#but thats just my design thoughts rather than the book

[ckidarchive]

Did you see Jeff Vandermeer is making a new souther reach book?

yes ^_^ i knew he was working on it but theres a release date now i think? october this year? also saw the cover reveal + rerelease of the original trilogy. im not sure what to think yet, not sure how i feel (nervous) about extra things getting added onto something i like but also vandermeer makes interesting stuff so ill for sure be reading it

[heartfullofleeches]

Remy I miss you I love you also. Titus. I love him and miss him. And also Nightlight reader. Babies. Beloved.

[I had am old blurbo with Nightlight and Titus I scrapped. Here's one for him and Remmy too]

Remmy finding Nightlight Reader at a thrift store while looking for more dolls to add to his collection of antiques. They're the most beautiful "doll" he's never seen- (anything that has a humanoid form and is made of plastic, wood, cotton is a doll to Remmy- even androids). He takes the android home - planning to clean them up and give them a comfortable spot in his room. When Remmy touches the heart on their chest-

"Powering on.......backup battery at 12% percent....Accessing memory...No memories found... error...error...err-"

"Ah!.. That was scary. Hm, where did I end up now? Oh! Hello, tiny person - are you my new owner?"

Remmy instantly falls in love seeing this robot pick up on the dolls on his bed and speaking to it as a normal person. "Um, actually..I think that's me."

"Whoa! Where did you come from? My apologies, owner - what should I call you?

Remmy falls more in love with Nightlight by the second. They're so caring, and warm, and they love to play with his dolls as much as he does. They would follow his every command as part of their programming, but Remmy hardly feels the need to order them around because he knows they'll never leave him and for that he'd do anything from them. Stays awake all night until nightlight carries him to bed making new clothes for them. Buys all the books he needs to repair any minor damages they might have - and completely erase any trace of their memories of the past.

All Remmy needs is Nightlight. All Nightlight needs is Remmy.

-

Titus is given Nightlight Reader as a present from his guards after finding the android in a landfill on earth and repairing them to working order- The emperor has been more irritable than usual- if he dislikes this bot, his guards pray that smashing them to bits will be enough to quell his anger at least for a time. The guards present the android to their king and wait-

"What have you brought to bore me with now?'

"We believe it is an earth made machine designed to relieve stress for humans-"

The emperor chuckles. "Is that so?~ I have been rather pent up recently, and it isn't a complete eyesore, but you are aware of our difference in size, yes? Are you certain it won't break on first use?"

"Er, not in that exact way, your highness. You see, they-"

Titus huffs. "Then what good is it?"

"Just....allow me to turn them on. Please place your finger on their heart, your highness."

"This is ridiculous...."

The emperor does as instructed

"Powering on....Battery at 100%...System rebooting."

"Mm....Huh? What a strange place... Are you my new own..er? Oh, owner- your stress levels are dangerously high - they're increasing by the second! Why won't I sing you a lullaby while you relax with your favorite drink? I know lots, but I can always make up new ones - maybe one about your pretty eyes."

"That..... actually sounds wonderful. I haven't had a decent night of rest in ages. It's humorous to me how you were able to figure that out in seconds when these fools have been with me for centuries. I think I'm going to enjoy your company more than I thought."

Titus cannot go or sleep anywhere which his little nightlight. Feeling their heated, smaller form is all thats needed to knock him out like a light. Nightlight Reader is restricted from joining Titus in meetings for that sole reason. This whole ass tyrant sits in his chair pouting like a child until he can reunite with his little love. Decorates them like the doll they are with jewelry and adorable outfits. Whenever Titus is in one of his rages, guards quickly run off to retrieve nightlight from wherever they're exploring in the palace

[cherrytreedreams]

Thoughts on Diego/Lila's relationship?

this took me a bit because i needed to marinate my thoughts on this topic for a few days, because ive thought about it a LOT but this is a question thats also inexorably colored by how canon/ic you consider s4 to be. and i dont think i can answer this question without touching on why i felt s4 failed these characters and their relationship, so like. Lets just go there

i will say that prior to season 4, diego/lila was bar none my absolute favorite romantic pairing in the show. so i may be somewhat biased in how i see s4 is a deviation from their established relationship rather than an evolution of it. i am not unbiased and i didnt like s4 etc etc etc. So theres my disclaimer

diego/lila has a duality to it: they work because of the ways they are similar (they are active, reactive people, who thrive in chaos and need clear goals to function) and because of the ways they are different (diego is emotive, and lila is not)

and that^ is something i really want to emphasize. diego is a sensitive person, who feels things very deeply. we watch diego cry and rage and be afraid, all of which are emotions it seems like he cant help but feel. diego likes to act like a very traditionally "masculine" man, who feels nothing, helps people, is a hero, and Defends His Women, but ultimately that will always be undercut by the sensitivity that wafts off of him in palpable waves. he seems to sense this, too, on some level, which causes him to feel a need to overcompensate for his sensitivity by leaning into this persona of machismo

as a result, diego is a character who both emotes in a big way, but also isnt particularly in control of his emotions

lila-- who is a character im completely convinced was designed specifically to be a foil to diego-- is the dead opposite. lila is very aware of who she is, why she is that way, and how she feels about the fact that she is the way she is. she is extremely, calmly, flatly aware of how much shes flying off the handle in s3 re: five. this doesnt stop her from flying off the handle, but shes so... deliberate about it. like shes flying off the handle on purpose

lila is Aware of her emotions, but she also doesnt seem to really Feel them. she wasnt raised in an environment where she was allowed to express any emotions without the crushing weight of her mothers personality smothering every individual thought lila ever dared have. lila's emotions are foreign, seemingly, even (and especially) to herself. she doesnt know what she wants. she doesnt know what hurts and what doesnt.

to steal a motif from my own fic and apply to two entirely different characters, diego is a hard exterior around a squishy core, and lila is a hard exterior around a core of fucking diamond.

part of what draws lila to diego in the first place seems to be this vulnerability; regardless of the fact that she was essentially forced to spend time with him (lol) she reacts to his emotions with a certain amount of amusement. she even goes out of her way to invent having an existential breakdown so she can manipulate diego into showing her kindness. and she knows he will, because hes "an open book written for very dumb children".

lila also deliberately puts diego in fake situations in which she can observe and make note of his behavior. the manipulation i mention above^ is a test. shes testing if hes going to be kind to her, by faking vulnerability she doesnt feel about something she knows he thinks is silly. this way, she can see if he comforts a woman he thinks is crazy or if hes cruel to her. and, ultimately, shes trying to see if diego will treat her kindly; she knows shes "crazy" (though not in the same way she portrays herself at first) and wants to feel out diego's capacity for compassion for that. the thing with stan in s3 is just an extension of the exact same thing; she even point-blank says as much.

i saw someone describe her courtship methods as "machiavellian" and i agree very much. she sees diego as kind of this hapless idiot she cant help but feel fondness for. she doesnt seem to feel any remorse or regret for playing mindgames with him (drugging him to introduce him to her mom, and The Whole Thing With Stan My Fucking God), but she does seem aware that what she does to him is quite frankly insane

ie in season 3 she says something to the effect of "its easier to lie and play mindgames with you than to just ask you to stay"

but this awareness doesnt actually stop her from being manipulative and indirect in how she goes about connecting with diego. whats awesome about s2 and s3 is that diego seems like, genuinely chill with this. interestingly, his masculinity isnt threatened whatsoever by lila engaging in machiavellian psychological warfare in order to feel him out re: how hes going to treat her (and their unborn child). because hes a sensitive person, he feels empathy with her and kind of gently tells her she doesnt need to do that (or yells at her in the commission, he does do that).

however, diego's masculinity is threatened when it comes to "protecting" lila. he sees himself in some sort of arbitrary position of power over her, as a Man, and feels a need to protect her physically. she is a charge, one hes tasked with defending. particularly in s3, when shes pregnant, this escalates and he isolates her from the violence and the action to the point that she has to talk to him about it ("im a fighter, like you") and also, you know, punch him. because he locks her in a closet.

lila treats their relationship like a partnership. diego treats it like a burden, a responsibility, almost; one he enjoys, and one takes upon himself happily and willingly, but a responsibility all the same...

which takes me to season 4.

now, i wanna say this: i dont disagree with the setup. i dont dislike the premise. ultimately, lila and diego are bored in a suburban work-and-kids kind of life. they are matchsticks and gasoline type of people, their skills lie in violence and chaos, and they were both quite literally raised to be weapons. obviously a suburban work-and-kids kind of life is deeply unfulfilling for them, regardless of how much they love their kids.

lila is so disconnected from her emotions, her coming off as "disinterested" in her kids completely tracks in my opinion. diego offers her this emotional outlet-- he allows her to express vulnerable emotions shes never even really been allowed to feel before-- but with his attention swallowed by work, thus making them unable to spend much time together, yeah, I think lila would become cold and somewhat distant, even with her own children. she doesnt know what she wants. she doesnt know what hurts. is that someone whos gonna be a perfect, emotionally present mom? personally, i dont really think so...

and diego. i can see it so easily, so vividly; diego gets too caught up in this idea of responsibility that he feels a need to fall into a traditionally "father" role; he works, while lila cares for their children. he applies societal standards and structures of gender within the family unit. and because his father gave him nothing, utterly nothing, diego feels a need to give his children Everything. every shred of his energy, every spare inch of his attention and love. until hes like, so void of being able to live for himself that he starts to resent their life itself

the thing about all of this^ though, is that the way you resolve that? is really simple. have them realize, somehow and someway, that they cant be a normal family. they cant live the suburban dream; they just arent equipped for it. have them do something else! something whacky and fun.

the core of diego/lila, in my mind, is how theyre a whirlwind of chaos. the tension of the power dynamics, lila's manipulation, diego's protective instinct and lila's fiery independence. theyre all over the place, but its held in place with this core of genuine connection

ultimately, diego's moral center, and his sensitivity, are what make him able to appeal to lila at the end of s2. his emotive personality is what makes him able to express his earnest pain in response to her pain. diego's vulnerability is what pulls unfeeling lila from her mother's manipulations. lila takes a leap of faith, and trusts diego. she chooses to become part of his family.

and it feels very cheap, to me, to undercut the depth, nuance, and love of that choice, all in service to a half-baked swinging plot. because--

did anyone else notice that s4 diego was like, the wrong kind of misogynist? instead of being overprotective of lila and seized by responsibility, he's morose and making lila do all the emotional labor for him. and instead of being someone struggling through her emotions, lila is suddenly the most emotionally competent character in the entire damn cast. its just boring, in my opinion. part of the fun of lila is how much shes disconnected from her emotions-- and how that causes her to be reckless and wild.

