#squad 312

thought these would be fun!! they're not fully rendered but they took longer than i thought lmao :) I chose to draw Fin's grandparents instead of his parents because they're who he grew up with. also i'm really sorry for not including cat, but again these took a while and i thought some people wouldnt mind as much if she wasnt here, but i feel really bad so i'll probably sketch her later 😭

*not all, but most!

Hello and welcome to all of the Aurora Cycle fans still lurking in the depths of Tumblr in the year of 2026. Over the next month, I'll be running a bracket which will ultimately decide our favorite (named) Aurora Cycle character! The first round of voting will be published Friday, June 26th, at 9:00 AM Eastern Time, and it will be open for one week. After that, the voting schedule is subject to change, but should be fairly similar. Each poll will be accompanied by a short description of each character, as some of them are very minor characters.

Get excited and share this with your Aurora Cycle (or non-Aurora Cycle) friends! You are encouraged to send in propaganda, cheer for your favorites in the tags, etc. etc. As long as you're all kind and respectful to one another, I don't expect there to be any problems. I hope this can be a fun bonding activity for our small fandom :)

taneth "tani" liiriel o'malley-gilwraeth is the son of kaliis gilwraeth and aurora jie-lin o'malley. he's 21, currently in college for violin while touring the galaxy with his band over the summer. how he does it? we don't know, but he looks good doing it.

tani has a golden undertone to his olive skin that he gets from his syldrathi side, and that combined with his hair color and eyes, my tani is a warm autumn!

for clothing, tani has two distinct styles. one for onstage, and one for off. he's an old soul at heart, and is very inspired by the fashions of the 1970s.

this^ look from versace ss25 is a great representation of his style onstage, and the one from roberto cavalli (2017) below is what he wears while performing. he takes the phrase, "masculine, but in a peacock way," very seriously.

for his fragrance, the recent one i've been loving for him is "althair" from parfums de marly.

Like.

Scarlett is sooo perfect and sexy and alluring and charming, that it almost feels as if the narrative is more so sexualising her, than that she is doing so. She is not in full control of her agency when it comes to being sexualized (I mean duh characters are plot tools but still) and in no way does she explore that on her own. Which I feel like. Would have been wayyyy way better. And empowering. For a young adult book yknow. A girl on the brink of womanhood exploring what being sexy means to her. Or why she even feels the need to be sexy and charming, and that also in regard to how she views relationships and sex. Why can’t she commit? What is she scared of? Why does having many surface level relationships excite her? This way she’d be less of a stereotype and more of a well rounded character.

I see the same issue with Tyler and Cat’s one night stand. It could have been more impactful by emphasizing that both have sex for the first time. The first time!!!!!

And idk maybe I’m naive but in my eyes that’s like. Suuuuch a huge intimate thing!! Especially when you’ve never done it before and don’t know how it works or what to expect!!

The fact they do it with each other (even if so drunk) speaks volumes for the trust they share. To show yourself to someone at your most vulnerable and believe they’ll hold you with care. Combine that with both of em having issues with vulnerability and boom. Higher stakes for their friendship and way more complex and realistic. This way her dying would have been more gut-wrenching. The one person he felt vulnerable and weird and awkward around is gone. That he allowed himself to only ever be fully human with her.

Sex is awkward and sweet and intimate and absurd. Especially when it’s your first time and you don’t really know what to do or how to properly love the other person and their body. You don’t know what to do but you want to do right for the other person (isn’t he a huge perfectionist too?? would make him more human instead of just focusing on his dimples ughhh) I would have liked it more if that awkwardness showed. Like. Nervous shared laughter. Kisses that are sloppy and messy. Underneath all that unspoken tenderness reserved only for the other. But like I said my view on sex is a bit well. Idealistic. So yea. Take that with a grain of salt.