#emotional questions tend to be harder to answer for him

[waterlogged-detective]

11 & 12 for the Does?

- @zeebreezin

Oc Asks C:

11: In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

Jon: Boring answer I know, but Jon can’t actually…experience fear? If that makes sense. It’s one of the emotions he can’t experience/has no reference point for. There’s no base point for fear in any of his books, beyond like, a standard definition. Which doesn’t help someone understand an emotion. This 100% leads to him being in Situations way too often.

Darcy: I’ve mentioned before that Darcy had a building fall on him in a Loony Tunes Moment (tm) during the fall. But he was under that building for a *while*. Like. Days. And he was *terrified* for most of it. Why was he still alive? Why couldn’t he feel half of his body? Why did he have to feel pain so hot his brain couldn’t even black out for him. Why did he have to be awake for everything *the entire time*? It was Bad and resulted in severe claustrophobia.

12: In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

Jon: Unfortunately since he doesn’t have a base line for fear, he doesn’t really understand the concept of being calm. Or more, he can identify it in other people as their default state but can’t identify it in *himself* since he’s pretty much always calm. (Or excited about hyperfixation (puzzles)) Emotions are always easier to spot in other people if you don’t personally have any sort of attachment to them.

Darcy: I don’t have any specific situations but in general he’s most calm when doing a dissection, and can lose himself for hours in note taking and observation. It helps calm him down if he’s panicking. Alternatively reading any sort of medical journal or book helps as well as getting him to start talking about his work to distract him.

[partycatty]

Hiee! I love the way you write bi han. When i read new tricks i IMMEDIATELY ascended. The depression i got when i finished reading them was tragic…

Me thirsting: I really wanna make out wit that man, like… imagine a situation where all you do is stare at him and hope he telepathically gets what you wanna do, but he just ignores you cause he dunno know how to initiate that shit 💀 he just needs a little push per say! Maybe one day you decide enough is enough and you sit your happy ass right down on his lap and bat your lashes at him like a menace 💕

ps: i hope u don’t mind me yapping… ik cage is your man, i apologize 😔🙏🏾

bi-han > see me now

notes: i've noticed i've kinda diverted my attention to other mk boys lately... namely raiden, kuai liang, bi-han and liu kang... so this works perfectly for me...

[ masterlist ]

• bi-han was a common victim to your teasing, particularly because it would render him entirely speechless and still. for a man that tends to rant about glory and strength, you shut him up like nothing else.

• it was really hard to ignore the fact that you were super into each other, the air thick and tension high when you two were in each other's presence. his brothers would roll their eyes as their grandmaster stands dead-still, as if you had the ability to sense fear when you'd bat your eyelashes his way.

• he can't go to anyone for advice. what, he's gonna talk about his feelings? like a loser? no. real ninjas let emotions fester.

• which brings us to where we are now

• bi-han sat at his desk, physically straining himself to focus on the scroll in front of him when he sees your presence in the doorway. shit, he recognized your footsteps down the hall the moment you were in earshot.

• trying to act as if you weren't shitting your own pants at the thought of your plan, you plant your ass on his desk, sitting and dangling your feet from the wooden furniture with a singsong look about you.

• the silence is so thick is almost halts your breathing. his stone-cold face makes you wonder if this was a bad idea in hindsight, at least, until his lips part to speak.

• "what are you doing?" a simple question, really, but the answer was completely lost on you. thinking back, you didn't actually have a plan. what did you expect to happen? this is bi-han we're talking about.

• "sitting," you reply with your nose high, looking down at him like his question was idiotic.

• "on my desk?" another long silence hurts your ears as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "what do you want." his question sounded less like a question and more like an annoyed statement. then again, everything he says sounds annoyed.

• "what's your deal?" you ask your questions in such a light tone, bi-han feels more obligated to feel threatened. "do you like me or not?"

• clearly this isn't getting far. "what?"

• you huff and decide it was now or never. sliding from his desk, you saunter your way around and swing one leg over his thighs, then the other. his hands shoot out to support you, right on the plush skin of the outside of your thighs. bi-han's eyes are wide.

• "you see me now?" you try to sound triumphant past your nerves, looking up at the ninja through your lashes. "always so afraid to look at me. you're not subtle, grandmaster."

• forced to face you, his gruff words feel choked as they come out. "i don't—"

• "yes you do," you smile, albeit a little wickedly as you shift on his lap, making a cold breath slip past his lips.

• "what are you getting at?" he seems eager to end this, to cool his heated temperature.

• you hum in thought before wrapping your arms around his neck. "i want you to kiss me."

• "now?"

• you roll your eyes at his chipping resolve, tugging him in by the back of his head. both of your eyes wander across each other's expressions before bi-han hesitantly meets his lips with yours. as expected, they have a bit of a chill as he makes contact, but even still you feel him melt into the touch, gripping harder on your thighs to ground himself.

• you only get a moment to pull away and breathe, relishing in taking what you wanted from the hard ass grandmaster. the triumph is short lived when he thrusts his head back in, connecting his lips with yours with more fervor after successfully testing the waters.

• he's hungry, craving more of what he sampled after successfully tearing down this stupid barrier he put up. god, your taste drives him wild as his hands guide your hips along his, grinding with hard pressure.

• it becomes open-mouthed and messy rather quickly, bi-han's hands wandering up from your thighs to your waist, the touch making you shiver and gasp as he uses the opportunity to lick his tongue into your mouth, completely absorbing every whimper you give.

• your hands snake into his hair, deepening the kiss when you snag a fistful of his dark locks, and he groans into your mouth just as the tie falls loose. strands litter his face and swirl about, you hadn't even noticed they were wavy from how often he keeps his hair up.

• the want for more is overpowered by your critical thinking skills. "weren't you busy?"

• bi-han shakes his head slightly, jumping up from his chair and bringing you with him. instinctively, your thighs clasp around his middle, holding his shoulders as he shamelessly uses your ass to hold you up. you're slid onto the desk as various items clatter and fall to the floor, his hard body fitting perfectly between your legs as he reaches forward to kiss you again, chasing your lips when you pull away.

• "it can wait."

[kokelek]

Hi, I have two questions for

CreeCree-WendallPie relationship

1. Who fell frist and who fell harder

2. Is that true love? Or it's just one of them begin' in love and other just going with it?

Also, another small question, does CatFigure have any love intrest? Or friends in general? Or maybe everyone hates him?

(also, I love you work, keep going!)

~ Wasabi

Hello! Sorry for the late reply, I was a little busy.

Enjoy the silly doodles

CreeCree fell in love first and harder. Although it was WendallPie who made the first step, while CreeCree was stuck in the "denial phase"

2. It's a bit difficult to describe their love dynamic.

Their love for each other is real and VERY strong, but quite immature. CreeCree is confused by his past relationship, while WendallPie has never been in one. They are still figuring out some things. Sometimes they act overly dramatic or overprotective of themselves, etc.

Yeah... CreeCree's and WendallPie's relationship is full of ups and downs... They love and care, but they don't know how to love and care.

3. CatFigure is respected by the audience and fellow circus members for his fire performances and fire dancing skills. He even has a small circle of devoted followers, who sometimes carry him around or clean his equipment.

Those who are more familiar with CatFigure, well, they don't think so highly of him. CatFigure tends to treat his peers and their feelings as if everyone were an actor on stage. (Literally. And he doesn't take himself seriously either.)

Love for Cat Figure doesn't mean much. He's been in a lot of different relationships, but those were all temporary. He views love more as a tool that can be used to get something, but also as a form of art that should be admired but not possessed. (He's weird, i know)

His enemies are FreakShow (obviously), EyeHatted, and SkyRocket (Cat's former boss). WendallPie doesn't like CatFigure either, but it's not a strong hatred.

CatFigure and CreeCree are kinda friends? There is no deeper emotional connection between these two, but they do enjoy setting things on fire together. 👍👍

Thank you for asking, It's been a while since someone gave ma an OC-related question. I love answering them!

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

Alright, alright, alright! New story drop time! After working on this for several months, it's finally time.

This little beauty is a part of the awesome Sonic the Hedgehog Big Bang 2024 event that was ran by the mods over on the discord. ( @sthbigbang ).

Another huge thanks goes to the absolutely wonderful artists for their collaboration art pieces for this fic.

