#need more horror in my life

[brain--rott]

any horror recommendations?

[yangjeongin]

HYUNJIN | "JJAM" MV TEASER

[mellosdrawings]

His tongue is fiii-i- I mean-

Ok, headcanon time guys! I like imagining that Jamil gains a lot more to his snake gimmick than what's already there. His tongue's forked, he has fangs, he can unhinge his jaw, his legs actually get caught up in a simili of snake tail made of blot, etc.

I once read a LeoJami fic where Jamil was secretly a snake beastman and it stuck with me. I don't go there for regular Jamil, but OB!Jamil? Yeah, gimme all the snakey things pretty please!

[cawcawwitch]

I need to see 1920s Kelsey, I need to see a young Kelsey excited about voting, taking care of her siblings, just living through the roaring twenties with all the responsibilities and dreams she had for her future. I need to see young woman Kelsey having to face the depression while being unmarried and keeping up with her education and goals.

[essektheylyss]

One thing that I feel is really interesting and often forgotten about Essek is that fundamentally, his characterization has been from the start based upon his desperation for external perspectives and connection, which, along with much of his narrative and mechanical positioning, means that he actually has an extraordinary and almost (but not actually, as I'll show) counterintuitive capacity for both growth and trust.

(Buckle in. This is a long one.)

In particular, I would argue, knowing now that many places where the plot touches Ludinus have long been marked for connecting back into the current plot, that he was quite possibly built as a prime candidate for radicalization by the Ruby Vanguard. He felt isolated from his culture, he was desperate for other connection, and he was certainly of the type to believe he was too smart to be drawn into such a thing, given his initial belief that he could control the situation and the fallout. If things had gone any other way, he easily could've been on the other side by now.

As such, he has been hallmarked by being fairly open to suggestion, perhaps for this reason, but the thing about that kind of trait is that it is both how people are radicalized and deradicalized. This is certainly true of Essek, who experienced genuine kindness and quite frankly strangeness from the Nein and was able to move from the isolation the Assembly had engendered to meaningful and genuine connection, largely propelled by his own internal reflection. By the time Nein are aware of his crimes, he's already begun to express regret to an extent and, furthermore, doubt in the Assembly, including explicitly drawing a line against Ludinus, even in a position where he was on his own and probably quite vulnerable.

Similarly, when the Nein reach the Vurmas Outpost some weeks later, he has moved from regret for the position he's ended up carrying a heavy remorse. This makes sense! He's fairly introspective, seems used to spending a lot of time in his own head, and was left with plenty to mull over. It's not some kind of retcon for him to have progressed well past where the Nein left him; it just means he's an active participant in the world who has done his own work in the meantime.

This is another interesting aspect to him. I've talked about this a bit before but I cannot find the post so I'll recap here: antagonists in D&D have significantly more agency than allied NPCs. Antagonists are active forces, against which the party is meant to struggle; allies are meant to support the PCs, which means they tend to be more passive in both their actions and their character growth. Essek was both built as an antagonist, in a position that gives him significant agency, and also was then given significant opportunity to grow specifically to act as a narrative mirror for Caleb's arc. Even when he becomes a more traditional D&D ally, he still retains much of that, though he occupies a supporting role.

I believe that this is especially true because of the nature of Caleb's arc, which I've already written on; the tl;dr of this post is that Caleb is both convinced that he is permanently ruined and also desperate to prove that change is possible. Essek is that proof, because he is simply the character in a position to do so. But this also means that his propensity for introspection and openness is accentuated! He has to do the legwork on his own, for the most part, because that's where he is in the meantime.

But he still ends the campaign necessarily constricted; he is under significant scrutiny, he's at risk from the Assembly, and he goes on the run fairly soon after the story ends. He spends most of the final arc anxious and paranoid, which is valid given the crushing reality of his situation. It would be very easy to extrapolate that seven years into this reality, he would be insular, closed off, and suspicious of strangers, even in spite of the lessons he's learned from the Nein and their long term exposure.

So seeing his openness and lightness now is surprising, but at the same time, given this combination of factors in his position in the narrative over time and his defining traits, it's not by any means unreasonable.

But one thing that I found so delightful is how much trust he exhibits, which is obviously a wild thing to say about Essek in particular, given much of what he learns is both earning and offering trust, which was something he says explicitly in 2x124 that he's never really experienced: "I've never really been trusted and so I did not trust." It makes up much of the progression of his relationship with Caleb, and the trust that he is offered by the Nein in walking off the ship is the impetus he needs to grow.

