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writing-for-life · 8 months

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Nuance in (The Sandman) Fandom

Send me asks about everything Sandman-related!

I thought a lot over the past few days, partly prompted by discourse on here, partly due to a couple of “interesting” asks and messages I received (the type you don’t answer). I *think* they might have been prompted by engaging in discourse on topics like anti-blackness/racism, misogyny/sexism, TERF characters etc in The Sandman.

Fandoms are always getting super sensitive if someone shines a critical lens on their favourite works, authors and characters. So to make this clear (in case it isn’t already obvious from my brain-rot blog):

I love The Sandman. I love Neil Gaiman. I have an extremely soft spot for Dream (and Desire btw, who deserves a lot more character analysis than just being summed up as “villainous, sexy bitch”. One day, perhaps ;)).

I can read The Sandman and just get lost in the story, even after decades and many rereads.

But I can also view it through a critical lens—these things aren’t mutually exclusive.

Not critical enough or too critical?

As fans, we can get trapped in certain thinking patterns, like:

“My blorbo can do no wrong”-syndrome

“Characters with flaws are inherently problematic and imply authorial endorsement of those actions”

“Characterisation and problematic subtext are one and the same” (aka overanalysing and looking for problems where there are none is the death of every story, but failing to see problematic patterns where they are clearly visible is a problem, too).

Don't say anything bad about my favourite character

I think this doesn’t need much further exploration. It’s not my personal way of looking at stories through permanently rose-tinted glasses (I always feel it stalls my experience, but my experience is not everyone else's). Some people prefer that type of escapism, and I’m good with that (although the downside is of course that by not willing to engage with issues, we can unwillingly perpetuate them). Live and let live, ship and let sail. But please, for the love of god: Don’t insult people via their inboxes or messages just because their opinions and preferences don’t align with yours. I’m not going to sugarcoat it or phrase it “nicely”: It’s infantile (and a form of bullying btw), end of.

How can you even like a character who's so horrible? And that author must be equally horrible, too

We have to separate flawed characters, even those who are written to be really problematic, from real-life endorsement of these actions.

Author, narrator and character are three fundamentally different things, and don’t overlap as much as some people seem to think.

We can write vile, despicable characters to make a point (for me, Thessaly was always a prime example for this, and I explained why here). We probably hate them as we write them. I don’t know what else to say, but this facet of writing seems to get more and more lost on people, and it’s a worry. Crying for sanitised characterisation is one step away from censorship. We explore what is problematic about people and humanity through story. That’s how we process and learn. It’s nothing new, but it becomes impossible if we can’t write flawed and even disgusting characters.

Face value…

Since I’m mostly in The Sandman fandom, I often read that its ending is hopeless, and that’s supposedly the entire message.

It is agonisingly sad, yes. But is it truly hopeless? I personally see it as quite the opposite, but of course that’s my opinion, coloured by my life experiences.

I also get that show-only fans often haven’t read the comics, or at least not the whole arc. And as such, their outlook from what they’ve seen so far (and choose to focus on) has to be different by default. I also understand that many people are quite new to the comics, even if they have read them in their entirety. I’ve sat with them for 30 years, and I still find new things on every reread (and I read it more times than anyone should 🙈), and I still don’t feel like I’ve understood it all. Perhaps because I still haven’t fully understood myself (and it’s unlikely I ever will). If there’s one thing The Sandman isn’t, it’s one-dimensional and easy to grasp in its whole depth.

I just wrote a ginormous meta on it, if you’re interested, it’s here:

Subtext, (not so) glorious subtext

This is where it gets complicated:

We shouldn’t mix up characterisation and story subtext. Overanalysing every line to death will always make us find something that’s “problematic”, when it really isn’t in the wider context of the story.

Zooming in is NOT always a good thing. Sometimes, we actually need to zoom out.

But subtext *can be* (accidentally) problematic. Even in stories we love. And none of this negates what I previously wrote.

Stories have real-life implications of sorts, and we need to be able to talk about it. That’s where those slightly flabbergasting, hostile inbox messages come in, and I want to expand on that "topic of contention" a bit:

Neil himself confirmed that the Endless basically warp reality, and that this is why, after Dream’s failed relationship with Nada, many black women in his vicinity suffer terrible fates (Ruby and Carla in particular). And that this spell is only broken when he dies, and that it is the reason why Gwen doesn’t suffer the same fate. And said Gwen then gets used as a plot device to basically absolve Hob (who canonically really is a problematic character, whether show-only fans like it or not) from his slaver past. Once again, very clearly: No one is making this up. Neil confirmed it (for the comics, and that was over 20 years ago. It remains to be seen if his stance has changed as we move into that arc in the TV show).

I don't think it is correct to imply that Dream as a character is racist (I've read that, too) because he logically can’t be. He holds *all* the collective unconscious. He is also, strictly speaking, not white. He is everything and nothing, and he shows up in many different ethnicities throughout the whole arc, depending on who looks at him. But Neil played with a subtext here (reality warping due to a bad relationship which then affects everyone with similar physical traits) that will read very differently to a black person than it reads to a white person, and we have to understand why that is an *extremely* slippery slope.

Plus, we are supposed to see Hob, who *was* a racist at some point (you can’t not be if you’re a slave-trader—it’s impossible by default) as redeemed. And yes, he *does* regret deeply, good for him (and if I were saying this aloud, you would hear the sarcasm in my voice, because it is indeed all about him. We are to sympathise/empathise with him and his character growth while there isn’t much mention of the people he maltreated). But also: it was a black woman who basically forgave him (with dialogue that personally makes me cringe). And that black woman who offers forgiveness is not truly a black woman—she is a character written by a white man. And as much as author and character are not the same (see above), there is an inherent sensitivity in that power imbalance that we can't brush under the carpet.

I don’t think Neil is racist. Probably quite the opposite, and I can even see that his intentions were good from a storytelling point of view. BUT intention and impact are two fundamentally different things, and telling the story this way (comic version) betrays blindspots only white people have. Just like women have blindspots when they tell stories about men, and men have blindspots when they tell stories about women (and there are a few of those in The Sandman, too). And and and…

As storytellers, we can’t always speak from lived experience. It’s impossible. And that also means we occasionally make mistakes that look bad in hindsight, even if our intentions were good.

I guess the proof is in the pudding: What do we do when people who *have* that lived experience tell us it looks bad? If they inform us why it is hurtful, plays into old stereotypes etc?

Are we willing to listen and yield (both are the foundations of allyship btw), or are we insisting that our viewpoint as someone *without* lived experience is right? That lived experience extends to all lived experiences (sex/gender, sexual orientation, age...), and from all we’ve heard from Neil so far, it seems important to him to rewrite what he sees differently today. Whether they’ll always get it right for the show—we’ll see. At the moment, it looks a lot better than in the comics, and certain issues are already being handled with a lot more sensitivity, but a few problems remain.

Pushing back on criticism that comes from people with lived experience is problematic—I’d encourage us to think about what it looks like if a white majority in the fandom is basically saying that the opinions of POC are essentially “overreactions” (and yes, that happened).

It’s complicated. The Sandman was written in a different time, and I think we have to distinguish between things that weren’t really problematic at the time but have aged poorly (again, Thessaly springs to mind, and I have lived experience as a queer person during that time, so I can see it in context while at the same time acknowledging that I would make changes to bring it to the present day), and things that were always a problem due to blindspots. They were a problem in 1990, and if they don’t get changed, they are still a problem today.

This fandom is generally so much more open and nicer than others I know. But that doesn’t mean it’s infallible, because it’s full of humans.

Nuance is sorely needed, in both story interpretation and interaction between said humans.

#fandom discourse #fandom blindspots #sandman meta #sandman spoilers #the sandman #dream of the endless #hob gadling #nada #morpheus #sandman

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cartoon-buffoon · 1 month

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I decided to read the Epic Mickey graphic novel—which by the way it's just chilling on the Internet Archive? Like you can read it at any time and I'd highly recommend doing so—but I noticed something very interesting in regards to the heart and the entire real plot point of Epic Mickey. I LOVE over analyzing stupid meaningless things in relation to my favorite characters so this is another stupid rant, sorry if someone has analyzed this before me it's just a neat thing I noticed.

WARNING: rant by someone who hasn't played Epic Mickey properly, sorry if the game contradicts whatever I say somehow. Also SPOILERS for the Epic Mickey graphic novel, I'd recommend reading it yourself because it's pretty cool.

Okay I'm aware the heart is a metaphor for fame, yeah the toons stuck in wasteland are stuck there because they are forgotten. However one thing I find interesting however is how the heart seemingly changes a toon's personality as well? It's for like a single panel where they show the heart does more for the toons than allowing passage in and out of wasteland. It at least affects them in some way.

This is right after Mickey gave up his heart to save Gus and Oswald who the blot had grabbed, now up until this point Mickey was very happy go lucky. Until his heart was stolen, and he suddenly lashes out at Oswald?

This is really random and out of character from what we've seen until now and in fact Mickey himself seems like he's aware he's not acting himself. As soon as the heart gets stolen we see Mickey who is generally jokey and happy suddenly get mad and outright confrontational. Look at how he gets up in Ozzie's face! Now Oswald did have a reason to be mad at Mickey, his reason was TOTALLY justified and idc if it was an accident Oswald had all the right to mistreat Mickey for ruining wasteland and killing his wife. Yet Mickey always just took on the chin, he felt remorseful yeah yet he just kinda took the insults, this is the first case of Mickey fighting back and Oswald wasn't even insulting him!

Later on when using the rocket we also see Mickey start writing his will when the plan to self destruct the rocket starts going up in flames.

Although comedic and funny this is pretty fucking grim if you look at the fact that he's just casually preparing for his death. After the rocket crashes we also see him give Oswald some slack and make a snarky remark.

Now not exactly out of character for Mickey to be funny it's still interesting how his way of being funny in this instance is taking a small jab at Oswald's piloting skills.

Later on we also see Mickey get serious and be really aggressive when fighting the blot.

