#but at least i learned how to do a cut on mobile!

[musingmycelium]

. noncoherent but also thoughts

[bobbile-blog]

Okay so I've finally gotten to Jessicalter's Oprec and now feel qualified to talk about Come Catastrophes or Wakes of Vultures. holy shit. This went straight into my list of top Arknights events. Fantastic event, spoilers will be under the cut so I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading the event first. It's really good and worth your while.

Anyway, what follows is a scattered mess of thoughts about this event and things that stuck out to me.

First off, plot stuff! I'll probably cover this when I do my next plotline recap post, but what I took away from the end is that Clip Cliff seems to want to make Blacksteel independent, or at least more self-determining than it is now. He seems to be gathering resources and assets like mobile city plates and investing in long-term infrastructure like merc training, so he definitely has a long game he's pushing for. I don't think we know enough go speculate about his goals, but we'll definitely be coming back here again. After all, Tila has an infection monitor in her art, which probably means she's going to be playable at some point in the future.

Next, having looked into this a little on my own, I was interested in some of the previous places Raythean has shown up. Specifically, the ones that stood out were the drones in the Kazimierz Major and arming Silverash's forces in Kjerag, which might be referring to the Tschäggättä. It's not just notable for their apparent level of technology, but also as a faint connecting thread between three separate capitalism plotlines. I don't know if that's going to be meaningful in the future, but I found it interesting enough that I thought I'd bring it up.

Now on to more narrative things. While I love Liskarm and Franka, I do think it was the right choice to give them less screen time in this event. They're both (for the most part) fully-realized characters who understand their own motivations and morals. This is above all else an event about Jessica learning to stand on her own as an adult, so it makes sense that they're more here to support her than they are to play their own roles in the story.

Speaking of said roles, I liked the event's commentary on cops. It pointed out an interesting distinction that I wouldn't really have ever thought of, that between mercenaries and cops. To start: cops exist to protect property, not people. The police exist to protect things and do not have an obligation to err on the side of people over things, and in fact are supposed to do the opposite. This event understands that, and that role os the core of how the bank treats the Blacksteel mercs. CV, however, raises an interesting point that mercenaries are bound by the letter of a contract and not the larger obligation to property cops are, so they can actually raise moral objections and point to their contracts, sort of a Lawful Evil/Lawful Neutral to cops' Neutral Evil. The independence of their position with respect to cops allows for more of an independent morality than you'd get in a cop story and I like that, I think it's a really smart direction to take your writing in.

On a (mostly) separate note, holy shit Arknights is really good at writing cowboy stories. Between this and chapter 9 (and I would argue An Obscure Wanderer), Arknights has repeatedly made it clear that they Do Not Fuck Around with their cowboy stories and I'm surprised I haven't heard more people talking about it. It kinda has everything:

- It takes place in a rural, working-class setting undergoing a larger imminent societal shift that can inform the larger narrative, and deals with a semi-mythologized past that is rapidly disappearing.

- It has a protagonist and an antagonist that serve as foils, both very heavily affected and defined by the (same) violence in their past that they've both had different reactions to. Our protagonist has come to terms with the violence as a tool to maintain order, while our antagonist has used it for personal gain and in some ways lost control of it.

- It's a story about community, and heavily emphasizes local and personal community over larger artificial corporate "community". That's my reading of the recurring motif of the cold btw, warmth represents the close, personal community Davistown used to have and the cold that now pervades it comes from how the bank has systematically dismantled that community.

- And, I'd argue most importantly, it understands the narrative power of a bullet. The Showdown at the end of a cowboy story is powerful because we've spent the entire runtime of our story with these characters, and they are now facing each other down with the intent to end one of their collective two stories. The entire weight of the narrative so far comes to rest on a single moment of tension. It's really hard to gather up the kind of narrative momentum you need to make that hit like it does in CV. For example, it requires a really light hand with actual action in the story, so that it really does feel like it's an even standoff between our protagonist and antagonist. On the other hand, though, you do actually have to establish the relative skill of both parties and actually sell the danger of the moment to the audience. It's really hard to toe the line between tension and actual action in a way that makes for a satisfying resolution, and CV does it extremely well.

Honestly, Arknights just seems really good at getting the vibes of American media right. This is something I noticed in DV and Lonetrail too, and I haven't really been able to put my finger on what it is about them, but the vibes are just really on-point. I want to write more about this at a later point once I actually figure out what it is that I'm feeling, but maybe it's the setting, maybe it's the cast, maybe it's the plot points, maybe it's something in between — it just seems to understand the spirit of period cowboy stories in a way that I can't describe. Good shit.

Finally, I wanna end this with where Jessica is now. The events of CV take place In between the events of Loneterail and Ideal City, so the current "now" of the story is a few months ahead. Jessica left for the frontier along with Woody, Helena, and Miles. They live together in a small new settlement, building the place from the ground up with Woody and Jessica acting as town sherrifs. At the point we're at now, rhe town is fairly well-established and Woody has temporarily left on other business, leaving Jessica the sole sherrif of their new settlement. However, she's risen to her new station, and is growing into a stronger person than she ever was before.

[hollowed-theory-hall]

you mentioned many times that wizards don't study magical theory at Hogwarts, but they have a book on the list for first year! and in book 7 there is an ad on a bookstore about it. maybe they don't study it as a separate subject, but they are told about the theory at every single one. the same laws on Potions or Transfiguration are theories in sum. the academic program at Hogwarts is just terrible, fact.

I also think that most wizards don't think about theory as such, that's why we have what we have. they are more interested in politics, careers, teatalks or money than magical theory or slavery or feminism or other cool things. they're used to their lives, they're used to magic, and I can also assume that muggleborns adopt this behavior, or, more appropriately, don't think about the nature of magic either - it's there, and that's enough. people are extremely lazy by nature to seek knowledge.

and let's be honest - not all wizards as talented as Snape - most are still ordinary and do not have outstanding skills to think about something else. most people are like that, wizards are not much different in this.

however, the theory that the Ministry is an authoritarian structure and silences everything is possible fact and does not contradict the above. yk corruption and biggotry. and I am sure that it is easier for purebreds to apply for licensing (if it exists at all) of their work, of any nature

Like, they study very select parts of magical theory, I'd say. Like, they learn about Gamp's laws of transfiguration, they learn the Unforgivables require you to "mean them" but they aren't told what it means. They aren't told why any of what they learn is true, so I won't really call it as "studying magical theory". At least not properly.

Becouse even the bits of magical theory they do study is... well, it's flimsy and inaccurate at best and outright false at worst.

The official definitions of what is Dark Magic make zero sense:

Dark Arts referred to any magic that was mainly used to control, harm or kill its target.

I mean, Amoretentia and Obliviation are both mainly used to control someone, and they aren't considered dark. Why? You can kill a troll with Wingardium Leviosa (as proven in first year) and yet the killing curse is what's illegal and not the act of killing regardless of what spell you use. Diffindo is literally called "the Severing Charm" it's used only to harm the target (the target just doesn't have to be a person) and it's not dark magic. Many hexes and jinxes are considered dark, yet they are legal because they supposedly aren't as "corruptive" as other dark magic? Even though except Voldemort we don't see any dark wizard corrupted by dark magic and even Voldemort's supposed dark magic corruption is questionable.

What I'm saying is their terminology sucks. Even the difference between charms, jinxes, hexes, curses, and transfiguration isn't always clear-cut (quite often it isn't, actually) and there are many misclassified spells.

Like, the Tongue-Tying Curse is referred to as a curse even if it's clearly not as severe as most curses are and should probably be classified as a jinx or a hex. The Hardening Charm (Duro) is called a charm and it is referenced in a charms book although it's more akin to a transfiguration spell than a charm (hence why the mobile game Hogwarts Mystery placed it in transfiguration, an understandable mistake). The Anti-Alohamora spell is classified as a charm but for some reason, the Anti-Disapparation spell is classified as a jinx. None of this makes sense.

Basically, a lot of magical definitions are very arbitrary and have everything to do with ministry regulation and nothing to do with actual magical theory and how these spells work. The book by Slinkhard Umbridge assigns is an extreme example of this:

“He says that counterjinxes are improperly named,” said Hermione promptly. “He says ‘counterjinx’ is just a name people give their jinxes when they want to make them sound more acceptable.”

(OotP)

The book literally groups a bunch of spells that aren't dark magic as jinxes, and therefore, they are considered dark magic according to Slinkhard. Which fits what the ministry is trying to do. They are trying to make the population defenseless, to make sure Dumbledore doesn't have a student army (which is what Fudge fears). So they discourage casting counterjinxes (and other defensive magic) by redefining them as "dark". Like, Umbridge's whole shtick is to make sure they don't learn Defence Against the Dark Arts.

The above is an extreme example but all their school books have biases and inaccuracies. I mean, we also know Advanced Potion-Making that Slughorn assigned had many inaccurate recipes and that Snape altered almost all of that book to make it correct (even on the theory aspects). And it was used for teaching at Hogwarts for years! And no one had an issue with that!

Like, I just know the Magical Theory book they had in first year doesn't really explain why spells need to be said a certain way or why a wand needs to be waved one way or another. Like, the magical theory they know is very limited and shallow. They know the rules of how spells and potions work on the surface, but they don't know why it works this way. They have no clue how magic actually works. (If Hogwarts was teaching it, they'd be learning Latin which most of their spells are based on in the UK).

That's why I blame the ministry and Hogwarts curriculum for hiding information. It's not just that they aren't teaching magical theory, they are teaching factually incorrect magical theory and misclassifying spells constantly.

And sure, the wizarding population in general is academically lazy, but a government and education system affect how "lazy" a population is and a good education system can improve the general understanding of people and their critical thinking. People aren't as naturally lazy as you think, the systems in the wizarding world encourage them to memorize instead of think and to be lazy. There are cultures that are more academically inclined than others due to cultural and systematic factors. How lazy their society is is an issue with their system.

Not to mention the fact the only government-approved path to academically study magic is to become unspeakable. The whole point of Unspeakables is that they are unspeakable — don't talk about what they study — and yet they are the only ones studying the nature of magic and magical theory. It is clearly hidden from the public if the people studying it are sworn to secrecy. I mean, they wouldn't be sworn to secrecy if there wasn't something shady and corrupt going on, after all, it's not a matter of security like in the DMLE, it's a matter of science. You'll only silence the scientists when you don't want the people to know how the world works for some reason or another.

What I'm saying, is that everything in how their world operates suggests an authoritarian, controlling government that maliciously manipulates their culture's understanding of magic. And, well, there's a reason Fudge sent Umbridge in at year 5 — the year in which he fears he'd lose his control over the population. Because a misinformed & defenseless society is easier to control.

