#I FIXED THE FORMATTING!!! and added the animation

[cakesmelons]

I feel like Ink knows that Error x ink is a very popular ship.... So I think he'd like getting all the shippers riled up just for funsies <3

And then leaving Error to suffer through an influx of screams and cheers from said shippers

(stills under cut)

[rjalker]

apparently a bunch more people are coming to the Flatland fandom / tags because of gravity falls so PSA:

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, is public domain. It belongs to everyone. You do not need to buy a physical copy to read it. It has no copyright. It belongs to everyone.

It is free to read online. There are free audiobooks.

Here's another masterpost

Here's a link to it on Project Gutenberg where you can read and download it in many formats:

Here's an amazing free audiobook on the internet archive:

Here's where you can read the 2024 translation into modern English on the internet archive:

there are some typos that I need to fix but. I have covid I'm not doing that right now.

You can also read this translation here on tumblr at @flatland-a-2024-translation

There's an audiobook version on youtube as well now.

___

Here’s an animation from 1965

Here’s a stop motion film from 1982 in Italian with English subtitles

Here’s an animation from 2006

___

I do not recommend watching the free 2007 Flatland film which you can find on youtube until you've read or listened to the book unless you want to be really confused. The movie is an absurdist comedy. The book is a political satire. The movie is better appreciated after you've already read/listened to the book.

It also has a lot of flashing lights and motion-sickness inducing spinning. The timestamps for those can be found here. Please be careful if you have photosensitivity.

do not spend money on Flatland until you already know you like it. you do not need to spend money at all. It's public domain. it belongs to all of us.

Very important edit: The creator of the 2007 film that's free on youtube, Ladd Ehlinger is an extremely racist and misogynistic conservative. He made a political ad so blatantly racist and sexist that youtube has literally resstricted it, so that you can't share the link outside the site. Simply google his name and you will see dozens upon dozens of articles about how bigoted he is.,

Please be aware of what kind of person made that movie when you watch it. His bigotry is baked into the movie, and is why he refused to actually do anything with the original political commentary from the book.

You are not a bad person if you already watched the movie and enjoyed it, but you do need to be aware of what kind of person made it and how that affected the movie, and make sure others are warned.

[eschergirls]

January 2025 Update & 2024 Supporter Thank You

Hi everyone! December is over so it's time not just for the January update and thank you post, but also to thank everybody who supported Escher Girls in 2024!

This month has no major external site updates, but we have updated the site internal software which should hopefully fix some errors. We've also fixed the formatting in the way the site displays gifs and videos in previews in the tags, so there shouldn't be giant white spaces between each post.

This month I didn't have a lot of time to fix up old posts because I've been jumping from appointment to appointment for the health thing I mentioned before. But I was able to fix up a few posts.

Specifically, I restored this post of Kevin Nash's short-lived comic book, a panel of Gamora's butt sucking in her thong and also her entire body I guess?, this cover of Shanna: The She-Devil in a boobs and butt pose, Nikki Doyle being turned into a snake by a snake, and two really good fan-art/redraws of Nikki Doyle, one by Keskerist, and another by JustTheMiles. I also fixed up and sourced the Samurai Champloo bomb-boobs video from a very old post.

All restored/fixed posts have working images, videos, and animated gifs (a lot were broken or deleted by either Tumblr or during the move to the new site), and have added image descriptions for screenreaders, sources, and link to the corresponding cross-post on Tumblr and vice versa (except for the cases where Tumblr removed the post entirely either because the submitter deleted their blog/submission, or Tumblr's algorithm mistakenly tagged something as nudity, usually a solid coloured bodysuit, in those cases I've tried to find an archived version to link to). For very old Tumblr posts that don't allow image captions, I've linked the images to the image hosted on EscherGirls.com which does have image captions.

And now I want to give a big thank you to Escher Girls' Patreon subscribers for all of 2024 regardless of when you subscribed or for how long. I really appreciate all the help people give me to help keep the site up, pay for hosting and domain costs (which keep going up due to inflation v_v), and allow us to keep the site updated.

So thank you so so much to the following people for being 2024 Patreon subscribers:

Anne Adler Cat Mara CheerfulOptimistic Chris McKenzie Em Bardon First Time Trek Greg Sepelak Karrius Ken Trosaurus Kevin Carson Kim Wincen Leak  Manuel Dalton Mary Kuhner Max Schwarz Miriam Pody Morgan McEvoy randomisedmongoose Rebecca Breu Ringoko  Ryan Gerber Sam Mikes Sean Sea Who Used To Be Much More Annoying SpecialRandomCast  Thomas Thomas Key

And also special thank yous to JohnnyBob8 and PJ Evans for their donations through Ko-Fi in 2024!

And also a huge thank you to everybody in general who reads, submits, reblogs, comments, and otherwise interacts with the blog! Escher Girls' audience is truly great and I love seeing all of your responses to my posts and your captions!

Also, if anybody is on Fedi and wants to talk to me, I'm at https://urusai.social/@ami_angelwings.

Thank you so much and see you next month!

Ami

PS: As a reminder, we added a button that links to the Escher Girls Tumblr and to our RSS feed for those who want to follow that way. (For newbies, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is basically a feed you can read using an RSS reader. Simply copy and paste https://eschergirls.com/rss.xml into an RSS reader and it will keep you up to date on Escher Girls!)

Make sure it is eschergirls.com and not eschergirls.tumblr.com, as that is Tumblr, and not the self-hosted site.

If you have any issues with the site or suggestions to improve it, please do not hesitate to contact me and let me know!

If you wish to support Escher Girls, you can subscribe to our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ami_angelwings or donate through Ko-Fi at: https://ko-fi.com/amiangelwings.

[yatagarasuhonyaku]

The Raven of the Empty Coffin: Chapter 3 "Chihaya" Part 3

Disclaimer: This is a fan-translation japanese-english of the original novel. The events of this novel follow after what's already covered by the anime. For an easier understanding, I recommend first reading the few scenes of previous books I've already translated.

Blog version

For the Index, you can find it HERE

Previously: Chihaya (Part 1)

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

Chapter 3: Chihaya (Part 3)

With summer’s end, it was time to return after their long holidays. While the temperatures remained high, clouds, absent during the summer, now blocked off the ever waning sunlight from time to time. The trainees’ return to the Monastery marked the restart of their training.

Suikan’s attitude towards Yukiya hadn’t changed at all, even after Seiken's warning. The vacations may have come and gone, but he kept taking him on as his opponent just as relentlessly as he had before. A custom of sorts by that point, the other trainees had grown quite weary at the state of affairs—but for Suikan, it felt like a duty he absolutely had to uphold.

“The rebels’ base of operations is the temple. The suppression forces are a total of forty men. One General, two Officials. A quarter of the soldiers have Horses, Scouts and Spies available. Meanwhile, the rebel forces consist of one General, no Officials, fifty Half-Horses, no weapons, Scouts and Spies available.” As he heard his coworker dispassionately announce the conditions of the match, Suikan's eyes were fixed on the Field, ironing out his strategy going forwards.

“The Field represents the occupation of Deer Cry Temple, Ariake Township, Western Region. The events take place during the first month of the year, and the emperor orders you to suppress the revolt.”

Suikan stared at Yukiya, who was standing on the other side of the board, before doing the customary greetings. “Thank you for having me.”

“Thank you for having me.”

The loser during a Board Drill was whoever let their guard down first, no matter the opponent. Suikan wasn't planning to go easy on him in the slightest.

While he had used much more difficult Fields with Yukiya than with the others since the very start, he had switched to including Spies ever since the end of the holidays. The battles on the board had become truly intricate.

The newly added Spies were a particularly difficult piece to employ. They served a similar purpose as the Scouts, but the range of the Spies’ reconnaissance wasn’t as limited—they were even capable of accessing the opponent’s camp. On top of that, the Spies, unlike the Scouts, were invisible to the enemy's eyes until they actively sought for them in their specific position. To make matters worse, the range of such efforts was determined by the dice. All in all, it made them quite an annoying piece to handle.

On the upside, Spies were very slow to move, which made it realistic to handle all possible openings as long as one was thorough in searching for them. It was especially true as of late—Yukiya had grown quite fond of drawn-out battle strategies, which made them an inconvenience rather than a substantial problem.

Yukiya had dedicated himself to safe, steady offensives ever since that first big defeat. He played by the book, giving Suikan no opening to attack and giving consistent priority to guaranteed targets. Not like it mattered—his weakness lied at the end of a match, when he would start to panic and whatever pressure he applied would die down. In the end, his time would either run out, incapable of taking down Suikan's tightly formed defenses, or he would attempt a suicide attack right at the very end and get defeated in turn. It was one or the other, every time.

“Scout number two, move to B3. Mounted Units numbers two to seven disperse in rows of three.”

As usual, Yukiya started by building up a defensive formation for his General. He was clearly hunkering down for a long battle.

——Fine. If that was what he wanted, Suikan would let him have his test of endurance.

Suikan started to prepare for the Spies’ advancement, just in case, diligently performing searches around the Field while he flawlessly set up his armies in turn. If the situation didn’t change anytime soon, his defenses would be perfect before the first day's night time period started—or so he thought, as he finished moving his own pieces and announced so.

“Taken,” Yukiya announced with his usual, utterly unflappable attitude.

At first, Suikan couldn't make any sense of the word. He wasn't the only one—the judge too had frozen at the unexpected announcement. The other trainees, who had been watching their encounter, were similarly caught off-guard by such a sudden change to the usual flow of events. They all looked at them in shock, none of those present apparently capable of understanding what Yukiya meant immediately.

‘Taken’ was a fixed phrase. One often heard at the end of a Board Drill—quite the common one, in fact, given how fast-paced the encounters between trainees usually were.

“It can't be—” Suikan gasped, his eyes drifting towards the Assistant Instructor on scorekeeping duty. The man was pale as a sheet as well.

“Judge, please, your verification,” Yukiya asked.

In answer, the scorekeeper passed the encounter's register to the judge. The man was left in stunned silence, his gaze jumping from the paper to the board and back, comparing them with the look of someone who had just seen the most horrifying of spectacles. Afterwards, incredulity painted all over his face, he finally held up his arm in Yukiya’s direction.

“...... I verified it. Winner, upper side.”

Taken——the General's head off.

“Give me the pieces’… the Spies’ movements,” Suikan requested in an utterly quiet voice.

It was only then that the trainees finally got an idea of what had actually happened. In their astonishment, they had been causing quite a ruckus among themselves, discussing the situation. It had to be some sort of mistake, right? That is, until the movements of those invisible pieces became clear to them.

The Assistant Instructor pulled three Spies out of the box.

Suikan had found the first one during the match itself, and it was found exactly where he had expected it to be. The second one, meanwhile, was more or less where he had imagined as well, this time out of pure logic.

The third Spy, however, was the problem. The Assistant Instructor kept edging closer and closer to Suikan, piece still in hand. Finally, while looking at Suikan with actual fear in his eyes, he placed the piece with a shaking hand—it was inside Suikan's camp, right behind his General. It was impossible for his General to escape, no matter which tactics Suikan employed. 

A usually impossible sneak attack—an assassination worth the name of miracle.

It cannot be, he thought. He hadn't let his guard down. While it was true he didn't expect Yukiya to send his Spies to invade so early on, he had been performing thorough searches. It couldn't have been that easy for him to miss it altogether.

At that moment, Suikan violently grabbed the Warfare Record's papers out of his Assistant Instructor's hands and started to examine them. Yukiya’s third Spy had moved through the dead angles of Suikan's army with the precision of a thread passing through the eye of a needle. It had moved as if the boy knew all along exactly which squares would be invisible to Suikan’s eyes in the coming turns.

There was no other way to explain it. Otherwise, why would he even move in such an inefficient manner? He had moved back and forth, alternating between retreating and advancing, until he had successfully invaded Suikan's camp.

It was purposeful. Yukiya had to have moved like that because he could accurately predict the range of his searches. But—how did he do it? The range was decided by dice rolls, there was no way to accurately predict random rolls. What the hell had he seen!?

Meanwhile, the trainees’ murmuring remained incessant and even the Assistant Teachers were joining in. ‘It's impossible’, ‘what's this?’ The voices reached him from afar.

And, in the middle of such chaos, Yukiya’s behavior alone was just as usual.

“Instructor Suikan, remember what you told me before?” Yukiya calmly asked him. There was no pride in his formidable win to be seen, as if it was all a foretold conclusion. “The weak have no right to speak. If you have any problems, complain after you beat me at least once, you said. So, taking you at your word, I just earned my right to speak my mind, didn't I?” Yukiya declared with a smile. 

“To be honest with you, and for a long time now, I've had my doubts about whether you’re apt to be a Monastery Instructor. I mean, how can you take on such a duty when you just lost against a trainee and, more so, a Seed who has barely even started to learn Strategy?” The commotion at the Hall abruptly died down, quickly replaced by deafening silence. “Instructor Suikan, please, resign from your position. That's probably the best for everyone involved.”

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

“What trick did you use?” Kimichika approached them with clear anger in his eyes. Shigemaru felt himself getting cold feet, but Yukiya, the very target of the implicit threat, kept his usual nonchalant expression.

“Oh, are you talking about me?”

“Don't you play innocent. The Instructors are in an uproar at the moment.”

