#and why is I change my hair color often under Appearance and not Hair

[shooting-love-arrows]

𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄! 𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍

PAIRING: 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 x [human] reader (gender not implied/specified/mentioned) SYNOPSIS: 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 is determianted to court you (even when in his opinion it's just a formality). TW. delusional thinking, biting, mention of blood A/N: I am fighting writer's block to the best of my abilities but man, fighting Thanos would be easier than that.

𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 who courts you after the very first meeting. It starts small to see if you're interested in him in the first place (in his option it's only formality but he wants to be gentlemerman). But he wants you to know he's taking the whole matter seriously. He brings you the most beautiful trinkets, pieces of coral, pearls of various sizes and colors and shells each different from another but all in perfect condition. Sometimes he even creates jewelry from an ocean plant, pearls and shells. You are often surprised to see him eagerly swimming towards you, with a bag made out of abodemen fishnet filled to the brim with various things taken straight out of the deep sea. You're even more taken aback when it turns out those things are for you. His face absolutely lights up when you accept each and every token. 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 also can't help but to chirp loudly, boldly showing you how happy he is to see you accepting his (courting) gifts. You have to admit, his reaction is adorable.

"Oh...look at this one!" 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 eagerly picked up another shell who has caught his attention. It was big and only needed a little cleaning to make it shine. "It's perfect for the necklace! Oh, oh! And look at that!"

𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 who affectionately bites you whenever he gets a chance. That's the next stage of courting where an interested merfolk is supposed to nib the one he's interested in to show them they want to take courting to the next level. It's that stage where a courting couple starts to show the public that they're into each other. It served as both letting others know it's a serious matter and leaving a mark/scent on each other for the public to back off. He's got sharp canines and premolars so it's easy for him to leave a mark on your smooth skin. Marking you quickly becomes his favorite thing. Especially when he draws some blood that leaves a wonderful smell. You don't understand why 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 does that, especially when you scold him or tell him not to do that. But he doesn't stop, nibbing at whatever part of your body he can. It's part of the courting rituals after all!

"Oh no, my marks are healing." 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 deflated when he noticed the puncures began to fade. Only to quickly perk up when he realized he's got to mark you again and more.

𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 who takes care of his scales like never before. This is a vital part of courting since merfolk want to look their best for their mate. He was taught that as courtier, he should look his best. And that's what 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 does. Suddenly turning from a crude merman whose only interest was hunting for food and playing around, into the beauty guru. He began to thoughtfully groom his tail, until his scales reflected and sparkled under the mere streams of sunlight. He also changed his hairstyle by braiding his hair differently to symbolize that he is now taken (even when you're unaware of that). 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 was never more beautiful.

"This just won't do." 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 tutted when he noticed his tail was becoming dull. He needed to look his absolute best for you!

𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 who decorates his abode for you. After you accept his first courting gift, he happily swims back to where he lives. It's a cave hidden from the plain sight that, much to his horror, appears to be extremely empty and bland. Something that just won't do, especially for his precious mate. Without a moment of hesitation, he starts the preparation. Inside his cave he plants: seaweed, kelp, red sea whips and various colorful corals. Those are only various of many but soon enough the inside of his abode is filled with soft plants, floating lazily around and glistening with colors. On the outside though, he planted a few poisonous plants that he's immune to, since 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 doesn't want intruders to meddle somewhere where they shouldn't be. This part of the courting ritual should be done before the mating season takes place and both parties are in agreement to spend this time with each other. But as we can see, 𝐘𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞! 𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 just couldn't wait and decided to be prepared. After all, he believes that this whole courting matter is only formality for you to surely return his feelings and has already accepted him as your mate. Just like he did you.

"Is it colorful enough? Should I add something more? Hm, I'll better plant more of those..."

All of the published posts on this account/blog belongs to @shooting-love-arrows. I do not consent to my works being: translated, stolen, published or reposted on this and other sites. Likes, reblogs, comments are highly appreaciated. Thank you.

[mangywayway]

“You should wear glasses more often, you know?”

Steve raised an eyebrow, without lifting his head from the book he was reading. He knew if he did that he would be too distracted to continue reading.

"Why on earth would I do that? I don't need them that much and it makes me uncomfortable to wear them" Steve muttered to the boy blissfully lying on his lap. "Because," said Billy, reaching out to better adjust the glasses on the other's nose, attracting his attention, "they look good on you and they suit your face very well. And then" and here Billy smiled broadly "they make you look like one of those sexy professors" concluded the harpy, accompanying it all with a suggestive movement of his eyebrows.

Steve, caught off guard, couldn't resist and burst out laughing when he looked at his boyfriend's face. Steve closed his book once and for all, as he had already given up for a while and given up on reading; he was convinced that he had gotten used to Billy's outings and yet he always managed to surprise him with something new. He wiped the tears from his eyes while Billy continued to look at him all pleased. It looked like the emblem of a big, chubby cat, which was saying something considering which of the two had feline origins.

There was a silence between them, broken only by the soft purring that rose from the young gattu's chest.

Steve's hands were tangled in Billy's hair and he let himself sprawl even more on his boyfriend's legs, so relaxed that he allowed himself to leave one of his wings free so he could stretch it a little.

Billy had let himself go so much that he didn't notice how Steve, after observing his face for a while, decided to remove his glasses and then place them delicately on the harpy's face. Feeling the added weight, Billy opened his eyes, blinking quickly to adjust to the change in view before him. He turned to Steve questioningly, his face slightly distorted by the lenses, but clearly curious as to why Steve's glasses were on his face. The latter shrugged his shoulders, replying "I don't know, I think they suit your face better. Although I don't think the role of teacher is for you"

"Oh, really?" Billy sneered. "In my opinion I could be a great teacher, what do you know," he said, moving his wing animatedly, as if he were illustrating something to an imaginary audience.

Steve rolled his eyes "Yes of course, as if I didn't know you enough. And then we both know that if you were a teacher you would have classrooms full of people who would spend more time looking at you than at the blackboard" the latter grumbled.

Billy was surprised for a moment, a little twinkle in his eye.

"Don't tell me you'd be jealous Stevie"

A light blush appeared on the young cat's face, and he didn't bother to respond, except for a muttered under his breath, you're an idiot, Billy Hargrove.

To his mortification, the harpy had heard it (because of course he had), so much so that he exclaimed "Ah! I may be an idiot, but remember that I am your idiot Steve Harrington, and you can't say anything against it".

Steve looked up at the ceiling, a big smile present on his face.

He would never admit it out loud, but what Billy had said was true and he would never change it for the world.

Okay, gouache defeated me (this time). I started this illustration with gouache, ruined it, and then draw it again and colored it digitally. I will keep practicing with gouache but with smaller subjects, because in this case I really went overboard lol. Also yeah, there it was a book in the original sketch (I'll leave it below) but I didn't like it at the end so I removed it. The illustration was based on this small thing I wrote; as always I tried to pay attention and translated it the best I could (even if there is something I'm still not sure about but eh) but yeah, if you see errors or change of verbs and stuff, just ignore them 🗿 (adding that I'm a big reader, but absolutely not a writer. Still, having them in these comfy settings is like free therapy to me so I'll probably try and do more stuff like this)

Pencil versione below ✨

[bugstung]

(Pretty much) All my headcanons and symbolisms for my EmpiresSMP designs!

With some further detailling about some stuff under read more

Season 1

Pixl: Watchers are not some big bad evil Gods, but astral spirits watching over the worlds. As they See everything, they are often linked to the Vigil (as well as people given the gift of prophecy)

The life symbol was added after his alliance with Joey

Joel: A terracotta statue given life from the Mother Tree, he's flesh and bones (because magic), but him (and all the Mezalea habitants) returned to their statue form when Joel died of grief.

He does have other clothes to work in, but you're practically never going to see him in those.

Some other Mezalea headcanons

Jimmy: Most witches come from the swamp, and he's one of them. They specialize in potions and talismans.

Hair are important to codfolks, the act of brushing or braiding them are used in certain spells, thus why most codfolks don't have short hair.

His appearance is also more wild looking than before because of his slow transformation into a God.

The Cod Alliance gifted each other jewelries to remind and protect each others.

(Pixl and Joel's jewelries are under their clothes as necklaces)

Wizards vs Witches

Coldfolk culture and more

Some more codfolk thoughts

After killing a certain amount of salmons, codfolks get a tattoo of dead salmons somewhere on their body.

Pearl: Similarly to Mythland, they see physical activities and fights as important (mostly for work but also protect themselves from ennemies).

I. don't have anything from Shrub I'm sorry I didn't watch her and I don't know her lore very well

Gem: Gem and fWhip grew up together to be wizards in the Crystal Cliffs, pressured to be perfect by their elders. Gem turned out to be naturally talented at magic, so everything rested on her shoulders.

She still keeps a lot of her strict education, but tries to make a change in the stressful wizard society.

She has a ring to represent the WRA (and another for magic channeling), and lots of scars from magic experiments.

Hair and the Geminitays

Wizards vs Witches (again, but it's important for Gem and fWhip lore)

fWhip: As said in the posted linked above, fWhip failed the wizard exams (he doesn't have any magical powers) and ran away in the newly founded Grimlands. His ingenuousness made him Count of the Grimlands. The Grimlands do not do magic. They mix science, engineering and alchemy instead. Symbols similar to sigils (or those of alchemy) are often seen engraved in their creations.

The deepslate corruption gave him wings, but they were not strong enough to fly so he has prosthetics to help him fly

He's actually quite clumsy, and ended up with lots of scars, and a missing hand:

Joey: (clearer design of his crown, made to ressemble the pharmacy snake thingie)

He bleaches his own hair.

He bleeds gold, and his scars are golden as well from his over use of Totems of Undying

Him being an avian allowed him a easy access to the Lost Empire. He wears the Ocelot print to look a bit more like its habitants.

Also his spit has healing properties.

Sausage: Mythland and Magic

Blood sheeps are sacred, but also feared, thus the fur to protect the citizens a bit from them.

Sausage lost his eyes when sparring with fWhip when younger. fWhip made him the eye prosthesis, and Gem enchanted it. May or may not have become corrupted in the whole Xornoth thing so they did another one for him.

Scott: I surprisingly do not have much for him. His cape can turn into wings. He stopped being able to do that when his ice powers showed up because they froze.

Very strict haircut, elves must be tidy and proper all the time.

Lizzie: She adapted rather well to her transformation, mostly changed her clothes for better swimming. Joel jokingly made her a bracelet to replace her now too small ring "in case she grows again", but she wears it seriously.

S2 Joel has very similar clothes to her because of faint memories.

Katherine: Yeah I fucked and forgot to color her inking, she was supposed to look like this (I noticed too late and never bothered to correct it)

Katherine has this whole "I want to be friends with everyone" that I associate with lambs, thus her ears and hooves. She's a fae with some weird morals.

SEASON 2

I have wayyy less for season 2, especially for the empires themselves.

fWhip: Goblins are direct descendants from the Grimlands (and a few from Crystall Cliffs), that hid underground after the explosion. They kept digging and exploring the caves until they found a place to settle. The green skin, cat like paws and eyes are from them adapting to living in caves.

