#I can't wait for them to add more palettes

[solradguy]

your jack-o art and posting is always such a treat! I love her so much 🤩 I always thought she had the best alt colors in all of GGST. the designers took the two-tone hair and ran with it, always resulting in so many awesome combinations; black and hot pink, white and golden yellow, blonde and black, eggshell and lime green, the list goes on!

Thank you!! I love her too but you probably knew that haha

YEAH oh man some characters have a palette or two that're just kinda meh tbh but literally all of Jack-O's look great. I usually use color 09 (the orange one) for most characters in Strive but for Jack-O' sometimes I'll use her color 07 because it reminds me of Elvira lol

[sanguineterrain]

knight in shining helmet | jason todd

Summary: You're a princess who's visiting Gotham City. You weren't loving it to begin with—then you of course had to get kidnapped. Needless to say, your expectations of the night are in hell. You're hoping, at least, that you'll be rescued by the famous Batman. Instead, it's the infamous Red Hood that finds you.

Pairing: Jason Todd x princess!fem!reader 

Word count: 6.6k

Warnings/tags: kidnapping, rescue, reader and jason don't get along at first, violence, drugging, meet-ugly, 7-eleven food as a courting strategy, kissing, softie jason (he always makes an appearance somehow!), strangers to...not-so-strangers.

the divider

You suppose that, for a princess, you ought to have expected a kidnapping to pan out at least once in your life. 

You just didn't think it would happen tonight. In Gotham City. A place you weren't loving to begin with. 

“Unhand me!” you scream as soon as your taker's filthy, sweaty hand leaves your face. “You'll be executed for this!”

You're not actually sure of Gotham's death penalty policy, but you feel like it's something you should throw in. In any case, the three men who've dragged you away, tied you up, and bruised you in the process, should be a little more afraid of getting caught. 

“Batman will find you,” you add. “He'll save me.” You've heard great tales of Gotham's hero. If anyone can help you, it's him. 

That makes one of them pause. But the ringleader sneers at you. “If he finds us. He's got a lot on his plate every night, ya Majesty.”

“I am a priority guest in this city, of course he would—”

“Shut her up,” the leader snaps, and suddenly, you're being gagged. Disgusting. Completely unsanitary. You don’t want to imagine if the gag has ever been washed.

You keep screaming and fighting through the gag until a needle pricks your neck. Your terror spikes as you realize there's suddenly an ultimatum to fear: what if Batman doesn't reach you in time? 

That's your last thought as the drug renders you unconscious. 

When you awaken, it's still nighttime. Nearly pitch black, except for a dim lightbulb in the center of the room. It looks like you're in some kind of warehouse. You can't see much of anything and it makes you claustrophobic. Your head aches and your vision is blurry, and your cheek is pressed against a grimy floor. You just want to go home.

You try to sit up first, but that nearly makes you throw up, and you do not want to throw up through this ratty gag. So you swallow the feeling and close your eyes, waiting until the nausea passes. You open your eyes and they begin to adjust to the darkness. You’re alone, which confuses you.

Then you spot the explosives hooked up at the bottom of your dress.

The good news is that your kidnappers aren’t here. The bad news is that the reason they aren’t here is because they can remotely explode this place and you inside of it. If they don’t get the ransom they’re no doubt demanding, tonight will be your first and last night in Gotham. 

Another thought chills you to your bone: what if the explosives are set to go off whether they get the ransom or not?

You squeeze your eyes shut as the tears come. You’re going to die.

But wait. Maybe not. Surely, Batman is looking for you. And his young, brightly-colored companion. You never understood that color palette choice.

They’ll save you. Your father has no doubt alerted authorities. You’re the most important person in the city tonight! Of course people are looking for you. 

Yes, you’ll be saved, the criminals will be punished to the highest extent of the law, and you’ll be escorted back to your hotel where you can take a long, luxurious bath. That’ll be very nice. 

You’ll also never visit Gotham again, that is for sure. 

The door to the warehouse rolls open with a boom. You flinch and squint, trying to make out the figure. If it’s your kidnapper, you want to act like you’re still asleep. You think you saw that trick in a film at the cinema you snuck out to watch when you were young. You didn’t catch the whole film, though—you were found out by your guards before you could. Maybe you wouldn’t be in this situation if you’d watched the whole film!

As the figure gets closer, you realize firstly that he’s a lot bigger than your kidnappers. You sigh in relief. Batman.

“‘Lo?” asks a gruff voice. “Anybody here?”

You shout through your gag. You can’t make out a face, but it’s alright. Relief floods you. You’re saved.

Your savior jogs to you. You tilt your head as you make out a… red helmet? With glowing eyes?

Wait a minute.

“Holy shit,” Not-Batman says. He pulls out your gag first. “Y’okay?”

Realization strikes you; you recall a story one of the party guests shared earlier in the night about a crime lord and his terror on Gotham.

"You're that terrible gangster that left a duffle bag of heads!" you blurt.

"In the flesh," he says, tapping the barrel of his gun to his helmet in a salute. Red Hood. “You don’t look very happy to see me, all things considered.”

“I don’t want your help!” you say, wriggling away from him. “I’m in an alliance with The Batman!”

He tilts his head. “‘S that so? What alliance would that be? Beauty Pageant Runaways For Bats?”

“I am not a beauty pageant contestant,” you say hotly. “I am a princess, and I have a small militia looking for me.”

He kneels in front of you, holstering his gun. His one of many, many guns. Your skin itches with sweat and adrenaline as he approaches. Those glowing eyes in his helmet flip your stomach. This is all wrong. You're supposed to be saved by a hero, not an outlaw. A criminal.

“Princess, huh?” Hood nods. “Ah, yeah. I heard somethin’ about that. They took you from the Plaza. Just my luck that I’d run into ya.”

“You mean, you weren’t actively looking for me?” you ask in a small voice. 

“Nope. You’ve got every vigilante and cop in the city looking for you, Your Highness. I came in here ‘cause I smelled motor oil.” 

Now that he’s found you, what does he plan to do?

“Are… are you going to release me?” you ask.

“Depends. Is this place rigged to blow?”

“My dress,” you say, unsure whether you should let him know about the explosives. A man who leaves severed heads in a duffel bag doesn’t seem wrapped up too tightly. 

“Hm?” Hood lifts your skirt slightly. He whistles. “Damn. This is some excellent work. Whoever did this is a pro demolitions expert.”

His praise doesn’t comfort you, oddly enough.

“Is it live?” you ask.

“Doesn’t look like it. And I’ve got a lot of experience with explosives. Just stay still for now.”

Hood squats and pulls out a knife. You shift. He's bigger than you even like this, crouched at your level. His shoulders nearly block your entire view. 

“Who were they?” he asks.

“Who was who?”

“The people that took you.”

“I don't know. They were wearing masks. Three men,” you say, frozen as he takes the knife to your feet.

“Mm.”

Hood begins to cut the ropes around your ankles. You delicately point your feet, unsure if he'll slip and get you. 

Your lip curls. "Where's Batman? Or that boy who works with him? Aren't they in charge of this city? I want to speak to one of them."

“I don’t work for the Bats,” he says, an edge to his words.

“Well, I don’t feel comfortable with you rescuing me,” you say. “You’re a criminal.”

Hood stops cutting and looks at you. "Y'want Batman? Fine. I don't mind letting you wait around for the Bat.”

He pockets the knife and rises, walking out of the warehouse and disappearing. Just like that. Your heart jumps.

"Wait!" you shout, squirming in your binds. "Wait, come back!"

But it's silent. Panic digs its claws into your chest.

"Red Hood! Red Hood, come back! Please!"

You begin to cry out of desperation, tears dripping onto your already soiled dress. You try to pull your feet apart, but the rope isn't cut enough and all you do is worsen the burns around your ankles.

You bow your head and cry onto the floor. You just want to go home. You want your goose feather pillows and Egyptian cotton ten-thousand thread count sheets. More than that, you never want to return to this stupid city.

"Are you cryin'?"

Your head shoots up. Hood stands over you, arms folded. 

"You-you came back," you say, voice wobbly.

He shrugs. "I had an inkling that you had a change of heart, princess.”

You look away. "You left me.”

"I did,” he says. “But as much as you might deserve abandonment, I'm duty-bound to rescue everyone. No matter how obnoxious of a Batman fan they are."

"I'm not a fan. I just didn't want the morally corrupt, violent drug runner to save me."

He leans down and snaps away the ropes from your ankles—a feat of strength that doesn't go unnoticed. Then he saws the ones around your wrists. "Yeah, well, I don't do that anymore, and for such a pretty face, you suck at sweet talking."

He tosses the rope aside and pockets the knife. You rub your wrists and attempt to sit up. This time, you don’t want to throw up. Success! 

“Anything hurt?” he asks. 

“My legs,” you say miserably. 

“Okay, let me rephrase: anything that'll make you bleed out in the next ten seconds?”

“Um… no.”

“Fantastic. I can probably getcha back to your hotel in an hour.” 

You hold out your arms expectantly. He tuts.

“I don’t give hugs until the third kidnapping. Fourth one is free.”

You huff. “You expect me to walk like this? They took my shoes! Gotham is so uncouth.”

“And what am I s’posed to do about that?” Hood asks. “I look like a Payless to you?”

“I don’t know what that is,” you say. “Don’t you vigilantes have a protocol to follow? I cannot possibly walk through this filthy warehouse on my bare feet. I’ll catch a virus! You’ll have to carry me.”

Hood lets out a full-bellied laugh. It’s somewhat eerie through his modulator. You lift your chin, maintaining your composure. 

“Oh my God! Highness, you’re a diamond-encrusted piece of work. I don’t carry anybody unless they’re unconscious and I like ‘em a lot. It’s a short list.”

Your brows furrow. “I’m a guest in your city, and I’ve been kidnapped! The least you can do—”

“The least I can do is leave you to rot here,” Hood says, tone cutting. “Or let your kidnappers come back and finish the job. You aren’t in whatever palace they carted you out of; you’re in fuckin’ Gotham, and if y’want my help, you’re gonna suck it up and walk.”

You look away, tears brimming once more. You sniffle. 

“You don't have to be so mean,” you say, voice watery. “I’ve had a difficult night.” 

It's quiet for a few moments. You've never cried as much as you have tonight, especially not in front of a stranger. A dangerous stranger. 

“...Look, I think I got some spare boots,” Hood finally says. “Stay here.”

“Where would I go?” you mumble. Whether he hears you or not, he doesn’t reply, stalking out of the warehouse. He returns thirty seconds later with a pair of ugly, black, man boots. 

“Used?!” you ask, voice high.

“Lightly, Your Majesty. They’re my spares. Here.”

Hood tosses the boots at you. You stare at them like he’s flung a pair of rats at you. He taps his wrist.

“Time’s a-ticking, princess. I’m on a schedule. I can always let you wait for Batman. He’ll find ya. Eventually.”

So you put on the boots. 

You attempt to stand next, but the drugs and binds have made your limbs weak. You try and fail to get up twice before Hood hooks his arms under yours and hauls you up without a sweat. You squeal, fingers digging into his brown leather jacket. 

He towers over you, doubly intimidating now that you're standing. 

“Got it?” he asks, arms slipping away. 

You definitely don’t have it, and you wobble backward. Hood grabs you again, hand on your back. 

“Whoa. Easy.” Hood cups your face, a little rough. You squirm, mind flooded with all the germs that are probably on his gloves. “Look a'me. Look—stop fighting, Jesus Christ.”

“This is no way to treat a princess!”

“Yeah, I missed that day of training,” he says dryly. “Stay still, I'm tryna see if your pupils are dilated.” 

“Your grip hurts!”

Hood loosens his grip and manages to keep you still long enough to examine your eyes. He hums and lets go.

“Seems like you’re still feeling the effects. Should wear off soon. Now…”

Hood steps back, but not so far that you can’t grab onto him should you fall again. He gives your dress a onceover. 

“So that’s not gonna work.” He takes out his knife again. Your eyes widen. 

“What on earth are you doing with that?” you ask, taking a small step backwards.

“Cutting your dress,” he says, like it’s a perfectly normal thing to do.

You gasp, backing away. “No you will not!”

“Princess—”

“This dress is one-of-a-kind, handmade for tonight’s gala. You’re not going near it! It cost seventeen thousand euros!” 

“Is it worth more than your life?” Hood snaps. “I don’t have any spare clothes and I’m not dragging a ballgown with three pounds of C-4 attached to it around. You have to be able to move and you have to get on my bike. Now quit whining.”

You sulk as he cuts and tears the bottom layer of your gown. He isn’t as savage about it as you expect: the cut is neat and could even be salvaged in the hands of a good seamstress. The night air makes your legs prickle with goosebumps. Then his words register.

“Bike?” you ask as Hood sets your dress remains aside. You’ll grieve for your dress privately.

“Mmhm.”

“I thought you had a Batmobile.”

“That’s Batman’s car. Hence the name. I have a bike ‘cause I’m a morally corrupt, violent, drug runner.”

Your nose wrinkles. “Can’t we take a taxi? Or call a car service?”

Hood snorts. “No one’s driving to this part of Gotham at this hour. It’s my bike or nothing. Or, of course, you can wait for Batsy.”

He starts walking and you hurry to follow. Hood’s strides are long and you’re unsteady in his too-big boots.

“Can you please slow down? These boots are enormous!”

He doesn’t say anything, but he does slow down, waiting until you catch up before leading you to his bike. It’s a nice motorcycle, you suppose, if you were into that thing. You’ve always thought motorcycles were a stupid risk to take. Being on the road is dangerous enough—why remove the comfort and protection of a car?