@vanlikespaintingclouds (X), @kkomsed (X), and @mmollymercury (X). Links will be updated!

I See Your Monsters, I’ll Chase Them All Away.

Central Characters: Shadow the Hedgehog, Maria Robotnik, Gerald Robotnik.

Summary:

In the grand scheme of things, Shadow's existence in this world was so short, so inexperienced, yet for Shadow himself, it feels like he's been here as long as everyone else.

Even keeping his best friend, Maria, happy each time they see each other and hang out started to come so naturally that he didn't question how to improve on it, he just did it and the results were better each time.

He wanted to help her, he wanted to save her from this illness, to let her visit that planet that was filled with so much wonder and beauty, something they could experience together.

He wanted to keep her safe.

But just like a fire trying its hardest to burn its last spark of embers in the darkest night to share its glow and warmth, that hope doesn't always last forever.

It's a story about the values of trust, the strength of friendship and the power of love, a story of Shadow the Hedgehog and how he was able to be the last burning ember in the darkness that fell over the entire colony. He will be the light that chases the monsters away.

——————————————————————

Chapter 1. I see you…

✧⋄⋄✧⋄⋄✧

He doesn’t tend to look back on the past too often, mostly because of what is available for him to look back on, which wasn't much.

His memories are usually hazy, out of order and hard to comprehend at times, and that was before he was aware that his own memories were altered after he was woken up.

Whenever he tries to remember those days of his past, the early days of his creation, he could never clearly remember the time where he first opened his eyes or heard sounds for the first time, only things that happened soon afterwards.

His first memories upon his creation were always a blur of images, incomprehensible to his newly born mind.

The lukewarm feeling of the water surrounding his entire body as he floated in the capsule.

The tight yet secure feeling of the mask wrapped around his muzzle that allowed him to get air that never seemed to run out.

It was a whirlwind of emotions and sensations that was overwhelming to him even though he didn’t feel scared.

The various, tall, unrecognizable figures that passed by in his field of view, staring at him with either wonder or bewilderment. Sometimes standing close up to where they talked among themselves while looking at him as if he was a bomb that was getting ready to blow if they got too close.

Humans.

They are called Humans.

Somehow he already knew that; he didn’t know how he knew this answer, but it seemed to match with how he saw them and accepted the notion.

He would tend to imagine what they were actually talking about, since all he could hear was the muffled sounds of their voices. Some were higher in pitch than others, a lot of them were deeper, which made it harder to understand them other than hearing the noise.

The duration of time was unfamiliar, he didn’t know how long a day or a week was while he was in there, only knowing that once the lights had been turned off, it was quite a long time before anyone else came back into the room.

Eventually, he did see one person that caught his eye during one of the dark periods of the day. Somebody he'd never even seen before.

A smaller human?

A child. It is a child.

Again, he already knew despite him never meeting said child before.

He saw her walk into the room, stepping in slow, careful steps; her head glancing around at the endless equipment that towered over her. Eventually her line of sight finally landed on his incubation chamber. At first he thought he was imagining things, with how still she was standing in the near pitch black darkness of the lab until she finally moved closer.

She was smaller than he originally thought, much smaller than any of the humans. She was taking small slow steps towards the capsule, staring at him with wide eyes, tilting her head as he stared back.

Her eyes were a color that he didn't recognize, they were…bright and luminated against the dim, thick liquid of his capsule. The same color was seen on her attire, covering her entire torso to her feet from what he could see.

They were hidden behind some odd, rectangular shapes resting on her face, the light from the capsule reflected off of them each time her head moved.

The one color that stood out was the even brighter color that was seen on the top of her head and was trailing over her shoulders. He couldn’t explain it but as soon as he saw it, he felt… ease. Like the color of this oddly looking mane from this tiny human suddenly made him feel comfort and didn't know the answer why.

If there even was an answer.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the human walking even closer to his capsule and started to knock lightly against the glass. His eyes locked directly onto her's, making her jump from the direct eye contact and take a step back, but not too much where he could still point out the distinct details on her face. Like the light dusting of tiny dots that was around her nose and cheeks or how the square objects on her face were constantly slipping down her nose so she kept having to push them back up towards her eyes.

She brought her balled up fists close to her chin and mouth, shrinking back and stepping backwards away from the capsule and into the shadows.

Why was she backing away? Was she apprehensive?

Or was she scared?

Or was she scared of him? He wouldn't be able to harm her from where he was, not with the thick glass separating them from each other.

Maybe she didn't know that, maybe the smaller human was scared due to how he appeared to her. He still didn’t know how his full appearance looked other than the brief times he was awake and was able to see his reflection and take note of how dark his own body looked, a stark comparison to the human’s light clothing and hair.

It was only when she started to back up more away from his capsule was when his hand began to reach out to her, he didn’t realize until his hand came in his line of focus.

The human paused, eyeing his outstretched hand and hesitating, finally stepping forward into the light once more. She stared curiously, giving a small, timid wave at him.

Raising his hand slowly, he copied her wave, earning him a smile from her and watched her cautiously when she came up close and placed both her hands against the glass.

She studied his face, tilting her head from side to side, making him unconsciously do the same. She then tilted her head to the other side, with Shadow following closely.

This brought an even wider smile from her, she continued to rock her head back and forth while he followed every move. He noticed as she was doing this, her shoulders were moving up and down, while her stomach moved in and out in a manner that looked like she was breathing rather rapidly, but she was still beaming at him in a way that didn't seem like she was in distress.

She even pressed her face up against the glass, crossing her eyes and puffing up her cheeks, creating a small fog with her mouth.

He didn't know much about humans, but they were already so confusing to understand.

The girl's head suddenly whips around, almost in alarm towards the door, making him see where she was looking right as the doors slid open to reveal another human, his silhouette was immediately recognized by the overtaking detail of the long and giant length of the hair follicles that protruded from under his nose.

It was the human that he had seen the most the moment he first opened his eyes. He still didn’t know why he always felt at ease whenever he was around; perhaps it was the way he didn't react to him in a manner the other humans did, more-so bringing a calmer, comforting aura to him whenever he approached the chamber during each visit.

The same aura this child was carrying as well.

The taller human walked over to where she was, taking a quick glance at him through the glass before kneeling down next to the smaller human, saying something to her that he wasn’t able to pick up due to how softly he was talking.

A few moments passed, where the girl nodded her head, her shoulders slumping down and looking at the floor. The man's face softened as he gave her a gentle head pat, got up to his full height and reached out his hand to her.

The girl took it and the two started towards the door. Shadow could feel a sudden wave wash over his body, growing more and more each second as they got farther away.

He didn't want them to leave, he didn't want to be alone. He wanted to follow them outside this tank, to move his legs and arms and not have them be bumped against the glass. To hear their voices clearly and remember the words that they say and hold onto each one in his memory.

The girl waved her hand at him again, her eyes locking once again with his and her mouth moving as if she was saying something to him.

Even though it was during the moment right as the doors closed behind them, he had been able to distinguish certain words that they would repeat around him.

“Bye.”

Though, he could only hope that this was less of a “bye”, but more of a “see you again”.

For the first time, he really hopes that he will be able to see her again.

All he can do now is wait.

———————————

Read the rest of the story here!

[sevenrenny]

I might as well ask you this because I enjoy your writing and way of expressing your opinions. Why do you personally ship Sonamy? What got you into Sonamy? What’s your favorite moment between the two? I know this is a very common question, but I hope you don’t mind me asking. 😅

Oh, this ought to be fun XD I don't mind at all. Send all the asks you like, I like to talk about my interests. I tend to ramble, so excuse my long texts. Gonna insert a break line so I don't torture my followers (that sentence makes it sound like I'm running a cult.)

Why do you personally ship Sonamy? What got you into Sonamy?

These two are connected, so it's fair to answer them both in one go. I'm very new to the fandom, unlike most of the people I've met who've been here for as long as they can remember. I originally had no interest in the franchise. Yeah, I played some games and watched the anime a few years back and had some cheap plastic toys from fast-food kiddie meals, but the franchise never stuck with me back then.

I got reintroduced through Sonic Prime around last year, which led to me reading the IDW comics, which is where I started getting into SonAmy. I really liked Amy in particular; surprising, seeing as she hadn't been my favorite character as a child. I liked Tails and Silver more back then, but the comic solidified Amy as my number one. In every fandom I've been in (HTTYD, MHA) I almost always gravitate toward characters who embody love, and that's the core of Amy.

