#it's just... different levels depending on his level of stability

[sui-imi]

⚠️ eyestrain

[* CHECK -> SANS]

* SANS ██ ATK ██ DEF

* Stop it.

* S t o p l o o k i n g a t m e .

[caffeinewitchcraft]

AITA for divorcing my vampire husband because he lied to me about his human job?

I (542 vampire) and my husband (260 vampire) have been together for a little over two centuries. There’s a saying in the vampiric community that it takes a century for a tryst to become an enduring partnership and another century to become soulmates. I thought that was true and that Matthew (using his real name because fuck you, Matthew) and I would be together forever…until this week.

First, let me explain a few things to the mortals here. I don’t mean that negatively – I came here specifically to get the opinion of those with a finite lifespan. However, I want to be fair to Matthew as much as possible and some of his decisions are very immortal-minded.

Both Matthew and I are vampires who have chosen to forsake some of our powers in exchange for the ability to daywalk. We made the transition together on our 100th anniversary almost 115 years ago. It wasn’t an easy transition for me. I was very dependent on human blood and I spent the first twenty years in almost constant sleep as my body adjusted to running off of less lunar magic and more solar magic.

It really felt like I was losing everything. My body got physically weaker and my powers began to disappear one by one. It felt like every time I woke, another part of me was missing. One day I could turn into a wolf, the next I could barely turn into a vapor. I could command a legion of undying servants, and then I could barely convince the mailman he didn’t see me levitate down from the second floor.

Matthew, however, took to daywalking like a werewolf to a sheep farm. He barely seemed to feel the pain of losing his power, maybe because he was so much younger than me. Whatever the case, he was out all the time once he stabilized. He would be gone for days sometimes and when he came back it was with fantastic stories about the humans’ new inventions or the new structures being built in whatever town we were in.

I’m not saying I regret transitioning. Just that Matthew and I had very different experiences. It felt like he barely changed at all while my entire being got rewritten. Being immortal makes you comfortable in your own skin. I never doubted myself or my power after I turned 100. But becoming a daywalker made me feel like I was being born as a human again. It was humiliating and vulnerable. I have to admit there were times I resented how easily Matthew did it. I blamed him for not supporting me like I thought he should. I would daydream about draining a human in front of him, showing him what I thought of his fascination with them. I had all sorts of vile and vengeful thoughts. I’m not proud of the person I was and now I’m grateful Matthew wasn’t there to see the lows I sunk to.

Despite all my awful thoughts, I didn’t quit. I don’t know why, but I didn’t. I stuck with it and, day by day, things got easier.

After 26 years I began to stabilize. The benefits of being a daywalker slowly blossomed before me.  Now I can say that I am completely happy with my daywalker status and all the changes it’s brought.

I am the most mentally stable I have been since my Turning in 1482. It’s like I’m awake. The fits of rage that used to consume me for months at a time have completely disappeared. I don’t experience the same level of obsession I used to which has freed up a lot of my time that I used to spend stalking my victims.

However, that drastic of a change would be challenging in any relationship. Matthew and I ended up together because of my obsessive nature. Our relationship became strained when that part of me went dormant. He expected me to follow his immersion into the human world just as I had followed him in his revenge quest against his Master. He expected me to support him wholeheartedly and with everything I was. He wanted sacrifices from me that I used to not even flinch at before making. But something was just…different. We wanted different things. I wanted different things.

Matthew was obsessed with being the perfect human. He craved full immersion. He still makes it a point to get a human job every twenty years or so. Me? I’m happy to live off our investments and some mild mind control while enjoying the art and theater community the humans have evolved.

It got bad. Some years, we spent like ghosts in our own house, drifting by each other without a glance. Other years, it was like we were spies behind enemy lines. He would do whatever he could to thwart me and I would go out of my way to ridicule him. Our vitriol poisoned the earth. Matthew didn’t speak to me for a full decade when that poison killed off an entire town.

About twenty years ago, it all came to a head. We had a serious sit-down talk about our relationship. It wasn’t easy. What they say about teaching an old dog new tricks is sometimes true. Matthew wanted me to be as involved with the humans as he was. He wanted me to care about them like he did. I wanted him to travel with me like we used to and not just hop from town to neighboring town (which he did to maintain a human identity with references so he could keep working). When it became clear that we were at an impasse, I brought up the idea of separation.

Separating in the vampiric world isn’t easy. There are a lot of alliances and blood oaths to be considered. Over the two centuries we spent together, we became known as a unit to a number of supernatural entities that we maintain an uneasy truce with. Separating would mean creating new oaths and alliances with the same individuals. And there was no guarantee that those individuals would make new pacts with both of you. A LOT of vampire couples end up in blood feuds while separating. Neither of us wanted that.

There was also, of course, the emotional side of things. While a lot of immortals tend to only feel muted emotions (especially vampires as old as me), Daywalking had made both of us more sensitive than we’d been before. We were both attached to the memories we shared and neither of us could imagine life without the other. After 200 years together, it felt like Matthew was my right arm, and I his. When I brought up separation, we both felt it like we were discussing an amputation.

After about a year of talking, we finally reached an agreement. We didn’t want to separate, and so we would compromise. I wouldn’t interfere with any of Matthew’s human jobs for the 15-17 years if he could hold them without arousing suspicion. In exchange, he would take a year off to go traveling with me before finding another town for us to live in. In between my trips, he would go to plays and galas with me to enjoy human artistry at least once a month.

Maybe our deal was in his favor. At the time, it felt practical and fair. A year of traveling wouldn’t undo Matthew’s string of connections. We would still see each other frequently by going on dates that I liked. Matthew would get to stay immersed in the human world at the level he wanted, and I could stay within my comfort zone.

Which brings me to my current problem.

We are currently at the start of one of Matthew’s work cycles. He’s been everything from a fireman to a politician to a subway worker to a barista. He craves knowledge and connection to a terrifying degree. If it weren’t for how we move every 20 years and he goes without protest, I’d call it obsession.

This cycle, Matthew told me he was going to be a teacher. I was hesitant. While the humans have become more tolerant and less violent over the years, that doesn’t mean they will tolerate us near their young. Enough humans know about vampires that staking in the modern era is a real possibility. Matthew could incite an angry mob against us or, heaven forbid, get a vampire hunter on our tail. I have yet to be shot, but I hear that they have silver bullets that hurt like Hell.

When I voiced my protests, Matthew reminded me about our agreement. He said that I wouldn’t interfere with his jobs and he’d go to all the plays I liked. He even pointed out that, as a teacher, he could get us into high school plays and expositions. I was uneasy, but agreements are penultimate to immortals. I silenced my objections and let him get a job as a science teacher at a local high school.

When Michael has had jobs in the past, I’ve never really paid attention. One time he was a state senator for ten years and I never even heard him speak. I didn’t consider it worth my time to hear whatever his facsimile of a human would say. Real humanity is in the art they create, not in the parody Michael enacts.

But this one…I couldn’t ignore this one. Maybe it was because I was still uneasy about his proximity to human young or maybe I could sense his lies even at the beginning. Whatever the case, I watched him.

The first thing I noticed was the hours. He would go to work early and would often come home when it was time for us to sleep. When I asked him about it, he said that he wasn’t used to grading and that he had underestimated what it took to put a good lesson plan together. I visited some online forums and that’s apparently reasonable for first year teachers.

He would also sometimes go in on the weekends. He missed one of our dates because there was a “grading emergency” that needed his immediate attention. Something about a student’s test getting lost and then found and he needed to input their grade before the deadline which was on Saturday. Humans like silly rules like that so I didn’t even look that one up. I just reminded him that he couldn’t miss our dates again or else he was breaking our deal. He apologized and said it wouldn’t happen again.

Then about three months into his new job, the phone calls started. We have a private room in our house for when we need to talk without any visitors overhearing. Michael moved all his school supplies in there, saying that he needed a silent space to concentrate on his grading. Whenever he got a call, he would never answer it in front of me. Instead, he’d say “Sorry, work” and just go into his office.

I also noticed that he didn’t dress very professionally. Human fashion changes quickly so it didn’t register at first. A sweatshirt here and there slipped past me, and also the Gucci slides. When he started wearing baggy jeans and jerseys to work, I noticed. I may not be up to date on all the newest fashions, but I do go to classy events. I know what a slob looks like and it didn’t sit right with me that he was wearing that to school. When I asked him about it, he always had an excuse. “This is what everyone wears” and “It’s a theme day” or, bafflingly, “It’s spirit week!”

I tried to leave it alone. The reason we have stayed together for so long is because of our agreement to not interfere in each other’s lives. But between his hours, the phone calls, and his appearance, something didn’t add up.