It all happened during lunchtime.

Yukiya and Shigemaru had been on their way to the Dining Hall when Kimichika, accompanied by all the other Southern Court Ravens, came to surround them. The rumors had already spread throughout the entire Monastery—that a Seed had defeated Strategy’s Practical Instructor in a Board Drill that very morning and had even asked for his resignation. 

Perhaps it was because of the shock he felt at Suikan's position being challenged, given he had been playing favorites with him, but Kimichika even went through the trouble of approaching them first.

“——You cheated, right?”

“Oh, no way. You really think Yukiya cheated just because he happened to win once?” Shigemaru intervened instead.

Kimichika gave him a terrifying glare in turn. “I checked the Warfare Record. That win is abnormal, no matter how you put it.”

Shigemaru was well aware of that, actually. After all, that very morning, Yukiya had dropped an ‘it’s time to pick a little fight’ to him before he had gone to Strategy. Shigemaru had no idea what trick Yukiya had used exactly, but he knew it wasn’t pure chance at least.

Yukiya had, somehow, cheated—that was the only explanation available. And yet, everyone helping out during the Drill had been staff members. There was no reason to suspect any of them, and nobody could figure out what Yukiya had actually done to begin with.

That said, Kimichika’s fury was unrelenting. “What's wrong with you? You win by cheating and have the gall to ask for an Instructor to resign?”

“I didn't cheat. I'm not you, you know.”

“Not me? What are you implying? That I’ve cheated before?”

“You managed to pass and become a Sapling despite your awful scores at Theory, I’ve heard, only because you had Instructor Suikan's favor. Let me guess, perhaps that's why you're so angry now? If Instructor Suikan leaves, that means you’ll be dropping out next.”

Kimichika fell for Yukiya's blatant provocation hook, line and sinker. “Don't you fuck with me! Who even suggested such baseless crap!?”

“Oh, Sapling Ichiryuu.”

“He's right there, in fact.” Shigemaru pointed to the masses of gathered onlookers, who parted to show Ichiryuu with Akeru and Chihaya at his sides, holding him in place by the arms.

“So it was you who spouted that rubbish!” Kimichika howled at Ichiryuu, who had the look of a man wondering why his life had to turn out like this.

“And Sapling Ichiryuu isn’t the only one who thinks there’s a problem. We do too,” a red-faced Akeru declared.

Chihaya nodded in agreement. “Indeed. As someone who once served you—even if you didn't actually cheat at the exams, I don't think you are any more fit to be a trainee.”

Kimichika’s expression changed in an instant—it was rare for Chihaya to talk so much. “...... Chihaya, who do you think you're siding with?”

“Sapling Ichiryuu, of course?”

“And who the hell do you think helped you get here in the first place? We, the Minami-Tachibana, saved you from becoming a horse! It's thanks to us that you and that sister of yours didn’t die of hunger in the wild! You ungrateful scum!” Kimichika spat out.

Akeru's expression twisted pathetically. “To think I was like him once, I get the shivers……”

“But not anymore, at least.”

Comforted by Chihaya’s words, Akeru gave him a nod and, with a renewed air of dignity, turned again to lock eyes with Kimichika. “It's your mistake to think circumstances aren't ever going to change, Kimichika. I got the deed for Chihaya's sister. He isn't under your family's control anymore.”

Kimichika snorted in answer. “That's impossible, there's no way you can do that.”

“But it's the truth. Sorry to say, it's too late for you to do anything about it.”

The confidence in Kimichika's expression faltered, for a short second, replaced by uncertainty. “That can’t be…… He owes my father and I a huge debt.”

“Yes, and that shows there's a problem with you. Big enough for an indebted subordinate to forsake you,” Akeru replied.

Before Kimichika could respond, however, the sound of Yukiya's laughter interrupted them.

“I'm sorry for the insolence, Sapling Kimichika, but, you know, no matter how much I think about it, I can't understand how you can be our senior. And I swear, it's not to make fun of you. I truly don't get it.” Yukiya spoke with an artificially troubled face, derision in his eyes. “But hey, what can you do about it, really? You may lack the strength and wits, but that's something one is born with, so there's no fixing that. That said,” Yukiya added with absolute delight, “that’s not the main problem—it’s your garbage personality. No positives to be found. Sapling Ichiryuu is a hundred times more worthy of respect as our senior than you, so I hope you realize this is all your own fault?”

Kimichika’s fist launched towards Yukiya’s face, but never reached it. Chihaya kicked the boy instead.

——And so the brawl started.

“It's a fight!”

As the onlookers mostly remained to watch, a few among them quickly ran away to warn the Instructors. On Kimichika's side were his followers and other trainees affiliated with the South, which, adding up the Saplings and Seeds, totaled to about ten people. On the other hand, the study group's regulars quickly joined Ichiryuu's side. As a result, their numbers were more or less even.

Shigemaru had heard the rumors, but Kimichika proved to be a surprisingly capable fighter. Much to his misfortune, however, his opponent was none other than Chihaya, who even the Instructors called a genius among themselves.

On top of that, maybe because of all the pent-up anger, Chihaya’s kicking onslaught on Kimichika was truly one full of passion. He didn’t use his Ornamented Blade at all, despite Kimichika’s use of his own—whether it was because he wanted to faithfully keep his word to Ichiryuu or not, it was hard to tell.

Shigemaru himself was busy handling two of the opponent Saplings, but Yukiya’s loud laughter reached him all the same. “What was that? Don’t tell me you intended to hit me with such a move? That was so weak a fly could have landed on your fist mid-punch. Is everything alright with you?”

Yukiya was blocking off all attacks from Kimichika's Ornamented Blade with just the bare minimum of movement, wholeheartedly dedicated to provoking him. Then, the very second Kimichika lost his focus, blinded by fury, Yukiya closed the distance between them. He grabbed him by the joints and hurled him to the ground without letting go.

“Aurgh!”

“Are you alright? I’m so sorry, does it hurt?” Quite the crude question to ask, given Yukiya had followed it with a kick on the downed Kimichika. 

“Chihaya!” Kippei yelled in a panic.

Shigemaru's gaze turned to the boy's direction. Akeru and the others were struggling, but, at the moment, Chihaya was busy punting his heel into Kimichika's nape.

“Leave this to me,” Yukiya said to him.

Chihaya nodded to him and launched into a sprint towards Akeru's group. As if taking his place, Yukiya moved to stand in front of Kimichika.

“Dammit! Fuck you, Wakamiya's dog!” Kimichika spat out venomously, shaking his head.

Yukiya’s lips, in answer, curved into an enchanting smile. “And gladly so. Much better than to be someone like you, unworthy to even become someone's dog.” 

Kimichika brought his Ornamented Blade down on Yukiya, who avoided it with ease and in turn pulled him by the arm. He kicked the ground slightly, launching himself into the air in order to trip Kimichika with his own weight. The boy didn’t seem to have even the slightest idea of what was happening to him as Yukiya threw himself to the ground, dragging Kimichika along with him.

Even Shigemaru, who was relatively far away, got to hear the awful sound that Kimichika's suddenly strained joints made. He let out an ear-piercing scream, but Yukiya didn't release him.

“How does it feel, huh? To be bitten by a dog. You made fun of us relentlessly, yet your entire additional year’s worth of training has proven useless. What's it like? You know, if only you had been a bit less of an ass, I may have even given pity some thought!” Yukiya let out a raucous laugh. “Oh, and please do me the favor of placing all that blame on your own idiocy.”

By that point, Shigemaru had finally downed the two Saplings he had been fighting and was ready to intervene if the situation demanded it, but he was instead left momentarily speechless by Yukiya's delight. “...... Enough, that’s overdoing it. Yukiya, stop right there. Continuing won't do you any good.” 

Yukiya looked at him in surprise. “I see… If you say so, Shige, I guess I'll leave it at this.”

Yukiya stood up and walked away, just like that. Kimichika, however, was left crouching down, drenched in cold sweat and clutching his injured arm. At that moment, a limping Akeru—he must also have gotten hurt—approached them.

“Shigemaru, Yukiya. Got any wounds?”

“None worth mentioning. How about everyone else?”

“We all got some to our name…… but our opponents got worse. All thanks to Chihaya, he took them all down.” Would it be correct to call this a win? Shigemaru wondered to himself as another voice interrupted the scene.

“What has happened here!?” It was an adult, no doubt about it. They finally arrived.

Shigemaru turned to take a look in the voice’s direction. There was a group of Instructors running towards them, led by Seiken. While he had been expecting them, Shigemaru could never have guessed he would see the man behind them. His was an unforgettable appearance.

Somewhere else in the hallway, he heard someone’s horrified yelp.

“You gotta be kidding me. What's that man doing here!?” Ichiryuu asked in terror. He must have been caught completely off-guard, much like Shigemaru.

——Rokon, Natsuka’s close vassal, was there.

Kimichika's actual older brother had just arrived with the Instructors—and right after Yukiya had thoroughly trashed the boy.

“Who started this?” Seiken closed the distance between them and took a quick look at the people involved. He already had an idea of what had transpired there, obviously enough. In answer to his question, Yukiya immediately raised his hand. Shigemaru had expected him to shamelessly place the blame on Ichiryuu, yet the truth proved to be different altogether.

“I did,” Yukiya gracefully admitted, his eyes fixed on Rokon's direction. “Lord Rokon, first, my apologies for causing harm to your esteemed brother, however—”

“Don't bother,” Rokon's low, gruff voice brusquely interrupted Yukiya's attempt at a defense. “I'm well aware of the situation here at the Monastery as of late. Including the fact that a certain someone snatched my family's servant away.”

“Brother,” Kimichika pitifully pleaded for help, groveling on the ground. “Please, punish them. They forgot their place and rank and dared to deride Lord Natsuka. It's not something we can forgive!”

“Indeed, it's unforgivable.” Kimichika's expression softened after hearing his brother's beast-like roar. But his peace didn't last long, as Rokon walked briskly towards him and mercilessly kicked his own brother in the face. Such was the impact that some of Kimichika's teeth were sent flying along with his body.

Everyone was left stupefied, even those who had just fought him, as they saw his body violently roll on the ground.

“Kimichika! Are you alright!?” A panicking Suikan took the boy in his arms and helped him sit up. By that point, Kimichika's body was wounded all over. 

Rokon, the very man who had just sent his own little brother flying with a kick, shook his head in disappointment.

“Brave of you to say those things. Aren't you the one who has forgotten his place and rank? I’ve heard it all, you know.” Rokon looked down on Kimichika. “You shamelessly declared yourself part of Lord Natsuka's Faction and made a show of your contempt towards His Highness Wakamiya within the Monastery. What qualification does someone who openly despises His Highness like that have to become a Yamauchi Guard, huh!?”

“What are you saying? Brother, didn't you—”

“Shut up!” This time, Rokon slapped Kimichika into forceful silence.

“Enough, Michichika!” Seiken stood up to protect Kimichika. Rokon returned his glare, utterly calm.

“These are my family's issues. It's not your place to get involved.”

“This is the Unbending Reed Monastery, and he's a trainee. It's you who doesn't have the right to get involved,” Seiken firmly declared, much to Rokon's sudden and apparent amusement.

“——Have you forgotten the matter that brought me here today, by any chance? It's for Kimichika's expellment.” Shock ran across the until then paralyzed trainees.

“Brother…?”

Rokon looked at his stupefied brother in a manner that could only be described as heartless. 

“From this moment onwards, he isn't a trainee here at the Monastery any longer. Oh, and I almost forgot. I had some words for the actual trainees.” The crowd froze out of sheer fear. After witnessing Rokon's brutal punishment, they were all terrified of him. “I don't know what my brother has prated on about, but Lord Natsuka’s loyalty to His Highness Wakamiya is genuine. If you keep ignoring his wishes and imposing your own desires on Lord Natsuka, you'll just end up like my brother here.”

After that declaration, Rokon took Kimichika by the hair and pulled him up as he let out a pained scream. Kimichika’s cheeks swelled up red as blood gushed down from his mouth. “So, sorry for all the trouble.”

“Stop!” Seiken ordered him in a fury, but he was completely ignored and Kimichika, left at the mercy of his brother’s whims, was dragged out of the building by Rokon.

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

“I hope you realize why we have called you here.”

“I do.”

The trainee in question remained utterly unfazed even in front of Shoukaku, his expression filled with what one could define as serenity. Shoukaku, as the Monastery's Director, had heard all the rumors about this Seed. He had held the position of His Highness Wakamiya's close aide before even coming to join them.

2-10’s Yukiya of Taruhi.

In the middle of the hall, built specifically for Board Drills, stood a Field. Yukiya and himself aside, they were accompanied by Kashin, the Instructor in charge of the Seeds’ practical courses; Seiken, who held the same position for theory classes; and Suikan, the man who had suffered that massive loss during that very morning's Board Drill session.

Shoukaku had heard of the circumstances that had led to the brawl, and so had decided to start by clearing up the cheating accusations surrounding the cause of it all—Yukiya.

“I've seen the Warfare Records and I'm just as surprised as everyone else. It just can't be a coincidence. You planned to use that Spy piece as an assassin from the start, right?” Shoukaku asked, seeking confirmation.

“That's right,” Yukiya obediently agreed with him again. 