But I think it's easy to talk about trust when it comes to people who have proven themselves to you or to whom you've ingratiated yourself, and that's really the most we can say about Essek by the time he leaves the Blooming Grove. There is this sense in a lot of discussion of trust (not solely in this fandom) that it is only related to either naivete or love, but there's far more to it. Trust at its best is deliberate—cultivating an openness to the world at large is a great way to combat cynicism and beget connection instead. It allows a person to maintain curiosity and be open to experience, but it can be incredibly difficult to hold onto.

It is clear that the Essek we meet now is a very pointedly and intentionally trusting individual. He trusts Caleb and by extension Caleb's trust in Keyleth, as he shows up and picks up a group of strangers from a foreign military encampment and walks in without issue. He trusts the Hells to follow his lead moving through Zadash and to exhibit enough discretion so as to avoid bringing suspicion upon all of them. He trusts that Astrid will respond well to his entrance, but he also trusts himself and the Hells enough to execute a back-up plan in the case that she doesn't. In the end, he even trusts them enough to give them his name and identity.

He doesn't scan as someone who has spent half a dozen years living like a prey animal, afraid of any shadow he runs across in an alley, withdrawn into himself and an insular family, which would've been an easy route for him to take. He scans as someone who has learned the kind of trust borne of learned confidence and a trained eye for good will and kindness, which are crucial weapons one would need for staving off cynicism in his circumstances—as if he has survived thanks more to connection and kindness than paranoia and isolation. (If we want to be saccharine about it, he scans quite poignantly as a member of the Mighty Nein.)

So it is easy to imagine this trust and openness as a natural progression of his initial search for perspectives external to his own cultural knowledge. Though he makes those first connections with the Assembly to try to vindicate his personal hypotheses, he finds in them exposure to the deepest corruption among Exandrian mortals, which could've—and did, for a time—turned him further down that same dark path.

But it's also this same openness to exposure from the wider world that allows the Nein to influence him for the better, and in spite of the challenges he's certainly faced simply surviving over the past seven years, he seems to have held onto this openness enough to move through the world with self-assurance and a willingness to extend the kinds of trust and good will that he has been shown.

(I would be remiss not to mention that I was reminded about my thoughts on this by this lovely post from sky-scribbles and their use in the tags of 'light' to describe Essek's demeanor this episode, which is really such an apt word for it.)

[mostlyghostlyy]

[isbergillustration]

What’s the perfect follow up to doing lineart to the point of not insignificant hand pain? Detailed pencil work, the thing that once in art school I did so much I couldn’t draw for two weeks because of hand pain.

[sixpossumsinaclownsuit]

Me, self respecting: I would never be a groupie for some guy in a band I've never met, girls really throw themselves at rockstars and cry and scream to get to meet them? Have posters of them all over their room? How do you fall that in love with some guy who makes music—

Joey Batey from The Amazing Devil: (sings Old Witch Sleep and the Good Man Grace) (sings Inkpot Gods) (sings Rockrose and Thistle) (sings Welly Boots) (sings Fair)

Me, suddenly twirling my hair: obviously that doesn't apply to YOU, pookie, omg stawwwp...

[yourlocalabomination]

The Lang brothers really said: “The Cosmic God of Time and Space, a Eldritch Horror who is fuelled by tormenting people - a being capable of driving his lessers into insanity within seconds and able to trap them into a torturous eternity………is a furry”.

And as iconic as that is….huh?

[ethosiab]

My fave little guys <3

[nu-carniviva]

Happy Halloween everyone! I'm staying home this year giving out candy to kids, so here's what I think the clan would do if they had to give out candy too :>

Also inspired by a tiktok I saw with the same concept but with Saiki K characters

Eiden: Eiden would do what you'd pretty much expect for someone in his position. He waits for kids to knock on his door before greeting them with a smile and complimenting their costumes while handing out candy. He starts to get bored after a while though. The kids are cute and all, but sometimes Eiden thinks back to his partying days and how he'd spend Halloween nights partying all night in a slutty costume. Oh well. At least he has Aster and Morvay and whoever else might be in the mansion to keep him company. It gives him an opportunity to talk about Halloween back in his world too.

Aster: Aster might take Eiden's place from time to time to hand out candy. But of course, in true Aster The Moneymaking Machine fashion, he found a way to make some money on the side. Sure, you can have one of the big fancy candy bars… For a small fee >:3 Though he knows not many people go out trick-or-treating with money, so he'll settle for a trade. A bunch of the other person's small candy in exchange for one big candy. I like to think Aster has a bit of a sweet tooth.

