#It will probably won't take too long

[tamavonpineapple]

TURTLE SOUP -DELETED CHAPTER 6-

Since I have deleted the original chapter 6, I decided to post the whole thing here for anyone who didn't read it (tho it's not that good)

I'm currently rewriting most of the chapters since I'm not happy with the results. Once done with that, I'll update everything with the true chapter 6.

THE OTSUKIMI FESTIVAL.

He would have understood if his friend felt cloistered and disappointed to spend a celebration like the otsukimi festival in a town smaller than Usagi's home village. Usagi looked up at the sunning pink and orange sky of the sunset. The people passing by praised the view on their way to the temple.

Moments like those were charming despite the shortage of luxury and comforts. Or rather, the wealth of the capitals did not overshadow the warmth of more secluded towns. That's how Usagi lived his entire childhood, after all, but a fact that he could not forget, is that his companion appreciated those stunning and over-the-top festivals they have in his worlds. He could only imagine the scope of a festival in a city that is home to as many people as Usagi's entire nation

"Hey, 'sagi" Leo nudged slightly, adjusting his new coat. "Why did the trew stones at that arch"

Usagi turned his head to see two kids throwing pebbles at the top of a Torii gate. He hummed before answering. "It is said that if the stone you throw at the top of a Torii stays on top, you will be blessed with good luck."

He illustrated his point by throwing his own rock, which hit the surfaces of the torii before rolling down. He clicked his tongue with a grimace as Leo laughed. “Oh, well…”

"Okay, my turn, my turn." The stone he threw stayed up much to Usagi's dislike, he saw Leo's pride swell up, he watched from below keeping his chin up. "Ha! Take that. Turtles must be luckier than rabbit's"

"Yes, Leo. I saw it" Usagi rolled his eyes, guiding the way to the temple. Leo picked Usagi's rock before following up the stairs, he noticed Leo bent down to pick up another stone, the one that Usagi had thrown. Usagi Glanced sideways as he threw it to land perfectly on the center of the torii.

"double lucky!" Cheered. " Don’t worry, I'll be lucky for the two of us!"

“Show off” He mumbled with a half smile.

Once there, Usagi showed him how to purify himself with the clear water from Chozuya, using the paddle to wash his left hand, then the right and finally his mouth –he even asked if Spot should be purified as well–. They greeted the shinshoku before kneeling to the altar to pray to the moon for the new harvests to come. He offered his remaining pieces of rice balls while Leo played with Spot Behind his back. As he left his offering, he felt Spot excitedly jumping onto his lap to try to eat the rice balls. Fortunately, Leo was able to catched before he could eat any of it. Leo held him in his arms while Usagi scolded Spot who jumped off his arm and ran away annoyed with Usagi, slipping out of the temple behind the bushes. Usagi assured Leo that he would return to them eventually.

"But he'll got lost"

“They are wild animals Leo, he is used to wandering.” He went back to his prayer when Leo seemed to give up. Leo waited a while as Usagi recited his chants, now unsure what to do with himself without Spot around.

"I've only seen these things in movies.” Leo mumbled looking around looking around at the visitors, busy with their own rituals

Usagi stopped his plea to respond under his breath, catching him off guard. “Why don't you pray with me?”

“I- I’ve never prayed before" He said playing with the straws of his coat "I don't even know what am I supposed to do”

Knowing that Leo wasn't the type to pray, Usagi thought he would have laughed and dismissed his requests at first. The air felt cold between them, he was closer than necessary, but too far from what he would have liked to.

He decided that it was better to start again at the top, so he could show Leo the entirety of the ritual. Usagi looked in his purse for a coin and lent it to him “toss the coin into the Saisen-bako –the offering box–” taking the thing between his fingers, he saw him stumbling with himself as he followed his instructions, Usagi told him to bow and clap his hands twice, while he himself repeated the process, He wait for Leo to finish and look at him again expectantly, so Usagi decided to smiled at him to calm him down. “Good, and now repeat after me”

He focuses on Leo's struggle to replicate the cadence of his chants. He slowed rhythm, he honed his speech, and waited for him to catch up, even repeating himself to make sure he did it right.

He prayed for the harvests to come, for the land prosperity, for Lord Noriyuku safety, he prayed for his hometown. He prayed for the living as well, he prayed for the dead. He prayed for his father, mother and–... for his Lord and his, he prayed for Mura, for Atsuko, and even for Shugo's family.