Food is very important to them, they eat several times a day, and often have banquets. They also kept the Grimlands technique of blacksmithing, but adapted it for gold.

Jimmy: Yeehaw he's a cowboy. Not much to say ngl, I do headcanon him as a werewolf depending on the day.

Tumble Town heard cows, but also creepers (where do you think they get that gunpowder from!!) (headcanon from @doodleshrimpsad). Also, cats are sacred there

Pixl: He's got some magical and futuristic technology making him able to see builds and events from the past.

Got some knees problems, thus the cane. It has sigils on it that he wrote himself based of books from old times (I'm thinking they're sigils from the Cod Empire and the Grimlands)

I desperatly need to think about more about Pixandria, and how tf David (or at least a newer version of it) arrived at the Ancient City.

Joel: Yeah he got top surgery and got a cool tattoo of laurels, but he also bleeds gold and his scars are golden. God don't bow to human rules anyway.

The braid come from a habit he can't doesn't remember getting. it feels important.

Lower Stratos got a lot of rituals, prayers and offering but I haven't figured those out exactly. Just know that I associate s2 Joel with Dionysus a lot so expect similar stuff /sweats/

False: I have literally no idea what's going in her empire, and even less in her lore. The hp name put me off so. Idk. Cool clocks. She got a prosthetic leg.

Sausage: I haven't gotten to his lore part of his videos so idk his backstory. But he does have a cape that ressemble parrot wings because jungle, animals yadda yadda

Scott: He was actually due a redesign that I haven't gotten to yet so.

The outfit I've drawn him in that lineup is an everyday look, while the costume is for empires meeting or exploring.

Oli: Silly bard, his hat has faling strings that reminded me of floppy bunny ears and I thought it was cute. He bleaches his hair.

Got a lot of magic in his songs, people often stops by at his Kingdom just to hear sing and dance. They're a bit hypnotic and people seem to feel better afterwards.

Katherine: That's her monster hunter clothes. She still wants to keep it cute so pink skirt it is. That would be her normal clothes (it's like reverse magical girl, her poofy dress is her everyday dress)

Shelby: I do not have much for her (again), but I can link my Wizard vs Witches post again because it has my headcanons of why witches have academies now.

After all the complicated spells, she likes to do simple fashion magic. Tying a knot or a bow is to seal a spell, so she uses them a lot to do some simple protection spells on her clothes.

Pirate Joe: He's wearing lots of stolen jewelries, some may be enchanted, some may be cursed. Who knows? Not him.

The gold earring come from that belief among pirates that having a golden earrings gives you a better eyesight ( it's from a acupuncture point, and for some, wearing gold in the proper pierced place would help your eyesight).

Katherine did that braid in his hair, and Joe (like cod folks and crystal cliffs habitants), believes that braiding someone's hair means they will fall in love with you.

Gem: I'll have to link back that link about Hair and Geminitays as it got everything I got for her. She sometimes fight with Katherine about hair and its importance. My start of headcanons kinda got crushed because she's linked to hc Gem so idk what to do with her or her kingdom anymore.

Lizzie: She's got her mask to hide her cat face, but her bow is actually a charm hiding her other cat features. The mask is just to be sure.

[sanjisblackasswife]

So I forgot who it was (I’m so sorry if u see it pls lmk and I’ll tag u) but the person re logged this drawing I did and said “Imagine Sanji telling her how much he loves her skin “ and something else I forgot BUT I UNDERSTOOD. So imma do it rn so here is some Soft Sanji.

“Just As You Are” Sanji x Black Fem Reader (Fluff)

CW: Mentions of racism/colorism/Verbal Abuse/Mental Health, Very much fluff, Reader is insecure and sad, happy ending

It was always different.

How people looked at you, how you weren’t the “ideal” woman. Was it your hair? The way you dress? How you talk?

Maybe it was your skin.

You grew up not loving your self. You were adopted into a family that treated you as if you weren’t even human, you were constantly talked about your melanin, you weren’t beautiful, so many disrespectful comments and mockery of you being black it made you not accept the true love the Strawhats gave you. They didn’t care if you were black, white, yellow, or blue they love you for you!

Especially a certain cook.

You’ve had a few episodes of panic attacks when all eyes were on you, you had the internal fear of being ridiculed for your appearance. Sanji noticed this immediately when you first joined and tried to convince you in his own way that you are beautiful but you were stubborn you didn’t want to hear it.

You shunned many people in your life due to this, took a very long time for you to even wear more comfortable clothing exposing your features, your skin. You often wore big hoodies or huge clothing in general. The girls welcomed you in with open arms and day by day they helped you get over this doubt you have in yourself.

Today wasnt a good day though. You just came back on the ship, legs exhausted from running, hair in a tangles mess from running into some bushes, you were covered in dirty and blood, not sure if it was yours or that man you kicked around.

“Oh! Y/N! Y/N! My love?!” Sanji ran over to you in a panic immediately holding your weakened body. “What happened who did this?!”

You shook your head it was too embarrassing to even think about, “I just need to sleep.”

“N-no you cant your head!” Sanj took out a napkin from his jacket and placed it on your bleeding forehead. Thats probably why you felt so tired. He walked you back to his room where he had a small couch for you to lay on his lap. He had a small first aid kit to help you since Chopper was gone with everybody else.

Sanji was furious on who could have possibly done this to you. He bit his tongue as you groaned in pain.

“I thought you were with the girls?” He asked taking the leaves stuck in your hair.

“I wanted to be by myself for a moment..that’s all…and then I encountered some assholes…doesn’t matter though…apparently my kind isn’t welcomed here.”

“Y/N—“

“Sanji.”

Sanji’s been very aware of the treatment you’ve gotten in the past by ignorant people when you all were in public. If you all weren’t being chased or fighting every once in a while you and you alone would get stared and not so loud whispers about how

“Different“ you were from Nami and Robin.

Sanji never understood it, Never understood how someone can look at a person’s skin or race or culture or features and be so hateful? What have you done to deserve such treatment?

Nothing. You didn’t deserve it.

Sanji cleaned you up in silence, but it was killing him not to speak his mind to you, “Here…” He sat up and got in front of you to take out anything else from your hair. “Gatta make sure I get all of it.”

Your eyes felt like they were burning as you fiddled with your thumbs. Fighting back the urge to cry, Your chest felt heavy. You were tired and ready to shin everything and body from you after he was done. They’re all the same. Nothing will ever change with how people treat you.

Like clock work Sanji looked down to see a tear fall on your fist. Before you could wipe it off he gently moved his finger under to ur chin so you can look up at him. It was like his heart sank seeing you so broken in the eyes.

“Y/N…”

Without anymore words exchanged he grabbed you into a soft embrace. Your face was buried in his shoulder finally breathing out the tears you needed to release. It was painful to him to hear you like this. He wish he would have been there those assholes would never had a chance to hurt you. His head started to pound from the frustration, so many what if’s. What if they done worse? What if they took you? What if he just could have been there?

Your cries dies down and the sounds were replaced with Sanji’s quickened heart beat. You felt maybe because he is holding you—a woman— he’s probably trying to not bleed all over you. Rolling your eyes at the thought you pulled back and was greeted to him instead with his glossy eyes.

“You’re so Beautiful Y/N…” He spoke out searching your eyes, “you are. I’m more than sorry this happened to you. ….I’m sorry this has been going on for so long . I’m sorry you haven’t been treated the way you needed. I’m sorry you couldn’t come to me when you feel anything less than perfect, I’m sorry for not reminding you enough how stunning you are, how worth of a life you are, how….”

“I’m sorry for not loving you enough.”

You blinked. It was so much emotion poured into what saying was professing to you, you couldn’t process it all you just looked away embarrassingly not wanting to believe him.

“You don’t mean —-“

“It’s more than a belief Y/N It’s a fact. “ Sanji wiped your tear stained cheek. He needed you to understand who you really are, and how much you meant to him. “I promise. To this day Y/N. I won’t ever allow any asshole to make you hate who you are. Your skin is just how God intended it to be and its so Heavenly.”

“You don’t ever feel like you need to apologize or feel animosity about this beautiful body you’re in. Because I love it.”

He kissed your hands looking into your eyes. It wasn’t the same how he usually does it, full of indescribable lust, but it was lawful. It was real.

It made you feel shy quite actually.

“I love you.”

You cried a little chuckling at the floor. You didn’t have much to say back because you were still fighting in your mind if you believe him or not.

“I love you, Too Sanji.”

His smile was also a sign of relief, in the back of his mind he felt like he maybe over stepped his boundary with you, but you welcomed him. You welcomed his compliments.

You took a bath Sanji drew for you and he went to your room to clean up a bit and fix you your favorite dinner. As you were relaxing the cook had some spare time after making your meal, the girls came back and told Sanji about what happened and the men that harassed you.

Needless to say during that time Sanji went out for a smoke break to handle some business.

[new-tella-us]

I got a fic!

Aight go easy on me, I haven't written a fic in a while so it might be a little short and jumbled. This is really just to establish the "James Neutral Route" idea that has been brewing in my head for a while.

For now the Fic/Fic Series is gunna be called Neutrality. It may change though.

“When did our nights become so recreational?” 

The thought pierced James’s mind as he read what had become his default book in the recent years. He couldn’t help but look up from his book at the world around him to see what it had become. The warm colored wooden flooring and frankly tacky but comfortably familiar wallpaper of the Anderson manor, the smell of cedar wood from the marble fireplace that burned so dimly covering the library in a soft glow and the dark, starry sky just outside the window that contrast the murky, red sky he was so used to.  

Oddest of all, was her. Mika, the woman that so casually rested her tired head on his right shoulder. She snored so comfortably against his chest. Looking to his side, his vision became covered in her barely tied up curly hair, as dark as the night sky to their left. As normal as such a sight became for James, it still made a side of his mind feel odd. He couldn’t help but find the whole scene almost unreal. Like it was an unrealistic dream, or a play and they were the actors. And that’s when the question would appear in his head. Life had become so slow and full of frivolity, even with running the Anderson Toy company.  

When? 

When did calm, soft nights become normal? Were they ever fully normal to him? Maybe not. He expected them but he wasn’t used to them. 

With a sigh and a shrug, he brushed the thought aside as always. It’s a question that didn’t have a clear answer. Eyes turning back to the book in his hand, the cover more specifically, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Love and Romance. A Study of Intimacy.” His “favorite” book according to his brothers’ teasing. It really wasn’t, there were others he liked more, better written with more solid themes and plots. Even other books from the human world had superior books to this one but, he just kept coming back to it and he barely understood why. 

“Love and Romance...” 

Another topic he felt like he knew casually but never understood. He understood the lust often tacked onto love fairly easily. The rising passion of two or more people when the mood calls for it, the fire that burned in your core until it becomes raging and impossible to ignore. He knew that all too well. He just had to be around the woman currently resting on his chest –whose hair is currently tickling his neck- long enough and he’d feel that rise in passion, often caused by a lack of energy. He perfectly understood that. But love... Love was so complex and fickle. It was a walking contradiction; beautiful yet ugly, powerful with no real power, a peacemaker or a war bringer, and something so very far removed from him. 

