#have wanted to make this for a while but i’ll update properly once i’ve got a working laptop

[firstkhao]

about me ✨

nini, ‘98, she/her. this is my main! i post mostly about asian queer dramas (and my gf milk pansa). my ask box is always open <3. i also have way too many sb’s so here’s all of them:

@hanadoh (asian dramas) / @tohruu (anime) / @sidneyadamu (non-asian tv/film) @westleys (lit. aes. comfort.)

i have too many blogs and never tell anyone so this is to avoid confusion for the moots ahshdhd <3 if you’re like. who is this stranger calling me by my name? it’s probably me with a sb <3

[richarlotte]

more things you swear by?

Japanese Lingerie.

I swear by Japanese lingerie, especially if you love detailed sets. My body doesn’t suit American-made lingerie now that I’ve lost so much weight, and I learned about Japanese lingerie from r/abrathatfits on my journey to find what suited me. The bras are forward projecting and give me a much better side view. I love buying matching lingerie sets, and the sets I usually go for are lacy and intricate; they’re incredibly well priced for the quality they are, and they fit me the way I like my sets to fit me. Buying lingerie is extremely feminine to me, and I love finding sets that complement my body. I’m still not as secure in my new body as I’d like to be, and good lingerie makes me feel beautiful again.

French Tips.

French tips are my go-to. They look good, they’re low maintenance, they’re universally acceptable, and they look clean. When done right, they make my hands look longer and thinner than they are, and I love that with a thinner white line, they look and feel delicate. I mostly do French mani-pedis; it’s a habit I got into when I first went to Chicago, and it’s served me well, so I doubt I’ll ever stray from it. The nail salon combo is widely accepted to be DND865 and DND473, and I do an acrylic overlay on top of my natural nails, keep an oval shape, and request a thin tip if I’m not doing BIAB again. I won’t get into the acrylic vs. BIAB debate at the moment, but I will say that when properly done, BIAB looks amazing, is better for helping you retain length, and it lasts longer than acrylic while looking better.

Classic Makeup and Flicky Layered Hair.

I love styling my hair and doing my makeup; it’s like a reward for waking up in the morning. I get to sit down, make myself pretty, and enjoy the entire process. I figured it was time to update my skincare and makeup routines once again, so I took the time to start watching makeup tutorials (Uma Jammeh, amazing) and using what products I already have to adapt certain looks to my face. As for hair, I’m obsessed with Sarmadina de Beaute as of late and layers. I think my hair looks best with heavy, flicky layers (Remington curls) if I don’t have the time to do a blowout, and I’ve really embraced the process of both finding styling inspiration and actually doing my hair. I found my ultimate inspiration the other day, ordered hair immediately, and cut and styled one of my synthetic wigs to get the look in the interim, and I’m smitten.

Minimal Jewelry.

I’ve always worn minimal jewelry; I’m a major fan of Cartier, and I’ve curated a small collection that I wear nearly every day. I love accessorizing, but I don’t like wearing a million things that have no meaning; I prefer to only wear things I love or things that have a story behind them. Gold is my metal and diamonds are my jewel. I prefer this combo over all of the other combos I’ve seen or worn before, but I also occasionally wear mother of pearl when the time is right. I dislike being weighed down by poorly made pieces; I think jewelry can be used as a statement (when needed), and putting thought into what I wear and what I want my jewelry to say has saved me a lot of misery. With the exception of my charm necklace or lavaliere necklace, I try to wear the same sets every day.

Lymphatic Massages and Red Light Therapy.

Now that it’s November and the weather is soon to turn cold again, I’m much more focused on cardio and my diet. Because I’ve filled my weekday mornings with Pilates and my afternoons with the elliptical and stairmaster, I’ve added lymphatic drainage massages and red light therapy to my weekend schedule. I’ll be in Europe, on the slopes, in the freezing cold for the majority of my winter break, and I’m preparing for that now. Lymphatic massages are a lifesaver for me, especially during allergy season, and full-body red light therapy is just an additional benefit. I’ve also switched from studio yoga to hot yoga and from the steam room back to the sauna, stopped drinking coffee, and really started focusing on increasing my flexibility.

Tinting, Tanning, and Toning.

I love having dark skin already, but I do tend to go wild with the self-tanning in the winter. In my mind, there’s nothing more beautiful than dark skin against white snow, and the darker I am, the better I look. I grew up being told that I was too dark, but I’ve embraced it. I’m proud of my skin, and I love the richness of it, and I use tanner as a way to cover up the scarring on my body and contour my face. As for tinting, I tint my brows and lashes darker than I normally would in the colder months because they don’t turn over or fade as quickly. I never ever tint my eyebrows jet black; that color is far too harsh for my face, and I can’t pull it off at all. I use the darkest brown on my brows and jet black on my lashes. When it comes to toning, I spray my entire body with the Ordinary’s glycolic acid and let it dry after showering for the best results. I swear by it for clearing body acne and preventing any body odor.

It’s similar but different.

[vodika-vibes]

continuing the love for the skiratas….Kom‘rk? Maybe he and the reader are on a mission together and due to circumstances (a storm or heavy snow) they have to wait it out for a few days and while they are waiting they realize they have a crush on each other and find an….alternative way to pass time if you know what I mean 👀

Stormy Days

Summary: After a sudden storm causes you and Kom'rk to get trapped in a cabin, you find an interesting way to pass the time.

Pairing: Kom'rk Skirata x Reader

Word Count: 886

Warnings: None

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: I probably could have kept going with the smut, but I wasn't feeling it today, so I stopped here. If you want Kom'rk smut, you can send another ask and I'll do it properly.

“Well, this is cheerful,” You say brightly as you wring out the sleeve of your robe, “Was this storm supposed to happen?” You ask, flickering your gaze over to Kom’rk, who’s steadfastly avoiding looking at you.

“This planet is known for massive storms,” He admits, his gaze darting over to you, and then away again, “Though the next storm wasn’t meant to start for another few days.”

“Well, weather does as weather does, I suppose.” You peel off the outermost layer of your robes and wring it out, “At least we found a dry play to hang out until the storm blows over.” You cast your gaze around the clean cabin.

“It was probably built for people like us.” Kom’rk says thoughtfully, “People who got caught in a sudden storm.”

“So long as the fresher works and the bed doesn’t have bugs, I think we’ll be okay. I’ve slept in worse places…as have you.” You grin at him, and he flashes you a small smile.

“You aren’t wrong about that,” He agrees good-naturedly, “Though I’m sure you’ve been to more planets than me, little miss jedi.” Kom’rk teases.

“My master once forced me to sleep in a tree. It was awful,” You hang your robe near the door and pull your boots and then your socks off, laying them out to dry. And then you move around the small cabin, “It looks like the fresher is fully stocked.”

“Only one bed though.” Kom’rk points out, nodding towards the bed in the corner of the room, “You can have that, I’ll sleep on the couch-”

“Don’t be silly, the bed is big enough to share.” You reply as you twist your soaked hair off the back of your neck with a grimace, “I promise I don’t bite.”

He exhales sharply, as if he’s biting back a comment, and then he flashes a crooked grin, “Alright. If that’s what you want.”

You shoot him an odd look, “It just makes sense. Besides, if either of us is going to sleep on the couch, it should be me, since I’m shorter than you.”

“We already said that we’re going to share the bed,” Kom’rk replies, “So don’t worry about it. Anyway, you can go and shower if you like. I’ll see if I can get a fire started.”

You grin at him, “Thanks, I’ll do that.”

You shower quickly, and change into what dry clothes you have, a tank top and some shorts that you normally sleep in. Not ideal, but it’s all you have.

You card your fingers through your hair, and step out of the fresher into the main room, a happy sigh leaving you as you notice the fire crackling in the fireplace.

“Fresher’s yours if you want it.” You say cheerfully.

Kom’rk turns to look at you, and very nearly drops his comm, “Kriff,” He mutters under his breath as he catches it and shoves it away, “Sorry. I was giving an update.”

“It’s fine. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you fumble with anything before.”

“Yeah, well…” his gaze flickers over you, “I’ve never seen you wear so little before.”

You frown at him, “Is that a problem?” You ask.

“Only for my sanity,”

You blink at him, startled. “I beg your pardon?”

“I…no…don’t worry about it. You said the shower is open, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Great, I’ll do that then.” He smiles at you, “The bed is clean, if you want to get yourself settled, the couch isn’t terribly comfortable, really.”

“Alright, thanks.” As Kom’rk moves into the fresher, you climb into the bed, and curl up on a pillow.

He takes a startlingly quick shower, and then sits on the edge of the bed, “You know, you don’t have to share a bed with me. I don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

You roll your eyes, and sit up. You wrap your arms around him and pull him back onto the bed, and then snuggle against his side, “Huh…you’re warm.”

Kom’rk twists slightly so that he’s laying on the bed properly, and he laughs softly, “So are you.” Slowly, hesitantly almost, one of his hands slides up your side, and settles on the side of your neck. His rough fingers trace a shape against the base of your throat, and he just stares at you.

“Kom-,” you inch closer to him, and you’re not able to finish his name as his lips are pressed against yours and his tongue is sliding against your lips.

“Kriff,” He murmurs once he breaks the kiss, his lips hovering just over yours, “Wanted to do that for ages.”

“Why didn’t you?” you ask softly.

“Didn’t want to ruin our friendship,” He replies, he rolls so that you’re pinned under him, “Still don’t want to ruin our friendship, but, fuck cyare, I only have so much self control.”

You laugh softly, “What if I want you to lose control?”