Then, last Thursday, he missed another one of our dates. We were supposed to go to the Nutcracker together. Even though I prefer matinees (when the cast is fresh), I agreed to get us tickets for the evening show so that he wouldn’t have to leave work early. When he wasn’t there at 7pm, I called him and he didn’t answer. Then, when I called him again, his phone was switched off.

I was furious. I spend nearly two decades in these tiny towns so he can live his human fantasy and he can’t even show up for one two hour show? It was the first time since becoming a daywalker that I felt that angry. I was scared about what I might do, so I made myself go home to wait for him.

Only, he never came home that night. At 3am, he sent me a text apologizing and promising to make up our date on Saturday. But the Nutcracker was only playing until Friday and that would be too little, too late. To be honest, it already was. I texted him that and he never responded.

He never ended up coming home last weekend. I texted and called him probably a dozen times and he never responded. I got angrier and angrier as the days dragged by. Did he think I was someone to be taken lightly? Did he not realize that the fragile agreement between us was all that was keeping us from separation?

Yesterday (Monday), I couldn’t take it anymore. If he wasn’t going to come home or respond to my messages, then I would go to him. If he was so obsessed with this new job that he would ignore me for it, then I knew exactly where to find him.

I arrived at his school at 10am. I researched enough to know how to go to the office and sign myself in. I asked the office assistant which room Mr. Duetto was in.

The lovely young woman looked confused. “I’m sorry, but I can’t give that information out to anyone but family,” she said.

“I am his only family,” I said.

She clicked a few more keys and looked more confused. “His paperwork only shows his mother, Delilah Duetto.”

That’s right. His mother. But I still didn’t understand then.

“That’s me,” I said.

“You are not the mother of 17-year-old.”

“I’m his wife,” I said.

She was upset by that. I won’t bore you with every detail, but I had to alter her memories so she wouldn’t call the police. I may not look like someone who has a teenager, but I also don’t look like a teenager. I ended up having to alter her memories so she wouldn’t call human CPS on an apparent adult swearing she was married to a minor.

I went home and broke into his office. There weren’t any lesson plans. There were no graded papers. There were syllabus from different classes, homework with his name on it, and a few polaroids taped to the bottom of his desk of him at a party with children.

Human children. I don’t honestly know which is worse.

(EDIT: I know the child part is the worst part. I misspoke because of my anger. It’s not the humans’ fault that my husband is a pervert.)

I broke into his laptop and used that to check his text messages. He’s been texting like a high schooler. He’s been to parties with them, listened to their problems and even fabricated a few of his own. He’s caught in some sort of weird love triangle where a freshman girl likes him but his “best friend” likes her. He has texted both of them about it, promising his “bro” that nothing is happening and then turning around and leading this girl-child on.

Some choice quotes: I should know better than to get close with you. You and I come from very different worlds

To which she replied, lol maybe we should let our worlds collide

!!!!

I find the entire situation disgusting. Matthew is several centuries older than them and he definitely knows better. He’s literally wearing the sheep’s fleece amongst the flock. He has no business forming relationships with human children and even less pretending to be one of them. He’s not a baby. He is over two centuries old!

What is he doing flirting with a child? It’s vile and disgusting and I was set to kill him for it.

I confronted him about it when he came home last night. I told him that he was sick and dangerous and if he loved humans then he needed to stop immediately. I told him we either left town today or I would make sure he never set foot back in that school in a way he really wouldn’t like.

 He threw a huge tantrum over my invading his privacy. He shouted at me that I had broken my promise to never interfere in his job. He called me controlling and crazy.

I told him he was the crazy one for chatting up a child. He told me he wasn’t, she was just his friend. I asked him to read their texts out loud if he was being so friendly. I also pointed out that there was no way a 260-year-old vampire is a child’s friend.

He told me I was a hypocrite because I basically cradle robbed him (we’re almost 300 years apart.) He said if anyone was disgusting, it was me for taking advantage of him.

I pointed out that he wasn’t a child, he was over 60 and had already been a vampire for four decades. He argued that that was basically being a child in vampire terms.

I was so angry at that point that the house was shaking. I told him if he felt that way, then we could get divorced right then and there. That that was what I wanted to do anyway because I couldn’t be married to a pedophile.

He asked me if I was seriously going to start a blood feud over him immersing himself in human society. I said no, I’m starting a blood feud because he’s become every predatory stereotype humans have of vampires.

He called me a hypocrite again and told me he was leaving. He said not to call him unless I was ready to apologize. I told him that the next time he sees me, he’d better run before I showed him the real difference between us. And it wasn’t just 300 years.

When I calmed down, doubt started creeping in. From an immortal perspective, what he’s doing isn’t really wrong. I hate to say it, but most immortals don’t view human lives as significant. I know a few vampires who would say that divorcing because he’s playing with his food is idiotic.

Plus, there’s the agreement to consider. During our fight, Matthew pointed out that being a student is a job to humans. So therefore I didn’t have the right to interfere. A big part of me thinks that’s bullshit, but a small part of me wonders if he’s maybe right about that?

I also have to ask myself why this even bothers me. I’m the one in the relationship that is aloof from humans. I’m the one that’s always saying we are from different worlds (Yeah, he stole that from me) and for good reason. 

But over the years, I’ve become fond of humans. No immortal makes art like them. I may not remember my time as a mortal, but there are works that give me a sense of nostalgia. Sometimes I think I can remember being a child myself, standing in a field like in Monet painting, staring at the wheatstacks and waiting for the miller to come. 

The thought of Matthew playing with them makes me sick. It’s like even after all the years of him living amongst them, he thinks of them as props in his twisted play. It’s even worse that he’s doing this to children. 

I can’t help but think something went really wrong with my husband when I wasn’t looking. At the very least, I’m planning on divorcing him. But would I be the asshole if I killed him too?

 Separating from him will be violent and messy. There will likely be human casualties. But I don’t see any other way. So, I ask.

AITA for divorcing my husband for lying to me about his human job?

----

Thanks for reading! I loved answering some of the responses I got when I first posted this over on my Patreon (X)!

These collaborative story telling pieces are the highlight of my week. Next week's story is about a witch who wants to know if she should attend her high school reunion even though she's responsible for stripping two former classmates of their magic...

Please check that out here (X) if you''d like early access! Otherwise I'll see y'all next week :)

[cenorii]

Drunken theory about EYES

Let's get away from game conventions and the fact that Capcom could have trivially forgotten or left something out. I wrote this theory under temperature, so there is a certain level of absurdity present, especially since I dreamed it and that was the reason for writing it. I warned you!

Until there is an official explanation, this article is up to date.

What is this theory about? It's about both Wesker's eyes and PG67A/W. It's about why his eyes change color and what it depends on.

So, let's talk about PG67A/W first. It is not officially known when exactly this serum was created, but I believe it is definitely after 2003. That's when Wesker merged with Tricell, because the syringe has their brand label on it. He needs PG67A/W to «stabilize the force». But what is this «stabilization» really? We don't really know what happens to Wesker without the serum. The game says that he loses strength without it and so he needs the serum to stabilize his body, but I have a different opinion, which I'll tell you in a moment.

Between 1998 and 2003, Wesker is unable to use PG67A/W because it has not yet been invented. However, the powers he gained from the virus have not left him during these 5 years, he is far beyond a normal human. While fighting Sergei and his Ivans in 2003 (Umbrella Chronicles) he displayed his standard set of abilities. The only thing he lacked was speed, the same speed in re5.

We conclude that he only needs PG67A/W to have speed. It was speed and reaction that he «lost» when Chris and Sheva injected him with an overdose of PG67A/W in re5. However, the strength remained the same, thanks to it, he punched the rocket with Uroboros with his arm.

In fact, if you give him an extra dose of PG67A/W, he doesn't lose any of his abilities, including his speed. Wesker's body is only overloaded, which causes a severe headache as his body tries to cope with the strain. His powers then increase even more, causing them to become difficult to control. When Chris injected him with an extra dose again, his strength became not just difficult, but impossible to control, and he gave up speed altogether, because it was trivially useless.

--------------------------------------------

Now that we've dealt with how the serum works, let's talk about the abnormality of his eyes. Wesker's eye color is closely related to his ability status. I'll go into detail in a moment.

To make it easier to understand what I'm talking about, we need to trace the entire history of the change. In the fandom, it is commonly believed that his eyes were originally blue, and after the virus injection, they became permanently red-orange. But what if I told you that they change color all the time?

Re1 it's simple - blue. This is the very beginning of the story, so this color is taken as the standard color.

Then the Umbrella Chronicles plot happens, where his eyes changed color for the first time (in the timeline of the story).

