#My favourite kinds of designs are the ones that inspire and they both make me wanna draw ♥

[toskarin]

going on the twine rant again, lads. fair warning.

-

the twine editor is theoretically great software

which is to say, twine editor is far and away the best execution of "a text game maker for people who mostly make text and not games" that presently exists. it's notable for making wholly self-contained (read: does not require interpreter software) text games with functioning mechanics at about the level of code literacy you could feasibly ask from people who brushed off of other more complicated software

this is in large part because the text adventure and IF ecosystem has the same problem as the (similarly insular and incestuous) scorewriting ecosystem: all of the software is made to be used by a group of like 50 people who don't use anything else, so they just settle for whatever exists

twine solves a lot of these problems by simply existing as an html game maker that can automate all of the functions of a gamebook out of the box. the editor has features which (to me) seem to be inspired by scrivener, which is my favourite WYSIWYG writing software for longform fiction on the market (I prefer writing in LaTeX but I can acknowledge that's a habit I picked up and not an endorsement of LaTeX)

that being said, even though there's an obvious utility to being able to prototype out rpgs and such in twine incredibly quickly, I can't really recommend people... use twine for that. because of the problems.

the twine editor is also kind of beautiful for all the ways in which it issoftware designed to torture the user

twine exists with one foot in "games" and one foot in "writing" and this overlap is the totality of its intended use. this space of compromise is still the best that's been made for this specific scene, but it means that edge cases are (at absolute best) operating twine in much the way that someone being hanging onto the edge of a shattered cockpit is operating an airliner

I could go on and on about the specific elements of twine's design that drive me insane, and in how it punishes you both for making too much of a book and for making too much of a game, but there's one problem that kind of sticks out as a simulacrum of this whole issue

by design, twine organises its projects as a story map. this is kind of like the middle point between scrivener's storyboard and a whiteboard, but specialised for use in making text games. this means that each node on it is one screen, called a card, that you can open and edit

doing this opens a window for text input, and the exact contents of this window kind of depend on which format you're writing your story in, but as a rule, you write everything into these sub-windows and that's the game

because twine runs in one window, these cards open more like menus than true windows. you can have one open at a time, and when you need to test something, you close the window and press the button to test the game. simple as

now, for making software, it's helpful to have a versioning function of some sort in case, among other reasons, you fuck something up in a way you don't immediately notice

for writing, you usually want some sort of undo function, in case you accidentally delete something or edit over it

at the intersection of these two, twine does have an undo function. which works differently depending on which version of the editor you're using. in the web version, you get multiple layers of undo. that makes sense.

in the downloaded version, which is the version you have to use if you don't want to use your browser's local storage (?? you shouldn't be doing this) you get

one layer of undo.

in a modern text editor.

that you are expected to write in.

this is on top of the browser-hosted version of twine editor being significantly more stable than the desktop version, so that's obviously the version you're meant to use, which runs in stark contrast to like... how that should work. this should already be raising your blood pressure a little bit if you remember that the browser version of twine saves your project files to your browser's local storage

now, common to both versions is another important feature which seemingly exists to prevent data loss: twine automatically saves your changes when you exit out of a card

this means that, the moment you close a card to go test the changes you just made to your game, they are saved over the previous version of the game with no way to undo them

but there IS a way to get around this without having to write in an entirely separate word processor! several ways even. you can even use the downloaded version if you do this

duplicate the full project every single time you make changes that could necessitate an undo function

make a copy of every card you edit in case you need to revert to it after testing, then remember to delete it afterwards

if you're editing the cards themselves, see option 1, because there is no way to undo deletion of cards in the story map

and like... that's not good. it's kind of the hell machine for killing all human beings, actually

it's also not a problem remotely unique to twine, because this is the kind of thing you see in most niche-specialised software where there isn't really a distinction made between "this is an expected frustration of working on any artistic project" and "this is something completely insane that absolutely should not be the case and isn't tolerated in immediately adjacent comparable creative fields"

twine can be used to make longer projects, but at the point where you're recommending two layers of supporting software that overlap so hard with the editor that they should be redundancies, it becomes clear that the only thing it's really fit-for-purpose to do is non-linear fiction consisting of two or three paragraphs per card

and that's generally not what it's used for! because that sort of thing is almost universally understood as a stepping stone towards using twine for making either longform non-linear fiction or full-featured rpgs

twine could be really useful software, and in fairness it's generally better than the alternatives it supplanted in its niche (people making little interactive poems probably shouldn't be trying to use Inform or TADS), but it really seems like it was designed with as a cursed amulet meant to cause as much grief as possible while being difficult to justify throwing away

[thetempleofthemasaigoddess]

Gentleman caller

Sanji x reader. NSFW!!

This fic was inspired by Usopp visiting Kaya at her mansion at night. One Piece of course is not that sort of story, but... what if things were allowed to get a little more spicy?

TAGGING @holymusicalmothman @b7717 @mcereal @aamon47 Thanks for asking!!

*****

"Are you sure you don't want a glass of warm milk before you go to bed, miss?"

"I am sure, Kyla." you answer politely. The truth is you haven't drunk a glass of milk to help you fall asleep since you were ten (that is, almost half your life) but your governess keeps asking, every single night, and every single night you answer no; still, you know she does it out of worry and affection for you, which you sincerely appreciate "I think I'll go now; will you tell my father good-night for me, when he returns?"

Kyla promises she will, and returns to the kitchen to clean up after dinner, while you walk out of the villa's large dining room, cross a long corridor and climb the stairs to the upper floor, finally reaching your bedroom.

Except for Kyla in the kitchen you are alone, since the cook and the gardener, who do not reside in the villa, already left, and your father is as usual busy with a business dinner. You don't feel lonely exactly, since that state of affairs has been going on since your mother died when you were still too young to remember her, but it does feel a little weird to live in such a large place, no less than twelve bedrooms on the first floor alone and at least six other rooms that have been closed for years since you literally don't know how to occupy them, when it's only the two of you... a waste of space, even though you and your father often host parties and receive many guests.

And the most important of those visitors by far is going to arrive soon, a person your father has no idea has already visited so many times before...

You take off your shoes, and spend a few minutes in the en-suite bathroom refreshing yourself before closing the bedroom's door behind you. You sigh, happy and excited, as you let yourself fall on the bed, observing the room you have slept in since you were maybe six and that you will soon leave: the desk cluttered with paper models, scarps of fabric and sewing tools; the two mannequins wearing your latest creations, a green cocktail dress and a simpler but elegant light blue men's shirt; the bookstore full of sewing manuals, fashion catalogs and the biographies of your favourite designers; the large poster on a wall, depicting a famous, elegantly dressed model... and the glass door that, only a few minutes after you have retired to your room, starts being hit by tiny pebbles, picked from the garden below.

Your guest is here. You happily stand from the bed, glance quickly to the full length mirror on the wall to make sure your hair is combed and in order, and reach the glass door to quickly step onto the balcony.

Standing in the garden under you like a suitor ready to serenade you, more handsome than a fairy-tale hero and beaming as if about to see all his dreams come true, is him. The former assistant cook of your family, your best friend in the world, your...

"Sanji!" you call out to him, voice barely rising above a whisper as you wave your hand at him, a greeting he returns in kind, clearly happy to see you, hidden among the trunks of the centuries-old trees; the night is particularly dark, heavy clouds covering the crescent moon and most of the stars, but his smile is brighter than any other source of light.

"Are you alone?" Sanji asks urgently as he glances all around him; no one has reason to visit the garden at this hour and the balcony is oriented towards the back of the villa, far from the main entrance through which your father would come in, but you both know how imperative it is to keep your rendez-vous secrets.

"I am; my dad hasn't returned yet and Kyla is in the kitchen. You can come up."

When you decided you would meet in secret at night, five years ago, you had offered to find a rope for him to climb, but Sanji never needed it. Tonight, as usual, you look on as he nimbly climbs the tree closest to the villa's wall, clinging to the huge trunk and then to the largest branches until he's jumping above the balcony and directly in your arms.

You embrace each other, your profiles standing out against the light filtering from the room, and for a full minute neither feels the need to talk. Sanji's arms hold you close by the waist, his lips pressed against your temple in a chaste kiss; you lose yourself in his scent, the costly perfume you bought for him because you knew he liked but couldn't afford it and and that never fails to make you shiver, as you enjoy the sensation of his slim but strong body pressed against yours.

"Do you have it?" you ask after a while, pulling away just enough to look at him in the eyes; you thought about nothing else for days, more nervous than if it had been your own future career at stake "The answer from the school. Did you receive it?"

"I have."

"... and?!"

Sanji, as usual neatly dressed in one of the dark suits he wears at work, smiles at you, his fingers brushing against your face; a small backpack hangs from his shoulder. "Can we go inside before we talk?" he proposes "I have something for you as well."

Knowing he brought you a treat from the restaurant he works at makes you happy, but nothing beats the simple, pure pleasure of his company. Wordlessly you take his hand to lead him inside, leaving the now empty balcony behind.

*****

Your friendship with Sanji began exactly one decade ago; you were the only daughter of a powerful politician, living alone with him at the villa and whose pathological shyness had left her virtually friendless, him a newly orphaned boy your father had decided to hire as assistant to the cook, so that he could support himself. One afternoon, you visited the kitchen to ask for a snack, since you were starving and dinner was still hours away; the cook told you that he was sorry but your father, already then worried for your weight, had strictly forbidden him from feeding you between meals. You noticed Sanji, busy scrubbing a large pot in the sink, but he seemed so focused on his job you decided not to disturb him to introduce yourself.

You left, disappointed but unwilling to insist, out of respect for both your father and the cook who was just following orders, but a few minutes later, as you studied in the library, he joined you, a nervous smile on his face and a salami sandwich in his hands.

"Please don't tell anyone, especially not your dad." he told you as he put it in your hands "I hope you liked it, I put some mayonnaise on it because I saw the cook used it to prepare your school lunch yesterday."

You did (and still do) like mayonnaise on your sandwiches, and in that moment you were doubly astonished: that he heard your request for a snack even though he had looked so engrossed in the cookware to wash, and that he had decided to risk your father's wrath to help you, less than a week after being hired.

"Thank you, I... thank you so much! That was very kind of you." you told him, for once forgetting your shyness "My name is (name). What's yours?"

"I'm Sanji. And don't worry; I'm sure your dad means well, but no one should starve, especially not at our age. Don't tell anyone, ok? I know he forbade the cook from feeding you snacks, and i'm not supposed to visit the family's wing of the villa without a valid reason."

You obviously kept his secret, and from that day on, you and Sanji quickly became inseparable, spending together all your free time from school and work; he secretly fed you every time your father's concern about your weight made the cook limit your meals, and you used your allowance to buy him cooking books he studied to pursue his dream of becoming a famous chef. Apart from your father, you had never loved anyone like him; Sanji was the other half of your soul, an acerbic but steadfast feeling that made you sure you would never feel alone, as long as he were by your side, and you would not have left him for all the treasures, and the good food, in the world.

Your father, who was happy you had finally made a friend and didn't mind you had chosen the kitchen boy and not one of your school mates, who belonged to the city's most affluent and prominent families, never had anything against it... at least until you were both fourteen, when he suddenly decided it was inappropriate for the two of you to spend so much time together; as a sign of peace, he found Sanji a more prestigious job in a famous restaurant at the other side of the city. That, in your father's opinion, would have meant the end of your friendship, but it obviously didn't: and after all, with all the sandwiches and portions of dessert he had snuck you, hadn't your friendship been based on secrecy since the very beginning?

For five years Sanji has spent with you almost every evening he is free from the restaurant; he climbs the trees next to your balcony and you let him in, and sometimes you spend the whole night talking, or leave together to visit a bar or go dancing. Is it dangerous, should your father discover what you are up to? Undoubtedly so, especially since you know he only worries about you, whether it is about the food you eat or the places you visit in a large and dangerous city; but you are an adult, more than old enough to decide how to live your life, and Sanji is always ready to protect you when someone bothers you in a club, and he would never feed you something that could seriously endanger your health. You don't know why exactly your father has suddenly decided you mustn't be friends with him anymore, but you are determined not to lose him, especially now that your relationship has started evolving beyond mere friendship... and your own dreams risk separating you forever.

*****

"So? What did the school say?" you insist as Sanji closes the glass door behind the two of you; your heart is pounding, wishing with every fiber of your being you could change the decision the commission must have taken days ago "Did you get in?"

For years Sanji has dreamed of attending the most prestigious cooking school in the country, the Baratie Culinary Arts Academy in the capital; this year he has finally reached the required age to enroll, but the entrance examination, that your friend has taken two weeks ago, is notoriously difficult, especially for who, like Sanji, also has to apply for a scholarship. Your friend was meant to receive the results of his exam today, and you had decided you would also share your own secret with him... and then, hopefully, you would both have something to celebrate.

"I'll tell you in a minute."

"Sanji, please... I haven't thought about anything else all day!" you complain, fearing your friend's reticence is due to shame for his failure; Sanji, busy emptying his backpack on your desk, smiles, before rubbing the back of his head.

"The truth is... I haven't opened the letter yet." he admits "I hoped we could do it together... mainly because I don't have the courage to do it by myself."

There is nothing wrong with wanting a friend close when one is both scared and excited for something, but in that moment your heart breaks for Sanji: he has lost his parents, had to take care of himself since he was still a child, and while he has a good job and could try again next year, being refused admission to the Baratie would break his heart.

