#but a) drawing animalistic expressions of behaviour is fun

[pillbugpaints]

inevitably whenever you make a funny animal world the question "so what do they eat? how do they make cheese etc" comes up and my answer options I'm debating are 1)the funny animals are a completely different evolutionary path and all of our creatures exist 2) they are all adapted to only eat plants (no beastars type stuff going down here) (although there IS organ selling) 3) they're just standins for human characters, that's all (my answer is 3)

[wlw-lovestruck-fiction]

Euryale NSFW ABC maybe?

Written by @evoedbd​

A= Aftercare (What they’re like after sex)

Cuddles are a must.  Euryale is instantly all over her partner, albeit quite obliviously.  Mortals are such strange creatures sometimes, but no request is too outrageous for Euryale to follow without question when it comes to aftercare.

 B= Body Part (Their favorite body part of theirs and their partner’s)

Hands.  Hands down. The way elegant fingers can curl so viciously around the hilt of a blade, but weave so softly between Euryale’s own.  The way those fingers can be so filling, but never bring undesired pain.  Nothing is better than hands Euryale knows she is safe to shatter into.

   C= Cum (Anything to do with cum basically …)

Euryale adores feeling the evidence of lovemaking.  Yet, nothing is as delicious to her as a kiss with her lover’s taste upon her lips, or her own taste upon her lover’s.  Trading flavours in an intimate kiss is the perfect ending to any night.

   D= Dirty Talk (Pretty self-explanatory)

Dirty talk is not Euryale’s strong suit, or particularly to her tastes.  Her lovers can rail her into the next century, but they’d better not dare degrade her like some backstreet prostitute.  If one is to speak dirty to Euryale, they’d best make it sound like they are addressing royalty.  Euryale will accept nothing less.

 E= Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

She’s over 200 years old.  Euryale has done most things at least once.  She knows what she likes, but she’s never done things with a mortal she genuinely cares about before.  For that, she relishes the experiences with her seemingly mortal girlfriend as if they are new.  This makes her seem less experienced than she truly is, at least under a certain woman’s touch.

 F= Favorite Position (This goes without saying.)

Euryale couldn’t answer that.  Some days, she simply wants to be held down into the mattress and taken violently, like an animal in heat.  Ironically, this desire seems to align with the seasons.  Otherwise she simply wants ride her girlfriend, trying to hold eye contact as long as possible, fists clenched around the knives stabbed into the headboard or wall.

 G= Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc?)

Euryale is as serious as a heart attack. She will not suffer a lover laughing at her.  That said, something about her mortal has her want to be a little playful.  Her knives always cameo, usually stabbed into the furniture as a handhold as the little mortal rocks her world.

 H= Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc?)

Waxed.  Kept completely bare.  Euryale likes her sensitive skin exposed and smooth.

   I= Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect …)

She tries.  Truly, Euryale tries to be romantic.  Sadly, many of her partners seem to find her intimidating, or are too distracted by her knives to notice.  Strangely, it is her little mortal who seems to find Euryale’s behaviours endearing, happy to kiss any knife brought to her face with a dreamy expression.

 J= Jack off (Masturbation headcanon)

Euryale is very experienced with herself.  She enjoys teasing herself, stroking and enjoying the feeling of her smooth, sensitive skin beneath her palms until she can’t wait any longer.  This is perhaps one of the only times that Euryale will stay quiet, squeaking and moaning behind a hand clamped over her mouth.

   K= Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Knives.  Anytime Euryale can have her knives involved instantly revs her engines.  Seeing her partner kiss the length.  Freezing the blades so their chill will rile up her girl.  Creating handholds.

   L= Location (Favorite Place to do the deed)

Chairs are good.  The perfect place to ride her Girlfriend’s fingers, using her own back to shield anybody from laying eyes on her precious mortal.  Wherever that chair is sitting is completely irrelevant.  Though, she’s noticed her Girlfriend prefers her apartment.

   M= Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going?)

Her girlfriend. The woman is so unimaginably beautiful, carved by Hephaestus to show the world the true meaning of Lust.  But she is so gentle and sweet too.  She looks at Euryale’s quirks with this perfect quirk of her lips that has the Gorgon unable to focus on anything but the memories of the things that mouth can do.  The sweet kisses and kind words that fill Euryale’s heart. These romantic emotions are so new to the Gorgon. Sometimes, they overwhelm her until the heat burning in her body needs to be released.  Its then that Euryale pounces.

 N= NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn-offs)

Incest.  No mommy kinks. No stepsister plays.  Calling Euryale “babe” is the fastest way to have the Gorgon leaping off her girlfriend’s lap with an indignant shriek.

 O= Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

Euryale is an excellent giver.  Oral with Euryale is an experience many mortal women would die for.  However, Euryale herself is nervous about receiving, not because of embarrassment, but for safety reasons.  Euryale loses her mind receiving, and often forgets how strong she is when she clamps her thighs.  A traumatic experience with crushing a mortal’s skull has let her hesitant to let someone she cares about go down.

 P= Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? Etc)

The name of the game is passionate.  Euryale is fire, hungry and demanding from the first moment.  She’s borderline primal, all growls bites, hard movements.  Euryale is the most devoted worshipper of her lover’s body.  That animalistic intensity is tempered into a thorough claiming of every single inch of her girl’s body. Even with a husk to her voice, Euryale will snarl her praises, refusing to let her girlfriend think she is unappreciated for a single moment.  One might say that Euryale’s energy in bed is that of someone who has been edged to the point of fury. Euryale wants to feel worshipped, just as she wants to worship.  She has a goddess in her bed, and as twitchy as Euryale can be, there is no way she will disappoint.   Nothing but her lover’s requests will tame her.