Morvay: I've always headcanoned that Morvay has a thing for candy. I wouldn't say he has a sweet tooth, but he does definitely have an oral fixation if that wasn't obvious already. He'd probably snatch up some pieces of the candy he's supposed to be giving out (either by request of Eiden or order of Aster) but they're usually things like lollipops. If a kid with a really hot dad showed up, Morvay can and will try to invite him inside for a… special Halloween treat. Freaky ass.

Yakumo: If you want the good stuff, Yakumo will be your very best bet. Halloween gives Yakumo the excuse to bake, and how could he pass up an opportunity like that? The word will eventually spread around the children of the Light Territory (maybe even the Water Territory if they're close enough) that there's a tall, kind man handing out yummy homemade treats and candies, they'll come flocking to him. Yakumo gets a little overwhelmed by the swarm of children at his door, but he's beyond happy that so many people are enjoying his baking. He might have gone a little overboard though, because despite all the treats he gave away, he has leftovers for everyone in the clan.

Edmond: Realistically, Edmond would probably be too busy with his knightly duties to hand out candy, as I'd imagine holidays are always pretty hectic for the knights. If he does get the chance, however, Edmond would be the type to stay outside the whole time passing out candy so he can keep watch in case any suspicious activity starts going on. Whatever amount of candy Edmond has for trick-or-treaters, he has double that amount at home for himself. How this man's teeth haven't rotted out of his head is beyond me.

Olivine: Naturally, the temple is the most popular place in the Water Territory for trick-or-treaters to visit. People of all ages swarm the temple for a chance to interact with Olivine. He's used to all the attention, but he'd be very grateful if someone else from the clan were able to help him pass out candy. He makes sure to compliment every person's costume with his signature gentle smile, and I'd like to bet that some people get so excited that they faint. It's a certainly eventful night at the temple, to say the least.

Quincy: Sigh. How troublesome. Quincy would much rather be celebrating the holiday with a nice, long slumber — or at the very least carving more pampos (Eiden got him into it. It's actually pretty calming) — but if he must pass out candy, he can't bring himself to say no. Fortunately, if he's in his own home, not many people are in the Wood Territory in the first place, and usually the ones who do visit are yokai interested in this strange human holiday. But if he's at the mansion, he'll be dealing with many more visitors. At least Topper is enjoying himself... And stealing some candy.

Kuya: Kuya is all trick, no treat. I'm not sure if anyone would actually be stupid enough to visit his home to trick or treat, but Kuya still gets his fun in by toying with anyone passing by. His little tricks range from something as simple as changing the layout of the forest to get people lost, to casting illusions so insane that people swear they're going to die that night. Maybe he'll cast an illusion of rabid beasts chasing people down and attacking. Maybe he'll cast an illusion of people's costumes coming to life and trapping the people inside to slowly absorb them. He miiiight be on better behavior if Eiden was around, but not significantly. There's certainly never a dull moment with Kuya around.

Garu & Karu: Costumes? Candy? Decorations? Candy? Spooky attractions? CANDY? Needless to say, Garu and Karu are interested. Garu loves seeing everyone's fun costumes and gives everyone lots of enthusiastic, tail-wagging praise. Karu, on the other hand, uses the opportunity to spread the word of his world domination to these tiny humans so they will have no choice but to cower in fear or offer to be one of his human slaves… Or so he wishes. Each time, the children are like "Haha okay mister. Do you have any candy?" Garu and Karu have one thing and common though: scarfing down candy. They aren't very subtle about eyeing the candy in every trick-or-treater's bag, and someone else in the mansion always needs to monitor them in case they start stealing too much of the candy they're supposed to be giving out.

Blade: First of all, Blade played a big role in decorating the mansion and you can clearly tell that from like a mile away. He made his own costume too… But nobody can ever figure out what he's supposed to be (unless he dresses up as Eiden, then Eiden will stare at him in horror.) All the costumes are suuuper cute to him, which will totally confuse kids wearing costumes that are supposed to be scary. Every time he gives someone their candy, he sings a little "candy for yooou~!" per person. I wouldn't be surprised if he spent the week prior making a bunch of little Eiden dolls to put into everyone's bags too. Everyone Needs A Little Darling !

Dante: Sun Lord Dante giving candy out to the children of the Fire Territory? Such a thing would originally be unheard of… Before Eiden came along. Now, for reasons Dante would never admit out loud, he feels compelled to hand out candy, or at least have one of his servants do it. Though if he is the one doing it, he's a little scary about it. Try as he might, Dante just does not have a friendly face or voice (but he swears he's trying.) Overall, Dante isn't a fan of feeding his people such sweet treats, buuuuut just doing it one night every 365 days wouldn't hurt. As long as everyone works it off the next day.

