#Just realized this is the first time I've actually shown what colors one of the characters is UHRMMM.

[atskiruma]

he makes you cry

expl: he doesn't usually care about others' feelings, so how was he supposed to know what he did to you was mean?

a/n: appalled that this is my first time doing my favorite geo boy, appalled and ashamed; also exhausted this might not be my best work, requests sent will be fulfilled soon, i just need some rest! just got hired at a job that i went for an interview with today, so work will slowly be coming out later and later, sorry!

ask me anything

masterlist

second-person writing no pronouns used, 2,818 words

Xiao was not fond of caring about others' emotions, nor did it ever occur to him that he should care. He tried to keep his life as simple and as peaceful as possible because he deserved it after everything he went through before. Which was why he was so confused when someone would cry in front of him. Xiao never cried when times were hard, what made those salty tears escape human eyes so easily?

Most of the time, he never saw people cry, and if he did, he ignored it. That's how he was taught to deal with emotion, he'd ignore it.

It began when you were up in your room at the Inn, minding your business and trying to figure out how to make the woven bracelet that the Traveler had taught you. Frankly, it was pretty difficult, and when the Traveler was teaching you, you were so busy watching them that you never actually learned.

The hours were beginning to fly by and you could hardly make out the original pattern you were trying to replicate. Repeated failures over and over and piling yarn began to stack up on the bed next to you. It was when you had finally gotten it down to only mess up again because something distracted you was when you finally snapped.

Throwing the bracelet across the room where it rested under the table, streams of hot tears began to roll down your cheeks in frustration. You were doing everything right, why wasn't it working!

It happened to be the same time you were leaving your room when Xiao was strolling down the hallway. The two of you made eye contact and his eyes flew to where the tears were running toward the bottom of your neck. His eyes widened only a little bit and his mouth opened and closed like a fish only to not know what to say.

You also stood still and stared at him. Why? Maybe you were just waiting for him to comfort you or you were curious about what he had to say. But when it was clear that he'd keep gapping like a fish, you started to walk off again. Only for him to grab your wrist before you made it too far and pull you a bit toward him.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a soft voice, hardly making eye contact with you and finding his shoes on the floor more entertaining. It was shocking to see him show such concern in general, but you remembered why you were upset and started to ball again. Pushing yourself into his chest and crying warm tears into his shirt.

His hands fumbled on the sides of you for a while until he rested them softly on your hips. Awkwardly patting you in a form of reassurance he'd never shown anyone before.

His face was pretty flat when you began to show signs of distress and sadness. Albedo was too focused on his experiment to even realize that something went wrong on your end. The sound of a beaker crashing to the floor sounded across the room, but he still kept looking forward, hardly hearing anything at all.

That sound kept up for a while, you were pretty sure you broke at least 5 beakers in the time it took for you to get them from the spare cabinet. It wasn't until the 6th beaker that you managed to catch did Albedo actually turn around to see what had happened.

His experiment seemed to be going fine, the color of the liquid sitting at the bottom of the beaker matching the picture right next to it perfectly. You sighed when you saw he had already beaten you to make the antidote.

"I don't know how you do it 'bedo. This one is probably the most difficult I've done." You said before wiping your forehead which was littered with sweat from how hard you'd been concentrating.

"Just try again, I'm sure you'll be able to complete it." He said, his encouraging words going little to no length and falling straight to the floor. It didn't help that the trashcan full of your previous broken beakers was so close. It was extremely discouraging to see how much damage you've caused just trying to learn how to brew the antidote.

Then Albedo took his leave, putting his things down when he realized the clock read 9 PM. Bidding you goodbye, he looked back one last time with his handle on the doorknob and spoke. "Humans sometimes do not carry the skill to complete such a difficult task, do not push yourself to do something you simply can't achieve."

And then the door shut. All you did was stare at where he previously had been, his words repeating in an endless loop shrinking infinitely into your mind.

"Huh?" Was all you said before a warm feeling rushed down your cheeks and landed on the toe of your shoes. Did he just call me stupid? You thought to yourself. The frustration you felt along with the fact that he just said that, caused a rush of salty tears to leave your eyes. Your eyelashes stuck together as tears mended them together.

You continued to stand there and cry, until the door opened again and the alchemist stuck his head back in the door, announcing he forgot something towards the floor. That was until he lifted his head up to see you standing there, crying. For once, he stood still and just stared at you unable to conjure any words for the scene he was witnessing.

The sniffles and the silent sounds of tears padding the floor were all that was making sound in the room. As Albedo continued to stare at you like the two of you were playing a game of freeze tag.

"I'm stupid aren't I 'bedo?" You said, which made him flinch when the sound of the nickname you gave him came out in a harsh and rude manner. "Too stupid to figure out the dumb potion because I'm just a mere human in your eyes."

"What're you talking about?" He said, with the quietest and most emotion-full voice you've ever heard him use. Albedo continued to step closer to you, almost as if he was never moving at all. When he finally did reach you, his hand brushed against your cheek and his eyes held so much concern it could fill up the sea.

"I don't think you're lesser than me, is this about what I said? I didn't mean it like that..."

You kept sniffling while looking at him, still stubborn for more than what he was giving you. His arms reached around you and held you close, something he often did when Klee would sob, which he learned from Jean.

The two of you stood like that for a while, until the blazing sun rested its eyes in the distance, and the sorrowful moon began to creep up the valley.

"What is wrong with you??" Tighnari's harsh voice came out in a way you only heard once in a while. His irritated look glared at you from where you stood, all you had done was knock down a few books, but it looked like other things were really beginning to upset him.

You expected to greet the forest ranger and spend some time together, seeing as the both of you made those plans a while ago, but it seems that he was really busy with something that he was supposed to finish a while ago.

He whipped his head back to look at the beakers on the table, making a very loud and audible sigh at your appearance here. "I'm busy, so make another time for..." He waved his hands around dramatically and quick, "Whatever it was you were planning and leave me be."

You stood silent for a while, shocked that he was giving you such an attitude, but at the same time, you had no idea how to respond to what he said. So, you did just that and didn't respond, turning on your heels and leaving. Unfortunately, Tighnari didn't hear you leave and assumed you were still sitting there waiting for him like usual. So when he turned around and opened his mouth to address you and apologize, he stopped in his tracks to see you weren't there.

When you saw Tighnari again, it was actually just his voice you had heard and your eyes didn't flicker to see if it was actually him. Collei was holding some sort of dinner for the forest rangers in the area, to both thank them and congratulate her for beating Eleazar. But you finally did see him when it was too late, and you were bumping into the forest ranger with food in your hands.

A shocked gasp came out of your mouth till the echoed noise of a bowl rumbled onto the ground and crashed down, the food flying along with it. Your distressed state increased, and you immediately flew down to try and clean it up.

In fact, you were so busy trying to clean the bowl of food that had spilled over that you didn't even realize the forest ranger was standing behind you with his hands behind his back. Until the call of your name was repeated for the 3rd time, did you turn around to look at him, tears in your eyes from how frustrated you were?

Tighnari's eyes widened before he immediately dropped to his knees and put his hand on your shoulder for comfort. It shocked him to see you in such a vulnerable state, especially with how cheery you always seemed around him.

"What happened? Are you alright?" Tighnari said, before moving his eyes down to the food splattered all over the dirt. You didn't even realize how much helping out at the party would stress you out. As soon as Tighnari muttered the words are you alright, tears flooded out more and more as you tried to hide your face in your hands. Your shoulders and body shook with how much you were crying. Tighnari moved closer to you and shielded you with his body.

Not only did he treat you terribly before, but the first time he sees you in days, you were crying? His heart felt like it could break then and there. His hand came around your back to soothingly rub circles on it while you continued to sob. His ears even flattened a bit on his head in guilt.

When Collei had come around the corner to see the pasta salad splattered on the ground, and Tighnari hugging you with his tail between his legs. She smiled and sighed a bit, before walking away to leave you two be.