You wait patiently as Sanji quickly sets the table for the two of you: cutlery, napkins, glasses, a bottle of water and his latest effort in the kitchen: two portions of a delicious chocolate cake, bigger than what your father would allow you to eat but still relatively small, since your friend does care about your health.

"This looks delicious, Sanji!" you exclaim, as always happy to taste your friend's latest creations "But wait..."

You walk to the small fridge next to the door, almost hidden under a pile of scraps of fabric left over from your latest creation and that you will find a use for one day, and retrieve a small but expensive bottle of champagne that you have bought in the afternoon.

"I thought we could use it to celebrate; I have also taken two flutes from the kitchen." you explain.

"I still don't know if I got in, (name)."

"I'm sure you did. And if the chefs at the Baratie can't see, and taste, how extraordinarily talented you are, it's their loss." you point out "You wanna open it?"

A minute later you are sitting face to face at your desk, cake and champagne ready to be enjoyed, the white envelope Sanji took from his backpack in your hands.

"Shall I?" you ask softly; your friend, who has never looked so pale and so young, nods.

"Please."

You both hold your breath as you open the envelope and then unfold the single sheet of paper inside. You make sure Sanji cannot see your face as you read...

"So? What... what does it say?"

"Sanji, I'm so sorry..."

"Oh, God..." your friend, heartbroken, stares at you for a moment before slumping on his chair, face hidden in his hands "I can't believe it... I was so sure..."

"I'm sorry because you have some very difficult years ahead..."

"... what?"

"Of course. Nights spent studying, sharing a room with six other people, waking up extra-early to go to class... Really, I don't envy you..."

Finally you look at him, beaming, while Sanji's eyes grow bigger as he slowly catches the meaning of your words.

"You mean...?"

"You got in! And you got the scholarship as well. Oh, Sanji, I'm so proud of you! I knew you could do it!"

You stand and embrace, laughing with shared delight. "I can't believe it." Sanji murmurs, still as he looks at the admission letter, signed by Zeff, a famous chef who is the Baratie's headmaster "There were so many people at the exam, and at one point I was so nervous I spilled a bowl of vinaigrette on my apron..."

"As I said, an important school like the Baratie, with so many experienced chefs, couldn't not recognize your talent." you point out, happier than you remember ever being "Classes start in a month, you'll have to give your notice at the restaurant."

"Yeah..."

Sanji takes your hands in his, kissing them devotedly. "I could have never done it without you." he murmurs, with the sort of gaze and inflection that, years after your first kiss, still makes you shiver "All the books you have bought me... and it was you who convinced me to apply. I owe you so much, (name)."

"You would have done the same for me; and we both know the two of us are beyond this sort of talk. I am so happy for you, truly; I know you will become a great chef."

Sanji smiles, circling your waist with his arm as he uses his free hand to pick one of the flutes from the desk. "Shall we celebrate, then?"

"Actually..."

"Actually?"

"Actually, I also have something to tell you." you admit, a new, excited smile opening on your face "You know that important fashion school in the capital, the one many of my favourite designers attended?"

Fashion has always been your greatest passion; you have designed clothes since you were a child, and thanks to a family friend who owns a large tailor shop you have learnt the basics of the trade, how to cut fabric, sew and tailor an item of clothing. Your father, who approves of your interests, has offered to introduce you to some fashion designers his friends or associates are acquainted to, but you are determined to accept no recommendations and take no shortcuts; just like Sanji, and any person who has to work hard to realize their dreams, you will pursue your education, earn an apprenticeship at a fashion house, and in time, hopefully, open your own and make a name for yourself as a designer. It will take you years and fashion is a famously difficult field to break into, but you are determined to give your all, so that whatever the future may bring you will be free from regret, and live doing what you love.

"Of course; the Nefertari Vivi Fashion Institute." Sanji promptly answers; miss Vivi is one of your idols, a ground-breaking designer who has revolutionized the fashion world and then focused on teaching, establishing one of the best-reputed educational institutions of the field "So what?"

You smile, still excited almost a week after receiving your own letter, that you asked your father to open for you.

Sanji gapes. "You are kidding."

"I am not!"

Your friend laughs. "And you didn't tell me anything!" he exclaims, and you apologize, telling him you didn't want to disappoint both of them in the not unlikely event you were not admitted.

"But you were?"

You still can't believe it yourself. "I was! There was no exam; I only had to send miss Vivi some of my creations, and a few days ago I received the acceptance letter."

"(name), that's amazing!"

"I know! I can't wait to begin. I also apply for a scholarship, but unfortunately I didn't get it."

Sanji asks whether you plan on asking your father to pay for your classes, but you shake your head: you need to learn to take care of yourself, living alone once you'll move to the capital and earning money to support yourself. To this end, you have contacted a friend who lives in the capital and owns a bookstore: she has accepted to hire you, and you have sold your jewels to pay your tuition fees.

"(name), you didn't!" Sanji exclaims, flabbergasted "Those were your mom's things..."

"I know." you sigh, still feeling saddened and a bit guilty even though you know you did the right thing "But this is my future we are talking about, the opportunity to build a career, and a life for myself, without my father taking care of me or using my family's money to buy whatever I need or want. I want to earn my keep, Sanji; I want to prove I can take care of myself, and that I am more than a spoiled little girl."

Sanji softly points out that no one who knows you could ever think that; he smiles, his handsome face expressing a joy too great and deep for words, as he takes you in his arms once more. "So we are both moving to the capital to study." he mentions "And pursue our dreams. Which means we'll both be very busy..."

"... but we won't have to hide our relationship anymore." you happily finish for him, having already reflected on the matter; you plan on living in a student residence, since their rooms are cheaper than other types of accommodation, and guests are usually not admitted, but at least you will be able to meet in the open, having dates like any other couple instead of having to hide like a married man with his mistress, lest your father learns about your relationship "I can't wait! In a month we'll both be living in the capital, studying with the best in our fields, and nothing will stop us from being together. I... I don't think I've ever been so happy!"

"Me neither." Sanji agrees, one of the flutes in his hand once more "Shall we drink to our future? And then enjoy the cake?"

You agree, but you barely have had the time to clink your glasses together when a sudden noise reaches your ears: an unexpected, but otherwise innocuous noise, at least for who, unlike the two of you, has nothing to hide...

A soft but firm knocking on the door.

Sanji looks at you, suddenly tense; you turn your eyes to the door, wishing to be able to see beyond it. "Yes?"

"(name), it's dad. May I come in?"

The flute almost slips from Sanji's fingers; terrified as if a whole army were standing at the other side of the door, ready to barge in and tear both to pieces, you both nonetheless act quickly, having prepared for such an occurrence since your first nocturnal meeting. Your friend quickly retrieves the flutes and the champagne bottle, while you do the same with the cake plates and the other things placed on your desk; a moment later, Sanji has slipped under your bed, a dusty and uncomfortable hiding spot where nonetheless he'll be safe from your father.

I hope.

"(name)? Is everything all right?"

"Just a moment, dad! I'm coming!" you answer, hoping you sound less nervous, almost terrified, than you feel; you quickly glance all around you, making sure no trace of Sanji's presence is visible, and finally go open the door.

"Hello, dad. How was dinner?" you ask, approaching to kiss him on the cheek; even though he interrupted you and Sanji, you're happy he came to say good-night to you before retiring to his own bedroom.

"Pretty good, even though the lemon cake was not up the restaurant's usual standard. Are you ok?"

"Yes, of course; I was... preparing to go to bed." you answer vaguely, before something in your peripheral vision makes you tense; it is Sanji's backpack, placed where your friend had left it less than half an hour ago: on the bed, perfectly visible.

Shit. SHIT. Shitshitshitshit...

You move a step to the right, so as to prevent your father from noticing the backpack; it is not as compromising as if he had found Sanji's tie, or his shoes, but he could notice the backpack is a men's model, and inside he could find your friend's personal documents, five years after he had forbidden you from having further contact with him. Don't look at it. Don't see it. Please please please...!

Thank God your father, a clever and perceptive man, seems unconcerned with out-of-place objects in your room. "I was thinking tomorrow we could go buy a new suitcase for you; you need a large one, since you'll have to bring most of your things when you'll move to the capital. I hope you'll allow me to pay for that at least."

You smile, grateful for the offer and even more for the intention. "Of course, dad. Thank you."

He smiles, taking your hands in his. "I am so proud of you." he murmurs "I have always known you had a great talent for fashion, but being admitted to such a prestigious school... You'll become the greatest designer of your generation, I'm sure."

"Dad..."

"Please, let me be happy for you. You know I'm always there if you need something, right? I know you have found a job, and you are smart and mature enough to take care of yourself, but if you ever need money, or you want to come home, you can do it; no judgement. Oh, I wish your mom could see you..."

You bite your lip, suddenly unable to talk; a lump of emotion blocks your throat. You are happy, and grateful, that your father supports your desire to move to the capital and attend the Nefertari Institute, especially since he's so protective and you know he wished you would one day follow his footsteps and go into politics, and while you can't wait to start your classes and enjoy life in a big city, the thought of leaving him, and the house where you were born, fills you with sadness... and guilt.

"I... I will never thank you enough for everything you have done for me." you murmur, stepping closer to him to hug your father "And I'm sorry if... if I ever made it hard for you, especially after mom died. I love you very much, dad. I'll be back often to visit, I promise; and I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too, my darling girl." your father answers; he's moved as well, but better than you at hiding it "But I'm so proud you're beginning your life in the world. And I hope you'll let me visit you as well."

"Of course! Every time you can."

"Good. Now, we should both go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

He kisses you on the forehead, and soon after he's closing the room's door behind him. You are still staring at it when, a minute later, Sanji joins you, resting his hands on your shoulders.

"Are you all right?" he asks softly; he has known you long enough to perceive what you are feeling, the love for your father and the guilt for the relationship you are carrying out behind his back, the efforts you are making to build a life for yourself away from his protective but constrictive influence and the way you'll miss him terribly and feel guilty for leaving as soon as you could.

"Yeah, just... I was just thinking."

You sigh, turning to face Sanji, desperately trying to return to the carefree joy of five minutes ago, and drive away the melancholia filling your heart. After all, it is normal for children to find their way in life away from their family, and your father is still young, dedicated to his job and career, and has many friends and a new partner he is very close to; he'll be all right, and whatever loneliness and melancholy he will feel, you know he will accept it.

"Your father is a good man." Sanji points out as you both retrieve your drinks and plates from the wardrobe you had hidden them in "He didn't even know me, but he gave me a job when I was alone in the world, and then he found me an even more prestigious one at the restaurant; every berry I ever earned I owe it to him. I'll never forget all the help he gave me."

You smile, happy to hear your friend talk well about your father. "You still have a good opinion of him even if he forbade us from being friends?"

"Well, I shouldn't resent him for that, since we never stopped seeing each other. And he only wanted to protect you, which I can understand."

You blink. "... sorry? What are you talking about?"

"Right, I... I never told you, did I?"

Sanji rubs the back of his neck, suddenly bashful. "You never wondered why your dad was suddenly against us being friends?"

You had. "Well... I thought it was because we weren't children anymore... and you a boy and I a girl..."

"Exactly, but... there was something else. When I was fourteen, I... I wrote you a letter; there was something important I needed to tell you, but I couldn't find the courage to do it in person. I left it on your pillow one day while you were in school, but your father found it... and read it."

You wait for Sanji to elaborate, but he seems focused on staring at the floor, avoiding your gaze. "It was... something inappropriate for a father to read...?"

"Nothing vulgar, if that is what you are wondering; but... it did say I wanted us to be more than friends, and this is what your father opposed, not that I was an orphan without money and prospectives, but because he thought you were too young for that sort of relationship. So... so he asked me to leave things between us as they were, and when I refused, he decided it was better to separate us, and he found me a job at the other side of town, forbidding me from contacting you again, at least until you were of age."

He looks at you, tense since he has no idea how you could react, but the truth is you don't know either. "He sent you away because he didn't want us to date?" you recapitulate in the end, flabbergasted "What would have been so wrong about that? Lots of girls get a boyfriend at fourteen, and he knew you, he knew you would treat me well..."

"Well, he's always been protective of you. Sorry, maybe I should have told you before..."

"It's ok." you reassure him, even though you are not completely sure of it yourself; you understand your father's reasons, and appreciate he didn't simply kick Sanji out in the street, but at the same time you can't believe all of it was to stop your best friend, a boy he knew posed no danger, from confessing his feelings "I... I'm so sorry, Sanji..."

"Well, it wasn't so bad; and as I said, I really don't have a reason to complain, since we did end up becoming more than friends. I felt guilty lying to your dad... but I couldn't give up on you."

He smiles, as he picks one of the flutes up from your desk again. "Now, can we please have a toast to our future?"

You do, happily enjoying your late-night snack; you delicately clink your glasses together before taking a sip, and then feed each other cake, your knees touching under the desk.

Silence has fallen on the room, and on the two of you, as usual when you are with Sanji a comfortable, peaceful silence that you don't feel the need to fill with small talk; you smile at each other, both happy and excited at the future opening in front of you... a future that you will face together as you have always done, finding strength and support in each other.