He knew his gods meant nothing to Leo, but Usagi wondered that if he were to pray for him and his family, the gods would answer. However, he shoved down the thought feeling, too embarrassed of himself.

“Now make a wish,” Usagi whispered. “And bow again”

“M’kay” Following his example, he bowed, touching the floor with his forehead.

“That's it” He simply stated, standing up with a smile. “Thanks for coming with me”

Leo smiled uneased, he returned a nervous smile as he rubbed his arms under his coat. “Isn’t this part of the experience?”

“Yes” Usagi softly laughed looking at the offerings “As well as the mochi”

His eyes sparkled “And why are we still here? Let's find Spot and go for those sweets”

On their way back to the mainstreet Leo was always fascinated by the Komuso playing their flutes. Every time he asked Usagi the reason for the strange "baskets" covering their heads, although he remembered well that many of them were ninjas in cover.

Leo was also intrigued by the mochi offerings and the wares of the botefuri that went from here to there.He was too self-absorbed to notice the occasional glances he received. However, it was no worse than the looks directed at Usagi himself. So he assumed that it was a problem with his class and not with him.Two little brothers even bowed to Usagi in honor of the moon rabbit, Usagi bowed back as Leo watched the exchange with a teasing grin.

They overheard the vendors gossip about a bake-kitsune terrorizing a small village on the Geishu outskirts. But the details were fuzzy under the bustle of the street, and the children's laughter.

“Should we worry about it?” Leo asked, pointing at the vendors.

“About the bake-kitsune?" Usagi shocked his head and gestured a circle with his thumb and index. “It’s a swindle, they won't fool me twice”

His change completely to a wide sneered smile “Oh ho ho ho! Has my sly bunny been deceived?”

Usagi frowned. “No. Not like that. A merchant tricked me to accept a bet, yes, in exchange for my service for a year. It turns out that the Inn was popular because it was surrounded by a bunch of yokai… But it was a scam played by the innkeeper's daughters and the yokai were puppets. Long story short I won the bet"

“You think it is the same case? This seems to be the type of things that came to bit you later”

“What are the chances?” Dismissed. They reached the vendor stall surrounded mostly by kids and their parents. Usagi bought a stack of mochi and lended to Leo's trembling hands, Noticing that, Usagi puffed and approached a vendor across the street. He evaded the two staggering drunks and held up two fingers at the vendor “Two bottles of sake, please”

Leo panicked, almost dropping in their sweets. “Wowowow! Sake, like the real deal? No, I- I can’t drink!”

Usagi blinked at leo and deadpanned looked back at the vendor face to correct, holding just one finger up “One cup of sake, please”

“You can’t drink either!”

“Why not?”

Leo sighed and looked away. “Where’s my emotional support anyways?”

“It wouldn't be the first time he ran around like this, but he doesn't do it when you're around” he said leisurely, keeping an eye on Leo still shivering, he put a hand on his shoulder. "You're still freezing, you should stay in a Inn, and I can look for Spot later"

"You want us to stay inside now? Really Usagi? We haven't even seen the moon yet?! It's just a little cold, but I can take it! It hasn't started snowing yet!

He went along with Leo despite his doubts, but promised to get something hot to eat later on to compensate. In part, because Usagi still wanted to attend a poetry reading.

"Poetry? You guys are stuck ups!" Leo yelled before seeing Usagi's unimpressed expression "Well, except for you, 'sagi! You' re cool, you're cool"

They saw kids playing in a pond, catching frogs, making it impossible to see the moon reflection on it.

They wandered for a while, looking for something that caught their attention, Leo kept embracing himself and Usagi could even hear his teeth clapping together at moments. However, every time he offered to share sake with him Leo would turn it down and call for Spot.

"Hi, Long ears!" He heard a woman's voice behind him. Usagi turned to de sound, right before hearing the same voice from the other side. "Bye, bye~ long ears"

Leo turned around looking for the voice's owner, but as quickly as she came, she was lost in the crowd, turning in the nagaya –long building– off the main street."What was that?"

From behind came a group of exhausted police officers, and it was no surprise to Usagi that they decided to approach him right out of all the people.

"Samurai" called the captain, already fighting for his breath. "Have you seen a woman passing by?"