He knew better than to try and feel it. If he did, his soul would feel an emptiness. An uncomfortably spacious void where the missing emotion would be. He knew he couldn’t love anyone anymore. Not the romantic love he should feel for her anyway. He could imitate the actions someone with love does and he did care for her, but he couldn’t truly feel it. That book, understanding it more with every read, might be as close as he gets to romantic love he’ll ever get. 

... 

The air always got so cold when he allowed himself to spiral in thought like this.  

Maybe it was time to go to bed. There was no point making the night colder or longer than it had to be. He was about to shake Mika awake when he thought against it. She looked so peaceful on his shoulder; he wanted to preserve that peace before she inevitably ruined it by consuming her -frankly concerning amount of- coffee. Slowly, carefully, he shifted his hands around her waist and under her knees to pick her up in a way humans call “bridal style”. She shifted but when she didn’t seem to wake, he started walking out of the library and down the hallway to the master bedroom.  

The door creaked open, and the royal blue of the room invited him in with its familiarity. He’d become well acquainted with this room over the nights he’s spent serving Mika, especially after his younger brothers, one by one, left the manor and he spent more time keeping the mistress fed and happy, or in this case, rested. A night like this of putting her to bed wasn’t common but not unheard of either. He had gotten used to it enough that he was trusted to undress her and put her in something more comfortable.  

This time, however, he felt that familiar flash of something more carnal at seeing her undressed. He could almost feel the gold whirling through his violet eyes. It wasn’t blinding or overpowering but it did make him stare at her form and curves longer than he should; and it was a good sign that he might be low on energy. He’d discuss that with her tomorrow. For now, he tucked her into bed then headed for the door. 

“Thank you, James,” A soft, tired voice whispered. 

Turning back, he saw Mika staring back at him with a small smile; her emerald eyes barely holding themselves up. He couldn’t help but smile back, her smile always drew him closer, and tonight was no exception. He found himself near skating back to her side, putting a hand on her hair and ruffling it. It was like touching silk or something made of magic and the anxiety of the question that still loomed over him slowly went away. 

“Sleep, you have work tomorrow,” he said as softly as he could make his voice, his hand slowly falling to her cheek. 

Soft skin pressed into his hand as she relaxed. Her eyes closed and when he heard her snoring pick up again, he knew it was safe to leave the room. He closed the door as quietly as you can with a door as creaky as this one before turning to go down the hall towards the stairwell. His walk back to his room on the other side of the mansion gave him time to ponder that question again.  

“When did life become so recreational?”  

He thought on it with a lighter perspective, life became different but like a floating dream. And when? Does it really matter anymore? Life is more recreational, and he’ll live in this recreation until life stops letting him.  

Not everything has to be overthought. 

[epic-kotlc-crossover]

Done For

hooray new POV

@myfairkatiecat @sombrathedragon @bookwormgirl123 @imnotskyguy-remake @yellow-computer-mouse

@ham-cheese-toastie @thesfromhms @justalunaticfangirl

Biana woke up to a knock on her place door. She got out of her bed, snapping her fingers to improve her appearance. It was handy being so good at magic. Her hair was instantly shiny and free of tangles, and her blue dress was in pristine condition, not a wrinkle in sight. Biana glided down the stairs, opening the wide majestic doors to reveal…

“Fitz?! What are you doing here?”

“Biana. You haven’t changed much, I see. Still my bratty little sister.” Fitz’s gave hardened as he spoke. His clothes were torn and muddy, and his hair was long and looked like a rat’s nest.

“You want to try insulting me?” Biana snapped. He had no idea who he was dealing with.

“No, I suppose not. I’m here because my men have vanished. Throughout our travels, we don’t often have good fortune when it comes to strangers, especially immortals. So I must ask, did you do something to them?”

“Who, me?” Biana said, feigning a gasp of shock. “All I did was reveal their true forms.”

“You turned them into pigs,” Fitz pointed out.

Biana scoffed. “I don’t know who you are anymore, nor why you’re here, but let me make one thing clear to you: I have people to protect, and nymphs I can’t neglect, so I’m not taking chances, half-brother."

"If you make one wrong move, you’re done for. Anything I don’t approve of, then you’re done for," she continued. "I can put a spell on you and you’re done for! Brother, you had better run, or soon you will be done for.”

Fitz laughed. “I don’t want to persuade you otherwise, because you seem so confident in your little magic abilities, but I just ate a flower that gives me your power. Remind me, who should be running now?” He teased. He was just asking to be turned into a rodent, preferably one she could step on.

“You’re lying. Mortals can’t get Moly without dire consequences…”

“Then I must be a god like you, 'cause I dug it from the ground with my bare hands.”

“Hermes gave it to you, didn’t he?” Biana guessed.

“Well, fine, yes. But either way, you and I are now evenly matched. I have to protect my men!”

“You’ve made your one wrong move, now you’re done for,” Biana said coldly, unsheathing a dagger the length of her arm. 

Fitz drew a bronze sword, its edge jagged and spattered with old blood.

With a yell, he charged forward, but Biana jabbed the dagger under his sword arm. A gash appeared across the side of his ribs. 

He struck back, slicing her arm. She hissed in pain and snapped her fingers. His sword flew away from him and landed in the trees.

Too late, she realized he had eaten the Moly and had magic of his own. He summoned a shield and a new weapon, which he held up to her throat. Biana wasn’t sure if he would actually kill her, but she didn’t want to find out. In a blur, she lept backward and summoned a bow and a quiver. She notched the arrow, aiming it at his heart, but he dodged just as she fired. The arrow struck a tree trunk.

Fitz came up behind her and used the shield to push her to the ground. He held the tip of his sword to her heart and growled, “You’ve lost.”

She tried pleading with him, even though she despised having to admit defeat to her brother. “My nymphs are like my daughters. I’ll protect them at all costs. The last time we let strangers live we faced a heavy loss. I have no reason to trust you. But,” she mused, “everyone’s true colors are revealed in acts of revenge.”

“I– what?” 

[sweetfessions]

do you have any tips on how to do plain text and image descriptions correctly? like how descriptive should I be/not be when describing the image and stuff? I want to be as accessible as I can for people but I'm not sure how exactly to go about it. sorry if this ask is weird or anything, I'm just horrible at describing/explaining things and don't want to look stupid 😭

Absolutely! I'll leave them under the cut as this will be quite long, though ^^

PLAIN TEXT

[PT: Plain Text. END PT.]

When adding plain text, you can add it before or after your message, but adding it before your message renders the actual message kind of useless! I'd personally recommend adding it before. However, directly after still works.

They can be written in a few different ways, some including:

[PT: text. END PT.]

[pt: text. end pt.]

PT: text. END PT.

pt: text. end pt.

You should drop all TQs and type with proper grammar when typing out a plain text. For example, "Hewwo! Nyice tu mweet yu!! Mwy name is [X]" would become "PT: Hello! Nice to meet you! My name is [X]" or "H♡w are y♡u t♡day?" would become "PT: How are you today? END PT."

You should never put the plain text (or image ID) under the cut as when accounts are deactivated, which happens often in the MOGAIblr community, you are no longer able to access the 'Read More' section. This is why most archive blogs add in the under the cut text when reblogging posts.

IMAGE IDS

[PT: Image IDs. END PT.]

When making an image ID, you can put the ID in either the alt text feature (accessible in the three dots present on the image on mobile or the three dots that appear when you hover over it on PC) or after the image in the post.

There's a few ways you can write out IDs, whether in alt text or just the post.

[IMAGE ID: text. END ID.]

[ID: text. END ID.]

ID: text. END ID.

id: text. end id.

[id: text. end id.]

I usually try to be descriptive enough to get the point across when making my image IDs! For example, with this image: ( AC: @petasawa )

[IMAGE ID: A pale, white-haired girl with pastel pink eyes and glasses is sitting on her knees looking up at the camera. She has one hand up, with a ring/bandaid on her middle finger. Her hair is tied into two short pigtails and she's wearing a primarily white-and-black beret. She has a loose, short-sleeved vest-like top with a baggy white shirt underneath that has cuffed sleeves. She's wearing a tie, tucked into her vest, and a white, frilled skirt. END ID.]

You describe enough to get the point across, you should spend most of your time describing the subject of the photo (if there is one), then their foreground, and then their background. This may change depending on the composition of the photo. I would personally do it in order of what catches the person's eye when they see the photo.

For flags, I'll use the transmasc flag as an example.

[ID: A 7-striped flag, that starting from the second stripe to the 6th, gradients from a light blue to a bright blue and then back again. The outermost stripes are bright pink. END ID.]

Most commonly, I describe the number of stripes and then the colors. It makes it a lot easier to describe if you use 'gradient' rather than just listing off every color, if your flag is a gradient. Some short templates you could follow could be:

A #-striped flag that gradients from [X] to [X].

A #-striped flag that from top to bottom is colored [X], [X], [X], [X].

If the flag has a symbol, you would just describe it like something in a normal image ID!

[soulsty]

....dude Fi was designed to look 13-14 according to the devs. it's really creepy that you ship her with anyone tbh, ESPECIALLY Ghirahim. she's literally a child. says a lot about you imo

Alright alright alright, let’s clear this up.

!DISCLAIMER BEFORE I START!

Do not mistake this post as me trying to excuse weird shit. Ew. I hate pro-shipping. Get it away from me.

Now into the nitty gritty-

Quoting DIRECTLY, from Hyrule Historia, it is on my lap as we speak

“• Looks 13 or 14”

Does this concept art look a lot like our finalized Fi design? Yes it does. This is the second closest to the finalized version in the book

So let’s go over more of this, and the several reasons why I think this isn’t canon.

“• metallic texture”

That didn’t stick around. I often joke that everything in Skyward Sword looks like it’s made out of fondant, and while her clothing does, her skin and wings looks much closer to porcelain.

“• a naive cuteness”

uhh, sure? She never seemed naive to me, but she is still cute so… that stuck I guess?

I don’t need to go over the last bullet point, because that is just true lmao

But here’s the kicker! Right?

“Like the Fairy Queen in Wind Waker”

The Fairy Queen is obviously a child. We know this, look at her, she also flirts with 12 year old Link iirc

But what makes this design look like the fairy queen? The hair does, it’s exactly the same, just parted on the opposite side. The grey-blue color is really similar. Her… eyes? But wait… that’s the same eye type as the regular Great Fairies? And Ghirahim?

She didn’t even carry over the circular toon style eyes in her final design

I’m pretty sure I could assume the Great Fairies in WW are meant to be adults right? Other versions always have been, and they very clearly look like an older version of the Fairy Queen… so why does Fi’s finalized design actually look a bit more like them? From the pointed eyes to the strong nose-to-eyebrow ridge, she’s starting to look less like the Queen to me…

But let’s go back to the concept art. What else does it say?