"Does chef Zeff teaches any class at the Baratie?" you ask after a while; you know the extent of Sanji's admiration for the principal of the cooking school, and it would be amazing for him to learn personally from his idol.

"Not for first-year students; but I heard that he sometimes gives one-on-one classes, if he finds a particularly talented pupil."

"... which means he'll leave all his other classes to tutor you exclusively, as soon as he tastes your True Bluefin sauté... or your salami sandwich."

Sanji smiles; he knows how much faith you have in his cooking abilities, and he never stops being grateful for it. "You're exagerrating."

"I'm not." you very seriously protest, as you clean your dish from any crumble of cake; you know watching your diet means taking care of your health, but you would happily eat three more! "A month and he'll let you skip a year or two, I promise."

"Well, if you are so sure..."

A few minutes later Sanji is putting the dirty plates and cutlery away in his backpack, while you observe the sky out of the glass door, leaning with one shoulder against the wall.

"Once we both live in the capital we won't have to hide anymore, but we'll be so busy with school..." you consider "I'm afraid we won't have a lot of time to spend together."

"Still, it will be an improvement from what we have now. And all the city's school dormitories are in the same campus, which means we can visit each other every time we want."

You nod, still pensive, and a moment later Sanji's arms are circling your waist, his chest pressed against your back.

"It's going to be all right." he murmurs, his lips brushing against the shell of your ear in a way that makes you shiver in such a pleasant way "We are going to be all right, I promise, no matter how busy we are."

"Oh, I know; believe me, I'm not doubting my feelings, or yours. We have waited for so long to be able to live our relationship in the open, and I can't wait to be able to see you every day, even for five minutes between classes or to cram together at night. It's just..."

You turn in his embrace, almost apologetic as you smile at him. "I feel so happy, as if all my dreams were coming true: attending a great school, not having to hide what we share. It is almost too good to be true; and I'm almost afraid to wake up and find out it really was just a dream."

Sanji is too kind to make fun of your fears; he considers them as he holds you close, equally aware that no matter how steadfast your feelings for each other are and even though both of you have rightfully earned admission in the schools of your dreams, you are both beginning a new chapter in life, and neither knows what future may have in store for you.

Still, it is pointless to worry about tomorrow, and Sanji decides that more than reassure you, he wants to make you forget your fears, even if just for a minute. "You know what I'm thinking about?" he asks after a minute, his tone pensive "That I've been here for at least thirty minutes, and I haven't kissed, or been kissed by, you, even once."

"Ah, that won't do."

"It really won't. So..."

He grins, happy to see you smile as well, and when he lifts your chin with his fingers you obediently close your eyes and offer him your mouth to kiss.

Almost three years have passed since your first time, in this very room, and kissing Sanji still makes your heart tremble; he is sweet but passionate, not aggressive but intense enough to leave no doubt about his feelings, and his intentions. You enjoy the feeling of his mouth on yours for a moment before kissing him back, Sanji's lips hot against yours; you feel him smile, his hands now holding you by the waist while yours gently caress his hair and neck.

"Gods, you taste so good..."

"It's the cake, Sanji."

"No, it's not. You are delicious, (name); absolutely... mesmerizing..."

You keep kissing for a while, as your hands start moving on each other's body; Sanji whispers your name, suddenly breathless, as your mouth descends towards his neck, at first gently pecking at the delicate skin of his throat, and then sucking hard enough to make him moan.

"(name)..." he murmurs again, and you smile, circling his hips with your arms; you nuzzle at his chest, the soft fabric of his shirt so familiar and comforting against your skin, and wish you could stay like this forever.

You feel Sanji's hands move on your hips and back, his fingers brushing against the hem of your skirt.

"I like this one." he murmurs in your ear; he is aware of the effect he has on you and exploits it mercilessly "Is it new?"

"Made it myself." you answer proudly; you had seen the skirt on a fashion magazine, and rather than buying it you had decided to see whether you could recreate it "Does it look good on me?"

"You look absolutely ravishing, my darling..."

And ravish is exactly what Sanji seems intent on doing; a minute later your back is pressed against the wall, with a very handsome, very amorous young chef intent on making you forget your very name.

Sanji's back and shoulder muscles are taut under your hands as they run all over his body, like a beautiful clay statue molded by your touch; you can feel his heart pounding against your chest, the tenseness in his body as he tries to restrain himself in order not to unsettle you, not to take more than what you would be ready to offer. Dear Sanji, you think fondly as you arch your back to press your chest against his and finally, finally feel his hands grab at your buttocks, don't you know at this point you don't even have to ask?

Sanji's jacket is the first item of clothing to go, falling on the closest chair after you helped him take it off; he returns the courtesy freeing you from the heavy sweater you wear, leaving you with a tight camisole, the different colour of your bra visible under it. He smiles, clearly appreciating the view, but a moment later his expression turns serious, almost reverent, as he gazes at you, almost as if he couldn't believe he's really holding you in his arms.

"I love you so much, you know that?" he murmurs, and no matter how many times he has already uttered those words, you know how deeply he means them, how utterly and hopelessly devoted he is to you and to what you hope to build together. To be the object of such an intense ardor is... humbling, since you're not quite sure you deserve it, and you could even feel guilty for it, if your feelings for Sanji were not equally deep and strong. You don't remember a day in which you didn't love him, ever since he risked your father's ire (and, consequently, the job he had just gotten) to feed you, there has always been a special place for him in your heart, a place no one else could ever occupy; Sanji is the other half of you, someone who you don't need in order to live but who you want to share your life with. Without him you could go on; but you know you'll never feel complete ever again.

And to express everything you feel -all the love, the joy that fills your heart when he's by your side and the hopes you cherish for your future together- you are unable to say more than...

"I love you too, Sanji."

... and that is more than a little frustrating.

You know what you share goes beyond physical attraction, but you can't deny it is flattering, and exciting, to know you can have that sort of effect on Sanji, a man attractive and charming enough he would have no troubles attracting a date; you sometimes think about the girls he meets at work, or the clients he could easily flirt with when he has to cover for a waiter at the restaurant, but you know he is being sincere when he swears you're the only one he cares about, and that he has never betrayed your trust. On the other hand, you are not good with words and Sanji doesn't care for expensive gifts, which makes you fear, sometimes, you could do more to prove how much you care for him, and how committed you are to your relationship; the truth is, you love him so much, a feeling deeper and more encompassing than anything you thought you would be able to feel, that you lack the words to express it, and any declaration, no matter how grandiose or romantic, would fall short of your actual feelings.

Then, you suddenly realize, maybe you shouldn't tell him; after all, like your father always says, actions do speak louder than words...

Sanji's stares, eyes wide open, as he sees you take off your camisole. A moment later, he hurries to unbutton your shirt, and you move to help him, and somehow, maybe because you're in a hurry or because your hands are shaking, you tear off a button.

"Oh, Gods..." you stutter, embarrassment filling you "I'm so sorry, I... I'll sew it back on, I promise..."

Sanji shakes his head, as if to say you needn't worry; he is a sight to behold, short of breath, his usually pale complexion turned pink with excitement - with lust. He looks at you, he looks at your hands still holding the two panels of his shirt, and orders:

"Tear it off."

"... what?"

"Rip it off me. (name), please, I want you to undress me."

"Are... are you sure?" you ask again; the idea is more than a little exciting, but the experienced seamstress and future fashion designer in you hesitates at the thought of ruining a perfectly serviceable item of clothing.

Sanji grins, desire and affection filling his brown eyes. "Yeah, sure; it's an old one. Please, darling..."

"As you wish..."

A sound of tearing and ripping fills the room, and a moment later Sanji's shirt, now missing every single of its buttons and irreparably damaged, lies on the floor, while he's naked from the waist up - and Gods, just looking at him is enough to make you forget any hesitancy you may have... including the ones regarding the presence of your father, in his bedroom at the other hand of the corridor.

He smiles, more than aware of the effect he's having on you, as he shamelessly stares back at your body. "Come here, my beauty." he invites you, and a moment later he has taken you in his arms once again, your hands moving on each other's newly exposed skin.

"Let's move to the bed." you propose in a whisper between kisses, and laugh softly as Sanji hurriedly picks you up, bridal style, to carry you and delicately lay you down on the light blue sheets of your bed. A minute to take off your shoes, and he has joined you; you are kissing again as he makes quick work of your bra's clasp, but Sanji stops to admire you, lying under him, and for a moment he seems unable to speak.

"You are so beautiful." he murmurs; he looks you in the eyes, to gauge your reaction and make sure he's not overstepping, before letting his hand brush against and then close around your breast "My (name)... I've waited for this moment since I was maybe twelve, you know?"

"You could have told me before."

"A gentleman never asks, he waits for the lady to offer."

You smile, shamelessly enjoying the sensuality of his touch, the delicious sensation of Sanji's warm hands caressing and stimulating and gently squeezing the warm flesh of your chest; he sees you jolt when the pad of his thumb finds your nipple, and smiles, and you smile with him.

"Well, this lady is offering." you point out a moment later; you want there to be no doubt or ambiguity about what you want "I want you, Sanji. Will you make love to me?"

Unexpectedly, and while you can see the desire in his eyes as he looks at you, he hesitates. "You know we don't have to do it." he softly points out "You don't... owe me anything; I don't want you to think this is something we need to do in order to make our relationship last, or since we have been together for a while..."

"I know. I... I just want to live this with you; I want you to be my first, as well the last. I want you, and I'm tired of hiding it."

"(name), I..."

"Sanji, please."

That last word, as well as the tone you utter it in, being begged to take you in his arms and make you scream, would make even the most dispassionate man forget himself, and Sanji is far from that. In a whisper, he asks you to lift your hips, and takes both your skirt and panties off; he licks his lips as he looks at you, as if anticipating what he is going to do to you, and delicately lifts your foot in his hands. His first kiss is placed on your ankle, and then the second at the bottom at your calf, and the third a bit above it, and then on your knee and on your thigh until Sanji is lying on the bed between your open legs, and the sensation of his tongue and hips doing magic on the most hidden part of you is so delicious, so lurid and at the same time heavenly, you have to press your hand to your mouth to keep yourself from screaming. You can feel the wave mounting inside you, and you couldn't stop it even if you wanted to, and a minute later your first real orgasm hits you, and you are shaking in Sanji's grasp as he licks you like a man starved, proud and excited by the pleasure he was able to give you.

Your eyes meet above your heaving chest; you are both smiling, breathless. "That was... amazing." you whisper, and Sanji grins as he reaches to kiss you once more, neither bothering about the taste.

"We have just started." he assures you "Will you help me with my clothes, darling?"

He stands from the bed to let you take his trousers off, smiling softly as he sees how your hands shake; a moment later he's finally naked, and you can't help gulping as you gently take his erection in your hand, heavy and hard. You swallow, and instinctively lower your face to it to lick the tip.

Sanji jumps. "Shit..."

"I'm sorry, I thought... that was ok..." you stammer, suddenly alarmed "Did I hurt you?"

"Hurt?" he repeats, completely breathless, as if he had never heard that word before "Quite... quite the opposite. I... (name), I..."

He can't find the words to describe what he wants, but thank God you know it already, and this is miles beyond what you had already experience in, but you must be naturally talented, or perhaps this is one of those things you simply know how to do. You keep Sanji's eyes in yours as you take his erection in your mouth, swallowing it almost to the base and using your lips, your tongue and even (cautiously) your teeth to give him pleasure; he moans, bucking his hips, his hands caressing your hair.

"God... you're so good, baby... you take me so well..."

Emboldened, you wish you could make him climax with your mouth, but Sanji asks you to stop after a while, smiling as he sees you pout. "As much as I love the feeling of your mouth, there is somewhere else I'd rather come." he tell you as he cleans your lips with his fingers "Let me take care of you."

A silent nod is the only answer you feel able to give, and the only one Sanji needed; your hand guides him back on the bed where, a slight and natural awkwardness covered by your kisses, Sanji lies above you, gently caressing your hair as he lifts your leg above his hips.

"I love you." you murmur; you feel barely able to breathe, but those words easily leave your lips, as natural as a breath "Sanji, let me be with you forever."

He smiles, pressing his forehead to yours; he isn't inside you yet, but the intimacy of that moment goes beyond what you could describe in words, the marvelous feeling of being one, a closeness born from love and passion and trust and empathy. You doubt you will ever feel anyone as close as Sanji is in that moment, and that makes you happy.

"Nothing and no one will ever come between us." he murmurs "I promise."

*****

You spend what feels like hours locked in an embrace, exchanging lazy but hot kisses as your hands explore each other's body. Your fondling makes Sanji grow turgid once more, and he has to use your pillow to suffocate his screaming (yes, screaming) as you do get to make him come in your mouth; he gets even a minute later when you both find out that you really enjoy your chest being sucked, which Sanji does until you are a moaning mess, begging for mercy, and he has to gift you your third orgasm, this time using his fingers, to make you calm down.

This night is perfect; this night feels as if it would never end. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and an hour before dawn, after he risked for the second time to fall asleep with his cheek pressed against your chest and your fingers in his hair, Sanji reluctantly abandons the warmth of your bed, and of your body, to get dressed. You both know it can't be helped; if your father discovered him in your bed, even now that you are an adult and about to go live on your own, the consequences would be catastrophic.

"Things will be different once we have moved to the capital." you reassure him as you pick up what is left of his shirt to throw it away "I want my dad to visit, but we can tell him we met again on campus and decided to date; he does like you, and he'll accept I am old enough to have a boyfriend."

