lifetime, he's experienced everything with her, and he probably has as many things to remember her by as there are stars in the cosmos.

of course, he's reminded of her in other ways as well. things she taught him. he thinks of her when he looks to the sun to check the time rather than turning over his wrist, just like she taught him. he thinks of her when he does his stretches at the gym, just like she taught him. he thinks of her when he checks all his exits every time he enters a room and someone closes the door, just like she taught him. everything he knows he learned from her and for her.

it's harder for rita though, because she doesn't have anything to remember him by, so she remembers the little things instead: his preferences and whatnot. she pretends not to care when he tells her where he's from or what his favorite color is, but she thinks of him when his favorite baseball team is shown on television, or when she goes for a walk in the park and it starts to rain even though it's sunny out because sunshowers make him smile the brightest :')

26. How are they with PDA? UGHRGRHREHGHUDRHGJSHRKHASG DONT MAKE ME THINK ABOUT ESTABLISHED BILLRITA AND PDA ILL EXPLODE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

no but bill has ALWAYS been a pda guy that much is so obvious!! i think he was always chasing something real with his old girlfriends, and even if it never felt like much with them, it was better than nothing... and then he fell head over ass into the mimic war and the closest thing to PDA he got was a kick in the gut or the barrel a gun trained on his temple, so surely no one can fault him for craving comfort, reassurance, intimacy—anything to take him away from the reality he was living in for even 5 seconds.

...and this did not answer the question at all which is to say bill is SO fucking annoying (affectionate) about pda 😭 rita please hold his hand please kiss him on the forehead please cuddle him he wants to hold you he wants you to hold him PLEASE!!! he will actually die if you don't and then you'll be sad (he hopes) :'(

meanwhile rita is a fan of pda in the way cats are a fan of anything. she either wants all the fucking pda or none of it. if she's not the one initiating, bill is Not the one getting it 😔

[goldendoodlerlockerlove]

5!

Thank you so much for invading my ask box again, Babs!! I appreciate you so much 🥹❣️

All right, The Cobra is my Marvel WIP (technically WIP even though it's published, because it's unfinished and I haven't been able to find the time to continue it for quite a while). But it's a fic I want to finish someday, eventually, though I don't know when. It's a fic that's very dear to me. It was my first big writing project that I actually published for the world to see, so I love it a lot for that. Okay, buckle up for some lore. I told @koko-raccoon all about my OC, so here's everything I told them:

Her full given name is Lucille Dorothy Barnes, but she goes by Lucy for short, or Luce (She/Her pronouns!! She's a Cisgender Lady :3 Tbh, I like to headcanon her as the type to put Pronouns in her Bio once she gets to the present and has an actual phone and learns how to use Social Media). Anyway, she's Bucky's younger sister, and he's her oldest brother (yes, she has two older brothers and one younger brother. I gave her two additional brothers because according to canon lore, Bucky's supposed to be the oldest of four, even though nothing about his siblings is known in canon).

She and Bucky are 1000% the closest to each other in their family, they were each other's first best friends!! That's the power of sibling love. The two of them eventually meet Steve, and she becomes Steve's bestie as well at the same time that Bucky becomes Steve's bestie. The three of them kind of become a friendship trio, like The Three Musketeers. Oh yeah, and she's also Aro/Ace, but doesn't figure it out until later, because of how taboo being LGBTQ+ was back in the forties. Her being Cis and Aro/Ace is based off my best friend, who is also Cis and Aro/Ace, pffffft (and despite being Aro/Ace, she's one of the most loving people I know).

Anyway, Lucy never gets powers, but does support Steve while he gets the serum, and actually does manage to join the army with him. Even though she's a woman, she still gets in because let's just say that's how desperate they were, lmao. And they also tour together selling War Bonds as Captain America and The Cobra (which eventually becomes her actual superhero name). Then they both get trapped in the ice. I don't know how she survived, because she never got the serum. Let's just say she's built different--and somehow the ice protected her all of those years, I don't know. I don't think I thought about that enough when I wrote it.

Anyway, they wake up in 2012, join the Avengers, and craziness ensues. But the craziest part is reuniting with Bucky, who she thought died all the way back in the forties. She definitely took his presumed death the hardest, she grieved so much. She never really fully recovered from when she thought she lost him. She actually turned to drinking to make herself feel better, it was that bad (she previously never even touched alcohol). And she even cut her long, brown hair and dyed it; it eventually grows back and regains its old, natural color, but it was still a huge, rebellious move for her. She gets even more upset when she learns that Bucky was brainwashed, and he's barely even her brother anymore. But part of her that she thought would never heal heals when Bucky is eventually freed of his mind control and becomes a part of her life again. They definitely become each other's support system when Steve goes back to live out his life in the forties and dies, leaving the two of them (and Sam).

And she's reminded just how fun it is to spend time with her big brother again. She just missed him so much 😭 I like to think that she's also trapped in the town Wanda creates in WandaVision, and actually forgets everything, and Wanda tries to justify it by saying that now she gets to live the life she lost. Very sad stuff. I actually kind of used this fic as an excuse to write a character going through the grieving process, sort of?? It was definitely interesting.

Here's an excerpt of Lucy dealing with grief and turning to drinking as an unhealthy coping mechanism:

When they got back, she turned to drinking. Being drunk erased the pain. It numbed everything. It wasn’t a permanent solution, but it helped. She was old enough anyway. She and Steve sat in the remains of a building, listening to a broadcast.

“Blackout is still in effect throughout the London area. Please wait for the all-clear. Your attention, please. All citizens should remain indoors until further notice. Blackout is still in effect throughout the London Area.”

Peggy suddenly appeared in a trenchcoat. Steve cleared his throat and spoke, his voice sounding rather raspy, “Dr. Erskine said that the serum wouldn’t just affect my muscles, it would affect my cells. Create a protective system of regeneration and healing. Which means I can’t get drunk. Did you know that?”

“I can.” Lucy hiccuped, pouring herself another shot. “It helps with the pain. Physical and mental. Also, Steve, m’pretty sure your metabolism burns four times faster than the average person.”

She heard that her words sounded slightly slurred, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“I was just about to say that.” Peggy grabbed a chair and sat beside them. “He thought it could be one of the side effects. It wasn’t either of your faults.”

“Did you read the report?” Steve questioned, probably sounding harsher than intended.

“Yes.”

“Then you know that’s not true.”

She slammed her shot glass on the table, startling Peggy, “I was a coward.”

“You did everything you could,” Peggy assured them. “Did you believe in your friend and brother? Did you respect him? Then stop blaming yourselves. Allow Barnes the dignity of his choice. He damn well must’ve thought you were worth it. Both of you.”

“That’sss Bucky for you.” Lucy’s “s” was slightly drawn out. She laughed drunkenly and then hiccuped again.

“I’m going after Schmidt,” Steve decided. “I’m not gonna sleep until all of Hydra is dead or captured.”

“You won’t be alone.” 

Lucy never forgot those words of comfort.

Here's an excerpt of a small part of WandaVision that I wrote in advance because I got so excited to get to it:

Lucy started to grow angry herself for not being listened to, “What is outside of Westview, Wanda?”