"Sir, we've seen like a hundred women today, you need to be more specific…" Leo mocked

The cop seemed annoyed by his intrusion. "A fox, she's been stolen the merchants belongings"

"A fox thief?" Usagi pretended to ponder it, tucking a hand under his chin and looking up with a grimace before shrugging. "I'm afraid we didn't see it!"

The cops growled, Leo did see Usagi hold back a laugh as the lost officers continued their manhunt. Once they were nowhere to be seen, Leo turned his head to face him.

"You're an enabler!"

"The nature of our relationship should have made that clear by now," Usagi laughed. at Leo's dumbfounded face. "I rather not meddle in Kitsune's affair, it never goes well to me"

"Wait, her name is kitsune, really?"

"Yes, now let's get out of here before she finds us"

They wandered around for a few minutes looking for a good place to settle. Until they finally sat under a tree when a poet captured Usagi's attention and Leo by extension, who although having winced at the idea of sitting through the whole recital, accompanied Usagi without protesting –not out loud, at least–.

Leo frowned at Usagi as he watched him open his sake bottle. "You're really gonna drink it."

Usagi took a sip and gently blew out a sound to warn him to lower his voice so that he would not interrupt the poet. "Just for the occasion, it is part of the tradition, I can't see a reason not to"

Leo finally sighted, resigned "al right, all right, cotton tail. You win"

He felt his fur puffing up again. "What happened to long ears?" Usagi mocked.

"Ugh everybody calls you long ears! Is not special anymore"

Usagi hummed taking a big sip straight from the bottle, it gained a surprised face out of Leo.

"Well…I bet a lot of people call you Leo, should I give you the same courtesy?"

"I– Really? And which one will be?"

"Mhhh~" He hadn't expected to be faced with the possibility of calling Leo something other than his name, certainly Leo's choice of words sounded too cheesy in his own mouth. Not even looking for some inspiration in his face, he seemed to find a name to his affection. Not even witnessing his huge smile once again, nor the light sound of his laughter.

"Now, lemme save you before you have a shut down, Cotton Tail." Leo planted a hand on his shoulder. "I know holding hands it's already third base for you guys''

Usagi didn't know what 'third base' meant, but he had to brush away the idea of holding Leo's hand, being that it was something he didn't know he wanted. "Let us hear the Waka"

The conversation died for a while, especially on the part of Usagi who pretended to listen to the poet's verses, which were nothing more than hums buzzing to the back of his mind. Leo didn't even have the decency to feign interest, he just sat in there munching the mochi balls, while staring at the moon.

Still tasting the sake's warm savoriness inside him. He looked back at Leo, looking curiously at the moon, the brightest of the year, decrypting a mystery that only hounded him. He took the mochi to his mouth out of sheer unconsciousness, one after the other as if he didn't have to share it.

He took another sip, to keep his heat, to make his blood burn, to feel like it burned equal to fugu poison running through his veins. Although, against the cold weather, he welcomed its warmth and went for another cup. Perhaps it would've been wiser having a diner before a good drink, but he didn't bother enough to care this time. He was not going to regret that moment, not listening to the sweet words recited in love poems. Not with the strange warmth of his companion as he watched the beautiful autumn moon.

"You already found the rabbit?" he asked after a few seconds.

Leo's head snapped to look into his eyes. Usagi took another sip, waiting for him to come back from his stupor. "I think That the rabbit in the moon being a thing here of all places gives me heebie-jeebies as much as I think is hilarious.

"Is there a reason why it wouldn't be that way?" He asked, looking at Leo's blank face, as if he hadn't considered that possibility. As if their moons couldn't be the same. "Mhh, it's not like I don't understand the feeling… Tell me again about that thing you said before– was it Mubii?"

That seemed to cheer him up "Movie! Oh man, where do I start–?"

He deviated from the question, again. He should apologize to the poet, but Leo's ravings about his world were simply fascinating.

And so, he continued rambling and rambling about things Usagi might never understand. Leo seemed never to be at a loss for words, as much as he seemed to always be in high spirits. And he was the first to get up when the poet had finished his recital, leaving Usagi to worry about the leftovers left behind. At least there was something left for Spot, wherever he was.

"Ronin" called the same voice from a while ago, Leo, who had already gone ahead, immediately turned his head to see Usagi.