Kom’rk groans and drops his head to your shoulder to release a shuddering breath, “Fuck, cyare.”

You smile at him innocently and thread your fingers through his hair, “I’m not made of glass,” You whisper to him, “You won’t break me.”

“Oh, cyare.” Kom’rk pulls back and crashes his lips against yours, “I’m going to ruin you.” He breathes out.

You grin at him, “Promise?”

“Cyar’ika, I guarantee it.”

[rowanul-tyr]

So. Dawntrail.

I finished the 7.0 MSQ roughly a week ago, during the early access period, and overall I had a great time with it! My thoughts on the expansion as a whole have been marinating in the brain pot since then, and I wanted to touch on some of those thoughts and why I think this has been such a great expansion so far, at least story-wise. All under a cut for spoilers, and I’ll honestly be talking mostly vaguely about plot stuff anyway. And I’ll mark anything specific that is spoilers, and dividing things zone by zone.

Anyway.

First and foremost, since I feel like this will help put my overall opinion into perspective, is my ranking of expansions so far.

1: SHB will forever be king to me in a ton of ways; part of it is this was the expansion I started with, but I also just love the story it tells so much and even if I have little gripes, they’re all so minor that it doesn’t really matter

2: a tie between HW and EW, actually--both are excellent, and while I have some issues with parts of them, the positives for the most part outweigh my issues

3: another tie between STB and ARR--I think both of these are good, but have some issues that really can’t be ignored. And they’re only at the bottom because that’s how lists work.

DT is not perfect in my eyes (not by a long shot), but it is giving SHB a true run for its money in terms of how much I liked it. Like I said initially, I don’t think it’s without its problems (no expansion is, even SHB no matter how much I love it), but overall there is just SO much good stuff here that I am 100% willing to forgive it.

Before I get into the details, I want to say: making it clear from the pre-order stuff and Viper and all that this is the FF9 expansion really is important. FF9 begins fairly bright and cheery and its aesthetic lends itself well to hiding what subject matter it tackles, but then it eventually starts dealing with a LOT of heavy topics--and Dawntrail is very much living up to that in my book.

Expansion Start

Going into this expansion I really had no idea what to expect. I admit that the 6.X patch cycle really threw me for a loop once DT was announced, and it felt kind of pointless to be doing so much with the void? I was like, “Why are we spending so much time on this, when we should be looking at things that are relevant to Dawntrail??” because none of it made sense to me.

One of the issues I had with STB for a long time was Lyse. Don’t worry, I’ve come around on her, but it took a while. The biggest issue I had was that the devs tried to take an existing character and turn her into something other than what we knew, and it threw me entirely. I think they learned the lesson from that, which is why the focus is on Wuk Lamat, a new character, and on Krile, an older character we know so that we feel more invested in what is to come.

Another aspect of STB that kind of threw me off was…how little focus it got after the HW story ended? Like we get two patches worth fo story to lead into it, and I 100% think the Ga Bu stuff is important, and obviously the Warriors of Darkness story is important to set up part of SHB, but…everything to set up STB felt…not there? And we meet Lyse properly during 3.55/3.56, just like Wuk Lamat. We don’t have time to get to know her as this new person before we’re dropped into STB proper. And that didn’t help me when it came to bonding with Lyse--it took until the Lakshmi trial before I realized how I was supposed to feel about her my second time playing through Stormblood.

Wuk Lamat won me over really fast, thankfully--she has a certain kind of charm to her that endeared me to her pretty quickly (she’s very Sora from Kingdom Hearts coded in my eyes), and I was quietly interested to see what would happen with her character arc going forward. To be frank, I was more excited about how much better my character looked in game than in the updated benchmark than what little of the story we knew! I also was more invested in Krile than anything else story-wise; she’s always been a low key fave of the Scions for me so it’s nice to see her be much more involved in MSQ this time around.

But then we hit the first city and actually got into the story. Tulliyollal is such a lovely city, and its inn room was the first to make me go “wow” since the Pendants (since the Baldesion Annex was fun but still feels way too cluttered for me). I loved meeting Gulool Ja Ja, and his vibe as a character was excellent. I was surprised by what the rite of succession was shaping up to be, but once you see the Saga monuments and hear the story behind them it pretty quickly clicks as to what the Dawnservant wants the claimants to the throne to learn about during the rite. That was when I rsaw the mentor-type role my character would play, and once I knew what role the WOL plays for Wuk Lamat and in at least the start of Dawntrail’s story, I was in. I was determined to embrace that role in a way I had issues doing when I played through STB initially for Lyse.

One other thing: I was super surprised by Zoraal Ja being the one Wuk Lamat was prioritizing as a threat, and that he was the one who couldn’t be allowed to be Dawnservant. I guess I’d been anticipating the aloof/stern but decent older brother from him based on what I assumed was one of his lines in the launch trailer, so that was a fun surprise.

Zones 1 and 2, first visit

Urqopacha absolutely blows Kozama’uka out of the water for me, but I think both zones do a pretty good job with their first of two feats.

I started with Kozama’uka. The HanuHanu felt straightforward enough, and their feat set Koana up really nicely for what exactly his views are. I was glad to hear that he and Wuk Lamat were on friendly terms right before we left Tulliyollal to start the rite. One of my first thoughts when seeing how he and Wuk Lamat both handled the feat was, “He’s not going to win the rite, but I want him to either be advisor to his sister or for her to invite him to rule together.”

Bakool Ja Ja was fine as the zone’s antagonist, the writers did a good job of setting up his rivalry with Wuk Lamat in the intro so I wasn’t surprised by him trying to cheat his way through things. Wuk Evu was also…um. Not my favorite. I wasn’t super into the “behead me for being rude to the Third Promise” joke being reused over and over and over again…but maybe that’s just me.

As I said, Urqopacha was by far my favorite intro zone for the views, the music, and the overall aetshetic. I really love FF10, so getting to spend so much time with the Pelupelu was excellent. I also loved the zone music and this part really was what got me hooked on this expansion. Working with Mablu to make trades for the saddle was such a great showcase of what exactly the player character is to Wuk Lamat, and really solidified how much I enjoyed her. She is SUCH an orange cat (meaning she is “no thoughts, head empty” in a lot of ways but also just impulsive and can be unpredictable) and I mean that in a very kind way.

This was also where we got to see so much more of what Zoraal Ja’s whole deal was, and once I spent more time hearing him speak I totally understood why Wuk Lamat didn’t want him to be Dawnservant. Also, Mablu is the best and my roommate/best friend who is the biggest FF10/FF10-2 fan I know cried when she saw Tobli (since he’s from 10-2 himself) and the music is so good. So yeah, 10/10 zone.

Zones 1 and 2, second visit, and First Trial

Jumping ahead a teeny bit (since you go back to the capital between these visits). I liked this second set of feats overall! It felt like we were finally making some good progress with Krile’s goals to find out more about the city of gold in addition to moving forward with the rite. I also liked jumping right back into zones we’d already seen instead of waiting for 5+ levels to go back.

I liked how the Moblin feat incorporated the Elezen goldsmith from the boat, and seeing once again just how charismatic and magnetic a personality Wuk Lamat is. Her ability to show so much empathy for people is absolutely her biggest strength, and her desire to understand things--something those helping her with the rite have helped her discover--really start to shine, at least for me. That’s what makes her such a great fit for Dawnservant.

Koana also really was a star in this zone, and I really adore his character archetype and the love he so clearly has for his sister. Working together to rescue Wuk Lamat after Bakool Ja Ja snatches her was a nice change of pace from what we’d had so far from the rite, and that was when my initial impression of what would happen with Koana gained a bit more strength behind it. I was about 90% certain at this point that he wouldn’t win, but would stay at Wuk Lamat’s side to help guide her when she needed it.

I LOVED seeing the Yok Huy and honestly just getting to go back to Urqopacha was a delight. It felt like SO much progress was being made for both the rite and Krile’s goals, and the dungeon was excellent. No notes.

As a quick aside, though, I loved that we got to hear the Yok Huy’s take on death--that those who have died will always live in our memory, and so long as that memory remains, they are not truly gone. I loved this because it fits so well with the lore I have for Rowan regarding the way the Echo manifests for him, and how he cherishes the memories of people he’s lost but has come to move on with his own life. It just…is a very good thing to nail home some of FF14’s broader conversations about remembering and honoring the past, but still turning your focus to the future.

I have gripes with the Valigarmanda trial (I wiped twice on Duty Support :( ) but I appreciated that Wuk Lamat, Koana, and Zoraal Ja ALL came together for the good of their nation. I also liked that Zoraal Ja was cooperating because people dying because Valigarmanda would be bad for his own goals in the end if he won the rite, and also it’s good to see more of him before Things Happen (™).

Zone 3

Basically from here on out I loved every zone.

As a person who loves food and specifically enjoys making food for others, the feat in Iq Braax was a delight. Given that we find out the clan’s leader is Wuk Lamat’s father, it is VERY fitting that the people of the village are much more on the nose about not directly helping the team-up between Wuk Lamat and Koana. In addition, the cooperation between the Second and Third Promises was very clearly there to show 1. how well they work together and 2. what it is that Koana still has to learn, which he very much does by the end of the zone.

I’ve seen in the Disc Horse (™) around DT that Bakool Ja Ja turn in the second half of the zone was weird, but I don’t think it was, not really. By the end of the instanced duty after the X’braal feat, he’s a humiliated mess. Seeing the added context for why the Mamool Ja are the way that they are in the second half of the zone and learning the true cost of the blessed siblings among them, you actually have a reason to offer empathy to a person whose whole life has probably not been great. Wuk Lamat putting aside her anger with Bakool Ja Ja to truly help his people is yet more proof of the things that truly make her a good leader and why she really is the best choice to be Gulool Ja Ja’s heir.

