#I really want to make art for this au but I need to pace myself :’)

[leapdayowo]

Welcome Home Goop!Wally au

First encounter

I’ve been debating the name I want for this au for a bit, but I’ll go with goop!wally au because that’s what he is! In this au, the Welcome Home neighbors are not puppets and Wally is a goop creature (with some powers,,). There will be a lot of focus on Barnaby and Wally as kids at first, but then the other neighbors will get pulled into the story :) I don’t know what else to say about it rn as I want to post art of the key points in the au

“Hello”

[yuri-is-online]

Hello hello! Anon here. First of all, congratulations on getting accepted for your courses! Don't worry about trying to balance work and the blog, we will always be here waiting for you. Second of all, your whole Yutu AU has been really fascinating to look through. (Though that may be because of my bias toward Fire Emblem Awakening, as it was what got me into the series) Sorry for the incoming wall of text, but it's been giving me THOUGHTS.

So imagine this: whoever Yutu's dad is (I'll pick Azul for this example because I headcannon his English voice somewhere between Matt Mercer's Chrom and Olivert from The Legend of Heroes games) finds out who Yutu really is. You remember that cutscene after Chapter 13 in Awakening, with the Lucina reveal and Chrom has this: "You deserved better than a sword and a world full of troubles. I'm sorry."? Imagine Yutu hearing something like that: the acknowledgement of everything he's gone through, the pain of knowing his dad couldn't do anything and can't do anything more than offer words, and the reality that it might now be really possible to change the future? I imagine Azul breaking down after hearing all that because the last thing he wants to do is hurt Yuu or his son after everything he's been through. Oh goodness, the two of them both need hugs.

Second: did Crowley tip off the Magic Marshalls (because I think he would) and force Yuu to take the blame for his negligence (because he absolutely would)? Now imagine Yutu finding this out and telling his dad. Now his dad knows Crowley is a cheapskate who fobs his work onto everyone else without a second thought. And now he's responsible for having Yuu taken away and starting all this? Knowing the boys and how far they would go for Yuu I'd imagine they don't take that well. In other words, to slightly alter a quote from Regina in Once Upon A Time: "I guess killing a crow suddenly made the top of my to-do list."

Sorry for the wall of text but that's been rattling around in my head for a few days (so make of it all what you will). Hope you're doing well and looking forward to what's next!

-The anon who loves Riddle & Azul

AHHHHH (i feel like I always take forever to answer your asks I am sosososososososososo sorry, this one just drove me crazy in a good good way)

Listen fire emblem awakening was my entire personality for like all of middle school.  The only thing i wanted to talk about was chrobin.  I celebrated Morgan and Lucina's birthdays by drawing them. I think I still have a Cherche x Libra fan art thing I drew on some sheet of paper somewhere in my things because I was SO MAD that no one shipped them and I couldn't find fan art of them anywhere and I just oooooooooooh.  THE WAY CHROM GETS A NEW CRIT LINE ABOUT HOW ANYTHING CAN CHANGE AFTER THE REVEAL???? BECAUSE OF HOW DETERMINED HE IS TO KEEP THAT PROMISE AND GIVE LUCINA A BETTER WORLD???? i just cant be normal about them i am so sorry.  R+A annon I love you, I love you so much for this you made my entire month and possibly my year.  Awakening is also what got me into the series and made me so many friends I just love her so much.  She's an icon and I hope she gets remastered with Sumia either deleted or with a fucking personality.

I should probably sit down and actually write a timeline for myself of events, but since I am free to lean in to the fire emblem pacing, I want to say that monsters from Yutu's timeline start showing up (similar to how the Risen do in Awakening) in the past and stirring up trouble, which leads to an event where Yutu panics and forgets himself in his desperation to protect his dad.  The main way the future kids always proved themselves was by showing their mother's wedding ring, but Yutu doesn't have that so really it's just up to his dad to see someone who looks like him and Yuu blended together, supposedly from Yuu's world using magic and above all else crying out and driving up his own blot levels to protect him calling him dad. For Azul! Yutu it's especially painful, he feels like he already knows what his dad is going to say. That he's disappointed in him. That he has no idea how they could possibly be related. That he hopes in this future he turns out to be different. But that's not what happens.

Before Azul overblotted he was quiet. There's a similar quiet over him now, a similar look of tense surprise, but Yutu- no- his child doesn't know that. His child is looking at him in fear, in worry for his reaction or his safety he doesn't know but he knows the way those tears start to form. Azul knows the quiver of the lip and the shriek, of all the things he could have passed on to such a treasure.

"You deserved better from me." Because it's true. He might think of himself as a work in progress but he still thinks he has quality; he would have done research, read every book he could get his hands on, taken classes, anything he would need to do to be a good father, a worthy partner. Anything. "You deserved to have the world within your grasp, not whatever shadow of a future and a father I left you with. I am so sorry." He does not expect Yutu to grab him and hold him like he's still somehow worthy of his love, but Azul can't fight the urge to grab back, to stroke his son's hair and let the tears fall on his suit without any care at all. I'm here. It's ok, daddy's here, daddy's got you, he won't let anything happen to you.

As for your second question, I did not really write Crowley like that no. It was more like he was the first person mysteriously arrested after the Magical Marshall's decided to finally do their job. I was writing it like they wanted to ship Yuu away to cover up for their own incompetence in preventing seven overblots instead of properly investigating what might have caused that. He's not completely innocent though, so yes. The boys do not take it well at all. And please do not apologize for sending in your thoughts, I am so so slow but I love hearing from you.

[o0o0thorn0o0o]

It’s that time of year again!!!

The amount of times Ibis crashed on me ;~; (still sorting out the storage issues—at a slug’s pace, ‘cause other things be preoccupying my mind), but it was worth it!! I’m very much proud, very much pleased, with how it came out this year if I do say so myself! Ahhh, all that struggling with and “refinding” my art style this year was not for naught!!

I think of my previous years, 2021 is my favorite, but it’s officially been replaced now 😌 I feel so content rn (please don’t let this be a short moodlet, eheh)

That said, I do think I prefer last year’s hands. They were also a pain this time—primarily Yukiko’s right hand…

Anywho, previous versions (+ “base-color” version + a close-up ‘cause why not) under the cut (after some more rambling, eheh):

I was really struggling to start this—I restarted it 3 times essentially—so I’m also really happy with how it came out in that regard. As such (plus the crashes), I’m a wee bit late this year, but only by a few days; I really don’t mind it for once, haha.

I noticed I was going in a certain direction over the years with Yukiko’s hairstyle and the light source, and not the one I intended. Realized that this year, so I fixed those trends:

Tried to make the light source more behind and adjusted it’s position to match with the scene in my head more (though, if I really wanted to be truthful to that, she’d be in one of the other ballgowns I designed for her since she wears this specific one for her first meeting with Gakushuu in this AU, whereas the idea for this scene is supposed to be from when they’re much more familiar with each other later on. But, uh, I like this dress wayyy too much, so let’s just ignore that, haha). I was actually thinking of finally implementing a proper bg this year—even sketched it (mainly for perspective, though)—but I really wanted to just get this done, haha, but also… I didn’t want to deal with more crashes… Perhaps next year… but don’t quote me on that, haha.

As for the hair, the strands that bunch up the rest of Yukiko’s hair—I noticed I was placing them too low. How I imagine her hairstyle to be is that they eventually connect up to her bun (I should definitely sketch a back view concept of this design, mainly so I don’t forget stuff like these, eheh, and to visualize just what in the world is going on… but that’s something distant future me will worry about… if she remembers, of course ^^;). But they’re also supposed the same length as the rest of her hair, so… yeah… I thought this would make her hair less fluffier, which would’ve saddened me, haha, but it didn’t! That said, I have a feeling I’ll possibly make it less voluminous next year… Seems a bit too thick… but idk. I like drawing thick hair, haha.

Oh, also, if you’ll notice: I decided to simplify her underskirt design last year, and… yeah, no, I reverted that change, haha.

Mannn, I am in such a mood to draw more “A Brothers’ Quarrel” stuff/AC Kingdom AU stuff in general (like designing some proper outfits for Gakushuu and Karma finally (they’re the main characters, and Yukiko only appears for a specific part of the AU, yet who do I draw the most…? XD), drawing her horse, Camellia, drawing her in her other dresses, finally getting around to drawing her ladies-in-waiting designs in that other Kingdom AU (just how long ago did I post the traditional sketches of them? Yikes…), etc, etc), but I’ve got too much stuff to get finished before the end of the year. I really need to pick up the pace, eheh.

