#but you can literally ask it to make a visualization involving anything

[allastoredeer]

It's kind of funny to think that when Lucifer points out to Charlie that they have the same blood, it's clear that Lucifer has golden blood due to being an Angel, while in battle we see that Charlie actually has red blood, probably due to being the daughter of the first human/sinner woman, which ironically makes her even closer to Alastor just on a visual level.

Another thing I love about that song is that Lucifer stresses that he will support her, but always focusing on material things and the use of his power. While Alastor, the manipulative bastard who knows everyone's weaknesses, brings out all the bonds and emotional support he's given Charlie just by being there from the beginning, how they've become friends, how he makes her laugh with his jokes, he even hugs Niffty, and all that "corny" stuff is what Charlie really appreciates, but she has no interest in material things.

Ooooh! Good point about the blood! In that aspect, she could be more closely affiliated with sinners than Lucifer or the hellborn.

Also, that's what I REALLY love about Alastor and Lucifer's song, because your right! Lucifer is focusing on all the things he can get her. Material items. Which is exactly where he went wrong.

Charlie is the princess of Hell, I'm pretty sure she has no problem buying anything. Lucifer may be able to snap things into existence, but that's not what Charlie wants. It's not what she needs.

Alastor, on the other hand, is observant as fuck. He was with the Hazbin crew for only a week before he pegged Charlie's daddy issues.

It is also very interesting that in this photo Lucifer is in the spotlight with his back turned to Charlie, and Charlie's body language is so hurt and closed off, she's literally on the brink of tears. I'm just saying, I don't think we give Charlie's feelings about her and Lucifer's relationship more credit. We tend to focus more on Lucifer's emotions and that is such a shame because LOOK at her. Charlie is not okay.

Charlie wants connection, support, and community. She wants someone to be proud of her. She wants someone who is reliable and involved.

And Alastor knows that and, when you think about it, he HAS done that.

Look at Charlie's face when he tells her he's happy to "fulfill all her bizarre request."

Requests. Not just poofing items into existence.

We've already seen examples of Alastor being involved with the hotel and doing things that Vaggie and Charlie ask him to do, such as taking the egg bois with him, sitting in on Charlie's exercise's, making a commercial, building a new wall, dealing with clogs--and I imagine he's done a lot more over the 6 months that he's been there.

(Also, not to go off topic but Alastor's back arch oh my god??????)

Look at her face when Alastor say's that she's an "impressive young lady" and that they're all "very proud of her."

He didn't even need to say "I'm proud of her," it was "we're proud of her."

It makes me wonder when the last time Charlie heard those words. Did Lucifer and Lilith ever tell her they were proud of her? I looked through the episode transcripts, and there wasn't a single time Lucifer said "I'm proud of you", even after they rekindled their relationship.

I think it's something Charlie has wanted to hear for a VERY long, and hearing it from Alastor (who's as close to a father figure as she's had, I guess), I can't imagine how much that meant to her.

Also note Charlie's face when Lucifer interrupts them to request he meet her other friends.

Charlie wants emotional connection. She doesn't want Lucifer to come in and fix all her problems, she just needs a little help. She wants his support. She invited him to the hotel so she could show him what she was working on and how much things have improved.

And let's be honest here, Lucifer went to the hotel for purely selfish reasons.

He didn't go to listen to Charlie's pitch or even consider helping with it. He already said no about setting up a meeting with Heaven and he went into the hotel already believing it wouldn't work, with no intention of keeping an open mind.

He missed Charlie and went there only to see her, which isn't altogether bad! He missed his daughter. That's fine. But by all accounts it was a selfish decision that he made purely for himself. It was to benefit him, not her.

And I think, on some level, Charlie expected that.

So when Alastor swoops in saying all the right words, knowing exactly what Charlie wants (because he's been paying attention), knowing that she doesn't need material items but emotional connection, you know, I can't blame her for looking the way she did, and I'm not surprised it sent Lucifer head-first into a whirlpool of insecurity.

Lucifer went wrong by trying to "buy" (for lack of better term) his way back into Charlie's good graces. I don't think he meant for it to come off like that, but the whole basis of his "i'm a better dad than Alastor" argument is "look at all the things I can get for you," "look at all the ways you can benefit from my status" and "we're blood-related."

Whereas Alastor's was "here's all the things I've done to help and support you," "look at the times I've been reliable" and "you've already made a found family here, you don't need a biological one."

I'm sorry, but going by the song? Yeah, Alastor kind of beat Lucifer in the dad category.

Doesn't mean he's an actual, loving, and supportive father figure to Charlie LMAO, but by all accounts, he's checked the boxes.

[elodieunderglass]

had dreams involving your boys. woke just enough to consider sending you very out of context asks as if the dreams were your posts but decided to go back to sleep again instead

one ask was gonna be about Killie making pies for a fair, and the other about Golf But on Horseback. Charlie was there. something about the golf was a pretense but he was also good at it for reals

(The Horse Boys)

Bestie did your subconscious put Charlie in a polo game? That is GALAXY brained of you?

Here are some facts about polo (I don’t really know anything about polo)

Polo is one of the oldest team sports in recorded history!

The first recorded game of polo was 600 BC between the Turkomans and the Persians; the Persians won.

Polo sources claim that horse polo is the ancestor of both golf and (all forms of) hockey, as its recorded history is older than those - and rather than being innovative, they are simply what happens when you remove the horsies. Golf and hockey sources do not acknowledge this. Horseless behavior.

Polo horses are correctly called “polo ponies” but they’re mostly technically horses. This is a horse person linguistic nonsense thing.

The field for playing polo is the largest of all field sports.

Calvary-type nations around Europe, Asia and the Middle East would play polo as a training exercise. The demise of cavalry units in warfare made polo less interesting.

The idea of “polo originating using the severed heads of enemies” is possibly apocryphal, since balls are fairly old technology and a ball is literally just better for sports.

I love how there are a lot of Chinese representations of female polo players, they’re sooo expressive 😭 yes girls!!! It IS like that!!! female Tang Dynasty polo players, source 1 and source 2

Since I know you nerds will ask

according to Tolkien, the hobbit Bandobras Took, who stood 4’5” and could ride a horse, was credited with “inventing the game of golf” after charging goblin ranks and using a club to whack the head off the leader.

Given the visuals and pragmatic realities, etc, he was probably mounted on a horse and struck downwards. Think about it.

so yes, what he probably actually invented was polo.

But you’d have to remove the horses anyway, if nobody else in the area could manage one, which instantly results in golf or hockey.

ANYWAY

A very pretty sport, although I don’t follow it myself. Currently practiced in its “modern” form mostly in Argentina I think?

Only REALLY obscenely wealthy, posh British people play it in the UK, which Charlie isn’t, so you can have fun Inventing a Convoluted Premise

Maybe that’s the Pretense. Charlie can’t actually play polo and is actually a massive imposter, pretending to be a 6-foot Tory English baron, and everyone knows he fucking well isn’t, but he’s doing it anyway

I don’t know why but I agree wholeheartedly with your subconscious that Charlie is running around doing MOUNTED WARFARE while Killie is stressing to death in the tea tent.

AAaaaaAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaah

[pocketshipping]

I think that both scar and mumbo asked both at the same time if they wanna get married and the other hermits are like eating popcorn or doing photos, trying all to hide in a bush :3

And yes, both mumbo and scar deserve to wear the dress. Because fuck gender roles

:D

You, my friend have such a big brain.

I don’t have time to draw this out right now, but I do have ideas for it so I’ll put it in text form first!

It’s really funny you sent this actually, just the other week I was watching a ton of videos of double proposals and almost cried because of how cute they were.

I’m not sure how it would happen exactly but…

Neither one of them get on one knee

This might just be me, but I personally find it really cute when someone proposes standing on the same level as their partner. I think it represents how they’re starting off this relationship on the same level and show that they’re both of equal importance!

Wedding party…

I have to imagine that Grian would have a hard time deciding which wedding party to be in. How is he supposed to choose between his two best friends?

Solution? He TRIES to be in both, but he stresses out Scar and Mumbo so much that they make him pick (after a TON of reassurance that they don’t see this as him picking favourites)

Cub would be Scar’s hermit of honour and Grian would be Mumbo’s, and I love the idea of either Skizz or Bdubs being the officiator. Maybe both!

Dress shopping??

There’s plenty of hermits on the server that have a keen eye for detail, and I believe either Cleo, Bdubs, Pearl, or Joel would be good options for making their dresses.

Cleo has a lot of experience with armour stands and has already made quite a few dresses in the game, and Joel has picked this up too!

I’m not sure if Bdubs or Pearl have done the same, but with how detailed and beautiful their builds are? I believe in their dress abilities.

They make their own venues!

Perks of living on hermitcraft? You can build literally anything want. Maybe the biggest part of wedding planning for someone on hermitcraft is planning what they want their venue to look like, then actually building the thing.

Maybe it’s tradition to combine the building styles of the finances so that the venue is a perfect mix of them!

Weddings on hermitcraft

One word: FUN!!

Maybe they have some of their own traditions (like mentioned above), but I think for the most part, hermitcraft weddings would be incredibly unique. They could be anything!

Want traditional? Okay cool! Want a wedding in a hot air balloon flying over a mountain with a waterfall?? Also cool! The freedom they have can be played with a LOT!

Them… <33

I think Mumbo and Scar would be the least stressed out of everyone involved. They’re just happy to be together and are having a great time planning their day of celebration!

They would both have their moments of weakness, Mumbo feeling anxious and Scar getting caught in his perfectionism - but the great thing about planning it together is that they can rely on each other for support, and they do just that!

I do think the visual of everybody around them being incredibly stressed while they’re just chilling with each other is really funny

[hyenafu]

Hey Hyena, you have years of experience when it comes to making a webcomic. Do you have any tips or advice for someone who has been thinking of starting their own with their original characters? That someone is me.

Though I do have a lot of advice to share, I will preface this by saying that general advice can only take you so far. I'm not familiar with you, your work, or your goals. It feels a bit like trying to tell someone how to play video games well when you don't know what game they're playing. But I'll try to share some practical wisdom that I hope will help folks who are just starting out.

Research: I've been recommending Scott McCloud's "Making Comics" to new creators for years, and I stand by that recommendation. It contains a ton of useful information about how the language of comics works while being a comic itself. McCloud talks about character design, the balance of words and images, pacing, backgrounds, and all sorts of subjects while pulling examples from many different types of comics, including European graphic novels, webcomics, manga, and American newspaper stripes. Whether you're just starting to appreciate comics or you've been making them for a while, I think it's a great source of inspiration.

Planning: I would do some research into how other webcomic artists plan. You're going to find a plethora of answers. Some people are really organized, others fly by the seat of their pants, and there's all sorts of valid approaches somewhere in between.

Slightly Damned is a mix of planning and improv. It's a very slow-moving story, and I've literally changed as a person with the passage of time. I have very clear goals with only a vague idea of how I'm going to get there or how long it's going to take. I just point myself and my characters in the direction I want to go and procedurally generate art and dialog along the way. This way, I'm able to set up story beats that actually (eventually) pay off, while keeping things fresh and interesting enough that I actually want to keep making it.

My usual process involves maintaining an outline in a text document. The advantage of keeping the outline in a digital text document is that I can edit and rearrange things as needed. It's a jumble of notes and snippets of dialog in rough chronological order.

When I need to make more Slightly Damned pages (usually a few weeks in advance), I adapt my notes into sketches of comic pages called thumbnails that I keep in a small notebook. Then the thumbnails are what I base the actual comic pages on when I start penciling them.

A warning against too much planning: Planning only works up to a point. At some point, you just gotta get started and gain some experience.

I think the most common problem people have when planning to make comics is that they're planning too much. It makes sense to want to be prepared, and it makes sense to be afraid of messing up. But there's a lot that you can ONLY learn from putting your art-making tool* to use and seeing where you end up.

(*Just to make sure we're all on the same page here: GenAI is not an art-making tool, it's a plagarism tool. If you rely on it, you'll only be robbing yourself of learning anything or discovering your style.)