Sonic was harder for me to decipher at first, seeing as he's more of a person who shows his emotions through action rather than words (in some iterations, at least.) But seeing him be more receptive in the comics and treating her better in more recent media portrayals piqued my interest because this wasn't how I remembered these two from when I was a kid. Seeing the progression from how their dynamic started to how it became made me feel proud of them.

And I'm one of those who likes to hypothesize that their affection used to be more one-sided but became mutual over time. Things change. Feelings change. People change. And I love that.

What’s your favorite moment between the two?

This. I think this is when I started seeing the ship as something I'd like. I've inserted the second panel as well because, while I know the first one is a no-brainer for some SonAmy shippers, I don't see many of them bringing up the follow-up panel.

Before this scene, Sonic kept rejecting Amy's proposal to go back to the Resistance with her (he had his reasons, as he saw investigating the circumstances of Eggman's absence and the waves of Badniks as a higher priority. Get to the snake's head to find the root of the problem.) He was in a hurry to get going. It wasn't until Amy told him she loved him for who he was and that she didn't want to change him that he stopped, got a little flustered, and proposed she come with him instead.

And she declined. She, too, had priorities.

Before this moment, it was possible he didn't see having both Amy and his stubborn way of doing things his way possible, but after, it might've finally clicked in his head that, Oh wait, I can have both? He's asked Amy to come along with him for other adventures afterward.

Also, can I just say how much I appreciate Sonic (who has a history of being touch averse) being more welcoming to her affection? Cause I do.

Okay, switching to Frontiers:

This scene is mostly quiet (I like nonverbal communication in general) and I found it too adorable to not mention. It's just for a few seconds, but the way Sonic does a little giddy skip when she waves him over, and the the fact that he just smiled so innocently the whole time he made his way over is just pure sweetness.

This short little misunderstanding/confrontation. This one's just plain fun for me. Sonic's impatience and inability to articulate his reasoning leads to him sounding like he's abandoning the Koco Amy really wants to help. She's putting the Koco before herself when Sonic's just worried about her. As soon as the misunderstanding is cleared up, Amy calms down, seeing it from his point of view now. It's a subtle little exchange, but knowing how these two used to not be great at communication in past games, and seeing them now deescalate a little misunderstanding this calmly brings me joy.

With each Koco the characters help, there's a certain theme associated between the Koco and Sonic's friends. The inventor Koco and Tails, trying to be of use to others; the soldier Kocos and Knuckles, both who had their people wiped out. For Amy, the Koco (the only Koco who goes by they/them, so that's what I'll be using for them here) is trying to reunite with their lover who had gone into battle. Throughout the game, Amy in her ghostly form can't touch anyone, and she expresses symptoms of dissociation, of feeling 'detached', that she's flying in a dream, but she wishes to just land.

Remember, Amy is a physically affectionate person, but she can't do much of anything, let alone feel anyone, in this situation. She has to leave it to her love, Sonic, to go into battles. She knows all too well how the Koco was feeling, being separated from their lover. When Amy and Sonic watch the Koco reunite with their partner for the last time, it hits Amy hard, and Sonic knows how affected she is by this. He gives her some time to grieve because he knows her well enough to understand this hit her hard. He tells her, "They're together now." And that's all that matters. And I love that scene. It's so mild compared to what others in the community might bring up, but I'm a sucker for the quieter moments like this.

I have to stop myself now before this turns into a novel lol

[lithopus]

For the ask game! 1! Who is your favorite character to write for and is this the character you find easiest to write for?

Thank you for the ask!

I guess for fanfiction, I pretty much only write Alhaitham and Kaveh’s POVs—although, actually, I’ve also written two (unposted, sfw) fics for my friends that contained Xingqiu’s POV, and he’s really fun to write for 😂 Now that I think about it, he’s probably the easiest perspective I’ve written. I enjoy his chivalrous and overdramatic way of speaking/narrating, and the guy is such a simp for Chongyun that it cracks me up. I definitely have a lot of fun writing him.

But, going back to Alhaitham and Kaveh…it’s difficult for me to choose! I like writing both of their perspectives for different reasons, and both of them are easy to write in some ways and challenging in others.

I’ll answer the question about whose POV is easiest first.

Technically, it’s Alhaitham’s—his way of thinking is a lot more accessible to me, whereas I sometimes struggle to relate to Kaveh’s perspective on things. It’s kind of similar to how Alhaitham “knows” Kaveh’s philosophies on a theoretical level, but doesn’t emotionally “understand” them the way that someone who personally shares Kaveh’s beliefs would. I more or less know how Kaveh’s mind works, but since I don’t usually approach things the way he does, his attitudes and ideals sometimes aren’t personally familiar to me. There are times when my brain has to work a bit harder to figure out how he views the world.

Because of that, though, I think that it might be easier—counterintuitively—for me to write stories from Kaveh’s perspective. Since I “understand” Alhaitham more, I can more easily convey what he’s thinking/feeling whenever I’m outside his head. Conversely, being inside Kaveh’s head allows me to get a closer look at how he’s processing things, which then makes it easier for me to work through his thoughts and figure out how to portray him.

So, Alhaitham’s POV is the easier perspective for me to write, in a vacuum…but if I’m writing a story about him and Kaveh, writing from Kaveh’s POV often makes things easier for me.

As for my favorite POV to write…if I had to choose a perspective to be stuck in, I think I’d choose Alhaitham’s. I love the unspoken depth of his love for Kaveh—like, his devotion is clear even from Kaveh’s POV, but being inside Alhaitham’s mind lets us see just how much he cares, even though he often hides it behind his sarcastic/detached attitude. I like being able to explore that side of him; it’s kind of like “looking behind the curtain” in the sense that we still see Alhaitham’s usual attitude with the way he speaks and acts, but we also see the contrasting tenderness he feels toward Kaveh (although, when I write him, Alhaitham’s narration does often try to bury that tenderness, lol).

That said, I do also like the idea of leaving Alhaitham’s unspoken affection…well, y’know, unspoken—so, being stuck in Alhaitham’s POV all the time wouldn’t be ideal for me.

It’s also interesting to get inside Alhaitham’s head and dismantle the “rational” barriers that he constructs around some things. That is, he’s clearly capable of caring deeply about certain things—like Kaveh—and I love writing about that kind of quiet intensity. And while I do believe that he’s the calm, logical person we see in canon, I also know that he can’t be invulnerable; he’s human, which means he’s capable of being hurt, and I like seeing how he processes those types of emotions.

But there are things that I enjoy about writing Kaveh’s perspective, too. For example, Kaveh’s artistry and ways of thinking give me more opportunities to be poetic with narration. When I’m writing Alhaitham’s POV, his analogies are usually more practical and functional; they tend to focus solely on explaining a concept, so while they might be creative sometimes, they won’t necessarily sound pretty. With Kaveh, though, I can let loose and be more indulgent with metaphors/imagery to explore a feeling or concept. I haven’t written poetry in a while, but his perspective gives me more room to flex those muscles, lol.

Kaveh’s perspective is also more straightforward, at least for me. Yes, he’s got a lot going on, and his psychology can get complicated at times—but he’s pretty much told us about all of his problems either through dialogue or his character stories, and we’ve seen him when he’s excited, happy, morose, angry, et cetera; he tends to acknowledge his feelings in a more “head-on” way, even when he’s trying to avoid his problems or downplay his emotions. So, I like that he’s a more “direct” kind of character, as opposed to the mental gymnastics Alhaitham performs in order to seem like An Incredibly Chill And Totally Unemotional Guy Who Is Never Bothered By Anything Ever.

(Now that I say that, it’s kind of funny that we joke about Kaveh’s mental acrobatics to misinterpret the things Alhaitham says, when Alhaitham is an Olympic gymnast in his own right 😂)

That’s my main answer, but I do have some additional thoughts about why writing Alhaitham’s POV can sometimes be a challenge for me. I’ll include those thoughts in a reblog, though, since I don’t want my response here to get too lengthy.

UPDATE: my additional thoughts are in this reblog

[stormdragon23]

Choi Jong-In Character Analysis

We'll stick to five different things for now (because this post got long)

Choi Jong-In's vision

Jong-In doesn't like bright lights. It might be because of that firecracker that went off in his face before (according to the dossier from the game), but I wonder if it hinders him when he's hunting in closed spaces other than the fact that fire is just dangerous in such places

I'm also curious if he wears the glasses to help with the brightness since they seem tinted and tend to reflect light a lot, but both could be because of the art style.

