#this is likely both an autism and ace thing

[grimgrinningghost456]

✨Random headcanons that popped into my head, Hazbin hotel edition✨

This will include ships I ship, random things I feel like a character has/does/likes, and perhaps a new flavor of husband shenanigans. As you know I’m a multi-shipper in two senses: I like multiple ships for multiple characters, and I like multiple ships that has one half of the couple being the same throughout variations. Without further ado, here we go!

Starting off strong with the Big man of hell himself, Luci

Lucifer💫🐥🐍🍎: like most fandoms, I tend to have Luci enjoy sweets and have a special fondness for apples. I personally feel the Morningstar crest being apple-inclusive was Lilith’s idea, as Lucifer was depressed and she wanted to give Heaven a middle finger. Apples are both a nostalgic and bittersweet thing for Luci, but he can’t help but to continue in the indulgence. I’d imagine Lucifer would have a smoked-apple kind of scent about him, whether that’s from product or natural musk/energy depends on my mood. I also think that he was always a shape-shifter, and a lot of his forms were inspiration for creatures that would dwell on earth, as Lucifer was the favorite. I also think that fish and snake scales, fawn-spots, fireflies, bioluminescence, and flowers having scent was all Lucifer’s doing; although they were altered. He wanted the animals on earth to sparkle and be full of life, but was ultimately brought down, and “appeased” with similar. But entirely different outcomes. I truly believe that on top of short kings depression, he has PTSD, ADHD, and Autism on top of it. Once again, I don’t always stack that on him, but meh. I also have Lucifer in a constant glamour, hiding extensive damage from the fall, which only Belphagore, who cares for his medical needs, has seen. Usually for a ship his paramour gets to see eventually for plot. He has arthritis and does actually need to utilize his cane as a cane, but hates it. Hes socially awkward as everyone knows. Luci does have a royal guard to defend his palace and hellborns who live in pride, as they’re not sinners and therefore shouldn’t be exterminated. He can go full devil and definitely has done what some legends depict the devil of doing. Hes not proud of it, but it is what it is. This boi can be touch-averse due to trauma, but with his self-loathing and depression I believe it’d take a lot for him to voice that fact. I also don’t have Lucifer and Charlie’s relationship quite so distant as in canon. It’s still somewhat estranged, but Lucifer was helping her with the big changes. Such as moving into the hotel, and Vaggie. Which I’ll get into later.

Moving on, we have the Deerman!

Alastor📻🦌🔪: Alastor tends to represent non-sex repulsed in my version of him, but every once in a while I adjust where he is on the Ace and sometimes aromantic spectrum. I have Al as a man who has Antisocial disorder, so romance and interacting with others is as much of a mystery to him as it is to interact with the shady deerman himself. I bounce between Alastor’s hygiene being really good or really bad. Partly because of information from Viv, and partly due to the time period Alastor lived and died in. I tend to really lean heavily into his Cajun upbringing. This means that my Depiction of Alastor has a coming-and-going cajun accent that will slip out on the occasion he forgets to keep the Transatlantic accent going. Usually like when he wakes up first thing in the morning or when he has a moment of snapping emotionally. His mama bounces between being in hell and in heaven. The identity of who his birth father is, also bounces around. Once again, like basic fandom who add Alastor’s childhood into the story, I have his Mother as a POC, while his father is a white man who tends to be the toxic ticking time-bomb that starts Alastor’s decent into murder, madness and mayhem. I’m a big radioapple shipper and a big radio-silence enjoyer as well. So looking into a “well into the relationship” scenario in which the deer and the short king are dating, Cajun comfort food is a must when the little devil is having a day where he can’t make himself get out of bed. Still touch-averse, and in any relationship he’s in (whether romantic or QPR) he usually is quick to figure out a system to have his partner silently ask permission to give some form of touch or affection.

Once again, moving on! We’ll do the Princess of hell, Charlotte Charlie Morningstar!

Charlie🎆🌈💖🐐: I actually try to tone Charlie WAY down as far as the Disney Princess behavior she has in canon. (Dont hate on me, but I found her character VERY hard to swallow. I get she was sheltered being royalty and all but with a depressed father and a mother trying to raise an army against Heaven, I just don’t think she’d be so ditzy and gullible towards overlords and other demons. I also was very annoyed that showing authority with her role of future ruler was seen as “mean”) So I think she still has that bubbly and positive attitude, but is much more observant and guarded when Alastor first comes to visit. I also have Charlie lean more into her abilities as heir and as a Nephilim to deal with threats such as Valentino. Yes, Angel Dust was still pissed about Charlie bursting into the studio, but I’ve decided there was more of a serious confrontation before Charlie felt guilt for her actions of butting in. She’s a lot more confident in her skills as far as knowing how to lead, but struggles in getting people to listen to her, much like in canon. The difference is that she chooses to have a more down to earth description of how to try and redeem sinners. All-and all she’s more organized, a little less oblivious, and more fierce when she needs to be. She actually knew about Vaggie being an angel when she found her in the alleyway. The wings being ripped off was a give-away along with the gold blood. So she took Vaggie to Lucifer, who helped Vaggie recover and had her join the royal guard.

Okay. Final character for this group, but not for tonight, Vagi-I mean Vaggie!

Vaggie⚔️🌈🪽: For Vaggie I don’t actually have too much different from her personality in canon compared to the others. I think we’ll get more from her in season 2 now that the big angel secret is out of the way. Speaking of which, that’s my biggest change. When Charlie found Vaggie, it was immediately obvious that the woman was a fallen angel. So she was healed and helped into recovery by Lucifer and Charlie before joining Hell’s Royal guard and quickly raising up to be pretty high in rank. Lucifer assigned her to protect Charlie during the redemption project. She fell first but Charlie fell harder. I headcanon these two to be engaged during the events of the hazbin hotel, so Vaggie is technically an official member of the Morningstar family tree. She also has some self loathing, PTSD, and deals with minor intrusive thoughts. She struggles to stamp out any holier than thou emotions and judgements she learned and retained during her time with Adam’s army. She also has a hard time being casual which she bonds with Lucifer over. She secretly has always wanted to dye her hair pinks but will die before admitting it to anyone. Has a bit of a sweet tooth, hates most men, and rock as it gives her Flashbacks of Adam being Adam.

That’s pretty much it for these characters!

@bendy-n-stuff helped and made some of these ideas with me about these characters. So if I forgot anything, or if you want to add anything on, have at it, girlfriend.

As always questions, comments, and thoughts are appreciated. I love discussions and debates as long as we’re polite and respectful of each others opinions!

[mr-jaybird]

i saw a poll about how you feel about flirting and the answer that is true to me is that i don't engage (because i'm married and not comfortable with that), but actually the godhonest truth is that even when i was single i could not pick up on flirting, so i have always been immune

[jitteryjive]

i need to remake my cup bros ref… both cup and human designs… it’s been almost a year(?) and i’ve developed the headcanons and i would like to share with the class!!! (i wrote thirty tags. Please help me)

[lesbiangiratina]

I like testament’s speech patterns i need to learn more i need to understand them better theyre such an interesting critter.