For example: do you even like making comics? I feel like you can't really know this unless you've spent some time making them. Comics are excrutiatingly labor intensive and notoriously bad for making money.

If you don't enjoy the work of making comics, I don't think there's any reason to force yourself to make them. There are so many awesome ways to express yourself: visual novels, animatics, prose, video games, modeling, music, cosplay, concept artist, etc. I don't want anyone committing themselves to an art form because they think they have to; I want them to commit themselves to an art form because gosh dang it it's just SO rewarding to do it!

And when you start making stuff, you can look at what you've done and start asking questions about how to do it better next time. You can show the stuff you've done to others, and their reactions can help you find your direction. You can do all sorts of research based on what you think you want, and what you think you can do, only for all of that to be thrown out the window once you get started.

It'll also help you find what you're good at, which is usually whatever you think is the most fun to make.

Practice: Everything gets easier with practice. And I mean everything. If you want to get better at doing something, then you have to actually do it. Suck at drawing elbows? Draw some elbows. Bikes are impossible? Draw some bikes. Wanna write fantasy? Write some fantasy. Wanna write sci fi? Write some sci fi.

Do it bad, do it scared, and it will become easier. I can't guarantee that you'll be able to, say, freehand the skyline of San Francisco with total confidence after trying it a couple times. But you may stop giving a shit about doing it badly, and then the attempt can be fun regardless of the result! Doesn't that sound powerful?

Art is hard, and we can all be hard on ourselves. Try not to overly focus on the results. Practice mindfulness and enjoy the process of making things. Others will be able to see the spark that fuels your creations even if you feel your technical skills aren't exactly where you want them to be.

Putting it online: Don't rely on social media to be around forever. Being online since the 90s, I can tell you that it's been a long process of jumping from one sinking ship to the next. You want people to be able to reliably find you and your work.

I've know people whose layouts were destroyed when tumblr pushed an update. Creators had to scramble to make new sites for their webcomics when SmackJeeves suddenly went under. Who knows when the next billionaire or hedge fund will threaten the livelihoods of thousands for the sake of filling their already-bursting bank accounts?

If you know how to make your own website: look into Wordpress, which has several plug-ins that work with it, such ComicEasel and Toocheke, for making websites specifically for webcomics.

But if you don't know how to make your own website: use ComicFury. I've heard nothing but good things through the grapevine about how good it is and how passionate the owner is about webcomics. I've heard it's very easy to set up and I'm strongly considering making a Slightly Damned mirror on it myself.

What about Webtoon? Well… ymmv, I guess. They definitely have shady business practices and encourage unhealthy, overly demanding amounts of work from their creators. Their rating system was also another point of contention (I think ratings systems encourage a narrow-minded view of art), but they recently got rid of it, I think?

Other problems include limited control over comments section, no ability to flesh out your account with interesting side content for your comic, how much the site pushes people to jump from comic to comic, ads, content restrictions…

I do have friends who use Webtoon with the attitude of "being where the people are". That makes total sense to me. Ultimately, it's a decision you just have to make for yourself based on your values and comfort levels.

If you're a furry, then FurAffinity is a good place for your first archive. You can make (a) folder(s) for your comic, then set up navigation links in the description to help people read comic pages in order.

Places like tumblr and Bluesky are good for sharing stuff regularly, but they make terrible archives. Social media is very much about being "in the moment" and sharing new things regularly. It has its uses, but it's not the best for reading through a comic archive.

I'm not going to pretend that FA is perfect, but it is independently owned and anti-AI, and that's something to celebrate.

===

I feel like I could go on forever, but I hope that's a helpful start. If you or anyone else would like some more specific advice, shoot me a question in my inbox. It can be hard to know what to talk about when giving general advice because there is SO much talk about.

[maleyanderecafe]

Than Winter Came (Visual Novel)

Created by: Yanagami

Genre: Comedy/Dark

Than Winter Came kind of makes no sense at all, but it is also really hilarious and scary at the same time. You also get to play as a bird, which should tell you exactly the type of tone that this game is really going for. The entire time, I thought our main boy MJ was our yandere, but he is in fact actually the darling in this.

The story starts out with you as the player reincarnating as a crow, only to be hired by an abino crow into the Scare Crow Crow Inc. Their job is to essentially be guardian angels for different people, with the clumsy crow (that's you) being guardian angel to someone known as Mavi Sky Jazz (or just, MJ). Before the crow can even do anything or even just barely realizes that their memory has been wiped, they're sent into the real world to find them. They eventually do, with MJ being a bit unsettled that a talking crow is following them around. MJ ends up taking a bus to a snowy area with the crow following him. He talks to the crow about how this is a special place for him, as it's where him and his friend Than became friends. They end up hanging out in a secret place on the mountain, promising that they would always have each other's backs. However, in an unfortunate turn of events, Than got into an accident and died. MJ gets emotional as he thinks about it, wishing Than would come back so that they could hang out again. As it gets late, the two of them get a bit lost, and have to find their way back to the bus.

Going onto the ice will lead the two into a strange creature as they get lost. If they run across the ice, they'll be able to escape and make it back to the bus stop. MJ thanks the crow for going with them as they were able to be with them when they were emotional. If they instead try to tread more carefully, they will end up being caught by the same creature.

A similar fate happens when going to the forest, where they see a trail of blood. Following this will not only lead to a body but also have them caught by the creature.

Finally going down the road will have them arrive in the forest. Continuing down this path, they end up going into a cabin to take shelter in the snow. They end up knocking and a man comes in to accept them in. The man introduces himself as Peter and the two end up retiring for the night. When MJ wakes up, he is tied up, with Peter watching over him. It seems Peter was jealous that MJ always talked about Than so he (likely)killed him, and planned it so that they would end up in his cabin. MJ can then ask about either him or Crow. In certain endings, the game will abruptly end with Peter forcing MJ to stay. He can also attempt to flirt with Peter to loosen the ropes and attack Peter, taking him down once and for all.

Did you understand what this game was about? No? Good, me neither, but I think that's what's great about it. The entire thing is pretty absurdist and surreal considering we're literally a bird the entire time (and the pictures used of said crow is pretty funny), though it does have some more emotional moments surprisingly especially when it comes to MJ's relationship with Than. The music and artwork work together to make a surprisingly atmospheric game, especially when contrasted with the more colder setting that they're in, and the horrifying creatures in some of the bad endings were also something that I feel were genuinely really scary at times.

The yandere himself basically kind of seems to come out of nowhere, and that's when the two eventually venture to the log cabin after they can't find the bus stop. I will say that the assets he did have for sprites were very cool, seeing that Peter gets more deranged as the story goes on. From what I can tell, Peter was the reason (or at least involved with) Than's death and has an obsession with MJ for quite a long time. He also ended up planning everything from the beginning to get MJ and to an extent, the crow into his cabin. Doesn't really explain the really creepy monster at all though, but maybe that's part of his plan as well? The monster really doesn't get explained at all. Peter is pretty obsessive though and kind of easy to trick of MJ shows any interest in him, but I still feel like he was kind of shoehorned in there. Hard to tell with this game because there's just a lot of randomness going on.

Overall, i think while it was a fun game, with the humor and scary moments, it was pretty confusing considering it's pretty surreal. It's a quick game jam game so of course there's no need to make it the best thing ever, but I think there could still be some clarifying points. (I also just noticed that "Than" is in the title name too lol).

[toothtalk]

Next month, I'm getting some cavities filled. I wouldn't care if it didn't mean needles were gonna get shoved into my gums. I'm terrified of needles. Like to the point that I had a panic attack when I thought it was gonna be the same day I found out. Idk if there's any advice anyone can give me about this. They gas me and put orajel on my gums before they stick the needle in, but it doesn't feel like it does anything. Is there anything I could do to make this easier?

hi anon!! this is right in my wheelhouse as someone who also has a severe fear of needles. i’m literally on the national registry of people banned from donating blood/plasma because my panic attacks are so intense. it’s one of those things where different things will work for different people, so i’ll give you a a bunch of ideas of things that have helped both me and patients in my practice, and i’d love to hear ideas from followers too!!

deep breathing. sounds cheesy, but the act of slow, controlled breathing will physically trigger your body to relax. ask your dentist to do the injection as you’re exhaling, as this is when your body is at its most relaxed state. the more relaxed you are, the less painful the injection is. this is how i usually get through any shots i need!!

have someone, whether it’s someone who comes to the appointment with you or the dental assistant, hold your hand or rub your shoulder. having a tactile anchor gives you something else to focus on and will help ground you.

headphones are also a great tool! play something that brings you comfort at the highest volume you can tolerate. when i had my root canal, i listened to the mamma mia soundtrack, and i barely even cried!

some people prefer to have their provider move slowly and explain each step of what they’re doing, while others prefer to have them just shut up and get it done quickly. i’m in the latter camp, personally. communicate to your dentist which is more helpful for you, and as long as you’re respectful about it, they should be happy to oblige!

this is more of a long term suggestion, but practicing radical acceptance has changed my life. it’s been part of my therapy work for some time now, and it’s really difficult at first, but it can really make a difference. essentially, you have to accept that the shot (or whatever other unpleasant event) is going to suck, and you are going to hate it, but it will only last a few minutes at most and you will get through it. practicing this has actually reduced my anticipatory anxiety a TON, because i know i don’t have to put on a happy face or pretend it’s going to be fine. i can feel my feelings, i can cry, whatever feels right in the moment. the important thing is reminding myself that it’s a temporary discomfort that i will survive. this usually involves explaining to the doctor “i’m going to cry when you do this, just ignore it and do your job, i will get through it.”

however, do make sure you’re staying still. a moving target will make it more difficult for the dentist to get the injection in the right spot, which will probably make your experience that much more unpleasant. this goes hand in hand with the deep breathing; that should help keep you still enough that the dentist can hit the target the first time.

this one may sound silly, but i’ve found that if i close my eyes, i can sometimes imagine that i’m not getting a shot at all. when i feel the pinch of the needle, sometimes i ask myself in my mind “oh, what’s that? that’s a strange sensation! it could be anything!” and essentially keep that mental chatter going for the thirty seconds or so that it takes for them to finish the injection. a lot of times it’s the visual that’s more terrifying than the actual pain of the shot, and it can be more of a mind game than anything to try to stop that panic from building.

try to remind yourself that you’re not the only person that has this fear, and that your dentist has probably seen plenty of people who are scared of the numbing shot. there’s nothing to feel embarrassed or ashamed about. in fact, you’re being super brave for getting your fillings done even though it’s scary!! know that not only i, but the entire community we have here on toothtalk, are so proud of you!!!

i hope one or more of these ideas is helpful to you, and please let me know how it goes for you!! and remember, if your fear starts to stop you from getting your dental work done altogether, there are options such as sedation dentistry that exist for that exact reason. my practice offers sedation and we have a ton of incredibly anxious patients who absolutely love it; some people even drive from up to 4 hours away to get their work done under sedation!!! the most important thing is to find what works for you, and what enables you to care for yourself effectively. you are awesome and YOU GOT THIS!!!!!

LEGAL DISCLAIMER: This blog is for educational and informational purposes only. This does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. Information on this blog should NOT be used for diagnostics or treating a health problem. Always seek the advice of your doctor or other qualified dental health provider regarding diagnosis and treatment of a dental condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this blog.

[shutupineedtothink]

AAA final thoughts + praise 🙌🏼

Ok now that I’ve had a few days to sit with the finale and let go of my preconceived ideas of what it should be, yeah it really was brilliant. I still don’t Iove ghost Agatha, but I get it. And now I’m really pulling for Wanda to come back so that she can bring Agatha back (this happens in the comics apparently) and we can do a MCU witch movie. Sign Jac Schaeffer IMMEDIATELY, Feige. Lock her down, we all want more of this shit.