Now this could just be of course Mickey deciding to right his wrongs and taking things serious, but I find it interesting that this comes AFTER he loses the heart.

This spring of sudden aggressiveness only awakens after he loses his heart and we see from the panel right after he loses it and Mickey seems dazed and discombobulated. AND THEY JUST GRAZE OVER THIS DETAIL! "I just... Feel so..." AND THEN BOOM! The comic just goes "alright keep it going, move the plot along we only got so many pages" and nothing comes of this. They never clarify what Mickey is feeling, this detail is just passed over, yet it seemingly affects the way Mickey acts for the rest of the comic (or at least until he gets his heart back). What I find so fascinating about this is Oswald and his character, we see him be pretty dynamic and go through a character arc, we learn he has resented Mickey and he built a eutopia for him and other forgotten toons until Mickey ruined it with the tinner. From there his resentment turned to full on rage due to his grief of not only losing his world yet also his wife, yet we see when Mickey tries to right his wrongs Oswald comes to realize Mickey isn't a threat and he acts a lot better. By the end of the comic we also see the two being best friends and relationship patched up.

We never really see Mickey go through a character arc though? Yeah he rights his wrongs and fixes the world he fucked up, yet that's the bare minimum and we see the wizard intended for it to play out like this.

I mean, I guess Mickey learned a lesson although I don't think "don't mess with magic and things that aren't yours" is a lesson, that's common sense. Mickey is the protagonist of the story and he fixes what he messed up and in the process rekindles his relationship with his lost brother, that's pretty much it. I find this really interesting as generally Mickey is just a tool to tell a story and he rarely shows his character. The time he DOES show character its usually not referenced by Disney or acknowledged, like Runaway Brain.

Fun fact, Runaway Brain which is one of the few instances Mickey is more of a indepth character is also referenced in this very comic!

Now of course this could be pure coincidence and I 100% think I'm reading WAYYYY to far into this, but it's still interesting to see this comic reference an instance of Mickey being a character with depth. I don't wanna talk about Runaway Brain too much as there's a YouTube video that does a better job of analyzing it better than me, but if you're unfamiliar with the movie it does something unique in the fact that it gives Mickey flaws, painting him (haha get it paint?) as a video game addict.

Got off track a bit but circling back around to my point: Mickey has never really had personality once he became a Disney mascot. In the classical shorts we see him be a lot different than the sterilized mouse we have now and it's only recently did we actually see Mickey get some of his actual charm back (I love the Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse so much and all the stuff related to it). Now as much as I love Oswald he ALSO didn't have much of a personality when being owned by Disney back in the silent era and it wasn't until Epic Mickey did we get to better understanding him and his personality considering he actually talks and he's in a setting with a genuine plot that's more than humor. Oswald in Epic Mickey is this actual character who changes as the plot happens, meanwhile Mickey stays constant UNTIL HIS HEART IS STOLEN. The games could be different or something idk, it's entirely plausible this theory is counteracted by the second game. But at least in the comics we see once that heart is snagged he acts more dynamically and becomes more than just a jolly cartoon character trying to fix his mistake.

I think the heart is more than just fame, it's also a reflection of character and a company's treatment of a character because of fame. Mickey is the mascot, he's flawless, he's the face of a corporation, his heart or aka his fame is what makes him him and it's the image Disney crafted for him. Without a heart toons end up like Oswald, old, bitter, and resentful, yet also dynamic and capable of change and I find this concept so cool yet once again in the graphic novel, IT'S A LIKE A SINGLE PANEL! This idea is kinda just discarded and left as an inference to be made and possibly entirely retconned or countered by the second game or the first game! I don't know, I haven't played either nor the awful 3Ds game.

Alright well that's all, I just wanted to make this little rant because I wanna procrastinate on some stuff I gotta do and I love coming up with theories or overanalyzing things. I don't know how to end this so have this screenshot from the graphic novel that made me go "what the fuck does that mean?"

(seriously wtf are gus and Mickey on?)

#oswald the lucky rabbit #epic mickey #mickey mouse #rant #comics #that epic mickey remaster can't come any sooner #please EM remaster save me

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dapper-lil-arts · 2 months

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Thoughts on rarijackdash, startrixburst, and chrysarmordance? For me, these are personally my favorite mlp ot3s

I personally hc that Rainbow Dash actually does enjoy dressing up(a la g3 Rainbow Dash, but only occasionally), so other than modeling(cuz she doesn't like sitting still) she actually enjoys Rarity's work(besides, both AJ and RD are like the heroes in Rarity's tropey adventure romance books, with one being strong and brave, and the other being swift and cunning), and there's just something about Rainbow and Applejack's constant competitiveness

I could NEVER break up startrix, and for starburst I really enjoy the childhood friends dynamic. I've actually consumed more mlp fan content than the actual show or comics, so I don't know much about Trixie and Sunburst's dynamic, so they might be better as queer-platonic, but I do enjoy the hc of them both being trans(Trixie being transfem and Sunburst being transmasc)

I think it would be sweet if two beings of love were wives, but it would funny if they were also the wives of Just Some Guy(TM)

Ohhh very very interesting, okay lemme give my thoughts cause this is a good ask

rarijackdash - This one is pretty funny, because i see exactly what you find appealing about it, its like a love triangle that ends in a polycule n stuff. Rarity keeping the competition going because she likes both of them and loves them fighting for her affection is very cute; but i have never even concidered this one, because there is no world in my mind in which between AJ and RD competing for someone's romantic affections (specialy rarity) that applejack wouldn't win by a landslide everytime, lmao. I'm sorry to rainbow dash fans but the girl is tragicaly self centered and nigh charmless; but i definitely see the potential on what you mean! (also ive recently discovered that Rainbow had closer to rarity's personality on g3 which is very fun) Though hey, i see the potential you mean! its a cute trio. (rarijack has made me mentally ill though i love it too much. 20 pages in to writing a shrek1 but its rarijack fic and i'm not stopping) Okay now the case with startrixburst is an peculiar one, because although sunburst is def one of the best male characters in the show, thats also an incredibly low bar, so i never really thought of it; i do find it funny for a failpolycule of unicorns centered around the biggest failgirl of all time, starlight tho. Worth stating i never paid much mind to the childhood friends backstory because it pissed me off that starlights backstory is "i was traumatized bc i was inconvenienced as a kid and now i'll make it everyones problem" its hard to salvage a character after such a weak ass backstory. But hey, it does seem to come naturaly to make this polycule trio, i aint got nothin against it! (lord knows the startrix dynamic is impecable though) Okay in the case of chrysarmordance, this might be my favorite of all three because like. i thought of how bland shining and cadance's relationship was on the show, then i thought of how simple Cadance and chrysalis would be, but if you stick her boy in the middle; suddenly something really fucking funny happens. Whether its two beings of love arguing over 1 white boy, or if its Shining getting cucked by a bug monster, the entire thing becomes fucking hilarious, with such a potential for hilarious jokes. Alright imma do something i normaly wouldnt do and show some disjointed notes of a multiverse story i'm writing because it's pertinent to this ship and also fucking hilarious.

#ask #ask doodle #writing stuff #this is a very good ask thank you heheheh #queue shining armor showing up and joining on the sloppy bug makeout session

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deaddee-anime-brownfanlady · 9 months

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Honestly, when it comes to Mitzi May, I truly do feel for the woman, like seriously. I perhaps can get why some don't care for her or when it comes to disliking her actions at times. Which I find interesting considering all of the Lackadaisy characters aren't exactly the most upstanding or super high moral group of individuals except for probably Horatio or Lacy. Back to Mitzi, I feel she doesn't get enough love or that she underappreciated and not value enough.

For real the woman is seriously and desperately doing all that she can to keep the Lackadaisy speakeasy afloat while at the same time still grieving over the lost of her husband and taking up as boss after his mysterious murder. Which is still up in the air on who could've actually killed Altas amongst the rumors of Mitzi being involved, but reading & re-reading the comic more than often and taking in the little details of dialogue and how Mitzi speaks of Atlas within parts of the comic or even in the pilot, I deeply think that you can feel also see that she truly did loved Atlas a lot.

Like Mitzi is doing all that's she can to try to keep her late husband legacy and his once booming empire in tack. Although...very obviously struggling to do so, Since after Atlas death about most if not a good half of the Lackadaisy staff and those who where super loyal to Atlas rolled on out completely. With only a few of the original staff members left such as Viktor and Horatio including the band.

I'm not sure how super involved Mitzi was when it comes to the business side of handling a speakeasy and dealing with the "Dirty work" aspect of it when Atlas was still alive? From some parts of the comic it's seems that Mitzi obviously knew the dangerous surroundings and dealings of her husband business affairs.

It seems pretty apparent that Mitzi most definitely knew the dangerous surroundings of what her husband was doing. I mean it's being during prohibition and all and running a underground illegal speakeasy and dealing with comparators. Of course it be a bloody dangerous way of living and business life and I'm certain from parts of the comic and even bits of the mini ones is that Mitzi knew of the dangers of said business life, but back then with her husband around she was just the boss wife and maybe wasn't as super involved with that side of the speakeasy except for the entertainment aspects. Now Mitzi is very much desperately trying to hold everything all together of what her husband left behind. Now I can get on some levels when it comes to Mitzi actions being questionable and some fans not caring for the way she can go about things.

Honestly I too don't always agree to the some of the lengths or certain things Mitzi does. But I can see her were she coming from sometimes and the fact that she doing all she can to keep Lackadaisy up. Also, I think her desperation in some cases and her trying so hard to keep the speakeasy going could be tie to some parts of her upbringing. Which I remember hearing from one of the Lackadaisy streams from the Official Youtube channel, on dealing with parts of Mitzi background and how she came from poverty growing up and honestly its really makes sense on why she so desperately doing all she can in terms of trying to keep Lackadaisy going.

From living and having to grow up in poverty to being constantly on the road as a musician with Zib and the rest of the band gang most likely getting gig after gig and probably maybe, perhaps not always having a whole lot of money when doing so. Until suddenly you find yourself performing at an fancy hotel and catch the attention of a highly esteemed gentleman that you thought you would probably never had the chance of being close towards.

