#-(and yes. the second one is a remake of the one i made a couple of months ago. an improved version tbh)

[moonflowcr]

— THE CORE FOUR: GIORGIO RICCI & VALERIE MONTE FT. AVA JENNINGS & LUCA RICCI. devil’s paradise.

(template by @marivenah, luca and valerie belong to @katesqecko)

[ronearoundblindly]

I have an idea for “how would…” !

It comes from a prank I’m seeing on tiktok lately of couples staying in a hotel room with 2 beds.

How would the guys react to reader saying they can sleep in separate beds tonight? 😆

Inspo: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP81dBS8k/

That's freaking hilarious, the link, but we've got lots of babes to cover! (Also...guess who realized Jake was missing from the banner? 😳👈 This doof.)

Warnings for, well, discussing couples and bed/bedtime activities but it's not real bad. MINORS DNI to be safe!

James Mace

You know what's tiny? A space bunk. He will starfish like a mothaf**ker on that queen size, and you gotta just give him that from time to time. If the stay in the hotel is just one night (and there's been no other time away from you recently), absolutely he will stretch out, pillows everywhere, each limb under a separate layer,--seriously though why are there nine layers of blankets and sheets? that's nuts--and no alarm if at all possible. However, if the stay is longer or the hotel is for a specific couple's vacation thing, then no, he would never spend a whole night outside of your bed. Maybe a nap after too much sun, or likely some space if he (or you) is feeling ill, but otherwise, Mace is very good at sharing resources with people he likes.

Curtis Everett

Oof. I really had to think about this guy. Some of Mace applies here, too, but Curtis likes the idea of having extra room far more than he likes using the room. I think he would try to fall asleep in the other bed for whatever reason, and then inevitably just crawl back in with you. He has never made it a whole night away, even if he falls asleep on the couch at home. He always has to be within arm's reach by the time you wake up.

Jimmy Dobyne

No. Nope. Not in the slightest.

He doesn't particularly like waste, so he might call down to see if there is a room with just one bed available, in case some other guests could use the two. Jimmy also hates the fuss of cleaning. He's acutely aware of how much effort would go into remaking the second bed (washing, etc) and won't even put things on top of the unused bed for the whole stay. Not your bag. Not your butt. Not a towel. Nada.

Johnny Storm

Few quick questions: this hotel is fireproof, right? The bedding, okay, but what about the carpet? The curtains? Are the headboards made of wood? Is the varnish flammable? You don't know? Shit, well, he needs to know.

I feel like Johnny has to have like a special tarp thing to lay over normal bed linens, but honestly, I can't really see how he's ever safe to sleep outside of his own customized bedroom. People do not have complete control while they are unconscious. That's super dangerous for folks like Johnny. Reed's fine because what's the worst that could happen, his foot actually hangs off the edge of the mattress? If we were talking about Ben, the weight-capacity would be a concern, too, so even if you are fine to sleep in the same bed as Johnny and sometimes get burned a bit...I...I'm just not convinced a hotel would want extraneous furniture in there.

That's not a sexy answer, but it's the one you're getting.

Jake Jensen

Dude can fall asleep any. where. any. time. However, if he is lucid enough to pick where he'll fall asleep, it will always be with you...

...after hysterically jumping around like a kid on the extra bed.

I'll just, yeah, leave you with that image. Have fun. Stay weird, Jake.

Lloyd Hansen

If you two are actively doing something--yes, of course, I mean sex or sexual acts or whatever nasty word Lloyd wants to call it--then you are in the same...general area. That's not limited to a bed.

For sleeping, real sleeping, separate beds are 99% of the time a must. There is one exception to this: if Lloyd has been worn out or injured badly on a job--which is so rare--and if it's not quite bad enough to be in a hospital hooked to machines to keep him alive, then he becomes a sort of energy leech and keeps you very close all the time. This is Lloyd's vampire phase. As you can probably deduce, it is not about you, but he will take whatever he can from you.

Ari Levinson

50/50. Ari is moody. He changes with the wind (not in a bad way but for all the small, subtle stuff), and he sometimes just fancies a bit of something different. Take that as you will--and by that I mean run with it because I am totally talking about all sorts of different things to do in bed. He's the type of man who does better with a bit of alone time, too. Never means any offense by it. Just has spells of needing socializing and needing quiet.

Ransom Drysdale

Literally, I feel like I always have the same answer for Ran: it depends on when this is in your relationship and what the hotel stay is for.

Early on in dating, he aires on the side of caution and goes by his mood and yours. If there's been frustration in the day--due to his family or work or anything--then maybe you need some space. When Ransom is in a relationship, for real, he's actually very attuned to the tone of sex--which, of course, will happen no matter the mood of the day--so a lot of connection and intimacy will tell him it's good to stay close while a simpler, transactional need to get off tells him the other bed might be best.

Ran, however, would not get--or enjoy--the 'prank' of this challenge, and stop goddamn filming him for tiktok!

Steve Rogers

Pardon my language, but are you fucking kidding? The look on Steve's face if you so much as hinted... His head would immediately be spinning with 'what did I do wrong?' and 'what romantic gesture can I make right here right now to fix it?'

He's a simple man, and that is a simple no.

Bucky Barnes

Trickier. Much trickier.

Hmm. How to explain...

This feels like a whole season of 'What If...?' but I'll try to simplify.

Are you an Avenger or agent? Are you two on a mission together? I think Bucky is hardcore about keeping sharp and professional during those times. Sleep shifts. Minimal touching. The whole nine yards because safety is paramount. Is there some reason there could be surveillance of you two and you're supposed to be a couple? Bucky can put on one hell of a show like that. Just saying. I doubt, however, that he would mix business and pleasure unless absolutely necessary.

Are you a civilian? Is he a civilian now? Then no, he's in that one bed holding you until the second (maybe third) snooze cycle rings on his alarm. He's notorious for giving himself cushions of time, so it's never him needing to rush out on the average day. It took a while to adjust, but Buck can now also vacation with the best of them. Takes advantage of all the bells and whistles: minibar, room service, and the 'do not disturb' sign. Champion vacationer, he is, of this I have no doubt.

Thank you for asking!

A/N: Mace is a sleeper fave of mine, and I would do anything for that man, I swear... Also, would someone like to tell me why Bucky gets soooo 🥵 in all of these. My god, what am I feeding that boi?

[Main Masterlist; Who Would...Asks; Ko-Fi]

[cocorulesz]

𝐀 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 - chapter ¹!

hey, y’all! couple things befo we start! ..

- please do not steal, copy, use, translate or repost/remake my work anywhere. i work really hard on these and the image alone took some time. you get me? igh, COOL!😛

- i don’t swear😭 (expect no cussing)

- warnings: heartbreak idk?😂

tags: @trippinsorrows @shes2real

word counttt: 900+!!💓

OKAY, ENJOY, DUMPLINGS! (who the frick.)

——————————————

The air was thick with anticipation as she stood at the entrance of the grand hall, her heart pounding in her chest. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. Her father stood beside her, his comforting presence a steady anchor in the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside her. She was about to become a Mrs. Fatu, a title that filled her with both excitement and a touch of nervousness.

Her dress was a masterpiece of elegance, a flowing white gown that hugged her curves and cascaded down to the floor in a sea of satin and lace. The intricate patterns sparkled under the soft lighting, making her feel like a princess in a fairy tale. Her dark skin glowed with a radiant beauty, the contrast against the white dress making her look even more stunning. Her hair was styled in soft waves, a delicate tiara resting atop her head, completing the look of a bride ready to walk down the aisle.

As she glanced at her father, she saw the happiness in his eyes, and it gave her the strength she needed. She was excited, yes, but also nervous. The thought of committing her life to Joshua Fatu, the man she loved, was both thrilling and terrifying. But as the music began to play and the doors slowly opened, she knew in her heart that this was the beginning of a beautiful journey.

“You ready fo’ this, baby?” her dad asked, leaning in so his daughter could hear over the music she had picked. She smiled and nodded, still looking over at Joshua and replied with “never been more ready for anything, daddy”. Matthew, her father, acknowledged the response with a nod and led her further down the aisle. Josh turned around as everyone stood from their seats happy to see the bride. But instead of turning around with a big smile plastered on his face and tears rolling down his cheeks, he looked more worried. Scared, if you may.

As she reached the altar, her mind raced with thoughts and emotions. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. Josh’s worried expression was unsettling, but she reminded herself of the love they shared and the journey that had brought them to this moment. “You look beautiful” Joshua had said, in which Mariella responded with “Thank you, you look good too!”, not forgetting to add a smile. Josh’s eyes met hers, and for a brief second, she saw a flicker of the man she knew so well. His dark hair was neatly styled into his classic mullet, red at the end, and his tuxedo fit him perfectly, highlighting his buff, bulky build. Despite the worry etched on his face, he looked every bit the groom she had dreamed of. She took her place beside him, her hand trembling slightly as she reached out to him. Josh allowed her to take his hand but he looked away, resulting in Mariella dropping her hand from his. The warmth of his touch reassured her anyways, and she felt a surge of determination. Whatever was troubling him, they would face it together.

The officiant began to speak, but her focus was entirely on Josh. She searched his eyes for answers, hoping to understand what was going through his mind. As the ceremony progressed, she felt a mix of hope and fear. She wanted to believe that their love was strong enough to overcome any obstacle, but the uncertainty in Josh’s eyes made her heart ache.

When it was time for their vows, she took a deep breath and spoke from her heart. “Josh, from the moment I met you, I knew you were the one I wanted to spend my life with. Today, as I stand here about to become a Mrs. Fatu, I promise to love you, support you, and face whatever challenges come our way, together.” Joshua couldn’t help but to smile.

