#<- the last two are only at the very bottom in a section with separate content warnings.

[shirogane-oushirou]

[cw mentions of ableism. talking / venting about the sharing vs non-sharing shit (i do not lean towards supporting one "side" over the other); starts out relatively neutral-toned but i start to sound frustrated part way through. i also have a more personal ramble at the very end that has a separate cw list. it's also long... don't feel obligated to read. i just needed to say things and be Done with it.]

man. i'm ready for all of the sharing vs non-sharing back and forths to stop.

to be clear: this isn't some "i'm above this argument" thing. on the contrary; i completely see where both "sides" are coming from! i simply mean it shouldn't be so difficult for a select few shit-stirrers to Get that selfshipping is a personal thing, and we should be able to ship in whatever way makes us most comfortable.

if someone is non-sharing, they should be allowed to create those boundaries without being harassed or called "immature" or "delusional" by sharing people. beyond how supremely ableist that is, nobody has the right to say they can't view their f/os in a certain way, no matter if other people don't understand those feelings.

if someone is sharing, they should be allowed to share their feelings for a character openly with other sharing people without being sent hate from non-sharing people who think they're "loose" or who want to be their f/o's "one and only". shaming people for being open to sharing is fucked from multiple "sexual / romantic purity" and "anti poly-[sexual / romantic / platonic] relationships" angles, and nobody has the right to claim sole and total ownership over a character they did not make.

and yet, every couple of weeks, we get posts from a vocal minority making a huge fuss over "the other side", when it's just a vocal minority FROM that other side ALSO making a fuss. and then those vague posts leave their intended orbit and cause more mis-worded posts and misunderstandings and off-the-cuff bigoted statements, and the cycle starts again.

we should theoretically be able to respect each other while focusing that energy on, oh i dunno, chasing harassers out of the community? getting selfshippers who aren't part of a specific marginalized group to help selfshippers from that group when they're harassed, maybe?? especially when the sharing vs non-sharing Thing very often coincides with bigotry; people who are harassing others tend to not just stop at being petty or mean, they make it personal.

and -- not as important but a nice little bonus -- i would think that working towards a community that's more safe for everyone in it would also "coincidentally" (/s) get rid of the shit-stirrers, whether because they were kicked out or because they realized what they were doing and grew as people.

---

[cw ableism, vague death ideation, non-physical self harm mention]

i was originally gonna put this bit in the tags, but i think i should put it under the cut bc it's a little personal + it got too long.

also, i try to stay in my lane and not discuss details about delusions or how to approach them -- i've only experienced them a couple of times, so i'm not going to claim to know much about them -- so if i've overstepped, PLEASE let me know and i'll edit or remove anything i've misspoken about.

but coming from someone who went too deep into selfshipping in the past and worries about the mental health of people who do: It's None Of Your Business!!

delusions aren't morally "bad" or "wrong". holding deep feelings abt a character isn't inherently delusion-based and also isn't morally "bad" or "wrong". and neither of those is the same as -- speaking from experience (above content warnings come into play here) -- being obsessed with a character to the point that you self-isolate and emotionally self harm because you wish so badly that the character was real and you believe there isn't a point to life if you'll never meet that character... and this is also not inherently delusion-based and ALSO not morally "bad" or "wrong".

these separate things -- delusions, deep feelings, and unhealthy obsession -- CAN intersect but just as often don't. none are immoral, and all are deserving of being approached with compassion and respect, in whatever way is most appropriate.

negative, harmful ACTIONS that some people take in these states are worth bringing up to them when it's safe to do so, depending on the details of their situation, but the states themselves don't have any moral weight. ie, if someone's harassing others for sharing their f/o because they're in a dark, obsessive place, that is a morally negative ACTION, not a morally negative mental state. they need to take responsibility for harm they've CAUSED, not for what they're experiencing internally.

but if you're calling people "immature" or "delusional" as an insult, something tells me you're not really considering that! whether through malice or just a lack of compassion, you don't see worth in how another person approaches this community.

you aren't better for thinking of a character a certain way, and neither is the person you're being ableist towards. if no harm is being done to you or others, you're just being a dick for the sake of being a dick. listen to other people, learn, and do better.

if you think someone is genuinely in a bad mental place because of selfshipping (wrt isolating and self harm), approach them as another human being. meet them where they're at. don't patronize them, don't call them "delusional", treat them like someone who has their own thoughts and values.

they may want help, or they may not, and you have to respect them for their choice no matter what YOU think is right. there is no truly right way to approach someone who's in a dark place, but you can at least avoid saying things that FOR SURE will make them feel talked down to, belittled, or shamed. if they aren't ready now, maybe they will be ready for help in the future, and shutting them down will make them less likely to seek that help.

(i was also going to put THIS in the tags but i should probably put it here: when i say 'learn and change' i mean it as a positive. people have the capacity to learn and grow and become better; if you've said something in all of this that can be read as harmful... consider why it's harmful and why you said it.

you aren't the same person you were a year ago. 5yrs ago. 10yrs ago. you have grown and you will continue to grow. but if you can be more aware of it and grow more purposefully and consciously? all the better.)

[mysumeow]

Wanderer/Scaramouche and Albedo (separately)

Warnings: explicit breeding talk in albedo's one, overstim for both but especially on wanderer's section. afab genitals, gn pronouns.

a/n: "ill take a nap" proceeds to in fact not take a nap and write smut drabbles. i dont have.......any type of comment about this x_x

💌 . .SCARAMOUCHE/WANDERER

"Mind repeating what you said a few moments ago?"

You gripped the sheets and arched your back, ready to cry again if he was planning to stop and start from the beginning. You lost track of how many times he had worked you close to your orgasm, only to stop just right before you could reach it.

"I—ahh, what?" you tried to buck your hips against him, and he clamped his hands harder on your hip bones, causing pain.

"Do I have to remind you? You truly are the definition of all bark and no bite," he squinted, a silent threat if you moved again without permission. "Something about how I wouldn't be able to last more than two minutes? That I'm small and cute?"

"I didn't mean it in a bad way!"

"I don't care how you meant it. All I care about is showing you how small and cute I can really be," judging by the sadistic glint in his eyes and smile, you knew the underlying meaning.

He's going to make you cry.

More than you already were, at least.

Wanderer's not one to complain when he has to put his darling in place, he enjoys all sides you show him. When you're sweet and obedient, or when you do nothing more than make him clench his jaw and switch up his sadistic streak.

"Don't make me repeat myself again," he said, moving his hand to pinch your sore nipple, which had been suckled raw minutes earlier.

"Ow!" you took a sharp breath, and despite the pain, the pleasured spot between your legs became even more drenched. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Please let me cum,"

"And here I thought you would be able to withstand it," he sneered, his grin widening. "You've been good, I'll give you what you desire,"

He also likes to play rough, your entire neck and collarbones littered with love bites, your most erogenous spots exploited until you were left nothing but a trembling mess; it was nothing alike to how he then proceeded to tenderly caress your warm cheek with the back of his hand...

Until he grabbed your wrists and resumed his unrelenting thrusting.

"You're going too hard," you whined, you were about to orgasm. "I want to cum with you,"

He groaned and grazed your bottom lip with his thumb, which he then gently pushed into your mouth and pressed down on your tongue.

"I know you can take it."

💌 . .ALBEDO

There was no room in your body left to accommodate his cum's thick volume; more of it spilled with each determined thrust of his hips, hands pushing your legs as close to your chest as they could.

You couldn't even form a coherent sentence or make any sounds other than heavy breathing and whining.

With a very obscene moan, he separated to take a good look at your disheveled and dazed state, your pretty eyes bright with tears and reddened lips from all his biting and kissing.

"One more, please?" he whined, drool-covered fingers playing with your sensitive clit.

"'Bedo, there's so much already," you cried from oversensitivity as his semen trickled down from your sore pussy.

"Not enough. I have to make sure there's no way you're not knocked up after I'm done with you," he leaned down again to tightly hug your body, and you knew what was about to happen. "This is what you wanted, right? To be thoroughly bred by me?"

You locked your legs around his frame, and, despite the evident ache in your muscles, you nodded.

This time, it was the vulnerable flesh of your neck that was the focus of Albedo's heated kisses and possessive marking. Your body shuddered at the unyielding pace he thrust against you. His drive to breed you was absolute, the way he clasped your torso left no wiggle room for you to not feel everything he expressed to you.

There was no way you could formulate a coherent sentence; you couldn't even say you were about to cum.

"Aah—You're—" he tried to focus, but words left him too as his own orgasm hazed his mind, his frame trembled from the intensity.

Yet, another heavy load delivered right into you.

Albedo was right. There's no way you're not knocked up after this.

[junipernight]

Yangvik Week 2024 - Days 2 and 4

Prompts: Touch Starved, Family, and Hair

___________________________________________

Balm

“Alright, I’m ready,” said Yangchen, stepping out from behind the finned-caribou hide that partitioned the tent.

Kavik squinted at her. She was dressed in the blue furs of the water tribe, in a knee-length parka with a moon motif on the front panel. Her hair had been swept up and folded into a bun, with two strands on either side of her face hanging in braids and adorned with bone beads. Her arrows were completely covered by the warm mittens on her hands and the thick fringe over her forehead.

She looked every inch a Northern Water Tribe girl - even her eyes, normally a dark gray, seemed to have taken on a slightly icy hue, as if they were reflecting the arctic world around them—but there was something off about the disguise.

Kavik snapped his fingers as he figured it out. “You look like my gran-gran!” he said. Then his thoughts caught up with his mouth, and he said, “Wait, that didn’t come out right.”

Luckily, Yangchen seemed more amused than offended. “How was it supposed to come out, then?”

Kavik poked the bun at the nape of her neck. “Your hair. No one younger than my gran-gran wears their hair like that.”

Yangchen frowned. This had been her favorite way to do her hair, in one past life or another. She hadn’t even thought about it before tying her hair up—her fingers had remembered all on their own.

Thinking back on her time training in Agna Qel’a, however, she realized Kavik was right. She would stick out if she wore her hair like this, and it was very important that she blend in for the sake of the mission: Today, she was meeting Kavik’s extended family in Long Stretch.

And if everything went well, they would never suspect that “Ilagik” was the Avatar. 

Yangchen  peeked out the tent flap: the tundra greeted her, wide open and vibrant and abuzz with the frenetic energy of late summer. The sun was obscured by a light mist, but she could make out a bright spot low on the eastern horizon. “We have some time before we have to leave,” she said. “I can try again.”

“Let me help you,” Kavik offered.

Yangchen raised a skeptical eyebrow at him.

“My cousin taught me how to braid when I was little,” he said defensively, as if he were offended that she doubted him.

Yangchen shrugged, and flounced onto the nearest bedroll. “Ok then. You do it.”

Kavik took off his mittens and sat behind her. He pulled out the beads, untied the ribbons, and unpinned the fake fringe. Then he began to comb her hair. He started at the bottom, gently running his fingers through the strands and gently teasing apart tangles. Gradually he worked his way up to the roots of her hair.