[i-dont-know-nor-care-go-away]

Sorry it wasn't very aro ace lesbian leaning to want captain pike to call me Mr. (Insert last name) and homoerotically grip my shoulder

[scrapimmortal]

massages are supposed to be relaxing but instead i'm feeling more anxious and emotionally unstable than before and also i'm sore as hell and overall i don't think i want to do it again skghkjhg

[unoriginal-and-dumb]

I imagine that they were childhood friends and played on the gross play rugs in ikea

Headcanons me and my friend came up with if you guys would like to read… huehuehue.. 👇👇

wiki says lampert was formed in a factory but it doesn’t say he was brought to LIFE in a factory. we hc that kasper “made” lampert as a child because he was lonely in ikea and had no friends. Also being one of those mf kids who draw on the walls and everything else. he drew a face on a lamp and the next day it turned into a boy yippee. they grew up together as best friends

kasper originally named lampert lamper, cause his name is kasper and he just replaced the kasp with lamp. when he came to life lampert was like no i think its lampert, not lamper and kasper was like ok 👍😁

they liked to play cars on the car play rug in ikea. kasper liked to race and crash them and lampert liked to send in the police and ambulance for cleanup. theyd play that over and over again it never got old

when they would play outside, they liked to set up things to look really pretty (like a nice stick and leaf house or dress up a really pretty doll) and then set it on fire with a magnifying glass (lampert liked the first part, kasper liked the second part)

kasper is korean-american and he had slightly lighter hair as a kid (LET ME HAVE THIS HAVE HAVE NOTHING)

both them ace and specifically lampert ace aro and specifically like romance and sex repulsed ace aro like if you stand too close to him he freaks out imagine if someone were to kiss him that would not fly. romance and sex r NASTY to him do not touch him

when lampert would hang out with kasper he would just stand very still in the corner of the room the whole time. not for any bad reason, he is just a lamp and does not see the need to do anything else than stand in the corner while he talks. when they hang out at ikea sometimes kasper starts talking to the wrong lamp because of this

lampert has a set list of facial expressions that show exactly how he feels. this is verging on not ok :) (his normal expression) this is not ok : ) (scawy) or this : ( this is silly :] these are all more fine :( :[ D: :D :o :/

lampert talks with a similar cadence to baymax snd also is politely blunt in the very autistic way. he states his opinion on something even if maybe its not a nice thing to say but he says it very politely (when eating food someone made for him that he really doesnt like: “i dont think i will be finishing this, it does not taste good. thank you! goodbye”)

They are so autism vs adhd to me.

Kasper was probably a sticky iPad leash kid before that was really a thing he’s a real trendsetter what a guy. He would run all over the place nonstop and everyone would just see some freak kid run mach 4 snatch a rug off the ground and then disappear like a gnome

[cepheusgalaxy]

"So, you wanna make them ace?"

Asexuality 101: Making your characters asexual

Indroduction: Ok, so, from what I've seen in fandom and in general, most people don't really know how to write an asexual character. Many just quit it and make them allosexual, others just struggle their way without having much of a guide. Prime example is Alastor from Hazbin Hotel, whom many people want to involve in sexual scenarios so they go with the "asexuality is a spectrum" route. Problem is, they don't understand how asexuality is a spectrum exactly and then they just end up writing their characters as allo. Now, how to avoid this? Teaching them!

If you're looking for a good way to get started with your own asexual oc, an ace headcanon or a media charater, I've got you! (i mention sex briefly here in some parts)

My credentials: I'm ace.

The basics

What is asexuality?

Asexuality is a sexual orientation that is generally defined by the lack of sexual attraction, or a very little amount of it. Sexual attraction is many times confused with libido, which is the sexual desire. Sexual attraction is more accurately, "the desire of having sex with this specific person." Therefore, some ace people do have a libido, and do want to have sex, but mostly are just not attracted to a person.

Myths and misconceptions

Asexuals can't have sex - as many shippers say, "asexuality is a spectrum", and while some aces don't have sex indeed, they can want it and have it as well. Person to person scenario

Asexuals don't know nothing about sex - unless the ace in question is a child, they probably may know, in fact, a lot. Many ace people like reading, watching or consuming smut, and by this and other means, even if they don't have sex themselves, they pretty much know how it is and how it works. Sex is everywhere, after all. Hard to miss

Asexuality is caused by trauma - it can be! Just not always, and most aces are simply born this way

Asexuality is a medical condition - much like homosexuality, asexuality is frequently treated as an illnes and many ace people are forced into conversion therapy. Some people also hold the belief that asexuality is caused by an anormality in a person's hormones, a mental illness, etc. But it is not true! Asexual people can obviously also be mentally ill in some way, but these are different things. It is just a sexual orientation like any other!

Asexuality is caused by HRT - hormone replacement therapy, ie. taking testosterone or estrogen, is one of the most common type of medical transition for trans people. Some hold the belief that taking hormones like those can "break" your sexuality (estrogen does sometimes decrease a person's libido, but it depends on the person's organism and it doesn't take your sexual attraction away from you), and turn you asexual

Asexuality is caused by autism - this myth may be originated from the fact that many autistic people are in fact asexual, or by the fact that both asexuals and autistic people tend to be infantilized a lot. However, as much as autistic people are very commonly also ace, asexuality is not, in fact, a symptom of autism

Basic terminology

Ace - short for "asexual".

Aro - short for "aromantic"; someone who experiences little to no romantic attraction, aka typically "doesn't fall in love".

Allo - somebody who does experience attraction. "Allosexual" is someone who is not asexual, and "alloromantic" is someone who is not aromantic.

Aspec - short for "a-spectrum". The a-spectrum is an umbrella term for anyone who is in any way ace, aro, aplatonic, afamilial, or other identities that fit here.

Acespec - short for "asexual spectrum/ace spectrum". It's a part of the a-spectrum and contemplates all asexuality.

Aesthetic attraction - finding someone pretty or beatiful, without necessarily wanting to have sex with them. Many ace people who didn't know they were ace report to having used to mistake it with sexual attraction.

Sensual attraction - similar to sexual attraction; the desire to touch someone, but without wanting to actuall have sex with them. Many ace people also confused this with sexual attraction.

Aphobia - discrimination against aspec people.

Amatonormativity- the belief that everybody is happier in a relationship, wether they want it or not, and should want and seek to be in one, and the general root of aphobia.

The Split Attraction Model

If you are looking on the ace community for a while, you might have heard of the split attraction model--if you haven't, here it is:

Image description: The Split Attraction Model, a cross chart inside a square, with four ends. The first end of the cross is labelled "ace", its opposite is labelled as "alloce", the third end is labelled as "alloro" and it's opposite is labelled as "aro". The section on the "alloro" and "ace" square is labelled "alloromantic asexual", the section in the "ace" and "aro" part is labelled "aromantic asexual", the section on the "alloro" and "alloce" square is labelled as "alloromantic allosexual" and the section on the "aro" and "alloce" section is labelled "aromantic allosexual". /end ID.