It felt like a long time while the two of you sat like that, his hand never stopping to rub your back. You finally pulled away to look at him and Tighnari rested his hand on your cheek in a comforting manner.

"I'm sorry I treated you like that, I was irritated and you came in at a bad time. I never want to hurt you." His guilt-written face and ears practically flattened to his head making your heart beat in a painful rhythm.

"You can make it up to me by helping me clean this up?" You said as a sly grin grew a little bit on your face. He smiled back and rolled up his sleeves to begin cleaning.

Scaramouche was a mean boy, everyone knew that he had no filter and he acted as if he didn't care about anyone when in reality it was the exact opposite.

"You're pathetic!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, looking at your shocked expression and stance from across the room. You had just failed to do the task that Nahida assigned you again, and it seemed like the newly-found anemo holder was growing more and more impatient watching you fail over and over.

"Excuse me?" You spat back, clearly irritated with his outburst and pushiness. Scaramouche scoffed again before trailing over to where you were, Nahida watching the interaction from her desk.

"You've been doing it all wrong, and that pathetic idiot brain can't seem to comprehend that." His fingers flew a swift flick to your head, pushing you back a centimeter. "If you keep failing, shouldn't you be trying something else instead of pushing the same solution over and over? Moron."

His insults over and over were hurting, sure, but you were used to it. When you felt good. Right now, this was the last thing you needed after failing again and again. At one point you even glanced over at Nahida after failing and saw her face look a bit reluctant about your skills. Which increased your anxiety tenfold.

"I never knew someone could be so stupid. I even worked with morons every day in the Fatui, but none match up to how idiotic you are." Scaramouche just kept blasting insult after insult at you. What was with him today? Was he really that peeved you didn't wait for him in the morning to walk over here?

Moving aside and putting your hands up defensively, you made way for the prince and his smart brain. He moved in front of you and began looking down at what you were doing. It looked like Nahida was still working with you on Fermat's Last Theorem, which was an extremely difficult math equation, back in the 17th century. Scaramouche made a noticeable eye roll before sitting down to begin writing out how to solve it.

What he didn't see was your reaction to the last flinching insult he threw your way. He didn't witness the tears swell up in your eyes and he also didn't see you walk away and leave the sanctuary. Only witnessing your presence gone when he looked up to turn another sarcastic comment towards you. Scaramouche's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before looking around him to see where you went. He turned towards Nahida when he couldn't find you and she looked up at him before looking back down at her papers.

"Tsk, whatever." He pushed his seat back and sat up to leave, wondering what he should have for dinner instead of concerning himself with where you went. It wasn't until later in the evening when he saw you again, sitting back at the desk, not uttering an obnoxious sigh or an irritating "What does this mean??"

He eased himself over to you with his hands in his pockets before leaning behind your shoulder to see what you were doing. You were working on the problem again, but his copy of it was nowhere to be seen, that is until he looked towards the trash and saw his handwriting on the paper barely crumpled and resting near the top of the bin.

"You threw away my paper?" He said with irritation lining every letter. You kept writing though and paid him no mind. The silent treatment seemed to be really riling him up because he continued to berate you over and over as you sat there taking it and continuing to work.

It was only an hour later that it really started to bother him with you being quiet. Maybe what he said earlier was too harsh, he didn't really feel that bad, but if it meant you weren't going to speak to him then he had to do something.

Leaning over you again, he placed his hand on your upper arm, grabbing your attention from the unusual act. His eyes met yours and held the stare for a couple seconds before he spoke,

"I'm sorry." That was all he said.

You raised an eyebrow at him, before squinting your eyes in confusion and responding.

"Sorry for what..?" The sarcasm dripped from every syllable and landed on his fragile ego.

His eyes widened and he took his hand from your arm, frowning and shouting back,

"I don't repeat myself! Accept the apology I gave you."

"You're such a child, does saying sorry really hurt that bad?"

"You heard me!"

Your eyes rolled and you turned back to your paper as if you were going back to ignoring him, his eyes softened again and he grabbed your arm once more.

"I'm sorry I said those mean words to you. I didn't mean it, I don't like it when you leave without me and I don't like it when you're upset."

When he grabbed your arm, you didn't turn to face him again, but after hearing the words he spoke, you turned again with a smile on your face and leaned closer to his.

The blush was evidently growing the more you leaned in, and you could see his adam's apple bob with nervousness.

"I accept your apology Kunikuzushi."

[scimagic]

Pride and Joy (Mr. Puzzles/Bi! Female! Reader)

───── ⋆ ⋅ ⋆ ⋅ ☆ ⋅ ⋆ ⋅ ⋆ ─────

After a conversation about sexual orientation, you ask Mr. Puzzles a bit of a heavy question about himself and realizations ensue.

Happy Pride Month!! I usually try to keep my content as reader neutral as possible (I don't like to assume things that the reader might not be!) but this is more self-indulgent than usual and I hope you forgive me for that! To celebrate this month, why don't I hit my f/o with the bisexual beam? Hope you enjoy!

"… Puzzles, no offense, like— at all, but do you think maybe you're… gay?"

The TV host sputters in surprise, "I�� excuse you?"

"Again, no offense. But to me it kinda sounds like you… haven't really thought about it."

The TV grows silent, no doubt a frown taking the place of his smile. For once—instead of snapping back and waving away such a silly statement—he actually gives it a thought. A sparingly rare one.

He looks away with a nervous hum, shoulders slumping as you walk along the sidewalk. You both keep a slow pace, trying to refrain from tripping as you walk and keep a conversation that is surprisingly much more serious than you anticipated to have.

The leaves of the trees rustle and provide you shadow for your evening walk with your boyfriend, a walk you offered to have as a casual little date. You thought you could stop by stores to shop, or a cafe to sit down, but at the moment— your conversation turned into this. Identity questions, personal preferences, things to better know each other.

But maybe this one was a bit too far...

He was very open about his upbringing, sure, but it sounded like even he didn't know what he liked in people. You suppose that a life like that didn't have much room to explore things about ones self. Let alone explore partner preferences. Hell— you would say you're very lucky to even have had a chance to date him.

Regardless...

You let him gather his thoughts, silently waiting for his response. No use in rushing these type of things, after all. They take time. Otherwise it would be messy for both of you.

Puzzles turns back to the ground below, and like you guessed— with a nervous expression on his screen.

"It's… complicated. I've seen shows about it, but ah… they've never really spoken to me as such. Perhaps some actions… and some… other things— tsk— but! Hah! I mean! Only recently I've been shown the media I consume is not always true to the actual thing so what do I know!?" He sarcastically and painfully exclaims, a view that got shattered to him when you became friends, yet one he's starting to grow out of. He's aware it's for his greater good, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt him still. To be lied to. To know your years of comfort were a lie.

He huffs angrily as he turns away again, shaking his head before glancing back at you.

"Am I..?"

"Are you? Only you can know that for sure, you might know the answer to that already..! You just… haven't realized it yet."

"…"

He grows silent again, nervously fidgeting with the cloth of his gloves.

"Then… maybe?" He shrugs. "I feel… something, yes. But— but I like you too..! As well… If I am— what would that mean for you? For us?" The host frowns, growing even more nervous at the thought of something happening to his first ever real relationship.

"I don't want to let you go just for this!" He waves his hands in front of him, exasperatedly motioning to your situation. You catch one of his arms, hooking it together with your own as you try to gently ground him.

"Hey—! Hey..! No, nothing has to happen to us! You can like both, you know?"

He takes a pause, looking at you as if you just told him the most confusing riddle ever known to man.

"Huh?"

"Yeah! I like both! I like boys and girls. I uh— have a preference for men but I still like pretty girls." You rub the back of your neck, smiling sheepishly at him.

"… Oh."

"Oh…"

The faintest of heartbeats beeps across his screen, tainting it with a light rose color as the line bounces where his cheeks would be.

"Huh… That…" he looks down at the ground with furrowed eyebrows, then looks back up at the horizon, "fits."

"Yeah?"