Euryale’s girlfriend however is gentle, soft hands guiding Euryale instead of trapping her.  Letting Euryale wear herself out, all the while feeling that she is loved and valued.  When Euryale settles enough to surrender, it is slow and gentle, coaxing Euryale slowly into every crest of bliss.  The girlfriend is all too happy to use her body, to cover Euryale, blanketing her as the Gorgon sobs into her neck.

   Q= Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc)

Euryale is happy to shove her girlfriend into a chair and demand hands beneath her dress.  She is happy to ride to a fast orgasm.  Or shove her hand down the girl’s pants and drag a climax out of her, and a second for good measure.

   R= Risks (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc)

Their very relationship feels like a risk.  Euryale’s body has the strength to crush and destroy her girl if she loses concentration for a moment.  Everything new they do is planned, often by her Girlfriend.  However, if her Girlfriend steals the marble cuffs, then Euryale is trusting enough to try anything.

S= Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last …)

Days.  Euryale can go for literal days when it is just sex with an equally ungodly partner.  Emotionally, she can go hours before she burns out mentally.  Her girlfriend stops when Euryale’s mind disconnects, not wanting just a body.

 T= Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Yes.  Euryale has access to the ungodly monster category of toys, along with her Aura.   Her girlfriend has a more chaste collection of electronic toys.  Combining them on Euryale is a fun weekend.  They help compensate for her girlfriend’s mortal stamina.

 U= Unfair (How much they like to tease)

Euryale doesn’t.  If she wants, she takes.  And takes, and takes and takes.  Not that her girlfriend complains, afterall, this is what they agreed to.  In fact, the unintentional tease is that her girlfriend is always expecting Euryale to pounce.

 V= Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

In private, loud.  Euryale has no qualms about growling into her girlfriend’s neck, drawing out scream after scream to the point neighbours have called the cops on them in the past.  Soundproofing the walls has helped a little. Not entirely.  Maybe because Euryale has stabbed the walls too many times.

   W= Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

Euryale’s girlfriend adores Euryale’s nose.  She continuously presses kisses or attempts to nip at the tip to Gorgon’s nose, both in sexual situations and just everyday playfulness.

   X= X-rated thoughts (let’s see what’s going on in their head)

Half of Euryale’s day is spent remembering the feeling of her girlfriend’s fingers inside her, knocking those perfect spots, thumb pressing into her clit.   How she wants to take her girl, press her into the walls, palm at her perfect ass.  Squeeze.   Going any further leads to situations, and Euryale can’t afford those until her girlfriend is off the clock.

   Y= Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

24/7.  Euryale is one snap of her girlfriend’s fingers away from a turned-on mess.

   Z= Zzz (… How quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Euryale holds on as long as she can, wanting to spend time snuggling into her girlfriend’s back and shoulders.  She will, without fail, stay awake until she is positive that her girlfriend understands how deeply loved she truly is.  Even if words don’t work, gentle kisses and nips, tender brushes of hands across her hips and body.  Once her girlfriend is asleep, Euryale will eventually drift off with a content smile across her lips.

[veiljumpernyssa]

could you just... like... answer all of those questions at once? I can't pick one but I wanna know all the things

Oh God okay

[[MORE]]

1. When did you start playing?

Oh a long time ago...over a  year ago I’d say? The main 3 were only up to uhhhh the Hermit book I think. I remember I stopped playing after that gross fetishy Asra CG came out.

2. What got you into the game?

The beautiful art and the tarot theme. This was before I knew what I know fdjhksd

3. Who was your first route?

Julian!

4. Who is your favourite route?

Honestly Muriel is shaping up to be my favourite so far. Before that, I loved Asra’s route.

5. Who is your least favourite?

So far, Portia’s. Don’t get me wrong - it’s nothing to do with Portia herself. It just feels a little stagnant and flat.

(I bet you expected me to say Lucio, didn’t you? Well, you’re wrong).

6. Who do you play in Heart Hunter?

Chibi Chandra!

7. Who is your favourite to chase in Heart Hunter?

Portia or Muriel!

8. Who of the not playable LIs do you wish you could romance?

The baker. Selasi route when?

9. Opinion on Asra?

Asra is often mischaracterised imo and held to an unfair standard that a lot of the other characters aren’t. I’ve seen many of these arguments and I’m tired.

Asra is not jealous, possessive, creepy, manipulative or shady. Not once does he act possessive towards the MC in any of the routes including his own (a possible exception could be made for the Reversed Ending, but what do you expect? That’s after the MC literally enables that behaviour).

Being sad or cautioning the MC against Julian is not being jealous or possessive. The way he talks about Julian it’s pretty obvious he felt more for the man than he realises, even if he doesn’t understand that himself.

Asra keeps secrets from the MC because canonically trying to remember too much too fast harms the MC. This has been established. In his route, he literally tells you that he hates keeping secrets from you. He takes you into his own personal gateway - an expression of trust and a willingness to open up to you. Does he do these things in the other routes? No, but that’s because you’re not spending that time with him.

I also see people angsting about how sad Asra is going to be when you tell him about Lucio in his route. Lucio harmed his parents and has been cruel to Asra so like idk what you expect. The MC doesn’t know this of course, but you do!

I think we also forget that Asra took a considerable amount of time and effort to rehabilitate the MC, care for them and reteach them basic tasks as well as magic.