As an aside, since you asked about it, there is a registration process for spells you make up to be approved for use:

“Why does it matter if it’s handwritten?” said Harry, preferring not to answer the rest of the question. “Because it’s probably not Ministry of Magic- approved,” said Hermione.

(HBP - when talking about spells in the HBP book)

[sumi-sprite]

This is entirely @wisp-of-chaos's fault. They got me into the idea of Illithid babies, specifically their OC Vlassk with baby Omeluum. If I have to suffer the cuteness overload and brainrot, THEN SO DO YOU ALL.

Under the cut due to length!

IMAGE TEXT:

1.) Born partially blind and know their parent of guardian by their psionic signature, touch, and smell. Their vision will gradually adjust over ten to fifteen weeks of age.

2.) Self soothing: Newborns are prone to suckling on their own tentacles!

3.) Internal yolk. A newborn Illithid will "nurse" on its parent's psionic energy for the first six to eight weeks of life before adjusting to a semi-solid diet.

4.) Cranium bones are still soft and not yet fully fused. This makes the birth easier for not just the parent, but the child as well, whose delicate brain can be easily damaged until the skull hardens.

5.) Limbs are soft and extremely weak. It takes months for a newborn to learn how to fully use its limbs, with their tentacles being the first to gain full mobility and dexterity.

6.) Claws are not yet developed. Fingers and toes and very soft and delicate and may be prone to injury if the parent is not careful. Grip strength is extremely weak compared to the tentacles.

BOTTOM TEXT: Extremely soft and fragile, but frighteningly intelligent and curious. Newborn Illithids may gain a higher vocabulary in under a year if they are cared for properly and fed a rich diet of sapient brain mush. At roughly a year of age, they can be given cut pieces of intact brain. After eighteen months, they are big enough to eat a whole half brain. They are able to walk, speak, and levitate around two years.

Other HCs not included due to limited space:

juvenile marks and spots vanish over time.

newborns cannot lift their own heads for at least five months due to the size and weight of their own brains.

teething. Newborn teeth come in at around ten months of age, then shed them at two years, gaining juvenile teeth. These fall out at five years old and they gain their first sub-adult set.

the internal yolk is visible until the newborn fully absorbs it and moves onto brain mush. The translucency of its belly also becomes opaque over their first year of life.

Newborns are entirely reliant on their parent or caretakers for the first two years of their life due to their weak muscle and delicate bone structures. Their fragility makes them precious to a colony, and they take almost as much precedence as an Elder Brain.

I don't know, I just thought this was fricken adorable and like I said, entirely Wisp's fault. I need baby Omeluum in my life being a curious and extra squishy little bean that can't stop putting things in its mouth and is ENAMORED by glowing mushrooms.

It's HC hobbies include extra long naps, chewing its own tentacles, chewing Vlassk's tentacles/hands, getting into places it shouldn't, wearing cookware, naps in its sling and/or Vlassk's tendrils, touching EVERYTHING, watching small critters, and contemplating the mystery of mirrors.

[destinywillowleaf]

we're calling it an "afterparty" because it's a party after we saved the world

(Sonic X Shadow Generations)

In which Blaze knows things no one else does, Sonic remembers what his friends tell him, and Shadow pays attention to people trying to kill him.

Light spoilers for Shadow Generations? Nothing plot-heavy, just a boss and related dialogue. Mostly under the cut to not clog up too much on mobile. these thoughts would not leave me alone so here they are

EDIT: now as a more fleshed-out fic on AO3!

(Parenthesis) are internal thoughts, [Brackets] are actions/descriptions.

~~~~~

Sonic: Hey, Blaze?

Blaze: [She turns to face him.] Hm?

Sonic: You said you were in that Crisis City place before.

Blaze: I did. (Where is he going with this?)

Sonic: Call me crazy, but it seemed like you really knew the city. But I don't remember running through anything like it in the Sol Dimension, and none of the other locales in White Space were from adventures you guys had without me. What's up with that?

Blaze: (Ah.) It's... something I've been wondering myself for a while now.

Sonic: Huh?

[Her eyes grow distant, looking beyond the trees as she retreads memories.]

Blaze: You're right. Crisis City was not in my world. From my best understanding, it was a future of your world. I wound up there not too long after our adventure together, and was forced to learn the environment quickly at risk of being incinerated by the flames of disaster. Alongside... a friend, we kept it at bay as best we could.

Silver: A friend?

Blaze: (You.) After one such defeat, we were approached by a... hedgehog who claimed to know how to stop it once and for all. According to him, a lone individual was responsible for the awakening of the flames. (If I had questioned him more before, perhaps we wouldn't be in this mess of forgotten memories now.) You, Sonic.

Sonic: Me?!

Blaze: That turned out not to be the case, but nevertheless we still set out from our time into the past - your present. We were in the Kingdom of Soleanna, around the Festival of the Sun, I believe. I know... my friend encountered you a few times, but I met you then as well. We eventually returned to the future to seal away the flames once and for all. I fully intended to sacrifice myself but when it was all done... I awoke back in my own dimension.

Sonic: Eh... it's kinda ringing some bells.

Blaze: Really?

Sonic: If you told me any of this yesterday, no, but I feel like running through those streets brought something back. I definitely passed by the kingdom at one point, but I don't think I remember meeting you there. [He scratches his head.] At the same time, I kinda remember meeting someone there...

Blaze: I see.

Sonic: Side note, any reason why're you being so vague about your friend? I feel like their name's on the tip of my tongue but I just can't place 'em.

Blaze: (Because saying anything now means admitting that I've known exactly who was in Silver's dreams and never told him.)

Shadow: If I may be so bold.

Blaze: Yes...?

Shadow: Everything surrounding this... Crisis City seems to have been forgotten. Lost in time, as it were.

Blaze: I suppose that's one way to describe it. I just wish I knew why I seem to be the only one to recall anything that happened.

Shadow: Regardless, you said it was a hedgehog who approached you and your friend about the one responsible for the flames.

Blaze: He appeared to be one, at the very least. (Come to think of it...) He actually looked quite a bit like you, and still spoke to us despite lacking a mouth.

[Shadow's eyes go wide.]

Shadow: Was his name Mephiles?

[Blaze freezes in place.]

Blaze: ...how do you know that name?

[Shadow looks away and clenches his hand.]

Shadow: He confronted me earlier, raving about restoring himself to the timeline. I had no idea who he was, yet he claimed to know me. [He turns, meeting her eyes briefly.] You are the only one to remember...

Blaze: ...because that timeline no longer exists. (Something happened to destroy it. Returning to my dimension must have protected me from having my memories affected. It's a miracle Sonic remembers anything now at all.) How did he manage to find you, then?

[Shadow shrugs and turns away, leaving Blaze to her thoughts.]

Silver: Hm....

Blaze: Is there something on your mind?

Silver: You and your friend were fighting some big fiery creature in the future together, right? [Blaze nods.] It kinda sounds like Ifrit, but that was me and Espio.

Blaze: (...I've kept it from him long enough.) It was Iblis.

Silver: Ibl—

[A look of recognition flashes in his eyes. Everything clicks into place.]

Silver: All this time... it was you? They–They weren't dreams or future visions at all?

Blaze: I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. (Not that I've had many opportunities to do so to begin with.)

Silver: I've never really felt like I belonged in my own future, even before I tried to change it the first time. [Silver lets out a tired chuckle.] I guess I know why now. And–And why I was there instead of anywhere else, and why it still felt familiar even though I didn't know where I was. Except, I guess, I did know where I was. Kinda.

[The party air is distant despite being so close, and the gap between them feels like a chasm.]

Silver: What was it like?

Blaze: The old future?

Silver: Mhm. What kinda stuff did we do besides fighting fires?

Blaze: Well...

~~~~~

if you're reading this part you're cool B) but seriously i think it would be fun for Shadow to be the only other person who actually knows Mephiles. Silver has shreds of memory at best, Sonic never learned the guy's name, and no one else even has a shot at remembering. even after generations Sonic doesn't remember most of what happened and Blaze can't help since she wasn't around for most of it. idk if anyone ever finds out that Sonic died during all that nonsense.

(also something about Shadow, the one guy notorious for having a shit memory thanks to Amnesia, being the one to know/remember stuff from a timeline that doesn't exist is just. inherently funny to me)

[tralalalalally]

Some sketches of headcanons for Maedhros' body-type, tattoos, and scars.

I will give a warning for talk on poor mental and physical health before my notes:

. His body-type in particular is something he specifically works for - before Thangorodrim I think he had the more stereotypical elf-prince body (his mother-name is "well-formed", yes?) - something classically desireable. After his capture, the mix of starvation and hard physical labour made him unhealthily lean. After being rescued he was able to build up body fat again, but instead of regaining his old body he works for this new one. Something undeniably strong, untouchable, a warriors body further exaggerated. Not only does he want to distance himself from the perfection of the old him, he wants to make sure noone looking at him could see him as weak. I doubt he'd remember at least the first few months after his rescue well, but from what he does, he feels ashamed. Hiding, cowing away in fear like a child, striking out at those trying to help, revealing far too much of his trauma from the enemy. Emotion becomes a weakness to him, and he learns to control that, but then as he heals further he seeks control over his body too. I think he might eventually see himself - both body and soul - like a project similar to the construction and ruling of Himring. Especially I imagine a disconnect from his body - it is something to be built up, made strong and impenetrable, anything to not be harmed and tormented again.

. The most important scars for my headcanon (other than his missing hand of course) are the brand on his shoulder and the whip marks on his back. The brand effects him the most, and is something he covers as much as possible. None would know about it other than Findekano, Makalaure, and a few healers. Unfortunately due to it being raised, it cannot be tattooed over (nor do I think he'd be able to sit through any tattoos). I am thinking of designing some type of clothing that would essentially be part of his underwear, something that would keep it covered as often as possible - goes over the shoulder, wrapping around his body to beneath the right arm pit?

For the whip scars - when first brought to Thangorodrim he would sometimes be put to work with the other thralls. This was meant to be demoralising, the thralls seeing their prince/king reduced to this, and to show Maedhros how much had been taken from him. Of course the scars healed poorly and were often infected (I think with the brand, it may have been purposefully aggravated to make the scarring worse), though due to his positioning he got enough medical care to keep him alive. Now that he is free they still give him trouble - mobility issues from ones that cut into muscle, and the scarring itself makes the flesh stiff and less flexible. There is also a lack of feeling for most of the area.

. Tattoos - I honestly don't have any real sure designs or positioning fro them. My main thought was the vision of a tattoo of the 8 pointed star, broken up and faded due to scarring caused at Thangorodrim. You can still tell what the tattoo is of, but it has undeniably been damaged. I think I'd like to design for him a large back tattoo - star of Feanor in the middle, with other references surrounding it. Then, of course, the whip scars on top.

