#they may not interact in this one

[scifur]

"One day you might stumble upon him in Mondstadt"

[palettepainter]

Still tryna figure out how I draw him, I think I draw his legs too big and his neck too long but either way, he's fun to doodle!

[storytellering]

I dunno guys, I think he did nothing wrong ever

[perryisle]

very excited for dual rulers

[xx-female]

as a bengali girl one of the biggest reasons i used to think i was "nonbinary" was bc i was told it was normal to have an incongruence w/ womanhood bc of my race... who fed me this lie

why is womanhood based on a woman's proximity to whiteness?? why are women of color deemed less female for the not fitting standards made against us? and why is the solution to that to push us into some third gender instead of just abolishing gender itself?????

has anyone else experienced something similar??

[hootyhoowoo]

A little 15 min doodle but first post of the year has to be Bingqiu!

[iamhereinthebg]

It's like my dreams are turning on me ☁︎‎‎‧₊˚

[agentc0rn]

"That is indeed the earth's observer, the keeper of order. Since days bygone, it has kept the whole region under its surveillance, monitoring everywhere through the cells by which serve as its eyes. Zygarde is its name."

The creature observed you steadily.

I know there's still a year ahead and many more yet to be revealed, but let me dream. I enjoy filling in the unknown with my imagination. Ju st imagine...if AZ helps us or at least accompanies us in some parts of the journey 👀 I initially wanted to depict Zygarde hostile but I made it look a bit more neutral here.

[lilybug-02]

You're right. This IS fun

It really is the BEST.

[ai-wa]

Boy's night out

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

I saw staff promoted your snake drawing! That's so cool!

I'm honestly still stunned by the feature! What a way to start off the new year!

[ladeldee]

I just like the idea that once Missa hears Phil has another "kid" he'd try and do whatever he can to help and Phil feels emotions about it

[dreamsy990]

TELEMACHUS AND ANTINOUS. FINALLY

[sefynarose]

yes, Rafayel becomes a whimpering and pathetic puddle in your hands at times, but this man reaaally gives me master manipulator daddy dom vibes. you think you have him wrapped around your finger but the truth is you’re actually wrapped around his. this man has mastered the art of talking a lot yet revealing nothing. we still don’t know anything about him or his true feelings besides the small glimpses we get here and there. this man is not open nor honest with us (and that’s not inherently a bad thing!! considering what we do know of his lore, it makes sense that he’s hesitant to open up to us. all the lads are like that in a way). he likes to play games, he lets us think that we’re in control and have the upper hand but the truth is he’s always been the one with the power. he’s the God of the Sea playing with the body, heart, and mind of a mere mortal. you’ve captured his heart once, did you really think you were ever going to escape?

[psychicsamlover]

Everytime I look at Telemachus I feel so much joy in my heart.

Like... He just fought a bunch of men who had been threatening him and his mother for years (and he didn't die! although he was very close to it). He didn't really want to hurt them (but he also chose a weapon that would allow him to fight groups of them at the same time), but he did it anyway because he had to.

He finally met his dad and cared more about not living up to his expectations than about the fact that he just saw someone's head being chopped off right in front of him by his dad (but hey that was a man who threatened to break his hands so that's okay).

And then his dad said "no more bullshit, you are the sweetest joy I've known, you're strong as you are, I love you so much and I can't wait to know you better".

And then he goes to tell his mother good news, they probably hug (as they should) and cry some happy tears before and after Odysseus and Penelope reunite (there's just so much happy crying in that palace).

And he also has a cool bestie goddess who's literally willing to die for him (honestly same) and will probably teach him more cool spear moves.

And look at him. He's so cute and badass at the same time. My favorite type of character. There's so much light and kindness in his eyes, but now we also know that he can "do whatever it takes to keep his *family* safe".

[nadiajustbe]

I think the most beautiful thing about writing of Howl and Sophie's pair is that they are written as people before being written as a pair. Let me explain this very quick.

The thing about book Sophie and Howl is that they are not really fully fitting into any "classic" romantic trope. They are not exactly enemies to lovers, as their angry chats are definitely cannot be considered a life or death battle, they are not rivals to lovers because the only aspect of rivalry between them is the cleaningness of Howl's room. They are not friends to lovers, as their relationship just doesn't fit into "friendship" structure at the very start, nor they are roomates (yes, they live in the same house but that's not the core aspect of their relationships). Of course, you can go on and fit the name of the trope you found specifically for them, but that's the thing.

They simply cannot be processed through a pairings lenses only, in order to understand how they act in relationship you need to analyse them separately, as a characters first of all. Cause that's what the book itself does!

Sure, it doesn't have a whole lot of romance instead, but it gives us time to learn and observe the life of incredibly written, alive characters, understand them as personalities first of all, while slowly immersing the dynamic between two characters (in this case, Howl and Sophie) into work. They are written as personalities, both being fully separated and interviewing, changing eachother's point of view.

It's difficult to find a trope for them. They're are not a trope. They are Howl and Sophie, and that's probably the only way their dynamic can be properly described. Just as real people, they are not really fitting into the boxes of linial character progression, but go way deeper into being complex, filled with little differences and moments only people with their personality can have in romantic (or any different) kind of interaction. They're imperfect, and silly, and multidimensional and the reader knows them well enough to imagine them interacting way beyond of what the book says to them.

They are being people before being a ship, a pair of a trope — and that's why they work so perfectly charming in the end.

Howl and Sophie are unique in being themselves.