“You know full well what’s out there,” Wanda snapped. “Lucy, I did this for you, too.”

“What?”

“Haven’t you noticed? You’ve gotten to live through all of the decades you never got to experience. You never had to be a hero,” Wanda explained.

Lucy’s hands curled into fists, “I thought you were my friend, Wanda. How could you do this? People here are suffering!”

“You don’t understand.” 

“I don’t understand?” Lucy hit the table with all her strength and started to shout, “I knew damn well what I was getting into when I got into that plane with Steve!”

“You don’t get to make a choice for us, Wanda!” Vision exclaimed.

Also, the best flipping part about this fic is that Lucy is canon is some way thanks to The Falcon and The Winter Soldier!! Sort of. Okay, I still made Lucy up, and Bucky's sister never appears on-screen, so it can be assumed she never made it to the present and passed away at some point. Or he could even be lying. But let me have this!! When my best friend, Matilda, pointed this out, I squealed with happiness so hard.

[lunapwrites]

LP Yells About The Sims... Again.

OK so I promise I am still writing B U T...

Still also working on this NSB challenge in the Sims4 and need to yell about it for a minute so I am going to just ... yeah.

It's official: Peach Gen (this being Gen 8) is on the board. Sort of; they're still an infant so I can't really skill them up. BUT! They are there.

The Berry family tree has gotten completely out of control, and I am ADORING the chaos. Have I been going into manage households and hunting everyone down and tweaking appearances (just to fix Crimes)? Maybe. But we have gotten to the point that uh.

You can't see the whole thing, even when zoomed all the way out. It's a little bananas. In fact, you can't see the heirs from Gen 4 onward at all in this shot. I can see Gris' twin sister Zelda, and her kids on the very far left, right under Midas and Elena. But that's it.

Have I organized everyone's headshots into a special folder organized by generation and then by which Rose Gen line they spring from? Yeah I sure did. It's easier to divide and conquer since only 5 of the 6 kids had kids and I separate heirs out into their own folder. This is normal this is fine we're doing fine.

As for how the heir thing is going. There's uh. Some story happening. And I feel like this needs explaining lol.

Caveat that I did play correctly and the Pink Gen twins (Rosa and Kamal) are the only children that Orange Gen (Ginger) has had. The rest in that line were through their dad Sidney and were entirely for The Drama (and because I needed easy fodder for Ginger to fight for her Public Enemy aspiration and turning the game into an episode of Jerry Springer seemed like a reasonable decision lmao.)

Short version: the trauma in this family compounds over the generations, holy shit. Like, just gameplay wise. And everything that each generation tries to do better than the one before they wind up somehow making worse without meaning to. I think Pink Gen is the first one that ACTUALLY starts breaking the cycle and I'm really glad that I hauled off and created a Sim to be Rosa's partner because they are wildly in love and happy and I'm living for the peace and positivity after the absolute madhouse that was Ginger's playthrough lol.

Anyway, because they deserve to be seen:

Julep (mint), Jasper (rose), Midas (yellow), Gris (grey), Iris (plum), Ginger (orange), and (below) Rosa (pink), with her extremely lovely husband Charlie who is "freckle-faced, gap-toothed farmer boy who will talk your ear off about plants." Next up is their daughter Lily (peach), but I don't take screenshots until they're at least teens. (I had Julep's pic from when I started but I didn't start tracking properly until I was well into Midas' playthrough and Jasper was already an elder... but he had red hair lol.)

Btw if you're looking for a skinblend for aesthetics I really like Honey. Obviously, since I have decided it's rated E for Everyone lmao.

Anyway I just think they're neat.

[cookinguptales]

So! Thoughts on Pinocchio!

(under a cut for length)

So I finally got to go see Pinocchio a couple days ago (open captioned!! yes!!) and I really enjoyed it. I love stop-motion and the art direction and character design was just so fucking good. It was fantastic. Pinocchio himself in particular is such a radical departure from a lot of older depictions of him, but it really worked. Like, obviously indebted to Gris Grimly! But there was a real sense of unfinished love and naïveté that they brought to the character that I think was really beautiful.

As for the story and writing... I'm a little of two minds, honestly. I really love a lot of the new concepts that del Toro, McHale, Robbins, and Gustafson brought to the old story, and I think the script itself was very impactful... but at the same, I felt that it was held back a little by its own source material sometimes? Like it's still Pinocchio, and del Toro clearly loves that book! So of course he wants to incorporate all of those somewhat disparate story lines. But I do think in the end that made things feel a bit episodic and rushed, particularly in the transition to Monstro.

Maybe it would have worked better as miniseries... Like we all know Patrick McHale can handle one of those. lmao

So I had this somewhat... hmm, I guess like a restless lack of fulfillment after I left the movie because I loved some of the ideas so much and some of them felt like they didn't get a chance to be fully realized in a movie that had a lot of ground to cover. I get that some of the message of the movie is that war cuts short lives and stories and you don't always get a satisfying resolution to things as a result, but... like, you know, you're in the scene with Candlewick and his father, the war is crashing down, etc. and then suddenly you never hear from any of that again while Pinocchio is down there being crucified and then Monstro happens and that very rapid cycling from plot line to plot line made me sit here like. I wonder how the impact of these scenes would change if they were given the chance to breathe a little.

For example, I... assume that Candlewick also died during the bombing? But it was very unclear. I get that the point of the scene was, y'know, the juxtaposition of play with war, childhood with adulthood, standing up to a fascist figure, the true nature of courage, the death of the Podesta, etc. But it sort of feels like the full magnitude of the message isn't fully realized when you never get the child's reaction to his father's death or the fact that he'll probably never see Pinocchio again. You never know if he died in that bombing or if he joined the military and died for another dictator or if his rebellion actually stuck. And I get that some of the point is that you lose track of people in war and those relationships are as much a casualty as the actual lives lost, but... from a writing standpoint, I was just left sitting there like. Oh. That was a very abrupt end to that plot line.

I guess to me it felt less like purposeful ambiguity and more like we were being quickly shuffled along to the next part of the story, which was the return of Volpe and subsequently Monstro.

I suppose it frustrated me because I did think so many of the ideas in the movie were fascinating. I wanted to see those ideas fully fleshed out and taken to their logical conclusions, y'know? Given some space to breathe and exist. A good thing that could have been a little better will always frustrate me more than something that was just bad. lmao

Presenting Pinocchio as this simulacrum/Frankenstein/Christ figure was so interesting, though. This reoccurring idea of sons disappointing their fathers but earning love and/or respect through sacrifice which -- okay honestly it makes me feel like a lot of men need therapy because of continuing cycles of toxic masculinity, but. The nails sticking out of Pinocchio's neck in a way that sometimes reminds you of Frankenstein's bolts, sometimes reminds you of nails sticking awkwardly from a cross, like it was beautiful.

Presenting him as this Christ figure while simultaneously introducing this idea that life derives its power from its inevitable end is a really interesting idea. Like... did this religious idea only gain so much traction because the deity died? Is the power in the sacrifice, the death, or the resurrection? I guess you ask yourself that about Pinocchio, too. Does Pinocchio's resurrection lessen his sacrifice? Was he only a "real" boy so long as he could die? What does that make him now that he is once again unending? What understanding of death does he have now that he has died and come back and now must watch everyone else pass before him?