The end of Koana’s arc here is excellent. Wuk Lamat reaching out to him when she needs help finding a way for the Mamool Ja to find ways to thrive outside of the blessed siblings--knowing that he can succeed in an area that is not her forte--is yet MORE proof of her ability to see the best in others and understand their worth. And Koana is genuinely a great brother and partner to work with for her, as his generally calm demeanor evens out her boisterousness very well. The instanced fight against the shade of their father where both groups come together was EXCELLENT.

The end of the Skydeep Cenote and actually finding the city of gold is such a good way to close out the first half of the expansion. We’re left on more intrigue for what is to come in the second half of the expansion, and this was when I got the deep sense of “Okay. But when is the other shoe gonna drop”.

Midpoint, and thoughts on the first half of the expansion

I was so happy with Wuk Lamat’s coronation, and how she outright asked Koana to join her on the throne. Finding a way to truly be their father’s successors by embodying both reason and resolve works out so well in Tural’s favor in the end.

I think the only somewhat negative thing I can say here is that…I was totally thrown by the song that played when the stone monument was revealed, haha. The song is fine on its own, but it was SO weird for me to hear that it did actually kinda take me out of it. But otherwise this turning point for the latter half of the expansion was good. I wasn’t sure how to feel about MSQ going forward, though, because I was like “Wait, where’s the rest of it?”

In terms of my overall thoughts on the first half of this expansion… It’s very good as a way to decompress following the end of the Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga that ended in 6.0, and even a good way to relax after everything that happens with Zero and the void.

I know there’s a ton of Disc Horse (™) around this expansion, particularly about Wuk Lamat and the rite and how “slow” the first part is. I have two things that come to mind about it all: this isn’t the Shadowbringers or Endwalker of this next story arc. This is the Realm Reborn to the next arc. Things are definitely going to be a bit slow.

In addition…the WOL may not be the protagonist of this particular part of the story, but that doesn’t mean the first half and dealing with the rite is worthless? The WOL knows by now that they were Azem, the Traveler. Remember, the Traveler part of that convocation title? My BFF/roommate Sarria put it best:

“DT really feels like it's back to our "roots" and I mean like AZEM roots. Being The Traveler, visiting new places and meeting new people and learning about places outside of our known bubble. Listening to people's stories and desires and then being asked to help specifically *because* we listened to and learned from the locals. And I for one really really am loving it. The story doesn't have to be about us - just being there means we have a role. (Also the first half of DT isn't supposed to be about us anyway.)”

I find it so funny that people have such a problem with it--and I won’t lie, I do agree that some of it had slow pacing. But like…I don’t know, this really feels in line for what Azem would do. We are Azem now, we have the crystal and everything. We’re not known in this continent because it’s only been 70 years since the world we know made contact with it--to the point of the guy credited with discovering this “New World” IS STILL ALIVE. There is ample reason why your character is not the focus of the first half of the expansion, and it’s so disheartening to see people just…not get that?

It could be that my overall excitement to explore the new zones laid out before us led me to be much more forgiving of this section, but getting to know the people of Yok Tural was such a treat. I can’t wait for NG+ to come around for 7.0 so I get to explore all of this again.

Okay, back to going zone by zone.

Zone 4, part 1

So as someone who knows the Southwest US fairly well this zone was excellent, I loved the vibes. The overworld music is great.

I will say outright here that I’ve kind of been an Erenville disliker since his introduction in EW. He’s been overhyped for a character who up to DT basically had no personality in my eyes, so I was apprehensive about how this zone would go with him as our only companion. But, credit where it’s due, the writers actually got me to come around on him a little with the background we finally get for him. Not entirely, I still have issues with him, but he’s now more well-rounded.

Seeing the railyard workers actually made me cry, specifically seeing Not!Magnus’ wife. I’m so glad that 1: they were included and 2: explicitly shown to be the exact same as the people we know from the first. My roommate Sarria and I joked several times that this was SHB/Trolleys 2 and it was such a delight getting to laugh about it.

The end point for this visit to the zone was excellent. The dread had been building for me the whole time, knowing that something was around the corner, but no idea what. So the dome appearing and then the aftermath in Tulliyollal was anticipated, but about as brutal as I was expecting.

Tulliyollal revisit and Zone 4, part 2

The destruction of Tulliyollal and trying to aid those we could was done well, to me anyway. The devs handled that sort of thing pretty well in EW, so was glad to see it done again just as well.

Then comes the “cat”valry as I’d like to call it. Honestly, the moment I heard G’raha’s voice and heard Eternal Wind, it was like I could finally breathe. I think that’s the point of him and Y’shtola showing up to give you help for the rest of the expansion--they give a sense of release to all the tension and anxiety players might feel after the attack on Tulliyollal. A mini version of what the low-stakes rite of succession is to the story overall. You have to have a release for tension before building it up again, because building tension with no release just doesn’t work.

The truth of what the golden door is threw me for a loop, because I was NOT expecting it. I imagine it’s what people felt when the SHB launch trailer dropped and the truth about Hydaelyn and Zodiark was given--you’re so shocked that it’s a bit much to process. But I liked the revelations about the golden city and Krile and everything.

The revisit to Shaaloani was a delight, and deciding to blow up the train was exactly the kind of crazy I’d expect from the Source version of the trolley guys from Twine. The song that played during the coronation came back and it felt just as cheesy as before, but I think I’d accepted it by this point? I just let it happen even though it doesn’t really work for me.

And the Vanguard dungeon is SO good. I loved the music--honestly Soken popped off this expansion for the most part.

Zone 5/Second Trial

So I love the aesthetic of this zone in general--thank you for giving us FF10’s Thunder Plains properly this time!!!--but there was a zone where I ever felt like the story was loosing me, it was this one. I wasn’t sure what to make of the time bubble nor the regulators, so it took some time for Heritage Found to find its footing for me.

Sphene also was slightly unsettling, in a way? It was hard to put my finger on whether she was sympathetic or playing you, which I guess is the point.

Solution Nine kind of just…added to my sense of confusion. I was a bit lost on it all, and trying to wrap my head around it. It is also way to big and spread out for my tastes…but oh well.

With all the talk of souls, though, I finally understood why all the Void stuff with Zero in the 6.X patches was actually good to spend so much time with, since it was basically a primer for ALL of this stuff in the latter half of DT. So once NG+ is here for Dawntrail, I may actually start with 6.1 and see how it all flows together.

What finally got me back on loving the plot again was seeing baby Gulool Ja and Otis in the other half of the map, where the ruins of Alexandria are. I haven’t even played FF9 myself, only watched a very abridged playthrough, but the way I instantly knew who Otis was a stand in for made me feel so warm and comforted. Steiner is just so goofy and endearing, and Otis is exactly like him.

Was not surprised by Zoraal Ja making his move, but the cutscene for the defense of Tulliyollal was very good. I was surprised by Sphene both in and out of Solution Nine for that instanced duty, and I think here is where I really started to see the parallels between what I know of FF9 and DT. Sphene is Wuk Lamat’s mirror, at least in a way--loving and compassionate and charismatic (because I’d come to like her quite a bit by the point she outright says she was playing you). She exemplifies the extreme end of Wuk Lamat’s desire for peace, and the need to protect and preserve her people.

The fight against Zoraal Ja is a satisfying one. I am not the person to ask to talk about fight design or anything so will leave that to others. But I thought it was good.

Also liked the revelations after the trial, where Sphene turns on you for real. It did feel like downing Vauthry just to have Emet steal the Exarch again, though maybe not in the same way. Similar dramatic stakes, I guess I’m trying to say.

Zone 6, and the Finale

This zone will always have an interesting flavor to it for me, since I use the Living Memory title for personal WOL lore reasons. But the zone is, I think, such an excellent one for what the expansion as a whole is trying to say.

As I mentioned at the beginning, despite its cheerful colors and friendly looking character design, FF9 is a darker story. It deals with death and the existential. The perfect word to sum up FF9, from what I know, is bittersweet. And I think this zone--and in a way both zones and the city that comprise Alexandria--PERFECTLY handles that bittersweet feeling.

The weather is Reminiscence, bathing everything in this beautiful golden color. It’s full of areas referencing FF9--I recognized Alexandria and the Iifa Tree, but each zone is a call back to 9. The music is this soft, comforting piece that just triggered my nostalgia for a game I haven’t even played. Seeing Otis in his prime again, the tour of the Gardens with Cachuia, letting Krile meet her parents and learn her real name--it’s all so bittersweet.

Every time you turn off a terminal, you get that message of how nothing will go back to what it was. And the part of Living Memory that you shut down is then forever less colorful and lively, and there’s no music (at least when you’re there during this part of MSQ). You’re left with silence. We can always remember it like it was before (or use NG+ to bring it back if you were a dummy like me and didn't gpose there before it went away), but it won't ever be the same now.

I took my time in Living Memory before moving from area to area, and did all aether currents and quests as I could/they became available which only happened AFTER the zone was gone for the quests. So I was doing all this in silence. Left alone with my thoughts on it all and trying to understand what the point was.

Sphene is clinging so much to that nostalgia for a time gone by because of her programming, and it’s sad to have to end it. But to me, she is eerily similar to Emet-Selch: she was clinging to the memory of the dead, desperate to bring them back and keep them alive. But in the end, it was only an imitation that would lead to untold amounts of suffering to others.