"I hope he will." Sanji considers, as he ties his shoes; he hesitates for a moment, and then: "What if I wanted to tell him the truth?"

"You mean...?"

"About us, yes. I could have never given up on you, (name), but I didn't like lying to your father; I owe him so much, and I'd like give his blessing to our relationship. Don't you?"

Nothing would make you happier, even though, you must admit, the prospect of having to confess you have deliberately disobeyed him for five years is not pleasant; you love your father, and the last thing you have ever wanted was to disappoint him, even though there is no price you wouldn't have paid if it meant being with Sanji. You admire the fact your boyfriend wants to be honest with his benefactor, and you need - no, you want to be as brave as he is.

"Then we will tell him."

"Are you sure?"

"I am. It's not going to be pretty, and I know he'll be very angry, but he deserves the truth. We all do." you point out with a sigh; then, seeing Sanji is almost done getting dressed: "Wait..."

You stand as well, and walk to the mannequin wearing the men's shirt, an elegant light blue model with white collar and cuffs. You return to Sanji to offer him the shirt. "Here, wear this."

"... are you sure?"

"Of course, I had planned to give it to you to celebrate your admission to the Baratie. Try it on, let me see how it looks on you."

It looks great, even though it is perhaps more because of Sanji's good looks and physique than anything else; he carefully buttons it, and happily looks at himself in the full-length mirror. "My favourite tie will go perfectly with this."

"I know, why do you think I chose this colour?"

Naked as you are, you don't feel cold, especially as you feel Sanji's gaze lingering on your body as his brown eyes admire the flesh he has lost himself in just two hours ago, but that he's not yet sated by.

Soon, your smile tells him as you return the gaze, committing the beauty of his lithe but strong body to memory, as soon as we have moved to our dormitories, or as soon as my father has to leave for one of his work trips. I want you again too; I think I'll never stop wanting you.

As usual Sanji seems to understand you without the need for words, because he smiles once more and, as soon as he is done admiring himself in the mirror (which you cannot blame him for; the shirt does look amazing on him!) he takes your face in his hands to kiss you once more. "I am so happy." he murmurs "Happy we got to share this moment. I... I do want to be with you forever, but..."

"... but you are happy I was your first, and you mine. I know, Sanji; I feel the same."

You spend a precious minute like this, your foreheads touching, your fingers intertwined, as you breathe in each other's air and savour that new form of intimacy. In this moment, you are not afraid Sanji can doubt your feelings anymore; but in any case, you promise yourself, you'll still make sure he knows how much you love him, every day from now to eternity.

In the end, it's time for your boyfriend to go. He takes his backpack and insists you put your nightgown on, in case one of the neighbours looks out of their windows, before you accompany him on the balcony, where a last kiss sees him climb over the parapet and cautiously reach the tree's closest branches.

"Thanks for the cake! It was really delicious."

Sanji winks at you, mischievousness dancing in his eyes. "I think you thanked me enough already."

"Oh, you are so vulgar..."

Your laugh follows him as Sanji quickly climbs down the tree, finally reaching the ground safe and sound; he looks up at you and waves, and you wave back, and "I'll be back soon; I promise." he says, and you nod as he starts walking away, and remain where you are until Sanji has disappeared, hidden in the murmuring darkness surrounding the villa.

[zedecksiew]

TO PUT AWAY A SWORD

David Blandy + Daniel Locke's post-apocalyptic hopepunk TTRPG ECO MOFOS is back from the printers. Meaning it will soon be in our hands.

Am fairly hyped for it, because I wrote an adventure!

To Put Away A Sword is about the woes of building a home on poisoned earth. The terrible powers that hurtled us to the end of the world continue to bear bitter fruit in your garden.

You are villagers living under the shadow of a fallen giant mecha. Its reactors and warheads leak into your groundwater, poison your goats. What will you do about it? What can you do?

+

Mechanically it is a pointcrawl around your local valley. Not super complex, design-wise; but I was pleased with my gimmick solution for mapping both the adventure's dungeons:

Grab a mecha figure, pose it, place it on the game table; each part of the figure corresponds to a location in the dungeon key. Solves for stuff like relative orientation.

Easy!

+

To Put Away A Sword is me making a mecha adventure.

Disclaimer: I am not a mecha nerd. I am unfamiliar with most of the genre. Anything I know about Gundam I've absorbed by osmosis.

I was mainly into giant robots in childhood. Receiving a Macross figure for my birthday. Pouring over the manual for The Crescent Hawks' Revenge, which my brother left behind:

While I was not much a fan of mecha, I was very much a fan of Evangelion. I spent my middle teens obsessed with it. The biomechanical, pseudo-mystical stuff; the teen angst. I wanted to be Shinji. I thought trauma was so cool.

So cringe. Anyway:

One of the inspirations for To Put Away A Sword is the survivors-rebuilding-a-town-and-planting-rice sequence in Thrice Upon A Time; probably my favourite part of the whole franchise, now.

The joy and difficulties of trying to build your paradise in the weird ruins of the old world:

Yeah, the adventure has a lot of Evangelion in it. There's a Nerv HQ analogue to explore. There's a content warning for child soldiers.

+

The other inspiration for To Put Away A Sword is this piece of box art, an accessory set for Macross's iconic Stonewell Bellcom VF-1 Variable Fighter:

I don't know what this kind of arrange-your-missiles-in-front-of-your-fighter-jet photo is technically called. Hardware porn parade?

You see it often enough. Here's a real-life photo of the Lockheed Martin F35 Joint Strike Fighter:

Fairly or not, in my head I associate mecha with seeing copies of Jane's Defence in airport magazine racks. The genre feels like such a natural way to riff on the hyper-charged corpo-military-industrial complex.

After the brush war ends, and the natural resources extracted, and the ethnic cleansing concluded, and the profits announced, who gets to clean up after a Raytheon missile?

In To Put Away A Sword---you do.

+

Ultimately, as always, I am writing and designing from my lived experiences.

See that? The gas flare from the Hengyuan Refining Company? It is about 200 metres from my living room.

That gas flare surfaces constantly in the stuff I make. As I write this post I am breathing its acrid chemical smell. My nose itches. I was asthmatic as a child; I seriously worry about cancer, nowadays.

At night it lights up the sky like Barad-dur.

The plant obviously and continuously flaunts regulations. We've tried lodging complaints: with its corporate management; with the Department of Environment. Nothing has worked so far.

"A home on poisoned earth" is a visceral fact of my life.

+

To Put Away A Sword is wish-fulfilment, I guess? In the world of the adventure, at least, the forces that are poisoning your home are post-peak oil.

It is nice to imagine a reality where a kind of survival and flourishing is still possible. My partner Sharon and I talk a lot about imagining hope.

Last month she bought this small mecha-looking thing. A wireless camera! She built a little hut for it on our garden wall. It is trained, 24-7, at the gas flare.

Environmental activists we've met say video evidence of emissions is important. We'll see. We imagine it helping.

+

Anyway. David just sent me this photo of my adventure, in print:

Looking good. I hope folks play it and enjoy it.

Preorder ECO MOFOS and its adventure bundle >>>HERE<<<

[multifandom-aroace]

Gwen's wardrobe in season five makes me sad. (I'm not the best at analysing but please bear with me)

Partly it is the fact that it just doesn't look like something she would wear. Like I get that she looks good. She doesn't look out of place in any way, but her clothes just don't suit her.

obviously she looks regal and beautifully. she looks like a queen, but she doesn't look like gwen.

I understand that what she wore before wasn't exactly what a queen should be wearing, but it feels like in costume design they went a bit too far in the opposite direction. all the colours are too dark, the details don't really fit with her personality. her costumes throughout the show are all relatively similar but once she becomes queen it feels like she changes completely. this probably reflects how her personality changes, which I also don't like. you would think that since she wasn't raised in nobility she would be fair and kind, not willing to kill a servant girl just because she overheard a conversation. it feels like they set it up from the beginning of the season for us to dislike her.

when I think of guinevere I think of costumes like these

these flower corsets are some of my favourite things she wears, and she could have worn something similar when she was queen.

I started thinking, in terms of the show, about why she might have changed her costume design so much and then I thought it might have something to do with respect. swen was a servant turned queen, and probably a lot of the people of camelot wouldn't have liked this much. you know, tradition and shit. so she probably drew inspiration from the other nobility she knew and decided to dress like that. for example, a lot of what she wears is similar to what Morgana wore.

like, obviously thay aren't exactly the same but it feels like there is definitely inspiration here.

this is probably because Morgana was respected (obviously before she because evil).

a lot of the female nobility/royalty clothing we see from camelot and the other kingdoms is Morgana, although we also see this from other visiting people, such as vivian, mithian and elena.

(best picture I could find of her full dress)

obviously elena is wearing a wedding dress here but she is literally marrying Arthur (who gwen married which is why she started wearing these clothes in the first place), and we can see that this colour and style is available to her class.

mithian and vivian are both wearing lighter, more delicate styles, and I get that these aren't anything I could see gwen wearing either but it's definitely closer than what she's actually wears. need I remind you that mithian was supposed to marry Arthur as well?

one thing I could find that is similar is literally gwen's coronation dress. while not exactly the same, it does seem very similar to somathing Morgana wore when she became queen

I feel like the purple and the gold colour scheme seem quite similar, as well as the sleeves and the general embroidered decorations.

I do also feel like this might be the most similar to gwen's original style that she goes in terms of her costumes as queen. it's a lighter colour and the gold decorations feels less heavy than when it is mixed with a darker fabric. this dress is more silky and delicate, rather than one of the first things she wears in season 5

the gold appears to be maybe a darker shade of gold especially when mixed with the maroon colour of the dress. this dress is clearly perfect for a queen, but it just doesn't feel like gwen. (not necessarily connected to Morgana jsut another point)

i guess what she was trying to do was remind the people of camelot that she was to be respected, and she knew how much people had loved Morgana. vivian and elena, on the other hand, were not. they were only in camelot for a short time but in that time they didn't really get people to like them. vivian was rude and elena was a bit 'weird' to them (not sure how else to describe their reactions to her). gwen didn't even meet mithian because she was in exile (another reason she needed people to respect her), so Morgana was the best person to take inspiration from.

the connection to morgana's outfits could also represent the connection between them later in the season and when gwen is under her control

overall, I think they did gwen dirty in the final season and she definitely deserved better.

[cripplecharacters]

so, the posts on this blog about facial difference inspired me to make an oc with facial difference- specifically strabismus and a port wine stain. she's pretty much become one of my favourite characters to draw and develop, ive taken care to make sure she doesn't fall into shitty tropes. however, i have had one problem- in the world she lives in, rebels like her cover their face most of the time. ive been really struggling on how to design her mask/covering in a way that doesn't feel shitty, and doesn't feel like it's trying to cover her facial difference. and i know that technically it's not as bad if she's not the only character who wears a mask, but i still don't wanna push it, if you know what i mean? so it would be awesome if you could give suggestions on how i could handle her mask. here's a reference of her for. reference, and some ideas ive had for masks. thank you for taking the time, and for this blog in general!

[Image description: Traditional drawing of a light-skinned girl with pink straight hair, smiling. She has a large port-wine stain on the left side of her face, and her right eye goes inward. Around her are three headshot sketches;

first shows her in a bandana that goes over her nose with "bandana doesn't obscure FD but hides smile + necklace" written above, second shows a half-mask that covers only the right side of her face, with "early concept, feels tacky, shows port-wine stain but not strabismus :(", third shows a domino mask, with "domino mask, do I even have to explain? No-go" next to it. End image description.]

Hi!

I think that something close to the second one would actually be kinda fun (no irony or sarcasm). If we're talking about a story where everyone wears a mask, having the character with FD wear one that covers everything except for the FD is actually subversive! I never thought I would say that, but it does feel like it is.

Not sure how strict of a design should it be, but a diagonal - her bottom right to her top left - mask would be nice!

I tried to write down a detailed description of what I mean but it was coming out rather overcomplicated, so I hope you're okay with me doing a few demonstrative sketches; a diagonal and rather-silly option, an idea for the bandana with a drawn smile and the kind of tie that would show her necklace, and an idea for the half-mask but with an eye with strabismus painted on the mask.

So here are the suggestions! I haven't drawn in a while so my skills are kinda rusty, but I hope it conveys the concept! My personal favorite would be the first one - I know it barely counts as a mask but then again, in comics it's common that someone is unrecognizable when they wear a pair of glasses, so maybe it's not as farfetched haha.

The second one would be totally fine by my standards, but I'm assuming that her necklace has some kind of significance in the story, so maybe she could cross it at the back and tie it in the front instead for it to be more visible (or wear the necklace over it even?).

I think that doing something like on the third drawing above would be okay if there are also a lot of moments where her actual strabismus is shown. In general, I think that the idea of a character with a facial difference wearing a mask just to paint it on the mask is kinda silly, and I feel like it would fit her character. But for something like that to work, she would need to have the mask off often. If you choose to do that, I suggest your first time showing her to the viewer is with her mask off, both for the usual reasons I mentioned before but also because strabismus is often used as a gag in art. For me, seeing a character wear that kind of mask with no context would be kind of eye-rolling - but seeing a character with a crossed eye put on a mask with the same exact kind of eye, go and join their friends at doing rebel things? That's actually something new!