None of them expected the call to be for Leo, from a dancer walking up to him as if she had known him all her life. It took Usagi a few seconds before he recognized Kitsune. Leo, nonetheless, was quite stunned by the stranger's intrusion. He tried to step aside and looked back at Usagi for help. But he soon pulled himself together and greeted with the same enthusiasm. "Wasn't it obvious that I'm a ninja?"

"It is, it is!" she nodded, hugging Leo's arm in hers and resting her head on one of his shoulders. "You know Usagi, right? I'm also a friend of him"

"Aren't you too old to stalk teenagers?" Kitsune's face changed at the sound of being called old, which made Usagi realize that it was time to intervene.

Usagi took his bottle and tied it to his obi before calmly walking over to them. "Don't bother, Kitsune. Leo doesn't even have a purse for you to steal"

"Oh, Usagi!" She crooned, throwing herself to Usagi's arm, attempting to put her arms around him. "Something he must have"

Usagi gently pushed her away, keeping his chest out of her reach. "Only what I have on my own"

Leo rolled his eyes and scoffed "That and sixty-nine cents, you know what that means~"

"My, my! A big one!" she praised Leo "I don't see any clan emblem, I suspect you're a ronin, too? Maybe working as a shinobi has its perks.."

"Not his case, Kitsune." Usagi laughed.

She tried to sugarcoat it with her best smile. "Must be enough to spare a poor lady a bowl tsukimi soba"

Before giving Leo a chance to think about a comeback, Usagi intervened. "Maybe if you didn't try to steal from me every time we meet I'd feel more generous"

Leo looked at the street above their heads, lighting up his face when something went right for him, then spoke at the top of his lungs, shutting down any argument between Usagi and Kitsune and quieting the whispers around him." Oh Ma'am, it is very generous of you to treat two poor ronin to a delicious dinner, you must be rich!"

Usagi raised his head to see the group of policemen from a while ago, walking in their direction.

Kitsune's head snapped around, and her ears faced fully forward. As she lunged forward pushing Usagi by the chest, he heard a curse directed at Leo as he smirked.Likewise, the officers swept away anyone who got in their way, barely giving Usagi time to get out of the way.

"She'll be fine, right?" Leo asked, just slightly concerned.

"They'll be…" He nodded looking in the direction where kitsune had fled.

"They?"

"She and her little sister" Usagi shrugged "is her accomplice"

"Oh– I– right! … right, yes. She and someone else" His voice had trailed off with a sudden realization he kept to himself. "I didn't see her, tho"

"Me neither, but she's always around" Usagi patted her chest, feeling only Mura's manuscript inside her kimono. "Kitsune! That thief stole my purse again!"

"Mhh no soba, then.." It seemed as if Leo had wanted to say something else, but whatever it was, the opportunity was lost when he finally caught sight of his lost friend, who was coming back with something between his teeth. "Spot!... Seems like you were the lucky one"

Leo squatted down to coddle Spot as he took a coin from his teeth. Spot happily swished his tail as Leo rewarded him with the mochi that Usagi still had in his hands, then he stood up and raised the koban to Usagi's face, wrapping his other arm around his shoulders to bring him close to his chest.

“I guess enough for one meal" Usagi tightened his grip on the cloth bag and tried to ignore the sudden closeness of that blatant display of affection as he looked at the koban. He then felt Spot snuggle against his legs and was able to take advantage of the situation to get rid of Leo to carry Spot who tried to search the bag for more Mochis.

"It's something I guess" Leo hugged Usagi's shoulders again as they walked.

"If you are so cold, we can eat inside, they will have no problem for us to share a bowl"

Despite the statement being true, they still received stares from various strangers, and Usagi didn't know that among everything about them, it was the thing that drew attention the most

It looked like Leo was finally warming up, though his hands still moved roughly, and his grip on the chopsticks was rather clumsy. He would have a hard time holding his odachi in those conditions and he hoped he wouldn't have to come to that situation.

"So–" Leo says, blowing at the noodles between his chopsticks. "Her name is Kitsune? And your name is Usagi?"

"Indeed"

"Why?" Insist in a muffled noodle voice.

"Well" Usagi gently stirred the inside of the bowl. "Kitsune is not her given name. She left her name with her old life, I don't know what her name is either."

"Okay, get it! But you're not a thief" He chewed.