(Ah, and for body hair: I imagine elves can grow it, just usually not as thick. I think I remember reading that some can grow beards in old age? (As with Cirdan), so why not the same for body hair lol. I mean, humans also only get most after puberty)

[obey-moi]

I wanna imagine that the cards are a real thing in-universe. Like, the brothers, royals, Solomon and Thirteen all get put into a trading card game just because they’re all very popular individuals with their own fanbases Everyone’s card art is a little different from their actuall looks bc the actual people aren’t involved in the art production, so everone gets washboard abs and clear skin. It’d also be considered defamation of any of them are portrayed with a single blemish lol.

Of course Asmo collects ONLY his own cards and MC’s cards, even if some of them look off. “This one’s hair is too brunette but I love the SHINE they put in my lipgloss!” Or something silly like that. They go into a photo album binder where he gets other pieces of fanart.

Leviathan collects SO many card and knows the rules and decimates everyone at the games, but he absolutely refuses to collect his own cards. “Can you imagine if I played my own card as if I were actually cool? Like I had those powers, or l-looked as dashing a-as they portray me?? None of my cards would actually be good?? I’m JuSt An OtAkU??” Never plays the holographics of MC. Those get framed but never displayed. (MC finds them and they do the same to him since they both avoid their own cards. In fact they do a daily dropoff where if there’s an envelope under their door they can usually expect it to be the others’ cards.) He’s also a master of making different decks, like he has a deck for every sin, every person, etc. The Royals+Angels deck and the Envy deck are his favourite ones.

Mammon thrives on the Devildom TCG market. Rare cards go for a ton of Grimm! And also you wanna know why he keeps trying to sell pics of Lucifer, right? He knows one of the official card artists. “This was the outfit this card was based on, yeah? Here’s the followup of him rolling his sleeves and loosening his tie! And I bet you’re gonna love THIS one! Nobody can ever seem to get his angry smile just right until they see it in person, but this picture comes pretty close. Doesn’t it give you shivers? I can start at 1500 grimm. Also, could you tell whoever is making THESE cards to stop whitewashing the GREAT Mammon? Plzkthx :)”

Satan’s not much for card games unless a friend challenges him to a different, more classic game, like rummy or liar. But he does keep the trading cards he likes the most. Art is art, what can he say? They’re also perfect bookmarks. His fave is probably one of MC that captures them perfectly in his vision.

Lucifer thinks the whole TCG is just silly and doesn’t really participate in any of it........... But Priddy Boy’s gotta be ✨Perfect In Everything✨. The man has canonically been stated to be good a video games for the simple need to be good at everything, you think he wouldn’t study strategy and play like it’s chess or smth? That and in his Dad Wallet where he keeps pictures of his brothers (and MC), he keeps his favourite cards of them behind each respectful photo.

Beel doesn’t really collect or know how to play, but Beel has autographed many a card after fangol games, so he can at least understand it’s a collectible item. He tried learning from Leviathan how to play this one time, and it made sense to him for the most part. Card has Life Points, Attack Points, and Special Skills. Beat up opponents' cards and win. Not too different from most other card games. But there are complicated rules to it that he forgets or mixes up. He’d much rather use the cards like dolls and make them “talk” to each other.

Belphie also doesn’t play or collect, but he does enjoy getting his hands on the holographic cards. One day Levi was sent to look for Belphie to tell him it was dinner time. He found the youngest in the attic cutting up the cards into shapes and gluing them back-to-back, hanging them up like a mobile. Levi fainted backward down the stairs and refused to look at Belphie for two months straight.

Solomon really likes these cards! Like Satan he uses them as bookmarks, but specific Sin Colours and People get paired with certain books. Green Satan cards are used on cursed tomes or books about curses, blue Satan cards are used in art history books. Pink Asmo cards are left in Seduction Spell books, while yellow Asmo cards are for books about venoms from creatures. Etc. Makes categorization much easier!

Barbatos doesn’t collect, but he does know how to play. He referees for the Young Lord sometimes whenever Diavolo gets a chance to have fun.

Y’all know ya homeboy DIAVOLO is one of the biggest collectors! He and Levi are both DAUNTING on the “battlefield”, though Dia doesn’t take things so seriously like Levi does sometimes. He’s even commissioned actual paintings of himself and everyone so that those portraits can be made into cards. They’re the rarest ones, there only being one of each person out in the world. As much as Dia would have loved to keep those cards, he likes to watch the chaos of others scrambling desperately try to obtain an Ultra Rare Royal Painted Holographic. Besides, he still has the original paintings! (Also he likes to collect the DevilWendy’s kids meal toy versions of those “cards”, which are actually those plastic “gold” plated cards inside of “”””pokéballs””””. Adorable!)

Some Thirteen cards have special abilities based on real traps of hers. Some of Thirteen’s traps are based on some of the cards. She likes to tape some cards up like stickers to some of said traps as decorations. Or as part of the trap. She once tried to entice Solomon with a card, but Levi fell for it instead and nearly got impaled in a tiger trap she called “Super Duper Rare Double Dare #106”.

Mephistopheles says he doesn’t care about such childish playthings. But once the Diavolo released those Ultra Rare Royal Painted Holographic, and ‘Phisto got highest bidder on the Diavolo card, SUDDENLY he’s become Maximillion Pegasus and his signature deck is the Diavolo deck.

Luke isn’t really one to play, but he does like the art of some of them! He’ll put some in a scrapbook! It’s also another bookmark technique, where certain people’s cards get bookmarked on their favourite recipes. He got the idea from Solomon’s method of bookmarking.

Simeon also doesn’t play but mainly collects. Got a little hooked on it before Raphael moved in and the room was being used for Levi’s spare collection stuff. He was even given many of the Common ones for free (what Simeon did with common cards, Levi didn’t nearly care as much, and trusted him more with cards than he could trust Belphie with holo’s...). He’s collected all the Seven Lords themed ones. It’s a nice, low-key hobby, like stamp collecting. He donates the ones he doesn’t need to MC or Levi.

Raphael neither plays, collects, or knows anything about them really. But he does still have an annoying familiarity with them, thanks to Michael wanting him to buy several packs, nay, BOXES of packs. Michael needs to be the number one Lucifer Card collector. Bro misses his bro... ;(

[tales-of-wocdes]

I am OBBSESSED with your story, it's absolutely interesting! To be able to play as a troubled—and more than traumatized child is kinda fun and interesting to play with, added with the mystery of the MC's past and what it correlates to the last interlude. Not to mention, I picked my MC to have fox ears, with Harvard commenting I could be from a beastkin heritage or a kitsune... Is that foreshadowing I see?👀

Or maybe not, who knows ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, either way. I'm completely hooked! But that just leaves me a dreading question, but may be necessary. If someday in the future, you'd release the full game, will it be payable? Do you have to pay to play the full game?

The game is interesting story-wise, one I keep coming back to in days and hours on end. Checking it out for new updates or trying out other options in the game, the mechanics are also easy to get used to, although I would have some trouble getting out of, for example profiles that are long since I play on mobile, and the writing is honestly amazing! It's pretty neat, and humorous at times.

But, still. I hope you succeed in this game and make it out of the demo, and I wish you goodluck! This game is really interesting, and i'd be a shame to end it so quickly. I also love how you at times interact with us users, and answering our questions, and also giving us some sneak peaks! Or more information. Keeps us hook, and eager to wait for more of your stories🥰

Anyway, did I ramble on too much?😅

Thank you very much! I keep repeating it a lot, here in these answers and in the comments to the demon, but it is important to say. Hearing that people like my writing and story is quite motivating.

The beastkin/kitsune thing.... maybe.... ok yes, that is a thing I have planned. I don't have all the details locked but I imagine that MC finding out that they have kitsune heritage happens when it is needed to happen (obviously a choice).

Now time to get a little real about my process and plans. If you would rather not see behind the scenes, I will cut this off here. Because I learned how to do it :D Also long ramblings ahead.

In all honesty, I get ideas while writing. Then I implement those ideas and worry about all the consequences later... A strategy that bites me in the ass quite a bit :D But I like doing it. For example what I said about wings in the previous post. Or the twins and Lexia interlude was not all that planned. I just started writing.

Of course, some of it is planned but a lot of it only comes to me while actively writing. This is probably why my outlines suck :D Maybe I indulge my whims too much, but I do sometimes pull back. Like having multiple heritage features did not happen... Even if that was mainly due to the fact, I am not good enough at coding yet.... Besides the point. Well I have cut some stuff! Like a reaction to meeting Havard where you just sort of squint at him... had no idea where to go with that one.

Now onto a completed game. This is such a far thing into the future, have honestly not considered it much :D This game is planned to cover MC from this age to full adulthood (or young adult at least). That is a lot of time to cover, and as I have said, I refuse to rush. That is a lot of words to write, code, and then edit. It would make sense to make it something worth money.

Yet, the world is something I have had in my head for years and years. I started writing this because I like writing it. I published this demo, because I wanted to see what other people thought of this story. If they like it too. I answer people with such long ramblings because I like discussing this world. I feel like this is the key. I like doing and sharing this.

Right now I am in a situation where I can spend a lot of time on writing the silver protector, and for the past two or so months I have spend most of my free time on the story. That is a lot of hours. This is something that I feel I should say: there will be a time when my personal life does not allow me as much time to work on this. It will happen eventually, though I am uncertain when. That will mean that progress will slow down, even if I don't it to. Until then, I will keep writing because I like doing it.

Of course I have considered things like a patreon or a monthly subscription on kofi or... boosty, I think it is called. Yet I hesitate. Why? Because I am afraid of this becoming more like work rather than a fun enjoyable past time :D Nothing kills motivation than not liking what you do, and things you like can turn into things you don't like... I know this quite well.

Then there is the question of what would I offer those who would pay to support this project? I like giving sneak peeks here to everyone which is a thing people like doing on their patreons right? Progress updates? I don't do those as often but I do them once in a while. Yet, writing this story is a huge use of my time. There is no getting around that truth either. Can I justify it to myself? As long as I like doing it, I think I can.

If I do start a patreon or a monthly subscription thing, it will be for early access to the demo. Perhaps smaller updates instead of full chapters. Then later publish to everyone. See, I have thought about this, and clearly do not like pay walling the story content itself. It would be possible to offer extra content or cut off something like interludes to use as exclusive content, but I don't feel like doing that. All of that is good and fine, but I want to focus on the main story, and if I do interludes, it is because I feel they serve some purpose. Of course, having something like patreon would have a benefit of having a "test group" that would perhaps report bugs and typos to me. Maybe. This is all something to consider and eventually I will need to make a choice.

All right, enough rambling about me and how my brain works. Thank you for asking, and for liking the story so far. I wish you the best.