I enjoy that your character seems to be on the rather joyful and happy side, I like that :-) (smile emoji)

I hope this helps!

mod Sasza

[cliozaur]

When you run out of your canon-era fanfics, you start looking for AUs and crossovers. And it’s such an enormous topic to discuss! I would like to start with some recs (we're talking Valvert fanfics, of course). Some authors are just so good and creative when it comes to AUs.

A Change of a Bizarre Kind by M_Moonshade (set in MsM) – I will never shut up about it! It’s a crossover of Les Mis and Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It’s written amazingly well and has a non-linear narrative. Javert fighting for control and losing it is breathtaking. One of my favourite fanfic Javerts! Caring and overprotective Valjean is what most of us love. Fantine survives and is the only reasonable person around those two. And they have adventures! Dr. Jekyll is, of course, a perfect villain! One of my favourite Valvert fanfics.

What Sort of Devil also by M_Moonshade (set in Paris). This time Valjean is a vampire, self-sacrificing and caring. Javert is exercising and excelling in self-deception. They have even more adventures, and this time Thénardier is the villain. The author’s style is, as always, excellent, and the author’s comments are hilarious.

The next three fics took me time to dare to read. AUs and descriptions can make you dumbstruck, but they turned out to be excellent pieces: well-written, thoroughly thought out. The AUs are well-designed, logical, and well-explained. Javert and Valjean both have recognizable characters, excellent at teasing each other. Their dialogues are highly entertaining and amusing. These fics are good from the point of view of historical details – if the author decides to be anachronistic, it’s for a reason, and it’s explained.

Guard’s Law, Con’s Heart by Xythia (set in Toulon, but it’s 1823). To be honest, I only risked reading it because of Toulon. It’s described as a BDSM universe, which initially did not inspire me. But I gave it a chance and never regretted it. This universe has its rules, and they are not what you expect. They influence social structure and traditions, and it’s all explained and well-used for the plot. Something bad starts happening at the beginning, but Javert arrives on time to stop and prevent it. He takes responsibilities he himself did not expect. Then Javert and Valjean interact and communicate with each other, and it’s such a pleasure and entertainment to follow their exchanges! And I usually do not appreciate OCs, but here I enjoyed them.

Winter Wolf also by Xythia (set in MsM). I already knew what to expect from the author, so even the obscure AU of Sentinels and Guides did not stop me. I had never heard of this AU, but it was not difficult to figure out what it is. A bit slow at the beginning, but then it gets excellent. Signature dialogues, development of relationships, adventures. And one of the best young Cosettes ever written. She is really an amazing little creature.

Eggy series also by Xythia (set in Toulon, and it’s again 1823). This time, one of them (Valjean) is a dragon-shapeshifter. But even as a dragon, he is unmistakably recognizable as Valjean. The world of people and dragons has its history and rules, and they are very well explained. Signature dialogues, good OCs. It really may sound strange as an AU, but it’s worth reading.

[sneakydraws]

Okay so!! Here's a little wap design compilation - not exhaustive, both because of the image limit and because there's many things I'm not settled on but I want to post some of it at least~

Organised by families because familial resemblence or lack thereof is one of my favourite factors in chardes! And because Tolstoy is so good at creating these family dynamics of shared traits! First, the Bolkonskys:

Lise, Mlle Bourienne and Nikolai jr. not included for now, maybe later. The shared traits I gave them all (therefore presumably coming from Nikolai's side) are sharp, angular features with a beaked nose and high cheekbones, thin figures and straight, dark hair. Both Andrei and Nikolai are described as short, so initially I wanted to apply this to them all, but then I thought it would be cool to emphasise Andrei's similarity to his father AND separate Marya out by making her much taller than them. It works really well because Andrei and Nikolai are both short yet straightened out to their full height while Marya cowers and hunches to hide hers - which also works to create the unattractive figure she's described as having. I use heads to note height - as in, how many heads tall a character is - mostly because numerous manga art tutorials ingrained those in me <:3c Nikolai has his signature bushy eyebrows, and his clothes and hair are inspired by his depiction in the first soviet wap movie because I really liked it!

In general I spent the most time on Andrei, both because he's my favourite and because he has a lot of tantalisingly sparse and at times interestingly contrasting descriptions - he's meant to look unassuming, his small and slender figure hiding his impressive stamina and his cushy administrative position contrasting with the rugged hussars (and his small hands are mentioned as well) but he has sharp features, and his design should showcase his proud, decisive nature as well.

The Rostovs! Not including the count and countess because while I have some features in mind I haven't made up my mind yet on the overall designs, and excluding Vera for reasons I'll divulge later. These Rostov kids are all energetic, emotionally driven and strong-willed and I wanted to reflect that in their designs - most of all in their hair, which is curly and kind of fluffy, making big, untamed shapes - I decided this they would have inherited from the Count. They're all rather short (I think some of the Rostovs are described as short so I extended it to the whole family) and a little stockier than the Bolkonskys - Natasha's figure is really incosistent because she gains and loses weight a lot over the book, but I settled on the slightly heavier side mostly to contrast with Sonya. I also love freckles and always associate them with energy and youthfulness so they got given to the Rostovs - presumably from the Count's side again. And their eyes and hair are all black or dark brown!

BIG RAMBLING RANT: The Countess is described as having "oriental features" and I wanted to incorporate that into the kids because it's like the most detail we ever get on someone's overall facial features lol but it turned out kind of frustratingly vague. I think my first idea was towards Georgia because Pierre mentions a woman with Georgian features in 1812, and because my ballets russes research included a very orientalist ballet about a georgian queen. I didn't find very good references though and turned next to Armenia, and when I found someone talking about common Armenian features that fit what I already had in mind for the Rostovs I ended up using that. However, later I realised those countries are in Western Asia and don't really fit the descriptor of "oriental (eastern)" from the perspective of Russia... Now I'm looking more towards the Kalmyk and Bashkir people after seeing them mentioned in one of my interlibrary books so I might revise the Rostovs yet. I did get kind of attached to the nose though so I'll do my best to keep it haha

The odd ones out in the Rostov household!! Sonya is, I believe, related to the Rostovs on the Count's side so maybe it would make sense to give her the fluffy hair and freckles, but she has enough descriptions in the book to form a separate design on her own (and she's only a second cousin to the Rostov kids, so it's pretty far away anyway). She's compared to a graceful kitten, described as almost unattractively thin and with a sallow skin, so I thought it would fit her to have a slightly unwell air, with portruding collarbones and a slight hunch. She also has her dark double braid.

Vera was fun once I got the idea to make her look very different from her siblings - to mirror her personality being completely different (cool, impassionate, meanspirited at times) and to visually reflect how she's disliked by the Countess - perhaps almost looking like she's not her parents' child 👀 She's taller and slimmer than her siblings, with straighter and lighter in colour hair, and her features are more smooth and soft. No freckles either.

The Kuragins! Those guys are fun. I have Anatole as the tallest in the cast (save for Pierre), and Helene as the tallest woman, with Ippolit the same height as her. Helene and Ippolit in general are described as having the same features so they ended up almost looking like twins! Later I'll talk a bit more about their facial features and hair but in terms of silhouettes, Helene has to have her round shoulders and impressive bosom (and low neckline), while Anatole has to look all broad-shouldered and masculine. He was actually the hardest to draw because I kept feeling like his head was too small and his whole body too long... I might go back and make him a bit broader still. A book I have says the elite life guards of the Russian army were known for their impressive, immaculate appearance, with some men padding their uniforms to add volume to their chest... That made me think of Anatole lmao.

A little roll call to show everyone's height in relation to each other.

More about the Kuragins! I tackled Helene with the aim to make her beautiful by the standards of the time, and luckily there's actually an 1812 bust of the Greek Helene! It was too poerfect of a coincidence so I leaned heavily into it. I find that typical features of ancient Greek or 19th century Hellenistic busts are a very straight nose that flows smoothly from the forehead, a very round jawline with a somewhat portruding chin and that particular curve of the neck. I gave Helene all of those along with heavily-lidded, downturned eyes and an expression that hopefully conveys calm confidence and intelligence. Ippolit is supposed to have the same features but made to look ugly by his stupid expression - this actually turned out easier than I thought? Though it might just be that the moustache looks kind of stupid - maybe I should try a version without it. Anatole I thought ought to look impressive and masculine so in the end I kept the squarer jaw and strong forehead (and I couldn't resist the slicked back hair) but I considered a more Hellenistic version too, with the short curls and round jaw. Helene's hair was tricky because none of the styles I saw felt quite right - I settled on a sort of combo of the Hellenistic curls from the statue but a bit looser with the braid she's described to have in the book. She'd also probably wear a lot of hair accessories but I'll have to do more research on those.

More Natasha and Sonya, and Andrei - Andrei is so difficult!! I always kind of oscillate between "stern, strong-willed soldier", "sharp-featured intellectual" and "soft pampered prince/troubled poet" (where I try and fail to imitate this gorgeous illustration by Vadimir Serov). The Brutus haircut is tempting in its historical accuracy, but I'm just a little bit too fond of the immaculately slicked back hair...

Edit: I completely forgot @visualnoteslibrary was on Tumblr!! Thank you so much for collecting all the descriptions, you spared me quite the Easter egg hunt through the Gutenberg version <3

[imsobadatnicknames2]

What are your favourite ttrpg mechanics that you’d like to see adopted by more systems?

Sorry for taking so long to answer!

Anyway, my answer is probably gonna be kinda boring because I very rarely play those artsy, high-concept rpgs with really out-there experimental mechanics.

I think some of my favorite mechanics are those that take elements of classic old-school roleplaying games but streamline and abstract them to juuust the right amount of crunch. For example, I've mentioned this before: I ADORE the initiative mechanic from games like Mausritter, Into the Odd, or The Black Hack: At the start of combat, every player makes a Dexterity check. Players that pass get to act before the group of enemies, while players that fail have to act after the group of enemies.

Similarly, I REALLY like the way The Black Hack handes inventory management through its usage dice system (which has inspired similar systems in later games): for stackable, consumable items such a arrows, rations, lantern oil, etc, instead of keeping count of the exact number, your represent the quantity of items with a die. Each time you spend the item, you roll the corresponding die, and if the result is 1-2, you downgrade the size of the die by one step (e.g. a d12 becomes a d10). When the usage die is 1d4 and you roll a 1-2, you run out of whatever item it was.

Both of these mechanics massively streamline initiative and inventory management and vastly reduce the bookkeeping involvd in those systems, but still keep the idea behind them crunchy enough that they still preserve an element of tactics. I tend to hack these mechanics into pretty much any old-school game that features initiative or inventory management, and I've yet to find a case where it wasn't a huge improvement.

Another mechanics that I love that I' think we don't see enough in games is 'd love to see used more often in games is risk-reward choices. One of my favorite examples is a magic weapon which I think appears in the second Mörk Borg Cult zine (Mörk Borg Cult: Heretic). When attacking with it, you can choose any number and apply it as a penalty to your attack roll, in exchange for getting to apply the same number as a bonus to your damage roll if you succeed. So the harder you choose to impair yourself with the attack roll, the bigger the potential damage you'll do if you manage to succeed. I think that's one of the best-designed magic items I've ever seen in a ttrpg and I wish more things in TTRPGs incorporated that kind of decision.

Lastly, another one that I love but I don't think it fulfills the "you’d like to see adopted by more systems" part of your ask: I absolutely ADORE the flashback mechanic from Blades in the Dark. Basically: at any point during a heist, you can spend stress to invoke a flashback to roleplay an action your character did in the past to prepare for the situation they're facing in the present (as long as it doesn't contradict or "undo" any of the things that have been established in the fiction so far). E.g. as you enter a party you get patted down and deprived of your weapons, you might choose to trigger a flashback to roleplay how earlier that afternoon you came by, gave one of your guns to one of the valets and, bribed him to hide it for you in one of the potted plants inside the ballroom. Just like any other action, depending on how hard or risky it is, it might automatically succeed, or it might require one or multiple rolls.

The reason I'm hesitant to say I'd like to see it adopted by more systems is because, as much as I consider it one of the most brilliant ttrpg mechanics of all time, it's also a mechanic firmly rooted in BitD's criminal theme and heist structure, and to me i'd feel pretty out of place incorporated into any system that doesn't mainly revolve around executing heists.