When it was Josh’s turn, he took a deep breath, his eyes locking onto hers. “F-from the moment I met you, I knew you were special. You’ve brought so much joy and love into my life. Today, standing here with you, I .. vow to always support you, to be your rock, and to cherish every moment we share. I vow to be the, uh, best partner I can be, to-“ he sucked in a breath and muttered the rest. “-g-grow with you, and to face…and to face, uhm, every challenge together.” he coughs awkwardly afterwards.

As he finished, there was a brief pause. The officiant then asked the pivotal question, “Do you, Joshua Fatu, take her to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, as long as you both shall live?”

Josh’s face tightened, and he hesitated. He looked deep in Mariella’s eyes, a permanent smile put onto her face, and took both of her hands. As he hesitated for around 5 seconds, Mari’s eyebrows furrowed slightly and her wide smile lessened. The room seemed to hold its breath, everyone hoping for the best outcome.

Finally, he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, “I..I-I do not.”

A gasp rippled through the crowd, and her heart shattered. She felt as if the ground had been pulled out from under her. The man she loved, the man she was about to marry, had just said no. The pain and embarrassment were overwhelming, and she could barely process what was happening.

…………

At that moment, Mariella woke up from her sleep.

——————————————

not i left y’all on a cliffhanger? womp, womp. lol sorry, that was rude 😭😭

[ihatealimore]

Baking Gone Wrong

It gets spicy (Nothing too graphic). (word count: 1,493)

Your boyfriend is a pro at baking and that's no secret to anybody, especially you. While you may be okay with cooking simple meals and desserts, baking more complicated things still confuse you. Kurapika works late today, giving you the perfect opportunity to surprise him with a delicious dessert.

You've decided on making a red velvet cake, nonetheless, you've been struggling with following the directions from the beginning. Not to mention, that you've had to make a trip or two back to the store to pick up frosting and eggs. Already, you've had to remake the batter twice after accidentally burning the cake as well as mixing in too much flour.

You let out a long huff as you slide the cake pan back into the oven after deciding that it was still too runny in the middle. Your eyes fall on the messy kitchen in front of you. Batter droplets are spattered onto the floor and the countertops, while flour is also littering the floor. Your apron itself is covered in flour and cake batter as well as your face.

But this cake is the one! This one is going to turn out just the way you want it to. Luckily, you still have an hour or two before your loving boyfriend returns home, giving you time to at least frost the cake before he sees it. You're hoping that he'll be impressed by your skills when he finally sees and tastes your concoction.

While the cake is baking, you decide to start cleaning up the mess you've made of the kitchen, only stopping when the oven timer finally dings. You're quick to grab an oven mitt and pull the pan out of the oven, turning the oven off as you do. After waiting an appropriate amount of time, you begin to frost the cake, hearing the front door open when you're nearly halfway finished.

"(Y/N), my treasure, are you in the kitchen?" Kurapika's voice echoes out to you from the living room, "Were you cooking something?"

You can hear his footsteps nearing the room, prompting you to shout back in response, "Don't come in here yet! You'll ruin the surprise!"

"What surprise could that be, I wonder...?" He says to himself with a sly smile on his face as he holds a hand against his chin, "It could not possibly be something you baked, could it?"

"Shhh! You'll find out when I finish!" You frost the cake at a faster pace than before, glancing up to peek at the door every couple of seconds. After a few more minutes of this, you look back over your handiwork, deciding that the cake is worthy of being seen now, "Okay, you can come in!"

The door handle turns and the door slowly opens as Kurapika takes a few steps into the kitchen. He's still wearing his suit from work, although the tie is loosened just a tad, and his jacket is nowhere to be found.

He approaches the counter with a loving smile on his face as he closely examines your cake, glancing at you afterward, "This is an amazing surprise, my love. It looks delicious."

"Do you really think so?" You ask him with a hopeful, yet, tired smile on your face, "I messed up the first couple of attempts I had."

He can't help but chuckle at your confession, "Yes, I believe you did a great job. You always manage to somehow impress me."

"That's exactly what I was hoping you would say!" You let out a sigh of relief, wiping some sweat and flour off of your forehead, "I hope it tastes okay."

"Let's find out, shall we?" Kurapika takes a few steps closer to you, gently wiping some batter off of your face with his thumb and licking it off. His smile widens after his taste test, "Just as I thought, it tastes delicious."

You try to ignore the heat rising in your cheeks, although your flustered state isn't left unnoticed by the Kurta, "H-hey! I haven't even been able to taste it yet!"

"Oh?" A devious smile appears on Kurapika's face as an idea comes to his mind, "Shall we fix that?"

You nod a few times in response, albeit you can tell that he's definitely up to no good.

He scoops some frosting off of the cake and onto his thumb, holding it up near your mouth, "Now, say 'Ahh'," You open your mouth, allowing him to smear the chocolate onto your tongue as you lick the frosting off. He smiles at you mischievously, wondering, "How does it taste, (Y/N?)"

"I-it's good!" This man truly knows how to fluster you and leave you caught off-guard so easily. By the looks of it, he's really enjoying teasing you, much to your chagrin.

"I would like another taste myself," He says, glancing at the cake before his eyes fall back on you. Within a few seconds, he's pressed flush against you, causing you to back up into the counter, "Not of the cake, though."

He has an evil glint in his eyes before he places a hand on your cheek, tilting your head upwards. Kurapika leans into you, his lips crashing into yours. You melt into the kiss, your hands landing on the countertop behind you to steady yourself. His tongue hungrily enters your mouth, exploring for a few moments before he finally pulls away from you, leaving both of you gasping for air.

"Where did that come from...?" You question the blonde-haired man as you pant for breath.

His soft laughter fills the room, his face flushed red as he wonders, "Ah, did you not enjoy my boldness, my treasure?"

You avert your eyes from him as you mumble under your breath, "I did."

"What was that?"

"I said that I liked it," You say louder as you cross your arms with a pouty expression evident on your lips.

"I was hoping you would say that," The Kurta places his hands on either side of your hips, lifting you up to set you down on the countertop, much to your surprise, "Care for another taste, my dear?"

You turn back towards him as you bashfully nod. Your eyes fall on the tie dangling from his neck, giving you a fiendish idea of your own, "I would love one," Before he can lean in to kiss you again, you've already grabbed on to his tie, pulling him up to your level as you passionately kiss him.

His hands roam your sides as he deepens the kiss, your tongue finding a way into his mouth this time. He pulls away from you briefly to take a breath of air but you quickly pull him back into another heated kiss. You let his tie fall from your grasp as your hands move to undo the buttons on his shirt. Your actions prompt the Kurta to slide the apron over your head and throw it aside as he continues his merciless attack of frenzied kisses.

Your hands find his exposed abdomen as you let your hands roam free, his own fingers now undoing the first few buttons of your blouse. You guide one of his hands to one of your breasts, allowing him to gently cup it in his own hand. He pushes you further back onto the counter as this exchange becomes more heated, his lips rarely disconnecting from yours.

When his lips do part with yours, they find your neck instead, as he begins to leave small kisses trailing down your neck, stopping at your clavicle. He bites down on the skin of your neck, albeit softly, as he reaches around your back with his free hand to undo your bra.

Right as he begins to remove the piece of clothing from your body, the doorbell rings over and over again. The loud shouting of your friend can be heard muffled through the walls. He pulls back from you, etching the image of how flustered and beautiful you look right now in his mind. He's panting profusely, his face completely red.

"It seems as if I forgot that I had invited Leorio over to help him study today," Kurapika explains to you while he tries to catch his breath, "I apologize for having to cut our fun short," He wipes some saliva away from your lips with his thumb, a seductive look in his eyes, "You look so beautiful, my treasure."

"I-it's fine," You choke out through your own gasping breaths, "We'll just have to continue this later."

"I can promise you that I already intended on doing so," He responds with a devilish smirk evident on his face, "I just cannot help myself when it comes to you."

You button your shirt back up as Kurapika does the same. After he's straightened out his outfit, he turns to leave the room, however, he stops before he can pass through the doorway, "And (Y/N)?"

"Hmm? What is it?"

He turns back to you with that same grin on his face and a lustful gaze in his eyes, "I believe that you taste much more delicious than the cake."

[wishdeeznuts]

Alriiiight, get your plates it’s time for THE LEAKS!

(Note that again there will be drastic art changes, and you’ll notice that some of the pages are incomplete.)

I already stated the reasons for leaking these in the last post i made, i wanna remake them as im finally deciding to write an actual script for this comic.

Im honestly pretty proud of what i got already but i know i can make it even better, especially with how i handle dialogue bubble placement,, nbgvfcxvb

(And YES i called it star sanctuary instead of sky emporium i SWEAR I REMEMBERED IN THE GAME POST CELESTEAL FIGHT THEY RENAMED IT (or atleast in COS like i SWEAR i remember that happening I AM NOT INSANE-))

(Separating pg4 cuz i hadn’t write it’s dialogue on the page yet, the dialogue is in the second image paired with it)

Aaaand a little bonus!!

*coughs this out like a hairball*

DESIGN CONCEPTS FOR THE POINTS!! (Not including fanpoints yet)

Currently making the first couple needed ref sheets while getting the script done to kill 2 birds with one stone over here

Hope this keeps yall fed for now lol

[lockes-woods]

Stuck Chapter 22

A/N: Just a heads up I wasn't able to fit angsty/possessive Mishanks in this chapter. This chapter lowkey ended up being almost 4,000 words and I didn't want to make it longer than that. It also ends on a bit of a cliffhanger; so if you'd like to avoid that I would wait til chapter 23 comes out to read. Final warning there is heavy drinking in this chapter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“There’s no fucking way,” Himiko laughed at Sanji’s retelling of their notorious regular’s fall.

“Yes, he literally fell over nothing and spilled his ‘extra extra hot’ latte all over himself. He then started screaming because no one helped him up. He threatened to sue the coffee shop for the burns.”

“Damn, maybe karma does exist; I’ve had to remake his latte at least twice every shift I’ve worked there since I’ve started.” Himiko said, applying setting powder, “I’m not happy he’s hurt, but maybe he’ll finally stop coming.”