Without meaning to, Yangchen leaned back into his touch, her eyes drifting shut. Having her hair brushed felt nice, nicer than she would have expected. It wasn’t an experience she was accustomed to; the last time someone had brushed her hair would have been back at the Western Air Temple. The older Air Nomad girls taught the younger ones how to deal with hair after they turned old enough; growing one’s hair out was an important marker of growing up. Yangchen didn’t remember whose hands had brushed her hair and taught her how to hold the comb, only that it hadn’t been Jetsun.

Yangchen winced. 

“Sorry,” said Kavik, thinking the motion had been in response to something he did.

Yangchen suddenly noticed that there wasn’t much braiding going on. “Are you playing with my hair?”

Kavik paused guiltily, “... maybe.”

“Keep doing it, it feels nice.”

Kavik was happy to oblige. He ran his hands through her hair some more, watching the silky strands slip through his fingers.

“Tell me about your cousin,” she said. “The one who taught you how to braid.”

Kavik began to separate her hair into sections. “I have a lot of cousins, but my favorite is Yuka. Every year, we used to see each other at fish camp, and we’d all go everywhere together like a pack of porcupine seals. Yuka is the oldest, and Kalyann and I used to think that cloudberries sprouted wherever she walked. She’s really smart, and she always had the best ideas for games.

“One summer, she was teaching my girl cousins how to braid their hair, and I cried until she let me learn too.”

Yangchen grinned as she imagined Kavik, baby-cheeked and innocent and tearful about being excluded.

“Real tears?” she inquired. “Or were you a master liar even then?”

“Very real tears,” Kavik assured her solemnly. . “I would never lie to Yuka.” 

Yangchen snorted, not believing him for a minute. “Will I get to meet Yuka?”

“I hope so. I heard she’s married now; hopefully she didn’t move away.”

“Do you mind if I use a little hair grease?” Kavik asked, holding up a small jar. 

“Umm...” Yangchen was willing to eat meat, if that was what was available. She was aware that the clothes she wore and the tent they were sheltered in were made from the hides of dead animals… hides which had been carefully waterproofed with the same animal fat Kavik now held up, no doubt. And yet, it still made her uncomfortable, the idea of rubbing cooked animal remains directly on her person.

She was about to say yes anyway, for the disguise and because it wasn’t really a big deal, when Kavik surprised her.

“It’s from Taku,” he said, twisting open the lid. Instead of the stench of animal fat, a fruity and sweet aroma filled the air, taking her by surprise. “I think it’s some kind of fruit oil.”

Yangchen’s shoulders relaxed. “Sure.”

Kavik rubbed the grease onto his hands and began to massage it into her hair. Whatever fruit it was, it was familiar. The scent called her back to some other place, in some other lifetime, but Yangchen resisted, focusing on the soft patter of rain on the tent and the gentle tugging of her companion’s hands through her hair; he was massaging her scalp now, digging his fingers into the roots of her hair; this was even better than the brushing.

No one touched Yangchen anymore, outside of occasional bouts of physical combat. In the western air temple, she had grown up in close proximity to dozens of girls, with whom she’d had very little physical boundaries. Her sisters and she had piled on the same beds, and huddled for warmth during festivals at the northern temple, and tackled each other both on and off the air ball court. And of course Jetsun had always been her greatest source of comfort, holding her close and anchoring her to the present when she was wracked by the grief and anguish of a thousand past lives. After Jetsun had died and Yangchen had left the temple, she’d been left with almost no one. Just a lonely figure at the top of an air spout, suspended in front of  an audience.

(Except for Nu Jian, when she still had him. Nu Jian couldn’t hug her, but at least she could hug Nu Jian.)

When had Kavik become the exception to her isolation? When had Kavik become the one that casually lifted her up and spun her around?

She was almost sad when he finally began braiding her hair, but they did have somewhere to be, and a long ride ahead of them. 

Kavik froze a thin sheet of ice, and held it up to her when he was done.

“What do you think?” He asked.

Kavik had braided the bulk of her hair into one long braid and pulled it into a loop that dangled from the crown of her head. He’d also redone the face-framing qilliqti that she had tried to do before. Yangchen had struggled to thread the thin braids through the beads, and her earlier attempt had been frizzy because of it. The hair grease combined with Kavik's skill had made the braids sleek and elegant.

Yangchen turned to thank him, and then immediately dodged a greasy finger aimed right for her nose. Another greasy hand came at her, and she grabbed Kavik’s wrists.

“Stop that!” She laughed.

“But you like my hands,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“I’m trying to give you a hug!”

“Oh!” It was Kavik’s turn to be surprised. “Okay.”

She hugged him. And then she directed his greasy hands back at his face.

“Hey!”

.

.

.

(They were slightly late to dinner with Kavik’s parents.)

[insidetheravensmind]

Stray Kids Recommended Masterlist

This is a masterlist dedicated Stray Kids fanfics. Most of the works are smutty, but not all. I do not know which ones are which. None of these works are mine, as I have a separate list for those. All credit goes to the owners who wrote these, and I hope all of you enjoy them. I will try to update this as much as I can! Note: All members will have their own separated sections, however, anything with 2+ members in them will be located below in their own section.

EDIT (9/15/23): I will be adding more very soon. I am working on making masterlists for each member and linking them at the bottom of their list on here! It will take me awhile because I've got many lines up.

Last updated: 09/15/23

BANGCHAN ~ Crayons ~ Cold Face ~ Channie's Room ~ All Mine ~ Hot and Cold ~ Pain Killer ~ Runaway with Me

MINHO ~ 6:00 ~ Untitled #7 ~ Horror House ~ Nasty ~ Appease Part Two ~ Barb Wired Brat CHANGBIN ~ This Is What I Want ~ Remedy ~ Untitled #4 ~ Mr. Tough Guy ~ Petty Works ~ Prettier When I'm A Mess ~ A Numbing Surprise ~ (No Title) ~ Roommate ~ Say Sorry ~ Needy ~ Dress ~ Trying ~ Red Dress On the Balcony ~ The Island ~ Admiration ~ Pay Attention ~ For Your Eyes Only ~ Reset ~ Own Me ~ Passion ~ Lift ~ Think About Nothing But Me ~ Kinktober Day 12 ~ Sensitive ~ Kinktober Day 3 ~ 7:48 PM ~ Begging Binnie ~ Rubdown ~ Videotapes

HYUNJIN ~ Red Lights Part One ~ Red Lights Part Two ~ Oblivious ~ Spicy Vanilla ~ (No Title) ~ Battle of Wills

HAN ~ A Penny For Your Thoughts ~ Like A Rockstar ~ Hate Sex ~ Inhale Me ~ Payback ~ Public Display of Affection ~ Disobey? Disturb? Disrespect? | Appease Part Three ~ The Right Type Of Wrong ~ Chill ~ Otherworldly

FELIX ~ Pancakes for Two ~ Kinktober Day 15 ~ 20:09 PM ~ Kinktober Day 24 ~ Sharing A Bed

SEUNGMIN ~ Catfish (from series: One By One) ~ Dirty ~ Jealousy, Jealousy ~ Routine ~ (No Title) ~ Home Run

JEONGIN ~ Dean's List ~ Kiss Me, Not Him! ~ The New Pledge ~ Be Mine ~ Oh, Angel

3RACHA ~ Behind the Screen | 3RACHA ~ Your Moans Would Sound Nice | 3RACHA ~ Complicated | 3RACHA ~ Sharing is Caring | 3RACHA ~ Appease Part One | 3RACHA ~ 3RACHA X Thick Reader

OT8 ~ Share You With the Boys | OT8 ~ Chubby Reader | OT8 ~ When was the last time you went to the circus? | OT8 ~ Yandere Headcanons | OT8 ~ Stray Kids React to Squirting | OT8 ~ S(inister)KZ Maniacs: Masterlist ~ Game Night

SEVERAL MEMBERS ( x reader) ~ Rekindled | Changbin and Hyunjin ~ Want to watch my girlfriend? | Minho, Changbin, and Hyunjin ~ Don't Stop | Bangchan and Changbin ~ Kinktober Day 9 | Changbin and Felix ~ The More The Merrier | Minho and Han ~ Kinktober Day 29 | Changbin and Jeongin ~ Thick Reader | Minho and Felix ~ Cheating on You | Bangchan and Changbin ~ Angel in the Studio | Bangchan and Han ~ Deadlines Pt 2 | Changbin and Han

[del-sol-diminutives]

Review: The World of Sylvanian Families The Official Guide

This book is relatively new; it debuted around Christmas, 2023. It’s 110 pages, hardbound, and written with children in mind, but with value for adult collectors.

You can find some sample pictures of the interior on Amazon, but I wanted to talk a bit about what they do and don’t include, so you can decide for yourself if it’s a worthwhile addition to your own collection.

The book contains a story of the origin of Sylvania, which is heartwarming and sweet, with cute illustrations. The illustrations are the only time some of the vintage families appear in the book.

It also contains a section on the families themselves, including photos of the figures, their names, and the description of each member that you would usually find on the bottom of the box.

(Please forgive this photo’s strange lighting; the weather changed while I was writing.)

The most popular families get their own page and the Chocolate rabbits actually have a two-page spread. The families included are:

the Chocolate Rabbits

the Walnut Squirrels

the Persian Cats (the Persians)

the Huskies (the Huskys)

the Fennec Foxes (the Fennecs)

the Milk Rabbits (the Periwinkles)

the Ponies (the Manelys, plus Bella Chestnut and Giselle Silver)

the Bears (this is the Petite family of bears)

the Hedgehogs (the Brambles)

the Koalas (the Outbacks)

the Highbranch Giraffes

the Penguins (the Waddles)

the Snow Rabbits

the Toy Poodles (the Cakebreads)

the Sheep (the Dales)

the Maple Cats

the Pookie Pandas

the Marshmallow Mice

the Caramel Dogs

the Midnight Cats

the Kangaroos (the Hoppers)

the Yellow Labradors (the Fentons)

the Red Deer (the Buckleys)

the Reindeer (the Snowdrifts)

the Tuxedo Cats (the Marlowes)

the Bubblebrook Elephants

the Goats (the Brightfields)

and the Splashy Otters

The older brothers and sisters have their own page called “In The Town”, separate from the families. Interestingly, this includes Lionel Grand, who I hadn’t considered to be an older sibling. I might have to check his figure now.

The book also includes maps of Sylvanian Village, Sylvania Town, Seabreeze Cape, and Sylvanian Land, the amusement park for the babies. I think this is a fine bit of inspiration for designing your own layouts.

The book also includes descriptions of the seasons and Sylvanian holidays, including both Christmas and Easter.

In the back is a short timeline of Sylvanian Families history.

It is necessarily incomplete, given the target audience and the amount they’d probably have to pack into a book if they weren’t being general. Unfortunately it does not contain the full information on each of the various families and when they were released. There is definitely still room for a collector’s book for adults that includes information on the vintage families and sets.

Finally, the last page in the book is a delightful encapsulation of Sylvanian Families values.

I think this is a wonderful addition and a perfect capstone to the book, and I am very happy with owning it. I do hope that someday there will be a book for adult collectors, with the same kind of aesthetic, but with the full details we would love to have.

[dannyphantomarchive]

The Show’s Premiere: April 3rd 2004

👻💚 Happy 20th Dannyversary to all the phans!! 💚👻

Between all the Danno chaos here on tumblr, we bring a very special post that covers in detail the very first time one of our ghost boy’s episodes got aired on television. This was such a precious find and we’re very excited to share it with you all! 