“It's embarrassing to admit, but we can't figure out how you managed to do so. It's as if you knew what number would be rolled next and while that's the only explanation available, we had an Assistant Instructor on the task. We must consider he somehow falsified the rolls, assuming it's even a possibility, but——”

“The Assistant Instructor wasn’t trying to make me win, and he didn’t falsify anything either. There's no need to do that to begin with,” Yukiya explained to them, his expression ever so slightly troubled. “Please, take a look. I'm going to roll a one.”

Yukiya took a dice someone had left on top of the desk. Then, firmly pinching the sides of it with his nails, he rolled it on the desk. Just as he said, the result was one.

“See? It's very simple. The Ravine's gamblers often use this trick,” Yukiya disclosed in a nonchalant manner. “You turn the face you want upwards and pinch the dice just like this as you throw it, it will roll exactly three times if done correctly. For the unaware, it will look as if you had just rolled the dice normally, but this method allows anyone to determine the result with near certainty.”

Yukiya had, in fact, seen that Assistant Instructor before—at the Ravine’s gambling dens. He noticed the moment he saw him and, just like that, Yukiya came to realize something. “He used to come at the very least four times a month, which means the gamblers there probably taught him how to do this.”

“Then that means—”

“Yes, it’s just as you think. He was practicing during lessons.” His job was to sit at the desk and roll the dice, then record the results. Under the mask of dutiful work, he had started to play around with the dice, probably out of boredom brought by long battles and their ever dwindling piece movements. “He was really bad at it at first. When I first joined the Monastery he didn’t succeed that often, but he has gotten a lot better recently and, more often than not, actually gets the intended roll. At worst, the dice rolls one more time, or one less. So I thought it was just about the right time for me to try that trick out.”

“Wait. Are you implying you knew what number he was trying to get? Just like that?”

“Yes, of course. There was a very simple logic to it. Even choosing what number to get at random had become too much of a hassle, it seems, after doing so over and over again.” Yukiya poked the dice. “The Warfare Records with the previous Drill’s results remain by the side of the register. He always tried to roll the numbers from the Board Drill immediately before that, just in the opposite order.”

Shoukaku heard Suikan, pale as a sheet, groan at Yukiya’s explanation. Kashin as well had been left speechless, from the looks of it. Seiken alone, as if bothered by something, rushed to ask a question of his own. “......How did you notice?”

“By his eye movements. It was clear he was looking at something before rolling the dice, so I once took a peek at his desk when cleaning up.”

“But you have no way to see those critical Warfare Records on his desk in the middle of a Drill, do you?”

“I mean, yes, but that's solved by simply remembering the results from the previous encounter? I'm paying attention to my fellow trainees’ Drills, after all,” Yukiya announced in a shockingly casual manner. “As long as one is attending the lessons, there's really no need to do anything special.”

——And he said it as if it were nothing.

Shoukaku rubbed his temples to soothe his growing headache.

“I can't accept this…… This is not a Board Drill match….” Kashin murmured with a trembling voice.

The color in Yukiya's eyes changed.

“Then, are you suggesting that a battle of wits outside the board is unfair? Instructor Kashin,” Yukiya called to him. His tone was not so much one of reproach but of warning. “Those words of yours are no different from, say, excusing your own failure to react to the monkeys’ attack based on the fact that there was no forewarning. And tell me, what would saying ‘that's unfair, I won't recognize it’ to the monkeys even achieve? Can you even be entrusted with Yamauchi's safety if you think like that?”

Kashin struggled to answer Yukiya's question, “But—even if you say so, it's not the place of a trainee like you to ask for an Instructor’s resignation, don't you see?”

“I wouldn't say so myself,” someone's laughing voice intervened in the conversation. The entire room turned to its direction, where the figure of a giant man was standing at the door.

“Michichika!” Suikan yelled out his name, opening his mouth for the first time since Yukiya had arrived at the hall.

In answer, Rokon just grinned. He briskly walked towards them, jumping over the fence separating the seats from the Field in the process. Seiken’s harsh glare fixed on him as he approached them.

“What about Kimichika?”

“I sent him over to the Minami-Tachibana's Residence, so they're probably treating his wounds right now. He didn't get anything that can't be fixed at the very least.” Upon hearing that, Suikan let out a deep sigh of relief. His hand was resting over one of his own eyes.

“Now, leaving that aside——what do you mean? How can you say that it is Yukiya's place to ask for an Instructor's resignation?” Kashin asked.

Rokon pointed at Yukiya in an overdramatic manner. “Because this Yatagarasu here shouldn't be joining this conversation as a trainee, but as part of the Monastery's Administration.”

“Lord Rokon,” Yukiya intervened, his brow slightly furrowed. Rokon ignored him.

“I mean, I'm right, aren't I?” Rokon said in between merry laughter. “You’re the one who engineered all the recent events at the Monastery, after all.” The moment he heard those words, Suikan gazed up at the ceiling. Seiken sighed ever so deeply. “Oh, I see… Looking at your reactions, you had figured out that much already,” Rokon nodded in approval.

Yet Shoukaku couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. He wasn’t the only one either, as Kashin too was noticeably confused as he asked Rokon, “There were many times I felt something was off with him, yes. That he should be capable of doing so much more, but he was intentionally slacking off. But, what do you mean he plotted all this out?”

“I mean exactly what I said,” Rokon opened his arms wide. “There were actually two main reasons he joined the Monastery, you see. The first one was to ferret out and make an example of those willing to declare themselves part of the Natsuka Faction, and the second was to help raise anyone with prospects to join Wakamiya's.” Rokon turned to Yukiya. “It worked out really well, didn’t it?”

Yukiya didn't answer him.

“You all got some instructions from Wakamiya about this year's dormitory arrangements, didn't you? It took some close examination of all the registered trainees, both old and new; but it was all Yukiya's doing.”

There were a few people who caught Yukiya's attention before even arriving at the Unbending Reed Monastery.

The first one was Shigemaru of Shimaki, a trainee of commoner origin.

He was second only to Chihaya in the practical section of the admission tests. Shigemaru’s physical prowess was beyond question, and he had no problematic noblemen backing him. That, plus his reasons to join the Monastery, made Yukiya think he would be the easiest recruit for Wakamiya's faction.

The only point of concern was the fact that he came last at theory during those same tests. To fix that, he chose to share rooms with him. Besides making the recruitment itself all the easier, it would make it possible for Yukiya to help him with his study problems. 

The second one was Akeru of the Western House, whose circumstances were all too similar to Yukiya's own.

He had already declared himself part of the Wakamiya Faction. His attitude, however, was a problem—a point which both Yukiya and Wakamiya agreed on. He had gotten first place at the admission tests, but whether he could keep up was far from clear even at the time. It was hard to tell if he would manage to graduate to begin with.

In consequence, the plan had been to see if they could get him to fix his personality problem at least and only then consider what to do with him moving forwards.

The third one was Chihaya, a servant working under Minami-Tachibana.

He had proven to have exceptional skill at the practical section of the admission tests, and he was far from stupid. To miss out on someone as talented as him would be a complete shame, so Yukiya figured he could easily use Chihaya's little sister, whom he cared so much about, to easily take care of the problem. “Which is exactly why he got the deed from me in advance, a money loan of sorts, so he could act as soon as the opportunity presented itself.”

“But that means…” Seiken watched Yukiya with mixed feelings.

“That Chihaya's sister was under Yukiya's ownership before the year even started at the Monastery, yes.” There was never any need for complex negotiations or to pull off any tricks. Yukiya had Yui's freedom in his hands the entire time and, had he wanted to, he could have given it to her at any moment. But he didn't.

——He had to wait for the right moment, all to guarantee Chihaya's recruitment.

“Such a caring friend, don't you think?” Not even Rokon's ironic retort got a reaction out of Yukiya, who remained both silent and expressionless. Yet that wasn't even the end of it, as there was a fourth person who had caught Yukiya's attention. This last individual was, in fact, none other than Kimichika of Minami-Tachibana. “Then, he even came all the way to ask me ‘will you let me use your brother?’. It sounded like fun, so I agreed,” Rokon explained without even the slightest sign of shame.

Yukiya had gotten a chance to check the old trainees’ scores and had caught on to the criticisms on Kimichika's personality, which was how he came up with the idea of turning him into a representative of the Natsuka Faction. Before the Seeds’ entrance into the Monastery, Kimichika was just another Court Raven—one with the exact same issues as Akeru, just to a different degree.

But then Rokon, in coordination with Yukiya, pushed Kimichika to openly act as part of the Natsuka Faction. Encouraged by his older brother, Natsuka's close vassal, Kimichika transformed into the acting head of Natsuka's supporters among the Monastery trainees.

“Thanks to that, we could figure out which trainees were secretly part of the faction. A trainee's beliefs are those of the family supporting him, after all.”

And so, ignoring Wakamiya and Natsuka's wishes on the matter, the conflict at the Unbending Reed Monastery grew increasingly worse. Yukiya's plan had been to dispose of them that way. He and Rokon had both agreed to make an example out of Kimichika from the very start. If they made a good show out of it, there wouldn't be any idiots whatsoever left at the Monastery willing to align themselves with the Natsuka Faction.

“That is, if a certain someone hadn't intervened and attempted to protect Kimichika.” Rokon gave a meaningful look to Suikan, who looked away with wholehearted distaste.

“...... When did you realize?” Yukiya asked Suikan, not a single emotion showing in his voice.

Suikan answered with a stifled tone, “The moment I read your answers for the admission test. It was just a hunch back then, but I couldn't help but to feel I shouldn't be treating you the same as other trainees.”

It was obvious Yukiya wasn't even trying. Suikan could already tell back then that Yukiya had three whole years’ worth of theory in his head. Then, his suspicion grew into certainty the moment their quarrel with Kimichika took place.

“You got away scot free because Instructor Seiken was there but, according to what I heard, you intentionally provoked Kimichika into attacking you.” That's how he figured it out. It was clear to him that Yukiya was trying to cause an escalation of the faction conflict at the Monastery, pushing the Natsuka Faction into acting out.

It was also why Suikan stubbornly kept challenging Yukiya to Board Drills.

“...... I don't think we have ever talked properly to one another, but I could easily figure out what you wanted to tell me from the first time we faced each other,” Yukiya said quietly. “I chose a strategy that aimed at the weaknesses of the standard tactics, but you went out of your way to use said by-the-book tactics to defend against me and then, on top of that, changed plans midway and completely blocked off my ambush.”

During their constant Drills against each other, Suikan battled with all his might and overcame Yukiya every single time. It was as if he was telling something to him. ‘I see what you're trying to do, and I won't let things go your way.’ To add to that, Suikan would punish Yukiya and Yukiya alone to isolate him from the other trainees as much as possible.

“...... There had to be many other, more peaceful ways to ferret out Natsuka's secret supporters for someone as brilliant as you.” Suikan glared at Yukiya with hate burning in his eyes. “Besides, even if you were to drop out, you have so many other options to live on. You just have to go and become Wakamiya's close vassal or whatever you want!”

Suikan began to scream at him. “But that's not the case for others. Many trainees don't have anywhere else to go outside of the Monastery. And you used those poor kids as you pleased just to achieve your goals as fast as possible! The kids that aligned themselves with the Natsuka Faction are no different,” Suikan added as he pulled his hair. “Even if their families are politically opposed to you all, that means nothing to them themselves. They’re the second and third sons of low ranking nobility, left with no place for them at the Court. The commoners with nothing left for them in their birthplaces. There are plenty without a place to go among those who serve under such kids as well!”

After Kimichika's downfall, whether those serving and following him would be able to remain at the Monastery as trainees was questionable at best. It had driven Suikan desperate, worried sick about their futures.

“You're as naive as usual, huh?”

“Shut your trap, you cold-hearted bastard! How could you punish Kimichika like that?” Faced with Rokon's utterly happy tone, Suikan glared at him with pure hatred before turning his damning gaze back to Yukiya. “A trainee, you? How?”

Suikan looked like he was about to cry as he denounced Yukiya. Yukiya, however, remained unfazed.

“If you refuse to see me as a trainee, then I'll take my chance to speak as His Highness Wakamiya’s subordinate and not as one of your students.” Yukiya's gaze passed over all the Instructors present before he fiercely asked, “Are you all even aware of what the Unbending Reed Monastery's actual purpose is? There were Yamauchi Guards involved in Wakamiya's assassination attempt two years ago, young ones.

“It made it clear that the Yamauchi Guard, the organization meant to protect the Imperial Family, was no more, and that there was a long-standing problem with the facility raising its members—the Unbending Reed Monastery. It was because nobody in the Administration supposed to fix such an issue did anything at all that I had to take matters into my own hands,” Yukiya brazenly declared. “If you have any problems with my actions, I would first like to ask the Director something. Why won't you do your duty? Where do you plan to guide this Monastery from here on?”

“I—” Shoukaku deeply sighed, Yukiya's accusing glare boring onto him. “The Unbending Reed Monastery's Director is a servant who shares a destiny with his generation's Golden Raven. It's my duty to build a Monastery suitable to His Majesty's wishes.”

“If that's so, what did His Majesty ask of you?”

“...... His Majesty has given orders to me only once in his entire reign.”

The Emperor abhorred the Yamauchi Guard. He wouldn't ever approach them to discuss anything out of his own volition, and this sentiment was extended to the Monastery's Director, the very man supposed to support his reign. 