[onejellyfishplease]

Hi hi!! I have questions regarding snapdonnie (plant boy)

Can he talk? If he can what would it sound like? How would he try to hide this from his brothers if he does? Are your commissions open? Oh I wonder if he would just disappear. I imagine this is sensory hell for him. On top of having to eat bugs. eugh hahahaha I love this! He kinda reminds me of those mushroom zombies (/pos)!! What are your thoughts on him? I would love to hear more about this creature against nature (or with nature now, haha!!) I was originally here for open your wings but I have gotten thoroughly attached to the wacky Donnie fusions. Are you alright if people draw him?? How did you do this?? This is so cool!!! I love all of your Donnie designs but he is most definitely my favorite.

(Feel free to ignore, this turned into just gushing about him)

I was gonna keep going but it was going to get into weird unhinged cult territory really fast, hahaha!!!

Wow! Hi!

I will try to answer all your questions, me and @zeawesomeness were just throwing ideas around for SnapDonnie, so theres quite a bit to talk about!

What does he sound like:

I'd imaging real gurgly when he's like that, but he absolutely hates the sound of his voice, and the fact that most of what he says is muddled. So id say he mostly uses sign language to communicate. while he can still do that

How would he hide it from his brothers:

He would definitely try at the beginning! especially when it starts off as a small growth on his softshell, but eventually the consequences get too big and it gets revealed relatively quickly (at least compared to Open your Shell)

Are my commisions open:

uhhhh, not at the moment, but if there's enough interest in commissions for my art (which would be amazing) then i would be open to opening them!

Is this sensory hell for him?

Absolutely. especially now that flies are attracted to him. he hates it. his shell is consistently moving and it is hell.

My thoughts on him:

I live this creepy little dude. but now there is a little bit of trepidation with it. because now i want to turn this into a proper au and i need to stop doing this to myself.

More about SnapDonnie!

he was infected with this venus fly trap-like curse (from what I havent figured out yet, either kraang or mystic)

it started as a growth in his shell, which then sprouted those flytraps (which he couldnt hide)

the energy needed for the transformations makes Donnie ravenous, and the more he eats, the faster he turns. this is the part where his family find out.

yes he was compelled into eating raw (kinda rancid) meat.

they find out that this infection will continue until Donnie is fully turned into a carnivorous plant.

at the end of the transformation, Donnies face would split open and the single flower would bloom.

Small teeth-like spines are growing down the middle of Donnies face.

Donnie has to balance, starving himself without rotting/wilting (bc yes he does that now), while not eating too much that the transformation continues at too fast a pace.

it doesnt help that sometimes he goes feral (and his face does the splitty open thing), and attacks and tries to eat anything in his path. including his family. Ah yes. Angst.

so they need to figure out how to help Donnie before they loose him forever.

Okay I think Im done with ranting lol.

Can you draw him?

ABSOLUTELY!! please tag me if you do! in fact I am completely on board with you drawing anything from my aus! I love receiving fanart!

I think thats all the questions answered! I love asks like this lol, theyre always so fun!

[gabriel-xander]

Don't Forget

[Sans x Female!Reader]

32: Are You Jacking off to Sun Tzu - The Art of War, Dude?

A/N: I fear I will be taking a long Hiatus now 🥲 I have a bigger project I need to work on and it’s like a legit job so all of my stories will be on hold. I’ll TRY to update here and there when I can, but I cannot promise anything. That said, I hope you can enjoy this chapter!

♪────✿⁠(⁠✧◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕✧⁠)✿⁠────♪

Swap-Sans lasts about… approximately 3 minutes of pure silence before he breaks. You’re not shocked at all since he is supposed to be this AU’s eager little man. He had taken a quick look back at Sans, asking for his name with skepticism. To your surprise, Sans doesn’t give a fake name and instead just tells his counterpart the truth.

This does not fly with the Royal Guard, no sir.

“HMM… BUT… I’M THE MAGNIFICENT SANS…” Swap-Sans snaps his fingers with a winning smile, “YOU CAN BE “OTHER SANS” INSTEAD!!”

“PPFT!!”

You slap your hand over your mouth, though it is futile to muffle your laughter. As said before, ever since Other Sans reverted to his original look, his expressions are so much more extra and dynamic.

And now Other Sans’ disbelief was the funniest shit you’ve ever seen. He groans at your laughter, hoping Swap-Sans doesn’t look at him to see his blush. That said, Swap-Sans is very proud to have made you laugh that hard.

“AND WHAT ABOUT YOU, HUMAN?”

“Ah-haha! Ahem–Uh, you can call me [Y/n],” You say with a few lasting giggles.

“[Y/N], IS IT? THAT’S A GOOD NAME!”

Huh. That gives you some major deja vu from when you first met Papyrus.

“Thanks,” You said, “I picked it out myself.”

You look into the camera with a knowing look. Ah, you appreciate a good call back.

Swap-Sans has very little interest in talking to his other double, so he puts his attention on talking to you. You think he might’ve forgotten that you’re a prisoner considering Swap-Sans has been asking you question after question about yourself. Other Sans might’ve told you not to give away too much, but how could anyone expect you not to entertain Swap-Sans? He’s such a good boy and he’s doing his best!!

You only tell him the surface-level things about yourself, the same crap you tell other people when you’re just being polite.

“It’s basically the gist of it. I just want to be a doctor and save lives when I can,” You tell him earnestly, “It’s going to take a long time before I can get to a skill level that will make a difference, but I’m willing to put in the time for it.”

Swap-Sans nods eagerly along with your words, “WHAT A WONDERFUL PASSION! YOU KNOW, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU BECAME A DOCTOR FOR THE SAKE OF SOMEONE ELSE.”

You widen your eyes and stutter. “Wow… Yeah, I mean, How–… How did you know?”

“HOW DO I KNOW? WELL, IT SOUNDS PRETTY OBVIOUS FROM THE WAY YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT IT. THAT’S THE THE SOUND OF SOMEONE WHO DOES GOOD FOR THE SAKE OF OTHERS.

‘…Ueueueue…’

“I wouldn’t go that far, but… yeah. You got it.” You feel a little flustered, laughing awkwardly.

You get more engaged in the conversation with this AU’s Sans, your eyes and tone sparkling with merriment. Other Sans slows down just enough that he falls a few steps behind, letting himself walk at a pace to observe you and his other version interact.

That thing Swap-Sans said… Other Sans didn’t know that was the reason why you became a doctor, and it never really occurred to him to ask.

Ugh! How did fucking Swap-Sans pick that up before Sans did? That’s not something Sans would normally miss, so why–

Wait, could it be that it’s because when he first met you he was more focused on checking if you were good or not? Actually no, that’s exactly what it was. Back then, he wasn’t remotely interested in you (not in positive ways, at least) so it’s no wonder it went over his head.

It makes him wonder, who is the person who inspired you to be a doctor in the first place?

Other Sans can’t think of someone you mentioned who passed away in your personal life. From what he knows–from what you shared–both of your parents and siblings are still around, and you talk about your “bestie”, Elliot, with too much happiness for him to be a past memory. You mention all the time how “when you meet him, you’ll understand why I call us a gay duo.”

“When,” you kept saying. So no, Sans has no reason to believe Elliot has passed.

But what about… your ex-boyfriend, Kōrenki? You spoke about that guy only once, but you said you loved him and only had good things to say. Hm… No, maybe not him either.

It’s truly a mystery to Other Sans, but perhaps that’s a clue for Other Sans that he really needs to get to know you better. Despite you knowing a lot, you still go out of your way to ask him about himself and his brother. Even if you know it already or not, you make him feel like you’re genuinely interested in him and his past.

Man… What did he do to deserve someone as kind as you?

…Probably shouldn’t let his subconscious answer that, he might come up with answers he’s not ready for.

Other Sans is brought out of his thoughts when you three break clear of the forest. He’s not super shocked to see you’re all now close to Snowdin already. This AU is a direct copy of his own with the difference lying only in the monsters and their swapped personalities. Anyway, Snowdin Town is right there… right across the fucking bridge.

That’s not ideal.

Ever since he learned of your fear of heights, Other Sans will never let you use the bridge to cross. You never need to use the bridge when you go to work in Downtown Snowdin, and there isn’t any reason for you to use it otherwise. If it was absolutely necessary, then Other Sans would either give you a shortcut across, or Papyrus would just carry you over it.

To his surprise, you say nothing about it. He can’t see your face, but he can read your body language well enough to know you’re getting anxious and tensing up.

“HMPH,” Swap-Sans crosses his arms, “YOU’RE LUCKY I AM NOT ACTIVATING THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR FOR NOW.”

You force a laugh that sounded way too obvious to your discomfort, “Ah-ha ha ha… Yeahhh…”

“UH, IS SOMETHING THE MATTER?”