Also the ideas of incompletion and growth... Both the crucifix and Pinocchio as works in progress, the fact that Pinocchio was created from "dead" wood (and other dead things...) but still had the potential to physically grow, this concept of being alive and dead and unalive all at once, and what that truly means for living... Carlo being the seed for what would later metaphorically and physically become Pinocchio... Pinocchio becoming emotionally complete after losing the same arm that the "incomplete" wooden crucifix had... I mean, there was just a lot there, and I think I'll need to sit with a lot of that symbolism for a while to fully make sense of it all.

I think the most fascinating decision to make was to have Pinocchio be a slapdash simulacrum of a real dead child. The concepts there of individuality and replacement and grief making way for new kinds of love were really beautiful. The fact that, like Frankenstein, Geppetto was appalled by what he'd created. The fact that, unlike Frankenstein, Geppetto finally decided to take responsibility for his son and love him....... There's a lot to chew on there.....

The fact that the creature that gave Pinocchio life was clearly an allusion to a Biblically accurate angel while still explicitly being a nature deity. A "wood sprite" looking over a creature made of wood answering a prayer that Geppetto had made to a God that I don't think was ever listening. (Like God killed your kid in a church that you were actively building for him, Geppetto, I don't think he's giving you your son back.)

Again, I guess it just comes back to the symbolism of trees and wood and seeds and growth, doesn't it? Wood's a malleable material like that, I suppose. You've got the wooden crucifix and the wooden boy and the wooden cross. You've got a living boy gathering pine cones that would grow into a living tree that would be cut down to create a living puppet. You've got dead wood that can grow -- but only when it lies. God. There's a lot there.

And I mean, obviously you've got the strong thread of antifascism in the movie, but... this is a del Toro film. lmao. That's almost just implied from the start, isn't it? But I guess it's still a lesson that's needed these days, especially the implication that it's always easier to stand up to a fascist if you stand up for those who are being oppressed first. Stronger together, etc.

There's just an awful lot to say about the film, and I've only just scratched the tip of the iceberg. I'll be here all day if I keep going, though. It really was thought-provoking and I really did like it. I just felt such a weird sense of frustration with it. Like... if they'd just had a little more room it could have been more.

I came out of that film with like... the oddest thought that the script was good and the art was just fucking incredible, but as far as story cohesiveness goes... I think Puss In Boots of all fucking things did it better??? Which was a wild thing to think, but I think it's true. (And the art in that, of course, was also fascinating and beautiful.)

I think Pinocchio will still get the Oscar, but, and I know this will sound wild coming from the woman who is fucking still not over Brave beating ParaNorman a decade ago, I think I would not throw a fit if Puss won. I'd personally still choose Pinocchio just because I'm a slut for stop-motion and I think the writing was a bit more layered, but I think that story-wise Puss In Boots was probably a bit more cohesive and its characterization and messages were also surprisingly profound. (Though it did kind of get hit with the Up curse, which is when you can practically hear the executive say "an animated film about death??? put some stuff in there for the KIDS" when you're watching certain scenes.)

God, both movies were so mired in death and resurrection and questions about what value life holds for you if you're never truly afraid of losing it. lmao. Never fucking thought I'd say that about a Pinocchio film and a glorified Shrek sequel, but here we are.

people really doin it this year, and I will continue to watch!!

(a post about the MoMA exhibit later, btw, this is already long enough. I had an incredible time at the exhibit, though, and I cried a lot on IG while sitting on various chairs and benches around the museum.)

[treesap-blogs]

“The Belles” review! (This week’s reviews are fairly short, sorry)

Hello, Tumblrians! I don’t know if I quite have a lengthy introduction for this, but it was one of the books I read to clear off my reading queue before The Wicked Bargain’s release ^^! (Although I didn’t get my hands on the book until a little under a week after that. But I’m an impatient person, and the two days in between finishing TOSAB and the release date meant that I had a reading void I desperately wanted to but felt like I needed to fill.) Anyhow! Book Discovery Backstory: I just found this in the closest library by my house (as you’ve probably noticed, almost all of my reads are from libraries because a) cheaper, b) my reading times can be short when I’m invested, and it’s best to get books on a renewal/borrow cycle that reflects that). I remembered liking Uglies as a middle-schooler because I’d absorbed knowledge of the books from extensive rants my brother would tell to me as we played video games or finished puzzles, so the premise intrigued me because it contained themes that were in that series as well. There was also the fact that I’d seen this title before! Dhionelle Clayton’s been a frequent reviewer on the covers of a good chunk of fantasy books I’ve either read or had on my TBR. I wanted to see what writing she’d made herself, after seeing her comment on (and praise) so many others’.

“The Belles” is one of three books in a trilogy, published in 2018 (although the idea was something Clayton came up with as a highschooler in the 90’s, there’s an interesting backstory for that in the acknowledgments). Within the kingdom of Orleáns, almost all citizens are born as “Gris”; people cursed to be ugly, and void of color(only being shades on the grayscale) after a conflict between the gods years prior. However, there are a few that are born as regular humans, in full color and grace: The Belles, who have abilities that allow them to give cosmetic procedures to the Gris in order to make them beautiful. (“Beautiful” in quotations or otherwise.) Here we follow our protagonist, a Belle named Camillia(or “Camille” for short), studying hard to be the Favorite of her generation and work as a Belle for the queen. She gets the role, after her friend Amber is suddenly let go from it, but ends up discovering that her world isn’t as beautiful as she’s been taught to think.

I devoured a lot of this book. Clayton herself is a strong writer, I loved the descriptions she used too, they added a flowery-ness to the world that eventually went away the more grotesque details we got! Although, nothing much happens in the first half. It mainly serves as an introduction to the world we’re in, which makes sense for the pacing, but once I hit the 190 pages mark it felt like it was dragging on a bit. After that though, things escalate. To be honest, I was expecting more disturbing things to happen(in regards to the procedures specifically, as we saw some of the bad they could do), but Princess Sophia proved herself to be an incredibly threatening villain, and I was still nervous reading most of the climax play out even if I knew the lead would turn out fine if we had two more books, and the ending of the first was mildly spoiled in their summaries.The plot twists themselves weren’t anything to write home about, though. I know I say “oh this plot twist was predictable!” a lot in my reviews (except for that Lost Dreamer review lmao that book was strange), but it?? Still applied here basically. 

Thematically, as I predicted, it shared some similarities to Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (not similar in premise though, that’s for sure), but it also had a healthy dosage of Hunger Games influence in it! So those who liked 2000’s and 2010’s YAs will probably enjoy this one too.