The time had been when Shoukaku went to perform his mandatory greetings upon taking on the position. He was called to the Hall of State Ceremonies, where he got to meet His Majesty through the bamboo curtains. He didn’t speak to Shoukaku even once, however. One of his secretaries, standing right by his side, did so instead.

“You are to treat Lord Natsuka as the Crown Prince, not Wakamiya.” Those were the secretary’s strongly worded orders to him. Orders that left the Director with suspicion.

“Your Majesty, is that truly what you wish?” He asked, confused by a command that blatantly disregarded the previous Emperor's wishes.

The answer that came from the other side of the curtain was a terribly irresponsible “just do as you want.” As a consequence, the Director was never able to settle on a stance on the matter, and the current status quo, with the faction division between Natsuka and Wakamiya, came to be.

“That Yamauchi Guards would attempt to assassinate His Highness should be unthinkable, and yet His Majesty didn't make even the slightest show of reproach to me…….”

“‘Just do as you want’, huh. So your efforts to faithfully follow that one order from His Majesty were what ultimately led the Monastery to become what it is now. How laudable,” Yukiya said, incapable of restraining his contempt. “Laudable, and idiotic like nothing else.”

“I know. And yet, I have only one master and that's His Majesty.”

“Well, much like you're His Majesty’s loyal servant, I'm the same for the True Golden Raven. If it's to follow my master's orders, I'll show no mercy—even against my own teachers.” Yukiya's gaze fixed on Suikan, who bit his lip in frustration. “His Highness Wakamiya is the only one with the ability to protect Yamauchi against the monkeys at present.”

Having said that, Yukiya faced Shoukaku once again. “Were the Yamauchi Guard still raised with animosity towards Wakamiya in their hearts and kept attempting to harm him, it would probably just end in the death of His Majesty who you treasure so much and the collapse of all of Yamauchi. How about you finally open your eyes to reality? The current threat to His Majesty’s life isn't found amongst the idiots of the Imperial Court, but in actual, legitimate monsters—those monkeys. It's not the time to spend all that effort on keeping the balance between the Four Houses! I'm actually furious, you know.”

Yukiya's voice got rougher. “Up until now, His Highness Wakamiya has sought your opinion numerous times. He requested an opportunity to have an open talk with you, even just a chance at an interview, yet you disregarded it all out of scruples about His Majesty or something, I don't know what. You may not have had any other option left as the Monastery's Director, but this isn't a matter in which ‘not having options’ works as an excuse.

“Uncountable talent was wasted, talent that should have been part of His Highness' assets in this crisis, because of you. You failed to train the precious Yatagarasu that would have become His Highness’ hands and legs—Yamauchi's protectors. That ‘loyalty’ you have kept to the very end, Director, is now endangering all of Yamauchi and His Majesty's safety. Don't you see it!?”

“Enough,” Seiken raised his hand as if to stop Yukiya's onslaught on Shoukaku. “I'm sure the Director has gotten your message as His Highness' subordinate. Anything beyond that is for His Highness Wakamiya to say himself, not you. Am I wrong?”

Serenity returned to Yukiya's face after Seiken's gentle question. “...... That's true. I overstepped, my apologies.”

Yukiya bowed his head, and Seiken regarded him with calm eyes. “I have a question for you. It seems Suikan didn't consider you a trainee, but I’ve been of the mind to treat you as one all along.”

Yukiya's eyes went wide and then he smiled wryly. “Yes, I'm aware.”

“Which is why I believe something. That while it's an unmistakable fact that, as His Highness’ subordinate, you used your fellow trainees for your own ends, you also were moved to act out of genuine love for your friends just as much.” Yukiya’s expression, which had remained impassive no matter how much they decried and cursed him, now, for the first time since he had arrived in the room, crumbled ever so slightly. “You believe that to defeat the monsters, you have no alternative but to become one as well, right?”

For a second, Yukiya tried to answer, yet he found himself unable to do so. He stood there, motionless. All the while, Seiken watched over him mournfully. “You may say you don't mind being a monster, but there’s a part of you that most definitely isn't one. Please, don't ever forget that.”

Yukiya looked back at Seiken intently. All of a sudden, the boy’s expression had shifted—he seemed to be at a complete loss.

“...... Even if that's the case, I don't have the right to say so myself, do I?”

⊛　　　　　⊛　　　　　 ⊛

Ah, the moon sure is big tonight, Shigemaru nonchalantly thought to himself as he walked through the Monastery's grounds. As they hadn't been informed about their punishments for the brawl just yet, once they took care of their wounds, their entire group had decided to return to their respective rooms and wait.

Among them all, only Yukiya had been called by the Director and Shigemaru was worried sick about him. The lecture must have dragged on—he still had yet to return to their room.

“I'll go to take a look,” he had said to Ichiryuu and Chihaya before taking off.

As he left the dormitory behind, he was overcome by the smell of dirt warmed up by the day's sunlight and the refreshing scent of grass covered in moisture. The full moon was up in the sky, the same rich yellow as a boiled egg yolk.

Just when Shigemaru was en route to the designated hall for Board Drills, however, he caught sight of a figure slowly walking in the shade between the buildings. Shigemaru immediately sprinted towards it through the moonlight’s shadows.

“Hey!” he called out. “That sure took you long, you must be tired.”

“Shige……” Yukiya raised his head with a start. He seemed a bit out of it.

Uwah, he’s sure feeling down as hell, Shigemaru mused to himself while he offered Yukiya the package he had been carrying around. “You must be hungry, right? I got you this from the kitchen.”

“Ah, thank you. You didn't have to.” Yukiya tried to give him his usual smile, but it was a blatantly forced attempt—and Shigemaru didn't like that one bit. Yukiya sat down on a stone wall close by to eat the cold rice balls in the package, and Shigemaru became all the more certain.

There was something different going on with Yukiya.

“Did they scold you that much?”

“That they did.”

“What did they tell you?”

“Ah, well. They got angry at me, told me my personality sucks.”

Of course, Shigemaru didn’t believe even for a moment that the Instructors used that exact expression, but even if the wording was different, the gist of the message was likely the same. The matter was, then, how he could comfort his friend. Shigemaru pondered the matter for a while, before finally giving a confident answer. “Well, it does certainly suck.”

Yukiya silently gulped before murmuring, “Ouch, even you, Shige?”

As much as Yukiya was trying to keep up appearances, Shigemaru could tell that his expression had gone completely stiff. He, however, pretended to not notice. “I mean, it's the truth, isn't it?”

Shigemaru had been, at first, under the impression that Yukiya was a nice, cheerful kid. However, as time passed, he came to realize the truth—that Yukiya was, in reality, quite the twisted and vindictive young man. The more he got to know him, in fact, the more Shigemaru came to strongly believe that Yukiya was the last person anyone would want as his enemy.

“Well, that’s…” Yukiya attempted to speak, even more downcast than before.

“—But,” Shigemaru intervened, “Akeru, Chihaya, Ichiryuu, Kippei, me and everyone else. We all hang out with you fully knowing that. All Yatagarasu, to a greater or lesser extent, have a good and a bad side to them, you see. The gap between those in your case is exceedingly wide, yes, but there's nothing wrong with that!”

“But, Shige! You can probably only say that because you don't know everything bad about me.”

“Everyone hides the darker part of themselves. So, it's all about seeing the good in people and deciding whether that’s worth spending time with that person.” Yet, despite Shigemaru's many attempts at comforting Yukiya, it all seemed to be falling on deaf ears. His expression remained just dark as before. “—You know, from time to time, you look like a little boy alone on an errand to me.”

“Huh?” Yukiya let out a confused screech.

Shigemaru laughed. “Oh, I’m not saying it because you're tiny. It's just that face—like you know where you have to go and what you have to do so it’s not like you’re about to actually cry, but, with no adults to accompany you on the way, you can't help but to feel oh so helpless and lonely.”

The observation must have caught Yukiya off guard. He remained silent.

Shigemaru didn't ever intend to say this to Yukiya, but he had met a boy with an expression much like his once before. A brave errand boy who properly performed his given duty and politely took off—one whose countenance Shigemaru wouldn't ever get to see again. It wasn't like Shigemaru could have done anything for that boy's sake, yet he still regretted not paying him more mind.

“I'm an idiot, so I have no idea whatsoever what kind of errand you’re on or where you‘re trying to go. But I can at least tell you're trying your hardest to do whatever you can, to fulfill your duty, and I can at the very least imagine it must be something very, very important.” Shigemaru roughly ruffled the still silent Yukiya's hair. “It doesn’t matter to me where your destination is, what your goal is, or how blackhearted you are, I’ll never ever abandon you. So! You don’t need to worry so much.”

“...... You really won't, Shige?”

“Really! And I'm not alone in that, you know? There's others too. People who may complain on the way, but ultimately follow you. Many more than you may think, of that I’m sure. It may take you a while to find them, though,” Shigemaru added. Yukiya’s expression crumpled entirely as he said that, rice ball still in hand. “Don't ever forget it. We got your back.”

After a long silence, Yukiya nodded ever so slightly as he let out one single whisper, “Thank you.”

“Good, now, shall we go back?”

Recommended: Thoughts of the Barren Tree (Coming Next)

Next: Yukiya (Part 1)

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

Random thoughts on the newest Black Butler Manga:

My mood currently btw

But anyways:

Snake said/thought something that I for some reason didn't think about-

He's right

Doll wouldn't do all this for harming children unless ordered to. She still doesn't want to.

In both the anime of Book of Circus and the manga format of the Circus Arc, we see this

It seems like Doll has a record of being too close to someone to the point they may have to leave earlier to plan, naive maybe.

And in this scene from the anime

Go to timestamp 3:22 for it

We see that Doll may have helped in the kidnapping but never did the murdering or the actually nabbing bits of the act, everyone else does while she is mostly look out. And even when she does harm someone, she hesitates and shows clear guilt of what she's doing

Adding that and Peter's later slap in the face you get that Doll is the main one who seems to be the "weakest link" and would have all the chances to run

Plus Doll is great with kids, we get that. So Snake's statement of "you would never do this" even while she tried to stab a child is true

Literally two frames ago:

She didn't seem too happy about someone shooting at a kid, so why is her random af (thoroughly creepy) outburst towards Mable happened then?

Well... Cause Doll would obviously be forced to

I've been saying since she appeared back into our lives Doll has always been giving me a off feeling but to properly get this line I realized it's a little bit on the nose on my end at least, Doll most likely has something in it for her to do this, not just life

What is it?

The manor relies on Undertaker for the bodies they may have-

None of the other circus member's bodies were in any frames and anything, minus the obvious rubble of the manor, traces of them were quickly gotten rid of. Now I assume maybe Sebastian burnt any evidence that can burn aka clothes and some hair partials, but as they would put the bodies down the chut and Undertaker can take them.

My guess, Undertaker took them and promised a newly-alived Doll that he can fix them up and make them alive again if she helps out. This can explain how she was able to know how they all died but not Joker and why she honestly seems so desperate, UT would show her his "reports" of the bodies and edge her towards the role of help. Like what he did with the P4...

Now, if Finny doesn't kill her or she doesn't kill herself cause THIS IS THE MOST HEARTBREAKING THING YOU CAN DO TO HER YANA, WHY?!, I think she can easily help them escape, even if (sadly) she might die in the end. Save Snake and the kids and we'll see from there. Like Ada from the last part of this whole emotional roller coaster ride

[maypop-the-dragon]

PSA: Free Software

Reading this may really save your time, privacy, and money! Reblog or share to spread awareness!

Folks often use software that’s expensive and sometimes even inferior because they don’t know there are alternatives. So to those unfamiliar: basically, free and open-source (FOSS) or "libre" software is free to use and anyone can access the original code to make their own version or work on fixing problems.

That does not mean anyone can randomly add a virus and give it to everyone—any respectable libre project has checks in place to make sure changes to the official version are good! Libre software is typically developed by communities who really care about the quality of the software as a goal in itself.

There are libre alternatives to many well-known programs that do everything an average user needs (find out more under the cut!) for free with no DRM, license keys, or subscriptions.

Using libre software when possible is an easy way to fight against and free yourself from corporate greed while actually being more convenient in many cases! If you need an app to do something, perhaps try searching online for things like:

foss [whatever it is]

libre [whatever it is]

open source [whatever it is]

Feel free to recommend more libre software in the tags, replies, comments, or whatever you freaks like to do!

Some Libre Software I Personally Enjoy…

LibreOffice

LibreOffice is an office suite, much like Microsoft Office. It includes equivalents for apps like Word, Excel, and Powerpoint, which can view and edit files created for those apps.

I can't say I've used it much myself yet. I do not personally like using office software except when I have to for school.

OpenShot

OpenShot Video Editor is, as the name suggests, a video editing program. It has industry-standard features like splicing, layering, transitions, and greenscreen.

I've only made one video with it so far, but I'm already very happy with it. I had already paid for a video editor (Cyberlink PowerDirector Pro), but I needed to reinstall it and I didn't remember how. Out of desperation, I searched up "FOSS video editor" and I'm so glad I did. There's no launcher, there's no promotion of other apps and asset packs—it's just a video editor with a normal installer.

GIMP

GNU Image Manipulation Program is an image editor, much like Photoshop. Originally created for Linux but also available for Windows and MacOS, it provides plenty of functionality for editing images. It is a bit unintuitive to learn at first, though.