These are the same design as the other one that says she looks 13-14, just a bit less detailed

hmm… huh… that’s interesting. Her gem changes color? Well, that’s not canon

Wait what? “Connected to the arm, which is why it bends.” She has arms under her wings?

THEY TOOK HER GODDAMN ARMS

So yeah, in that same design where she “looks 13 or 14” she had arms. Do with that what you will

How about we dive even deeper into Fi’s concept art, hmm?

It seems pretty clear to me that she wasn’t meant to be a child character from the start, some of these designs appear child-like (the one next to the iron man design in particular), but lots of these are also just women

But okay, okay, let’s take a step back from Fi’s concept art. How about Ghirahim’s, what does his say?

The same age as Link? This mfer is 17?? Jesus Christ, talk about the jock kid in high school

Jokes aside, I don’t believe that, he refers to Link as a child the entire time, all of his concept art pre-finalized, just looks like old men, so I assume that moreso meant they were straying away from that design element.

I would also like to mention that Ghirahim’s concept art states in his sword form “He shows emotion without using his eyes”

While very clearly showing a picture of him expressing with his eyes, something that remains consistent in-game as well. So this could be translation error, or just… idk honestly it just doesn’t really make sense lmao

The tl;dr of all this concept art talk is this:

Don’t take concept art as fact. As an artist, concept art is literally that. A concept. I have made designs with elements that have been changed drastically by the finalized version. It’s all a process.

SO! Now that we’re done with the concept art, let’s actually move to references from the game.

At the beginning of the game, this is said, by Gaepora and Fi

Link is referred to as “a/the youth” multiple times, as opposed to Fi being referred to once as “youthful in likeness yet wise with knowledge immeasurable.”

Youthful in likeness. Not an actual youth, and the youthful in likeness thing could not even necessarily tie back to saying she looks 13-14, just that she looks young. Youthful is a very large age-range after all.

My second point about in-game… Scrapper. This doesn’t really lead too far, because we have no idea how “old” Scrapper is “supposed to be”, he’s a robot, he has less of an age than Ghirahim and Fi, BUT he’s allowed to be an absolute simp, to the point of calling her “Mistress” non-stop, so idk, that just doesn’t read as something a child would go through to me.

UPDATE: more evidence on the front of Scrapper, when he firsts meets Link, he explicitly doesn’t want to help Link because, and I quote “Serving children is very low in my task priority.” Then Fi appears, blah blah blah, you can’t carry the windmill propeller in your pouch, right? Then Scrapper says “Who are you!?” And does what I can only describe as his version of an AWOOGA (what being “zrrt-FWOOOSH”, paraphrased) and continues, “Your name is…Fi? Should I call you Mistress Fi? Are you looking for something Mistress Fi? …I…understand. At your request, I will carry anything, regardless of weight or destination…”

So there you go, serving children is very low in his priority, Hylia was around at the same time the LD units were active, so Hylia would’ve known about the Scrapper units priorities, (assuming they all have the same priority list) so why would she make a child? Just why? And in the same vein, why would Hylia make her servant sword-spirit a child in the first place, that doesn’t make any sense 😭

Looping back around to where this all started, what does “looks 13 or 14” even specifically mean? She looks that age, not she is that age. And I’m not going to go Lolicon topic with this, I’m not here to say “she’s like 1,000 years old! So of course she isn’t a child!” I’m here to say, lots of people look older, or younger than they actually are. She’s almost the same height as Link, so if she were meant to be around his age, she’d probably be around 16, and if she’s 16, and Ghirahim is 17 according to his concept art, where did your argument go?

Speaking realistically, Hylia probably designed her to look young and ‘cute’ so she wouldn’t scare Link. Let’s be real, her personality is intimidating, and she was going to be projecting herself into his dreams, so if she had a intimidating appearance (like some of her old concepts), Link would probably be afraid of her.

That’s all. I could go deeper into some of these points, and add on other things, but I think some stuff is self-explanatory.

Now, even if you want to discredit everything I just said, Ghirahim and Fi are both adults in all of my work. Unless explicitly stated or shown otherwise.

I draw and write them how I envision them in my head. In Skyward Sword, I have always read both of them as adults. I have not aged-up Fi for this ship, that’s fucking weird. They are both adults.

[childofsardior]

Sorry if u feel like I'm a harassment I just love koopas just like u but what is the most unusual thing about each koopalings body? (Just curious 😅)

Hello again!

Do not worry, you are not an harassment ^w^ I appreciate your asks, and I am glad you are curious abt my HC/AU to the point of asking me all these interesting questions about my Koopas x3

So, let's start!

In my AU, all the Koopalings + Jr have some quirks due to their mother's peculiar bloodline. In fact, all of them have some charateristic not present in most Tarrasquins (Bowser included).

Quirks they all share:

Ludwig, Lemmy, Roy, Wendy, Larry and Junior all have some colorful and shiny small scales around the body. These crystal-like scales match the Koopa's shell color, exception made for Junior who's special scales are bright red, like his hair. Morton and Iggy are the only exception, the first having a natural armor made by hard scaled-plaques and the latter having an outgrowth of green scales on his shoulders, arms, knees and tail, that give him a spiky appearance.

All of them, except for Jr, breath colorful fire. Again, the color of each Koopaling fire is the same of their shell, and when they fight with their wands, of their magic.

And talking about colors, almost the whole bunch have natural hair colors that do not match with the common Dragon-Turtles natural hair (basically red, brunette, blonde, black and a few other); their peculiar hair color looks like is connected with "magic", somehow...

Most unusual body quirk about each one:

Ludwig: He has got a tail fluff made of feathers and one of the rarest Royal Fang patterns (single central fang, along with two future lateral Royal Fangs), but the most curious think about his body is probably related to his weight and his innate agility in the air.

He is in fact way lighter than you could expect looking at him and more agile than most Tarrasquins of his size; he takes advantage of this swifting in the air and being able - thanks to his battle and magic training - to even float for a short while if needed. They say it has something to do with his shell, being way less heavy than the average Royal Koopa's one. Weirdest thing of all, he can naturally walk on clouds like only winged or air-related-creatures can do (in my HC). This is why he's the one that usually lead attacks to the various fractions of the Cloud & Sky Kingdoms. All these detail seem to naturally connect his nature to some kind of sky being or flying creature of some sort...

Lemmy: Some peculiar traits about him are the three big feathers at the end of his tail (that he dye, exactly like his hair), and the total lack of Royal Fangs - he only got "normal" fangs, usually hidden under his lips. But the real quirk here is his height.

Compared to other Tarrasquins of his age (17 in my HC), Lemmy is tiny. Very tiny. And him having a quite androgynous and soft appearance doesn't help: he's often mistaken as a "kid" by people around him. It is currently unknown in the family why Lemmy is so short. The palace doctors hypotized at first that Lemmy could be just affected by some kind of dwarfism or something similar, but this idea was later discarded. In recent years his brother Iggy came up with a couple of new hypothesis, one being Lemmy's unknown father some sort of Koopa Troopa/Common Koopa or a similar, small creature like that (since none of them know their father and they do not even know if they all share one) - and this would explain his unusual shortness. Just recently Iggy thought about another possibility: he claimed that Lemmy's body looks like it is refusing to grow. It tries to, but for some unknown reason something gets in the way and slowes down the whole process. Since Tarrasquins are related to dragons, and dragons bodies can adapt or even change in some situations (in my HC), Iggy's basically theorizing that Lemmy's inconscious but blatant fear of growing up and "becoming adult", his fear of responsabilities (and maybe some other important realization that he's currently hiding from his family) are currently preventing him to... "grow". Or at least, grow bigger. Lemmy has mixed feelings about the whole situation, but he surely is the nimblest, most agile and fastest sibling among the whole squad.

Another relevant quirk about Lemmy's body is his unexpected cold resistance. Tarrasquins are half dragons but also half reptiles, and usually they don't enjoy temperatures that are too low. But Lemmy is a living exception: he could literally play all day in the snow without a jacket and would be perfectly fine. Cold places are actually his favorites!

Roy: Talking about bodies and heights and wheights, Roy is probably the one that fits perfectly the description for an average Tarrasquin of his age, health and gender. But he got some curious traits, too. His big shoulders show a double set of big scales, and some tiny spikes have recently sprouted on the top of his head - but no sign of horns yet. He also happens to have heterochromia (one eye is blue, the other is partially pinkish-red), but he hides this trait most of the times with his shades.

The most unusual thing about him is his pink head/shoulders scales. Spontaneous color mutations are a common thing in my HC Mario World, and this happens to Tarrasquins as well. His pink scales could be hinherited from an older relative witht the same mutation or have been just appeared for the first time in his bloodline. He also has some pink details around his shell, in a similar way his almost-twin-sister Wendy has some purple ones.

Iggy: Iggy may seem bizarre in various ways, his weird hairstlye first of all - but it's just his hair being naturally green and his sense of style being quite peculiar. Palm/pineapple hairstyle aside, our green Tarrasquin has some harder and pointier scales on his shoulders, arms and legs, along with some tiny spikes on his tail. Despite this apparent natural armor, he's quite weak and the one that always gets sick. His body can't also process meat very well for unknown reasons, leading him to a mostly vegetarian diet - lukily he's also probably the only one along with Morton that actually enjoys greens. His siblings joke about it claming that it's due his unusual diet for a Tarrasquin (that are mostly carnivourous) that Iggy is so long yet so slim and muscle-less. It's probably unrelated, and Iggy is just naturally tall. Roy also claims his passion for vegetables led him to "become one" - a carrot, specifically. His fire is also the weakest of the family, but it tends to create a lot of green smoke that's hard to navigate during fights.

The most curious thing about him is definitely his eyes. Aside of being almost blind without his custom glasses, Iggy's irises are separated from the pupils, giving him a crazy look. Nobody seems to have an explanation for it yet...

Wendy: Wendy hasn't many unusual traits for a Tarrasquin around her body, except made for the crystal-like scales she shares with the others, pink-colored in her case (some of them are curiously heart-shaped, too) and some purple-pinkish scales on her harms and legs, resembling in a way her almost-twin-brother Roy's pink head/shoulders scales. But, unlike most of her siblings, her natural hair color do not match her shell color - she got very light brown/blonde hair.

Even more noticeably, she doesn't have green head/shoulder scales, but yellow-golden ones, very similar to the ones that cover the rest of her body. This trait is often seen in Plain Tarrasquins more than in Vulcanic Tarrasquins, a detail that, along with their lack of horns in young age, could maybe point to the Koopalings origins...

Morton: First of all, Morton's peculiar color. His darker appearance seems to be a result of a partial melanism, a trait that is not very uncommon in Tarrasquins - especially in the Vulcanic subspecies. It is said that Bowser's father himself, the "Empereor of all the Koopas", suffers a similar color mutation. He also got a star-shaped birthmark on the left side of his face, once again a rare-but-not-too-rare type of birthmark that happen in my HC SM world.