Hood’s bike is shiny and cherry red, just like his helmet. He produces a proper motorcycle helmet from nowhere and hands it to you. 

“Are you sure this is safe?” you ask, inspecting the helmet. It looks fairly clean and unused. 

“Hasn’t killed me yet, and I’ve been dead once.”

Is that his idea of a joke?

“You’ll be fine,” Hood says at your silence. “I’ll go slow.”

“Alright,” you say, putting on the helmet. It smells oddly pleasant, like spicy cologne. “Very slow.”

“Yeah, yeah, very slow. C’mon.”

Hood kicks a leg over the bike and straddles it, all muscle memory. His muscles flex as he bends his legs. He pats the space behind him. 

Cautiously, you attempt to do the same, but you soon realize that doing that exact move in a dress is probably not the smartest. You hold onto the seat with both hands instead and clumsily try to fold a leg over. It doesn’t work.

“Yo, Bambi. This century would be good.”

“I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle!” you say, glaring at the back of his helmet. “You could help me.”

“For fuck's—” 

Hood turns around, grabs the back of your calf, and pulls. Your legs part and you shriek, certain you’re about to flash him. He holds your waist as you flail so that you don’t bang into him as you sit. 

“What is wrong with you?” you hiss, smoothing down your dress.

“Re-lax, I didn’t see anything.”

“This is highly undignified—”

“Yeah, we don't really do dignified in Gotham, princess. Comfy?”

“No.”

“Mm. Hold my waist.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Beg all ya want.” Hood takes your arms and wraps them tightly around his waist. He’s warm and, oddly enough, soft despite his bulk. “You’re drugged and unsteady. If y’don’t hold on, you’re gonna fly off. Press up against me and hold tight.”

“Go slow,” you say again, obediently holding his waist.

“Yeah, I’ll go slow,” he says. 

“Do you promise?”

“Promise.”

Hood turns the ignition. The bike roars to life, louder than you expected. You suck in a breath as he revs the engine and starts off.

True to his word (and what a flimsy word it is), Hood goes slow. He takes gentle, easy turns and breaks at all the stop signs, even though this part of the city is essentially abandoned at this hour. You’re able to study the streets, twinkling streetlights a little too bright to your recovering eyes. But you look anyway, shocked at the dilapidated buildings and uneven pavement. You’re definitely not in the Gotham you were earlier tonight. It hardly looks like the same city.

You turn your attention to your savior. It feels like an odd word to use for the Red Hood, whom you’ve heard enough about tonight. Your father had warned you excessively about what a dangerous area this was, and who exactly made it so dangerous. 

But a savior is exactly what Hood has been to you. You decide that, despite his roughness, he still deserves a good reward. Perhaps a Hoodmobile. Or new boots.

Your rescue is going smoothly until you cross the bridge. That’s when another biker turns onto the road behind you. 

“Shit,” Hood says, and you’re startled that you can hear him so clearly despite the noise. It’s like he’s in your head. “We’re being tailed.”

Well, that’s not good. You turn around briefly but you can’t make out your follower; you’re too scared to move on the bike.

But then you hear the bike behind you speed up. 

“Motherfucker,” Hood says, and speeds up. Your arms tighten into a death grip. 

“Hold on,” he says, like you'd do anything otherwise. 

Hood speeds up and takes a sharp left turn. You tense and yelp, squeezing your eyes shut. He takes several winding turns and you keep your eyes shut through all of them. The nausea has returned and you’d prefer not to ruin the inside of his helmet with your stomach contents.

“We lose him?” he asks when the road levels off and it doesn’t feel so much like you’re on a rollercoaster.

“Um…” you begin, and chance turning around.

It’s clear for a few seconds until…

Well, to echo Hood’s sentiment: motherfucker.

“He’s there!” you yell, and Hood growls.

“The helmets are mic’d, you don’t have to shout,” he says, leaning into a left turn. 

“I see him!” you say, and grab one of Hood’s holstered guns. He scrambles to grab it but misses, surprise slowing him down.

“What the fuck are you doin’?!”

You ignore him and take off the safety. Moving your free arm up to Hood’s neck, you fire. He curses up a storm, throwing in a few words you’ve never even heard. 

The shots go wide; one dents a parked car, and one hits a stop sign. 

“You’re fuckin’ nuts!” Hood yells and snatches the gun out of your hand. 

But your tail falls back, evidently spooked enough by you and your poor aim. He turns on a side street and disappears.

“He’s gone! We’ve lost him!” you say happily. 

“Are you insane?” 

You wince at his volume. “The helmets are mic’d, you know.”

“You’re so—”

Hood cuts himself off and pulls sharply onto the sidewalk. He dismounts and pushes the kickstand down hard. Then he turns to you, chest heaving.

“Don’t ever fucking do that again. Are you crazy? You could’ve gotten us killed!”

“It worked, didn’t it?” you ask, putting out your arms. “We lost him!”

“No, we didn’t. All we did was throw him off our trail a little. We gotta walk the rest of the way now because he probably fell back to get more guys to follow us. But that’s not the point: what you did was insanely risky and stupid. You don’t know how to use a gun and you could’ve hurt yourself.”

You stay silent, chewing on his words. Hood isn’t wrong, he’s just… loud about it.

“Do you understand me?” he snaps. 

You don't reply. 

“I need a yes.”

“...I wanted to help.”

Hood sighs. “Yeah, well… just don’t. I’m good at what I do and I’ll get you back in one piece. But you gotta trust me.”

“Okay,” you say quietly. You feel small, but you don't want to cry in front of him again and confirm that you really are just a spoiled, whiny princess. “I'm sorry, Red Hood.”

You sit down on the curb, feeling exhausted. Tonight is awful. 

It's quiet for a long moment. Then Hood says, “Don't cry.”

Your jaw works as you swallow hard. “I'm not.” You turn your head so he won't see.  

“Christ on toast,” he mumbles above you. “This is exactly why I don't do rescue missions—”

You sniffle. “I'm not crying.”

“—’Cause I'm the world's biggest asshole,” he finishes, voice miles softer. 

Hood sinks onto the curb next to you. He scoots in just enough so that your shoulders brush against each other. 

“Look, ‘m a jerk. The Bats are better at handling civilians and being nice. You got the potty mouth with a bad attitude.” 

You rub your eyes. “I don't like yelling.” 

“Yeah,” Hood says quietly. “Okay. I'll try not to yell unless you're in immediate danger. But you can’t pull stunts like that. Deal?”

You nod. “I won't fire any more of your guns.”

He snorts. “Yeah, no kidding. Where’d you learn how to shoot, anyway? I mean, y’didn’t do it well, but you did it. Not half-bad for your first time in Gotham.”

“My father wanted me to learn gun sports,” you say. “I learned how to take the safety off and point and shoot, but I refused to do any more lessons after my instructor shot a duck for target practice. I think guns are uncivilized and destructive, and I don’t condone killing animals for sport.”

“Uncivilized unless you're getting tailed by kidnappers?” You think you detect a smile in his question. 

“Everything has its exceptions,” you say primly. 

“Ain't that the truth. C'mon, we should get moving. We're, ‘scuse the saying, sitting ducks out here.”

Hood stands first and offers you a hand. You take it, letting him pull you up. He does that so easily. It makes your spine tingle. 

“How far are we from my hotel?” you ask.

“‘Bout two miles. If I had my gear I'd call for an assist,” he says apologetically. “Wasn’t planning to save lost princesses tonight.”

“I don't suppose there's any chance that you'll carry me, is there?”

“Pretty and funny,” Hood says. “You're the whole package, beauty queen.”

Your snarky reply is cut off by your stomach growling. Your eyes widen. 

“Pardon me,” you say, mortified. 

“What, ‘cause you're hungry?” Hood asks. “‘S a normal human condition.”

“You don't know anything about royal manners,” you say, but you're relieved. Your father would give you a tight, deadly look if you were hungry in public. 

“No, I really don't. Born and bred Gotham, baby.” 

“Showing any signs of hunger or thirst around company is highly undignified,” you say. 

“Being a princess sounds exhausting.”

No arguments there. 

Hood starts walking. You scramble to follow, and he seems to remember your shorter stride and slows down. 

“There's a pretty decent 7-Eleven nearby,” he says. “I'd take ya to my favorite diner, but we're on a tight schedule. Those guys won’t be far behind.”

“A seven and eleven? Oh, I've heard of those!” you say. 

“I’m… glad you're so excited about convenience stores?”

“I saw it in a film once. My father didn’t catch me watching this one. It looked so rugged, eating in a convenience store and fighting crime afterward. I've never been to one.”

“I know I shouldn't be surprised considering how much your dress cost but it does kinda blow my mind that you've never tasted anything but the finest cuisine,” Hood says. “Wait, did you say your dad didn’t catch you?”

You hum. “He doesn’t like me watching films that aren’t pre-approved.”

“Wow. Y’know, I could pirate you some movies if y’want. I know a great website for it.”

You laugh. “That’s alright. I manage to sneak out to the cinema more than I used to, now that he’s older.”

“Pretty sneaky, beauty queen.” He sounds impressed. 

You shrug, trying to hide your pride. “I’ve had a lot of practice.”

You turn on the corner and he leads you through a residential area. A few people outside of their apartments stare at you, but when they see Hood, they relax. 

“Red!” a little boy shouts from a fire escape. He waves excitedly. Hood waves back.

“Hope you’re listening to your ma,” Hood calls to him, mock-stern. To anyone else—to you—it would be unnerving. 

But the boy grins. “I am!”

“Then why aren't ya in bed, huh?” 

The boy shrugs. “Not tired. Who's the lady?”

“The lady is a princess, so be nice,” Hood says.

“Whoa!” The boy gapes at you. You wave at him and he jumps up from the window. 

“Mom!” he yells. “Red Hood found a princess!”

You giggle as Hood leads you away. 

He shakes his head. “Kids.” He sounds terribly fond. 

You stare at his back for a moment. 

“They like you,” you say. “You keep them safe. But you're also a friend.”

“Helps to earn their trust,” he says gruffly. 

You walk a little more in silence. 

“I was wrong about you, Hood,” you say. He doesn't look at you. 

“Lotta people are. Nothin’ new.” 

No, it probably isn't. 

“‘Kay, here we are. C’mon. We gotta be fast, alright?”

“Alright,” you say, following him into the 7-Eleven. 

“Hey, Benny,” Hood says to the tired cashier behind the counter.

Benny nods. “Long night?”

“You got no idea.” He gestures to you. “She’s a princess.”

“Sweet,” Benny says. “What’s up?”

“How do you do?” you say politely. 

Hood leads you to the rolling hot dogs and other cylindrical foods under the heat lamps. You frown.

“I have had a hot dog before,” you say. “I’m not that sheltered.”

“Yeah, but have ya had a buffalo ranch roller? My brother and I used to get these after patrol. That with a blue raspberry slushie? Heavenly after getting thrown into a dumpster.”

“Well, you’ve gotten me this far, so I suppose I’ll trust you,” you say.

“I’m flattered. Benny, my usual.”

Benny gives a thumbs-up and puts the ‘roller’ in a paper bag. Meanwhile, Hood takes you to the back where the slushie machine is. You watch as he fills a plastic cup with electric blue sludge. Your brows raise.

“Why is it that color?” you ask.

“Tasty chemicals,” Hood says cheerily. “It won’t kill ya, I promise.”

“That would be counterintuitive at this point,” you say. 

“I appreciate your faith in me, princess.”

You return to Benny, who rings up the food. “Five twenty-seven.”

Hood looks at you expectantly. You look at him.

“What?” you ask.

“This is the part where you pay,” he says.

“A princess never carries money on her person,” you say, like it’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard.

“You–” Hood looks at Benny and sighs. “Why am I not surprised?”

He pays and you take your treats, trotting out the door. 

“Thank you, kind sir!” you say as Hood waves. 

“See ya, Ben.”

You hold out your slushie for Hood to take while you work on your fried goodie.

“I’m not a cupholder,” he says, but he takes the cup anyway.

“It’s warm!” you say, delighted. “Let me take a bite.”

Hood patiently waits as you bite and chew. You hum.

“Good?” he asks.

“I like it,” you say. “It’s unusual. Is this chicken?”

“So they say,” Hood says. “Try the slushie.”

You take the cup and first take a small sip. It’s cold and sweet and slightly sour and probably full of enough sugar to rot your teeth out of your head. You love it.

“This is wonderful,” you say. 

He laughs. “Yup. Told ya, nothin’ like this combo. It’s a classic. C’mon, let’s get moving.”

You walk and eat, and it definitely improves your night, having something in your belly. 

“This is just like Roman Holiday,” you say.

Hood snorts. “I don’t think we watched the same movie.”

“It has a likeness. You’re Gregory Peck.”

“Yeah, sure. If Gregory Peck was a street fighter, then yeah. I’m Greg fuckin’ Peck.”

“No, you’re right. You’re much younger than he was in that movie. How old are you?” you ask.

“Twenty-four.”

“Really? Why are you doing this?”

“Took a career test.”

You bump his shoulder. “Seriously, Hood. You’re young. You’ve so much potential. I can tell that you’re smart.”

“Maybe I like doing this,” he says.

You tut, shaking your head. “That’s ridiculous. You could do more. Be more.”

“You’re just fulla charm, aren’t ya?” Hood says. 

Your next step is hesitant. Hood keeps walking. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way,” you say. “I guess I assumed…”

“Yeah, I know. You assume a lot, princess. And you’re wrong.”

“You made assumptions about me! You thought that I was stupid and naive and I’m not.”

Hood stops, turns. “Maybe I like doing what I do, huh? Ever think of that? I meant it when I said I’m not a criminal anymore. I help people.”