"Correct"

He swallowed. "And your name is Usagi anyway…why?"

"Because…" Usagi puts his chopsticks down on the stand with a heavy sigh. "Usagi is just a fraction of my Yōmyo –common name–"

"A fraction, you say?" His confusion overshadowed the mockery in his laughter, his hand freezed halfway to the bowl.. "How long could your name be, don't tell me your name is Shiroi Usagi ?"

His first response was a frown and a small sound of frustration. He savored the aftertaste of the soba that seemed heavier in his mouth now that his own name dangled from the tip of his tongue. He sighted. "It is 'So having made a clay boat the badger rowed out to sea along with the rabbit. Then the badger's boat began to sink... And when it was sinking, the rabbit brandished aloft his oar and struck the badger dead, thus avenging the old man's wife'... "

Speechless, for the first time, his eyes stared somewhere far beyond Usagi. The tips of Leo's chopsticks dripped broth onto the table, he saw one of the sticks wobble between his fingers.His jaw nearly hit the table. Then he stuttered "That's– that's– that's not a name, that's an event, how that even goes with your last name?"

"I'm also not happy going around with a pretentious name like that" He sighed massaging the bridge of his nose. "Not to mention my jitsumei –true name–! No, no, Usagi is just fine"

"No shell, Sherlock, of course Usagi is just fine! Like– I know anime goes crazy with their long-ass names, but this is ridiculous! How'd you fit that on your ID card? Imagine giving that name in a Starbucks! What on the Pizza Supreme name is that?! HAH! And I thought my name was weird!"

"– Is the end of the Kachikachi Yama monogatari, and please use your inner voice… " Usagi was quick to stop his tirade, not only before suffering a stroke from the nonsense that came out of her mouth. He looked around at the scowling brows of the people inside the Inn. "My name is the end of that story"

"Oh, geez! That explains it all, thank you very much!" Leo stabbed wildly into his noodles, letting some of the broth drizzle onto Usagi's sleeve.

"Why? you have problems with my name" Usagi took her chopsticks as well, waiting for Leo to clear the plate that was already less than half full.

"I don't have a problem! But you don't go around naming children after their species. Much less named them after the end of a revenge story about killing people with an oar. Why is that your name?"

He took advantage of Leo resuming his tirade to eat a ration of noodle and rectified it with a mouth full. "More like retributive justice"

"Same difference!" he yelled pointing at Usagi with his chopsticks. Usagi looked at it, outraged. But he swallowed his pride, and another time he would explain the manners. But he didn't miss the looks some of them gave him. "You're kidding, that's not your name"

Usagi's response was a seethe, many times he had to acknowledge that Leo was far too gushy for his own good. That night in particular he didn't feel like being thrown out of the Inn during a cold night because of Leo's unconventional manner, again. "Well, that was the kind of woman my mother was. I may not remember much of her, but the name she gave me always reminds me her view on the world"

"Oh she's…– She gave you that name" His entire raving seemed to dissipate the moment he tried to hide his face in his shell as he stared intently at the raw egg in the bowl. "But didn't you say it was pretentious? Now that you mention, it isn't crazy if she was, cuz she was a samurai, and many samurai are way too far from being as cool as you, but I would expect— I mean, I should probably shut up, cuz I don't wanna bash on your mother, that would be wrong and—"

"My mother was a samurai, yes" He cut him off to save him from his own words. "I believe her good intentions don't reflect in the name she gave me. But it was the values behind the name what it ought to evoque"

"But why name you that, and not as the rabbit?"

"That's the point, that rabbit doesn't have a name. Nothing matters about him but what he did. Think of it as the Komusō, monks of nothing, they wander the land with a 'basket' on their heads"

"I think I get it?"

"She didn't want it to be about me, but what I should be a samurai, a humble servant, that I should lack ego just like a Komusō"

"But how is pretentious"

"Because it is a statement. it proclaims the virtue expected of me as a Samurai. When you talk out loud about your virtues for everyone to hear how righteous you are, it becomes disingenuous. Having no name on my own, beyond the most basic of my existence, being a rabbit, brings me closer to being myself beyond my reality… although, thinking like that isn't pretentious as well?"

Leo pondered his thoughts staring, maybe with too much intensity, at the raw egg inside the bowl. "Dude… I was name after after a color and a painter … and I only know one of his works"

He now felt genuinely interested in that new information. "Which one?"