Is Asra a perfect person? Of course not. He’s probably overly cautious, he can be a little distant and he reacts badly when in a crisis (see the deal he made with the Devil). He’s not always brave and not always strong, but why should we expect him to be? He’s a human being and he’s bound to have faults, but he has a generous nature and is remarkably well-adjusted considering the trauma of his childhood (don’t tell me that suddenly losing your parents is not traumatic).

10. Opinion on Julian?

I once said that Julian is likely hypersexual and I still maintain that. (For those of you who don’t know, being hypersexual is like..a tendency to engage in compulsive or self-harming sexual behaviour, sometimes as a result of trauma). I think Julian craves affection and associates sexual interest or sexual contact with his worth as a person. I don’t think he does it deliberately or to be manipulative, but because he has a definite self-esteem problem. I honestly see him as bipolar like me.

I think the way the fandom treats him as this dumbass uwu subby boy is kind of annoying. A lot of people I feel erase his bisexuality either by just ignoring it or by making homophobic jokes where the punchline is ‘ha ha he likes dick like you do!!!!’ like no shit, he’s BISEXUAL. But he’s also hard-working, brave, clever, pleasant and good-natured, and once he starts to really come into his own, he’s cheerful and optimistic. He has so many more good qualities than just ‘submissive and kinky’.

11. Opinion on Lucio?

This may surprise y’all but I actually don’t hate Lucio that much. I love to hate him as a villain.

I think he, like all of us, is a product of his environment. He grew up in a clan with a strong martial culture; his clan were warlike and frequently made war on his neighbours. We’re all influenced by our upbringing and I don’t think he’s an exception. I draw the line at saying he ‘just didn’t know right from wrong’ though. He’s not a baby.

But the differences between Lucio and the other LIs like Portia, Asra, Muriel etc is that Lucio’s life and his fate and the hardships he’s faced are almost entirely due to his own choices. It was he who decided on the eve of his eighteenth birthday to kill his parents. He sought out Vlagnagog with the intention of making a deal. He chose to continue to make deals. He knew he carried the plague and he chose to carry it across the continent including into Vesuvia, causing the deaths of thousands. He murdered and blackmailed his way across the continent. He wouldn’t have even needed to bargain for a new body if he hadn’t caught the plague that he brought into Vesuvia himself after making a deal etc.

Do I think he is a sort of cackling, villainous cliche or unrepentantly evil? No. I think he’s a person who has made deliberate choices that he is facing the consequences for and IMO it’s important that he face those consequences. I do think his main issue is entitlement and a profound lack of self-esteem (I don’t think he really believes any of the stuff he actually says about himself or other people; even Lucio’s not delusional).

I mean that’s about as generous and objective a take on Lucio as I can give you. I’ve made my feelings clear on him, but I don’t want to give the impression that I don’t actually understand him as a character, hopefully the above will prove I do haha.

12. Opinion on Muriel?

Out of all the LIs I think I relate most strongly to Muriel because of a few reasons: trauma, touch-starved, lonely and wants to connect but afraid of getting hurt (physically or emotionally).

Now that I’ve gotten personal, I really hate the way Muriel is treated by the fandom. He’s either called bland or boring, or he’s treated like he’s an animal, called feral and animalistic. He’s none of those things.

Muriel has a big complex about being alone. He was literally given away by his parents and left in Vesuvia on his own, to fend for himself on the streets. Being abandoned by his parents and not knowing why, not remembering is traumatic enough, but because of his size he’s often characterised as aggressive and strong when he’s always been gentle. Later in his life, Muriel was forced to fight and kill people against his will. I don’t think a lot of people get just how traumatic that is; not only being forced into doing Lucio’s bidding, but being forced to violently take someone’s life. I don’t blame him for leaving to live at his hut and resist connecting to anyone. It’s common for traumatized people to withdraw and isolate themselves, because the thought of getting hurt again is more frightening than being alone. But everyone needs human contact, and I think Muriel struggles a lot between wanting connection and contact (physical or emotional), between not wanting to get hurt again, to not feeling like he’s worth the effort. That struggle is something very close to my heart and that’s why I’m attached to him.

13. Opinion on Nadia?

Nadia has the biggest youngest sister complex and it’s almost amusing because I, too, have the same complex (even though I’m actually the older sibling!). Nadia, like me, feels like she’s always been compared unfavourably to her older sisters, and has felt like she has to work harder to prove she’s their equal.

It’s probably because she’s a Cancer like me. We have dual natures sometimes; the caretaker and the ringleader, who feel like we have to take it all on ourselves to get the job properly done, but who have moments where our self-doubt takes over.

I do find some aspects of Nadia’s route to be sort of odd, where it’s mentioned that the people of Vesuvia find her to be a tyrant. There’s literally no evidence to suggest that, so the only reasoning I can find next is she’s a woc. But race doesn’t matter in Vesuvia apparently so...what else could be the reason? Not to mention she’s been asleep for the past three years, so the people haven’t even seen the Countess in that time.

I feel like we didn’t really get to understand a lot about Nadia even from her route-why did she fall asleep? What on Earth did she see in Lucio? Why did she let him do all those bad things in Vesuvia before he died? (My initial thought was Cancers can be sloth-like and passive, so that could be why).

14. Opinion on Portia?

Of all the LIs I feel like it’s Portia I know the least about despite having probably the most appearances. Sure, she’s quirky and fun and cheerful, and that’s cute, but...what does she want? What does she fear? How does she feel about her brother being on trial?

I’m hoping we get to expand more of her personality in her route. I know her patron Arcana is the Star, so her route will likely be about learning to have faith in other people, but who knows.

15. What is your favourite Arcana card?

Justice. The Empress is a close runner-up.