Don't worry about rambling. I believe the above, and how I tend to answer questions I get in general, shows I ramble a lot :D And I have called the demo, my ramblings too . But what can I say, I like discussing and interacting like this :D

[bbraespam]

Raven said that it took her a whole year to stop hating Beast Boy? I mean do you suppose it means the team knew each other between the events on Go! and Nevermore? I mean in Raven’s mindscape she actually believed Beast Boy didn’t like her and vice versa.

Actually, I thought things went pretty well. Took me a year to stop hating Beast Boy. -Raven to Terra in Titan Rising

What happened between Go! and Divide and Conquer is a question that will live in my brain for all time, so let's talk about it!

So, my interpretation of Raven's line there is that it places Nevermore approximately a year after the events of Go!. (And I recommend taking a look through my Beast Boy vs Creepy tag for an idea of my thesis here. (mobile link))

In Go!, Raven and Beast Boy get along surprisingly well for how we see them by Divide and Conquer. What I think happened is this:

Beast Boy's discomfort over Raven's dark energy powers came up at least once again, probably more, and Raven interpreted this as Beast Boy rejecting her as creepy. So she started icing him out, and taking any of his attempts at humor towards her as him being fake. In return, Beast Boy got frustrated because he does tentatively like her as a person and has been trying to befriend her, but at the same time is unsettled by her powers that he doesn't understand (in that scene, if he was really truly scared of/didn't trust her, he wouldn't be literally reaching out).

That's why by Nevermore (about a year after they initially met) they're both operating under the erroneous assumption that the other one doesn't like them. I think Raven later framing that period as "hating Beast Boy" is a bit of a defense mechanism over how rejected she felt. After all, she was plenty nice to him whenever he was real with her and wasn't putting on that jokester front.

To answer the other part of your question, which sounds like it's about how long the Titans have been a team pre-Season 1? I'd put it at only a couple months since they've officially been in the tower and operating as a team. The early episodes of S1 feel like they've been a group for long enough to be mostly comfortable working together as an established team, but not long enough to really know each other on a personal level yet—Robin and Cyborg already have a coordinated move, but either the team's never gone out to pizza together or haven't yet gone enough that anyone knows each other's orders or Star's gotten a look at the menu.

(a couple extra thoughts under the cut)

For ideas about how the team formed:

After Go! they seem to be at least temporarily separating. It feels easy to assume that some of them started using that communicator to call each other up post-Go! once they ran into trouble they couldn't handle alone (was it Beast Boy, who was really hurting for friends and somewhere to belong? Cyborg, who wanted to keep his neighborhood safe? Star, who'd just gotten a taste of niceness and liked it? Raven, who wanted to do some good for the world before her father showed up? Robin... I think is least likely, despite him having a hand in making the communicators. He'd be there if asked in a heartbeat, but I see him having trouble admitting he needed help)

After a few times it becomes clear that not only could they do some real good together, but most of them could use some housing help. (After all, the only one who seems to be native to Jump City is Cyborg, and maybe even that is somewhere he moved away from his dad post-accident? Everyone else seems to have just drifted into town). So forming a team and moving in together is a perfect solution for everyone. (Maybe the city asks them formally to stick around? is there even a mayor here who's running this town shh not important)

Nevermore's narrative function

One interesting thing I didn't fully notice until just now looking at the episode list, but Season 1 uses the plot of character-disagrees-with-Raven-and-they-learn-to-understand-each-other as great excuses for displaying the characters of (almost*) each of the main cast, in Nevermore, Switched, and Car Trouble. (Notable because not every pair on the team gets an episode focused on their relationship, only sooort of BB & Star in Forces of Nature, and Cyborg & Robin in D&C, but those plots are much less focused on the characters opening up to each other than the Raven ones.)

(*Robin's the only one who doesn't get one, which I think is due to this being his season. Every "Robin" ep in S1 needs to advance the overarching plot, which doesn't really leave time for Robin-and-Raven-have-a-wacky-self-contained-adventure. It also just doesn't seem necessary, since he gets plenty of time for both his character and relationships in those episodes.)

[loopstagirl]

This is apparently what happens when I watch Trapped in the Sky...

"Hey."

Scott stepped out onto Virgil's balcony. His younger brother had his elbows resting on the railing, staring out at the horizon. Virgil glanced at him, offered a smile, but said nothing. He didn't have to.

Scott mirrored his position. For a moment, he looked out across the ocean. Then he turned his attention to his brother.

"You okay? How's the head?"

Virgil flushed. "It's fine and you know it."

Scott did: Brains had checked Virgil out as soon as they got home. Even so, he wouldn't be him if he didn't ask.

"Some first rescue, huh?" Scott said. They'd saved the Fireflash, saved the crew and passengers, including TinTin. Scott thought it was a resounding success. They'd even stopped the creep photographing One.

But, to his surprise, Virgil flushed.

"What?"

"Nothing," Virgil mumbled.

"Look, I know the guys are ribbing you about the elevator car flipping, but the pressure they were under, it's amazing only one gave out. It was just bad luck that it was the one you were in. Brains did the calculations, if it wasn't the control car to go-,"

"It's not that," Virgil cut in. He knew Brains' finding. He turned his back on the view, leaning his elbows on the balcony guard. "I know we saved them, but I did a lot of damage out there."

He sounded sheepish. Scott chuckled.

"From where car 3 had a signal failure? Don't worry about it. I was in that tower, Virg. The commander told them to let it burn. He, too, was focused on saving people."

Virgil sighed, and Scott saw his shoulders drop a fraction.

"Still," he muttered. "We can't afford for that level of collateral damage on other rescues. I blew up a plane, Scott."

"Without even trying," Scott teased, "I think Gordon's actually jealous."

But Virgil's exasperated look told Scott how serious he was about this.

"Look, it wasn't your fault. It was an equipment malfunction on the first time we've used them."

"I should've switched cars the instant I got that warning light."

Scott shrugged. "Maybe. It was your first time working under pressure. We all made mistakes out there. We'll do more testing in the future around the strain that the equipment can take. Run a few scenarios around what we should do about fault lights. It'll be okay."

Virgil smiled. "Thanks, Scott."

"Anytime."

They stood in silence for a few moments. Scott staring out to sea; Virgil gazing back into his room. Eventually, Scott broke it.

"I still want to know how some creep got into the cockpit of One," he grumbled.

Someone was right there, in his beloved 'bird, on her very first official outing. Photographing One was the best outcome – at least it set off the sensors and alerted Scott to the situation. If it had been anyone with any piloting skills, they could've tried taking off. Worse, they could've succeeded.

"You initiated the security protocols, didn't you?"

"Of course I did," Scott said. "As soon as I got there. Landed her in a clear area, requested security, got a perimeter set up and cops surrounding her."

"Penny said it was someone posing as the police," Virgil said in a reassuring tone. "That's not your fault."

"We've got the most advanced machinery in the world and someone got through all our security first time."

"Did you lock the door?"

Virgil was joking. But Scott froze. A flush started working its way up his neck, heat building in his face. He sensed Virgil glanced at him, then turn to face him properly.

"Scott. Did you lock the door?"

"I-,"

He did. He must've done. He mentally went over his steps as he'd arrived at the scene. He'd cleared the area, requested secrecy and security, and not done anything until the control tower had reassured him of that. They were against the clock, so he'd moved as fast as possible to get Mobile Control set up in the tower.

Scott remembered jumping clear, racing to deal with the life-threatening situation awaiting him. He had no recollection of shutting the hatch behind him, let alone initiating the locking protocol.

"Oh Scotty." Virgil was trying to sound sympathetic, but all Scott could hear was his attempt to keep his laugher under check.

"I had to get to the tower," Scott protested, albeit feebly. "I needed-,"

"You know Grandma's favourite saying about barn doors?" There was no denying that Virgil was laughing now.

Scott groaned. He dropped his head into his hands. "Dad's going to kill me."

"He doesn't need to know," Virgil said. "It didn't come up in debriefing and no harm done. Dad'll forget about it."

"I was so short with those guys about security and all along, it was my fault."

"Think of it as an exercise for Penny and Parker. It was to test their response times and understand how they dealt with a situation like that."

"And if he'd gone the other way? She'd never have been able to catch him."

"Hey." Virgil's hand landed on his shoulder, giving him a small shake. "You taught me not to focus on what ifs. Take your own advice."

Scott took a deep breath and managed to look his brother in the eye. Only for a second before shame forced him to look away, but it was a start.

"You really wouldn't tell Dad?"

Virgil looked affronted. "I'm not a snitch. No one else needs to know but us."

He dropped his hand and headed towards his room. Then he looked back over his shoulder.

"Although maybe you should add locking the door into your checklist as you rush to save the day," he added.

Scott rolled his eyes, but it was half-hearted. He still couldn't believe he'd been so stupid, so reckless, on their first mission. The adrenaline rush and thrill of knowing they'd be able to help, even when all other efforts had failed, had filled his mind.

He followed Virgil into his bedroom, watching as his brother picked up a pencil and sketch pad. At least one of them looked more relaxed than five minutes ago.

It was only their first rescue. Mistakes were bound to happen. Some through mechanical errors; others, through personal errors.

Scott had a feeling he'd never forget to shut the door again, though.

Read on FF.Net ->

[fandom-hoarder]

Ok, so I got an ask for mutual aid. Of course, it's human to want to help someone in need, even if all you can do is reblog their post. But you also don't want to be scammed, or help spread a scam. So you look for clues, or you only reblog your mutuals' aid posts because you at least know they're *real*, or you don't reblog aid posts at all.

So, what are the tells? (I'm not an expert, this is just what I've learned through osmosis.)

Do they follow/interact with you, outside of the mutual aid request?

Is their username weirdly generic?

Does the blog look like a real tumblr user, and not just someone who made a tumblr to ask for aid? How old is it? Is it involved in any fandoms? Does it seem staged?

Does their aid ask and needs description make sense? Is it overly vague, or bogged down with unneeded details?

If you quote-search the body of their aid ask, do you get any similar hits for scams on other sites or under other names?

Does the account for donations look legit?

What do you find when you reverse image search?

So, having received an ask that sounded very much like someone whose mutual aid I would want to support if they're real, but already having two red flags from the jump (not following me and not in my notifications, weird wording and grammar on ask), I endeavored to suss them out.

Screencaps of my adventure under the cut.

Like someone else has said, please don't go harrass this blog. Even if it's a scam, at some point there's a person behind that screen.

So here's the ask.

Red flags: they don't follow me, I don't know them, the ask is long, the grammar and punctuation are bad, word choices are odd or misspelled. These don't mean it's automatically fake, but it looks more like a weird AI than someone using google translate to communicate in English.

So I check their blog.

Their pinned post is this (click to read, it's a longass pic):

I don't take any links yet.

