#just nonsense and character study

[averlym]

miscellany (again),, tags in the last image by @pyrotechnicarus

[revelisms]

It's a dance, this life—that, he learns soon enough.

A dance of fingertipped-tracings and brushed lips; poisoned words off honey-sweet tongues; snagged breath behind dragging teeth, sweat-slick nails, pulse-battered nothings. A dance of satined shoes and spotless silks and his breath breaking like a tide against strained sheets, his nails in their hair, ash in his lungs and all of it not enough—

(Never enough.)

How his brothers had made do with it—walking off stages to emptied rooms cold as death; to Her red-lipped glower, to the snarkings of their white-capped root of creation but never Father; to a home that is no Home, at all—he doesn't know.

He finds replacements. Something of a sort. Shrieking audiences with starlit grins. Gloves splayed beneath black robes and adorations melting in his ear. Desperate fingers scraping red-tracked lines down his skin, a familiar symphony of there and yes and oh-oh-oh—!

A routine so commonplace he hardly cares where it finds him, these days.

He'll devour it from any corner, anywhere those hands will drag him: as though with every dangling promise of its provision, it is a well drying by the day; a reservoir he has taken from too greedily, yet will take again (and again, and again), as he always has.

But he shuts the door before the dawn comes. Bids them goodbye with a sleaze of a smile and a kiss at their temple. Stands again in an emptied room, cold as death; his head buzzing, his bones liquid, a raggedness still in his chest.

The performance left at his feet. Strips of his being as discarded as the carnage strewn about the floor.

The adoration dissolves in bathwater that scalds; the taste of those scant traces of praise buried the box he keeps in the recesses of his mind, only opened as a reminder for how he may let his greed snatch it all again.

A proof that this body is worth something, for all its weakness: all its frail-hearted uselessness: all the wrath he will not display to them.

The underbelly that consumes him worse than the heat of their own teeth and tongues.

Without that stage, he has nothing.

(And even on it?)

His fingers itch against his cigarette, wet-printed stipplings. He stares at the ceiling: a gray-lined abstraction, kissed with candlelight and steam. Studies the grouting of millennia-old stone he's studied for a lifetime, already.

The tobacco simmers in his throat. Sighs out in a stream of silvered blue.

(Even on it?)

He squeezes his eyes shut, bathwater a tear-track warmth down his temples, beaded at his lashes, and lets his head slump back against the tub's lip.

Music chases away the thought. A blur of harpsichord notes that cascades like a rainstorm, soothes like a bass's thrumming. A heartbeat coalescence with a knife's bite.

He pinches the cigarette between his lips, rolls over to reach for the idle pen and artist-minded mess he calls a notebook. Water drips off his raggled fringe, blinked away beneath his frowning.

The pen moves like something possessed: a streak of ink that takes the start of a stanza and slices it to a symphony of its own.

Then he writes a chord, smoke trickling past his teeth.

And another.

And another.

terzo, on rituals / blood roses

[themyscirah]

I love problematic women

[essektheylyss]

if you must live, darling one — chapter 1

Chapters: 1/11

Word Count: 2,099

Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast (Developing); Essek Thelyss/Original Character(s) (Past)

Summary:

For the last week of their excursion into Aeor, Caleb's companion has largely withdrawn, just when they'd begun to grow closer physically, even while they have avoided discussing what is between them.

Fearing he's overstepped, he follows Essek to the top floor of the Tower to ask, and finds him caught up in the fear of gaining a partner but losing a friend.

[obscene-tevene]

So... I have issues focusing. It's been an unfortunate thing I've been battling with for the past year, and it was starting to severely impact my studies.

Enter Spirit City: Lofi Sessions.

It popped up on my Steam Discovery while I was procrastinating browsing and I thought "Oh sure, why not?"

My productivity has increased. It has not skyrocketed, but the cosy environment the game creates makes me enjoy studying again. It's been nice to be able to sit down and complete my studies without getting frustrated due to a lack of focus.

[rocksanddeadflowers]

I keep thinking how cool it would be so have one of those song fan animations to The Mechanisms but not, like, animating their music - even tho that'd be just as awesome - just a really good intense song/piece of score where the animation just jumps between all the stories told by the mechs. Every story, small or large, as they all matter. And those flashes and jumps will be intersected with moments of the mech's personal experiences until finally the song closes with everyone's ends- and so to the end of The Mechanisms

[sysig]

Haven’t seen your slimy face in a while (Patreon)

Bonus original concept sketches from 2018 (left):

Tbh even I find some of these shapes kind of hard to read lol. Really showcases my style progression tho like woah - I was aiming at the time for a kind of shoujo-parody style anyway, but now I struggle with those kinds of shapes! I’m used to a much more cartoony, and darker, and smaller style haha

This was all me tho lol, he’s just a gangly greasy fucker

It’s uncanny right

I had to put in a good bit of interpretation and filling in the details for this one lol - something like a punk vampire aesthetic?? He’s too good for the MC anyway lol, but that’s by design