Kind of branching off though, I skimmed through some spoiler-free reviews halfway through (they didn’t influence me y’all don’t worry lmao), and was in for a pretty nasty discovery that they had some Bury Your Gays in here? Thankfully, I don’t think Princess Sophia ended up realizing the character’s sexuality(or her secret relationship at the time), but the character’s death does still technically fall into that category. That made me pretty upset as a queer reader to be honest, but I think this was moreso a misstep on Clayton’s part than genuine malicious intent? She sprinkled in a smidgen of trans-inclusive worldbuilding (apparently the procedures can be used for gender affirming too? I wonder if they’re allowed to have more permanent ones though, and how beauty standards affect transgender Orleáneans?), and not outing the character before her death was presented as the logically and morally correct option for Camille. Hopefully Clayton’s realized some of the issues with that in her writing since then though, because she’s the only character I can really think of who we got to know well and got killed off? (I know there’s technically also The Queen, but it was presumably of non-murder causes.) 

That’s probably my biggest issue with the book. I liked most of the other aspects to it (the romance also wasn’t so bad, actually), Camille was a capable protagonist amidst her circumstances, and it did make me feel pretty nostalgic of those days where I read a few YA sci-fi or fantasy dystopias. The..aforementioned issue did ruin a lot of my reading experience though.

But, I think the plot has a lot going for it, and I’m invested in this story now, so I’ll be reading both the sequel and the book after that. 

Overall, I’d give this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. 

Paz, signing off!

(Book trigger/content warnings: Violence, sexual assault(pages 330-332), some elements that are technically body horror.)

[satanicdollx]

Question for you (because I think I've seen you mention it before): Is the game Gris good?

Most of what I've heard has been eh on it, but I have this vague memory of you talking positively about it, and it's currently on sale on GoG so... thought I'd ask. :)

IT'S SO FUCKING GOOD OMG ARE PEOPLE SERIOUS??? sorry lmao but I will not allow this 😤 it's so beautiful both visually and story wise, it's very short (3-4 hours) so it's perfect for a day off and it's very moving, i always end up crying. Oh and the soundtrack is incredible too 🖤 but what I love about Gris is that it's open to interpretation depending on how you relate to the story! 100% recommend, it's probably on sale right now btw 👀

[aofikofi]

oKAY so there’s this song called Kisah Sebentar which means Short Story, an indo song by Tulus. It’s one of those heartbreak cheating songs but it has a narrative type of lyrics and also jazzy instruments which I Absolutely Love. I attempted at translating it earlier into english for easier understanding so …

This is mostly DL!Scar brainrot revolving his relationship with Grian and the whole secret soulmate stuff :3

“With you, my heart feels happy

Waking up from my dreams knowing I’m not alone”

How Scar was living in his happy world. He has his happiness, his Jellies. And he has Grian, his soulmate that cared for him and took care of him. Someone who accompanies him (for once, remembering how the previous season went like..)

“The sun also feels brighter

With your sweet kiss, I get up and walk”

The red velvet keep was sunny. It always felt bright, and lively. With the panda sanctuary right next to it and Grian’s pleased laughters. “The Sun” referring to Scar’s soulmate. Scar’s sun. With the sun’s sweet kiss and brightness, he gets up and continues on in this insane survival game of theirs.

“I enjoy my every second with your name in my heart

I feel joy and my heart blossoming”

Something about Grian in his heart. How their hearts are quite literally connected. And the flower imageries, I don’t think I need to explain on that one lmao.

“You’ve made me crazy, I bow down in my loyalty  

Like magic you made me fall”

Scar is absolutely the lovesick (indo = bucin) type. He loves Grian with all his heart and it made him dizzy and crazy. And maybe the server itself had something to do with it. The server’s admin, coding a system that made them all become soulmates and fall in love. Grian really did magic his way into Scar’s heart.

“But that didn’t last long

You left me

You left me questioning”

But well, it didn’t last long. That was when Scar found out about Grian’s secret affairs. He really didn’t see it coming. He thought. He thought Grian was happy with him. He thought all those kisses and words were real. He couldn’t believe it. No way Grian would do that right?

“Come on, remember your words

You won't leave me

Come on, remember your words

Forever, you are only for me”

He thinks of how it all started. Of when Grian was so desperate on trying to get Scar to notice him. Oh, how times have changed. He wonders where it all went wrong. Or did it really went wrong? No way, right? Yeah, there’s no way. Grian loves him, he’s sure of it.

“Come on, remember your words

Dear, love, you are everything

Come on, remember your words

Forever, you are only for me”

Come on Gri. Remember how much we used to love each other? My dear. My love. My everything. You still love me right? Come on. Forever, you are only for me. My sunshine.

:-)

[my earlier post abt this bc i didnt want to add another reblog to it its so long already help]

[theraspberryler]

Pretty Bird

Summary: Grian’s been slacking on taking care of his wings, but luckily Scar’s there to make all of his problems go away!

Contents/Warnings: LOTS of hurt/comfort, panic attack (not too detailed, but definitely there), winged!Grian, tickles

ULTRA SUPER PLATONIC!! 

Word count: 3,293 (wow, I’m impressed)

I was originally writing something short and sweet to get back into the swing of things but,,, I got a little carried away lmao

also, I didn’t beta read this, so I’m sorry if there’s a lot of mistakes.

It was a nice summer evening, the sun just beginning to set. With the sun no longer heavily glaring down at the citizens of hermitcraft, the temperature settled down to a comfortable warm state. The few remaining trees throughout the spawn area gently swayed in the light breeze, and the remaining glow of the sun highlighted the already impressive builds littered around with an almost ethereal glow. 

Scar, deciding to take advantage of the beauty while there was still some sunlight present, wandered about along the various pathways and bridges throughout the town, admiring the creations of his peers. He had no real plan or destination in mind, he just walked and took in all of the changes and additions the hermits had made since the last time he had the chance to look around.

It was unusually quiet, especially for one of the most densely populated areas of Hermitcraft - the only sounds being that of the wind rustling the leaves in the trees, the water flowing through the river that split the little civilization, Scars footsteps, and the faint jingle of a bell attached to the collar of a particular feline, that had decided to tag along for Scars impromptu walk.

That was, until Scar heard the footsteps of someone else coming from behind, traveling at a much faster pace than his own. Turning around, he was able to put his arms out just in time to keep the hurried hermit from crashing straight into him.

“Whoa there, what’s got you in such a hurry?”

With the sun's light fading quick, Scar’s eyes took a moment to adjust and process what was in front of him. But as soon as his brain caught up with his eyes, concern tore through his body.

Right there, practically in his arms, was a very distraught Grian, to say the least. He was hunched forward on himself, as if to make himself appear smaller. His breathing was quick and erratic, his entire body wracked with tremors. He refused to look Scar in the face, and had his wings folded tightly down and behind himself. 

Scar, taking special care not to spook the avian any further, gently placed his hands on Grian’s shoulders, trying to look him in the eyes.

“Grian? Hey, Gri, can you tell me what’s wrong? Are you in danger?” While Scar didn’t want to overwhelm Grian, he wanted to first make sure that there were no phantoms chasing after the other, or some other threat. 

Grian managed to shake his head no, which caused Scar to relax slightly, before Grian began to shake even more, his breathing speeding up further, gasping breaths breaking it apart.

“I-I- I haven’t b-been taking care of them very well b-before, a-a-and then they o-only got worse, and I couldn’t fix it on my own so I j-just ignored it, a-and it kept getting worse, a-and it started to hurt to try and do a-anything with them, a-a-and there were some zombies, a-and I knew I couldn’t fight them a-all, so I tries to f-fly away, but I-I couldn’t, and the harder I tried the more it hurt-”

Scars mind was reeling, he tried to follow along with Grian’s story, but he had no clue what he was talking about.