The split attraction model divides all orientations in four groups: The aroaces, the aroallos, the alloaces and the alloallos. It is usually shortened to "SAM".

Many people find this model useful, because it sorts your attraction into two groups: allo- and a-, and yes and no. It's simple and easy.

Many aces do not use this model to explain their attraction/lack thereof though! Hence the first distinction of aces we have here: SAM-aces and non-SAM-aces. Basically aces who use the Split Attraction Model and aces who prefer not to!

A non-SAM ace may define their asexuality as their romantic orientation as well, or label themselves differently altogether. While a SAM ace could call themselves an "asexual aromantic" or an "asexual alloromantic", a non-SAM ace could call themselves just "an asexual". In this case, they can be neither "alloro" nor "aro".

If your character is aware of their sexuality and identifies as ace, it's good to know wether they use the Split Attraction Model for themselves or not.

The spectrum

You may have heard that "asexuality is a spectrum" a thousand times, but what does it mean?

Just like "non-binary", "asexual" can be an identity on its own, but it is actually an umbrella term for a bunch of orientations. When we say that it is a spectrum, we are saying that there is Nuance. "Ace who doesn't date", "ace who dates", "ace who experiences just a little bit of sexual attraction", "aces who like sex" and so on. 'But Angel', you ask me, 'didn't you say that asexuality is when people don't have sexual attraction?' It can be! But there IS nuance, and that's what I am here to tell you.

There are two more factors beyond the SAM that you can consider:

"Are they sex repulsed, sex favorable, or sex neutral?"

Here is the "aces can still have sex" thing. A sex repulsed ace is probably what the majority of people think when they hear "asexual". It is an ace person who doesn't like sex. Doesn't want to have it, is disgusted by it, despises sexual intimacy, etc. They are the aces who tipically just don't want to have sex, and are very happy without it.

A sex favorable asexual is someone who likes it. Sure, they don't feel sexual attraction, but who's letting it stop them, right? They like sexual acts, they are fine and happy with having sex in general, and that's what the "aces can still have sex" point means. Yes, they can, if they want to! Maybe your character themself doesn't define themselves as neither repulsed nor favorable, but it's good to know what their instance on sex is.

Sex neutral asexuals are aces who are not repulsed by it, but are not really into it either. They may have sex, they may be fine with it, they may like it even, but they generally don't have a desire or strong feelings regarding it. It's just sex, after all.

Sex ambivalent asexuals are another thing I want to touch on. They are tipically aces whose instance on sex changes! Sometimes they may feel repulsed by it, sometimes they may want it, sometimes they may not care. They are neither strictly one, nor another. Their feelings change!

It's good to see where in this categorization your character or blorbo would be.

Inside the asexual spectrum, where do they stand?

If I were to represent the ace spectrum as a linear thing, I'd do it like this:

Image description: A linear representation of the asexual spectrum, in the shape of an arch. In one end, it is written "asexual", on the other, it is written "allosexual" and on the very middle, at the top of the arch, it is written "gray-asexual". /end ID.

or like this:

Image description: Another linear representation of the asexual spectrum. One of the ends is a black circle and the other is a white circle. Between them, a gradient goes from one circle to another, passing through different shades of gray. The black end is labelled as "asexual", the white end is labelled as "allosexual", and the gradient with shades of gray is labelled "different kinds of Gray-As". /end ID.

What is graysexual, you ask me? We all know that the world is not black-and-white, and as so, sexuality is also not. Grayace is a term for a person that is also asexual, but not strictly: that is, they are the "feels a little of sexual attraction" part of the spectrum. It is called like that because when we put asexual and allosexual in two ends of a spectrum, graysexuality stands in this gray area.

Gray sexuals may:

Experience sexual attraction only sometimes

Experience light sexual attraction

Experience sexual attraction under certain conditions in certain scenarios, for example, when they are already very intimate with a certain person

And many more! Graysexuality is on itself a spectrum, but having an idea of allosexual -> graysexual -> strictly asexual is already a good guide. Graysexuality can also be described as "having partial sexual attraction".

Fun fact about gray-aces: The asexual flag has four stripes; purple, white, gray and black. The purple stripe is meant to be a color signifier of the community, the white means allosexual, the gray means the gray aces and the black stripe represents people with strictly no sexual attraction. Hence the term "black stripe asexual" (which is not very popular but I personally like).

Micro-labels

You already have a basic understanding of the asexual spectrum and how it works, so you can think on where exactly in the spectrum your character/blorbo is. To help you out further, I present you the microlabels! Much like non binary is an umbrella term with many microlabels like genderqueer, xenogender and demigender, that help one explain their identity with more and more specific explanations, asexuals also have a lot of microlabels! Here are some:

Cupiosexual - asexual person that wishes to have a sexual relationship (example: i am cupioromantic person and i am basically a hopeless romantic and a yearner. cupiosexuality is similar, but with sex)

Gray sexual - asexual person with partial sexual attraction

Demisexual - asexual person who can only be attracted to people they already have a bond with

Abrosexual - person whose sexuality is fluid, and may be asexual at one time, bisexual at another, gay at another, etc.

Aceflux - asexual person whose sexuality changes, like abrosexual, but only between asexual identities

Aegosexual - asexual person who likes the idea of sex or fantasises about it, as long as it doesn't envolve them

Lythosexual - asexual person who is only sexually attracted to people they are not close with, and their sexual attraction fades out once the become closer

Myrsexual - asexual person that uses multiple asexual identities to describe their sexuality

Aroace - aromantic asexual person

Alloace - alloromantic asexual person

Apothisexual - sex-repulsed asexual person

These are not all micro labels in the asexual spectrum, but they are quite a lot. Maybe even if your charater is not sure if they are in a certain label or not, you may find them in some of these descriptions.

Links to resources with more microlabels: Tumblr post by @aroacesafeplaceforall (no images) /

/ A slightly longer list on asexuals.net (undescribed flags) /

/ Another guide for microlabels on lgbtqia.fandom.com (undescribed flags)

Bonus questions

Is it okay if I make my asexual character autistic? Is it not stereotyping? Yes, it's okay. There are actual asexual autistic people, and I'm sure they'd love to get represented as well!

Is it okay if I make my asexual character have sex? Is it not erasure? Yes, you can do that too! As long as it is where they stand in the spectrum (as explained in the topics above), you are doing a good thing by representing sex-favorable asexuals.

Do I have to make a romantic orientation for them too? No. Your character may be a non-sam ace, and identify as ace alone!

I heard that it is erasure if I make smut fanfic of ace character X. I don't get it how! While it is true many ace people have sex, many people when writing that just ignore their sexuality when writing/drawing smut of them! The spectrum is wide, so when you are doing that, remember where they stand on it.