The red glow is something similar to re5, however it momentarily goes out, returning his eyes to a blue color, but why? It's really unclear why they're still blue here if the game was released in 2007, long after Code Veronica (2000), in which his eyes were redesigned long ago.

Is the old color persisting not because of Capcoms inattention, but because of canonical processes in his body? The eyes can't instantly change their appearance and need time to fully mutate? We'll come back to that.

Ibid, in Umbrella Chronicles, his eyes are no longer blue in the official material.

Wesker then appears in Code Veronica and there his eyes have the familiar orange look for the first time (according to the games release chronology), like on official Umbrella Chronicles materials.

Given that the events here take place in 1998, like re1, one can really assume that Wesker needed some time to mutate fully.

In 2002, Wesker appears in Operation Javier (Darkside Chronicles, 2009), his eyes blue again.

In 2003, one of the storylines of Umbrella Chronicles and Prelude to the Fall, his eyes came back to design from Code Veronica.

In 2005, when re4 released his eyes are blue again. I could say that this was allowed by accident, when Wesker's model, from the re1 remake, Capcom simply forgot to change the eye color. But that theory is ruined by one small fact... the remake.

In the re4 remake, his eyes aren't orange either (actually they are orange, but human).

They're not blue, of course, but different from Code Veronica, suggesting that his eyes probably do lose their inhuman appearance over time, slowly turning into normal eyes. In Code Veronica, they're orange because Wesker is at the peak of his powers, but over time he weakens, his eyes change, and he needs PG67A/W to get things back to the way they were, only with bonuses like reaction and speed.

And by the way, in the concepts for re5 there's a shot where Wesker's eyes regain their blue color. If even at the stage of game development Capcom thought about this feature, when the developers already had several games where his eye color varied, then it can be considered a canonical feature. We take into account not only this concept, which was not included in the game, but also the eye from the remake of re4, which does not look like Code Veronica or re5 at all.

In standard form, after taking PG67A/W and\or at the peak of his powers, Wesker's eyes look like this. Essentially identical to Code Veronica, it just looks better due to the graphics.

My conclusion: the color of his eyes directly shows the state of strength. Weakened body - first the pupil changes, becoming round again, and then the color already changes, gradually «dimming» in approaching the original (blue) color. After taking the serum - red or orange color with a narrow pupil. The blue color could mean complete weakness, but judging by re4r, he doesn't drive himself to that extreme state, so it's unlikely Capcom will ever show such a thing again. The only time his mutated eyes have been blue canonically is Umbrella Chronicles, but there it's due (presumably) to the mutation not being completed yet, and also in Darkside Chronicles.

Yes, I actually had a dream that I was writing this theory, but I had to do some brainstorming to turn it into something readable, as well as gather material. Don't take it too seriously.

[stardust-falling]

Jiuyuan for the ship alignment

SHIP ALIGNMENT GAME

JIUYUAN: Mostly Makes Sense/Compels Me - Potentially Stable

I've written them before, and probably will again-- but there do need to be some tweaks for it to work out, imo. First of all, because of the variety in base dynamic, there are three different ways I personally categorize and name the ship between the characters-- scumcum (transmigrator!sy and sj), jiuyuan (pidw-native!sy and sj), or shencest (pidw-native! or transmigrator!sy who is sj's brother/twin). My answer to each is different-- so for this ask, I'm just going to focus on JiuYuan itself as defined above. Mostly Makes Sense: It absolutely makes sense meta-wise. Gotta ship the problematic guy with the guy who replaces him, especially since said replacement has a reputation for "fixing" things. This still carries over to a scenario in which SY isn't a transmigrator, because the fandom itself already has that basis from which to create an AU. In-universe wise... I could see it happening too. I actually wrote a fic which I really like with a prince-and-the-pauper type "life-switch" between them, and I think what can really sell it is maintaining SY's kind of different-perspective on the world, as well as harnessing his stubbornness. SJ might have his difficult temperament, but in the right circumstances their personalities and dynamic could work pretty well together. However, I do think that they would need to meet at some point while SJ is still young, either before he goes to CQM or at least before he becomes peak lord, for anything to work out. Otherwise, SJ would just be too bitter and reclusive and grumpy, I feel. Of course, depending on the particular AU (such as disciple/fellow PL SY vs common person or rogue cultivator), that might change too. Compels Me: Honestly, half of what makes it compelling is the way that SY's character can be interpreted into the PIDW-verse, while maintaining the traits that define his character. The other half is utilizing all of that in combination with SJ's backstory, to create a situation in which the two end up bonding, developing a relationship, etc. If a convincing-enough situation arises where they can become important to each other, the way that both of these two fools deal with that, and how that might clash or complement, is really fun to think about. However, just how it makes sense for a meta reason to ship them, if that's the only reason they're being written as a ship, it's not going to compel me at all. For this kind of ship, it can really depend on the specific interpretation. Potentially Stable: Since any JiuYuan relationship at all would have to be an AU, and SY's background isn't fixed in any way, there are infinite possibilities as to how it could turn out. Either way, the two will butt heads a lot in the process, since both have strong personalities, and some level of conflict is inevitable even if there's understanding between them. For a long-standing relationship, though, it would have to stabilize-- simply because I don't see SY as taking too much shit, or settling for something that's toxic beyond repair. However, I also don't think he'd be too up in arms over SJ's general unpleasantness-- as a professional hater himself, it would be hypocritical for that to be a dealbreaker. Depending on their history with each other, the development of the relationship, and their roles in the story or cultivation world, it could either take a LONG time to settle, during which they'd probably be sort of off-and-on again, or they can jointly become menaces together. Both is good though tbh.

[bitter-bats-cult-of-the-moon]

Demon or Deity? Deciphering Spirits

How to Confirm That You’re Talking to a God or Goddess

You can thank St. Augustine of Hippo for this. In the early 5th century, he wrote a theological essay against Paganism titled, “On the Divination of Demons.”

St. Augustine’s mother was Christian, and his father was Pagan. He understood both sides. He wrote many philosophical arguments for Christianity, his largest being The City of God.

In "On the Divination of Demons," Augustine fought back against an Oracle predicting the invasion of Serapis's temple. He argued that demons spoke to this Oracle. He argued that All Pagan Gods are Demons in disguise. He ridiculed fortune tellers and future predictions comparing them to the circus.

Do the arguments hold some sort of validity?

While Spirits can impersonate Deities this guy can now be pushed away from the conversation.

I’ll ask that question again.

Can Spirits Impersonate Deities?

The short answer is Yes.

The long answer depends on your experience level and knowledge.

If you are not used to the deity’s signs and how they communicate or you do not know which red flags to look out for, you are prone to deceit.

Red Flags

Messages drastically change.

For example, recently you received a sign from the Goddess Hekate. She wants to work with you.

The next week, another message tells you that She does not like you. Deities rarely change their mind without good reason. Double-check the divination.

People do everything for you.  

Deities do not need to go through others to speak to you. Even if you cannot hear Them directly, deities can contact you in different ways. If someone else does a reading that sounds completely different, question it. Especially if it’s random and not requested. Do not use other people to translate things for you all the time. Spiritual journeys are personal. They are meant for you, and a lot of people get hurt this way. Other individuals love taking advantage of people using them for their own motives. Just be careful out there.

Overly negative or apocalyptic.

I've heard an unfortunate amount of people claim that the world was going to end after contacting their spirits. Why would they let go of any worshippers telling them that? Why would they give someone a sense that they are the chosen one? Question that. No one is special. We are all here for the human experience. Try dealing with that first even if you don’t want to.

The entity is trying to force you into things.

You do not need to answer spirits. A deity could ask you to worship Them. You can also say no. With years of experience, I have never heard of a deity punishing someone for not working with Them. If a message sounds like a threat, then question everything, and it’s probably best to ignore it.

How to Guarantee That You’re Speaking to a Deity

Ask the same question several times.

Use your preferred divination technique writing down all the answers to your questions. After one day has passed, repeat the same method rephrasing the questions asking the spirit again. Sometimes there are inconsistencies. Question what feels right and what does not.

Thoughts belong to whom?

Are the thoughts yours or are the thoughts external from you? Sometimes strong emotions are mistaken for spiritual signs. It’s easy to get caught up in your own head and let it take over hijacking the metaphysical exercise. Always question this. Did you anticipate a specific answer? This can also lead to derailment. It doesn’t hurt to ask again to gain confirmation. Before contacting your deity, stabilize your emotional state.

Gathering valuable resources.

Contrary to what I just said you can seek outside opinions for valuable resources. Become familiar with the deity’s information beforehand and ask about other peoples’ experiences. Just don’t let people take over the work or tell you how to think. Try to do the work yourself. Research is key.

Different techniques for you.