[netscapenavigaytor]

if i had a nickel for every time while headcanoning character dynamics that don't exist much in canon, i ended up making the fan-favorite yaoi pairing instead a worryingly toxic friendship that's only hanging on by a thread, i would have two nickels but it's weird that it happened twice

[whatmyface]

theres very little content about hebe&ares&heph and that makes me so sadddd, their relationship is so interesting but its ridiculously oversimplified with hebe as golden child, ares as big bad bully and heph sad nerd loney. but seriosuly im so curiosss, like how does heph feel about being the outsider in his family too and he doesnt really understand hebe & ares because they're so close and they want hera & zeus approval so baddd. and heph doesnt understand because he was raised in a loving enviorment with nymphs and he doesnt care about the olympians but wants to be closer to hebe and ares but just doesnt undertsanddd. and ares is kind of jealous of heph for being raised in a healthy enviorment, and hates himself for being jealous and cant help it. and has kind of a ego about like,"I'm better then heph I've worked so hard for love, he hasnt done anything yet hes loved by the nymphs anyway" and they have kind of antagonizing relationship ( they get close eventually), and hebe is basically heras mini me and makes her wine with absent parents and it makes me so madd, and she idolizes her mother (seen in the time skip) and shes so boreddd, and shes just waiting for ares to come, and she wants to get to know heph but is also confused, "why would he not wanna be with me?" wow i have lots of thoughts and this is just rambling and inchoerent.

[xx-vergil-xx]

i have not known peace since starting hounds and i go absolutely feral every time it updates

i managed to have a mental breakdown in the middle of a race and get diagnosed with depression about seven years late while reading it, okay if i blame you?

hounds accepts liability for Mental Distress have your lawyer call my lawyer and we’ll settle up

but fr, hey, from one depressed mfer to another, godspeed soldier — sometimes the being formally diagnosed is the first step to getting the support u need and things getting better, and i wish you all the best <3 take care of yourself

[jeffersonhairpie]

When YOU say that Usagi deserved better it’s because you are treating her like a real person and simply wishing that bad things didn’t happen to her

When I say Usagi deserved better it’s because I am critiqueing the role she plays in the story and can see how having her remain passive and largely unaffected after a lot of her trauma, repeatedly turning her into a damsel in distress who needs to be saved by characters that the story shows she should be objectively physically stronger than, and denying her any character development that is not directly tied to a male character creates a misogynistic narrative and she could have been significantly more interesting if allowed to be a fully formed character with agency of her own. We are not the same.

[peapod20001]

Ppl point out the clean lineart on my traditional drawings and I’m like “huh...yea you’re right..hm, uh. I didn’t really notice to be completely honest with ya”

[aplusod]

one more old oc redesign

[uwudonoodle]

Reminder to myself to never interact with the Disney fandom. It never ends peacefully.

[acoldsovereign]

tag drop.

[lostingrayrain]

hello hello!! i bought homicipher the day it came out and i'm so in love with it.. but there's no content whatsoever and i'm so sad 😭😭 could you write literally anything for any character.. i just need to see more homicipher content!!! 😭😭💗

I GOT YOU ANON I've clocked in like 20 hours since the release on November 1st omg....

I've been cooking up something for my first Homicipher post.....here's some general thoughts on the relationships/dynamics with the main guys.

Characters: Mr. Crawling, Mr. Silver Hair / Mr. Silvair, Mr. Gap, Mr. Hood, Mr. Machete, Mr. Scarletella

Word Count: 1454

Warnings: sfw, some mentions of canon-typical violence

Mr. Crawling

He loves you!! He loves you so, so, so much!!!

Do you love him?

He asks you that. A lot. He loves to be reassured that you adore him. And he's always vocal about how much he adores you.

He follows you everywhere, like a lost puppy. It's honestly so endearing and sweet. He's constantly on the lookout for you.

He also adores physical touch, once he knows it's fine. Other than the little headpats, he likes to touch your legs, especially your calves. In times of rest he's incredibly cuddly and loves to nuzzle into you.

Pet his hair and he'll melt immediately. It's so relaxing to him.

He's usually with you, but when he's not he's often on the lookout for gifts and trophies to bring to you. He just wants to make you happy, in any way possible. The second there's anything you mention liking or being fond of, it's a priority for him to see if he can scrounge it up.

If you'll let him, he'd love to touch your hair. He will play with it and make silly nonsensical braids and giggle quietly to himself all the while.

He's a bit of a chatterbox. He loves to talk to you. Any time he's been away he likes to give you little reports of what he's done or what he's seen. And he wants to hear all about your day or your dreams, too. There's never a time he won't want to hear what you have to say.

Mr. Silver Hair / Mr. Silvair

You are so very interesting to him! He wants to study you.

But not hurt you. Normally, he probably would have already dismembered you to watch how your body pulls together again, but since you're friends with Mr. Chopped, he's put aside that urge.

Instead it's been replaced by something else, though he doesn't really understand what it is. He's never felt it before. Or maybe he has? Maybe he doesn't remember? Could you help him remember?

Whenever you’re feeling ill, he finds that he wants to make you feel better. He’s trying hard to learn how to keep you together just as you are.