16. Have you bought any of the official merch?

No, I refuse to give a single cent to Nix Hydra. (I really want those Tarot cards though hhh)

17. What is your favourite CG?

The one where Asra is sitting in the gondola. Squishy cheeks :3c

18. How many Arcana themed blogs do you have?

Three! This one, then I run an Ask Muriel blog at @ask-muriel-inanna and an Ask Asra blog at @ask-asra-and-faust

19. Do you draw any Arcana art? What is your favourite image you have drawn?

The cover I just did for my Arcana comic! I cant link but it's in #arcana comic and #my art

20. Self insert or apprentice insert?

Both are valid, but I have an apprentice OC.

21. Do you have an apprentice?

Yes I do! Their name is Daya

22. If there is one thing that could be made with the Arcana theme on it, what would it be and why?

Idk what this means I big dumb

23. What is your favourite ship?

Outside of the LI x MC ships I really do like Asriel and Portia/Nadia (but only if Portia isn’t her servant anymore).

24. What is your least favourite ship?

Muriel x Lucio, Asra x Lucio or Julian x Lucio. None of them would even consider ever touching Lucio with a ten foot pole and y’all know this.

25. On your first play through, what direction was your ending for the LIs?

Upright babey!!!!!

[roseate7]

- The vicious and intentional behaviour Raffl exhibited against Malkin last night merits severe reprehension and deserves two or three layers of punishment (the instigating, the sucker-punch to the head and the subsequent diving caught on tape) none of which has ever been called for and none of which he is receiving.

- The reckless way Malkin reacted to Raffl with his stick deserves a high-sticking punishment, which he received in the game. Even a cursory review proves that there was no intent to severely harm (at that close range? intended harm would’ve followed through 100%) and Malkin himself owned up to his recklessness and rightfully denied any intent to cause severe harm to Raffl.

That’s what literally happened, but uh interestingly not even the Pens fanbase has mentioned the first and instigating part. And that’s a huge problem, and a symptomatic one.

Alex Ovechkin is a “mad Russian” who is hilarious and wild, and his deliberate head-shots and high temper and low boredom threshold are all considered apiece with his appeal to fans and media. It’s hilarious and adorable! He’s celebrated and regaled for sure but hey, it’s fun to root for a guy who is such a character! What you see is what you get with him, right? Great!

Evgeni Malkin is “the Russian who doesn’t mind being second to Sidney Crosby”  who is either equal to or only slightly behind Crosby in talent, skill and record books… but that’s not fun! That’s not interesting! Malkin has self-admittedly something of a temper. So in the blink of an eye, an elite player becomes an aggressive oaf perfectly suited to his deep voice, his choppy English and size. That’s a lot more snappy than accepting him to be a complicated and misunderstood character who finds that he can’t easily translate either his play or his thoughts into Western terms. Who knows he’s denigrated and that his choice to stay on a team with Sidney Crosby will only further lessen his positive significance, and that his mistakes will stand out more strongly as a result.

Both of these cases are insults and ones that most fans and media don’t even admit or are aware they’re committing. Ovechkin’s case is unique in that he’s harnessed the bias toward him for his own advantage. He now owns that brand of xenophobia to the point where his deeply-sewn lifelong problematic political affiliations and dubious personal life are long since hand-waived and smiled upon. The big dumb Russian image is especially ironic in how in-control and smart he is with it. He is literally laughing all the way to the American banks. But Malkin’s? Is sadly not unique in it’s dejection: despite his smarts, he can’t even speak in his own defense without his accent and his English level feeding into the “big dumb uncultured animal” prejudice. (Even players who speak better English are still tarred by their accent, or get the dubious praise of “wow your English is so good!”) He can’t make the kinds of rash mistakes that occur incessantly in hockey without it cancelling out the records he’s broken or the goals he generated.

Or in this case in particular, the fact that he was a target.

And oh boy. You’re a simple-minded no-hockey-understandin’ fool if you think that an opposition facing humiliation at the hands of a rival team with a big Russian who takes provocation quickly at times, isn’t going to receive direction to draw exactly the kind of penalty Raffl got out of Malkin. It got them the make-up goal for the refereeing cockup earlier in the game (the goal that already would have ended the Pens shutout). To Raffl and the Flyers, it was well-worth the risk and it paid off. Raffl was absolutely fine with risking retaliation to his actions if the result was stopping a shutout against his time, which it did. He was also more than happy to take a strategic dive and keep his mouth shut in the hopes that it would keep Malkin off the ice even longer. This is hockey and more than that, it’s Pennsylvania hockey. That is what happened, period.

In all fairness, I wouldn’t expect the Flyers or their fans to do much else because again, that’s hockey. Raffl got away with it but in their eyes, it was eye-for-an-eye over the earlier goal snatched out of their grasp by a whistle. There was nothing shocking about last night for a battle of Pennsylvania game.

I’m also not expecting any different attitude toward Malkin from fans who look for any reason to hate the Penguins and especially Malkin. Their reasons are already heavily biased, wildly over the top and of no value to anyone but themselves.

But it should feel utterly stunning to Pens fans that they are treating Geno the way they are. That the bias against him (and the double standards he faces compared to comparable situations with other Pens players) takes a situation of clear instigation and violence AGAINST Geno, and has instead turned it entirely into part of a pugilistic, brainless and animalistic fantasy that is a far cry from the reality that Geno is the vast majority of the time a smart and calculating player who sometimes lets his temper get the better of him (more on that in a lil sec!). There’s no hemming or hawing over that fact: we all know Geno doesn’t get his just desserts for the good he does due to playing on a team with Sid. We should also realise that Geno has an entirely unjust reputation for his mistakes that Sid does not get. Was Sid for a long time an emotional player who’s emotions sometimes brought harm to himself or his team? Undeniably yes. Was it gross the way opposition fans blew up that occasional flaw into something that actively fed the “Cindy crybaby” image that will now literally never die? Oh it sure is gross!