Why can't I headcanon this ace character as allosexual? I headcanon straight characters as gay/bi/pan all the time and nobody says it's wrong! If people don't like my headcanon why can't they just look away? Because asexual people are a marginalized group, unlike straight people, so it is as okay to make them allo as it is to take an asian or black or jewish character and make them white. Because it is not just an individual headcanon; it's a part of a much bigger problem, and by avoiding headcanoning ace characters as allo, you are confronting your own internalized aphobia, which is a good thing! If you still want to make them have sex, well, that's what I made this guide for! So you can make them have sex as you wish without erasing their identity.

I am ace and am basing myself or my own experiences here. Is it okay if I...? The answer is generally yes. If you wanna write about a different ace experience than your own, a little bit of research won't hurt, though!

Is this enough for me to write my ace character? It is a start. This is a general guide, and there are some things I haven't touched on this guide (like aphobia) so I'd advice you to do more in-depth research on topics you want to focus more on, but this should get you pretty far.

Extra

"Is Alastor from Hazbin Hotel canonically ace or aroace?" (slightly related, because some people looking for this guide to write this guy might want to know this too)

Answer: link to a post clearing this up this with some sources. Short answer though, is that he is confirmed to be ace, not aroace.

"If I didn't understand something here, or I have more questions, can I ask you?"

Answer: Yes! You can reblog this post with questions, and my inbox is also open, and I make sure to always let anon on. I will be happy to help if I can.

"One of the image descriptions on this post was off or confusing, can you change it to X so it is better to understand it?"

Answer: Of course! I will need you to signal me in either the notes or in the inbox what I need to change, though.

"Are asexual people queer?"

Answer: Yes! Because the queer community, as the name suggests, is for people who are different, odd, and are not considered "normal" because of that. Asexual people are not a part of "the norm", because we don't feel sexual attraction, and therefore, we, and by extension your ace characters too, are queer.

<2

[bunni-v1]

hii, can I request "First Years Finding Out Your A Girl" with sebek and ortho please?

Ortho and Sebek Find out You’re a Girl?!?!?! (NOT CLICKBAIT!!!)

TW: Swearing (as usual lol); Ortho being creepy; Misogyny mention <3; Reader goes by she/her and is biologically female; Book 6 spoilers (very light, but still there); Bunni hasn't read Book 7 and therefore doesn't know what they're talking about :)

Info: Ortho x Reader; Sebek x Reader; Fem!Reader; Platonic

🍓Hi. If you’ve read the first part of this, I copy pasted the intro. Not because I’m lazy or anything (I’m a little lazy, but I’m a full-time college student who also has a part-time job, so I think I can be excused.) It’s mostly because… It’s a good intro. If people are just discovering this stuff then they can read it, but if you’ve read the first part you can just skip to the good good yk. Anyway, long-ass babble session, but I didn’t include Ortho and Sebek initially because they’re kind of new to the First year group so idk. Felt weird including them. Also, I haven’t read book seven so Sebek I bullshit a lot lol. Anyway, they’re here now, and I absolutely ADORE Ortho, so sorry if my favoritism shows.

First Years

Second Years

Third Years

Dorm Leaders

-Okay so, I know we’re all wondering, how the hell do you get away with hiding your gender for so damn long?

-Firstly, those ceremonial robes do great at hiding the figure. The only tell would maybe be your hair, but feminine men aren’t unwelcome at Nightraven College, so you mostly get a few questioning stares and that’s it.

-Secondly, Crowley wants to save his own fucking ass. He already has to hide from the press that he has a MAGICLESS student from ANOTHER DIMENSION here, he doesn’t need the fact that you are a woman ALSO on his plate. So, obviously, he helps you hide your gender from others.

-Grim knows, of course, and he keeps his mouth shut for a few yummy cans of tuna (and threats of being expelled from Crowley <3)

-Even when you were just a janitor, he couldn’t have the rumor that he put a “helpless” young woman to work. (Like it wouldn’t be expected.)

-So how do you two do it?

-Baggy ass uniform. Crowley gave you at least three sizes too big.

-Your figure is completely hidden. Sure, you look completely homeless, but at least you’re hidden.

-For your voice, you simply deepen it. After some point, you blackmail Crowley into giving you a potion to help with it, since it's so taxing on your voice. (Or maybe your voice is naturally deep!)

-Sam provides you (for an unfairly pretty penny (not too different from your original world…)) any feminine hygiene products you might need.

-Honestly, you’re set for being cared for, but it’s the adjustment period that’s the hardest part. 

-Truly, it’s very jarring to suddenly be thrown into both a magical world and be isolated in a man's world with nowhere to hide.

-At least in your world you had other women who could understand your struggles. Here though? You’re completely alone.

-You notice how… messy some of these guys could be. How some of them smell… really rancid. -How rough they were with you and each other.

-Honestly, it’s kinda eye-opening. The way men show affection to each other is oddly refreshing to watch and experience!

-Ace and Deuce specifically are a good… trial run.

-That’s not what we’re here to talk about though…

-For the most part, it's incredibly easy to hide yourself for the first while on campus. Everyone on campus is so self-absorbed that they don’t bother questioning you.

-Your only real risk factor is Savannaclaw, but it's easy to avoid those guys (minus Jack, of course).

-However, you can only hide your gender for so long… It’s mentally draining to keep up this facade all the time around people you care about.

-So… how do they find out?

Ortho 

-Okay, so Ortho is a little creepy weirdo. He’s a highly advanced robot who likely has autism, and loves his big brother a whole fucking lot. 

-(Side note: Can a robot, child, or thing have autism? Does that mean Idia programmed Ortho to be autistic? How silly of him.)

-It’s my personal head cannon that Idia DECKED this kid out in as much high-tech gear as he could get his hands on. 

-He’s equipped with some of the most complex medical features, therefore he has access to a database of all students at NRC’s medical files. (This is not legal, but he does not care for the law.)

-“But Bunni, what does that have to do with the prefect?” Well, Ortho is ALSO equipped with the latest medical scanner on the market.

-Think like Baymax, yeah? He can scan everyone one time and know every piece of medical knowledge readily available.

-Well, Ortho, the sweet little creep he is, automatically scans the medical information of any new person he sees/meets into his database — just in case it may come in handy.

-So, before he even KNOWS you. Before he speaks a single word to you, he knows you’re biologically a female.

-He scanned you without thinking and just shrugged his shoulders at it.

-You’re not from here, and you got thrown into this, so you being a woman doesn’t really matter too much to you being at NRC. 

-It honestly could’ve been anyone getting stuck here, so why should he question it?

-However, he notices that you are referred to with exclusively “male” pronouns, so he marks in your file that you are trans and moves on. 

-Again, who cares? He’s a magical robot guy based on his brother's dead brother. Who was he to judge?

-When he finally ACTUALLY gets to interact with you after being welcomed into the first-year squad, he’s very respectful of your gender.

-You are a man to him, therefore he refers to you with exclusively masculine pronouns.

-However, everyone in your little group already knows, and they assume that Ortho knows. So when they speak about you, they use feminine pronouns.

-Ortho, sweet as he is, immediately questions everyone as to why they’re misgendering you.

-Protective of the people he cares for at heart, he doesn’t like the idea that your so-called closest friends are misgendering you behind your back.