I've used it to create and modify images for years, including logos, really bad traceover art, and Minecraft textures. It doesn't have certain advanced tech like AI paint-in, but it has served my purposes well and it might just work for yours!

(Be sure to go to Windows > Dockable Dialogs > Colors. I have no idea why that's not enabled by default.)

Audacity

Audacity is an audio editing program. It can record, load, splice, and layer audio files and apply effects to them.

Audacity is another program I've used for a long time. It is not designed to compose music, but it is great for podcasts, simple edits, and loading legacy MS Paint to hear cool noises.

7-Zip

7-Zip is a file manager and archive tool. It supports many archive types including ZIP, RAR, TAR, and its own format, 7Z. It can view and modify the contents of archives, encrypt and decrypt archives, and all that good stuff.

Personally, I use 7-Zip to look inside JAR files for Minecraft reasons. I must admit that its UI is ugly.

Firefox

Firefox is an internet browser, much like Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. While browsers are free, many of them include tracking or other anti-consumer practices. For example, Google plans to release an update to Chromium (the base that most browsers are built from these days) that makes ad blockers less effective by removing the APIs they currently rely on.

Aside from fighting monopolies, benefits include: support for animated themes (the one in the picture is Purple Night Theme), good ad blockers forever, an (albeit hidden) compact UI option (available on about:config), and a cute fox icon.

uBlock Origin

As far as I know, uBlock Origin is one of the best ad blockers there is.

I was on a sketchy website with my brother, and he was using Opera GX's ad blocker. Much of the time when he clicked on anything, it would take us to a random sponsored page. I suggested that he try uBlock Origin, and with uBlock Origin, that didn't happen anymore.

Linux

Linux is a kernel, but the term is often used to refer to operating systems (much like Windows or MacOS) built on it. There are many different Linux-based operating systems (or "distros") to choose from, but apps made for Linux usually work on most popular distros. You can also use many normally Windows-only apps on Linux through compatibility layers like WINE.

I don't have all four of these, so the images are from Wikipedia. I tried to show a variety of Linux distros made for different kinds of users.

If you want to replace your operating system, I recommend being very careful because you can end up breaking things. Many computer manufacturers don't care about supporting Linux, meaning that things may not work (Nvidia graphic cards notoriously have issues on Linux, for example).

Personally, I tried installing Pop!_OS on a laptop, and the sound output mysteriously doesn't work. I may try switching to Arch Linux, since it is extremely customizable and I might be able to experiment until I find a configuration where the audio works.

Many Linux distros offer "Live USB" functionality, which works as both a demo and an installer. You should thoroughly test your distro on a Live USB session before you actually install it to be absolutely sure that everything works. Even if it seems fine, you should probably look into dual-booting with your existing operating system, just in case you need it for some reason.

Happy computering!

[thedndgoblinwholivesinyourwalls]

OK IVE RETRIEVED IT

9:39 PM on a Friday night saw the return of one of the Blue Pansy’s most peculiar patrons. James Bishop did not visit the speakeasy exceedingly often, but the bartender knew his name and his drink of choice, and every time he entered the bar he would approach a stranger and spend hours chatting them up until they left with him. If one were to observe him, they would note the directness and full focus with which he interacted with these strangers that did not indicate someone merely seeking company. He behaved as though he was completing a checklist.

Bishop was tall, with neat dark hair and fair skin. He carried himself with a quiet confidence. That night, he was wearing a meticulously pressed gray suit- not exceedingly expensive, but suitably fitted. He gave a polite nod to the bartender as he entered the Blue Pansy and approached the bar, pleased to see that his drink was already being made.

The cocktail made a pleasant clink against the wooden bartop, and Bishop nursed it as he scanned the room for a potential conversation partner. Settling into his routine gave him a perverse satisfaction, taking comfort in the steps he had often repeated- find a man, offer him a drink, talk about everything and nothing, invite him back to your place, ignore his queries of “where exactly did you say you lived?” and “isn’t this a bit deep into the country?,” and gorge yourself until you feel nauseous.

His eyes landed on a round man roughly his age, if not slightly younger, sitting a few stools down from him. His nearly-empty drink had apparently done nothing to soothe his nerves, as he was fiddling nervously with the buttons on his jacket and glancing around. It was clear this was his first time visiting this particular sort of speakeasy. Bishop really couldn’t blame him.

“You seem to be in need of a refill,” Bishop approached the man, nodding to the glass. “What can I get for you?”

The man looked up and Bishop nervously- not prey-animal nervousness, not yet. Just intimidation. “I, ah- I don’t drink often. I’m not sure what there is. I just asked the bartender what he would recommend.”

Bishop took this as an invitation to sit himself on the stool beside the man. “Well, allow me to make a recommendation of my own. I’ve preferred the sidecar lately. Brandy, with lemon. It’s the talk of the town over in London.”

The anxious man appraised his new acquaintance, startled by his over-familiarity, but not entirely put off. The light blush dusting his plump cheeks could not be entirely attributed to the alcohol in his system.

“That would be lovely.”

His eyes stayed attached to Bishop as the man called the bartender over to request the cocktail. Bishop ticked off another box on his mental checklist- he was making good time. The congregation would be eating well that night.

eugh ok tumblr fucked the formatting up i tried to fix it but if its horrendous dont blame meeee ok BYE

GRAGHHHH EATING THIS UP!!!!! James Bishop the man you are,,,adding another evil twink to my collection (i only have two now but thats better than none) what do you do when a guy walks up and is rlly nice but also asks you where you live/silly PREY ANIMAL NERVOUSNESS thats so good hello?? also gay people? (sorry guy at the bar :(( you’re gonna be church food :()

[herotome]

Devlog #114

Hi-ho Wudge here.

There's....... so much. So much so much. I'll try to sum up in bullet points.

As you may know from last week - I finally finished my flirt indicator tutorial screens. I've included a screen featuring Dart's finished face - quite handsome I think!

I drew my own quick stand-in backgrounds for the game... You can see one behind Jade up there. I kind of hate them!! But it's the best I can do for now, and I have to remind myself that I can always replace them later when I have the funds.

I added a 'click to begin' function on the title screen.

I finally put in art from the lovely @brightoakgame ! Look at all that detail!!

I coded in a score board at the end of the demo, so you can see how well you got along with the characters (and how drastically you can fail...)

I also did some concept designs for an upcoming character (as I do)... Put allllll the flirt indicators into the game, one by one... Here's a few samples:

... And I started properly writing and formatting my credits...

Made subtitle text in-code with double outlines (white + fake drop shadow) so I can change the text to aaaanything I want without opening an art program, as part of my title screen update...

Put in a bonus feature at the end with Katie...

Did aaaaaa lotttt of small writing edits, and heavily playtested Griffin's CG scene additions to make sure the new code was linked correctly...

Added expressions to Griffin's new lines, as well-- like this one

Did some troubleshooting bc my music wasn't looping correctly (I figured it out but it took an hour and a half of listening and testing the song over and over and I may have lost a fraction of my sanity from the experience)..

Also fixed my CTC icon because it wasnt showing up for certain characters.. Fixed Jade's superpower animation across the board..

Then I worked on finalizing the sound design (which includes manually adjusting the volume of certain sounds and adding in new ones) and putting in {w} tags for the whoooooooleeee game. While I was doing that, I came up with a new dialogue option (as I do):

......... I think that about covers it for now.............

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

[papabirdurskeks]

"Precursor" Anatomy

Well, once again I spent some months working here and there on some new headcanons no one asked for BUT here they are!

Some random anatomy headcanons on the Witness's People! To expand upon my previous posts!

-Be warned, this will be a LONG post-

The bones:

To start, we go to the basics, aka the main structure of it all, the skeleton. When looking at the skeleton of a "Precursor" (if one is able to), one will note that is it humanoid in shape save for a few differences here and there. They stand upright on two feet and have a single set of arms and legs akin to that of a human. But when looking for those differences, one will see a few of them. The skeleton is almost a gray blue in color, the teeth just slightly lighter while the base of the skull and parts of the neck are darker as shown in this basic viewing of the skull.

The skeleton's coloration comes from the fact that becomes stained overtime with the individual's blood, which is noted to be a rich, deep blue in color and highly potent in smell. This potent blood can be extremely dangerous to other species, toxic even as it was a primary defense against animals that would try to prey on them. While now they are apex predators of their homeworld, they keep this trait as they evolve to keep others at bay to try and do them harm.

This is why it's also always hard to find a full skeleton to study as most individuals are cremated upon death to avoid the toxic blood from pooling out and aerating into public spaces.

The eye sockets are also large and hollow to house the large eyes they possess as it both aids them from bright and almost blinding lights as well as being able to see in near pitch-black darkness. The top of the skull is lined with hard, boney crests that protect their heads from heavy blunt force damage, adding an extra layer of protection to the brain. Yet, the base of the skull almost appears hallowed and riddled with grooves, looking rather brittle to the touch. Yet, despite its brittle appearance, the bone is just as strong as the rest of the skeleton. This hallowed out base allows for the brain and extensive nervous system to fix itself comfortably about the individual's body; the grooves offering an opening for the growing nerve tendrils that sprout as they age.

The teeth on the skull suggest an omnivorous diet among the people, with the frontal teeth bearing sharper for grasping and shredding flesh and plant material while the back helps to grind down the tougher parts of said meals. However, their jaw strength is comparable to a human's, loosing strength over time as they no longer eat their meals raw as they had much earlier times. Yet, the still are sharp and tough enough to garner damage to any foolish individual to stick their hands or fingers in their mouths.

The skull is held up by a thin yet long neck, lined with nerve pikes at the bases to keep that connection with their extensive nervous system. These nerve pikes are extremely sensitive when they are connected to the nervous tissue, allowing a proper means of reaction time when situations go astray. Along the bottom of the jaw is also an extended piece of cartilage-like bone that lines itself along the neck for extra mobility and flexibility of said neck while also giving it the needed support to keep the head up.

Hands and Feet:

Next in connection to the skeleton is that of the hands and feet. While they do the same things any other creatures would do for them and bear similar characteristics to humans, they also harbor their differences as well.

All "Precursors" are born with the simple hand structure just like humans, four fingers and an opposable thumb on each to help them grip and hold items with ease. Yet, these hands also hold a few unique traits different from that of humans. Their feet are also quite different in structure as well, being partly digitigrade in formation as they walk solely on their toes and front of their feet. Each foot is lined with three large, clawed toes.

Yet, upon birth, infants are born without their trademark "claws" on both hands and feet.

Instead, the tips of their fingers and toes are lined with an extra layer of thick skin covering these "claws" as it keeps them from damaging their parent during the birthing process. These "claws" do not grow out until the infant reaches about 4-5 months in age, in which they soon begin to experience a "peeling process". This process is extremely painful for the infant, akin to teething if one could put it, as the skin begins to break apart and pull back to reveal the "claw" beneath it. These "claws" are actually the bones of the tips of their fingers and toes, sharpened out and hardened over time to give them their trademark defenses dating back to the earliest days of their ancestors.

Along with the fingers and toes, a "heel spike" will also form in the back of the foot at the base of the ankle. This provides an extra means of defense for the individual as they grow older with age.

And once they reach adulthood, these claws will be the most important and deadliest pieces of personal weaponry for the people against any threat they come across.

Fully formed claws will be completely pitch-black in color and hardened like stone, unable to break easily despite it being bone. These claws allow for easier grasp of objects and surfaces alike alongside their defenses. At the wrist there is also a small spike that forms as an individual gets older. While not as prominent as the heel spike, this little spike adds an extra means of defense IF one is able to land a blow on their foe, stunning them enough to make them step back if hit hard enough. Again, this is an old evolutionary call back to the earliest days of their ancestors.

Each hand and foot is lined with dark lines that resemble stripes. These stripes are actually nerves beneath the skin that line along the rest of their bodies, giving them a bit of extra feeling in their fingers and toes when touching with the skin itself or when picking up vibrations through the bone; allowing the body to react when signals are sent to the brain to alert it of what is going on.

"Hair" and Emotive Responses:

And in speaking of their nervous system, now is a good time to take a look at the tendrils on their heads that often resembles hair to outside species.

When looking at the "hair" on their heads, one would find that this is not hair but in fact tendrils connected to the base of their skull and back of the neck. These tendrils serve as an extension of their nervous system in being able to read their surroundings as well as emote themselves more discreetly. Each tendril is connected to an ultra-sensitive nerve spike that also connects directly to the brain, which in turn feeds the brain the proper information when receiving signals of its surroundings. And as an individual grows older with age, the nerve spikes grow along the tendrils to give them more time and means to better understand their surroundings.

This in turn also allows for an individual to regulate their emotive reactions, keeping emotions discreet to outsiders who may often see them as "cold" or apathetic.

However, this is more of a misunderstanding when it comes to communication between different species. As the "Precursors" have evolved to be discreet over time, they found different ways to express themselves that only those within their own species would easily understand. This reasoning for this silence communication can be found in this post here.