“I hope so. If it’s not his order, it’s him trying to learn every girl who works with us’ schedule.” Sanji said from his spot perched on the closed toilet seat in Vivi’s guest bathroom.

“Yeah, there’s no denying he’s a creep.” Himiko agreed, finishing her makeup by applying her lipstick.

“Shit,” Sanji said staring down at his phone.

“What?” Himiko asked as she put away her makeup.

“Um, do you know that Luffy’s bringing his friends from the poly sci program?”

“Sorta, I said he could bring whoever he likes. Why?” Himiko said looking through her accessory bag.

“Um, he invited Ace,” Sanji said, showing her a picture of them pregaming at Luffy and Zoro’s place.

“Okay?” Himiko replied, putting on her dangly star earrings.

“Won’t that be awkward?” Sanji asked.

“Sanji, we fucked once almost 3 years ago when I first moved to the city it’s fine,” Himiko responded, giving herself a once over. She was wearing a two-piece dark blue-almost black velvet dress that had white and silver stars all over it. The first piece was a sleeveless dress that hugged her in all the right places and had a sweetheart neckline. The second piece was a wide collar that connected down to billowy sleeves made from the same printed fabric. It was slightly shorter than what she was used to, but she had to admit that her legs looked amazing especially because of the lift her chunky Mary Jane was giving her.

“I don’t know he flirts with you every time you’re together,” Sanji said standing up from his seat.

“He’s a fuckboy, Sanji, that’s what fuckboys do,” Himiko argued, as they stood side-by-side.

“I guess I just hope him flirting with you doesn’t affect your whole DILF situation,” Sanji said.

“Why would it?” Himiko asked.

“Aren’t you exclusive with the DILF’s?” he asked.

“Not exactly we never really nailed down whether or not we’re exclusive. Last time we talked about it we agreed it was too early for that kind of commitment. We’re more in a wait-and-see-if-it-comes-up kind of situation.” She explained.

“Okay, just let me know if he makes you uncomfortable at all,” Sanji said as they posed for a mirror selfie.

“Okay,” Himiko agreed as she snapped a photo and posted it on her Instagram and snap story. After they were done, they grabbed the empty glasses of wine and joined Nami and Vivi in the living room. A smile stretched across her face as she took in their outfits. They had matching two-piece outfits in black and white. They had swapped tops so that their outfits were mix-matched. The outfits consisted of a tight long-sleeved lace crop top paired with a tight skirt and heels.

“Aw, you guys look great,” Himiko greeted them.

“Thanks, hopefully the matching outfits will make us look like a couple,” Vivi said.

“It sucks that every time we go out it doesn’t occur to men that you’re a fem for fem couple.” Himiko agreed.

“I don’t know I’m hoping it dissuades enough men so that they don’t bother us, but also leaves enough to buy us drinks,” Nami said.

“I mean tonight’s on me, so you don’t have to worry about that,” Himiko replied.

“Yeah, Himiko’s Daddy tonight,” Sanji said jokingly, causing Himiko to roll her eyes. She pulled out her phone to check the time when a text came in from Zoro saying that they were leaving downtown and heading up to meet them in center city.

“Kay the guys are leaving Zoro and Luffy’s apartment now.” She relayed.

“Do we want to do one more round of shots before heading out? It’ll probably take us just as long to get there since 3/4 of us are wearing heels.” Nami said.

“Yeah, it’s also for the best we get there at the same time. We don’t want a repeat of last time where we went in separate and not all of the guys got to go in right away.” Himiko agreed.

“Ugh, don’t remind me, me and Usopp had to wait over an hour in the cold because they were at the ‘male capacity’” Sanji sighed.

“At least we’re all over 21 now, so it’s not like we have to worry about being caught,” Vivi said.

“True,” Himiko agreed as Nami lined up four shots of cheap whiskey. They each picked up one before toasting.

“To the DILFs,” Nami said raising her shot. Himiko rolled her eyes playfully at Vivi and Sanji seconded Nami before she took the shot. Himiko bit her tongue to stop herself from grimacing at the alcohol. She always hated the cinnamon aftertaste. It always reminded her of the stomach aches she used to get after eating too many red hots as a kid.

“Everyone ready?” Sanji asked, grabbing his jacket.

“Yeah,” Himiko said sliding on her jacket and grabbing her clutch. The quartet made their way down to the street and headed three blocks north to the club. Nami and Himiko led the way as Sanji walked arm-in-arm with Vivi behind them. Vivi could normally handle walking in heels, but the combination of booze and poor city maintenance of the sidewalks left her stumbling.

“So, how are you doing?” Nami asked, bumping shoulders with Himiko.

“Good, I’m so happy to finally be done with this semester.” She replied.

“How are the DILFs?” Nami asked.

“Good, Shanks has off tomorrow so I’m going to head up to help him get everything sorted and packed for the trip,” Himiko answered.

“You’re leaving Sunday morning, right?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Himiko nodded, “We’re going to the hospital gala the night before,”

“You’re going separate to that right?” Nami asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be going as Zoro’s date. Mihawk said it was fine as long as we are discreet. We already agreed I’ll be taking a separate car back to their place so we can leave first thing in the morning.” She answered, “How have you been?”

“Good, I’m also elated that the semester is over. Though I am going back to working 5-6 days a week until winter breaks over.” Nami answered.

“Taking advantage of all the rich people’s generous tips?” Himiko asked as they approached the line into the club.

“Always,” Nami answered with a smile, “Though I do wish I saw you more, I feel like I have to make an appointment to see you.”

“Aw, I’m sorry Nom,” Himiko said sincerely. “I promise I’ll try to make more time for us.”

“I’m gonna hold you to it Ko,” Nami said as they crossed the street. They easily spotted the guy’s group by Luffy flailing his arms to get their attention. Himiko bit her lip when she spotted Ace in the back of the cluster. She could only see his hat from her vantage point, but there was no mistaking his cowboy hat.

“Hey, guys!” Luffy shouted as they got into earshot of each other. They configured themselves in groups of 3 as quickly as you would expect 9 buzzed 20-somethings to take. Himiko tried to brace herself as she got paired up with Sabo and Ace in the end of the line. Ace’s gaze hadn’t left her since they arrived.

“How’s your girlfriend doing Sabo?” Himiko asked politely as they waited.

“Koala’s good she has one more final tomorrow, or she’d be here.” He responded.

“That sucks,” She replied sympathetically.

“Yeah, we’ll probably go out again tomorrow night before she has to head home for the break.” He responded.

“How have you been?”  Ace asked, pulling Himiko’s attention to him. She bit her lip to hold back a shiver. His voice was deeper than she remembered.

“Fine,” She answered, “Just happy to finally be on winter break. How are you?”

“Good, I’m in the accelerated program at the law school. So, I don’t really get a break.”  He responded as they made their way up the line.

“That’s rough,” Himiko replied.

“Yeah, but I knew what I was doing when applied. I know if I took the standard three years, I’d get restless during breaks.” He replied. Their attention snapped to the front of the line before Himiko had to make any more small talk. Himiko peered around the line and saw the commotion. A group of at least 6 girls were being turned away. Even from Himiko’s vantage point, she could easily see that they were underage. If their baby faces weren’t a giveaway them opting not to wear jackets was. Not using the coat check was a mistake only teenagers would make on a 20-degree night. The line started to move quickly once the girls realized there was no way they were getting in. Before Himiko knew it the bouncer was letting them in after charging Ace and Sabo.

They hurried to check their coats before climbing the stairs up to the club’s main floor. The ground floor of the club had three bars meshed with the walls. A DJ was occupying the last wall up on a stage. There were standing tables scattered near the bars around the perimeter of the dance floor. That was all standard for center city warehouse clubs, what made this club special was the raised lofts above the first floor that were occupied with different games. One was dedicated to darts, another had mini bowling, but the last was the reason that Himiko always came back. It held three pool tables where she had hustled the most money she’d ever gotten as a pool shark.

Himiko led the way through the crowd to the bar that was closest to the stairs leading to the pool loft. She spotted the Sanji as he raised his arm to wave them over. She could see his mouth moving but couldn’t hear anything over the overwhelming beat of the bass. She handed Nami her card before she and Vivi headed to the bar with Zoro to get the first round of drinks. After the first two rounds of shots, Himiko switched to slipping on a rum and coke while the others continued to drink on. Vivi and Nami pulled her from the table to dance before she could finish her drink. She slid it to Luffy to watch it. She couldn’t contain her laugh as she saw him immediately down the drink. It had been so long since they had gone out together that she forgot that Luffy’s philosophy was that if he was going to watch a drink it was safest in his stomach. She grabbed Sanji’s hand who in turn grabbed Usopp’s hand as the couple dragged her to the dance floor. The group of five carved out a space on the dance floor as they rocked their bodies to the beat of the song. Himiko danced between Usopp and Sanji while Vivi and Nami danced together a few feet away. Himiko could feel the tension of the semester ease out of her muscles as she let loose with her friends. She danced freely for a while until her feet started to protest. She pulled back from the crowd on the dance floor and headed back to their table with Sanji. She debated whether she should drink until she no longer felt the pain in her feet or if she was done dancing for the night.

She opted to order another rum and coke before making her way up to the pool loft above them. She leaned over the railing on the side of the loft as she did a mental check on everyone in her group. She crossed Nami and Vivi off the list as she watched them continue to dance with each other. A smile tugged on her lips as she took them in, she was so happy that Nami found someone who made her happy. Her eyes roamed over the crowd until she spotted Usopp who had found someone else to dance with. Next, she spotted Zoro and Sanji making out in the corner drawing a huff of a laugh from her. She finally looked down and saw Sabo and Luffy at their table, she paused before glancing around for Ace. Before she could do a proper scan of the dance floor a voice interrupted from her left causing her to almost drop her drink.

“Looking for someone?” She heard him ask leaning against the railing next to her close enough that their arms were brushing together.