“I know that,” you say quietly. “I see how the citizens treat you. They like you. You care for them greatly. I just… I just meant that you could try new things too. If you wanted to.”

He’s quiet for a bit. You keep walking. 

“I didn’t think you were stupid,” he eventually says.

You scoff. “Yes, you did.”

“No, I didn’t. Yeah, I thought you were a little… sheltered. But you’re smart. You’re certainly tougher than your dad gives you credit for.”

You roll your eyes. “He still thinks I’m six years old. It takes me getting kidnapped to see a city.”

“Pretty shitty tour.”

You smile behind his back. “Oh, I don’t know. The tour guide is alright.”

Hood stops. When he doesn’t speak, you approach.

“Hood?”

He suddenly puts a hand over your mouth and drags you backwards into an alleyway. Your yelp is muffled. Hood puts a finger to where his mouth would be under his helmet.

That’s when you hear voices.

“—single fuckin’ clue. She could be in the fuckin’ Atlantic by now. Halfway to China!”

“China’s on the other side, dumbass.”

You look up at Hood, eyes wide. 

Those are your kidnappers' voices.

He seems to understand and nods. He squeezes your arm and removes his hand from your mouth. He points to himself and points outside, then points to you and points down. 

You assume that means stay put and don’t try to shoot anyone with his gun. You can take a hint.

Hood slinks out of the alley. You peek your head out to look, curiosity overtaking fear. Besides, you trust Hood. You figure with a reputation like his, he can more than handle his own. 

“Nice night, ain’t it?” he says. 

The two men turn, looking close to pissing themselves. Good.

“Hood, we weren’t doing nothin’!” one says.

“Yeah, Ricky and I are clean!”

“Oh, really? So you had nothing to do with the kidnapping of a certain visiting princess.”

“We was nowhere near the Plaza!” Ricky cries.

The other elbows his friend. Before you can blink, Hood has them both down on the ground, pistols pointed at their necks. 

“You were gonna hurt her,” Hood says, and now there’s no trace of humor in his voice. “That poor, sweet princess. Strapping C-4 to her like a fuckin’ bank vault. Drugging her, tying her up. You fuckin’ animals.”

“It wasn’t our idea, it was Bobby’s!” Ricky cries. 

“Shut up, Ricky!”

A shot rings out and you flinch. Ricky starts sobbing. Red seeps from his leg.

“The only reason I’m not killing you two right now is because I want a word with your boss. But make no mistake.” Hood leans in. “You’ll pay for hurting the princess. I’ll make sure of it.”

With two final hits, Hood knocks them out cold. The sudden silence is loud. 

He looks at you then, those eerie eyes glowing. He beckons you out. You go. 

You look down at the unconscious bodies. “You don’t have to kill them.”

“What?”

“I mean, I’d rather you didn’t. You shouldn’t have that on your conscience.”

“They kidnapped you. They would’ve hurt you had their boss ordered it.”

You squeeze your eyes shut. “I don’t want you to bear that burden, Hood.”

“‘S not a burden,” he says, gently taking your wrist. Your eyes fly open. “If it’ll make you feel better, safer, anything. It’s no burden.”

“Okay,” you say quietly, frightened at how pleased a part of you is at his words.

“I’ll tie ‘em up and send for ‘em when we get back. One second.”

You watch as Hood drags their bodies into the alley like they’re sacks of feathers. He handcuffs them to a drainpipe and ties their feet and gags them. 

“So they can see what it feels like,” Hood says, dusting his hands. You can’t help your small smile. 

“Ready?” he asks.

You look up at the starless sky, suddenly exhausted. Your limbs feel like lead. “I guess so.”

Hood looks into the distance, then back at you. He sighs.

“Climb on my back.”

You blink. “Pardon me?”

“You’re pardoned.” Hood shrugs. “I can tell you’re tired. We don’t have far to go.”

“Won’t I be too heavy?” you ask. “All that way…”

“Princess, I’m honestly offended. I once carried Batman and my brother to Bludhaven. I’m more than capable.”

“But what about your rule?” you ask. “About carrying people.”

“Turns out you’re not so bad,” he says. “Get on ‘fore I change my mind.”

So you climb onto Hood’s back. He secures you easily, and you wrap your arms around his neck.

“Don’t choke me out,” he says. “Otherwise we’re both goin’ down.”

You smile and relax on his back. “Thank you.”

“Mm.”

At first, it feels like an eternity, waiting for the familiar Plaza sign. You can’t complain, though: Hood is warm and being carried by him is even better than riding on his bike. 

You blink, startled at the thought. What are you even talking about? This is the Red Hood. You were terrified of him a few hours ago. 

And yet, the rhythmic bumping and Hood’s solid figure lulls you to sleep. You don’t even realize until you’re being nudged and a voice pulls you back to consciousness. 

“Hey.”

You’re gently jostled awake. You blink blearily, yawning into Hood’s shoulder.

Oh. Right. You’re on his back.

“Hm?” 

“Ride ends here,” he says. “We’re at the Plaza.”

“Oh.” Sleepily, you try to climb off. Hood sets you on your feet. Embarrassment fills you as you become more awake.

“I’m so sorry,” you say. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you. You could’ve woken me! I—”

Hood holds up a hand. “Hey, chill out. ‘S fine. You had a long night, I get it.”

“Right. I, um…” You look up at the hotel. The top floor windows disappear in the layer of fog that’s settled over the city. You wonder what Hood’s windows look like. 

“I’m gonna track down your main kidnapper and make sure they don’t hurt anyone else. I’ll kick his ass, at the very least.”

You look at Hood, blinking. “Oh. That’s very nice of you, thank you.”

He shrugs. “‘S my job.”

You nod clumsily. “Right, of course. I could give you something in return, though. Money or, um, firearms. A car, perhaps?”

He snorts. You smile shyly. 

“Cute,” he says, but he’s not being mean. “No, that’s okay. I’m pretty set, actually. Doing what I do is surprisingly lucrative.”

“Surely there’s something—”

“Seriously, princess, no charge.”

You bite your lip. Is this too bold? Yes, definitely.

“What about a kiss?”

At first, you think Hood hasn’t heard you. Then he turns to face you in a way that tells you no, he definitely heard you. 

“Ex-cuse me?”

“Um.” You scratch your neck. “Well, princesses kiss their knights goodbye, don’t they?” you ask, but it’s weak. It’s stupid. You’re so young.

You think he’s going to just walk away. That would be the kindest thing to do in response to your blunder.

“I’m sorry, forgive me. That was a terrible joke,” you blurt.

“No, it wasn’t.”

He steps forward, close enough to kiss you if he didn’t have the helmet. You look up at him, heart pounding.

“Wasn’t terrible or wasn’t a joke?” you ask, blood roaring in your ears.

Hood’s quiet. 

“Haven’t done much kissing, to be honest with ya,” he finally says, not answering your question. 

You shake your head. “Nor I.”

“Mm. And y’wanna kiss me? Don’t offer ‘cause you think you owe me.”

“I want to kiss you, Hood.”

He tilts his head. “Y’wouldn’t be kissing a knight. More like kissing a toad.”

You frown. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, I’m no Greg Peck. And I’m no hero either.”

“Do you give this speech to everyone who wants to kiss you?”

“You’re the first one who’s wanted to,” he says.

You inhale sharply. “Oh.”

“Uh-huh.”

You wait. He waits. You both wait for the other to back out. You don’t. Neither does he.

“Can’t believe a princess wants to kiss me,” he mumbles.

And then he covers your eyes with his hand.

You blink, lashes sweeping over his glove. You hear a click, then a hiss of air. His helmet hits the ground with a dull thud. 

Hood gingerly holds your chin with his free hand. You keep your eyes closed even though he’s covering them, out of respect.

His mouth is warm and so, so gentle. You barely feel his lips at first, so you press a little harder. Hood doesn’t know what to do with his mouth, resting it on yours, so you take the lead, following what you’ve seen others do and what you’ve watched on television.

You reach up and hold his face. He makes a soft noise in the back of his throat. You stroke his stubbled jaw, feel strong cheekbones and the ends of curls above his ears. 

“Your Highness? Your Highness!”

The hand leaves your face so quickly, your eyes stay closed for a second longer, slow to react. Then you open your eyes and see the empty street.

Your lips tingle with heat. It’s all noise around you, policemen and your guards flitting around you, asking questions, alarmed by your torn dress. 

You exhale, disappointment overtaking you.

Your father is in front of you, taking your wrists. “Can you hear me? Doctor, I need a—”

“I’m fine,” you say, finally meeting his eyes. “I’m alright, Father.”

He exhales and pulls you into a hug. It startles you. He pulls away before you can hug him back.

“I am so glad you’re alright,” he says. “The police say they saw a figure with you. Who was that? Was he your kidnapper?”

“No, not at all,” you say, staring out into the street beyond. Your lips are buzzing. “He was my hero.”

[gor3-hound]

lacerated to the bone

ft. danny johnson as ghostface x fem!reader

cw: 18+ content, dark content, masked men, stalking, photography, heavy dub-con, knife play, coercion, choking, blood, threats, predator/prey play, fear play, major character death, p in v, creampie

a/n: requested by anon! hope it lives up to the idea you had, bcs i had so much fun writing this one !! title from 'a life less ordinary(need a little help)' by motion city soundtrack

word count: 2.1k words

“Come on… come on.” You say under your breath as you work at the generator, your heart rabbiting in your chest. You're looking over your shoulder every few seconds, trying to make sure that the killer isn't on your trail. You did your best to save the others from the entity, but you'd failed. You were all alone now. You had to survive.

You can't shake the feeling that he's watching you. There's an eerie silence around you, the only sounds coming from the generator you're working on. The final one. You let out a deep breath as you look away again, but your fingers falter, and the sounds of the generator failing echo throughout the forest.

“No, no, no…” You say quickly, perking up to examine your surroundings, hoping that you hadn't alerted the killer. You curl up behind the generator, waiting for a few moments as you try to listen out for any movement. The minutes that stretch by feel like hours, but there's no sign of him.

You let out a deep breath, standing up before you lean over to work on the generator again. Before you can get started, you feel a finger tap your shoulder. You turn around quickly, coming face to face with a camera. You hear the click of the shutter, and then a bright light flashes that ends up blinding you for a few seconds.

You blink rapidly to clear the spots from your vision, stumbling back. You knew who it was. It could only be one person. You needed to get out of here, and fast. When your vision finally refocuses, you're left face to face with Ghostface. The mask tilts to the side as he cocks his head, his voice husky and slightly crackly from the vocal modulator as he speaks.

“Boo.”

You're running before your brain can even register the movement. You do your best to escape, weaving through dilapidated structures to try and lose him. At every chance you got, you sent wooden palettes tumbling in narrow spaces, keeping a mental note of where you'd cut off the path, hoping to slow him down.

At this point, the chase had become a matter of stamina rather than technique. It was clear the killer wasn't going to let you go, barely letting you out of his sight for more than a few seconds before he was on your tail again. You knew better than to hide, but you were running out of options. Your breathing was becoming laboured, and your legs burned from the chase. You knew you didn't have much of a chance - he was stronger, faster and smarter than you.

It was all down to luck. Your eyes flick over the treeline rapidly - it's a bit far out from the generators and the exit, but it was your best chance of staying concealed. The feeling of being watched irks you once again, causing you to stop and try to find the source.

It's quiet. Too quiet. All you can hear is the sounds of your own breathing. For a moment, you almost feel like you've lost him. That is until you hear a sound that's becoming far too familiar for your liking.

Click!

You turn to try and run again, but a gloved hand wraps around your ankle, yanking you into the underbrush. You cry out as the branches scratch the skin that's exposed as he drags you towards him.

“An image is worth a thousand words, don't you think?” A voice echoes from behind the mask, his free hand shifting to press down on your chest to keep you flat on the ground as he pins your legs down with his knees. With his other hand, he snaps a few pictures of your fearful expression with a beaten down looking film camera.

“Can't wait to get these developed… add them to the collection.” He adds after a moment, placing it down carefully so he can reach for the knife he had tucked in his belt. “I think I like this look on you…”

“Please…” You croak out weakly, your voice wavering as he trails the tip of the blade down your cheek and along your jawbone. “Please, don't.”

“Oh? Already begging for your life?” He coos, patting the flat of the blade against your cheek a few times. He presses the tip of the knife against your cheek, placing just enough pressure to nick the skin. “You're in luck. See, I don't normally play with my designs, but…”

He slides the tip of the knife down your skin, applying pressure when it reaches the hollow of your throat. The mask tilts down, and you can almost sense the sick satisfaction from him as he watches your blood trickle out with every panicked breath you make.

“Well, you're different. I've been watching you for a while. I wanted this to be special; the kind of headlines that people don't forget.” He leans down slightly, and you can feel his gaze boring through you despite the mask obscuring his features.

“Anyway, look at me getting all sidetracked. You poor thing, you keep shaking. I hope that's not on account of me?” He mocks, holding the knife to your throat to keep you from making any attempts to escape. “My apologies. I've always been one for a good story. And you, my dear? I feel you'll be my best one yet. I have a… proposition for you.”

“Please, just stop. I won't say anything… I swear! Just let me go I… I was so close, please!” You sob, raising your hands to try and push him off of you, as if that'd do any good. You wriggle underneath him, ring to give yourself a chance to break free and escape his grasp.