"The sunflowers"

Usagi blinked, trying to place an image of a painting he had never seen, an artist he had never heard of. How different could his technique be? How unique can his strokes be? How many will be the lucky ones who have been able to lay their eyes on something so special. However, the only thing he could be sure of was that despite everything, even on the other side of the world there would be an artist with a noble soul, painting all kinds of beauty, as the flowers were. "Those are pretty flowers"

"Yeah…" He mumbled, "Tell me your name again?"

"Ugh, please no!"

"Oh common! I wanna learn it!"

"But why!"

"... I just want to!" Leo whined.

Usagi kept her voice neutral despite the slight frustration. "I won't let you use it against me"

Leo gave in and Usagi saw once again that fragile glimpse of bitterness on his eyes, and the sight gave him a little pain to his heart "Your mom must have been something else… to give you a name like that"

He looked at the table, suddenly interested in the stains and gouges in the battered wood. "She wanted me to be a good man…"

"She can be proud…" The wistful edge to his voice was unlike Leo, but he didn't seem to be lying when he said it. Though his gaze was still on the bowl, playing with his chopsticks.

"Are you going to eat that?" Usagi asked, unsettled by the intense look at the raw egg, still in the bowl. Leo disappeared before giving Usagi a chance to reply. Not tonight, as any other night, perhaps it was time to go back to the abandoned shrine he was staying in, or just start planning how he should earn money again. At last he ended the raw egg's misery and ate it in one go and folded Leo's hakama to save it inside his kimono.

He was about to get ready to leave when he heard the thud of coins falling next to him, he looked down to see his purse was quite full and its thief standing with her little sister to one side.

"The soba was good," she simply said with a smile.

"Cheers to that" Usagi swung the half-empty bottle of sake at her. With a resigned sigh, he grabbed his purse and tucked it into the folds of Leo's hakama.

"You're friend is funny," Kiyoko giggled. She took a seat on the other side of the bench while Spot sniffed at her. "You know every kind of person! He seems nice… But he's a bit rowdy"

A fist hit the table hard. A huge dog stood like a wall baring his fangs, looking down at him. Usagi had a few theories as to what her problem with him might be."Ronin!".

[kyouka-supremacy]

I think we should just bring back Wungo Wednesday and start a fandom collective anime rewatch

[deoidesign]

Hello! I just discovered your blog and I immediately became captivated by your webcomic, but I'm unsure where to read all of it. I know it's on Webtoons, but I can see it hasn't been updated for a while, and you still post about it.

Are your physical novels just prints of the webcomic? Are they a continuation? Is the story complete? Thanks in advance!

Hi there!

Glad you found me and are enjoying my comic!

It's only on webtoons, and the story is not complete yet! We're 2/3 of the way through right now. It's currently on hiatus, and it's scheduled to come back in about 2 months!

I'll explain why it's been so long if you're curious, but also for my followers who might also be wondering about it under the cut. Sorry, it's pretty much just me complaining haha

I took a month off I took 2 months to get the books printed I took a month to prepare my next comic and I took 2 months to write the rest of the series (I knew the character arcs I wanted, but not the time periods or mysteries!!!) I've been working on actual episodes since then

I had to take some time off because of some pretty extreme burnout due to the sheer amount of work it was to draw over 800 pages and write 6 complete stories in a year and a half... I was getting sick almost weekly due to the overwork, it was really really bad honestly. I was having to work 60+ hours every week just to keep up...

The nature of the comic itself is also difficult... Each of the arcs is a complete, self contained story which can be read (ideally) without context, and my arcs need to be about 10-13 episodes each... And since I have an exact number of episodes to work with, it's even harder.

It takes a ton of planning and a ton of refinement, and working week to week with no breaks I was forced to put out second or even first drafts, so I just wasn't happy with the work I was doing... And to do that for the rest of the series? I wouldn't be proud of the work I did.

Plus... To be entirely honest, webtoon has treated me quite badly IN MY OPINION... They deprioritized me before I launched (I had to beg for more promotion, I'm not exaggerating), they outright denied me the opportunity to even ask for a raise, I don't make any money on fast pass and they pay me less than my partner makes working at trader joes. My first editor left me completely hanging, my second editor (who I loved) was fired... And they told me I wouldn't get a third season before my first season even finished. So it was just repeatedly completely demoralizing.