“Whaaat? Nooo, nothing is-”

“-uh, no?” Sans cuts you off, “you’re afraid of heights, don’t start lying.”

“Bro…”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING?”

“With all due respect, why would I?”

Swap-Sans almost pouts but his limitation to his facial anatomy stops him from doing it correctly. “WELL… I MIGHT BE CAPTURING YOU, BUT I’M NOT EVIL AND UNREASONABLE.”

Other Sans steps forward to stand next to you with a wink, “if it doesn’t rattle your bones, i can shortcut us all across. save us some time.”

“OH, WOW!” Swap-Sans looks at the Other Sans with wide eyes, “YOU REMIND ME OF MY BROTHER. HE CAN USE SHORTCUTS, TOO.”

“ha-ha, that’s so silly, ah-ha ha… imagine that…”

You snort, “Way to keep it subtle, Other Sans.”

Other Sans sulks his shoulders, “you’re actually calling me that?”

“NO TIME TO SULK, OTHER SANS! HELP US GET ACROSS, WON’T YOU?”

“yeah, yeah–whatever, just put your hand on my shoulder.”

Swap-Sans, not picking up the tone in his counterpart's tone, does so with an eager smile. You go to the other side of Other Sans, smiling at him while holding out your hand. His own smile eases as he takes your gloved hands.

Is he weird for liking the look of you wearing his stuff? He hopes it isn’t weird because he’d love to see you in his sweater one day.

The moment you close your eyes, giving his hand a little squeeze, Sans shortcuts you 3 to the other side of the bridge. His grip tightens on your hands when he sees you stumble a bit. Fuck, your body is still recovering from using the DJ earlier but he’d rather do this than make you cross that bridge.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT, [Y/N]?”

“are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m okay,” You laugh at their overlapping concern, “Aw, you guys are so sweet in your own ways.”

Other Sans and Swap-Sans both feel pride in your praise but make the terrible mistake of looking at each other at the same time.

…

Eugh.

“Well, let’s keep going,” You sigh softly, already walking ahead (You haven’t let go of Other Sans’ hand yet so he was happily dragged along with you). “We’re here now and Other Sans and I need to be locked up.”

“R-RIGHT…”

Man, call him crazy, but Swap-Sans doesn’t even want to lock you up anymore. Other Sans though… meh. But you–You’re so funny and a pleasure to talk to. Swap-Sans saw you as a threat before but he’s gotten the chance to talk to you and you’re actually so chill.

Crap, you were right when you said you two could be great friends earlier. He accidentally gave you that chance and you totally proved him right!

You stop walking when you realize Swap-Sans hasn’t moved yet. You furrow your brows together and pull your hand away from Other Sans so you can cross your arms.

“Hey, you okay, buddy?” You ask him with concern.

“IF… IF I MAY BE HONEST, I DON’T WANT TO LOCK YOU IN OUR CAPTURE ZONE ANYMORE.” Swap-Sans huffs whole crossing his arms, “YOU WERE… UGH! YOU WERE RIGHT! I GAVE YOU A CHANCE AND I DON’T WANT TO CAPTURE YOU ANYMORE, BUT I HAVE A JOB TO DO. I AM TRAINING TO BE A ROYAL GUARD, I CAN’T GO BACK ON MY WORD.”

You grin widely–holy shit, your unmatched rizz actually worked! Look at you, stumbling ass-backward into victory! Other Sans is pretty impressed as well, but it’s to be expected with how charismatic you are (in his opinion, anyway). Other Sans isn’t very eager to get locked up, so he can get behind this.

“well, how ‘bout this?” Other Sans suggests, “we can be locked up in your house instead and we can still hang out that way while we wait for your human to arrive.”

“EHHH…”

You nod eagerly, “Oh, that’d be a good idea! Besides, I’m freezing out here, and I doubt the Capture Zone is gonna be comfortable.”

“YOU’RE ACTUALLY SO RIGHT, [Y/N]! LET’S GO TO… MY HOUSE!!”

Filled with new motivation and vigor, Swap-Sans starts marching into town, not even looking to make sure you’re both following. You give Other Sans a knowing look.

“Maybe you like me in every Universe, huh?” You say teasingly.

Other Sans blushes lightly, “yeah, well… i mean, who wouldn’t?”

“…Gay ass.”

“???”

With a laugh at his expression, you grab Other Sans’ hand again and drag him to follow after his counterpart.

Taglist:

@lemonboy011

@adriixboo

@fluffyart5000

@fetusbaconegg

[violsva]

November Reading

Post delayed by a vacation and then PMS. More thoughts than usual, though.

Recent: Finally finished My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness, but fast enough that things did not really sink in, or not all at once. It was good, interesting cultural differences and similarities, probably won't read the sequels.

Reread Steadfast, by Mercedes Lackey. This is not a good book, people. I knew that when I started it. In terms of pacing and plotting and unnecessary digressions and historical accuracy and giving agency to characters it is very very badly done. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Which is maybe what I need, given how much I get tied into knots about the free fanfic I write for fun needing its theme to be supported by a coherent narrative arc.

I read some of T. Kingfisher's commentary on fairy tales in The Halcyon Fairy Book and most of Lace Making by Eunice Close (published by a tiny Canadian press in 1975, don't go looking for it). I tried to reread The Bacchae for catharsis purposes, but it was a not-great Victorian translation and I didn't get very far. I did find out that Alan Cumming played Dionysus twenty or so years ago and the trailer for that is on Youtube.

Read A Phantom Lover by Vernon Lee, which was good for what it was but I did have to force myself to it. On the drive with @consultingpiskies I finally managed to articulate that I am just not up to unfamiliar fiction right now, and maybe that's okay.

I read all of May Morris: Arts & Crafts Designer at the library, which is the book of an exhibition of her work and was absolutely gorgeous and also gave me feelings about her relationship with her father, so that was great. And on the theme of the English Arts and Crafts movement, English Embroidered Bookbindings by Cyril Davenport, which might have been improved with more practical knowledge of embroidery but was generally good.

Also read Meet Me on the Other Side by @sparklepocalypse, RWRB 1890s cowboy AU. I could be nitpicky about a couple historical attitudes but basically this is just a really good romance novel and I liked it.

Current: Rereading Swordheart by @tkingfisher, and I really want to know more about the Temple of the White Rat's embroiderer(s). Like, maybe Zale does their own embroidery, but in that case I would have expected them to take a project along for the wagon ride. For a while I was carrying this around with me everywhere, but now that I am getting to the climax things are going more slowly.

Just gave 3/5 of my library books back unstarted due to the fiction realization above. I have two digital craft books to flip through, and also some from the Antique Pattern Library, and Chats on Old Lace and Needlework by Mrs. Lowes. Look, basically what I want to do right now is get overwhelmingly caught up in craft projects and never talk to anyone ever again. I won't, because there is Christmas shopping to do and people I am trying to make friends with and so forth, but that's probably where my head's going to be all month.

Various RWRB fanfics going on still. Oh, and there's been more Madame C—. Thank god for Madame C—.

Future: I still have The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity and Christopher Baldwin out from the library, which really does seem fun but I don't know if I have the brain for it. I would also like to get through more of my AO3 Marked for Later list before Yuletide adds a bunch to it, but, well. (I didn't sign up for Yuletide this year, not because I didn't think I could manage it but because I suspected I would hate the process, and that was a good decision.)

If all else fails I will relisten to the Roaring Twenties Magic audiobooks while sewing.

[artthemasquerade]

I felt like making a series of wedding photos of my Devilman ships, as I can imagine character relationships change throughout the timeloops. The first one is Ryokira from the late 80s (Think the OVA verse)

second is Miki/Miko (Miki Kuroda) from the crybaby timeline of the 2010s (Well in my AU the crybaby verse is heavily edited but I can't really say more until I actually get around to watching crybaby)

third is Akira/Miki being married together in the early 00s

and finally forth is Ryo/Miki from the late 70s

These were all so fun to make and I love drawing clothes from the different decades, and it was fun to make the backgrounds and play with simple rendering. :D

Now I've finished this series, I think I'll work on drawing more art of my Devilman ocs, might take me a while since I've got a commission to work on and I'll need to pace myself XD

Btw if you like what you see and want a commission drop me a direct message on tumblr, instagram or a note on deviantart

[batmanfruitloops]

Hi! Im having trouble with starting my first Batman AU and I love the one you two have so I was wondering if you have and tips or pointers of starting one? Like maybe how to introduce characters and such or how to start the story?

Im sorry if this was long or if its too much, have a great day/night!