“What do you want Portgas?” She turned to ask him after she recovered from fright.

“Nothing,” he said looking down at her, “Just thought you might want some company while you make sure all your ducklings are in line.”

“So, you’ve just come up to keep me company?” she asked skeptically.

“Yeah, unless you want something else from me, sweetheart,” he answered smirking down at her.

“Yeah, no I’m too sober for that kinda mistake,” Himiko said shaking her head as she fixed her gaze on the crowd again.

“Ouch,” he said with a laugh, “I’ll have you know I’ve turned over a new leaf.”

“Oh, is that right?” she asked, doubt clear in her voice, as she looked up at him.

“Yes, I haven’t had a one-night stand for the entire fall semester,” Ace replied with a sense of pride clear in his voice.

“Congrats. Do you want a gold star for your effort?” she asked dryly.

“Sweetheart, I’d take just about anything you’d offer me,” He responded sincerely leaning down to her height so that his hat cast a shadow over both their faces. Himiko wasn’t sure if it was the booze, his charisma, or possibly a combination of both, but she actually felt herself start to unintentionally lean in.

“You just said you don’t have one-night stands anymore,” Himiko responded.

“That’s a streak I’d happily break for you,” he replied, making no move to pull back. She felt herself getting hot under his unwavering gaze.

“Oh, and what makes me so special?” she asked teasingly. She mostly said it to continue the volley of their conversation, but there was a small part of her that was genuinely curious why he always singled her out.

“Are you really going to make me say it?” he asked pulling back slightly, “Isn’t it enough just to know that I’ve been pining for you since the last time we were together?”

“Ace, it’s been almost three years, whatever torch you’ve been carrying for me has to be embers by now,” Himiko responded.

“You’d think that’d be true, but my biggest romantic fumble was not seriously pursuing you.” He replied, with a level of sincerity that Himiko didn’t know he possessed.

“There’s plenty of girls out there, why me?” she asked. They were now leaning so close together that they were sharing breaths.

“Only a fool would let go of someone as beautiful on the inside and out as you are.” He answered, their lips just barely grazing each other’s. His confession broke the single strand of resolve that was holding her back. She pressed up on her toes and closed the sliver of a gap between them. Her body reacted before her mind could process what was happening. He nipped at her bottom lip; she gasped in response allowing him to bully his tongue into her mouth. His hands rested firmly on her waist, pinning her between his chest and the railing. Her hand not holding her drink found its way up to the nape of his neck where she tugged at his hair pulling a deep groan from his chest. Himiko pressed a hand to his chest forcing them apart before he could deepen the kiss any further. Their breaths came out in light pants as they leaned their foreheads against each other.

“We can’t do this,” Himiko said looking up at him through her lashes.

“Why, not?” Ace asked making no movement to leave their embrace.

“How am I supposed to trust that you won’t spit the second after you cum?” she asked. She was shocked that she was able to even maintain this level of conversation. Between the kiss and alcohol, her brain was fuzzier than normal.

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully.

“I don’t know if I can handle that kinda of emotional risk right now,” Himiko responded.

“Give me a chance, let me earn it.” He said bordering on begging.

“Earn it?” Himiko asked, pulling back.

“Yeah, I’ll play you in any game here and if I win you give me a chance,” Ace replied.

“And if you lose?” she asked.

“You can have anything you���d like from me,” he answered.

“Anything?” she clarified.

“Yes,” Ace answered.

“Even your hat?” she asked, gauging how serious he was over this proposition.

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation, “If I win, we go on a date, if you win you can have my hat.”

Himiko paused for a moment before throwing back the rest of her drink.

“Okay,” she conceded.

“Okay,” Ace confirmed with a smile. Without any other prompting, she walked in a straight a line as she could to the wall where the pool cues were kept. She wasn’t at her normal level of confidence. If she knew she’d be playing pool for a wager she wouldn’t have had as much to drink as she had had. She was relying solely on the muscle memory she had been building up since she was a kid.

“Do you want to break?” she asked Ace as he pulled off the rack from around the balls.

“Lady’s first,” he answered. Himiko nodded as she set up the cue ball. She took a deep breath as she lined up her first shot. She took one more deep breath in as she pulled back and released it as she hit the white ball. The familiar clinks of the balls bouncing off each other calmed her nerves. To her luck, she had sunk two striped balls and one solid ball. It was dumb but she always felt like luck was in her favor when she got to be striped.

“I’m keeping striped,” she informed Ace as she walked around the table and examined it. She opted to go for a lone striped ball first that was on the opposite side from the 8-ball. She let out a sigh of relief as the ball just barely dropped into the pocket. She sank one more ball before her luck left her. Her third attempt went nowhere; the ball she had tried to line up bounced against the side an inch away from the side pocket. The only silver lining was that she hadn’t hit any of the solid balls. She still had to sink three more striped balls and the 8-ball to beat Ace. That was unless Ace hit the 8-ball that was currently surrounded by solid balls. He took a strategic move and broke up the clump his balls surrounding the 8-ball. Himiko sighed as she missed again, allowing him to immediately have his turn again. He was able to sink two balls before he accidentally knocked one of her balls into a corner pocket. Himiko took a deep breath before lining up her next shot.

 A quiet had fallen over them, as their attention was fully focused on the game at hand. The steady beat of the music below was the only thing that could be heard. She was able to sink one ball on her first move, but her second shot didn’t lead anywhere. Even though she wasn’t sure what outcome she wanted she was determined to play to the best of her ability. In her tipsy mindset, it made perfect sense to leave it up to the fate of the game. She only had to sink one more ball and the 8-ball to win. She worried her bottom lip as Ace was able to hit two more of his balls into the pockets. He was now only one ball away from Himiko’s lead. The next few shots were throwaways for both of them. She was finally able to sink the last striped ball before turning her attention back to the 8-ball. She took a deep breath as she lined up the shot. It was going to be tricky because one of Ace’s balls was sitting in the way. She went for a risky maneuver that would be easy if she was sober, but incredibly hard in her current state. Her risk paid off as the ball bounced from one wall to the other and sunk the 8-ball and then one of Ace’s last two balls. By the time she looked up from the table Ace was passing her. He placed his hat on her head before making his way down to the main floor. Himiko quickly followed behind, but she immediately lost him in the crowd.

She circled back to the table where the crew was having another round of shots. Despite her better judgment she joined them and had a few more drinks to avoid the conflicted feelings brewing inside of her. It worked as the edge of her vision became fuzzy and she was once again dragged to the dance floor by Nami.

MASTER LIST

***

A deep groan escaped Himiko as she flinched away from the bright light of the sun shining through the window. She sat up from her pillow on the floor, aka Zoro’s stomach, and grimaced at the taste of her morning breath. She picked up her phone that was vibrating on the floor next to her. Her eyes immediately widened as she took in the missed texts from the DILFs, along with two missed calls from Shanks and a DM request from Ace Portgas. Himiko held her head in her hands and groaned as she tried to remember what happened the night before.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Hey, I hope you enjoyed the latest update. I will hopefully be able to update this fic soonish; I only have three more weeks of classes this semester. A Rose's Thorn babes I haven't forgotten about that fic; I'm just kinda on a roll with this one. Thank you all so much as always for taking the time to read this,

-Locke

[basslinegrave]

i was being a completely sane person today (/s) and was creating a timeline tree for snm would anyone even be interested in that. and collecting my shipping thoughts (or specifics about them being a couple etc). know that i still consider my knowledge of the franchise as poor. its just tidying it up in my head so when i talk about something i can pinpoint a specific thing (i was too deep in fnaf theorizing so now i have to suffer thru a franchise that doesnt even have a canon)

in short/tldr the comics are the base that happened in every possible timeline and everything else is derived from that, happening after, except the cartoon, which shows some events the same way so that would be more intertwined; not everything is connected/within one timeline. and the cartoon is my most fav and where i see them as a true couple.

long rant ahead

on one hand i really like the time travel theory where its like comics -> ttg -> cartoon etc by them travelling back in time for that, however there are many holes especially thinking about their families and stuff so

i like the idea of things branching off. one branch is comics - htr - cartoon, as something more intertwined

second is comics -> ttg -> poker night 2 (since it references ttg events) (idk bout 1 i havent played/seen that)

third would be comics -> ttiv (or comics -> htr -> ttiv, i have no idea atm if bosco's is mentioned in the comics but it is in htr and mentioned in ttiv. ttiv is also set in the year it came out, so theres a huge gap inbetween ttiv and htr but i wouldnt say its where the ttg games happened!)

and i dont mean this in like a multiverse way, since the creator seems to dislike that, its simply just a very loose canon that differs with each installment (simply due to different people working on these imo. nothing too deep imo)

but the juicy part!! i even made brackets that im too lazy to remake digitally so i will just write it out for each bigger installment. im excluding poker night 1 as i havent played it nor watched much gameplay

M = married, BF = best friends (in all technically)

comics: M - unlikely; BF - yes absolutely

htr: M - possible; BF - yes

cartoons: M - i take it as canon here. BF - yes million percent

ttg all seasons: M - no; BF - yes.

poker night 2: M - not sure, implied dating, i take that as good enough; BF - yes

ttiv: M - absolutely not. not a couple at all. BF - they seem too tense, yes, but from my experience playing, their interactions were imo the worst in all of their media, so i wasnt buying it at some points

note - ttiv has to be like the straightest they ever were and i also see it in S.P.'s more recent work. im looking too deep into that, perhaps, but im just thinking were never gonna get anything similar to what we got from back in the 90s again, if theres any future projects

people are also saying they got married like 4 times and its making me a bit confused here. do people mean cartoon, htr dress up card, cake topper and tdph ring scene or am i missing something big?? because to me that is married once, other ones being just for jokes (first one as well but its less vague), and in the ttg games its so extremely vague i cant count that (being realistic here) that said its still fun to joke about them getting married several times, but in this case wouldnt it be more of a marriage per timeline?