“You see, I'd love to do that. Really, I would. There's just one small issue.” With that, he loosely nods his head towards one of the hooks not far from you. “See, I could let you go, but that wouldn't be in my best interests… now, if you want to make it worth my while…”

He trails off, dropping his head down so his mask is looming directly over your face. He presses the knife down harder, drawing blood as the sharp edge digs into the skin of your throat. “Either you give me what I want, or I'll gut you and offer you up to the Entity. It's simple, really.”

Your stomach sinks at his words. There's no mistaking his intentions. The mask is tilted towards you expectantly as the knife against your throat is replaced by his tight grip. He trails his blade down, hiking your skirt up with the tip of it.

You nod. What other choice did you have? It was this, or die. You couldn't die here. You won't.

“There we go. Good girl.” He says as he removes his grip on your throat to pat your cheek, slipping the knife in between the top of your thigh and the edge of your panties. You tense as he pulls the fabric taut with the blade until it splits. You shiver as the cold metal brushes right above your folds, sliding the fabric out of the way to expose you to his greedy eyes.

You squirm underneath him as he runs the flat of his blade downwards, trying not to jerk your hips as he brushes past your clit, a small whimper falling from your lips. He smacks the blade down a few times, landing spanks against your pussy until sticky strings of arousal connect you to his knife.

“Filthy little thing.” He hums, pulling his knife away to drag a gloved finger between your folds. “Making such a mess. To think, I was planning to wet my knife in a very different way.”

You watch with a mix of arousal and horror as he shucks off the cloak, exposing the black jeans and t-shirt he wore underneath. He keeps that mask on. Seems to enjoy the way you shiver whenever your eyes land on it. He manages to unbuckle his belt one-handed with little struggle, the clink of the metal echoing in the air for a few moments.

He drops the knife down to free his cock and hold it in his right hand. His left hand slides its way up your body, squeezing one of your tits before his hand trails higher, gripping your throat once more. Just to be safe. He smacks his tip against your clit a few times, clearly enjoying the way it has you jolting. Your cunt gushes as he ruts against your sensitive nub, drawing a moan from your lips.

He slides his cock down until the head catches your hole. With a grunt, he pushes forward, filling you to the brim. He throws his head back, his chest rising and falling visibly with his rapid breaths.

“Christ, doll. Didn't think you'd be this wet.” He hisses through gritted teeth. He drops his head forward again, watching your expression carefully through the mask. The tone of his voice sends heat pooling in your lower abdomen, air leaving you in a breathless sigh.

His thrusts are shallow and desperate. He barely pulls out before slamming back in, not wanting to leave the tight heat surrounding him longer than necessary. Each thrust brings a whimper from his lips. Hastily, he reaches a hand out to grab his camera, the one resting on your throat squeezing down just enough to have you gasping in a breath, your cunt clenching tighter around his cock.

“Oh!” He moans, his hand shaking as he snaps a few pictures of his cock sliding in and out of you, the length coated in a layer of clear slick. “God, that's so tight. You like it when I squeeze your throat, huh?”

His voice is hoarse as he speaks, slightly breathless. He tightens his grip on your throat a little more as he speeds up his thrusts, fucking into you with a more brutal pace, his cock bullying your cervix with every movement. Blood rushes to your head as he pounds the air out of you while leaving you unable to suck more air in due to him choking you. You start to get light headed, your vision growing spotty and blurry with unshed tears. As your eyelids begin to flutter, he lets go and you're quickly sucking in deep breaths, your chest heaving.

“Ah, sorry, darling.” He forces out, sounding absolutely wrecked. He drops the camera to hold your hips in both of his hands, pulling you back on his cock with enough force that you're sure you'd be littered in finger shaped bruises. His balls slap against your ass with every heavy movement.

“Oh, can't wait to get these pictures all done. Gonna build a whole shrine for you, dolly. Such a pretty thing.” He reaches down to pinch and tug at your clit before rubbing circles into it with his thumb. He's too rough, and you're already so sensitive. Your body twitches, whines spilling from your lips as you cum, back arching and dragging along the dirt as you clench around his cock.

“W-wait… gotta… gotta get a picture, fuck.” He croaks, flipping you over onto your stomach. He grabs your hair in one fist, yanking your head back painfully as he sinks his cock back into you, making you cry out. He snaps a couple of pictures of him buried deep inside of you, aiming the camera mostly at your fucked out, tear-stained face.

“Fuck… fuck. Coming…” He manages to choke out, the sensation of your walls squeezing him enough to milk his cock. He drops his head down to the crook of your neck, the material of the mask jarring your heated skin. “Shit.”

He drops the camera again, his hand fumbling with something in the thick brush. In the corner of your eye, you see a glint of metal in the moonlight, causing you to flail in panic, scratching at the ground and trying to fight him off.

“You promised!” You yell, trying to scramble out from underneath him as you realise what he’s about to do. “You said you'd let me go! Please… I did what you asked!”

Your eyes widen with fear - wet and panicked as he lifts the knife up, plunging it deep into the side of your neck. Blood bubbles up in your throat, making you cough and splutter as the excruciating pain shocks your core.

“Sorry, doll. Honest. I know I said I'd let you go, but, well…” He yanks the knife out, and your body convulses as you try desperately to suck breath into your failing lungs.

“A good story always needs a twist.”

[midnight1nk]

PRESENTING:

THE OFFICIAL WOTFI 2024 BINGO CARD

Come one and all to Puzzle Park, where fun truly never ends...

:)

[BOX EXPLANATIONS & EMPTY CARD UNDER CUT]

BOX EXPLANATIONS (+CREDITS)

Mario Ruins The Show — me, @sardix

No matter what Mr Puzzles does, Mario is the only character he can't control. The one who never obeys. The one who ruins the show. So, it wouldn't be the first time Mario would save the day.

Past Arcs Or Trauma — /sardix

it's bound to happen some time, right? :)

Karma

After what he did to Meggy, it makes sense that Mr. Puzzles will face the same demise. The fate that's popular within the fandom would be his death. But if he lives, he could turn into Leggy himself, his TV head with tiny footsies. Or just his head. Either way, he would end up harmless.

It also refers to Puzzles's defeat. He tried to destroy the crew multiple times, it's only natural that the SMG Crew will try to fight back.

Mr Puzzles having a grudge against SMG4 — /sardix

We already knew that Puzzles hates Four, jealous even. How did Four, a ridiculous YT shitposter, get more attention than him? His original ideas pushed aside for memes? To add salt in the wound, Puzzles's steaming service of 5 episodes only managed 4.5 stars at his highest while Four surpassed him with 5.5 stars within an hour. An hour. And then, Four had the nerve to destroy his perfect screen at the end of the Puzzlevision movie. Then, there's the Meme Factory arc. Four took his only friend away, it's only fair if Four gets what he deserves. Why don't we have some fun with it while we're at it? :)

Park Destroyed — @34saveme34

By the end of WOTFI, Puzzle Park gets destroyed similar to how the simulation lab crumbled by the end of Western Spaghetti, seeing that there are a lot of similarities between Wren and Puzzles with the whole wires thing going on.

It's Gotta Be Perfect — me, @time1srunout, and literally everyone

Interestingly, the show crew brings back moments/parallels from IGBP. After all, everything started at that arc. Perfection, the keyboard, the eyes, the goo, the Showgrounds, Puzzlevision. And of course, Four and Puzzles being Narrative Foils(TM). I mean, you gotta love it.

The reason why it's in its own box is because of how significant it is. And besides, many theories stem from this arc. For me, I'll be looking for eyes, Goop!Four, and absolute karma.

References, confirmed theories, motifs, flashbacks, it all counts.

Freak Show

Referring to the poster made by the SMG4 crew with Tari, SMG3, Boopkins, and Bob being labeled as freaks. Someone's gotta bring this into WOTFI somehow.

(Carnival-Themed) Rap — me, @porschas-palette

Just as a heist-themed WOTFI happened in 2023, an awesome carnival-themed rap will happen this year. And it will be a BANGER!

Puzzles' Backstory — me, @yullalightk

As much as Puzzles is an interesting character, we have yet to learn more about his past. We have already seen some in his Creative Control song and in the 'Mr Puzzles' Clubhouse' episode with his dad. There simply has to be more. The puzzle pieces of his past :) ...I'll see myself out

The Bell Tolls 🔔

For the past few weeks, Ben and Shadow have been trolling the SMG4 twitter with their ;) and the bell emoji.

Stop stop [*points at SMG4 twt*] they're already dead/ref

On one tweet, Ben posted a few lyrics of the song "For Whom the Bell Tolls", a 1984 song by Metallica that was apparently inspired by a book of the same name, which basically tells a scene in the story where 5 soldiers died in the Spanish Civil War. Exploring death in modern warfare. As for whom the bell tolls, it's all of us, being bounded together. It's all of them who the bell tolls for.

Any reference to the heavy metal song, signs of bells, or even death, it marks this box for sure. Sure, it may be trolling, but hey, anything's possible.

Not So Different

With Four and Puzzles being Narrative Foils(TM), I've been waiting for a scene of Puzzles telling Four:

"You and I, we aren't so different. You wished to make people happy. I'm simply doing the same..."

It also be in reverse with Four OR Three telling that to Mr Puzzles that they get where he's coming from but he doesn't have to go down this path. They know what it's like. Whether Puzzles accepts defeat/change, it'll be up to him.

(Ending) Twist — me, /porschas-palette

At the very end of WOTFI, Mr Puzzles finally came out in all this glory of a model, showing he also pulled the strings of WOTFI 2023. Aside from IGBP and Western Spaghetti, of course. It's likely to happen again. Old/new characters, foreshadowing, fake death. It all counts.

Merch

...I mean, it's pretty obvious, right? I'm gonna bet on a poster, shirt/hoodie, a keychain, and something related to the WOTFI ticket. 5 bucks, all in.

Star Rating System

This whole arc constantly comes back to the ratings. Mr Puzzles in the negatives in the "Lowest Point" episode, Mickey referring the single star as the power source in the Engine Room in "Mr Puzzles' Clubhouse". And no, we're not going to forget about the broken star Mr Puzzles had left at the end of Puzzlevision. With Mr Puzzles being THE power source, it has to come back.

Sacrifice — me, /sardix, /porschas-palette

"Character Death" and "Character Fake Death" were great suggestions. But then, when sardix stated "Mario saves the day doing something stupid/protects someone from dying", it made me realize something. That's right, each one of the Crew would do anything to protect the others. Even if it costs them their lives. But it's worth the risk if it means they're safe. Three technically did in the "Welcome to Puzzle Park" episode, trying to warn Four and Mario. I mentioned in my theories that someone will sacrifice themselves, so this might be it.

It could also mean in terms of the exchange of something else, not necessarily a life. It could be Meggy's physical condition, knowing that she was forced to become Leggy again. Based on all those screams, I think her body's not going to be the same. A loss of a limb or something. Or perhaps, after seeing what he's done, Mr Puzzles might admit defeat. The sacrifice of his dream for creative vision.

Tender Tunnel — me, Nicc

What other reason would there be to have the equivalent of the Tunnel of Love in Puzzle Park? Literally, why would they do that? They could've put anything else in there. Popping balloon stand, the horse racing game, any other ride. Why this? And not just that, they keep pointing the camera right at it as if they're like "hey, this is going to become relevant later, so remember it".

SMG4 Kids

This whole arc also revolved around the children. Karen's kids, Beeg4, Eggdog, JubJub. Like I said in my "The Unexpected Guests" theory, they could still be relevant here. Also, the whole Didney thing and their large kid audience and the carnival being fun for kids (and all ages ofc).

Puzzles Dies 💀 — Nicc

As much as some of us don't want it to happen, Mr Puzzles may die, similarly how Wren did. For how to defeat Puzzles, it seems like the Crew would have to destroy the power source that's currently controlling the park... aka Mr Puzzles

Meggy Confronts

By the near end of WOTFI, in the final showdown between the Crew and Puzzles, Meggy might be back to normal and might have a few words with him in regards to what happened to her. In song or pure dialogue, she might confront him about his wrongdoings.

Or perhaps, for the very first time, Leggy might defy him. The whole time, Leggy is like "Join the winning team, he was such a great boss". And what if something snapped in Leggy that made her say "no" to Puzzles? That, no, this is going too far. No, I can't let you do this.

"You Saved Me" 💫 💣 — me, /sardix

SMG4 x SMG3 shippers, we're all too familiar with this line. Ever since SMG3 redeemed himself, the two have constantly said this line, after one indeed does save the other. Actually, it kind of happens in every movie if you think about it. And it works just as well here.

SMG3 being in a horrible minigame trap might get saved by Four and Mario with Four pulling out of it,

Three: "You... saved me?" Four: "Why wouldn't I? You were literally in a trap, dude." Three, hitting the back of Four's head: "I... Augh, just forget it, baka."

OR in reverse, when Four thanks Three for trying to save him and Mario. They didn't exactly escape in time but Three really has grown to become a true friend.

This box also works as a "Four and Three moment that can be seen as romantic" box :)

Brand New Look

This could be new outfits, bringing back old ones (like Three's bunny ears or WOTFI '23 suits), a new Puzzle face, or a new look of the Puzzle Park.

Puzzles Tune

Puzzles' musical motif dubbed as "TV Time", the one we're all familiar with, could come back. Either in the background, as a new arrangement, or as part of the Rap(TM) instrumental. It did that for WOTFI 2023 to foreshadow his subtle involvement so I don't see why it couldn't happen.

Dynamic Change

After rewatching "SMG4 and SMG3 come up with an episode", I predicted that something would change in Four and Three's dynamic, for better or worse. (For better, hopefully). As I said, it could be Three's revelation. Sure, the episode is a silly one, it should not be taken so seriously. But it's also the same episode that "hinted" the idea of a carnival coming to the Showgrounds, so anything could happen at this point.