-Doesn’t believe them completely when they explain, so he goes to you because you’re the only one who knows who you really are.

-“Prefect!”

“Hey, Ortho! What’s up? Miss me?”

“Of course I do, but I have a very important question.”

“Sure, what do ya need?”

“Are you a woman?”

-At this point 90% of your friends know, but there is a handful that doesn’t… and you can’t be having that.

-You, of course, assure Ortho that you are not only a woman, but that your friends are not misgendering you behind your back.

-Relieved, he takes several of your friends off a hit list and removes the trans man label on your medical chart.

-Asks why you hid your gender in the first place.

-Promptly adds Crowley to a hit list (again).

-Ortho, out of EVERYONE at NRC, has absolutely zero behavior changes toward you. 

-He’s equally protective as he was before, he spends the same amount of time with you as usual, he doesn’t suddenly have some weird crush on you, and he’s still trying to set you up with Idia.

-Honestly, everyone should take notes from Ortho. He’s the best at this whole thing.

Sebek

-On the other hand… do not take notes from Sebek! He sucks at this! He sucks really badly!

-Out of all the first years, Sebek is not only the least close to you, but he is also incredibly mean. So you just… feel no obligation to tell him.

-In fact, you kind of… sort of… actively leave him out of the loop for a really long time.

-I mean, it's not an unreasonable thing to do. He is constantly berating you and putting you down for being human. You have no idea how he feels about women and you don’t want to find out first hand.

-In all honesty, he is the only person (other than Azul and the twins) that you’re really scared of finding out, and take extra precautions to ensure he doesn’t find out.

-However, you attend NRC, and nothing ever goes your way at NRC.

-Despite every precaution you take to keep your gender under lock and key, you overlook one thing.

-Malleus Draconia.

-His complete and total lack of social awareness is your downfall here. He finds out, and despite everything telling him to keep his mouth shut… he doesn’t. Because of course, he doesn’t.

-At this point, you’ve gone through most of your misadventures, and most — if not all — of your friends know you’re a girl.

-Hell, even Silver knows now. Everyone BUT Sebek knows.

-And he finds out because Malleus casually mentions it over dinner. Not even directly about your gender, he just uses she/her pronouns.

-Sebek, being Sebek, respectfully asks Malleus if he meant to say he. Malleus, of course, says no without a second thought.

-The shock and horror on Silver and Lilia’s faces was enough to be further confirmation.

-And Sebek’s world shatters.

-He was completely left out of the loop and also has a moral conflict now.

-As much shit, as I gave Sebek (as everyone gives Sebek) he RESPECTS women. His queen is a woman, and his mother is a woman. 

-In his eyes, women are some of the strongest people around. Regardless of if they’re human or not.

-You, on top of being a human from another realm who had successfully quelled several of the strangest students at NRC’s OVERBLOTS and came out on top, was also a woman.

-If that wasn’t strength, he didn’t know what it was.

-However, his bias against humans strongly clashes with his respect for women in this case.

-And it just… messes with his head. 

-He doesn’t treat you worse, in fact, he’s just… really awkward around you now.

-He doesn’t know if he should apologize or berate you for being a human, so he just stays stiff and glares at you.

-It's honestly more scary than him constantly talking down to you.

-However, once the two of you actually befriend one another, he apologizes to you. For everything, and explains where he’s coming from. Why he acted the way he did, how he really feels about you, and all that sweet shit.

-Afterwards, he is genuinely the best at keeping your secret (if he even needs to at this point).

-If there is anyone you can trust to keep his stupid mouth shut at NRC, it's Sebek. 

-His honor and pride force him into silence when it comes to secrets he promises to keep.

-In fact, if anyone is on your trail about it, he’s the first one to jump in the way and scare them off/shut them down.

[hoofpeet]

Okay so Kabru autism is like. He's fascinated with people because they're mysterious and he doesn't fully understand them.... he dissects human behavior the same clinical, detached way that laios discusses monsters, because he views himself as kind of an "other."

I think both of them distinctly don't *get* people, and feel it as a personal failing on their parts- showcased with laios' frustration at misunderstanding Shuro. But where they diverge is that kabru tries to subvert those feelings by being manipulative/ putting on an act, as a way to put himself above people in a way.

Since Kabru subconsciously believes that people wouldn't like him as a person regardless, he kinda tries to keep people a few degrees of separation from himself as a defense mechanism; so that if people feel distant, it's because he's putting on an act.

I think that kabru explicitly seeks Laios out to be friends is because he sees Laios struggle with the same disconnect he does-- Except that laios doesn't deal with it by putting on an act- everybody can tell that he's weird from a million miles away. BUT the thing with that is that he's still happy and has friends- despite having the personal failing that kabru also sees in himself.

I think kabrus initial hostility comes from a place of. Like. Instead of having the "oh I can be genuine" realization, he instantly rationalized laios as having ulterior movies, because he so thoroughly believes that he himself is incapable of being genuinely liked that he can't comprehend laios being happy while being openly autistic.

I think kabru is also deeply lonely because he's self-isolated as a defense against imminent rejection- so Laios ends up representing a glimmer of hope that he, too, can be genuinely liked and happy without having to exhaust himself putting on an act all day. So he fucking. Ace attorny's it and becomes a dungeon explorer just to go find and befriend him. Amazing

It's just like. If they're narrative foils I think they should both mutually admire each other on some level

[bloodheartz]

gimmw your gfalls hcs NOEWWW

oh god! I have soooo many but i'll put some basic ones down for the pines family rn and probably add on to this later ^_^

Dipper

◇ First of all this boy is absolutely autistic. My little autistic ass acted so much like him as a kid, I mean, what autistic 12 year old wouldn't base their entire summer around a weird book full of monsters they found?

◇ I think he's a trans dude and aro/ace, and that his crush on Wendy was more comphet than anything. I'm not really a fan of any ship involving him but I think platonic dipcifica could be cute.

◇ Cryptozoology/The Paranormal is absolutely his main special interest, but he also has an sp/in in computers/comp sci (but he's honestly not great at computer stuff).

Mabel

◇ AuDHD Queen! I think her main special interest is absolutely arts / crafts, I mean look at all the silly things she makes throughout the series as well as her dedication to handmaking dozens of puppets/props/etc as well as writing and entire play to impress her crush of the week in Sock Opera. ◇ I think sexuality wise she's not straight but prefers to be unlabelled. I also like to think she's the type to collect xenogenders / neopronouns like pokemon cards. ( she totally uses a bunch of cat-based pronouns) ◇ Shortly after the series I think she'd get a little less Boys-Crazy and focus more exploring who she is as a person / her self expression. Absolutely is gonna have a mall goth/emo/scene phase (she's smushing all three of those together into one thing for herself).