I take a block of their post and check it in google; all I get are snapshots of tumblr reblogs for their aid post. I click the "buy me a coffee" link, and it looks...idk, fine I guess. There's a tumblr logo, but clicking it seems to do nothing. (I'm on mobile)

A quick search of their name on tumblr gives me 2 posts mentioning them spamming this same message to people.

I read the one with the readmore linked here

After reading wannursyafiqah74's post about it, I got on my laptop and went back to casualdonutfire.

Mostly random reblogs; cats and other random reblogs of mostly pics, many with comments that could've/should've been tags, and no actual tags whatsoever. Like set dressing that says, "See? I'm a real person! I'm leaving comments about my reblogs that show I'm not a bot! I interact! I know what I'm I'm reblogging!"

It gives me a creepy vibe. I try google again to see if I can find their presence elsewhere on tumblr. The returns are still all snapshots of their mutual aid post. I open their archive. Ok, their tumblr has archive on...?

There are no fandom-esque posts until the very first reblog, a comment on One Piece fanart on October 18, 2023.

Their first post about needing aid was on November 7, 2023. Nearly the same wording as their pinned post, except they don't mention having a child. Zero specifics on what amount is needed for what or a timeline or anything. Not even anything about Christmas coming up. Tagged generously for trans surgery and other visibility words.

Oh. AND. The buymeacoffee is different. Adela, not Adella.

Then their next post for aid is fresh on January 11, 2024; nearly the same wording, except now there's a daughter and a birthday -- no date for the birthday, though, is there?!

[reblog linked here] If you go to their January 12th reblog and click on the "video proof," it's an audio-only black screen upload to imgur, with no identifying info for what's going on other than what they describe (and it doesn't really sound like what they describe; it sounds like a kid ready for christmas but not disappointed, like idk what more you're supposed to get out of it)

Then I clicked on their buymeacoffee link and noticed something. When I hovered my mouse over the tumblr symbol under their blurb, the link embedded there showed up at the bottom of my screen. And it was NOT casualdonutfire.

It was deepeagletimetravel. And, of course, it's a nuked tumblr. Hence doing NOTHING for me on mobile.

So I went to google again!

And lo, what do I find in those lurking reblogs?

ANOTHER MUTUAL AID POST IN EVERYONE'S REBLOGS. WITH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PERSONA AND STORY. BUT THE SAME WALL OF TEXT + BAD PUNCTUATION STYLE

Using a stock photo for their initial "bio" that seems awfully misleading when you don't say it's a stock photo.

And with stolen/uncredited art by thetransformistress as a thank you.

And, of course, the buymeacoffee page it linked for Ameera (buymeacoffee.com/AmeeradelzC) is blank. 👀 Totallynormal, nothing to see here.

But this makes me think. I go back to that Nov 7 casualdonutfire post, with their first buymeacoffee link to "Adela" (buymeacoffee.com/adelladomil)--

and what do ya know, the tumblr that opens is casualdonutfire!

So did they forget they made an adela account, and change their ameera buymeacoffee account to adella for their new post, forgetting to change the deepeagletimetravel tumblr name?! 🤷‍♀️

[painting-warhammer]

Callidus Assassin in the style of Ann Takamaki/Panther (Persona 5)

My personal best miniature paint job yet! At least, it's a personal best to me. Still plenty of flaws! Commentary under cut.

This is where a lot of what I'd learned really started coming together! A lot of Warhammer and painting channels will talk a lot about edge highlighting and it's pretty important to be sure, but a YouTuber named Ninjon broke it down in a way where I understand how and where to do it. Namely, you're supposed to think about light sources. I did that for Ann's hair and her boots; the undersides have their darker shades, but anything from topside is very bright.

The next big change was learning Ardcoat. With my Sylvanas figure, I completely fucked that one up, but with Ann I definitely put a fun candy gloss on top of the Baal Red contrast and the boots after I edge-highlighted. True, I could have added those highlights in a risky attempt to recreate a lycra effect, but as Ann already sorta sneaks around and is constantly mobile, I thought it would sell the illusion to have the lights move with her rather than make a single stationary reflection pattern.

The pink gloves were almost a disaster; I got a cheap, super viscous acrylic that made this lumpy gel as I painted, but after some trial and error I got it to cooperate.

The basing is still touch and go. I genuinely did try to edge highlight the bullet decals and the rocks, honest; I was actually hyped because I wanted to make it the stylish red, white, and black that Persona 5 is famous for. But in the end it came off as looking unpainted when I added whiter highlights, so I just doused the whole thing in Black Legion contrast.

The base was a happy accident. It's not how I initially wanted it. I put Mordant Earth down, thinking I would flow some red shader through to make a weird lava-ish effect that had the bright red of Persona 5 again, but they just mushed together to make this weird mud. A bummer, but it did teach me how to make mud in the future!

And the base. Yeah you're supposed to put black on the rims, but I had to go for style.

Overall, I just feel proud of this one, whether or not I should. I'm always glad when I get to use a color scheme completely different from canon or at the very least different from the on-the-box demo artwork.

The boots were me flying blind, and admittedly on Ann/Panther herself, they're a slightly darker red rather than an outright purple, but I thought purple was a bit more dynamic and I did it for the belt and various other straps as well.

I'll admit I had no good ideas for the poisoned needles, I just doused them in Barak-Nar Burgundy and moved on. The guns and sword I had an idea for, I was going to go for implying they were a polymorphed Morgana, but it just didn't seem interesting. I definitely just half-assed them, but I think it's fine given I wanted the attention on Ann herself. So even the weapons, something I struggle with to make interesting, turned out okay, I think. I got 'em done and moved on.

A small detail I thought was fun: the goggles. I made them Ann's specific eye color! I think they stand out pretty well on the overall model and they don't clash with anything.

Also, Baharroth Blue is the color I love/use way too much, and if it's not on my figure somehow then is it really complete? I think not. 😜

This isn't my favorite figure, but it's the one I pull out when I want to flex a little. I still got one more where it's from a media franchise to go before I post my main army. It's not going to be as good as Ann, but then again I don't know if I'd call it finished per se. Until then!

[starakex]

Sonic Cosplay Build Log

Time for another cosplay Build Log! Last log was for the Wurmple partial, and while there were some other projects in between, they didn't really have enough crafting involved in my opinion to make for an interesting blog post.

This time around, I wanted to fulfill my childhood dream of being a Sonic character, but like. THE WHOLEASS WAY. So Sonic Fursuit it is! I hesitated between Shadow or Sonic, but I ended up going for Sonic so I could be silly with it.

Lots of fun things learned during this build, so let's buckle up and get through it!

PART 1 : The Head Base

First things first, I grabbed some reference photos online of the model I wanted to replicate (Modern Sonic, mid 2000s) and scaled them up to print so I could have an idea of how big I'd have to make the head for it to stay in proportion with my body. My goal was to stay generally mobile in this costume and only need help from a handler in big crowds, so I didn't want to build the body up like the current official Sonic Mascots do. Therefore, scaling was a little more done on vibes than accurate measurements.

Once I got the head scaling down, I started on the head base. Sonic characters have orbular heads, so I used Danny McFly's Foam Sphere Calculator to help make a sphere pattern to the size I needed and got to work assembling it. Unlike my last fursuit/mascot build, I splurged and got some Spray Adhesive this time around to cut down on hot glue drying times and it was a GAME CHANGER. Bonded foam within a minute, it stayed strong from edge to edge, and it didn't get in the way of carving foam like hot glue typically does. I personally used 3M's Super 77 Spray Adhesive as it's locally available for cheap. Outside of a few cases, this is the adhesive I used throughout the entire build.

With the sphere base assembled, I began building up the muzzle and carving out the eyehole. I built a test eye... eyes?... Let's call it an eyeplate... I built a test eyeplate out of 3mm thick Sintra (a brand of solid foam PVC board) that I shaped using a heat gun. (Wear a respirator folks! Heated PVC fumes are NASTY. Protective gear is COOL, lung cancer is CRINGE) It wouldn't be the final eyeplate, but having it around was indispensable as the plate itself shifted the foam around quite a bit when in position; a paper pattern wouldn't have cut it in terms of support and proportions would have probably shifted around. It was trimmed over time throughout the build and became the pattern for the final version of the eyeplate. I also added some aluminum wire to the inside of the "eyebrows" to help keep their shape close to the eyes and prevent them from flipping up during the crafting process.

After getting the facial features blocked out, I moved on to the quills! Modern Sonic's head has six quills of various sizes. I started by building out the top quill first, as it was the easiest starting point using the side profile as it was the least distorted one from the perspective. With that first spike glued together and pinned to the head, I made the two other "top row" quills using the same pattern I drew up for the middle top quill, leaving some extra material where they connect to the head so I could trim them down before pinning them down as well.

With the top quills done, I shortened the pattern significantly and used that to make the bottom quills, which were also trimmed to fit. For the bottom quills on either side of the head, I added a bit of foam to cap the holes closed and help them rest of my shoulders more comfortably.

Once Sonic's Sick Haircut was properly glued to the head, I finished carving his facial features by adding some much needed eyebrows. I also carved some ears, though they weren't attached as they would be covered in fabric separately before being added to the head. With everything in place, I finished sculpting the head, shaving down some of the rough patches where the quills connected to the head and building up some zones with extra foam.

I used some leftover lycra from a previous project and made a lining for the entire inside of the head. As the inside is still just a sphere, I simply reused the sphere pattern from the foam base and added some seam allowance to it. (Once again, I absolutely suck and forgot to take photos of this step.) With the base done, I moved on to furring... er, fleecing the head.

Part 1.5 : The Head Skin

In order to get that Smooth Hedgehog Look, I decided to use fleece for this suit. I had been properly prepared for it to be kind of a mess (Fleece does NOT forgive), but all in all, it went pretty smoothly. For the most part, the head was mostly hand-sewn using a mix of ladder stitches and blanket stitches, with upholstery thread to make sure it'd be as solid as possible. I didn't make pattern pieces; instead, every piece was done by draping the fabric over the head, pulling it taut and pinning it down, then cutting loosely where I could hide seams (usually under each quill). I spent a sizeable amount of time watching GOMAJEOSSI's videos for inspiration on how to go about it; they had invaluable advice which I took inspiration of for some parts of the build, particularly for the muzzle and ears. I started by putting spray adhesive on the forehead to secure the main piece that would wrap around the sides, then pulled and pinned, cutting and sewing whenever I reached the back of a quill and stitching them closed with a ladder stitch. Earlier while making the base, I left a 2cm edge on each side of the muzzle unglued; that way, I could slide the fabric of the head under the muzzle for a seamless look. (Thanks, GOMAJEOSSI!)