And it doesn't have to be between Four and Three, it could be anyone in WOTFI. Leggy and Puzzles, the Crew within, etc.

Leggy's Flag

As shown in the "Lowest Point" episode, Mr Puzzles kept Leggy's flag after all this time. It wouldn't be a surprise that it might be used for a turning point in the plot in some way. Maybe it could be used as evidence of Puzzles' humanity, or for Puzzles to realize the damage he has caused. That he lost himself. All for creative vision.

BLANK CARD

If you want to fill in your own card, I leave here a blank version for your use AND a marker png:

Also, feel free to post this on other platforms, the more the merrier. All I ask from you is to credit me.

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

Have fun with it, bring in your moots or discord server! But as always, enjoy what WOTFI has to offer. "Love always wins", after all.

I would like to give a big thanks to everyone who has given me suggestions, great job honestly!

And feel free to share your cards after WOTFI either by tagging me or using #wotfi 2024 bingo, I would love to see them! I'll see you all on the other side, my dear fellows.

[dreamsinombre]

And they're done!!

first post about these socks

second post about these socks

What an intensely enjoyable knit! I've never done so much colorwork before, and certainly never with 3 strands! What a challenge, but also highly engaging. These socks felt like they took no time at all! They're also quite soft and pretty darn warm, so I'm very excited to add these to my closet come fall & winter. Thank you to Oakwood Knits for a fantastic sock design!

Like the first attempt, I tracked my daily progress, but I started doing so after I caught up to where I stopped from my first attempt, which took half the time to do this attempt!

These still need to be blocked, and I have a set of sock blockers on the way, but I didn't want to wait to share because I just am so pleased with them. I learned a handful of new things making these, namely continental, to hold the secondary color, and how to better tension strands of color. I knit these both at the same time across two circulars, and the little onion* skeins of Palette actually made it so I could use only one skein at a time for both socks! I did make a little ball for each sock for the third color rows, however. But ultimately, it worked out great. I also did Eye of the Partridge heels and toes, because I know my feet and those are the spots that need the most reinforcing, and I also added in a single row of purls on the top at the toes because I like how it looks on socks.

Bonus: the start of the spring socks, since I missed the KAL for them and was so jazzed by the summer socks I want to knit more!

*I don't know of they're really called onion skeins, but I can't remember if they have an official name and they look like onions to me, so there you go

pattern: Oakwood Knits

yarn: Knit Picks Palette

[forbidding-souda]

Hii!! May I please have some headcannons with Gundham, Kazuichi, and whoever with a gyrau s/o!!! Please and thank u!!

Gundham Tanaka and Kazuichi Souda with a SHSL Gyaru S/O

here's another gyaru s/o fic i did with mondo, shinguuji, and kaito! it was rather recent too since when was i posting in 2022 what the fuck. i didn't add any characters because i realized i had three that i have already done so there's more mwahahahahaha

i love gyaru's rawr rawr i'm so excited to write this ty anon

-Mod Souda

Gundham Tanaka

❤ It's clear you two are a couple. You both have a very eccentric way of speaking which makes you guys such a good couple wow, nobody is surprised when you tell them you're together. They can probably guess that. With you two having voluminous hair and heavy eyeliner, it's as if your aesthetics were compatible. Though being in two different subcultures, the overlapping stylistic details adds a charm to the times you've walked together hand in hand. Your both overdramatic way of talking makes people group you together.

He departs from the barn, quickly making his way back to the main building, where you wait on your phone. He doesn't have to look for you. Your appearance is eye-catching. Your loose shirt, a more casual one, is heavily wrinkled from how quickly you put it on this morning. You're not even wearing any of your iconic belts. You wanted to join him despite how early it was. Your eyes flick up to his once you hear him approaching. "Are you done?" You ask. You turn your head towards him, makeup still perfectly done (you focused more on that then your outfit, which you did last). Before he can respond, you squint at his name tag. "That's cute." He grumbles and unpins it. His mind was too busy for a proper conversation. He was logging all of the animal's names in his head and the medications and treatment they needed it. While you two walk, he places his hand on the small of your back, a simple form of affection to tell you he was still paying attention. But when you yawn, it breaks his thought process. "You're tired?" You nod. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yawn like that." "Nonsense. Perhaps we can arrange an hour of slumber." You nod. "Can it be more than an hour?" He hums, thinking for a second. "As many as you need, my dear enchantress."

❤ Oh my god if you wear more dark colors or purples (else a goshikku gyaru) you could absolutely be the same color palette as him. Purple and black pleaded skirt with eyeliner in your waterline omggg. Or a zip-up with skeletons on it.

❤ He absolutely loves your style, he adores anything vaguely alternative and subnormal. Ur definitely getting some more romantic nicknames like "my muse" or "my agony".

❤ Ya ya ya it's unhygienic but you can share makeup if you can't find something (aka you probably left your eyeliner in your purse but completely forgot).

❤ You will scream and cry when you tease your hair and then you go to visit animals with him and a giraffe just starts licking it.

❤ But the hamsters love your hair / wigs.

❤ You can probably convince him to wear more eccentric earrings.

❤ And necklaces. Omg matching necklaces. From the one dogtag he wears, you can convince him to wear a chain or a bunch of layers of silver.

❤ I doubt he has social media so he doesn't see your persistent presence, but he will take pictures of you with the animals for some posts.

❤ When you start using a bit of his lingo online no one questions it.

❤ Also in the scenario thing above I fought the urge to say you were playing dress to impress.

.

Kazuichi Souda

❤ He was so nervous around you. He wasn't as bold as he was with Sonia. He'd give you compliments and then promptly walk away after you say thank you. It takes you and your boldness to finally get him to have a lingering conversation ("No, no, you get back here"). He's such a charmer, you loved the conversations, and whenever you gave him compliments back he was fighting the urge to completely melt.

❤ You post a lot of photos of you two together. You just love his pink hair and it tends to fit your layout perfectly. Some of them aren't just cutesy selfies, it's things like him with his jumpsuit tied around his waist as he's too focused on his work to realize you have your phone pointed at him. He's started to do the same to you. Taking pictures as you're posing yourself for your own camera. You love the candid photos he takes of you so much you end up posting them instead. He loves your online presence. He's gonna pick up the slang you use and it's gonna be funny LMFAO.

Upon entering the house, he spots you sitting on the couch with a sugary snack in your hand. You immediately smile. "Sorry," you say, "I couldn't help myself." He was planning on a real meal for tonight, but of course, you've indulged in the popular snacks you love so much. At least your well, that smile on your face says as much. He kicks off his shoes, leaving them scattered by the door. You study him for a moment, wondering if his sour mood is because of you or whatever job he had outside. "Are you good?" You ask mid chew. He eyebrows furrow a bit and he nervously scratches at his jaw. "I lost the necklace you gave me." "What?" "I took it off and I don't know where it went, I'm an idiot." You place your snack aside and stand, approaching him. "Dude," you place your hands on his cheek. "It's not that serious. I have a thousand of them. I'll get you another one." "But you gave me that one." "And I'll give you another 'that one'. You worry too much." He sighs, placing his forehead against yours, the small thunk drawing you back, but you don't pull away. He's constantly fearing offending you or disappointing you. But you always assure him that things are alright. The simple things he stresses over are never things that will push you away, and he needs to understand that.

❤ He loves it when you scratch his back with the long, decorative nails. Or when you massage his scalp when he's trying to sleep. His small, half-awake hums are soooo cute.

❤ He'll want you to do his hair. He trusts your stylistic abilities with his life. You're not going to be able to do the dramatic makeup on him, nice try. But hair yesss. He'll want to add small braids to your style as well.

❤ His work is a little too messy for you and if he gets motor oil on you you're gonna fight the urge to throw a fit. On your yellow shirt? Kaz. You piece of shit.

❤ ^ Frantic cleaning-related google searches.

❤ ^ On the rack beside the front door, you keep your shoes far away from his.

❤ He gets you a lot of those glitter, bajeweled (or whoever it's spelled) reusable cups. He uses them a lot for himself though. He wanted an excuse to have them, and you definitely figured this out LOL.

[velnna]

This might sound like an odd question but I’m planning on making my own comic at some point and I was wondering if you had any advice? Specifically in making the plot, deciding what each character does and maybe panel/page composition and how to make harmonious colour palettes?

Also one more question but when you were at the beginning of developing Stray Souls did you post little lore/plot snippets and character doodles/info or did you mainly wait until the comic was out?

(Sorry I know this is a lot but I was just wondering sort of what your process is because everything seems so seamless and well-put-together :> )

Ehh first of all the seamless and put-togetherness is an illusion 🫠

A lot of my work is built organically (fancy way of saying I just sorta wing it) and very dependent on what makes me excited at each given point. Generally, I come up with an idea for a character or a plot point and from there start branching out.

Say, I create character A. A needs a story so I create some beats for them, a beginning-middle-end type thing. While thinking of this, characters B, C, etc pop up as placeholders/devices for A's story, and the world gets shaped around it as well. Then suddenly something in the world gets decided that in turn changes A's story a little, and so on. Then I go into B, C, etc and do the same thing (build a story, let it bleed into the world and let the world bleed into it).

There's pros and cons to this sort of thing of course. Most of the time I over-develop characters or world bits that are completely unnecessary and clutter the narrative (especially when it's something like a comic, where things need to be explained visually and economically), and because of this sort of chaotic process I also tend to get entangled in my own concepts and lose track of my main threads. I don't dislike it entirely so it's just a matter of figuring out what works best for your own goals and processes.

Some general advice for comics that I've learned from trial and error: try stripping your story down to its bare bones and see what you absolutely need VS what's there for flavour or added context. Only add flavour once you're sure you can tackle the minimum, both in writing and artwise. Keep your character designs simple if you value your hands lol. It's fun to design complicated details but you WILL get tired of drawing them after a while. Sometimes it's ok to tell and not show 🤷‍♂️ if you're a one-man team sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet. Bear in mind that long stories will take YEARS to complete in comic format. Not an end all be all, but you do need to think about that. Also just go for it once you've got a structure you feel good about. I personally don't like over planning and don't even script things, so I don't think you need to have everything on paper before getting some chapters rolling. Most of what I've learned about comics has been making them, not thinking about making them. Oh, and readers tend to be more lenient than we give them credit for - if you're passionate enough about your world or characters, chances are at least some people will be interested regardless of whether you think art or writing are up to par

As for the other question, I spoiled the shit out of stray souls before launching it and still kinda do it for fun LMAO. Nothing too serious ofc but I've always loved giving people an insight into characters and world outside of the comic since the comic itself is a little peek into the whole thing. It also kinda serves to keep people interested imo

And I just can't keep my mouth shut about my stories lol

[blank-house]

hello again! i'm back with more questions this time >:] sorry if these are too many questions at once

1. would Percy play any games with lighter horror even if it's a more story-driven game? or is it an absolutely not for all horror?

2. do any of the characters have pets at home or had pets in the past?

3. this is just a guess based on their color palettes (and maybe a little the mc personalities in-game), but i'm guessing their favorite seasons are spring for Percy, winter for Jamie, and summer for Elio. am i right?

4. will there be partial voice acting throughout the game or will we only hear the characters' voices during voicecalls, like in the demo?

i'll probably be back if i can think of more questions lol

Oh please *cracks knuckles* I got all day! NOW LET'S GET CRACKING

Percy knows his limits. Gory games, he can stomach- he is studying in the medical field. But games that amp up the suspense, that wind you up and you can't tell when they're about to snip the tension-- yeah, he'd probably need one of the guys in the same room as him. He'd also commentate a lot or ask them questions so he can distract himself from the dread. Otherwise, if the game doesn't have a compelling enough story, he won't touch it haha

Jamie had a lot of pets! I can't tell you specifics, but he does love animals and he has one waiting for him at home. Elio also has a pet waiting, a turtle called Mo'o. She fits in his hand though and so he likes to put her on his head. Everyone else doesn't have one and never owned any pets before. Cameron would want to, though, but they're not allowed to bring any animals in the house hahhh

Oh, favorite seasons like in terms of the weather? If it's weather, Percy likes the Winter actually! He's a walking heater so he thrives in colder climates, plus he likes the snow a lot. Jamie adores Spring for the flowers, how pretty the world is, and nature walks. And Elio... well, it's hard. He grew up in warm climates where there's hardly a Winter, so snow and winter sports is incredible to him! But Summer's got his birthday and a long break from school. But Fall's peak cozy vibes and the temperature's always nice. But Spring is when festivals start and the flowers are in bloom... Yeah, he wouldn't be able to decide. If we're talking about in-game personalities though, the guys wouldn't have any favorites. There are season types that they seemingly click with more easily because they're reflections of themselves but that's how it is when you find someone who's just like you. Otherwise, there are no bias between personalities.

There will be partial voice acting! I was actually supposed to add them into the demo but it was more important to me that we have a demo for the jam haha. But yeah, they would be in the rest of the game.

[sunbloomdew]

I played the "Fields of Mistria" Demo! Here's my thoughts:

(that title sounds like something a youtuber would say auuughhhhhhhh)

I found out about this game completely randomly and decided to give the demo a try. And surprisingly, or maybe not at all, I am completely taken with it and i can't wait to see how the game will develop! :D

So for now, until the 5th of August arrives, here's what i liked, disliked and what i wish to see in "Fields of Mistria" in the future <3

strap in yall it's a bit long. but there are photos! like. three of them skfjdkhfksj

Things I liked:

You don’t choose your character model’s sex. Also because all of the models being roughly the same size, there’s freedom to imagine your characters’ body type however you want. Surprisingly I also don't recall any of the characters assuming your gender based on your pronouns, which is nice.