(I also think Mabel and Dipper were born identical twins)

Grunkle Stan

◇ Also AuDHD, not quite sure what his big main special interest would be but he's absolutely hyperfixated on Ducktective. Also going off the story in Lost Legends I think he'd absolutely be getting into making comics / drawing in general (even if hes not great at it). Post series I think he'd spend a lot of his free time out at sea drawing in the boat's cabin. Mostly making comics of silly re-tellings of he and Ford's adventures out at Sea (he absolutely shows Dipper and Mabel these if he and Ford video calls them when they're on land) ◇ I'm a transfem Stanley truther. He doesn't really realize/come to terms with it until post-series. I think she'd just grow out her hair and throw it in a pony-tail + use she/he pronouns to transition. She'd still use the name Stanley and be fine with both masc/fem terms (ie fine be called a man or a woman). Also he's bisexual (but has known this since he was like a teen, even if he didn't have the words to label it.) ◇ I think his Popsicle addiction from the unaired pilot is real and canon. Old autistic men love popsicles just look at my dad and grandfather.

Ford

◇ oh boy its projection time (i am a stanford pines fictive) 😈😈😈

◇ Transmasc, somewhere under the nonbinary umbrella but very guy adjacent. Mainly uses he/him pronouns but I think he'd use "it" and "they" aswell. Gay and Arospec as well. ◇ Autism + NPD + Schizophrenia wombo combo. He's sooooo NPD coded its INSANE, I am going to write an essay about it in the future. Goes without saying that his special interests are the paranormal and various sciences, but I think he has a hardcore love for the arts as well. ◇ Going off both the autism and arospec HC- I think he's the type to convince himself he has a crush very easily, when in reality he just has a strong admiration / platonic love for those in question, and had strong platonic feelings for McGucket back in college that he confused for romantic ones (projecting 100000000%) (i think the Stan twins were fraternal twins)

[rat-rambles]

I'm gona explain to yall why I think Stanley is the one that's ace aro in cannon and not Ford or Bill. (Yes all head cannons are vaild blah blah I love acearo people I am one don't kill me)

So basically it comes down to if stan wanted some he could. Young stan seems to be considered relatively conventional attractive (not like ugly men don't mange to hook up but still) and even as a "ugly" old man he is the hottest old person in town befor Ford shows up and. Once he gets over his social awkwardness he is actually able to date he just isn't about that life. "What about Stanley's ex wife's" I hear you scream at your screens well thanks to Bill I have notes.

Thank you bill now could be lieing yes but frankly I don't think his god Alex would let that happen for something like this. Especially becuse it's way funnier if it's all cannon. Now I think 2 of them can be considered legitimate and there not exactly romantic are they. Stanley is well known to care more about money than any romantic relationship witch dosnt sound like some one who's not aro to me. I'll give that there are a couple jokes pokeing wholes in my theroy however personaly any atemps at straightness by stan just feel very performative to me. Like there's something a whole easy to about how stans masculinity is just a reaction to incurity but all I'll say for now is stan is despite to prove he's not a failure and part of growing up in the 80s and not being a failure is geting bitches. And yet he can't comit to a relationship for more than a few days and it's not for commitment isues bitch comited to a fucking portal for 30 years AFTER NEARLY FAILING HIGHSCHOOL. As I said if he wanted to he would.

Now I'm going to go on a long rant about Bill and Ford so if you don't want that stop now

Ok for the record staring off bill and ford are both unreliable narrators.

Ford (my first victim)

We've seen him get rejected twice in the show when he trying to flirt with girls the more famous one being when he gets punch thrown on him. Ford is a very scentive guy he can't handle rejection obvouly he's gona wax poetic about how it's not that he can't get any he's just you know so very busy. Funny how he's not busy when Bill comes into his life or fiddleford for that matter it's almost like that's not the problem

Now I can see how you can read this qa acearo core but all I hear is the autism talking. There is something intently funny to me about the idea that he stright up was dating a male sided demon and is like but am I gay. It's very conservative up bring of him very relatable. But seriously if he was ace aro he'd just lean into being superior not what ever this is.

Bill ( he wouldn't escape me)

Same thing yeah he wax poetic about chemicals witch yeah is something ace aros do but also like incels.

He literally is just asking dear not to ask him out a real problem when every freak reading this book wants to make out with him sorry Bill your hot shit.

The book is shaking you by the shoulders begging you to tell that he's lieing for clout. Bill is also begging you to take him seriously and he can't be serious if he can't even get any becuse he's a unlikeable losser.

Like I'm sorry guys the text just dosnt suport these 2 being acearo this is not the show for ace aro rep I'm sorry. This show is actually really really really obsessed with romantic relationships it's a well Alex keeps going back to witch is why I'm so sure about stanly becuse he's like the one character who actively rejects dating instead of just saying he's into into it. ITS GRAVITY FALLS EVERYONES A FUCKING LIAR.

[mayisgoingnuts]

MT!ROY

I decided to accept that he's not that deep (/hj) and made my own version of him, mostly because of lore reasons.

TW for mentions of CSA and parent issues

Tagging the crew @merwynsartblog @clownazon @sunny6677 @bulldog-geckorahhhhh @catsockpuppet @royphobia @luzxii @articus-icecream

Leaving the info under the cut because it's long

PERSONALITY/HIMSELF

— His "toughness" changes depending who he's talking to. He'll easily be an ass to people who he can clearly beat up, but it changes if it's someone his age for example. The only thing that makes him truly chicken out is if he notices that he has ZERO, NO chance or if the other person is clearly nuts. Other factors can creep him out aswell but then it's specific.

— Gray-ace, experiences sexual attraction very rarely. However he doesn't care enough about labels to search more about, and simply thinks that he's bisexual.

— Roy is more of a cat person but also really likes dogs. He just finds both of them dumb and funny./pos

— His vision isn't THAT bad right now, but it'll get worse with time. He does forget, but when he notices it he pretends not to.

— Resting pissed face.

— Tends to stim whenever he's too happy, either verbally or physically. He'll either start to stutter a bunch of gibberish or move his hands, normally pulling his sweater.

— 97% of the things he says with his friends would get him hated on the internet. Most of them are fucked up jokes. (<- don't feel bad for his friends they're just as fucked up they laugh their asses off)

FAMILY

— Vanido comes from Carmen, while Richelieu comes from Richard. His uncle is named Charles Richelieu, and is Richard's brother.

— Talks more easily to his dad than to his mom. Although it's mostly either short talks or awkward.

— Roy does loves them but still wish they were nicer and "less annoying". It mostly goes to his mom.

— Charles was a "disappointment" to his type of family and consequently Carmen disliked him, but Richard still has an attachment since they were quite close. That's also why he trusted Roy to go visit him by himself sometimes.

— Carmen almost ended up being more strict than she already is, but harsher demands caused Roy to actually express sadness, discomfort or panic, which made her feel bad and give up.

— They don't like him wearing eyeliner because they think it doesn't fit him at all.

— The only reason Roy won't stay up late (since he gets to be alone) it's because his parents won't let him. If he's caught awake after 00:00 he's scolded, and depending on how many times consecutive, grounded.

SCHOOL

— Studies in a private school and can't tolerate half of his colleagues. There's some cool ones there, but meh.

