#i dont ship them like that (usually) but

[aviyx]

my actual children. they own my heart guys they actually do

[aroaceleovaldez]

I was reading a post about CoTG and I realized: Rick has seemingly started to write every character pairing with the exact same dynamic, and he's not good at writing that dynamic and it doesn't make sense for 90% of the characters he writes it for.

It's that very specific dynamic of one half of the pair who is almost aggressive to the other party - "teasing" them constantly/insulting them, affectionately punching/judo flipping/maiming/etc, seemingly almost always exasperated with the other - and said other party usually just accepts this treatment or blanketly views it fondly, and may generally be framed as more incompetent than their partner and a little bit of a doormat (particularly relating to being insulted/teased/etc by their partner).

We start seeing this dynamic in HoO with Percy and Annabeth, as a sort of semi-inconsistent twist on their rivals-to-friends-to-lovers dynamic from the first series. Then the dynamic pattern develops further with Leo and Calypso. Then Magnus and Alex. Then Nico and Will, particularly in TSATS. And now in CoTG, it's Percy and Annabeth again but even more in this direction.

I know people have talked about Nico and Will's relationship over the series rapidly being shoehorned into Percabeth Two™, and it's extremely apparent in TSATS that Rick's doing it on purpose (including directly quoting Percabeth scenes but minorly tweaking them to be Solangelo). But recognizing it as an overarching trend in Rick's later books honestly reminds me a lot of how Rick started trying to apply the "Percy Formula" so-to-speak to nearly every protagonist in HoO (and then try to replicate similar character archetypes with Magnus and Apollo's narrations - moreso Magnus in being jaded and sarcastic, very much trying to be first series Percy. He only sounds unique because Rick failed at making him Percy 2. Apollo is more akin to later-series Percy characterization of being goofy and incompetent. Apollo [and Zeus] even got retconned to give Apollo a more similar backstory to Percy's). Rick seems to have decided that he thinks the audience wants this specific dynamic but 10 times over, except he's not good at writing it the first time because it's a bastardization of the time he did a different thing okay.

And Rick also seems aware of that too! Because he retconned Calypso and Leo at the end of TOA, probably because he realized how absolutely awful it was reading when they were written with that dynamic of Calypso just functionally hating Leo and constantly being aggressive towards him! The only time Rick's actually made the dynamic even semi-successful was with Magnus and Alex, because it actually fits within their characters, their dynamics with each other, and their environment. Alex beheading Magnus on the regular works out fine because there are no repercussions to that in Valhalla, Magnus will be fine, so it does genuinely come off as humorous. And Alex has been effectively established to be abrasive at times but have her genuine feelings shine through regularly, and that meshes well with Magnus' jaded-and-aloof-but-quietly-very-empathetic character. And Magnus has been established to, yes, not be great at combat, particularly compared to Alex. They are the only time that flavor of dynamic in that form was effective and cohesive.

Percabeth is no longer rivals-to-friends-to-lovers badasses on equal levels with shaky pasts who finally found some form of permanence with one another. Now it's super smart doting and affectionately aggressive girlfriend and her silly goofy 50%-of-the-time incompetent boyfriend who she judo flips/pushes off cliffs/etc - but affectionately~! Solangelo is trying to riff off of the early series "Poseidon & Athena are enemies" dynamic that Percabeth had but with Apollo & Hades being "opposites" but learning to accept each other, except it ends up with Will just coming off as a huge asshole and Nico being retconned to a complete doormat about it - when prior to that those characterizations would be completely contrary to their established characters (even just from TOA!). Calypso in HoO gets retconned from her PJO characterization to being snooty and aggressive, and Leo's false persona gets merged into his just normal personality except he just also becomes a doormat but more goofy than Nico with occasional haha-dark/depression-humor! Which Nico also got. Which was also a bastardized Percy trait that got redistributed.