Coloration aside, Morton's natural resilience is the real mystery. His whole body is covered with big scales the color of gray-brow, with even harder and bigger scale-plaques protecting his arms, legs and tail. This whole protection can take almost any type of non-magical damage, and this is why Morton is always put on the melee formation of fights. Curiously enough, Morton's resiliance can also be found in his impeccable health and his stomach - not only he could eat a buffalo on his own if hungry enough, along with Larry probably, but he is also resistant to poisonous food and toxins - the lethal ones will only kaing him sick for a while, and the non-lethal ones will take quite a long time and a big dose to work, as it happened during the Malatone Formula:X crisis. Least but not last, he's the second more cold-resistant Koopaling after Lemmy and the one that in general can resist the most extreme weathers without blinking.

Larry: Larry is young enough to do not have shown particoular quirks yet, except for a few. Most of all, his light-blue crystal-like little scales form the shape of a star on the left side of his head, making him one of the two "Star Kids" of the family - along with Morton and his birthmark. The idea of showing his shiny blue star was one of the main reasons that led him to try out and then adopt his current hairstyle. Another thing to mention, that could be connected with his age, is his eternal hunger. He could eat dozens of cookie and chips boxes in a single evening, all by himself, and he will likely do if left unsupervised.

There is not much more to say about Larry, yet. Except for... maybe... that time he was swimming alone and tried to dive to get a shiny-something at the bottom of the sea but then he found himself too deep-down and ran out of breath and... he was... was he suddenly breathing underwater? None of his siblings believe him, and he is too afraid to try it again. Will we ever know...?

Bowser Jr.: This one is easy. Junior looks very much like how Bowser used to when he was a kid; he's basically a mini-Bowser in appearance, nothing more and nothing less... or so they all thought until the recent years. Junior eyes, for example, are slowing turning blue (Royal Koopa's eyes change color from deep brown/black to their final color starting from 9/10 years old), like his siblings. Plus, he also got the shining small scales scattered around his body, of a bright red. His shell is green like the King's, but some red details can be seen getting more and more visible as he grows up.

The most curious thing about him is probably his fire. He developed a strong fire way faster than any of his siblings, and it's getting stronger and stronger year after year. Kamek claims that, at this peace, Junior's fire will probably become the hottest of the whole bunch, and could even surpass Bowser's destructive fire when Jr. will be old enough.

***

Aaaand here you go! I had to think about it for a while, but now you should be aware of the most interesting facts about the Royal Koopa siblings' bodies that came to my mind - as always, refering to my personal HC/AU!

[leffee]

Vinnil head cannons?

-fluff head cannon for you: vinnie and Sunil are always touching even when they don’t notice in fact their friends point it out more often then they notice.

Oh thank you so much for giving me a headcanon, I love receiving them, please feel free to send more if you want. As for me, well, I'll try to give you some and keep them relatively new or at least mention ones I haven't talked about in a long time if that's even possible:

one of Vinnie's favourite things ever he wants to do with his significant other - so Sunil in this case, is taking showers with him. To him it's such an intimate and pleasant experience cause he gets to see Sunil in all his glory and he gets his dose of touching him and also being touched plus having his hair washed by Sunil is even better than showering itself. Naturally Sunil was much more hesitant about doing it for the first time and as willing as Vinnie was he 100% expected that so he was patient and when they finally showered together it was so much more special

whenever Sunil needs to leave for a longer time (or honestly any amount of time), and for whatever reason Vinnie can't go with him, he leaves him a piece of clothing he has been wearing so Vinnie has his smell with him because he's weird like that and that keeps him relatively calm. Actually, Sunil has a few ways to control Vinnie like that so this is just one of them

they are anxiety boyfriends, you can't change my mind. Sunil is just anxious in general while Vinnie has separation anxiety, and while everyone kinda just knows that being fearful is one of Sunil's defining features your average person who knows Vinnie is not aware of hisanxiety because well, it's not there all the time plus it's not that he's willing to admit to that. So anyway, anxiety boyfriends, but while Sunil's response is more of a flight or sometimes fawn Vinnie's is more of a mix of fight and rarer freeze

it's not that Vinnie has green hair and wears so many green clothes etc because green is his favourite color, oh no. You see, green is actually Sunil's favourite color partly because it's so calming, so... you know, that why Vinnie uses it so much. Why doesn't Sunil use green nearly as much if it's his favourite color? Because he thinks he looks bad in green. Naturally Vinnie doesn't agree, but while convincing Sunil about that is hard what is easy is wearing green himself. I have absolutely told a different headcanon before that directly contradicts this one, so like every other headcanon this one doesn't exist in every timeline

Vinnie handles Sunil's stressful social situations whenever possible like phone calls or ordering food. He very much does that also in the rare occasions that his social battery is empty because he just loves Sunil this much. It's not that he does that 100% of the time, Sunil does not want to appear like he can't do it himself because he really can and/or it'd be hard to explain every detail Vinnie needs to remember to him, but it does definitely happen, basically just

with Sunil being the one hiding of course. Well, Vinnie's much shorter so it's not very effective but you know

if they were to get married, and given that Vinnie really, really wants that and Sunil is rather neutral - he can, doesn't have to it's going to happen, Vinnie wants to be the one to take Sunil's last name. This is to satisfy his possesive urges. You could say it's kinda backwards but that's exactly what he wants so then he will be Vinnie Nevla, well, Vincent Alfonso Nevla. At the very least he wants their last names to be combined, so Terrio-Nevla or Nevla-Terrio, but preferably he just wants to be Nevla.

Sunil is the only one who really knows just how extreme Vinnie can get. For example, one time Vinnie was really smelly because a skunk sprayed him (hehe) and he really wanted cuddles but Sunil said he wouldn't cuddle him until he stopped smelling. So Vinnie hopped under the shower the same day to get rid of this smell of course. And once he realized it wasn't getting off that easily he fucking scrubbed himself bloody. Just to get cuddles. Yeah.

Okay I think that's enough. For someone whose favourite ship is Vinnil I really don't have that many headcanons for them because 95% of my brain power dedicated to lps goes to Vinnie alone.

[peachiecure]

Character introduction: Blumiere

~Basic info~

Name: Lord Blumiere

Age: ?

Birthday: ?

Hair color: Dark blue

Eye color: Orange (Blue when weakened)

Blumiere, previously known as Count Bleck, is the last standing member of the Tribe of Darkness who fell in love with Timpani. He is a major side character in Project: SFA.

After the events of SPM, he lived happily in ‘paradise’ with his beloved… he seems to have finally settled down, nothing holding him back from being able to love Timpani like he always wanted to… until he found out it wasn’t really the paradise he thought it was. That day was Peach and Mario’s wedding, showing them that this ‘paradise’ was actually another version of the world where the Heroes of the Prophecy resided. After that, his finally calm demeanor seemed to have cracked, the thoughts of all the evil deeds he had done starting haunt him once again. Whenever that means it plaguing his thoughts or horrid nightmares… it starts to take a toll upon him. It gets to the point that tries to find ways to purify himself from the bloodshed he has caused. He still loves Timpani with all of his life, but he doesn’t want to concern her with these deeds that he has done. These thoughts reach the breaking point when…

When not being plagued by the existence of his crimes, Blumiere is trying to enjoy time with his wife to the fullest. They live together in a small cottage, which he has taken the time to learn how to cook, clean, garden and more to ease the work load on Timpani. It was a very foreign thing to him at first, but eventually he started to really enjoy it. The feeling started to become comforting to him, so he eventually took over most of the household duties. It did help keep his mind off of… his red stained hands.

~Outfits/Appearances~

Blumiere’s appearance has changed a bit since the events of SPM. He appears slightly more human like, having legs and arms now, along with more human reminiscent eyes and facial structure, along with dark blue hair that is currently tied in a side ponytail. Though, even with these features, he is clearly still not human with his blue skin and pointy ears (they’re hidden under his hair but they are there). He doesn’t really know why his form has changed a bit ever since entering this world, but has gotten used to it. He has two outfits which is wears in SFA, one being his iconic white outfit with his starry cape and top hat with some added new details, and a more ‘causal’ outfit that is more red in coloration without the cape or top hat. (My apologies for not having the art colored in yet)

~Power and abilities~

Though not used that much as of recently, Blumiere still maintains all his normal powers that he used when under the name Bleck. His scepter can still conjure globs of dark magic to hurls at his foes, speed himself up, slow time, and summon (now small) vortexes to suck in enemies. Due to the lack of the Dark Prognosticus and Chaos Heart, these attacks are not as powerful as they once were. He doesn’t really mind, as long as he is still able to protect Timpani if it is ever needed again. He much prefers the peaceful life he has with no fighting. He can also still float around if he wants to, even with being able to properly walk now.

~Relationships~

Timpani: “Timpani, the love of my life… everyday with her my heart sings. Seeing her beautiful smile once again as we hold hands… knowing she’s well and we can be together has made me the happiest being in the world. Seeing my beloved spread her wings and soar overwhelms me with love. But lately, she seems concerned about me, but for her safety I mustn’t bother her with it. It’s my burden to bare, not hers. I must atone… for my sins.”

Sweetheart: “Timpani has told me about the Hero’s daughter… she often visits her for a bit. I have only seen the young princess when she was an infant… perhaps it’s very hard for me to wrap around that it’s been so many years since that moment… I remember her tiny stature, sleeping peacefully, to think now she’s almost 11… why, it’s weird to see that in another world, the hero started a family. I wish both of them well in raising the young child.”

Peach & Mario: “From the little that I’ve seen and the bunch that I’ve heard from my wife, both the princess and the hero seem pretty much identical to the versions we know… except the hero is much more talkative. I’m very intrigued by this, but I refuse to meddle into their life. They remind me of my— Ahem… both of them are doing their best in raising the young princess, though, I’ve heard that she has had a lot of… incidents with her powers. Surely they’ll guide her in the right direction since she possesses such a gift.”

Larissa: “Timpani has told me about this teen by the name of Larissa. Can’t say I’ve ever heard of such a name. I don’t have much to say on her, but she seems to be helping with keeping the peace, so she has my respect.”

~Voice Claims~

Blumiere’s voice claims are Heinwald from Dragalia Lost for JP and Laslow/Inigo from Fire Emblem Fates/Fire Emblem Awakening for EN.