The lenses on his glasses seem rather thick, so it's either to help him with bright places or his vision really is just that bad. He's probably blind without them either way though-

2. Choi Jong-In's age

If Jong-In got his passport when he turned 18 and just renewed it, he’s probably around 28 at the youngest since he might have gotten his passport when he was older. He could have renewed it earlier than that, but no one does that- (at least not more than a year before it expires)

This also means that Jongin might have been around 18 when the gates first appeared though he didn’t know he awakened until around six years later according to the game dossier. This means he was probably around 24 by the time he knew he was awakened (although he actually awakened earlier without noticing)

3. Choi Jong-In's leadership skills

Jong-In seemed to assume the role of leader during the raid by making sure the others would be safe and efficiently clearly obstacles that made it harder for them to get to the queen. This was interesting considering there were three other guild masters there (and likely with more experience based on Jong-In awakening six years after the gates appeared, whereas Lim Tae-Gyu and Baek Yoon-Ho awakened soon after the gates appeared). While the reason could be because of how versatile his powers are, he appeared to naturally make the first move rather than let someone else try their idea or wait for someone to ask him what they should do

He also explains what he’s doing calmly to the other hunters. While this could just be for the readers to know what he’s doing, he doesn’t make any rude comments to anyone. Like when Baek Yoon-Ho asked what he was doing, Jong-In explained how the explosions from the fire would show where the queen was. It could be argued that the two were too busy to be arguing like usual, but Yoon-Ho and Min Byung-Gyu were bantering quite a bit as they were making their way inside

Jong-In also knows how to make Yoon-Ho mad as seen throughout the series, so he’s actively not picking a fight when he certainly could have at this point when they weren’t fighting the ants yet. It could be that Jong-In’s too focused on the raid despite his calm demeanor, or he knows it would distract Yoon-Ho too much as he’s very capable of reading Yoon-Ho’s body language

4. Choi Jong-In's perceptiveness

Yoon-Ho is the one Jong-In tends to read the most in terms of body language and emotions, so this part will mostly be about Jong-In reading Yoon-Ho

While Jong-In knew exactly why Yoon-Ho was at the building, he didn't indicate that he figured it out other than his usual smile. He's good at drawing conclusions based on what he observes and reacts in a way that prevents others from knowing what he's thinking. (This might be why Yoon-Ho dislikes him as he knows how well Jong-In can read him)

When the other major guilds were glad that Sung Jin-Woo was no longer taking gates, Jong-In found it suspicious rather than being glad that his guild could get more gates. Jong-In seems to question why things happen and how they work. This was shown in the game dossier when he wanted to test his powers before finding out his rank and ended up burning down a whole building

Despite Yoon-Ho making a provoking comment, Jong-In either knows that Yoon-Ho is avoiding the question and chooses to ignore it or knows that's just Yoon-Ho's way of answering him. In either case, Jong-In understands him enough to try to help him

Side note: Yoon-Ho tends to be the one to start arguments with Jong-In, making Jong-In defend himself

5. Choi Jong-In's self-confidence

While Jong-In seems like he would be an arrogant person, especially with his title, there are actually more moments of Jong-In being aware of his limits rather than being overconfident

When he first heard about Jin-Woo's powers, he believed what Son Ki-Hoon said and immediately understood that Jin-Woo was much stronger than him, compared to Thomas Andre or Hwang Dong-Soo who refused to believe it at first

Jong-In is also aware of how much damage he is capable of as shown throughout the Jeju raid. After assessing how strong the flying ants were, he was confident enough to jump off the helicopter to take care of the ants below alone. However, he did not take the same risk when the S-Ranks entered the anthill as he did not know what would be ahead

That's all for Choi Jong-In in this post, but I do plan on making another one about him. If anyone has specific things they want to hear, feel free to ask for them. If you made it this far, have this picture of Jong-In

He's so precious

[empressofdiamonds]

Desiring love from someone that [negative emotion] you, aka HOW TO NOT BE A MOPEY P*CKME

You want to be loved. But it shouldn't go at the sacrifice of dignity. Your dignity.

3 chapters: Lack of Interest, What To Do, How to Avoid Next Time

Signs of lack of interest (aka "he's not that into you")

Doesn't asks questions to you, even well into the relationship.

Lacks observance of you. Isn't proactive. He won't try to ancitipate difficulties and try to make your life easier.

You feel your life is now a bit harder than it used to be.

Doesn't do services, care. You don't feel pampered.

You tend to lead the conversations. (it should be the opposite)

You try to fill in the awkward uncomfortable silences.

You try to "win back" the initial sparkling feeling you had at the beginning, in any ways. You go out of the way to win that back (unbalanced efforts, you put in way more effort, much more than you would normally do).

You tend to become self-conscious ("What if it's my looks/weight/teeth/manners/what if I'm boring?"), assuming it's your doing. Don't worry I'm sure you're fine as you are bestie <3

You don't meet his friends, his family.

And if you do, he doesn't hypes you up facing them (p.ex."Here is my beautiful girlfriend Moira").

RED FLAG: His friends/family aren't that interested in knowing you (Sign you're "yet another girl").

He doesn't listens to your needs or desires. If you say you don't like gold jewelry, and he buys you gold.... Or if you say you don't like mushrooms at all and he brings a huge mushroom bechamel pizza home.... Run.

You feel he answers more to his own desires than yours.

You feel alone in the relationship.

You aren't sure he will have your back in extreme situations. (If you do, GIRLIE WAKE UP)

You feel some shame at the thought of showing him to your family or friends.

He doesn't do the "good morning/good night" texts. And if he does, you don't feel giggly.

After encounters with him you don't feel energized or happy, but rather depressive, down, sad, guilty, regretful, etc.

You find yourself engaging in abnormal behavior patterns. Stress induced behavior, your behavior towards other other than him changes.

You tend to neglect your own personal life, because you want to loop him back into "what it once was".

You find yourself disappointed in the relationship, expecting a GREAT thing, but find yourself with.... this. You feel disappointed.

What to do!? I find myself checking off a few things in the list above!?

You STEP BACK. Retract yourself from this dynamic. Wellness day, but from this relationship.

Take a few deep breaths. When was the last time you FULLY focused on YOU and just YOU? if it has been more than a few weeks, it's an emergency girlie.

What did you leave behind? Did you neglect duties, hobbies, personal projects? It is time to clean up your schedule and focus on YOU. Go, girlie. You need to be an individual, not his Siamese twin.

Make a thorough pros-cons to your relationship with him. Be honest and don't put in "fake pros". It's for you and you, and if you don't write it all, you're lying to yourself... Clown stuff you know. Include emotional, material, financial, social aspects of it all. Everything. If you checked off a few things, odds are incredibly high you might have way more cons than pros. Be HONEST towards yourself.

Then, if you went through all those steps, I'm sure you deduced what to do now. (If you haven't... read more of my posts) You only deserve net additions to your life. You better off single. Yeah.

Okay so.... what must I do to avoid them NEXT TIME?

Trust yourself: If you feel some negative emotion regarding a relationship you're in... LISTEN to this! You have HAVE to listen to this inner queen screaming you the answers. You need a life worth living, a life in which you're happy and comfortable in.

RUN when the inner queen screams to RUN. "Politeness" or "societal standards" go in the compost bin. If you're feeling uncomfortable, get UP. Simple.

Surround yourself with queen besties and only tolerate queen behavior. Pickmes can encourage one to ignore the gut instinct. They can tell you "oh he's actually fantastic", and the guy's breathing dust and mites. They create UNNECESSARY inner conflict. You need inner PEACE AND QUIET, aka, you know what is correct, what's not, you got it all streamlined up. Decisions should never be complicated. If you need one thick 40 lines paragraph at font size 11, or a 5 minutes monologue to explain yourself in your rationale, it's too much.

PRIORITIZE YOURSELF above everything. A great partner will be SO glad you're doing that because he won't have a decomposing mess in his hands at some point. Don't worry, he should be able to handle his own stuff. And this will naturally repulse those that want you all for themselves, those types that run women to the ground.