It's exhausting. Rick write more than one relationship dynamic you can do it I promise

[bbq-potato-chip]

thinking about saiura

[billyshearsyaoi]

this world is a PRISON!!!!!!!!!

[itslilacokay]

@greenmcgee hi drawing your sillies is very fun

also like uhhhan extra doodle with the attempt at semicopying your artstyle, i wasnt trying to make it extremely accurate i just.i dunno

[kelocitta]

In honor of the @rw-ship-showdown I wanted to write about Artihunter as someone who jokingly slapped them together pre-downpour and still thinks they are actually very compelling. Just not in the super soft love wins kinda way (Although I get why people like that more) And the only way I know how to do that is talking too much so heres a far too long slug essay-

Obviously the slugcats don't offer a ton of characterization but theres not nothing to work with. Their stories, whether by their roles in it or the overarching themes do provide a backbone to work with. Even gameplay itself can provide a bit. (for some more than others) Hunter, to me, is ultimately a story about selflessness. The goal is to revive Moon, which is very much an act of kindness from both Hunter and NSH. But the weight of that action is much more significant for Hunter- Hunter is deeply sick. They're on the clock, and for all their skill in combat none of that will ultimately help them to survive longer than their body can hold out. Moon is a close friend of NSH but that means little Hunter- Hunter really gets next to nothing out of helping them, and ultimately pays quiet a bit spending their limited time alive fighting to deliver that neuron so that someone else can live.

To spend ones limited days on helping another, in a game that very much stresses the unwavering cruelty of the world and nature- is pretty notable. (And you could even say that Hunter being the Hardmode of Rain World adds another layer to this)

And then we have Artificer. A storyline that very much stands out to people as more… villainous (so to speak) than the other slugcats. Artificer's story covers a lot of things. Trauma, violence, revenge, etc. Revenge is a bit of a selfish desire- That need to see someone hurt as they have hurt you. A punishment that ultimately does not fix whatever harm was done- but feels good to see because you were hurt and now those responsible share that pain.

Artificer's actions are founded in that need for revenge, their pups killed for overstepping boundaries they didn't know existed. Is it not fair for them to be angry at that, to punish the scavengers for their violence with their own? Why should the scavengers ever be forgiven when they and their pups were not? And that's how you get that loop- Harm for harm over and over.

The original action has been lost in a spiral of violence for violence. And here stands Artificer- their very spirit scarred. Not just because they sought revenge, but because they never ceased trying to scratch that itch for violence as an answer. Artificer only has two paths for their story- killing the scavenger king (Someone who, really, has little to do with the original 'crime' of the scavengers, but represents an important individual to them- as did the slugpups to Artificer), locking themselves as karma one for good and spending the rest of their life chasing creatures that no longer even fight back in a warped sense of closure- or to dissolve themselves in the acids of the void sea because they're too far gone to find any real peace.

They can't meaningfully recover from that state, not alone, twisting in on themselves. Even if they halt their actions, they've been using violence as a feeble defense against their own pain- violence that no longer has any real direction or basis. Artificer gets no real closure from killing the scavenger king. All they can do is continue the cycle, or try to scrub it away. No real peace in a prison of their own making. So you have a creature, who even with a strict timer on their life- a body that will crumble to disease, spends its last bit of time on saving another. And another who was so caught up in the pain of loss that were eaten alive by their own anger, poisoned their own soul on such a deep level even self-proclaimed gods have no solution for them. What peace can they offer each other? For Hunter, its only a fleeting moment of happiness- of selfish love, before their own body fails them. A bit of indulgence in something for themself. For Artificer, its a single, comforting thread to ground them again, something tangible to protect and care about again. But thats a thread that will ultimately be snapped under the cruel indifference of the world. Hunters timer will tick down regardless of if it takes another with it. Its a tragedy- its doomed to end badly. Whatever good it offers to either of them to find each other will only provide the fleeting comfort of a band-aid that will be ripped away too early. But all that can be worth indulging in anyway, if only for the moment. It doesn't change the ending, but the ending was never going to be happy. Its can so yuri

[slavhew]

modern family

[bluebunnysart]

Negidrill (Miku x Teto) chart by me!! :D (My own headcanons)

This isn't any of the drawings I promised earlier but LOL, I drew this during work today and I wanted to color and line it. Time elapsed: about 4.5 hours (for the coloring/lining/adding text) and maybe 30 mins - 1 hour for the traditional drawing under the cut.