Try a different form of divination to see if the answers are around the same or greatly vary. This won’t hurt and it will help you learn more. Trust your instincts in spirit work. It’s okay to question things.

Protection orders.

If there is constant anxiety and worry, then do yourself the favor and put-up protection wards before spiritual communications begin. It will give you some peace of mind and it doesn’t hurt anything at all.

[bl4z33467]

(Cracks knuckles) Alright folks I remember how to draw

Fat fuck Vulpes by yours truly, Blaze Lander. Inspired by the lovely drawing by @yourmateyoya ,egged on by @legions-top-dog , and because i force you to deal with all my shitty drawings, @noomycatz

Yes, once again, i have put too much effort into a shitpost. Roughly 2 hours as I reused a canvas on ibis paint for a 5th drawing lmao

Yall can burn me at the stake later lol

Process below hehe i like to ramble

And just because i like to talk about my drawing process for characters with complex outfits, this is how my lobotomy brain does it:

First i do silly fun colored sketch. I use different colors to differentiate the "skeleton" from the, euh, fleshy bits, and the clothing. You can see lots of lines that would not be shown in the final product so it makes it confusing to look at.

Next i do a clean sketch.

This is where i clean up everything before doing the final lines. I use one color and a thin brush to make it easier to line over. Here i add any extra bits (like the top football armour) and "render the physics" as i call it, so properly drape cloth and the uhhh squish of stupid fat fuck vulpes' boobs and stomach. I also will balance the drawing here by flipping it and redrawing or using the drag tool.

Next is lining.

For this drawing, i used a 9.0 digital pen with a taper. Its my standard :þ. I kept my pen at the same size for this piece. Sometimes i line the outside darker to make the drawing stand out more. I decided not to as i wanted to give the drawing a more "serious" tone. (How serious can this be though lol-)You may notice on the arms little bits of the lines are missing, thats because i gave him some arm hair. I like make little details like that show over the lines. But since the one shading technique i used works with clipping masks, i had to but the arm hairs on a layer lower than the line art. Next is colour:

I colour in the drawing with midtones. Simple as. I tried to stick with warm colours besides his eyes, which are grey blue. Idc if they arent, im too lazy to google it. I mostly use flat colors but i did make his shirt a gradient. Next is do simple cell shading:

Depending on how i feel i shade with or without the colours in the back. I went with a sorta "non decrepit" light source here. Didnt want too much intensity. I used a deep marronish orange on a multiply layer on 45% opacity. Soft shading/lighting next:

I get intense with the soft shading. I use the airbrush with a deep maroon to add dark gradient and airbrush with a light pink to add a bit more depth. I usually use less light and more dark because im evil i like the intensity. I keep the layer the same amount of opacity and multiply it with the darks and soft light for the lights. Next are the shine highlights:

I use the dip pen hard with a taper to add light highlights of white on shiny bits like metal and eyes. I uses pure white, set the layer to 25% opacity, and use normal blending.

I also shade the lines because it makes the lines softer. I use a clipping layer on the line art, set the whole thing to a dark grey, and airbrush in darker and lighter parts. (I felt like a picture wasnt needed cuz its hard to notice.

For the background, i used a dark red i stole from the cell shaded layer, drew a vine pattern with the kaleidoscope ruler, and added a vignette. Vignettes are my cheat code for background hehe~ it makes the subject stand out while keeping suave, seriousness and formality. To make a subject pop out more, put the vignette behind the character but in front of the background. For more intensity but it on top of both.

Also- I usually draw with a level 10 stabilizer (i got shaky hands) but i drew with a 2 stabilizer so im surprised it came out so smoothly-

Also i gave him goggle tan lines because if i have to have them from playing tennis with sunnies, so does he.

[tarnishedxknight]

If Soryn and Maris were a couple, would he want to try and bring her to Archadia when he decides to work with them after his capture?

{out of dalmasca} Tagging @wovenwaves for this one, of course! =) And below the cut as always, because I ramble on forever. XD

Oh... my goodness. That's such a complex and difficult question to answer and I love it. XD I'm honestly not even sure how to answer it because it would be such a nuanced thing for him. It would depend on how long they'd been together, are they just starting to court or are they lovers, are they married, do they have any children, like... level of commitment would play into his decision.

And then the exactly circumstances of his capture and eventual deal with Gabranth would also matter. At first, he would be a prisoner, then he'd be under duress to cooperate, then willingly cooperating but under probation for a while, and then he'd be more trusted and free to do what he wanted, especially after becoming a Judge Magister.

But then that begs the question of whether Soryn would even want to make a deal or pursue becoming a Judge Magister if he has obligations to Maris to return to her. Not that he doesn't have obligations to his king and to Dalmasca, but the arrangement offered him in Archadia will actually long-term benefit Dalmasca significantly and possibly help to end the war, which is good for all of Ivalice.

So... this would really result in a painful internal battle between Soryn's personal commitment to and love for Maris and his dedication to the greater good and having a chance to help end the war. Personal honor, morality, and faithfulness would clash with his selfless desire to be a means to an end to improve Dalmasca and help stabilize Ivalice. He cannot in good conscience choose Maris over all of Ivalice or even just all of Dalmasca, but he would want to. That battle between heart and mind, love and duty, personal desire and selflessness... would be a very tough one for him.

And... sorry to just lead you off a cliff here, but I don't have any answers, heh. It would really depend upon the nature of the thread, what the status of his relationship with Maris is, and how exactly Gabranth strikes this deal with Soryn. For example, if they've only just begun courting, then he might be inclined to stay in Archadia himself and let her think he was dead, only because to ask her to move to Archadia after what they did to Landis, and for someone she's only just begun seeing, would be too much to ask.

But if they've been seeing each other for a while, if they've been at all intimate, or if she might be pregnant, etc., that's a different level of already-established commitment that he has to her. That might deter him from even thinking about not returning to Dalmasca in the first place. But if he still did make the deal, then sure he'd want to bring her to stay with him, but... there's just no way he could ask that of her. It's too much to ask, really. Then again, making that decision for her would be wrong, so he probably should at least ask her, but... he'd already be in Archadia, because he's starting out being a prisoner with no rights/privileges. So it would be some time before he would even be permitted to send word to her at all.

And that brings up another interesting facet of all of this... Soryn's timeline. So in Maris' verse where she follows Basch to Dalmasca and she and Soryn strike up a romance before he's captured, when he's captured and how long it takes before he's free to contact her again would also affect whether or not he'd want her to join him in Archadia. If I go with the Battle of Nalbina Fortress, which is just the easiest and most consequential battle to have Soryn captured during, that would be two years before the events of the main game. It's up in the air as to how Soryn's involvement would change the course of the main game's events, and whether it would shorten or lengthen the time until the eventual end of the war.

But assuming it's about the same time, Maris would be waiting almost two years for Soryn to get to the level of trust with Gabranth, Drace, Gramis, etc. to be permitted to contact anyone in Dalmasca. After that amount of time, would she still want to be with him? Especially once she hears he's working with/for the Archadians? I can't answer that for Maris, but maybe Midge wants to weigh in on that at some point, heh. So it may change the dynamic of whatever relationship they have going on for him to be away that long. If she thinks he's dead but then turns out in Archadia as a Judge Magister, she might feel betrayed or might just not want to be a part of any of that. And I think Soryn would realize how bad that would make him look to her, given her history with Archadia after the fall of Landis.

And then there's... after the game. I'm not sure if he'd want her to join him in Archadia if he's in this precarious position and the war is still raging, but... his desire to eventually return to her in Dalmasca if he decides not to ask her to move or if she refuses to move... might also have a wrench thrown in it with Gabranth's death. Soryn's participation in things could potentially change some major events of the game, but assuming they remain mostly the same and Gabranth still dies, there's a chance he would ask Soryn to protect Larsa instead of Basch. Rather that perpetuate "Gabranth" after his death, it might be better to pass protection to Soryn, especially if he's managed to establish himself as a trusted associate of Gabranth's. He would then have Zargabaath's support and would be able to keep the others at bay. Maybe he wouldn't have the same level of influence, but he'd still be an added placeholder that might change whether Basch impersonates Gabranth after his death or not.

If Soryn is asked to watch over Larsa, he would have to accept. It's too important a task to refuse. So... that would mean he would not be able to return to Dalmasca for at least a decade, since we know that Basch was still impersonating his brother eleven years after the end of the game. There's one year in between the main game's end and the epilogue, and then there's another decade between that and the events of Fortress. So that means even eleven years out, Larsa still requires protection and/or the Judge Magisters are still prone to considering fighting amongst themselves to warrant a peacekeeper being there. Would Maris even wait that long for Soryn? I doubt it, but once again, I can't answer for Midge here, heh. If it looks like he won't be free to return to Dalmasca after the events of the main game, Soryn might want Maris to come join him, but it would be up to her as to whether she does or not.