Danny Phantom’s first episode “Mystery Meat” premiered April 3rd on the USA Nickelodeon channel at 9:30/8:30 central pm, right after the 2004 Kid’s Choice Awards. And before the episode aired, the channel featured a couple of DP trailers during the KCA’s commercials. 

The first version was a quick 15-second trailer that got aired about halfway of the award ceremony, and then was shown again two more times. 

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; Trailer at 25:00-25:15 & 34:20-34:35 & 40:03-40:18)

[Image Description: Two snapshots of the Danny Phantom trailer. 

Image 1 - Three floating screens in front of a blue background that has shots of Danny playing. Each floating screen shows a different scene of the show, currently they all have shots of Danny in his human form from the torso up. First screen on the bottom is Danny in school wearing his backpack and glancing to his left. He is rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand and looking worried. Second screen in the top left is Danny in a suit looking to his right with a worried expression. Tucker in the background. Last screen in the top right is Danny looking down, mouth open and looking worried.  In front of these screens, to the left and only slightly obscuring the shots, are white letters  that read: ‘Half Teenager’.

Image 2 - Features the same three floating screens in front of the blue background, but now slightly moved to the left. Top left screen shows Danny in his human form holding both arms out to separate Sam and Tucker. Top right screen shows Danny in his Phantom form holding the Fenton thermos in front of him, which is shooting out a beam. He is facing the left of the screen and is completely coated in a light blue glow. Bottom screen shows Danny mid-combat in the air, he is in his Phantom form facing forward, one hand up and enveloped in ectoplasm. In front of these screens, to the right and only slightly obscuring them, are white letters that read: ‘Half Ghost’. /end ID]

(Note: The timestamps on the transcription sections are from the video uploaded at the end of this post, not the original youtube video.)

-Transcription - First trailer (0:00-0:15 & 0:16-0:30 & 0:31-0:45)

“Narrator: Half teenager... Danny: I-I-I’m Danny. Narrator: Half ghost. All new Nicktoon. Narrator: Danny Phantom. The world premiere. Tonight at 9:30/8:30 central right after the Kid’s Choice Awards. Not seeing is believing.”

The second version of the trailer aired right before the premiere and was very similar to the previous one, except for a slight difference on the last frame and last lines of the narrator, which stated the world premiere was coming up next.

Here’s a side by side comparison of the differences in the two trailers:

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; First trailer at 25:00-25:15 & 34:20-34:35 & 40:03-40:18; Second version of the trailer at 48:28-48:40)

[Image Description: There are two very similar snapshots of the Danny Phantom trailers.

Image 1 - Danny Phantom stands in front of a black background, seen from the torso up and looking at the camera with a smug smile. His hair is white, his eyes are green and he’s wearing a black jumpsuit with white gloves, boots, collar, and a white stripe across his waist. There is a white shape that looks like splashed liquid next to his head, with the following text inside: ‘Danny Phantom’ and in smaller text below that says ‘Tonight 9:30/8:30c’. There is an orange ghost flying past the ‘y’ in Danny with a fading black tail that wraps under ‘Danny’ and through ‘Phantom’ and stopping in the ‘o’ of ‘Phantom’. On the top left of the splash there’s the Nickelodeon logo plus the Kid’s Choice Awards 2004 logo, written on top of a blue background.

Image 2 - Danny’s pose and background are the same as the first one, the only differences are the lack of the Kid’s Choice Awards logo and the text by his side, which now reads: ‘Danny Phantom’ and in smaller text under it ‘Coming up next!’. /end ID] 

-Transcription - Second trailer (00:45-1:00)

“Narrator: Half teenager... Danny: I-I-I’m Danny. Narrator: Half ghost. All new Nicktoon. Danny Phantom. The world premiere. Coming up next! Not seeing is believing.”

This trailer was immediately followed by a 10-second countdown that featured Danny walking in front of the portal, then several scenes of the show floating around in smaller screens in between the countdown numbers, and finally, Danny punching the screen as the countdown ended.  

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; 10-second countdown at 48:40-48:50)

[Image Description: Four shots of the premiere countdown. 

Image 1 - Danny standing in front of the Fenton portal, which has its doors open to reveal a swirling green. 

Image 2 - Several transparent screens floating above a blue background, Danny’s face is shown in a close -up in all the screen. 

Image 3 - Shows the screen in different positions, as they have moved around. There is a white number six inside all the floating screens, and the Nickelodeon logo on the bottom right corner of the TV screen.

Image 4 - Danny in his Phantom form in front of the floating screens, which now display different shots of Danny in action. He is gritting his teeth in an angry expression and his body is mid-movement, one hand open and one hand pulled back as he is about to punch the viewer. /end ID] 

-Transcription - 10 second countdown (1:00-1:10)

“Narrator: And now, the world premiere of Nickelodeon’s first kid superhero Danny Phantom in his debut disappearance.”

The first episode only had one commercial break, which featured Danny Phantom themed bumpers.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; bumpers at 48:50-48:55 and 51:28-51:33)

[Image Description: Two very similar snapshots of Danny Phantom commercial bumpers.

Image 1 - Danny Phantom stands in front of a black background, seen from the torso up and looking at the camera with a smug smile. His hair is white, his eyes are green and he’s wearing a black jumpsuit with white gloves. There is a white shape that looks like splashed liquid next to his head, with the following text inside: ‘Danny Phantom We’ll Be Right Back…’ 

Image 2 - Almost identical to the first one, except that the text says instead: ‘Danny Phantom Now Back to…’. /end ID] 

-Transcription - ‘We’ll be right back’ (1:10-1:15)

“Narrator: We’ll be right back with Danny Phantom, on Nickelodeon.”

-Transcription - ‘Now back to’ (1:15-1:20)

“Narrator: And now back to Danny Phantom. On Nickelodeon.”

After the premiere, the trailer for the next episodes was aired during the DP credits in a split-screen.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY; trailer at 51:34-52:06)

[Image Description: Set of 4 split-screen credits from the Mystery Meat episode. The credits are shown on the left side of the screen, in white and orange letters over a black background, they are grainy and hard to read. The trailer for the next episodes is shown on the right side, they all have images shown inside a screen that floats over a blue background. 

Image 1 - Shows Danny’s outline in white over a blue background, so he looks transparent. Seen from the chest above, but his arms are cut-off from the screen He is smiling with a determined look and his eyes are the only colored part, with white and green.

Image 2 - Danny as a human, dressed in a blue suit with a blue tie. Seen from the shoulders up, he has a worried face.

Image 3 - Tucker holding his PDA, wearing his usual yellow long-sleeve shirt, glasses, a red beret and a blue backpack. He has an apologetic smile while looking at Danny on his right. Danny is leaning close to Tucker, while staring him down with an annoyed look. He is in his ghost form, seen from the hips up.

Image 4 - Sam and Tucker seen from the chest above, they are both looking at the right with surprised expressions. Tucker is wearing the same outfit as before, and Sam has her usual black sleeveless crop-top with a purple circle on her chest. /end ID]

-Transcription - Next episodes trailer (1:21-1:51)

“Narrator: First you see him. Then, you see him again! Get ready for two back-to-back episodes of Nickelodeon’s newest Nicktoon: Danny Phantom. First, can Danny stop the class beauty from becoming the class beast? Danny: I’m going on a date with a dragon? Narrator: Then, get ready for a second ghost sighting as Danny takes on his greatest foe yet! Skulker: Time to put you in your cage. Danny: Noooooo! Sam and Tucker: Danny! Narrator: These back-to-back episodes of Danny Phantom: next Friday starting at 8:30/7:30 Central. Only on Nickelodeon.”

Here’s the video with all the promotional content aired during the premiere, so you can experience what it was like! None of the videos are cut out so the first trailer is repeated three times. 

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1ikBFFQROY)

And this marks the end of our 20th-Dannyversary-special-edition posting spree! We hope you have enjoyed reading about this information as much as we had fun digging it all up all and stitching it together.

We’ll still be posting fun tidbits sprinkled along this week, but then going forward we will change it to a less frequent schedule, so phans have plenty of time to enjoy each new info! 💚👻💚

First - Previous - Next

[bluegekk0]

How big is the Vyrm household? I’d imagine it’s quite Considering how big the family has gotten I’d assume it has went through some of vyrms renovations as the years passed and several rooms have been added. Like does hornet have her own room or does she share it with holly for example? Idk if you got plans to look into this in further detail like home design and all that since that’s obv not the point of the AU but from what we’ve seen from some artwork it does look quite cozy and I’m just curious about the home.

I had some rough plans of the house made on one of those house planner websites and I tried to make their house in Minecraft, but it took way more effort than anticipated. I might still return to it, but right now I'm considering doing something similar in The Sims 4, since it has a much more efficient build mode for house plans.

But since this ask has been in the inbox for so long I might as well share some written details of what I have in mind (which may change once I get to actually create it visually)

The outside of the house would be very similar to the general architectural style of Dirtmouth for the AU, which I envision to be a mix of the canon dome-like huts and a lot of elements inspired by medieval Scandinavian architecture or similar styles. Relatively simple, made of logs and stone, with strong roofs adapted for snowfall.

The Vyrm family house in particular would be one of the largest in Dirtmouth. The ground floor can be accessed from three points: the main entrance which connects to the rest of the town, the back door which leads to the garden, and Vyrm's shop and his workshop which connect to the house. The floor consists on one large room separated by archways into smaller sections. The main one is the living room area, with a fireplace and places to sit and relax. The kitchen and dining area connect to it with archways. The exact details on where everything is located is up to change, I only have a few pictures of the recreation in Minecraft to give a general idea of how it looks (it excludes the fireplace and the separate dining area since I never ended up making them)

I also want there to be an entrance to the basement, though I haven't decided where it would be placed yet. Next to the living room there is a door leading to Vyrm's workshop, which then connects to the shop part with an additional door. The little hallway between the main floor and the workshop is used as storage.

(the door to the shop is in the back of the last pic, though I never ended up building it)

There is also a small bathroom on this floor, which includes everything you'd expect from a bathroom, but the one on the bottom floor has a shower as opposed to the second bathroom on the upper floor.

Before I get to the upper floor, I can't forget about the two symmetrical rooms near the staircase. They belong to Hornet and Holly respectively, and are roughly the same in size (though Hornet's room is a lot more messy so it looks smaller on the inside). Next to Holly's room there is the door to the back garden.

The staircase leads to the upper floor, which is where the remaining bedrooms are. The biggest of them belongs to Vyrm and Grimm, and it has an entrance to the balcony. Three smaller rooms on this floor are intended to be bedrooms, but for now only one is in use: this is the shared room for Lewk and the twins. The other two rooms are currently serving the purpose of storage rooms, but in the future they will most likely become Asta and Milo's bedrooms. There is also a second bathroom here, this one has a bathtub. It's placed directly above the ground floor bathroom as the water pipes were simply extended upwards.

So as you can see from the Minecraft pics, the house is still cozy inside, but the number of rooms makes it look really big on the outside. I don't think it will be expanded much in the future, if Grimm and Vyrm ever decide to have more children, the grown up ones (especially Hornet and Holly) would most likely have already moved out by then (I quite like the idea of them building their own houses nearby, so you'd have a whole little section of Dirtmouth where the family lives haha)

Again, things are very likely to change, but this is the general idea that I'm going with for now.