So why then is it okay that Geno’s flaw is encourage by his team’s own fans to feed a caricature of him that is intended to blot out his talent and his intelligence?

The thing is I know a lot of people think they’re not at all falling for that stereotype, but as someone who was around for the original post-Iron Curtain Russians I am coming out of my well to say: yes you are. I begged for tickets to hockey games my poor little teenage ass could scant afford just to watch the Russian 5 in person. I idolized their play. I counted Scotty King Midas Bowman as fortunate to have them on his already star-studded team. I also insulted and degraded the Russian 5 players unintentionally for years out of ignorance and out of deep-seated prejudice. So if you haven’t been disturbed by calling a notoriously intelligent player who has turned the tide of entire games and seasons on his own at times “dumb” and “violent” or chuckled at the way he expresses himself, then you’ve got some self-examination waiting.

I’ve also got hilariously zero time for people trying to sneak in their “Malkin is a dirty player” bullshit so let’s easily clear that up:

On the end of the spectrum that absolutely defines the modern dirty player: Tom Wilson makes surgical, calculated unprovoked and often blind-sided vicious hits intended to take players out of the game. Exiting the “dirty player” realm and far from Wilson is Erik Karlsson’s suspension this year for what he argued did not merit the punishment but that was still an intentional iffy hit that needed repercussion. Then you’ve got the fact that Geno reacts badly to hits and verbal provocation sometimes. If that’s a dirty player then bye bye to all the boys you’ve loved before because defining Karlsson and Malkin as “dirty” your little shits are also dirty players. The Lady Byng is given on relative terms, not because there are hockey players with truly squeaky clean records out there. If every reactionary slash and grudge-driven whack were called then hockey wouldn’t exist. These are male athletes traveling at high-speed in a contact sport, folks.

So the reaction to last night’s incident with Geno and the follow-up needs to be re-written for accuracy at least in part by Pens fans: Raffle made a targeted series of pugilistic attacks on Geno that were not called, Geno reacted with reckless high-sticking which was fairly called, and Raffl took a dive that was visible even to Philly commentators but was not called for it. NHL Player Safety is in a turmoil of trying to find “balance” in their wildly fluctuating definitions of dirty and illegal play and the hearing coupled with a complete lack of punishment or condemnation on Raffl’s headshot is a farce.

Hoping that Geno has to miss games for his mistake as a reaction to another player’s dirty tactics is… yeah that’s wrong. You’re wrong. You gotta ask yourself why you want that, if you do. A fine on top of his punishment to make a point? Okay. Missing games? When such a punishment has previously only been for targeted illegal hits? Yeah that’s extreme and bullshit.

[lovestruck-au]

That Part About Apples And Families

A sweet, little, family reunion! Sounds fun doesn’t it?

Not for Lorencia.

1. Dawn | 2. Ross | 4. That feeling

Abusive parents in this one!

There’s that saying, that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Basically, it means that kids aren’t that different from their parents. No matter if it’s look, character, morality or simply the way someone wash their hands. In psychology it’s said that children reflect parental behaviour, which is fully reasonable. After all a child will do everything it’s parent does from an early age.

Christian Taylor knew this very well. It was a common knowledge for a psychologist, especially for one usually working with children. He studied psychology on Dawn Hat’s University of Heroes, focusing more on child psychology, wanting to help children. He was doing this for his little sister.

Chris was young, finished his studies barely one year ago. He could look inexperienced (even if he wasn’t). Yet, he still got that big occasion for money, very subtle case which couldn’t get into media. He wouldn’t get any visible experience, but he’ll be able to keep his flat for whole next year at least!

Well, at least that’s what he hoped for.

This whole thing seemed weird from the start. From the first second after Alton Ayers, head of the Silver Sword contacted him. Silver Sword was a hero organization, one of the biggests in the world at this moment, so it was obvious Chris had to be silent about it. He agreed almost immediately, because mr. Alton offered him half of his payment before meeting with the child and was taken to the Silver Sword’s special facility. He wasn’t even sure where it was.

He was able to meet Dawn Hat and Lin Hakki there but, as excited as he got upon being able to actually shake their hands, it kept getting weirder and weirder. Why would they come here if it was the Silver Sword’s inside thing? If they were here then it meant this whole case was way bigger than Chris thought.

He got kid’s documents right before entering their room with Alton and Sayuri Ayers and didn’t even have time to read all of them. He only managed something about a kidnaping and brainwashing.

And a name.

Right now Christian Taylor was standing, dumbfounded, with a clipboard in his hand, looking at Miki Ayers. The daughter of Mr. and Ms. Ayers, who was badly injured around six years ago. The girl everyone basically forget a month after the accident. The girl who should be sixteen right now, at least Chris thought so. He wasn’t really interested in that story back then.

A young woman to whom her parents called a child psychologist.

“Sweetie!” Sayuri Ayers, Miki’s mother, called to her. There was relief obvious in her voice and Chris wasn’t surprised. According to the documents he was holding in his hands Miki was gone for two years already, not even one time contacting with her parents. Yet, the mother didn’t even flinch toward her daughter.

The old saying came back to Christian right then. Miki was so similar to her mother. Black hair kept neatly in tight ponytail, thin, petty silhouette, long legs… they had even similar dresses on them, although the one wore by Miki seemed more childish. Pink, with a flower on her side and a big bow in her hair.