I think it really depends on what you want out of it. I use this AU to practice skills for my career, such as writing, character-building, animating, etc. I listen to a lot of videos about every part of film production to help me better understand what to do. Especially things related to character. Even if your AU is just for fun, I think it's still a good idea to do a little research about writing. Observing your favorite movies and films helps a lot! I think animated films are a great teacher of storytelling! Especially Pixar films, since their philosophy is "story is king". Watching movies is just how I personally learn, you may have some other way of learning best so take all this with a grain of salt, I'm no expert I'm just very passionate about storytelling especially through animation (though in this case, it's storyboards/comics since that's what is possible right now).

Your characters are everything. I would suggest developing them as much as possible before you introduce them. They should feel like a real and complex person. They shouldn't feel like a robot that are only made to achieve their motivation. Sometimes simple things like "What are their favorite foods?" can start building them up as a person. They should have flaws, blemishes, strengths, hobbies, everything a living person should have. That way when you introduce them, you will have an easier time showing your audience who they are. First impressions are very important to characters, your audience should be able to understand what kind of person they are right off the bat. I think a good example is Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The whole point of his introductory scene is to tell the audience "he is unpredictable and you will never know what to expect from him." Show don't tell is a very important rule to follow, don't tell your audience what to think.

For starting your story, you need to consider when it is. Is it at the beginning, middle, or end? You can put your audience anywhere in the story, so think about the optimal place they should be for the story to make sense. There are many different versions of Batman but they all begin in a different place of Batman's life. Some stories start at the beginning of him becoming Batman like The Dark Knight, and some start at the end of him being Batman like the Arkham series. It's up to you to consider at what point of your character's life the audience should be placed at.

To be honest, it's all up to you. What do you want? How do you want things to be done? This is all just a big case of "learn the rules to break the rules." Maybe you don't even want to learn the rules at all, and that's ok. It's important to remember to make what you want to see. Your art is for you. There is no right way, just some ways are more efficient than others. Let your soul make its messy finger paintings and enjoy the ride. Because more important than anything is the enjoyment of your work and the process. I have a hard time not being a perfectionist over this AU because it's what I want to do with my life. I want to tell stories. I have to keep reminding myself this is for fun, and it's ok if it's not perfect. It just has to be what I want to make. Honestly, I could ramble on and on about storytelling, so I'll save an 8-page essay (which I actually wrote on a similar topic for class). My DMs are open anyway if you want to ask anything else. I hope this was helpful!

I also agree heavily that your characters should feel like people. And along with that, pacing is really important. You don't want your story to feel rushed or lagging at any point. Like Fluffy said, it's always a good idea to reference your favorite materials. It's good to have moments that are just very real, for lack of a better word.

It's also important to understand your setting. The main focus may be the characters, but you want to make sure they feel present, and not just in a void. Establishing shots are really good for that, since it shows off a large area, then allows you to "voom in" and focus on where ever there's action happening. Reference photos are your best friend here. Use as many as you need, it'll only get easier with time. Which leads to another part of settings; if you're in a characters home/base what makes it theirs? Like how the Riddler usually has question marks and scribbles all over the walls, as well as generally being a mess. It gives you an immediate impression of how scatterbrained and paranoid he can be. In comparison, someone like the Penguin presents a clean, luxurious lounge that shows he means business. Whether or not a character is meant to go through a defining change, it's important that they stay true to themselves as a person. If they had trust issues before, they shouldn't trust someone without a reason. Or perhaps someone makes a mistake, that mistake should have consequences. I just think of this because there's a lot of cartoons where something will happen one episode only for it to be treated like it didn't happen in the next episode. Dialogue is also another important factor. Does that feel like something you could actually hear someone saying? Does the grammar make sense? If their natural pauses? This can be broken up from panel to panel, if it's in comic form. Depending, you can give characters different fonts to emphasize that they sound different, although I'm not an expert in that, it's just something I've seen before.

Again, pacing of characters talking (or thinking, etc.) is a must to be aware of. If spoke that aloud, does it feel rushed? Too slow? Are they giving enough context? As the writer, you know everything that's going to happen. Because of that, writing incomplete sentences can happen. That doesn't mean you have to explain everything in simple terms for everyone, just enough for it to make sense and feel real. If you're going for a comic, layout is another factor to consider. Read as many comics are you want. Stare at how it's set out, how everything flows from one panel to another, one page to another. I'm not much good at this one myself yet, so I just suggest looking at your favorite layouts and figuring out what about them you like. A bit of what I've learned is to consider what's happening. What I mean is, if everything is very straight forward, you can do a bunch of box panels, whereas if you're meant to feeling something along with a character, you can go more organic, there doesn't necessarily need to be boundaries in scenes like that, and a mix is generally good for most scenes. A whole establishing shot can be one page and do plenty.

I tend to ramble, and I have a lot of other stuff that I'm passionate about with writing and visual in comics/storytelling, like colors, symbolism, and lighting, and character design so my dms are also open for anyone who'd like is discuss more, :)

Fluffy and Sarsee

[spockandawe]

hello! i came across your wips button and i wonder if youll ever go do them? the transformers ones sound super good!!

That.... is an excellent question and one I'm not super equipped to answer! The boring downer angle is that I've been horribly, immovably blocked on art and writing for a long while now, and it drives me nuts trying to shake that AND i rarely have any luck. I know i can write pretty darn well, and I can do it FAST, there was a hot minute where i successfully held myself to uploading at least one piece of art or writing per day. That pace was never going to last, my art got better and my fics got longer, plus i went from languishing in the falling action of grad school to having an actual job, which was both a less flexible schedule and also more money to explore other hobbies. But that period of my life really drove home how important that rhythm and periodicity is to me, and i haven't been able to recapture that in years.

As it is right now, if i manage to finish anything, it's only going to happen with either a fandom at the VERY very forefront of my mind (svsss or the raksura core au right now), or with an idea too fresh and good and crunchy to resist, independent of fandom (there's a dungeon meshi idea lightly haunting me). Transformers is a remarkably good playground, I love it SO much, but it's been years since I reread any significant part of it, so the ideas aren't flowing. I trust my old ideas, but if the canon isn't fresh, or I'm not actively talking about it, the spark is unlikely to catch. There's an off-chance of me reacting to an idea in some other fic via a medium of transformers smut, but I'm also struggling to read right now too 🥲

But! But!!!! A thing ive noticed and that drives me bananas is that when i move, the shape of my hobbies changes. I vibed really well with writing in NJ and MA, and COMPLETELY lost the ball when i relocated to VA. I cross-stitched in NJ, faded in MA, and lost it in VA. I bookbound like nuts in VA, but i just did a local move, and I'm no longer getting the reaction of 'I'm idle, I should make a book.' I don't know where things will go, first was a rush to unpack my boxes, then was a rush to learn to paint a room, and now my home is full of jumbled furniture and objects and I'm so overwhelmed that all I want to do is lie in bed and level grind in video james.

Teal deer, i can't tell what hobby is going to take center stage now, and it's driving me nuts. But it could be writing! I'm much more confident about my writing than lots of other creative endeavors. I also want to revisit canon for a lot of old fandoms. I think the wip list predates my cnovel phase, but i have two beefy svsss wips, and at least two short ones, and two aus I'd love to flesh out. I have raksura core writing. I have a tf bookbinding project that's been languishing for. 1.5 years. But if i can find my momentum, I'll be diving back into canon. And i really think 5-10k of hard weird emotional smut really is my wheelhouse. I wish so hard i could recapture that energy! This is a response much longer than it needed to be, but just imagine me as the WHY ARE YOU CLOSED meme at my own brain, and much more confused and frustrated than anyone else that I don't write anymore 🤣

[wildpeachfarm]

You said you're willing to talk about writing and I know you can't contribute as much (fair, I'm an author and earlier someone asked you about pastels and I was like, well duh they like pastels look at their tumblr layouts only to keep reading asks and realized they were talking about the other kinds of pastels 😭)

But right now I just feel so excited as a writer cause I've got some really exciting plans coming up soon. With my current WIP (beloved sex worker au) I'm dabbing into very different character dynamics and really mature themes that I never let myself explore before

And either after that's done or before I finish it as a little break I'm planning on something that's gonna be really short and sweet. It'll be a nice change of pace from the sex worker au and its gonna be shorter so less thinking needed. I hesitate to call it low-effort cause it's not really, but that's probably gonna cap out between 3k-5k which is bite-sized for me as a writer to work on (I know for some writers that's pretty long and no shame to them, just for my personal averages that's very much on the short end of the spectrum)

I'm just excited to create honest 🫶

And the reception of the SW!AU has been so lovely it makes me want to write more 🥰

How about your art? Any exciting pieces on the way? A new setting you want to put them in?