Yet, sometimes there are other indicators that can show to others when one is feeling expressive in their emotions. In times of happiness or joy, tendrils tend to wave about in an almost shy sort of way, the ends twisting about themselves as if they were tickled by their happiness. Others express their joy or affections to one another by entwining their tendrils with another, bonding with said person in a deeply emotional moment that can be shared between them. When angered or stressed, their skin dulls and their tendrils twitch as if they were the rattles of a snake's tail. And in times of extreme sadness or stress, their tendrils will curl close to their breast or twitch about manically as if trying to seek some semblance of self-comfort in their ordeal.

The natural markings on their bodies also tend to darken in their stress as well, indicating that they are not feeling well in the situation they are in. The same of their tendrils as they darken with color in high times of stress. Black tears will usually accompany an individual who is under extreme pressures of emotion, appearing almost ink like as it runs down their long features.

It is unknown as to why their tears are black, but some speculate that it was once an old defense mechanism in the early days of their evolution that helped keep predators at bay in which they would actually spray these "tears" at the faces of said threat to temporarily blind them and give them time to escape. Others speculate it is because they have become emotionally discreet that the tears can blend into their natural markings to give them less of an emotive appearance.

Body Markings:

And lastly come that of the markings on the body. While most of the markings are explained here and here, there is some additional info to be put about them when looking at the "Precursors".

One will note that the majority of the species almost looks to have the striped variety placed upon their being, lining the very same extensive nervous system that keeps them connected to their natural surroundings. But sometimes, there are few that are born with traits that go back to their ancestral roots and stay with them even long after these genes have not been seen in many.

When most "Precursors" are born, they harbor particular markings on the face around the eyes and nose that usually indicate their age. However, some adults keep these markings even well beyond the time of childhood. As adults back in their earlier days of their ancestors used to carry this trait as it kept their eyes and noses further protected from the intensity of the sun(s), the traits were eventually lost over time during the Golden Age Era when life was seemingly better off. But as time goes on and evolution takes it course, this trait seems to have made a comeback among some families.

Freckles are also another trait that is less commonly seen, doting the very stripes of their bodies to give them a unique speckled look. The variety of both traits depends entirely on the genetic makeup of an individual and will look vastly different from person to person.

Yet, as previously stated, markings do play a crucial role in communication between the species. And when one falls ill or is close to death, others will note that their markings are hardly to be seen, giving them an entirely ghostly appearance of pale skin. This usually indicates that their systems are failing them and are in dire need of medical attention or at the peak of death. Others who harbor severe depression also go through this, essentially pushing their systems into a state of unwillingness to live.

If noticed in time, others can be able to aid them and bring them back to health, offering a variety of comforts to make their last moments easier to go in peace or help them get better; a trait that is once again, predated back to the times of their earliest ancestors.

---

Okay, this is all I have for the moment but I am sure along the way I will have more. Sorry I had to keep a lot of the sketches basic but with my new job, I don't get as much time to do things when I want to. BUT, I do hope this helps in getting across some of the ideas I've had lingering about and why I do the things I do with my art and headcanons!

Just remember, these are purely headcanons and are to be as such especially for my stories! Its all meant in good fun! c:

[ggukkiedae]

we stick together

date: late october 2018

warning/s: mentions of when hannah iced everyone out

notes from cia: a little junghan fluff :3 a bunch of hannah content for 2018 is coming up to catch up to yoonmi in the timeline so everyone will be aligned! that means seri timeline posts like this soon, too!

gif is from pinterest, not mine! dialogue in italics is spoken in english

word count: 2.2k

hannah gets jungwoo to have dinner with and talk to her

“How are you keeping up, Kitsune.”

“I’m pretty good, Yuta-san.”

Their tired comments towards each other were barely audible with the music reverberating throughout the practice room and eleven pairs of footsteps synching with the music. The tension was high, and the whole 127 was using the last bit of energy to do well before practice was passed over to the dreamies, who all happened to be cheering them on.

By the time the music ended, Hannah looked behind her to see Yuta on the ground huffing. Not to say that she wasn’t huffing either, but the victory was in the fact that she was still standing. The cheers of the dreamies filled the room while the 127 members caught their breath. She walked over to pull Yuta from the ground.

“You win this round.” It looked like he was going to put her in a headlock, making her flinch slightly, but he decided to fix her hair instead. “How do you have so much energy?”

“I’m young and fresh,” she flipped her hair at him, making him laugh.

Jungwoo, who watched from beside them, laughed. “I don’t understand what this whole competition is.”

“Just seeing who’s the weaker one,” Hannah smiled at him while poking Yuta’s side. “Clearly, oppa, you’re doing better than Mister Anime Character over here.”

“I have to keep up with you guys somehow, right?”

Jungwoo’s statement may have sailed over the other members’ heads, but it stuck with her. How could it not when that was the same exact thing she was thinking merely a few months earlier?

It was a darker place for her back then. She had pulled away from the members and almost literally worked herself to death just trying to “keep up” with everyone else. Because of that, Haechan and Jaemin had made it a point to sleepover in her and Mark’s dorm ever since then.

She’d think that after all that, everyone would have caught on to those kinds of statements after that whole fiasco, but apparently not. Then again, everyone was exhausted, and Jungwoo had said it so quietly that she wasn’t sure if even Yuta heard it despite him being right behind her.

“8 Dream, your turn!” Their dance teacher’s voice brought her out of her thoughts, along with Jaemin who was already next to her and placing an electrolyte drink in her hand. “Let’s just go over your formations again so the three can rest.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if we have a fifteen-minute break?” Haechan asked hopefully, adding a bit of aegyo to his voice. He huffed when the choreographer gave them a look. “I know, I know. Tight schedule.”

“Let’s go,” she placed her drink down and got up, “because the sooner we start, the sooner we can finish.”

And the sooner she could talk to Jungwoo.

“I’m calling it,” Taeyong advised everyone as soon as he checked his phone, “we’re more than thirty minutes past our agreed ending time. Everyone wash up, eat, and get some rest. Haeeunie, Mark?”

The two who were fixing their bags next to each other both looked at their leader in attention upon being called.

“Yes, hyung?” Mark answered.

“Are you sleeping in the 127 dorms tonight?”

They exchanged looks before turning back to Taeyong. “Not tonight, hyung.”

“The kid’s just too shy to stay with us,” Johnny patted Hannah’s cheek, “which is why she knocks and waits for us to answer before going in. You know the passcode, princess. You can just go in, we know you aren’t some crazy person.”

She froze just the slightest bit at the mention of crazy people, but she laughed it off. “I don’t want to walk in and find any of you naked. Thanks, anyway, oppa.”

She accepted the shirt Johnny had handed her and slipped off the one she was wearing, leaving her in her sports bra for a bit. She laughed as most of her new unit members looked away, still not used to her doing that. Meanwhile, she handed Taeyong a towel as soon as he walked over.

“You do have to wait for a bit for your slippers,” Taeyong began as he helped her wipe the sweat off her back. “Sorry, the ones we ordered for you haven’t arrived yet.”

His words surprised her. They ordered her slippers? Specifically for her? That was strange. The dreamies tended to just wear whatever slippers they had around or just walk barefooted or in socks since they kept the floor clean anyway. No one had a set pair of slippers. Besides, she didn’t even live in the 127 dorms, so she didn’t think they’d get her anything for it.

“Stop giving that look,” Taeyong squished her cheeks into a forced smile, which she instinctively backed away from, making him laugh. “We ordered you a bunch of stuff for the dorm if you ever want to sleep over here during promotions. We know you Lee siblings just live in the building on the other street, but it might be easier for you, you know? My room’s always open for you.”

“Thanks, leader-nim,” she smiled at him before slipping Johnny’s shirt on and tying her hair up in a bun, “but we’re going back to our dorm. Hyuck, too. We have rehearsals in the morning before the Dream Show.”

“We won’t make a ruckus in the morning for you guys this way,” Mark added.

Taeyong looked at them worriedly, “Okay, babies. The three of you make sure to get proper rest okay? Kihyun hyung is my spy, so I will know if you don’t.”

She laughed at him as Haechan moved to stand beside her, taking her bag and throwing an arm around her and Mark’s shoulders, “I’ve got these babies, hyung.”

“You, too,” Taeyong lightly thumped Haechan’s forehead before walking away to check on the rest of the members.

Hannah simply laughed while Haechan gave a loud dramatic reaction to their leader’s actions. With one glance around the room, her eyes fell on the newest addition to the unit. She slipped from under her twin’s arm, leaving him for Mark to handle while she refilled her water bottle.

Jungwoo was already there, quietly filling up a small paper cup with his name written on it, uncharacteristically quiet. Jungwoo had been training with 127 for a while, learning the old choreographies alongside her, but this was his first time training with the exact same knowledge and experience with a song as the rest of the group. It must have felt as strange for him as it did for her when she first learned Cherry Bomb with the group despite not being in the actual comeback, and Touch as well.

“You know,” she smiled up at him while squatting to fill her bottle up after he retracted his cup, “I’d suggest bringing a water bottle to training. A big one.”

“What?” Jungwoo looked at Hannah in surprise as if he was broken out of his thoughts.

She just shrugged and gestured to the rest of the members around the practice room, “Unlike with the Boss unit, these oppas tend to take shorter breaks at longer intervals. You don’t get to drink or breathe as much when you spend time walking here, filling a cup, and all that.”

Jungwoo simply looked at her, as if trying to look into her thoughts. She simply got up and tilted her head at him.

“Oppa,” she called out, “do you want to have dinner with me? We can go to that small restaurant in the street behind the company?”

“That sounds nice,” Jungwoo nodded. “I’d like that.”

Hannah gave a satisfied smile as she walked over to Haechan, taking her wallet out of her bag that now hung on his shoulder. He gave her a curious look.

“Haeeun-ah,” his tone was serious, eyes narrowing slightly, “It’s almost eleven. Where are you going with your wallet?”

“Just the restaurant behind the building,” she told him. “Jungwoo oppa and I are just going to have dinner together and have a little 127 newbies time.”

Haechan’s eyes softened. She had told him before how she had wanted to be able to talk to Jungwoo about them both joining 127 at almost the same time, thinking it was a way for them to get even closer and for them to be reassured they had a companion. Haechan had encouraged this, but their busy schedule had kept her from finding the time so far.

However, it was late at night, and a few of the previous threats Haechan had read made him hesitant to let Hannah out without him by her side at this time. Hannah, knowing him inside-out, already knew how he felt.

“Jungwoo oppa and I will be together the whole time,” she reassured him, “and it’s just to the restaurant and home. We’re only three months apart, Hyuck. You don’t have to treat me like a baby.”

“You know I worry,” Haechan kissed the side of her head. “And I trust hyung. Just be back by 12:30. Mark hyung and I will wait for you at the 127 dorm so we can walk back together. Neither of you are walking alone at night. Oh, and bring me back some of the kimchi fried rice from there, I’d like that for breakfast.”

She just nodded at him, lightly shoving him away with a chuckle before heading to Jungwoo and holding out her hand for him to take. He smiled at her, taking her hand and looking around before quickly pulling her out the door. She laughed and jogged after him, shaking her head at Doyoung’s accusatory voice of her never wanting to hold his hand.

Laughter filled the small space as Hannah and Jungwoo exchanged stories of their time as trainees. The food in front of them disappeared quick as their hunger and exhaustion caught up to them, so they were left sitting and exchanging stories while waiting for the takeout Hannah had gotten for Mark and Haechan.

“It’s crazy, you know,” she told Jungwoo as their previous story wrapped up, “the day I met you, that was the day they told me I’d be in 127.”

Jungwoo met her eyes with a pleasant smile, gently pinching her cheek, “Now we’re both here.”

She instinctively swatted his hand away, making him chuckle. She filled their cups with water as she started speaking again. “I remember first training with the oppas and thinking I needed to do so much to catch up with them. You didn’t hear this from me, but I was maybe just a little bit scared.”

“They had your back, though,” Jungwoo noted.

“Yeah,” Hannah smiled to herself, “they helped me whenever I asked or when I looked confused about something, but still. I only ever spoke to Johnny oppa, Taeyong oppa, and Doyoung oppa out of the other 127 members. I trained with the girls before I trained with Dream.”

“Was it weird?”

“A little bit. I feel a little guilty to debut before the others, but most of them didn’t really like me, anyway. Being added into 127 with the oppas? Definitely weird. I had to take some time to learn the unit’s culture when together and how it differs from Dream.”

Jungwoo nodded in understanding. Training with other trainees was one thing. Training with the Boss unit was different. Training with 127 was another set of unwritten rules he had to figure out as well.

He pulled jokes and was friendly with the members, but he mostly stayed quiet during actual training in order to catch wind of how things work and to focus on being on par with the members to not burden them.

“It feels a little like I have to earn my spot in the unit,” she admitted.

The older boy looked at her in surprise. “You feel that, too?”

She shrugged, “127 achieved a lot in the past two years since debut. I felt like the odd one out for a while. Thus the whole icing-everyone-out situation a few months ago.”

“Right,” he nodded, “we were all worried. You were never the odd one out.”

“Neither are you,” she smiled at him, “I want you to know that. You deserve to be in NCT as much as any of us, and in 127, too.”

Jungwoo snorted before looking down at their table. “That’s why you wanted to get dinner with me, huh?”

“We 127 newbies have to stick together, don’t we?” She poked his head to get his attention. “I’ve got your back. We can gang up on everyone else. It’s you and me, oppa.”

He laughed, nodding at her. “It’s you and me, Hannah. I guess it’s nice to have someone who I can go through this with.”