— Roy already participated in a LOT of school activities, or just activities in general, because his parents wanted him to. It includes violin, golf, advanced classes, swimming, badminton and ice skating. He hates most of these, but has a 'special spot' for badminton.

— Cheats a lot. He has the potential to be smart, but prefers to not take the effort to not explode./hj

— Most teachers don't like him and he's fully aware of that, but every year there's atleast ONE who'll hold a grudge after a single misbehaviour and then proceed to annoy him for no reason.

— Hates the uniform. It has short sleeves and he doesn't like short sleeves. Plus he just finds it ugly.

MENTAL HEALTH (?)

— Neither Roy or his family knows about his BPD or autism, in a diagnosis sense. They just think he's stubborn and going through puberty at maximum, while Roy himself just doesn't know nothing about it. He knows a little about autism because Robert's family is autistic, but assumed he has nothing to do with it for being the complete opposite of them.

— Has a horrible habit of pulling his own hair when too angry and/or stressed. Ross and Robert try to make him stop doing that, and to not have them to worry, Roy decided to try something else, such as biting his cap. It works, but only does it sometimes because he feels like an animal (/vneg) and because he's afraid he might ruin his hat.

— Roy nowadays feels really shitty in the dark thanks to the mansion. It's not exactly scared, more like uncomfortable. Feels worse if it's a big space.

— Roy already fought with Ross and Robert once, and it ended up making him see them as the wrong ones and just bad people because of a single fail. He hated staying by himself, and had thanked God that they decided to approach and apologize, because Roy didn't had the guts to.

— Bullying other kids without being stopped makes him better as he finally feels like being in charge of something.

— As much as Roy finally "knowledged" his own SA, he didn't fully did. Since his struggles with his family are more obvious and constant, that part ended up being "pushed aside" and he still finds it not a big deal; specially because Roy didn't even know what was happening at the time. He'll only face it in the future.

[frozenjokes]

long list of mcyt ships and my dumbass opinions this post was getting too long and I have so much more to say

skizzpulse: needed to write about this because I don’t ship them at all but something is deeply weird about them in a way that is neither platonic or romantic. They have transcended human definitions of Relationship to me. No they’re not a QPR either. They’re weirder. Whatever you’re thinking they’re weirder. Do not separate. Attached at the hip.

etho: etho is in a realm of his own where I simply can not ship him. he’s not doing the romance. he’s not doing the qpr. he’s not doing shit. And it’s not because he can’t pull bitches; he is swagless and a loser in a way that brings ALL the boys to the yard (as opposed to Grian who is similar except he can’t pull anyone), he’s simply getting weird with it. He walks right past any sort of relationship into something deeper; resident sopping wet animal. aro/ace also but this isn’t nearly as relevant as the autism

cubscar/convex: favorite hermitcraft ship and it is not even close. It is NOT EVEN CLOSE. in the way scarian are both covered in lighter fluid and holding matches, convex are also doing that except it’s become a game of who can set the other on fire without being lit up themselves, and they’re both having the times of their lives (ends with both of them on fire every time without fail and it’s usually scar’s fault). they’re insane about it. the vex shit???? insane. their minds are beautiful and deeply wrong. I think they should kill each other.

solidaritimes: I will never forgive Scott smajor for separating scar and Jimmy in secret life he has no idea what he took from me. In a world where Jimmy is often the butt of the joke (by his own volition, I understand) the sheriff deputy thing was fucking beautiful. Sunshine and rainbows, love and support and adoration and everything good and healthy. A massive breath of fresh air and easily my favorite part of the hermitpires crossover. They mean everything to me. I’ve never seen such losers be so in love. Failgirl power.

redscape: another banger. These guys are GOOFY and I think Scar hits a magical combination of being Completely Exasperating vs Setting Off Mumbo’s Bullshit Radar which makes them bounce off each other in a lot of fun ways. They are versatile as a couple between banter and shenanigans and dedication, it’s a pairing I generally think of as very healthy and fun and if you also like all of these things don’t read my Boatem Ghosts AU because I make redscape awful and Mumbo pays the full price! Whoops! I love to think about them falling fast if I am writing them as romantically/sexually inclined characters, where Scar is frustrating but at the same time charming and silly in a way that draws Mumbo in. Mumbo on the other hand challenges Scar and chips away at his facade in ways he finds exciting. I like a Scar that wants to prove himself to Mumbo, win him over, where Mumbo is just lightly exasperated about the whole thing.

cleo/cub: probably the only pair on this list that I think are friends normal style. I just really adore normal style friends cleo and cub feuding about their museums so I had to tell you. I need to write them as friends more often. I love thinking about cub helping cleo fix up her stitches as well as other maintenance on their body. guys who nudity doesn’t matter to they’re both just chilling with their shirts off. special platonic dynamic to me.

ranchers: I don’t care about ranchers

moonrot: I don’t normally ship cleo and pearl in most of the smps or whatever. However. The specific dynamic they have in my boatem ghosts au makes me a little insane I really like them together. Pearl is a little bit deranged in her Wanting Revenge On Scar but ougghg that pirate scar’s hanging out with… she’s so cool… and then Cleo brings them to the ghost island and Pearl thinks she’s even cooler cleo is So Awesome ougghggh and then she gets worried because Scar is a Ultra Murderer TM so she’s quite protective over Cleo and doesn’t like Scar being around them AT ALL but her ass is dead so she’s not doing shit about it. The pining once Scar is out of the picture is Out Of Control. I should write a one shot about this.

ethubs: I think this is the only ship I can honestly say has ever been too weird for me. I think they’re deranged in a way that makes my skin crawl. I am deeply afraid of them. They’ve never kicked it normal style in their lives. I look at them and I don’t know what I’m seeing. It scares me. I respect this ship deeply and leave freshly slaughtered sacrifices at an altar once a week in a hope that will be enough for ethubs to leave me alone.

[itslouisan]

Q!Philza headcannons:

I woke up and well, I'm feeling silly wanting to talk about Q! Philza since in my opinion he is one of the most complex characters in the QSMP, but also after the confirmation he is the same Philza as in hardcore, EarthSMP and DSMP, with the only exception being origins SMP (despite me having a headcannon about it and a whole timeline where all of it ties together) I thought, why not just show some of my headcannons since I kin this bitch way too much to point of Insanity and he is my comfort character and streamer, shall we?

Under the cut for a LOT of Q!Philza hc:

• First of all Phil has multiple scars from battles, it's confirmed he used to go to wars and with all the lore of the DSMP, QSMP and so on, I imagine he has a lot of them especially in his back and arms with occasionally 1 or 2 near his eye

• Due to said scars he never takes his kimono/samue off, the only exception being intense training where he needs more body flow and lightweight and in serious fights for the same reasons, he probably feels too exposed, vulnerable and even "dirty" showing them off, traits crows also have (avoiding vulnerability that is)

• I'm just gonna brush it slightly on a CHARACTER (NOT streamer Philza) interpretation in his sexuality and gender, if you guys want I can go deeper into it but meh: he is bi and ace, more in the gray sexuality spectrum than anything and enjoying jokes about sex without actually needing to do it, he is a transmasc (FTM) and crowgender using he/him and crow/crow self pronuns. The fact I view him as bi and not as a straight ally (which I did before the QSMP) is due to the fact Q!Missa and Q!Fit were a thing, again I could talk more in depth about this but only if you want

• In my vision character Philza (once more ONLY character Philza) shows traits of having anxiety disorder, either social or just general and some traits visible in people with both ADHD and Autism, which makes me hc him as Autism level of support 1 (tiptoing around 1 and 2) and ADHD PROBABLY combined type (both inattentive and hyperactive)

• His safe food is avocado toast and any potato related food due to Techno.