and to end this, a personal tierlist

my most fave obviously is the cartoon. not only is it the easiest to work with for me, with the fast pacing and short watch time (but ofc i wish it was longer) i absolutely love how their relationship is depicted there, even if a lot of stuff there is just jokes, but if everything is a joke then its also fine to take everything as canon within this media, to me! like when haters say that people only take the wedding scene out of the intro and ignore the rest - as if the other stuff couldnt happen (isnt one of the shots them fighting a giant octopus, which they end up having an episode about too. like cmon. anything goes here) even if it was contained within this specific part of the franchise, im ok with calling them a couple here. and its S tier overall

another S tier is the comics. nothing else to say

HTR is like A tier to me, only taking off points because its soooo sloooowwww and playing it after watching the series took 3 years off my life immediately. otherwise gud game.

ttg is like A to B tier for me, because of some specifics and preferences but thats just me being nitpicky so, the games overall are good. A- it is. thats all

poker night 2 is fun, i watch the gameplay a lot lately when im too tired at midnight to do anything else, A tier

ttiv. oh how mixed i am about you. gameplay by itself and my first experience with the game - S tier. it made me so giddy more than one time and i kept wanting to come back until i finished the game fully. i dont mind the bugs, its just what i expect in VR games and even tho it made me a bit frustrated at times it wasnt all that bad. its also the only vr game i played for over an hour once and didnt get motion sick - the exception was the level at the store which seemed too bright and actually made me nauseous. which is a feeling that somehow comes back whenever i think about this game. what i dislike was the dialogue, while most of it was fun and fine, i had moments where i just burst out laughing, they (or max especially) were way too mean towards the player. i know its a joke and you could chalk it up to max being unhappy with us/jealous, but it got like, generally unpleasant very quickly. with stuff like good throw - "nice!" bad throw - *neverending insults* and the second was how painfully straight it was and like. the vibes i got from them two was like, oh theyre fed up with each other and my shipping self was just left quite disappointed. i did not get all lines during my gameplay which made it great but upon going thru every line manually after, i was just more and more uncomfortable with what they said in their banter. this drops the game to like C for me? maybe B if i squint. being generous. i also got sick of their talking animations over time... the models are fine just got to be too much. bonus points for max ragdoll physics tho. coming up with a conclusion that this is a completely separate timeline and has nothing to do with anything other than the comics and perhaps HTR. i talked so long about this one cause its the one thing that prompted all of this lol.

but its not that serious! i just knew this franchise for ages as "oh its the two animal guys that are married and its funny" and now that i got into it fully, i see a lot of the shippers are obviously daydreaming and taking things out of context - which is fun, i agree!! i also do that. but it just painted a completely different picture for me. so no. theyre not married, theyre not a couple, except for the cartoon, where its implied, which stays on top for me. but in ttg at least, they love each other, its not as romantic, but i can ship them there (so i ship them in the context of the cartoon and ttg basically)

anyway. nothing is canon for them, everything is canon for them, and everything they say or do is a joke so. its not that deep at all. they gay tho

[thessalian]

Thess vs Anticipation

Things I am looking forward to:

D&D tonight (because I always look forward to D&D nights)

Payday Friday (because buying a new - well, refurbished but still - computer kind of fucked with my budget, but that's okay because...)

Silent Hill 2 Remake drops 6th October (because I paid extra for two days early, and new computer means I have the recommended hardware instead of just the basic, and...)

Week off 7-13 October (because just once in my life I was going to take a week off just for a video game, even if it is only 20 or so hours long)

Other, smaller things to look forward to involve things like, since my budget's a bit wonky and I was going to want snacks, I baked yesterday. So now I have brownies and snickerdoodles.

Having to think about the grocery shopping a little further in advance than usual. First off, I want way more emergency calories to hand next month than I had this month. Second, I'm having my mother over to dinner at some point next month (and @noctumsolis at some point, which is even more anticipated joy, because @noctumsolis doesn't live just a few blocks down the way my mother does) and I should see what I can buy in advance and what needs to be straight-up fresh on the day. Also I need to practice that gingerbread cheesecake recipe I found.

And honestly? I need gaming snacks. A version of Silent Hill 2 that I can actually play is an Event. It's an Occasion. You don't understand. I used to watch my last ex play this one. However badly that relationship ended up, I will always remember with fondness the nights we'd curl up on the sofa with him playing creepy games and me helping with the puzzles or asking lore questions at convenient moments or just making the chainsaw noises when James was doing the chainsaw idle animation. I loved the story, I loved the whole thing. I coveted this game so hard, but even before the fibromyalgia, I never got the hang of any controller more advanced than the one for the original Nintendo Entertainment System for a couple of reasons. I tried a PC port someone put together but the controls were janky as fuck. But this one? This one was made for a PC release as well as a PS5 one. It should be fine!

(I may be thinking of the issues that the TLOU PC port had, and consoling myself by remembering that TLOU was a port well after the PS exclusive release, and some of Sony's subsidiaries - namely Guerilla - can manage ports just fine, and whatever Bloober team's problems, "can't manage a working PC version of their games" doesn't seem to be one of them, so it's going to be fiiiiiine.)

So ... yeah. Emergency calories for gaming moments. That's the big thing for October. Cold cuts, corn thins, crisps, nuts, stuff like that. Maybe soup. Well, more ingredients for me to make soup because after my own homemade potato soup, and beef stew with fresh herbs, and all that? Stuff in tins just doesn't do it anymore.

But also all the gummy sweets, because that's just a necessity. Gummy sweets, and cola, and Real Food that I don't have to interrupt what I'm doing too much to have, and yes I am doing the anticipatory thing over this because I am looking so forward to this you have no idea! And I can start it downloading on the 6th without worrying that I'm going to have issues because recommended hardware! Between a couple of new Big Games that require certain hardware specs and the whole "They stop supporting Win10 in about a year" thing, an itty-bitty bit of budgetary stress in the week before payday is a small price to pay for the peace of mind and the anticipation.

Besides, I have snickerdoodles. Nothing can be too badly wrong if I have snickerdoodles.

[grasslandgirl]

HI SAV!!!!! HAPPY NOBLE PINING FOUR YEAR BIRTHDAY. I have just been doing a Tag Deep Dive and it's legitimately so fascinating so interesting so cool I am Invested and I'm Here For It. okay asks. I have many. but one is hello Please tell me more about these maps. are these maps of spyre/elmville/fallinel. are these maps in canon or for your own personal tracking of character movements or a combo of more. I am curious.

HIHHIII JADE <333 I'm honored xoxoxoxoxo mwaah

SO my maps. this au is so truly. far away from canon in almost every regard. ksfjbnksjfb these are made up non-spyre/fhverse kingdoms I invented for Plot Reasons and like. two or three years ago? i was deep in the sauce and was trying to figure out placements and locations and travel routes and was like. oh obviously the best way to achieve these answers and maintain a continuity is to Teach Myself to make a Fantasy map. which I did do. and have been using several hard copies since to track locations in various kingdoms as well as the travel routes for various characters bc like. esp in the second half of the story there are MANY different groups of relevant characters going on different journeys to/from different places. and having a physical map I can refer to and write on was INVALUABLE (even though it took me forever to draw a million little tiny dots to demarcate trees across the continent skbjsnkbffskbn)

so. I love my maps very much. I do wish the mountains/how I drew the mountains was better? but not So Much that I'm going to remake them (again, thousands of tiny dot trees done once in pencil and then AGAIN in PEN. why did I do that) <3333 I'm hoping that maybe once the draft/s are done and edited I may try and age/watercolor/illuminate a copy of the map? just for funsies? like gentle green washes on the trees and farmland and blues in the rivers/oceans and gold highlighting etc etc ??? could be fun....

but yes. short answer they are physical maps of the continent and kingdoms I invented for this au, I have a couple different hard copies with slightly different information (a blank/master version and one with all the detailed locations and one with character travel paths etc) and have scanned a few of them and keep them in my gdoc folder w my noble pining notes and reference material etc <3

[bladesmercy]

001 for sfkr and clerith!

oomf u know me so well. thank you for letting me yap >:-)

001 | send me a ship and I will tell you:

sefikura 🐍♡☁️

when I started shipping it if I did:

there's actually a funny story to this one. > be me. > guilelessly playing kingdom hearts 2 in 2019. > "what the hell is these dudes' deal. i wonder if people ship them at all" > open ao3 thinking there might be a handful of fics > "oh there's a couple more than a few, huh" > life ruined.

my thoughts:

my favorite little guys in anything ever. they surgically removed my personality to make room for more sefikura. truly i have never loved a ship as much as this one. literal otp of all time.

What makes me happy about them:

everything? they're so funny and silly to me. extremely pathetic creatures. two absolute losers. i think of them and i always smile. i love the fact that each of them have independently made their personality revolve around each other at different points in time, it's so funny.