All of Living Memory reminded me so much of Amaurot. Sphene letting the Endless explore as they pleased was I think a much kinder version of Emet's magic working on Amaurot, but I couldn't help but see the similarity there.

I did cry in this zone, during G’raha’s talk with the player in the gondola and all the interactions Krile had with her parents. And it’s just…sad. You might feel awful about destroying the Endless once you understand them and their ways, but in the end…they’re only memories of people who died long ago. Their lives continuing are coming at the cost of the future for everyone on the Source and the reflections. It just can’t be sustained as Sphene’s realm continues to grow and more and more is needed to keep things running.

Sphene wanted the best for her people, going as far as she did for them. And I like that she is clearly kind but does a lot of bad things out of love for her people, and the desire to preserve them. But in the end, she had to accept why death is an important part of life.

I loved the Alexandria dungeon, and the trial was excellent. I will say that the intermission was maybe a bit long, but I still liked it tremendously. I’m excited to see what the relic has in store for us, and where the new arc of the story will take us.

Overall thoughts

DT has two very distinct sections, and there are parts I think could be refined to maybe make things go smoother overall, but honestly? I am totally willing to overlook those things because I enjoyed myself as much as I did.

DT, to me, managed to deliver on the summer vacation aspect that was so heavily advertised while also keeping with FF14’s larger ideas about hope persisting in even the hardest of times, and why the connections between people are so important. It also continues to show why it is not just important but also good to remember the past fondly, but it is just as important to keep moving forward in the best interests of all people.

I said it in the part about Living Memory and the finale for DT, but Sphene is very similar to Emet-Selch, and while some of the Heritage Found stuff lost me for a bit, the story did hit its mark where it needed to. The ending zone was not what the Tempest or Ultima Thule were, and I’m glad that it’s not. I’m sad that I’ll have to replay on an alt or when we get DT NG+ to take the pictures I wanted there, but that’s the point. You’re supposed to feel a longing for something that you can never truly get back, and that’s one of the best parts about it. You’re left with this bittersweet feeling as you let go of the past, and these people who are long gone.

DT drove home Venat’s point from EW even more for me. To use Ardbert’s words from SHB, “Joy and sorrow walk hand in hand.” There is joy and sorrow all over the place in Tural’s story and in its peoples, and I loved how every minute went even if sometimes it did feel a bit slow. But not everything needs to be so fast paced, either.

And even in the slower-paced parts, the WOL is really embodying the adventurer spirit we’ve returned to. We’re embracing our Azem roots, and travelling to new lands and meeting new people and coming to enjoy their cultures and presence. That sort of thing is what Venat, the previous Azem, loved so much about the world. And getting to understand her sentiments a bit more was excellent.

All in all, while DT has its faults, I 100% think this a great expansion. I’m excited again to see what is to come from this story, when I was apprehensive at best after 6.X patch story.

[bvannn]

Weekly update November 22 2024

Still haven’t caught a break, still in an awful mood. I did a ton of art stuff this week but as a consequence I might be burning myself out. I’m trying my usual anti-burnout strategies though so I’m still fighting it.

So most progress I made was on the epithet TTRPG stuff, since the stream at the beginning of the week got some of the juices flowing. I’ve mentioned before that I want to do a character building tutorial video, maybe once I’m too burnt out to draw I’ll switch to writing that for a bit. But for my own campaign I got a ton of minis done, and tonight if my current plans fall through I was going to try finishing up the maps for the first stage, and/or preparing to get a tileset done for the second stage. Also got a couple more statblocks done.

Comic: page 12 is done except for lettering, another thing I could do tonight. If I get in a sketching mood I’ll jump right on page 13, but again if I’m burned out I can’t really do that. We’ll see. Also did a bit of general writing for the other story, got past a pretty big snag. Not the biggest snag, right now the sticking point with that is the remaining half of the ‘pilot’, but again I can just focus on O’Malley again, that’s not at all time sensitive.

Music: RR has been done for a while but I got a visual and a lyric video done for that too that will go up as soon as I stop feeling bad about myself. Blow Off Steam re-edit will probably get one too pretty soon, since the lyric video wasn’t that hard to make just really annoying. I did it in after effects when I probably shouldn’t have, I need to figure out what gets done in premiere, what gets done in flash, and what gets done in after effects.

Also finishing off sound balancing for BATB, in the same boat as RR where I want a video for it but I think I’ll do something simpler first just to get it out. Also have a few smaller lower effort instrumental songs done that’ll probably get posted in like a batch once I have a visual for them. FF is going well, pretty close to done tuning on that one, trying new strategies for tuning and they sound nice. Hoping people will like that since it’s a space-flavored cover of a pretty popular song that’s also old enough that it’s nostalgic now.

Kinda hit a brick wall at the other smaller animation I wanted to do, but it’s fine I think I can fix it by making it shorter. That’ll also let me get it out faster.

Right now everything’s kinda dependent on my mood right now and that hasn’t been very good. I’m doing what I can but the universe hates me and I’m not allowed to have anything go well beyond little art pieces that look nice and make a couple people online happy but don’t really help my well being. I guess it’s better than nothing, and I’m glad that there are people who are enjoying what I’m doing, I just wish I could be in a more comfortable spot so I could actually appreciate how my art’s going properly. Thanks everyone for being patient!

[stepswowdsen]

【KagePro】 Sen's .dsd/V Scans: Part 2

Sen's Scans and Edits

.dsd/V Sidu MV Material Works 2011 - 2018 (WHITE ver.)

Outer Science - Kuroha/Saeru

Yuukei Yesterday - Takane & Haruka (& Chibi Takane & Konoha)

Children Record & daze & days - Mekakushi Dan & Ene & Azami

Summertime Record - Haruka

Rambles

I tried scanning Outer Science, Yuukei Yesterday, Children Record & daze & days, and Summertime Record from Sidu's .dsd/V artbook.

I bought two copies of Sidu’s .dsd/V artbook, both the Black and White cover versions. I was scanning with .dsd/V (White Ver.)

I wanted to post my progress update!

Refer to this post if you wanna read my initial scans and rambles:

Link: (X)

I’m gonna disable reblogs on my WIP progress updates for now. I tried to scan and edit these as best as I could for now! I’ve been scanning the pages slowly in my free time. I posted LQ versions of my scans for now since I haven’t finalized these yet.

The artbook is bigger than my scanner, so I have to scan a page twice to try and get the full page.

I accidentally bent the the Outer Science page on Sidu’s .dsd/V (White Ver.) artbook after scanning the Yuukei Yesterday art cuz the book had to get scanned at a really awkward angle. The Summertime Record Haruka art is on the next page. The bend isn’t too noticeable or on anything significant, at least.

Thankfully, I have scans of the Outer Science page before it happened, though.

Thankfully, I have two copies of Sidu’s artbook, because I figured that just in case one gets damaged while getting scanned, I’d still have the other one. My .dsd/V (Black Ver.) artbook is still safe, but the Outer Science page in my .dsd/V (White Ver.) artbook got a bit bent while scanning. Thankfully the bend is not on anything important.

I try to be as careful with my artbooks as possible, but Ig it can’t be helped too much cuz of the awkward scanning, and me handling the book a lot. I had to prop up the book with boxes so that it’d rest on the scanner properly (depending on the pages being scanned)

I’ll continue to scan with my .dsd/V White Ver. artbook, since it doesn’t make sense to risk my safe copy. I’ll try to be as careful as I can, but I don’t have to worry as much since my other copy is still safe. I can rescan stuff when I’m finished if I need to.

Hopefully people don’t mind the other pages showing in the background? I did that this time instead of putting just 1 page down on the scanner because I felt like it’s easier to be more careful with the page and avoid bending it when it has the rest of the page’s weight underneath it. I can always rotate and crop the scan once everything is finalized.

Close up of my scans… I have some ideas on how to remove the print screen-like grainy texture on the scan, but I’ll need to look into it. My mutual in scanlation said he’s busy, but he can try and look into it sometime whenever he has free time. Hopefully I can get the hang of it sometime ^^

It’s really hard to get the parts where the book binding cuts off (middle of the scan) due to the book binding, since I can’t lay the book completely flat. Because of that, it casts a shadow, the parts closest to the book binding appears a bit blurry on the side closest to the book binding. This is the best I can get, since I’m a hobbyist scanner.

Imo the only way to get the full pages would be to remove the book binding (debind it) and safely retrieve the pages. My mutual in scanlation is experienced with physical scans because he has a method that can retrieve the pages safley by melting the book binding, but I’m not.

Even if I have two copies of Sidu’s artbook, I’d be really hesitant to risk damaging my book like that tbh, especially since I’m not experienced with working with physical scans. I can rip most things from digital scans/e-books, though.

Sidu’s .dsd/V artbook unfortunately isn’t available online, though.

I will try to stitch the scans through editing when everything is finalized, but it’s not gonna be 100% perfect because there’s a shadow over the part nearest to the book binding, and the scanner might not scan the colours the same, so it might not line up perfectly.

Anything related to 9/6, including XX/6, and all related charas/ships (Kuroha, Takane/Ene, Haruka, Konoha), I will scan first 🖤💛💙

Basically, I prioritized 9/6 first because of my bias LMAO.

Though, I will scan the other pages later!

Ones I’m planning to scan next:

Headphone Actor - Takane

Konoha's State of the World - Konoha (& Hibiya & Hiyori)

Additional Memory - Ayano

Losstime Memory - Shintaro

[farfromstrange]

Hello everyone,

Putting a read more for those who are not interested and just want to stop scrolling. This is a life update from me to you.