Rei: Like Quincy, Rei has no interest in handing out candy, as he believes there are better ways to be spending his time. Difference is, though, is that Rei does what he wants and truly does not give out candy. If he's home, he'll keep the lights off and work on the ground with a single little lamp on. If he's at the mansion, he simply won't answer the door. There's other people in the mansion, after all. If they want to give out candy so badly, they can do it themselves. But, for the sake of this post, let's say he decides to give out candy. Rei would just toss a candy bar vaguely in the direction of whoever is at the house and shut the door. The kid got their candy, so no complaints allowed.

[sluckythewizard]

[PUT INTO PLACE, TIED DOWN AND ARRANGED, AND IS NEVER THE SAME, AGAIN.]<-listen to my favorite songs. VAMPIRES ARE WONDERFUL ARENT THEY. THE FLESH IS SO MUCH MORE DURABLE. SO MUCH STRETCHIER THAN HUMANS. THE STRESS DOESNT KILL A VAMPIRE THE SAME WAY IT DOES A HUMAN. YOU CAN TAKE THEM APART THREAD BY THREAD AND LEAVE THEM WIDE AWAKE WITHOUT WORRY OF THE BRAINMATTER SPOILING UNDER VINEGARY AGONY.

[spotaus]

Hi guys, this is usually what a doodle page ends up looking like <3 (oh, and @ancha-aus thought you might like this! Not writing but certainly fuel to my fire lol-)

This one is New Age filled!!! (Close-ups abd Lore beneath the cut!)

1) Night and Cross!

Night is actually very clingy once he's a teen. He doesn't usually realize it, but around the castle he'll snake to be closer to his Knights so long as there's no one he needs to keep his composure infront of is nearby. Cross is the one who's not used to physical touch (when it's not Ink ofc) so Night in his personal bubble makes his heart melt but also scares tf out of him <3

2) Error and Night's Meeting!

Error was carrying his whole life on his back and trying not to get arrested for unintentional property damage at this point, so when he saw the chance to get back at his brother and prove he was strong enough? Yeah, he got that on chance instantly. And was VERY smug when Nightmare chose him. (Also, Error is wearing gloves, so less Haphephobia)

3) Dream and Blue designs!

I think these are good tentative designs! Dream probably has a more regal fit, but he likes to play up that rugged exile look- He's inspired by Archers, while Blue takes on that classic Knightly-vibe. Their equipment is mostly stolen from Night's troops or brought with them from Blue's home kingdom.

Also, Dream is approx Killer's height at this point, shorter than Cross and *much* shorter than Apple!Nightmare. (Hc that Skeletons tend to be tinier in stature thanks to weird monster beauty standards. Horror and Geno's fam are outliers.)

4) Horror and Dust designs!

Horror is naturally a very *large* monster. He's very malnourished when Nightmare meets him, but by the time he's a Knight Nightmare has made sure that's no longer the case. He actually loves comfy, simple clothes, but to play up the whole 'strong mysterious' bit he wears a more barbaric Knight's garb. He doesn't mind acting scary, it's more fun that way :]. Dust is very very small, and envies horror sometimes for his size, but his tiny stature let's him control his body and move a lot quicker. He's very much based on a rogue, and usually covers the lower part of his face w/ a black cloth, and the upper part w/ his hood or mask. Dust only removes both to bathe, eat, or relax in a safe location. (Ignore that I can't draw the stupid gaster blaster lmao-)

These last two were space-fillers, but Cross and his Borzoi (Windmill, otherwise known as Milly (Killer named her-)) and really bad first wips of Ccino! I think Ccino was a chubby, happy toddler, but lost a lot of 'weight' (bone mass? Magic?) due to stress and pressure and bad eating habits. So it isn't until a while after the Coronation that he starts to relax abd feel safe enough to eat normal meals (Nightmare used to guilt him into eating snacks together, but as his boss (and younger brother) he can encourage it more often). By the time Killer shows he's still not quite healthy, but he's better. As more weight is lifted off his shoulders, the better he is. (That 'beauty' most people saw was a more stereotypical slimness, but Killer never stopped seeing Ccino as beautiful-) I think he never looked traditionally underweight, so no one noticed, and it was only much later that Night processed it. (And maybe it's why Dream hardly recognized him later on-)

[danmeichael]

"shen qingqiu is a liar who is lying about his feelings so we can't ACTUALLY tell how he feels about anything"

so you admit that you can tell he is lying and by extension you can actually discern what his true feelings on the matter are and that he's just unwilling to admit to them.

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

where did your colour go?

[missazura]

U N R E A L I T Y