I then draped the tan fleece over the muzzle and repeated the process, making sure to have plenty of extra fabric to tuck inside the head past the edge of the eyeplates. With the adhesive, I also made sure to really push the fabric into the slit I carved for Sonic's puzzling side-smile (Another certified banger idea from GOMAJEOSSI). To finish things off, I switched to hot glue for more precision and tucked the muzzle fabric into the open space on either side. This gave the muzzle a very nice, defined shape, which stayed just as clean after a ladder stitch between the muzzle and head fabric for a solid, permanent bond.

With only the details left, I used the same "unglued edge" technique for the ears (where the edge" is the inner connection between the tan and blue piece, gathering all the loose edges at the bottom. Once everything was bonded securely, I glued them to the head using Contact Cement for a super-strong bond (RESPIRATOR FOLKS), let them cure for a few hours, then ladder-stitched the ears to the head for a clean look. Lastly, I re carved another nose, covered it in black lycra, then glued and attached it to the muzzle using the same technique as the ears. With everything assembled, I mixed up some fabric paint into a nice dark shade and painted it into the mouth to really help define the look.

SONIC GOT THROUGH ACT 1 (phew!). We'll be revisiting the eyes later on, so it was time to move on to something else while I was waiting on some materials.

PART 2 : The Shoes

Sonic's shoes were the scariest part of the costume going in, but honestly they turned out to be a lot easier than I expected. In any case, I need shoes as a base for these for a couple reasons (the most important one being, y'know, walking an entire day with no foot support on convention cement flooring is BAD). Time to sacrifice an old pair of shoes for the shoe-ception build. I needed a strong flexible base, so I took a sheet of High Density EVA Foam (Lumin's Workshop Hard-lite), covered the bottom of the shoes and the foam in contact cement, then stood up on it for half an hour.

Once the bond between the shoes and foam was solid, I took off the shoes and built the "body" of each shoe (The upper) out of upholstery foam, just like I did with the head. I traced the shape of the soles on the EVA foam as a guide and then glued the uppers to the EVA Foam base using the sole line as a guide. Once that was done, I trimmed the excess EVA foam down.

With the base of the shoes done, I got to work covering them in red fleece the same way I did the head, with the seam located on the back of the heels. I cut the excess off and glued them on the inside and bottom of the shoes.

Once the shoes were covered in fabric, I tackled the details. The white bands were made out of white tech neoprene; it's a stretch fabric with a soft 2mm foam core, which gives it a look that was perfect for the gloves; using it for the shoes to match all white fabrics together was a no-brainer. I cut some buckles out of the EVA Foam leftovers and covered them in yellow fleece, and did the same with the rim using grey fleece. I cut out the little divot on the back of the heels before applying the fleece. In both cases, I left the backside of the EVA Foam exposed to make it take adhesive better.

Just like with the soles, I glued all details on with contact cement; shoes are going to take an absolute beating, and the long cure time is a perfectly acceptable trade-off to make them as indestructible as possible. Even with the respirator, open windows and a fan pushing it all outside, I ended up just letting them cure in the backyard just to not be haunted by The Smell once I was done.

The next day (once everything stopped smelling like toxic garbage), I sewed up some tubes of white neoprene on the sewing machine and then stitched them up by hand to the shoes to create the socks. Lastly, I bought a slab of white shoe sole material, traced the bottom of each shoe, cut it to size and cemented them on the underside to make the shoes outdoors-ready and, hopefully, truly indestructible. And with that, the shoes were completed relatively quickly!

SONIC GOT THROUGH ACT 2! The most time-consuming parts of the build are now behind us. Things are picking up as we move on to the bodysuit!

Part 3 : The Body

So Sonic's body is pretty simple, as far as fursuits goes. In my case, I skipped body padding for comfort, so doing a Duct Tape Dummy would be overkill. Fleece isn't forgiving on complex shapes like a fursuit head, but it's pretty stretchy, which makes it more forgiving on straight lines like, say, arms and legs. I used NDLWrkshop's Jumper Pattern, printed and cut it matching my selected size, and got to work assembling the base following the instructions. I cut the front and back pieces out of blue fleece and the sleeves out of tan fleece. The only major change to the pattern I made was installing the zipper on the back of the suit instead of the front.

With the base done, I went back to the upholstery foam stash, grabbed the quills pattern, and made two back spikes. I also carved a tail out of foam, and covered everything in fabric using the same drape and hand-stitch method as before. I then ladder stitched them to the bodysuit's back, double-sewing it for good measure since I predicted I'd probably accidentally smush them pretty often whenever I try sitting down.

As you might have noticed, I also took a moment to tailor the arms and legs to fit closer to my body. It's not a completely tight fit, but there's only so far you can go for a fleece bodysuit without padding; if fleece picks up the details of a fursuit head base when it's not completely smooth... I didn't really want Sonic to accidentally end up with big naturals, so the slightly baggy "mascot" look was acceptable to me. After attaching the spikes, I hemmed the arms and legs and added two straps on the arms, one for each side. Their function is to keep the sleeves down into the gloves later while moving around, and it makes them much easier to put on. I then cut the stomach out of tan fleece, pinned it on the bodysuit, then slowly cut a hole in the bodysuit matching the stomach piece, carefully re-pinning the right sides of the suit and stomach together so I could machine sew them together for MAXMUM STRENGTH. I still ended up giving Sonic boobies by accident despite my best efforts but it's nothing a good compression top can't fix... Hopefully.

SONIC GOT THROUGH ACT 3! Did somebody mention gloves?

Part 4 : The Gloves

Sonic's gloves aren't super complicated compared to the rest of the build. They're the reason I picked Tech Neoprene for the white fabric. That way, I could make them slightly oversized and have them keep their shape without having to add stuffing and lining to them and make them look... Mickey-ish. Mickey hands make you need a handler and if I'm at a con I'm going to be grabbing my phone every 5 minutes.

You might have noticed a fucked up black glove in previous photos. The truth is, the very first thing I actually did for Sonic was make a mock-up of the gloves using some leftover black tech neoprene I had lying around, so I could immediately buy the white one alongside all the fleece if my plan worked out. I drafted up a couple patterns tracing my hand on paper and adjusting finger width. I ended up making three gloves before I got a good mock-up, then I assembled a test cuff to confirm all pattern pieces.

Since the mock-up guaranteed that my plan would work, I sewed up the real gloves last so I could focus on everything else, melt my brain troubleshooting issues, then have something easy to sew last. So when I got to the white gloves... It was a pretty uneventful step, really. Except for the sewing machine REFUSING TO SEW THIS FABRIC PROPERLY. After an hour of fighting every setting and trying everything I could think of, I realized Upholstery Thread and Tech Neoprene fucking hate each other. I just swapped back to regular thread and double sewed everything and just moved on with my life.

SONIC GOT THROUGH... ACT 4... God I hate how temperamental sewing machines can get. At least it didn't spit out needles this time (WEAR. PROTECTIVE. GEAR. If you sew bastard fabrics I beg you)

Part 5 : Inside the Head

So we've got a completed Sonic, albeit eyeless and innards...less. Well actually he's got innards (I'm innards), but he's missing some QOL features inside his head. Let's remedy that by finishing up the head first. First up: The eyeplate. When I had a final shape for the eyeplate post-head completion, I measured the size of the pupils on my mock-up, drew some eye designs on Clip Studio Paint, And sent the files out to OtterHalfCostumes to be printed on mesh. That way I could thoroughly wash the head in the future without worrying about the eyes getting damaged. I checked the sizing on my test eyeplate when I received the mesh and got some promising results!

With everything properly tested, I finally cut out my second eyeplate out of Sintra, this time using the digital eye design to accurately cut and sand the holes to the exact shape. Like last time, I heat formed the eyeplate to create the right curve, and once everything fit right, I hot glued the eyemesh onto the plate. Finally, I very carefully glued the Sintra eyeplate into the head using a bunch of E6000 glue. It has a CRAZY STRONG BOND, but the cure time it also super long. It's the part I was most worried about breaking however, and it was the best choice for this specific use for a couple other reasons. I ended up with a strong, practically invisible bond for a clean look!

Now that the outside was COMPLETED, I needed to furnish my battlestation. The inside of the head is massive and wobbly and the addition of the eyeplate makes it a sauna. This is NOT a head type with good ventilation. I got to making the padding first. I tried a few shapes of padding throughout the build to test things out, but I ended up settling on a donut shape that would stabilize it like a hardhat would. I cut my donut out of upholstery form, cut a hole in the middle and carved the top diagonally to rest into the head proper, then covered it in fabric. The side resting on my head is lycra, to wick away sweat, while the side resting on the inside of the head is fleece so that it has some grip to stay in position. This allows the padding to be adjusted, and removed for washing.

FINALLY, for the very last step in this journey, I installed the fan system. It's a three-fan system with an intake and outtake fan at the edge of the neck hole, and a little fan blowing on my forehead for comfort. I added some velcro so that every fan could be removed for washing, got the battery pack pocket sewn up in the top above where the padding would usually rest so it's out of the way, and snuck the wires into the empty space above my head where they'll be out of the way.

SONIC GOT THROUGH ACT 5! It's done the build is completed holy shit

Level End Jingle

I cannot overstate how proud I am of this cosplay. It's a culmination of a bunch of bullshit crafting methods, a bunch of new techniques, a couple materials I hadn't gotten to try before. The whole thing took almost a month to the day, and it feels surreal to finally wear a costume I'd been dreaming of ever since I learned what cosplay was like 15 years ago (There was another childhood dream cosplay I completed during the pandemic, from that one series with the little green elf guy that I don't wanna clog the search page for. And it was fulfilling to make! But seeing my regular human face on a character with a stylized human face feels like the definition of the Glamour Failure trope sob) But then I look at this costume and my brain gets tricked by the overall look and it feels just right. We'll see how comfortable it actually is and if anything falls apart on the con floor in a few months, but nothing can really dampen the simple joy of being Sonic the fucking Hedgehog.