But I’d be happy if you read it because you’ve been a part of my life and this journey into becoming an adult in my early twenties with me and I just want you to know what’s been going on. Don’t worry, it’s not a goodbye.

I’m so sorry for being MIA. Life’s been a mess. But I got the apartment I took a look at last week and I’m about to sign the lease, which means I’m going to move out of my childhood home in the next six weeks. It’s three hours away in a different State, and I’m starting college in October too, so now I have to figure out how to actually be an adult. I need to organize the move, get all the paperwork done and find a job while also figuring out how college is gonna work. I’m a bit stressed and slightly emotional, but I’m hanging in there.

I haven’t had the time to properly write, but I have some drafts I finished before the stress started and I will take some time to reread and maybe post before I disappear from view completely.

I saw how active you all were, interacting with my posts and stories even though I was gone for almost two weeks there and didn’t put anything new out, so thank you all for that. It makes me feel so appreciated, you have no idea. And those who checked up on me, I love you more than I can express.

I just came home from watching Barbie and decided to take some time to go through Tumblr now because I’m a writer Barbie and I can do anything I set my mind to. I’m powerful. I feel like what’s about to come for me is going to change everything, but in a good way, and I can’t wait to finally set a foot out into the real world and just be me. Live life by my own rules, you know. It’s what I’ve wanted for so long. And I can finally do what I want and study what I want. I can do what I’m good at. And I’ll find a way to give writing a bigger role in my life as soon as I’ve moved out because I’ve also dreamed of this day for a long time now, even though it’s still a little scary, but as Taylor Swift once said “You’re on your own, kid. You can face this.” And I strongly believe I can, even while doubting myself sometimes.

Honestly, Barbie was so inspiring to me, someone who’s been told I can’t live my dreams because they’re stupid dreams and I have to be like everyone else, make money without being happy, please my family and everyone around me, and fit into the shoe box, which isn’t true.

This movie healed my inner child and it gave me a good smack over the head. I’m going to struggle before fully realizing that my independent Barbie girl era starts now, but I think I’m ready and I think I can do it well. I hope so. And I can live my dreams. I don’t have to be what everyone else wants me to be. Playing it safe is so boring.

Thank you all!

I love you 🩷

(Also, I’ve packed a few boxes already, and three of them are just books and Funkos. That’s so funny to me. But it’s also kind of hard to say goodbye to this room, you know?)

Next on the list is my wall, and it’s gonna be painful to take it all off and transport it without destroying any of the pictures.

(Thank you to everyone who gave me ideas for prints I can hang in my new apartment, I’ve found a few already.)

Now this is all. Thank you! Sending hugs and kisses your way. I’m gonna try to post something (probably Mikey content because that’s what I’ve got stashed away) tonight or tomorrow, and then I’m gonna get back into writing as soon as I’ve got my life organized.

Yours,

Lizzi 🩷

[asexual-spongebob]

The Waves That Lap The Shore - Chapter 28 - The Locket

Notes:

WHOOO HI MATEYS!!! Sorry i didn’t update for like a week or almost two lol, just wanted to give myself a break. Also sorry abt how short this one is lol. Only 12 chapters left of this fic! (that makes me kinda sad to be honest…)but I’ve got some other stuff planned :) hell, even after this fic is finished I might still write the occasional TWTLTS related one shot.   I also have an au called “Invader Kwazii” which is a Octonauts x Invader Zim AU because those are my current fixations atm.   Once this fic is finished (or maybe even sometime soon) I might make one shots for my “Shellinoir” au. (Which is a AU I based off the SpongeBob episode “Squid Noir”) . I’ve got some in mind

Chapter Text

Peso sleepily opened his eyes, rubbing the sleep from them. Shellington was already awake, “Good mornin’ Peso” he smiled “Good morning, Shellington!” Peso smiled back. 

“Wanna go get some coffee?” Shellington asked, Peso nodded in agreement. 

The two went downstairs, only to see Kwazii and Paani kissing against the refrigerator.

The two pulled away from each other.

“I love you so much, me stupid pancake” Kwazii purred “I love you too, stinky.” Paani said affectionately, Kwazii pretended to be offended. The two then noticed Shellington and Peso standing there.

“Oh uh- hi mateys.” Kwazii said awkwardly Paani looked away from Kwazii and glanced at Peso and Shellington. “Anyway. I gotta go. Me and Selva have to do some important stuff at the beach today. See ya bitches!!!” Paani said, then turning to Kwazii and saying goodbye to him. 

“I LOVE YOU BITCH!!!” Paani shouted as he walked out of the kitchen “I LOVE YOU TOO BITCH!!!” Kwazii shouted back.

 Paani went downstairs to the Launch Bay.

“Kwazii! Paani! There’s a child here!” Shellington scolded, pointing to Sharchini “why does Kwazii always cuss around the Vegimals” Peso frowned “Im sorry… I’ll try not to…” Kwazii apologized with a frown. 

Downstairs, Paani witnessed Dashi and Tweak  playing video games (Dashi was failing horribly.) and the Vegimals playing Judge Judy (or in this case, Judge Tunip.) 

•••

At the beach 

It was a hot, blazing day at the beach. 

Paani was sweating in the sweltering heat. It was only 89 degrees outside but it felt like 100. 

He and Selva were doing some stuff there, Selva was planting some sea grass while Paani was going to get some water samples (and try his best to well… not turn into a merperson while he was at it.) 

Paani watched Selva dig through the sand.

How is she not sweating her ass off? Paani questioned to himself.

Paani ripped off their  jacket and through it on the sand “Hey. Selv. I’m gonna go change.” He said, Selva just nodded and Paani went to beach’s restrooms.

Thank goodness I wore extra deodorant today. 

Selva thought as she was digging through the sand, planting sea grass.

However she stopped. Something saw something had caught her eye. 

Half a locket buried in the sand!

It looked old. It was golden and tarnished. 

“Hey Paani, look what I found!” Selva said, holding the locket in her hand. Paani let out a gasp, they then stumbled towards her. “I’ll be my own uncle! It looks just like the other half we have!” Paani replied.

“Do you mind if I take it with me?” Paani asked “Yeah sure you can!” Selva replied, handing Paani the old, sandy locket.

“Thanks Selva!!” Paani said. 

•••

Paani walked into Shellington’s lab wearing a vintage suit. 

“Hey bitches!!! Selva found the other half of the locket in the Amazon!” Paani boasted, placing the locket on the table.

“It’s the other half!” Shellington beamed, then placing the locket half’s together. 

“Don’t you think we should clean it? It’s a wee bit sandy.” Shellington remarked “Yeah, true.” Paani replied “how do we clean it properly though?” Paani questioned “there’s probably some restoration videos on YouTube. And Dashi knows a thing or two about jewelry. Maybe she can help us out?” Shellington suggested, the others nodded in agreement.

The four walked down the hall to Dashi’s room. “Hey Dashi, how do you wash jewelry?” Shellington asked “You get a small bowl and add some warm water and Dawn Dish soap and leave it soak for a few minutes, then you dry it with a microfiber cloth.” Dashi educated.

“Thanks Dashi!” Shellington smiled, then sprinting to the kitchen, the others following him. 

The Vegimals weren’t in the kitchen, they were sleeping upstairs, getting some well deserved rest.

“Hey, Kwaz. Pass me the dish soap” Shellington said “Here ya go matey!” Kwazii meowed, throwing the dish soap at Shellington.

“Hey! ¡¿Qué coño Kwazii?! You could’ve hurt him!” Peso scolded “Sorry…” Kwazii frowned Shellington then went to the sink and put some warm water and dish soap into the bowl, then placing the locket in the mixture.

“Now we just have to put it the microwave for a few minutes, right?” Kwazii said jokingly “No Kwazii.” Shellington replied with a giggle. 

Paani pulled out his guitar and started playing the jeopardy theme as they waited.

After a few minutes, the locket was clean.

Shellington wiped it off with a microfiber cloth like Dashi had said. 

“Now what do we do?” Shellington questioned, turning to the others. 

“Hm… maybe we should put it with the other stuff?” Kwazii suggested “Yeah that sounds good.” Shellington replied.

Shellington walked back to his lab, he placed the locket in on a table where all of the Edda related stuff was.

“Wow. We sure have discovered a lot.” Peso remarked, Shellington nodded in response.

Peso and Shellington continued to have a conversation. Paani wasn’t paying attention. The only thing that had her attention was the calendar.

Ah shit! Tomorrow’s Valentines Day!

[itsu-saragi]

Dev Log #2 - Hitting My First Roadblock. Also, Characters and Themes.

In my last post, I said I finished creating the love interest for my vn, and my next step would be to spend time figuring out the main character. But this caused me more trouble than I expected. And while trying to figure out why, I realized that I hadn’t even finished step 1.

Let me explain.

Previously, I mentioned how all games have a foundation, the core game design that the rest of the game builds off of. And I said that for visual novels the characters, namely the love interests, should be that foundation. But I don’t think I elaborated enough.

The core of your visual novel may be different depending on what you’re going for; for example, if you want to make a mystery VN where you want the players to focus on solving the puzzle, maybe the narrative is your foundation. But for my game I want to take a character-centric approach, focusing on how people can affect each other and how it changes them. Thoughts and beliefs and emotions, all that fun stuff. Also known as a character arc. No matter how cool the plot may be, if my characters remain stagnant the entire time then I’m not telling that character-centric story, and that entire foundation is non-existent. Conversely, if I have a solid enough arc, then I can cut and paste that character into any setting and the story should still work. I think. I hope.