As to where the show ranks overall in the MCU, I feel like at this point it has to be #1. Even above WandaVision, and certainly above Loki, as much as I love both of them. This show just does… more. Like I can’t believe how much they packed into these 9 episodes. This is what… a true six hander? Six fully defined characters with fully developed arcs and satisfying journeys? With the possible exception of Agatha and Billy’s journey not being over yet, which doesn’t take away from their arcs and development along the show. (Again, had to let go of my own theories there.) WandaVision at most had 3… Wanda, Vision, and Monica, and I don’t feel like Vision had much of an arc tbh.

And then all the little witchy horror movie references throughout, the incredible seeding of the Billy’s Road reveal, building up and breaking down the coven, Agatha’s incredible complexity as a character and not being able to neatly put her in any category, hero, villain, anti-hero, whatever. You really can’t pin her down and I don’t think I’ve seen that in the MCU ever. I guess the last character like that was sort of Loki, but he had more of a true redemption arc. Agatha just… exists in the gray at all times. You just never know what she’s gonna do. And it’s amazing.

Then there’s the Ballad and truly weaving that throughout the whole show in such a way that it’s instrumental (pun intended) to the plot… who does that? Plus the amazing score that feels just as present throughout. The only comp I can kind of make is Clara’s theme in DW, but the Ballad is way more intentional throughout.

I can’t possibly go into it all but the sheer amount of setup and pay off is incredible. And yet we leave with more mysteries to solve and more questions to ask, which is also incredible!

Not to mention the production design, the practical effects, costumes, makeup — every visual was stunning.

And I’m not even going to get into AgathaRio (and Nicky) and all the tragic complexity there. I get wanting a happy ending but… also what ever made you think this would be as simple as a happy ending? They are a. Capital S. STORY. They’re practically mythological. Who cares about happily ever after when you can have Epic, Fated, Complex Romance that literally transcends this Earth. Like what more do you want?? That is the top echelon of epic romance. Disconnect the “happy ever after” = “good romance” link in your brain, you know? Judge by complexity and emotionality and dynamic range rather than something as simple and boring as do they end up together or not. They’re so wildly interesting and I’m so glad we could get more of them in the future. (Ok I did get into it oops)

And the humor?? I don’t think I even need to say anything. But what comedic excellence from everyone across the board, with Kathryn Hahn leading the charge of course. And to balance that with the drama without undercutting either of them is not easy, but they all did it flawlessly.

I could go on and on but I just hope this show, and Jac, and Kathryn, and everyone involved gets their flowers for this work of art. There’s just so much love and care and intentionality here. It really feels like a standout not just in the MCU but in contemporary TV in general. Easily my top show of 2024, it’s not even a contest. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[smplive-bingo]

SMPLive 5th Anniversary Bingo ❤️

This is an event for fanartists of all forms (visual, writing, etc) to celebrate SMPLive's fifth anniversary!

The event will run from March 1-31, 2024. The goal is to complete at least one bingo, but you are not required to finish - just do whatever you feel you can and have fun, and you can also do more if you want!

The tag is #smplive5thbingo! There's also a collection on AO3 that you can post your works to here. The event doesn't have a dedicated Discord, but you can join the SMPLive Watch Party server and we have a channel for the event there!

How to play:

All forms of creative fannish content count as a work submission - whether that be fanfiction, fanart, moodboards, playlists, reclists, web weavings, meta, poetry, podfic, crafts, or whatever else.

Sign-ups are not needed, you can simply pick up and play at any time during March!

For fics, a work submission must meet a minimum of 300 words.

A bingo may be achieved horizontally, vertically, diagonally, or by filling all four corners and the free space.

The free space is not required to be filled. It does still require a submission to be filled, but the submission can be about anything so long as it abides by the content rules.

For the more general prompts, you can interpret your prompt as literally or figuratively as you'd like!

Each submission should be posted as a separate work - this is more applicable to posting on AO3 than on Tumblr.

You are not required to make a masterpost, so long as you post your works in the tag or tag the blog in them!

All submissions must be new - past works cannot be used for the challenge.

Content rules:

Submitted works must be SFW, specifically meaning no sexually explicit content.

RPF is not permitted - works must be based in the SMPLive server or its spinoffs.

The following members cannot be featured beyond passing mentions: CallMeCarson, Arlus Finch, Twomad, SkyDoesMinecraft, VoiceOverPete

Shipping content is allowed, with no real restrictions beyond "don't involve people who were kids during SMPLive".

Violence is allowed, extreme gore is prohibited.

If you have any other questions, shoot an ask to the blog!

[orvdiscrepancies]

Discrepancy #45

Dokja is ruder and Myungoh is more pretentious in the webtoon. This is shown both in how they speak to each other, and the visual cues that we are given in the webtoon.

In the novel, he waits for Myungoh to finish speaking, and even when he does speak, it’s not overly impolite in my opinion. It’s a little petty, but not too harsh. Myungoh is also less pretentious. Like yeah he’s a jerk, but he’s giving Dokja a chance to respond to him too.

[ORV Novel, Chapter 8. Again, sorry for the page break]

I also like the paragraph where he defines their relationship as a predator and prey relationship. No reason. I just like it :)

Meanwhile, in the webtoon, Dokja cuts Myungoh off. To be fair, Myungoh didn’t even give him a chance to respond either.

[ORV Webtoon, Episode 8]

Some visual cues to point out are Dokja’s speech bubble being on top of Myungoh’s and Dokja and Sangah’s facial expressions.

Obviously, we can tell that Dokja cuts him off by just the text, but by putting his speech bubble over Myungoh’s is give the impression that what Myungoh is saying is less important to Dokja than literally anything else.

Dokja also just physically looks so done with Myungoh. Sangah looks embarrassed honestly. Or like deadpanned. Idk I can’t read facial expressions well.

Also Myungoh and Dokja’s language. Myungoh openly calls him a brat where before he didn’t call him names. He also calls Dokja a rookie but I don’t think he is?? I can’t remember if it was ever said how long he’s worked at Minosoft. Either way, it just adds to Myungoh’s idea that Dokja is much less than him. Not just inferior, but also more immature and less experienced.

Meanwhile, Dokja asks if he should have let the punk (Kim Namwoon) hit Myungoh. In the novel, he just asks if Myungoh got hit.

Oh OP what’s the difference? It’s just a translation error-

No because it has different implications.

In the novel, when he’s asking if Myungoh got hit by Namwoon, he’s asking it like Myungoh should obviously understand what’s going on. Like “bitch didn’t you get involved? You still can’t see what’s going on??”

In the webtoon, he asks if he should have let Namwoon hit him. That completely changes the meaning. It implies that the only reason Myungoh didn’t get hit by Namwoon was because Dokja saved him. It implies that, even over this small thing, Dokja had the power to let Namwoon hit Myungoh and he didn’t.

Idk if that makes sense but it makes sense in my head.

[restricted-on-13th]

Kaishin but it's The Bachelor

Be warned: this is a long post

I'll make at least 3 follow-up post for this, one for all the scenes I lost (ohmyfricking, my ice skating scene, ferrish whell confession, amusement park date, meteor shower escapade, night dances and my tango dance which is half of the masquerade, the outsider povs too sooooobbb) and the other two for Shinichi as the Bachelor instead or a mix of the two

Now for those who don't know what The Bachelor is, it's a dating reality show where at least 30 candidates are given chances to go on a date with the Bachelor (the person they are actively courting) This has rounds where each contestant is given roses by the Bachelor, signifying they are staying on the show, or aren't given any which means they are disqualified. There are events and dates in this show too along with activities where sometimes, the candidates or the Bachelor can choose the venue or site. Click this link to understand more, you can watch videos to get a handle on it too. I only watched some of the Asian spin offs of this show so it might be a bit different for me. (I might also have some original setting that might be different from how the reality show worked)

My setting includes:

-A walk-in wardrobe for the contestants (includes already styled outfits for the whole look, this is a life saver to Shinichi as a candidate who walked out and immediately got dissed on his clothing by the other candidates, the staff and the viewers (later when the episode was aired) he was sent back inside the wardrobe and chose the clothes off a mannequin instead even though it wasn't a feature of the show to take the whole outfit but it was later added due to Shinichi, he also met a candidate called Mimeko who is a seamstress who he asks for help too, she also joined the fun in dressing up Shinichi)

-A viewer voting polls for the dates and contestants (explainable, have fun ;) )

-Introductory video that is shown in the episodes, the bachelor and the candidates each have one (I don't remember if this is part of the actual show but im adding this for original setting if it isnt, this can go 2 ways: each of the candidates videos would be while they are introduce in episode one, meaning everyone will see in the show, or it can also be only shown to the bachelor, the viewers and the staff instead without showing anything to the candidates, only having watch their own and the bachelor's introductory video instead)

30 girls/guys or mixed cause we're being inclusive- The Bachelor staff in this au, post-conan timeline and far off into the future. Shinichi is working as a consultant and private detective, he's also known as a closed off famous detective that managed to take down an organization (BO) at the age of 19 going on 20, he's also been credited to working with multiple international law enforcement notably with the FBI, closing multiple unsolved and dangerous cases that involves high profile criminals. He doesn't have social media (to the loss of his fans) but is regularly covered by the media, leading him to have a large media presence as a detective (very professional, bro does not share life details or preferences easily, fans commonly and constantly bemoan the fact that the man is married to his work). He grew up from a haughty teenage detective meddling in crime scenes to the now beloved Ice Prince of the media, having visuals passed down from his mom that make you think he's an idol/model or enough to make you bent (while not as large as his female fans, he does have a sizable male fans). He also is biologically younger, it being one of the lingering effects from APTX as the poison literally destroys his cells and fats to turn him into a kid (seriously, how does bro survive that?), I always headcannon that Shinichi, after taking the antidote, would suffer from side effects for a while. In this au, he survived largely unscathed, only with a decreased immune system after taking the antidote and looking younger than all of his peers as he got turned back to the age he took the poison, so teenage body, when he's supposed to be 19-20. With also taking a hit on his immune system, his growth also got stunted meaning that after recovering his strength, health and immune system for like a year, he's much more smaller than Adult Kaito here in the show.

He's now 27 and after surviving attempts on his life, bless his heart, Shinichi is sent off to The Bachelor without his consent.

Sonoko, Ran and Yukiko planning in background, days pass, shoves a contract to the reality show to Shinichi's face with his signature forged already

Cue multiple near begging, near bribing, and near escape from Shinichi

The girls reason would be after a multiple failures in matchmaking, setting dates and introducing Shinichi to just about anyone (either he attracts murderers, creeps, stalkers or he just ends up befriending the person they introduced to him, its mostly the females that he befriends though, all the women he met and befriended has a tacit understanding of Shinichi being too much like kicked puppy that they can’t help pity the guy when it's so obvious he's not into it but still respects them, his friends goodwill and his mother's desire for grandkids, it also doesn't help that he's like a girl friend, understanding girl talks, shopping, being a dork that's so earnest even when he sucks ag giving fashion advice to his GirlFriends and the adorable mothering he does for the shounen tanteidan, some even privately think that damn this guy is a better girl than me or suspects he's gay due to remaining single for long and the SIGNS)

He is ;) he just doesn't know it yet

They're getting desperate here and it doesnt help that Shinichi is too much of a taciturn ass in dating, having little to no love life or worse, a disaster in his love life (Shinichi's love life is NOTORIOUS, not only in divisions one but in all law enforcements he works with, it also doesn't help that he gets psychos, yanderes and criminals as his partners and when they inevitably get possessive, pissy and angry at either Shinichi or people close to him, resulting to threats that are almost often publicly stated,

Cue the media storm and coverage cause man's love life is publicly known as a disaster

yes, there have been multiple memes about Shinichi's love life, Shinichi is unaware of the memes)

Sonoko: That detective geek can't possibly seduce my Kaito-sama! (She wants Shinichi to introduce Kaito to her and they'll have their wonderful love story UwU)

Ran being the good big sister: Shinichi needs someone by his side (preferably, not murderous)

Yukiko: Shin-channnnn, you need a girlfriend! Or a boyfriend or you'll end up single past your prime! I need to see my grandchildren soon! (Also low-key worried that Shinichi is going to be eternal single and she doesn't want him to be lonely)