"Yes… Only— that's not the term, is it?"

"Ah, no. We're bisexual. You and I."

"You and I… Yes… Yes! I like that!" Puzzles beams happily, smiling wide at you as he squeezes your hooked arms.

"I like that very much."

[jeding-png]

Enjoy chapter 153 cuz next week there is a break—

Bon appetit, dear readers~

Today's chapter is just as delicious as the previous two, but this time, SUOL-nim has blessed us with a break from crying.

Let's start with Derrick and Ivonne's conversation!

In the novel, this conversation should have happened earlier, that is, we observe a similar situation as in chapters 86 and 87 (if I'm not mistaken, the conversation between Penelope and Reynold was also shown there at a different time).

Little Eckhart siblings and Ivonne holding Derrick's hand... it's so cute, especially in such colors—

In the preview for the chapter, it was written that each brother spends time with his sister. That is, Derrick spends time with Ivonne, who has finally returned, and Reynold spends time with Penelope (in the chapter, there are quite funny frames with them).

I'm actually a bit moved by the Derrick and Ivonne moment, but especially the frame with the three Eckhart siblings. Because you can see how Derrick blames himself for everything that happened. It can be seen that he has not accepted the loss of his younger sister for years, unlike the Duke and Reynold.

Yes, Derrick even has tea with her on the day of Penelope's coming-of-age ceremony—

But what is interesting is that the entire chapter did not show us Ivonne's emotions and gaze. Seriously. Therefore, it seems as if the stories where the girl from the stories about the disappearance of the real daughter are different from the one who actually returned.

Congratulations to Ivonne for finally being able to wash her hair outside of the sea and change her clothes!

But back to the coming of age ceremony!!

Did you want to see Penelope in a tiara? It's time! Look how beautiful she is!!

I like the fact that Winter's necklace was indeed, as written in the novel, slightly superfluous for Penelope's image. Mostly, it seems so because of its gray color, in contrast to the pastel blue colors of other decorations.

Magic works in this world, so the petals that resemble the same Elenvik flowers don't just fall out of nowhere, lol.

In the novel, it was said that Reynold even raised their hands even higher so that all the guests could see and have no doubt that the brother and sister had a good relationship, which also prompted an increase in Penelope's reputation.

I can't put into words how impressed I am with the costumes of the characters. Indeed. They look just fantastic. I especially liked Reynold's costume. The peculiarity is that SUOL-nim always draws outfits that have exactly the same style. That is, a certain element of clothing that we can see and immediately recognize for which character it is.

Also, I'm glad to see the same Reynold's ring that was in the first chapters of the manhwa again, haha. No wonder it is on the middle finger—

But nevertheless, in my opinion, this is an important moment of the chapter!

A conversation between Reynold and Penelope mentions the moment they last met, when Reynold was brainwashed.

Somehow you see what a mouth is for and that it can be used for talking and not just for kissing. Isn't that right, dear Callisto and Penelope?

You see images that were real and from the point of view of a brainwashed Reynold. He didn't act as if he deliberately wanted to reprimand Penelope, but on the contrary, to stop her.

Penelope sees Reynold and realizes that he is at least now brainwashed.

And now the moment I've been waiting for for a very long time!..

YES, THESE ARE THE SAME RABBITS THAT REYNOLD GAVE PENELOPE!

In the next chapter, there will be a rather interesting conversation about how Reynold tried to make a rabbit the color of Penelope's eyes. It's really cute moments between them.

But look at the similarities and differences between Derrick's and Reynold's gifts.

they both presented living beings;

both have similarities with Penelope's appearance colors: Derrick gave a bird the color of her hair, and Reynold tried to create a rabbit with the color of his sister's eyes;

different subtext and symbolism of gifts;

the bird has no one to communicate with, it is alone in the cage, and there are many rabbits, and they are quite fragile, but when they hatch, they are unlikely to live in a cage.

In this chapter, I smiled, while Penelope hardly did, if not at all. The chapter is over on the rabbits... so anyone who wanted to see Callisto, he will be in two weeks :'D

[ice-cream-writes-stuff]

Home is Where His Heart Is

《You are visiting an odd town that isn't on the map.》

《Human Au》

《Warnings: the subject matter this ARG has are potentially disturbing. Welcome Home was created by Clown and artwork shown by @/partycoffin.》

-

You had decided to use the vacation days you've been saving up. You wanted an adventure, something to make you feel alive and ignore the monstrous strain of your workload for a month.

So here you were, driving to an odd little city that you couldn't recall ever seeing on a map.

The air was sweet and the sky was clearer than in any place you've been to. After driving around for a few hours, you find a cozy little Bed and Breakfast next to a farmhouse.

A young tall woman with colorful short-haired locks greets you timidly at the front desk. Adorn in a simple shawl with a few rainbow feathers here and there on her hair and clothing.

She signs you on the guest list and tells you what your room number was. Handing you a key, before she happily tells you what tonight's dinner would be...

If you'd like to join her for supper that is!

"Sure! I'd love to!"

She happily leads you to a dining area where a few other guests sat. Digging into what you assumed was soup, she and you chat about this town and neighborhood.

Asking her about the "Must sees!" Or any activities that might be happening that you might wanna watch out for.

"Hmm, not much, I'd say... Oh! Actually, the church is holding a festival in a couple of days. That's something to look forward!"

"Have you gone?"

"Almost every year! But I think this one might be my last year, so I'm gonna make it count."

"How so?"

Poppy, is what she asked you to call her, smiles.

"Well, I've been fancying a man for quite some time. So I thought it'd be my last time going solo."

Poppy brings her shawl closer to her chest.

"I'll be turning in, see' you in the morning (Y/N)." The woman said quietly, leaving only a small trail of feathers behind her.

-

After a refreshing sleep, you gaze around your room. Before immediately jumping out of bed and heading to the small balcony in your room.

"This is living, God I needed this so much." You state, fondly gazing at the melting colors in the sky for morning daylight.

You stop daydreaming when you feel your bones become sore from holding your position too long. Stretching your arms behind your head, you yawn.

"Excuse me!"

Startled by the shout, you gaze around the ground below. Falling onto a handsome young man sitting on a small rock with a canvas beside him. Realizing you could be ruining his painting, you shout

"Sorry! I'll leave now!" You call back, slowly backing away from the railing.

The young man hurriedly gets up from his seat, flailing his hands in the air dramatically. Calling for you to wait, which you did.

Listening to the man apologize for bothering you from below the balcony.

"I just came to find some inspiration on this fine day, I didn't mean for it to drive you away."

He calls up to you, thankfully not too loudly. Even if you were on the first floor.

"It's fine... You're fine." You call down, embarrassment evident in your voice. Slowly backing away from the rail. "Uhm, I'll just... Go."

You rush away and back into the safety of the drapes and curtains. Fiddling with the soft fabric, a dreamy smile makes it way on your features.

You think you're gonna love this vocation.

-

[Taglist open for a day!]

[Human Au! I just thought what if the puppet show was just a really weird colorful town that is unfamiliar? Fan art, reblogs, hearts and comments are always appreciated!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I told my aprents about my brother vaping?

I (16F), have a brother (14M). For some background, over the years, we've gotten into a lot of conflict, but overall today, we've come to understand each other a lot more, and I genuinely enjoy spending time with him.

My parents, more specifically my dad (65), took on this kind of predisposition regarding my brother, where hes the big troublemaker "thug" (not my words), and he's compared him (even if he wasn't fully aware to realize the weight of his words), to my older half-brother who ended up spending most of his teen years as a dropout, who ruined his career due to a lot of immature volatility directed at others.

While in some part, I can understand my dad's thought process, and how there's definitely fear there, what with my brother getting in trouble at school, and often getting into a lot of shit with his friends, my brother's also shown a lot of positive characteristics more recently too, and I'm really proud of him for that, and I've *seen* his struggle.