“Hey, hey G, deep breaths, yeah? I don’t know what happened, but you’re safe now. Let’s just breathe for a moment, then we can figure out what’s going on, okay? How does that sound?”

Grian nodded his head jerkily in response, hands shaking as he reached up to grab onto the front of Scars robe, clinging to it tightly. Scar crouched down so he was level with Grian, and he pulled the smaller boy closer to him, guiding his head toward his chest.

Grian didn’t try to fight Scar at all, allowing him to guide Grian through the same breathing exercises that Mumbo taught him a while back. Grian closed his eyes and focused into Scar’s gently spoken instructions, and the way his chest rumbled with each word.

After a while of Scar cradling Grian against himself in the middle of some pathway, the sunlight having long disappeared, Grian had calmed down considerably. His breath still shook occasionally, but it was still miles better from where it had been. 

Scar slowly pulled back, letting Grian continue to cling onto him, but pulled back enough to observe the other, then their surroundings.

“Well,,, my base is closer than yours is, how about we both head there, G?” Scar still needed to figure out what happened, and determine if Grian needed medical attention, but he knew he couldn’t do much without any light, and the promise of mobs that the darkness brought with it further encouraged him they needed to get inside.

Grian nodded in response, a quiet “okay” being the first word he said since rambling to Scar before. He pulled himself away from Scar, only to wince in response to the movement. Grian’s reaction sent a ping of worry down Scars spine, but after confirming that Grian was capable of walking the short distance on his own continued pressing on toward his base, knowing that was the best place for Grian to be. 

The entire walk was completely silent from both parties.

As they made it to Scar’s front door, Scar practically kicked the door in, flicking on the lights. Once the door was slammed closed, he turned his attention back to Grian.

“Gri? Could you tell me where you’re hurt?” Scar kept his voice as soft and sweet as possible.

Grian stared down at the floor for a moment, before peeking up at Scar briefly, only to turn his head away. However, the quick turn caused him to wince again, letting out a low whine. 

“I- I’m not really hurt- I don’t have, like, an injury or anything.” Grian paused for a moment, and Scar tried to pick apart what that could mean before Grian spoke up again.

“I-I’ve j-just been having some, issues with my wings lately.” Alright, that began to make more sense to Scar. It explained why Grian was having difficulty flying like he’d told Scar before in his panic, but it still didn’t help him figure out what to do, or how to help. 

“What kind of issues, G? Should I go get someone to look at them?” Grian tensed up at this, wincing soon after from the pull on his wings. Still, he reached out to Scar and held onto him like he was going to leave, some of the shaking coming back.

“No! N-no, there’s no need to bother anyone else.”Scars eyes widened at the sudden display of panic, quickly going to comfort the other. 

“Okay, Okay, it’s alright. I won’t get anyone else. But you need to tell me what’s wrong, G, so I can help.” Scar went to wrap his arms around the smaller, but decided against it when he reminded himself that it was Grian’s wings that were hurting, and he didn’t want to risk touching them. He instead rested one hand on his shoulder, the other carefully carding his fingers through his blonde hair. 

This seemed to relax Grian, and he leaned into Scar’s presence. 

“O-okay.” Grian paused to swallow, and took a deep breath before starting again. 

“I-it’s r-really not that b-big of a deal. It’s- I just-” Pause. Breathe in, breathe out.

“Avians, and u-uh, most things with feathers and wings and whatever, have to take care of them. Like- making sure the feathers stay how they’re supposed to.” Even though Scar admittedly didn't know much about avians, or birds for that matter, he had a feeling he knew enough to understand where this was going. 

“A-and, if you, uh, d-don’t do that, they get all t-tangled, and messy, and bunched up. T-the feathers get stuck together and pull on eachother, and it h-hurts.I-if it gets bad enough, it can affect your ability to f-fly, and use them.” Grian let out another whimper, the embarrassment of not being able to take care of himself setting in, feeling pathetic having to come running to someone else for something avians were taught how to do when they were children. 

Scar leaned his head against Grian’s, rubbing his shoulder in what he hoped was a soothing manner, listening to Grian carefully.

“A-and, I-I know t-that I should of j-just gotten help, but I-I was s-stubborn a-a-and it got s-so much worse, and I feel s-so p-pathetic- I-I can’t even t-take c-c-care-”

Scar shushed Grian gently, rocking the both of them back and forth.

“Grian, hon, it’s okay. You’re not pathetic for letting something like that slip. While we’ve never had to upkeep wings before, plenty of us here on Hermitcraft will go much longer than we care to admit without taking care of ourselves. We still need our friends to help us out every once in a while.” Scar brushed his fingers through Grian’s hair again.

“It just happens that for you, it’s a bit harder to get back into the swing of things.” Grian took a long moment to take in what Scar told him, and Scar was content to continue to stand there and sway them back and forth, petting Grian’s messy blonde hair.

“Okay,” Grian mumbled into Scar’s chest, wrapping his arms around him.

“So,” Scar began after a moment of basking in each other’s presence and comfort. 

“How do we go about getting your wings back in shape?” He had a vague idea; he’s heard of preening before, and how it involved cleaning one’s wings and realigning the feathers and whatever - but he had no clue how to actually go about it. 

Grian went still at that, and Scar worried that maybe he should get someone who Grian knew a bit better.

“Should I get Mumbo to help you? I’m sure he’d do a great job.”

Grian shook his head into Scar’s chest, clenching his robe in his fists.

“N-no, you can do it. I-if you want to, of course! Y-you don’t have to!” Grian looked up at Scar’s face for the first time since they’d ran into each other on the path, and his big eyes looked up to Scar with worry. Worry that he’d gone too far, or stepped over some kind of boundary.

While Scar was still completely out of his element, he was pretty sure where Grian’s panic was coming from. He gave the other a small, kind smile, nodded his head.

“It’s okay, Gri, I’d love to help. I don’t really know how we should go about this though, so why don’t you lead the way?” 

Grian thought for a moment and then nodded, before grabbing Scar by the wrist and dragging him over to the couch. While he was initially shocked by the movement, Scar was glad to see Grian gaining at least a small amount of his usual confidence back.

Grian sat himself on the couch, dragging Scar down with him, he turned to the side, his back facing away from Scar, and Scar turned to face Grian accordingly. 

Grian peeked back at Scar over his shoulder, and Scar offered him a comforting smile. Grian returned it with a smaller one of his own, and turned his head forward before opening up his wings with a wince and a whimper, his wings now on display for Scar to see.

While Scar saw Grian’s wings quite literally every day, he never got the chance to see them like this, up so close. Even though the feathers were dirty and matted down, there was still some of the beautiful color and shine showing through, and the lantern light of the house made them glow. However, it was easy to see just how bad Grian’s wings had gotten, and looking at the mats and twists that the feathers were in, it was no wonder that they were causing Grian pain.

Not wanting to leave Grian guessing as to what he was doing, Scar rested a hand on his side, causing him to jump.