Multiple pronouns options! My one suggestion would be to add a She/He option as well ^_^

Wide range of skin tones available. There’s currently 36 in the demo. (to compare, Stardew Valley has 24 and 10 of them are unusual colours like blue or green)

The fact that you can set your birthday on the calendar, although it doesn’t seem to do anything for now. In one of my playthroughs I set my birthday on the 3rd day of Spring, and the only thing that appeared was a pop up saying “It’s your birthday!”. Understandable, this is only the demo after all. I wonder if the early access will have characters react to your birthday and maybe even give you some gifts!

The few available hairstyles are really nice. My absolute favourite thing about hair in the demo was that it has a moving animation! Small detail but it really delighted me.

Same goes for clothes, they are cute!

The customization isn't locked and you can create a couple of outfits you can swap any time! You can also change everything about your character's looks at any time, including their pronouns.

The predetermined palette of colours you can choose your hair colour from is pretty good. There’s 40 colours so far.

I have a small problem with the opening cutscene but the rest of the beginning cutscenes are good! I like the one when you arrive at the bridge and meet Balor and the camera slides to him. And the Juniper cutscene haha

Now that I mentioned NPCs, I really like the cute, personalized animations they have, like Adeline snapping her fingers, Balor flicking his hair before walking away, Celine working in her garden, Josephine and Hemlock singing.

I absolutely love all of the character designs in this game. The 90s anime artstyle, colours, their poses and expressions. I really feel like this is the thing that really drew me to try this game as I wasn’t interested in a new farming simulator. But here I am! All with the power of anime. For example, here are the designs of the romanceable characters! The photo is from the Fields of Mistria website:

Another huge NPC win for me is that the characters interact with each other a lot! I noticed that a lot of them meet during the day and talk with little dialogue bubbles. It feels like the townspeople know each other quite well, I hope we get to learn even more about them and their dynamics!

One of the best things about interacting with characters is that you can talk to them multiple times during the day, getting a bunch of different dialogues. Once you talk to someone you have to wait either for them to change their location or for one of the other characters to approach them, to talk. I really like it since it means you get to interact with everyone couple times a day and it honestly makes the game more enjoyable.

From the little crumbs of lore we got, I am really intrigued about the setting. Prior to the player’s arrival to Mistria, the region has been hit by an earthquake. The disaster caused the main trading route bridge to collapse, the area getting destroyed and a lot of residents leaving the town. The town leader Adeline (daughter of a Baroness and Baron of Mistria) with her brother, Eiland's, help comes up with the idea to seek out an adventurer who could help to revitalize the town. We learn that Mistria is part of the Kingdom of Aldaria (so we have a monarchy), it has its own guardian deities and rich ancient history with the Sleeping Dragon Inn being a historical landmark and that magic is not hidden from people who can’t use it (Juniper freely uses magic in front of the kids in her cutscene after completing her request). Some characters offer some little hits to what their story might be about: Balor says that compared to Elsie he didn’t have a good time in the Capital, and other characters note how he is mysterious and obtains his wares in unknown ways. Elsie is a retired socialite from the Capital with many past romance stories to share, she probably knows a lot of interesting titbits about the Capital and people there. Juniper says that there’s something suspicious about Celine and Juniper herself is stuck in a town she doesn’t really seem to like but seemingly has something she needs to achieve here. When you meet March he slips for a second and says “I- We have everything under control” so it seems he views the player’s arrival as a threat to him in some way (emotionally i presume, not literally). Errol used to be a miner, Hayden can possibly talk to animals? And so much more. And of course, there’s the statue of dragon Caldarus who appears to be a marriageable character…? Anyways, I can’t wait to learn more about this setting!

I loved that you can talk with animals like Dozy and Henrietta, give them gifts and pet them. I really hope we can do the same with our pet.

The interior designs of all the buildings is extremely cute! I really like all of them, my favourite must be the Sleeping Dragon Inn, Celine’s cottage and the Carpenter’s Shop. Plus Elsie’s room at the manor and Hayden’s house.

I also like the beach a lot. It just feels nice and there’s a light house and I sure do love a light house /reference plus there's good ambience there

If you go to the manor there’s a portrait of the Baroness, the Baron and little Adeline and Eiland over the fireplace in the dining room :3

I really like Holt’s dad jokes. Pierre could never-

Guys I need Valen I need her

You are able to swim! It’s really cool and the animation is cute. Plus you can dive in certain spots to find stuff.

You can hold down the button to eat a bunch of food if you have multiple of something.

Saving your game having a form of a diary is very cute and I love that. Same with the crystal orb serving as a weather channel.

Fighting monsters feels dynamic! You actually have to put some thought into learning each individual monster’s behaviour and attack patterns. It’s challenging but not too hard. But they do quite a bit of damage at the start. Fighting that red mushroom felt like playing “Baba Jaga patrzy” again haha.

And speaking of fighting, i like our own character's fighting moves! But it took a bit to get used to them since they make the character move and it's not just. clicking with the mouse repeatedly skdhfjsf

I like the sound design!

Soundtrack is very nice. Not all of it is very memorable but it’s nice while you listen to it and it fits the game. There are some tracks that already got stuck in my head :] I like the one that plays at the Blacksmith, it’s intense for no reason, just like March lol

I cannot stop gushing about the characters, so far even just from the designs they all feel like they have distinct personalities and each one of them has their own thing going on. They all feel so warm and welcoming even if their actions aren’t (looking at you March). I don’t know, something about the artstyle, the pixels, design and colour palette just has me very enamoured with them. I really hope their character arcs or stories will deliver.

I like Caldarus. And the music that plays when he first speaks to us in our dream.

The museum is so nice. Also I love that Errol is an actual character we can talk to… Unlike another museum curator I know /j

You can buy stuff from shops even if no one is around!

Level tenth of the Mines… I’m SO intrigued

I like that there’s magic and can’t wait to see what other spells we can learn!

You can craft at the crafting station in town even if you don’t have the necessary materials on your person, but they are in chests at the farmhouse. As long as the stuff you need is in your chests you can craft stuff which is pretty cool.

Lastly, what I really loved about playing the demo is that not once did I feel rushed to do anything. Farming simulators often make you feel like you have to maximize your time in the day *cough* SDV *cough* and I do enjoy that sometimes, but other times I just want to chill. Somehow Fields of Mistria demo achieves this feeling of not having to rush and playing at your own pace and it feels great.

Things I disliked:

Not a lot of things mentioned here are going to be stuff I actively disliked, more like felt annoyed or confused by. And before any of my little complaints gets the “this is only a demo!” response, let me assure you: I am aware. If things change before or after the early release that’s great! This is specifically what I find ‘meh’ about the demo so far.

When the opening cutscene in Adeline’s office starts playing the room is positioned oddly on the screen. I think it’s so later the camera can follow the characters’ movements but when the cutscene starts and you only see the bottom half of the room at an angle, it feels really weird, like the room wasn’t centred by accident.

I’d love for the character creator to have the option to rotate the model of your character. I think it would be good to see what the options you picked look like from different angles before you jump into the game. Although the customization isn’t locked and you can change how you look whenever. Still, this could be a nice option

So I just said that the colour palette for hair is pretty good. Can’t say the same about the other ones, for eyes and clothes. The colours we get aren’t bad but I feel like there’s too little of them. Speaking of eye colours…

Choosing the eye colour is annoying. Once you pick an eye shape (cool feature btw) a window pops up in the middle of the screen with eye colours. The icons are too small to see the eye colour properly, especially when you want to compare the darker colours. I had to move my face closer to the screen to see what was I picking. And after you pick something the window disappears and you can see the colour you chose on the model. Okay, cool but now if I want to try out different options it I have to open the window again. Constantly opening the colours window to check other options is tedious and a bit frustrating. What I think would be good instead is once you click to choose the colours, next to the options appears a close up of your character model, and the window doesn’t close until you click an “X” button. To sum up my main problems are colour options visibility and the colour picking mechanic. Hair colour and colours for clothes and other stuff is picked in the same way BUT all of those elements are bigger than the four pixels the eyes are made out of.

The controls are not obvious. The game shows you to progress dialogues with “E” key but nothing aside from that. I didn’t realise until the last day of my first playthrough that you can jump, because in my previous experiences, 2D RPG, and especially farming simulator games don’t usually have that option, and the only instance of jumping happened in a cutscene, so I thought it was just an animation for the cutscene. I think it would be a good opportunity to use that moment in the cutscene for brief player interaction so they can learn how to jump, however silly that sounds. I think the player’s experience would benefit from a controls tutorial, in form of a window popping up or them showing up on the side of the screen like in Stardew Valley on the first day.

While interior designs are really cool I feel like the outside is kinda empty. Not so much the building but the areas around them. It is felt the most in the empty stretches of land outside the town but running through the paved roads in it can also feel a bit odd. Like the area is too empty. It’s definitely not a problem on the farm due to all the overgrown grass but everywhere else you really feel like it’s just a flat stretch of nothing. I think adding some more details could be nice, maybe some streetlights, plants, a bit more texture on surfaces.

I had a really odd moment that took me out entirely. While playing the demo you can get Juniper’s request on the board to bring her a Lilac. Once you complete it, a cutscene set at the bathhouse will start playing right away, regardless of where were you when you completed the request. This felt incredibly jarring to me. The first time I did this request I gave the Lilac at the bathhouse, but the second time it was late evening at Valen’s house. So it was pretty surprising to be essentially teleported to a completely different place. I don’t think it’s a great mechanic. It would be better if a cutscene set at a specific place on the map started when you arrive there, to help it feel more coherent.

As much as I like the warm and cozy feel of the characters, it felt like there wasn’t a lot of variety in reactions to the player’s arrival. Everyone except I think literally one person is all cheery. I don’t mind this that much, cause the community being excited for your arrival feels sweet. It makes sense with the story too, the player is there to help out around the town, and who living there wouldn’t be happy about that? I just really hope the character’s don’t end up with poorly defined personalities, that’s my main concern for now about the story. It would be tragic if the game only ended up having cute designs but nothing else. Needless to say I have pretty high hopes for the final version! I really hope it works out and I’m 100% rooting for the team.

The inventory system had me kinda confused at the start. The spaces are all in one line in game but once you open your journal they’re stacked on top of each other? Yeah took me a bit to get used to that, and I’m not sure how I feel about it still.

The user interface is very cute, I have one problem though. It’s hard to tell what a lot of the little icons mean, for example, when you open the chest there’s a chest icon next to the two arrows that sort stuff. I have no clue what it does and when you’re hovering over it, it doesn’t have a name or an explanation either.

You can’t hold down mouse button to use tools continuously. This is because when you upgrade your tools, for example a pickaxe, when you hold it down you get to mine more spaces at the same time. I’m not sure if that exchange is worth it.

You have to click one by one if you want to throw multiple items out in the inventory trashcan.

It’s a shame you can’t land on rocks/big water lily leaves on the water. And you can’t walk into the sea, you have to specifically jump into it. This isn’t really a complaint, I just think I’d be cool if you could just slowly walk into the sea. Like slowly getting submerged.

I feel like the scroll wheel directions are odd… Scrolling upwards will move you to the right of the inventory but I feel like it should be the other way… Maybe it can be changed later in settings.

The buildings on the map are not named. It would be nice if, when you hover over an area you see its name.

Credits get blurry when moving. It hurt my eyes :(

Things I hope to see in the Early Access (and in the game in general):

Interactivity within interiors. So like looking at bookshelves to see what books a character has, reading letters or notebooks that were left out, finding some stuff in their drawers… Basically snooping haha. Oh and more interactivity with objects placed outside too. Right now there are some signs and items you can't interact with, like that tent by the dig site.

More settings for in-game scale! It would be cool if there was one between 3x and 2x, like a 2.5x.

The ability to sell stuff directly at shops. Sometimes you need money but waiting until the next day would ruin your plans.

Sitting! I wanna sit in spots next to the characters and vibe :]

While I do like available colours, I think adding a colour wheel or sliders would be neat.

I wonder what are gender identities and sexual orientations of the characters :]

More clothes and hair options obviously! And furniture as well

What gets implemented for the player’s birthday

How the museum exhibition will look like :D

Lastly, I might be way out of my depth with this one but it would be cool if the romanceable characters could also move in with you platonically… Or if there was a character like Krobus, a little friend you can invite to live with you <3

And that's it :] sorry for the stardew comparison, it's like the only farming sim i'm very familiar with

I've been enjoying playing the demo a lot and i definitely will play more before it closes. And i will for sure be following the development and waiting for the early access in august!

it was a really fun experience over all and if ur interested i reccomend you try it out :D

cya

[auxiliarydetective]

We've done it!

Or, more accurately, you've done it! Thanks to you, my fellow Tumblrinas, I've actually managed to hit 200 followers!

I never thought I would get this far, but I'm eternally grateful for all the love you've given me, and I can't wait to share many more brainrots with you!

In tune with that, I've decided: Why not let you look even further into my mind? I've given you lots of writing, but why not provide some visuals? And so, in thinking about what I wanted to do for my 200 followers celebration, I came up with...

⁕ Evie's Mind Palace Festival! ⁕

(Placing a cut so this doesn't get too long ^^)

As depicted in this lovely graphic above, I'm going to be focusing on my OCs' fashion for this little event. But not just that! I'll get to the bonuses later :)

For now, text version! Because Tumblr likes not loading images and some people may not be able to view the image

↬ Step 1: Pick an OC of your choice! From my OCs, that is. Hope that was clear. Anyone from the list. I'll even throw in a little bonus and say that unintroduced OCs are allowed! That means the ones on this list AND ones I may have rambled to to you in a chat we've had.