[wander-wren]

Remodeling Power: Sex, Gender, and Consent in Dominance Hierarchy AUs

Well, isn’t that a mouthful. Breaking out proper punctuation and capital letters for today’s infodump.

Dominance Hierarchy refers to a group of AUs where people are organized into a new social structure, usually a binary or trinary. Fanlore lists three of these; there are likely more, but I am not aware of them. I’ve added a fourth that does not strictly fit the definition, but feels relevant to the discussion. These are:

Omegaverse

BDSM AU

Sentinel AU

Psychic Wolves AU

I’m going to briefly define each AU and talk about how sex, gender, and consent work within it, with some interesting tidbits about fandom history along the way. This is not a fully fleshed-out essay; I’m drawing mostly from my own experiences and memories. Part of this is because of these four tropes, only Omegaverse has been studied/written about, to my knowledge.

I also want to be extremely clear that I am not in any way making value judgments on these tropes based on my analysis here. I have read and enjoyed fic in each of these AUs. I respect them for what, why, and how they are. That said, I will be discussing sexism and dubcon/noncon at length, so be aware.

Omegaverse

An Overview

I’m assuming if you’re in the fanfiction scene you know something about Omegaverse or A/B/O. But if you do not:

Omegaverse, popularized by the Teen Wolf and Supernatural fandoms, is an alternate universe where everyone has a “secondary gender”: Alpha, Beta, or Omega. These genders are based off of the inaccurate idea of wolf pack hierarchies, and they typically come with some wolfish behaviors, but no wolf traits like ears or a tail. Biological changes can include scent glands, fangs (sometimes with venom), pack bonding, feral behavior, and, of course, wombs for omegas and knots (dicks) for alphas regardless of sex. Also included are heat and rut cycles. Usually, fics set up an alpha with an omega, although of course there are many exceptions. As far as the social strata, alphas tend to be at the top, with betas underneath and omegas on the bottom.

Themes

Like two of the other tropes on this list, Omegaverse was created/popularized as a porn genre. The main draws are the heats and ruts I mentioned above, the uncontrollable (ish) urge to breed/be bred. How strong this is depends on individual writer preference, but in general there is a lot of dub/noncon inherent to the trope, in a similar flavor to sex pollen/fuck or die fics. Just with added snarly possessiveness. The consent issues are a huge part of the Point of the trope. If this is confusing to you, I’m very sorry. Some people have rape fantasies, Susan.

One of the other main draws is, of course, the secondary gender aspect. It’s nothing special, just literally a recreation of our gender binary.

“But Wren!!” you cry. “There’s three of them!”

I know. Look.

Alphas are male

Omegas are female

Betas are a nebulous “third gender” without the special characteristics of either of the others

Alphas usually go with omegas

If betas are remembered in-story, they go with betas

G E N E R A L L Y

Similarly alpha/alpha and omega/omega relationships are typically not a thing

It’s the gender binary again

There’s something to be said about how, even in trying to create a new gender system, we just remake the old one. In fact, many fics base the oppression of omegas off of historical oppression of women. Does that play into the sex/consent deal? Abso-fuckin-lutely, my dude. I initially tried to separate all three sections, but they kept blending together.

As in real life, gender is deeply tied to sexuality. Omegas are the ones capable of bearing children; the ones who go into heat. They’re made to be fucked. And alphas, well, it’s not their fault they were in rut/smelled an omega in heat/lost control.

Interrogating the Trope

As tropes grow and change, especially in the last 3-5 years for all four of these AUs, they tend to be interrogated and subverted more by fans. Of course this can happen at any time, and it does, and I will not discount that work, but it is much more common after a trope has been around for a few years and the “basic” version has run its course.

In Omegaverse, one of these subversions of the trope includes fics that do away with the dubcon/noncon aspect, either forcing the characters to sit and struggle with it, or handwaving it away. There are also fics about transdynamic characters, who transition from one secondary gender to the other. There are also fics which focus on non-alpha/omega pairings, or a flipped hierarchy where alphas are on the bottom.

Originally, when the trope dealt with male omegas, they were still cis men, just with the ability to self-lubricate. I never read female alphas, really, so I’m not sure how they were dealt with in all honesty. Much, much more common in the last few years, at least in my experience, is the idea of intersex omegas/alphas and/or the idea of the secondary gender determining genitals rather than male/female. I am not intersex, so I won’t speak to that much, but I personally am a fan of male omegas with vaginas, as an AFAB trans person. I will say that my fetishization alarm bells are ringing, though I doubt it is intentional, and that ofc there are many many different ways to be intersex other than having both sets of genitals, so. Don’t use fanfic as education. If an intersex person wants to weigh in on this, please do!

Omegaverse has also seen tropes added to it over the years. One of the most significant, which I have only noticed from about 2020-on but may have emerged sooner, is the concept of an “omega drop.” My working theory is that Omegaverse was (is) commonly fused with BDSM AUs, where the concept of “subdrop” and “domdrop” (which are also real things, in real life) is very common. When the two tropes were pulled apart and written separately, some aspects remained stuck, creating “omega drop,” which as best I can tell is just a general depressed/anxious/bad vibes state an omega goes into if their needs are neglected.

BDSM AU

Overview

BDSM AUs are absolutely my favorite on this list, which you may know if you’ve been following this blog awhile. So I know a lot. I will attempt to be normal.

BDSMverse creates a world very similar to Omegaverse, where everyone is either a dom, switch, or sub. I could write another very long post about the history and development of it, and I GLADLY will if anyone is interested, but for now suffice to say that originally D/s was treated like sexuality, not carrying a biological component, but now is very commonly biological. I believe this also comes from the trope being combined with Omegaverse, but it’s a little hard to prove thanks to purges and the like wiping out most of the first 4-6 years of possible content. It’s kind of hard to prove anyway.

But. The two most common biological characteristics are a need for doms/subs to spend time in subspace/domspace or risk withdrawal symptoms. Additionally, doms have the ability to command subs, and commands may be some level of resistible or not. There is also, of course, the hierarchy, with doms on top and subs on the bottom.

Themes

While Omegaverse and BDSM AUs are very similar, there is a huge difference between them on the issue of consent. Of course, the biological imperative I mentioned above and the idea of commands muddies the water, but in general the real-life BDSM community takes consent very very seriously, and this carries over to fic. The very first BDSM fic took a positive light on the trope and took care to stay away from the idea of inequality or dubcon. Clearly this did not become the dominant narrative, because fic writers love angst.

Again, BDSM AUs exist largely for porn purposes. Kinky smut! Hooray! And it is unique here because BDSM exists in real life. There is definitely a lot to say about how closely tied the queer and kink community are, things I have yet to figure out how to properly articulate.

There’s something to say about dom/sub coding and how characters are cast in this AU. Typically the softer, smaller character becomes the sub, while the stronger, more aggressive character becomes the dom. This is directly because of gendered expectations around who is dominant and submissive in the world.

This trope is probably appealing for most of the same reasons that BDSM itself is appealing. For sex, of course, but also for giving and taking control and power.

Interrogating the Trope

This is a fun segment, because BDSM AUs have literally been fought over since their conception. The first fic, the positive one I mentioned? Mere months after it was published, a different author took issue with the optimism and wrote an extremely dystopian variation on the AU. Cue arguments.

In all honesty, there’s not much to say about modern subversions of the trope, because there have always been multiple camps and there has always been a theme of consent and problems with it. Every example I have typed and deleted here has kind of been around for years. I could talk about this more in-depth if/when I make a post specifically about this AU.

Sentinel AU

Overview

Based on the late 90s TV show The Sentinel, the Sentinel AU establishes a world in which some people are Sentinels, with heightened senses that can cause overload, and Guides, who help calm and tether Sentinels. It also commonly involves a soulmate trope, where every Sentinel has one true Guide and the two are compelled to meet and required to stay together, in order for the Guide to best help the Sentinel. The Sentinels and Guides will either be overseen by an organization of some kind, or form pack-bonds on their own. Then there is, of course, the hierarchy, usually with Sentinels on top.

(Sometimes there is also a spirit animal element, but I do not know much about it and “spirit animal” is appropriative, so I will not be discussing it here.)

Themes

“But Wren!” cries no one, “This trope hasn’t talked about gender OR sex yet!”

Bold of you to assume I cannot fit gender into almost anything. First off, we have a binary of Sentinels with super-enhanced senses, who are useful and powerful and often involved in the military, vs Guides, who…calm the Sentinels. Take care of them. Serve them, if you will. Their purpose revolves entirely around the Sentinels. Speaking very generally here, of course, and with zero knowledge of source material.

And, okay, technically this one isn’t about sex. But look me in the eyes and tell me “You have a One True Partner out there in the world who is designed to help you specifically and because you are special, your soulmate will be required to follow you around in order to assist you, and you physically cannot opt out of this” does not carry some Interesting implications about consent.

Like I said at the start, I don’t say this to bash soulmate tropes or this AU. I understand exactly why soulmate tropes exist and why they are attractive. The devotion, the certainty, the angst, the lack of a choice for better or worse…yeah. Anyway, this is one I almost considered leaving out, but it IS a dominance hierarchy according to Fanlore and I did have some things to say about it, so here we are.

I unfortunately have not read a ton of Sentinel AUs, so if there are any common subversions or twists on it, I don’t know them.

Psychic Wolves

Overview

Based on a concept in the Iskryne series, Psychic Wolves sets up a universe where some people (typically military) have the chance to form a psychic soulbond with a special magic wolf. The wolves can communicate telepathically with their pack and with their bonded person, and have near-human intelligence as well as enhanced strength, etc. Wolves and their bonded humans can also feel each other’s emotions and physical sensations like pain to varying degrees. Importantly, the wolves also go into heats and ruts, and when they do, their humans are dragged along for the ride. If your buddy’s wolf is in heat and your wolf is near her, yeah, you two are fucking.

For the record, I have not read the Iskryne series and have only read a small handful of psychic wolf fics, so my experience here again is somewhat limited.

Themes

Obviously straight off the bat we have some consent issues. These are, to my knowledge, inherent to the Iskryne series. What makes this AUs version of heats different from Omegaverse is the presence of wolves, the extremely small population of female wolves, and army/government’s need for strong wolves. This means you can’t really suppress heats or ride them out alone. We also have to consider that a character in this ‘verse is psychically bonded to an intelligent creature, and we have to grapple with whose consent is more important. And if we decide that is the human’s consent, there’s still the issue of the wolf and the psychic bond to deal with. It’s messy, and some fics have done a good job tackling that.

Gender also comes into play a little bit with the bonds. As I mentioned, female bondwolves tend to be rare, and in the original canon I believe soldiers were entirely male. This carries into fanfic. Bonding to a she-wolf as a guy has some connotations, because female = heat, bottoming, and then pups. Top/bottom dynamics are inherently a bit gendered, in spite of best efforts. There’s also the issue of sexuality—the wolves don’t care if you’re gay, straight, ace, etc. The wolves don’t care if you have a human partner (unless that person happens to have a bondwolf that is acceptable for breeding).