i dunno. plenty of people dont agree with me, and thats fine, but it feels, to me, like choices were made for these characters, all in service of later plot points. lila and diego's marriage has to be failing for it to be at all justifiable for lila to cheat on diego, and... the only way to make lila and diego so disconnected as for the only solution to be separation is, apparently, to undercut everything they were to each other prior to this moment. to arbitrarily decide that diego is a worse person than he was, and that lila is a better one than she was.

and also, it was just depressing. all of tua s4 is depressing, but. Imagine taking the chaotic fun of lila and diego, the utter joy of the wild whackiness of it all, and replacing that with suburban malaise. And then just leaving it that way. couldnt be me

[bigfemboyenergy]

oh no not again sighh

welcome back to another case of I REMEMBERED HOW MUCH I LOVE BILL CIPHER AND GRAVITY FALLS

im already swamped with things in my brain and i feel like unproductive shit bc i havent spoken to anyone in hours but! thats okay ig i dont n e e d human interaction right.. haha??

bill cipher though. he has a canon human design (which i assume is mostly a joke but HUH) which is crazy and nightmarish and disgusting (creativity be damned, its horrific, love that for him)

and like ive been desperately waiting for the book of bill for several months now

AND AND topic change!!! i really love writing dipper bc hes a nerd and im a nerd and i genuinely adore his character (sorry mabel likers /j) so i want to write more BUT ITS PROBABLY CRINGE IF I ADD ANYTHING “flavorful” TO IT 💀💀 but uh i think i might just self indulge in a dip & dan just randomly meeting thing i came up with in a comic forever ago mmm

anyway, it goes like this;

Dipper, tired of the repetitiveness of his days working in the Mystery Shack, decides to take a short walk. Just for..”some air”, as he told Mabel, but deep down he knows that isn’t true. He has this yearn for adventure that he wants to fulfill, but he wants to do it alone- a bit unusual for him, he thinks. Alas, he leaves the Shack, determined to find something of interest. He takes with him his very own journal, formatted just like Ford’s, tucked safely under one of his arms.

Walking through the familiar forest around the Mystery Shack, Dipper takes his time to look around. The tall, thick oak trees, the weeds growing from all around the worn, dirt path he’s walking down..it’s very beautiful, but as it grows dark, it feels much more mystical. He takes a small, stable breath as he chooses to stray from the path, the sun lowering in the sky, leaving the moonlight to guide him. This is when Dipper realizes..he forgot to bring a flashlight.

With a slightly-frustrated sigh, he turns to head back home to the Shack, but finds himself a bit lost. Giving up quickly, for the sake of his unparalleled desire to explore, he pushes onwards into the woods. It isn’t long before he wishes he had gone back. The darker it gets, the harder it is for Dipper to keep himself calm. He’s always been fairly paranoid, but in a forest as enchanting and mysterious as this, especially due to the dark, he’s finding it hard not to worry.

As his anxiety builds, fear flowing through his veins as the sky continues to darken above him, the trees towering over him growing thicker as he continues to walk deeper into the woods, only making it harder to see..he finds a light. A soft, calming glow, almost calling out to him. It’s a peaceful green, a bit bewildering, but it does wonders for his anxiety in the moment, before he realizes that something is clearly in the forest with him. However, despite his earlier fear, he can’t seem to feel nearly as scared, the soft light almost comforting him. Taking a second to think, though not nearly enough to make a rational decision, he heads towards the light. Slowly and carefully, he walks towards it, watching as he starts to make out a figure, the supposed source of the glow.

As he continues his slow approach, he stops every few seconds to hide, not wanting to alert the being to his presence. At least he is wary enough to know he could be in danger, though Dipper somewhat laments his lack of thought earlier.

Once he’s close enough to really get a good look, Dipper feels his heartbeat speed up with both excitement and terror. The being looks so human, and yet it all feels so fascinating, as he knows it truly can’t be just that. They appear to be a boy not much older than him, with white hair and..glowing green eyes! Now knowing the source of the light, Dipper feels rather accomplished. He decides that, once he gets home, he’ll postpone everything just to write a bit about this in his journal.

In his excitement, however, Dipper hears a twig crack beneath his feet as he takes a step forward. Without a moment’s hesitation, the boy’s head turns to face his direction; though, luckily, Dipper had already hidden himself behind some close-growing trees, and therefore hasn’t yet been spotted. The boy slowly moves towards Dipper, his feet making no sound, the crunching of the grass and crackling of twigs that would normally come with walking through such a forest..surprisingly not present.

Dipper bursts into a run, panic setting in. He wasn’t thinking for just a second, and now he’s alerted the person to his presence.. he can’t think, he can’t stop, his brain is just telling him to move, his fight or flight kicking in, leading him to run and run with no end in sight. After a long while, with a bit of tripping and getting caught on branches, he finds himself at the edge of the treeline, back at the Mystery Shack. It doesn’t look like the boy followed him. With a long, shaky sigh, Dipper cracks a smile. He did ask for an adventure, and that was just what he got. Entering the Mystery Shack, he immediately heads up the stairs and to his room, eagerly flipping open to a fresh page of his journal, not hesitating to write things down.

Not sparing a detail, he describes the mystery person; a boy of white hair, green eyes, pale skin, and with an eerie, ghastly glow, who makes not a sound when he walks through such an undergrowth-heavy forest.. It intrigues Dipper to no end. He can’t help but want to learn more..

Next time, he thinks, he won’t forget to bring a flashlight.

[abstract-crossverse]

can you do a halt x reader x rush (from doors)

:3

*cracks knuckles* a two in one I see. Back to work for me!

Designs for these may take a while, Rush will be quick since yall have seen my design for him multiple times, just not in full color. Halt however is what Im most certain I'll have a time with, so many concepts for them, dress, cape, hood, I cant choose!

This is going to be extra long I know it

Btw, I'll be using they/them for Halt, Theyre both king and queen, best of both things ;] /ref

===========================

Halt x Reader x Rush [headcanons/fic, fluff]

-> alr so honestly, the two are a very balanced duo if you put in theory, but in practice its a 50/50 if it works

-> hype energy bf and calm/no energy partner, pick your poison *you take both*

-> let's get on with how you meet before I forget my ideas

-> you met Rush first, of course you did, he's the first dude you meet unless your unlucky enough to meet Screech or Ambush before Rush can get the first sweep of the place *shudders at Ambush on door 2*

-> you're either really scared of him or thinks he's a mild inconvenience at best, though you'd rather have him charging at you than Ambush any day

-> you once lost the company of another Player to him, left you shook... In fact, that you you got that "Betrayal" badge thats hooked to your keychain.. you dont know how they get there, you didnt even have anything hooked to you when you woke up here, it was just a metal loop attached to your pocket, you're thankful theyre made of felt and embroidery, otherwise Figure would always know where you stood

-> you could kinda consider yourself a veteran here, you've been here before the Hotel got a rework, which threw you off significantly, when you saw the little note on the Lobby letting you and other Player's know of the update you didnt think they changed much

-> though you were surprised when they even had new entities around, took you a moment to get used to the new changes... Rush even more so, you'd often see him faceplant into walls sometimes or accidently knock over things as he ran because he wasnt used to the new changes either

-> it was often endearing to watch from the closet, sometimes he'd even stop for a moment, trying to figure out how to run through a room , thankfully he would be gone before Hide got mad mad at you

-> but comes the day both yours and his luck runs out

-> you saw the lights flicker and speed walked your way to a closet, you waited until you heard him screaming and breaking lights before walking into the closet

-> he got half way through the room before a bookshelf suddenly fell on top of him. You heard the screaming stop, replaced by a loud yell and profanities that made you double take, where you hearing this right?... Could Rush speak? You usually didnt come across other Players on the whim and you were traversing the hotel again alone

-> the voice you heard was glitchy, deep and loud, but hoarse and scratchy at the same time, he is always screaming after all, but how he can still be loud as he is puzzles you, you can even hear a boston accent in his voice

-> you snapped back from your thoughts as you say the bold black and red letters "GET OUT" flashy before your eyes, but you were too late to get your body to move, Hide pushed you out and you fell with a rough thump, the wooden floor wasnt too pleasant to fall on. The carped falling just short enough it wouldn't cushion your fall, you groaned in pain

-> Rush stared at you from his spot, falling silent as you regained your ground, he honestly didnt think there was anyone in the closet- he never does, thats the whole purpose of hiding. Honestly he thought you were quite good looking but nevermind that! He's fuckin' STUCK and he feels HUMILIATED dont look his way please dont witness him please ple- aw fuck you're looking at him, just lovely...

-

You stared down the bigger entity stuck under the book shelf and it's books, trying to understand why he had arms... Pretty strong looking ones too, hands dressed in black gloves. You blinked once, twice, you were clearly confused out of your mind, you came back to reality when you hear a deep groan coming from the entity

"ya got a starin' problem, pipsqueak?? Ya gonna help or what?" He scoffed, you double take'd, did he just call you pipsqueak??

"the fuck did you just call me?" You weren't mad, the situation was just really... Surreal? This place is surreal, thats not the word... Just, strange in general, you never thought you'd get to talk at all with these entities, specially like this

Rush deadpanned "pipsqueak, I called you pipsqueak, ya deaf or somethin'?" You stammered "n- no!- I just- I'm really taken a back right now is all-" you waved your hands as you denied, you slowly walked up to him after a moment of hesitation

"do you... Want- help?" You offered, he looked so offended "n- no! Im completely fine, I can get out by myself thank you very much!" He struggled to pull himself out, that shelf was really heavy what the hell ".... You don't- look fine." You added, a small grin starting to form on your face as you watched the entity barely move from where he was

He sighed dramatically, glaring at you with empty eye sockets "YOU don't look fine." "I'm not, I've been stuck here for months, maybe it's already been a year, I can't tell. Of course I'm not fine." He looked surprised, that was the most painfully honest answer he's heard about your situation, others would either say they're completely fine or just- not engage anymore

He stared at you for an... Uncomfortably long time before you approached him, analyzing the bookshelf over him in search of a way to get him out without having to try and shove it, if even this... Large.... Entity, couldn't raise it himself, what's to think you could? But you're not leaving him there to possibly have him holding grudges against you because you left him there. Rush was still staring at you, waiting for what you would do next

You hummed, placing your hands on your hips as you thought for a moment, "alright, listen, I'll need you to cooperate if you wanna get out of there, 'kay? I'm gonna try to push the shelf up so you'll have less weight on you and you try to pull yourself out." You explained as he nodded, you placed your hands on the edge of the shelf, counting down from three before you used all your strength to push it up even if just a bit

Rush pulled himself out with a bit of struggle, but at least he was out, you dropped the shelf as soon as he took his distance from you and the shelf, it fell with a harsh thump, shaking the ground under you enough you lost your ballance. You yelped and braced for impact with the ground, shutting your eyes, but instead you felt two large hands holding you by your back, they felt... Fuzzy.. like what you'd think static feels like but also not at the same time, warm, it was also warm

You opened your eyes, trailing them up to the entity holding you, you stared into each other's eyes for what felt like hours, before he spoke

"... You are SO tiny, holy shit-" Rush spoke with a laugh slipping through his words, you deadpanned "nah I'm not tiny, you're just fucking huge." You stated, you stared at each other for a bit longer, you taking in the fact the entity that seemed like a giant furball with a smiley face now had one hunk of a body to match, while Rush analysed you curiously, your clothes, your hair, your eyes, little visual details you have about yourself that people wouldnt exactly see if they didnt pay attention.