“I think so, too.”

Before they could continue their conversation, the restaurant owner came, placing the takeout on the table and greeting them goodnight. Having already paid earlier, the two kids left the store with a grateful bow.

Hannah quietly watched a more relaxed Jungwoo chatter as they walked back to the dorm. She didn’t know if she could do it, but she’d try her damn best to make sure he didn’t feel the way she felt all those months ago.

taglist: @1-800-enhypennabi @strwberrydinosaur @sunflower-0180 @caratinylyfe @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @world-full-of-roses @stopeatread @allthings-fandoms

drop an ask or a dm if you wanna be added or taken out of the taglist 🥰 requests are also open!

[positive-mental-axolotl]

I am an LGBT neurodivergent artist looking to do commissions! I also work with tradition pencil art so if you are more interested in that, then check out my portfolio!

Tumblr portfolio = https://www.tumblr.com/blog/2dportfolio *You should not need an account to view it* Contact me at positivementalaxolotl@gmail.com if you are interested or have questions!

~Prices~

Icon: 5$ Headshot: 10$ Fullbody: 15$ Fullbody 32px Sprite: 5$ Simple Background: +5$ Extra Character: 1/2 the price from above (Max of 3 total characters. Largest price will be full while any smaller prices will get halved.)

Example: If you order a reference sheet of a fullbody and 2 faceshots with no background, your total price will be $25. The fullbody is $15, and the headshots, which will be your extras, will be $5 each in this circumstance, making the price $25.

These prices may be changed in the future. These prices are test prices meant as a way to gauge audience, supply and demand. If you order a commission and then I change the price, the original price will be applied unless you order something else.

:::WILL do:::

OCs Fanart Emotes Icons Profile pictures Character, Expression or reference sheets Concept Art Sprites Vtuber Art (NOT RIGGING) Light gore (blood, scratches, bruises)

:::WILL NOT do:::

NSFW Heavy gore (guts, missing limbs, torn skin) Mecha Furry Not good at drawing furries sorry Hateful/Harmful content Abuse (Human or otherwise)

If you are unsure of whether I will draw what you are wanting, feel free to ask! Asks about things I have already listed will be ignored. When your commission is finished, you will receive a png and webp version of your commission, and a .txt of the disclaimer listed below.

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[just-some-trans-nobody]

Yautja x trans read on period part 2

Looks like I'm making three parts cause I got some great suggestion's for a male yautja from @empressnarria that I just had to write, than you for the amazing suggestion. The next part will be a female yautja.

Same warnings as the first part but of course I'll add them to this one.

Warnings: blood, swearing, bones, period,

Like always

Minors don't interact!!!

This like the first part is just a whole lot of fluff from your yautja mate.

Formated on a phone, sorry if it looks wonky on different devices. Not spell checked, I'll fix any if anyone finds them.

------------------------------------------------------------

Male Yautja

Having cravings your mate can't get from his planet? He's flying off to earth to get you anything you want to eat and extra just in case. If your craving different stuff and ask him about those when he gets back he'll sigh and march right back into his ship to get that too.

He will want to try what you get though, it must be good if he had to go all the way to earth to get it, it was worth it though to see how happy you were he would do it again of you asked him. When he tried your chocolate icecream that seemed to have more chocolate added to it than possible he reeled back holding his head. It hurt! Why were you eating something that causes pain!? He was so confused when he heard you laughing at him, he looked like a kicked puppy as he held his head. You had to explain to him that eating ice cream to fast causes brain freeze and it will pass.

He won't eat ice cream again not trusting it. However he wouldn't say no to a little if you spoon feed him it.

Now if you have a meat craving that he can get on board with he'll jump up and race out the door to go hunt the biggest thing he can find to bring back to you. He'll be a little disappointed that you ask him to cook the meat first but then remembers oomans can't eat raw meat like he can. He won't complain about it again.

Every time your on your period he'll make a nest of pelts and pillows, your not allowed to get up he's snuggling you and pampering you the whole time.

If your being extra snuggly when you get junk food craving that you can only get from earth he'll whine lightlgly not wanting to stop cuddling you but he'll get up and go, your his special little mate, he'd fight the sun for you. If space had speeding laws he'd break each one rushing to and from earth to get you your junk food.

Having bad cramps? He's cooing softly as he gently places his warm hand on your stomach applying a small amount of pressure. Expect lots of kisses and nuzzles until your cramps pass you by. He feels awful that you have to go through this, he worries he doesn't do enough. Please tell him how much you appreciate him big scary alien men need praise and appreciation too.

Bleeding everywhere and feeling awful about it? Don't worry, he got scared the forst time he smelled your blood but now he's used to the scent. It's odd how sweet is smells compared to normal blood. He kinda likes it? He doesn't want to admit that though in case it embarrassed you. Any spilled blood he'll clean it up no problem don't worry about it ooman mate he got this.

Anyone sniffing around because if the sweet blood in the air quickly gets a growling male in the face. Will fight anyone to protect his little mate in a time of weakness.

He may have read a few ooman articles to learn more, apparently it helps oomans to swear to deal with pain? Maybe try cursing? He has no idea what most of these words your saying it but it seems to be working? No idea what a cock sucking mother fuck is but you sure did say it a lot.

Chocolate and teddy bears seem to be a thing that helps according to this ooman document. He doesn't trust the chocolate ice cream any more but he'll get you other chocolaty things. Fruit is good for oomans, chocolate covered strawberries seem like a good idea. Getting you a couple new stuffed animals he'll present them to you as if he had hunted them. He was delighted when you happily took the items.

Sense your laying around in bed all day you wouldn't mind if he cleaned his trophies in the bedroom then right? He claims it's so he can be there if you need his help but he mostly wants to show off his trophies. If you comment about the skulls while snuggled in the stuffed animals he gave you with a heating pad, though he's jealous of the heating pad, he'll be delighted if you talk about his trophies. Talking is good, talking means your not dying, please don't die on him. He knows your period won't kill you but they way you act some times makes him think your about to die.

If you cry at all because of your hormones he will panic. He has no idea what to do. Pulling you into his chest he'll burry your face in his plump chest. Oh you stopped crying, that's good, why are you kneading his chest though?

If you have a couch and tv at his ship or home at his planet expect lazy cuddles while watching tv. Cooking shows are boring to him he prefers raw food anyway. Now reality tv that he likes, he likes it even more when the petty people on the tv start fighting each other. Don't tell him it's all fake he won't understand and he'll get confused.

Oh no you bleed though onto your favorite comfy pants and the bloods not coming. Please don't cry he's rushing out to earth to search every for at least five more pairs for you. Don't worry he'll buy you as many as you need. He won't through the ruined pants out, he'll still keep trying to get the blood out if it held meaning to you. If he manages to get the blood out he'll present it to you so happily his hard work paid off.

If you ask for a pet while on your period he's going to any planet he needs to go to for it and will present it to moment he gets back. He couldn't wait he wanted to see the look of joy on your face, it was worth it. Might get a little jealous if you give the pet more kisses than you give him. Please give him more kisses.

[autumnalwalker]

Solarpunk Witch Masterpost

Note: This is mostly just a repost of a prior post of mine, but with a more indicative title regarding its content and thus more suited to future linking and editing should I ever get around to revisiting the project and adding more.

So anyway, back when I was working on @thearchivistsjournal, I made the ambitious-but-perhaps-ill-advised attempt to simultaneously write a second ongoing journal-style story on a fixed chapter schedule. This became what I've referred to from time to time on this blog as the "Untitled Solarpunk Witch Story." It was my first attempt at writing dialogue and proper prose (as opposed to all epistolary journal format) so it came out pretty rough and I put the project on hold indefinitely. It's something I'd like to revisit one day once I feel I can better do the idea justice, but I'm fond enough of the concept that I thought it might be fun to share the couple of chapters that I wrote for that rough draft.

Also, I wrote it as a part of playing the solo journaling game "Village Witch" by Eliot Silvarian. The idea was that each week I'd do a tarot card draw and use the corresponding prompt from that game as my prompt for that week. And, similar to The Archivist's Journal, the time passing IRL would correspond to the time passing in the story, albeit broken up into bigger chunks.

So, anyway, without much further preamble, here are the links to those rough chapters:

Prologue: Setting Out

Vernal Equinox, Five of Pentacles

Spring, Week 1, Seven of Cups

Spring, Week 2, Three of Swords

Spring, Week 3, Ten of Swords

Spring, Week 4, The High Priestess

Spring, Week 5, Five of Swords

See also: The Witches' Testaments, a series of interviews serving as a prequel of sorts regarding how the world made the transition from cyberpunk dystopia to what's seen here.

Also, a bit of worldbuilding trivia as to why the familiars take the form of robotic animals: Link

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

Round Two: Changmiania vs Sinocephale

Changmiania liaoningensis

Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @zygodactylus

Name Meaning: Eternal Sleeper from Liaoning

Time: 125.755 million years ago (Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous) 

Location: Lujiatun Beds, Yixian Formation, Liaoning, China 

Changmiania is a gorgeously preserved ornithopod known from the earliest time of the famed Yixian Formation, adding it to the ranks of amazing fossils known from this unique preservational environment. The multiple specimens of this species are found in sleeping poses, curled up on the ground with their legs and arms tucked up against them. This indicates they had been buried alive, possibly inside their own burrows. Given the depositional environment of Yixian is a sort of prehistoric Pompeii, with many dinosaurs covered very quickly in ash and dust from an exploding volcano, this makes a certain degree of sense - perhaps the two little dinosaurs had scurried into their burrow to escape the oncoming tragedy (sorry if I just made you sad), or had been asleep and unaware of the oncoming danger. At only one meter long and less than half a meter tall, Changmiania would have been easily missed in its environment, hiding among the dense vegetation from potential predators. With robust leg bones, it would have been a fast runner, able to move efficiently through the crowded undergrowth. It had a weirdly short neck for ornithischians, and that combined with its short forearms and hands indicates it was fossorial - ie, a digging animal, hence its burrow home and final resting place. Given they were found together, they were probably social creatures as well, living in small family groups. The Yixian was a dense temperate forest, filled with freshwater lakes and a great diversity of plantlife. Conifers, ferns, cycads, horsetails, and early flowering plants filled the environment and indicated a humid, possibly rainforest environment. Periodic wildfires, noxious lake gasses, and volcanic eruptions all lead to regular moments of rapid burial and amazing preservation in this environment - essentially giving us snapshots of how it changed over the course of many millions of years. In the Lujiatun bed specifically, Changmiania was neighbors with Euhelopus, Jeholosaurus, Liaoceratops, Psittacosaurus, Liaoningornis, Daliansaurus, Graciliraptor, Mei, Sinovenator, Sinusonasus, Dilong, Hexing, Incisivosaurus, Shenzhousaurus, and outside of dinosaurs mammals such as Acristatherium, Gobiconodon, Juchilestes, Maotherium, Meemannodon, and Repenomamus (yes, THAT Repenomamus), and the toad Liaobatrachus. 

Sinocephale bexelli

Artwork by @i-draws-dinosaurs, written by @zygodactylus

Name Meaning: Bexel’s Chinese Head 

Time: 92 million years ago (Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous) 

Location: Ulansuhai Formation, Inner Mongolia, China 

Sinocephale is an interesting case of a previously named dinosaur being renamed - and then given a new one altogether! Though originally discovered in the early 20th century and lumped into Troodon (pachycephalosaurs used to be considered Troodontids, don’t worry about it), and then shoved into Stegoceras when that whole nonsense got fixed. Unfortunately, Sinocephale really doesn’t resemble Stegoceras much at all! Shoved into dubious or not properly named genera for the petter part of multiple decades, it was only recently that it was studied and raised as a holotype for a new genus - Sinocephale! As a pachycephalosaur, it was a small bipedal animal, with a weirdly hyper-stiffened tail, and a dome on its head. Interestingly for Sinocephale, that dome was shaped like a heart (from above)! This is the distinct trait that distinguishes Sinocephale from its relatives. It was not closely related to Stegoceras at all, but closer to Sphaerotholus and the Pachycephalosaurus group. While Sinocephale lived in a somewhat poorly understood geological formation, we do know it lived alongside other dinosaurs such as Shaochilong, Sinornithomimus, and Chilantaisaurus, as well as some turtles.

[characterworkshoppe]

The Iron Scorpions as Told by Ashiya

Quick a/n : So I felt like writing a very short fic for The Devil is a Part-timer fandom because a) I love it and b) there aren't a whole lot of fics for this fandom compared to others and c) especially Alciel/Ashiya doesn't have nearly as many fics...so...since this has been tugging at my heart for quite a while now I decided it needs to exist on my blog...anyways! Still anxious and depressed so please no constructive criticism yet! I know better then anyone that it's absolutely ass...it has mistakes...the formatting is off...the punctuation is horribly awful...but I'm just so not in a place yet mentally to do better...so please go easy on me! I really am not doing good with this kind of stuff atm. Anyways, my main sources for Hataraku Maou-sama/The Devil is a Part-timer are the anime and the manga since I don't have access to the light novel, but Ashiya to me is one big question mark ever since hearing what type of demon he is...and I'm just making my own personal headcanons and stuff that I'm adding to this fic about the Iron Scorpion clan or sometimes demons in general...so this is just my ideas and interpretations mixed with the canon material...hope that's alright!