(I know his voice claim doesn’t really sound menacing but I chose it for how he would sound like specifically after the events of SPM if that makes sense😭)

That’s it for Blumiere’s dedicated intro. Timpani will be next…

[iwasforcedtomakethisbytum]

State appearance headcanons and explanation for headcanon

Well my headcanons are mainly aesthetic choices with little reason other than i think it looks nice the outfits are mostly the same except simplified

Gov I've only started drawing him recently, he's mostly canon complaint other than having blue eyes in my most recent drawing because he frankly doesn't have many colors other than black, and i made him being a tad chubby, because i don't often draw fat characters so after my first time, i started drawing him fat because it's honestly kinda cute i give him a beard too

Louisiana has probably the most consistently simplified outfit because i simply don't remember how it looks and i refuse references, i draw him as a black man and i usually give him those beads that people often put in their braids because i think it looks cool, i also vaguely headcanon him based off my brother (not inlaw yet but in spirit) and I'd like to draw him with a cane or wheelchair eventually because of that, i do need the practice of drawing those

California i imagine being buff because of his former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, although I'm bad at drawing buff people, i like giving him a darker skin tone, and he has longer curly hair, i think i originally did it because of him being considered a hippie, also when i draw his ears being visible i give him some lovely percings, occasionally I'll give him golden eyes because it's pretty, i also usually give him ripped jeans

Florida i usually forget his glasses on his hat, i definitely use the brightest colours on him, i draw him with shorts usually, if anyone is given scars it's Florida, i draw him as a white person but i made him really really tan despite him being a redhead, and i made him one because I've heard some people say redheads are soulless so i figured it made sense lol

Nevada I've drawn one time, I've given him really short shorts i believe and i changed his outfit to a tank top because i felt it fits better with the headpiece, the T-shirt looks awkward, honestly he looks kinda ugly in canon ngl, i also don't imagine him with a feminine body type i imagine him having some muscle, i think it looks nice

Texas i usually draw as a really skinny dude, i don't know why honestly i feel like i started doing it that way because i felt it made him look even taller, and usually i give his boots pointed bottoms, it makes him look like he's floating whenever i draw him, he has fairly tan, skin definitely not as tan as he could be, he's very white but still, i draw him with sorta longer light brown hair, depending on the length it could be slightly curly, or straighter than him. When i remember i give him a cross necklace, when i draw her as a lady i give her a long skirt because i think she'd really value hiding her body, i also draw him with a square head because of that one moment in the series :)

Alaska I've only drawn occasionally, since i headcanon him and texas as brothers they have similar genetic traits like hair and skin, i forget how i draw his eyes, i feel blue if i had to guess, i imagine him and texas are the same height but he's much more fat, i usually give him a T-shirt and shorts, i draw him with a beard unlike most characters because i suck at drawing them

And new york i usually draw with a slightly skinner body, i remember once seeing someone draw new York as black for the first time and thinking "yes yes i love that actually" so i nowadays always draw him black, he also doesn't have any or much of any hair under his hat, i also draw him fairly short because he sorta reminds me of my sister and she's 4'11 i believe

I've never drawn Colorado before i don't think but i do like seeing the people who draw him with short curly hair i think it's cute

Austin when he is a separate person from Texas I've drawn him like a mix of him and California because i like the headcanon of Austin being in Texas's custody after the divorce. He has percings with crosses and very short curly hair, his skin is lighter than California but darker than texas, and he has a similar headshape and body to texas, but he has a more emo style, but this does make me think, who is giving birth to him? because i draw him like he's their biological child, and i see them both as biological males, idk for all we know states preform magic mating dances to have kids

[brittleskyblue]

Lyfrassir Edda, Post-TBI (A Study In Void)

Wanted to contribute to the interpretations of Lyf, post-TBI. When I started writing eldritch/Bifrost! Lyf, I’ll admit my ideas were very basic in comparison to what people are coming up with these days, but I still want to share.

Put under the cut because it is a long post.

* * *

So yeah, while it is implied that Lyf escapes the Bifrost (the ending of TBI + the dual meaning of their name), there’s little chance they escaped unscathed. Whether you see it as they were the catalyst that set the end in motion (aka, getting possessed during Red Signal and doing the invocation) or see it as only a matter of time (as Lyf says at the end of their report), there must be some after effects. They were way too close. I like to imagine that the recovered Black Box was drenched in eldritch/Bifrost energy, so given how long Lyf was working on this case and working with the recovered artifact- at least a few days- they would have been under a prolonged exposure.

Post-TBI, following the escape:

Post-TBI, they don’t display any signs of any changes right away. It takes time for this stuff to happen. Physical changes are the more immediate/first things to change and start giving Lyf hints that they are more affected than they realize. First, their eyes go silver. Lyf only notices it when they see their own reflection one day. Or in the case of my fic Rainbows/Music, it’s noticed if someone points it out. Lyf tries to come up with any reason why this has happened, but this is what starts their realization.

So more physical changes follow: Portions of their hair turn rainbow (this took inspiration from an early violinspector fic that as far as I know was never finished), their reflexes and senses are slightly enhanced, they start to see a more vibrant spectrum of color, their blood starts to display a rainbow shine in the right light, and as of a more recent iteration scales start to appear in places on their body (most concentrated on their back and shoulder blades). Lyf also begins to get colder more easily and initially thinks they’re sick. Me and a dear friend of mine also discussed once Lyf’s eyes changing color whenever they get a headache, which starts to happen frequently as they start to change (and silver remains their defult eye color now).

On the physical side:

As Raphaella points out in one chapter of Rainbows/Music, Lyf’s body is changing under influence of the Bifrost, likely brought on by their exposure. They’ve basically absorbed some of the Bifrost and it is now contained within them (also causing them to give off an energy signature that matched observed Bifrost readings). That is obviously having an effect on Lyf. It’s unknown what the outcome will be, but they are changing, down to their very cells.

There’s also the moments of existential dread and depression, not to mention all the grief, and that worsens with another developments that comes out of their changes under the Bifrost….

On the mental side:

For a while after escaping Yggdrasil, they are exhausted and unwell, especially in the scenario where they are left traveling alone/don’t meet up with the Mechs shortly after. They try to sleep, but they also start having nightmares- because, you know, trauma- that often leave them disoriented and feeling ill. Sometimes they’ll hear static, or they’ll see a flash of color out of the corner of their eye. Also, there’s a line from Stories Untold that particularly works with my interpretation of post-TBI Lyf: “It’s like a… conscious black box”. Because the images of the Black Box recordings are burned into them at this point, they can recall the records with absolute clarity, sometimes vivid to the point where they feel like they are on the train itself.

Tentacles that manifest from their back. These can act as additional limbs and can be manifested at will (once Lyf gets them under control) I actually have an idea in my head of what they look like, but the reference would involve getting a screenshot of my Wisp Prime frame but 1) I’m out of town rn and can’t access my ps4, and 2) the specific emphemera I’m using for reference doesn’t really show up well in its current color scheme lol

The development of the abilities/Lyf fully becomes a vessel for the Bifrost:

Though the physical changes eventually stop (So Lyf assumes unless anything else happens), they also start to develop abilities. These include:

The ability to warp/manipulate objects & areas. This one actually has varying effects depending on the context and can be done with or without touch. Lyf is trying to figure out how to use this ability defensively, however, it can get out of control if they are pushed too far and/or they overexert their powers. Their powers are theorized to be possibly linked to their emotional state to some degree and they can give off a rainbow aura in some instances.

Tech powers! This primarily takes inspiration from Little Nightmares 2, specifically the instances where Moro approaches a TV and tunes the thing a couple times. Lyf can mostly do this for incoming transmissions that may be grabbled. These have their own side effects, though mild.

Phasing through walls. What it says on the tin. Just a fun side effect that took inspiration from another fic of Lyf post-TBI and living with the Mechs. They can also phase another person with them so long as they are connected via touch.

Understanding of a strange language. The incantation of Red Signal is in R’lyehian, which is the fictional language used in the stories of Lovecraft. Post-TBI, Lyf can read the language and understand it, but refuse to speak it. How they discover this is mostly in instances of where they end up being found by the Mechs and Ivy had salvaged books and other artifacts from Yggdrasil before leaving. Lyf comes across an artifact that may have belonged to Odin, and finds a section written in R’lyehian. Because of the implication of where they have heard that language, they understandably are unsettled by the fact they can understand this. (side note: I have a fic to write about this that lead Lyf and Ivy off on their own adventure)

Enhanced healing/regeneration. Not only is there traces of Bifrost in their blood, but it’s presence within them can facilitate enhanced healing. When this activates, the Bifrost can somewhat numb any pain and in certain instances, give them a shot of adrenaline. It does not serve as a failsafe, however. If Lyf is injured severely, their healing cannot keep up and they will die (but see next point on that).

And finally Immortality. Initially theorized as an extended life span due to a lack of physical aging post-TBI. If they die, their body will stop functioning and go into a state of death. Normally, this only lasts a few minutes before the Bifrost kicks in. A rainbow glow appears around their heart and spreads to areas where they are injured, healing their wounds. Lyf will come into consciousness shortly after and may remain awake or go unconscious again. Either way, the healing process has started. For someone like them that has been touched by the Outer Gods… No, the Bifrost won’t let them truly die.

Lyf’s features will become distorted and they may seem to fracture as the Bifrost overwhelms them. They may also become more unstable, though their awareness might not be completely gone. If they can be calmed down or subdued from this state, they return to their normal form.

Addendum to the abilities:

When the abilities first manifest, Lyf has a hard time keeping control of them and worries about hurting others around them. Though in time they learn how to live with them and use them, they can still lose control or overexert themself/their powers. If their powers go out of control for whatever reason, Lyf can inadvertently enter a more warped/eldritch state. Usually the warning signs for this are an intensity of the rainbow aura they can sometimes radiate, their eyes glazing over to voids or rainbows, or a fracturing web of rainbow appearing across their skin.

The aftermath of this can leave Lyf extremely drained to the point of passing out. Their symptoms range from dizziness to nausea to expelling a strange black substance that is a result of the Bifrost being overloaded or in flux within them and causing havoc internally

* * *

So, this turned out much longer than expected, but yeah, this is a summary of my interpretation of Lyf post-TBI. I have a fic I intend to work on at some point with this as the subject matter called Tinderbox of a Heart (A Study In Void). I don’t know when I’ll post it, but that will be at some point in the future and I may refine this more by then. I also have a list of headcanons for Lyf I have been meaning to work on and post at some point- maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.

[tact-and-impulse]

Three Strands Part I

@shinkaneweek, thank you for the prompts! This is kind of inspired by a dream I had a long time ago, plus I don't think I've ever done this trope. Mild allusions to Psycho Pass: Providence, but nothing too spoilery, at least in this installment! On FF.net and AO3

A cord of three strands is not easily broken. - Ecclesiastes 4:12

part 1: perspective

To be fair, he had asked for this.

The hotel’s upscale interior reflected the owner’s taste for finery. Ornate chandeliers, polished mahogany tables, delicate porcelain dishes. Begrudgingly, Kougami had to admit the coffee was good. Next to him, Akane had finished her own cup. He was used to her Holo disguise now, her lighter and longer hair, though he still had to move carefully, to adjust for the slimmer physique of his own.

Across from them, the planner opened a book of color swatches, already blurring into a gradient. “Now, I will say that most women want to be a June bride, but do you have a preference?”

“Autumn is fine.” Akane said. “I have no issue with waiting.”

“And you, sir?”

Kougami tried not to jolt. “Sooner rather than later.”

“Eager, aren’t we? I’ll put you for October then. How lovely! A wedding among the maple trees.” Then, the conversation veered towards budget and packages, leaving Kougami to reflect on how exactly this situation had unfolded.