He had quite the toned figure it seemed, he styled a grey-ish purple button-down with its sleeves rolled up above his elbows and black tie, a dark grey vest with thin, light grey stripes going down the vest and dress pants in the same style- wait when did he get legs- he had a shadowy ghost tail just now- oh fuck it he's an entity beyond your comprehension, of course he can probably shapeshift. Looking back at his face you noted all the little withers and cracks on his face, you wandered if it was always like that or if he go through something to get like that, the shadowy, fluffy looking mass that you normally saw engulfed his entire body seemed to work like hair- or the rest of his head since his face did remind you of a mask of sorts... He had a grin on his face as he looked at you, his eye sockets seemed to distort and move as if they were eyelids, one of the eye sockets seemed to be half-lidded now as the other stayed open, you think he just lifted a brow at you

"take a picture, good-lookin', it'll last longer." His grin widened as you widened your eyes, growing embarrassed as you finally realized you were staring too long, not like he blamed you though, he'd be staring too if he were in your shoes. He chuckled at the red overtaking your cheeks, you looked aside with a small click of your tongue, you both feel silent as it dawned on you that he could just kill you right now, he had you in his hands

"... Are you going to kill me?" You asked in a mutter, his grin fell for a second, he looked at the door ahead of you both before looking back "I kinda owe ya for helpin' me, e~ven though I could've gotten out on my own!" He grinned as you deadpanned, he's that prideful huh, "so let's settle that right now, I let ya live and won't bother ya for... Say... The next 10 rooms?" You thought for a second, a hand on your face, completely forgetting he was still holding you as if in mid dip

".. 20 rooms." You argued "15.", "18, take it or leave it." You grinned, thinking you had the upper hand, but what made you think you could argue like that with a creature that can kill you right now? "15 and final, or would you rather give that up for your life?" He argued with a shit-eating grin on his face, you glared at him, you hated that he was right, you can't just throw away a chance like that, "fine. Deal." You extended a hand for him to shake, you felt one of his hands leave your back and took your hand in his, almost enveloping your entire hand as you shook hands

He pulled you back on your feet and you immediately stepped away from him, putting a decent distance between you, that made him laugh. "Still scared of me, Pipsqueak? I don't bite!... Not for now at least~" he sang, his body envoloped in shadows again as he dashed down the halls again in a matter of seconds, screaming again. You winced, having forgotten how loud he is for a moment, the sudden wind made by him messed up your clothes a bit.

Sighing, you corrected you clothes and walked along the next rooms, which for your "joy", were all dark rooms.... Fuck.

-

-> after that Rush kinda... seemed to linger in the room a few times when he decided to run by, which was annoying if Hide was especially mad at you. It confused you as well, was he looking for something?

-> But for now lets divert our attention to the blue specter youve just had the luck to get yoinked by- like you know how they basically kinda pull you into their corridor and you have to do the back and forth to get out? thats what I mean

-> Halt heard of you from Rush, the couple of times they actually talked at least, Halt is very reserved and it's not often they talk with the more... loud entities, Rush, Figure, Ambush. They don't talk with them a lot due to their liking to silence better, other entities like Seek, Hide, Eyes know them better as they're more quite.

-> However, Halt and Rush bump into each other from time to time and make small talk until Halt decided thats enough socializing for the hour. Rush told them about them a when they bumped into each other again, saying how a "cute lil' player helped him when he got himself stuck under a heavy ass bookshelf", it made Halt curious, especially when Rush would mention you didn't seem all that scared of him

-> Of course he got a description from the bigger entity and soon when on his search, he was far too curious of this... player who put their own 'run' at risk by helping one of them, so for the past month Halt pulled people into their hall more often than not, but not having the luck of finding you until about a month later

-> And to their luck, you were the backwards walk kind of player when they appeared in front of you

-> They analyzed your appearance, and found you were a direct match from what Rush told them, so for once, they stopped their pattern, chasing after you until your back hit the locked door you entered through

-> You grew confused and a bit scared, this wasnt the usual pattern, you couldnt escape, what the hell!

-> You felt a shiver down your spine, the corridor suddenly felt so much colder than before. The ghostly figure loomed over you with their glowing blue eyes staring you down. Suddenly only their eyes filled your vision, similar to how they'd tell you to turn around before the hotel got it's renovation, making you flinch and blink hard

-> Next thing you knew, a tall, slender figure was in front of you, so all of the entities can have a humanoid body? Not the time to question that now, what the fuck is going on

-> The figure wore a long dark blue-ish cloak, it was slightly torn on the edges(probably because of time, you'd guess) and had a shiny 4 pointed, light blue star pendent keeping it together near the hood. The cloak obscured the rest of its body, and the gloominess of the room didn't help in the slightest, you could see it wore black boots though; It's face was covered by a veil like fabric, similar to how Halt looked earlier, it's bright blue eyes staring dead into your soul, it intimidated you, especially with how close it was

-> You tried to keep yourself from showing fear, though you struggled to do so, this situation was really weird, they cornered you right at the start of the hall and arent moving away, just staring you down

-> Your heart threatened to jump out of your chest with how it was beating, you really wanted to stop staring at them, avert your eyes and brace for the worse but something kept you from it, giving you only moments to glance away in discomfort, you heard a reverberated hum before it turned around

-> "Rush was right." They mumbled lowly, before walking away and disappearing into the floor, the aura in the room dimmed, meaning they werent there anymore as you finally let out a breath you didnt know you were holding. Seriously what the fuck was that??? Whatever, you can think about that later, right now just focus on running out of this claustrophobic ass hall

→ After that weird encounter you felt like Halt would always show up in almost every run you had, and more than once. Eventually you grew fed up, what was their deal? Did they need something?

→ So the next time he pulled you into their corridor, you stood your ground and asked what they wanted in an annoyed tone. Surprising to say it took Halt off guard that you decided to confront them instead of running away

→ So they stood in place, not getting closer nor teleporting behind you, and its whatever if they kill you now, this run was a very unlucky one regardless...

-

"Okay, what's your deal, man? What do you want, either Im going insane or you're tormenting me far more often than usual." You complained, crossing your arms as you glared at the veiled entity in front of you, they stood, unmoving aside the light floating of their clothes from the chilly wind that somehow flowed through the closed hall

You raised a brow as their eyes seemed to move ever so slightly, seeming to scan your face for anything, perhaps were they trying to feel even a twinge of fear from you? Even if they did it would be overly covered by annoyance and frustration, their hall is very annoying to get through

They lowered their head a bit to look at the ground momentarily as they thought about how to articulate an answer, soon enough, they came up with something to say

"you are... Interesting... You helped one of my comrades when he was in distress... You confuse me..." They spoke, their voice echoing through the hall, it was breathy and soft, and quite monotone too. Hearing them surprised you a bit

"... Could you elaborate?" Your expression softened from the sneer you held before, they looked aside a bit again before looking back at you, staring dead into your eyes as if they tried to get a look into your soul

"no humans help us, none of them ever have, if one of us ends up getting stuck they either mock, run away or just stare in confusion... But you, you were kind— or pitiful —enough to help Rush from under the heavy bookshelf... That confuses me..." He paused briefly, raising his hand to snap his clawed fingers, surprisingly they weren't as sharp as the ones Rush has "Rush could snap you in half faster than I can snap my fingers... Why did you decide to help him?"

You were stunned at their words for a moment, standing still as you mind processed what they said before you unsurely shrug as you shook you head lightly "cause and consequence I guess? I mean, I'd be mad if someone mocked me while I was stuck under a bookshelf too, and given how... Murderous... He is- I didn't want to get an extra painful death because he'd be in a bad mood afterwards..." You rambled, gripping your arms as you did

Halt listened intently, nodding as you finished talking, you heard a hum coming from them as they glided closer, at least you figured they glided as you only heard a wind whistle instead of footsteps, but when you looked back up they were inches from your face, you nearly jumped in a scare, letting you a choked yelp as you stepped back for some distance

"May you answer some more questions? Curiosity is eating at me, I promise to let you leave unharmed afterwards." They said, not moving from their spot in mid air, they didn't seem to like moving too much. You nodded after a moment of hesitation "but.. how can I really trust you?"

"Im an entity of word. Besides, are you really willing to let this opportunity to learn more about this place go? I know you humans are oh-so curious about this facility." They tilted their head at you, you took a moment before nodding, they were right after all, again, not everyday you get to talk to an entity like this.

And so you both sat down.

-

→ You two talked for a long while, last time you check the clock outside the hall it was at least 3pm. It sure felt like an eternity inside the hall, and eventually you both drifted from the initial questions to other topics, like how the other entities acted, or things you remember about your own life, and even some gossip that had you both giggling and laughing

→ Just don't tell anyone you got this info from Halt, if anyone asks, you know nothing ;]

→ After a while, Halt grew tired sounding and quiet, letting you do most of the talking until you caught onto the fact they were tired now. You suggested you wrap up the night, but said you really enjoyed talking with them

→ They seemed to hum happily as you got up from your spots, saying the same to you and leading you to the end of the corridor. You felt a cold hand on your shoulder before you left, a reminder of your new found friend as you shivered at the sudden warm air hitting you cold form, you grew used to Halts cold room to the point where the normal air from the hotel nearly felt like a punch to the face

→ And so that was your routine fron then on, watch from a closet as Rush lingered around the room whenever he came by, talk to Half for a couple of hours and then move on with your run

→ Eventually, Rush lingered a little bit too long, and Hide was especially impatient tonight so you can guess what happened. You got shoved out as Rush was still looking around the room

→ You yelled as you were shoved out, but before you hit the floor you felt those familiar hands grab your shirt and lift you up, and in a matter of seconds, you were face to face with the Static creature again. Your eyes widen as he glared at you with empty eyes and a grin before realizing it was you

-> "Pipsqueak! It's you! I've been lookin' for ya!" He said with a laugh, placing you down and patting your shoulder, you couldn't even process when his body shifted to it's humanoid form, just taking a moment to absorb the situation

-> But Rush kept talking. "I really wanted to meet with ya again, Halt said y'all met?" He questioned, tugging you along as he walked to the next room, as he knew the next room at least had a couch you two could sit at

-> You stammered as confirmation, almost tripping over your feet as you walked with him. He let go of you as you got to the couch and dropped himself on one side of it, it creaked under his weight as he crossed his legs, patting the spot next to him after you were left standing for a few moments more

-> You sat down awkwardly as the entity next to you occupied a lot of the couch, what being 8 feet tall does to a motherfucker, anyway. He didn't seem to mind how you were still processing what was going on, and still asked you a lot of things, which you reluctantly answered because... Did you really have a choice on the matter? Though you did notice he gave off a warmth as you sat close to him

-> After a while you did ease into the conversation, which seemed to please him. He joked and told you funny stories about things he's done, be it with other players or other entities. It made him laugh as he told you the stories, you laughed along, his laugh was quite the contagious one

-> Once he seemed to run out of stories to tell you, you spoke up. "Why.. are you telling me this? And why were you looking for me?"