I've seen how stuff like this and other things my dad has said make my brother feel, and its the only reason I'm so unsure about telling my parents

Around a week ago, I went to go wake my brother up for school, forgetting he wasn't supposed to go that day (suspended), and saw him sleeping in his bed next to a vape. Initially, I didn't know what to do except for take pictures of it and decide to confront him later, not initially wanting to get my parents involved.

i eventually forgot about it completely, what with all me being distracted and getting sick, and now today, and I've found him on his bed with a vape next to him again (Its a different vape this time, too).

The first one had a very colorful design, so I guess I had just hoped it was some sort of weird imitation candy or something??? but now im genuinely not sure of what to do, since I really don't want him getting in serious trouble (not only that, but he has asthma, so it could pose an actual threat to his health.)

I hardly know anything about vapes or what kind of stuff they put in them, but im genuinely worried he could form an addiction and/or fuck up his lungs.

Im worried that my dad would never give him any amount of freedom afterward, and that he might lose all good faith in him, I dont want that, but I'm worried if there isn't any kind of action, he wouldn't really change, and I don't want to ruin my relationship with him.

WIBTA?

[blue-rose-soul]

Ooo love the devil’s bastard au

In one of your precious posts you mentioned Charlie and Nicaise meeting in heaven and getting to bond. How do you think a meeting like that would go?

They wouldn't know who the other was at first. It's an act of fate (me) that brings them together. I've seen a few different people say that the winners in Heaven don't remember their lives on Earth, but I haven't heard this until recently, and even if Vivienne did say it, I'm hesitant to take Word of God as the absolute truth until it's actually shown in the show proper. Things change in the writing process, you know?

That said, I like the idea so I'm going with it.

As a winner, Nicaise also has some deer-like traits. Her heavenly outfit is all creams and golds, she's got soft doe ears and white speckles across her cheeks, shoulders and arms, as well as a pair of cream-colored wings. Even with the deer traits though, Charlie doesn't make the immediate connection. She's a dark-skinned Creole woman who speaks with a distinct accent from Alastor's, so there's a bit of a disconnect in Charlie's mind.

They probably run into one another while Emily is showing Charlie around, perhaps at the zoo. The winners haven't been informed that they're hosting a guest from Hell because the heavenborn angels don't want to cause a panic or anything, but it becomes clear within a few minutes of conversation that Charlie's different from everyone else in Heaven. How amazed she is by the simplest things. Her sheer awe at the koala. The smell of brimstone that clings to her.

Now, Nicaise knows there's something... off about Heaven. She's known it since she first arrived and she felt like something important had been stolen from her. She just can't put together what that something was. Over the decades, the heavenborn angels have tried to placate her, reassuring that there is nothing missing from her life and that Heaven has everything she'll ever want or need. She calls bullshit. But, realizing she's not going to get anywhere butting heads, she opts to go the more subtle route, seeking out like minded winners and bringing them together. Together, she and her allies have been trying to figure out what the heavenborn are keeping from them, what they lost, but they've hit a lot of walls. Sera is too difficult to approach, and not easy to trick, Emily is just as in the dark as they are, and Adam... Well, Nicaise knows how to deal with repulsive men. But Sera realized pretty quickly what Nicaise was doing and forbid Adam from speaking to her or her cohorts, so that line of investigation was cut short.

Needless to say, Nicaise is thrilled to meet people from outside of Heaven.

She probes Charlie for information and Charlie is plenty happy to talk to someone from Heaven who doesn't seem politely disgusted by her lineage. (Something about Charlie's description of her father strikes a chord in Nicaise. She can't quite solidify the thought.) Emily is surprisingly open to the topic of conversation as well; Sera's never told her any of these things!

Nicaise knows that she must have had a life and a family back on Earth, but it's not until Charlie starts talking about souls passing to Heaven or Hell that she really understands what this means. For just a moment, the veil lifts from her memories. And then they're gone again, like a dream. Charlie, on the other hand, is more than a little peeved that Heaven is actually preventing winners from remembering their own lives. Yes, some of the memories may be painful, but these are their lives! The souls have a right to them, regardless of how painful they were! It's her first hint that Heaven might not be as idyllic as it seems.

Unfortunately, Charlie's meeting with Heaven's higher ups means they don't have as much time together as they would like, nor will they have any way to contact one another once Charlie returns to Hell. But she's left a lasting impact on Nicaise and has an ally in her and Emily both. Emily tells Nicaise everything that happened in the meeting, including the revelation of the exterminations. Nicaise passes this on to her group, who pass it on to more people who pass it on to even more people.

Soon winners all over Heaven are questioning and Sera is panicking. Things get worse for her when Sir Pentious shows up in her office. If she's going to maintain order over Heaven, she needs to find the people responsible for spreading disorder, and get rid of them. Fast.

[koalaphoenix]

I was going through my art folder on my phone and realized how far I've come with how I draw Shay (and her different forms).

Way back in 2021 I drew her for the first time. She effectively came from a dream I had, where I lived her life in one night. But the struggle was I never actually really saw what Shay/I looked like in the dream. I knew what I was, who I was, but not what I looked like, beyond my hands. One of the most spectacular dreams I've ever had, by the way.

So early on when I was streaming, I decided to take a crack at drawing the dragon woman I'd been in the dream. I couldn't even really remember my/her name, although with help from my friends it came to me.

The first sketch was... Rough, at best. I had no clue how to draw an anthro creature, which Shay effectively was. I used multiple references to even sorta rough out what I wanted, and the result was not spectacular. But it was a start.

Then I was memeing with my friends about our D&D characters. I fully intended to RP as Shay when we began a campaign. It led to the version above - the first proper drawing where I was mostly happy with her overall design.

Late 2021 and I tried to push myself a little further, although I still didn't know what I was doing.

Art block hit me like a truck for a few months. When I finally managed to get drawing again, the results were initially really, really bad. But it wasn't too long and I drew what would end up being a far more finalized version of her design, the template for many future works. She was a more agile figure than her design sketch. I adjusted her horns to make more sense anatomically, and to fit better with her hair.

And also I drew abs on her.

Then there were several more drawings. I touched on alternate versions, put her in some fun situations as self indulgence, tried to experiment with difficult poses. There was a lot of struggle, as I still couldn't quite get her head shape consistent.

Then I found some new resources, and on a whim I drew what's becoming my favorite alternate version of her: Shayaa.

(Flat color iteration shown)

Shayaa was born out of two thoughts. I wanted a version of Shay that was a little thicc, and I wanted a version where she hadn't been abandoned. This ended up with her in armor, and was a leap forward in terms of quality and some design cues. The softer snout, more defined mouth, and thicker horns ended up really helping me draw her more consistently.

I was worried that it was one of those cases where I went beyond my actual ability and wouldn't be able to replicate it, but I was mostly wrong.

I decided I wanted to adjust "prime" Shay's design a bit, to improve her visibly aging and to widen the gap between her and Shayaa to emphasize their differences. I thinned her up a bit, made her muscles more lean, and rounded her features to make her appear more youthful - she's in her early 20s at the start of Godbreaker, but I saw her design as more in her late 20s or early 30s. She was always intended to be more lean than I'd drawn her, but skill issue. I also kinda hated parts of her default outfit, they seemed off and weren't the easiest to draw.

And now? I'm pretty satisfied with her design. She looks younger and more lean, and ideally a little less "civilized." Her hair got spikier to make it easier for me to draw - I suck at floofy hair. She's still pretty big, at 6'7" tall, but she doesn't look like a brick house anymore (nothing wrong with that, I love brick houses, she was just not intended to be that).

But yeah. Going through the old art, a lot of which I can't add to this post, it really hit home to me how much in such a relatively short time she's changed since the first real sketch, how much I've changed...

...And how much has stayed the same.

Aaaand to not end on any sort of deep moment, holy shit her old feet were HUGE.

[tallsc]

AvA Red Character Analysis

In AvA and AvM, it's common for the Color Gang to have an intuitive, almost mind-reading-level awareness of their friends in a fight, right? We've seen the masterful level of coordination between them all in tight situations, it's a skill all the sticks have. But I've noticed Red seems a little more intuitively aware of their friends than the others are, and that both leads to one of their greatest skills, along with what may be their greatest flaw.