Also, the fact that the woman literally sold everything she had to keep everyone feed. Like seriously she sold her and Altas likely huge house and all the cars not mentioned she sold off all of her wedding china's. I mean I feel she wouldn't do that if she didn't actual cared about the band and what's left of the staff members or simply trying her best to hold onto what her husband built. Now who truly killed Atlas is still a mystery and I can see why some might assume and feel it's Mitzi, but this little scene right still gets me. When reading this specific scene and part of the comic on Mitzi selling off everything she had expect for the pearl necklace Altas gave her for the first time and how at that moment she truly felt like she was somebody and how Altas made her feel like a special girl.

Honestly, there's so much going on with Mitzi that I seriously can't help but deeply feel for her and what she is dealing with. I can understand on some levels why she might not be everybody favorite, but I truly feel for her and her trying her hardest and best to keep things going...while not always using the greatest methods....but I do believe Mitzi deserves some love because lord the woman been through some rough shit.

#lackadaisy cats #mitzi may #lackadaisy #lackadaisy comic #lackadaisy spoilers #lackadaisy meta #lackadaisy pilot #meta analysis #webcomic #character meta

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queen0fm0nsterz · 8 months

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Thoughts on how TSON will tie into the lore of LN3?

As of the location of the last episode, as well as explaining some more small chunks of lore and locations to expand the world, I think TSON is preparing us already for what we will see next with Low and Alone. Give us something to expect, as well as a minimal explanation of how the Nowhere works, because this is information we need to know for Low and Alone's story to make sense.

Six's story, which was the main plot line of Little Nights up until now, explained how she travelled the world only to end up right at the place waiting for her. A destructive cycle of events that had set locations (the Pale City, the Tower, the Maw -- the Nest being a small detour but an interesting addition to the bunch) and events. Whether you believe Six left the Maw or not (I like to think the former), hers was a story about losing a part of herself to the world she tried to desperately to flee, and while she "won" that piece back, she will never be the same again. It did not necessarely need to elaborate on whether the world itself was her "home" or not -- though it was always strongly implied it was not.

It did try, though. The discontinued comics were an attempt at showcasing that the world beyond the Maw was vast, and that there was even ANOTHER world beyond that same dimension, with the tales of the Refugee Boy and the Humpback Girl respectively. However, at the time, it was confusionary: we didn't know anything but the Maw, so many fans misconstrued what was trying to come across, and ultimately this partially led to the decisions that had the comics be discontinued and the DLC be made instead.

The podcast to me is just that: to make up for those discontinued comics. Some of these storylines sound very similar to the ones you would read about in the Little Nightmares comics in structure: I would not be surprised to find some concepts from them were reused, modified to fit the plot of the podcast and even added to the lore of Little Nights III.

A lot of people seem to think that Mirror Man and North Wind will both make an appearance and frankly, I can see why. I am leaning more strongly on Mirror Man: I wish to see him in action in his own realm considering Low's abilities.

I've heard some concerns about the game potentially reusing the comic characters, but personally I find it a brilliant opportunity to expand on them. Mirror Man in particular is a... blank slate, essentially. He does have a minimum of characterization (<- post where I analyse just that) but besides that you could go wild with him. I'm interested to see if they do bring him forward.

Anyhow, sorry for derailing. As of episode four, we have been brought to a location that seems to match the circus we see in the trailer of Little Nightmares III. Considering the information we are given, it seems that it is suspended in the sky, with it being a literal ship floating above land.

(Two images depicting the "carnival" as seen in the trailer [top] and the steam page for LN III [bottom])

The idea of such a location is an interesting one and, considering the nature of the Spiral, possibly not that far out of reach. It was mentioned that Low and Alone would be travelling behind the Spiral... considering the nature of the Necropolis, which was mentioned to be a city powered by wind, I wonder if the spiral is... a giant hurricane. Or storm. And the locations are all in the middle of it - in its eye, stacked on different points in altitude.

It would be just as Noone said if that was to be the case: places who are on top of each other, like the building she's in, but that do not work together. I think that for this reason, the locations we have seen in the podcast such as the Stone Giant and the Mall might return later on as locations in LN III in some shape of form.

... We have seen a stone giant already...

.. although it would be more metaphorical than literal in this case as the Stone Giant was not really described as a giant baby thing, and the location is different, but you get what I mean hopefully!

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whump-on-a-string · 2 months

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△ Elliott, how did you get turned?

3/10 - It's not a fond memory and still quite fresh but, it is what it is I suppose.

"My original plan that evening was to attend a dinner party at my friend Frederick's home. He'd invited me to his last two get togethers, and my invitation was likely...misplaced.

When I arrived no one answered the door. Likely too occupied by the festivities of the evening which is understandable.

I waited a bit at the door, and even saw Frederick through the window in the middle of what was likely a highly interesting conversation, but it was getting late so I left to have a drink elsewhere and not be tempted by the wine I had brought for the party.

I had a few drinks and left for home, though it was a bit later in the evening than I had realized and the call of that particular wine bottle was too strong for me not to have a little bit on my way home."

TW: Whump, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Vampire Bite wounds.

Please be safe about your Tumblr and online experience! :D

"I never did get another invitation for any social gatherings from Frederick again, unfortunately. It's been tough trying to find a new crowd when you can't go out in broad daylight."

It was entirely an accident, that hungry vampire thought he'd drained them dead and left a corpse behind. Elliot does not know this. I only added that last comment in the 3rd page to help the reader.

Does Elliot know they were accidentally turned into a vampire? - NOPE. As far as they're aware: "I got bit by a vampire and that's why I am one now." But that is not the case.

Their corpse just laid there undisturbed with enough of a trickle of vampire blood in their body to keep it up long enough to regenerate a bunch of new vampire blood. So they woke up a few hours later as a brand new very confused vampire with no mentor to tell them how ANY of this works so they have NO idea how this shit happened. Just that it did. :) Also what little tiny bits of their original blood left on their shirt collar from that vampire drinking it smelled AWFUL tasty when they woke up.

Did I bullshit vampire lore into existence just for this ask? Hell yes.

Did I intend to draw a 3 page comic? No.

Have I been working on it since the day I got this ask about Elliot? Absolutely.

Being bitten by a vampire and surviving is not enough to be turned.

Generally one of the most common/main methods is to transfuse or ingest the blood of a vampire and hope it takes (extremely rare) it has like a 1% success rate to be turned JUST by ingesting the blood of a vampire.

For a much more successful turning, do the above process but ALSO be bitten by the vampire that was the source of the blood, and that is the most common and effective way to turn someone. This knowledge is kept quite secret even among vampires. A majority of those turned may not even know how it worked or were made to forget it.

The blood reproduces quickly to replace the victims original blood type. It's extremely rare to survive a vampire attack like Elliot did. They're very lucky. It also contributes to how vampires can heal and regenerate much faster than a human.

~ Being bitten by a vampire and surviving would make a LOT of vampires and what if the vampire is nice and doesn't want to kill a human or end up with a competitor for food? Bam. funky vampire lore to solve the problem. Don't ask me the science behind it. I don't know. Maybe you know more than I do frankly. (Although Remus would LOVE to.)

#Whump Art #Ask #Vampire #whump #My Art #Elliot #OC #Original Character #Original #Lore

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galactic-glamour-girl-posts · 2 years

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Are the Warners Looney Tunes?

Well, no. Officially, Animaniacs and Looney Tunes are separate franchises.

In-universe however...well...

In Animaniacs, there is already a character who's established to be an (ex?)Looney Tune in-universe, Slappy.

The Warners themselves debuted in Buddy cartoons in-universe.

Buddy in real life actually is an official Looney Tune, so if that's still the case in Animaniacs (and we have no real reason to assume it isn't) any characters who starred alongside him in his cartoons would be Looney Tunes too, right?

That's not even mentioning the fact that Slappy and the Warners are all kind of like Bugs Bunny (Yakko especially).

There's also the fact that Animaniacs literally shares a universe with Tiny Toons, which IS part of the Looney Tunes franchise (as a spin-off):

Ralph himself is actually from Tiny Toons, not Animaniacs!

(Mary Hartless and Mr Skullhead originated from Tiny Toons too.)

There's also the fact that Pinky, Elymra and the Brain exists, and although nowadays it's considered non-canon, back when it was new it seemed to function essentially as a sequel series/retooled Pinky and the Brain season 5.

Sometimes the Looney Tunes themselves will appear in Animaniacs too:

You could argue that doesn't mean much considering characters from a lot of Warner Bros stuff show up in Animaniacs because of the show's meta and satirical nature, but the Warners themselves sometimes appear in Looney Tunes stuff as well (in addition to their appearance in Tiny Toons Spring Break).

For example, in the Duck Dodgers episode "Pig Planet", these three characters, who are voiced by Rob Paulsen, Tress MacNeille and Jess Harnell, appear:

They have the exact same voices as the Warners, they're characterized as three chaotic kids, they have a similar naming convention (Porko, Puerco and Sow), they're dressed like the Warners (except for Porko), Puerco's tongue is hanging out like Wakko's and Porko even does Yakko's "Uhhhh" in the episode. I'm counting this as an actual appearance of the Warners. I get why people would say they're just meant to reference the Warners, nothing more, considering the Warners aren't pigs; but Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd aren't aliens, yet K'chutha Sa'am and The Fudd are considered basically just the Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd of Duck Dodgers. Perhaps alternate versions of the characters, sure, but still essentially those characters, and I see Porko, Puerco and Sow the same way in relation to the Warners.

And then there's the Warners' appearances in Space Jam: A New Legacy;

Not only is Dot's statue right next to one of Marvin the Martian, but during the game the Warners (and only the Warners) are sitting on Marvin's ship, which the Looney Tunes used to travel throughout the film. There's lots of space (heh) there, interesting that they chose to have the Warners be the only characters sitting on it.