Interrogating the Trope

Psychic wolf fic is not very common. There are a few overlapping tags used, but it’s definitely the smallest trope here. All of the fic I have read, additionally, is from pre-2018. So I can’t speak to any new developments there, BUT there is a fic series from 2011-2013 that interrogates the consent issues pretty well.

(I will be making a fic reclist for all four tropes after this, don’t worry.)

In that fic, heats were mostly just being literally “thrown to the wolves” in the interest of breeding, but the aftermath did not shy away from this. The author built in systems for physical and emotional aftercare and had the characters explicitly discuss the trauma of the heat. Other parts of the series also discussed how the humans in the military technically outrank all the wolves, but the humans are very in tune with the wolves and don’t try to dominate them unless it would put someone in danger.

In Summary

I think the main draw of all of these tropes is actually not something I’ve been writing about: the hierarchy. I’m biased by my own interests, of course, but aside from just writing porn, authors use these tropes to worldbuild a lot. There are clearly defined boundaries, new social norms, systems to combat oppression or enable it depending on taste. It’s about the biological imperative, the lack of choice/control. I think a lot of people find that appealing, not having to negotiate and discuss and talk, just being pushed into something by your body, whether that’s a fugue state or a heat or something else entirely.

Some people find that bad, though, and design solutions, which is also good and cool and fun.

I think another aspect of it is how natural and normal sex is in these universes, especially Omegaverse and BDSM AUs. We live in a society that doesn’t like to talk about sex, especially kinky sex, so having that can be very appealing. Especially since a lot of fics that lean more utopian than dystopian build in new systems around sex, laws and the like. That can be comforting when you look at how sexual assault cases tend to go in our world.

I feel like I both went into more and less detail than I expected to, and I am likely leaving things out. If you made it to the end, feel free to talk about this with me! If I remember anything else I want to add, I’ll come back and make an addendum. Thank you for sticking with me through all of this!

[drstonetrivia]

Chapter 220 Trivia

The chapter cover is a redraw of Ryusui on the final pages, I thought it was a neat detail!

The rocket's various part's functions are a little clearer in the model: the top section is similar to the Soyuz capsules shown throughout the story, with visible shielding and hatch that probably closes when it's not attached to the rest of the satellite.

The bottom two sections are most likely the lunar lander, and the middle two sections are the main part of the satellite holding the bulk of the communication gear and supplies.

This is an approximate flashback to chapter 150 when Stanley first attacks the KoS. The panels exist, but the words are said in separate panels by Ukyo and Kohaku.

Very simplified medusa-shaped aliens and circular petri-beams! This game seems a lot easier to program compared to the flight simulator.

Historically, they've been rushing to their deaths and then relying on the power of petrification to bring them back. This has been happening since chapter 10.

For Chrome's sake, I hope it was filled with water for the demonstration. Getting revival fluid/nital on your skin is a baaad idea since it's highly corrosive, among other things.

I'm happy they have the devices now, but I feel like the creator should have been Chrome…

Neat how Joel's revival fluid watch has the same font and hour/minute hand design as his outfit! Was this a collaboration with Yuzuriha, or did he just really like the clothing he was given?

Unlike modern net launchers, this one fires like a rocket launcher, with a bullet that splits apart to expose the net. This is probably because net will be destroyed in the explosion (thus not reusable), and packing both a net and grenades together properly is delicate work.

You can clearly see the outer protective layer of the medusa is separate from the delicate inner workings here.

I'm sure Matsukaze would have appreciated having the grenade-laden net launcher back in his time.

You can see how steady each shooter is: Ryusui is perfectly still thanks to his previous practice, Kohaku's hand is the only part of her moving, and Senku is shaking all over.

Kohaku is a natural, managing to nick the medusa with her bullet but doesn't destroy it. This is to be expected with her physical prowess and moving-target training from fishing without a pole.

Senku, on the other hand, completely misses.*

By the way, guns do work in space. Bullets contain their own oxidizer, which means they don't need oxygen from the atmosphere to ignite.

A bigger problem may be the effect of heat (or lack thereof) depending on sunlight, since that'll be more extreme without an atmosphere.

A reminder that the Ishigami villagers do in fact wear underclothes.

Where else would Chrome have gotten his white flag from?

Stanley was still clothed last we saw him (at least partially)… Why'd they strip him and leave him for the plants to take over!? Surely there was a better option here.

I'm assuming the next chapter will be mostly about Stanley and/or his reaction to the situation (his childhood friend is now several years older than him!)… I'm quite excited :) (*I realized when rewriting this that the direction the bullets are going is unclear, and Senku may have been the one to nick the medusa)

[styrmwb]

I beat Persona 5 Royal

aaaaaaa AAAAAAAA a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

a

Knocking another game off the list of games I should have played a long time ago, and this one is just... so so so so good. Ever since I booted it up I was absolutely absorbed into the game the entire way through. I don't think I really had Persona in my sight until Joker was announced for Smash a while back, and then this game was always like "I really need to at least interact with it like I have every other character in Smash", but that obviously took a while. I am glad I waited though, cause from what I've heard, Royal is just objectively the better experience. For what is my first entry into the series, it completely hooked me and I am in for the rest (and also SMT but that's later)

Gameplay

Turn! Based! RPG! Of course I'm gonna fucking like it I love turn based RPGs. But like actual shit, there's two aspects to this game and I love them both.

Battling/Hanging out in the Metaverse is very fun. All turn based needs to really pop off in the modern day is fun options, and I feel as though I am given that. Baton passing alone is all I really needed, as it makes me think of the optimal order to take down each enemy for the best result. I absolutely loved the magical elements used. Like yeah you got the classic Fire, Ice, Wind, Electricity, but then you also got fucking Psy, Bless, Curse, and my new favorite of all time Nuke???? I love Nuke so much it's such a cool concept! They each have like, their own unmentioned counters/duos which is super cool! Also Almighty goes incredibly hard. Then you add on the buffs and debuffs. I FREQUENTLY used all of them and felt like they were critical to fights which is awesome. Combine these two for technicals, certain statuses making a weakness when hit with certain elements, it's just such a joy and it makes battles where I can actively use all of these something I look forward to (and then when you have a stupid bullshit fight and your name is Okumura, I hate you forever and I'm going to date your daughter in revenge, FUCK that fight eternally it was the only boss I actively disliked).

The other half of the game is your slice of life student simulator. The other half of the game is also like crack, and I swear they put demons in the game cause something would possess me whenever I got to roam the world. Despite the limited clock, I relished managing my time. I loved thinking of who to spend my time with, when to focus on skills rather than confidants, how to optimize my Mementos trips, knocking out an entire Palace all at once so I could have maximum time for the rest of the month, it was so addictive! It really came to a head in the Royal Third Semester section where I literally created saves and calculated if I had enough time to do everything I wanted to, and finished it on Literally the last free day. Also, when like 75% of your game is writing, it helps when the writing is good, and I absolutely loved reading everything, but maybe I'll talk about that more later.

Last bit that I'm gonna expand on why I love more later, but I was NOT expecting this game to be a monster collector. Regardless, I loved the flow of collecting new guys, then seeing what I could fuse together to obtain.

Characters

I! Love! This! Cast! I love them to the bottom of my heart! The best way to make me love an RPG is by making me care about the core group to the bottom of my heart and I do. When I write these, I mean the tag of game ramblings literally cause this is all just stream of thought, so I have a feeling this is gonna be the longest section. Sorry in advance.

The Phantom Thieves of Hearts is a name that goes incredibly hard (and I wish they didn't make me name the group separately cause I just stuck with the default anyways (I'm a default daniel)), and a group that I hope keeps their group chat open for the rest of their lives and is always friends.

Ryuji is my fucking BOY. I don't care if he's an idiot and needs to keep his damn mouth shut sometimes, I'm ride or die with that dude for life. I thought his backstory as a former track star now dealing with his physical disability and ruined record was really interesting, and added an extra layer to the usual delinquent + stupid best friend energy. In battles, I would bring him in when I needed to smash shit, cause he does that Very well. Captain Kidd is a sick design and namesake, and I really wish I could have kept the basic design.

Morgana :) kitty (despite what he says). I'll admit, he's not my Favorite of the bunch (this does not mean he is bad! B tier is still good, but it is ultimately below A and S!) as his bits of I'm NOT A CAT and Lady Ann~ didn't really hit it for me, and I didn't usually use him in battles, as Joker tended to take over the wind damage role (although I always used him for healing outside, or in harder battles), but I cannot deny that he's a very good companion. It was nice to have your little buddy always by your side. He's with you when you're playing games. He's cheering you on while you eat a big burger. He lays on top of you at night like a cat is best at doing and he confides his secrets in you. I get why he had his moment of weakness and insecurity, but if that was me in there, I'd be giving Morgana as much love and appreciation as I could.

Ann is so strong, both story wise and game wise. Seeing her rise up against the constant bullshit she has to deal with, from the teacher, her best friend's struggles, and other models, was inspiring, and I rooted for her constantly. I essentially always had her in battle, with the magic SP usage down passive, her fire damage being usually relevant, and her buffs/debuffs being Very useful. Ann was the goat in the whole playthrough. I almost chose her as the romance but sadly I held out and was rewarded for doing so. Also, her third awakening Persona SLAPS

Yusuke is... probably my least favorite member of the group. Again, not bad. Not hated. Just least favorite. I rarely ever used him in battle, but his up to evasion did very much come in clutch. I couldn't really mesh with his love for the arts, but that's mainly on me over the actual writing of the character I think. I did, however, really appreciate the fact that he was clearly struggling in life and had a group to back him up. I also quite enjoyed his literal starving artist shtick. Poor guy, let him eat the sushi and have more than sugar water and slice of toast for dinner.

Makoto is amazing. Such a sudden turn around from stuck up student president to the MVP of the group. Her design is so cool, I loved the biker aesthetic, the fist weapons, the fucking motorcycle! Her role as someone to bring thoughts and logic to the group, as well as the connection to an "antagonist" with her relation to Sae was very needed. I wish her confidant storyline focused a little more on her, but that's ok. The girl's an absolute badass, and a joy to have in the group. She was another essential part of the team, usually being my team buffer, but also nuke damage is goated (again it's like, my favorite element in this game). Plus both of her showtimes are amazing lmao

Futaba is my little sister, and deserves a hug. Her palace is absolutely heartbreaking, and it is something that makes me so so glad to see what happens to her afterward. Seeing her grow from a severely traumatized teen wanting to die to someone that enjoys and loves life and her friends makes me so happy. She didn't deserve ANYTHING that happened to her. Gameplay wise, once I started to get her levels up and max her confidant, she absolutely came in clutch, and somehow always consistently gave me whatever support I needed. I also quite enjoyed her constant nerd references that came really close to lawsuits (she straight up said gym leader)

Haru :) <3 I love Haru. The moment I saw her, acting like a dramatic masked hero, and then she fuckin pulls out an axe and grenade launcher, it was over. I've seen a lot of people lamenting her screen time, and while I do wish she got more, it certainly didn't stop me from enjoying her character (although maybe Royal helps that?). She's sweet, silly, caring, soft, and somehow brutal. Like Kirby in human form. I feel like she really got it rough out of the party, her dad getting assassinated, and still having to deal with the burdens of a company, but she still made it through. She's the best. Gameplay, I feel like she very much came in clutch with her Psy affinity constantly comboing for technicals, and her reflect spells protecting Joker from dying. Fuck you Okumura and the stupid fiancee you picked I'M GONNA GIVE HARU THE BEST LIFE EVER TO SPITE YOU

Akechi is interesting. The moment I see this fucker, my brain connects him to Light from Death Note. I'm constantly waiting for him to hit his villain arc. Then he joins the party, and I'm surprised! Oh shit, that's the second big rpg I've played this year that has a surprise party member I didn't know about! How cool :) Then pancakes happen, and I realize the game sucker punched me into forgetting that THE DUDE WAS SUS AS FUCK FROM THE START THE BASTARD! I really enjoyed him in the third semester though. Completely dropping the act, and powering through full of anger and spite regardless of his inevitable fate. Akechi is a cool character. I didn't use him much in battle, but he was great for big physical/gun numbers. Also Loki is a sick ass Persona.