Red might not be the best at building, or make the smartest decisions *coughmilkbucketclutchcough* but they are an incredibly quick thinker and can tell in just a moment what their friends need, to the level of seeming to gain skills by just interpreting what others need them to do.

Let's start with Monster School as an example for this. The way Red took charge wasn't to just do everything themselves, they would always quickly come up with a plan to help the monsters beat each challenge. Getting Enderman to attack Red, throwing Spider at Orange Team so they could all continue, even recognizing that Skeleton needed to use a bow in a different way to aim better. Red isn't even an archer, but they recognized in just a moment that Skeleton wasn't entirely bad at shooting, they just needed to use a bow differently than normal.

But hey, that might just be a stick thing, right? I did say before that all sticks were very good at intuitively recognizing other's needs. But no, Red continues to have this tendency to be a little quicker than the rest on other episodes too. There's a trend in a lot of the Animation Vs something-that-isn't-minecraft where, if someone (usually Orange) asks for something, Red's the first to understand and respond - shown by opening fullscreen in Vs Arcade Games and starting a new game in Vs League of Legends. Plus, speaking of arcade games, Red's not even good at these games but still was great at helping Yellow save Green in the Tetris section. Maybe they're just better at Tetris than they are at Breakout, but this seems like a bit of a trend.

There's more little examples I have in mind, but I think the point is across. Red's a quick thinker, and good at immediately recognizing what other people need them to do, so they're a very good support for their friends in a fight - no wonder their preferred weapon is a shield. But hey, at the start of this, I said this was also a flaw, right? All of this seems pretty helpful so far, so what is this flaw?

So, the problem with Red's skill is that they don't really realize that others aren't as good at adapting to abrupt changes as they are. This seems a little counterintuitive, but there's a difference between recognizing what people need them to do and recognizing how people feel, Red's very good at the former and sometimes not so great at the latter.

To explore this, let's go back to Monster School. While that episode was absolutely Red's time to shine, it also showed us this same flaw. At the last challenge, Red threw Spider off a cliff so they could use their webbing to get the Yellow Team in the air. While Red's plan did work out in the end, Red seemed to expect everyone to understand immediately, when none of the monsters actually did. Spider just panicked for a moment before catching themselves on the way down, while Enderman and Skeleton took it as a hostile action, which... is understandable, considering Red just threw their friend off a cliff. But Red didn't show any indication that they realized how their action looked to anyone else. They just expected the monsters to understand like Red would, casually waving them over instead of making any attempt to calm them down and explain.

Now, all of this together makes Red seem impulsive at a surface level, maybe a little rash and reckless. And yes, that is partially true, but it's also just that Red quickly forms ideas of what should be done about a situation, and expects their friends to catch on quickly and back them up. So they rush to start games, because after all, most of their friends like a good adventure, and it'll probably happen anyway. They spontaneously color all the block textures black and paint them, because it's faster than fixing them and will get Yellow out of trouble. They...

...rush into battle against a known enemy. Because they know a battle's inevitable. And they think their friends know that too.

This scene was always incredibly painful, but thinking about this analysis made it hit even harder. Red wasn't trying to be reckless, they just knew that Dark was a threat. They started the fight and expected their friends to follow and help too. But nobody did. Red acted a little too quickly, assumed a little too much, and died for it.

And they were gone before they saw their friends step in to help.

Well, if you read through all of this character ramble, thanks! I hope you enjoyed - well, idk if enjoyed is the right word considering that last part - but I hope you found this interesting at least. I really like making analyses like this (if you've also seen my Deltarune your-choices-don't-matter analysis too, you probably guessed) so I'm very likely going to make more.

Edit: 1 this has become so much more popular than I thought it would be, thank you so much everyone, 2 I have some commentary (and a drawing) relating to this analysis after episode 30 so here ^-^

[mrbensonmum]

TV Show - Dr. House | House M.D. XI

The end of the sixth season is not only near, it's kicking the door in with a cane. Just now, in the last episode of the season, the construction crane collapsed. And man, have we been through a lot.

Towards the end of the fifth season, things really heated up. First, we got to see "The Social Contract," another very interesting episode, as I mentioned before. Then, with "Locked In" and "Simple Explanation," things got intense, and before we knew it, the tone changed, and House found himself in the midst of a crisis.

Of course, we can't overlook that this crisis had a trigger, a pretty intense one at that. One morning, Kutner didn't show up for work. Many assumptions were made, and when Foreman and Thirteen went to his apartment, they discovered that Kutner had shot himself.

This was already the case before, but from here on, the series unabashedly plays with colors (Color Grading). The mood is often supported by a dark, blue tone or a light, soft, slightly orange tone, making it even more clear to the viewer. This happens right up until the sixth season and occurs again and again, depending on how intense the various moods are dictated by the story.

I also found it intense that Amber was brought back into play here. She had become an important link between House and Wilson, even though it looked different after her death. This also reminds me of a description of Amber that I should have mentioned much earlier, where she is described as being like House and how Wilson actually wants to be with House. It's interesting because that's exactly what happens in the sixth season when House and Wilson move into the new apartment. For a brief moment, they're a couple, and it just fits incredibly well. It's just a shame that the lovely Sasha Alexander has to suffer because of it. It's fascinating how she has changed since the first two seasons of NCIS.

We wouldn't be with House if everything were easy. So, House himself has to go through hell again before he is actually taken to a rehab center on a second attempt. Anything else wouldn't fit, but I also felt a little sorry for him here because realizing that his dream was just a dream, where he didn't end up with Cuddy, was pretty harsh.

The sixth season then starts with House's stay in rehab or in a psychiatric hospital where he meets interesting personalities. This includes Franka Potente, who is mainly known from German productions, which pleased me at the time. She is also one of the few German actors who can dub themselves, which was very well done here. I really like this story arc because it shows the ups and downs of House and his realization that constant rebellion may not be the right path after all.

Of course, many important topics are addressed again in the sixth season, one of which is euthanasia. It has been shown or hinted at several times before, but here it appears several times. One time, it's even not from the patient's perspective but from the doctors', which is incredibly unusual. The most impressive was also the instance where House was locked in with a dying patient and increased his morphine dose in the end.

The other major topic is, of course, Chase's act. He caused the death of a patient who was a dictator. This episode has raised questions over and over again, and rightly so. Is that okay? Is that justified? Just as I write about it, I realize that I don't want to delve into this topic as much because discussions about it are exhausting and not good for me right now. But everyone has to decide for themselves, especially in such a profession, what all of this means for them, ethically and morally.

I've skipped over some episodes and topics now, and that's somewhat intentional. Because while the sixth season does focus on the patients' respective illnesses, it focuses even more on the developments of the protagonists. Foreman and Thirteen and their relationship. Taub and his wife, how does their marriage progress? Wilson and his love life! Cuddy, Lucas, and Rachel? And of course, House and his attempt to be happy, which becomes more than clear in the last or penultimate episode with a session with Dr. Nolan. All of this is extensively dealt with in the sixth season and leads to some back and forth, which I don't mean in a negative way. Because even though there were already developments before, those that occur in the sixth season provide a breath of fresh air and keep the series at a high level of entertainment.

However, to come back to the penultimate episode of the sixth season, I can really understand House. You do and try everything, work on yourself, do your best, listen to others and their expectations of you, but in the end, only others feel better, and you feel worse. It's an absolutely terrible feeling, to put it bluntly, and no, it's not just because he's depressed or the pain is getting worse again. House is an overthinker, and he has already thought about a lot. No, it's a realization of the fact, and this is then reinforced by what happened in the last episode (the leg amputation). I don't condone what he does, but I can understand it.

The last episode is almost finished, and I'm not sure anymore how season seven starts; I'll indulge in that in a moment. I still remember quite a bit, but as often happens, it's a bit jumbled, so it's even more exciting.