If you find yourself a great guy... STEPPING BACK and REEVALUATING regularly will be so useful, you throw a fresh, more objective eye to things. Reevaluation is KEY.

[fluxedbuds]

apparently y'all Are desperate enough for my Lomadia Oc so uh. hope you're in the mood for [checks notes] ~13 paragraphs, half of which is just description!

allow me to introduce Villom!

She doesn't have an actual name or in-universe nickname, I just call her Villom. Because she was originally a Villain Version of Lomadia from a sci-fi world for some comic idea I totally scrapped bc it sucked. Except for Villom!

So basically what if we put Lomadia in space and gave her every problem and no normal coping mechanisms

The base universe is Completely Impossible sci-fi space stuff, involving solar systems being relatively close together and having tons of habitable planets, with star trek 'convergent evolution' making everybody a Weird Human Basically. Part of these choices is that I. Don't actually like sci-fi lol. I don't think its bad I just can't Get Into It, so I did the lazy version. HOWEVER I do also use the fact that its extremely artificial and story-focused as part of the plot so its FINE There IS also magic, but it’s generally less used, as tech is more accessible and less complicated from a user standpoint. That doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful, if you know what to look for. Thats foreshadowing!

Compared to base Lomadia, Villom is.. very immature. She has trouble identifying and controlling emotions, she's quick to anger and holds grudges. She's also more impulsive and tends towards insults and crude jokes. She's actually pretty fun to hang out with as a result, but responsibility is a role she's crushed into, and it never truly fits. She's trying her best ok

Villom starts out her story as a young adult, training to be a pilot. She does some hero shit, but breaks so many rules in the process and gets kicked out. She’s enraged by this betrayal of what was supposed to be her life, and steals a ship to go rogue and try to pursue her dreams anyways. She doesn’t exactly know what she’s doing, though, and eventually a chase causes her to crash on an unfamiliar planet, where she meets Rythian. He’s steampunk now, don’t question it

Anyways, they end up teaming up, and form the first of her crew. Later additions are Martyn, who is a mouse guy who has So Fucking Many People Who Want Him Dead, and Zoeya! Who ended up separated from Fionn following partially the plot of Mushbury, and works as the ship’s engineer. Their ship (that lasts long enough to get a name…) is called the Ask, and Villom occasionally (and jokingly) calls her crew the Answers. (Its called the Ask because originally I gave the characters nicknames based on Norse mythology for Pretentious Reasons, those might come back later)

So everything’s all fine and poggers for a while, with the Ask’s crew causing mischief and undercutting evil empires across the worlds- and then Villom’s home planet is destroyed. And she sees it happen.

See, one of the tropes of sci-fi that bugs me, is how understated the death of an entire planet tends to go. This is the first step of Villom realizing how truly fucked up the world they live in is- and the first step of her wondering why it has to be this way, and how to stop it.

It only gets worse from here.

No matter how many evil empires they topple, no matter how many massive threats they thwart, there’s always another one. And no matter how fast they are, they can’t stop every world-ending crisis. Villom starts learning magic, wondering if theres some kind of solution there. When she doesn’t find one, she just looks harder. Brushing so close with forces she’s alone in experiencing wears on her, compounding with their futile mission.

The breaking point is when Rythian dies. Raiding an enemy ship goes wrong, they’re outnumbered, they’re trying to retreat. Surrenders are not accepted, there.

It’s another thing she sees happen, another thing she was inches away from but unable to stop. And she can’t take it. She can’t take losing another part of her, another of the few things she could call home in this cold void.

She takes some of the things she learned looking where she shouldn’t- and kills the nearest member of the enemy team, trading a life for a life. And part of her soul as tax, of course. Just a small bit, this time. She never tells him. Pretends it was instead an incredibly close call. He probably knows she’s lying, on some level, but he never says it.

Villom is desperate, now. There’s more and more things she’s hiding from her crew, more and more boundaries of safety she’s pushing. She trades one of her eyes for the ability to see the functions of the world itself- maybe it’s a mistake, there’s some gear stuck, and if she fixes it this infinite loop of wars will stop.

There is no mistake. This is how the universe is intended to function.

She can’t give up. Because if she stops, she’s never going to get up again.

Maybe there’s other worlds where it’s better, where it’s safe. Maybe there’s a way to make this world like them.

Maybe there’s a way to leave.

She’s barely human anymore, even though she looks perfectly fine. Her hair is white, her eye replaced, but that’s all. She’s replaced the things she’s traded away. She’s barely even a part of the world, anymore. Unstuck from the threads of it, floating as a constant point, unchanging and undying, snapping back into place when moved.

A lot of universes are visited by a strange woman with white hair, who never stays. Sometimes she’s a savior, or a tyrant, or merely another passerby.

One of them, somewhere, has to have an answer. The way to break the cycle. And Villom will find it- even if she has to take every one of them apart.

[dyrewrites]

Before Deluca -- Danse en Rouge pt5

We had remained unstained through our first two encounters, relying primarily on our teeth, but it took one and one alone to fill us. So the next I devoured was necessary only to wash out that gluttonous blood—and I should have taken another.

They were behind one of those horrid doors. Three cherubs adorned it, crouched over a bird with vicious grins in their sweet faces.

That door filled Lucient’s mind with memories of chains, burning flesh, gaping wounds and goblets overflowing with his life. Laughing women held him, purred in his ears and cooed of all the pieces they would take and take and take. Stronger as he became after his death, teeth long and sharp, skin cold and thick, harder to split; the women still did not fear him. They took more, and more, flaying skin from muscle and delighting as his wounds closed. Moreso in how much warmer he burned after an angry bite of their flesh, a bite they begged for again and again—forced it with strange words and throaty chants—even as they tore into him with sharp knives and sharper smiles.

Yet, much to my confused elation, while violent and horrid all...none of what they did was sexual. It was, perhaps, wrong of me to take comfort in that.

I went into the room first, certain to hold him behind me, and found all three on the large bed, entirely naked—which created more confusion. They held daggers; blades and skin covered in red. All three were identical in every way I could see and all three set fiery eyes on me as I entered. And the scent of that room, of them, it sang familiar...sparking with the same mesmerizing stench as the Sea Witch. But there would be no time to ask of it, as they addressed me.

“Wrong room, oaf,” The one sitting in the center of their half circle growled, eyes shining through her bat mask.

Beside her sat one in a mouse mask, tilting her head left and right, studying me as she spoke, “You are too big to play with us.”

The last wore a rat mask, and only giggled into her blood-soaked hands.

Hearts were painted on their cheeks, clear even through the messes they’d made of them, and by then I’d figured what those meant. They marked Lucient’s clients, and it dawned on me that if it were an annual affair and they all attended…

Yes, treasure, he confirmed my mulling, I tended to the desires of all of them, throughout the weekend this party lasts, every year.

I, I don’t, and I really didn’t, understand, that is. I never did finish the thought, however, as he hugged me from behind.

Don’t try, he asked, nuzzling his head into my back, please.

But these women, the horrors in your mind, screaming even now into mine, I held his hands, keeping them tight around me, that is nothing like the others, I don’t understand why—

They aren’t human, they’re witches, he explained, but only just, as too quiet in my mind his voice pleaded, and please, treasure, don’t search in those memories. There are no answers you want. Just get the bat, she’s the real threat, I’ll take the others and you must carve out their hearts after you drain them...or they will return.

Before I could ask, could question the chill in his tone, he had the mouse in his teeth and her dagger at the rat’s throat.

“Kitty,” the bat tittered, without a hint of emotion for what I imagined were her sisters, “you came back. Are you here to sing for us again?” I had her then, moving far quicker than I expected to—we had not run through the halls, I didn’t know my own speed—and took her dagger as she twisted it at me. “And you brought a friend,” she sneered.

Lucient dropped the mouse, limp and spasming as she was, but kept her dagger on the rat, “Partner, dear.” The rat swiped with her dagger and Lucient smiled at her, that sharp mesmerizing smile I hadn’t seen all night, “Now, now, precious, you know better than that.” He twisted the dagger out of her hand, and still she kept silent, “It’s not even silver, what were you hoping to accomplish?”

“Kitty’s in a mood,” the bat cooed, wriggling with my hands on her wrists, “We do so love when Kitty gets mad. You going to hurt us, Kitty, bite us and drink us dry? We ache for your teeth.”