“Okay, Grian, you’re doing great. What do I do now?” Grian moved one of his hands to grab onto the one at his side.

“I-it’s fairly straight-forward, the main thing you have to do is untangle and move the feathers to where they naturally want to fall, and remove any that are falling out.” Scar nodded, even though no one could see him, and he kept his eyes glued to the wings in front of him, thinking through the best place to start.

“Alright, G. Ready for me to start then?” He nodded in response, holding his breath.

Before starting to work at the knots and tangles, Scar simply placed a head near the place he planned to start, allowing Grian to adjust to the touch. Grian let out a chirp that Scar would have cooed over in different circumstances, before relaxing again. 

Scar began to make his way through the mass of feathers methodically, taking more time on each feather than strictly necessary, in order to make sure he caused as little pain as possible. And while it was unavoidable with some particularly troublesome feathers, Grian soon relaxed further into the touch, going completely lax not long after Scar began.

As Scar got used to the process of untangling a mass of feathers, removing the loose ones, and then setting the rest back into place, he began to pick up the pace a little. He tuned the rest of the world out, only focusing on preening the wings at hand, and the sweet little chirps and peeps that occasionally came from the owner of said wings.

Grian was practically asleep before Scars nails accidentally swiped against the meat of one of the wings, causing Grian to let out a squawk and flap his wings around before they settled. Scar pulled his hands back in alarm, fearing that he’d hurt the avian. 

“Oh god, I’m so sorry Grian! I didn’t realize that your wings would still be so sore, I’m so-”

“Scar it’s fine, you didn’t hurt me! My wings are just- uh- sensitive.Yeah.” Grian wasn’t able to think of a good excuse in his hurry to reassure Scar that he didn’t hurt him, and he knew Scar wouldn’t buy it. 

Grian was absolutely correct, but Scar didn’t say anything more about it. While he was still slightly concerned, Grian’s tone was much more like the Grian he was used to, instead of the nervous and timid voice Grian had been using before. So, he didn’t push, and continued to sort through the feathers. He was getting close to being done, anyway; he had about half of the second wing left. 

As Scar straightened out the last few feathers, his curiosity got the best of him. He went back to the part of the wing that he accidentally grazed over - around the middle part closer to where they connected to Grian’s back - and grazed his nails over it again, making sure to stay gentle.

It startled Grian out of his relaxed, almost sleeping state, and he gasped and flapped his wings around again. However, that wasn’t what caught Scar’s attention.

No, instead Scar heard the tiny squeak that Grian let out, accompanied with a couple soft giggles before Grian was able to stop himself.

Scar was quiet for a moment, and Grian could feel a nervous, and maybe ever so slightly excited, energy flowing through him.

“Well, what do we have here, songbird?” Scar’s face was much closer to Grian’s all the sudden, and his voice was barely above a whisper. Grian let out another squeak, much to Scar’s enjoyment and his embarrassment.

“N-nothing! Scar, don’t!” However, Grian made little effort to get away from Scar, and he even still left his wings splayed out and open, right there for Scar to reach.

Noticing this, a fond smile stretched over Scar’s face, being able to read Grian's body language loud and clear. 

Scar leaned in toward Grian’s ear again, pulling the smaller against him and lowering his voice down an octave.

“You sure that’s what you want, songbird? Because these pretty little wings here seem to be inviting me in,” Grian let out a whine, his wings flapping for a moment before staying open once again, confirming Scar’s suspicions. 

Scar chuckled at the display shifting away from Grian to give him room.

“Those wings of yours sure do seem to be impatient, huh? Why don’t you go ahead and lay down, Gri?” Grian didn’t bother putting up a fight, knowing he wouldn’t be able to handle the teasing he would have to endure if he didn’t. He laid down on his stomach, burying his face in his arms so he didn’t have to look at Scar. 

Scar sat himself on the backs of Grian’s thighs, cracking his knuckles to work Grian up even more. Grian was squirming around before Scar even did anything, and he took a moment to watch fondly before getting to work.

“Well, would you look at how pretty those wings of yours are. So shiny and pretty. What a pretty bird you are.” Scar began to just barely trace along Grian’s wings as he spoke.

Grian let out a delighted trill before he could even attempt to stop it, his struggling stopping at once, and quiet giggles flowing freely from his lips. 

Scar’s heart way as well melted on the spot, and he couldn’t help but coo more at the other.

“Well if you aren’t just the sweetest thing, hm? A pretty little birdy with some pretty little giggles.” More chirps and trills were what Scar got in response, the giggles raising in pitch. Putting a bit more pressure into his scribbling, Grian squealed before falling right back into another fit of squeaky giggles, his legs kicking out behind him to release more of his giddy energy.

Scar then moved his hands toward the inner parts of the wings, where he initially discovered this whole thing, and rubbed small circles into the muscles with his thumbs.

Grian hiccuped before loud laughter poured out of his mouth, his wings beginning to flap around without his permission. Fortunately, it did little to slow Scar down as there was little strength put into each flap. 

After listening to Grian’s chirping, trilling, squeaking, and laughing for a few seconds more, Scar changed his tactic once again to running his fingers through the soft feathers, going from the top down, before bringing his hands back up and repeating the motion. 

Grian went completely boneless at the light tickles, still giggling his little heart out as a result of both the tickles he was currently getting, and winding down from the previous ones. 

Scar’s fond expression never once dimmed, and while he kept one hand brushing through Grian’s feathers, the other went up to his hair.

“There we go, you feeling better now songbird?” Grian nodded sleepily, before adjusting himself and sitting up. Scar watched, confused for a brief moment, before Grian practically plopped himself right in his lap. Scar just chuckled and pulled him closer, moving Grian until they were facing chest to chest. Keeping Grian close, Scar laid back along the couch, so Grian was laying down on top of him. 

He returned his fingers back to Grian’s wings, keeping his touch light. Grian was giggling once again, barely audible and muffled into Scars robe.

Scar let out a content sigh, and he relaxed back into the cough himself, ready for the two of them to get some much deserved sleep.

Feeling Grian shift in his grasp, Scar opened his eyes only to see Grian’s eyes already on him. 

“Thank you Scar,” Grian whispered as he nuzzled back into his chest.

“For everything.”

[mamamittens]

While waiting for that last event slot to be taken, I've started making another homeless OC, though I'm strongly attached to the idea of them being in One Piece cause the aesthetic of a lone traveler trying to find themselves on the strange ocean is strong AF. Maybe they freelance tattoos or something, idk, I'm working from the image up. With the amount of pirates getting their flag tattooed on their body I can't imagine it's a dead end job, tbh, so they'd have that going for them at least.

I'm thinking a race of people who hide their face until they decide who they want to be. What kind of person they want to be in the world. Some never decide at all. Heavy Gris aesthetic cloaks and body cause it's super striking but with animal shaped hoods covering their face.

Idk, it just sounds neato.

At the very least it'll occupy me until that last slot is taken, lmao. Should've put a time limit so I could just call it a wash and move on with a slot short.

Btw, beautiful game if you like minimal story and just visual sorry telling about dealing with grief and finding yourself again. Very much recommend if only for looks and sound alone.

