On Sunday, I Got My Act Together And Made A Little Altar To Apollo On The Bookshelf In My Bedroom. I

Character Movements #1

╰ Sighing

Not just “he sighed.” That’s lazy. Give us the why behind the air. Is it the kind of sigh that deflates their whole chest, like they’ve been holding the world on their lungs? Or one sharp exhale through the nose, all frustration and fed-up energy? Maybe it’s quiet—barely audible. Maybe they don’t even realize they’re doing it. But the room shifts a little when they do. Sighs can mean “I give up,” or “finally,” or “not this sh*t again.” Just depends on what’s dragging at their ribs.

╰ Shivering

This isn’t just about cold. A character can shiver in a warm room if they’re scared enough. Maybe their skin prickles before it starts, like tiny goosebumps racing up their arms. Maybe it hits in a full-body tremble, their breath catching like something primal in them just screamed “danger.” Or maybe it’s subtle, like a soft internal quake they’re trying not to show. It’s the kind of movement that betrays the truth they won’t say out loud.

╰ Trembling Hands

Shaking hands are so intimate. They’re not dramatic—they’re revealing. It’s the way their fingers fumble to light a cigarette. The way they have to tuck their hands under their thighs so no one sees. Maybe they keep reaching for the glass but can’t quite get a grip. Or maybe they do grip and the tremor runs through the whole glass like a warning. It’s not about the shake. It’s about the fact they wish they weren’t shaking at all.

╰ Clenching Fists

This one? Its tension incarnate. And it doesn’t always mean someone’s about to punch something. Sometimes they ball their fists just to keep from crying. Or because they’re trying so hard not to say something they’ll regret. Look for the subtleties: white knuckles, nails digging into palms, fists flexing open and closed like they’re trying to wring out emotion. It’s control. Rage. Determination. Or the act of stuffing all that inside a cage of fingers.

╰ Biting Nails

It’s more than “they’re nervous.” It’s compulsion. Habit. A survival tic. They might not even realize they’re doing it—just fingers to mouth, chewing down without looking, like their body’s trying to chew through the waiting. Maybe their nails are ragged. Maybe they flinch when they bite too deep. Maybe it’s the sound, the soft click of teeth and nail in a dead-silent room. It’s vulnerability dressed up as fidgeting.

╰ Tapping Fingers

This is the soundtrack of a restless mind. Is the rhythm sharp? Fast? Jittery? Are they tapping with one finger like a countdown—or all five, like a rainstorm on the table? They might not even notice. But other people do. Someone asks them to stop, and they bristle. Or they stop mid-tap when someone says the wrong thing, and that silence? That silence is loud. Tapping fingers are rarely idle. They’re keeping time with the character’s thoughts.

╰ Pacing

Pacing isn’t just walking back and forth—it’s the body trying to outrun a thought. They stand. They sit. They stand again. They move because stillness feels like being buried alive. Maybe their footsteps are soft, barefoot across carpet. Or hard-soled and echoing through a hallway like a threat. Maybe they walk a perfect loop, over and over. Maybe it’s erratic, jerking toward the door, away, toward again. Their mind is spinning, and their body’s just trying to keep up.

╰ Slumping Shoulders

This isn’t just a posture change—it’s the moment the weight wins. Shoulders that sag say “I lost.” Or “I’m done.” Or “Please don’t ask me to care anymore.” Maybe they slump in a chair and stare at the floor. Maybe they’re standing, but something in them folds anyway. Their spine’s still straight, but their shoulders fall like scaffolding giving way.

╰ Tilting Head

Simple movement—loaded meaning. They tilt their head when someone says something that doesn’t quite click. Or when they’re trying to listen harder, like angling their body will help them hear the truth under the words. Maybe the tilt is sharp and skeptical, like “You sure about that?” Or soft and curious, like “I’m trying to understand.” Or just a little too slow, too drawn out—like a predator sizing up prey. It’s instinctual. And it always means they’re paying attention.

╰ Rubbing Temples

This one screams I’m trying to hold it together. It might be frustration. Migraine. Bone-deep exhaustion. They press fingers to their temples like they’re physically trying to squash the problem before it leaks further into their head. Maybe their fingers circle gently, trying to soothe themselves. Maybe it’s two fingers, firm pressure, eyes closed, jaw clenched. It’s the gesture of someone whose brain won’t shut up—and whose body knows it.

Continuation from the last post. See? Totally just sleeping :) 

HE IS MY HEADBOARD!! OMFGS I NEVER THOUGHT I'D FIND THE ORIGINAL POST HERE!

The sun is rising here where I live, the sunrise is so beautiful that I had to take hundreds of photos. And I can say for a fact that none of them are as beautiful as seeing it in person.

I know the lady of the lake doesn't appears a lot, but I consider her a more masculine woman and definitely a lesbian. And I also think that the women/nymphs who live with her and raised Lancelot are more masculine too, not all of them are lesbians or bi/pan, but they have a certain problem with men.

I say this because Lancelot was raised only by women and yet he is the best knight in the world, second only to his son, so he was trained by women too.

I honestly believe that the training for his muscles and sword skills was because the Lady of the Lake was exceptionally amazing with a sword as much as with ver magic. She's the guardian of Excalibur after all, and if I'm not mistaken, in one of the books it says that when Elaine, Lancelot's biological mother, asks where her son was, she's told that 'your son was taken by a mermaid and better queen than those who live.'

She rules alone without the support of any man for centuries and continues to be the best, which sounds to me like it was seen as masculine for the time.