But... going back to when he's initially making this deal with Gabranth... Maris might have to be a stipulation in it heh. Soryn may be like look, I need her provided for and kept safe or there's no deal. Whether that means that she's taken to a safe location or guarded in Dalmasca or she moves to Archadia with Soryn, I'm not sure, but if he's really involved with Maris, he may consider her family, and in that case he'd want to make sure that she knows what's become of him and that she's taken care of.

I think the upshot is that, sure, he'd want her to come stay with him, but the reality is that it may not be very easy, safe, emotionally ideal, or logistically possible to do that. It would depend on the details of the thread, the AU, and how everything turned out with his deal/position in Archadia before any of that could be determined. This was a really interesting question, though, thanks for sending this in! =D

[blindbeta]

hi, this is like, a REALLY oddly specific question, but i wanted to ask. would it be seen as wrong if i were to have my character's guide dog be in some way magical?

for more context on the specific situation, my characters are in a world where basically nothing is without some level of magic to it. my character has a guide dog, but i felt like it didn't fit the theme to have just. a normal dog? because i wouldn't put a normal dog somewhere else. the dog isn't like, telepathic or able to fix her blindness, (ive made it VERY clear to myself that at no point will i do that) i was mostly thinking something like the dog having some sort of elemental component to it, which would be a pretty common power in this world.

I just wanted to make sure it fit in with the rest of the characters in its world, instead of sticking out as just kinda being shoved in with no worldbuilding around it. there wouldn't really be 'normal' animals normally, so it feels like underdeveloped worldbuilding if i don't.

I'm worried though, that this is going to be wrong in the way that it'd seem... glamorizing? that's not what i intend, but I don't want it to come off as something in that vein. if that makes sense.

i hope this is like. sensible to ask about and not wasting your time. thank you so much, and thank you in general for running this blog, i think it's a really great resource.

I think having a magical guide dog is fine. You aren’t using the magic to erase the handler’s disability, as you mentioned. As long as you are actively working on that, it seems fine to me.

As long as the animal can make a good guide, be trained from infancy, and can navigate well, it doesn’t matter if they are a magical creature.

I list some qualities a guide should have in this post if it helps.

@moth-time created an excellent addition to this post in the notes:

i reread the guide linked by OP and now I'm thinking some kind of earth elemental or otherwise particularly magically heavy/stocky dog could be neat, bc it provides more stability than a regular dog (so more like a miniature horse). it could have a rocky/armored back that is easier to lean on than slippy dog skin, for example. Much like irl certain dog breeds are favored as guide dogs bc of breed specs, a magical universe could favor "earth elemental dogs" for same reason

you could have some magical component of the dog be helpful to the guided person, though i am struggling to come up with a good one for a blind guide dog. But for example a fire elemental therapy dog that can regulate it's body to be toasty warm and offer deep pressure and temperature therapy would be neat. It doesn't negate or "fix" the disability, but it's a little different/more magical while still recognizable

BlindBeta’s thoughts:

So I love this. An earth type dog would add excellent stabilization, orientation, and be additionally good at avoiding obstacles such as uneven ground. They could be great for balance and probably deep pressure therapy as well. Maybe they are favored as guide dogs because they are dependable, while also good at selective disobedience to keep a blind person safe, such as refusing to cross the street when it is dangerous (due to quiet cars or such). I could also see water or air type dogs being good alert dogs, perhaps.

Also not sure how common this is, but on this page about seizure alert dogs from the epilepsy foundation, it says some dogs are trained to put their body between the handler and the floor to cushion falls. Air type dogs might good at this because they are probably softer and could gently cushion a falling person without them hitting the floor.

I also had an idea that wood types might be more flexible and good assistance dogs for older adults, wheelchair users, etc. Like dog breeds, they have certain qualities that make them good at assistance, such as being depended on to retrieve any number of items, pull door handles, etc.

This is fun. I would love to see ideas from anyone else.

[2racoonsinajumpsuit]

First Ideation Galore

(So we are trying to make an UTMV interactive story fangame. This is inspired by this fic by vicen_non, as well as the IF series by darkpetal16. Shout out to both of them for their amazing creations! :D)

In this game, you play as a disoriented Killer waking up in a strange place all alone, unclear about who or where you are. Unbeknownst to you, there are forces playing in the background. You have to slowly uncover the missing gaps in your knowledge and memory, cautiously manage your mindscape, and carefully interact with other characters you might meet. Else, you might meet a terrible end. And you don't want that now, do you?

Characters

Right now, we have chosen to include 11 characters. This number might change in the future depending on how we want to develop the story.

You/Killer: You have no idea what's happening. Your memories are all jumbled over the place. Your objective is to find out what's going on and survive.

Nightmare: He's your boss, and he's looking for you.

"Dust"/"Murder": His objective is to find you, and he's sure as hell going to accomplish it no matter what. He's going to drag you back to the team either dead or alive.

"Horror": He's also tasked with bringing you back, and he knows he's not even half-qualified to do it alone.

The human/Frisk: The Frisk of the AU you're currently in. They control the timeline of the AU. Depending on your choices of action, they might either be a valuable ally or an annoying obstacle.

[SPOILER]: Frisk's companion. Does not trust you. Wants you gone. (Totally justified)

[SPOILER]: Frisk's occasional multiversal visitor. Might be your ticket out of here.

[SPOILER]: Unknown motive.

[SPOILER]: Something you can never be.

[SPOILER]: You think you killed them.

[SPOILER]: You also think you killed them.

Endings

Right now, we have 10 possible endings planned - 2 happy, 1 bittersweet, 6 bad, and 1 weird. (This is just based on what we think what "good" is for Killer - we love to put the guy through the wringers) We know this is a lot. It sounds like a very ambitious project right now, but we hope to at least get some endings/plot lines finished in a year or so. These endings might be subject to change too, considering this is only our first ideation.

(Massive spoilers from here!!! Read at your discretion!)

Ending 1 (Lonesome Killer): Dust kills you permanently. Requirements: Both Dust and Frisk have low trust levels with you.

Ending 2 (Best Friends Forever): Your Best Friend (Killer's Chara) kills you. Requirements: You have high affinity with "the supernatural" and low emotional stability, and lack the ability to perceive what's real.

Ending 3 (Angel of the Underground): Frisk's Chara kills you. Requirements: You kill Frisk too many times. Dust hasn't perma-killed you.

Ending 4 (Puppeteer): Killer kills "you". Requirements: You know with certainty that you/the player and Killer are two different entities (high affinity with "the supernatural"). Killer gains an upper hand on you and wrestles back control.

Ending 5 (Your Loyal Servant): You survive the whole ordeal and go back to Nightmare. Requirements: You win the final battle with Dust, either by making him trust you or killing him outright. Neither Charas have killed you.

Ending 6 (Mad Time): Nightmare personally comes to get both you and Dust back after a while. Requirements: You and Dust are stuck in a forever final battle.

Ending 7 (A Good Dream): You survive the whole ordeal and escape Nightmare. Requirements: Same as Ending 5. Additionally, Frisk trusts you enough to help you contact Core!Frisk. Core also has to trust you enough.

Ending 8 (Martyr): You go back to Nightmare but help Horror/Dust/both escape. Requirements: Same as Ending 7. However, you don't kill Dust. You choose to go back to Nightmare.

Ending 9 (Altruist): You escape Nightmare with Horror/Dust/both. Requirements: Same as Ending 8. You choose not to go back to Nightmare.

Ending 10 (???): [SPOILER] confronts you.