I really don't know how to ask artists about their progress sorry 😅

I imagine you guys aren't all that different but for writers we can all speak in tropes and while artists can do that to, you guys also go outside the bounds of tropes a fair bit lol

(wait omg this makes me wonder if I also misinterpreted that ask as meaning the wrong type of pastels HAHA)

OOOOH this sounds so interesting I love seeing people explore new dynamics with characters and their interpretations of unique scenarios and such. Also I'm a sucker for sweet stuff too so needless to say i will be SAT for anything you post!

I've been working on art slowly but surely! I've got a few ideas on the back burner but the next two weeks are still stressful exam season for me so I haven't had a /ton/ of time to whip out drawings like i usually can haha. Hopefully soon™️ tho

oh yeah I never thought about it like that but I definitely see it! I wish the fanbase did more bigbang events with artists and writers together because I always love to see collaborations within one trope/genre/prompt/etc. because it can still be so varied :0

[arwainian]

Reading This Week 2024 #43

hello hello it has been a bit of a weird week of ups and downs. really excellent movie times with friends, good food, and halloween crossdressing, but also a long approaching break up finally got made official today. my reading has not slowed down in the slightest though so let's talk about it!

Finished:

The Twyford Code by Janice Hallet, narrated by Thomas Judd I think this book is really one that should best be enjoyed in audiobook format. Like yeah okay there's some reasons you'd want the text version if you're a person who likes to try to solve the mysteries in mystery novels and want to highlight or take note of certain parts, but the conceit is that these are transcripts of audio messages left by a severely dyslexic man who uses them for notetaking/journaling while trying to uncover a mystery. as I said last week I got really attached to our main character Steve

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Vol. 5 written by Kaneshiro Yamada, art by Tsukasa Abe, translated by Misa 'Japanese Ammo' I am not particularly interested in this first-class mage exam arc that Frieren and co have been on for this volume. Idk i just find it much less charming than the sort of adventure of the week style that had been the previous pacing. I'll take a break reading this for a bit and see if it has its charm for me again after a little away. The anime is definitely on my to-watch list now

"Male Sexual Victimization: Examining Men's Experiences of Rape and Sexual Assault" by Karen G. Weiss glad i read this for myself after seeing it cited in another work

click by hornyonside (birdlord5000) on ao3 tender sky/fourteen fifteen smut that's a good time

Whitewater Foxholes by Aterikakaal (Biorenewologist) on ao3 Phyrgian has a disappointing hookup with Corrasion bc they are home sick for other branched :,(

to remake ourselves by evilmageclub on ao3 read for shapeshifting samsam smut

when the moon has gone to bed by blacksatinpointeshoes on ao3 if you would like to cry over a Fero/Samol modern au, might i recommend this fic? go forth and witness Fero as just some guy you meet in Boston

"The Third Sex" by Talia Bhatt on substack

"Degendering and Regendering" by Talia Bhatt on substack read some of Talia Bhatt's transfeminist essays this week. highly HIGHLY recommend reading "The Third Sex" if you have ever heard of hijra being described as "India's religiously venerated third gender" because Bhatt does some vital recontextualization with that

Longbourn by Jo Baker, narrated by Emma Fielding A great supplementary read to Pride and Prejudice, spinning up a dramatic story for the servants of Longbourn that only mildly intersects with the trials and tribulations of the Bennets. Since it was written in 2013 is reckons a little bit more with racial and class politics for regency England in a way that Austen's work did not explicitly. not perfectly but in a way that made me sit up in my seat reading it. the romances in this makes my heart ache like crazy

blind item by blacksatinpointeshoes on ao3 tabloid fic of clementine kesh's school years

Magic's Promise by Mercedes Lackey, narrated by Gregory St. John I need to incorporate the ways this book handles sexual coercion and violence towards minors as well as incest into my thesis somewhere, at the very least to point at it as a thing the fantasy genre deals with. it is fascinatingly frank

The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels by Janice Hallet, read by Annie Aldington, Nneka Okoye, Gareth Armstrong, Sid Sagar, and Kristin Atherton I guess having key characters make up fake people that seem as real as the rest in the epistolary format is Hallet's signature

Started/Ongoing:

John Dies at the End by David Wong (Jason Pargin's psuedonym) reading for SFF book club. I am finding it incredibly abrasive tonally....

The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall oh poor Stephen.... so my copy is like subtitled as a classic work of lesbian literature, but to be clear, it is also very easy to interpret it through a transgender lens

[b4kuch1n]

hi it's me. bulletpoints

job has concluded! barring sudden expansion on the project I think that's gonna be it for my work here. six character cards in total! this leads to

wrists are bit fucked. I'll be putting that thang (creen tablet) in da closet again for at least a month while trying to hold as few heavy objects as possible for the time being

why one month deadline? well it's bc I made an artfight account. I'm fucking doing it this year on god I'll kick anyone's ass I'll kick my own ass. I'll post a link to my acc a week or so before the event starts, meanwhile I'll keep updating my roster and cleaning up this cardboard box I arrived at their door in. do u guys have a spare pair of suspenders I have a really funny joke to make

will be doing it on the creen tablet, unless I make enough to get a new graphic tablet that works with SAI2 inbetween. on that note

ink comms should come back sometimes next week babeyy I need to get back into da groove! miss my G pen it feels like I was close to something last time. I wanna get back to it. but also

I'm writing a fic now. tis the season it seems this happened last year too. but I'll try my best to not disappear off the face of the earth for 3 months running again lol I'll do my best to pace myself, since this is gonna be one of the heftier writing things.

sk8 people and another very specific subset of people will be pleased to know it's a sk8 Real Steel AU. if this means nothing to u carry on. have a good day. to the five people still here I'll probably be brainposting abt writing this so don't be surprised if that comes up here and there

circling back a bit I'm currently 120 USD away from the graphic tablet I wanna get, so that'll be what the ink comms are going toward. otherwise if u enjoy my art and have a spare doller to buy the baku a coffee I'd absolutely appreciate ur support! not mandatory but I'll definitely be very thankful! especially bc

I'll probably phase out the redbubble store some time in the future. at the very least I'll probably stop uploading new things on there while looking for alternative. ohh baby they are doing some wild shit and I want off the ride please. please

but yeah. that's the current plan for things. I've accepted that comics happen when they want to, and I have faith they still want to see the sunlight some time this year. meanwhile we keep busy keep training keep recovering! thank u for ur patience. have a good night take this sharp object

[neeseeart]

My BooRai WIP stats

So. As of right now, the number of written BooRai fan works I've published is...... zero. I recently announced my angst fic I Can Stop The World, with another reveal planned in a few weeks, but I've yet to actually publish anything 😭

Last night I was backing up all my WIPs, and I decided to go through and reorganize everything. I moved everything into new folders and checked their word counts. I was a little surprised by the numbers to be honest. Especially when compared to this word count update from 5 months ago: [link]

I thought it would be fun to post my stats so you can see how much I've been working on, even though I haven't started posting yet.

As of last night:

Total number of Google docs: 34 Outlined fics: 21 (mostly longfics) Comic WIPs: 7 Completed fics: 1 (a one-shot I'm not ready to post yet 😭) Ideas yet to be fleshed out: 12 Total BR fanfic word count: 517,362 Words this week: about 25,000

ICSTW (main angst fic, post-canon):

196,871 words 6 docs

SSATSF (Modern AU, upcoming reveal):

125,474 words 3 docs

Folklore AU (started recently):

23,289 words 2 docs

Comics (text only)

80,795 words 7 docs

Reference docs (OC masterlist, headcanons, language dictionary, etc.)

9149 words 5 docs

Okay, pause real quick. The first BooRai fic I started writing is a fluff comic (briefly mentioned here) that I started in late 2022. It was my only project until the day I started writing ICSTW in June 2023. Then I exploded in ideas and here we are. So, if I exclude that first comic's word count of 36,190...

...Then the total word count of BooRai fanfic I've written in the past 7 months is 481,172 words. That's about 2217 words per day, and 15,522 words per week.

Now. This all just a bunch of numbers. Numbers don't mean the fics are any good. I value quality over quantity, so you can see why I haven't published anything yet. The ideas are all there! Tons and tons of dialogue is written. Detailed lore is laid out. Languages have been constructed! But the chapters themselves are not written. I don't write chronologically, and my stories are very elaborate. So even my main two fics, at 196k and 125k, are nowhere near complete. I haven't even finished fleshing out the early chapters 😭

You might be looking at this and thinking like.... "yeah bro you're not gonna finish most of those fics. It's not happening. You're gonna burn out." Mayhaps! I have a tendency to overdo things, and sometimes I overwhelm myself by making things bigger and more complicated than they need to be. But all in all, I like the way I create and I like having a few big projects and lots of tiny ones. I'm deeply invested in my major projects and I really do want to dedicate myself to publishing chapters in the next few months. But if I never finish them, that's okay too! The important thing is to enjoy making the thing... and I enjoy it immensely. Enough to write half a million words in 7 months, apparently

I've talked about my fic content to some irl people and they always respond with: "When the hell do you do all this? I literally never see you writing." In reality, yes they do. if you see me typing on my phone, I'm most likely writing. I kind of high-key spend 100% of my free time drawing and writing now. Which is a miracle after years of art block and creative sterility.