In my perception, she, and the women and nymphs who live with her and helped raise Lancelot, have more muscles than many knights out there, wear more masculine things for the time and would had more body hair since in a kingdom with only women the shame for one's own body would be significantly less.

I always imagined that it was the Lady of the Lake who gave Lancelot his sword and battlefield impressive skills, and that she is a woman with muscles and certain more masculine mannerisms, and with great skills in battle, but which are not used. She would be a queen and a king at the same time and would be the best at it.

And she definitely looks like a lesbian to me. Don't ask me why, but I've always shipped her with Elaine, Lancelot's biological mother, since it's said that she's alive and living as a nun after the fire and her family's death. Or with one of Arthur's sisters simply because it would be funny.

I don't usually draw her, but I wrote a few paragraphs and descriptions of her appearance, I'm just a little embarrassed to post it.

i was thinking this morning about how many depictions i have seen of arthurian female characters are quite feminine. we headcanon many of these characters as girl kissers and of course not all queer women are masculine but there's so little masc rep out there...

so i am wondering what female characters in the arthurian legend yall headcanon as butch/masc?

do you write about them? make art/crafts about them? do you have any face headcanons for them?

please share!

Thank you for the tag @holy3cake! And I'm tagging @dinogod @warlocklawyer666 and @the-tav3rn-0wner

Crush:

Okay first my crush, as an aromantic kid I didn't really have a crush until I was a bit older because I honestly didn't understand how someone could like someone just because of their appearance and in like three episodes, but when It hit me, oh boy, It hit hard. And like a good queer kid, my first two crushes were women.

The first was Marceline and specifically her in that scene where she sings "I'm just your problem" to Princess Bubblegum in that huge hat and with the most country and gay clothes at the same time that I have ever seen in my life. And the second is Amalia from Deus salve o Rei (Good save the King), which is a national novel and I honestly don't think it needs any explanation.

(left is Marceline and right is Amalia)

First fic:

Now my first fic was what got me, because I thought I didn't have it anymore. I was a child, and I say child because I wrote it when I was 12 and didn't even know how to write yet, I was really insecure and my chronic anxiety didn't help me. I was ashamed of being the Freak fanfic, which I proudly admit today, and I deleted it from Ao3. BUT INCREDIBLY I STILL HAD IT IN MY LANGUAGE ON WATTPAD!

This is the fic. Yes it was a Lancewain one, and yes I've been obsessed with them for years. Yes this will continue for more years.

Translation of titles:

Name: For Love

First chapter: Not so friendly, but a start.

Second chapter: The knight says "hi" to life again.

Third chapter: Sweet melody

First time meeting a character:

The first character that made me discover that characters were not fixed but rather actors was actualy a voice actor. Who is Guilherme Briggs, he did Cosmo from the Fairly OddParents and the stepmother's otter, Otto, in Barbie Rapunzel. To be honest, he does everything iconic characters i know, he did the English dub of Death in Puss in Boots 2 and now he's going to do the Portuguese dubbing of Stolas in Helluva Boss.

First ship:

Monica and Cebolinha from Monica's Gang. But after I grew up I realized how problematic their relationship is in Monica's Gang Young.

Anyway, it was good to relive my origins!

THROWBACK THURSDAY!!

Rules: In true throwback fashion, share one of your first crushes, first fics (or artwork if you prefer!), first time you met a character and first ship (you can go as far back as you like, or even as little as a month back!)

Hi everyone! For throwback thursday, I wanted to do a silly little game based on past preferences! And also to spread fanfiction love, let's revive some love for older fics <3. Enjoy :D xx

First Crush/Crushes:

Okay so for the crushes, I picked a daddy and maybe also a daddy? I mean I had a crush on Josh Hutcherson since I was 12 (Bridge to Terabithia was that awkward teen phase) but it helps since he aged as I did lmao. And Bill Hader? Well. I can't explain that one. I loved him so much at Uni that someone actually got me a shirt with his face on it. No notes.

First Fic (I should note, this doesn't have to be one of your first EVER fics. Just an old one that you like!):

Okay so this is the first and only threesome I've ever written. It's actually not as hideous as I remember, but it was an absolute hoot writing it. And Saw always stays in my heart as a fandom <3. If you're interested in reading, here you go ----> Request Granted :)

First time you met a character:

I chose both Harry's here, heheheeh! So I don't watch HOTD, but every time I see Harry Collett posted i'm like "BUT HE WAS A TINY LITTLE BABY IN CASUALTY!" Casualty is a British Medical Drama, and it has many of these actors in (Not to mention that Harry Collett dated baby Alicent in that too, but let's forget that hahaha). And I wasn't aware that I was seeing baby Harry Gilby either in casualty, but there he is! He danced with a boy shortly after that cap, it was adorable.

First Ship:

Ohhhhhhh this is going back some time! I suppose let's stay on the same vein as Josh Hutcherson lmao. So it wasn't exactly shipping, but the first time I ever wanted two characters to be together was Jess and Leslie in Bridge to Terabithia. But again, I was 12, so it was more like "I want these two to grow old and live happily ever after." And then the movie shredded my heart out. RUDE.

No pressure tags: @grinningkatz @lancedoncrimsonwings @book-and-music-lover @errruvande @waterfallsilverberrywrites @bilbotargaryen @persephones-journey @whitedarkmoonflower

@paula-in-dreamland @kingslionheart @fabiochampioraro @ripmyfictionalfriends

@corktheauthor @redacted-thething @thelettersfromnoone @beginning-writer @lord-aldhelm @lesbians4connorrhodes

That fic idea that won't leave me alone.

Vulgate: Lancelot Part IV | More quotes at Arthuriana Daily