Now this could go in a number of ways, Shinichi as The Bachelor or Shinichi as a candidate for The Bachelor (Kuroba Kaito, up and coming Magician who has won multiple international awards due to his Magic shows)

I need you to check Exhibit A and B to get what I mean regarding ELO and Non-ELO, its below 'As a Candidate'

Kaito, after hanging up the metaphorical cape on the mantle (He and Conan had a goodbye meet where Conan is soon going to leave so he can live his original life where they chat and talk all night long, both enjoying their limited time together, Kaito knows Conan is a teenage detective and has a crush on his Meitantei, he couldn't deny it anymore especially after finding out what happened to the other but he won't act on it while the other is pint sized so he just enjoys their time together, but in ELO, even though he already had pretty much all the clues, he respected Conan's privacy and didn't try to find out his real identity but in non-ELO, Kaito did snoop and found Kudo Shinichi though he didn't act on his crush as he knew the other still had Ran and needed time to get his life together) He comes back to Japan from Paris, having received an internationally acclaimed award in stage magic, is either in this reality show due to his Mom (Yukiko and Chikage setting their sons up together where Chikage actually spills this to Kaito, where him being his devious cunning self in Non-ELO, after having found out that all these years, Ran and Shinichi didn't get together and actually settled into a familial friendship instead, being presented the opportunity to snatch his Meitantei, takes it) or for his work (like connections wanting to support him so they gave him the opportunity to be in this show which Kaito agreed to due to being amused and curious and doing it just for formality's sake)

(Introductory video- I'll add it later as I have to rewrite it again along with at least 8 scenes that got deleted too :( )

As a Candidate:

Shinichi as a candidate is just Shinichi, he won't hate on the mysterious bachelor but that doesn't mean he's not grumpy :)

Shinichi also doesn't recognize Kuroba is Kid while Kid can either recognize Shinichi immediately or doesnt recognize him

When the bachelor (Kuroba) is first introduce, Shinichi just writes him off, preferring to brood and be annoyed, thinking escape plan after escape plans. He can't just run off without a proper excuse though, due to the contract that says he need to stay for the whole duration of the show until he's disqualified, he shivers to think of himself as a candidate in this awful reality show, and also because Yukiko called up her connections (the Producer Director of the show) to "pretty please make Shin-chan stay there, I just want my baby to get laid" which is just a thinly veiled command of "don't let him escape, I. Want. Those. Grandchildren." So he reigns himself to going along with it for now, ie going on those dates.

Exhibit A: Shinichi bonds with The Bachelor, Kuroba (he can know or not know about Shinichi being Meitantei) and becomes his shield for Begone Thots after Kaito (Shinichi can know about this or doesnt know, Kaito might also be purposely doing this cause you know, this might all be Kaito courting Shinichi hehehe, or Kaito doesn't recognise Shinichi and just outright thinks it would be funny and he wants to at least have someone on his side to use as a metaphorical human shield) shares his fake love life, drawing pity from Shinichi (staging many opportunities where Shinichi actively engaged in dates to help Kaito due to feeling sorry for the man and a kindred spirit to which Kaito knowing who he is, would gladly take it, or Kaito not knowing who he is, would slowly fall in love with him)

Exhibit B: Shinichi actively antagonises Kuroba to "get the hell out of this reality show quickly by being disqualified by the angry Bachelor" (Kaito can know about Shinichi, to which he's lovingly infuriated with Shinichi and want to either smack or kiss him, or to Kaito not knowing about Shinichi therefore is angry back until Shinichi also starts to dislike the guy, now this can go into the Enemies to Lovers Trope :) imagine the reactions of the viewers at the end of the reality show, Im calling it Eemies to Lovers Offshoot or ELO for short)

I can see Shinichi calling Takagi in the middle of the show, begging (bribing, blackmailing) to deliver case files to him. He'd be a candidate in this offshoot, with the candidate's phones being confiscated so he staged a little heist to steal a phone, mostly because it was written in the contract for Shinichi so yes, its targeted ;)

cause Shinichi, you don't need your files and work while on a reality show, you workaholic tehee~♡ -Yukiko)

3 outcomes possible you can combine ;)

The deed was caught in camera only due to Kaito suspecting Shinichi doing something and what do ya know, Heisei Holmes performs a heist (they dont recognise each other offshoot, ELO route)

The deed caught in camera only due to Kaito amusingly following Shinichi (he knows Shinichi as meitantei but Shinichi doesnt know him as Kid)

It wasn't explicitly caught in camera and only became known when at a later episode of the Bachelor, Takagi came with the case files, leading the staff currently at that time finding out about the little heist. Of course, the production staff reviewed their videos and recordings and was able to find small snippets of Shinichi's planning, lending an amused, indignant, and speechless air to everyone inside the viewing room. (Later episode that aired where Takagi arrived with the files involved a small snapshots of clips of Shinichi planning and a small clip of Shinichi walking down the hallway for a staff only room and a bathroom, confidently while sneakily striding and leaving the hallway with a skip in his steps and a small smile, there was an explanatory text that rolled up in the screen after this explaining how the staff found out about the Little heist the famous Heisei Holmes did, after this is a clip of a confrontation by the Producer Director to Shinichi with the director just asking which phone he used to contact Takagi-keibu and Shinichi just gives a smug smirk as he sharply glances back at the PD pointedly) (this can be ELO or not-ELO route)

There would also be a scene in the middle of the date where Shinichi goes along (or snarkily if its the enemies to lovers trope/ ELO) with Kuroba and he excuses himself to the bathroom, going inside the stall to immediately try to escape.

Cue Kaito waiting outside thinking why the hell is his date taking so long inside the bathroom (grumingly in enemies to lovers or ELO route, or amusingly if Kaito knows Shinichi and he just cracks jokes about how this is like being on a date with a girl then drawing references of Shinichi being the girl then Shinichi having wifey vibes just without the ability to cook elaborate recipes, yes, shinichi can cook basic meals in this au, nowwwwwww with this statement about Shinichi not being able to cook elaborate meals? Shinich fans zoom on this, why? Cause this little tidbit of fact isn't a widely known fact except for the Very Dedicated Old fans of Shinichi cause man is tightlipped about his private life. Most surface level fans just assume he can cook and with most defaulting that since he's mister perfect then he's able to cook like 5 star chef but nooooo, thats not it. The statement of about Shinichi not being able to make elaborate recipes cements to the oldies in the Lovers of One-Truth club, oldest Shinichi stan fanclub, that Kuroba might potentially or actually be a Shinichi stan. Viewers and fans start a whole commentary and discussion about this theory on twitter)

Shinichi comes out of the bathroom with a glum face (right after escaping through a bathroom window, running from the PD who while walking around the place, bought a milktea while at work and was enjoying the view, was caught slacking by Shinichi who they found was unexpectedly escaping through the window *spider man meme pointing at each other* , running and dogding the hordes of staff the PD called to catch him, the PD gets called back to work, until he gets tackled by one and gets put through the most intense retouching of makeup and clothing in under 1 minute by a terrifyingly capable makeup artist and fashion coordinator)

Shinichi stepping sleepily into the living room while the candidates lounge around Kaito in the late morning (buttering him up, acting coy with him or just having a nice conversation while Kaito there is being a charming gentleman) Kaito then cheerily says "Kudo-kun, good morning!" as Shinichi just coldly steps aside him ignoring him or more like not computing anything then makes a beeline for the kitchen, hovering right in front of the coffee machine and making eyes with it (homoerotic, terrifying and intense)

The atmosphere in the living room just drops after that cold shoulder, silence pervading as the camera rolls and records it.

Now 3 outcomes yet again hahahaha:

Kaito takes offense to his cold shoulder (unintentional) and it both further angers him with Shinichi thus giving more fuel to the ELO trope where the morning scene is then repeated in later episodes of the Bachelor, it's only Kaito and Shinichi in the living room where Kaito soon takes notice that Shinichi didn't mean to offend him and just isn't really a morning person

Kaito takes offense to this and Shinichi, playing into this misunderstanding to get disqualified early, doesn't clear it up and this also plays to ELO

Kaito is amused by this as he knows Shinichi, even in his Conan days, takes time to compute and understand the living world in the mornings and that coffee is his life blood (non-ELO)

Before I forget, Why is Shinichi not outright getting disqualified? There are 2 reasons I made up for it, you can choose:

One- I'm using one of my original setting here, instead of that setting only affecting dates and which candidate gets to participate in date chances, I'm adding a feature where it also affects who gets to stay in the show via the giewers voting the candidate they want to stay. Shinichi is constantly getting voted by his fanclub (for the sake of getting Shinichi a normal lover, wink wink), the internet trolls (in ELO route, it's funny cause Kaito clearly dislikes him or in non-ELO route, it's funny cause Shinichi clearly wants to get disqualified) and his friends, colleagues and family (The police force, the FBI, you can throw in the Interpol there, basically all of the law enforcement he worked with, since he also worked on cases internationally, you bet that's a lot and that's still not counting his family and friends where you can also bet that Sonoko would absolutely throw some cash to get people to vote Shinichi, she's not really doing it of course but she will, if given the chance, maybe half for Shinichi's sake but also half for Shinichi to suffer)

This would basically be that one idol in a Chinese idol show, here's for more details. (Yes, I am laughing my ass off right now)

Two: You can ignore number one as this reason is actually logical and very simple, Kaito doesn't vote Shinichi off

In ELO route, he doesn't disqualify Shinichi as he already dislikes the guy and he's only here for formality's sake so he's using Shinichi as an unofficial meat shield (Shinichi is not aware of this) from the other candidates (not that it works much)

In non-ELO route, it's because he wants Shinichi (duh) so he wouldn't want to get him disqualified but if he doesn't recognise Shinichi, same in the ELO route, he uses him as a meat shield though much more official where Shinichi actively tries to spend time with Kaito and get him to enjoy their 'hangouts' and also decidedly a lot less more grumbling as their introduction here didn't sour relations yet (if it's intentionally in Kaito's part in notifying Shinichi about his status as a meat shield to ask for help to get him away from the other candidates so he can spend more time with Shinichi, well, you choose :) )

Now extra scenes:

Boat date

-An event where each candidate would take a 30 minute date on a boat in a lake, the candidates found out about Kaito's Ichthyophobia, only Shinichi took it seriously and didn't laugh or found it funny and where he actively tried to get Kaito to enjoy the date, even in ELO route though a lot more unenthusiastic in making it enjoyable. Kaito later takes note of how Shinichi acted about the reveal, either thankful or thinking that the guy ain't so bad afterall. Kaito's fans, some of Shinichi's fanclub and the viewers also took notice of Shinichi's act and it started a very small subset of Kaishin shippers.