There's a WB water tower in Tune World/Looney Tunes World (whichever one it's supposed to be, the movie uses both), which could be seen as just a cute meta reference to the fact that Warner Bros owns Looney Tunes, but here's the thing, the WB water tower doesn't resemble how it looks in real life, rather, it's designed after the one in Animaniacs! A lot of people already noticed this, but what I find interesting is that this is even consistent across games/comics/merchandise used to promote Space Jam: A New Legacy;

Keep in mind the first Space Jam exists in the world of Animaniacs (it's mentioned in its spin-off Pinky and the Brain, which IS canon unlike Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain). This likely means A New Legacy does as well. Also keep in mind we never see an "Animaniacs World" or anything like it in A New Legacy.

So since the WB water tower is coloured like the one from Animaniacs, and there seems to be no "Animaniacs World", it's safe to assume it is the one from Animaniacs, right?

If it's the one from Animaniacs, the Warners we see in the movie must live there.

If they live there, that means they live in Looney Tunes World.

If the Warners live in Looney Tunes World, doesn't that make them...Looney Tunes?

I know I'm probably looking too deep into this, no matter what Animaniacs is not part of the Looney Tunes franchise; but the two franchises are definitely connected, and given that Looney Tunes was a big inspiration for Animaniacs, I think that's cool.

#animaniacs #looney tunes #yakko wakko and dot #slappy squirrel #tiny toon adventures #pinky elmyra and the brain #duck dodgers #space jam a new legacy #space jam #bugs bunny #marvin the martian #ralph the guard #mary hartless #mr skullhead #buddy animaniacs #buddy looney tunes

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demonlattee · 7 months

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I have discovered your male MJ and now I want to know MORE about him-

Aka bls gush about him so I can learn all about him and Noir.

OH, BOY. ARE YOU ASKING FOR MY MALCOLM?? ✨💖✨💕💖 I have written a little lore of it! (I warn that I am not a writer and English is not my first language, in case it looks too messy!!)

This is Malcolm Jarvis Watson! He's 34 years old and he's a journalist of the Daily Bugle 🖤

(I ship him with Noir's 2020 comic, In that comic Noir adopts more the personality of the character in the movie. But in general his lore is set in the comics.)

Backstory: Malcolm Jarvis was born into a loving family in the heart of New York. From an early age he was drawn to the world of theater and dreamed of becoming an actor. He often spent his evenings rehearsing monologues and singing songs from shows he attended with his parents. However, tragedy came to him when he was only twelve years old; when the letter arrived from the army advising that his father was missing in action (MIA). Malcolm was devastated by the news and with no other options he had to grow up quickly to protect his sister and help his mother at home. After school, Malcolm did small jobs to help them meet their basic needs. He gave up his dream of becoming a stage actor, focusing on his responsibilities to his family.

When he turned eighteen, MJ left home and moved into an apartment, although he never stopped visiting his mother and sister, providing support with money he saved for them. Desperate to find a way to make ends meet, Malcolm turned to journalism. During this time he discovered that he had a talent for writing and storytelling. His charismatic personality and natural curiosity helped him land a job as a reporter at a local newspaper: the Daily Bugle. He discovered he enjoyed the thrill of chasing news. But the more he rummaged around the city, the more he found New York's dark secrets; cops and politicians commissioning criminals to do their dirty work, mobsters taking over the streets; people starving and attacks on activists fighting for their rights. This only increased Malcolm's determination to show the truth. MJ never forgot his dream of becoming an actor. He attended performances in his spare time, remembering his childhood dream.

• MJ unknowingly went to Aunt May's Bowery welfare center to help her out a little on the days her nephew Peter was not around. He meets Spider-Man Noir by chance, arguing a bit for meddling in crime scenes. But gradually their relationship changes for the better when they notice that the two have a common goal. They started working together in some cases because of the trust they had with each other.

More silly facts:

• Malcolm's birthday is 08/8

• He loves birds! his dream is to have a small cockatiel as a pet.

• Big nerd of musicals/theater(?

• They act like an old married couple. (that's the way you act with your job partner, detective-?)

• Personality: spontaneous, smooth Talker, thrill-seeking, optimistic, chillgoing, gentleman, polite, talkative, social butterfly, “Old fashioned” (and an ESFP! 💛)

• I think about his Voice Claim: Gerardo Reyero (in spanish 🇲🇽) Barry Bostwick (in english 🇺🇸)

A tiny draw in Spiderverse's style! ❤️

And that's all, I guess! I'll post more about them and their lore!! Thank u so much for ur interest in my baby MJ ;v; <3

#spiderverse oc #malcolm jarvis #Spiderverse #spiderman noir #spider noir #male mj #oc x canon #oc x cc

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dykebelova · 5 months

Text

White Widow #1 by Sarah Gailey review.

We can all agree that we all fell in love with Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova in Black Widow (2021) and for many people, including me, she was our first introduction to the character. And as an absolute, completely sane and normal person, I said to myself “Why not read all of her appearances in the comics ?”, and I did.

Surprisingly, both characters are incredibly different. Nonetheless, both interesting and amazing on their own. While I agree that MCU Yelena has more depth and perhaps, more personality, comics Yelena is still a good character. The way she has been written has been very disturbing, even sick and twisted sometimes, like Pale Little Spider (2002) or Black Widow (2001). Sometimes messy, and I suggest everybody forget her Adaptoid phase or anything that ever happened in Secret Avengers (2013) for her sake. But still, you don't erase almost 25 years of a character's development, even if it has been inconsistent, just because you felt like it.

In the comics, Yelena has always been in Natasha’s shadow and has never had her own original story. In Widowmakers: Red Guardians and Yelena Belova (2020) and Winter Guard (2021), we had a glimpse of hope to finally see her character evolve despite Red Guardian’s appearance, a character linked to Natasha. When a limited-serie on White Widow, a character that hasn’t been properly developed and deserved to, was announced, I fucking cheered man. But then I remembered the curse of a character’s MCUfication, because Marvel never does anything right. And oh boy was I not prepared for what was coming…

I don’t even know where to begin. It all felt like a giant fanfiction written by someone who has only ever seen the movie and didn’t even bother to check on other writers’ previous work on Yelena’s character.

White Widow (2023) #1.

There are lots of things wrong in this picture. First and second panel, where does the needle come from ? After I checked and double checked just in case, there were NO records of Yelena being abducted or forced to do anything she has done in her life. She chose to join the Red Room. She chose to be a Black Widow and she was determined to outperform Natasha’s results during tests. She even had a whole mental breakdown about it.

Pale Little Spider (2002) #1

Now, let’s try to find excuses for the use of the needle… The first one would be the Red Room using the Black Widow’s serum they used on the 28th original Widows, during Natasha’s era. But our good ol' Grigor Ivanovich just ruined this theory.

Black Widow (2004) #4

Excuse number two, the Red Room used some sort of a mind-control serum which wouldn’t make any sense too for all of the reasons I said above.

Now the third panel… I’m at a loss for words. Where the fuck does it comes from. Where the FUCK was it during Secret Empire (2017) ? Yelena wasn’t even there anymore, bitch was dead. We didn’t see her until Tales of Suspense: Hawkeye and The Winter Soldier (2018), until she was brought back to life WITH Natasha. Also, she has a real family and they’re even mentioned in Black Widow (2001), Yelena calls her mother and her aunt Olga is mentioned.

White Widow (2023) #1

Now, the board... It looks like it has been made for a MCU tie-in more than anything.

Although I'd like to adress one thing that has been said on Twitter, about the "Hate nationalism → Imperialist invasion". There is a difference between nationalism and patriotism. Being a nationalist is being way too extreme about your country when being a patriot is to love your country, its people and its culture while also being critical about the way its being led.

Now, we know when she was young, Yelena was kind of extreme. In Black Widow: The Things They Say About Her (2005) #1, she admitted she was willing to sacrifice herself for the Motherland more than once. During her Black Widow era, she was naive and had a blind love for Russia which was her biggest weakness.

Black Widow (2001) #3

But as her character continued to evolve and grow through her appearences, Yelena is far more reasonable now. She considers herself like a true patriot and she has always been proud of being Russian. In conclusion, this board's section is not as bad as people make it out to be since Yelena went from being an extreme nationalist to a patriot.

Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Belova (2020)

I know many of you like Kate Bishop and Yelena’s friendship due to their duo in Hawkeye, I too, am a big fan of them… But unfortunately, they only interacted once in the comics. And they didn’t even talk to each other. That’s why mentioning Kate Bishop in her like section is purely fan service and although it is a nice nod to the series, it doesn’t make any sense here. Yelena has interacted with Clint Barton way more than the better Hawkeye, which is sad.

Black Widow (2020) #10

I'd like to come back in the hate section just a second to say I don't know why she hates the Infinity Gauntlet so much that's it's written in caps. It's 100% a nod to the MCU again but here it also doesn't make sense. But again, a lot of things doesn't in this issue.

I wont bother talking about her attitude and how she looks like a teenager swallowing vodka directly from a bottle when she used to be classy and extra with manners. I wont bother talking about her new suit's design which sucks more than her previous one. This is not the Yelena Belova we used to know, it's a complete new character made to match her MCU self and please a small public who mostly watch the movies/series.

I saw a lot of people celebrating Yelena's changes to match Yelena's Florence Pugh more. I know the character has become more famous because of Flo', but this is actually terrible and wasn't handled correctly.

We hoped for a more mature story, maybe a little darker than usual. A new start for her character, to follow her path in making the world a better place and get out of Natasha’s shadow for good. With a little backstory too, nothing much. The bare minimum. Instead, we had a copycat of her MCU counterpart and it is just heartbreaking to see a character I loved so much being destroyed like that.

I could go on and on about why this piece of junk is just a bunch of nonsense and laziness and how Sarah Gailey’s just went for the easiest writing ever… But I will stop there. I just hope she knows that us, fan of comics Yelena, are fucking disappointed. Everything that made her character so special and dear to us, disappeared in one issue. The damage is surreal.