Another reason I wanted to share my numbers is that there are a lot of fellow AuDHD creators on this site, so there are bound to be at least a few of you who work just like I do. If you're one of those people, you probably know that it's easy to feel like the projects will never come to fruition. Don't lose heart!!! You have the strength to finish your projects at your own pace!!! And if you simply lack the will to finish, that's also okay! If you enjoy just writing down ideas without committing to a fully fleshed out work, that's a perfectly legitimate form of art and recreation. Godspeed my friends.

And as for the people who have been supporting my BR art and keeping track of my fic updates... You are the world and I am but a humble bean in service of your fancies. Thank you for your support. Here's a picture of me rereading my WIPs for the billionth time while y'all stand there and wait for me to start posting chapters:

(P.S. I have about 80 fic-related art WIPs on my tablet.)

(P.P.S. stay tuned for my fictional language dictionary!!)

[kingmintyreturns]

Heya! I just found your punch-out au fic on a recommended page and I love it to bits! It's such and interesting concept and already a great story! Even if it never continues, it's definitely gonna be something I re-read.

Also your art is cool as hell! I love the way you mix the different designs Sandman's had over the years into a cohesive design that looks really unique while staying true to the spirit of his character!

(And your selfship is so cute and you're actually the coolest for getting on cringetopia)

Aww thank you! honestly, getting into the writing process without any knowledge of structure or pacing killed me. I've been practicing quite a bit in my free time. I'm not sure if i can guarantee a continuation since i realized that i came up with the plot after suffering a few losses and identity issues and thematically, it least plotting it out (and later, selfshipping) gave me the catharsis i needed.

sometimes you get to a point with a character that it feels disingenuous to put them in certain situations like a children's plaything. Darius (mr. Sandman) in particular has grown and evolved into something bigger than punch out to me, which i don't expect to make sense to anyone but a few assorted creatives, spirituals, selfshippers and neurodivergent people. i just let him take me where he wants to go. i can't puppet him.

maybe that sounds crazy, but i don't mind. i've genuinely become a healthier person through this coping mechanism. i was diagnosed with autism a month ago, and while sometimes i still doubt, there's no doubt that my special interest has helped me process and start to heal from things i otherwise wouldn't have. i have some creative and supportive friends to thank for that too.

but i digress--thank you for the compliments! it means a lot to me that people still care about something that's brought me so much joy over the years. people may find some of my interpretations to be a bit eccentric, but i don't mind. I've had lots of people agree with me that fat is a good look on sandman.

my hope is that by being myself unapologetically, i can give at least one person out there the space to do so too. it didn't phase me one bit to get on cringetopia--i laughed my ass off. better that they go after me than someone more vulnerable.

i used to be really scared and think that all of my deepest desires, ideas and sensibilities were stupid and shameful. if i hadn't been open here, there's a chance I'd have been much more hurt by their remarks. now, it feels like it rolls right off my back when someone is mean. i might even laugh along; if you take yourself too seriously, you'll never be happy!

i wear the label "cringe" with pride--it means i am unbothered, authentic, and irreverent. i think if we were all willing to be a bit more cringe, people would feel a helluva lot more connected than they do now.

[mikibwrites]

Fic Rec Friday!

Hi everyone! As I'm going through and trying to build this new blog in the fandom, I figured I'd take part in something I was kind of too shy to do before. So here are some of my ultimate fic recs for Tarlos!

Fics I've Read More Than Twice:

one of these days by charliesarrows (<-for the life of me I can't find their tumblr if someone knows pls link me so I can follow!)

This fic. This fic y'all. I have read this fic at least 20 times that is not in any way an exaggeration. It's my own personal master class on how to write uphill battles with sweet relief at the top. A look at what happens after Push, with every bit of possible nuance thrown in to great effect. I have a favorite line from this fic that has just stayed with me for inexplicable reasons:

"TK's list of damnable offenses is longer than his arm, but at the top of that list has to be how fucking pretty he looks when he cries." Me too, Carlos. Me too.

Through The Looking Glass (series) by @liminalmemories21

*alleged* art thief TK is probably my favorite TK. The way you've written him in this series just so... correct? I can't even think of a better word. It fits for the AU, but it also makes total sense for the TK we already know and love. Don't know how else to describe it. Hijinks and silliness and seriousness all rolled into one! Love love love!

Life, believe, is not a dream, so dark as sages say by @beautifulhigh

THE fic. Bank heist gone wrong, Tarlos both being absolutely badass by using their unspoken communication to get through the situation, GRACE/CARLOS TEAMUP! Everything about this fic is absolutely amazing.

Fics I Needed 6-10 Business Days to Recover From:

It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags! by @liminalmemories21

One of my absolute all time favorites. A blending of families and cultures as Carlos and TK begin to really intertwine their lives. Andrea is savage in the BEST way, and Tarlos are just so freaking Sweet with each other. I had cavities for days after I read this.

pink rover, pink rover by @mooshkat

A little bit of TK in a skirt. A little bit of degradation laced with love. What's not to scream about? This fic is hotter than hot.

Fics I Read With The Intention of Learning How To Write From Them:

So Many Somethings by @iboatedhere

You've Got Mail AU that absolutely took me out at the knees. I reread this so many times for ideas on how to work with pacing and conflict/resolution. There is realism but also a narrative whimsy that really makes it read like a true romcom. This fic is a work of high literature.

Missing Moments (series) by @paperstorm

Listen. I could have put anything Andie's written on this list. But this series is an homage to character writing like I've never seen. I do tend to be a character reader, in that I will read a fic even if I don't enjoy the plot/premise all that much IF the characters are written well. These fics have a very healthy dosage of both wonderful character study and beautiful narrative. These are basically considered canon to me, all the scenes we didn't get to see. The writing is beautiful and nuanced and captivating, and I find myself going back to them to see how you captured certain emotions, (mostly the way you do it without dialogue!) and how to incorporate your techniques into my own writing.

Sorry this got so long but I wanted to give my thoughts on each one! I'd love for everyone to check out these fics, if they sound like something you'd enjoy. They've all brought me such such joy and satisfaction from reading :)

[neonreflections23]

~Blissful Death~

Chapter 4

Fandom- IdentityV

Paring- Naib Surbedar (Mercenary) x Oc

Au- Man in Red Essence, loosely following the essence trailer and skin descriptions

Major Content Warnings- Prominent Themes of Death

Word Count- 4310

Chapter Summary- Curiosity was eating at Ulysses the longer they stayed, the more questions needed to be answered. It was finally time to get it from the source of it all, even if there may be a hard decision in the end.

Notes/Comments- This entire chapter took me a while thanks to doing art project. I have yet to make chapter art, but this is more of a slow paced chapter. I’ll update this entire post with the art that may come soon.

Previous Chapter

Throughout the passing weeks, Ulysses passes by the seventh door within the residential sect only giving it passing glances. Things were relatively quiet within the fall days in the Crimson Castle, Naib has been taken away to take care of organizational matters, Violetta has been tending to the castle gardens, Kevin is always avoidant of him, Edgar was researching to help him yet adamant about Ulysses not joining, and Ann is usually in solitude with Apostle. Almost everyone is wrapped up in their own affairs and has left Ulysses to explore the place he now calls home.

The unicorn got up in the morning and haphazardly put on a simple robe for the day and set out. He had made no progress on helping Luca and it was telling that Edgar is reaching many dead ends while searching through many books and old manuscripts. Ulysses didn’t want to fret, there just has to be something they haven’t found and that door is the key.

He stood before the seventh door and eyes the aged boards on it. He took hold of one and pulled at it with all his might only to fall back once it broke off. He was quick to look around to see if anyone heard anything, but the halls were empty. He heaved a sigh of relief and went back to ripping off the boards until-

“Hey! What are you doing?”

Ulysses turned around to see Margaretha right behind him looking confused.

“Uh- It’s not what it looks like!”

“It is what it looks like silly! You are trying to see what’s inside that door! Who can blame you? Everyone is dying to know why it was boarded up for years. Even when I arrived here, I was told to stay away from it.”

“Really? You aren’t mad?”

“Not one bit, in fact, I am just as curious as you. Come on, open it!”