[safarigirlsp]

Hey Shannon. I remember you posting that you’re planning a devil! Kylo fic, and I was wondering if you know anyone who has written fics like those? Thanks, and Happy Holidays.

Devil Kylo is still 100% coming soon to a dashboard near you! I have around 15k written on something for him already but I put it on pause to write some other stuff. I have a couple other similar things in the works, too.

Here is a bigger Halloween Fic List that has more current updates!

Devils

Here is the only thing I’ve written on Devil Kylo yet for a short blurb. It’s at the top below the cut.

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/633902790125780992/im-still-in-horror-mode-and-writing-up-some-scary

And a Halloween special threesome!

The Devil Made Me Do It by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/664700822168453120/the-devil-made-me-do-it-the-devil-made-me-do-it

Outrun the Devil by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/633105972756381696/outrun-the-devil-outrun-the-devil-lawyer-kylo-ren

Devil Kylo ficlet by @babbushka

https://babbushka.tumblr.com/post/643841665988214784/i-love-your-blog-so-much-will-you-please-do

For the obverse, here’s a comedy fic with Guardian Angel Kylo.

Feathers by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/633352159269945344/for-the-phantom-day-lmao-i-cant-remember-exactly

Demons

Sinners Welcome by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/663844162087600128/sinners-welcome-exorcist-jacques-le-gris-x-lawyer

You Trouble Me

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/636866128650665984/you-trouble-me

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/626333919973949440/hmm-au-with-demonkylo-where-he-uses-his-charm-and

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/626444542085857280/demonkylo-asking-you-to-join-him-in-the-darkness

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/628207581817716736/since-it-has-been-said-for-millennia-that-the

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/628629080371281920/ok-this-is-going-off-your-response-to-the

Here are some beautiful HCs for Demon Kylo and Witch Reader. By @slutsofren

https://slutsofren.tumblr.com/post/622504412844359680/witchy-reader-x-demon-kylo-headcanons-this-is-rly

https://slutsofren.tumblr.com/post/623519690134814720/alphabet-prompt-with-demon-au-kylo-since-yall

Hades & Persephone

Fateful Ties by @kylo-renne

https://kylo-renne.tumblr.com/post/169232959628/summary-kylo-ren-is-hades-ruler-of-the

Verdant by @starlightsearches

https://starlightsearches.tumblr.com/post/611134247159382016/could-i-please-request-a-hades-and-persephone-au

Hades/Persephone ficlet by @babbushka

https://babbushka.tumblr.com/post/643841652294926336/sending-you-one-more-idea-no-pressure-as-always

Modern Hades/Persephone HCs by @tashastrange89

https://tashastrange89.tumblr.com/post/648201127411810304/what-are-your-headcanons-for-kylo-as-hades-we-all

Hades to Persephone

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/644243176328249344

Preists

Sinners Welcome by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/663844162087600128/sinners-welcome-exorcist-jacques-le-gris-x-lawyer

A Full Confession by @kylorengarbagedump

https://kylorengarbagedump.tumblr.com/post/158645666248/a-full-confession-the-masterlist

Father Ren performing an Exorcism

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/630591552955285504/for-horrorfest-can-we-have-i-am-centuries-old

Father Ren

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/639982346554179584/thanks-for-helping-to-start-the-new-year-on-a-fun

Florabella by @ohiobluetip

https://ohiobluetip.tumblr.com/post/639287956138606592/florabella-chapter-6-forbidden-fruit-father

Desires of the Flesh by @cowboy-kylo

https://cowboy-kylo.tumblr.com/post/649471683362701312/desires-of-the-flesh-masterlist

https://cowboy-kylo.tumblr.com/post/649657609821044736/a-show-of-good-faith

https://cowboy-kylo.tumblr.com/post/650390804813299712/in-the-mouths-of-men

https://cowboy-kylo.tumblr.com/post/651300952222072832/like-wine-and-blood

The Fall by @in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/649618827538300928/the-fall

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/649549944392450048/the-fall

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/651637053562470400/the-fall

Possession

Mirror, Mirror by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/629354384526065664/mirror-mirror

Ghost Town by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/666194500518084608/ghost-town-ghost-town-gunfighter-flip-zimmerman

To the Wolves

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/631529900599345152/to-the-wolves-chapter-1

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/632688419313762304/to-the-wolves-chapter-2

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/643571001145360384/to-the-wolves-chapter-3

Summoning Devils & Demons

Here’s a wonderful fic about Clyde making a deal with the Devil.

Bedazzled by @in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/636114478207991808/bedazzled-masterpost

This is Knight Kylo performing an occult ritual, but it’s pretty dark and cool. By @babbushka

https://babbushka.tumblr.com/post/632963587355410432/this-sounds-like-a-super-fun-prompt-for-something

This is an amazing create your own adventure fic involving occult rituals.

Last Straw by @babbushka

https://babbushka.tumblr.com/post/189284637277/last-straw-masterlist

Witches & Magicians

Kylo the Malevolent by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/666560923207630848/kylo-the-malevolent-kylo-the-malevolent-victorian

Music of the Night by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/687376383893241856/music-of-the-night-victorian-kylo-ren-x

The Witch by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/632787553040449536/the-witch-this-was-going-to-be-part-of-my

Spectral Evidence by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/633598141460086784/spectral-evidence

Love is the Bone and Sinew of My Curse by @in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/649180593858494464/love-is-the-bone-and-sinew-of-my-curse-intro

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/651798752863092736/love-is-the-bone-and-sinew-of-my-curse-chapter-1

Amortentia by @in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/651823317388509184/amortentia

Magician Kylo by @babbushka

https://babbushka.tumblr.com/post/616503633487462400/magiciankylo-this-could-be-set-any-time-but

Magician Kylo ficlet by @babbushka

https://babbushka.tumblr.com/post/643602379055480832/only-if-you-feel-like-it-i-would-love-to-hear

Kylo Ren but he’s... Rasputin by @ohiobluetip

https://ohiobluetip.tumblr.com/post/640730907643445248/kylo-ren-but-hes-rasputin

Vampires

Vampires are close, right? Tall, dark, handsome, and dangerous! These are Vampire Kylo, but if you’re looking for dark and decadent, they are going to be right up your alley.