He laughed, chill, humorless as he spoke to me, “Do you hear that, treasure? They want to be bled. Isn’t it delicious?”

While no genuine emotion came through in his voice, his mind popped and jittered with chaotic rage; red, red, red, all of them, redder than they were already, gasping and screaming under his teeth and nails.

I had no time to address it, however, as the bat gaped at me, her brown eyes tinted orange by the light of the room, “You’re a dead thing too?” She elicited another cold, mirthless laugh from Lucient before she begged, “Then bite me, dead thing. Drink me, empty me of all this hot, wretched life. I want to see it smeared thick and red all over you.”

I stared at her, then at Lucient, and my confusion burst a bit more aggressively than intended, “Chi è questa puttana pazza?”

“The crazy bitch is dessert, treasure,” Lucient repeated my aggression through that cold smile and, shaking his head at another attempt of the rat’s to swipe at him, he took her by the hair and bit into her throat. She swooned in that bite, but it didn’t last, and the glint in his eyes when he stopped, when he eyed the dagger, smiled at it…

I would like to take a moment to say that I was filled with many emotions at that moment, terribly conflicting emotions, so when I tell you that his murderous grin excited me...I just want you to have proper context.

But it did excite, as did her gurgling cries as Lucient set to carving her heart out.

The bat giggled, hysterically she giggled, eyes and lips pulled far too wide at the sight of her sister’s demise. But her giggles snapped to gasps as I gave her the gift she begged for.

“Yes,” she swooned beneath my teeth, “oh, and hot you are, dead thing...so hot that bite...burning, burning all inside me. More, yes, take more! Take it all!”

Her blood screamed. Brutal and ravenous, thick as syrup without a hint of sweetness but still it sparked as the sea witch’s sparked—a taste I would forever associate with magic. But it was sour fruit on my tongue, burning acid down my throat, and she moaned louder the more I drank it, all but screaming her lust for the agony of my teeth—the death they promised. Were it not for my hands on her wrist, I am certain she’d have held me through it, pulled me closer—as the sea witch had.

It swelled in me, her blood, with fresh desires no less monstrous than the last. I wanted to hurt, to cut, to watch something living suffer and bleed. Not for sustenance, not for a primal need, but for pleasure. It wasn’t difficult to take the dagger to her after, to stab and slice and dig.

Yet I caught myself, with her heart in my hand—pumping still, however slight—and I gaped at Lucient, “My dream...I—I’m not sure this blood is any better than that fottuta pantera.”

With a giddy, blood-soaked grin, he presented the heart he’d cut and it occurred to me then that, perhaps, we should have been more careful about who we ate.

I cut the mouse’s heart out next, fighting bubbling giggles as I sawed through muscles and snapped her ribs to get at it...with Lucient leaning on my back, not fighting the glee that spilled from his lips.

We each took a dagger with us when we left the room, soaked in all the thick red life those witches sprayed. Our eyes and ears kept alert for any notice of their screams—pleasurable as they were—but none hunted, none chased. We had again gone unnoticed, and I didn’t have time to wonder before Lucient answered it.

Spelled, all the pretty rooms are spelled, even his thoughts were drenched in giggling glee.

And giggling together we went for the others on Lucient’s list. Ones we took less care to remain subtle with, playing with the shiny daggers we’d stolen until their gurgling whimpers grew too sweet not to bite them away. It became far too easy to see pulsing life as a meal instead of a person and, thanks to influence of those murderous witches, I delighted in far more than the blood on my tongue.

I wanted to bathe in it. I cut, I tore, I rent limbs from sockets and heads from necks, with Lucient praising me all the while—his blood just as tainted.

We ran full speed through the halls, a blur to all but others like us—and none of them seemed to know, or care, what we were doing. Reveling in the freedom of that bubbling glee as a salve to the torturous memories each new target inflicted, we drained no others after the sisters—a bite only, Lucient insisted, to make it clear that something with fangs had done the deed.

[itsclydebitches]

This feels comparatively minor in the grand scheme of everything going on with Ruby's writing, but given that I think it connects to the overall issue of the team's mishandled emotions, I want to lay out a (potential?) nitpick here.

Anyone else confused by Jaune's Penny-focused trauma?

"What are you talking about, Clyde?" I hear the imaginary voice in my head that likes playing Devil's advocate exclaim. "Jaune just killed Penny last Volume! You said yourself that the story needed to grapple with that to have any hope of salvaging this plot-line. In what world shouldn't he be grieving a recent, horrifically tragic death that he intentionally brought about?"

Well, yeah... but it's only recent to the viewer and the characters. For Jaune it's been decades. We don't know precisely how much time has passed, but it's long enough for him to have lived at least half a life here. So why is this event still at the forefront of his emotional struggle? Look, I'm not saying something that traumatizing wouldn't stay with Jaune for his entire life, nor am I saying that Team RWBY's arrival couldn't have re-triggered those memories (even though RT didn't write that happening). All I'm saying is that this is a character who has survived years in a foreign, dangerous landscape, so it's a little odd to me that something that - from his perspective - happened when he was a kid remains his emotional focus. From just what little we've heard about Jaune's life in the Ever After, he's accumulated a long list of new tragedies he could be grappling with: surviving the Jabberwalker, being betrayed and nearly killed by Alyx, loosing Lewis, the death of his village that happened mere moments ago. Penny's death doesn't feel like an event so significant that it trumps all Jaune's other trauma, it just feels like the writers not taking into account that he should be a fundamentally different person after so much time and growth. We're seeing this problem in other ways too, where beyond being "crazy" Jaune is still the same old Jaune, he doesn't seem to have improved in his combat, the Ever After hasn't changed him in any meaningful way beyond making him physically older.

(As a side note: the story might have done something interesting with that by introducing the concept that no one changes unless it's through Ascension. Lean hard into the idea of a fixed story where Jaune has essentially remained static for all this time, playing the same Knight role, succeeding in the same heroic deeds, forever trapped with a 19yo-ish personality/mind coming off of Penny's death. His body ages, but the rest of him stays precisely the same because this is a fairy tale that must be told the same way again and again and again...)

Anyway, I find this characterization particularly unpersuasive given how the rest of the cast tends to speedrun through "development." In this Volume alone we've seen 2/3rds of the team answer the, 'Are you a good huntress?' question in a single scene, Weiss has now gotten past destroying her Kingdom because all huntresses make mistakes, I guess, the group comes to terms with Ruby killing herself instantly after it happens, and Ruby herself is poised to be magically cured of her depression via tree therapy. RWBY argues that it takes incredibly little (if anything at all) for these characters to overcome trauma and become better versions of themselves, which in and of itself is a writing Choice, but throwing an older Jaune into the mix just makes it that much harder to swallow. You're telling me that after decades in the Ever After he never once got caught in the crossroads of a punderstorm, forced to work through Penny's death the way the bees worked through their romantic hesitance? Jaune never encountered any magical smoke that let him talk back to his past self and declare that he did everything perfectly, actually? Jaune spent years befriending the Paper Pleasers, but none of them ever gave him a self-reflective speech like Team RWBY got? This world that in a day has taken the girls through ALL their problems somehow didn't help Jaune after he spent a lifetime here?

Frankly, it's impossible to imagine (and no, I don't buy this 'Well Jaune was selfish and refused to accept things/move on' argument. That's a whole other kettle of worms involving RWBY's frankly insulting definition of 'accepting death' that I don't have time to get into here). Suffice to say, if Volume 9 was going to be the girls speedrunning through their development thanks to the Ever After's magic, Jaune should be a completely different person after spending a lifetime here. You can give us an older, more mature Jaune with an entirely new set of struggles to overcome while also grappling with Penny's death by having the girls learn that he killed her. I can't believe we're heading into the finale and Jaune has fallen off the tree without Ruby learning the truth, but beyond that it might have been interesting to see her grappling with such a horrific discovery while Jaune - through no fault of his own - has already had years to work through it. That would be something to let Ruby vent about. Let her be furious and disgusted that Jaune is so "indifferent" to her death when the audience can see that really he's just reached a point where he can talk about this without immediately breaking down; let her rage about him "murdering" her, getting closer and closer to a breaking point as Jaune tries to explain what it took him years to come to terms with (a perspective I personally don't agree with, but that the narrative is clearly pushing): he did it for the greater good, it was Penny's choice, and he is not responsible for the murder Cinder committed. Give me a freshly grieving, teenage Ruby set against an adult Jaune who has - as much as anyone can - come to terms with this death and let that dynamic help Ruby grow and better herself, using a friend and fellow leader as a model.