I'm sorry it has taken so long, it'll have been 10 months by the time I come back. But I realized... I won't get promotion either way. I won't get more episodes either way. I won't get more money either way. So to finish everything, to make it feel good, to make it something I'm proud of, I chose to take longer to make it better.

I am fully aware I will lose a significant amount of my readership for this and it might genuinely affect my career moving forward. But it's what I had to do! So I'm sticking to my guns on it, and I'm confident long term it'll be worth it. It never could have been this good if I didn't take this much time.

[thejadearia]

Speaking of Shimazaki, I learned a lot about myself this week making these terrible memes so I could drop them in the discord chat as I made my friends watch MP100. What I learned was, I have a terrible sense of humor (actually I already knew that, I just didn't realize it was this bad) and that the only thing I enjoy more than watching Shimazaki kick ass, is Shimazaki getting his ass kicked. (I'll have more of these for next week when we get to Serizawa's stuff! Sorry!)

[struggling-jpg]

Yanqing and Yunli Appreciation Post

Keep Reading cut due to 2.4 spoilers~ (also relatively long-ish post)

These two bounce off each other so well! As a writer, it feels so satisfying to see their characters shine through the quest and the event in the way their interactions highlight them. So I'm gonna use this space to ramble about it!

My previous post pretty much talked about it already, but Yanqing!!! My son!!! I was quite worried that any potential arc for him would be shoved down the road or to the side due to the scale HSR has, but the game's been actually holding up to his ongoing arc. As a result, at least to me, he's come through as one of the best written/developed characters on the Xianzhou so far.

The nature of the length of the updates lets what we get in previous quests settle in for a long while, and considering the mentioned of flow of time in-game, Yanqing's had the time to think and develop as a person. The fact that so many players have had their view and opinion of him finally turn around in this quest is a testament to that. We get to see more facets of him, as in, doing his job and the responsibilities of doing so, and how his insecurities are mentioned in a main quest for all to see. He's constantly referencing others and his past encounters. You can tell that Jing Yuan raised him with his manner and approach to things, which is highlighted by the contrast to Yunli (will get to that soon).

His position as a child soldier has made him mature faster, be quiet even when he's been wronged (filial piety/saving face (aka thank you person on Reddit who makes the banger character Yanqing (and other characters in general) appreciation posts)), take a step back and have to be able to read the room (though, reasonably, he doesn't catch on all the time), and much, much more. The fact that other official content has described him as being more worried about diplomacy and all that. He doesn't have the luxury to be as carefree or brash for someone his age.

There's a lot to unpack there still, even with the development he's had now and that's good! If the Hoyo writing team was wild enough, it'd be cool to see them address the grayness of his role and Jing Yuan's mindset in raising him as he did (We love Dad-Yuan and he loves his son dearly no question, but it'd be so interesting to explore his flaws/mistakes in this perspective!).

Now onto Yunli.

I'm saying straight off the bat, I'm irritated by her!

And that's a good thing!

Her being annoying or bratty or irritating doesn't automatically make her a badly written character! She only would become one if they don't do anything with her, and HSR most probably will, and she should be given the same room to develop in her own arc.

She acts like her age, and she doesn't have the same pressures as Yanqing does. Just like how you can see Jing Yuan in Yanqing, you can see Huaiyan in Yunli, if anything he says is to go by. She's tempremental and outspoken to a fault, and based on the way how quickly Huaiyan relented when she talked back, you can tell that Huaiyan isn't as strict/stern with her to give her a sense of being humble.

I had this thought that she's technically what the general fandom viewed Yanqing as initially, and I'm not saying that as a 100% thing, by the way. But like by some traits and the vibes. She, of course, has a lot more nuance that will be explored at one point or another.

But back on topic, she's a foil. They represent two different approaches and lifestyles and can clearly learn from each other. Her inconsideration of the fact that she's on the Luofu but enforcing Zhuming practices (which I noticed people were upset by, and same; which I imagine is the point), her bluntness to no matter who she's talking to—there's a lot to work with here.

Just like with their swordplay, Yanqing could learn from her mental strength while Yunli can learn from his focused speed and defense. He can learn to regain a more firm grasp of his recently found purpose while she can learn to mature and take in her surroundings and be more thoughtful in that front.