-> "Huh?-" he looked down at you for a moment, before processing your questions properly "Oh! Well, Halt mentioned how they were talkin' to you so often and how you were so nice to talk to n' blah blah blah. So I wanted to hear it for myself, and they were right! You are real nice t' talk to."

-> You blinked "they talk about me?" Rush jerked his head aside "eeeh not really??.. just when I bump into them at least, I usually ask how yer doin' given I can never find ya 'round." He dismissed quickly, you almost saw a darker shade of grey on his withered face. You'll never know he lied a bit, Halt mentioned you've been chatting often, but they didn't really share much of how you behaved, he'd never admit it but he felt a little bit jealous that Halt got to talk to you more than he did, he met and saw you first! He wants to talk to you too!! Why do you think he's been searching for you?

-> "A~nyway... I did like talkin' to ya, even if I did most of the talkin', I get I can be a lil' too fast for people to catch up with." He scratched the back of his head, you couldn't help but giggle a tiny bit "it was nice to chat with you too, Rush."

-> He said you should talk more, and you said sure, as long as he doesn't kill you if he comes running in, that made he laugh as he agreed

-> So, new routine again, talk with Rush as you two walk through the rooms a bit and then talk with Halt for a few hours, wether you get to the final elevator didnt really matter as much anymore

-> Eventually you finally got the two in the same room, Halt finally decided to come out of his corridor for once because you wanted to show him a cool plant in the Greenhouse

-> And oh what a coincidence! It was a room Rush was running to! What a silly coincidence!! He totally didn't bribe Screech to spy on you both and Halt was getting a little too close nope not at all :]]]]

-

You shined your flashlight at the Peace Lily that was blooming in one of the pots

"It's so cool that it grew in these conditions!" You gushed at the flower, Halt hummed, "certainly, I haven't seen a flower grow in a long while..." Their voice echoed around the room "I used to love these... It's also quite ironic a Peace Lily is growing here of all places"

You chuckled "yep, peace is not something to happen here, at least not to often..-" you got cut off by the sound of a particularly strong gush of wind hitting against the window and making it shake in its hinges, it startled you for a moment as you shivered at the remnants of a breeze managed to slip through the small gaps in the frame

"hmm... Seems like the storm is picking up, that hasn't happened in a while..." They turned their attention to the window before looking down at you, it took them a moment to realize you were cold before they fumbled with the broche on their cloak, they couldn't feel any more cold than they already were so its a bit hard to tell change in temperature

"oh forgive me, I didn't know it was cold, here-" they enveloped you in their large coat before you could say anything, you expected it to be cold just like they are, but you were quickly proven wrong as warmth took over your body, the quick change in temperature made you hair stand

"o-oh!- th-thanks-" you stuttered, noticing that Halt wore a pearly white, ruffled shirt with a cyan vest over it and a black puffy ascot around their neck, it seemed like many of the entities sported the same style of clothing, suits or vests... Was it a dress code they went by?

"it is no problem-" this time, Halt was interrupted by the loud static noise of Rush zooming near, Halt stared at the door you came through and immediately pulled you behind them, for whatever reason, they knew you talked to Rush already, why did they pull you back?

As soon as Rush entered the room and saw Halt, he stopped and took his usual humanoid form

"Oh! Halt! Buddy there you are! You dont usually leave your hall what's got ya all the way over here?-" he questioned, though his tone sounded a bit fake, like he already knew why Halt was here

Halt took a moment before responding, mumbling a hello as they slightly lowered their head, why did they seem so... Apprehensive? Annoyed maybe? It's hard to read this guy. Rush finally saw you and made a gesture by opening his arms

"Pipsqueak! There you are! What'cha doin' here with Halt? Y'all doin' anythin' fun?" He pried, and finally noticed you had Halt's cloak "... And uh, why do ya have their cloak?" His tone sounded a bit more strained now, his usual casual grin seemed a bit more forced

"I-" you started, unsure of what to say before Halt cut you off "they were cold, so I lended them my cloak. I may be one of the coldest entities here but my cloak is quite the blanket." They stated, staring up at Rush

"oh really? Well if they're cold they could've come look for me! Some say I'm quite the heat pack, y'know?" The taller entity laughed, his voice booming around the room "Plus, ya know very well these rooms aren't the safest." His voice fell serious, though still with a playful undertone, you grew confused, the fuck was this interaction

Halt scoffed "I am aware, Rush. However, they wanted to show me this lovely flower, I couldn't say No to such an interesting offer." They gestured to the Lily near you both "It's been a while since I've seen an actual flower, after all, the other only living plant here is...." Halt gently moved your hand to shine your flashlight at the snare on the floor, waiting for its next victim to trap

Rush was silent for a couple moment after looking at the snare, he turned himself to the Lily again, humming in thought "Well... that is a pretty nice flower.... the hell has he been doin'?..." he mumbled, shaking his head as he turned back to the conversation

"Nevermind that! C'mon, Pipsqueak, let's get outta here before ya get yourself hurt. An' Halt uuh... ya-.. ya can go back to ya room, I guess, ya never stay out for long anyway..." Rush mumbled, walking around Halt and put a hand on your back, leading you with him to the previous door slowly to keep up with you. But for some reason, the room felt colder than before, you shivered in discomfort, Halt heard it.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Halt questioned, their voice sounding stronger and passive-aggressive "Do speak your mind, Rush, you were never one to hold you thoughts to yourself anyway." they tilted their head at Rush as the room grew colder with every word, you felt Rush start to tense as you looked back at the ghostly entity

"OOOOkay!-" Rush laughed, you could hear a hit of forcefulness on his voice as he turned to Halt, putting his hands on his hips as he cackled "THOSE are some fightin' words, Buddy. Ya REALLY wanna go down that path?" He looked down at Halt, still being taller than them by a foot

"You started it, but If The Boot Fits I don't mind an altercation." You shuddered at Halt's tone, and at the cold getting so much worse that the windows have started to frost, you could see a small confused looking face staring from the other side, Sally was here

You got between the two, pushing them apart was they were glaring at each other "ENOUGH you both! There's someone else here, and Halt- you're fr-freezing the room." you shivered as you looked up at Halt and motioned at the half frosted window, the two looked over at the window and Sally quickly hid away from view with a small, echo-y gasp

Halt looked away to take some deep breaths and calm down, as Rush walked over to the window to talk to Sally a bit, it sounded like a bit of a lecture but you didn't care to process what he was blabbing about, focusing more on Halt and gently patting their arm to help, they looked back at you

"My apologies for my behavior.... I did not- mean to grow so upset..." they gently put their hand over yours on their arm, you shook your head "it's okay, you don't have to apologize, I'd be mad too. Just because you like being by yourself doesn't mean they get to just dismiss you like that." Their eyes seemed to soften their glow as you spoke, they hummed "usually I don't mind, I enjoy being given the assurance that I can leave if I wish to, but... this was just insulting..."

You nodded, they turned to you after a moment of silence, this time now holding both your hands, which caught you a bit by surprise

"[Name]... I know this may not be an appropriate place for such a thing, but I can no longer keep this to myself. It has been a delight to interact with you when you come around, I treasure every second we spend together and you're simply just..... an amazing person to be around, you bring me a warmth I've never had or felt before.... I was... wondering if....." they seemed to struggle a bit, which was odd since they always spoke so flawlessly, though you didn't mind it one bit. If this monologue was going in the direction you think it is then interrupting isn't an option

"my apologies, words are hard at the moment-" they mumbled "ah.... if-... you'd like to... be my partner...?" their eyes shifted, looking nervous and worried for your reaction as their hands got colder against yours

You were stunned for a moment, blinking dumbfoundedly, attempting to stammer some reply out but to no avail

Then Rush put an arm around you

"HEYYYY WHAT YALL TALKIN' ABOUT OVER HERE??" He loudly questioned, pulling you closer to his side, Halt seemed to deadpan at him, huffing annoyedly "Rush, you are ruining our moment."

"Moment? What moment?" Rush feigned cluelessness, then pulled you away from Halt, talking about how you had to get out of the greenhouse because it wasnt safe, or something, you didnt really listen as you looked over his arm at Halt, they seemed to still be holding their hands in the same position they were when holding yours but slightly reaching outat you

You mouthed a sorry back at him as Rush got you out the door.

-

→ good lord I got carried away, anyway

→ after that Rush seemed to always find you before you even managed to get in a closet, well, not find you but run into the room before you could get in

-> Hide mightve had a hand in it but you dont know that, they just want Rush to stop bugging them about it

-> Rush would tackle you to the floor and pretend hewas gonna bite you, then he'd laugh a bit before pulling you back to your feet, much to your annoyance he keeps on teasing you about being a little flinchy around him

-> He cant blame you though! He's killed you before when you first got here and he's unpredictable

-> But now you get to be the listener in a conversation again so thats something, he talks non stop, excited to talk to you

-> He drags you around to find a comfy place to sit down and chat while he talks. He constantly moves, some times after sitting on the couch for too long he gets up and paces around while he talks, sometimes sits on the ground in front or next to you.

-> Though his topics are interesting to talk about sometimes you end up even falling asleep while he talks

-> Another thing is that ever since that day, he's taken so much of your time and energy you havent gotten to talk to Halt at all, until they came to you after you and Rush were done talking

-> you shuddered as that familiar cold embraced your form again, smiling a bit at the quiet in the hallway, taking a few steps away from the door as Halt showed up.