[lewmagoo]

Being a little brat and pushing all of Bob’s buttons so he shows you what daddy does to naughty girls 😈🥵

bob is very good about staying stoic, even when he’s pissed off. he isn’t the type to react loudly, or make a big show of his anger. but you know when you’ve pushed him too far, just by one look from him. bob doesn’t tolerate brats. he doesn’t tolerate pushing his buttons to get a rise out of him. he will swiftly deal with any negative behavior. so if you purposely act like a brat, it doesn’t last long. you get a warning look (a raised brow, tilted head, tight jaw). if that doesn’t work, then he’s going to physically intervene. “you know what happens when you act like a brat. i encourage you to fix your behavior while you still can.” but what’s the fun in that? you act out again, and that’s it. he’s a three strikes, you’re out kinda guy. so on the third offense, he’s hauling you up.

the thing with him is, he’s very methodical and his punishments are deliciously torturous. they are going to push you to your breaking point, but never past it, because he is very good about knowing when to stop. he checks in with you throughout to make sure you’re still in the right headspace to endure the punishment. his favorite is edging you. and he’ll use different methods. a vibrator. his fingers. his mouth. but you don’t get his cock, because that’s a privilege reserved only for girls who behave for their daddies. and oh, what a punishment it is. you loose count of how many times he edges you. it gets to the point where you can’t even verbally warn him that you’re close. he has to take control and gage it based on how your body is responding to know if you’re close or not. by the end, your poor cunt is so puffy and wet, twitching and drooling onto the sheets beneath you.

it’s up to him if he decides to let you come or not. he might have mercy on you. or, he’ll let you go to bed without an orgasm, depending on what headspace you’re in. he doesn’t usually like to extend punishments past the scene, however. he wants you to know that all is forgiven, and he doesn’t want you to go to bed thinking that daddy is still upset with you, because he isn’t. he doesn’t hold grudges and once you deal with the issue, he’s ready to move on. but even if he somehow lets you go to bed denied, he always, always, always provides you with impeccable aftercare. giving you juice and a small snack to stabilize your blood sugar levels. keeping you hydrated. lovingly wiping you down if you can handle the contact. he’s praising you so deeply and sincerely. calling you his best girl. giving you all the physical contact you need. and come morning, he’s waking you up with however many orgasms you need, because he wants to reward you for taking your punishment so well.

[grimalkinmessor]

Mikalight raising baby L how would they handle it?

Well, it depends on the circumstances really. For example, if it's a canon-esque AU where Kira Wins and Mikami and Light are happily ruling dystopia together, and then a reincarnated/poofed baby L appears, then I imagine it'd be a long learning process and lots of shenanigans. Especially if L remembers his past life. Pranks and both Light and Mikami tearing their hair out would abound. Tiny L wrecking havoc on their supposed utopia from the inside; but he can't do any TRUE damage because he's still too small to reach the computer :/ Bummer.

But I also have a fic in the works right now that's KINDA like this?? Just with a far darker twist and L being Light and Misa's biological child—HOWEVER given that Mikami is Light's boyfriend in that AU, I think I could swing it :D

Disregarding the darker notes of this verse (which essentially means getting rid of Misa's involvement almost entirely), I think Mikalight would make wonderful parents. Or,,,,maybe not wonderful, but certainly efficient parents. Mikami and Light move in together once he is given (saddled with) custody of L, and so now solemn toddler L is being taken care of by two of the most anally responsible people in the world.

Light makes sure that L has a balanced diet and, after several knock-down drag-out fights and tantrums, also manages to seamlessly include L's enormous sweet tooth with homemade cakes and pastries.

L inherited aallll of Light's autism and exactly NONE of his ability or desire to mask. Mikami, the stoic bastard, doesn't help this much at all. But L's original recalcitrance towards him is quickly appeased by the knowledge that he can simply look at Mikami a certain way and immediately be hoisted up to be carried around on his shoulders. Light disapproves but even when Mikami attempts to stop L just learns how to climb him and perch on his shoulders anyway. Mikami is largely physically oblivious and L is small and stealthy. By the time Mikami realizes what's happened, it's too late. He has been Climbed™.

Mikami also teaches L to fight. L has a horrible habit of hitting when he doesn't get what he wants—his tantrums are almost always more physical than verbal or shrieky. So while Light teaches L how to better manipulate those around him stabilize his emotions through schemes thinking puzzles, Mikami helps L redirect the physicality of his tiny anger into something productive and educational. By the time he's ten L has likely learned three different forms of martial arts and how to talk circles around any mid level politician he may come across.

The funniest thing about this, however, is that when they all go out together; for L's birthday, an achievement bribe, a family dinner; L looks much more similar to Mikami than Light, which leads people to assume (due to his delicate features) that Light is L's mother and therefore subsequently a woman. Mikami has to viciously hide his urge to say "Yes this is my wife" because Light HATES when this happens, and L is irritated by it. He'd get ganged up on IMMEDIATELY.

However as L gets older he does, in fact, also find it incredibly funny.

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

Enhypen Dynamics (Ni-Ki's perspective)

Okay, so at first look I am confused lol But that can happen, another one with contradicting cards, let's see what I get once I channel.

Heeseung (Chiron/4 of Wands)- So, Chiron is about healing wounds, and then we got the 4 of wands, a comfortable environment, stability, good vibes, pretty opposite cards here. So, he may feel comfortable sharing his hurt with Heeseung, or he helps him heal his wounds in other ways. There is a sense of comfort when he is around Heeseung. It is like if he is feeling hurt, Heeseung would be a good source of help or need. I don't really think he shares things with him, but Heeseung has ways of making him feel at ease. They just have good vibes when they are around each other.

Jay (Fixed/Queen of Pentacles)-Okay, this one is the easiest to understand, the most straightforward one. Jay is a stable force in his life, he is dependable and reliable. He is giving and very nurturing. It seems he tends to his needs a lot. I just get a reliable and stable force around him. He is definitely always there for him when need be. He can always rely on him. This one makes sense. I like their bond.

Jake (The Sun/Knight of Wands)-Okay, from Ni-Ki's perspective I am now seeing the playfulness that I didn't see in Jake's reading. Ni-ki enjoys Jake's company, they have a lot of fun when they are together. He can be playful and carefree with Jake. It is like he can express himself freely with him. With that Knight of wands, they enjoy doing a lot of things together, they can be adventurous with one another. Trying new things together. They ignite a lot of passion with one another. I just get let's do this, let's do that!

Sunghoon (House 12/8 of Wands)-It seems they are both about growth. Trying to transcend to a new level on their personal journey in life. House 12 is a highly spiritual card, not sure either is, but it is like both can help one another get to a new level in life. With the 8 of wands, they are both on the move. They both try to do a lot of things to expand themselves on a personal level. I don't get much about a dynamic here, but they do push each other to grow as a person.

Sunoo (Venus/9 of Swords)-Honestly the venus card popping out surprises me, but I guess it shouldn't. It seems he's got a lot of love for Sunoo, they both have a lot of love for one another. You know what I see in these cards, the way Ni-ki shows love to Sunoo is by playfully picking on him. I don't know why I get that from the 9 of swords, since that looks like a heavy card, and it can be. It is like he does it to help lift him up, maybe Sunoo does the same. They both worry a lot, and may struggle with sleeping at times, so they may pick on another to lift up the mood and make each other laugh.

Jungwon (Saturn/Temperance)-Okay, this surprised me, why did he give him the Saturn energy? When I see Saturn energy in a dynamic it usually indicates a difficult dynamic, a struggle to build a connection, but I felt these two were close at the moment, and with the temperance card, there seems to be a nice balance with the two, they find peace with one another. Why am I getting Yin and Yang. So, not sure what he means with this Saturn energy, maybe they are just both struggling with things, and that is how they relate, not sure there, pretty sure it will come up in the future about what that means. But it seems there is a nice flow with the two of them with the temperance card.

Okay, that was a bit confusing, but I think I got most of it. Done with all members now, but will return back to this, maybe in October. I'll give the energies a bit of time. I have always found their dynamics interesting when I have done readings in the past and this is no different.

[tg-pilled]

Let's discuss: Queerness in Tokyo Ghoul!

To start off, I just want to mention that these are things I have noticed. Nothing is necessarily canon (or non canon) but it's something I'm very interested in. I've been learning a lot in the queer horror club I'm in and it's been really fun dissecting Tokyo Ghoul in the same way!

This will go character to character. It's not going to be a complete list as there's SO much to cover but...

Kaneki: Not to state the obvious but his friendship with Hide surpasses a Lot of what heteronormativity usually allows. I don't think he's even fully aware of his attraction until after he meets Touka. Because Hide had been such a permanent fixture in his life growing up, they never really had ever been apart. Their bond is deep and strong and definitely can be looked at from an extremely queer perspective. (I'm not trying to say that all men who show affection to one another are queer because that is simply not true.) Once he becomes a ghoul and he has that separation from Hide, I think that is when his sexuality is fully recognized. Especially in the manga, his bond with Hide runs deeper than with almost every other character. I'd say the exception to that rule is Touka in :re. In the manga during the death kiss, he didn't even know if Hide was real or not. He was in such a state of disorientation and confusion but Hide was still the one that he saw. Of course, Hide was actually there with him. But because Kaneki was in such a delirious state, surely he could have hallucinated the death kiss to be with Touka? Or anyone else? Why specifically did Hide come to mind during that time? Again, he was in a moment of crisis and Hide had always been that stability for him but it's just curious to think about...