“W-wait! Just promise me you won’t tell Naib. I know you are his friend and all, so I just wanna avoid misunderstandings!.”

“I don’t need to tell him. There are things he doesn’t need to know since he is the one who likes to not tell us anything. I asked him about the door when I first came here and he kept skirting around it as if it was a bad memory. It seemed like he almost cried.”

“Then I shouldn’t let myself in this room.” Ulysses stopped now looking worried at the very thing he wanted to break into. “I came here trying to find answers as I feel like nothing I ask will give me the truth. I just feel at a loss here.”

“I hear ya. But I’ll be sure to board this room up once we finish searching inside. You have my word.”

With hesitation, the duo opened the door to reveal a dusty room. Everything seemed like a cast-off memory with cobwebs and old toys on the floor, the entire place was an apartment as it had two bedrooms and a small living area. The room on the right as they went inside was a kid’s room filled with dolls and playthings. The bed wasn’t touched in ages. It seemed like whoever it was never expected to come back to this place. The room on the left was more of an adult's room as it was just a simple setup, there were many starry paintings along the walls. Ulysses looked deeper inside and searched through the drawers of the dresser to find women's clothes. He went on to look into the nightstand and pulled out a dusty frame, he swiped away at the glass to reveal a painting of a lovely woman with flowing pink hair and a bright smile as she held a baby in a swaddle, what stuck out most is her horn on her head.

He almost threw the frame in shock, but he just stood there looking dumb at the frame until Margaretha came to see what he found.

“Wow, she looks just like you- Oh. Is that..?”

“My mother. What is her picture doing here?”

“Maybe she was a resident here? But this has to be before the Lord took up the throne, right? Did she know his father?”

“I don’t know, but this all isn’t adding up and that’s what I hate the most about it. First Naib’s unconditional kindness, the banquet, and now this. What else is he hiding?”

Margie inspected the framed painting and pointed out a signature on it.

“Look! The painting was made by Edgar’s father. He used to be a frequent member of this castle until he and Naib had a falling out. Supposedly it was over Naib requesting an impossible painting some years back, though Edgar did come here when he was sixteen to pick up his father’s work. I remember Naib telling me all about it one night when he requested my presence.”

“Surprised he told you something so personal.”

“What can I say? I just am a good listener. I mean I never expected to be friends with him as he is a reserved man. Most of his inner circle doesn’t have their own opinions, so I guess he just wants me there as a confidant. That kind of changed now that you are here of course. When he and I run errands, he always talks about you and how happy he is that you returned here.”

“But I never remembered being here. Not one bit. This is concerning me more that my mother and I have been here without my knowledge.”

“I don’t know, but I’ll go search around more and see what I can find.”

The two split to look for clues just to find more old antiques and knickknacks all of astronomy. His mother adored it and always took him out in the woods to stargaze with her when she was still alive. It swept him in emotions finding old star maps, diagrams, and drawings of constellations. There were some that even he drew in crude pencil drawings. Looking within his old room, he sifted through the nearby toy chest and found some papers of more childish art. One of a blue butterfly, another of a tree under a sunny sky, and one where it was him and another person he couldn’t make out, even by squinting, enjoying a picnic near the castle. His headaches badly trying to even recall who the person is in the drawing. It even made Margie concerned for him as she was quick to take the drawings and put them back.

“That was Naib wasn’t it.” Margie held his head in her hands as she massaged his temples for him. “That drawing looks just like him without all the butterflies. It seems you two were friends before from that picture.”

“My head hurts even trying to remember! How could I have known him before? I know Edgar said I possibly lost my memory and-“

“Edgar? You talked with him?”

Ulysses froze.

“Yes. He wanted to know if I knew him before cause supposedly Naib was reminiscing about us when I was asleep. I didn’t want to believe him, but he gave me hard proof…”

“Say no more. I won’t tell Naib but just know to be careful around Edgar. The little guy gets himself in a lot of trouble to prove his crazy theories of this place, though…I don’t think he is crazy anymore. Look. Let’s just go for now before someone-“

“Someone what?” The two jumps at the new voice to find it was Violetta looking at the two with a stern look and her tapping her “feet” in frustration.

“Ah- Violetta we were just-“

“Save it, Ulysses. You know I’m gonna have to tell the lord of what you two did.”

“But it was my idea! Margie was just keeping me in line!”

“Margaretha, is this true?”

“U- Yes! I was making sure that he didn’t break anything and looked around without causing trouble. He was beyond curious and he just wanted to see what was inside is all.”

Violetta was still not happy.

“Glad you kept him in line, but go now before I also report you too! He and Ulysses will have a chat.”

The dancer was quick to scurry out of the room soon followed by Violetta holding the unicorn tightly by the arm. The two made their way into a section of the castle he never explored, the winding corridors revealing an elaborate parlor room with a fireplace crackling. Kevin stood guard next to the armchair facing the hearth while the violinist played sweetly in the corner. Naib paid no attention to the newcomers as he kept his empty gaze on the fire before him. Kevin was quick to whisper in his ear, notifying him of their arrival.

“What do you want, Violetta? Are your binds loose again? I can fix them in a little while. After all, we can’t have your mobility aid wear down when winter is approaching quicker than usual.”

“No, in fact, it’s much more serious. Ulysses broke into the forbidden room.”

The man in red sharply turned in surprise, the unicorn couldn’t help but cower in his piercing gaze.

“Vio, please sit him near me. You, Kevin, and Antonio leave me immediately.”

“Yes, my Lord.” They all spoke in unison as Violetta sat Ulysses on the armchair next to her leader. The three of them left the room quickly and shut the doors behind them.

The silence was suffocating. The two of them just sat staring at the fire. It seemed like there were words to be said, yet they didn’t know how to convey it.

It was then Naib broke the silence.

“Did you know that I can’t feel the warmth of a fire or another person? My entire body is cold to the touch. Touch my gloved hand.” His voice sounded distant, but Ulysses hesitated before touching the deep red glove Naib presented. It was as he said. Colder than ice. “You might be asking why I have brought this on, ‘How could my body temperature relate to you breaking in your old room?’ It’s simple really. Nothing here was as it was years ago. I was once a normal person with warm skin. You were once a resident of this castle, surely you know that. I’m done pretending you don’t remember anything. You know that you and your mother were great friends with my parents before.”

“Naib-“

“Let me finish.

I cared a lot about you when we both were here in this castle. Things were normal. Life in this purgatory world was beautiful with you in it, even if we were just friends back then. I knew that there was something greater for both of us. You, a future astronomer and singer, I, ruler of this world just as my father before me did. I wanted you to stay with me forever and rule beside me. Even as I was young, I never knew how to even tell you that. Though that never came to be as I have inadvertently hurt you and made you leave me.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. Naib, I got inside that room to find answers about why you-”

“Let me guess, the painter told you that we met before?” Naib scoffed. “You remember. You just don’t want to admit it. You don’t want to admit that I drove you away.”

“That isn’t true! I never knew you in my life! My home was in the Safe Side within the forest. I lived there with my mother ever since I was a baby.” Naib was quick to shoot a gaze at the unicorn that shut him up quickly.

“Even if you don’t remember, I will make sure you do! How can you not remember the accident?! The day I ruined your right eye?! The moments of us running around in this castle? Moments where we promised we would stick together until we die in this plane? How can you not remember?!” He was now choking up as he spoke. “I want you to remember! I lost you and you finally came back to me! That has to mean something! You knew to come back to me! I’m not buying that bullshit that you lost your memory!”

“Naib…I don’t remember anything about this place. I never knew we were friends. Have I meant that much to you?”

“You don’t know how lonely I was since I got this plague! You don’t know how much I missed you as I waited and waited. I always clung to that stupid hope you would come back somehow, and you did. You are home! We finally are together after twelve fucking years! You said that you’ll meet me back at our favorite tree! You said you’d come back and you did!” Naib now was letting the tears stream as the butterfly on his right eye flew off revealing a scarred eye, his hands now clenching the armchair in pent-up frustration. “I punished myself every single day for making you leave. I don’t dare look out of my eye as punishment for making yours useless. I can never forgive myself for doing it to you those years ago!”

“Naib! You don’t need to punish yourself! I’m here, aren’t I? I may not remember our years together, but I am not going to let you do this to yourself.” Ulysses sprung to his side and stopped short of drying his tears. He looked frantically for something to help, settling on a discarded paper on the floor. He carefully dried Naib’s tears making sure their skin doesn’t touch. This only made the other blubber out more in cries. He nudged the unicorn aside and dried his eyes on his own.