-> you greeted them, and though they didnt respond, you explained how Rush was talking to you so often, how draining it was by the end of your conversations. You looked tired, they could tell

-> they didnt say a word as they hovered to you and wrapped their arms around you along with their cloak, you were surprised but melted into their cold form, wrapping your own arms around them

-> they guided you to the usual spot you two would sit down at, without letting you go, you leaned your head against their shoulder with a sigh as they held you with an arm, holding one of your hands with the other

-> You were dozing off, closing your eyes as you curled up to their side, you felt them adjust their cloak around you again

-> You heard a whisper from them, sounded like something along the lines of "I love you"? You werent sure, you could've misheard it, the memories of that night at the greenhouse came back briefly, you hummed softly as you snuggled to them, gently squeezing their hand mumbling the same back to them as you fell asleep

-> Next time you saw Rush, he was actually not running this time, standing in the middle of one of the rooms with Halt, they seemed to be arguing about something. The room was cold

-> You shivered as you walked in, Halt noticed you first and greeted you with a nod before Rush greeted you by saying your name happily, you waved

-> Rush requested you put an end to their argument and choose for them, which one is better in terms of their work

-> And well, given theyre both the easiest to avoid, Rush is deadlier with his strenght and Speed but Halt is harmful for his confusing rules that makes Players have to turn around and walk back and forth until theyre out of the hall. Your answer was that theyre both the best in their own different ways

-> They seemed satified enough, Halt more than Rush, though Rush got another idea and smirked, asking you who you liked better

-> That confused and flustered you, you stammered, claiming not knowing what he meant. So he repeated in better detail, who you like better to hang out

-> Of course you said both are nice to hang out with in their own ways, but that didnt satisfy Rush, he just kept pushing even as Halt attempted to stop him from doing so

-

"So? I'm still waitin' for an answer!" Rush crossed his arms with a smirk on his face "Rush, that's enough, dont you think?" Halt questioned

"No! I want a definate answer from them. Who do you like best??" It got to the point you didnt know how to answer anymore, you gave them your true answer what else does he want?

"Why are does it matter so much? I gave you the only answer I have" you shrugged "Because we're in love with you and you gotta choose onna us, wasn't it obvious?" Rush stated calmly

The way he said it so calmly, as if it was obvious information gave you a hard whiplash, your face flushing red as Halt smacked the back of Rush's head harshly

"Way to blow it, Rush. They'll hate us now!" For once, Halt raised their voice, even if slightly, the two began to argue again "Naw they won't! Plus, you already confessed that day at the Greenhouse and they don't seem to hate you for it!"

You tuned them out as you thought about what he just said, you've been catching feeling for them for a while, the two were charming in their own ways, it would be hard to choose one of them, but guess what! You have Two Hands!

-

-> And thats what you told them, they were stunned for a moment, a deeper shade of grey floded Rush's cheeks while Halt seemed to glow brighter

-> they agreed to your offer, so you were now officially a polyamory couple

-> they did tell you the dangers of the entity the other players named Jack, and that he's not to know youre dating them

-> theyre both lovely and attentive to you, and incredible cuddlers too, Rush is very warm to cuddle with on colder nights and Halt is lovely to cuddle on hotter nights

-> Rush takes you on rides around the hotel sometimes on his back, and Halt shows you the quiet spots he hangs out on if he needs to detress

-> They still argue a bunch and youre usually the mediator, until the argument's with you-

-> They love you very much, they couldnt be happier every since you agreed to be theirs

===========================

FUCK THIS TOOK SO LONG IM SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO WRITE THIS, life got in the way and hyperfixations changed, but I really want to get back to writing and now that this is done, I can write other things in my inbox.

Never ask me to do duos again before Ive done their intro fics lmao /hj/lh

I did enjoy writing this though dw

[dufferpuffer]

your thoughts on tiktok-fanon alpha male lupin? because i find it SO out of character

My engagement with tiktok is exclusively the 10min meme compilations on youtube I watch with my partner before bed. But if its the same as the depictions on here of a teenage Remus who is tall, muscular, dark and sorta grumpy/cocky looking... with a skinny, pale, manic pixie Sirius covered in cutsey muggle tattoos...

...I don't recognize these people. Whatever fanfic or AU it is from... I just assume its a really specific re-imagining...? To the point where I question how much can even be called 'Remus' or 'Sirius' anymore. And that's being flattering. I don't understand it so I don't engage with it, apart from reblogging the occasional pretty fanart.

They are both OOC - and not in interesting ways. I love headcanons. Exploring a character so hard that they don't look the same anymore, because they take on different forms, for different situations... I'll never fault people for having fun like that. You know how there's like... 10,000 different Sans Undertales? They typically still feel like Sans. I like the one where Sans and Papyrus swap personalities, and the one where the monsters are 'more evil' - and more red.

That doesn't mean it can't be done in a way that's boring and lame, that is less exploration of a character and more a destruction. Personally - this version of Sirius and Remus is boring and lame.

I don't understand why they have scattered muggle tattoos. There are 100 ways you could imagine the Wizarding World having cool tattoos... or at LEAST better designed muggle tattoos? Movie Sirius has these chunky amateur looking runes on his body, like he drew them himself with his finger... but fanon Sirius, and sometimes Remus, look like a kids gone crazy with a ballpoint pen - and not in a way that adds childish teenage character. In a way that looks like they've been scrolling pintrest. It sucks the individuality and character OUT of them. Makes them look like a sample book. You could give Sirius a really cool looking sleeve that incorporates his interests and personality in a tight, unique pattern... or you could draw a bunch of disjointed icons and words.

I don't understand why they often have cigarettes. Why cigarettes? Snuff, chew, hookah, cigars, pipes... ANYTHING you could imagine with a wand or magical tool - but they use cigarettes specifically...? Like... I don't HATE it... There is character, story and interest you could add via habits. But it's not used like that. It's used as short-hand for 'sexy rebels'.

Why is Remus so stern? Why is Sirius a manic pixie dream girl? How do these boys grow up into the men we can recognize...? Or... is the world so different that every narrative thread is snapped? In which case: Why are they Remus and Sirius? Whats the point?

It's like the passably-drawn porn that is just a stock position with two characters put in it - but doesn't resemble their personalities or mannerisms at all. Yknow what im talking about ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) It's hard to have an opinion about that other than 'thats not them.' You wanna see Whitebeard fucking Nico Robin? And Nico Robin has an expression she'd never pull? And Whitebeard is like 6ft tall - instead of 22ft tall? But they're doing reserve cowgirl, if you're into that. ...They're just filling the roles of 'masculine dom' and 'feminine sub'. If that's what people wanna do... ok. They can have fun. I just wish it was tagged it as whatever AU or fanfic its based on rather than just the character names.

[sleeplesslark]

you’re always leaving lovely comments on people’s artworks, so could you tell us about your kabuto aroace agenda? thank you💥

(graverobbing-beetle)

Thank you for the ask!

It feels only natural to leave nice comments on people's art, kabutos fanbase really has some very talented people creating art and fic. Feels like giving back in a way, and the least I'd want anyone to do for my own fan works.

My aroace kabuto agenda huh! Well. This could be long so saving people some scrolling.

It's kind of complicated.

There's no real canon evidence that I know of, that Kabuto isn't aroace. In the Rock Lee spin off I think he gets a nosebleed reading Jiraiya's books? I haven't seen it so I lack context and it isn't canon anyway. Maybe that he makes a comment about lady Tsunade being single (chapter 256)? He is too, at the time, to my knowledge, so I chose to more or less take it as him being rude rather than taking as him valuing romance as a marker of a well adjuated person.

Something about the line and his face where he makes the comment about Tsunades breast blocking his chakra scalpel also hits me as, not into women, at least (ch 164). If he was intended to be read as very straight I feel he'd have had more of a reaction.

Nudity in general doesn't seem to phase Kabuto either, he waits outside while Orochimaru showers (chapter 198). But this is more or less evidence that...he's a medic. Why would nudity phase him? It'd be odd for him not to have a more clinical approach in that scene seeing as Orochimaru is hurt in context.

His design is also asexual colors! Hard evidence, I know.

So viewing him as aroace is more or less me projecting.

I'm not really arguing from a canon perspective though. In canon Kabuto can be argued to be anything under the sun sexuality wise.

I make fanfic of him, and I think an aroace perspective is just an interesting way to explore his relationships. I don't really ship Kabuto with anyone, I'm kind of weird about ships though so that's not surprising.

I like writing about him becoming friends or brotherly with Naruto in some form or fashion and thats interesting enough as a dynamic to keep my brain going. I like generally focusing on his platonic relationships, they are varied and I feel like romance wouldn't add anything interesting.

Him being aroace is also a fun way to make him more separate from other characters. Plenty of ways to work it into his identity crisis, what with sexual attraction and desire for romance commonly being seen as what makes people human. Him never experiencing it is fun to think about.

A lesser but still fun note is him either assuming everyone over exaggerates their interest or just, smugly thinking he's above everyone. If he has such good control of his reactions and thoughts why do so many complain about struggling? Obviously he's just that good, lol.

This is my, off hand, not well put together, thoughts, not really an analysis. My post also has more evidence for asexual than aromantic, but hey. I hope it covers your question.

Tldr; Me saying agenda is more personal preference (in my fan works, no one else's, I have read some exceptional kabukaka) and shorthand for "I don't ship him really".

[lepoppeta]

alt. velvette headcanons ( + staticdoll)

blows a kiss to @kat0ninetails because their fave/comment spam made me remember this stuff

a while ago i made this post about a possibly backstory for velvette for when she was alive, and while i do still like elements of it (especially concerning the "wanting to be treated like an adult without having to dress/act like one" thing in relation to her garish outfits) but the thing thats kind of bugged me is how i made velvette out to be this... naive martyr. like she was mean, sure, but she what was done to her was arguable worse than what she did to other people. that version of her comes across to me as a moody teenager -- someone whos too mature and old to be treated like a small child but still lacks the necessary experience and emotional control to act like a grown adult.

i also didnt like how i didnt give her much to do outside of being voxs main squeeze, which... cmon, me. thats just disrespectful. so! i came up with an alternate backstory that, at least to me, treats velvette like a grown woman, allows her a career that she achieved via her own merit rather than through nepotism, and just gives her something more tangible to do.

velvette was a fashion editor/critic who died in the 1990s at around age 30. i want her to be very miranda priestly-esque -- she developed an aloof, overly-critical personality in order to survive in a world dominated by white men (i love the idea of a bunch of fashion designers tripping over themselves to please her, knowing that she could crush their dreams with a single article -- thats the kind of power velvette has).

velvette embodies the sin of envy. she doesnt take the time to recognise the accomplishments shes already made in her industry since shes so hell bent on "revenge against the machine" and making the system pay her back and work for her, especially when all of these old white cronies always seem two steps ahead. she both inspires jealousy in others who desire her beauty and success, and shes wracked with it herself because her achievements never seem like enough.

my initial thought is that she started murdering these aforementioned cronies on the sly, and she dies while making an escape during a particularly risky kill. that, or someone found out what she was doing and thats how she got killed. its not the best idea iv ever had, but being a blatant murderer would at least give velvette a much more objective reason to be in hell -- she did everything by the books and it was never enough because she was operating within a system that was built against her, so she decided to take matters (and lives) into her own hands.

velvette initially has a bit of a meltdown when she finds shes catching feelings for vox. thats a rich white man! the very demographic shes been trying so hard to surpass! but he treats her like an equal and admires her sharp tongue, and he doesnt patronise her or act offended when she tells him to fuck off. vox knows very little about haute couture and he readily concedes to her expertise instead of trying to lamely prove himself. vox also actively encouraged velvette to become an overlord.