There would also be a few candidates who never actually took the phobia seriously or worse, think they can fix it. They would take their date chances and order food with fishes or actively go to a place with fishes and do those activities. Kaito would either try to endure, frankly say he doesn't like it, or storm out if he can't handle it anymore. Shinichi would later find Kaito in the dorms crying about it where he'd frankly tell him that "People who don't understand his phobia who actively make fun of it or expose him to it isn't worth giving his time for. People who do try to understand it are the ones worth considering and keeping around. "(Wow Shinichi are you advertising yourself? But seriously, even in ELO route, I can see Shinichi comforting Kaito about his phobia. Dislike or not, he'd tell him his opinion frankly and bluntly. He'd offer a shoulder to cry on or for someone to lean on but he'd still say his piece in the most firm gentle voice yet blunt manner of speaking.) Shinichi would then tactlessly blurt out "And hey, if someone wants to kill you, they just need to trap you in a room full of it". This startles a laugh from Kaito as Shinichi sheepishly scratches his head, face a bit flushed from embarrasment as Kaito says "Your head is just full of murder cases, huh? Kudo-kun" (This wouldnt be caught by a camera, this would be Kaito's own private moment, not shared with any of the public)

Garden picnic date alongside a lake

-It's an outside date where all of the candidate are participating, there are candidates who approached kaito during the date but there are also some who enjoyed the view. (Kaito later approached them instead) He entertained and did some magic for them. Shinichi had already split off from the group early on and found an isolated place near the lake under a tree where he read a book, there's only one cameraman who came with him, this can go into the ELO route where Kaito found Shinichi tried to at least be civil but Kaito, knowing from prior experience how rude the other can be, retorted rudely. This would go into a fight (verbally, I think they won't trade blows at least) where Shinichi would end up (accidentally) pushed into the lake. Shinichi would storm out of the garden in wet clothes, flushed with anger in Kaito, where Kaito would be frustrated, angry and slightly apologetic (he'd also take note that the other looks fine in wet clothes, the white polo didn't help) There would also be backlash to Kaito from Shinichi's fanclub and some of the viewers, where some would actively hate Kaito or viewers now disapproving of the magician. This would actively make Kaito think unfavorably on Shinichi, now actively wanting to disqualify him for it but knows he can't cause it would be a media storm. Now considering that there's a viewer poll setting in this au, there would be people banking on Shinichi getting disqualified or Shinichi's fans not voting him for dates. This works as Shinichi wasn't chosen for the dates after this but of course, Shinichi doesn't get disqualified (unfortunately, for Kaito and Shinichi) this also gave rise to the internet trolls who voted Shinichi for dates instead (this also worked after the unvoting fiasco, leading to dates where Kaito and Shinichi is staring with each other in silence until someone inevitably breaks it)

This can also go into the non-ELO route where Kaito instead found Shinichi, where they actively engaged in a conversation without being rude to each other, enjoying the conversation until Shinichi, still a bit sleep deprived from the early leave in the morning to get on time on the scene for the garden setting, dozes off against the tree (kaito is staring and you can't blame him, for someone like Shinichi who often makes cold expressions (often not intenionally, he's just thinking or deducing) or sometimes sneering, its fascinating to see him asleep, face's now set in soft lines. Now if you want it more cliche, Shinichi grumbles and squirms until he finally found the comfortable position, only this position is leaning against Kaito with his head on his shoulder's. (Kaito is screaming inside from how cute and adorable Shinichi is in his sleep)

Pool date

-Shinichi thanks his lucky stars that he doesn't have to take an outfit from a mannequin or coordinate an outfit (often asking his fellow candidates for help to avoid getting criticised) he just grabs a hoodie and swim trunks, taking a book with him and sunglasses. (Going to the pool to read a book.....) Kaito would get accosted by the candidates in the pool while Shinichi is just in the shade (reclining chair, juice in hand, lemon tea, not too sweet with ice and a straw) with a few candidates who prefer to not get wet or doesn't know how to swim. (In ELO route, Kaito would scoff at Shinichi and think how haughty he is, just like any detective he met except tantei-kun)

Shinichi would actually get to bond here with one of the candidates who can't swim (a timid shorter girl who is a seamstress with dark brown hair and wide brown eyes that seemed to dislike him) she initially thought Shinichi was a rude and haughty person (shes a Kaito Kuroba fan) but after getting to know him, she starts to see that he's a pretty nice guy. Shinichi, after talking with her, takes it upon himself to at least help her and teach her how to swim. He gets up from his spot as they both walk to a corner of the pool (the kiddies part or the shallow part) where Shinichi taught her how to swim and float, the very basics to which Kaito interferes in the lesson.

In ELO route, Kaito would interfere in slight disdain that Shinichi might be trying to woo a girl while in a reality show where it's Kaito who is supposed to be courted (wow possessive much?) but found out when he stayed there for a bit while Shinichi was teaching, he stared at Shinichi while Shinichi was getting unerved but resolved to ignore the stare as much as he can. The girl (Im naming her Mimeko) being taught just being 'Don't mind me, you can oggle him Sir as much as you want, thank you very much, he's all yours.' (she's also a Kuroba Kaito fan, she's also a closeted fujoshi while she's just discreetly watching) that he was just being helpful. Kaito gets curious then and stays there for a bit while he also joins in teaching Mimeko-chan about swimming. He thinks that Shinichi is also pretty cool (and sexy, especially when he moves that sunglasses of his head while in the pool, all wet from swimming as he smirks. And never forget adorable, when he beams and smiles when the girl gets the technique he showed right)

In the non-ELO route, Kaito gets jealous of the girl being taught by Shinichi. He subtly signaled to Mimeko-chan that 'he's mine' by volunteering himself to be used as example in swimming or Shinichi is showing an example of it (like kicking his legs while doing the strokes where he asked kaito to hold him while he demonstrated it, Kaito doors as he's told but does it more suggestively, holding his hips instead of his waist while glaring at the girl. Suffice enough she gets the message and also mouthed "need help?" (she's having the time of her life helping her idol and these are two hot men, who wouldnt?) Kaito looks at her and was about to jerk his head in agreement when Shinichi comes up for air and looks back to the girl saying "That's how you do it, did you get it?" Mimeko hastily nods as Kaito smiles innocently at Shinichi, suffice to say that Mimeko did not get Kaito's examples of swimming and only got it right when Shinichi does it (Kaito got a hold on a lot of places that day, mostly Shinichi's waist, hips and chest, ELO route be missing out here)

The Infamous Sherlock Holmes vs Arsène Lupin Fight (almost exclusively for ELO route)

-One fine late morning (cause Shinichi ain't functioning at early morning) Shinichi and Kaito butt heads about the discussion on which is better, Sherlock or Lupin? (This scene would be earlier than most I've written here as I didn't actually write the scenes in chronological order, just when they came in my mind) Shinichi would be trying to find something he can use to make Kaito displeased with him and finding out about him liking Lupin was a good start in getting disqualified. He started the conversation regarding Lupin then said he doesn't like Lupin. Kaito then would ask him what he likes then Shinichi would reply "Sherlock Holmes, of course" then give a throw away comment that Sherlock could capture Lupin and that Lupin is just a thief, he doesn't get the allure of the criminal. (Shinichi just wanted Kaito to dislike him, he was not prepared for what comes next) Kaito takes offense and says "All you detective's are the same! Lupin is a gentleman thief, he can outwit your Sherlock!" Then Shinichi takes offense then starts the fight between two Sherlock Holmes fan and Arsène Lupin fan, from a civil discussion to a verbal dogfight until inevitably Kaito insults Shinichi as a detective and Shinichi insults Kaito as a magician. This is the start of the ELO route. (If you wannt to include this in a non-ELO route then both would still come away from this with Kaito being slightly infuriated and want to kiss him senseless to shut him up, with Shinichi being annoyed with Kaito)

[milkywaydrabbles]

Meeting the Haitani brothers in their clubs

A/N: literally no one asked for this but I am a firm believer the Haitani brothers are raveheads. Rindou is for sure a wook, while Ran stays in his progressive house lane. I could literally talk about them and their music taste for hours, writing a dissertation as we speak.

Haitani Rindou Artists inspo: ATLiens, Svdden Death, Rezz

⁍When you first met Rindou you were at one of his smaller clubs. Definitely an edm club, one that he owned for fun and not to push drugs or be a cover for any other illegal activity. He knew it was a silly club but it's one he often visited for the fun of it if he wasn't doing business. That's when he was his most casual. ⁍He was by the bar area, leaning by the rails of the elevated section and looking out to the sea of ravers. That's when he saw you. Across the masses, you were on one of the pillars that has some footing (not its intended purpose but you know what it worked). It let you be above the crowd for some air, really taking in the lights and visuals of the artist performing.  ⁍He’s seen it done before, not a new concept, so he let it be. Though his eyes lingered for a beat longer than normal of any other girls that frequented his club. For one, he hadn’t seen you before, a newcomer he assumed. But you were so comfortable in the scene it must have not been your first rave. Second, your attire might have matched his aesthetic in terms of rave gear than anyone else. All black, showing skin in a tasteful way, but paired with spikes and chains. Hot.  ⁍He watched you every now and again throughout the night, but not acting on anything. And then he saw you next weekend. And the weekend after that. And each time, no matter the artist, your aesthetic regularly stayed the same save for a jersey or pashmina that matched the artist. Each time you were heavily involved. Either fanning the crowd to give some air, trading kandi, hell even turning up in the pit.  ⁍The third time he saw you Rindou decided to say something. He got there early enough before the crowd started to form. You turned to him with a bright smile, and he thought just for a second you were too pure to be here.  ⁍You got to talking before it got too loud, and he learned you were new to the city, and you just found this club. He asked you your opinion, almost anxious on what you thought of his club. When you gushed over how amazing it was, he almost preened. ⁍Rindou wasn’t much of a smooth talker, didn’t really continue much conversation from there but he lingered, dancing and headbanging with you to each of the performers. You gave him a piece of kandi for the great night and wished him a safe trip home. ⁍He spoke to you again the weekend after that, and ultimately decided to just man up and ask for your number. You gladly gave it to him. Your hangouts eventually made it out of the club, now turning into breakfast dates, lunch dates, park dates.  ⁍Rindou over time confided in you, telling you that the club you frequented was his, and your eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He laughed in your face, immediately apologizing but it was too funny not to.  ⁍The two of you continued to see each other in and out of the rave scene, promise of this new found relationship blooming into something more.

Haitani Ran Artist inspo: Slushii, Dabin, Elephante

⊛Like his brother, Ran owns an edm club too, though a much different vibe. You were a bottle service girl at his club, and a diligent one at that. You’ve jumped in to help on nights you weren’t supposed to work, and even took on cleaning shifts if the rest of the bar was understaffed. ⊛All the bottle girls knew Ran, he liked to hire them personally to make sure they all fit the bill he was looking over (aka running background checks on them and making sure they were clean.) ⊛Every night he’d show up you greeted him with a cheery ‘good evening, Mr. Haitani!’ to which he responded with ‘you can always call me Ran, pretty girl.’ It ended with a giggle and a roll of the eyes, before heading off to your duties. ⊛You weren’t any different than the rest of them, not really, but he did notice you tended to get more tips than the rest and he was interested to know what you did. Maybe it was heavy flirting? Or maybe you ended up taking shots with the poor bastards and you milked them dry of their money that way? ⊛When he started watching you more, he noticed he was completely wrong. While the other girls tried to dance sexy with their tables you actively ended up singing all the words to the songs the performers would play and headbanged with them. That’s what got you more tips, you genuinely enjoyed the music. Huh.  ⊛At the end of the night while you cleaned up Ran came to find you and ask you about it. Oh boy, your face heated up so much you swore you could fry an egg on your forehead. You apologized for your behavior, stating that you ‘just really like the music, so working is really fun’.  ⊛Ran threw his head back and laughed, and asked you out on the spot. You paused, confused at the random offer and started to decline. That was your boss and you were pretty sure it was definitely against policy. ⊛But Ran was so pleasant and asked so pretty it was hard to say no. ⊛So you went on a date with him, thinking it would be one and done, and that it’d be short. Turns out, you had the best night of your life with him.  ⊛Every shift after that started the same, with your eager ‘good evening, Mr. Haitani’ his rebuttal ‘Call me Ran, pretty girl’, a giggle and smile.  ⊛And ended the same, Ran driving you home with a kiss and finally getting to hear you say ‘good night, Ran’.

[khaenriahn-anthropologist]

Thoughts on Natlan

I want to preface this by saying my entire Genshin map is 100%, I have completed all hangouts and character quests including all the new ones for Natlan and I'm someone who has played Genshin since 1.0 so these thoughts are coming from a longterm and dedicated player.

Music

I think that once again Hoyoverse has done an excellent job with the soundtrack of the new region. I would say the music is on par with Sumeru's which is by far my favorite genshin nation by far.

Environmental Design

Going to be honest, I don't really like the design of the new region. I think Ochkanatlan is the most interesting region visually out of what has been released so far. Many of the other areas bleed together so closely that there's not very much distinction between them, while in past nations there were clearer 'zones' and areas of interest. In Natlan it feels like the only areas of true interest are the Tribes themselves but those are such limited areas that it's not very satisfying to explore.

Also, I'm not really a fan of making the area difficult to traverse in order to push players to pull the limited characters but I'll get to that in a bit.