Also I'm not specifying the gender of the reader and using they/them, and there's lots of my personal ideas for the Iron Scorpian clan...Anywho...

Warnings and just stuff to know/literary ingredients that make up this fic : Talks polyamory, demon mating cycles, marking mates, Y/n has a sort of "bouncy" personality idk it just what happened..alright 😅, Ashiya might seem OOC to some people but this is just how I picture him, anyways the fic is not inherently sexual...it just talks about mating, weird demonic scorpian demon anatomy, no beta (obviously), again tons of mistakes...I am aware of them, I'm just to tired and depressed to fix them, so kindly just ignore them to the best of your ability!

You have now been informed!

Fic is under the cut!

The Iron Scorpions as Told by Ashiya

The distant city sounds created a calming hum of white noise while Ashiya washed the dishes in the tranquility of the evening light's glow.

"Y/n" he said catching thier attention.

"Yeah" they responded stretching thier arms upwards as they sat at the table in the center of the room.

"It's quite nice having just the two of us in here" he remarked having a gentle smile on his face.

Y/n hums a "Mmm" in delight.

Ashiya smiles as he dries his hands on a towel, now having finished washing the dishes.

He sits down beside them as they lean thier head onto his shoulder, he smiles fondly at thier display of affection.

"You've been awfully quiet, what's on your mind" he asks, enjoying his lover's company.

Y/n gently wraps thier arms around his arm, as they continued to have thier head on his shoulder.

They quickly nuzzle his neck causing him to laugh a bit in surprise.

"Honestly, you..." he replies laughing softly.

Y/n hums in delight having accomplished the task of hearing thier beloved's laugh.

Ashiya looks at them smiling at the affectionate touch of his partner "Alright, what in particular is making you so desperate for my touch today?" He inquired smiling softly.

Y/n smiled and let go of his arm choosing instead to fall onto his lap dramatically.

They looked up at him feeling a bit embarrassed but decided to talk nonetheless.

"Well I couldn't help but wonder about you...I've only gotten to know you in your human form...but well...you're a demon...so I don't know you as much as I should, so I wanna know more about you...Alciel".

Ashiya's eyes widened in surprise, it felt nice hearing the name he grew up with since childhood come from thier lips.

His own lips softly hummed in delight, thinking about what he might say about himself before looking back awkwardly and coming up short of any ideas on where to start.

Y/n laughed softly.

"Mind if I ask some questions then?" They asked.

Ashiya nodded softly at the suggestion as he waited eagerly wondering what they want to ask.

Y/n took a deep breath and looked up at Ashiya.

"Well, I know you're from the Iron Scorpion clan and I know Maou unified the demon realm, but...I genuinely know nothing about you as a demon or your clan..." they said awkwardly.

Ashiya smiled and looked up feeling a nostalgic warmth of memories.

"Well...what in particular would you like to know about my clan?" He asked.

Y/n blushed awkwardly.

"Well for starters...you're called the Iron Scorpions, does that mean you guys have your own venom? And like a stinger?" They asked.

Ashiya smiled.

"Yes, we're called Iron Scorpions for a reason, we do in fact have venomous stingers, however they are our last means of defense...we typically try to defend ourselves with our own combat skills because our stingers are our last line of defense, if our tails are cut off then...well either we'll be rendered handicapped for life or it might kill us...so we try to be cautious".

Y/n smiled and noded, "So what happens if someone accidentally happens to trip and injure themselves on your stinger?"

Ashiya smiled, "Well our clan, I'd say we're quite good at alchemical medicines surrounding venom and poions in the demon realm, especially to cure our own venom when we sting someone by accident which rarely happens since we can control when we release venom, however accidents happen, unfortunately my knowledge of poisons and venom does not translate into pharmacology or any kind job here for that matter in Japan, mainly because we have very different elements and ingredients in our world, back in Ente Isla that is, a lot of the same too, but also different things which came as a result of having magic in our world when this one does not".

Y/n nodded, feeling excited learning about Ashiya to which he laughed happily at thier enthusiasm.

He looked back at them and said "Anything else you wanted to know?"

Y/n hugged Ashiya in delight unsure how to contain thier happiness.

"Yes please" they said, as they suddenly blushed.

Ashiya looked intrigued at this reaction.

"Oh, may I hear the question my love?" He asked.

They continue to blush as they look away awkwardly, "Um...do Iron Scorpions have a mating season?" They finally ask.

Ashiya laughs finding thier awkwardness endearing, "Yes, we have a mating season, typically in warmer months, but that doesn't have much bearing on me in human form, however if you're interested in experiencing a demon mating season and mating with me in demon form then I wouldn't be against it, we're already together afterall".

Y/n nods and asks "what does mating season include?"

He smiles and says "Well, typically the smell of pheromones gets us...in the mood...and I can assure you, your pheromones smell enchanting my love. In our clan we mainly start out making the mood right for our mates...like how you humans like to wine and dine your dates before sleeping with them, we Iron Scorpions like taking our mates dancing, then once the mood is right we'd take them back and sleep with them, now what you're most interested in is the actual mating process, correct?"

Y/n blushes and nods thier head up and down enthusiastically in response.

Ashiya laughs at thier reaction, "Well, alright then!like most demons we like claiming our mates! We can control the release or retention of our venom...so we end up stinging our mates to have our marks and scents cover them for others to know who they belong to, without our venom being used in the sting of course, and we also use our tails to restrain our mates, and our black scales vibrate when we churr, now remember that we're covered in black scales on most of our bodies! Now as for penetrative sex, well Iron Scorpions have a demonic version of a cloaca, it's similar but different then ones you've heard about, we can have penises and we can also have vaginas, so Iron Scorpions chose how they identify whenever they get an idea, all of us can impregnate and be impregnated, that's just how we are" Ashiya explains.

Y/n blushes and buries thier face into his shirt quickly as he gently holds them close.

"Was there anything else you wanted to know?" Ashiya asks as he gently rubs thier back soothingly.

Y/n regains some of thier composure to talk again, "Um, well...I heard that unlike how in humans monogamy is the norm, within most demon clans its normal to have many mates, is that true?" She asks.

Ashiya smiles and nods.

"Yes, it is! good job on learning that Y/n, it is true" he says.

Y/n smiles, "So...you know how we both also like Rika? Mind if we both confess to her and both be mates?" They ask.

Ashiya smiles affectionately.

"I'm very glad you're willing! Absolutely!" He said.

Y/n quickly cuddles him affectionately and nuzzles his neck again.

Ashiya laughs happily, "My my! You're quite cute my love".

Y/n hums in delight then speaks up again.

"Hey Ashiya, thanks for telling me more about you" they say.

He smiles, "absolutely my love, I'm glad I got the opportunity".

He hugs them and tightens his grip tightens slightly at the joyous feeling of having his lover close, he smiles and says "Now instead of explaining courtship and nesting, I'll let you experience it with the time we spend".

Y/n smiles, "I can't wait" they say and they stay happily in thier lover's embrace.

[sunsetsands]

Xylovitria

This post is an overview of one of the "animal" phyla present on Almud. This is the first of many, since I do plan on making a similar post for each of the others. All art shown here was created using MS Paint, though I may switch to a different program if I find one that works better (probably Procreate, since I have recently bought it, but it's a bit hard to use with just a finger on a phone screen) (Also MS Paint has an AI generator thing now and that's very stinky and bad).

The first thing to cover is how the phylum came to be. Xylovitrians originated as an offshoot of vivitrians, specifically a freefloating colonial species analogous to a hard, glassy man o' war. Its body was hollow, with pores lining its outside to allow water in to be filter-fed through by its tendrils. A color-coded overview of its anatomy is shown below.

Purple: The glassy shells of each zooid. Forms a pocket for water to flow through. Blue: Same as above, but in a different spot. I don't know why I colored this part differently, besides it being on the bottom. Too late to fix it sadly. MS Paint flattens layers after saving the image. Red: The soft feather-like tendrils of each zooid. Responsible for filtering nutrients out of the water that flows into its body. Orange: Also tendrils, but specialized for a different purpose. This thicker bundle not only filters through the water for nutrients, but produces gametes for sexual reproduction. Typically, though, the organism will just reproduce asexually by producing more zooids and splitting apart.

At some point very early into the history of Almudian life, a kelp-like plant species developed a habit of growing on top of these proto-xylovitrians, with their roots sometimes growing through the cracks and into the inner cavity. Here, the roots of the plant and the tendrils of the zooids would sometimes wrap around each other, forming a structure similar to Earth mycorrhizae. In a formation such as this, the animal would absorb some of the sugars from the plant's roots. In return, the plant would absorb some of the nutrients from whatever microorganisms got caught in the zooids' tendrils. This arrangement proved so mutually beneficial that this proto-xylovitrian species adapted an opening at the top specifically for the plant to grow through, and the kelp analogue adapted to only be able to grow on or inside xylovitrians.

The lineage did not stop developing here, however. One offshoot descendant of this proto-xylovitrian eventually adapted to live at the surface of the water, giving the resident plants much better access to the sunlight and gases necessary for photosynthesis. The plants, meanwhile, adapted to have sturdier stems and more water loss-resistant skin, as well as a new way of entering their host. The plants’ spores now enter though the side pores leading into the water cavity, where they will bloom without ever having lived outside. Below is a diagram of this new offshoot’s anatomy and what sets it apart from its ancestor.

Purple: Same as before, but with a thick, waxy coating on the outside to prevent water loss in the above-water level bits. Blue: Same as before. Nothing to comment on. Only colored this part in differently for the sake of consistency. Red: The inner zooids' tendrils have lost the ability to filterfeed. Instead, they get all of their nutrition from the plants' roots, which they are permanently wrapped around. The central cavity, despite being above water level, is also still filled with water, preventing the plants from dehydrating. The water is brought in through the side openings, which now also contain a pumping mechanism to prevent backflow. The entire structure is more or less a living vase now. Orange: Same as before, but with some added features. Not only are the tendrils longer, but some of them have developed the ability to produce toxins. A few toxin-resistant, fish-like creatures use these areas as a refuge from predators, where they will also pick up some gametes which they will spread to the next set of tendrils they hide in, inadvertently acting as vectors for the xylovitrians' reproduction. Yellow: A gas bladder, which lets the whole structure stay buoyant enough to not sink below the surface. Adapted from a mutated second central cavity.

Given that these are freefloating organisms, it was inevitable that some would eventually wash up on land, where certain adaptations, such as the waxy coating and the inner water cavity, would allow the xylovitrians and their plant partners to continue surviving and thriving. Without much risk of drying out, this small beached population continued reproducing on the muddy shore, gradually accumulating adaptations over the generations that made them even better at living on land. It is at this point that the first true xylovitrians emerged.

Below is yet another diagram, this time of a fully-terrestrial inland xylovitrian. The phylum's diversity exploded after the transition to land, so this isn't totally representative of all species, host or plant, but it's still a generally useful guide.

Purple: Same as before, but now there are sometimes additional openings at the top for the leaves of the plants to grow out of. Blue: The siphons that connected the central cavity to the outside body of water have become their own separate organs, accompanied by root tendrils outside of the tube to make absorbing water easier. Cyan: Rather than water, the central cavity is filled with what can be best described as a sort of nutritious goop. The plant gets all of its nutrition from here. Green: This gland is responsible for producing the aforementioned nutritious goop. Like the water extractor organs, these are specialized chunks of the central cavity. Orange: The larger bottom tendrils now not only absorb nutrients and produce gametes, but root the colony into the soil. These nutrients are used to nourish both the xylovitrian and the plants. Other than that, they have remained mostly the same, just more spread out. Yellow: No longer necessary for flotation, the gas bladder now functions mostly as a lung.

Unfortunately, the new arrangement of parts, with the genital tendrils and water tubes both being underground, makes the old reproduction and ensporification method impossible. Fortunately, a new method was devised to replace it, allowing the phylum to live on.

Step 1: The plants and xylovitrians are fertilized individually of each other, with the plants exchanging gametes through the air on swirly reproductive branches and the xylovitrians doing so under the ground with extensions of their roots. Step 2: An empty juvenile xylovitrian emerges from the ground, while the plants' reproductive branches develop large spores using the exchanged genetic info. Step 3: One or a few of the plants' spores fall, float, or otherwise enter into the empty xylovitrian, aided by feathery extensions that catch them if they fall close to the brim. Upon reaching the goop pool within, they will germinate, signalling the xylovitrian to continue its development. Step 4: The new organism pair has been fully established, ready to one day do the same as their respective parents.

Notably, this specific method allows for different species of guest and host to mix and match, since different pair types are often similar enough to be compatible. This is not possible with every species, but it's a common enough phenomenon to where it's worth mentioning.

This is not the only dispersal method that exists, though. One group has adapted to be able to merge the xylovitrian embryos and plant embryos into a single seed, suspended in a sugary slime with a consistency and flavor similar to that of fruit gummies. Admittedly, I haven't fully thought through the mechanics of how this works, so I'll have to revisit it later. Until then, here's a very basic diagram.

Purple: Xylovitrian embryos Blue: Plant embryos

I may edit this post later to add on or revise details if I feel like anything could be improved. I will also almost definitely make individual posts for specific species or families of xylovitrians that I feel like showing off. This is the end for now, though.