So working on the love interest’s character arc was my first step. In a character-centric otome game, the end goal is to end up in the LI’s good graces so it felt obvious to me that I needed to flesh him out, come up with the details and map out his overall character progression over the course of the story. And I did that. Over the course of a few months I gave him a name, appearance, some brief notes about his personality and backstory, and his “how it started vs. how it’s going.” Once I was satisfied with the amount I’ve written, I decided to move onto figuring out the main character.

Then my brain stopped working.

I originally wanted this second devlog post to be about writing the MC. I had all sorts of notes and ideas, about how I wanted the MC to be self-insert but still have a character arc, and the challenges that it entails and what possible solutions are out there. But I couldn’t come up with the solutions, or at least something I was satisfied with.

You see, my approach with writing the MC was to build it off of the established LI. But he wasn’t established enough. Stories should have a theme. To have a character-centric story means that those characters are used to explore said theme from different angles. Like if your theme is about trust, maybe you have a character that trusts too easily, another character that trusts nobody, and a third that isn’t trusted by anybody else. Put them in a situation. Boom, you got plot.

My LI didn’t have that. I had a vague idea of the theme, and I had notes about the LI, but it felt like the two weren’t properly molded together. And because that connection wasn’t forged, I couldn’t use it as reference for writing the MC.

Remember what I said about having a solid foundation? I had a brittle house of cards, and I was trying to build on top of it. Shit collapsed, real quick LOL

So now I’m back to workshopping my LI, further digging into who he is as a character and how he embodies the theme- which at the moment, is about human value. Or collaboration. I’m not sure yet. I’m struggling.

Hopefully I can figure this out though. I’ll keep y’all updated.

[lookatlavender]

Denial Challenge Update (17 Days, 11 Hours Left) Pt. 1

Yesterday I was super busy again so I didn’t get to start playing until way later in the night. i was kinda sleepy but horny enough that i still really wanted to fuck myself though, so after i put dinner away i set up a warm bath and all of my toys, one of which was suctioned to the wall.

Based on the rule from 💫, i had to hold my toy inside my mouth for as long as I wanted to be allowed to fuck myself. i was originally planning for like 15-20 minutes and thought that would be a struggle, and at first it was. for the first few minutes i gagged a lot and kept having to stop the timer, but once i settled into it and relaxed i was able to stay with my mouth all the way around the toy for multiple minutes at a time.

at some point my eyes drifted shut and i started fantasizing, imaging myself tucked under a dom’s desk with their cock or strap in my mouth. i started teasing the toy with my mouth instead of just holding it there, trying out all the ways i would pleasure them and tease them with my mouth while they tried to focus. i love the idea of distracting someone, teasing my mouth along their cock and pulling them away from their work until they have to pull my mouth off of them, maybe give me a light slap, and warn me to behave myself so they can get their work done.

eventually i was lost in it enough that i forgot to even turn the timer back on, and i was basically just…making out with the dildo where it was stuck to the wall. i kissed and sucked all over the tip, teasing it in and out of my lips and then doing the same down the length of the toy, until i was kissing and sucking around the balls and the base of the shaft

i remembered i had a goal after…some amount of time, and i went back to properly cockwarming the toy and timing myself. eventually i got up to 25 minutes (because i kinda didn’t want to stop), so I moved on to getting my pussy ready to fuck. i didn’t want to use lube so i just used spit to slick myself and the toys up, and then started fucking my boypussy. i started with a longer skinny toy, and then worked up through one more until I finally got to the toy I was there for. It’s a decently sized one with a big swell right under the head, and a curve at the same spot. the head is textured too, and there’s a cute little bow right around the base of the shaft 🤭 (it’s silicone, part of the sculpt :) ) it’s one of my favorite dildos, never fails to make me whine and moan, and cum over and over. Well, normally it does 😈

I did most of my edges with the biggest toy, while using my fingers on my tdick. at first i was fucking myself fast, which felt so good but kept building up too fast and making me squeeze so hard I pushed the toy out and lost my rhythm (this is a common problem for me lol) for the last 2 edges though i slowed down, and on the last i didn’t even touch my clit, just did slow, steady, deliberate thrusts deep into my pussy. i didn’t know if i would like it at first but it ended up driving me so crazy, i had to actively try not to be too loud and wake up my roommates 😵‍💫🤭

the last time i edged yesterday was the first time that I almost came from only penetration. I’ve always had to play with my clit before, honestly i thought i wasn’t able to cum from just penetration. but at least while i’m edged out and desperately horny, turns out i very much could cum just from being fucked 😩😩

that being said though, i managed to be good through all 6 edges and i didn’t ruin, even once 🥺🥺🥺 i was so proud of myself that I didn’t, i thought for sure there was going to be no way I could get through all of them without going over the edge 🙈😇

i’m definitely getting better at edging, and knowing when i have to pull back. when i feel like i’m going to tip over I’ve been repeating “good boys don’t cum” in my head, and it always helps me focus myself and keep control. and it’s also really fucking hot 😵‍💫

I recorded my last edge too, i’ll post the audio of it in another post so this one isn’t confusing 🤭

~

today my 3 edges were boring in comparison, i used my fingers on my clit for the first two. the last one I didn’t actually touch my pussy technically, i was watching porn in my bed and playing with my nipples and that got me worked up enough that I almost came with my thighs clenched together, but i spread my legs and told myself i was good and not to cum, and i was able to hold the edge 🥺

[owlyteas]

So hey I think I’m finally ready to show that secret project I’ve been hinting at a bit.

...And that would be this Digimon fan game I’ve been working on since...sometime last summer I think?? I was doing basic stuff on and off but for the past few months I’ve been really knuckling down and making a lot of progress on it. It’s technically playable but it’s VERY basic and there’s no real progression yet. Should probably also mention this area is just a test room to make sure new features I add work properly so the layout is kinda shitty lmao.

So what I’ve got so far:

Agumon’s sprites are mostly all done and just require some additional tweaking and some more “optional” sprites that aren’t necessary but they’d be nice to have. Since I can make a recolor pretty easily I’ve made BlackAgumon and SnowAgumon/YukiAgumon sprites so technically they’re done for now as well. Gabumon’s idle animation is in but that’s all I’ve progressed on and it was just so the test NPC had an nice sprite to use.

The player character is customizable! But it is suuuuuuper basic because I have to draw all the different clothes for the three different body types I’ve put in and it’s a huge pain in the ass, but I guess it’s worth it because you can see I made MEEEEE :) Not a whole lot of options yet but new clothing types aren’t a priority right now.

The player can swap control to their Digimon partner in order to attack enemies, and the player is able to speak to NPCs and interact with shops once I get those implemented.

Got a basic inventory system working and the rocks you see are breakable and can drop items, and the enemies can drop items once defeated. The items themselves don’t do anything yet though.

Got basic stats for the Digimon partners like attack, defense, HP, SP (which is what special attacks will use), as well as element and attribute so attacks will do more or less damage depending on both of those.

Speaking of attacks, I’ve got Agumon’s attacks implemented and working. Each Digimon will have a “basic” attack that doesn’t use SP and two Special attacks that will.

I’ve also got the ability to get other partners implemented and the player can have two other Digimon in their party that they can swap their current partner with.

I...kinda have Digivolving working. Right now it just makes whatever Digimon you have turn into Greymon who does basically the same things as Agumon but is stronger. Digivolving uses the player’s Power and drains it while they’re Digivolved and will devolve once the player runs out of power.

And finally I got some very basic enemy AI in the game. I’m still figuring out how the controls feel so I’m waiting until I’m happy with that before I make more complex enemies like minibosses and that sort of thing.

Things I still need to work on:

I mean obviously the rest of the game like the actual areas you’ll go to and all the actual enemies and NPCs and all that stuff. It’s literally just test rooms right now.

Gotta finish getting Digivolving to work how I want it to.

Being able to equip different things to your Digimon and yourself

Shops/other NPCs

Implementing items that actually do things

Haven’t come up with a name yet actually I’ll probably call it something basic and dumb like Digimon Quest or something

A BILLION MORE DIGIMON SPRITES OH GOD

??? Probably a whole bunch of other stuff I can’t think of right now.

I’ll have little progress updates as I get new features in and working but it usually takes a while to do so don’t expect anything big right away haha. Plus I’ve got a few other things I need to be working on besides this game so even though it’s currently a priority that doesn’t mean it’ll stay that way.

[thedovahcat]

Gorillas and the Last Birthday Hour (And Dino Pics!)

Went to the natural history museum today with my dad since he said he’d take me out on my birthday. It was really fun! While the place was small, it still had a lot of neat exhibits to look at. I’m used to the overcrowded gigantic colossus of a museum that is the one in Los Angeles, so to see a small one like this was certainly noticeable. Not bad! Just different.

They had some special arctic dinosaurs exhibit with one big fellow who looked really neat. Can’t remember the name right now. Along with one that was just for Texas animals and such and these very nice video presentations. Texas is a very nice state, the thing is, all those pictures in the videos of the Rio Grande and the flower fields and the pines over towards the east side? I’m finding you really need to be an outdoorsy kind of person to appreciate what this state has to offer. And, with any luck, I’ll be able to do just that once I get my school/job situation back on track and have a normal job again. One that properly pays me AND properly lets me take time off. Naturally you can’t do anything without money.

So there was that, then there were these like... Ancient peoples kind of exhibits upstairs which was also really neat, a lot of rancher life stuff in the next building over, and a neat garden outside by the river. It was cold today so we didn’t stay out long before packin’ it in and vamoosing.