But that wasn’t everything. Miki’s face wasn’t as close to Sayuri as it was to her father, Alton. Her face wasn’t round, it was still soft, yes, but more pointy on edges, with strong cheekbones and a mole under her left eye.

Even her posture was more similar to her father that mother. She stood strong, straight, looking at her parents with high lifted head. From time to time she was peeking at the giant, violet teddy behind her, like if worried someone would take it away. So, that was her comfort thing then.

“You look just perfect” continued Sayuri, with an excited voice. Miki only scowled at the compliment. Somehow it didn’t change how pretty her face was.

“What do you say when someone compliment you?” Mr. Ayers sounded like it was something normal to scold the girl for him. With his wide, muscular chest, reminding how some heroes looked like, and ringing voice even Chris had to flinch. He was surprised Miki didn’t.

“Of course I look perfect” snarled Miki. “You gave me the exact same dress and hairstyle you have.”

Her words drew sighs from her parents. But, well, she had a point - thought Christian.

“At least you finally look like a girl” argued Ms. Ayers. “I don’t know what did you think, young lady like you shouldn’t dress in such an awful, old clothes.”

Miki looked like she will erupt in a second but was trying to hold back. And they were people who didn’t see each other for two years? A girl who was kidnapped and her parents who were worried about her wellbeing?

“Let’s calm down, we’re not here to argue.” Chris decided to say something, to cut off approaching argument. Mr. Ayers agreed with him.

“Yes. We’re here to help you.”

At that Ms. Ayers grabbed her chin, making weird, strangled noise. “I can’t even imagine what terrible things that monster did to you” she wailed. Her husband lend her an arm, to lean on.

“What monster?” Miki seemed confused, but a crinkle between her eyebrows and fire in her eyes indicated she knows very well what’s going on in here. Her father sighed and exchanged looks with Chris.

That was the psychiatrist’s cue to go on and start the session. He nodded, kindly asking the couple to give them some privacy.

“That’s our daughter. We can listen” decided Alton and moved with his wife, still looking like she would collapse in a second, to the couch on the other side of the room. Chris sighed.

Not cool.

He walked to Miki, smiling warmly, her files in one of his hands. He didn’t exactly like how the girl looked at him, with something animalistic in those pretty eyes, like a cat looking at the mouse. But he didn’t let himself be intimidated, reaching for a handshake.

Miki looked his hand over and crossed arms over her chest, not interested with touching him at all. Chris respected that.

“My name’s Christian Taylor. I’m a psychologist” Chris introduced himself.

“I managed to guess that” grumbled Miki and continued. “You probably have some files about me in there. Let me guess again, something about being kidnapped? Held against my will? Maybe few other terrible lies?”

Chris looked at the clipboard and smiled at Miki. “Yeah, maybe let me explain exactly why I’m here? We can sit over there and talk a little.” Chris pointed to a small table and two chairs around it.

“I’m not leaving Bob’s side.” Miki clung to the giant teddy behind her.

“Okay, okay. We can sit here, on the floor.”

The girl looked at Chris from under long lashes, her eyes flickered toward her parents for a second and finally she nodded. Without a word she slid to the floor, her back resting on the teddy’s fluffy belly.

Chris sat next to her, smiling softly. “Do you know for how long you were gone?”

“Two years. Wish it was longer.” Miki tried to readjust her sitting pose but swayed a little, quickly catching balance again. Chris could swear he saw something move under her dress but decided to focus on the discussion.

“And why is that?”

She didn’t answer, looking at him like if he was an idiot. Chris decided to change the topic.

“Do you remember anything from the night you were taken from the hospital?” Chris looked the documents over again. Wait, why exactly was she in the hospital in the first way? Wasn’t that because- He found the right note. Fracture of the spine causing whole body paralysation?!

Miki had to understand his shocked expression because she nodded. “Yeah. I was chained to the bed for four years. They left me to rot there, only sending more and more doctors to experiment on my back. Would you want to see scars I have left?” Miki chuckled a little. “Love Hat, the one she dares to call a monster” she pointed at her mother with an accusing finger “found me few days before and come talk with me, disguised. He told me he can help me leave that place on my own legs.”

“How?” Chris asked, to make her continued but also because he was genuinely curious.

Miki again glanced at her parents and out of sudden stood up, again swayin a little. She grabbed back of her dress and tugged. One, two, three times till the material ripped, drawing surprised gasp from Miki’s mother. The girl ripped half of her dress, till a long, black, cat tail showed up.

“Hide that hideous thing right now!” Ms. Ayers stood up. Miki looked at her with incredulous look in her eyes.

“That hideous thing helps me move, you know that?” Without anything more to say Miki sat down again, visibly waiting for more questions. Chris decided that’s the best he could do, not paying attention to angry words behind his back.

“Love Hat did it?”

“No, he still can’t understand how exactly does a TV works.” Miki chuckled and a soft smile like that looked on her face way better than a scowl. “Ross did it.”

“Ross?” Chris checked his files. There wasn’t much about Ross, Ross Tlina, but it sounded dangerous.

“He’s not like they say.” Miki forestalled Chris’ question. “He’s really sweet… well, he can be really sweet. Most of the time he’s pretty grumpy. But he’s just hurt.”

“Do you like him?”

Miki made a pause and looked up, on her big teddy’s face. She smiled more. “Yeah. He’s like my older brother. We annoy each other to no end but I would jump into the fire after him. And I’m sure he would as well… wait, is he in here? Is Love in here as well?” There was some kind of spark in Miki’s eyes. Chris had to bit his tongue before he could answer that question.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you that.”