[ofmermaidstories]

Helloo, I’ve never asked anything before but my curiosity is absolutely killing me lmao.. did you have an inspiration for the kimono reader is wearing in something (just like this)? It sounds so intricate and pretty so I was just wondering ◡̈ I rly love the story btw you’re one of my favorite writers

omg okay so—i collect a magazine called kimono hime!! it’s out of print now im pretty sure (???) but it’s basically like a fashion mag with varying kimonos and yukatas and furisodes in all sorts of amazing prints, like, really contemporary stuff!

it’s such a beautiful magazine if you’re into fashion or design or are a weeb (me).

but as for Reader’s summer fit, there’s no real one-for-one inspo for it. 🥺 i kinda just took my cue from the issues of kimono hime and the designers within it—and tried to think up something fun! black and white stripes seemed fun because a) they were bold and b) could conceivably be imagined on a range of skin tones (like—i personally love wearing pastels and dusky pinks, but one of my besties is quite pale and can’t wear the same shades because it washes her out, so i thought we needed something that could maybe cover more ground than like “you’re wearing a green yukata” or whatever). i love roses, and tiny teeny spiders hiding among them seemed like a nice contrast (and also meant i could have our cool-guy kimono seller make his “you look like someone who’s a mix of both worlds” remark, because like, who among us doesn’t hold conflicting qualities? something pretty, something more repellent unless you really like spiders ig so then it’s like, something pretty and something cool LOL).

when i was on insta i was following a japanese designer who had these amazing patterns for kimonos and things, like, vintage cat faces on the obis and stuff so i knew when giving Reader one we could get away with like, something really neat—so the toads, snakes, roses and diamonds that’s meant to be on it is a nod to one of my favourite fairytales! tbh it’s mostly a little textual inside joke with myself, because the fairytale is about a pair of sisters who are each blessed and cursed by a fairy; the sister that treated the fairy sweetly is blessed so that when she speaks diamonds and precious jewels and flowers fall out of her mouth with her words. the sister that treated the fairy cruelly is cursed—so that it’s snakes and toads instead. it’s the same sort of line of thinking as the “mix of both worlds” comment: it’s the idea that Reader (like us all) is capable of saying both kind and cruel things. 🐍💎🌹🐸

it’s hard trying to come up with outfits in a reader-insert fic! and look, not everyone is going to be happy. but i did do a lil faux-kimono hime mock up, to show the general vibes of what i was going for with Reader’s fit. maybe with more roses though??? hmmm hmmm hmmm.

[abyssal-ali]

Maribat Ships and My Vibe Explanations

These are based on the most popular tropes and scenarios I've seen particularly for a specific ship, but some are my own vision:) Moodboards I made for each ship, which are partially inspired by the below thoughts, are linked in the ship name.

Brucinette:

Boss x Secretary trope or Socialite meets Other Socialite and Both Discover each other is Less Shallow than they Thought

Alternatively,

Hero x Villain Love story.

Look, we all know Bruce has a bad track record with his Rogues and also Love in general

Black Cat Mari is the most popular, probably, but I think we should see more Villain/ Morally Grey Mari with other Miraculi

Not my favourite ship but it can be fun

Particularly when we add Dad Bruce and Mari gets to adopt the Batkids and be a Cool MomTM.

Dickinette:

Often a Villain x Hero romance, usually Black Cat Marinette and Nightwing.

A good trope to be sure, but I think we should spice it up more.

Vampire Dick Truthers (you know who you are) have a point with their Vampire Dick and Mari fics. Why not make Dick the villain in Mari's Rogue Gallery???

Overall a great trope, especially if you really delve into their characters: both are 'sunshine' characters who fight everyday to be the nice, kind heroes everyone thinks they are and expects them to be, even though it's the hardest route to take.

Jasonette:

(I'm biased as it's my #1 Maribat ship, but I'll try not to go on too long >.<)

Villain x Hero? Hero x Hero? Amazing, outstanding. What about Villain x Villain? I myself would love to see more Rogue Jason and Rogue Mari fics.

Any AU is amazing. I admit to having a fondness for Mob Boss Jason, partly because he is one in canon, at least for a while, and because I'm addicted to dark/mafia romance novels. Lieutenant Mari? Yes, please. Rival Mob Boss Mari? Heck yeah! Bat-affiliate Mari? Gimme. Please.

The amount of character exploration you could do if you wrote a romance where they actually stayed together, looking at you, DC is intriguing. Would Jason change for someone he loved? Would he give up crime lording? Would Mari accept him anyways but then they'd have to deal with one half running from the law/vigilantes and the other half being on the vigilantes' side?

Also, soft Jason. Nerding out over books and music and fashion and appreciating the fine things in life and meeting this cute fashion designer with a penchant to listen to Jagged Stone-

So many AU opportunities!! Bakery AU! Mafia AU! Coffee Shop AU! Meetcute at the Museum AU!...

Okay I'll move on now:(

Timari:

LISTEN

This ship IS THE DEFINITION OF THE CEO X SECRETARY TROPE!

I need more, I don't care if it's overused

Also, rival hackers or geniuses.

OR COFFEE SHOP AU

They're both coffee monsters, it's perfect

No I don't care that there are two dozen coffee shop Timari AUs, give me more.

Daminette:

ACADEMIC RIVALS TO LOVERS

Or just rivals to lovers is fine too

YOU REALLY THINK THESE TWO 'MUST BE THE TOP IN CLASS' WOULDN'T BE FIGHTING OVER GRADES AND THEN PAIRED UP ON AN ASSIGNMENT BECAUSE THEY'RE TOO INTENSE TO WORK WITH ANYONE ELSE AND THEN THEY HAVE TO WORK TOGETHER AT ALL TIMES LEST THE OTHER SABOTAGE THEIR PROJECT AND THEN THEY FALL IN LOVE-

anyways

I'm not even into HP but I want a Hogwarts AU with these two-

or any dark academia rivals to lovers au

Roynette:

Enemies or Rivals to Lovers

It's just a simple misunderstanding, as all large rifts start off with.

There's a translation issue or an eavesdropping that is taken out of context

(they're both idiots your honour)

But then something happens and they have to work together or they're made to talk and they realize it's all just a misunderstanding

And then they're like... " while we're clearing the air...so uh, I kinda have a crush on you'

"no way, me too!!"

And Mari meets Lian (or maybe that's what starts this, Jason and Mari are hanging out babysitting Lian and Roy comes to pick Lian up and they start talking and and and-)

And Mari loves Lian immediately of course, who wouldn't?

And so Roy likes her more because she likes Lian so automatically she's not as bad as he thought, and Lian really likes her too

And then they fall in love and Jason and Lian are the master matchmakers behind the scenes

You can pry OTP Jason & Lian setting up Roynette out of my cold dead hands

Konette:

I haven't seen or read a ton of Konette, but they usually meet at the Titans

Friends to Lovers 100%

They're both quiet and new and feeling out the dynamics

so they're often pushed together on purpose or by accident because the others are just so loud and chaotic

And then they become BFFs and are less inclined to join the others' chaos and so spend more time together, and so the cycle continues

And then one day something happens

Kon is Kryptonian and Mari had the Miraculous, they're usually the least-damaged members, but something happens, there's Kryptonite or magic or Something and one or both gets hurt.

The other jumps in front of them to take the blow because they can't let the other get hurt

"Why did you do that?!"

"I couldn't let you get hurt. You need to save our teammates."

Then the hurt one faints or passes out and the other confesses and thinks they can't hear them

They get back to the Tower safely and get treated and wake up and then they see the other

"Did you say you loved me, when I was passed out?"

"You heard that? Uh...yeah, I love you."

"I love you too!"

I haven't read much of any of the other ships to get a good feel on them, so I'm stopping here:)

[nearestend]

assigning fragrances to my (canon) muses. for funsies because it's my favourite activity ever, also utilizing my favourite website of all time, wikiparfum. continue reading if you'd like to see me infodump about perfumes. this is completely unnecessary. like many other things on my blog, none of this really matters, but it matters to me.

if you would also like an unnecessary perfume analysis for your muse, go ahead and give this post a like and i will get back to you with a customized presentation.

amanda: i highly doubt mandy is wearing scents at all, i don't think she cares for that. but i'm giving her one anyways because i can. (it was extremely hard to find one i felt suited her though.) inexcusable evil by toskovat. now, i have never actually smelled anything from this brand and i think their bottle design and logo both kind of suck, but based off the description of the fragrance, this might be mandy's. the descriptions i found for this on both wikiparfum and the brand's website are WILD. one of the top notes is gunpowder. heart notes include burn accord, iodine, and blood accord (LMAO???). i mean, i did purposely look for one that has blood accord, but i didn't expect to find any because that's not like, a popular scent. and then base notes are actually normal things like olibanum and sandalwood. also has cypriol, which gives a smoky, woodsy scent, which is the vibe i wanted for her too.

amy: this was also quite hard because amy is most definitely picky. she'd go for something very elegant and classy that is out of her price range, but she saved up all her money for. yellow hibiscus by jo malone is probably her style, which i also love because jo malone makes some of my favourites. it's very femme, but technically unisex, which i think is neat because i could also see laurie wearing it to. (i can see them sharing the same fragrance. they're that kind of couple.) it's very green and floral (hibiscus, rose, jasmine) and quite citrus forward. most importantly, lime! for the most obvious reasons of all (amy canonically loves limes). it's a really bright, fresh, sunny, and radiant scent, all very fitting for her. also my backup option for amy was bergamot by malin & goetz, but yellow hibiscus is way more fitting. i also considered going with something from the brand fragonard because that's a personal favourite of mine (i was gifted a set of them once and they are very nice), but couldn't decide on one in particular.

cameron: yes, i know the best we'll probably get from cam is that she puts on deodorant. i'm still giving her one anyways, because that's the whole point of this post. not going to bother with trying to find era accurate fragrances though, that's too much work for me. i really want to give her spacewalk by demeter fragrance library, both because it's cheap (cam is not spending more than $45, guaranteed) and because it's inspired by space! which according to an astronaut, smells metallic. (shoutout to the spacebike chronicles.) i do feel the need to include a high end option anyways, so odeur 53 by commes des garcons. it's got ozonic notes, which give it airy, metallic, and aquatic elements, as well as chlorine undertones.

camille: okay so i'm realizing that very few of my muses would wear perfume. i mean, camille is simply too depressed to bother, but again, this is not going to stop me. i decided on black vetyver cafe by jo malone. definitely something she would never buy for herself, but maybe she would wear if someone gave it to her. this one's got coffee, which i think she would like because coffee is her favourite ice cream flavour. there's also coriander, which makes it a bit sharper and peppery, while also green and fresh. warm notes of sandalwood, nutmeg, vanilla, ciste labdanum and woody vetiver. overall, very earthy and autumnal.

connell: he probably starts with something inexpensive from banana republic (either classic green or classic acqua). he's a simple dude, mostly just wants to smell fresh. if i'm going to give him something fancier (we can always say marianne got him a christmas present or WHATEVER), then i'm giving him skin by clean reserve. it's described as tender and intimate, with notes of honeysuckle, orange blossom, musk, and skin accord (which is basically just their way of saying it smells like an intimate embrace). it's all about intimacy, babeyyy.

harry: i have to give him rainbow bar by 19-69, for so many reasons. it's not just the name (and you know, the gayness of it all), but that's a huge factor. the fragrance is inspired by the rainbow bar on the sunset strip, which is pretty synonymous with sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. harry's role in adam's story is very much a representation of desire, intrigue, and the seductive nature of all the aforementioned elements. there's a warmth to this scent that's both comforting and mysterious. i really wanted to find something with notes of whiskey (taking into context, not only harry's introduction, but also his death), so this really fits perfectly. this might be the most "character accurate" choice on the whole list.

jess: i'm not even going to bother giving him something fancy because it feels wrong. smoky and earthy palo santo play by hawthorne is like $50 and that's literally like the maximum i can see him spending lmao. it's got notes of oakwood, sage, palo santo, and guaiac wood. very earthy and smoky, hints of tobacco and whiskey. because you know that boy smells like cigarettes and old leather and pretentiousness, but like, in a cheap way.

jia-yi: i chose fresh honeysuckle by fresh, despite the fact that it's discontinued, because fuck it, she can time travel anyways so that doesn't matter. honeysuckle also happens to symbolize nostalgia and memory, which is fitting. there's additional notes of fruit (peach, plum, blackcurrant bud) and florals (cyclamen, magnolia, ylang-ylang). honestly, i'm just kind of hung up on the fact that it's discontinued because this scent was SO good.

kate: there are so many options i wanted to go for with kate, but i think i have settled on realist extrait de parfum by ilk. it's categorized as being both a woodsy and a watery scent, which is primarily what i was looking for with kate in mind. (because like, weather and rain, you know.) it's got a bit of floral (rose, everlasting), a bit of citrus (yuzu, bergamot, lemon), wood (cedarwood, vetiver, olibanum), with the warmth of amber and pepper. it's described with concepts such as crisp mountain air and rain, appropriate for everyday and casual use. she's not formal or fancy and would want something nice, but versatile.

orla: she's a footballer, so i have to go with something athletic. i'm not like a huge fan of most "luxury sport" fragrances and like yeah, it's not about me anyways, but i don't think orla would be either. she's not someone who would care much about that even if she had the means to, so we're going with something pretty simple and affordable like team five by adidas. technically, it's for men, but she also does not care about gender. it's very fresh, fruity (green apple, lemon), and herbal (basil, pine needles, peppermint, clary sage, lavender) which i think are all scents she'd like. absolutely none of these words mean anything to her; she likes what she likes and doesn't overthink its meaning or importance. her other choice was hot wheels dino by jequiti, which she would 100% buy with no trace of irony whatsoever.

sydney: i felt the need to pick something with cherry notes because of course, the cherry donut that marcus named after her. 18-12 by ormaie is just that, as well as notes of almond, sandalwood, florals (rose, violet, heliotrope), fruit (lychee, bergamot, mandarin) and clary sage. it's quite fresh, youthful, and summery. i like her having sort of a fun and bright scent because her job is just so stressful and sometimes depressing, she needs something to uplift and contrast against all that.

[vexic929]

Writers Truth or Dare!