I mean sure, we're still left with Jaune getting a ton of focus and I know many fans despise him enough that this would be a big NO right out of the gate... but personally I'd take it over Ruby attempting suicide and Jaune, for some reason, still acting like Penny died yesterday, rather than a lifetime ago.

[marenwithanm]

Oh!! What headcanons/plans do you have about Wood's family? And/or Who was the hardest to design?

Hi thanks for the ask! I don't really plan on going into Wood's family and such during the actual comic, so I'm happy to lore dump it all right now 🤣 he's probably the one who I've thought the most about for this question, because there's literally nothing to go off of. Also I got another ask for question 9 (which is asking about all of the links families) so I'll go into my thoughts on the other Link's families there.

So Wood was a normal kid you could find anywhere, living in a small village. (I can't decide if I want that to be on the outskirts of Hyrule or not even in Hyrule in the first place). He had parents who worked hard to provide for him and his little baby sister. His dad was a wood worker, and made the little play sword he still carries around (so Wood is quite attached to it. Sure would be a shame if it were to, oh I don't know, snap in half one day 😈) One day, while he was out playing, Ganon's armies raided the town. It went a little something like this:

Wood survived, of course, but the head trauma combined with the emotional trauma left him with spotty memories. He's been wandering around since, mostly just trying to stay alive in the monster infested wilderness. Until one day, he runs into the Princess's nursemaid, Impa, and is tasked with saving the land of Hyrule.

So basically Wood did have a family, but he can't really remember that fact beyond some blurry faces and a feeling of warmth. In between the first game and Adventure of Link, I think he spends some time trying to remember where he came from, and maybe even finds the ruins of that village, but that's a story for another time. It does make his fight against Ganon a bit more... personal than he first realized 🤣

Aaaaanyways, onto who was the hardest to design. I tend to stick pretty closely to the base designs of the Links (which is part of why I think other ppl's links meet aus are so cool how do y'all come up with such neat designs????) but if I had to chose someone it would probably be our ✨Mysterious Figure✨. But I can't talk about him yet so second hardest would probably be Rock. There are two toon links in Little Links (wind waker and minish cap), and I didn't want either to just look like the stock toon link design.

(plot twist, this one is neither minish cap or wind waker link, its spirit tracks link! and unless you're a mega nerd and notice that the line art being colored is a spirit tracks thing (and maybe the belt being grey and the shield design, there's really no way to tell lol. So, you can see why I wanted to stay away from that)

Ocean was easy, just put him in his outset outfit and you're done. But Rock was a bit harder since he doesn't have any alternate outfits in game. I ended up going with a blacksmith apron and long sleeved shirt and pants in the toon link colors. I like his design, but I do sometimes worry he isn't recognizable as Minish Cap Link on his own. But to be fair to me, the only way you can recognize Minish Cap Link even in offical art is with Ezlo on his head and I can't exactly do that here since its before everyone's adventures, so I think I did just fine. As for everyone else's designs I really just took their offical art and in game designs into account. Like Pinkie's red shoes are just from alttp Link's sprite

Ocean has a bracelet because he has one in wind waker and I extrapolated from there.

I do kind of wish I had done something fun with Wood's eyes, since his loz 1 sprite has dual colored green and brown eyes, but oh well its too late now.

Also, sorry this answer took so long, I wanted to include a bit of art but its my spring break right now so its been a hectic (but fun) week

[kuzcoskingdom]

Lovely to see a blog dedicated to one of my favourite Disney movies!

No idea if you've been asked this before, but instead of asking about the comedy I'll ask something harder to pin down: what's your favourite emotional moment from the movie? (Mine is probably the apology that doesn't need to be said scene at the grass meadow)

Oh, and if that isn't a stupid question, what are your thoughts on Kronk's New Groove and Emperor's New School?

hey, glad you like my blog!! i only made it this year, sort of on impulse because i was going through yet another emperor's new groove obsession and there's multiple blogs out there like this for my other favorite disney movies, but any similar blogs for ENG i could find hadn't been active in years. so i thought it'd be fun to start one myself. warning that i tend to ramble so this might get a little long.

this might be a bit of an obvious answer, but i think my favorite emotional moment might just be the scene toward the end when kuzco tells pacha he's decided not to destroy the village! i love how it manages to be both emotional and funny at the same time, with kuzco feeling the need to apologize in this snarky, indirect way and pacha knowing exactly what's up and going along with it, and then indirectly inviting kuzco to be his neighbor for the summer. it's so sweet.

no such thing as a stupid question! it's been a while since i saw kronk's new groove and i probably need to rewatch it. i do remember thinking last time i watched it that it was one of the better disney sequels, but also that kronk didn't need to have a love interest tbh? just because of the setup of kronk's papi wanting him to settle down with a wife and kids and a large house, and him being uninterested in those things and determined to stay true to his own groove. though i do love kronk and remember thinking it was cool how they expanded on his character. and i loved it whenever kuzco interrupted the movie and when he pretended to be kronk's fake wife, lol.

as for the emperor's new school... i actually have a lot more thoughts on it but i don't want to reply with a massive wall of text so i'll try to be as concise as i can here LOL. i'll also say that this is all just my own personal opinion and if anyone disagrees then that's totally cool! but the show kiiind of frustrates me and gives me a lot of mixed feelings because i don't like how kuzco is written in it. i get that people don't completely change overnight, but a lot of the time in the show he's just so mean and selfish and his development often gets reset so he can learn the same lesson again in another episode. he'll also have really sweet moments with malina but then go back to mistreating her. it just bugs me because i love him in the movie and i feel like the show could've handled him better while still having him be flawed.

but, on the other hand, the show is often laugh-out-loud funny and i'm really glad eartha kitt and patrick warburton returned to voice yzma and kronk in it, because they're the source of a lot of great comedy. i also think malina is a great character (she's surprisingly well-developed especially for a 2000s spin-off cartoon imo) and there are certain parts of her romance with kuzco that i find really endearing, plus she's headstrong and takes no shit from him, so i still ship them even though i dislike how he treats her sometimes. i also love the fact that kuzco moves in with pacha and chicha and pretty much becomes a part of their family. some of my favorite episodes of the whole show are the ones that center on that wholesome found family dynamic. i've been thinking of possibly making some gifs of my favorite moments from the series!

[beigepillow]

The question of who fell harder between Y and D is something that I've seen so many times, and no matter how much I think of it I can't say if there's one of them that loves the other the most. What do you think?

I think that answer depends on where you are in the story. Before the timeskip, I think it would seem like Doumeki loved Yashiro more. He was so willing to do anything to stay by Yashiro’s side and wouldn’t leave him even if Yashiro hurt him and Yashiro desperately wanted to let him go but after the timeskip, it may seem like Yashiro loves Doumeki more. Yashiro was a zombie without Doumeki and is stuck in the cycle of abuse with Inami. He sees no reason to truly live when all his happiness seemed to be connected to Doumeki. Doumeki, though he kept tabs on Yashiro, was able to go on and live his life. He has relationships with others and even jokes around when the mood fits him. Truthfully, I think both love each other equally. They just experience it differently. Neither are happy without the other. I think it comes down to the fact that we can see Yashiro’s thoughts and Doumeki is good at hiding his emotions so it can seem like he is okay when we don’t really know what he is actually feeling. We also have to take into account their histories. Yashiro maintains a distance with everyone but Doumeki and is extremely motivated by love. He tends to fall to apathy and depression when he loses the man he loves. We even see it with Kage to a lesser extent. Doumeki doesn’t have the same approach to love because he is a different person to Yashiro. I think once he feels secure, he will go back to complimenting Yashiro and showing us and Yashiro his love. But if I were to apply the “_ fell first and _ fell harder” to them, I would say Doumeki fell first and Yashiro fell harder haha

[faioula16]

Does Sébastian shows or says out loud that he misses his kitten?? And the opposite for Y/N, please. Thank you in advance 🌸

*Sebastian's sitting right across your seat with Y\N comfortably on his lap. Her back against his bare chest while his arms wrapped around her waist in a secured manner and his chin rested upon her shoulder*

Sebastian: I must say I didn't expect so much curiosity from a lady like yourself, don't you think it's a bit rude to ask such a personal question for a couple you have met with just a few moments ago? *deep sigh* Well, I do suppose it can't be helped. The young master was quite specific to his orders. *His slender fingers sneaked to move a flock of Y\N's hair behind her ear and gave her a sweet smooch to the cheek before he looked back in your direction* And now to answer your question...no when I miss my kitten I don't say it out loud or don't show it either. I am quite the proud demon person after all and my butler aesthetic wouldn't allow me to show such weak emotions in front of others. But since I can't lie when I miss my beloved darling kitten I do tend to be...more strict than usual to the rest of the Phantomhive servants and my lord is very grumpy, he keeps scolding me for being distracted and lost in my thoughts. Me, can you believe it? I always fulfill my duties thought, if I couldn't serve my master in perfection even if I miss my love terribly and don't know what to do with myself when I don't have her in my arms, then what kind of butler would I be? Certainly not a Phantohive butler.