“Oh.” The smile on her face faltered. She shrugged.

Chris continued. “I need to ask you a difficult question next.” Miki looked at him, waiting. “Do you know what brainwashing is?”

“That’s enough!” Alton Ayers spoke up, making Chris jolt. “You were supposed to fix her, not have a small chit chat!”

“Yes, but that’s not an easy process-”

“You think I’m brainwashed?” Miki sounded surprised and a little amused. But mostly dumbfounded. She stood up, to face her father, the tail swaying behind her. “And you have the audacity to say that after what you did to me?”

“We never did anything to you!”

“You left me, a ten years old kid, in a hospital! For four years! You never came to visit, only friendly face I saw was my nanny! Which nota bene was more of a mother to me than her” she pointed at Ayuri again “since she wouldn’t even leave her room to read me a book!”

“We tried to cure you. We gave you a home, food and education. You should be grateful!”

At this point Chris was standing away from fighting father and daughter. She was barely reaching his chest, yet wasn’t even a little reluctant to yell at him and Chris was a little amazed. As well as concerned, because all that didn’t sound good.

“Grateful?!” roared Miki. “You deserve shit, not my gratefulness! I’m grateful for every person that was by my side but you two!”

Alton was preparing himself to roar back, but a sudden hand on his shoulder stopped him.

“It’s okay” Sayuri said with weirdly calm voice. “Nothing you say is true after all. We know that monster brainwashed you to believe all that.”

Miki was speechless for a moment. Chris looked between her and her parents, not knowing who he should believe. From one side all the exchange between Miki and her father seemed very real. From the other brainwashing, as rare as it happened, could mess even person’s memories.

Miki straightened, relaxed her shoulders and looked with fierce in her eyes at her parents. “I always knew how dense you are. But to pull off something like that? There are plenty of people who knows how of a shitty parents you were. And if they wouldn’t want to talk, there’s always my grandpa, he learned how you two are for real long time ago.”

“He’s a crazy, old hero. No one will believe him.” Miki’s mother was as stoic as a tree. She looked like she knew her daughter don’t have a way out now. That was when Chris decided to stay on Miki’s side.

For him that single sentence said by Sayuri had way too much warning in it.

He moved toward the girl, wanting to propose a break so he could talk with her without both of her parents listening, but a strong blow interrupted him. The room shook a little, the alarm going off. After few seconds a high pitched roar pierced everyone’s ears.

Alton immediately covered his wife with a strong arm. Chris jumped to Miki, who didn’t seem as troubled as she should, and grabbed her arm.

“I believe you” he said. She looked him over and freed her hand.

“Then you wanna hide somewhere, or better, run out of here as fast as possible.” She turned toward her teddy. “Come on Bob, it’s our cue to leave.”

“What-”

Right then the teddy - Bob - moved. It stood up on its hind legs and grabbed Miki in its paws. She crawled onto its shoulder, holding hard to the furr.

“Wait!” Both of them stopped right before jolting out of the room and turned toward Chris. The giant, teddy-like monster growled at him. “Take it. Please. If you’ll have any problems, want to talk, just, anything...” Chris reached a shaking hand toward Miki, handing her his business card. He knew it wasn’t pointless to get them after finishing the school, even if it was first time he actually used it.

Miki looked it over and hid - in her bra because of course the dress didn’t have any pockets. “Yeah, I’ll call. You seems nice anyway.”

She patted Bob and it rushed out of the room, knocking off Alton, who tried to stop it. The alarm was loud and the piercing roar happened again.

“Why didn’t you stop her?!” Mr. Ayers jumped toward Chris and grabbed the front of his shirt. The psychiatrist choked, grabbing bigger man’s arms.

“I-”

“Dear!” Ms. Ayers called, visibly scared. Alton huffed at Chris.

“You just destroyed your whole career” he said grimmly and dropped Chris. Escorting his wife, he left the room.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. That saying once again came back to Christian when he stood up shakilly. Maybe it didn’t mean that the child had to be as terrible as their parents. Maybe a child could learn that not always following the parent’s path was good for them. But the saying was still painfully true.

That fierce, animalistic look in Alton’s eyes, so similar to Miki’s angry glare, was enough for a proof.

.

Lorencia clung to Bob’s back. The teddy was running fast through the corridors, knocking off doctors and guards standing on his way, not even paying attention to few bullets shoot at him. He, almost instinctively, was searching for Love Hat. Lorencia wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. From what it sounded like she guessed the demon went mad. But still, she would rather be with him now than her parents.

In the crazy run Lorencia noticed a similar dark skin and white hair, just flashing in the corner of her eye. “Ross?!” she yelled, making Bob stop and look around.

Ross stopped as well, looked in their direction and smiled with relief, living the room he was in. He limped toward them, his prosthetic leg different than the one he usually had and his arm gone, as well as his mask. At least he got both of his eyes on place - thought Lorencia, observing the face she didn’t have a chance to see too frequently.

“I’m so glad I found you two” he sighed. Lorencia helped him get on Bob’s back. “We need to get out of here. And somehow lure Love out as well.”

“How?” asked Lorencia when Bob started moving once again.

“I have an idea, but you’ll think I’m crazy.”

Lorencia kept for herself that she thought Ross was crazy anyway. And she listened to his plan.

[toonatic92]

Getting rid of my massive backlog of Truth Seekers related drawings.