🎱🕯️🥤

🧸🍬🌿

🏜️🍦🐝

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

like a 2, I do it because I have to but I've never been good at editing my own work lol I'd much rather have a friend look it over cause I'll get in my head about it XD

🥤 ⇢ recommend an author or fanfic you love

this one is just so cute <3333

🧸 ⇢ what's the fastest way to become your mutual?

follow me back on tumblr? lol if we're moots, we're moots, if we're not that's okay I still love you <3333

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

neither Tim nor Damian should be Robin at this point, they've both grown past it, the current Robin should be Maps Mizoguchi

🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

I'm not usually very good at dealing with writer's block honestly XD but I find sometimes all you need is to watch an episode of one of your favorite shows to get your brain invested in the creative process again

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

literally any, I'm not picky, you can leave an emoji or something and it's totally fine! that said I do love when people quote lines that they enjoyed and talk about them, I always like to find out what stood out to people especially if it's not something I anticipated <3333

🍦 ⇢ name three good things about a character you hate

I don't wanna compliment Lex Luthor tho lol

honestly pretty creative with some of his schemes

iconic character design

took the obsession with his enemy further than even Eobard Thawne by doing the "make a clone child with the DNA of you and your enemy", truly hingeless behavior, I'm impressed

🐝 ⇢ tag your biggest supporter(s) and say one nice thing about them

@practically-an-x-man so kind and inspiring!

@negative-speedforce so sweet and fun <3333

@autisticharrywells excellent analyses and best takes!!

@shrinkthisviolet so cool and nice <3333

@faeseekerandy an excellent friend!

@goldheartedchaoticdisaster super cool and fun!!

@angst-is-love-angst-is-life absolutely lovely and sweet <3333

I'd tag every single mutual honestly but I need to stop sometime lol just know I love you all!!! <3333

[sonic-love-island-official]

Knuckles (Bio/Character design ramble)

Here he comes, rougher than the rest of them: Knuckles !!

More info under the cut, as per x

Knuckles is a 26 year old from Angel Island. Guardian of the Master Emerald, Knuckles lives relatively isolated from the mainland, rarely leaving the island for anything. He joins the show as a challenge for himself to branch out, live a little and find a potential long-term partner.

To put it simply, Knuckles arrives with a lot to navigate. He's never experienced such a complicated social situation in his life before and he's tasked with learning how to act around the other Islanders, which leads him to be very unfaithful to himself and his personality. Even though he's working out social dilemmas and how to present himself, Knuckles is still a very genuine guy and does nothing if he doesn't mean it. Both laid-back and short-tempered, he finds himself in a bit of trouble on more than one occasion, providing lessons for him going forward.

Trying different faces on, testing the waters and making mistakes, Knuckles needs to learn the value of being his true self and nothing else.

External design choices !! (visual appearance - incl. formation of base sim, references taken, makeup choices, fashion style... etc.)

I only wish I could remember any of the steps I made to create Knuckles' sim. But... By the looks of it, I think I might be able to guess where my head was at with some of the decisions around his design ?? Again, he doesn't look near to what I imagine him to look like, but at the end of the day, as long as they resemble enough of the character we're trying to portray, that's enough for me.

Firstly, I know for sure his SA2 model was used for inspiration and that was a deliberate, memorable choice. Because look at him !! SA2 Knuckles was so distinct to me, not only in how he acted but his features in this game are peak (also why tf is this his only portrayal where he has more melanin ?? huh ??). Needless to say, SA2 Knuckles is a personal favourite of mine in every way, shape and form, and that's basically why I picked that model to base Sim Knuckles off.

Hence why he has a warmer, darker skin tone than what's seen in other Knuckles models. I did my best to match it up as close as possible, and while not exact, it's pretty darn close that I'm no longer so fussy about it.

Knuckles striking red colour went straight to his hair, as per the majority of the sim versions. But, unlike the rest, Knuckles red hair is (allegedly /j) natural. The SLI world has a trend of people dying their hair all kinds of funky colours, but Knuckles isn't one of them, so his hair, brows and body hair are all this shade of red that he inherited from his ancestors (this, among a few other features pull relevance in-plot later). Regrettably, we didn't have anything close to his dreadlocks in-game (one of my FAVOURITE parts of Knuckles' design), so we had to settle for this shoulder-length, half-up-half-down hairstyle. Of course, we try to make up for it by drawing him with them wherever possible, because his dreads are NOT going to be lost on us no matter how limited we are in this game. Another hair related detail that became more of a recent development, is Knuckles having facial hair (not present on his sim, because naturally the game does not have anything close) — you know, just a bit of chin fluff. No reason, just vibes :)

Knuckles doesn't have the same round eyes as what Sonic or Amy have, but isn't so harshly angled like Shadow's, so it was about finding that happy medium with Knux. And you know what ? His eyes are purple, pretty and I can't complain, he's such a cutie <3

I can't say much about his facial structure. I'm going to assume I had a vision, but I don't remember what in the world it was.

Naturally, Knuckles being Knuckles, is definitely more buff than the likes of Sonic or Tails. Bro works out — he's dedicated to that stuff — so that just had to be translated over to his sim. Ain't no more to say about that :)

Another thing absent from his sim version (limitations again, grr) is the idea that Knuckles has cultural tattoos, most prominently the crescent moon on his chest. In some screenshots (not seen here), Knuckles has a tattoo representative of M.E. as well.

As for his fashion style ? Hoo boy. Despite making the occasional, heinous fashion crime, Knuckles is actually pretty styling ! Knuckles suits all sorts of things and his style has a uniqueness none of the other Islanders have. More often than not though, Knuckles is seen in colourful/patterned tees, sweater singlets, cargo pants, baggy jeans and sneakers, along with a chain necklace (and maybe a bracelet and/or ring). Knuckles claims he isn't fashionable, but I beg to differ. He's probably one of the best dressed boys in the villa by far.

Internal design choices !! (personality, characteristics, psychology)

Here's where things get messy. Stated before in previous posts, characterisation isn't strict. All the characters are a blend of a multitude of portrayals across Sonic media and Knuckles is no different. But where each character is a cohesive blend, Knuckles very evidently has two, polar opposite ways of expressing himself, which I've haphazardly labelled:

'Funny-funny, I'm trying to fit in, please like me' Knuckles (that my sister primarily writes for)

And,

'Serious' Knuckles (that I tend to write for)

Like I've said in countless posts before, and in this one, Knuckles is trying to figure out who to be around people. The sillier side of Knuckles is heavily derived from his Sonic Boom characterisation, but is used in a self-aware sense. A lot of fans don't like this caricature version of Knuckles (me included, but I kind of regard Boom! Knuckles as a separate entity at this point and I personally enjoy his character better that way. Also, Boom is really its own continuity anyway, and I enjoyed the show as it was intended. It's another each to their own, I guess), but we've utilised this version of him with intention. AU Knuckles uses this comedic, faux stupidity to make himself interesting to others. This side of him carves a presence in the Villa, and he finds more people are willing to engage with someone entertaining. So the persona sticks.

'Serious' Knuckles is the more true (?) Knuckles. He's the game canon Knuckles, beloved for his steely disposition and golden heart. This is the Knuckles that is both a hothead and cool as a cucumber. He's the one loyal to his duties, to his friends. The one that cares for people, animals, land. He's the guy that could pack a punch if he wanted. Knuckles knows far more than he wants to let on. He's very in tune with people's energy and emotions and a lot of this knowledge makes him quite intelligent, though no one seems to notice.

Despite both these parts of him, Knuckles plays true to his feelings, whatever they may be, and whichever tracks it leads him down. He's not a fake guy at all !! He's just convinced himself what he's doing is the best course of action, even when it may not be.

Overall, Knuckles is a fun character to play around with ! He seems fairly shallow on the surface, but then, digging deeper, there's far more intricacies to his character. Knuckles provides a lot of things to work with in terms of his personality, background, knowledge and actions. I love how his character also explores different things to the other Islanders, due to those aspects.

Fun facts / trivia :

Knuckles loves to sing ! There's many moments throughout the series where he has sung songs alone or with other contestants. Knuckles is trying to make this series a musical (but I won't let him ! /j)

He likes to express his culture and does so wherever and whenever he can. It's very important to him <3

[jellyfishvibes]

hi jelly! what's your favourite headcanon about flora?

Oh god i have so many, you will be getting a Flora rant

Ok so love me a classic super nerd Flora, absolute grease monkey that girl, would casually rip off the back of the slate and fix something in there without pausing her sentence, I'd also pin her down as a sewing nerd, not just cause she was the one who made all the champions clothes but cause i think she has like a 3d puzzle brain, and both mechanical problems and clothing construction slot right into that perfectly (i have ideas about all the zelda's being some flavor of fiber art girlys but that's an aside thing)

I also!! love dragon traits!! on Flora!!! which is why i've be hesitating with her redesign cause my brain is struggling to figure out the engineer-draconic design marrying without it getting way too busy

Shes totally got autism, her and Wild got that opposite autism disease, he's strong silent very non verbal and shes a massive chatterbox that cant help herself but explain everything, he's super hands on with everything, can't help himself but touch to figure out what stuff is and shes super squiked out by texture and wears her gloves so she doesn't feel any bad sensations, i imagine she whacked off her hair cause she couldn't stand the feeling of it long but like put up with it because of her father/for the princess image? (also maybe inspired Riju to cut her own hair shorter, i love Riju and Flora being besties) Wild loved braiding her hair as a fidget thing and grew his own out cause he liked hers so much, I think she began to understand why he liked that so much when she cut her own and used her hairstyling knowledge on him, it's way more fun to do it to someone else then to wear those styles all day you know?

If she keeps some form of scales after totk i think she picks at them as a nervous habit (and probably gets multiple slaps on the wrist from Wild to not pull them for research Zelda please-) i also really like the idea of her like, back spike guys? being like fingernails, it that she still has the crystalline spikes back there and so she can still lie down on her back Wild helps her chip them down to like flat crystal discs on her back, they still probably grow and they need to be cut off regularly but she probably has a tonne of the crystal lying around and makes stuff out of it, also the antler horns! (this is not from my love of scott empires rivendell shut up) she keeps the antlers! and they have actual deer antler stuff! like they will just randomly fall off! and they will be super velvety when they regrow! the image of the soft velvet falling away to reveal like glowing holy crystal underneath is a sick af image and also its horrifically gorey looking cause the velvet has alot of blood vessels in it, i dont think its painful? it just looks like a horror movie lmao

I have some stupid ideas around both Wild and Flora having adhd, in the sense that Wild had the inattentive type and Flora the hyperactive type before everything, Wild being a knight spaces out very easily, is terrible with organizing his personal quarters, boredom is a mind killer and find focus on instructions and tasks near impossible, Flora as the princess with the weight of the world on her shoulders struggles with fidgeting and standing still, being impatient and acting out of turn, by 17 she had social rules all but beaten into her and is kind of living in a personally design hell, but after Wild comes out of the Shrine of Resurrection and after Flora wakes up from the 100 years of sealing Ganon and the millennia being a Dragon, they both now have the combined type lmao, being trapped for so long outside of time has made focus for Flora hard and fucked with her attention span, she also now spaces out alot, i think it would also have the exact opposite effect, and she would seek out excitement and desperately avoid boredom and quiet

I also think shes got echolalia! her stims are mainly vocal and she will absently repeat fun phrases she hears, Purah is a terrible person for her to hang out with because of it, she has called Wild 'Linky' without realising multiple times and he doesn't have the heart to tell her About Purah, her and Flora get on like a house on fire and its terrible for everyone around them

I personally love some exploration of botw/totk and the power/wisdom/courage goops, i'd think flora would put alot of research into the blue shiekah energy and canonically she was looking into the malice/gloom, i'd love her looking into the green Zonai energy and the purification chamber that mummydorf was being used as a battery in and the conversion between the 3 goops (i need to stop or i will start ranting about gods and divinity speculation again) all this to bring up the fun images in my head of her using the glowy blue water in like attacks and animations an stuff like Wilds ascend, if you've seen the kda more music video the little glowy finger trails would be cool for her or even like full steam punk mechanical stuff with tubes full of the stuff, considering that the blue stuff stores information and how she uses her own tears as a dragon to store her memories a collaboration with the Zora and Sidon specifically who can control water to make a more robust storage system that cant be destroyed in a calamity style cataclysm would be cool, like Monomon's archives in Hollow Knight if you know of that, you could even crystalize it to be like the Zora history tables?

I really like the idea of Zelda needing like reading glasses? maybe some lingering weirdness from the dragon eyes or she just reads too much, she has a pair of glasses she doesn't wear very often for reading and for looking at small machinery components, maybe some form of prescription goggles made by Purah? I think she probably has needed them for a long time but only actually started using them recently, i think shes a thin wire frame with smaller rectangular ish lenses kinda gal, very perched low on her nose while sitting reading in bed

I'm going to force myself to stop here cause if i don't this will forever sit in my drafts as i think of new things to add to it

[true-blue-sonic]

all four hedgehogs for the ask game

Sonic:

My boy! I don't talk about him a lot, but I think Sonic is a great character. He is incredibly inspirational to me, and I think I'll always have a soft spot for him because it is through his games that I gained the level of English I have now. Sonic is tremendously powerful, and I like how he both just does whatever he wants, but that "whatever he wants" is helping other people. He's got far more layers to him than you would see at first glance, and that is why I think it's sometimes hard for fans (myself included! I tend to make him too idealistic imo) to get him right. So yeah, a highly intriguing character that I cherish deeply!