[yuemoon-art]

ALSO THE CHANGE! FROM THE LETTER THAT JONATHON THROWS OUT OF THE WINDOW TO THE LETTER ON DRACULA'S HAND! PERFECT TRANSITION A+++++++

Don't mind me I've just been staring at these for a few days 😭 ahhhh I'm so honoured thank you!! Please don't be sorry for such lovely comments— now I have to rewatch the animatic while looking out for the timestamps ;) ahahahaaa :,)))) I can only say thanks again!!!! Im gonna put my response under the cut cause there ended up being so much:

0:53 Yesss glad you caught that!!!! its a reference to my DD2022 art; I decided to put it in the animatic because I think its one of my best works. HAVE to immortalise that

0:58 Heehee :3 I had so much fun making that move!! Originally it was supposed to be still but I had the thought of "hey now that ive learned keyframes I wonder what else i can do" so that was the result :)

1:25 :,) thats such a high praise, I had fun plotting out these transitions too!!!

1:31 Also another reference to one of my DD2022 arts! Had fun translating that to a more "cinematic" composition

1:33 Had no idea that was called a crybaby mole Im stealing that now on. Very happy someone noticed his beauty mark!!!

2:35 hehehehe

2:43 another case of "hm Ive learned keyframes what can I do with them" :) Im glad it looks cool!!

2:48 Yep!! plus also like a role reversal; previously it was Lucy who was entranced and helpless under Dracula's gaze. Now, it is his turn.

2:58 thanks!! I had so much fun designing them, especially the blue eyed one! Initially I forgot Stoker described her as "fair" but hm I guess you can close 2 eyes and it could be interpreted by the "beauty" meaning of "fair", rather than skin... I also genuinely forgot black people don't usually have blue eyes blonde hair but hey! Theyre vampires. No point quibbling about ""realism"" or whatever

3:03 hehehehheh. Thanks! I had so much fun drawing Dracula's defeat

3:17 HAD to draw that sunset its such a cinematic moment in the book. Stoker did good.

Also hehe yep the Art/Seward was purposeful. I love this song because it brings me so much nostalgia as the opening theme for a local tv drama. Very glad to have made it part of this animatic. Thank you for the enthusiastic dissection of this passion project aaa Ill treasure this response.

[bl00dh0rs3]

more monkey thoughts. Dont look at me im just trying to explain/figure out More reasons why they (moreso LEMH) make me go crazy (again)

OKAY Full disclosure. this was spurred by some posts ive seen floating around and they are Objectively correct and i agree with them, but the wordage they use is what bothers me and makes me think--its about the general and growing frustration and dismay over LEMH's portrayal and like... increased Importance in LMK, at the expense of like, literally all the other characters new and old.

Again, objectively that is INCREDIBLY true and i feel it 200%!!!! Its frustrating because they just yoinked aspects of SWK's relationships with characters like DBK from the original JTTW and Shoved them on LEMH like theyre Tropes that can be shifted around without consequence--it seems fine and interesting when you first watch LMK with no context or background knowledge, but after knowing what his ACTUAL deal was in the book, looking back on LMK makes what they are doing with LEMH feel lazy and Genuinely poorly researched, rather than an intentional divergence from the original story--because as a general rule of thumb, even if the fans dont Like what you changed, you still want the things in your story to be done On Purpose, like you at least Tried to put effort into it! Its about showing the audience that you think they deserve a narrative that was crafted with Care, not just slapped together and thrown out for a quick Hype/Cash grab, yk???

Anyway So THATS the thing, and thats all cool!!! My issue (and i cannot stress this enough this is Me being Silly and Obsessed with the Six Eared Macaque im a chronic blorbo haver there is no Cure) is that those posts Also tend to talk about LEMH as though... he is a boring character. As though he's just kind of "eh". Or at least thats how my Admittedly biased eyes read them--no beef! Its just gotten me to thinking and now i want to try to write out What im thinking and Why, bc thats a helpful thing to do when you're struggling to figure in your head, obvs obvs

And im of course willing to admit that Yes, in the original text, he is just kind of There! He serves his purpose (aiding in SWK's character development) and then he dies and he doesn't come back again! Hes kind of a metaphor but hes also just an annoying guy! Hes not presented as anything special! I get that that is what is Canon, and thats theres no way to really like... read anything deep into it. Bc theres literally nothing there.

But my problem is that i cannot let characters like that just Be. Especially if the premise of said character could be absolutely FASCINATING if you take it all Completely seriously and At face value--if you try to see whatever is going on for them through their eyes, their minds. Its like.... You can buy a shirt from the store as is, and some might be fine Wearing it as is--while other's might see that shirt and decide it needs a bit of hemming and perhaps some embroidery on the sleeves. Altering it does not change the fact that the original design is what it is--thats just One altered shirt that one person is wearing and perhaps lending to a friend or two, yk???

I love metaphors l. Sorry that dragged on, back to monkey--

To me? LEMH exists in a nebulous state of inevitable connection with SWK--because i like to take the "LEMH is SWK's ~dark side~" thing seriously. In my eyes, they are literally the same person, the same qi, split into two bodies.

There are stories that exist today that explore this idea, characters with this kind of relationship--and i find them incredibly compelling! Because i adore stories that play with the question of what makes a person a person. What seperates you from your maker/origins? What is your purpose in life when you are intrinsically connected to another person, at your very core? Does that mean you exist For them? Do they exist for you? How does thinking that way affect a person, mentally and emotionally? How does it affect these characters, specifically, in conjunction with their personalities and the lives theyd led up until the point they knew about this connection? Have they always known about this connection? Only one of them?

How much more drastic would it affect you if you were essentially a nobody--and the person you are connected to is a public figure? Like Sun Wukong?

Id go crazy. Id go fucking insane? Can you imagine. Its about the potential!!!!! The potential of what knowing something like that would do to someone!!! Im losing the words im apologize i need to calm down--im Not done yet.

What i am getting at here.... is that LEMH would likely work Best as a character who's metaphorical aspects are taken Very Literally--especially so if the story also decides to lean into the idea of his hearing reaching through to the past and future, in any way. He is a character that would thrive on being portrayed in a way that allows him to be a bit Meta, if that makes sense

Yes, you Could just let him be a silly monkey who decided to start shit with SWK for giggles one day--that can absolutely have its merits! But that does not satisfy me, and that is why i am so passionate about him. I want to take my little guy so so fucking seriously because i think it would be SO fucking cool. And a very useful and convenient way to explore ideas about relationships with The Self--since in my eyes, that is what his relationship would be with SWK.

AND ALL THIS STUFF ABSOLUTELY HAS ANOTHER SIDE TO IT, HOW IT ALL COULD AFFECT SWK ON HIS SIDE??? LIKE HOLY SHIT. HOLY SHIT i dont know if i want this post to be That long so i might stop here and come back later to talk abt it from SWKs side in a rb or something--

anyway point is. I thank LMK for introducing me to the Six Eared Macaque, but upon further analysis the way they did him is actually pretty garbo, and im biding my time for till someone introduces me to or Makes a version of him that takes him to his full potential. thats all thanks for coming to my TED talk, get out of my house please

[banana-milk-enthusiast]

beat Forspoken, and while I probably will write an in-depth review down the line cuz i have many thoughts, I'm just going to pointform my basic thoughts while it's still fresh.

PROS

Great designs all around, the Tantas look so breathtaking with their extravagant designs and yet it doesn't take away from their world, it fits just right in. Absolutely love it.

Good world building most questions i had were answered either through the main story or extra archive stuff. Nothing felt too weird yknow

Gameplay gameplay gameplay. The magic system is literally amazing. I dont think I've had this much fun fighting in an rpg in a long time. Theres so much fun variety so you can focus on whats comfortable for you while also looking sick as fuck. Have i mentioned how good the battle system is cuz i avoid playing mage in every game because its such a slog but here its so fast paced and hits hard. Perfect for me.

The music is soooo good, I love the main theme and find myself humming it literally all the time.

Great graphics but maybe a lil too many particle effects but otherwise really pretty.

The story is technically a pro. Like its good, not bad, not great, just good. Basically something you'd find in the YA Fantasy section, thats the kinda quality it was. Which isn't a insult I did enjoy the story and characters. It just needed polish, fix up the dialogue and trim some of the story fat and i wouldn't have any complaints tbh. Probably would do better as a book series tho ngl, not sure what game format would have saved it.

Shoutout to the accessibility options. I'm glad more games are including these. I'll never understand complaints about them though, like just dont use them if you dont want/need to thats it.

ALMOST FORGOT THE COOLEST THING. THE NAILS. I'm sorry but the idea of using nail art to inscribe magic runes to give you buffs is the coolest fucking idea ever, why has this concept not been used till now. We always see rune tatoos or written on gear and stuff im fantasy media but this is such a neat ideaaaa and im forever thankful for it. Her capes are cool too I guess, with there was more variety rather than recolors tho. Kinda wish we could also get different outfits for her tho. Those jeans probably chafe.

CONS

THE OPEN WORLD IS SO BIG FOR NO GODDAMN REASON. I honestly wish this wasn't an open world game tbh, its so unnecessary. Halfway through the game, i got so frustrated and ignored everything that wasn't story points cuz getting everywhere takes so damn long, especially early on when you dont have fancy parkour or stamina. Easily its biggest fault for me.

I understand they thought it'd do way better than what happened but planning out a story as a trilogy in the gaming industry is not a smart move. I've yet to play the dlc so idk if we get closure but the loose ends werent a great way for the game to end.

Oh, the dialogue. Its easily one of the gamest weakest points. Like the type of dialogue i was writing in my original stories when i was 13 (not that ive gotten any better tbh). Basically, it's not what you expect from such a vaunted company. Frey is great when shes excited or angry, which is most of the time, but occasionally, they'll hit me with the cheesiest line I've heard in years, and idk how to handle it. Like the stuff she says in the final chapter is honestly so robotic, there is no natural flow present. Which is a pity cuz the actress was killing it tbh, like she definitely carried the lines with her emotion. Unfortunately, it couldn't save them. Like if it was something they dropped on ps3 or wii, it honestly would have done fine. What i mean to say is the dialogue is very outdated in this age of gaming. im actually surprised how out of touch it feels. Especially since otherwise its a solid game all around. Regarding Cuff and Frey banter you do have the option to make it less frequent or just turn it off but i never really found them annoying regardless.

Maybe its just me but the control scheme feels so weird, the games makes you feel like you should be gliding most of the time but holding O while spaming all those trigger buttons feels so awkward to me. But then again I also didnt care enough to change the control scheme so.

[hermesserpent-stuff]

spoilers for Seidr, Iron, and Ice. Im writing several chapters ahead with this scene. Im not entirely sorry. loki and steve beloveds.