Another criticism I have of the region is the "Yellow Paint" direction they have used heavy handedly in the region. While past regions used more subtle ways to direct the player or used lighting and the environment to guide players in the wanted direction, Natlan uses what's commonly described as 'Yellow Paint' in Natlan but quite literally. As you traverse the area there will be actual painted arrows to direct the player towards the end goal.

As one of the core aspects of the game is exploration and puzzle solving, I feel it's rather lazy of the design team (Rather than using good environmental design such as lighting and spacing) and also takes away the magic and satisfaction of solving puzzles.

Chests/Puzzles in Natlan

On the topic of puzzles, there's a distinct lack of them in this region. Judging from the Genshin survey we got in the mail last week where one of the key items it asked it seems they're wanting to move away from puzzles and exploration in general which is sorely felt in this region.

Overall it felt like the chests were fewer in number or required no puzzle solving skills in general. With the way tribe reputation was set up for this region, the treasure compass is extremely accessible.

In other regions I would have felt that this was a non issue as the areas felt larger and more complex, thus the treasure compass would have been nice to have earlier. Natlan would be the first region where I 100% completed the exploration aspect before even getting the compass.

As someone who heavily enjoys exploration in Genshin, this was somewhat disappointing for me.

Exploration in Natlan

I think Exploration is okay. I enjoy the use of the saurians in order to explore the region. What I dislike about it is the fact that this is a core mechanic implemented only to sell the limited characters.

Some might disagree and say that you can complete the content without the use of the new Natlan characters, and I agree that it is doable as I have not pulled any of the Natlan characters. Outside of having Kachina who is free, that is.

However, the saurians are more frustrating to use compared to the limited characters as anything involving combat means having to exit the Saurian while being attacked, etc. You're also prevented from exiting them while in the air and if you want to climb or use your glider you are also prevented from doing so which is annoying.

I also feel there's not as much intrigue as past areas and areas that do have interesting ties to the lore have their exploration obstructed by NPC's guiding the player rather than having you explore yourself which I find frustrating.

Natlan Lore/Questlines

The Lore? Good. The Questlines? Could be better.

We're getting a lot of information from the characters themselves which is nice. Ochkanatlan also had a lot of interesting lore provided to us and in a rather straightforward way.

I appreciate that the character quests are built into the reputation quests and they seem to focus more on the characters themselves with less dialogue bloat compared to past regions. As someone who played all character quests this is a large improvement I feel was sorely needed. For once I didn't feel like doing these character quests was wasting any time and included the player in a way that let us experience the world of the limited characters quite well.

My main criticism so far is actually for the archon quests. So far they have been some of the most lackluster parts of the update for me. While there have been some cool moments I'm not very attached to Mavuika. This is the first time I have found an Archon so boring. I also feel like the way they delivered the aspect of war was poorly done and though in theory the air balloon thing was okay, I feel that there was not enough emotional investment.

It would have had a stronger delivery if those dying were characters we had more attachment to. Unfortunately, those that died were NPC's that only shared a few lines of voiceless dialogue with the player only minutes before their deaths. If Genshin had used the PC's to kill off after we had spent multiple updates getting to know them, then that on top of seeing the numbers of deaths would have had more gravity to it. The closest we had to this was Chasca's sister.

In general, I feel like they have gotten somewhat better with this over time. Where more and more we see PC's actually being involved and seen together more but there's still a heavy reliance on NPC's in even important world quests. It's as if they're scared to use the PC's to deliver actual lore sometimes.

Character Designs (Skip if you don't want to see my opinions lol)

They're not my favorite. I do feel there's a lot of 'misses' in the current lineup of characters.

The colorism is something that has been heavily discussed and we all know it's an issue. I'm not an expert on the cultures referenced for Natlan, but even if I were to only talk about the character designs divorced of the cultural references, they're unappealing to me still.

I acknowledge that all the characters have some issues with their design. That said, so far the characters I like the least are Mavuika, Kinich, Chasca, and Ororon. Though I dislike most of the Natlan cast for one reason or another, these characters stick out to me the most. I should say that personality wise, I don't hate most of them, it's mostly their designs that irk me.

Mavuika: I'm sorry, I'm on the team that thinks the motorcycle is completely immersion breaking for me. If they had made it some kind of actual dragon type saurian I would have liked it a lot more and it would have tied in more with the use of saurians in Natlan. I understand that it's technology passed down from the dragons. However, Waxaklahun Ubah Kan the DRAGON SAGE who showed how to use phlogiston to humans doesn't even have legs!!! WHY WOULD THE DRAGONS INVENT MOTORCYCLES. Sorry, it's just so absurd to me. I won't even get into the whole Mavuika's nipple rings on her biker onesie or the crotch to ass zipper. I just hate this design.

Kinich: He's supposed to be a rock climber/bungie jumper which is interesting in theory but I can't stand Ajaw. I think that there's only room enough for one annoying floating companion. But the fact that Ajaw is actual pixels is really odd to me. I get they were maybe trying to modernize the sharp historical artstyle but it's just so... out of place for me.

Chasca: I just think her design is bad. I don't think the color palette goes very well with her skintone, I think that the long purple bangs clashes with the fact that her hat already covers that part of her face, I think the one bare leg facing the camera while using her is both blinding and jarring. The flying gun is so damn stupid. Once again, like at least there's an explanation for Mavuika's stupid bike, but the gun is also just... stupid. At least make her ride one of the birds that shoots out elemental attacks....

Ororon: I quite like this character's personality and story... but I do feel he was a 'gap moe' type character that took the gap too far. I also think his design is just bizarre. The design on his scarf and cloak are so crisp and modern AND BRIGHT that it's hard to look at. I feel like if they had taken a more painted or woven aesthetic it would have looked more natural for the area they're in. The ripped jeans... well, if Xilonen can have jean shorts it's whatever, I do think it's a bit weird but at the very least some characters from Flower Feather Clan wear them so it's not exclusive to him... except he's not even in that clan.

The Natlan Gimmicks

Overall, I can't lie. It's leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

I really dislike how 'exclusive' Natlan characters are to the region. The fact that they basically has an expiration date is quite bad, and the fact that the Archon only works really well but only with Natlan characters means that she will be unable to fit in with future teams in the future. It also means that for a long time her best team with stay static in nature as fewer and fewer Natlan characters will be released after we leave the region.

As a core feature of the game is team building, the fact that her longevity relies so heavily on her region is... bad. Not to mention it's not even limited to the characters, but the artifacts as well. Some artifact sets from 1.0 are still BIS for a lot of characters, however in Natlan this is the first time where the sets are only good for the region.

I even pointed out to some people in discord that even the limited weapons aren't worth pulling on because they're nearly only good for Natlan characters. The low crit stat is built into Mavuika's weapon because they made a crit artifact set that's expected to be used together with it, therefore making these weapons lose significant value if not paired with Natlan characters.

Weapon banner is already enough of a scam as it is, but if I pull for a weapon, you better believe I will be pulling for one that I think has longterm use not for one that is going to be unusable outside of anyone but the signature character its designed for.

The characters also lose much of their key selling point, mobility, outside of their region. Are they still usable? Yes. But now they're practically worse than older units outside of Natlan if you compare the distances they can traverse with other units.

They've significantly lowered the rewards in terms of Mora in Natlan. Not only do you not get mora from bounties, but now they effectively cut you off from getting rewards once reputation is capped. The "tree" also gives very little mora compared to older regions. The only good sources of Mora are now through the paid battlepass and from doing leylines.

Fishing was delayed heavily in Natlan, but has little rewards to it this time. Fishing to get the rod doesn't mean anything because there's literally only one thing to buy besides the fishing rod and it's so cheap and doesn't even use the same fish as the rod meaning you don't need the rod to grind any fish at all.

It just feels like a lot of content was overly simplified or removed entirely in Natlan and the design of the limited characters just gives a lackluster feeling.

For some people I'm sure they're enjoying Natlan because it is "easier" but as a longterm player it feels like some of the aspects I loved so much in Genshin are being gutted to appeal to short term goals and players. MHY gets to make characters they can comfortably market knowing the longevity of the characters is limited therefor not worrying about how these characters will behave in the meta longterm, and casual players can complete all the content with little to no effort.

However, I'm still rather disappointed and I really hope Snezhnaya isn't like this.

[ask-postcrash-curly]

(The dragon chuckles)

Again, allow me to doubt it xddd

But don't beat yourself out over it Curly, that's literally another universe, you did not say that to Anya here

That aside...I realize that I have not been clear at all, in my defense I tend to write this at like, 3 or 4 in the morning, I am sorry xdd

What i meant was:

You said that the timeline between Anya telling you about the SA and the pregnancy was literally...a day right? Well in some timelines, Anya tells you, you completely forget about it for like, a few days, up to a week, and then she hides the gun and she tells you about the pregnancy, and then you, for lack of a better word, tries to play kindergarten teacher and tries to get you three to talk together, you go to Jimmy next to the cockpit, he crashes the ship and the rest is history

That's honestly how it goes in the majority of universes, the problem is that I cannot find for the life of me a fully flushed out one, without the...stickiness, yeah? Or that has violence on that sense

And about the 50% percent thing, I tried to find out more about it

It was after she told you and you forget, I know that much, given her reaction specially

But I do have another, a better one

So you remember that there are many universes where the accident happens to Anya yeah? Well in this specific one, not only does it happens to Anya, but the roles are swapped, I'm honestly not sure if you have heard about them actually

In this Anya is the captain, you are the nurse, Swansea is the copilot, Daisuke is the mechanic and Jimmy is the intern

Anya still gets SA'd, although not...forcefully like in this universe, more like "sleep with me or else", not that it's not less bad, the point, she got pregnant, she asked for anticonceptives from you and you didn't have Anya, and you didn't ask why, because in this universe you had the biggest crush on her and didn't want to know with who she was involved with

The point is, I think this would actually be a good one, since this universe's you has a lot of guilt about that, if you wanna see a fragment, don't worry you will not see anything graphic, I will censor stuff don't worry

(Also, in case you wanna know for some peace of mind, you and Anya in this universe survive and get together, and you get a seeing dog since Anya went bling called Toby)

All that aside, here's the other video, tell me if you wanna see the others you didnt see or move to a new Choose your own adventure:

https://youtu.be/huVIggdZ4GI?si=9FyHnSFz6OBZyIg-

In case you wanna choose another one we have:

-A Date with Markiplier: For the funny hahas basically, cartoon logic although if you choose the worst options there's slight mentions of cannibalism and a cartoon explosion, I haven't seen all the options though

-A Heist with Markiplier: Funny hahas again, options with explosions extremely obvious, but mostly cartoon logic, again haven't seen all the options, it goes into a rabbit hole really fast

-In Space with Markiplier 1/2: Has a sequel, it's really good but has like, a lot of things you probably don't like, choose this one if you are feeling brave, it has explosions and I think lava but I may be misremembering, again cartoon logic for the most part

If you don't want none of this is can also do a musical, everything is drawn, mostly with no colour, no explosions, drawn fire, people do die though, theres the option with no visuals

If you don't want anything i just said, I can also just shown you my tiny creatures, that works

Why don't you believe me...?

...

You should sleep more. Take it from me.

Something like that... I tried to forget about it though. So that he wouldn't know that I knew until I had a plan to fix it. And that— that's what I'd do if I could go back. It's the only way to— We'd have to tell him that there wouldn't be any charges or any obligation for him and we'd have to make him believe it, s'the only way to keep him from... Yeah.

...Stickiness...

I don't know. I don't know that you're right. My repression's not that good. And he said "you would make a good mother," not "you will make a good mother." I don't— He couldn't have known, I wouldn't... Mm.

Yeah I've heard about it. Don't want to think about it. Don't want to think about her like— like this. ...I had a crush on her, so I didn't ask—? Okay well that's bloody daft.

I'm sorry, I still... I don't want to think about her hurt like me. I can't stand it.

...Cheers...

What's the musical...? Might do that.

Wouldn't be opposed to tiny creatures either way.