Bonus: There's one more thing I'd like to write about because it was an episode that personally moved me. "Locked In" was again an episode where I felt very understood. Because even though the Locked-in Syndrome actually exists, there's another variant that is rarely talked about, sleep paralysis. A completely normal process where the body, once it falls asleep, becomes paralyzed so that we don't use the body too much while sleeping and dreaming. But it can also happen that you wake up, can breathe normally, move your eyes, but otherwise, you're practically paralyzed. Absolutely not a nice feeling, but again, kudos to the series for bringing attention to the fact that this exists and is something serious.

Oh yes, of course, I also noticed that Meat Loaf appeared in the fifth season. A great artist who heavily influenced my music taste in the 90s. Unfortunately, he has also left us, but I hope he rocks hard somewhere else.

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

I'm not being rude or evasive and if so, forgive me. I just have this doubt: why don't you illustrate baela with black skin like in the HBO series?

I'll tag the artist, @aifsaath in on this too, in case I'm speaking out of turn, but it is indeed something that we definitely discussed when we decided make this fic happen.

The simple answer is that we're writing from the book canon, and we went with book descriptions when possible, including their coloring and their body types. Of course, whenever there's an adaptation, the actors portrayed in the show are going to be the ones who first pop into people's minds, regardless of whether the fic is set in the book canon or the show canon, and that's fine! In fact, my first long-fic is based more on the show-verse, and I described that Baela as she appears on the show, with curly silver hair and brown skin. To me, they're different canons and there are legit reasons to choose one or the other, or to mix them up. For this fic we wanted to stick to one consistent canon rather than mixing and matching, and since the majority of the events that happen in this fic have not been depicted on the show yet, and won't for many years to come, we decided to go with Fire and Blood. Less simple answer below the cut.

Here's the more complicated answer. While the show chooses not to focus too heavily on this aspect of the world building, the Valyrians are racial supremacists. They believe in blood purity and consider themselves to be better than non-Valyrians. The Targaryen dynasty in particular has built a whole mythos around Targaryen exceptionalism based on their special blood, but the blood is shown time and again to not actually be all that special. It's a lie, like white supremacy itself is a lie. Targaryens can't get sick, until they do. Only those with Targaryen blood can ride dragons, until Nettles comes along. Targaryens must marry their brothers and sisters, and nothing bad will come of this because they are a special exception, but it literally ruins multiple people's lives and causes at least one massive war. The Valyrians weren't special chosen ones, they were slavers, eugenicists, they practiced blood magic (heavily implied to involve human sacrifice), and their hubris led to their doom. And while it's kind of heavy handed, it's not coincidental that GRRM made these folks pale haired and pale skinned and made them obsessed with preserving Targaryen purity. OFCIR is critical of this, and we did not think it was a great idea to make George's fantasy version of white supremacists into POC since they are blood supremacists in our fic, something the show waters down a lot, at least so far. George has actually said that he once had the idea of making ALL of the Valyrians Black, as a kind of uno-reverse on white supremacy, but realized that would probably be a bad look and scrapped the idea.

Some fans are also very attached to the idea of the special blood actually being special. Online I've already seen people arguing that Nettles, who was written in the books as a Black woman, could simply be of Velaryon blood (nevermind that the Velaryons were not dragonriders by blood, Addam Velaryon rides a dragon, probably due to centuries of Velaryon mixing with the Targs), when in Fire and Blood it is heavily implied that Nettles tamed a dragon the good old fashioned way (by feeding it!) rather than bonding to one by blood. And when Rhaenyra believes Nettles is fooling around with Daemon, she throws around insults that imply Nettles' blood is impure, calling her "common," saying Daemon would never lie with such a "low creature," and finally accuses her of sorcery to tame her dragon, saying, "you only have to look at her to know she doesn't have a drop of dragon blood in her." Hair and eye color alone can't be what she's talking about either, because book!Rhaenys has dark hair, and Rhaenyra's own sons are brown haired and brown eyed. And while I have no doubt that the show will likely change this storyline significantly, we are using book canon. For what it's worth, I think it's significant that the one canonically Black dragonrider is the one who does not get her dragonriding skills from her "pure" Valyrian blood, but through skill and perseverance. It's a deconstruction of racial supremacy, but it doesn't work if she is simply another hidden Valyrian.

But you might have noticed the art gives Aegon a more golden skin tone, and that's because his mixed heritage is a part of his story. And although later on some Hightowers are described as having light blonde hair (possibly because Rhaena marries into the bloodline), Oldtown is very close to Dorne, and the southern part of the Reach is closest to the Summer Isles of any part of the realm. Oldtown is this major trading port, with people coming in and out from all over the world for thousands of years. Oldtown has a history of being a center of trade for a lot longer than King's Landing has, so we imagine the southern Reach as being as pretty diverse place, a bit like the Mediterranean in our world. It's fair to say you'd have Reacher families with a wide variety of skin tones, which is why you see that in @aifsaath's drawings of Aegon, and in our descriptions, he is indeed darker than Baela.

[fuchsiareign]

Rules: List the First Line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there's a pattern!

@holylustration hehe

I post fic so rarely it hardly seems worth it but I really wanted to harass someone with this lol

1. “What seems to be the problem?” asked Doctor Mitchell, reaching for the pencil he kept in the bib of his overalls only to pause when he realized it wasn’t there.

2. Promeathea looked well by firelight, even through the broken glass of Rhys's office window - the interior of which was simple but elegant, much like the man himself- from which one could watch the city below as it burned.

3. Cybertron is dying.

4. How strange that Starscream should weigh more in death than he did in life.

5. The Commandant was tall but not dark, unless you counted his wretched personality, and handsome is really more a subjective term, but as far as Sparrow was concerned, he passed.

6. The spark of life which animates every living Cybertronain is not merely a metaphor but an actual, physical presence which shall forever remain beyond the understanding of living mecha. A nearly perfect sphere of glittering light and colors, hard as diamonds and just as beautiful.

7. “You don’t look so good, Sai. We can take a moment to rest if you need it.”

8. “Forge-mother Alga has tiger stripes," she whispered, awed.

9. It was not the first time an ‘anonymous’ gift had mysteriously shown up in his otherwise secure lab, but Starscream’s completely justified caution wouldn’t allow him to open the brightly wrapped package without at least a precautionary scan.

10. “That is the most disturbing thing I have ever seen…” Deidara said flatly.

So far the only pattern i see is that I've been doing this for a long time now 😅

[nottoofondofgaypeople]

In Regards to Gene

Content warning: abuse, r-pe, and light discussions of World of Warcraft

In a previous post that I have since taken down, I discussed the idea of the Shadow Knight Polycule and their victims in Laurance and Vylad. And in this discussion I really got away from myself and wrote some stuff that seemed... well not great at the time, but fitting for the characters and the story I wanted to tell. This reading wasn't very kind to Gene, but I've never been kind to Gene. I've been treating Gene like a punching bag since I first had to suffer through Phoenix Drop High Season 1, and it only worsened when I had to suffer through Lovers Lane.

As a result I hadn't thought about MCD Gene in a more sympathetic light until after that post went up. It was after that post went up that I started doing more ruminating on the Nether, The Shadow King, and the absolute horror of a Shadow Knights existence. It was after this ruminating that I realized that what happened with Gene was that I was treating him well...

Like Arthas Menethil. For a bit of context for those of you who haven't lost brain cells over World Of Warcraft, Arthas is basically the biggest evilest villain in WoW, but he's a villain the player can see the entire rise and fall of. The first campaign puts you in his shoes as a young paladin, and you watch as he constantly makes the worst, most violent, most evil choices through the entire campaign. Arthas is just an absolute and unapologetic monster who creates so many victims through his entire miserable existence that he keeps mementos of them.