↬ Step 2: Pick an occasion prompt! The prompts are as follows:

Casual (aka everyday wear, aka their basic character design or an alternate outfit or it)

Formal

Training/Athletic

Battle (this may overlap with either 1. or 3. for some characters, but let's assume they actually get geared up for battle)

Hot weather (your typical summer clothes)

Cold weather (sweaters, winter coats, you name it)

Swimwear

Canon event (may overlap with some other categories, but I made this a separate thing for the lore opportunities it provides) - Make sure to specify what canon event you want!

Stealing clothes - You can include who the character should steal from in your ask, otherwise I will pick the victim myself.

Holiday-themed - Pick your holiday! Any holiday counts.

Fandombend - Pick your fandom! (This will probably come with some headcanons on what the OC would be like in the new fandom)

Inspired by a song - Please, pick a song! Preferably from the OC's playlist. I should have a playlist for almost every OC. Hop into the "#playlist" tag on my blog to find them and, if they're not posted over there anywhere, tap on any playlist that's there, let it take you to my Spotify profile, and hop into the "Character Playlists" folder!

↬ Step 3: If you want, pick an extra prompt! Your options are:

Historical - Please specify your time frame! You don't necessarily have to, but I tend to be an indecisive little gremlin, so it would make things a little easier if you could pick ^^"

Fantasy (This, of course, makes little sense if the OC is already in a fantasy setting)

Sci-fi (Once again, this makes little sense if the OC is already in a sci-fi setting)

Steampunk

Cultural - Please pick a culture for me to take inspiration from! It doesn't have to be a real-life culture. For example, you could pick Japan for some kimono art or you could pick the Kuja from One Piece!

Color prompt - Pick your color! I ask that you do keep it at one color so that I have some more freedom, and I won't take specific hex codes either because those specific hex codes might clash with the OC's color palette

Prompt of your choice - This can be literally anything! Yes, also an occasion, in which case it would replace your original occasion prompt. I just didn't have the space to add in all occasions known to man, so if you have another idea, this is where to put it.

↬ Step 4: Send your ask! Done!

Once you've sent your ask, please keep in mind that it might take me a while to answer it. I'll then make a collage/moodboard and get the ask posted. Maybe, I'll also draw your prompt, depending on if I have the energy and/or time for it. If I plan on doing that, I'll let you know in the post and tag you once I have the drawing finished! I may also be swayed into adding a little fic snippet to the answer, if I do feel so inclined. Maybe a song to match the vibes? It'll be a little surprise!

► Rules:

Be nice! It's not hard, and it's basically all I ask.

This is the one time you might not want to shower me in asks because these asks might take a bit to answer. I'm not putting a cap on how many asks per person you're allowed to send, just maybe be mindful of how long they take to answer and space them out over the time of the event.

I'll be accepting asks from the time that this is posted until March 17th. The event ends with the strike of midnight starting the next day. Whenever that may be in your time zone. As long as it's still 23:59 on March 17th somewhere around the world, send in your ask. I might also extend the event if asks keep coming in and I have the energy to keep going.

↬ Additional info for mutuals: You get to ask for crossovers! Just pick one of my OCs and one of yours and I'll try my best to draw them. I might bother you for references though, so be prepared! It doesn't matter how long we've been mutuals for! It could've been five minutes, you're still allowed to send in crossover asks. As long as we're mutuals, let's say, at the time that the ask is answered, it's all good. In practice, that means that you just need to be following me to be able to send in a crossover request. If you ask nicely and maybe say something about why you'd think why our two children would go well together and we share a fandom, it's very unlikely that I'll deny your request and won't follow you back.

Also, if you've ever wanted to say something about my OCs and/or me and my blog, this might be the perfect time for you to do it.

Okay, that's it for now! Love you, everyone! Here's to more fandom-y shenanigans!

Also, behold my new non-OC post divider! It features a lineart sketch of my blog icon in the middle! The icon was designed by @benevolenterrancy pretty much exactly two years ago when they realized my old icon was not, in fact, a unicorn. I still go full-on heart-eyes mode whenever I see my icon, so I figured it was time to remind everyone of the amazing artist that created it <3

Taglist: @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @fluffle-system @wheresmybloodynauglamir @supermarine-silvally @nanukanal @cody-helix02 (I believe this is the first time I've ever used my full taglist, aka the basic taglist plus everyone from fandom-specific taglists - wowie!) - Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed, for specific fandoms or the general list!

[catgirl-catboy]

Tumblr life tips:

(please imagine these as like, tumblr loading screens. Thank you!)

You make mutuals faster when you change your name/icon less. The easier it is to remember + spell your username, the better people will remember you.

If you block the tag for something, (say, #dogs) do yourself a favor and block the same word in filtered post content. There are plenty of posts about dogs not tagged with anything, and the posts that mention dogs that you'd actually like are slim to none.

Send the people on your dash asks when you can. If you see an ask meme during your daily scroll, send something in! Its the tumblr version of small talk.

If you want to have a slightly more serious conversation with a mutual, you can't go wrong asking about their headcanons. 99% of people will jump at the chance to geek out, and the 1% that really aren't in the mood today can simply delay or delete the ask.

If you are already having a bad day, you should take the time to go in #anti your ship and block the people that bash the ship. You probably won't want to encounter any of those people in the wild, unless they are the rare breed thats civil about things.

Don't wait until tumblr becomes unfun to block the current discourse. The moment you see figurative clouds on the horizon that you don't like, get tag blocking!

https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/crushes is a thing where you only see posts from the dudes you RB from the most often! I set it as my tumblr bookmark so I'll see the posts I'm the most interested in first.

Block annoying people, even if you agree with them on the current issue. You'll find something else to disagree on later, and you already know they aren't a fun person to disagree with.

If you see a shitty ass take, only reblog with a "WTF" if they are the first person in the reblog chain. Else, the guy you dislike won't see it but the first person in the RB chain will. That helps nobody.

If the person you just blocked is still everywhere, filter their username in filtered post content.

Tumblr Savior is basically a tumblr modpack. Look into downloading it as soon as possible if you have not already.

Also theres a firefox extension (idk if its on chrome, switch to firefox anyway it eats less ram) called Palettes for tumblr where you can make tumblr any colors you like! Mine is a nice warm sepia! :)

Please add your own tips I need to get better at tumbling.

[miasudare]

Ladies and Gentlemen the boi you have been waiting for!

(Please note that it's not rule 63, it's canon that pj is genderfluid and the second version is just to add color to the character)

Name: Paperjam (PJ/Jams/J-J) @7goodangel

Age: 18

Gender Fluid (any pronouns - he/him preferred)

He mostly grew up with his mom around. Since Error was still in school the time him and his twin Gradient born. But their dad always tried his best to be a part their life as much as possible. Pj always looks up to him. When he was 2 his brother Cil was born and he take the "older sibling" thing a little too serious. Even to this day she cares about Cil more than anyone. She is currently living with her father for 6 years. He doesn't like to talk about his mother.

PJ is known for being the extremely hot-headed, jerky and sassy student in the school. He can't stand people generally and is quite mean towards the newbies. Sometimes Fell or SF messes with them just to make them angry. But his lover Omni is always there if he gets a little bit too mad. If Omni isn't there her group will always make sure that the fight is settled. And since his "passion" for fights is very noticeable, you might see him around the faculty room a lot. It doesn't mean that they are bad at their classes ofc. I mean, your father works with these people of course you're gonna get free tutoring from them. You have to have good grades now.

He is the captain of the basketball team. He is pretty short when you compare her to her teammates. 1.70? (5.5) But that doesn't stop him from winning every game.

At lunch time if he is bored, he goes to the library to mess with his cousin Goth. Goth usually gives her his ancient legends books since PJ kinda likes dark magic and stories about it so she would leave him alone.

His room is messy. She has some classic posters on the wall, like the basketball team she likes, a very attractive lady, her favorite singers album cover etc. He has a corner filled with sports equipment and unused cloth materials.

☆She usually runs away from home at night to mess around with his friends. Error isn't happy about this at all.

☆They are usually mean but if they love you at one point, you'll see that they are quite sweet and relaxed.

☆She has a plush collection of everyone she knows. She likes to sew a lot like her father but is scared of anyone knowing this since this kind of hobby is quite ridiculous to others. He keeps the plushes in a chest.

☆He is allergic to feathers and Palette having a sparrow is not helping.

☆She has Atelophobia (fear of being imperfection). He wants to be best at everything and tries to be like his father. He wonders if she would be the next destroyer.

☆They like drawing too. They usually try to make animations by themselves. Then he gets frustrated and chokes a plushie.

☆He likes make up. Also pink stuff. And shiny stuff. With glitter and everything.

[dalmascan-requiem]

Ensembles: Curry

(Vierapril Day 17 - Meal)

-------

A warm meal is always welcome, and it can remind you of fond memories.

-------

Read on AO3 or keep reading after the jump

content warnings: none

(vierapril main post)

------

A series of short scenes involving curry. It's my favorite food and it happens to be the boys' favorite food as well, albeit for more sentimental reasons.

The recipe used throughout is a simplified version of the Japanese curry I make :) The formatting of the recipe bits doesn't quite work on Tumblr, but I think the point still gets across.

Gather ingredients–make sure there is a starch or meat to help thicken

Finely chop the vegetables 

Place in pot with a bit of water and salt and wait until soft (butter and white wine are good too)

~~~

"What are you making, Gemna?"

Gale curiously looks over the Bangaa's shoulder at the pot she was stirring, which causes her to snicker. "It's curry, surely you've had it before?"

"I have, but… it hasn't looked like this before."

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"N-Nothing! Nothing bad." Gale quickly waves his hands in apology before continuing. "I just wanted to know how you make it."

"Well, I'm happy to teach you." Gemna flashes a toothy smile. "But the truly great thing about curry is that there are so many ways to prepare it, different spices you can use… no two recipes will taste the same."

She stirs the pot again before waving Gale over. "Of course, my curry is the best, though. Taste it."

With a nod, the Viera tastes the curry. "Huh… this is… sweet? The other curries I've tried have been spicy."

"And that's why my curry is so much better." Gemna gives a self-satisfied huff. "Spicy curry can upset the patrons' stomachs, especially after they've been drinking. But this sweeter curry has a more gentle kick, and it's hardy enough to help our customers sober up."

"...Sober up to have them buy more drinks?"

"Exactly. Now, come here, I'll show you what I used…"

~~~

When to add meat? Do what feels right

When vegetables are soft, add more water and salt More water means thinner curry

Bring to simmer

~~~

"Here you are. Make sure to eat up, okay? You'll heal faster with a full stomach."

"How could I not?" The injured Resistance soldier grins at Gale as he takes the food. "Your food always reminds me of home. Especially your curry!"

Gale returns the grin with a smile of his own. "That makes me happy. Just don't eat it too fast."

He chuckles as the soldier nods, unable to reply with food in his mouth. "Now then, what's next…"

"I believe you're forgetting something."

Gale quickly turns to the source of the voice, unable to hold back his excitement. "Laurent! You're back. How was everything? Did you get some curry?"

Laurent gives an exasperated huff as he holds up two plates. "Yes, I did, but you've forgotten to get a plate for yourself. Again."

"I've been busy, that's all–"

"You can't care for anyone if you fall ill yourself, my love."

Gale sighs and takes one of the plates wordlessly–he knew his partner was right. The other Viera quietly chuckles as he leads him toward an empty bench. "This curry smells… spicier than normal."

"Yes… the rations we have are not the freshest." Gale sits down with another sigh and takes a bite before continuing. "I needed to use more spices than normal to mask the unpleasantness. Besides, the soldiers generally prefer spicy curry anyway."

"Hm, that is true. Not that I'm complaining… you seem to be able to turn anything into a meal everyone wants to eat."

Gale feels his cheeks heat up, and not all of it was from the spices. "I'm glad you think that, my love…"

~~~

Once simmering, add spices (a satchel is enough) (spice blocks easier to travel with but bitter—add sweetness) -- (mind the heat if someone has an Ishgardian palette)

Let cook for a quarter bell, covered

~~~

"I did not expect to find you here, Kris."

"And I did not expect you to be awake, milord." Kris turns from the simmering pot to the Elezen near the kitchen door.

"Must you with the 'milords' and formalities? We're in private company, simply call me Hauchefant."

"As you wish." Kris felt a tinge of frustration–Hauchefant seemed determined to spend time with him and try to pry some information from him. That in itself wasn't the problem… it's just that Kris didn't understand why. The knight seemed unconcerned with earning favor with the Warrior of Light… he just seemed interested in the person with the title.

He was far too nice, especially considering how frigid Ishgard was. It put him on edge.

"May I ask what you're making? Or is that to be a mystery, as well?"

In his ruminations, he didn't notice Hauchefant coming close to look into the pot.

Too close, really. "It's curry." Kris moves away from the pot–and Haurchefant–to grab a couple of plates. "You may have some if you'd like, though I worry it may not appeal to… an Ishgardian palette."

"Sounds like a fine time to expand my horizons." Hauchefant watches Kris with a bemused look as he ladles curry on top of some rice. "Where, pray tell, did you learn such a recipe? Something from home?"

"No. But it does remind me of family."

"Family, you say? Well, then I must try it." Hauchefant takes a bite of the curry, seemingly ready to continue asking questions, but instead breaks into a coughing fit.

Kris can't help but chuckle as he passes the Elezen a glass of water. "I did warn you…"

"T-that you did." Hauchefant quickly downs the glass of water and coughs a few more times before continuing. "That is quite an… intense flavor, but a good one nevertheless."

Kris offers a small smile as he begins to eat. "If it pleases you, I can make it milder next time."

"That sounds wonderful! I shall look forward to it."