[quailxcrossing]

When putting your characters into AUs, what’s the process you use to go about it? How do you transfer your characters to different worlds? Whats some of your fav types of AUs to work on? Whats your most indulgent/fun AU 👀 ?

i love OC AUs soooo much thank you everypony for talking to me about OC AUs because. augh. i just love them. i just do. i have dozens of them for a reason!! it is my unending love for them

when I work on AUs, something I always keep in mind is why I'm making an alt universe instead of working it into canon or just making a completely new OC! i want to see That Specific Character under different circumstances and I want to see how similar/different they areeeee.... I always try to keep in mind what narrative themes and visuals will remain the same throughout AUs. What makes this character THIS CHARACTER is my favorite part of asking AU questions!!

i really love working on a variety of AUs, but I think ones that involve a canon divergence have to be some of my favorites! The Etcetera/Caius role-swap, the Auï Aviary Leader AU, and more dramatic splits into BFCAU and Together At Last where I can put characters together that wouldn't be- how different would Goat be if he was raised by Runo? What if Maiceo and Georgiana got to experience cohabitation? What foundation would Ruse and Esperanza's relationship have if they weren't in their hyperspecific situation?

just asking a bunch of questions :3 DESIGNING AUs is also extremely fun to me, I honestly cant think of a concrete way I do things, it all depends on the character and their new circumstances and what is important to them! MLP AUs and mermaid AUs are my favorite to design, as well as reversing humans into furries or furries into humans!! i just find such joy in purely design AUs, but they often turn into story AUs which is so fucking awesome

annnd i'll put the ramble about my favorite AUs to work on under the cut ! i know I've answered something like this before, but I'll always take the chance to talk about my AUs

this is the AU i talked a bit about in my tags a few days ago, the AU where Auï kills Rlioch in the Aviary! its out of "self-defense", its impulsive and quick and brutal, and it ruins Auï's head beyond repair. he is not prepared to lose Rlioch, someone he is not even prepared to lose in canon at this moment- he was not prepared to take care of himself at this point of time either, and now he feels this responsibly to take care of the commune since he disposed of the leader. running away is far from the first thing on his mind, he's so tangled up in grief and intense guilt and honest-to-god euphoria he quickly dissolves into this complete mess. like probably shit i can't type out but he gets so bad guys he gets so sick. not even Turrie can do anything, their relationship gets sooo twisted its fun to imagine but i also start writhing around i think this Auï only ends up living for a few more years, since his wings will eventually end up seizing up his back. this is why he had them removed in Canon- they're literally pulling his upper spine out of him!! very slow very painful death. eeeee. in Canon, Auï was at that point where he couldn't walk for every long- this is why he collapses after running in AINTR. he can't stand long enough to even shower for a long time after his surgery, but in this AU you can only imagine

pro tip DO NOT PUT WINGS ON A GUY WHO SHOULDNT HAVE THEM ITS NOT GONNA BE GREAT

Together For Once has soooo quickly become one of my favorite AUs, because its half a design AU where i get to just play around with human designs, and then half just a feel good yayy yayyyy !!! yay i love when people get to be friends. i keep separating them.

ALSO its my little silly Earth Place?? i dont have...ANY stories that take place on Normal Earth. i haven't had a story that took place on Normal Earth in at least 10 years?? Beings is Earth, but its post-apoc and fucked up. what if i want my guys to like the musical artists I like. what if i want to say Magic works at BLICK Art Supplies. what if i want them to partake in my local festivities...what if i want to send Georgiana to camp at the Grand Canyon?? so much could happen

if i could i'd be talking about the mermaid AU. does this AU have plot.....not really........i play and i have fun........... the designs are so much fun to be designing, this AU always gets me through finals season (since its in Mermay) and i always seem to draw it a lot over the summer! just make your OCs into mermaids and make your own personal mermaid lore. do it. its so fun. my lore is that they're all cool and fishy and they can turn into little guys on land because i watched so much H20 JUST ADD WATER as a youth.

dont even get me fucking started on bfc AU i already talked a lot about it but i love it...i love hanging out in my friends world!! @/arborescreens n @/krembearry thank you for all the antics for all the silliness and letting my characters be together after i have enacted such cruelty upon them...another one i like playing with human designs, although there's a fantasy element!! this au got so big so fast, and im having the bestest time just thinking about them in their silly little plotlines in this beloved friend-story

but my favorite AU......because technically these 5 are just one big AU! and my bestest one ever because it changed the trajectory of my LIFE (hardly a hyperbole) and how i write Zuistone as a whole! while it sorta seems like BEINGS is the AU these days, i think it just goes to show that it really doesn't fucking matter. i will forever try to fight the stigma that AUs are "less important" or "less serious" than people's precious Source- bro it means "alternative universe", where are you seeing the word non-canon in there, every world has its own canon set!!!!!!!! ill bite anyone who acts like AUs are just frivious side bar stuff, making OC AUs is my heart and soul and i will make more, forever

[bonefall]

If you flip the spade upside down and put it on Gorseclaw’s neck, it could kind of look like a tie

Hello anon with the most convenient ask in my inbox, you have been selected to receive a FLOOD OF SKETCHES

I had only drawn Gorseclaw and Ripplestar before, and I'm about to do a redesign of Larkstripe so that she has the "hearts" motif that her son gets. I did a bunch of sketches just to try and figure stuff out so, messy post

Glossary:

Ripplestar

Gorseclaw and Spottedpelt

Larkstripe

Birdflight, Marshscar

After I post this I'm gonna jump back into Clip to play with Cloudstar next

RIPPLESTAR

[ID: A sketch of BB!Ripplestar. The text points out his major features and reads, "Heterochromia: Amber + Brown." Smooth scruff, with an arrow that points out the shape. Ginger on 1 side. Deer-eared. 3 layers with an arrow that points out the three stacks of fur on his chest. Wooly, kinda like a half-shorn sheep.]

I've actually drawn Ripplestar a lot in the margins of my notes and such, so this design's pretty solid.

I change the side the hearts are on, plus the number of hearts, literally every single time I've ever drawn him lmao. It dozen madder.

What DOES matter though is that there's a HEART over his BRIGHTER eye. I use it as a bit of a visual metaphor, if he's trying to size you up or negotiate with you, he keeps you in the bright eye. When he trusts you or becomes comfortable with you in some way, he turns the brown eye on you.

So in most scenes where he's not talking to family I imagine he's not fully looking at his conversational partner. Especially on the Highrock as leader of ShadowClan, because the layout makes the leaders sit side-by-side. Might as well play with that simple logistic fact, y'know?

He does this because I imagine this marking kind of intimidates people. It's like the ginger of his eye socket has set his iris ablaze with fire, while the other is as cold as rain-soaked peat.

The ear on the "colorful" side is also orange. All of his orange is on one side, except for his tail-tip.

He's actually distantly related to Nightcloud-- his Honor Sire (who was known but not involved) went on to have a mate. So he's the half-brother of one of her ancestors, and Nightcloud has inherited this thick, wooly fur texture.

Again, I draw him a lot so this was the easiest one. I didn't have to decide anything besides that I made his nose into a cute lil carebear heart.

The drawing I did for this synopsis of Ripplestar's Rot was actually the first time I drew him, for comparison! It's fun to see what's been streamlined.

GORSECLAW AND SPOTTEDPELT

FIRST sketches didn't feel right.

[ID: BB!Gorseclaw and BB!Spottedpelt. They have long, curly tails, long claws, and bell-shaped heads. Gorseclaw has a sharp 'tie' on his chest, and Spottedpelt has a heart]

I feel like Gorseclaw's spades look too much like diamonds in this one, but I was really going for a tie.

I've been giving him those sideburns for months, so, they don't really fit the "shape theory" but I'm having a hard time removing them lmao.

And this is the first time I drew Spots which is a shame. I love a bad bitch.

If you look at my designs, you can notice that I have a few traits that cats from each Clan "tend" to have. They're all pretty genetically similar actually and there's a lot of crossings between the groups, secret or otherwise, but some traits just get selected for more than others, and StarClan is likely to toss them into kits. SkyClan has saggy skin (like a bear) and really bendy tails.

Don't think it's come through well here, though. In future drafts I'm going to try and make them saggier.

(Why? It actually helps them against insect stings and impact damage, like falling from trees and being hit by branches)

Then I went on to draft 2,

[ID: Second draft of the characters above. Spottedpelt is fatter, with "dapples" on her back which are actually spades, and a distinctive spade-shaped mask. The ears of both siblings are now spade-shaped, and Gorseclaw's tie is different, along with Spottedpelt's heart with is now more of a medal.]

I like Spottedpelt a LOT more in this draft. That's probably going to be close to the final design I do, I'm really vibing with the dapple-spades.

I DON'T like Gorseclaw in this one though, the face shape reminds me waaay too much of Dustpelt's familial face-plate. Absolutely going to revise that, probably making it more mask-like akin to Spots'.

Also very proud of myself for the spade-shaped ears.

Hate Gorse's tie here though, that's not a tie that is a stinkhorn mushroom.

But Spots' medal is excellent. Absolutely keeping that. She is a distinguished little war crime kitty

Still not fat and saggy enough. Coming back to this. I need to learn how to draw a primordial pouch.

LARKSTRIPE

I'm trying to redesign her and I'm losing :/

[ID: BB!Larkstripe. She's a very plain cat with a string of hearts from her eye down to her leg, with a heart-shaped nose, cutie marks, and a heart-shaped tail tip]

This was the FIRST first draft of the redesign and that heart chain is underwhelming.

It felt like too much of a downgrade from the diamond-pattern Larkstripe I did, and I'm worried that maybe it's because diamonds just look so much nicer in a "chain"

I feel like I see too many perfect hearts on chests in WC designs, so when I do them, I try to do something weird with them like what I did to Heartstar

So I turned hers into a little fur tuft splash. I like the idea tbh, I might repurpose it for another design.

[ID: A version of the above sketch with bigger hearts on the chain and a single heart on the flank, followed by another sketch attempting to make the stripe more "blobbish"]

I'm beginning to think that maybe I don't like the sketches because Larkstripe is sad :( I like when I can draw her angry, before the strikebreaking broke her

And unfortunately she is the absolute most tragic character in BB. They took the fight out of her. I figure it would be symbolically fitting for the heart shape on her chest to "break" after Dalestar's decree.

For those asking questions, no, she never joins Skypelt. She is convinced she did the wrong thing and ended up unleashing an era of suffering on the Clans by having Ripplestar follow in her footsteps, though she had no control over him.

She's a character who would offer her life as an example during trials involving the Cleric's Vow, especially since I've gutted Moth Flight in BB. She argues about how important it is to avoid birthing cats who will claim their conquest is holy in the name of their parents.

She would also have something to say to Mudfur, admonishing him for breaking his Vow so openly, even saying that he's responsible for Leopardstar and all of her choices.

Basically, Larkstripe is beaten. She is a very tired, shameful spirit who repeats exactly what Silverpelt told her, during her own trial. She's so grateful to be here that she acts with devotion towards it.

Hurt people hurt people and all

But anyway, I still feel like it's a bit of a downgrade from the older design for Larkstripe, so I'm probably going to keep playing with it.

BIRDFLIGHT AND MARSHSCAR

[ID: BB!Birdflight. She's a tabby with the spades motif, long bases stretching up into hears on her shoulder, side, and flank.]

I want her to look old and tired. She's got that Leafpoolyness about her.

She's technically the very first member of the Tigerkin family, and has those characteristic long-claws.

I imagine in Clanmew her name is actually Yassgafba, "Raptor preparing to take flight." I have this really sad mental image of a majestic hawk that keeps spreading its wings, as if to take off and fly away, but never does.

Fitting, because she waited her whole life for Cloudstar to send word they'd found a new home, to come and fetch her and their children, but never did.

While I'm at the trivia, yes, Ripplestar and her were very close. Larkstripe argues in StarClan that Ripplestar started his war because of her, but it's not true. It was Birdflight who made him believe that Cloudstar would never abandon his family; if they hadn't heard from him, something was very wrong.

She died before he became leader, probably of a sickness outbreak. She likely didn't take the journey because she's immunocompromised in some way, plus the two newborns.