Loki stares at steve who is sitting on the roof. He had come up here to brood. But it seems the space is already occupied. He turns to leave as Steve looks up from his sketchbook.

“Oh! Loki right? Care to join me?”

Loki raises his book in reply and Steve gives an answering smile. 

“I promise not to bother you too bad. The roof is a good place to think and escape from all the people.”

Loki tilts his head and then walks forward. He had alread made the journey up here. Might as well stay. He sits down and there is lasting silence between them for a while. Steve moves a pencil back and forth across the sketchbook. Loki reads the history book. A half burst of thankfulness curls around his heart. Odin had not taken his ability to read other languages. He had taken all else. His voice. His ability to write. His strongest weapons. He is lucky to have been taken in by kind people rather than by those that might wish to kill him for existing. The all father is uncaring, Loki supposes. Perhaps the ability to read had been left as a mistake and not as a gift to be thankful for. 

Bitter rage must be leaking out of his posture because he hears Steve clear his throat. He looks over and the sketch book is being offered up. Loki hesitates, confused by the gesture for many reasons. Artists were often very protective of their sketches back home, with few wanting unfinished designs to ever be seen by a strangers eye. And Steve does not know him well. Though how could anyone know him well? Silence follows his every step. Loki gently takes the sketch book.

“Harry gave that to me not long after I moved in. He said that doing art helped him feel better after getting away from his ex-father.”

Loki starts to look at the art. Realistic images set in graphite. A little further in bursts of color come through. Each image is of ordinary things. Bits of Steve’s apartment. A pair of boots Loki does not recognize. A view of the city from the roof they are sitting on. Different images of the people that fill this building. Montana, Quentin, Peter, and Harry are among them. And then. Himself. Sitting quietly with a book, in the corner of what must have been one of the movie nights. Present. And captured in a way that Loki had not quite ever thought he would be seen in. Not compared. Not weak or less than.

Just as himself. 

Him.

A quiet reader smiling slightly at whatever else is going on in the room.

Steve has fallen quiet. Loki taps the image then points at Steve and then to his own eyes and then to his whole self. The man blinks and then hums.

“Thats how I see you, yeah. I notice you cause I have to notice everything. But I drew you… because in that moment you seemed happy. Its hard… to be happy if you cant remember it. All the guys I ran around with in the Howlin’ Camandos had something to remind them of happier times. Of what had to be protected and what they could return to. And I found that really hard in this place that echoes of home without being my home. What moments of happiness could I hold onto that were not beyond my reach due to the vastness of time? But then Harry gave me the sketchbook, and I could capture small moments and keep them around.”

Steve gently takes the sketch book back and flips it to the end. Loki spots a few doodles on the last couple pages that are done in many styles and hands that he knows are not Steve’s. Steve flips it to a blank page and presents it back to Loki with a pencil.

“Here. I like having people draw in the back. Its always interesting to see what they think of adding when given the opportunity of a blank page. And maybe it will help get your anger out. I know you dont write and I know you cant talk. But maybe you can draw?”

Loki takes the sketchbook back and stares down at the blank page. It is terrifying. To be presented with a vast field of nothering and be expected to mark it. To make it known that he once held this bit of an artist’s soul. His mind wanders and his hand absentmindedly falls into doodling runes he has no power to fuel. And then those runes evolve into lightning and clouds and the outline of Thor’s stupid helmet and the curve of his mother’s favorite necklace that Loki had made himself and the thick lines of his father’s throne. He misses home. He misses it so bitterly! Why had none contacted him? Was he truly not worth trying to fix or reach out? He had thought maybe Thor would try. He had hoped that his mother would speak to him. Was he not worth love?

He pushes the sketchbook back as tears gather. Steve touches his arm and he shies away. 

“I… I didnt want to upset you. But sometimes its okay to admit what you feel. You dont always have to wear a mask. Ive broken a lot of punching bags over it. But I dont think thats your style. I have lost a home too. Maybe not in the same way, or with the same pain, but Im here. If you want or need me.”

Loki swallows and nods. Steve had been watching. And had tried to reach out in a way that might suit Loki. It is kind. He slowly sits back down and takes the sketchbook back and finishes filling out the page as Steve sits nearby. Symbols of his mother and brother fill the page and cross over the stupid thrown of his stupid father. It feels nicely vindictive to cover up that initial doodle of the throne.

[talksofmyfamily]

lately ive been wondering if i want to be an author at all.

it was always my dream, writing books, writing of my fantasies and ideas, that overflow my mind at all times. but sometimes i look at the cars my father - a distant man, every time we speak we argue and we scream and we cry and fight, he just doesn't listen, he just doesn't let you get a word in - repairs and works on, and i think of what it would be like to know what goes on inside them. how do they work? what happens in them? theyre structured. theyre pretty, and unique, and sometimes theyre also ugly. the old ones, thats what he repairs. not the new, electric cars, with their modern, ever-the-same sleek designs, he takes care of the hiccups that the old ones have. he doesn't do it professionally, actually, he cuts and sells firewood, but when someone has a problem with their motor, they go to him. and sometimes, i watch him work on them, from the window, where i sit and smoke almost every hour of day. he doesn't look angry when he does it. he just looks passive, and peaceful, unlike literally every other time i see him. he doesnt scare me anymore, not really, not after five years of hating him and loving him and being afraid and arguing and attempting to dodge his fists on the more difficult days, i just find myself ignoring his existence unless he speaks to me first. i hardly spare a thought to him. hes nothing to me. but his cars.... they fascinate me. id almost forgotten about them for a long time. we used to do little projects together, back when i was still younger, before the incident, before he changed and i changed too. built a cage for my hamster, and my sister's too. built a stable for my action figures i had back then, little horses id been collecting since i was three years old. fixed my bike. he helped me with everything. taught me to sew the many holes in my clothes shut. gave me my first beer, way too early, i hadn't even reached double digits yet. i used to love him. and then i hated him. and then he became nothing to me but a bother.

my neighbor is different. it'd be a very big stretch to say he's been more of a father to me than my own, we hardly talk to each other as well, after all, but when we do, its always memorable. he fixes cars as well. he's my father's best friend, ironically, but theyre nothing alike. my neighbor is a nice, if a bit grumpy and stingy man that smokes pipes rather than cigarettes, gives me beers (and weed) freely and has the most well-trained, sweet dog ive ever seen. shes adorable, and whenever we have to take care of her because he's in the hospital again, she sleeps in my bed rather than the makeshift blanket bundle my mother puts on the floor for her. he trained and raised her himself. yesterday, when we were smoking weed together from his fancy little pipe, he gave me some advice. he said (or at least, he said roughly this, as i am not sure i remember it correctly, and i am also attempting to translate it from german into english) that "when you really want to do something, and you do it, without letting yourself be influenced by others, itll work out. if it doesnt, the question is if thats really what you want."

i still dont know if i want to be an author, or if i want to learn something about cars, or be a graphic designer or something entirely different. but i have time. im still only in 9th grade, and i do want to continue school until im at least in 10th or 11th. maybe ill look into the basic inner workings of a car tonight. maybe ill write another long-awaited chapter to one of my fanfictions. maybe i wont be able to sleep and do both. who knows. i wish i did.

[stoppostingforeverandever]

Omfg, oh btw whery im loopey on another account incase u dint know, anyways. Let me just. Scream for a hot second. UWUWHAHAHGETYEUWHWHWUISISJJDHEUEUWUAHHAHAAAAA IOWOWOWKJSJSUSH OOHOLYLLYKYNSHHSJIIRKTJTKT MOHOMGMG.

I ADORE THIS. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. IT WAS SUCH A PLEASURE TO READ YOUR ANALYSIS TOO!!!! Ahhh I love how clever you are with design, it’s really so fun to read :] I feel like I see so many fanfiction where luffy ultimately keeps the hat afterwards, because they’re the strawhat pirates ofc! But,,, I genuinely dont remember if I’ve ever read anyone who actually talked about luffy PERMANENTLY giving the hat back to shanks, and omg thanku sm for reintroducing that idea into my brain. I love your idea of both of them forgoing their hats!!! Sabo looks really adventurous with just those goggles on his head too :D

Ahaha there’s this cover spread which I consider what the post-canon of OP to be

Like, the whole gang is around the table, and the tagline is looking for new adventures! The globe robin is pointing to is outside the grandline and everything, ahahah and usopp has clearly had his fun trip to elbaf :] ANYWAYS, i went back to take a look at this,, and lo and behold! Luffys strawhat is no where in sight! Haha he does have a silly pirate captain get up though :D and his jolly roger is still on his hat!! I imagine he’s playing dressup rather than keeping this as a permenant outfit, and it doesnt confirm if the strawhat is gone or anything, but i thought it was interesting to note.

Anyways. No joke. This made me so choked up man… u keep doin this to me…. It always struck me that sabo’s dream as a child was to write an amazing book and travel the world- not anything like bringing freedom to the oppressed. Luffy and Ace went down direct paths to fulfill their respective dreams, but Sabos having more of an indirect approach to it, and even then, he has so many duties as chief that he probably doesnt have any time to write!

I don’t think I’ve seen him look so free before. He’s dedicated his life to bringing freedom to others, and now he’s free to pursue his own childhood dreams to the fullest. KILL ME 💥💥💥💥💥💥

I found your analysis of his childhood verse adult outfits REALLY interesting, and it fits soooo well. I love the lighter, calm colours that you ultimately went with. Whahaha i love his snacky pockets too, big fan of many pockets in designs, esp when they have great uses! He looks so cute and I think you were completely right about the cravat thing, cause he has such an aura of FREEDOMMM and exploration and i think his cravat wouldve definitely restricted his style LOL. IM BEING SO TRUE RN WHEN I SAY THAT HE LOOKS SO BONEDEEP HAPPY NOW, HES SO FREE NOW, WHERY THIS IS MAKING ME SO EMOTIONAL. KILL ME 💥 💥💥💥💥

Ahhhh i love sabo laying down and listening to luffy chat about whatever, i wonder if hes telling a story about his adventures? Maybe hes talking anout something really stupid actually, maybe both! The aura around them is so serene though, I feel AT PEACE WITH THE WORLD!1!1!1! Wahah I love sabo’s lil doodles in his book! He loves drawing his lil brother °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° and thats a great rendition of a bird sabo!!! JESUS CHRIST THATS A GIGANTIC HERCULES BEETLE OMFG LUFFY STAY STILL LET ME DRAW THAT. (❁´▽`❁)*✲ﾟ YIPPPEEEEEEEE luffy looks so happy XD hahaha did he draw that derpy ass sabo in there? His artskills have improved since we last saw him ahahah!!!