“I always was a pathetic friend. I harbored a deep love for you for so long and now I can’t even hold you in my arms knowing you’ll die.” The butterfly returned to him as it took its place back on his face. “I wish you remembered! I wish you knew how much I cared.” He held the unicorn’s head in his hands as the other knelt before him. “You don’t know how much I longed for you and shut myself out of that old room. It’s a forbidden place for me to go. It just reminds me of my failures and what I have done to you.”

“Well. For what it’s worth, I don’t remember what you did. I’m not upset at you and I am beyond fine living my life with only one working eye. It was like I was born with it.

Don’t worry so much about what you did, okay? This is a clean slate for you in a way. I may not remember anything of my life before, but this is a fresh start. We can start over!”

“Start over?” Naib looked at him in disbelief which turned back into self-deprecation. “I don’t deserve it after what I did! I don’t want to hurt you again!”

“Naib stop it! You aren’t hurting me now nor will you ever. I adore you and I am not letting you talk about yourself like this!” Ulysses nuzzled into Naib’s hands in an attempt to reassure him. “I feel safe with you and I mean it honestly. Seeing you get mad at yourself for something so long ago is taking away from the fact we reunited. Enjoy this time we have.”

“But I know you will leave me again. I want you to stay with me like how we both wanted back then.”

“Well, why not come with me to the Safe Side once I do leave and we can live together like you wanted?”

“But why won’t you stay here? You belong here as you were born and raised in this world. Don’t you want to stay here in the castle with me? We’ll be together for all eternity compared to the Safe Side…I have the ability to do that here in this world.” Naib fell silent as he caressed Ulysses’s face lovingly.

“I-“ He was at a loss for words. He didn’t know what to choose. Stay in this world or go home? It truly felt like he never belonged in both, yet home is where his life was destroyed in one night. The Other Side is where people welcomed him with open arms. His promise to Luca was still fresh in his mind as he cozied himself into the loving touches. Choosing this place would mean betraying his friend. Going home means betraying Naib. Ulysses furrowed his brows as he was mulling over it. The other seemed to take note of his indecision and lifted the unicorn’s chin to look at him.

“Don’t worry. I won’t make you answer right away. You’ve only been here for a small while and I don’t want you to stress about it. Just focus on getting settled in and relax.” He let go of the unicorn and took the paper he used and placed it on the other’s lips, placing a quick kiss onto it before taking it off the other. Ulysses’s face quickly burned bright red as he was now stammering nonsense. “Just make sure to tell me before the year ends, okay? It’s already Fall, so I expect by Winter you will have your decision. This Winter is approaching quicker than usual, but you still have time.”

Naib got up and took one last look at the fire before standing by the door. He motioned for his love to follow, and so the two were walking through the castle walls and out into the chilly outside. The sun felt far away and the sky seemed gray and filled with dead leaves flying away. Yet within the castle gardens, it was pristine as can be with bright red roses in full bloom, showing their petals for the world to see. The duo stood in the middle of it and Naib couldn’t help but have a smug face on.

“This garden is the lifeblood of my congregation. The roses that bloom here always are picked by everyone and given to Violetta to purify and be given to new members. They also serve a special purpose aside from a lovely gift, as you will see in the coming Blood Moon Ball. She and I take great pride in this place, though she mainly takes care of things here. My garden back in the Safe Side is what I care for the most as our favorite place is there. Both places are important to me.”

Ulysses took a rose in hand and inspected it. Compared to many plants he looked at, its petals were warm and felt silky to the touch. He put it close to his heart warming himself to keep the fall chill away.

“It feels like magic is coursing through it. How did you even plant these?”

“Magic is everywhere here unlike the Safe Side, for instance.” Naib took the flower from Ulysses and made it burst into a glorious flame in his hand. He grabbed the unicorn’s hand, letting the other touch the magic fire. Ulysses was about to flinch but was stunned to see that it wasn’t burning him, only giving a much greater warmth in the autumn chill. Naib gave Ulysses the flower back before walking along the garden path with the others following close. “Flowers like these grow exclusively at this castle as a result of my father and mother researching methods to save me from this plague I bear. These flowers are a great treasure as their futile efforts to ‘save me’ from myself brought an accidental beauty.”

“You keep referring to your powers as a plague. Is that why we can’t touch..?”

“You and the entire realm beyond can’t lay a finger on me. Knowing that I am the sole ruler of this purgatory, I am the only connection from here to the Overworld. That was jeopardized when I stumbled upon a butterfly that bore this curse as a boy. My parents worked themselves to death just trying to figure out how to remove it just for me to succeed to the throne and maintain the family tradition. I don’t care anymore about it as I still succeeded regardless. It’s like they were trying to remove part of me.”

“Ah- It’s a burden you have to carry then?”

“In some cosmic irony, yes. I carry everyone’s fear and sadness alongside this horrid curse. Who knew doing so made them last forever? They all love me for doing so and making them feel free. I surround myself with them as I feel needed.” He fell silent now seeming to reminisce. Ulysses didn’t want to bother with another question, so he left it at that. Naib wrapped an arm around him, careful to not let his exposed chest be near the other. The unicorn held the rose close as he relished the covered touch, now warmed by the rose’s fire. Naib truly felt cold to the touch even with a covered arm, but strangely it felt warm to him like some long smoldered crackling of a flame.

They both walked in silence around the castle grounds, earning some confused glances their way from their fellow subjects. They even went past Kevin who seemed pretty dejected seeing Ulysses in his Master’s arm and wasn’t punished for his grave offense. Violetta was quick to give him a little smack on his shoulder to focus his gaze elsewhere as the two walked past, but it didn’t stop him as he was close to haunting their path. Emily had to be the one to pull him aside and give him a scolding.

By the time night fell, the two were laughing and running to hide behind some stone pillars as they were clumsily carrying many pastries through the castle corridors, the chef was shouting annoyed curses at the two while they ran.

“If you wanted pastries, you could’ve asked me! Now I need to replace some for the coming ball!”

“Sorry~! I’ll repay you Jose by not telling Kevin your silly crush on him! Maybe I can even get him to dance with you~!” Jose could only sputter more annoyed curses before marching back to the kitchen in defeat. Both Naib and Ulysses were now in hysterics as they ran into the residential sect, diving into the vine-ridden room. They laid out the spoils of their conquest on the bed and snacked as they pleased giggling without a care in the world.

“Did you see his face?! He was so annoyed it looked like his mustache was frowning!”

“I don’t wanna imagine how Emily will feel once I swipe her syringe and fill it with juice!”

They laughed and laughed now exchanging more mischievous ideas as they ate until they grew tired. Naib offered for the unicorn to stay the night in his room like before, but Ulysses reluctantly refused and wanted to sleep in his own bed. Naib was a little disappointed their fun had to be cut short, but he waved his love off as he left and went out to the hall-

“Hey! What the hell were you doing?!” Ulysses jumped, seeing Edgar drag him into his room and locked the door. “I saw you buddy buddy with the asshole! I thought you were looking for how to get out of here!”

“Uh- Well, I kinda did. I found something out-“

“Spit it out!”

“I was getting to it! Naib said that he is the only link to the Overworld. He didn’t give specifics, just that bit. I tried to look in that boarded-up door for answers and found it was an old living space me and my mother occupied. I couldn’t remember anything of it, but it does prove you right that me and Naib met before. I don’t know why my memory is obscured!” Edgar facepalmed in disappointment at Ulysses's report.

“So you found jackshit. Everyone knows that Naib could only travel into the Overworld! He never brings any of us Purgatory souls up there 'cause we never needed to.”

“Well, he also gave me an ultimatum.”

“What do you mean ultimatum?!”

“Uh. He said that I have to choose between staying here with him or going back to the Overworld. He needs the answer before the end of Winter-“

The painter slapped Ulysses unprovoked and shook him by the collar.

“Don’t you dare stay here! Remember the plan to save Luca! Don’t let that jackass die here!”

Ulysses’s expression darkened as he took a sharp inhale before slapping Edgar back much harder than the painter could, removing himself from him.

“I remember and I still am going through with it! I am not leaving my friend here and I can’t believe you think I forgot! I was searching for answers while you haven’t found anything. Things are slowly unraveling and every time I learn something new my head spins and aches! So much confusing feelings happening all at once and you don’t let me digest it!”

The painter scoffed before stomping out of the chambers, slamming the door behind him. Ulysses rubbed at the burning red mark on his face and sat on the edge of his bed.

A flash of white flew by, but it felt like it was just his imagination. He didn’t care as he was too angry to form a coherent thought. Edgar has good intentions, but this was too harsh. A life is at stake and losing composure now just makes things worse.

Ulysses may have not gotten much info, but he gained a new perspective of Naib. Today was seeing a new side of him, unlike his usual charismatic character. It truly felt like Ulysses saw the real Naib, or so that's what he wanted to believe.