After that we had some great cheeseburgers at this little local joint, and as soon as I got home I fell asleep for most of the afternoon.

Had a little cake after dinner and here I am. All in all a good day! Nice and peaceful. The last year of the 20s for me... Next year the big 3-0. Terrifying! But that’s till young lmao.

It’s going to be raining all this week or at least off and on, so I haven’t had a chance to practice outside with my new bow. Saved up more than enough money to buy it and some arrows and a target! But now me and my dad really need to figure out this backstop business. Not a lick of building-things n our bodies, so we’re kind of wondering how to just hack something together... I seen plenty of DIY youtube videos but they’re a bit too advanced for us (even though in principle just gluing shit to some plywood is easy... It’s never that easy there’s always a catch.)

Not very much going on in the school realm. I’m still unable to register for fall classes as they haven’t set up the schedule for that yet. Still unable to do the stupid orientation.

Been doing some captioning work for Rev on the side. I was lucky to get in apparently. It’s not great but I appreciate having an extra 10 or 20 bucks at the end of the week. Even little amounts add up over time. But, now that I’ve bought what I want, I guess now I don’t really know what to do. I feel like I met a lot of my short term goals within the last couple months because boy, I was working really hard to study for that stupid placement exam. And I was saving up money like nuts for my bow. Now that it’s all over I’m back to the ‘now what’ phase. I’ll figure something out.

Other special note thing UoU today on my birthday Rev and Hass have -officially- been married for 10 years in Real Life. They had their big ol Pandaria wedding on my 19th birthday and I still remember it. Here they are. Couple’a old geezers. I cry. I didn’t even do anything special for them like a picture or anything. Shame shame!!

Anyhoo, sorry for the short update. Here���s some dinosaur pictures to make up for it.

[thatdommegal2]

Hey Alexa, it’s me again. I wanted to give you an update! So, I took your advice and started with a cheaper plastic cage to test the waters. We measured him properly, like you suggested, and the cage we chose fits pretty well. I’ve had him locked up for two days now, and he seems to be adjusting. There was a little discomfort at first, but he says it’s manageable. He actually seems to be enjoying it even more than he expected.

But here’s the thing I didn’t expect to enjoy it this much either. There’s something incredibly thrilling about knowing I hold the key, quite literally, to his pleasure. Watching him squirm and seeing how much he wants me, but can’t have me, has been... well, it’s a rush. I’ve even started teasing him a little, just to see how he reacts. The way he looks at me when I do it’s intoxicating.

I’ve got a few more questions if you don’t mind. 😌

We’re thinking about moving to a metal cage in few weeks, like you recommended. How do you handle cleaning and hygiene with a metal cage, especially if he’s going to be locked up for longer periods? Any tips or tricks?

I’ve noticed he’s been really attentive and eager to please me since he’s been locked up, which is awesome! But I’m curious how do you balance teasing him without pushing too far? I want to keep the tension high but still make sure it’s fun for both of us.

You mentioned earlier about long-term chastity potentially causing things like shrinking. How long does it typically take for that to happen, and is it something I should be concerned about?

Lastly, do you have any recommendations for adding more variety to our play while he’s locked up? I’m really enjoying this dynamic, but I’d love to hear some of your favorite ways to keep things interesting.

Thank you again for all your help. This has been such an eye-opening experience, and I’m loving every moment of it. I’ll definitely keep you posted on how things progress. Take care! ☺️

🚶‍♀️

Hello again, I’m so happy to hear things are going well. When it comes to cleaning in a metal cage, I’d say about once a week in depth cleaning is good, but you can do it as often as you please. Take the cage off and clean with soap and water, make sure it’s dry before putting the cage back on. He can clean it, or you could clean it and have his hands unavailable to him using things like handcuffs behind his back or something similar. On the off days you don’t take the cage off to shower, letting water and soap run down does a decent enough job, but if you need a bit more you could always use q-tips to clean in between the metal and the skin.

As for balancing teasing with not pushing too far, he should have a safeword and you hopefully feel certain he will use it if he needs to. You can also have a world such as yellow for slow down or pause, and generally open communication. He should always feel like he can tell you if something is painful to the point he is concerned or if it’s no longer working for him. Other than that, I say there is no such thing as too much teasing.

Shrinking and how long that takes depends widely on the person and how you are using chastity. That really is something you two should look up together. It depends on things like length of time locked, teasing and erections while locked and unlocked, age of locked sub, cage size, testosterone levels, etc.

As for adding variety, I’m not sure what you’re currently doing, but you can always add more spice to life. lol to get ideas, Tumblr is obviously a good place to look, also smutty books are great for ideas or literotica. Also any personal fantasies, write them down if you have trouble remembering.

[unschooledramblling]

Hi tumblr! Long time no see, been up to things and thinking of a post when I’m not amazingly inspired is difficult 😭 however I’m back now and hopefully I’ll have the motivation to post consistently. Little life updates, yesterday I made some arepas con queso, a delicious Colombian pastry that also stars in Disney’s encanto! They were lovely. The dish is normally made with cheese whoever My little brother is not that into cheese except on pizza so I put in some chocolate spread instead. I had cheese and my mum had her gluten free cheese and decided to have a strawberry on top of one. I made arepas once about 2 years ago ish with the help of my mum but yesterday I did them all on my own! The photo is pretty bad quality compared to the ones of my chocolate cake, as this was quickly snapped on my tablet while I was cooking the first two, the photos of the cake were taken on my mums phone with an exceptional camera, (compared to my tablet at least!) I have a friend who enjoys being in the kitchen and likes making cakes and treats and she really inspires me to make my own food and such, ♡

Now onto what my post is actually about.

home-educating is so much harder than I thought for families and and even kids and teenagers themselves! I had the privilege to grow up with a mother who 1st of all had no other choice than to home-educate my older brother who wouldn’t have been able to handle school for more than an hour. 2nd of all I have older siblings who she parented very differently and I think she wanted to try and be better, 3rd of all, by the time I was old (and ready) enough to be educated of any kind my mum had done a lot of research into homeschooling for my brother, and had been doing that for about a year (or somewhere around that number as that was years ago my memory is quite hazey) so when I became home educated at about 4-6 ish my mum sort of knew what she was talking about. Some of the friends I’ve made recently I’ve come to realise their experience with becoming and what it’s like being home educated is entirely different to mine! I started to realise that fact after my mum and I were talking about our day with friends and my mum out of nowhere said to me “I didn’t realise how hard homeschooling is! It just comes natural to me” and it really got me thinking. I have friends and have had friends who aren’t even out of the school roll and usually are going/have gone back to school! I never really realised how hard pushing out the mold like that is. Like my mum said it just comes natural to me. I also think it’s important to mention how much pressure most home-educating mums are under! One of the reasons why homeschooling is so hard for most is because of the deep deep rooted ideas and mindsets that come from school brainwashing. And these ideas that your child(ren) should be hitting specific milestones at specific ages can cause a lot of pressure! This even happens before school age, where mums are pressured for their child to be walking and talking at really specific ages when that’s just not how development works! I’m so glad home educating and homeschooling is becoming slowly more mainstream, as when I decide to have kids I will be 2nd generation homeschooling and I will have the plus that I never properly went through the school system myself and so the pressure is entirely off, today is a shorter post as I find it hard to write for a very long time but thank you for reading anyway! See you again soon tumblr!

[une-femme-de-lettres]

Call of Duty MWII Headcanons - Soap taking you home to his mom's for the first time

Warnings: Mainly fluff but some spice is to be expected (only a pinch) and some angst too cause I'm terrible person

Note : Sorry this is so fucking long, it's more of an imagine than just headcanons at this point but hey!

John told you about how he enrolled in the military at a young age and left his home to live alone shortly after. This resulted in him never really taking the time to move on from his home with his mom to make a home for himself in his new place, especially considering the very few moments he had on leave from his work.

So when he has to take you with him to his mom’s to introduce you, he is very nervous.

“You look stressed out, are you okay?” “Aye, it’s just… I’ve not updated my room since I left my mom’s house, you know…” “Is that so bad?” “I still have the things I had when I was a kid, she didn’t want to change anything to it, and I never got around to it, really…” “I’ll get to see the man you were in your late teenage years, I’m curious,” you laugh slightly at the prospect. “I still have my single size bed in there...” he says, already feeling embarrassed. “We don’t need much room anyways,” you chuckle, eyeing him with a sly smile. He smiles at what you’re hinting.

Your heart flutters when you enter his room for the first time. It’s painted in a light cerulean color that you can barely see as the walls are littered with football and rock bands posters, medals hanging from hooks and flags of various nature, including a Scottish one. His single bed is there as promised, you go and take a sit there, surprised with the creaking ensued as you do so.

Right after you’ve spotted it, John quickly rips a poster of a girl in a very tiny swimsuit from his wall. “Yeah, that’s not…” he tries to say as he crumples the paper up into a tight ball, throwing it in the closet and closing it swiftly. You laugh silently from your seat as he stands in the middle of the bedroom, hands on his hips, not sure what to say.

“So what about this one?” you ask with a chuckle, your index finger pointing to the ceiling, where another poster is taped in between other sports club images. His facial expression crumbles, his eyes widening as he bolts to the bed, climbing on it and ripping the offending poster off like the other.

You can’t stop laughing as he tries to tidy things up a bit. He assures you he’s tried many times to get rid of some of the stuff but either kept getting set back by his mom or by him having to go back to base.