It’s only four issues long so I will continue to read it until the end, but I expect nothing from it anymore. I hope the writer won’t destroy Yelena’s character any further, because things can only go downhill from here.

#yelena belova #white widow #marvel cinematic universe #natasha romanoff #black widow #comics #marvel #mcu

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genericpuff · 6 months

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I don’t know if this is a silly question or not, but I saw you mention how the creator of “there are no demons” uses a 3D sculpts to make their comic. Do you use a 3D software? I have never even considered it before now, but now I’m wondering if it would help me keep consistency with different characters body types

I actually do, not so much software (I'm not a 3D modeller at all lol) but 3D assets! There are a few sprinkled throughout Rekindled, mostly involving background props and set designs (though in a lot of cases my assistant @banshriek will often just use them as references to paint over rather than use them directly if they feel it looks better, much of the backgrounds in the comic since Ep 23 can be attributed to them <3).

I don't use 3D models for my character art, not so much because I'm against it, just because I've used them in the past and while I found they helped with certain things I often struggle with like perspective and proportions, they've also started to hinder my creativity because of how stiff they can be (and tbh it made the drawing process really boring for me because I was literally spending more time adjusting poses than I was actually drawing!) I'm finding I'm perfectly capable of drawing anatomy on my own now, using 3D models for a while helped me get there but now they're more limiting than they are helpful due to my outgrowing them (kind of like training wheels on a bike, like yeah they're helpful so you can learn how to ride a bike, but you won't get to go as fast or have as much freedom of movement as you would if you learned how to ride a two wheeler). I think they're great for referencing or if I'm REALLY stuck on a pose or how a character exists in a space, but I don't like being constrained by them by using them constantly and that was what it was starting to feel like while I was using them for Time Gate so I've moved away from 3D character models and stuck exclusively to using 3D assets for backgrounds and things that aren't going to affect the overall quality of my work or how I make it.

I think the fact that a lot of people straight up don't notice that I use 3D assets in Rekindled is a testament to that LMAO Although you can tell in some of the earlier episodes when it was just me working on it and I had to balance quality with turnaround time. I've always hated drawing backgrounds and so Banshriek has been a huge help with relieving that stress and adding that extra touch to Rekindled that I just can't feasibly bring on my own :' )

If you're interested in trying out 3D models for yourself, then by all means do it! You won't know what works for you until you try it. Most of my advice stems from experience, I'm not someone who wants to spend all day messing around with 3D dolls, so using them to aid in my drawing just wound up being redundant, time-consuming, and boring. But there are folks out there who love messing around with 3D models, there are even comics out there that are fully 3D with zero drawing, using models that are handmade. Webcomics are a medium, you can do whatever you want :' )

The only advice I have to give from experience is to be aware that like with any tool, they aren't necessarily a "replacement" for the learning process, they should supplement your learning alongside other resources and references. You should still make an effort to learn foundational things like composition, lighting, color theory, dynamic gestures, etc. regardless of whether you're working in 2D, 3D, or a fusion of the two. "There Are No Demons" has a look to it that's uncanny and that's clearly the point so the 3D models help a LOT with that, but there are just as many webtoons that use 3D models poorly and wind up with an uncanny look they weren't intending to have (ex. Let's Play).

#lore rekindled #lore rekindled comic #lore rekindled ama #ask me anything #anon ask me anything #anon ama #ama

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aemiron-main · 1 year

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me who is so normal about the mike-chrissy parallels and esp about that scene where eddie comments on mike’s clothes in the cafeteria and how that just Happens to be right after a scene of a hallucination of Chrissy’s mom tormenting chrissy about her clothes size in the bathroom/about loosening her clothes and then we get that line from Eddie towards Mike in the NEXT SCENE BACK TO BACK about “the clothes your mommy bought you from the goddamn gap”

like first of all not only are both of them being mocked for their clothing (although in different ways), but they’re also both mocked for their clothes in a way that’s tied to each of their mothers specifically.

I’m not saying that Karen tormented Mike about his weight/appearance in the same way that Chrissy’s mom does esp because imo Mike and Chrissy’s eating issues are both very different with very different roots/causes, but I AM saying that Karen has undoubtedly played a key role in mike’s food issues although not in the same way as Chrissy’s mom. Like think about it: Mike associates “real food,” directly with Karen when talking to El about it in s1, and what do we see happen regarding Mike and real food? He stops eating it. We haven’t seen him eat what HE defines as “real food,” since season 2, since Karen dismissed him and punished him at the table for his outbursts at school (even though he’d already been punished for that & now she’s just using it as an excuse to get him to give up his toys and don’t even fucking get me started on how Karen made Mike give up his toys jn s2 but then in s4 she sees Nancy with a box with a stuffed animal in it & is asking if Nancy wants to keep it and how Nancy is the golden child whereas Mike is the scapegoat child). We’ve barely seen Mike eat ANY food in s4 (the only time we see him eat On Camera in s4 is the milkshake bc we don’t See him eat the pizza, and the poptart etc is implied & then we also see him Actively Not Eating the lenora risotto and the lenora breakfast), let alone “real food,” and in s3, he was eating all “not real food”/“junk food”. And I just. Karen is often the main source of strife for mike at the dinner table/he associates her with food the most so it makes Sense that his food issues would be linked to her & that it would be another parallel between chrissy and mike. Karen is the one criticizing mike the most at the table in s2. She’s the one who makes the passive aggressive comments about people not eating the meatloaf in s1 & then Mike looks sad as he watches Nancy suck up to Karen & try to maintain her place as the golden child.

Plus it’s Very interesting to me that Chrissy’s mom doesn’t just torment her about her clothes size or about her weight- she specifically and repeatedly mentions making the clothes bigger/that the clothes are too small for chrissy. Who else has clothes that are the wrong size/in this case too big? Mike. It’s not a costuming mistake that his pants are too big for him, Finn himself has pants that fit him just fine, and the ST team is more than capable of finding, making, or altering pants to fit Finn, they’re deeply meticulous. But they didn’t. Mike’s pants are too big, and he’s also shown in comically large clothes like his yellow rink o mania shirt. Chrissy’s clothes are mocked for being too small, Mike’s are too big.

I also think it’s interesting that at the last wheeler dinner table scene we got (in s2), the food they were eating was ham/pig. Which is the exact same thing that Chrissy’s mom compares her to (and don’t even get me started on the pig imagery during the last dinner in the prison with hopper and the hopper-Mike parallels and how even in s3 AND in s4, Mike was the one commenting on Hopper’s weight). Again I don’t think that Karen’s calling Mike a pig or anything, but Nancy DOES call him gross/disgusting repeatedly during breakfast scenes, AND Karen is often a source of anxiety for Mike that’s tied to food.

#stranger things #byler #mike wheeler #st analysis #mike wheeler analysis #Mike-chrissy parallels #chrissy cunningham ref #mike’s food issues #mike’s mental health #mike wheeler costuming #st costuming #st food #wheeler family #tw ed

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bucket-of-amethyst · 1 year

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Hihi everyone!! Opening commissions bc I just graduated and can't find a job yippiee!! More details after the read more if you're interested!

Reblogs are appreciated i will giv u a kjss and/or a cool hi-five!! :]

The Art Styles:

(obs.: for art style n°2 it does not mean it can only be used in comics, you can pick that one for regular illustrations too!)

The commission:

If you’re interested, contacting me at [email protected] is the most reliable method. But feel free just simply dm me here too!

Here are some of the stuff I will probably ask you, feel free to include those in your first message if you want, if I need any extra info I'll ask :]

Your Tumblr URL (if you're emailing)

Commission attributes (Art Style, Bust/Half/Full Body, Line/Flat/Full Color)

Extra additions if any (animals, accessories, background, dialogue bubbles, etc)

Character References (especially if OC or if you want a specific accessory/clothing/setting) the more refs the better!

Pose of Preference

Expression of Preference

Full Description of what you have in mind!

After we discuss the details I'll send you a Paypal invoice for payment! You will receive sketch and linework updates before the final result.

IMPORTANT:

FOR MCYT DRAWINGS: I will keep the requests in the fandoms I'm in (HC/Empires/LifeSeries and adjacents) for now!

My specialty is light-hearted stuff, the fluff and funnies! Although asking for something darker/angsty won't mean I will automatically reject your order, I ask you to keep that in mind.

I forgot to add "Gore" in my don'ts section. My bad. Light injuries or a bit of blood is fine though!

FOR COMICS: the usual limit is around 1 (one) full A4 sized page/8 panels

Check my art tag for more examples! There is some cool stuff on my main too in case you want to see some examples of my past commissions!

While do draw OC's, I AM NOT OFFERING A SERVICE TO DESIGN THEM FROM SCRATCH! OC's with character reference only please, even if it's a simple picrew. A Minecraft skin also counts as a reference!

First come first served! No limits on slots for now.

And last but not least any questions you have feel free to message me! Free of compromises :]

#bucket of commissions #bucket of art #art commisions #did i forget anything i hope not eairhpdfklfç #good lird i needed to update my commission stuff for years now #reblog pls i will be eternally grateful and ull look so sexy n cool doing so ahah

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yukidragon · 1 year

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I’ve seen someone taking the approach of Ian having a long term affair not just a fling, he was fooling around on the player for a while and keeping his home with them before getting caught. Although intriguing, part of me hopes that’s actually not the case. I know plenty of people do it but sexting and dating someone more exciting but taking advantage of the familiar comfort of might make Ian too far gone for a lot of players, that’s a little too fuckboi. Could tell a more intense narrative though.

Ah yes, I believe you're talking about this marvelously heart-wrenching comic drawn by Cannibalingus on twitter, right? As mentioned in the notes of the follow up comic page, canon has been changed up a bit. I think it's a really interesting AU to explore.

On that note, I'll give a quick warning that post will contain a lot of heavy topics such as cheating, chronic illness, lying, manipulation, gaslighting, destructive actions, the effects of sexual trauma, and a boatload of angst and drama among other sketchy implied things. This fandom is for Adults Only for a reason after all, and not just because of the smut.