[danielsarmand]

Heyy, do you have a tutorial on how you make your gifs? They’re so crisp and beautiful, I wanna start making gifs but idk where to begin

hello!! first of all, thank you kindly!!!! i'm always stunned when someone genuinely appreciates my gifs 😭

second of all, please do!! gifmaking is such a fun hobby, i wish it were a tad more rewarding but truly it's a great creative outlet for hyperfixations.

now, i personally don't have a tutorial but that's only because i myself have learned from a bunch of other ones during my years of trial and error and my technique has nothing that's original to it. i can, however, tell you which tutorials i turn to whenever i need a refresh + some tips i have started implementing on my own!!! i'll put everything below the cut.

the tutorials are this one and this one; the first one is a more general step-by-step one and the second one is for adding noise to gifs when they don't have it naturally, which imo greatly helps with making gifs look more hd.

as for the tips:

whenever possible, and if your pc can handle processing them, try and find files that are at least 1080p. 2160p isn't really necessary unless you're making close-up gifs (though i almost always use it if i can find it), but a 1080p file is only legitimate if the size of it is 1.5gb+. anything below that is not actually hd, no matter the claims.

with videogame footage, i generally record my own gameplay and take screencaps from there. when i want to gif youtube videos or anything i can't download by my usual means, i use 4k video downloader.

i used to take my screencaps with kmplayer, but i've been using mpv over the past few months and i find it works more smoothly. kmplayer did serve me well for years though, and the installation isn't as gimmicky, so go with that if you find it easier!

when it comes to resizing the gif (image > image size), i always leave the mode on bicubic automatic; for a time i used to pick bilinear, but i later learned it was the reason why my gifs didn't look how i wanted them to look.

i generally sharpen my gifs with the same action pack mentioned in the first tutorial i linked, but i do also add an unsharp mask layer to make it extra crisp and detailed. these are my settings for it:

whenever i'm giffing something that is not available in Real HD (like youtube videos), i add a step to my usual sharpening by using a set of plugins from topaz labs; now, i have absolutely no idea how i installed them when i did years ago, and i have no clue how to find them anymore, but i'm sure tumblr has answers somewhere. specifically i use topaz clean. i'm pretty sure you could achieve a similar enough result by adding a gaussian blur level to the sharpening, though; either way, my settings for topaz clean are:

when it comes to coloring, i never use .psds, i make the coloring from scratch for each scene, and most times i use multiple colorings per scene. it will take a little while to find your footing with color correction perhaps, but then again, each gifmaker has their own style and that's what's fun!!! one thing i've taken to doing most times, however, is adding an exposure layer towards the end of my coloring layers and upping both exposure and gamma correction based on how much or how little the gif can tolerate; i find it helps a ton with making gifs look hd on mobile, which is notoriously hard to achieve because mobile hates gifs. also, i have a pretty heavy hand when it comes to contrast and to darkening blacks, because in my experience that also helps with resolution.

when i go to save for web once i've finished making my gif, i tend to pick the combo adaptive+diffusion. very rarely i switch from adaptive to selective, but only if adaptive makes the gif look weird, which is usually not the case.

this should be all, i really always follow the same process and it's pretty automatic by now lmao. forgive me for yapping at length, but i hope this can be helpful to you or anyone who might want to try their hand at gifmaking! i'll update the post with my settings asap. thanks again for the love 💕

[maddogofshimano]

Zhao Character Story

This was requested by the giveaway winner @trixibebe​ ! Hopefully it is worth the wait! I love Zhao a lot so this was great to do

Summary: Zhao’s been informed that one of his long time friends is planning a coup against him, and will be eliminated. This quickly turns into a manhunt--and cathunt--as Zhao faces down his old friend.

Ijincho, Yokohama, has the underground ruled by 3 powers, commonly known as the "Ijin Three". This is a story about one of those people, a few years after the boss of the Liumang had been replaced by Zhao Tianyou... Qing Jin, Ijincho Close Associate of Zhao: ...Tianyou-sama. Regarding the matter with "Jin". (Tl note: the name is 陳 which as usual could be a lot of readings. I went with Jin, but Chen might be more accurate if I were keeping with how localization does it. separately, calling him Tianyou-sama instead of Zhao-sama is interesting)

Zhao: Which Jin do you mean by Jin? Associate: Jin Yangming. (Tl note: okay yeah a name. I am guessing on specific readings as per usual) Zhao: Hmm~? What's Jin-kun done? Did he get a stomach ache? Associate: This is a serious matter. I've long had misgivings about him being a traitor. Zhao: ..... Associate: Recently he's been even more suspicious, so I had an internal investigation check it out. The result-- Associate: We learned that he's been gathering members from within the organization to stage a coup. Zhao: Are you sure there hasn't been a mistake? Jin-kun doesn't have the guts for that.

Associate: No, I'm certain of this information. Zhao: Hmmmm.... Associate: ...By all rights, the planners should have been purged as soon as it was discovered. It never would have needed to be reported. Associate: That man... It's only because Jin is an old friend of yours that it's being brought to your attention. Zhao: So he's a friend of mine. That doesn't mean he's a good person. Associate: It's been decided to do the purge tomorrow night. Just so you're informed. Zhao: ...Gotcha. Knock 'em dead.

Fierce-looking Man: ........

[a shuttered door opens] Zhao: Yo, Jin. How's the beef ramen taste? Jin Yangming: Zhao....! Zhao: Same as ever, this shop's my fave. Zhao: But the stir-fried Chinese cabbage is so good. You know how the garlic really pops? Zhao: Ah, but you were eating Chinese cabbage until two years ago, right? Did you get tired of eating it? Or is it due to your lady friend~? Jin: .......... Zhao: Oh yeah, how's your cat doing, Ranran-chan? It's just 2 years old. It's an indoor cat, right? Jin: ....I can tell you've been monitoring my activities closely. Let's just cut right to the chase then. Zhao: That right? Well, how about we do that. Zhao: Some of the elders in the group, they seem to have caught wind of your little plan. Jin: ....I figured as much. Zhao: The purge is planned for tomorrow night. Couldn't you save your own life by offering yourself up right now? Jin: Your father was a cruel and strict leader, but he had a passion for protecting the immigrants of this city. Jin: But what about you? You don't protect us Liumang at all. Acknowledging you as our leader... how could I do that?

Zhao: So you're throwing a coup? Man, you've always been way too extreme. Jin: ...Thanks for the food. I'll leave the cash for it, boss. [he leaves] Zhao: ...Haaaaa~.

The next night

[people are rushing down the street] Liumang Member: Jin went this way! Don't let him escape!!

Jin: Shit...! Zhao: I got it. Jin: Zhao...! Zhao: But I do gotta ask. What's the point in doing this? Jin: Shut up.... At least I'll be able to deal with you! [they fight, Zhao kicks his ass] Zhao: Hey, how you doing Jin? You had enough?

Jin: Shit... You're fucking dodging non-stop... Associate: Wait! Jin! Jin: ....Tch! [he runs off] Zhao: Tsk tsk tsk... He managed to get away. Associate: You all go after Jin. He absolutely cannot be allowed to escape!

Associate: Are you safe? Zhao: Fit as a fiddle. Associate: To correct the blunder of allowing him to flee, the general foot soldiers have been mobilized. Zhao: OK. Well then, let's seal off the entrances and exits to the district.

Zhao: Be sure to get the sewers and river too, anything that can be used to leave. We want him trapped like a rat. Associate: On it. I'll get it started. Zhao: Alrighty, now do I start my own punishment for the traitor?

[END PART 1]

Liumang A: Oi, did you find that Jin bastard?

Liumang B: Nah, the room was totally empty. He must have come back once and then ran off again. Liumang A: I see.... With the district sealed off he's trapped like a rat. He has to be hiding somewhere here. Liumang A: You guys stay here and kill Jin if he returns. No mercy for traitors! Liumang B: Yes sir! [he leaves] Liumang B: ....Do we really need to keep watch on this place? It's not like Jin-san's gonna come back to his house when he's being chased. Liumang C: Yeahhh. But Jin-san's really boned now. How could he even consider something like a coup? Liumang B: If he gets caught, they're going to turn him into manju filling. Still, I can sorta see why he might not agree with our new nepotism boss. (Tl note: for those unaware, manju is a stuffed bun. also nepotism is a liiiitle bit of a stretch but he is complaining that Zhao just got the job because his dad was the previous boss) Zhao: Excuuuse me. New nepotism boss here. Relying on things like heritage isn't very rational, is it?

Liumang B: B-Boss!? I-I'm sorry!! I was... Zhao: It's all good, man. But maybe watch your back better when you're in the mood for griping. Zhao: ...This here is Jin's house, yeah? You already checked it out? Liumang B: Y-Yes sir. We checked thoroughly for anything that might indicate where he fled to, but nothing turned up. Zhao: Hmmmmm... I gotcha. Was there a cat inside? Liumang B: A-A cat? No, there wasn't one... Zhao: So he took his beloved cat with him... I see. Zhao: Sorry for the bother. ...How bout you keep up the great work as look outs~. [Zhao leaves] Liumang B: Geez... I'm just glad I didn't get turned into manju filling.... [at a different set of apartments, a doorbell rings] Stern man: ...Yeah? Who is it? (Tl note: are these the same apartments you visit in LJ? haven't they been through enough??)

Zhao: Yoooo, Taka. Hope you don't mind me barging in for a sec~. Heyyy~ as I thought this place is pretty nice. Is this stuff for a pet? (Tl note: his name is 王 which has a bunch of possible readings, Taka was a very arbitrary pick) Liumang Taka: Wh-... Boss...!? Zhao: Aw you don't have to call me boss, it's fine~. You're one of the people who disagrees with my hereditary placement, aren't you? Taka: No, that's not... Zhao: It's chill if you do. I'm not here to blame you for anything. Zhao: Actually, I'm here cause I think Jin's cat is here. ...Ranran-cha~n, are you here~? [Ranran meows at Zhao] Taka: !? Zhao: Hey, that hurt~. Zhao: Since it seemed like Jin took his cat when he ran, I've been hitting up all the homes of the anti-hereditary faction to see which ones could keep a pet~. Zhao: So, Taka... This is Jin's cat that you're taking care of, yeah? Taka: No... you've got it all wrong. This is my cat. Come get some food, Ran. Zhao: ...Hmmm~. Is that it. This looks an awful lot like Jin's cat, you know. Zhao: A black and white persian with odd eyes, how'd you end up with one that's just got so many similarities? Taka: ...I saw Ranran and wanted to get a kitten just like it. I also took the name from it. Zhao: Hmmm~ ...But, well, the little bit of thick black fur on the underside of its tail shouldn't be exactly the same as Ranran's, right? Zhao: Just let me check that real quick. Taka: No, you don't need to. It's there. It truly is a miraculous resemblance. Zhao: ........Wooow~, that's a hell of a coincidence. But, hmm, it doesn't seem like this cat has any thick fur like that? Taka: Eh!? Zhao: What I said was a lie, actually. The real Ranran doesn't have any black fur on the underside of its tail. Zhao: Oooh bad luck~. You fell for the oldest trick in the book. Taka: Guh.... uuhh..... uraaaaahghhhh!!!! Zhao: Woah there, I'm not letting you run. I've got a mountain of questions I gotta ask you now. Taka: G-Get ready!! You're already going to kill me...! I'll have to kill you instead to make my escape!!!! [they fight, Zhao wins] Taka: S-So strong... Why's some nepotism baby that strong...

Zhao: Well that's a hurtful thing to say. I've never once lost a fight, you know?