Then the last member, Sumire. i do feel like she felt... a little forced in? Like I could definitely tell she was extra Royal content. I wish she had more scenes with the group, and longer playability. Regardless though, I still enjoyed her character. A story of someone dealing with self-esteem and aspirations of death really hits close to home, and I loved seeing her accept herself, still walk forward in life, and thrive, finding a group she belongs in. I can't say much gameplay wise cause she just wasn't there for long, but her big physical moves were very appreciated in the final battle.

Now everyone else. The other confidants were very enjoyable. Sojiro is like, EASILY the best one out of the whole group. He's my actual literal dad, and I wish Joker could have stayed with him cause fuck his real parents, if no one got me I know Sojiro got me! I also really enjoyed Iwai I'm just a sucker for dad type characters. While I don't really fuck with the whole maid-master shit, I did still really like Kawakami too. The only one I didn't really care for was Ohya. I just like... couldn't lock in with her or her story line (we love Lala though!) Everyone else, even Shinya, I wanted to see through their story, and was excited for each bit I got. (Shoutouts to Yoshida, the ONLY good politician. This is how you can tell this is a fictional game)

The villains as I look back, aren't exactly the peak of characters compared to most of the list, but they were still enjoyable. Kamoshida was the perfect introduction, an absolute scumbag the game made sure you would hate, and someone that set the tone for me of what the rest of the game would look like. Like, once I noticed the middle name of his boss fight being one of the princes of hell, I got really excited. Madarame and Kaneshiro were fine, I more appreciated what they served narratively over their actual characters. Okumura is a piece of shit and I hate him forever (but jokes aside there was something very cathartic about a game presenting a CEO as a cartoonishly evil pile of garbage), and Shido I felt was a nice way to tie everyone together, having connections to everyone from the start. I can't really call Sae a villain per se, but I will put her here anyways. I thought her palace was super cool, and her turn from antagonist to support was appreciated. Yaldabaoth I think was a cool reveal character, and an awesome classic JRPG ending, but overall I think I appreciated Shido more.

Now since this is Royal, the real MVP is Maruki. I love this dude. I appreciated him at the start, a therapist character I feel like, isn't something super common? I loved how much it seemed like he genuinely cared about people. And that was his whole deal, even to the end. He wasn't a bad guy, he honest to god cared about people. Like yeah, he wasn't doing anything the right way, and even his outfit being like a bishop or a pope showed that he was Not there mentally, but he was such a cool character. A hurt and sad man who lost too much, wanting to prevent others from feeling the same way. I think he especially makes me appreciate how the Phantom Thieves' methods don't kill, because it gave him a semi happy ending. Now, I think I've rambled about characters long enough, but again, I did really enjoy this whole cast.

Story

I think the fact that I played this game at this time in my life rather than when it came out is nothing but a benefit, because the story of a group of people hurt by society fighting back against the shitheads and taking down the corrupt really hits different (although it does have a bit of an FFVII effect where the mass popularity and marketing of the game kinda goes against the original message, I can't help but think of the possible Okumura or Kaneshiro in the background). But regardless. I was locked in the whole way through. Most of my love for the writing of this game comes with the characters and their interactions and stories, but that major theming of rebellion, fighting for the people, just sits well in my heart.

Like I mentioned before, this was my first Persona game. It also feels weird to like, Say this, but I am a big fan of Jojo as well, Part 4 being my favorite. Persona hits that same itch, that slice of life setting, a group of high schoolers having fun, enjoying their life, but also fighting against the people harming their city and way of life. It's like, a venn diagram that's a circle (I've heard 4 is even more similar and I'm looking forward to playing that next).

The writing felt very modern, like whoever was behind it was in tune with what they were portraying. The dialogue, the subjects, things that felt real, even if they were caricatured or something like that, I could see that this was a real world, and I really appreciated that.

The Look. The Vibe.

Holy fuck this game is aesthetic incarnate. The style imbued into every single pixel; the menus, the transitions, the bits where the model of like Joker, or Iwai, or Takemi moving around; the ransom letter aesthetic with the flat colors and everything MY GOD it's such a good looking game!

The music is an essential part of this as well. There's a joke I've seen occasionally (it might just be exclusive to a community I'm in but I could be wrong) that Persona 5 invented jazz, and I'd believe it honestly. The soundtrack feels like, perfect background music. It's usually not the Highlight of the scene (save for any vocal track stealing the show), but it's ALWAYS the enhancer of any moment. I can feel the stress of battle, I can feel the chill vibes of a rainy day, I get hyped when we're stealing a treasure, etc.

This game is an A+ class example of style, making any activity you're doing enjoyable.

Hoo Boy.

I mean. Fuck. I don't think I've felt this entranced by a game in a good while. VII Rebirth was up there for sure, but something about Persona just felt addicting.

Something I really really really loved about this game that I couldn't quite fit anywhere else, but makes me super excited to check out the rest of the series, is the usage of mythology. Mythology is sick as fuck. But what really got me hooked, is how EVERY sort of mythology was used. You got your classic Greek and Egyptian. You have plenty of Japanese Yokai, but then you also have gods and monsters from like... things that people still actively worship??? From religions that are in my head as "religion" and not "mythology". Seeing angels and demons from Abrahamic religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even seeing some old Zoroastrianism in there? Also like, to bring it back to the start, using mythical creatures from everywhere! I saw European monsters, Celtic creatures, American cryptids, the whole thing was so cool! This alone is a huge part of what made me addicted to this game. I wanted to keep seeing just where they would pull inspiration from, and I was constantly surprised and overjoyed, reading the backgrounds for everything, and going to look up where some of them came from, trying to guess what else would be next. I genuinely cannot wait to play more Persona and later Shin Megami Tensei to get more of this kind of stuff, but also I think I need to take a break so I don't get burned out hahaha

I loved my time playing this game. I can see why it's so loved. Sure, there were a couple things that I wish hit my heart or I connected to a little more, but overall I am very satisfied with my experience.

9.7/10. Great characters, great concept, amazing style and super cool inspiration. Some things just needed a little extra to really hit home for me for a perfect 10, but still an experience that will stick with me.

[kscosplaycatalog]

No. 19 - 2013

Character: Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear Series: Tales of the Abyss by Bandai-Namco

Cosplayer Credits: - Luke : My brother

Photog Credits: - Middle pic: Keishi Cosplay Photography

==========

This is another costume done mostly for my brother (I also made his Luke fon Fabre pictured here). I was supposed to wear this costume to ShadoCon in 2012, but my dad died and I put a lot of stuff on hold. I ended up debuting it the following year at MetroCon. First and last time I ever con-crunched. 😂

==========

I used my Belgium wig for this costume, (but I did get a new one at some point) and made her headband in the same way I make Belgium's as well (cardboard, craft wire, fabric, fabric glue, staples, and hairpins).

Her under shirt is a modified pattern of Simplicity's 4059. The top dress is a VERY heavily modified pattern of Simplicity's 4014; I used two different fabrics for each section needed and added the button-down section in the front that loops around separately with a handmade pattern. It is a very complicated procedure that I really wouldn't recommend to anyone prone to ripping their hair out. Those front buttons do nothing to keep the dress closed, by the way--that's a job for the hooks and eyes I sewed in.

Ruffles for both the neck and shoulders were sewn separate and then on the pieces they are attached to. Front buttons were sewn into front piece before front piece was stitched into place on the top dress. All trim happened before final stitch as well. Those circle bits on the front piece... I used appliqué and made a circular pillow onto the piece, hemmed as slowly and neatly as I could, used a white pencil to mark the center hole, hemmed it ahead of time and cut it out.

The gloves and brown tights were bought, not made. Gloves from Gloves Online Inc. on Amazon; tights from We Love Colors. The cravat is actually just one, rectangular piece of hemmed fabric. I wanted it to be wispy and flowy and I didn't want to make something that would be stressful and complicated to put on. So it is one piece that I tie like a necktie only I don't pull it through, I let it hang freely and it works very well.

The thigh/boot covers were made with a handmade pattern as well. I put my leg on the fabric, out lined my leg with several inches of space (especially around the thigh area), cut and sewed to fit. For the bottom area that wraps around the foot... I made the back heel portion look like a Ո, but had the bottoms curve into to touch, and I made the front flare out a bit. The back piece has the trim and Velcro is installed on the little leg bits that attach under the arch of the boot. Brown fabric was added at the top.

The bow is her Elfin Bow and was made by my brother!

I don't remember too much about what I did for my brother here, to be honest. I don't even have many WIP pics of his coat (the thing I mostly made). I know it was mostly white broadcloth. The demon motif was black broadcloth and applique. The bias was gold poly-cotton leftover from Natsu. We used a regular T-shirt and cut to shape. He bought the pants and I just added a bit of the gold to the "pockets." I think the wig was from Arda? I know we got a different one at first, but that didn't work out the way we wanted. I really don't remember. He made his own Key of Lorelei though!

==========

Natalia: Cost: $100 Time: 36 hrs

Luke: IDK, Probably the same-ish.

[nakasumi-sims]

✩ Can you do the Miscellaneous section from the Ultimate Relationship list for Hikaru & Toshio? Thanks 😊 (or the whole list if you want! I just didn’t want to overwhelm you)

Ah I see you've chosen the characters from my main project of the last 12 years. The original brain rot that is Shuriken Souls. In that case, imma have to go with the whole list 🤣 I would've gone in game to take a sims pic but since I wanna make them better I'm just gonna go with their actual artwork and maybe some sim pics sprinkled in.

Hikaru & Toshio

🌟 Disagreements:

Who is more likely to raise their voice?

Toshio

Who threatens to leave but never actually does?

Hikaru

Who actually keeps their word and leaves?

Toshio

Who trashes the house?

Neither of them because they're above that. Plus Hikaru owns way too many priceless artifacts and valuables that he's over protective of so...

Do either of them get physical?

Hikaru might if his demonic side comes out, but he usually has it under control unless he's plastered.

How often do they argue/disagree?

Very rarely, but when it actually happens, it can be quite big. At the start of Shuriken Souls (not the prequel/Freshman Year), they're taking a break due to a fight.

Who is the first to apologise?

Depends on what the fight was about, but neither of them are going to be first if they believe they're in the right.