For the most part, the fandom uses a picture Sauce drew a while back and posted on their old twitter as a basis for Ian cheating. Credit, as always, goes to them for their fabulous art. Remember, don't share anything privately posted on the SnaccPop Studios Patreon.

Technically, this picture is non-canon unless it appears on an official SDJ page like the tumblr or twitter, but development art like this tends to really capture our imaginations when it comes to lore and headcanons. I use this picture as the basis for my own headcanons and what happened when Ian cheated on Alice in Sunshine in Hell.

In the numerous previous posts where I talked about Ian's affair, particularly this lengthy one, I compared why he wound up cheating to a frog not realizing the water is getting gradually hotter until it's boiled alive. I think it happened with a series of lines being crossed slowly over time until finally a line was crossed that Ian could no longer justify it as anything innocent. This then would result in his guilt-wracked phone call that we see in this picture.

The comic proposes a different scenario, where Ian chose not to confess, but continued to cross the line. He has full knowledge that what he's doing is wrong, but he does it anyway. Maybe it just made the sex that much more exciting to him. Further, he told his affair partner so many things that he says to MC in the demo, both in the present and in the past.

Really, I find it interesting Ian can still a lot of the say the same things to MC that he said in the past even after cheating, but I digress.

In my version of the canon, the reason why Alice forgave Ian and still loves him is because he did confess right away. He apologized sincerely, and she knows him well enough to know that he is truly does feel immense guilt for what he's done.

Alice convinced herself that this really was just a mistake. Ian has a history of these sorts of mistakes in the heat of the moment. He's a sensitive person and reacts strongly. He wants so badly to be loved and cared for. It's not hard to accept that he got swept up in the attention and care in a place where he felt so lonely... and it's hard not to believe that he lost control of himself when he got horny when he's done so before when they were intimate.

It's a pattern between them, of Ian being apologetically himself and making so many mistakes... and Alice protecting him and forgiving him. She knows he's a wounded soul who has been abused, bullied, and isolated so badly when growing up. He only really had her, and when he left for that school to pursue his dream, he suddenly was without her and her support except over phone or text. She certainly felt lonely in their apartment without him, her family, or friends living nearby...

It's because of all that history together and knowing Ian so well that, unfortunately, led to Alice convincing herself that she needed to forgive him. She needed to be strong for them. He needed her more than ever when he was at his weakest. This was the man that she wanted to spend her life with, who she left her family to be with when the two of them moved far away from where their families lived in order to escape the grasping talons of his narcissist mother and her flying monkeys.

They were both hurting, and Alice believed that the only way to heal that hurt was forgiveness. The way she was going about things, and their relationship in general, was wildly unhealthy - kindness and compassion taken to toxic extremes. Mercifully others who cared about her helped her see that this wasn't healthy for either of them, and that the kindest thing she could do for both of them is to end things after things soured so bad and the trust was just... gone.

Everything changes if Ian's affair was similar to the one depicted in the comic.

Alice is a kind person, at times too kind to her own detriment, but a betrayal of that level would make her realize that she never actually knew Ian at all.

Ian didn't confess immediately, so it wasn't a mistake in the heat of the moment. This was a deliberate betrayal done many, many times over. So many lies are exposed in these series of texts. All those times he claimed that he only wanted and loved Alice... that he could only find her attractive... that he only really needed her? All lies. They're nothing but cheap, pretty words he tells to other people in order to get his dick wet.

Even if the screenshots are faked, the pictures are real. Alice knows Ian's naked body. She's intimately familiar with him. She knows it's him, and these are pictures that he never sent her. They were meant for someone else...

The content of the texts are just so painfully familiar too. So many things Ian used to tell her all the time... Were they just lines to make someone feel special so that he could sleep with them? Once upon a time, "I love you" and "I need you" made her feel wonderful, irreplaceable... but who knows how many other people Ian "loves" and "needs" besides her?

Then comes the part where Alice is referenced in the text. Maybe even she was mentioned by name so there's no doubt. Maybe there were even some chats about her, about how this other person is so much more attractive than her... This person Ian is talking to knows he's in a relationship and is just as cruel of a person to mock her just by having the affair... and fucking in their bed while she's out.

Hell, Alice might even have been friends with this person Ian cheated on her with. Sadly, a lot of times partners cheat with someone very, very close to the person they're cheating on...

Denial is the first reaction from Alice of course. This couldn't be real. This isn't Ian, not her Ian. It can't be. She checks timestamps, images... demands answers from the unknown person who sent it, who they are, how they got it, how they found out... She doesn't want this to be real...

The denial doesn't last long, not when there's too much proof that Ian was someone Alice never actually knew at all...

Pain, disgust, horror, betrayal, and all sorts of other awful emotions overwhelm Alice, and she has to go to the bathroom to throw up. The stress makes her chronic illness flare up, painful and awful... but she refuses to lie down in that bed knowing that Ian fucked someone else in it while he and that fake "friend" probably laughed about how she was too stupid to realize that he was just using her.

Did Ian ever care about Alice at all? Was she just useful? She helped and supported him so much... studying, moving, getting connections, pushing him to go for his dream... She waited for him to come back from that stupid prestigious college all that time, alone. Out there he had been surrounded by hot models and actors like his anime waifus and husbandos he drooled over in his "not porn" ecchi. How many people did he sleep with? What if he gave her an STI? What if he got someone pregnant and hid it?

Alice has to know. It hurts too much not to... but she can't let Ian stop her... lie to her until she does... So she uses one of those emergency travel locks used to make hotel stays more secure on their apartment door so the keys won't work when he gets home, giving her time to tear their apartment completely upside-down.

Every scrap of evidence on his laptop, in his room that Ian kept his stuff in but didn't sleep in is scoured through. Why the fuck did he not sleep with other people in his bed? Or maybe he did and that's why it still smelled clean because he was good at covering his tracks. Maybe it's because changing their sheets often was normal and thus easier to hide than his own sheets when he never used his bed...

Speaking of that bed, Alice gets all the dirty secrets Ian is hiding underneath his bed that he panicked about her finding. She always assumed they were porn mags, but they're far more incriminating things that make it clear without a shadow of a doubt that the screencaps are all true.

The videos of Ian having sex on an innocent unmarked USB drive hidden in a sock under his bed chases away the last of her denials.

Alice knows Ian's passwords, and those she doesn't, she can guess. He's a creature of habit - predictable despite his secret double life. She copies everything incriminating and deletes the photos of her. Most of them are innocent, but she sent some suggestive things while he had been away at school. It sickens her to see them now. Some of those shots... did she remember taking them? It's hard not to feel paranoid about pictures that were taken candidly that seem questionable now. Did she know Ian was taking them? Saving them?

Who was this man that she gave up everything for?

Sex and lies, sex and lies... It's sickening, and Alice throws up again, this time just bile since her stomach is empty. She feels used and violated in a way that makes her body shake. It hurts. It hurts so, so much... but she can't stop. Not now. Not with this ball of hatred festering inside her gut.

All the love Alice had for Ian has been irrevocably tainted into hate. There's nothing he can say to defend himself or fix things after everything she found to damn him. What of his she didn't send to himself as evidence, she destroys. The half heart pendant she used to cherish? She takes a hammer to it and smashes it on top of his laptop and his video game consoles.

The apartment is half destroyed by the time Ian gets home. He tries the lock, but it won't work for some reason. He jiggles the handle and knocks, asking Alice to let him in and worries about the strange noises he heard inside. Is she okay?

Silence is his only answer.

The sudden silence panics Ian, and he pounds on the door a little more, asking if Alice is okay. He knows even with prescription medication, she sometimes has really bad attacks of pain. Did he need to take her to the hospital? Was she lying on the floor, unable to call out for help because she's in so much pain? He starts banging his shoulder against the door harder, trying to break in.

The quiet clicking of a chain and the travel lock goes unnoticed as he keeps banging the door with his shoulder, and Ian goes tumbling into the apartment and falls to the floor when the door suddenly is flung open.

For a second, Ian is relieved to see Alice is on her feet, but then he realizes something is very, horribly wrong.

Alice has been crying. That much is obvious from the tear tracks on her face and the redness in her eyes. It's her eyes especially that seize Ian with a new kind of fear.

There's no love in her eyes as she looks at him. In her eyes he sees the same disgust he saw in his mother's eyes and in those of his classmates while growing up. It's a look that's utterly alien coming from Alice of all people, the one person who was by his side and protected him all this time.

Before Ian has the chance to ask what's wrong or even speculate, Alice flings something down on his face - an innocent little USB stick, snapped in half. At first he's confused, then comes the horrifying realization when he recognizes it.

That's when the protests happen, the apologies, the excuses... even defensiveness as Ian scrambles to his feet. It's not what it looks like! The people in those pictures and video aren't real - they're just AI - just some dumb guilty pleasure. What was Alice doing going through his stuff and looking under his bed? How could she violate his trust like this?!

After lying for so, so long, Ian can only lie more and twist things around on the desperate hope that it's not too late to salvage things.

Alice can only feel her disgust for this lying toad that she always called her prince charming.

How did Alice never see it before? Ian was such a good actor now. She helped him get so good to achieve his dream. Even in the face of irrefutable evidence, he still acts the victim. Poor, pathetic Ian being bullied again. How could Alice do that to him too?

The cold, unyielding silence and hatred shake Ian to his core. He's never seen Alice like this before, not to him. None of his excuses are breaking through the hatred in her eyes. Lying and acting won't work anymore and it sinks in that he's fucked up. It's over. She doesn't have to say it, he can see it in her eyes.

Ian breaks down, babbling out apologies and excuses, sobbing uncontrollably. This isn't an act, he begs for her forgiveness, begging her to talk to him as he starts clinging to her.

Alice slaps his hand away, hissing out a hoarse, "Don't touch me!"

Ian reels back, holding his hand. It stung, but the pain is nowhere near as bad as the hatred in her eyes.

The tension between them is thick, slimy, and acidic, as if both of them are breathing in poison.