First pic:

Some doodles of Ama I did ages ago. I wanted to draw how Ama sits, because it's very unique and very autistic. Ama's behaviour is very influenced by people in her life telling her 'don't do this' and 'don't do that'. She knows why they say these things and will put up with it for the sake of a quiet life, but she doesn't really see the point in doing these things, so her body language is a strange mix of 'lady-like' and 'un-lady-like' behaviour. She both obeys and rebels against what she's been told at the same time. Ama spends most of her time in the palace's library, where she reads books and hides from her family. When she's in the library, her behaviour is less restrained because no one can see her, so she sits cross-legged or sits with her book propped up on her leg like she's doing in the picture. Sometimes she lays down, sometimes she sits/lays in very odd positions which she certainly can't do when people are watching her. She also sometimes removes heavy jewellery like her crown or the Sun King medallion in the picture, which she absolutely cannot do if people are watching. The reason she's annoyed in the picture is because someone has come into the library. Sometimes she deliberately sits like this when her family are watching and sometimes they surprise her when she's alone and she can't be bothered to change her behaviour. There's always a barely-restrained undercurrent of angry rebellion in Ama's behaviour because she feels that her family is stifling her.

Second pic:

Ama has difficult relationships with all her family members, but by far the most turbulent is the one she has with her younger brother Maka. Ama's father has several wives, so most of her siblings are half-siblings and Maka is her only full sibling. Ama has close relationships with all her siblings but her relationship with Maka is the closest because they have the same mother. The story of their relationship is long and complicated, so we'll take stage by stage: Top right: After Ama's difficult birth, her parents were afraid of having another child. Ama's father blamed himself for Ama's disabilities because his father was disabled and he didn't have another child for four years. In the interim, he had married his fifth wife and he felt ready to try again. She gave birth to twin girls with no disabilities, much to his relief. Ama's mother wanted another child, so they took the risk and she gave birth to Maka. Ama didn't take to the new baby. She was jealous of the attention the new baby received and spent as little time with her new brother as possible. Top left: Maka was a happy toddler and he loved his big sister and always clung to her. Ama hated him. She hated how clingy he was, she hated his moods and she hated the way her mum fussed over him. Ama was always aware of the pity and guilt her parents had about her because of her disabilities and their concern over her introverted behaviour. The resentment towards her parents also became a resentment towards Maka because he wasn't a 'problem child' in their parents eyes like she was and always got more positive attention than she did. Maka is however, like Ama, sensitive to the feelings of others, so after a while he did start to realise that his sister hated him. Ama was never shy about expressing it, so even to a happy kid like Maka it started becoming obvious. Bottom left: Ama started to get more depressed around her teens. Conflicts with her mother became more frequent and Ama spent more and more time in the library, away from her family. Maka was getting increasingly irritated by his sister's behaviour and got into arguments with her frequently. Maka saw his sister's withdrawal from their family as a sign that she hated them and he started to hate her for it. Ama was lost in her depression and didn't have time for Maka's hatred, even though her silence and dismissive behaviour made it worse. Bottom right: Ama and Maka's lives were made more difficult by the sudden illness of their father. Their father started favouring his sixth wife leading to arguments between him and his family. The arguments became more frequent and people started leaving, including their mother. Soon, all that was left were Ama, Maka, their father and his sixth wife. Ama and Maka couldn't leave, since they were the reincarnations of the Sun King and the Moon Queen, the forebears of the Ixen people and occupy an important religious and political position in the royal family. So, they were left to watch their father deteriorate. Their father's wife became regent and started favouring Maka to the point where Maka developed a crush on her, leading to further conflict between him and Ama. Ama felt guilty about how she had treated him in the past, but with all that was happening, was still unwilling to argue with Maka. Maka's moods and temper were exacerbated by their father's illness and he became more aggressive towards Ama. Her shutting him down only made him angrier. On a side note, the figure to the right of Ama is her faithful companion, Glurgeh. Ama found him buried under the floor of the palace and he's been by her side ever since. He's a creature made out of semi-solid magic and can talk and change shape. Glurgeh tends to be a concerned observer in the fights between Ama and Maka because he likes them both and they both like him.

Third pic:

Glurgeh is Ama's companion. She found him buried under the palace when she was a child and they've been inseparable ever since. Glurgeh was made to be a superweapon under the orders of Ama's great-grandfather, Arnicah Grivillix, the founder of the Grivillix dynasty. Glurgeh never liked killing and proved to be difficult to control, so he was buried under the palace. He remained there for decades, alone until Ama heard his distraught sobs one night and dug him up. Records of his existence had been destroyed when he was buried, so the current royal family was unaware of his existence and were surprised when he told them of how he came to be. Ama's family accepted him as one of their own and his sweet and playful nature made him a favourite of the royal children. His deepest relationship is with Ama, the one who saved him. He acts as companion, friend, emotional support and disability aid to Ama. He is probably closer to Ama than her own family and is a shoulder to cry on when Ama has arguments with them. This relationship probably isn't healthy for either of them, but if they didn't have each other, they wouldn't have anyone else. Some of the facts on this sheet aren't accurate anymore, but most of them still apply.

Fourth pic:

I did the expressions challenge with Glurgeh, which is fun because he's a gelatinous shapeshifter. Glurgeh is sweet and cheerful and friendly, but he has a petulant side. He also can be dangerous and animalistic when angry or afraid, especially when he's having a flashback to the days when he was buried under the palace. Being made of magic, Glurgeh can do anything with his body. He can change size, solidify parts of his body, glow, shift his features around and even turn into a pile of goo. He shapeshifts based on his mood and to express himself and to entertain others.

Pencil and ink on paper.

Links:

First pic

Second pic

Third pic

Fourth pic