🌟 Sex:

Who is on top? Who is on the bottom?

They're switches

Who has the strangest desires?

Probably Toshio because he actually likes getting whipped with Hikaru's chain whip. There's definitely a non sexual desire for punishment for loving Hikaru which is also part of it, but he'd keep that to himself.

Any kinks?

Both of them are sadistic, but as above and really just with Hikaru, Toshio can be masochistic.

Specific kinks...uhhh Hikaru likes banging in front of mirrors (if it's convenient enough) so he can show off how good he's making you feel and can get the best views of you. Just a little conceited. The only thing I can really think of for both of them is they both just love loving on each other since Hikaru is more used to occasional sex with humans he doesn't give a crap about and Toshio hasn't been with anyone since his ex wife 15 years prior.

Who’s dominant in bed?

Depends on their moods, but usually Hikaru

Is head ever in the equation?

Absolutely. They be wining, dining, 69ing

If so, who is better at performing it?

Hikaru, but that's just because he has more experience being over 2,000 yrs old

Ever had sex in public?

Sorta? Public place, but it was private due to it being after hours. Their first time was in Toshio’s classroom and they did get caught in the morning. It's known as the Lab Incident (and yes it is available to read if asked because it is nsfw, but I've been told it'sa good read)

Who moans the most?

Toshio

Who leaves the most marks?

Hikaru

Who screams the loudest?

Toshio

Who is the more experienced of the two?

Hikaru

Do they ‘fuck’ or ‘make love’?

Both but more 'make love'

Rough or soft?

Usually softer but they have their more wild nights

How long do they usually last?

They can go for hours

Is protection used?

Toshio insists even though Hikaru

Does it ever get boring?

Nah

Where is the strangest place they’d have sex? 

Classroom after hours

🌟 Family:

Do your muses plan on having children/or have children?

Toshio has a son, Michio, from a previous marriage. He's 16 yrs old. Hikaru has no kids and doesn't want any

If so, how many children do your muses want/have?

Just one (Michio) but Hikaru never plans on doing any sort of parenting with him or actually being a stepdad if they get married. Toshio is content with just one and doesn't expect or want Hikaru to do any parenting. Toshio hasn't done much parenting in awhile and finds Michio to be self sufficient. Michio and Toshio have lived separately since Michio left for a mission and didn't return for 2 years. Hikaru didn't even know about Michio until he, Kaori, and Ryo rescued Michio and Sumiko from under a giant boulder.

Who is the favorite parent?

Toshio

Who is the authoritative parent?

Toshio

Who is more likely to allow the children to have a day off school?

Toshio, but only for special circumstances and it wouldn't be a real day off

Who lets the children indulge in sweets and junk food when the other isn’t around?

Neither

Who turns up to extra curricular activities to support their children?

Toshio used to, but either he doesn't show up now or he only shows up to judge his son's progress

Who goes to parent teacher interviews?

Toshio

Who changes the diapers?

Toshio (single dad life)

Who gets up in the middle of the night to feed the baby?

Toshio

Who spends the most time with the children?

Toshio

Who packs their lunch boxes?

Toshio. Well he hasn't for a long time, but he used to

Who gives their children ‘the talk’?

Toshio

Who cleans up after the kids?

Toshio

Who worries the most?

Toshio used to worry but not anymore

Who are the children more likely to learn their first swear word from?

Toshio

🌟 Affection:

Who likes to cuddle?

Toshio is definitely more of the cuddler. Hikaru still has some trouble getting used to it since he's not used to being intimate with someone he's in love with.

Who is the little spoon?

They take turns

Who gets naughty in the most inappropriate of places?

Hikaru

Who struggles to keep their hands to themself?  

Toshio

How long can they cuddle until one becomes uncomfortable?

Hikaru usually gets uncomfortable after a couple hours but he pushes through it to get more used to the feelings even though he does have the desire to hold onto Toshio. Toshio could either be cuddled by Hikaru or hold him for hours even if it gets uncomfortable

Who gives the most kisses?

Hikaru

What is their favourite non-sexual activity?

Slow dancing

Where is their favourite place to cuddle?

In Hikaru's living room because the couch is really comfy and the atmosphere all over is very nice. But rarely do they get to cuddle there because of Ryo and Kaori also living there. It's just best for Toshio not to be over when Ryo is home cause they despise each other and it'll cause problems

Who is more likely to playfully grope the other? 

Hikaru

How often do they get time to themselves?

Quite rarely due to Toshio being a professor with classes in multiple subjects and supervising a club and Hikaru having to deal with Ryo's shenanigans on top of attending classes at the Academy, going on missions, and having to travel for work. They usually make time when they can at night when Toshio shows up drunk or they make plans to go get drunk.

🌟 Sleeping:

Who snores?

Neither. Toshio did used to snore when he was younger, but he had to train himself to stop for reasons

If both do, who snores the loudest?

Neither

Do they share a bed or sleep separately?

They share the bed when they can, but normally sleep separately since they don't live together and live in different districts within Tamashi Tera.

If they sleep together, do they cozy up together or lay far apart?

They cozy up at the start, but Hikaru will separate from him after a couple hours, but then Toshio will end up migrating back to cuddle

Who talks in their sleep?

Neither

What do they wear to bed?

They both wear pajama sets though Hikaru's are a lot nicer fabrics

Are either of your muses insomniacs?

No they both sleep well. Very rarely, but Hikaru can get insomnia when his memories bother him. It's great for his job, but terrible for being able to recall everything vividly. He's gotten over most of it though

Can sleeping pills be found by the bedside?

Nope

Do they wrap their limbs around each other or just lay side by side?

Mostly side by side unless Toshio is getting cuddly

Who wakes up with bed hair?

Toshio. Hikaru is too perfect and having silk pillowcases helps

Who wakes up first?

Toshio

Who prepares breakfast in bed for the other?

They'd rather order in than cook, but if someone was prepping it, it would be Toshio because Hikaru is used to Ryo doing the cooking. Not that he's bad at it or anything

What is their favourite sleeping position?

Toshio likes when Hikaru lays on his chest so he can hold him close. Hikaru prefers spooning or lying on his side holding hands with a little hand caressing until he falls asleep

Who hogs the sheets?

Hikaru

Do they set an alarm each night?

Yes because Toshio has work and Hikaru has work/school

Can a television be found in their bedroom?

Hikaru has one in a separate sitting area of his room. Toshio doesn't have a tv in his room

Who has nightmares?

Hikaru

Who has ridiculous dreams?

They both do, but Hikaru's are ridiculous in the sense of wacky things that have happened in the past. Toshio’s got normally wacky dreams when he has them

Who sprawls out and takes up most of the bed? 

Neither

Who makes the bed? 

They both make their beds

What time is bed time? 

Depends what they're doing. If it's a normal night, around 11pm-12am. If they've been out, then around 4am

Any routines/rituals before bed?

Hikaru has a shower and useless skincare routine. He doesn't need it as a demon, but he just likes it. Toshio has a drink, prays, but keeps it to himself

Who’s the grumpiest when they wake up?

Hikaru because he has to deal with Ryo

🌟 Work:

Who is the busiest?

I would say Toshio is, but only by a slight margin. Hikaru is usually just about as busy.

Who rakes in the highest income?

Hikaru by a looooooong shot

Are any of your muses unemployed?

They're both employed

Who takes the most sick days?

Toshio just because he can actually get sick since he's human. He does have a good immune system from being a father and working at the Academy though so it is rare he uses a sick day for actually being sick. He'll usually use them for other reasons.

Who is more likely to turn up late to work?

Toshio

Who sucks up to their boss?

Neither of them are suck ups per se, but they'll be manipulative in their jobs if needed to get something done. Usually Hikaru has to do it more in his line of work

What are their jobs?

Toshio is a professor at Southern Temple Academy in Tamashi Tera. He has classes in most of the sciences, maths, computer science, combat, and is the advisor of the sewing club (the club was forced on him cause no one would take it)

Hikaru is a historian and works with and as a museum curator in many museums across the world. He's also an archeologist, but the reality of that is that he's just "finding" things he's hidden around the world over his centuries of travels and digs them up/finds them again once they're of value depending on the time period. Most of the antiquities he's recovered, stay in his own private collection which he keeps in multiple floors of his building and then he loans the artifacts out. He also gives talks on them and writes history books. At the same time, he attends Southern Temple Academy as a student even though he really doesn't need to, but he does it for Kaori and it has some benefits even if it's dangerous as a demon.

Who stresses the most?

They're equally stressed and bond over how much Ryo stresses them out

Do your muses enjoy or despise their careers/occupations?

They both love their jobs. The only thing Toshio hates about his job in recent years is dealing with Ryo because, like Hikaru, he doesn't need to be there so he puts in zero effort (except combat for fun) and is a nuisance.

Are your muses financially stable? 

Yes

🌟 Home:

Who does the washing?

They both do their own washing

Who takes out the trash?

They both do their own

Who does the ironing?

They both do their own. Hikaru does typically goes for dry cleaning though for most of his clothes

Who does the cooking?

Neither

Who is more likely to burn the house down just trying?

They're both competent enough not to burn the house down, but I'd say Hikaru just because Ryo might prank him or something

Who is messier? 

Toshio, but he's barely messy

Who leaves the toilet roll empty?

Neither

Who leaves their dirty clothes on the floor?

Toshio

Who forgets to flush the toilet?

Toshio

Who is the prankster around the house?

Neither, but if Toshio is over at Hikaru's and Ryo is bothering them then he might pull a prank as revenge

Who loses the car keys when it comes time to go somewhere?

Toshio. Neither of them actually own a car though. They both can drive, but Hikaru hasn't driven in decades and Toshio doesn't really need a car in Tamashi Tera cause it's walkable and has excellent public transportation

Who mows the lawn?

Neither of them have lawns

Who answers the telephone?

Hikaru is more likely to answer

Who does the vacuuming?

Hikaru hires a cleaning service and Toshio does his own

Who does the groceries?

They each do their own

Who takes the longest to shower?

Toshio because he's often dirtier after working on his inventions

Who spends the most time in the bathroom?

Hikaru. He's gotta get his hair styled juuuust right

🌟 Miscellaneous:

Is money a problem?

For Hikaru, hell no, he's ridiculously wealthy, but unlike rich humans he uses a lot of his money for good. For Toshio, he's comfortable enough

How many cars do they own?

0

Do they own their home or do they rent?

Hikaru owns the building he, Ryo, and Kaori live in the East District as its only occupants while the rest of the space is for his collection. Toshio rents a condo in the Southern District closer to the Academy

Do they live near the coast or deep in the countryside?

Sort of coast? Tamashi Tera is its own partially man made land mass (lots of lore stuff)

Do they live in the city or in the country? 

City

Do they enjoy their surroundings?

They do. It's really one of the only nice places left even if there is some problems

What’s their song?

Mmm I'd probably say La Vie En Rose

What do they do when they’re away from each other?

Focus on work, but they'll often text each other when it's convenient. They both know that they're busy people and mostly respect that

Where did they first meet?

At Southern Temple Academy! Here's a doodle comic of it! (Right to left)

How did they first meet?

See above

Who spends the most money when out shopping?

Hikaru

Who’s more likely to flash their assets?