And a lot of WoW fans try to characterize Arthas' story as a hero's fall thing? Like he was a good person who was corrupted by bad forces, even though you're shown him being a vile evil person before Frostmourne and the Lich King start fucking with him. Arthas was just a monster looking for an excuse. And I think I let that color my perception of Gene because he really is similar to Arthas in a lot of ways. He's pretty evil, manipulates people like nobody's business, uses magic to do so a lot, has a tense bitter relationship with an old companion, harasses one particular woman with white hair and an association to the color purple a lot, and the actual text of MCD never encourages the viewer to take a sympathetic look towards him, just like WoW.

As a result, I wrote him a lot like Arhtas, which in hindsight, might have been too harsh. Gene does have some redeeming qualities, and honestly with enough work he could possibly have been redeemed at some point. The tragedy of Gene in my rewrite is that said point in time has long past. Anyone foolish enough to try doing so now won't succeed.

Gene was not a good person before the Shadow King found him. A person worth understanding? Yes. A person with a chance of redemption? Maybe, depends on how Dante feels. A person who was also a victim of the Shadow King? Yes.

And that's where I changed my tune on Gene. While I hold the belief that Gene was far from perfect before he got turned, he still had a chance to be a good person before said turning. And the process of being broken down from the person he was into essentially an extension of the Shadow King was not kind to the remnants of a good person left in Gene. So, I want to be a little kinder to Gene.

Cutting the idea of him using Laurance I think it happened exactly once, and the context of it changes the scene from being outright r-pe into a dub-con territory. My previous characterization was dangerously close to the territory of "abuse victim becomes abuser", which I never want people to take from my work. I think that whole thing happened partially out of Gene's control and was really one of the moments that made him doubt what he was doing. These doubts are really too little too late though.

The degrading of Gene's relationship isn't entirely his fault either. While he still clearly loves Sasha and Zenix, the Shadow King calls on him more and more, pulling him away from them. And when the Shadow King breaks Zenix it only gets worse. Gene and Zenix are pitted against each other because the Shadow King realized they were both having silly little thoughts about free will and would turn against him. This polycule was never going to last because if the three of them got along and were normal and without the Shadow Kings influence for like two days they would have started a rebellion before Laurance ever even entered the Nether.

I think Gene struggles to show affection while around others. If Sasha or Zenix flirts with him around other shadow knights, he gets really tense and uneasy about it. But the minute they're alone it's endless kisses and apologies and reassurances. Despite having a skewed understanding of love, Gene is very good at showing it. Gene feels like someone who loves in an overwhelming sense, you feel like you're drowning in his love, for better or for worse.

Gene is not going to get redeemed in my rewrite. But he will be humanized. People will try to call him a violent thoughtless monster, and Sasha will gladly assure them that he is a violent calculated monster with thoughts and emotions that's being tormented by the voices of the departed. Gene will never be seen as a hero by his family, but he will likely never know if he has a family to begin with. Gene is a character who deserves better, but has lost every chance at it he possibly could have had.

[hansoheeglobal]

Han Sohee's Bra Top Shows Off Her Charm by Wearing Red Tights and High Jewelry.

Han Sohee's bra top shows off her charm by wearing red tights and high jewelry.

Q. You've had a lot of overseas schedules lately and been staying in Paris for a week. What do you do when you go to a city other than Seoul?

A. I'm a total lodging person, so I spend most of my time in the room or taking a walk around the neighborhood. When I look at the night view of the city through the window before falling asleep, I feel like I am realizing that I am overseas. I try to get a good night’s sleep because I tend to recover my condition easily as long as I get a good night’s sleep.

Q. This time, you witnessed the presentation of the ‘Carte Blanche’ collection at Maison Boucheron located in Place Vendôme.

A. I couldn't believe it was designed during a time when I was depressed due to Corona, so the color and shape felt experimental. Not only silver or gold, but I was able to see jewelry in a variety of colors. There were designs that naturally melted in everyday life, but the jewelry with bold designs that became a point are especially memorable.

Q. After several photo shoots with〈Bazaar〉, Han Sohee's bright and radiant face was published on the paper. It was your first photoshoot after becoming an ambassador for Boucheron. What was the experience like?

A. Each cut has a different concept, so it's one shot, but I feel like I've been together for many moments. It was a very impressive experience as it seemed that I tried an active and bold production suitable for jewelry in the photo shoot.

Q. Jewelry makes you feel great the moment you wear it. What would be your favorite piece of jewelry?

A. Since I enjoy wearing dresses, I often wear necklaces that can be layered. I especially like vintage earrings. Even if you wear the same clothes and are in the same place, you can change your mood with just one piece of jewelry. Actually, I don't think my hands are pretty, so I usually wear earrings or necklaces depending on my mood that day. I also use ear cuffs when wearing casual clothes.

Q. Youfinished filming seasons 1 and 2 of the Netflix series <Gyeongseong Creature> not too long ago from last year. You took on the role of Yoon Chaeok, a todukun (a person who searches for missing people) who is in danger of survival while crossing Manchuria and Shanghai. What did you prepare for by playing this role for a long time?

A. Although I was attracted to the background of Gyeongseong, I think I was greatly attracted to the character Yoon Chaeok, who lived in that era more fiercely than anyone else. While acting, the most difficult thing is to find an intersection with her while living a whole day or two as the character. It's my biggest homework. This time again, I was absorbed in finding that point.

Q. In works such as Nabi in <Nevertheless> and Jiwoo in <My Name>, you also revealed that you've been playing characters who are far from a flat life, but this work must not have been easy either. Is there anything new you realize as you work? Do you think you are getting better?

A. I constantly doubt myself. Rather than the concept of progress and retreat, I think more about whether I can make myself not ashamed of the word "acting"

Q. Many people who have met Han Sohee often refer to expressions such as ‘unintelligible facial expressions’ or ‘cool aura’. Have you ever wondered why?

A. It wasn't my own intention, but it seems like people appreciate my unique appearance. (Laughs)

Q. What do you do when you want to get out of the way people want to see Han Sohee?

A. In fact, fans know many different sides of me, but I want to show a lot of comfortable sides to those who don't know.

Q. Blogs are the places where those human aspects are shown the best. In an interview with <Bazaar> 3 years ago, I remember saying that when life is tiring, it is more comforting to calmly tell about everyday life that is no different from you rather than baseless optimism which “everything will be fine.” How's the pretty tricky rule climbing club you revealed in your October post last year maintained?

A. Me and my friends seem to have no sense of time. I didn't see her, just talking and leaving.

Q. Looking at a recent post with a 220 size foot picture, I guess you have your own way of getting close to people. When I read the blog post, I thought I could understand what kind of person you are.

A. There's no other way, but when I feel like I want to get closer, I act first. Most of the time, I tend to approach people who can share my honest thoughts and attitudes.

Q. You also upload drawings of plants and bodies. What do you think about when you are painting?

A. I don't draw with intent or purpose. When I wake up without thinking, I tend to draw anything with an oil paste.

Q. There was a time when you said that you wanted to shoot a movie yourself. In a recent advertisement video, it became a hot topic by showing a scene paying homage to director Park Chanwook's film.

A. I like movies with primary colors and mise-en-scène. I really like director Park Chanwook's films, so while filming, I paid homage to numerous works and thought a lot about whether I would fit in well.

Q. What kind of story will the movie Han Sohee make someday be?

A. The story of a weak character who is not good at sports.

Q. What are some guidelines or truths in life that you engrave now or always?

A. ‘Life is fleeting. However, we are living in the present and are only beings that will disappear later. I think that it is enough to be grateful for what is given, not greedy, and just live.”

Q. You entered 30s by accepting changes more actively than anyone else. What does 30 mean to you?

A. I only think that the first digit has changed.

Q. How would you like to spend this time?

A. Although the image of myself that I hoped for is becoming vague, I always want to throw myself into the given work and spend it without regret.

Note: it's a rough trans so expect a lot of translation error.

[sayakxmi]

[Magi reread; special edition] Episode 2: Dungeon Suite [Part 1]

Y'know, I meant to do the ops and eds on the side, but tbh feels a bit pointless? So I'm making up for the op here.