~~~

Add honey and secret ingredient (? What did Gemna mean by this??)  ~ (something sweet?)(a fruit?) (perhaps bitter) (coffee?) (needs to melt) (chocolate?)

Stir, remove from heat

Serve hot with a side of rice

~~~

"Here you are, my love."

"Thank you." Laurent offers Kris a small smile before picking up a spoon, but he stops just short of taking a bite. "This… isn't as spicy as the curry we had in Thavnir, is it?"

Kris laughs before sitting beside Laurent with his own plate. "I don't think I'd ever be able to replicate the curry Zero requested. Nor would it be healthy for anyone to do so. Just try it!"

Laurent looks back at the curry. He notices that it doesn't particularly look spicy–it even looks familiar. "Well, you've never made a bad batch of curry…" He takes a bite, deliberately taking stock of the flavors before his eyes light up. "It tastes just like the curry Gemna used to make."

"It does! It took me a long time, but I finally figured out what her 'secret ingredient' was." Kris takes a few bites before continuing. "It was chocolate, if you can believe it."

"Chocolate? It doesn't taste like chocolate…"

"Of course not. But the sweetness helps to negate the spices' bitterness without overpowering the spice itself. Ingenious, really. I don't know why Gemna wouldn't just tell me, though…"

"She probably knew you'd figure it out. Or just wanted to tease you."

"Probably the second." Kris chuckles at the thought in between bites.

"Definitely the second."

[headtripped]

MUN INTRO: hey! my name's peyton [th/th, cst, 21+] & i'll be writing for sverre olsen, lee hyeon, selena palacio & dylan hwang here. you can find me on discord @ #seamonkeydefender & please feel free to add me w/o asking as well! discord is my preferred plotting method. all of my characters are on sideblogs aside from sverre, so i will be dming from @portra400s when necessary... hehe

CHARA INTRO: next up, lee hyeon. he's a 25yr old city boy, currently "visiting" yuseong bay (re: staying here indefinitely) to ride out some bad press, as he was an idol up until his group noisily disbanded in late 2023. he's always been interested in cars/had some mechanic experience so he's now the shop hand at park's garage. you can view his stats here & his pinterest here if interested!

answer the following prompts, either ooc or ic!

when did your muse first arrive in yuseong bay?: has visited a few times before, but moved to yuseong bay indefinitely in february 2024.

what does an average day look like for your muse?: wake up around 6:30 or 7:00am, skincare/brush teeth, go for a jog around town, go back home to have breakfast, go to work, go home to shower and change clothes, go out for a while (probably for a joyride, but maybe somewhere to socialize), go home to spend the rest of the evening helping out around the house or working on music, go to sleep.

where can your muse usually be found?: during the day, he's usually at park's garage. aside from that, he's known to just cruise around in his car; though it is somewhat common to see him in the recreation center's gym or at 88& bar.

how does your muse feel about hanwha resort?: indifferent. it doesn't affect him in any way, but he's currently living with his best friend's grandparents, and he feels a bit sad for them that their quiet little town is becoming a little less quiet. still, he doesn't care a whole lot as it doesn't seem to have done any real harm to the area, and is more just of a nuisance than anything from what he can see.

is there an aspiration for your muse to stay in or leave yuseong bay?: he's waiting out bad press, so he'll probably be in yuseong bay until (a) his location leaks or (b) he can search his name without the disbandment news & articles about him being sued being the first things to come up. he was young when he started training to be an idol & only 18 when he debuted, soooo he's also just now getting a chance to (kind of) relax for the first time in his life—these are his motivations to stay, but he's a city boy at heart & does want to return to being a public figure when the drama dies down, so he'll have to leave sooner or later.

answer the following, ooc!

list your muse's three favorite songs: cleanin' out my closet by eminem, shark attack by limp bizkit, humble by kendrick lamar (honorable mentions: liberation by skyminhyuk & gottasade by bewhy); a fan of hip-hop & heavy rock.

describe your muse's style: simple, straight-forward. a closet full of basics in a dark color palette, but if pay him any mind, you’ll see that most of what he wears is designer—he’ll define his taste as “quiet elegance,” but it’s mostly just his pretentiousness speaking. occasionally wears accent pieces or graphic tees, but mostly stays minimalistic with layered jewelry as the “point”.

color, word, and emoji to describe your muse?: burnt sienna, "noise", 🔥

three strong likes and dislikes for your muse: really likes reptiles, racing, fashion / really doesn't like scifi, having to share anything, being disagreed with.

three positive and negative traits for your muse: positive decisive, hard-working, supportive / negative dishonest, unloyal, volatile.

three talents and shortcomings for your muse: very musically skilled, esp with producing, great at making decisions when no one else can/wants to (he'll never make you choose where to eat), very handy / poor control on his emotions, often acts without thinking, starts shit he can't finish.

what is a book/tv series/movie/video game character that you feel your character relates to?: mostly mac, some dennis (it's always sunny).

a relevant goal or arch for your character to overcome: hyeon's a very self-focused person. he's not quite as bad as he was when he was a little younger, but he's still quite aggressive & quick to use people for personal gain, then ditch them when they have nothing left to offer—doesn't necessarily want to be like this, and he's gained some self-awareness in recent times. so, it'd be nice if he can (start to) overcome this and view people as... people... instead of tools to get himself further in life!!! which will hopefully be easier for him in a place like yuseong bay anyway, where life is a little slower and the people are more genuine than what he's used to. aside from this, he has some inner child healing he needs to do and also needs to rediscover his own personality outside of the public image he's curated.

MORE INFO!

hyeon was the main rapper/subvocalist of a boy group called twi5t. debuted in 2017, disbanded in late 2023. they were pretty popular and believed by the public to be not just coworkers, but very good friends—which amplified this positive, ideal perception the public had of them. tl;dr is that they all hated each other. the only real friendship was between hyeon and one other member, who happens to be from yuseong bay and whose family hyeon's currently staying with.

in his stint as an idol, hyeon was originally the least popular member of twi5t. had an attitude scandal not long after debut, so he was under scrutiny already and it didn't help that he had a rough sense of humor and a tendency to use banmal with people he ought to be respecting. over the years, he gained (some) public favor thru the extensive producing he did for the group and other groups within the industry, solo variety show appearances, community service he was forced into, etc etc. but even as people cut him more slack and started to like him, he was perceived as being the most problematic one in the group which was... not true...

but i digress. he was one of the first members to start releasing solo music, which he "bribed" the company into. basically said "hey i'll let u guys have more of the profits than stated in my contract if u let me do this" because he was like... 21 and stupid as hell JBSDHJVSBDF like... he really thought that if he gave them a leg up, it would prevent them from trying to fuck him over. spoiler: it didn't. ultimately his contract was amended and resulted in the profits from everything with his name as an individual on it being split 60% to the company and 40% to him, but he didn't realize this was a permanent thing until a few years down the line when people who'd featured on his songs were making more money off said songs than he was. atp he was one foot out the door, not caring too much about the company or group 'cause fuck those guys for real...

still tried to be on his best behavior and was gonna wait out the contract, but shit started going extremely south with the group in 2023 and hyeon got sued into the ground for slander & breach of contract over a drunk instagram live he did where he was talking about it. aired out not only the group, but the company's business—basically talking about how the members didn't get along, citing a few instances, bitching about management never helping and just sweeping problems under the rug, mentioning how the company trapped him in an unfair contract, etc etc. so yea... his reputation's in the dirt!

anyway... he's 25 now. his brain's finally fully developed. he's learned from his mistakes. he's a better & smarter man than he used to be, but still has a long way to go. picked up a job at park's garage not longer after moving to yuseong bay, as he doesn't like to have too much time to sit around and sulk—helps that he's extremely interested in cars & had some prior mechanic experience from pre-debut and sidework for friends throughout his career.

speaking of cars........ he has two: a 2008 mitsubishi eclipse spyder, which usually sits @ the garage and his flashy daily driver, a 2022 mclaren 765lt. who's he pissing off when he goes joyriding with the top down?

[wildstar25]

Arsay knows just how much Y'shtola enjoys those tarts from the Bismarck. With some new found free time she becomes determined to learn how to bake them so Y'shtola can have a supply on demand. Arsay goes to Tataru and asks to be taught the ways of baking. It’s difficult to wrap her head around it at first; Arsay can cook but its nothing to write home about and making sweets is something completely different! Thankfully Tataru is very patient and teaches Arsay enough to get her started.

After many days working away in the Revenant's Toll kitchen, Arsay is finally able to produce a semi-decent product. At the usual balcony location, she presents the tart to Y'shtola along with her afternoon tea, saying nothing of its origins. Based on it's aetheric composition Y'shtola can't quite discern that it's any different from her usual order. Upon the first bite however, the confection gives her pause. The flavor is clearly lacking and the texture of the filling is grainer than usual. As she washes the bite down with some tea the hair on her neck bristles. She can feel Arsay, sitting in the chair beside her, staring intently. Y'shtola's ears flick at the sound of her teacup returning to its saucer. Instantly Arsay pipes up with a forced smile,

"How is it?" Her tone wavers ever so slightly, enough for Y'shtola to pick up at the very least.

"It's... different. I'm to assume you are responsible for its creation?"

Arsay nods, "Is it a good different?"

Y'shtola purses her lips, squinting at the tart in front of her, "The crust was far too dense and over done. The vanilla seems to be the only flavoring, and while it is called a "vanilla tart" you do need to add other ingredients to draw out and highlight its taste - a citrus element, perhaps. Oh, and the custard is not silky as it should be. Overall, a pale comparison to that which can be purchased from The Bismarck."

A smack against the table draws Y'shtola's gaze. Arsay is face down against its surface. "Shtolaaa, must you always be honest to a fault; You wound me so..." Arsay whines.

"Come now, you can handle much worse than that." Y'shtola gracefully places the tea cup on the table, "If anyone can pick themselves up after a stunning defeat it's you, dear." She reaches for the fork to her side and sections off another bite of the tart for herself. Arsay's ears perk up, puzzled by her partner's actions.

“I though you didn't like it?"

"I don't recall saying that." Y'shtola covers her mouth with her free hand, taking a moment to chew, "It has its flaws, yes, but it is not wholly inedible." Arsay lifts her head up with a slight gasp "So it's at least okay.... Alright!!" Arsay brings her arms up in a cheering motion. "The next one will be even better, just you wait!" She nods to herself as she pounds her hands together with determination.

"Have you naught more important things to do with your time?", Y'shtola scoffs.

"Ah, well..." Arsay shrugs. "Doing somethin' to make you smile is plenty important, I think." She rests her elbows on the tabletop and leans her chin on her hands. Arsay smiles, batting her eyes at Y'shtola. Even without her aethersight, Y'shtola can imagine the face Arsay was making at her. The face of someone trying to play innocent after saying something so saccharinely sweet.

"Ridiculous." Y'shtola could feel her cheeks flush as she reaches for her tea. "If all you're after is a smile, you may leave the crafting of pastries to the professionals;" she closes her eyes and brings the teacup and saucer up towards her face. The strong smell of herbs and florals dance on the air, hitting her palette with every inhale. "Your company alone is enough." Y'shtola concludes under her breath, in her typical matter-of-factly tone, just loud enough for Arsay to hear.

Just as Y'shtola was about to take another sip of tea, she feels one of Arsay's hands gently pushing her arms down. The porcelain clinks as it reaches the table's surface. Another finds itself on the side of her face. Intuiting what was to come next, Y'shtola keeps her eyes closed and leans in.

Not a moment passes before Arsay's lips press against her own in a soft kiss. "You, my love, deserve far more than "enough"," Arsay whispers. She rests her forehead against Y'shtola's, staring into her eyes as they open. She can feel under her palm the corners of Y'shtola mouth turning upright into a simper. Arsay smiles back, "but thank you." She steals another quick kiss before leaning back into her chair.

"Y'know, it's a lovely day out. What would you say to a walk after this?" "A welcome idea, dear."

[frye-fan3]

SIDE ORDERRRR!!

Without spoiling too much, I'd like to say a few things (I've also not finished it btw, I've just started!) And just in case people would like to go in completely blind I'll add it under a read more, just in case. So... POTENTIAL SIDE ORDER SPOILERS AHEAD!! (You have been warned)

FIRST AND FOREMOST, I am loving the gameplay and the whole premise is super cool!! It's so fun omg :D

I love how the colour chips make noises when you click on them in your palette

SPEAKING OF PALETTES! I think those are super cool too and I can't wait to unlock more of them :)

And speaking of unlocking palettes I LOVE THE WHOLE DEV DIARY THING!! I've only unlocked 2 pages so far but they've genuinely nearly made me cry 😭 (I love Marina so much omg)

And speaking of Marina: I LOVE HER NEW DESIGN! The orange suits her surprisingly well and the tentacles look SO cool :D

Unrelated but the noise you make when you swim through the ink is so satisfying I love it.

AND I LOVE THE LITTLE JELLY GUYS WALKING AROUND THE MEMVERSE, they're so silly :3

Also Pearl and Marina are so gay for each other, they are in love and no one can tell me otherwise. HAVE YOU READ THEIR DIALOUGUE?? THEY'RE ADORABLE AND I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! Pearlina is quite possibly my favourite ship ever in any game they are made for each other. THE SILLIES AAAAA! I also like to think Agent 8 is sort of like their adopted child (although I didn't play Splatoon 2, let alone the octo expansion so idk how accurate that is)

Speaking of Agent 8, I think they look super cool too :D