What makes me sad about them:

EVERYTHING. the fact they will never have a happy ending. the fact they will be enemies in every (canon) universe. the fact they are two extremely broken people who are uniquely equipped to understand each other and that won't be enough to save them.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

tbh i'm so picky with what i like and don't like about how both these guys often end up characterized, but i also think all interpretations are valuable in their own way. i can't think of any huge annoyances, except that i have very Specific feelings/headcanons about sephiroth in crisis core era, and usually won't read things that veer too far away from that.

things I look for in fanfic:

i love any and all fics where the author makes it obvious that sephiroth is just. completely besotted. and i think cloud feeds off of that, even if he won't admit it. i'll read just about anything with these two, but i especially love stories where authors can articulate the crux of their dysfunction really well. yes, these two have have immense amounts of hate, and blood, and pain between them, but (especially on sephiroth's end) there is also an Intense desire for intimacy, of any kind. these two things juxtaposed well is just magical to me.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

no one. i say that as a joke but it's pretty much true. for cloud i do also ship him hardcore with aerith (somewhat against my own will XD), but outside of that i don't really multiship these two anymore. i used to be a Hardcore multishipper, and while i still appreciate things like some polyshipping (other cleriseph enjoyers where are you, i need food of that ot3 so bad), i honestly can't enjoy the thought of them being with anyone else. i miss being a multishipper, because these days pretty much every single other ship with them (outside of clerith) has become a notp for me. ;w;

My happily ever after for them:

in canon? haha. the closest i could see them in canon ffvii (and the closest i think part 3 of remake would get to giving them a 'happy' ending) is having a moment of resolution similar to what kuja and zidane get in ffix. i would be satisfied with that for canon. BUT if we're taking all the stops off, i want to see the dramatic epic pining slowburn post-AC where they eventually figure out how to lead semi-normal lives alongside each other. this is making me want to write that now....maybe that will be my next fic project.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

there's an obvious answer here with consideration to builds and hair lengths, i think. i like to think cloud has accepted his fate to have this 7 foot tall piece of brick clinging to him like an octopus.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

this is another obvious one, and i'm tempted to say 'fighting', but i'm not sure that clears the bar of non-sexual for them. my second choice is that i think they would just genuinely enjoy being around each other in silence. they're both such introverts, and i like to think of them just recharging quietly with each other.

clerith ☁️♡🌎

when I started shipping it if I did:

let me preface this by saying that when remake came out in 2020, i had less than zero interest in vii's infamous love triangle. i wanted no piece of it in my heart or my home. then the game came out and cloud and aerith gripped me by the throat and violently dragged me into falling in love with them by being so damn charming and heartfelt and perfect for each other.

my thoughts:

i love these two so damn much. i really Really loved them in remake, and rebirth intensified this to a level i could Not have anticipated and is currently ruining my life. i love them. i love that they are soulmates, romantic, platonic, or something in-between. i love that their bond and chemistry is near-instantaneous, i love that cloud blooms into letting himself experience softness around her, i love that aerith finally has someone who cares about making her happy and standing by her so damn much.

What makes me happy about them:

so much. their love is so pure and tentative. their vibes to me run parallel to how i see and experience the early 20s as a queer person, essentially the second teenage-hood where you're still feeling yourself out as a person, and you have no idea what you're doing. you feel like you're missing out on a lot of the fundamental experiences that 'normal' people have already had, and i feel like both cloud and aerith mirror that emotion, thanks to the fucked up circumstances of both their lives. aerith is cloud's first real friend after nibelheim (and potentially ever, depending on how close you think he was with zack. to me, i hc cloud and zack were pretty friendly, but not especially close prior to the nibelheim incident.) and cloud is also one of aerith's first friends. they've both suffered such acute loneliness and isolation in their lives, and the fact they find healing for that in each other is so so special to me. the fact that aerith is the person most able to reach through to the person cloud Really is, even under everything he's got going on, makes me so deranged.

What makes me sad about them:

well. there is a very obvious answer. so there is definitely That. that's kind of a big deal.

things done in fanfic that annoys me:

honestly i feel like i don't have many specific fanfic annoyances in general, because if a fic annoys me i just stop reading it, and then my adhd makes me forget i read it to begin with.

things I look for in fanfic:

i really love everything with these two, i love all the cute fluff happy ever afters they don't get to have in canon, but i also love the angst and the drama and the trauma. usually i just gravitate towards any fics that i feel understands the characters well or has interesting ideas, the exact plot or type of scenario is less important to me.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

in my heart, cloud's endgame ship is always sephiroth. as for aerith, i'm also a Huge zerith shipper (yes i am in constant emotional pain, how did you know), but aeriseph also firmly has a place in my heart.

My happily ever after for them:

any. any of them. i want the most tooth-rotting fluffy ending for these two. (admittedly, their iconic tragedy is a part of why i love them so bad. without it, my emotional investment would be Nowhere near as high.) i've been reading a lot of wedding/alternate future fics with these two lately and they all make me ;w;

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

i genuinely think it goes both ways, but if i had to say i think cloud is doomed to be a little spoon in any lifetime.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

oooh tough one!! i think aerith would love teaching cloud to garden....though i'm not sure he would be any good at it. but i have faith in him to learn.

[violetvelourr]

How long I have been doing art

People occasionally ask me how long I’ve been drawing and that question gets me utterly confused 😅 um, probably since I remember myself?.. 😅

First of all, big reveal. I’m old. Much older than you probably ever guessed. Because I’ve been doing digital art since 2003, and I was not exactly a toddler at that point, he-he. Don’t ask me my age though – I’m still a lady and I consider it impolite 🤭 but that might actually answer the questions of many teenagers why I don’t particularly interact much 🙈

So anyways, now we have settled my “art career” span. But saying “I began doing digital art in 2003” – well… I don’t want to do that, because people will be like, “whoa, 20 years”?! And will freak out at such a prospect – 20 years to get to my level, which is, frankly speaking, far from professional. Not to mention that before digital art I also drew traditionally quite a bit.

But the main reason is because “doing digital art since 2003” does not equal “for 20 years”.

How about we revisit these years and look closer at my digital art journey? I can’t promise that I will recall everything 100% accurately, but I’ll do my best.

So around 2003-2004 I tried drawing in Photoshop for the first time. It was an image of a lion, and to be honest, to this day I’m hella proud of myself.

Yes, first attempt. Yes, I drew with a freaking mouse!

My second piece from the same year span is the “Dancer”. oh yes, the remakable hepatitis skin tone 🙈

To be honest, I don’t recall having a drawing tablet that long ago, I'm quite sure I got it only in 2008, but looking at it, despite its flaws, I can hardly believe I drew that using a mouse… I’m not sure, it’s a mystery. The Lion was definitely a mouse artwork.

From thereon I abandoned digital art for a while due to studying, then work, and finally online RPGs…

In 2008 I posted my first digital WIP after a 5 year break.

Oh my gosh... Remind me to never try realism again, clearly not my thing 🙈

I think I was trying to draw an avatar for myself, which doesn’t exactly justify drawing a woman aged probably around 40 🙈 I was not that old!! As far as I can see from my journal, that artwork crashed and only this snippet of it was what I had left. I think it’s for the good. I ended up commissioning the avatar from a proper artist, ha-ha…

Over the span of 2 months I posted 5 more digital art pieces, none of them ever completed actually 🙈 And yes, behold how ugly they are...

My ambitions were growing faster than my skills were improving. The piece with the couple with that naked girl is my special pain because I even attended a digital art course by an amazing artist I was really looking up to back then – Anry – to try and finish this piece, but I failed miserably. I was the only person in that course (5 day 12hr/day intense course) out of 15 people who came “just for fun” – the rest were pursuing a professional digital illustrator career.

This is what I left off with after that course.

In this collage you see on the left what I came with, the middle – what the teacher did after I explained my concept, and on the right – my attempt to take the piece to its final form. But I could never accept that the base was made for me and not by me...

It still grips my heart when I look at it because it was one of my greatest fails. I think that to die peacefully, I need to finish this artwork 😆 If anyone is curious about the story behind this artwork, I’ll post it separately.

Anyway, as I said, I didn’t reach my goal, was hugely disappointed in myself and dropped digital art in April 2008.

However, I came back 1.5 years later, in November 2009, when I got into anime 😂

I think that’s also when I first tried Paint Tool SAI. Up until March 2012, I uploaded roughly 20+/- digital artworks/WIPs. The quality was a bit inconsistent, but I was beginning to get the hang of it a bit, finally. Here are some of them (yeah, the span of the mood is extraordinary):

So, in 2.5 years – merely 20 artworks. Just to compare, in 2022 alone I made 75+ artworks, which doesn’t even include animations and stuff I considered to not be proper artworks.

So, my last artwork from that period was in March 2012 (the one with the winged dude blocking the way for the girl), after which I abandoned digital art again, for good this time. I actually thought - forever, to be honest.

I’m not sure what happened then. I guess I just lost my motivation, got over my fictional crushes, was depressed and not happy with myself…

Problem is that in reality, I don’t have any imagination at all. Part of the reason why I always suspected that despite being quite decent in drawing, I would never succeed as an artist, so I could only say that my dream was to draw for Disney. But I knew I never would. And I knew I can’t do original art. Fan arts – yes, subject to being highly inspired, a feeling similar to a crush. I was too dependent on the mood. But even so… my artworks never were particularly fancy or original, I admit it.

Part of the reason why I’m also so sensitive about AI now. I see people actually living my dream, and I'm so happy for them. Working as illustrators, having an income from what they create... And that is being stolen from them now. That’s why I will probably never accept AI.

Ugh, turned off the subject…

Anyway, as I said, I abandoned art in 2012 and only picked it back up in October 2021 because of Kakashi. 😆

If my math is correct, that’s a 9.5 year break. I have been going non-stop since October 2021, so I would say that my ongoing artistic journey lasts for almost 2 years now. The previous 2-year period with 20 artworks – I’m not really sure about the value of that. The previous 7 digital artworks – even more so.

If I had to sum up my entire digital art journey, – I would say it is around 5–6 years, but in reality probably won’t add up even to 3 years, because the 3 years adding up from a bit of 2003, a bit of 2008 and bits of 2009-2012 had me produce only around 30 artworks, a majority of which were never even completed.

My main progress happened between 2021 and now, so in the last 2 years. And to be honest, I understand that if I am to continue - this is only the beginning...

[wfagamerants]

The one thing I want to start this off with is to say I have no interest in participating in Paper Mario discourse. If you asked me if I enjoyed Color Splash and Origami King I’d give you a genuine yes (Sticker Star not so much, but few would fight me on that one). I have my preferences leaning towards the old stuff, but this isn’t about shitting on the new, just a celebration of what’s currently happening.

With that said, let’s get this going.