I ADORE THE DESIGN FOR THE SABO BOAT!!! YESS!!! YESS HE COMISSIONED FRANKY YESS!!! Its a lot more practical than the striker for travelling for sure! And i lvoe that he can really comfortabley sit down and propel the boat too :] the dragon figurehead is a brillaint touch, aahahah and it seems to be having fun on their travels too! The S (crossed out) pirates are back in business :) he finally gets to properly set out on his pirating adventures…. thank you whery. this healed me… thank you….

Is it so hard to ask that sabo follow his dream he had when he was a kid? IS IT??????

Also, his boat was commissioned from Franky! And he did a great job :)

Design talk:

Im gonna start with just sharing his canon designs

Colors:

Something i want to call attention to is the blue and black in his design.

When he was young, Sabo wore his heart on his sleeve. He had a dream for himself and was taking steps to complete it. Likewise, that blue on his coat is on full display its bright and vibrant and saturated. But also theres that dark blue, almost black, thats underneath it thats being hidden by that coat, the pants, and his tattered cravat. Likewise again, Sabo is hiding his darker side. He has secrets he doesn’t want his brothers to know of and he lets his aspirations and relationships he has with them outshine his past.

In his present design, that blue that was representative of his dreams, is now the one being hidden. Its covered by a complete black coat, a representative of the darkness in his life that now is drives him. This color switch up is symbolic for how he’s put off his dreams and kept it locked up (belt), while choosing instead to pursue a life of darkness for the greater good.

Also, these pictures of young sabo and young adult sabo, you can visually see how less saturated it is. The blue is duller of the coat/undershirt and even more-so with the pants. You can see how he’s much less vibrant than how he was.

In my Post-Story idea, what happens leading up to it is that Sabo succeeds in taking down the world government and after he’s sure the world can move on without him, he goes sailing alone as a pirate to write a book about the world, like he’s always wanted to do. Also, Luffy returns his straw hat to shanks.

So in my design, sabo wears a vibrant blue coat again. He’s living his dream and has nothing holding him back from doing it. The black is still used, and its not being covered, but its on his pants and his gloves. He still has that darkness, but he doesn’t use it as protection or as something to hide, rather as something he moves forwards and progresses with. He will never forget what pain and hardship he went through and he’s not trying to. However, whats underneath all the layers is not darkness or dreams, and its not necessarily being hidden either, its light. Not BRIGHT, but light. Mellow and calm. The settled true nature of a healed man.

I took more colors from his child design than i did with his young adult (YA) one, too. I wanted to show how he’s reconnecting with his younger self by bringing them through to his Post-Story look!

Also, since his journal is his dream, it is blue, as well.

———

Items of Clothing:

In both of his canon designs, there is a sense of properness. A top hat, cravat, tailcoat, etc etc.. Its all properness. But more than that, its the idea of responsibility.

Whether he acts responsible or not isn’t what matters in his case, instead its that he wants to look responsible. He wants this because a) he was a little kid who wanted to grow up too fast and be taken seriously, and b) because he has an incredible amount of responsibility being the second in command of the revolutionary army.

To further prove that, I would like to point out his silly little cravat. I love his cravat. But how the hell is that practical for his line of work? Sabo is concerned with being practical, hence his baggy/movable pants and leather gloves. Additionally, just the waist/trench coat, belt, top hat combo would suffice for a proper looking person, but it’s taken excessively with the cravat. The cravat is purely for appearances.

Further symbolism with his cravat, i think, is that this appearance is visually choking him. Its wrapped tightly around his neck when he was a child and when he was most under control of a much higher power. However, when he’s a YA, it’s a lot looser. He’s got some agency, but he’s still being suffocated by responsibilities.

On with my design.

I took away his cravat. Im sorry but it is SYMBOLIC!!!!!!! He is not worried anymore with appearances, he is Free.

I took away his top hat but not his goggles, too. I think that after Luffy gives back the straw hat, Sabo forgoes his hat as well. In solidarity, maybe. If you think about it, the top hat isnt what makes his hat so special, its the goggles. So i got rid of the hat and kept The Goggs. Although it is sad that they are no longer Hatted, as that is one of the beautiful appeals of ASL, they are no longer ASL.

I wanted to keep aspects of his YA design, since even though it is very perforative, its still a style that he’s stuck with since childhood, so he’s gotta like it in some capacity. I just tried to make everything look a lot looser/open on him.

Lastly, i gave him a bit of a beard cuz i think he deserves it.

———

Alright! If you got this far, thanks so much for reading my insane ramblings!!!! I fr feel like this rn 👇

Visually, sabo’s design is not too complex, at least not when you look at him next to Ace, but theres a lot of depth to it. I didnt even think of half of these notes before i started typing this up, its just the more time i look at it, the more i noticed!

[2023-512-joelpotter]

Week 7 - Storyboarding and ideas

Animation Thinking and Ideas

I have decided after thinking about it for a while that I want to continue the same colour palette inside of the type specimen book and reproduce the same ideas or similar ideas inside of the animation. The main problem with my book is that I didn't put enough emphasis on my pepeha with the imagery, type hierarchy and writing as well. Because of this, I want it to be extremely prominent to the theme of the animation. Both of my storyboards should reflect this idea as well.

I also think the way that I use colour could help with this as well. By allowing more emphasis on the type and pepeha than the imagery floating around it.

Animation Storyboard - 1

This idea follows the circle but is a little bit simple. It uses fewer ideas and shapes and just follows small ideas. I really like the sky tower forming out of the I in this, but other than that, I feel like I could come up with something more interesting!

Animation Storyboard - 2

This storyboard uses the idea of the circles and follows it throughout. I feel like it shows lots of information while also looking interesting and having a bit of contrast. Whether if that is with shape or colour. I may be able to make it loop at the end as well by ending in the same place as the start, but thats a decision for later. I also really like the idea of the volcano erupting as well and how it fits the theme while championing the type.

Week 7 Reflection

Overall, I believe that the second storyboard is a much more thought-out and better design. It is interesting while being not too crazy and champions both the type and pepeha which is all that is needed in the animation. I have also been thinking and I definitely want to keep the same colour palette as the one I used in the book.

The only problem I may have is it might be rather difficult to produce. I have never used after effects before and because of that it will be quite a learning curve for me. This means a lot of the difficult imagery to make will be hard to produce. The hope is that I learn how to use the software fast so I can produce all of the ideas easily and well!

[spaceagebachelorstan]

i have a kind of plot??? idea?? thought up about a ride the cyclone hunger games au, because i wanted angst and have been thinking abt the hunger games recently.

in the idea its the 25th hunger games, also known as the first quarter quell and the one where they vote the contestants in, because i think it would be a cool addition as it makes it a lot sadder. there could be a lot of bitterness about that

the main six get voted in from their districts, and end up in the hunger games. i don't have any solid districts in mind, but currently ocean is from one of the districts, maybe one ortwo, bcs her song is abt her being better and so she. should live which in my mind links to the careers and how the upper districts have a better relationship w the capitol other than three n look down on the other districts. mischa is from district eleven or nine bcs im p sure ukraine exports a lot of grain. noel is district twelve bcs i think he'd hate it, and it fits the whole let me. out this place is so stale and numbing, all dull and smokey and suffocating. ricky is from district three so i have a way to make it make sense that they have an aac. penny is from district ten because its the livestock district (livestock? lamb? get it? i'll stop now). and constance is from district eight bcs idk why not, or nine bcs grain makes bread and her family runs a bakery.

i will not lie i can only see karnak as the interviewer. sure hed work as a mentor but i keep seeing him as caesar (i think thats the interbiewers name). he has a flashy purple suit and a purple interview get up.

i have a few costume ideas but they r very basic and not that good tbh. pls keep in mind i have no sense of fashion

penny has a fluffy coat and white dress for the lamb imagery, it could fade into red to symbolise slaughter or smthn. red accents

noel's designer focuses heavily on smoke and he comes out in this dress type thing that looks like it leaves a trail of smoke when it flows. he def has a pipe as well.

rickys designer goes absolutely ham and creates an outfit worthy of the space age bachelor man. wires and funky colours and everything. very out there

ocean is dressed all smart and presentable, very put together. since i havent got a solid district i dont have many ideas

dont have many ideas for constance or mischa tbh

mischa's whole angle with the public is that he's strong and has motive to win in talia, so he has a fighting chance and more motive than the rest. ocean is portrayed as cocky and intelligent, and she will win because shes determined and won't let herself lose. penny is mysterious and odd, she stands out and makes an impression. constance is nice and charismatic and they use that to make the audience attached so they want her to win, and public approval is everything in the games. ricky is smart and crafty and his mentor tells him to lean heavily into that bcs ppl will write him off bcs hes disabled (in the au they let him keep his crutches which plays with canon a bit but i justify that with the capitol want things to be interesting and so at least try to keep the contestants alive. let them keep their crutches capitol pls). noel is interesting and they focus more on his ability to draw the audience rather than his ability in the arena, and his whole want to die tragically and want for things to be interesting is used to try and resonate with the capitol as a kind of "keep him alive he wont be boring promise pls dont kill him". idrc about the other tributes so they could be ocs or contestants from the book idk. theyre just sorta there.

i dont have many solid progression ideas, but basically one branch is nischa team up because i do in fact ship them. they talk briefly before the contest and sorta confront eachother in the arena but dont kill eachother, maybe one tells the others about poison berries or some other type of knowledge or they just see eachother and agree on a team up, and they go about in the arena trying to survive and defend themselves against the rest of the tributes. many injuries and bonding moments later and they make it fairly far. but since this was an au made with angst in mind at least one of the two dies, and the other gets all guilty about it. it can be. this big dramatic thing and if we're going the romantic route it could be they confess their love right on the brink of death and the other just has to deal with that finishing the games. sat grieving a love they can never explore or see through because the other died in their arms.

ngl this whole idea came about because i imagined nischa in the arena and noel dying and having this whole angsty moment in his death where he makes mischa promise to win and get back to talia. or he was like dying from an injurt and mischa refused to just leave and tried to drag him and there was angst about how noel truly didnt think he was ever gonna win anyway and how hes glad he met mischa and got to have at least some good before he died.

also ive thought of multiple conversations where they talk about why they want to go back and mischa obviously wants to go back for talia and his mother (in this au shes not dead yet but she is dying) but noel doesnt rlly see anything for himself and just sorta wants to die interesting. also their mentors were definitely screaming at eachother to just stab the other when they sleep or smthn.

doesnt rlly link to the past paragraph but i like to think noel got his hands on some old books about france and paris somehow and thats how monique came about. hes very careful abt mentioning this in the arena bcs they can and will murder his mother for that im p sure books from before are forbidden in panem oops.

theres so many angst oppourtunities as well. you could go down so many routes. fear from almost dying. guilt from killing someone. physical pain. anguish. the shock catching up to the contestants. the realisation theyre about to die. because theres no way in hell any of the choir was genuinely ready to kill someone or watch someone die. so much angst.