He’ll get you to lie down when it seems you’re feeling faint, and carry you to bed when you collapse in the middle of an errand. Before he realises it, he's massaging your hair. Think nothing of it. Your head hurts, right? So it makes sense to pet you.

He likes to watch you sleep. He can’t put a finger on why. He likes to tell himself he’s doing armchair research when he’s really just….zoning out.

He's extremely perceptive and observant. He's always checking your reactions to things and events to figure out what you like or don't like, or to try to understand how you're feeling in the moment.

He's the type to politely ask if it's okay to touch you before doing so.

He would never hurt you unless your urges became unbearable, in which case it's self-defense, right? He'll make sure you'll turn back to normal and he'll be there for you every step of the way.

Mr. Gap

He's probably...one of the strangest denizens of the otherworld. You're still not sure if he has a body. But he has helped you on multiple occasions. You've found yourself growing fond of him.

You often see him peeking at you from various holes and gaps. Sometimes he tries to get your attention, sometimes he doesn't. Sometimes he just watches.

When you find a bag in the underworld, you begin carrying it around with you.

He's usually inside, but sometimes not. You have no idea where he goes.

He'll often bring back little gifts like weapons or food, like some bizarre cat. When he finds out you like candy, he tends to focus on that.

He always asks for your heart before he gives you anything, and you always say no, and he always grumbles.

But somehow you'll always find those same things coincidentally in your path or somewhere in the room after you wake up, if you've taken a nap.

He likes to scope out newspapers and magazines too, and show them to you, especially if they feature himself. He's so proud of that.

Over time, his requests for your heart grow less and less frequent. Sometimes, you forget he used to ask you for it at all, until he suddenly pipes up with the query again.

Is his wanting your heart the same thing as wanting your love? Things to ponder.

Mr. Hood

He's quiet and reclusive but he's there for you whenever you need him.

You need or want anything? Just ask. He'll give it to you immediately with hardly a question.

No harm will ever come to you whenever you're with him, and he hardly lets you out of his sight. He's incredibly protective of you.

He loves to carry you in his arms or on his shoulder, whether you're small or not. It's no bother to him. He's more than strong enough.

Hand touches are so pleasant to him -- whether you're touching his hands, or he's touching your face. He's secretly touch-starved. As long as you don't shy away, he'll continue to hold onto you.

He enjoys quizzing you on your knowledge of the otherworld language. When things are slow, he’ll randomly ask you if you know the names of certain things.

Whenever you both encounter something new during your travels, he’s quick to ask you if you know what it is or outright tells you what it’s called.

He seems a bit self-conscious of having minimal form. What is under his robe? If you don't ask he'll be grateful. He doesn't know himself.

But if you're not repulsed by his anomalous form, that's just -- incredibly touching.

He claims to not understand love, but he'll never abandon you.

Maybe he doesn't understand. Maybe he's forgotten.

But there's something about you that comforts him, and makes him feel safe. Quite paradoxical -- he's the one doing the protecting, after all. But your presence soothes him.

Mr. Machete

He's just looking for a way to not be bored. And being with you -- somehow, it's fun.

Maybe because he's usually alone, so he doesn't often have anyone else to talk to. It's...fun to banter with you, even if sometimes your words confuse him.

It's unquestionable that he's the brawn, you're the brain of this duo. Maybe the beauty and the beast, too?

He's always, secretly, been a little bit of a coward. The second things don't look like they'll turn out well for him, he ditches and flees.

But, oddly, you give him the courage to stand against things or monsters he would have thought were impossible to defeat.

Sometimes, you die -- whether by accident or because something else got to you before he could. But he always sighs and waits for you to wake up again. If you're mad, it's a little funny. You were just too slow that time.

He likes sparring with you. You have to get faster, right? Your weapon is pretty funny, too. So small and yet somehow you manage to not get overwhelmed by him. He's not holding back. He never would. Right?

He likes to pick you up and sling you over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Likes to hug you like a teddy bear, too. You're soft and warm. You feel nice against him.

He's not the type to ask, but if you made any indication of not liking anything, he'd stop. He doesn't want to break you.

Mr. Scarletella

You are his queen. He literally worships the ground you walk on.

You are so fascinating to him. He just can't believe he's found someone as perfect as you. Someone who likes to destroy and kill people, just like him? Immaculate.

You haven't and never will give him your name. That's fine. He can live with that, as long as you're with him.

You've likely given him something else to call you. It's not quite your name -- maybe it's not your full name, and he knows it, because he can't quite grasp your essence. But it's enough to be able to give a sound to the person -- thing -- he likes most in this world.

He likes to say that not-quite name, and he says it often, just to get your attention.

He's fascinated by everything about you -- including how small you are in comparison to him. He loves that he can easily dwarf your form and loom over you. It's exhilarating in a completely different way from mindless violence.

Speaking of which, his favourite thing is without a doubt to commit violence with you. There's a new urban legend steadily growing in the human world, of a pair of murderers characterised by their red and white umbrellas. You're the perfect perfectly awful duo, truly.

Even when he's not with you, he's always somehow got an eye on you. Most of the otherworld residents know by now who you belong to, and they'd never lay hand on the one cherished by the red umbrella man.