I don’t think a big introduction and recap of the Mario RPG history is all that necessary here. Only thing I’ll note is that I played all of them in release order over the years, apart from RPG, which had to wait until the Wii Virtual Console release in 2008, I even played the Mario & Luigi remakes, so I have a lot of opinions.

Needless to say, the Mario RPGs were one of those branches of Mario I just always expected to be there over the years. Along with the platformers, sports games, Kart, Party, etc, it was always one of those reliably present parts of the franchise I could count on to be there system after system.

The past couple of years though did feel very different. Paper Mario, while still retaining RPG elements, has shifted to a more adventure game kind of focus and with Alphadream gone, Mario & Luigi series is now in limbo, with nothing certain on whether the series will be handed off to another developer or be kept dormant for some time.

There are the Mario + Rabbids games and I like those a lot, but I personally never saw them as part of the RPGs, moreso strategy games with RPG elements like Fire Emblem. It’s just how I see things but I won’t argue with people that think otherwise, perfectly fine in my book.

It just felt like that part of the franchise was basically done for, after so many years of being around, but then, this happened.

Super Mario RPG was announced to get a remake. This was obviously huge for many reasons. It is a niche title that did well back then, but doesn’t really represent the Mario world as we know it now. Not even Peach’s Castle had its design set in stone at that point, that’s how early a take on Mario as a world it is.

It’s extremely faithful to boot. Mario, Peach and Bowser were updated to their modern looks and Toad now has dips on the blue vest, all more than fine changes and besides that, the game is a modernized take on the original to a tee. The environments, original character designs, even everyone’s proportions, are spot on and kept as you remember them.

There is more to say, but that ties into the big announcement we got last Direct too. You know the one:

Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door is also getting a remake and it’s looking every bit as faithful as the RPG remake.

Given how much I have adored this branch of the franchise, I can’t put into words how much this return to what we used to have means to me, it’s genuinely special to me.

It’s hard to say which of these I would have deemed more out of reach, but having both of them on the horizon really makes me wonder about some stuff. In particular, perhaps they are deliberately aiming to relaunch the RPG branch with these, especially knowing the Switch successor is more than likely on the horizon.

Regardless of what the future holds, this announcement hit me in the best way on a personal level. I love RPG and was excited to see it get such a loving comeback, but Paper Mario felt like an even bigger deal. RPG was a one-off that did its thing and then went quiet. Paper Mario is a series that after the second game, has seen change after change that, along with interviews, made it seem like the series I fell in love with, wouldn’t ever go back to what it used to be.

Gonna say once again that this isn’t a means to bash the new games, there even is a lot to them I enjoy. The overworld gameplay is consistently good and it’s more explorative edge and things to do in it even are something the old games can learn from. I also really like Huey and Olivia and genuinely think they and their dynamics with Mario really do a lot to keep me engaged with their games.

Thing is,I still think the old formula was more rock solid and don’t believe in tossing that out just for the sake of being different. There really isn’t anything wrong with sequels that take an established foundation and just expand on and play with it and it’s not like the Crafts Trilogy, as I’ll call them for brevity, don’t repeat ideas either. Every new game has a castle in the sky, a crafts themed main partner, some level of Toad rescuing,  a game show at some point, Luigi popping up once per area, etc. Not even saying that as a bad thing, just saying it’s not like the series over the past 11 years hasn’t been using some elements multiple times too.

There is also THAT subject, character variety and yes, I am in the boat that the lack of it has harmed the modern games and no, I don’t think that what the old games did was very different from what Mario always does. 

I said this back in my essay on 64, but Mario always does what needs to be done to adapt itself to a new genre. In the platformers, new takes on established species are usually reserved for the mooks or bosses, because they are such an important asset of the game. In an RPG you get that too, but the NPCs you interact with also get more variety, especially the Toads, because interacting with them and a large chunk getting various bits of involvements in story beats or sidequests, is a big part of the game.

I genuinely don’t see how Galoombas, Goombrats, Cat Goombas or in a non-mook example, Goombette from Odyssey and RPG Goombas like Goombella or Frankly are all that different. They all serve a particular purpose and are given distinct designs and characteristics that compliment them. They’re the same thing and of course that’s also gonna mean more unique designs in the RPGs, because while reused models/sprites for generic NPCs is an RPG norm, you do want to create the impression of a lived in, diverse world, instead of making you consciously feel like you’re talking to the same guy over and over again.

It’s a reason and I was floored when I learned it, that the Super Mario kun adaptation of Color Splash has more Toad variety than the game itself:

Sure they got the same outfits, but that's what kun always did, even during TTYD days;

It’s just a massive benefit to establish character and a reason that the Rescue Squad, Captain T. Ode and the Professor from TOK are standouts of the Crafts trilogy, because they DO have something to visually communicate their character and go from there.

These games ARE still deeply rooted in Mario and just add what needs to be added to translate well into an RPG. Like people give a lot of flak to say, the old Dry Bones design in the first two Paper Marios and I get it, but it is important to note this was the most recent design available for them at the time:

The modern Dry Bones design wasn’t established yet, so they worked with what they had. The games never twisted anything Mario in ways that defiled its vision, they just did what they felt was needed to make the game enjoyable as an RPG and a Mario game.

Goes without saying, but seeing the battle system not tampered with is also really lovely to see. I won’t throw shade at the modern games, but I do personally think none of the modern games have come up with a replacement that compares to the old system, with SS and CS even having ways to softlock you in certain circumstances like a really unlucky Kamek curse in the latter, keeping you from using Jump cards against flying enemies.

This isn’t about me not liking something different. I’m an avid pre-Switch ND Cube Mario Party defender who would play all five of them over Super Mario Party (now here’s a hot take).

It’s not about me being pissy about the paper focus. I prefer when it’s just a stylistic choice, with the occasional visual gag nodding to it, but I can give credit when I feel a use of it is creative and not just the characters mentioning they’re paper like that’s a joke of its own.

I had more points like this but decided to trim things because as I said, the point isn’t to bash the new games, I just genuinely think RPG and TTYD have a stronger foundation and are just better translations of Mario into the RPG genre and hope to see them signal a return to this style of Mario RPGs. Heck, they can still make adventure games like the crafts trilogy as their own sub-series and freed from the burden of having to please an existing fan base of a different style, I honestly want to see them go all out with the direction they go for. It and the RPG Paper Mario can easily co-exist that way.

More than anything though, I am amazed these two games exist at all. Both RPG and TTYD are treasured by many, but they aren’t the platformers or Mario Kart or something more recent that can be seen as currently relevant. Bringing these two back shows they are listening to the fans and I hope they do well enough to show to Nintendo that this is something that pays off.

Above all else I want to celebrate that we are getting this kind of Mario game again. Sure, I’ll argue WHY I think it’s such a good thing, but this is more than anything a time to be happy, not to fight.

[r-2006-official]

Progress Report - October 2024

Hello, everyone! Hope you’re all doing well. Happy first progress report, and Happy Halloween!!!

I’ve never done one of these before, so bear with me as I try to figure it out.

Very nice news to share: in the past month, I’ve gotten a lot of preliminary planning done, to the point that I have a complete first draft of the outline of Sonic’s story! Of course, there’s still quite a bit I have to do; things will definitely be changed as I get to work on Shadow and Silver’s stories, but it’s a huge chunk of planning that I didn’t expect to be done this quickly. I also made a lot of progress on planning a side story I’m developing…but I fear I’ll say too much if I elaborate. Lastly, I’m working on - you guessed it - planning what designs I might want to change, and how I want to change them.

Anyways, I wanted to answer some questions some of you might have.

Q&A

How much of the game will you be rewriting?

I’m actually rewriting a lot less than I thought I would be (but still quite a lot). I’m trying to take the base concepts/structure of what was in the original game and make sense of it. Not everything will make the cut, but I’m trying to stay as close to the original vision of the game as possible with a little bit of my headcanons sprinkled in. Think of it a bit like the Resident Evil remakes; the broad strokes are (mostly) the same, but specific details differ.

How many stories will it have?

Four: Sonic’s, Shadow’s, Silver’s, and Final, same as the original.

What inspired this?

I’ve seen a couple people rewrite Sonic ‘06 over the years (mainly Story Surgery and Garrulous64), and I’ve wanted to try to do it myself for a while. The fact that Mephiles showed up again in Sonic x Shadow Generations (and there is some SHIT to unpack there) was the final kick I needed to start. There’s also, of course, the Snapcube dub. Expect at least one reference.

Will it be playable?

Sort of. It won’t be playable like the original (I’m nowhere NEAR able to program an entire game by myself, and I don’t want the gameplay to be Sonic ‘06 Two: Electric Boogaloo), but I will be describing my vision for if this game was actually playable as it goes along. Instead of traditional Sonic gameplay, I’ll be presenting the story in the form of a visual novel.

What engine are you using?

Ren’Py! It’s a free, Python-based engine made specifically for visual novels that’s really easy to learn and use! It’s actually the engine that Doki Doki Literature Club was made in; if that doesn’t speak for how versatile Ren’Py is, I don’t know what does.

Are you doing this all by yourself?

As of now, yes. If I do end up bringing someone else on for art, voice acting, etc., it probably won’t be for a while.

Did you say voice acting?

Yep! Ideally I do want to have voice acting. Whether or not it WILL, it’s too early to say.

Which characters will be staying?

As of now, all major characters will be returning. Whether that ends up sticking is to be determined.

And Sonic Man, of course. Who could forget Sonic Man?

Will [insert plot point] still be in the final version?

That’ll have to wait at least until I have a concrete outline - and there’s some things I want to keep a secret until the final release.

Will Elise still kiss Sonic?

Nope. First, I don’t ship it (but no shame if you do!). Second, even if I did, the current plan is to at least try to leave any ships up to interpretation.

Is Rush/Rivals canon?

No. Silver and Blaze are going to have a new backstory which’ll probably get expanded on at some point. Canon is a sandbox and I am a five year old at play.

When is the finished game coming out?

No clue yet, I literally started this a month ago and have real life to juggle with this.