Zhao: Well now that the persuasion session is over... Talk to me~. Where's Jin? Zhao: Since you tried to escape, it doesn't seem like you're hiding him in your house. Taka: I-I don't know... I was just supposed to look after Jin-san's cat for him when it came time for him to escape. Taka: I really don't know anything else.... Zhao: ....You understand from before that you can't lie to me, right? Taka: I-It's not a lie!!!! I really wasn't told anything else!! Please believe me!! Zhao: .................Yeah, okay~. I believe you. Not like you have any room left to lie. Zhao: .........But just to be safe, how about you show me around this place. Zhao: ...Yep, no hidden rooms or signs of another person living here. Seems like he really isn't here. Zhao: Well, hiding in another anti-hereditary faction members' house is basically asking to be caught. Zhao: Sooo... He probably dropped the cat off and went directly to wherever he's hiding. Taka: Y-Yes sir... He wasn't able to bring Ranran with him... so he really stressed how important it was that I look after it... Taka: He knew I had raised and loved a cat, so he believed I would be trustworthy... Zhao: ...Hey Taka, what are some of the things that cats don't like? Taka: Things they don't like...? There's a lot. Hot stuff, the sound of the vacuum cleaner, water...  Taka: Besides those... really strong smells can be bad. All of that varies on the individual cat, though. Zhao: Really strong smells, huh... [flashback] Zhao: Yo, Jin. How's the beef ramen taste?

Zhao: But the stir-fried Chinese cabbage is so good. You know how the garlic really pops? Zhao: Ah, but you were eating Chinese cabbage until two years ago, right? Did you get tired of eating it? Or is it due to your lady friend~? Jin: .......... Zhao: Oh yeah, how's your cat doing, Ranran-chan? It's just 2 years old. It's an indoor cat, right? [flashback over] Zhao: .....I probably got it~. Jin's location. Taka: Eh....?

[END PART 2]

[the sound of the door to the restaurant opening] Zhao: Table for one, please~.

Owner of the Chinese Restaurant: ....Your seat is right this way. Here's some water. Once you decide on your order... Zhao: Owner-san, do you remember me? The other day I was here with a regular named Jin. Owner: ....Ah, so you're Jin's acquaintance. I don't know if something happened, but he hasn't been by recently. Zhao: Is that so~. Jin was a regular here, but you had a private relationship with him too, right? (Tl note: 🤨 🏳️‍🌈 ❓ ) Owner: ...It was a pretty limited relationship. Occasionally we went fishing together. Zhao: Hmmmmmmmm~ ...For having such a limited relationship, it's awfully kind of you to be sheltering Jin from the Yokohama Liumang currently chasing him. Owner: Eh? H-Hold on, where are you going!! Zhao: ...Bathroom~ at least I was planning to, but you're really jumpy huh, Owner-san. Zhao: Could that be becauuuse~.... if I take a single look into the backroom I'll see that Jin is hiding there? Owner: !? Zhao: Looks like I got it in one.... Jin, how about you come out already? All the exits are blocked, you're not getting away again. [Jin exits the back room] Jin: ......How did you know I'd be here?

Zhao: Because you left Ranran with Taka. Jin: ........What? Zhao: You dote on your beloved cat. Therefore you would have taken it with you. But you didn't. Zhao: So the only explanation is that you must have gone to hide somewhere that you couldn't bring Ranran. Zhao: There's plenty of reasons I could think of why you wouldn't take Ranran. Safety, preference, the noise it makes... Zhao: However, you have connections with the Liumang and it's difficult to do a quick investigation, you could have established some trust, and you couldn't take Ranran... Zhao: So that made me think that the only place to hide must be Jinhua. This place reeks of garlic, which Ranran doesn't like. (Tl note: the store name is 金華 and could be some other readings but Jinhua is the reading for the city in China) Jin: ...How the hell did you know that Ranran doesn't like the smell of garlic? Zhao: Well, I didn't know about it originally. Zhao: I just noticed that the time when you stopped eating this place's famous stir-fried Chinese cabbage was the same time that you got Ranran. Zhao: ...That's when the lightbulb went off. Zhao: You started eating beef ramen without any garlic because Ranran hated it, right? Jin: .....Heh, you really solved that. You're a lot more clever than I thought. Zhao: Well, I'm a pretty capable kid, you know~. Jin: You've exceeded my expectations. But, after surrounding the shop and blocking all the exits isn't this a little naïve? Zhao: Hm? What's naïve about it? Jin: Coming at me alone!! I'm going to take you hostage and get the hell out of this town!! [they fight, Zhao wins] Jin: Wh-What was that power....

Jin: Shit... Just kill me already. Call in your men and make an example out of me. Zhao: Ahh, that was a lie actually. The only person here is just me. Jin: What the hell...? Zhao: In 2 hours, there will be a 5 minute gap in the guards at the Jinhua bridge. You can use that to get out of the sealed district. Zhao: I just came here to say that. Well then, good luck. Jin: ! H-Hey...! Hold on! Why are you doing this... Zhao: As long as it saves lives, I'm fine doing anything. Jin: This ain't fine! I just tried to kill you! What sort of game are you playing at...!? Zhao: ...Haaa, don't you know people don't like guys who can't take a hint? Zhao: Just to be perfectly clear, you know how I'm the boss of the organization? So that means I have no choice but to make an example out of you. Zhao: I've known you for a long time. Besides-- Zhao: Since I was the boss's son, everyone treated me like some kind of cancerous growth, but you never had any restraint even with me. Zhao: That pissed me the hell off... but really that isn't a bad thing. Jin: Zhao... Zhao: Well, that's all there is to say on that. Enjoy your second chance at life. See yaaaa. [Zhao leaves] Jin: ....I'm sorry, Zhao....

A short time later....

Associate: ...And since then, we haven't been able to locate Jin. He may have left Japan by now.

Zhao: My bad? I messed up on my initial call. I'm sure he must have left the city by then. Zhao: I'm sorry for being an unreliable boss. I'll be sure to work harder next time. Associate: ....We'll see if that happens. Zhao: Hm? Did you say something? Associate: No... Until next time.

[END]

BONUS TIME!

I love Zhao. he just goes around lying to people for fun. his two great loves in life are fucking with people and being a ginormous softie

Whenever I ran a line through deepl to doublecheck something it really really really wanted to call Zhao a girl due to all the tildes he uses lol. Zhao’s got 5 cards which is a pretty solid amount, including these two KSRs

that’s it for now! look forward to two more posts in the near future! I’ve got an event and equipment to share!!

[jokertrap-ran]

[Gakuen K] Munakata Reisi Route: Test Results Translation

*Translator’s note : MC’s name shall remain as my normal (水嶋ラン) *Gakuen K Masterlist / Gakuen K Mobile Masterlist *Spoiler FREE : Translations under cut ! Reblogs appreciated~

Kukuri: It’s about time for the results to be posted out in the hallway.

Ran: Yeah. I’m really nervous…

Ran: (I’ll be kicked out of the club if I don’t get an average of at least 90 marks…)

Ran: (And today’s the day I know of my fate…)

Kukuri: I’m sure you’ll be fine! We’ve been cramming together, haven’t we?

Kukuri: Plus, those guys from the Blue Club really helped us out too, remember?

Ran: That’s true… I’m sure I’ll be fine.

Ran: (I barely made the cut when I did the mock tests, but I’ll just have to believe in myself!)

Ran: (I’ve already done my best.)

Kukuri: Oh! The results have been posted!

Ran: Come on, let’s go!

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Ran: Let’s see, where’s my name…?

Ran: (There it is!)

Ran: (Gotta get the average… Let’s see how much it sums up to…)

Kukuri: Your name’s up there. How’s the score?

Ran: I just did the math and it looks like my average is only 88…

Kukuri: What!? So close! Just a little more and you’d have hit the mark…

Ran: Yeah. It was already a little dubious whether I could make the mark or not when I tried the mock tests, but looks like it was a no-go after all.

Kukuri: I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of much help…

Ran: Don’t worry about it. In fact, I think I only managed to score this well thanks to you, Kukuri-chan!

Kukuri: Take some credit for yourself too… Hey, tell me if the Blue Club really kicks you out, alright?

Kukuri: I’ll try to convince Munakata-senpai otherwise. I’ll tell him all about how hard you’ve worked, and how you don’t deserve to be kicked out in light of it!

Ran: Thank you, Kukuri-chan… But it’s also undeniable that I’m clearly lacking in academic skills.

Ran: In any case, I should head to Club and inform them of the results.

Kukuri: I see… See you, and good luck! My prayers are with you!

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Ran: (I don’t want to have to quit the Club, so I’ll have to convince them that I really want to stay in the Blue Club.)

Ran: (I failed to meet the requirement so I don’t think what I say will make a difference anyway, but… even so, I have to try!)

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Ran: …Huh? No one’s here?

Ran: (I guess I should wait here for the time being.)

Ran: …

Ran: (If I truly get kicked out from the Club…)

Ran: (No, I should stop thinking about the what-ifs.)

Ran: (I should be honest about my feelings and tell them as such.)

Munakata: Oh, you’re early.

Ran: Ah, Munakata-senpai.

Munakata: You look rather glum. Did something happen?

Ran: There’s something I want to talk to you about…

▷Choice: I don't want to quit

Ran: Basically, I don’t want to quit this Club. Ran: And I didn’t manage to get an average of 90 during the tests. Ran: I know that was the condition for me to remain in this Club, so I’ll still be made to quit anyway, but… Ran: I still want to continue staying here. Ran: I’ve just started out here, and I was looking forward to learning more things.

▷Choice: Um… Well…

Ran: Um… Well… Munakata: Yes? Ran: (Of all times to be nervous, why now… But I have to tell him!) Ran: I didn't manage to get an average of 90 for the tests this time… Ran: But I don't want to have to quit the Club.

Munakata: Ah… Right, I do remember saying something along those lines before.

Munakata: Fret not. The Club doesn't actually have any rules regarding grades.

Ran: What!?

Munakata: And I have no intention of making anything of the sort. Although, it would be a tad concerning if you were barely passing.

Ran: Then, why did you…

Munakata: I suppose you can say that it was a test to see how determined you were to stay in the Blue Club.

Ran: Erm… So, does that mean I can stay?

Munakata: You worked hard and did your best, didn't you?

Munakata: I've heard a lot about the hard work you've put into studying for this test.

Munakata: You may not have attained the initial target, but I quite like that honesty of yours. So, I do hope you will continue to work hard as part of the Blue Club.

Ran: Got it! Thank you…

Munakata: I look forward to seeing how you grow from here on out.

Ran: (I was really taken aback by the fact that there had been no rules about grades at all, but I'm glad that I can still continue to remain here…)

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Next Scene: Red Bean Mountain