Drink of Me by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/666419316052361216/drink-of-me-drink-of-me-vampire-jacques-le-gris

Make a Wish by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/686125160922759168/make-a-wish-vampire-jacques-le-gris-x-vampire

What Am I To You? by @in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/642560907895078913/what-am-i-to-you-intro

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/644200201274441728/what-am-i-to-you-chapter-1

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/645286926230896640/what-am-i-to-you-chapter-2

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/647999056694607872/what-am-i-to-you-chapter-3

https://in-silks-and-flesh-and-leather.tumblr.com/post/651706741373976576/what-am-i-to-you-chapter-4

First Taste

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/630500973526269952/for-horror-fest-how-about-something-with-vampire

Vampire Kylo getting Lost in You

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/647095361091125248/thoughts-on-vampire-kylo

Doritos

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/629333099551064064/doritos-are-the-greatest-invention-in-the-history

Vampire Charlie

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/630521724020146176/i-need-more-vampire-charlie-omg-thats-so-good

Vampire Charlie and his Pregnant Wife

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/628101926856376320/can-i-please-request-vampcharlie-and-his-human

Vampire Charlie thoughts

https://direnightshade.tumblr.com/post/628106330006306816/charlie-is-the-pussy-eating-king-but-vampire

Fang Play prompt

https://the-wayward-rose.tumblr.com/post/618058022633291776/i-love-your-writing-do-you-have-any-thoughts-on

Red Wings

https://the-wayward-rose.tumblr.com/post/187738566202/speaking-as-someone-currently-on-their-period-im

All the Devils are Here by @callmehopeless

https://callmehopeless.tumblr.com/post/626706072122572800/all-the-devils-are-here

Distracting by @callmehopeless

https://callmehopeless.tumblr.com/post/620003850117578752/yay-thirsty-thursday-can-i-please-get-64-do

Romance by @callmehopeless

https://callmehopeless.tumblr.com/post/639082932659748864/can-you-please-tell-us-about-some-romance-with

Accidental Bite by @callmehopeless

https://callmehopeless.tumblr.com/post/630116422236995584/for-thirsty-thursday-can-i-please-request-any

I May Have Left Some Marks by @cas-backwards-tie

https://cas-backwards-tie.tumblr.com/post/644154407050706944/how-about-i-may-have-left-some-marks-with

Vampire Kylo by @ohdamnadam

https://ohdamnadam.tumblr.com/post/630272456188444672/vampire-kylo-ren-slowly-tracing-his-fangs-along

These Wounds Which Need Not Heal by @babbushka

https://babbushka.tumblr.com/post/633457668167761920/these-wounds-which-need-not-heal

Vampire Kylo Ficlet by @babbushka

https://babbushka.tumblr.com/post/643841674348478464/i-love-your-mini-fic-idea-what-a-fun-way-to-start

Forever by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/630824917955477504/lets-start-october-off-right-with-some-vampire

Is Your Soul for Sale? by @safarigirlsp

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/631385200297918464/the-fall-of-1888-was-unlike-any-you-had

https://safarigirlsp.tumblr.com/post/633213410135392256/is-your-soul-for-sale

[autopotion]

I started Gris... last week I think? And I've been playing it in fairly short intervals, which has been nice, I can stretch out the experience of a relatively short & contemplative game instead of steamrolling through it like I did bastion, which I kind of regret. I was a little skeptical about how much I would enjoy the gameplay, since the draw of the game is primarily the admittedly gorgeous visuals (and I don't tend to love sidescrolling platformers), but I've actually gotten really into it. I've been invested in the gentle spacial puzzle solving, I'm in the "green" level right now and loved the jumping trick with the treetops, and ADORED the section with the little copycat critter that you feed apples and it tags along with you.

Also can I just say the timing of this game is impressive. In the "red" level they did this thing with like... Windmill ramps? That extend and close gaps as you near them. Outside of visually being beautiful, they're perfectly timed so that if you don't slow your pace, they will bridge the gap just before you reach the edge. Obviously you can just stop and wait, but I was really charmed by that attention to timing. It's an example of the game just asking you to trust it, and not letting you down when you do. Loved that. I wonder if they even programmed spaces in the geometry for those bits, or if the whole road is just one continuous line in the gameplay code, and the moving ramps are just for aesthetics? Either way I thought it was cool

My biggest "meh" point is the sheer amount of statues of beautiful naked crying women littering the environment. Which I get is kind of integral to the aesthetic, but they've all got pretty much the same body shape and pretty features, and it's just a bit... I don't know. It reminds me of that one article about depression going around a couple years ago where the header image was some very obviously Disney-inspired art of a skinny naked woman curled up under a thin blanket. Everybody on Tumblr tore into it LMAO it was like beyond parody. I think this game is trying to do the same thing but more seriously, like, it does feel a bit "the beauty of female suffering 😔" aesthetic. Which like. All right

Oh yeah the audio design of this game is also quite good. I'm partial to the footstep sounds on stone

[bunnyteethandwickedmouth]

Alright, let's do this!

I was tagged by: @jongupseyeliner thank you, dude! 💜

How tall are you?

165cm (never checked how much it is in inches so I did it now and it's 5'4'')

What color and style is your hair?

Right now super short with an undercut, gonna dye it purple soon

What color are your eyes?

Green

Do you wear glasses?

Nope, contacts

Do you wear braces?

No

What's your fashion sense?

Tomboyish, I love oversized t-shirts and sometimes wear male pants, usually everything in dark colors (clothes are pretty much genderless to me)

Full name?

Marta

When were you born?

January 20th

Where are you from and where do you live now?

Poland

What school do you go to?

Currently enjoying a gap year, but gotta go back to uni for my last year in October D:

What kind of student are you?

Terrible, next (seriously tho, my major is so demanding I had to take a break for a year to recover emotionally, even if I used to do fine at the beginning, like, I wasn't the best and was always definitely too lazy, but I usually scored Bs y'know m'sayin?) #procrastinationismymiddlename

Do you like school?

Not really, I have to follow my own pace for some knowledge to stick and school's pace only got me stressed

Favorite subject?

English, languages in general, literature, uh, biology was also kinda neat?

Favorite TV shows?

(oh god there is so many) supernatural, teen wolf(unfortunately), Brooklyn 99♥♥♥, the office, how I met your mother, goblin(it's a drama but still), I have a feeling Lucifer is gonna join these as my fav soon

Favorite movie?

Constantine (forever in my dead, black heart), finding Neverland (god I always cry), maze runner (because Dylan fucking slayed), pirates of the Caribbean, the mummy (the 1999 one)

Favorite book?

Oh Jesus, uh, at the moment it's gotta be the raven cycle, but I honestly couldn't pick just one

Favorite past time?

Writing (daydreaming about writing, really), creating scenarios for fanfiction with my bros, watching TV shows, reading manga & books

Do you have regrets?

Are you fucking kidding me? Of course I do, so many, so, so many...

Dream job?

Well payed writer lmao

Would you ever like to be married?

I don't think so? We'll see, if that changes in the future tho

Would you like kids?

No

How many?

Still no

Do you like shopping?

Not really, I'd rather buy what I have to buy right away and get the hell out of there when I'm alone, but if I'm with friends then it's a lot more fun

What countries have you visited?

Japan, Croatia, Germany, Czech Republic, Italy, France, England, Slovakia, Belgium

Scariest nightmare you ever had?

I have them occasionally, like recently I dreamed I was being sucked into a horror game and didn't know how to escape the psychiatric hospital, but the worst nightmare I had was after I watched Dante's Peak in like, middle school. There is this scene where they have to swim in a small boat across an acid lake and the grandma gets out to push them to the shore despite it eating at her legs. I dreamed about this scene for more than a week and it sometimes was my grandma. Catastrophic movies suck.

Any enemies?

You mean my messed up inability to move forward in life? Yeah

Any significant other?

No, sir

Do you believe in miracles?

I wouldn't say that, no. I do believe in karma tho

How are you?

Lived through a mental breakdown just yesterday, so just fuckin peachy

I'll tag:

@cherryblossomchangbin @the-moon-buns @cryptid-taekwoon @me-gris @yongguk-hell-chyeah