Where can I get the most up to date info?

These monthly progress reports are going to be the primary source for information. I also might be dropping things more frequently depending on what stage of production I’m in, but that remains to be seen. Regardless, any updates will be the same on both the official tumblr (r-2006-official) and the Game Jolt page (sorry, itch.io people).

And that’s pretty much it! Hopefully by next month I’ll have more to report on. If you have questions you’d like me to answer next month, leave a comment!

Thanks for reading, and until next time!

-Calypso

[shins-rpc-sources]

COLOR TEXT TUTORIAL

so i made a tutorial in the past explaining how to do add color to your text on my previous blog @shinsources but unfortunately it's no longer active. and not only that but i found it a bit complicated so i'm gonna go ahead and remake it. the things you will need will be Beta Text Editor, Roleplay Formatter, and a website that provides you with color hexes. here are a couple that i recommend using:

encycolorpedia

color-hex

wikipedia ( a - f ) ( g - m ) ( n - z )

so the reason you have to use BTE is because colored text is only available in BTE and not LTE. and the reason i recommend you using Roleplay Formatter is because the number of options BTE supplies us with is ... uh ... limited, to put it bluntly. we literally only get eight colors which sucks. but whatever. eight is better than nothing i guess. idk.

anyways! let's get to the actual tutorial, yes? because it's relatively long i'mma throw everything under a READ MORE for simplicity's sake.

now all you have to do is type out your response on Roleplay Formatter, highlight the text you want to color, and then select color text font as shown down below.

once you click on that the image on the top will pop up. i need you to do me a favor and click on more options which will trigger the image on the bottom to pop up.

now obviously you're gonna want to pick out your color in advance because that'll make things 1,000,000 times easier in the long run. i'mma choose emerald green because that's what i use for my ulquiorra blog over @segnuda ( shameless self promo ). the color hex for emerald green is #50C878 for any of you wondering, fyi. you will do like i did in the image on the top and paste it in the second or bottom box. once you do that you click on okay and it will turn out like it does in the image on the bottom.

now i recommend you going ham and doing anything fancy shmancy with your text — bold, italics, strikethrough, small font, etc. — because who doesn't like fancying up their writing, right? i decided to make my text small ( in which you click on Styles until you see Small and click on that ) and bold / italicize / underline the first line as seen in the image on the top. once you get everything to your likings click on Source as highlighted in the image on the bottom.

NOTE: don't pull a me and actually underline your stuff because i forgot that BTE doesn't support underline. it won't register it at all.

once you've done that, you'll see something similar to the image similar to the one on the top. i need you to copy the whole entire source code via CTRL + C and then get onto tumblr followed by getting a text box open. i need you to do like i did in this tutorial here and completely backspace to where it goes from the middle image to the bottom image.

once done, click on the settings widget in the top right corner and go from Rich text to HTML as seen in the top image. it'll now look something like the image in the middle. after you've done that, paste the code you just copied and it'll look a little something like the one on the bottom.

when done you'll click on the settings widget again and go from HTML to Rich text. once done it'll look a little something like this!

literally all you have to do now is add any icons you want and the whole nine yards then you're good to go! simple as that!

[randomnameless]

I've seen a post on redshit saying deghinsea was racist and I don't understand how people even came to that conclusion. The fandom isn't ready to Tellius remakes

Are you sure it was on redshit and not here anon? lol

If it's about the branded issue, Deghinsea received a very crappy hand to deal with - and we sure as hell don't see what happens or how the Branded are dealt with in Hatari, save for a meaningless "kumbaya" because the Tellius verse completely falls on its head with this question -

Tellius is all about discriminations and how stupid it is - only to, uh, biologically, tell you one race is "superior" to the other because the other "dies" when both races mix to make a baby.

Ergo, if beorcs and laguz "coexist" peacefully and make tons of babies, the laguz will cease to exist - because each time a branded is born (or even just conceived?) the laguz parent ceases to be a laguz.

In a context of racial tensions (Tellius isn't very clear on the details, but there used to be a war where laguz enslaved beorcs, then beorcs enslave laguz?) revealing this to the public meant ultimately yes, Laguz were going to go extinct unless they got rid of beorcs.

In a way, I find it very different from the manakete - dragon stone - problem, because Manaketes still can access to their power through a device, but they are still manaketes. In the Archanea verse at least (but it's suggested even in Elibe?) the dragon parent doesn't lose their power, even if they have a dragon stone, when they hold hands with a human to make a baby, Nah exists, the Nini siblings exist (and iirc it's implied their mom was a dragon when she went "missing"?) etc etc.

But in Tellius?

Lehran wanted to kill himself because he wasn't a "laguz" anymore, he can't sing, he can't hear the voice of the Goddess, he can't transform - he is not a laguz anymore, but he isn't a beorc either.

In an era where people genuinely thought Claude "killed the CEO of racism" and don't even want to think more than 12 seconds about the Nabateans and what revealing the truth about them may create as a result (it's a egg hunt, but this time, humans are hunting chocolate eggs for easter, they hunt living beings to vivisect them to create more shiny weapons or magic milkshakes to gain a longer life and superpowers), Tellius remakes and the kind of themes and discussion brought by this duology are completely inaudible.

(and especially since Tellius's main lead doesn't give a fuck about the world or the consequences of his and the general party's actions as he fucks off to another continent with his besties, letting everyone else piece back and rebuild the continent)

What was Deghinsea supposed to do? Reveal to Laguz that yes, coexistence is impossible because they are bound to disappear if they coexist too much with Beorcs? How would the Laguz react? Lash out against Beorcs and exterminate them to make sure the Laguz, as a race, will continue to exist? And how would the Beorc react? Feel even more superior because whatever happens the "punished" parent for branded unions will forever be the Laguz and not the Beorc, and thus will start to call Laguz "subhumans" even more recently than they do in canon?

What was the solution? His lie sure led branded to be shunned and outright despised - but let's be real, if he revealed the truth, wouldn't branded still be despised by Laguz, who would see them as symbols and reasons why "their race" loses to Beorcs ?

I've seen some fics try to dance around the question by saying, more or less, Laguz are seen as giving their powers to the baby and it's a gesture of affection - but still, why should the Laguz be the only to "pass on" something to the baby when the Beorc can just, you know, get said baby without "losing"/"passing on" anything ?

I really don't know what IS was thinking when they made this "rule" - especially coupled with Yune's insane "teehee it was never intended it just happened like that!" that made Stefan weep, at Deghinshea's lie, of course, but in general, at the entire "Branded issue" ; ffs the Goddess (or one half of the goddess) said Laguz and Beorcs cannot coexists, and it wasn't something that was planned, it just happens.

I honestly consider this message "race A is superior to race B because race B ceases to exist if it breeds too much with race A" as bad as Fodlan's "imperialism good akshually" and honestly don't know why IS went through this route.

To add more drama maybe, but damn if this is a stinky message to have in a series about acceptance and coexistence - especially coming after Elibe and the heavily implied (as of FE7) dragon hybrid hero (of FE6).

[ineffable-opinions]

Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun (2023) ep. 1 & 2

Ongoing Review: So good so far. Ongoing Rating: 7.5/10

Summary: Yankee remakes himself after falling for his class teacher.

What I liked:

#1 Colorful

From the establishing shot, that gave a glimpse of the geography, it is a riot of colors. It doesn’t look very pale or washed out like many other Japanese BL. Those autumnal colors are leaning towards the cheerful mood of the series.

#2 Delinquent uke

This is one of Japanese BL’s classic archetypes. But BL live-action industry as it exists today doesn’t favor such genre conventions for various reasons. That’s why it took so long for us to get a certified yankee.

But that’s not gonna last. Love seemed to have seeped into his bones. Sayonara, yankee spirit! Time to turn over a new leaf and transform oneself into a good student for notice-me-sensei purposes.

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry (2022) did this before. It had a failed coupling between a yankee and his teacher.

#3 Supporting Cast

 Both the classmate and senior are very supportive of Toki-kun. It is probably part indicative of changing attitudes towards queer individuals and relationships and part instructive of ideal attitudes.

This is a common trope now with very little scope for meaningful subversion. Kamisama no Ekohiiki (2022) and Takara-kun to Amagi-kun (2022) played around with that trope. I particularly enjoyed Takara-Tanaka juxtaposition in the latter.

#4 Opening on a fight

It establishes the character very well. We get to see Toki-kun in his element. The fight was well choreographed and captured.  

#5 Chase and capture

I loved how fun the chase was. Running like crazy with my beloved chasing me is one of my most favorite things. Cinderella-shoe-slip moment added a bit of flavor to the chase. I particularly like Sahara-sensei’s leap from the wall. It made me think that sensei probably was delinquent in his time. But then he is the physical education instructor, so that can also explain his physicality and the jump.

#6 Sahara’s past

I have a feeling I’m not gonna like his high school love-interest. The blurred shot we got when Sahara looks at his love-interest in the crowd before admittedly eating the paper slip induced in me less than favorable view of the person even before (if at all) face-reveal. I like being made to feel that way.

#7 Toki-kun’s way of thinking

His vivid imagination! I feel seen and validated. Yes yes, some of us have more going on in our heads than this world can take.

#8 Love confession

I am so glad Toki got to confess pretty early on in this narrative. I’m not sure how Sahara would interpret it. Please don’t be intentionally dense. But the chances of that are high, I know.

I am glad Sahara got confessed to. That man seems to be carrying loads that he clearly shouldn’t. But a BL has to do what it has to. And no, I’m not talking about the sweetest burden, Toki-kun with his sprained leg.

What I didn’t like:

#1 Synthetic sweetness

The Snow White thing from next ep. might push the synthetic sweetness (scenes meant to develop closeness/intimacy between characters through seemingly synthetic interactions) into bitter territory.

#2 Noticeable inconsistency in coloring

There were some scenes where the lighting and resultant coloring were inconsistent between shots.