Hikaru

Who finds it amusing when the other trips over?

Toshio just because it's nice to see that Hikaru isn't always perfect

Any mental issues?

Hikaru has a lot of unaddressed trauma from his childhood, maybe a little ptsd, but he's mostly over what happened and gets rare nightmares. Toshio....uhhhhhh idk if there's anything to truly label him with

Who’s terrified of bugs?

Neither

Who kills the spiders around the house?

Either

Their favourite place?

A little live music cafe not too far from Hikaru's place in the East District

Who pays the bills?

They each pay their own. (Ryo technically splits with Hikaru though as they are brothers)

Do they have any fears for their future?

The both have fears for the future of their relationship. Each for different reasons which are extreme spoilers

Who’s more likely to surprise the other with a fancy dinner?

Hikaru

Who uses up all of the hot water? 

Toshio probably on an experiment vs showering etc

Who’s the tallest?

Hikaru by an inch

Who’s more likely to just randomly hop into the shower with the other?

Hikaru

Who wanders around in their underwear?

Neither, but if it's a lazy morning in a hotel room, Toshio might

Who sings the loudest when singing along to the radio?

Hikaru

What do they tease each other about?

Dealing with Ryo mostly

Who is more likely to cringe at the other’s fashion sense at times?

Hikaru, even though it's like boi you've 100% worn some wacky ass shit over the last couple of millennia

Do they have mutual friends?

Not really

Who crushed first? 

Toshio

Any alcohol or substance related problems?

They're both alcoholics. It affects Hikaru differently with him being a demon and even more so being a sin of gluttony demon. Toshio also smokes cigarettes.

Who is more likely to stumble home, drunk, at 3am?

Toshio

Who swears the most?

Probably Toshio. Hikaru does swear, but he tries not to so he comes off as more eloquent and poised

[exitrowiron]

Day 36: Oberlin to Newbury, OH

80 miles, 3,286ft ascent, 4:57

For the second time in three days we started the ride on wet streets, chasing a storm that had passed through hours earlier and hoping to arrive at the day’s destination before the next predicted storm in the afternoon.

Our exit from Oberlin was on several miles of freshly milled but not yet repaved asphalt; when you drive on roads like this it is noisy, riding it is a bone jarring challenge. As I was navigating this stretch of road I couldn’t help but think of the lyrics of the 38 Special song:

Just hold on loosely

But don't let go

If you cling to tightly

You're gonna lose control

This is in fact exactly how to ride rough pavement. I rode with Pat this morning, a female rider from Big Sky, MT. She is the strongest female rider and one of the strongest of all the riders on the trip. This fact is even more amazing considering she had a partial replacement of her left knee three years ago. Pat and I rode together to the first refueling stop but then separated and each of us rode solo.

Today’s ride took us on a wide arc between Cleveland and Akron. The flat terrain we’ve enjoyed the last three days has given way to gently rolling hills; today’s route was a net ascent but I didn’t mind the extra work. Wisconsin’s hills reminded me of the runaway truck exits you find on the downhill sections of Colorado interstates. These exits lead sharply uphill (and are usually paved with loose gravel) and are designed to quickly slow and stop the momentum of a run away truck. Wisconsin’s hills are like that. You grind your way to the top of a large climb, only to have your inertia robbed by a steep little hill at the bottom. This part of Ohio is more like a roller coaster. You still have to get yourself to the top of the big hill, but the subsequent rollers are small enough that you can keep some momentum and crest them.

We are close enough to Cleveland that our route wound through once rural communities which are now full of upscale subdivisions, large homes on huge lots and horse farms. Occasionally I could see an old farm house between the new mansions, but the farm fields had largely been lost to well manicured lawns. It reminded me of Wildwood, MO, but without the limestone bluffs.

The local motorists have distinguished themselves as being the least agreeable in our journey so far. Two rednecks in a pickup shouted and honked at two of our riders and then threw roofing nails on the road shoulder for a few miles. Later in the day, traffic was stopped at a construction zone waiting for the signal from the flagger to proceed; a bike group was at the front of the line. When the flagger gave the go ahead, a woman tried to zoom ahead and clipped one rider and hit another. She reluctantly pulled over at the insistence of the flagger, but was shouting and angry and refused to provide her license. The biker who was hit (one of the female Trek guides and obviously a VERY skilled rider) got some scrapes and her bike was damaged. Other riders took pictures of the license plate and this time a police report was filed. If I was Batman I would spend my time and fortune imposing justice on people who are assholes to bike riders. The good news is that we beat the rain.

Tonight we are staying at the Punderson Manor, a state lodge in Punderson Park. The bikers are obviously relieved to put this day behind us and are looking forward to sleeping late as tomorrow is a short 64 mile day.

[gravelish]

Quilcene Loop

26 June 2023

I’ve had ideas for rides in this corner of the Olympics for a long time, but it took a recent piece by Jan Heine on the Rene Herse Blog to spur my interest enough to get me out here. I picked up coffee, caught the ferry in Edmonds, and was pedaling from the Quilcene Ranger Station by 9:00. Despite what I was afraid might be a very long, grueling day of climbing, I was back to the car by 2:30. The total ascent was more than 5600’, but while the climbing was certainly hard, it was never painfully so. On the other hand, I was very happy to reach the final summit.

I rode the loop counterclockwise, which meant that the elevation ratcheted upwards in several separate climbs over more than 30 miles before the much quicker drop back to sea level at the end. The route crosses Bon Jon Pass at Mile 25, but the high point (3500’) comes later at Mile 32. All of the climbing was on gravel, while much of the descent was on pavement, which was my main rationale for doing the loop in this direction.

The downhill at the end was great, although it would have been greater had there not been an uphill segment half way down. Much of the descent is on a single-lane paved road (generally good surface, but with some big divots that require some caution), although there was an annoying section of fresh gravel near the bottom (which masked, but didn’t eliminate some nasty washboard). The final couple of miles are back on a regular two-lane road. This side would make a great climb if you simply wanted a stiff 1000+meter ascent without the longer loop (but that short gravel section would be tough on a road bike).

I saw almost no cars the entire ride. There were a few in the first and the last few miles, but that was about it, other than a few parked cars at trailheads. I stopped and chatted with one guy on an ATV who was hopelessly turned around - but I think I got him headed back in the right direction. It’s pretty easy to get lost back here. The roads aren’t marked well, the terrain is confusing, the trees are thick, and in the morning, clouds still obscured the sun. I was certainly grateful for having my route loaded on my GPS (I use RWGPS and a Wahoo Bolt) and for Gaia GPS which I use for offline maps on my phone (I also use a Garmin Messenger for tracking when I’m away from cell coverage).

The entire ride is in the trees, except for a few clear cuts and a couple borrow pits. I got a few glimpses of the surrounding hills and cliffs, occasional glimpses of Mount Townsend (the trailhead for which is near the high point of this route) and one view of Mount Constance(?) (with a large Texas camper van parked strategically in front), but it’s mainly just a lot of trees. Above 3000’, the rhododendrons start showing up in the understory.

The last time (the only other time) I was up here was in 2016 when I hiked up Mount Townsend (hshipman: Mount Townsend).

[thewirewitch]

Gem show haul (finally)

I'm finally going to post the stones I got at the gem show earlier this year! I kept forgetting to (woops).

Under the cut will be better pictures of each, as well as a video for one of the stones.

First is this star rose quartz sphere I got. My camera doesn't like picking up asterism in stones, so I apologize for the star looking so faint.

Next is a banded fluorite cabochon. The colors are a bit hard to see unless a light it behind the stone (shown above).

Third is this sterling silver and amethyst ring I got. It was actually half-off, so instead of $26, it was only $13. It's quite small, so I decided to buy it for my pinky if I decide to wear a ring on that finger.

This stone, I'm not entirely sure what it is. I believe it to be rose quartz due to its price and color (it has more of a pinkish hue in person). I bought this one from a wholesaler who sold stones by the carat.

I bought these two from the same vender as the one above. These are white/grey star sapphires. Despite their lack of color, I tend to prefer them over blue star sapphires.

Next up is this star ruby. It's treated (fracture filled) but the color was not enhanced. This is my first true/red star ruby.

Here is a small lot of peach moonstone cabochons I got. This is the third color of moonstone I've gotten (I also have some white and grey).

Here are two pieces of Ethiopian opal which were paired together. One has a more "sparkly" pattern while the other has large sections of color.

This is a lot of four tiny Ethiopian opal cabochons I got. The bottom two aren't as interesting/colorful as the top two, so I didn't post any additional pictures of them. The one on the top right has a very interesting pattern on the bottom side. The top left one is my favorite of the lot.

These last ones are a pair of banded fluorite towers. They were sold separately, however they were cut from the same stone! There were about 20 or so in the same bin, so I wonder if all of them were from the same original piece of fluorite, or if I just got lucky and happened to pick two that were.

[mi5018tomberry]

Wall Smash Test 2

After learning about Houdini's capabilites I decided to try it out for the first time to see if I could make something similar myself. Only Houdini Apprentice was available for free so I started off with that.

This was the tutorial I followed for the wall destruction because although it differed slightly, it should be something I could use to created realistic destruction.

This video shows all the different stages of the destruction that I made using the tutorial. I decided to use a torus instead of a sphere because the final intention is to have the giant robot hand which is shaped like a lego hand so I thought it would work better. I tried fiddling about with different velocity and density settings and the final one felt like it was about right for my idea.

Here's some of the early stages of the process, I was brand new to Houdini so I had to get used to the node based workflow which I liked once I figured out what things actually did. I noticed at this stage that the version I was using was different to the one in the tutorial and started to have some difficulties when painting the focal point of the voronoi fracture which would make the painted section divide into the smallest pieces.

I came into another roadblock in that Houdini apprentice did not have the Glue adjacent option in the Rigid Bodies menu which was very important to holding the individual pieces of the wall together before they come in contact with the torus. The bottom image is from the tutorial and the third icon from the right (the orange and white PVA bottle) is what was missing in the apprentice version. I had to try and work around this by creating my own Glue Constraint Network using the tutorial above but as I hadn't used Houdini before it took a while to figure this out and it didn't work perfectly.

These are what's inside three of the OBJ nodes after the DOP network was created.

This is the inside of the Dynamic Wall node which broke the wall into segments using the Voronoi fracture and two blast nodes which separated the pieces that was going to be destroyed from the rest of the wall. The attribpaint node was used to choose an area of the wall segment which would be broken apart the most and the scatter nodes were used to randomise and choose the amount of fragments within the painted area and the last Voronoi Fracture created the fragments from the points plotted using the scatter nodes.

This is the inside of the DOP network which is created to control the destruction of the wall. The Static objects are exactly that; these nodes are for the portions of wall which act as colliding surfaces but don't break apart themselves. The RBD objects are the torus and the Dynamic wall which both play a role in the destruction and the constraint networks dictate how the RBD objects interact with one another. The glue constraint is used to hold the individual pieces together until the torus collides with the wall and then the SOP solver acts as a controller for the Dynamic wall when the resting state is changed.

I started to get lost later on in the tutorial due to the disparate interfaces between Houdini Apprentice and the one used in the tutorial but I reached a stage which was usable for my project although I wanted to see if there were any other tutorials which were better suited.