Hide: I've seen and read so many different rumours about how Sui Ishida intended for Hide to be canonically bisexual. However, I can't find that interview or confession ANYWHERE in a way that makes it clear that Sui Ishida actually said that so we will disregard that for now. Setting that aside, Hide has a very intriguing point of view of Kaneki. His insight on Kaneki's life is the closest we get to an outside perspective of Kaneki's behaviour from an intimate view. Obviously we see other ghouls, CCG members, etc. studying the way Kaneki behaves but we never see it in the same way that we do with Hide. That boy has been taking notes on Kaneki since he first started acting odd. He caught onto Kaneki being a ghoul with ease (ofc this depends on the version as well. We are ignoring the live action version because it screws up the source material.) No matter how hard Kaneki tried, he could not get Hide to stop caring and stop observing. Hide went undercover in both the CCG and ghoul world to make sure Kaneki was okay. His life centred around Kaneki. That in itself is a confession of love and not in the platonic way.

Uta: Setting aside the way he looks at Renji for a moment, his entire being breaks the norms which is what queerness and queer history has always been. Uta quite literally makes masks so ghouls can create a whole other identity surrounding their otherness. His entire presence screams queer-coded.

Tsukiyama: I don't think I need to explain this one much tbh but his obsession with Kaneki cannot be overlooked. It is obviously super creepy in a lot of way and he crosses a TON of boundaries. However, that level of obsession is definitely not in a "you're my guy pal, let's go lift weights at the gym" (idk what cishet men do I'm sorry). His fascination with both the male and female ghouls feels very queer to me even though it is to an extreme that needs to be observed and dissected with caution.

Nico: He is the embodiment of a gay stereotype. Obviously not all rep is good rep but he definitely fits the mold and he is definitely queer, no doubt about it.

Mutsuki: Without a doubt, he is trans. Many people argue "oh he only transitioned so he could become a Quinx Squad member and change his identity better blah blah blah." HOWEVER. I raise you: once Urie found out his assigned gender at birth, why did he feel so deeply uncomfortable? Obviously, he was worried that Urie would tell everyone and their mom but even after Urie kept that a secret, he was still nervous. It's almost like he didn't want to be treated differently because of his assigned gender at birth and transition... There is a lot about Mutsuki that could have been handled better but I also think that him keeping his preferred name, pronouns, etc. is so important. Not once did Urie question it, he just wanted Mutsuki to keep doing his job well. Mutsuki is a very complex character and you can dissect his storyline from a million povs but I think first and foremost that he is trans and that there isn't really a question as to whether or not he wants to be referred to as a man or not

Overall, all these characters are only a small part of an even LARGER queer analogy! Tokyo Ghoul is about a man learning to grapple with being both ghoul AND human. Taking this into account, a ton of queer people have to be worried about being 'found out' or 'outed' because we live in a world where it is dangerous for queer people to exist still (much like it is dangerous for ghouls to exist). Kaneki is coming to terms with the fact that he might not be fully human (or the societal norm). Learning to deal with that, especially when you feel like you're the first EVER because you have no prior experience or relationships with other members of the LGBTQ+ community is terrifying! That feeling of 'otherness' or 'monstrosity' is unfortunately something a lot of queer folks have to go through. The CCG has a very religious/governmental parallel to it and could even be used as a metaphor for the hate that queer people receive from institutions that benefit from our suffering. However, Akira AND Amon both empathize with Takizawa eventually and are subject to abuse and rejection because they love and care about someone in the 'other' community. Haise's transition and morphing with Kaneki is a beautiful metaphor for how many queer people will try to be 'normal' or conform to society for protection but you always kind of know your identity is there. As mentioned earlier, Uta makes masks for other ghouls so they can create a separate identity to protect themselves when trying to exist. That feeling of two separate identities, two separate worlds that you think cannot combine is SO common in the queer community. Kaneki feeling like he isn't enough of ghoul OR human to fit into the world at all is often how queer people are treated too. Being told you're not enough of something and being rejected by communities who allegedly were there to protect you. To conclude, I'd like to say thank you for reading all this (if you did) and also feel free to add on, debate, or include things I'm missing! Also I wrote this very very sleep deprived so I'm sorry about my grammar. Okay goodnight oomfies

[sisaloofafump]

Sorry if you've had this asked before but how do you art? what brush do you use?

I use procreate mostly! Half of my art on my page was done with my finger on an iPhone (the sketch was in a sketchbook and the inking and colouring digital). This time last year I did get an IPad and now work entirely digitally (or entirely traditionally) for the most part.

As for brushes, I use the 6B Pencil for everything (sketching, inking, colouring, you name it). It’s the most popular procreate brush for good reason. However, I have modified it. I use two variants. One is a more opaque version for line art (which you can do by double taping the grain source), and the other is the original transparency, just bigger.

Depending on the piece/use, I’ll modifying the stabilization and pressure dyanmics to fit the need. I typically have some minor level of colour stamp jitter turned on (look at the colour variation in the iron man suit). Sometimes I’ll also do some colour stroke jitter which will affect each brush stroke as a whole, rather than little variations inside it. You can see that how Superman’s arm is a slightly different colour than his chest, etc.

Other than that, the other brushes I find useful (although I don’t use super often) are various pattern stamps, and these following free sets:

Georgvw’s Comic Ink Set. Great for patterned lines. I used it a lot for abstract pieces, not really character arc.

What I believe is Corey Brickley’s eyebrow set? Incredible for blood smears

I also use Magic Poser 3D for references! (Here’s some daily Diana ones). I paid for a pro account (one time $15 purchase), but there are free tiers and more expensive ones too. As someone who avoids spending money as much as I can, it was a worthwhile purchase for me. However, the free tier is also totally usable.

Also, my lineart is a dark blue with a “linear burn” layer setting. My shading is typically a pin light I think.

[cigarettesandinevitablebetrayal]

Alright, so as I clear out my writing folder for fics that just aren't going to get finished for one reason or another, I thought I'd do something I've never done before and post them.

So, this is The Monsters We Made, which was written fresh off my first run with Mateo back in February of 2023. He was pretty different back then. His character was still being workshopped and he had just gotten the selfstuck Sedated By Mortum ending. I felt a lot about that ending and so, like I always do, I went off writing about it.

This is an unfinished fic and, as such, has a jarring "ending" and is not edited. It is very much a rough draft and you'll notice that it has information based on the books rather than what's been revealing in the Patreon documents, such as Mortum being Haitian rather than simply speaking French (they'd likely speak Haitian Creole, though they might be fluent in French as well, depending on their background). This, along with Mateo's characterization and ending changing and his puppet being altered, means that I will likely never finish this piece. So, it can go here. Hope you enjoy!

Mortum had been expecting a lot of things when he decided to sedate Mateo de la Cruz. He had been expecting Mateo to put up more of a fight. He had been expecting to feel some level of vindication at seeing him fall. What he had not been prepared for in the slightest was exactly how Mateo responded to the sedation. 

Fingers gripping his, not with intent but as if looking for stability. The expression of sheer terror that had flashed across his had felt like a bucket of ice water thrown at Mortum. One hand on his as he pulled out the syringe, one on his lapel, clinging for dear life. A flash of betrayal in his brown eyes. "Cariño…." He had winced at the endearment. Martín had called him that. It was supposed to be easy. It wasn't supposed to hurt so much.

He stares down at Mateo, studying his face for some sort of sign, some tangible proof that he did the right thing and that they are, in fact, enemies. Merde, he looks too much like Martín. He isn't as delicate-featured. There is no regal posturing the way Martín has. Scars mark Mateo's face where Martin's is bare and smooth. But they have the same nose, same warm eyes, same curve to their lips. Even their hair is styled in the same shoulder-length locs with gold cuffs.

Martín is sleeping, sprawled under the bedsheets with a soft smile on his face, despite his legs being in casts. Mortum would normally be sleeping beside him. If he's honest with himself, he wants nothing more than to crawl into bed next to Martín and hold him in his arms for a week straight. But there's something wrong with Martín. He can feel it.

He doesn't carry himself with the same certainty. When Mortum kisses him, he feels Martín holding back. His smiles don't quite meet his eyes anymore. He speaks with a slightly different cadence. It's like watching his boyfriend through a funhouse mirror. Any passing mention of it is met with a laugh and a wave of his hand. He has a different excuse each time.

So Mortum finds himself back here on nights when sleep evades him, in what is now Mateo's personal infirmary. He's been spending too much time here these days. Ever so gently, he lifts the hem of Mateo's shirt up. Just as he'd said at La Cantina weeks ago, his body is marked with re-gene tattoos. They are a slick and sickly orange like the skin of a poison frog. A warning sign to stay away.

He wishes he could heed them. He wishes he could leave Mateo out in some back street to rot. But he looks too much like Martín. And Martín feels less and less like himself with each passing day.