There's so much Alice wants to say. She wants to demand how he could do this to her. Was it worth it? How many people did he cheat on her with? How long had this been going on? How much of everything was a lie? Why they hell was he even with her!?

Alice is so, so angry. She's never been this angry in her life. She should be screaming at Ian, calling him every horrible name under the sun... hurt him like she's hurting right now.

But Alice is in so, so, so much pain. Even the "just in case" pills for her worst flare ups aren't doing much except taking the edge off at this point. Only her anger is keeping her standing, but it's constricting tight around her throat, guts, and heart, choking the life from her.

The pain is too much. Alice can't even look at Ian anymore, can't be here anymore.

"Goodbye, Ian." The words are so, so hard to force out from her constricted throat.

Ian once more babbles apologies, cries and begs... but it's all white noise to Alice. She has heard this song and dance a million times, and she knows now everything that comes spewing out of that mouth of his is lies.

The friend she had for so long, the love of her life... they never really existed, did they? This is just like that other "friend" she had in high school who asked her out only to turn around and claim it was a joke, that she was far too disgusting and fat for anyone to seriously think about asking her out... only Ian took years to finally let her in on the joke he played on her.

Alice can't listen to Ian anymore. She grabs her essentials while Ian follows her around, pleading with her to just stop and listen. He can explain, really he can!

During her earlier rampage, Alice contacted the only person in the area she was close to - Shaun. He had moved to the area recently, even stayed at their apartment for a while until he got his own place.

Is Shaun coming? Her text was vague, just asking him to come get her and that she needs to leave. Now. She almost sent him the screenshots, but there's too many photos of Ian naked in them. At least Shaun said that he was on his way.

Mercifully, Shaun shows up. He's in a panic, worried that Alice got sick and needed to be rushed to the hospital. Their front door is open, and Ian's sobbing, babbling apologies reach him even before he comes inside. There's just enough for Shaun to get the gist... and he's enraged.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Ian?!"

Ian whirls around to see Shaun storming in. Shaun is so much bigger than him, stronger, and far more intimidating. If it comes to blows, he won't win.

Shaun doesn't take any of Ian's excuses or apologies, throwing back what he just heard in Ian's face. How could Ian do that to Alice? How can he ask for forgiveness after that?

It serves as enough of a distraction for Alice to finish putting her things together, at least the vital stuff. Everything else... she'll get later. She has the important things, and she needs to leave or she'll crumble and break to pieces. She cuts off the argument between the two men by tugging at Shaun's sleeve and saying near tears, "Let's just go."

Shaun doesn't need to be told twice. Ian tries to stop Alice from leaving, but Shaun isn't going to let him get in the way. Shaun escorts Alice from the apartment, promising that he'll be back for the rest of her stuff for her, and Ian better not break any of her stuff unless he wants his legs broken in return.

It's only when the two are in the elevator, when Ian is no longer in sight, that Alice can't keep it together anymore. She collapses against Shaun, weeping and wailing out so much pain...

The trip to Shaun's place is quiet except for Alice's quiet pained whimpering as she lies back in the reclined passenger seat in a near fetal position. She's not present enough to talk, just trying to escape all of the pain that she can. If not for the rage directing her on a path of destruction, she would've downed every bit of alcohol Ian stored at their apartment to try and numb the pain, but it's too late for her to take that option now.

Shaun lets Alice sleep in his bed that night. Though she's not used to sleeping alone and feels lonely, she struggles with being touched right now, feeling so used and filthy after what Ian did to her. She only sleeps when her energy is gone, and she wakes up still feeling miserable. She can barely manage to text work that she'll be out sick.

Shaun went to her favorite food place to snag breakfast back when they were at college and served it to her while she was still in bed. He knows about how stress makes her sickness worse, so he's going to do all that he can to make things easier on her.

It's after Alice manages to get some food and medicine down that she starts talking. It's just a couple words at first, then a few more, and soon it's just a deluge of everything she found out, all the lies and the shit Ian put her through both behind her back and in front of it. She didn't realize that there was so much more wrong between them until she started unloading, and she can't seem to stop. At some point she started clinging to Shaun, crying in his arms as he held her tight, but she kept going until all she could do was cry...

The days and weeks that follow are... rough.... to say the least. Ian sent so many texts that first day, and left so many voicemails... Alice didn't listen to any of them. She didn't read what he had to say. It was only when she had what she wanted to say ready in her mind that she sent him a long email that contained all her hurt from his betrayal. They had a brief back and forth, just enough for him to answer her questions like why.

All Ian has are excuses... and Alice has had enough of them. She ends things by telling him to never contact her again before blocking him on everything.

Ian isn't someone Alice loves anymore, can't love. His love for her was lies, lies, lies... Just one big joke at her expense. He used her for so much... support, to be an emotional crutch, a fuck toy that he played with roughly despite her trauma, all for the sake of "love"...

It disgusts Alice to think of how much she endured for a scumbag like that. She's been used in a way that makes her want to peel her skin off, and she's taken a lot of showers where she's scrubbed her skin raw.

Ian knows where Shaun's place is, but Shaun makes sure to let security for the building know to be on the lookout for Ian and keep him out.

Shaun, being the good friend he is, asks Alice if she wants to move in with him... but after what happened with Ian, she feels uneasy about that. Her trust has been damaged in a way that she needs time and space to repair. She does talk it through with him, and he understands. He even helps her move into a new apartment, one a good distance away from her old place and promises not to tell Ian where it is.

Alice changes jobs too. A yogurt shop right beside her apartment is fine. It doesn't pay as much as the gig at the library did, but Ian went to her place of work to talk to her, and just once was enough.

Fuck Ian. Fuck him in the way that he would hate the most and cry about. And fuck the small part of Alice that still loves him even as the rest of her hates him.

Word spreads about what Ian did, and friends choose sides, mostly Alice's considering the circumstances. Unlike in the main universe where some are divided or being neutral, few can buy that Ian really is remorseful after such rampant lies and cheating.

The King family is shocked and outraged at Ian. I mentioned their reactions to Ian cheating in a previous post, but the fallout is even more severe in this AU. After all... Alice no longer cares if Ian is hurt, and what he did to her is far worse than the normal universe.

After Alice moves, her whole family comes to visit her for housewarming and to help cheer her up. The new apartment is small, so it's a crowded party, but it helps. Mama King even brings her plenty of beautiful flowers to decorate the new place.

There's no more mention of Ian around Alice. She doesn't ask about him, and has asked others not to bring him up to her. Shaun still keeps an eye on things though, just in case. He heard from someone that Ian moved out of the old apartment and left a message that he's sorry and for Alice to have a good life. Shaun doesn't pass the message along.

Ian was also thoroughly exposed online. Alice didn't spread it, but screenshots were leaked, even on his socials. It seems unlikely that he would post his own sexts and nudes, so it seems a hacker might have done it.

Alice doesn't care to look into it even after some friends inform her of what happened. It must've been done by that unknown number that sent her the screenshots in the first place. They must've gotten all the dirt on Ian too. Guess saving all that evidence is pointless now. She deletes it all so she doesn't have to think about Ian ever again.

No one has seen Ian since. Some people think he moved back out to the area where he went to college, or went off to live with his affair partner and is hiding away in shame, as no one has seen them either, but no one has been able to contact him. Some are a bit worried about what this could mean...

Alice comes out of this incident even more wary and untrusting of people... and at the same time also lonelier than ever once her family goes back to their home and things settle in the new place. It's hard for her to get close to anyone new, and it's taking her a while to relax around her friends again.

Eventually though, a trip to the thrift store will wind up with an innocent purchase on a whim. Finally Alice will have a use for the VCR Shaun gave her when he upgraded to a better model...

Of course, even Jack is going to have a hard time helping Alice trust people again. Convincing her to be his friend and to help him is much harder too. She was used by "friends" before...

Despite this... even though she's been hurt so badly, Alice still can't bring herself to let an innocent soul stay damned in hell... She won't let what happened with Ian happen again, but she won't let him change who she is either. Not everyone is a liar. People do suffer and need help sincerely. She has been one of those people more times than she likes. It's why she still insists on living on her own despite how miserable she is. She'll be strong for herself and take care of those who deserve it.

That agreement of consent between them is even more strongly emphasized in this AU. A few less loopholes to be found, and a stronger emphasis that the agreement can be broken at any time without penalty. Alice makes it clear that if Jack ever lies to her or tricks her, he's gone. Jack, desperate, doesn't hesitate to agree. He doesn't have a choice after all.

Things are even more tense when Alice wakes up in the aftermath, far more distrusting of Jack, not wanting him to touch her at all, so she tumbles off the sofa this time. It leaves Jack feeling nervous and even more desperate to please Alice and earn her trust.

It's a slower burn in this universe. Jack is on thin ice at times at the start, but manages to pluck at Alice's heartstrings. The empathy bond between them makes it hard for her to be cold to him. She's not reaching out for him as readily as she does in Sunshine in Hell, but she's not scorning him either. She still errs on the side that if Jack is real, then it would be shitty of her to treat him like just a figment of her imagination.

Alice doesn't tell Shaun right away about her new roommate, though she is aware that he would probably believe her and would be excited for supernatural shit like this. It's only when things settle a bit and she starts getting used to Jack that she does.

Because Shaun is introduced to Jack as a new supernatural ghost(?) friend and there's nothing about Alice being in a romantic relationship with Jack (and neither Shaun nor Alice know about the whole soul agreement since Alice forgot her first meeting with Jack), it's treated as something exciting to Shaun. A friendly ghost clown pal who can write messages? Oh, he's so jealous of her luck!

Jack has to take things slow and be cautious, but he can't help but feel uneasy about Shaun's closeness with Alice, at least relative to his current closeness with her. He can tell there's nothing romantic about it... at least from her end, but Shaun is a closer friend to Alice than Jack is and Jack sees how Shaun looks at her sometimes... This is something that needs to change if he doesn't want to risk losing his sunshine...