Another interesting note is that where we are with Yanqing currently is in the middle of his arc, we've had the time to see him take a long route of struggle to get to this point, exacerbated by irl players views of him. He's in the middle of his growth and we've had since 1.0 to get to know him. But with Yunli, she was introduced very recently, so we're technically at the "beginning" of her character arc. In a way, Yunli now highlights how far Yanqing has come and changed, and in a way Yanqing now is a potential show for the arc that Yunli can have (not being the exact same as him of course).

I think the idea with these two is that they develop to be more balanced. Balance is such an important thing, especially in Chinese culture (Daoism (Yin-Yang), etc.), and 2.4 has shown how much potential they have to make for amazing character arcs.

It's cool that while they have such similar base traits, they're so different from each other. Calling Yunli a female Yanqing or Yanqing a male Yunli is simply outright incorrect. Their backgrounds, upbringings, ideals, swordstyles, perspectives, and positions in life are so distinct. I'm looking forward to their futures!

[tswwwit]

just reread whump au for the nth time now, and it suddenly occurred to me what in god's name would've happened if dipper just straight up kicked the bucket right after saying, "i love you."

i can't imagine bill's reaction would've been a good one. i'm getting chills just trying to picture it, honestly.

in fact, just the image of dipper dying in general, and seeing the aftermath of that from bill's pov, has my whole body breaking out into goosebumps.

awesome.

also, let's just assume that bill hasn't yet figured out the whole reincarnation thing in this scenario aha

(i just really like angst okay? lmao)

Oh man, Bill? Oh Bill. Bill.

He would be very, very upset.

Also this is a good opportunity for the ol' classic:

[missholoska]

happy halloween!! I've been spending the past 2 weeks working on a short comic about my soriel kid and despite my best efforts it won't be done in time, so for now here's a preview 🎃

[omppupiiras]

as per @formulalakana 's lovely idea, here's my first and last gig videos/photos of käärijä

the first time i saw him with my own two eyeballs i only filmed a bit of the mic mac dance (at the cafe pori jazz gig)

aaaand the latest was the UMK rehearsal

kovemmalle tuuletinta etc 🔥🔥

[liquidstar]

Oh fuck tomorrow I'm going to be a little birthday boy I keep almost forgetting

[saszor]

i followed you for your art references on drawing disabled people and i just wanted to thank you so much for your kindness!!! i really liked ur post on burns/scarring & i saw ppl were being really fuckin weird about it. if u decide to take it down would it be okay if i saved the photos? i have no intention of sharing them online, im just teaching myself how to draw 😆

Hi! Feel free to save it as long as you're not reposting it anywhere 👍

[koka-mi]

My grandma is coming over to do a bit of my hair. I'm sooo tempted to bring my tablet with me so I can work on my kyosaya drafts while she does it, but if she happens to look over my shoulder like the NOSY MF SHE IS she's def gonna notice the homoromanticism goin on there if she looks at the wrong time. am I willing to risk that.........

[hauntingjasper]

We are all afraid of something...

I wonder what Prince Gumball's biggest fear would be?

There's an episode (Five short tables I think) where it shows that he's afraid of dying alone/his own mortality to some extent. I imagine that because he's long-lived and most likely has watched many people die before him, he's scared that there won't be anyone else by *his* side when it's his turn. There's no way of knowing when or how, he wouldn't be ready for it, so that's probably double scarier for him. He's an anxious fella

[jewishcissiekj]

working on the Asajj recommendations again

[laotwormz]

hi did anyone order a lin lie appearance spreadsheet. and a carrd to match

based heavily on the boostle and jaime reyes spreadsheet except Lie doesn't have a lot of major titles so I've organized them by whether he appears as Sword Master or Iron Fist instead

also slightly less updated carrd i made a few years ago that i dont remember if i ever posted but incase anyone wants a guide that doesn't jump around a whole lot

[blackswallowtailbutterfly]

Still haven't messaged my mom back. And I don't think I'm going to.

[phoenixfiiire]

Tentatively maybe returning tomorrow, maybe... friday? Depends on vibes and what me and Sera are doing.

There is going to be a rule change for my own comfort. This sounds ominous and for all I know it is but I don't have the energy to really write it out eloquently so I'm just going to ramble in tags for now.