Shadow:

Another cool character! This is interesting, because I was wayyyyy too young to play Sonic Heroes when it came out, but I do not disagree with the sentiment that reintroducing him one (1) game after SA2 was perhaps too quick. Especially considering the four storylines and twelve characters of Heroes, it feels a bit... odd? That Shadow just appeared again with amnesia and not that much attention brought to it, not at all helped by all the confusion of the Shadow Androids and whether or not he was the real one to begin with. Then add Battle making things more confusing with him allegedly having his memory back, and then StTH on top, haha. That being said, I think he's got a solid characterisation in '06, and I like his backstory and design a lot as well. I can certainly see why he is so popular in the fandom.

Amy:

Huh... I also like Amy, but none of these statements are really applicable, haha! I like Amy's optimism and her being the heart of the team, but also her occasional no-nonsense attitude and the fact she can be hot-tempered. She's not only a sweet innocent lil bby girl, but she's also not constantly angry and therefore unlikeable because of that. I would say that the early 2000s had WAY too much of the latter, what with her constant chasing after Sonic in just an unfun way to me (still thinking of her characterisations in Rush and Battle there), but she's gotten a lot better over the years, I feel like. She's sweet and kind but knows what she wants, and I quite like seeing her appear.

Silver:

My favourite character <3 <3

Usually I am not fond of the "So Literally Me" statements, but there's quite a few things in our personalities wherein Silver and I match. But what I like about him is that he's also got characteristics that I lack myself, such as his determination and his never-ending hope and just how far he is willing to go to make everyone happy. I find it incredibly inspiring! It did not take long for Silver to become my favourite (at first it was Blaze for a few months), and somehow he always finds his way back to the position. I really cannot think of anything about him personally I dislike: it's mostly just that it seems very difficult for fans and official/"official" media alike to see just what makes him who he is. He's not a weakass bby cinnamon roll 100, but he's also not a rage-driven idiot asshole (where my hot take of the day is that in the Rivals games, they actually manage to strike a balance between both these extremes as well!), and the only game wherein he was truly shown as naive and easily deceived was '06. There's a lot going on with his personality, and I love dissecting it all.

I would love to see more of him; I understand why Sega swiftly removed him from any large roles following '06 and its reception, but I also feel that Silver is becoming more popular again, at least on Tumblr. So maybe one day he'll get a game of his own, or be featured in a larger role than in prior instalments? Iizuka did say it is not impossible, in 2018. I do wonder how they'll make it work with his powers in a game series that focuses on speed first and foremost, but perhaps it'll be less of an issue if he's not presented alongside a speedier Sonic. Regardless, I'm (almost) always happy to see Silver appear!

[pocket-luv101]

Memories

Fandom: Genshin Impact Ship: CynoNari

Summary: Lisa shows Tighnari pictures of when Cyno was a child.

“You wouldn’t believe how shy Cyno was as a child. The moment he saw a stranger, he would hide behind my skirt. This is my favourite photo of little Cyno. Don’t you think he’s adorable too, Tighnari?” Lisa beamed proudly as she showed him an album of Cyno’s childhood photos. She insisted that they should revisit the memories before they returned to Sumeru.

She thought it would be interesting to see Cyno’s reaction as she told Tighnari stories from his childhood. Lisa saw herself as his older sister and she liked to tease him sometimes. However, Cyno didn’t appear bothered because he was focused on playing Genius Invokation with Collei. While Lisa couldn’t see him flustered, his current reaction was more reassuring to her.

The Akademiya was a stifling environment, especially for a child. Lisa was relieved that Cyno found people he was comfortable with and he could show his childish side to them. Lisa turned the page and said: “Cyno has grown up a lot but he still indulges in such games. Diona is holding a TCG tournament next month. Will you three come back to visit?”

“I’m certain Cyno will find the time. He kept me up past midnight playing Genius Invokation.” Despite the small complaint, Tighnari wore a small grin. He didn’t mind staying up late into the night with Cyno, no matter if they were playing cards or simply talking. Tighnari traced his finger over a photo of young Cyno. “I want him to have fun since we’re on vacation but I was exhausted this morning.”

“Ah, young love.” Lisa said in a teasing voice. She couldn’t hold back her laughter after she saw the blush on Tighnari’s cheeks. To make Tighnari blush was a rarer sight than with Cyno. Her juniors could be too serious when it came to work and she hoped that she could make them relax enough to simply enjoy the moment. “I have a picture of little Cyno trying to dress as Sage Cyrus. You should take it with you so Collei can use it as inspiration for her academic goals.”

“Can I see it?” Collei looked up from her cards when she heard her name. Her interest was piqued after Lisa described the photograph but she glanced hesitantly at Cyno. He could read her expression and he placed his cards on the board. Cyno recognized it from when he was a child and he was mindful of upsetting the people around him.

He walked to the photo album to slip the photo from its seal. Then, he held it out to Collei. Tighnari watched Cyno and Collei interact and a smile grew over his lips. Most people were afraid of Cyno but he was able to see his kindness. Cyno was one of the few people who could bring Collei out of her shell.

A photo caught Tighnari’s attention. In the picture, a six year old Cyno was crying and holding his wrapped hand. Wisps of electricity surrounded him and Tighnari recognized Hermanubis’s power. He didn’t know why they would keep a picture of him sobbing. “When did you take this picture?”

“This is when Cyno told me about his first crush.” Lisa chuckled. “Cyno came home with a bandage wrapped around his hand. When Sage Cyrus tried to take off the bandage to check his wound, he started crying not to. He claimed that it held a magic kiss. We were both surprised by how insistent he was. Usually, he wouldn’t yell at us the way he did that night.”

“Please, don’t tell him that story, Lisa. I was just a kid and I believed what that boy told me.” Cyno quickly stopped her. He didn’t remember the boy who kissed his hand but he could imagine Lisa exaggerating the story. “I’ve only spoken with him once so I would barely call it a crush. He helped me and I was appreciative of that.”

“That bandage…” Tighnari’s brows furrowed. “I’ve seen this design before.”

“You must return to the desert. Forbidden Knowledge will spread if you don’t empower the purification towers. This is your duty.” The voice echoed in Cyno’s mind. More overwhelming than the voice was the power rushing through his body. He tried to focus and redirect the power to his arms as Sage Cyrus taught him. However, this father wasn’t there to help guide him through the ritual. He regretted that he decided to practise summoning Hermanubis alone.

“I want to go home.” He argued. He fought against the divine spirit and stumbled through the forest. Cyno needed to return to Sage Cyrus for help but he found himself lost. The Temple of Silence sent him to live in the city a few months ago and he didn’t know the path home. His purple blindfold made it more difficult for him to return to the Akademiya.

“Turn around and take the road to your left.” Hermanubis whispered directions to him but Cyno didn’t know whether to trust him. When he made a contract with the divine spirit, he believed its power would help him protect the people around him. He was uncertain now. The scholars told him stories of how the gods of the desert were cruel. Had he been tricked?

Suddenly, Cyno felt a soft hand on his cheek and the touch distracted him from the panic he felt. “Are you lost?”

“Who are you?” Cyno stiffened and backed away from the voice. He couldn’t flee far before he felt path blocked by a tree. He strained his eyes to see past the purple fabric but he was only able to make out the vague silhouette of the person. To his confusion, the person appeared to have tall ears. “Go away or else my power will hurt you.”

“This boy is a Valuka Shuna. We can trust him.” Hermanubis told him. Through their connection, Cyno could sense the spirit’s fear and desperation ebb away. He had read about Valuka Shuna and their connection to the desert. Cyno was certain that he hadn’t walked far enough to reach the desert and he didn’t feel sand beneath him.

The boy couldn’t hear his confusion with Hermanubis and assumed Cyno was ignoring him. He huffed and knelt in front of him. “Hurt me? The only one in danger is you. Why would you wear a blindfold in the forest? You could run into a tree and hurt yourself. Did someone make you wear the blindfold? I’ll untie it for you.”

While his sight was obscured, he was able to feel his fingers brush over his temple. He struggled to untie the blindfold because the ribbon was tied beneath his helmet. After a few minutes, he finally managed to tug the blindfold free and the fabric fell from his eyes. Cyno saw the boy fall backwards and he reached out to catch him.

“Are you okay?” Cyno held out his hand to help him stand. Their gaze met and he was mesmerized by the boy’s stunning eyes. He had never seen a person whose eyes reflected the rainforest’s green and brown. His tall ears twitched as he sat up. Then, Cyno looked down at his own hand that was cloaked in a violet aura. He thought that his claws would scare the boy and he started to take his hand back.

Before he could pull away, the boy placed his hand on his claw. “Thank you. My name is Tighnari.”

“Cyno.” He introduced himself and his claws retreated.

“I’ve never seen you in Avidya Forest before. Are you from the city? Did you visit the rainforest for an expedition? Why were you wearing the blindfold?” Tighnari couldn’t help but be curious about his new friend and questions flowed out of him. Then, he noticed how Cyno turned away from him and stared at the blindfold on the ground.

“I live in the Akademiya. Can you show me the path back?” He asked. He was careful not to tell him about the divine spirit inside of him. Cyno was accustomed to people distrusting him because he was from the desert so Tighnari’s friendly smile was a rare sight to him.

“My father works at the Akademiya so I know the way. The left road should take you to Sumeru City. Shall we go together?” Tighnari told him the same direction that Hermanubis did. He thought that the spirit would lie to him and trick him to go to the desert. While Cyno was still lost in thought, Tighnari took his hand and tugged him towards the path.

Tighnari looked at their joined hands and he noticed the scrapes on Cyno’s hand from when his claws had retreated. While he wasn’t bleeding, he recalled his mother’s warning to treat wounds quickly. He wasn’t trained in medicine so he imitated how his parents would help him. “Mother made this special handkerchief for me. It’ll help you feel better too.”

He tied the cloth around Cyno’s hand. The makeshift bandage was uneven and loose but Tighnari grinned proudly at his work. He leaned down and kissed his fingertips. He recited a chant. “Jungle rain. Desert sand. Ocean’s hue. May this this blessing protect you.”

As Tighnari raised his head, he saw the blush Cyno wore. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt shy as well and let go of his hand. “I’m sorry. Whenever I got hurt, Mother would kiss it better and say a spell. It makes me stronger and I thought it’ll help you too.”

Cyno stared at his bandaged hand. “I want to become stronger.”

“Let’s go back to the Akademiya then!” Tighnari took his hand again and they started walking down the road. “Why were you wearing a blindfold? Was it a part of your training to become stronger?”

“I don’t know. I am a vessel for a divine spirit.” Cyno intended to tell him that the blindfold would appear whenever he transformed. The voice of Hermanubis echoed in his mind and made Cyno pause.

“You are a child, Cyno. You shouldn’t have to see the aftermath of a battle so I give you a blindfold.” Hermanubis’s explanation surprised Cyno. He thought that the spirit would only see him as a vessel and would disregard anything else. Cyno didn’t mind the contract as long as he could protect the people around him.

“A vessel? That sounds similar to a novel I read, Genius Invokation TCG!” Tighnari interrupted them, unable to hear Hermanubis. A beaming smile lit up his face. “I think it’s cool. You two can fight together. I will lend you the first book in the series.”

“So, this is where you were hiding. I was worried when you didn’t return to our hotel room. It’s late.” Cyno found Tighnari sitting next to a grand window in the library. The moonlight filtered through the glass and illuminated Tighnari’s face. He looked up from his book and their gaze met. Despite the years that passed, he still had the most beautiful eyes he knew. He stopped next to Tighnari and noticed the book in front of him. “What are you looking at, Nari?”

“This photo Lisa gave me.” Tighnari held the picture closer to the candle so Cyno could see it as well. He immediately recognized it from when Lisa was teasing that afternoon. The slight embarrassment the photo brought him was overshadowed by Tighnari’s soft smile. “The world is full of coincidences, isn’t it? I wish that we had met again sooner. We could’ve been friends growing up.”

Cyno loved Tighnari and he wouldn’t have changed a moment of their time together. Though, a greedy part of him also wished that they could’ve become friends sooner. He gently took Tighnari’s hand and kissed his fingertips the way he did years ago. “When I was a child, it was painful for me to summon Hermanubis. I feared its power. Then, you took off the blindfold and made me realize something. I didn’t trust him. I needed to confront that and fight alongside him. Thank you.”

“You don’t wear a blindfold when you transform like when we first met.” Tighnari lightly brushed his bangs from his red eyes. Since Tighnari often treated his wounds, Cyno told him about his Divine Spirit and the toll his transformation had on his body. He knew how complicated being a vessel was before they came to an understanding. “Your claws don’t hurt you anymore. Nevertheless, when you’re injured, come to my tent and I’ll perform another spell.”

“You can trust that I’ll go to you no matter how small the wound is.” He squeezed Tighnari’s hand. “If we met again sooner, you could’ve heard more of my jokes. What do you call a fake noodle? An impasta.”

“Dear Archons, that was the third time you’ve told that joke.” Tighnari laughed and shook his head. His jokes could be painfully dry but he secretly enjoyed them. He couldn’t tell him that he liked his jokes or else it would encourage Cyno to make more. He looked down at the photo of their past and imagined their future together. “I’ll return this to Lisa and then we can go back to the hotel room.”