At the same time, interacting with another person helps Jack get a more solid grip on reality. It's subtle, but he can notice. Shaun is treating Jack as a favorable presence overall, being excited at his existence. It's not so simple as to just eliminate the rival when Shaun is also useful... He'll have to play this cautiously.

Really, this AU would have a bit more tension and a thriller vibe under the surface, but, you know me, I can't help but be a sucker for healing vanilla sweetness with my OTP. Though it'll take longer and there'll be more bumps in the road, I'd like to imagine that eventually Jack manages to help Alice heal, like he does for him. Though it's possible there's going to be a bit of a love triangle along the way until they finally get together.

As for Ian... no one ever hears from him ever again. It's almost funny considering his big dreams of becoming a famous actor. Whatever happened to that guy anyway? Maybe someone decided that cheaters need to pay a heavier price than just getting their belongings smashed and their dirty laundry aired online...

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #Ask #Sauce-y Art

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tamsong · 8 months

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the homestuck quadrant system & relationships in KotLC

i am fully aware no one asked for this. WAIT that’s a lie three of you asked for this. @orionhong @the-way-astray @soryasongsaa this post is for you <3 it’s been simmering in my drafts since november and i finally had an excuse to finish, and i hope u guys find it interesting!

so. what exactly is the quadrant system, you may ask? and why is it relevant to kotlc? well, we’ll start with the webcomic homestuck. (oh boy) this comic features an alien species called trolls (based off internet trolls) that have some very fun cultural distinctions, such as a caste system based on blood color and the quadrant system, which is a fun variation of romance that i think could be very fun if we applied it to elves, which don’t have enough cultural differences in my opinion.

homestuck trolls have four type of romance as opposed to one and each has its own specific purpose. 2 of them are necessary for reproduction, and 2 of them are necessary for peace and harmony in society. it’s considered desirable to partake in all four kinds of romance, and there are certain rules around this that i’ll get to later. while KOTLC elves only use the one traditional form of romance, it’s considered desirable to be in a socially-acceptable relationship, an approved match, to help grow the elven species, and have a similar sense of Regulation around romance. telepaths also have cognatedom, a special kind of relationship that adds potential for romantic drama into the mix.

i thought it would be interesting if in an alternate universe, the elves recognized more than one form of romance to distinguish their society even more from that of humans. it’s also just fun to ship characters but with extra nuance and spice. so without further ado, let me explain the four quadrants and speculate which relationships in KOTLC, both canon and otherwise, would be in which quadrant! enjoy this silly little time with me

so!! there are two categories: red romance and black romance. red is associated with positive feelings and black with negative, although it’s a bit more nuanced than that. they’re also divided into Concupiscent (associated but not exclusively linked with sexual attraction and reproduction) and Conciliatory (not associated with reproduction). each of the quadrants is assigned one of the four suits in a deck of cards, hence red and black. here's a convenient chart:

a relationship might not just fall into one quadrant, too. relationships are only meant to use one label at a time (more on this later) but often shift across quadrants or be called one quadrant but have some traits of another.

below, i’ve written descriptions of each romance type and also given suggestions for KOTLC ships that would fall into these categories. feel free to fight with me on my choices if you like.

FLUSHED QUADRANT: MATESPRITSHIP/HEARTS <3 (red, concupiscent)

this quadrant is most similar to regular human romance, and already features in kotlc. there's not a whole lot much more to say here, so let's get into examples.

a good canonical example of this in KOTLC is edaline and grady ruewen being matesprits (the name for this kind of partner). an example of flushed feelings that were mutual but never became a relationship is kenric and oralie. sophie and fitz also had flushed feelings for each other canonically, as do sophie and keefe right now, but i would say in both cases the feelings aren't purely <3. i'll talk more about that soon, though.

other noncanon relationships i would describe as matesprits/flushed crushes are tiergan/prentice and marella/linh.

PALE QUADRANT: MOIRALLEGIANCE/DIAMONDS <> (red, concilliatory)

moirails could be best described in our terms as platonic soulmates/queerplatonic partners. that being said, while it doesn't involve kissing or sexual attraction, it IS a type of romance and is distinct from an average friendship. moirallegiance is actually WILDLY similar to the concept of Cognatedom in KOTLC, which is what inspired this behemoth of a post in the first place.

(furthermore, this is why posts implying that cognates are always romantic rub me the wrong way. there are plenty of forms of closeness that aren't traditional romance/flushed).

like cognates, moirails aren't just soul besties, but they're balancing forces that complement each other and keep each other grounded. these relationships hinge on sharing feelings, mutual acceptance, giving advice, and bringing the other person down to earth.

this makes alden and quinlin a good canonical example of ex-moirails. a non-cognate relationship in KOTLC that resembles moirallegiance is that between keefe and dex: they have similar personalities, share secrets, and are able to help each other even when their other relationships are on the rocks.

while sophie and fitz obviously had flushed feelings for each other, their cognate relationship most closely resembles a moirallegiance. they're a pretty good representation of quadrant vacillation, going from close friends and cognates to dating to back to close friends (although their friendship is still recovering from that).

also, while sophie and keefe have flushed feelings for each other, they would actually make really good moirails. they repeatedly have "feelings jams" where they share their worries and trauma with each other (not to say that matesprits can't do this, it's just specifically associated with moirallegiance) like the sleepover scene in neverseen. they're able to see who each other are under their own individual masks, and have well-complementing personalities that bring each other back down to earth. sophie is impulsive but good at connecting with others while keefe thinks things through but makes decisions without consulting other people.

PITCH QUADRANT: KISMESISSITUDE/SPADES <3< (black, concupiscent)

this is where we start to get a bit confusing. pitch relationships are based on hatred, frustration, and annoyance, but just like moirallegiance isn't just an average friendship, kismesissitude isn't your average hatred. there is also an element of attraction and in homestuck is one of the two reproduction-based quadrants.

a kismesis, one's pitch partner, must be someone that not only annoys and angers you but also indirectly challenges you to grow and recognize your own flaws. a kismesis is someone you hate, but grudgingly respect, but also find attractive. basically, it's a very strong arch-rivalry. and while a kismesis is intrinsically hate-based, they’re supposed to cause more or less equal trouble for each other and not actually wish to kill or permanently disable the other. if one or both wants this, or there is a power dynamic where one is harming the other much more, then it’s not a healthy kismesis.

obviously, these feelings aren't really recognized in human or canonical elf society, but if they were i think keefe and tam would make a good kismesis pair. they have outwardly clashing personalities and abilities, but are actually very similar people with a lot of chemistry who just present in different ways. they are at odds for most of their interactions but do show trust and care.

some even better kismesis pairs could be sophie/stina, marella/stina, or even dex/stina. tbh this is just telling me that stina is really good as kismesissitude. home girl just loves hatred i guess. maruca/biana is also a plausible one. you could even do vespera/fintan. go crazy lol

a good example of unrequited pitch feelings is dex’s hate obsession with fitz in the first couple books. in recent material, keefe/fitz could be on their way to a pitch relationship after spending most of their lives in an either pale or platonic situation, but i digress.

ASHEN QUADRANT: AUSPITICISM/CLUBS c3< (black, conciliatory)

this is definitely the weirdest one and is the least defined within the text of homestuck itself, but it means we can also have some fun with it. in homestuck, the ashen quadrant is mostly used for the purpose of mediating two opposing people so they don’t fall into the pitch quadrant. it’s a weird three-way situation involving the conflicting pair and the auspistice, who would be the one having ashen feelings. these feelings might be expressed through an attitude of “god these two are idiots but they’re My idiots damn it and i need to make sure they don’t cause problems.”

two important things to note here: 1) you are only meant to have one person in each of your four quadrants at any given time. 2) while you can shift quadrants, your relationship with someone is only meant to have one of these labels at a time. homestuck trolls are very aggressive and develop feelings of dislike quite easily, so auspistices are needed to prevent people from cheating / getting into romantic fights with people who aren’t their kismesis. while elves aren’t as aggressive, this still could be a problem. for example, if tam and keefe were an established kismesis pair, but keefe and fitz started fighting in a way that could turn into hatred, sophie might be called to be an auspistice for them and make sure their fighting doesn’t turn pitch (in which case keefe would be cheating).

assuming keefe and sophie are matesprits, this also poses a problem for their relationship since sophie is acting as keefe’s auspistice and not his matesprit. It’s a lot.

auspisticism can also be a generalized way of describing relationship mediation. sophie, fitz, and keefe probably need some auspisticizing for all the quadrant shifting they’re doing.

this kind of feeling may be hard to recognize as romantic because of all the utilitarianism surrounding it. think of it as being a very dedicated therapist friend, or part of a very stressful polycule. it requires a Hell of a lot of devotion for two people for their friend to get involved in all that conflict, a devotion which can very much be romantic. I imagine sophie having a high capacity/desire to be an auspistice, as would biana.

that’s the main chunk of the explanation, and there’s a lot to play with here. beyond what i described, you can also get things like two people rapid-firing between flushed and pitch and back to flushed, to people who have feelings for each other but not the same kind, to messy groups of 3, 4, or even more people where relationship types are constantly shifting. conflict in one quadrant can also impact your relationships with all other partners. for example, when alden and quinlin’s cognatedom/moirallegiance fell apart, it could have put stress on quinlin’s matespritship with livvy to the point where the flushed feelings between them are either gone or turned into unhealthy kismesissitude depending on how you look at it.

still confused? that’s okay, you’re kind of meant to be. andrew hussie is a fucking mad lad who doesn’t even take their own story seriously. that being said he did give us the bare ideas for some cool and complex relationship dynamics and a new way of seeing romance, so i’ll give them that.

but anyways, have fun with this!! i would LOVE to see your homestuck-based HCs if you happen to come up with any. a couple more kotlc/homestuck related notes before you go:

- sophie foster is a valid troll name (6 letter first and last name) as is gisela sencen. i couldn’t find any others, which is weird considering the amount of characters.

- trolls have varying powers depending on their blood color, not unlike special abilities.

that’s all folks! have a spectacular day and i hope you learned something cool!

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