Y\N: Yeah, you tricked me with your 'surprise' and made me agree to work for the kid so you could have me by your side all the time. *She glared at him with the tip of her eyes*

Sebastian: Now now darling, don't be like that. *The side of his face nuzzled lovingly against her cheek* It didn't turn out so bad, you have a good job, our very own big room to share, we're spending all day together, two free hours for a break, you have the necessary amount of money to live comfortably, master allowed your dog to stay as well, we have our secret place within the gardens and so much more. it's not right on your part to be that ungrateful. But then again, I can't blame you, you are just a little human, and greed is in your nature. *sigh* Guess I have to work harder...to please you~ *He lifted his one foot slightly just to rub his knee between her thighs. He let out an amused laugh when Y\N's face turned all red and tired to get off his hold, but alas his grip around her waist was too strong* Alright, alright I will behave from now on.

Y\N: *clears her throat and looks back to you, the hard blush on her cheeks still visible* Sometimes I can't come along to acompany Sebastian and the kid to cases, the next day I do miss Sebastian and complain to Finny all the time. I am very happy my friend has such patience with me and my mumbling speeches. *Your hand reached to rub the back of your neck nervously*

Sebastian: Darling, you must refer to the young master like I taught you and not as such nicknames as 'kid' *The devilish butler whispered to her ear, making her spine sliver a bit to how smooth yet firm his tone was*

Y\N: W-Who cares, he's not here to hear me or something.

Ciel: Are you sure about that?

*You along with Sebastian and Y\N turned around to see Ciel who entered the room, uh oh...*

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

The Bookstore 2

Warnings: None as yet.

Summary: A mysterious strangers comes to your bookstore.

Character: Jorah Mormont (Modern AU)

This is for my Jorah Bean, they know who they are ;) and to anyone else who likes this teddy bear. Darkness to come, promised. As well, as usual, as I so desperately beg of you, please let me know what you think. Love!

Cardinal’s Cafe is busy as you wait in line for your noon time cappuccino. You hoped to take a longer break from the store as your eyes were starting to get tired from squinting at your weekly sales spreadsheet. You could just go upstairs to your apartment above the shop but that only made it harder to go back.

You step up and take your mug from Doris. You forgot you said ‘for here’. You’re stuck now and there’s nowhere to sit. You back up and look around, drawn by subtle movement to your right. You glance over as your name lilts off the man’s tongue.

“I’ve a seat available if you don’t mind the company,” Jorah offers as he stands, an open palm towards the other chair at the table for two.

“Only if you don’t mind,” you answer sheepishly, “it’s packed in here, huh?”

“Please,” he comes around and pulls out the chair for you. It’s not entirely peculiar in the town of retirees.

You place your cup down and sit as his fingers unintentionally brush your sleeve. He steps around you and resumes his seat across from you, framing the saucer beneath his cup with his long fingers. You warm your hands against the sides of the porcelain mug and sniff as you look out the window.

“I was on my way to the shop actually,” he intones, drawing your attention back, “I finished the books. I think I underestimated my free time.”

“Oh? Any good?”

“The first was a fun romp but the second… not entirely a satisfying end,” he takes a sip of his black tea, “do you know if the food is any good here?”

“That’s kind of a subjective question but I don’t mind it. I tend to go more for the bakery but… I’m cutting back on all that.”

“Sweet tooth?”

“Deadly,” you confirm and dare a sip of your cappuccino, carefully not to singe your tongue.

“How about Medley’s? The restaurant?”

“It’s not bad,” you nod, “I mean, there’s not much choice around here, is there? As long as you have a strong stomach.”

“Oh?”

“It’s also the deli and they butcher their own meat. They’re hardly shy about it.”

“Ah, I will keep that in mind.”

“Pretty slow everywhere here,” you say, “I hope you’re serious about retirement.”

“Slow is nice. Safe,” he says as he leans back and fixes his lapel, “how did you end up here?”

You smile, “how do you know I’m not from here?”

“That could be an answer.”

You take another drink and eye the coffee cake in the display, wondering if it’s worth it to get up and order. “My grandmother owned the shop before me. Put my name on it herself. She needed a caretaker and I just finished uni at the time.” He listens intently, planting his elbow on the table and steepling his fingers beneath his chin, the soft fuzz grazing along his fingertips, “she had a couple years left but they were rough.”

“I’m sorry,” he says mournfully, “I know how hard loss can be.”

“It’s life,” you swallow your emotion. “I’m sure you know. What about you? You got a family in tow? A partner?”

His cheek dimples and he pulls his hands apart, showing his left and wiggling his bare ring finger, “never got to that part. Just me. Lonely old man.”

“Free,” you correct him, “means you can just do whatever you want.”

“And you? Are you… free?”

Your brows nearly meet as you consider his question. It’s harmless. At least twenty years between you, he’s being polite. Like Ruth does when she asks about your love life. If you can call it that.

“Was in something long-distance for a while. Didn’t wanna leave the shop so that’s that,” you tap your fingers on the handle of your mug, “so guess I am too.”

“We should start a club,” he kids, “we don’t have to quilt or anything.”

You can’t help but chuckle and give another longing look to the case of cakes and pastries. Your mouth waters and you drown the temptation with a taste of espresso.

“Looks good,” he comments and you guiltily retract your stare.

“What?”

“The cake.”

“Like I said, cutting back.”

“Yes, you did, but it’s okay to still have some.”

“Don’t tempt me, please.”

“Ah, but it’s fun,” his blue eyes gleam.

You shake your head, “really, I’m not–”

“Oh, you must be the new one,” you’re interrupted as Diane blusters over from the counter, “well, look at you. How dashing, you are!”

You look up as she gives a flirty smile and slurps from the plastic lid. Diane’s the type to fill the shop with her voice as she recounts the filthiest gossip. You glance at Jorah as he maintains a courteous veneer.

“Hello,” he says evenly.

“But I see you’ve already hopped on the young one,” she sneers, “bit old, aren’t ya?”

“Di,” you warn, “we’re just talking.”

“Right, right, I’ve not even introduced myself. Diane. I run the local book club and the founder’s lodge.”

“Founder’s lodge?” Jorah wonders though hardly sounded interested.

“Yes, very exclusive. We arrange local events. We’ve had art installations and the like. We also run the Christmas market.”

“Fun,” he muses dully and empties his cup.

“You didn’t tell me your name, handsome?”

“You’ve not stopped talking about yourself long enough to let me,” he stands and wipes his mouth with a napkin, “if you’d excuse us, we were having a conversation before you waltzed in. I’m certain you’ve got some important task to do for the Founder’s Lodge or what have you.”

“Why I– Oh, feisty.”

“If you would,” he gestures past her, “I’d like to get through.”

“I am being polite, sir, the least you can do is tell me your name,” she says, aghast.

“Polite isn’t interrupting a stranger, now if you would kindly move, I would like to claim that last slice of cake,” he waits only a moment before stepping around her decisively.

She juts her jaw out at the affront and scoffs. Her eyes fall on you and she sniffs, “hm, he must be rich, eh? Just like nana.”

She spins, spilling some coffee on herself as she storms towards the door. There’s some chatter as the door chimes and you peek over at Jorah as he stands unaffected in line, coolly taking out his wallet as he moves up to the till. Well, you don’t expect you’ll be hosting any book club meetings at the shop soon.