Was Mortum wrong? He wonders, not for the first time, if Mateo was telling the truth. That the nights of microwaved pizza and expensive scotch and wanting and being wanted in return were never a mask or a front, but always just Mateo. Perhaps the mask of Martín was more liberating than his own.

Other than this particular, I have never lied to you and I never will. Mortum winces as the words play over in his head. They’d sounded desperate, but Mortum had only been able to feel their bitter taste.

It all made more sense in the ambulance, when Martín had woken up. There was real fear in his eyes. Fear of Mateo. Or so he had said. Had he been played that night? Manipulated by whatever was now riding in Martín's skin? It is starting to feel more and more likely.

That's why tonight, Mortum skipped Mateo's scheduled sedation.

He's already taken numbers. The headache and dry mouth have been building for the last hour, but it's worth the precautions. He doesn't want to take any chances with a telepath.

Mateo is beginning to stir. He opens his eyes with a slow sort of bleariness. He blinks once, twice, and then Mortum sees the telltale sign of a stomach turning. He just barely gets the trash can over in time for Mateo to almost pitch himself over the side of the bed and vomit. As he retches, his back shuddering from trying to suck in breaths, Mortum can't stop himself from rubbing small circles between Mateo's shoulder blades.

Mateo pushes himself back up with shaking hands, his dark eyes narrowing on Mortum's face. Mortum gently holds his dreads back from his face. He’s surprised when Mateo doesn’t bat his hand away. "You drugged me." There is no bite to Mateo's words. Just a blank statement of a fact.

"I did, mon chéri." There's no point in denying it. "It seemed like the best course of action at the time."

Mateo's eyes scan over the surroundings. Always perceptive, despite the grogginess. It was like this talking to Martín about his projects, too. Martín was not particularly knowledgeable in technological fields, but he always hung onto every word Mortum said. Always asking questions, always learning, always paying keen attention.

"This isn't the Farm or a hospital." There's a familiar sort of distance in his voice when he speaks. It's gone when he continues. "Where are we?"

"One of my labs.” Mortum shrugs, holding his arms against his chest. He tries to swallow down the guilt. “I had nowhere else to take you."

"Why didn't you kill me?"

The question catches Mortum off guard. He takes a step back. An old habit, as if he's trying to get a wider view of Mateo's intentions, to see the bigger picture.

As if reading his mind despite the numbers, Mateo shrugs his shoulders in a noncommittal sort of way. "It's what I would have done in your shoes. Especially after Martín."

Mortum's blood runs cold. He clenches his fists, counts to ten, and lets them relax again. "How do you know about Martín?"

"I caught a sense of him, right before you opened the door," he says, his voice carefully modulated. His expression is guarded, so unlike how open he’d been as Martín."He didn't feel like you. Or much like anything I'd felt before."

At least Mortum isn't alone in the sense of alienation he gets from Martín these days. Even with the tension of their situation, he feels himself sinking back into the familiar pace of their conversation. It’s a balm as compared to the past few days. He isn't allowed that peace of mind for long.

"You never answered my question."

He really is quite like Martín, hyper-focused and direct almost to a fault. Mortum allows himself a small grimace. In his attempts to get his thoughts on the matter in order, Mateo presses on.

"You seem to know what I am and how dangerous I can be, villainous career aside." Mortum wishes just once, Martín - Mateo, he mentally chastises himself - would be less matter-of-fact about the whole ordeal. "And I know I hurt you. I've hurt you in ways I never intended. I don't understand why I'm still here; why I'm talking to you now."

He says it so earnestly. Not an ounce of cruelty there, despite how much it hurts Mortum. Should he be honest? God knows, Mateo and Martín both were. On the verge of brutality sometimes. Perhaps he owes Mateo that much.

"I entertained the idea," Mortum admits. He turns his eyes away from Mateo, looking down at his hands instead. He's not restrained - a perhaps foolish choice on Mortum's part, but he couldn't bring himself to do it - but he also hasn't moved. He seems content to let Mortum speak in peace. "You are right that it would have been a wiser decision, but I couldn't."

"Is it because I look like him? Martín?"

Mortum flinches. "Why should you have this power over me?" he mutters in French.

"Because you hold the same power over me."

Mortum's eyes snap up to Mateo's face. The French is a surprise. He hadn't known Mateo was multilingual. More tricks up his sleeves. But he looks at Mortum with a tenderness that makes his chest ache all the way down to the marrow of his bones.

Mateo reaches out, then stops, and asks in English, "May I touch you, mi amor?"

He should say no. He should keep that tentative space between them. Mateo is as dangerous as open flame and will burn him if he gets too close. He's already burned once. But Mateo worries at his lip the same way Martín always did and Mortum finds himself too weak to not take Mateo's hand.

"I won't apologize again." Mateo kisses Mortum's knuckles ever so gently. "There is no amount of apologizing that will fix this. But I will thank you for sparing my life."

Mortum swears again, wishing desperately that he had better self control. It's never been a problem before. He clings to Mateo's hands like they're the only shelter from the storm in his mind. Mateo gently pulls one hand free. He reaches up, brushing the back of his fingers against Mortum's cheek. He thumbs away a tear that Mortum hadn't noticed.

Giving up the last of his reserves, Mortum turns his head into the touch, pressing a kiss against Mateo's palm. His hands are rougher than Martín's, calloused and scarred and the nails chewed brutally short. But they still touch him the same way. Something bruised and angry and soft claws its way into Mortum's throat, but he keeps it locked behind his teeth.

[secretly-an-automaton]

WELCOME TO…

random shit that most of this fandom collectively deluded into being canon, regardless of if it a) wasn’t explicitly stated in the show, b) contradicts actual lore, or c) was just straight up made up with no real basis! Also half of the bullet points end in rants; there are no words to describe this phenomenon but I’m a fanfic writer so that sure as hell didn’t stop me from trying

Ghost cores—not only the different types but also just their existence in general apparently—was pretty much entirely invented by the fandom. Like bro that’s the entire basis of ghost biology, how tf were we supposed to believe it worked in the show??

To expand on that, ghost biology.

Someone just decided Danny has freckles and that they glow in ghost form and we were all like. yeah.

Wesley Weston’s entire character. Nuff said.

Jack and/or Maddie always seemed to have grown up on a farm? Although I suppose with Maddie’s sister that could maybe be considered an educated guess

All the townsfolk refer to Danny’s ghost form as just ‘Phantom’ - oh wait, no they don’t.

Valerie’s alter ego is called the ‘Red Huntress’ - oh wait, no it’s not.

That one’s especially funny cause originally this list just included “Phantom calls Valerie ‘Red’” but then I learned the whole title was fanon and now I question everything I’ve ever thought beknownst to me.

Amity Park is a small town (not according to the background shots in the actual show).

I don’t remember how much of ghostly obsessions/Danny’s specifically was pulled out of the fandom’s ass but I imagine a fair amount of it considering the show wasn’t big on world building.

Phantom’s voice is echoey and/or staticky.

Danny smells like ozone and possibly citrus?

This one might just have to do with number psychology, but everyone seems to agree Phantom is a “level 7” on all of the arbitrary ghost rating systems invented by the Fentons?? Which were also made up tbf cause the Fentons never even invented that.

Danny bleeds both blood and ectoplasm, usually dependent on form, has a low heart rate and body temperature in human form, and possibly fangs. Aside from the latter these are mostly just logical inferences but it felt like they belonged here anyway.

Blob ghosts maybe?? I only think they might’ve been made up because I couldn’t find a proper photo reference of them one time and like I said, I question everything now. Maybe Jazz was never even real and the fandom just made her up so Danny could have one tiny thread of stability to support the massive load of trauma that we also dumped on him. Who the hell knows anymore, this fandom was the original Goncharov.

Accident with a capital A.

As far as I can tell, ectoblasts aren’t actually referred to as such. Admittedly I didn’t rewatch the whole show just to confirm, but according to the wiki, they’re actually called ghost rays.

Danny’s signature nervous tick is rubbing the back of his neck. I honest to god accidentally picked this habit up from reading fanfic and it is marginally embarrassing.

Danny blushes green in ghost form (admittedly this is a relatively obvious leap from “bleeds ectoplasm”.)

Ghost speak.

Danny’s middle name is James and Lancer’s first name is William (or maybe Edward.)

In all the AU’s I’ve read that involve Danny moving to Amity from somewhere else, it’s always Chicago. Admittedly I’ve only read two, but to paraphrase Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, it’s still weird that it happened twice.

Ghost ice doesn’t melt? Was that a thing? I don’t think so(?) This fandom is so bad at distinguishing canon from fanon and that does not exclude me, I haven’t seen the show in three years.

What else do y’all got? I’m sure there’s plenty more to go around