• Has sleep issues due to constantly having nightmares of the events of the DSMP

• Has back issues due to spending MONTHS sleeping in a chair to watch over the eggs

• He doesn't necessarily views Q!Cellbit as a son, but I think he definitely likes Cellbit company and gives him a ton of advice seeing how Cellbit has massive need of a father figure to guide him through

• Paints his nails with Chayanne, Tallulah, Cellbit, Pac, Mike, Roier, Fit and Jaiden and uses this time to "fofocar" as much as he can with all of them.

• Doesn't like tea but uses it to calm down and heal injuries anyway

• Definitely Cellbit top costumer in his coffee shop and actually talks with Cellbit about brewing techniques (reference to their original duo name being "coffee duo" and irl Phil loving coffee and Cellbit too)

• Has a hardcore heart and Wither rose tattoos in each of the inside of his wrists.

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

👀 a plus-sized love interest in a game? please tell me more

yuuuup you heard me right

in our life 2, one of the romanceable leads is plus-sized and the other lead starts off using he/him pronouns but comes out as genderfluid part way though the story

our life as a game essentially functions as a visual novel that takes place during your early childhood (step 1), preteen/early teen days (step 2), young adult (step 3) and then finally with step 4 adulthood where you and your extremely customizable mc (that you can name, customize the hair color/texture of, change your pronouns throughout the story if you desire, if they're ace or not, the kinds of people they're interested in, etc. etc) as you grow up with your friends, family and of course the leads whom you can either have a purely platonic, romantic or familial relationship with

basically, everyone gets a piece of the pie as the game is incredibly inclusive and the base games are free, you only pay for the dlcs (which are about 3.99/4.99 each) if you want additional content

in our life 1 the primary love interest is cove holden, your shy but 'opens up like a flower when you get to know him childhood friend' whose dad offers you $20 bucks to befriend his son over the summer, will you take the money? or nah? whether or not you do, you do have the choice to tell him or keep it a secret. either way, cove is a lonely kid in love with mermaids and the ocean whose parents are going through a divorce and maybe a special kid born and raised in sunset bird can help him out. (canonically on the autism spectrum as well)

but with some fairly priced dlcs, you can also unlock two more love interests

derek suarez: oldest of 3 brothers and while playful, he means very well. sometimes that well-meaning nature can get him into trouble though. he has a crush on the mc and if given the chance, asks if you're both single as adults if you can get married. you mainly get acquainted with him in step 2 as step 3 he's a bit too busy to be around, but depending on your choices you can stay in touch despite all that or perhaps you'll lose touch over time only to rekindle old feelings in step 4.

and baxter ward: an eccentric but extremely charming tourist that comes to sunset bird in step 3 with a penchant for dressing in black and white all the time. if you choose to get close to him, he asks if it's possible if he can be your suitor for the season (it's possible, through a moment in step 2 to meet baxter earlier than his intended proper introduction though). either way, you do have a chance to take things to a more permanent relationship in step 4 when you reunite once again when you've become a bridemaid for a wedding and oh shit baxter is the wedding planner

ol1 takes place in a fictional town called sunset bird which is essentially a touristy seaside retirement community. you're raised by your two moms along with your sister liz, the both of you being adopted.

also, this game is told through various summers in your life.

our life 2, on the other hand, takes place in a completely different fictional town called golden grove located in oregon (baxter's hometown) and there are 2 base leads you can romance (idk if there will be anymore though):

qiu "autumn" lin: to start, qiu is very charming and that leads to him being very popular in step 1. he's the guy everyone adores to the point each semester there's a 'who gets to sit next to qiu' chart so it's all fair. by step 2 though, they're going through their emo phase and if you aren't close to them by that time (or choose that you stopped being friends between steps 1 and 2), then as far as they're concerned you're just another face in the crowd. by step 3 though, they're back to the charming rizzler they were back in step 1

(step 4 designs/info not out yet for for ol2)

and tamarack baumann: who starts as a bit of a wild child in step 1. she prefers to the forest to the city and can spend all day there. she's blunt and can be loud, but she has your back from day 1. by step 2 though, all that self-assured confidence where she knew herself is gone and tamarack is considerably shyer and more awkward. she can find solace in your friendship though should your promise to be friends forever in step 1 still hold out. by step 3, she's evolved into a quietly confident grandma friend

also contrast to the first game, ol2's story is told throughout various autumns of your life.

you and your mom are a solo duo who have recently moved into golden grove about a week after tamarack (a fellow new kid! it makes it easier for you to connect with her), your mom being a single mom by choice through ivf (but it's strongly hinted that a waiter at the local diner (born intersex, assigned female then transitioned into male) is into her and i am MANIFESTING MY ASS OFF they get together at some point). ol2 also will have a poly feature that comes in the game for those who wish to be committed to both of the leads!

the leads themselves are all pansexual, leading to them being able to date your character regardless of gender and sexual identities and are just extremely wholesome and lovely overall. i always play them whenever i need a mood boost. between the two though, ol2 is not yet done BUT there is a demo of step 1 out right now on itch.io and steam

it's a fun game where all your choices matter and are referred throughout the game as a 'hey remember when yn and cove tried running away from home? that was such a nightmare' or 'hey i met you! a few years back at the summer soiree! wow, if anything had gone slightly different, we might not have even met then' or even 'yo remember when we spent that summer doing beach cleanup??? we should do that again'

even the side characters you grow up with or become acquainted with throughout the steps have journeys from either transitioning and identifying with different pronouns than they were initially introduced with or pursuing specific degrees at school, moving away and either you stayed in contact or hell maybe it's one of those situations where a friend of yours moved away and you never heard from them again etc etc. the ol universe also extends partly into the universe of the xoxo droplets game (made by the same team and also free, unless you wanna pay for the paid version with 3 more romanceable leads and a mc with a hilariously unique personality) with some characters from that game making cameos as childhood encounters in ol. it's all really fun! i really recommend giving the game a try, you'll fall in love with sunset bird and golden grove i guarantee it

you can have a peaceful run with the normal amount of growing pains, or you can go full novela and have lots of drama and flair but rest happily knowing that in ol everything ends up working out. your mc can be shy or bold and out going in one step and then be completely the opposite in the next. maybe you have a very biting attitude or maybe you're extremely gullible. you can change it up with each run, it's extremely replayable

can't stress enough how much i love this game and the characters in it