***

To him, the mission was clear; the hotel had to be investigated. On the surface, Yume appeared to be a quaintly run business, but it had once been run by a criminal now in custody and the building had changed hands quickly. Too quickly. The new proprietress was Yanase Juria, a confident woman who appeared younger than her forty years. And despite her glamorous image in surveillance footage, reports of illegal immigrant labor were deftly buried in her file. And under her direction, the newly branded logo was a three-tailed fox.

So, Foreign Affairs had to be involved, and they met with Public Safety to negotiate jurisdiction. Unit One was already in the meeting room, Akane the newest addition. It might have been a pleasant afternoon, except for the arrival of the new chief. The man was deft and calculating, steering the discussion in Public Safety’s favor.

“And on that matter, we need to decide who will be going undercover.” Homura smoothly said. “Since this is a collaboration between our departments, it would only be appropriate to have a representative from each. Statutory Enforcer Tsunemori will be ours.”

Hanashiro nodded. “Of course. As for our end-”

Time slowed. There were a number of Foreign Affairs employees, experienced with undercover jobs. He didn’t know whose name Hanashiro was going to say, who she was going to pair with Akane. But he interrupted anyway.

“I’ll do it.”

All heads had swiveled towards him, a mural of shock and surprise. It was obvious what they were thinking: really? He could have been blistered by Gino’s appalled aura, radiating from the next chair over, and Sugo’s discomfort was marked by a cough. In his peripheral vision, Homura was like a statue.

Shimotsuki could no longer suppress herself. “Haven’t you already created enough trouble for her? And have you ever worked undercover before?”

“Someone wise told me to expand my expertise. Why not this opportunity?” And that was true. Also, he didn’t trust anyone else with her safety.

Then, Akane spoke up, her gaze warm. “I don’t mind. I’d be happy to work with you again, Kougami-san.”

“Likewise.” He muttered and promptly forgot the rest of the meeting. Foreign Affairs would reconvene at headquarters, and he was bound to get an earful but he didn’t care.

Afterwards, he found her by a vending machine, grabbing a bottle of flavored water. He punched the buttons for his own drink. “I guess we’ll have to call often, make our cover.”

“Well, it helps that we know each other.” She wryly pointed out. “The best ones have a core of truth.”

“So…what are we?” Damn, that came out wrong.

Akane raised her eyebrows. “What would you like us to be?”

An answer came to mind, but he suppressed the thought. “We’ll have to fit in with the clientele, while keeping our story believable. A business trip may not buy us enough time.”

She opened her wrist device, searching through photos of the hotel. “They host a number of events. Graduations, retirement parties, weddings…”

As casually as he could muster, he said. “A wedding would give us an excuse, even reserve rooms.”

She looked at him, her lips curving upwards in agreement. “Yes, it would.”

“If we’re engaged, you’ll need a ring.”

“Oh.” She glanced down, extending her left fingers. “Right. I didn’t think about that.”

He took her hand, turning it over in his own. “Let’s find you something suitable.”

Her skin was soft, her pulse a quick rhythm. “I can always borrow from Shion-”

“No. It should be yours.” Before he could stop himself, his thumb ran over that space. A ruby for her name, set in a thin band…

The sound of approaching footsteps brought reality back, and they pulled away from each other.

“We can talk more later.” Her cheeks were pink.

“Sure. I’ll call you tonight.” And he walked off, scratching the back of his head, where it felt intensely warm. Posing as a couple getting married…wherever he was, Saiga-sensei was surely cackling.

***

They toured the reception halls first, while the planner dug for details about their backgrounds. Kougami gave brief responses about their jobs – he was freelance, she was in the Ministry of Health. They’d met at work. The planner wasn’t satisfied, asking how long they’d been together.

Akane easily replied. “Eight years. But we’ve been on and off until recently.”

He flashed a sharp look at that, but she ducked her head. Still, her hand entwined with his, and he immediately noticed the cool silver of her fake engagement ring. It really did look nice, better than he expected, and he squeezed tight.

“And now, I’m not letting her go.” He sensed her eyes now, but he refused to give in.

They walked on, and the flashy taste extended to each offering; they made noncommittal comments, it didn’t matter anyway. However, the planner seemed to sense their lack of enthusiasm, beckoning them to a Japanese style garden.

It was actually outdoors; the rocks and shrubs were real to the touch. Smooth ceramic tiles outlined a path over the gravel, to a rectangular patio framed by elegant maple and pine trees. A fountain burbled, trickling water through three stony pools. This side faced the mountains, and at dusk, the sun would burn in the distance. There was no pretense here.

“It’s beautiful.” Akane breathed, and she stepped towards the middle of the walkway. She gave a whirl, her skirt aloft for an instant, and asked. “Don’t you agree?”

He stared at her smile, and his traitorous imagination clothed her in a white kimono, a white gown, a veil unable to hide a radiant expression just for him. “Yeah. Beautiful.” And it didn’t feel like lying at all.

[amediocrewriter]

The Promise of a Second Chance

Here's chapter 2 !! You can find it on Ao3 here.

I know this storyline has been explored many times before, but I wanted to write a jealous Kageyama. I needed to. Plus, I always loved his friendship with Sugawara. So, happy reading, I hope you like it!

Chapter 2: The Call

It was difficult for Kageyama Tobio to forget Hinata Shoyo when everything revolved around him.

He was the reason why he found himself sitting at a table with his senpai. This kind of impromptu dinner at an izakaya near Sugawara Koushi's school happened a lot these days.

If Hinata hadn't taken Kageyama under his wing during their first year at Karasuno High, if he hadn't overlooked his unpleasant attitude, tarnished reputation, social awkwardness, and passionate dedication to a sport deemed excessive by everyone else, Kageyama probably wouldn't have been so warmly embraced by the rest of his team. And he certainly wouldn't consider the other Crows his closest friends even now.

Throughout their three years together as partners, Kageyama had never fully realized all that Hinata Shoyo's friendship had done for him. How his teammate had changed him for the better. He probably should have.

Sugawara stretched loudly while looking at his phone, pulling Kageyama out of his reverie, and asked, "Remind me, my dear Kageyama-kun, why aren't you in this photo?"

The handsome university student turned his phone to display the image that Kageyama had also spent the previous day analyzing. It was the one showing Yamaguchi, Yachi, Tsukishima, Natsu, and her mother all embracing a smiling Hinata in the middle of Terminal 1 at Narita International Airport in Tokyo a few days earlier.

In the photo, Hinata appeared more than content. It could have been his sun-kissed complexion that enhanced the brilliance of his radiant smile and the vibrant color of his disheveled hair. Or maybe it was just because it was in his nature to radiate like no one else. He always seemed to capture the sun perfectly. He was, after all, a sunflower.

Oh, oh. Kageyama had inadvertently taken Suga's phone and could now feel the warmth in his cheeks and the melancholic smile that had formed on his lips.

Suga sighed loudly as he took back his device.

"Kageyama..."

"I don't want to talk about it. I needed to train; the first match of the season is approaching."

Kageyama's gaze was then fixed on his half-eaten onigiri, just because he knew his friend's piercing eyes were capable of extracting the truth from him. Sugawara had always had the gift for saying exactly what was needed to encourage Kageyama to open up.

And, right on cue, Suga reached out one of his hands to hold Kageyama's.

"When are you going to talk to him, huh? Don't you think it's time? He misses you, I'm sure."

Kageyama briefly lifted his hopeful eyes for just a second before taking a sip of milk to compose himself.

Suga turned his gaze to study the scenery outside, from the poorly cleaned window to his left, and finally admitted, "I even texted him. He seemed glad to be home. He asked about how I was doing and I told him about school, the classes that I’m taking here. I’ve also mentioned that I see you quite often and he wanted to know how you were doing. I suggested that we all do something together soon and he thought it was a great idea. He'll be attending Noya and Asahi's reception in a couple of weeks too."

Without showing any sign that he was still listening, Kageyama crossed his arms over his chest, his attention focused on the outside.

"Come on. Send a text," urged his silky haired friend. "You could wish him good luck for the coming days. He's been scouted by the MSBY Black Jackals and his tryouts are coming up. Also, hasn't he called you recently?"

Kageyama shrugged. He remembered that morning perfectly. He was having breakfast peacefully at dawn when his phone rang. He didn't expect a call at that hour and answered without even looking at the caller. And when Hinata's intoxicated voice echoed through the receiver, he felt his heart race at 120 miles per hour.

The redhead had apparently attended the wedding for one of his beach volleyball partner. He hadn't really explained the reason for his sudden call—or maybe Kageyama simply didn't understand his friend's ramblings. But the setter had listened to Hinata talk about his last few months, his time in a country that continued to amaze him every day and his promise to Kageyama that he intended to keep. Kageyama had absorbed those long-awaited words with a smile on his face.

So it was true that Hinata had made an effort recently. He had done it a few times over the past months. He had been the first to reach out, sending Kageyama a photo of himself with Oikawa Tooru (why does it had to be him of all people!?!) at the very beginning of his Brazilian adventure. This was followed by an impromptu video call that lasted for hours, during which both of them acted as if everything was perfectly normal between them. Kageyama had also sought to hear his friend's voice just after his team's elimination from the Olympics, his heart too full with the experience, and Hinata had listened to his entire story before whispering how proud he was of him.

"As your best friend, you have to listen to me," Suga reminded him.

"I'm not your best friend."

"Not mine, of course; you know that's Daichi. But I'm talking about you. Since you don't really talk to Hinata anymore, I think the title belongs to me, and I have the right to order you to do something because I can't stand seeing you wallow in self-pity anymore, and..."

The words may have been sharp, but the tone in which Sugawara said them was anything but punitive. Kageyama needed a gentle push in the right direction. He knew his friend only wanted to help. So, under Suga's persistent gaze, Kageyama took his phone and pressed Hinata's contact without even thinking, bringing the cellphone to his ear.

Suga stared at him as if he were crazy.

"What are you doing???"

"I'm calling him. I hate to text."

Suga continued to gawk at him. Hinata didn't answer on the first, second, or third ring. Kageyama sighed and moved the phone away from his ear.

"I told you he didn't want to talk to me..."

"KAGEYAMA???"

Hinata's voice was so loud that even Sugawara heard him, urging his friend to pick up the phone again.

But suddenly, Kageyama's courage seemed to vanish. He no longer wanted to answer the call.

"KAGEYAAMAAAAAA??? ARE YOU THERE?"

"Kageyama, I swear to God, if you don't pick up that phone..." pressed his senpai.

To everyone's eyes, Sugawara Koushi seemed like an angel. But those who knew him well understood that he could quickly transform into a demon, and the tone he had just used hinted that this shift in demeanor would occur within the next ten seconds if Kageyama wouldn’t move.

Kageyama immediately grabbed the device.

"Hey. Is this a good time?"

Hinata didn't even listen.

"You know, you have to give people time to answer, Bakayama, before saying they don't want to talk to you. It's the first rule of a phone call; it's considered rude otherwise, and..."

Kageyama felt a smile betray him.

"Oi. You should have answered faster, dumbass."

Hinata laughed, it was muffled because of the noise around him. He then cried out,

"Guys, stop it. No! Please!"