She was given a place in StarClan, but I'm not sure if she followed Ripplestar and Birdflight into the Dark Forest. She DID vote to accept them though.

I think she's practical about this. Leave for the Dark Forest, and you loose your voting power in StarClan.

She sees that there are very few SkyClan ancestors left here, hears Skystar scoff that the others are fools for leaving, that if more had remained then the rebels would not have been damned... and understands the value in his words.

If there's any reason for the Tigerkin Curse (which I hadn't really been working with until now, tbh, I just chalked it up to Bad Mojo on the night of Ripplestar's last stand), it's probably related to Birdflight in some way. Which is why no one knows what's causing it.

I don't know why, yet, though. Maybe it's an accident on her part. She could be crafting their litters, but every time she finishes a set, she can't help but cry about how much the fresh souls remind her of the newborns that stopped her from joining her mate, and her kits in the Dark Forest.

It's probably why the PROPER curse might stop abruptly after SkyClan's return. She joins Skypelt as soon as it's an option.

[ID: BB!Marshscar. He's a scrawny, battle-scarred old tabby with a diamond motif.]

He doesn't have any markings in-canon so I tried to just make all of his scars diamond-shaped. I don't think it works, I'm going to give him some markings.

I like the ears though, that's staying. I might also borrow from the old Larkstripe design, give him those funky diamond-spikes on his chest.

I have barely talked about him, but he is actually very important to Ripplestar. They've been mates since they were young warriors.

I kinda want to make it so that Spottedpelt was Ripplestar's deputy before being killed that night, but it was always implicit that if something happened to them, Marshscar was next in charge.

This drawing is definitely when he's older and more worn-out, he lives a long life without Ripplestar, ruling ShadowClan reluctantly, half-heartedly doing the bare minimum.

It's a downer story, and I think it really fits the theme here that Clan Culture is about to get a whole lot worse before it gets better... but still I love the fact that Ripplestar's Rot just ends with the entire cast like

[ID: Spongebob sits at a diner with his hands folded, frowning slightly, disquieted and deep in thought]

Like there really isn't a happy camper in this one lmao. Nobody wins. Alexa play 'That's Not How The Story Goes'

[leo-regulus]

To keep the ocs exchange, who do your ocs serve, and describe them in two-three lines .

Aaaaight let's go through the LIST. I may still miss a few because rip my life. I'm actually gonna do this below a readmore because if I don't I think someone will kill me.

I have for this decided to exclude the pre-classic era Gold Saints, aka the moms of the classic golds we all love, because my fiance is the one with most of the info on them and I don't have it on hand and if I get anything wrong, the trout population will be affected.

I have also excluded the canon characters whose storylines got mega changed, you'll have to ask about them specifically because it's so plotty I don't think I could tl;dr it in a couple sentences. But there's. There is a LOT.

Please also note that I have details on literally all of them. At least picrew'd for visual designs (but many notes), their division / ranking and stats (height/age/ethnicity/birthday/etc), and a full writeup of their armour and abilities. You would be afraid of my spreadsheets. I have so much on all of them.

Team Khronos

The pitch of their plot is "a few accidental friends in 1986 Greece accidentally end up in Sanctuary in 1746, accidentally change the whole Holy War through the power of friendship and 'I can fix him' to varying degrees of success." My fiance is the one who made and writes them, but we co-write everything ever so not mentioning them would make everything nonsensical.

Khronos Ivy: Local Victorian girl becomes Khronos five seconds before she dies. Causes every problem, but we love her. Her big brothers are Libra Dohko and Mandragora Fyodor, and she forgives no one for taking Bennu Kagaho and Fenghuang Sui away from her. She'll have them back, or every god involved is going to die.

Samara Lancott: Sheltered Greek-American, runs away from her overbearing parents to crash on Ivy's couch. Ends up accidentally becoming Sagittarius Sisyphus' wife about it, and saves his life from Aiacos… by getting Ivy to throw them back to her original time, on the eve of the next Holy War, completely by accident.

Fracture Jesse: Local university prof with five PhDs, two in necrobotany, discovers they're immune to the Pisces poison when they crash-land in Albafica's garden and he has to keep them from dying from multiple injuries. Finally gets to understand their situationship with their not-girlfriend-from-240-years-in-the-future, becomes a Spectre about it.

Kimberley Vance: Sometimes a warrior from a scifi-high-fantasy realm in perpetual warfare ends up with a godly weapon buried for seven hundred years crashes on your couch, and then when you throw yourself back in time, she ends up in a different realm and almost shoots the Gemini Spectre in the face with an actual gun. Hijinks ensue.

Vivian Greylaw: He's been running from his family for so long he put twenty worlds between himself and his past. He knows several centuries' worth of gambling tactics that he taught Manigoldo basically immediately. When Manigoldo wakes up two hundred years later with a Spectre at his side and no memory of how he's alive, it's time to take a roadtrip through twenty worlds and then some tracking down the man whose fault it probably is.

Spectres

Amphiptere Asha: Not much on her, she's Rhadamanthys' daughter twice over and she's trying her best.

Bean Sidhe Rioghnach: Albafica, Regulus, and Pefko's sister. Because Ivy, ended up growing up in Classic era instead of TLC. Bartends for Dionysus Elisha in her free time.

Centaur Viermer: You know him already.

Cerastes James: Lugonis-era Spectre, Garuda, sold his sister to the fae for power. Kinda a dick.

Changeling Asterion: Classic-era child of the Wyvern harem, one of my first OCs for StS, unsure what their storyline should be.

Eidolon / Pyxis Muireall: Aiacos and Shion's daughter that they rescued from Marinas by accident. Garuda, pretty chill, extremely Scottish. Also a Silver Saint.

Fracture Jesse: Had a situationship with a mad Griffon Minos just prior to Classic. This is because they're her dead spouse and because Ivy, it hadn't happened to them yet. Literally everything to me.

Garuda Madeleine: Aiacos' mom in TLC. Was once the Northern Crown Saintia in Sage-era, defected to Hades because he'd throw her a wedding.

Ghost Janice: World's most tired Garuda, roughly Alone's age. Beats up Tenma for fun and for Alone's honour. Should be given TNT.

Griffon Victoire: Minos' stepfather and Madeleine's brother, keeps getting himself in situations where he goes MIA for centuries and people think he's dead. Decent judge, terrible father.

Ker Julia: James' sister, and Wyvern Rose's wife. Head torturer in her time, hates everyone except /maybe/ their two sons, Ilias and Rhadamanthys.

Kitsune Theodoros: Lune, Aries Gateguard, and Sagittarius Aiolos' son. Classic-era, very prim and proper, currently in high school. Probably like Koga's age idk you do the math.

Nix Macrantha: Luco's best friend, a Griffon, and fellow healer of the Meikai. Generally known for his motorcycle, intensely German accent, and ability to drown anyone who annoys him.

Ophiuchus Tiresias: Hades Sebastian and Persephone Liadan's son, classic-era. Spent most of his early life in a living painting, is a bit messed up about it.

Pisces / Loch Ness Theophania: Pisces of Sage's era, Madeleine's wife. Sage didn't quite kill her, but locking someone in the form of a fish for two hundred years means they never come back to you. Was a force to be reckoned with, though.

Reaper Eleanor: Griffon, the actual psychopomp who reaps souls. Classic-era, pretty chill, does not fight in the Holy Wars.

Skoll Leona: Mandragora Fyodor's wife, loyal Garuda, dies alongside Kagaho trying to fight off Scorpio Kardia. Vicious golden retriever in semi-human form, cares not for humanity very much, is the Most Dog.

Tarantula Vanessa: You know her.

Wyvern Rose: Rhadamanthys' daughter in Sage-era, his mother in TLC-era, because she lived that long. Severe and snarly and very draconic, enjoys fancy things and is loyal to no one but her family and the health of the Meikai.

Godvessels

Hypnos Matt: You actually meet him in the first two episodes of TLC, before he fully goes Hypnos. Very chill, very cunning, four hundred years old, knows he's the personal favourite of Hypnos and is way too smug about it.

Thanatos Mick: Matt's twin brother. Snarlier, and more fragile, takes his role as Thanatos' favourite human extremely seriously, takes everything else generally in stride. Has very little cosmos of his own.

Persephone Liadan: Once Pictor Liadan, younger sister of Deathmask's mother Cancer Morrighan. A chance meeting with Hades Sebastian helped her to awaken. Sanctuary really hates her. She also hates them. Bffs with Aiacos of all people.

Hades Sebastian: Shun's direct predecessor, was supposed to be the vessel for Classic-era and then Aphrodite poisoned him straight into a coma. He woke up later with the help of a god from another world, and is the current post-classic vessel of Hades. English major, everyone loves him.

Dionysus Elisha: From the same world Vivian is from, but on the other side of the war. Talks like a stoner, owns a bar, generally very chill but doesn't play ball with Athena specifically. Generally you don't know they're Dionysus until it's too late.

Saints

Pisces Raitis: Luco and Lugonis' dad. His one true love is the Pisces Cloth, and only ever wanted the best for his kids. Did not know he was coparenting them with Garuda Madeleine.

Northern Crown Natalisse: Vanessa's arch enemy, and a close companion to Sasha. Died to Regulus because he causes every problem.

Sagittarius Darren: Sisyphus' and Ilias' father. Horrible human being, very good Saint. Held very high standards for Ilias, then got murdered by him because Ilias didn't want to subject his at-the-time-only son Albafica to his grandfather. Murdered both Ilias' mother and Sisyphus' mother.

Gemini Tobias: Aspros and Defteros' dad. Lost his ability to walk to the Berserkers, tried very hard to protect them from Sage.

Gemini Thalassa: Tobias' twin sister, Aspros' and Defteros' mom. Was not actually the Gemini Saint, because Sage, but did her best by them anyway and they loved her dearly.

Aries Tenzin: Mu and Aldebaran's daughter. Shares the Aries cloth with Kiki, bouncing it back and forth like a hot potato because neither want to follow Pope Kanon's orders 24/7.

Pisces Hayliel: Vivian's daughter, who he doesn't know survived. Aphrodite's successor. Was in charge of keeping Liadan imprisoned until Albafica showed up. She has Issues. Also her one true love is the Pisces Cloth.

Sagittarius Eudoxia: Sisyphus and Samara's daughter, born Classic-era. Wants to prove herself so badly. You can imagine how Sisyphus feels about this. (She later succeeds Kanon as Grand Master.)

The Others Who Aren't Quite Related

We have a ton of fanchildren who don't get involved in the Holy Wars. We established that Spectre children are shapeshifters, combining their parents' surplices into new monsters and shapeshift between that and human. They generally don't stick around for Holy Wars, so whenever we need a new shapeshifter anywhere in our writing, we usually pull the Vólta-Paidiá out.

This includes Shigeru + Xinghua + Maiteng (Dohko and Kagaho's triplets), Story (Fyodor and Leona's daughter), Rhadamanthys' and his harem's frankly ridiculous amount of dragons, Sundara (Shaka's mentor), Lucille + Lucius + Viola + Rugonis (Minos', Albafica's, and Jesse's four kids), Iselinn (Lune and Gateguard's daughter), and a ton of others. I can never keep track of them but that's okay because neither can the damn Spectres.

We have established godvessels for all of the Olympians and then some. The ones not mentioned here have barely anything on them at the moment: we know Apollo Spiros has a whole plotline with his archers, but not exactly what. We'll circle back to it eventually.

In case it's not obvious by now, there is a LOT of worldbuilding I'm skimming and not mentioning. I'm not kidding about that "twenty worlds between Vivian and the rest of the cast" thing. Those worlds have names and cultures and conlangs. This 'verse is an ocean of writing, and we have two thimbles to try and move it out of our heads to where you can read it.

We also developed the personalities of both the Gold Cloths and the Gold Surplices, as well as their history and lore. They are full people and you bet they make that known.

I haven't even gotten into the fact we decided to change things so that Hades wins the classic era Holy War. That meant giving the Bronzes new Surplices, which has been so much fun.

There's. There's so much lore. It's all coherent. This is my true life's work and I am so happy to be doing it.