Once you’re back to the living area, John comes to talk to his mom, rubbing the back of his head. “Maw, I need to arrange things for us to sleep?” He could take the couch while you sleep in his room but, what’s the fun in that. He feels so stupid deciding to take you here so quickly, not even taking the time preparing to welcome you properly. “We can put the air bed, Johnny, it’s fine,” she dismisses him lightly and he looks back at you with a disappointed expression, embarrassed to have to have you sleep in a single bed, alone.

The same night, you watch him try to get some sleep on the small air bed placed on the ground beside his bed. The situation is very amusing to you and you smile to him, your arms crossed under your chin. “It’s like a little slumber party,” he looks at you, annoyed with himself. “Wanna come in my bed? There’s some room left,” he smiles smugly and joins you, spooning you and kissing you. You have several blankets on because it’s very cold tonight and you sink into his warmth with a sigh.

All this cozying up against each other makes you both incredibly horny. You end up trying to have sex very silently and you can’t help but laugh as the bed just keeps squeaking and making noise. John ends up having a fit of laughter, his head resting on your chest as he still tries to support himself with his arms.

You try to shush him so you don’t wake his mom up in the room across the hallway but you can barely keep yourself for laughing loudly. You end up having to make love in a spooning position, very slowly. He puts his hand over your mouth when you’re about to cum and he feels you tighten around him. You scream out your orgasm and your voice gets muffle by his hand.

He pulls you so tight to him since the bed is so small but it’s probably the soundest sleep you’ve had in a long time.

In the morning, he tried to stretch a little and ends up falling down from the bed. You laugh at him as he groans from his place sprawled out on the floor. But you lean out of the bed to plant a kiss on his forehead that makes it all better.

After you’ve settled down a bit from your journey, John decides it’s probably time to clear some of his old room. You ask him if he’s sure he wants to do this since you don’t want him to be pressured to do anything just because you’re here.

You start sorting things out in his room, putting away things he doesn’t want anymore, small objects and trinkets he accumulated over the years. You help him a lot and you’re just curious to learn more about him and his life before your relationship. It’s a nice bonding activity for the both of you.

While rummaging through his closet, you gasp in surprise as you find an old rabbit plushy. It’s a bit worn down but you can tell it’s white and wears a black suit and a monocle. You show it to him excitedly. He starts blushing immediately, shaking his head “Christ, why did she keep that?” “Does it have a name?” you ask, petting the light fur. He pretends to dismiss your question, looking away but you insist. He starts mumbling under his breath. “Mister Nickels.” He groans the name out and you can’t help laughing. That man is just so cute. You insist that he keeps Mister Nickles and he pretends to casually give in to your pleas when you can secretly see in his eyes that he’s so attached to the plushy.

One night, when you’re both asleep in his bed, John starts to twitch in his sleep, trembling and whining, waking you up. You rub your eyes slowly and try to get him to calm down. You know he’s having a nightmare and your heart sinks with worry. “Johnny,” you call softly, trying to wake him up. He ends up waking up with a scream and a jolt, sweating and panting. You take his face between your hands and force him to look at you. “You’re safe, Johnny, you’re safe!” he doesn’t hear you at first but you repeat the same words over and over until he calms down, wrapping his arms around your waist and pressing his face to your belly. He hugs you so tight, you can barely move. You smile softly as you run delicate fingers through his hair, trying to soothe him.

The door of the room opens slowly and you look over at his mom. “Lass?” she calls for you as she steps into the room, looking at him. “He had a nightmare, it’s alright,” you say with a smile. She approaches hesitantly and caresses his back. “Braw wee Johnny,” she looks at you lovingly, smiling and leans in to plant a kiss on the top of your head. “He’s in good hands, now,” she whispers before walking out silently, leaving your heart melting inside your chest.

[morallygay]

🟩⬜️⬛️ Animes for aro/ace people - Part 2 ⬛️⬜️🟪

The list was getting a bit too long so I decided to make a different post.

~if you see this post as a reblog, make sure to go to the original post, chances are I edited and updated it! ;)

part 1 here

“Yofukashi No Uta” / “Call Of The Night” (13 episodes)🔻

The protagonist wants to become a vampire, but for that to happen you need to be bitten by a vampire you are in love with, and he’s aro (can be both seen as aroallo or acespec). It’s not canon canon in-universe, but like, it’s canon, that’s literally what the plot is about. It has awkward wording/takes coming from the characters sometimes but it got the spirit. I haven’t finished the manga but I’ve been told that the character’s aromance is not invalidated to the end, and the story is precisely about how he doesn’t need to be “fixed”. The show tackles amatonormativity and the value of platonic relationships :). If you can’t handle or don’t like sensual/sexual stuff though, know that it’s omnipresent.

“Shimanami Tasogare” / “Our Dreams At Dusk” (4 volumes)🔻

An LGBTQ+ manga with multiple kinds of representation, including an AAA battery (character who is agender/nonbinary and aroace). Canon and they said the word! Although they didn’t differentiate between aromantic and asexual; in my translation they used ‘asexual’ and meant it as aromantic as well I assume.

“Death Note” (37 episodes)🔻🔹

Another big one but I’ll assume you don’t know about it so, basically: So misogynistic it’s gay. But also so homophobic it’s aroace. And since it’s a psychological thriller, romance is virtually nonexistent, except for a side character annoying girl who is in LOVE with the protagonist. Protagonist who does not show any interest whatsoever in romance/sex. He’s a serial killer but #diversity win I guess. I have admittedly only read the manga once when I was 12 so I may not remember these things accurately.

“Mob Psycho 100” (37 episodes + 2 OVAs)🔹

A must watch regardless. But in this context, a show about life wisdom and connection in the most fundamental human way, which makes it a very platonic show. Because of the nature of the relationships between the protagonist and the other main cast (master/‘parental’ figure, brother, intergenerational friendship), there is literally not even the place for shipping, apart from like the 1 friend his age. And these platonic relationships, oh boy, are they explored and developed and heartwarming. The protagonist has an idealized crush on a girl and that’s the only romantic element there is, and it’s handled maturely and to carry the same main themes I mentioned earlier; it’s absolutely not there for the sake of being romanticized.

! Mp100 is a phenomenal show in many ways, queer representation is not one of them. it is very much incredibly cishet. warning for transmisogynistic humor.

“Gintama” (367 episodes + specials and movies, but don't worry 'bout it)🔹

Genre: comedy. Gintama really is such a platonic show and I mean that as the highest compliment from an aspec person. If you’re looking for actual found family and other wholesome unconventional types of relationships you should know gintama is always there for you. Everything I said about mp100 just above is valid here too. Literally I don't know how to properly express how to me this show is about the celebration of platonic bonds! I literally made this meme, it's to this extent. An anime to bring up if someone pretends life (or fiction) without romance is pointless or less meaningful or whatever. And I'm not the only one who headcanons/interprets Gintoki (the protag) as aro(allo) <3.

warning: unsurprisingly for a comedy from the 2000s there is some offensive/insensitive queerphobic humour but it's (usually…) in a "they're a little confused but they got the spirit" way. Most importantly it's always humanizing. Like, the main characters would call me a slur while fighting alongside me for my rights. The LGBTQ+ community (me) has forgiven gintama.

It's unanimously beloved for a reason too, and aro ppl have all the more reason to vibe, so I recommend it in general; and don't think about the amount of episodes because I did at first and eventually I found myself devastated there were only like 50 left.

“Kimi No Sekai Ni Koi Wa Nai” / “Is Love The Answer?” (1 volume)🔻

Another manga. It is a queer manga specifically about aromance and asexuality, following an aroace character (touch repulsed) and their experience of comphet and general compallo, feeling alienated, and then learning about this identity, finding queer community and accepting herself. It delves into the topics of labels and identity, acknowledging and embracing fluidity, vagueness, and spectrums. It actually presents specific aspec microidentities I’ve never seen acknowledged anywhere else in fiction, much less explored. It made me feel like crying and kicking my legs with glee. I won’t go say everything it talks about but I truly recommend it for anyone, not just aspec people; in general but especially if you want to learn more about the world of aspec identities. (Also not that any are reading this but I recommend it to exclusionists. Like idk how you can read this and not feel it evident that aspec people are queer)

The same author also did a manga called “Mine-kun Is Asexual” prior to this one, and wrote other things on the topics of romance, sexuality and gender identity :)

“Koisenu Futari” (="two people who can't fall in love" idk the official engish translation if there is one) (8 episodes)🔻

This is a japanese drama. I have broadened the original topic of these posts a bit but I realized that with the microscopic amount of representation we have, why would I intentionally deprive people from knowing about the existence of this show? It is specifically about aromance and asexuality, and follows 2 aroace people who decide to live together and form a queerplatonic relationship. There are many other elements to the story and it touches upon multiple aspects of the aspec experience (lol aspects aspec), starting obviously with allonormativity and amatonormativity. Also our 2 main characters are both fully aroace but the show does make the distinction between aromantic and asexual, and shows a alloromantic asexual character at one point just for that clarification.

“Last Gender” (3 volumes)🔻

Similar to Shimanami Tasogare; it’s an LGBTQ+ manga. This one is centered around a sex bar which 'accepts anyone of any gender or sexuality'. It has an aroallo character, a lithromantic character, and a character who, to my understanding, would be the closest labelled as greyromantic and greysexual. That’s just for the aspec characters but there are other, particularily underrepresented, identities and kinds of people in this manga, like a pansexual person, a bigender person, polyamorous people, or ‘simply’ a gnc woman.

content warning: it’s sexually explicit. I mean the setting is literally a sex bar.