I took like 15 pictures trying to get a good pic but I wasn't satisfied with any of them 'cuz of the angle and how they're supposed to be in a line, so redrawing it digitally was fun....

Anyway, I drew this today 'cuz I've always liked flat colors (I was aiming for more of a flat color look but ended up adding some shadows anyway lol) and I saw a chart someone else made about their Miku and their Teto, and I really liked it and wanted to make one too! :D (Technically after I finished lining them, I could've done one more final lineart pass but I wanted to make it quick and get to the coloring already, so haha.)

I've been wanting to push out a "full drawing" for a while now, so take this! I have comic ideas and whatnot planned (all of that, all mostly yuri too lol), so I won't give you too much information about this chart, but I wanted to make it for fun, and also to practice some coloring. Each new drawing I make will become more rendered, maybe... My posting of things is all out of order but oh well hahahaha. Mesmerizer sometime eventually too. xD (And Neru ofc!)

Whenever I make something for Mikuteto, I do it to the exclusion of everything else, so I really can't make a huge habit of this hahahaha (I really want to and will eventually tho 😤)

[You may use/repost my art anywhere not on tumblr (unless it's RP) as long as you credit. No to AI though, please. Thanks!]

[quinn-pop]

dedede gets attached to every small creature he comes across at this point lol

[lunarharp]

revamped looong mermaid orufrey au :')

[c4n1d43cup1d]

normal bout them

[dustbar]

(HII I LOAF, aaaa this is so coolll!!)

so...personal bar? lmao I had the funniest thought, do you mix drinks here Ash? (Ketchup varieties mixed together omg-)

hehe guess who am I..❤️

ash: tomato and jalapeno were good too.

YAY i finally got to finish this one we are winning

[pup-pee]

harpoon shipping doodle :3

w/some hcs! cause UH ofc there r!!!! uhhhh also theyre supposed 2 b like tweens in this dont ask how or where theyre hanging out ok? yay <3

IF U DONT LIKE THE SHIP PLS JUST DONT INTERACT LIKE PLS JUST DONT B WEIRD ok love u

[heyitzbud]

Was looking something up and i saw that hizashi is 6'1" and aizawa is 6' and god im imagining them as theyre growing up and hizashi forever holding over him that hes 1" taller than him

"Dont worry sho, one day youll get that extra inch and be as tall as i am"

"Man the weather sure is nice up here, how is it down there?"

[raionmimi]

Hi! I simply wanted to say that tour Symweaver stuff is beautiful, and also, What do you Think about "Sunflower" (by Post Malone and Swae Lee) as the theme song of these two? I think it's perfect for them!

I'm so sorry but the song is hardwired into my brain to think "that's the Miles Spiderverse song" to think of anything else 😭 I'm glad you're able to pull Symweaver out of it! I do enjoy listening to songs with ships in mind when I'm drawing, so I'll try to revisit it with them in mind

It's a common shippy song, but I really enjoy "From the Start" by Laufey for Symweaver because I love the idea that either they both of them thought their feelings were unrequited until they were adults, or that Lifeweaver was always aware of her feelings and just let her vibe until she was comfortable expressing it

[ganondoodle]

not meant as a direct call out to anyone but sicne it happened a few times in a row now

i dont ... like ... my work being tagged as 'zelink', i do not draw this ship, i have no problem with others shipping it but i personally cannot stand it (i love them as a brotp) and just because i put them both in a drawing when im doing some totk rewritten concepts it doesnt mean its meant as the ship :/