More cacophony before a smooth voice spoke,

"If it isn't Kageyama, my dear old friend! You took your sweet time to call."

Kageyama required no introduction. He instantly recognized Atsumu Miya, his former teammate from the National Youth Training Camp. Kageyama had played against him several times already, since he had reached the professional league, as the former player from Inarizaki High was the starting setter of the Black Jackals.

Since he had never really liked the guy, he had particularly enjoyed every victory where his team crushed his. The Adlers had been undefeated and first in their division for a year.

Kageyama had to force himself not to scold as he said,

"Hi, Atsumu."

"Not too jealous of our new recruit, huh? I’m so happy to have Shrimpy on my team now. You cannot believe all that I want to try with him, starting by your crazy quick" rejoiced the twin in a tone that seemed to have many implications.

Kageyama felt a knot form in his stomach.

"So, is it official?"

"Not yet, but..."

And then someone grabbed the phone from Atsumu's grasp, and Kageyama caught snippets of a fight. Even the voice of Bokuto Kōtarō, the star ace of the Osaka team, could be heard before Hinata took back the phone, out of breath.

"Sorry, Kageyama. It's a bit crazy here. Maybe..."

Hinata was about to hang up; Kageyama could feel it. If he wanted to say something, he had to do it now.

" I just wanted to wish you good luck for your tryouts, even though I know you don't really need it. Just ace this, please. I know you can do it."

He managed to say all those words in just three seconds and his tone was more emotional than he would have liked. Even Suga's expression changed under the rapid revelation.

Hinata chuckled, as he always did, and admitted softly,

"Of course. Otherwise, I could never beat you. So, get ready, Kageyama, I'm coming for you."

"See you soon."

And the redhead hung up. Kageyama felt a weight lifted off his shoulders and melted into his seat.

"Will you admit that you feel better?" Suga asked.

"Never."

And Sugawara couldn't help but let out a laugh before getting up and leading his kouhai towards the exit.

***

Kageyama would probably have floated indefinitely on this cloud of hope, formed by Hinata’s words, if he hadn't come across this headline a few days later on a gossip site:

Star setter of the MSBY Black Jackals caught up with a new flame

The photo that followed depicted Miya Atsumu and Hinata Shoyo, hand in hand, entering a club in Osaka, both wearing the biggest smiles on their faces.

[zyrafowe-sny]

For that "directors commentary" ask game, from LuLuRoe:

Lilith found just the right shade and started applying concealer. Nothing could quite disguise the ridges and grooves left on his skin, but at least now the bright pink scars were the same color as the rest of his face. You’d have to get pretty close to see the disfiguring marks now, and she assumed the list of people willing to do that must be fairly short.  Hunter was quiet and thoughtful when she showed him his reflection in her mirror. “Keep that sample." She really was being generous. "The next one is full price.” ***** Her niece did not seem not happy when she came down to the basement later that night. “What exactly did you do with Hunter’s face?” Lilith was bemused. “I just helped him look a little less…off-putting.” “He’s self-conscious now!” Luz fumed. “He didn't need anything more to worry about!” She shrugged. “I’m surprised he didn’t notice all the horrified stares before. Speaking of which,” she cleared her throat, “don’t you think you should do something about your own eyebrow scar?” Luz’s right eyelid was twitching for some reason — maybe Lilith should get her some Avon lavender essential oil if she was under this much stress. “I can find some concealer for you — you’ll need a darker shade than Hunter — and I think we can use an eyebrow pencil to hide that gap a little better.”  The twitching increased as Luz took some deep breaths. “Not cool, Aunt Lilith. Not cool.” For the rest of her visit, her niece was a little distant. No matter — while she waited for the remaining deliveries, Lilith occupied herself on the AVEN forums and managed to attend an in-person meeting with Camila as her chauffeur (and moral support). She even had one of her new AVEN friends almost-convinced to help her sell LuLaRoe. Lilith didn’t know why Luz seemed so upset, but she was sure she’d come around in time.

Here's the director's cut ask game.

You picked a doozy of a section in a very niche fic.

First of all, some context.

LuLuRoe wouldn't exist without @sercezgazety/theprincessofdenial. We had a long thread going in the comment section of one of our fics in which she suggested that Lilith might join/create a cult or get into MLM (multi-level marketing). Lilith+MLM made me think of Lululemon (not actually an MLM, as Google later informed me), but further research got me to LuLaRoe (which is an MLM). That inspired me combine Lulu and LuLaRoe to get LuLuRoe, and once I had a punny title, I felt obligated to write the fic. (And yes, I included a Lululemon/LuLaRoe mix up.)

theprincessofdenial often leans into character flaws, and from the get-go this wasn't going to be Lilith at her absolute best. I wanted to write a Lilith who had undergone the character growth of Season 2 and generally meant well, but who was still struggling and would make mistakes along the way. In other words, that oh-no-Lilith-what-are-you-doing feeling is intentional.

I wrote the fic between Thanks to Them and For the Future, so that also informed my take on Lilith's character. The last time I saw Lilith, she still had dyed and straightened black hair. She was less polished than she was during her Emperor's Coven days, but she hadn't quite let go of the mask she had crafted for herself. Appearances still matter to her, and she's not at a point where she's embracing her natural hair. (This isn't to throw shade at anyone who dyes or straightens their hair - that's a perfectly valid choice - but this show has used hairstyle changes to reflect character arcs a few times.) This would probably be a different fic if I wrote it further into Season 3.

Now onto the excerpt.

Lilith found just the right shade and started applying concealer. Nothing could quite disguise the ridges and grooves left on his skin, but at least now the bright pink scars were the same color as the rest of his face.

Oooph, writing this brought back some flashbacks of trying to disguise acne and old chicken pox scars in high school (these days I hardly ever wear makeup but do need to find a good face cream). It's fine to hide scars and/or even out skin tone if that's what you genuinely want, but this is very much Lilith-driven. She's trying to minimize features that could make Hunter stick out - just as she minimized aspects of herself for decades and just as the ubiquitous masks of the Emperor's Coven helped promote uniformity - even though he hasn't really demonstrated any hang ups about his scars before. (It would be a little different if the scars reminded him of Belos and if minimizing the scars helped him heal - like his TTT haircut.)

You’d have to get pretty close to see the disfiguring marks now, and she assumed the list of people willing to do that must be fairly short.

This also pained me to write. In this fic, Lilith and Hunter haven't had much of a chance yet to get reacquainted after leaving the Emperor's Coven. She still associates him with the annoying thorn in her side when she was Coven Head. Back then, he was pretty isolated, and while she sort of knows he's less alone now, she hasn't fully realized the extent of his new support network.

Hunter was quiet and thoughtful when she showed him his reflection in her mirror.

Again, while Hunter's had an on screen identity crisis over his hair, he hasn't seemed too bothered by his scars before. He's relatively new to not wearing a mask that hides his face, so it may just be something he hasn't thought about much. Lilith's giving him a new worry that could activate old masking habits from his Golden Guard days. This hits harder after all the progress he's made finding and accepting himself in TTT.

“Keep that sample." She really was being generous. "The next one is full price.”

Lilith genuinely thinks she's helping him, though there's still the drive to succeed in her new business venture.

*****

Many of my fics have short scenes, so I very much need a scene break marker. I've been going with 5 left-aligned asterisks since that's a little more readable for me as I write on my phone than the classic 3 asterisk centered dinkus. However, I have been considering making a change since "asterisk asterisk asterisk asterisk asterisk" may sound annoying when using a screen reader. I don't love plain lines as a scene break marker, and have been periodically looking for something that's interesting, screen-reader friendly, and not a big AO3 formatting headache.

Her niece did not seem not happy when she came down to the basement later that night. “What exactly did you do with Hunter’s face?”

I like how Lilith and Luz almost immediately claim an aunt/niece relationship in S2, but there's no clear term for Eda.

I'm also a fan of Hunter Noceda, though Luz is quick to defend all of her friends.

Lilith was bemused. “I just helped him look a little less…off-putting.” “He’s self-conscious now!” Luz fumed. “He didn't need anything more to worry about!”

This isn't the first time that Lilith has meant well but made things worse.

Luz has a better understanding of the impact of Lilith's actions, in part because she has a stronger relationship with Hunter. She knows Hunter spent years trying to be the perfect Golden Guard behind a mask, and she doesn't want him to lose whatever self-confidence he's gained outside it.

She shrugged. “I’m surprised he didn’t notice all the horrified stares before.

There are a few things going on: Lilith hasn't spent much time with Hunter since their Emperor's Coven days, she's not always great at reading people (being surrounded by mostly masked scouts for decades didn't help), Hunter's used to drawing some attention as the Golden Guard, and some people in the Demon Realm may be reacting negatively to seeing Hunter because of his history, not so much because of how he looks like.

Speaking of which,” she cleared her throat, “don’t you think you should do something about your own eyebrow scar?” Luz’s right eyelid was twitching for some reason — maybe Lilith should get her some Avon lavender essential oil if she was under this much stress.

Once again, Lilith's not great at reading people and is (relatively benignly) opportunistic.

Also, while Luz has some experience masking and has absolutely felt pressure to conform, she's often resisted. She frequently expresses herself through fashion choices and rarely attempts to minimize differences (she hides her ears and wears a Hexside uniform, but that's basically it). She's not going to alter her appearance unless she wants to.

“I can find some concealer for you — you’ll need a darker shade than Hunter — and I think we can use an eyebrow pencil to hide that gap a little better.” The twitching increased as Luz took some deep breaths.

I can imagine that in Gravesfield Luz has encountered some insensitive reactions to the Nocedas taking in a random white boy. Lilith is absolutely not intending anything but a factual statement about different skin tones and Luz knows that, but I can imagine her comment still bringing up feelings in Luz. I wasn't consciously trying to communicate all that as I worked on this section, but those were thoughts I had as I was writing down the words.

“Not cool, Aunt Lilith. Not cool.”

I couldn't resist the Cool Aunt Lilith reference/joke.

For the rest of her visit, her niece was a little distant. No matter — while she waited for the remaining deliveries, Lilith occupied herself on the AVEN forums and managed to attend an in-person meeting with Camila as her chauffeur (and moral support).

theprincessofdenial suggested Avon as an MLM to include and had an idea for an Avon/AVEN mix up, but I went in a different direction. Camila is always Best Ally.

She even had one of her new AVEN friends almost-convinced to help her sell LuLaRoe.

For a while, my partner would read through my TOH fics and provide minor feedback - kind of like a very light beta reader (my partner isn't big on fanfic but is a big fan of TOH and tries to be supportive of my hobbies). My partner realized that Lilith wasn't actually doing much recruiting even though that's a key element of MLMs, so I went back and added a few lines like that one.

Lilith didn’t know why Luz seemed so upset, but she was sure she’d come around in time.

During Lilith and Eda's estrangement, Lilith convinced herself that Eda would come around eventually if she got captured and was forced to join the Emperor's Coven. She's falling into the same pattern here.

And that's a wrap! Thanks for letting me ramble!