Fun fact! I actually used to dislike V.I.P.! I like it, now, but at first it was just kinda meh to me. Idk what changed. But still Hikari >>>>>>> Honestly, Hikari and With You With Me are still best op/ed in Magi to me, and that will not change. But I am also extremely biased towards the Magnostadt Arc. Can't wait for it.

I like it when they're allowed to be a trio. And also how it's shown from Morgiana's perspective. The world was so dark until these two came around.

You seemed like you were gonna be more important than you ended up being, and I'm a bit sorry.

Ugh, this dumb bitch (I love him).

My beautiful daughter who deserves every good thing in the world and a very not cool boyfriend with a stupid horn on his head.

Fun fact, I've only noticed that lil prince Alibaba on xth rewatch.

I love the door scene, ngl.

Anyway, I also really liked at the beginning the scene with Ugo, and how it transitioned to Alibaba. It's both cute and a bit sad, too. Alibaba's kinda filling that place Ugo's about to leave empty.

Ok, the actual episode.

That's still a really cool shot.

Also, I forgot to mention. But in the anime Aladdin and Alibaba become genuine friends far faster. But that's also bc the first few chapters were juggled around a bit.

Aladdin gest tired of summoning Ugo much faster here, and, yeah, he just faints a little, pushing Alibaba and himself in.

Wheeee

It's a cool scene, and I like it very much, but also, that's the exact opposite of what happened in the manga. I've mentioned it before, in the manga Aladdin wakes up first and has some time to calm down, so he's more level-headed when Alibaba gets there, and he is the one to save Alibaba by convincing him not to rush in blindly. Here, well, clearly Alibaba wakes up first (because Aladdin's already kinda fainted), notices the danger and gets them out.

You guys remember all these chibi Rolling Girl animations?

We had a moment with Jamil (I don't recall half of the oasis trying to convince him not to go), but it was a funny scene, bc it transformed into Aladdin and Alibaba running and screaming.

He's just like me fr

ALSO now that I realize. In the manga Alibaba actually makes a point to prepare for the dungeon. I like that, it shows that he's being understandably cautious. But here they just straight up ran on Ugo from the desert, and went in without a second thought. Well, that's not true, Alibaba was thinking about what it entailed, but he didn't actually consider preparing or anything at all, only asked if Aladdin wanted to turn back, cuz it was his last chance.

Oh, yeah, Alibaba's thinking about it, now. Good that he's aware of that, but, like, it's quite a difference.

This scene is still hilarious.

But also, man, purpla saliva looks kinda sick there, ngl.

Oh, yeah, I wasn't imagining it. They used white outline for it.

Alibaba has a pretty cool fighting moment here, ngl.

AGAIN. Man, they really made Alibaba save their asses left and right. In the manga it was, again, Aladdin, who called for Ugo. Like, bro, what the hell.

Like, listen, I live for Alibaba being allowed to be cool and all that, but not at the cost of other cast members?

Now Aladdin's calling for Ugo, so at least that, I guess. But it sure took him ages to do anything.

WASTED

But also, I gotta admit that Amon's Dungeon is my favorite aesthetics-wise. I love all the colors here.

[meeblo]

I'm now realizing that while I've had it as my tumblr banner and said my blog had spoilers for it in my bio, I don't think I've ever actually posted anything about TBWF. Figured I'd make a post about it to recommend it to those who've never heard of it.

The Boy Who Fell (https://www.boywhofell.com/comic/ch00p00) is a longrunning webcomic by @boggmann, otherwise known as starfleetrambo (or SFR, or suffer). The comic started I believe as early as 2009 or 2010, before migrating to a different website in 2015.

Here is the synopsis as the website itself gives it:

The Boy Who Fell revolves around an innocent, softhearted and almost-spineless boy named Ren who suddenly finds himself in Hell after accidentally falling off a school rooftop. He is then forced to partake in a tournament full of powerful and vicious beings in order to attain his only way of going home: an all-powerful wish from the ruler of Hell himself. As the story progresses, lines between allies and enemies are blurred, dark pasts are revealed, political issues come to light and all the while, Ren slowly realizes that in order to survive this journey, he might have to give up the very things that make him human.

Don't let the tournament structure mentioned in the blurb give you the wrong expectations: the series is highly character focused and very tightly plotted. The series is neither power fantasy nor focused on power scaling, and it doesn't have filler fights. Every fight shown is shown for a reason and matters for the characters involved; unimportant fights are left off screen or breezed through quickly to devote more time to the character conflicts that really drive the series.

If I had to pick one thing that I think is the series' greatest strength, it's the characters and their arcs. Characters are complex and multilayered, with fascinating development as they progress in some areas while backsliding in others. This lends a multidirectionality to every character's growth as different aspects of them are changing for better or for worse at a given time due to various influences. Characters will attempt to influence each other positively, helping greatly in some regards but unknowingly reinforcing their own harmful biases in the other character. Characters may appear helpful and benevolent while toying with or corrupting someone to their own ends or simply for amusement. Seeing the cast, especially Ren, get both noticeably better and noticeably worse in various ways lends a richness to the story that makes every interaction gripping to read.

The story is quite good at slowly building up to reveals and recontextualizing prior events. As mentioned above, characters have biases and the things Ren learns are filtered through those biases. Seeing things through a new lens when those biases are confronted, made clear, or shaken off is fascinating. While the early sections of the comic are less complex than later on as the author gets much more skilled at, they are fascinating to reread due to the amount of things clearly planned out and set up from very early on. Characters who are vitally important 50 chapters later will be foreshadowed from the first handful of chapters of the series, or just straight up appear if you know where to look. Characters read entirely differently when you know what they were saying honestly and what was deception, or when you know the backstory that drives them to act how they do.

The series is initially black and white, with an art style that makes a distinctive heavy use of screentone. Later on, the series transitions to full color in chapter 29. The art gets very good as the series goes on, with some very well set up page structures and paneling that is easy to read while also being dynamic and enhancing the tone of each scene. The series reads right to left by the way.

The series also has a few spinoffs of varying lengths, such as Springtime of Yuuth, an AU where Ren never got dragged off the roof that has a romance focus mixed with working through more down to earth problems in Ren's life, Watchtower and Mapmaker, following a young demon boy who lives in a tower in the desert, Falltime of Ren, a sort of crossover with SoY in which the Ren from the main series gets to spend a brief emotional time in the world of SoY before returning to hell again, The Forest, a prequel chapter exploring some of the backstory of two major characters introduced later in the story (this one costs $5 but it's 200% worth it), Yuu vs the Cosmic Unknown, which is a short goofy Scott Pilgrim parody with eldritch exes rather than evil exes, and Spirit Bathhouse, the NSFW one.

The series and its spinoffs are currently on an indefinite hiatus while the author works on getting her PhD, but the series is absolutely worth reading (and rereading and rereading again) while it's ongoing. Leave positive comments and wish the author well on their PhD if you enjoy the series!

I'm generally bad at judging these sorts of things but I guess trigger warnings for blood at some points? Rarely there's gore. TW for manipulation and gaslighting. Is that a thing people need trigger warnings for? I'm not sure.

Here's the link to the first page again. I'd avoid looking ahead in the archive, some chapter covers are spoilers. Likewise, just going to boywhofell.com without anything else in the link takes you to the latest page, so watch out for that.

[joshiepopop]

Filled out the Art Fight journey template from @artfight! It was actually very fun looking back through my old attacks. Makes me realize just how far I've come! I started doing Art Fight when I was 14, and now look at me! Chat moderator! Absolutely crazy to me how time flies. I met my two best friends through this silly event, and I will never forget that. Choosing my favorite attack was the hardest part, but, after looking around, I really like what I was able to do with that one. It's not perfect, but I love how the colors and effects came together in the end! Characters shown belong to the following Art Fight users! First: tigerwitches Latest + Favorite: plumbeach Most Time-Consuming: KaminooniSeika Most Points Earned: paradice SpottedTheDogged Arctickai fragilistic05 WeafyAnna